If you asked the average Pridelander what they considered the worst place in all of Baramkoa, some would say the barren wasteland known as the Outlands, home of creatures like the loathsome fisimtu, also known as gnolls or hyenas by the common folk, other ilk like cavemen, goblins and ogres, which called themselves watupango, majini and zimwi respectively, and a few orc tribes. Others, the giant sand desert bordering both regions, populated by tribes of nomads and raiders and desert monsters like the proud dragonne or the monstrous sand leviathans, known by the previously mentioned tribes as hatori.

Most, though, would agree that none could hold a handle to the Death Marsh. Partly because of the fauna, composed mostly of animals of the always-attack type, like the fearsome froghemoth, the rather mundane but still dangerous horned lizards, or the titanic baluchithere, insects of all types and sizes, and even the odd dragon or two. Partly because of the flora, including carnivorous and poisonois plants, slimes and living trees. Partly because of the chura (also known as bullywugs), amphiban raiders that somehow survived there despite everything mentioned before. Even a bit due to the air itself, which sometimes could be so foul that even the largest elephant would drop dead just by breating a bit.

Mostly, though, because of the ruling race, the jamaa, or as Pride Landers prefer to call them, lizard men. The name itself is misleading (and twofold, since the 'lizardmen', despite the name, have womenfolk and are actually closer both in look and biologically to predatorial dinosaurs and crocodilians than true lizards), but no one cares about accuracy when it concerns them, and even then, being reptiles, it's hard to discern a male from a female.

The jamaa arent't feared solely because of their strength, since some races are just as strong (like lions) or even stronger (elephants, rhinos and hippos), nor their terrifying reptilian visage, since crocodilians are just as intimidating and even bigger.

No, the main reason the people of the Pride Lands (and even the Outlands), good and evil alike, fear the lizard men is their culture and their traditions.

See, the jamaa, unlike their neighbors, live in a constant state of survival, caring only about the now and the tomorrow, and therefore had little interest in things like gold or salt. They also don't value knowledge not centered in the immediate survival of the tribe. It explains why, in contrast of the walled cities of the Pride Lands or the hovels of the Outlands, they live in simple, filthy tent villages, and at best stone weapons and bows. In short, the lizard men are seen savages, even by the hyenas and their allies.

Cannibalistic savages. Even though they're omnivores, living in a place where the plants can eat you in turn has made the jamaa focus on a carnivorous diet. It doesn't matter to them if the flesh they are hunting for belongs to an antelope or a lioness, meat is meat to them. Even the occasionally cannibalistic Outlanders are terrified of their pragmatism. Yes, they don't actively hunt other sapient beings for their flesh, but pragmatic as they are, they didn't mind eating the corpses of their fallen foes or even other mjusi or make arrows out of their bones. They're also savage warriors, always fighting thinking that their lives and that of their tribemantes are at stake, and therefore doing everything to kill their enemies.

Not everything about them is negative, however. Everyone in a tribe cares for everyone, especially their eggs and hatchlings; the chief of a tribe, while always the strongest and biggest male, also has to lead through example and earn the loyalty of his tribe and shaman, entering a battle first and leaving the last to ensure that his warriors survive...

And, as it was said before, they don't actively hunt other people for their flesh, and in fact someties are willing to trade with the 'softskins' or their cousin 'armorskins' (although trespassers to the Death Marsh should consider bringing some salted meat to dissuade of being eaten). And, despite what others say, they're not without emotions either, is just that in the Death Marshes laughing or having a musical number means attracting the attention of something nasty.

And sometimes, 'nasty' means 'large, demon-blooded tyrants'.

Tawala, also known by the civilized as Lizard Kings (to contrast them with the benevolent Lion Kings of the Pride Lands) are what happens when a shetani, an evil spirit of another world (or demon, as called by practically everyone), corrupts the gestating embryo of a jamaa egg and defiles its lifeblood with evil while leaving the soul intact. The product of this unholy union is a tawala, a larger, stronger and smarter male or female with literal evil blood corsing through their veins, and obsessed in feasting in lion flesh, and order the hunters of the tribe to capture two living lions to feed their new chief with. Most pure mjusi don't understand this obsession, but as the tawala eat five tribe members per week they don't have a lion or other non-jamaa, and given that they're much more powerful than any of their 'subjects', they don't really have a choice and do so until the tawala starts eating their people, in which they decide that enough is enough.

Most of the time, however, even killing them is not enough to save the tribe: what started as a pragmatic, but otherwise neutral village ends up as an oversized brigand band, except instead of plundering gems, precious metals or salt, they attack exclusively to obtain sapient meat to satiate not just their tawala's hunger (if they're still alive), but also theirs, since the older and sensible generations end up succeeded by indoctrinated, bloodthirsty ones.

And right now, the Death Marsh is being unified by the mightiest, most ambitious tawala ever born: Mshindi the Great. He has everything a tawala has, size, intelligence and all that, but also three traits that differentiate him from other Lizard Kings: his ability to use simple but powerful arcane magic, an ambition to unify all the tribes of the Death Marsh to create an army powerful enough to conquer the neighboring territories, and, related to the previous one, charisma.

Most tawala control their tribes through a combination of power and fear of being eaten. Mshindi, however, prefers to use his superior intellect, pointing out to his future warriors that both Pride Landers and Outlanders hated them. It was stupid, but there was some truth on his words: from time to time, the Lion Kings attacked the Death Marsh and killed many jamaa. If a tribe died, the others just shrugged it off, but when the lions and their allies just kept going and attacked others...

And so, one by one, the 'Great People Army' grows in numbers, preparing for the greates war of the era and wanting nothing more than to burn the Pride Lands to the ground and devour anything with a heartbeat.

Of course, just like in all places, there were some tribes that would refuse to bow to a tyrant's rule, especially one touched by shetani. Mshindi knew that those wouldn't join his army, and so decided to just raze the villages, kill the chiefs and their warriors and eat everyone else, both as a warning to the others and to satisfy his sadism. His rampages finally done, the tawala is now focused on preparing his army for war and feasting on the lion meat his hunting parties bring to him.

Thing is, when you attack a jamaa village, you have to make sure you kill everyone and leave no survivors, especially if said survivor is also the male son of the chief.

…...

This comes from a failed story of mine that I wrote in Spacebattles Forum. It's mine, so I think I can repost it here.