"Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with band in the furrow?? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? "

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Category: Races

Bastlur is a race of reptialians that live in the secluded mountain of the islands of Belga . The Bastlur typical life span is measured in the hundreds of years; the first part of their life is spent as a biped approximately the size of your average human. During puberity small vestible wings grow on the BastlurÆs back. As they age their upper extremities and neck lengthen and they grow in size till they grow to the size of small houses. By the time the Bastlur reaches adult hood the weight of their neck and arms force the Bastlur to walk on all fours and the wings are large enough and strong enough to enable the Bastlur to fly unhindered.

Homeland:. Bastlurs make their home in the mountains of Belga. The cliffs and ranges of Belga have been hollowed by the construction of the Bastlurs homes. Deep caverns go to the heart of the mountains and is where the hatching grounds are found. Bastlur build elaborate temples and structures on the cliff faces and peaks. The center of every Bastlur holding is the temple. Bastlur temples are multi-storied, multi-layered buildings with great altars for sacrifices on the top level.

Society

Bastlur society is a strict caste system in which the position of the Bastlur is determined by the color of the Bastlurs scales. The most common caste are the blues, which are great practitioners of magic and the reds which make up the brunt of the military might of the Bastlur. Also are the browns which are regulated to the manual labor force. All the castes are ruled by the priesthood made up of those with gold scales. Bastlur society is a harsh and somewhat cruel society. Order is kept by strict enforcement of customs and punishment is swift and harsh. Bastlurs perform ritual sacrifices and it is not uncommon for stray bastlurs to be punished on the sacrifical alter. Bastlurs look at other races as either food or competition, either of which is to be consumed. Their dealings with others is based on strength and fear. It is only by convincing a Bastlur that one is stronger than them or that you offer something they can not obtain on their own that any dealings with the race can occur.

Bastlurs reproductive cycle is unknown to outsiders. In deep caves in their mountain homes the Bastlurs lay a single egg which is then cared for by purple caste. Bastlurs mate only a single time in their lifetime and young are nurtured carefully till puberty. Bastlurs begin life as an egg. In the past each mating would result in a clutch of 3 or more eggs, in recent times that number has dropped so each mating produces a single egg which is given to the purples to care for and hatch.  No race out side the Bastlurs has seen the hatching caverns nor know what a new hatched bastlur looks like. They are kept in the caverns till they are able to walk biped and turned over to their appropriate caste. Except for golds, Gold bastlurs are rare and when one hatches it is turned over to the gold caste immediately.

Young Bastlurs train in their caste and instructed in their place in life. Bastlurs do not track lineage by parental lines, instead they claim pride in their caste and instructor. Each caste is broken down into subsections based on which elder bastlur is in charge of instructing. Some castes may have more subgroups than other castes. There is only one elder gold who is the high priest. Reds and Blues may have 50 or more elders, browns usually have a lot less. In most castes a bastlur is identifed by their name and the name of their elder. Golds are just known by their name. When a bastlur brings disfavor on themselves it is usually reflected to their elder as well. There is a legend where a young bastlur commited a hienous crime and not only was the young bastlur sacrificed on the high alter but so was his elder and all of the 25 other young bastlurs under that elder.