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A Guide to Sethrak

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                                     A Guide to Sethrak

                                           By Svartalfheimian

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                                                                                                                             So, you wish to play a Sethrak? Or generally just know more?

                                                                                                 Then in that case, this guide just might help you out with that.

                                                                                                 This will be detailing history, culture, anatomy, powers, etc.

                                                                                                                          

 

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                                                         H I S T O R Y

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The Sethrak are a race of Serpentine people that hail from the desert of Vol'dun -- a once lush and bountiful oasis. Both Zandalari and Sethrak co-existed in Vol'dun, living under the watchful eye of their beloved loa, Sethraliss. However, one day, during the battle between the Trolls and the Aqir, roughly 16,000 years ago, a terrible C'thraxi named Mythrax descended upon Vol'dun, and wrought havoc upon both the Zandalari and the Sethrak that lived there. Sethraliss engaged in a battle with Mythrax, and sacrificed herself to save her people, though at a great cost. Mythrax was able to destroy the disc at the heart of Atul'aman, and the destruction, alongside Sethraliss's death, rendered Vol'dun into a barren wasteland, a hot, dry desert. Three Sethrak by the name of Sulthiss, Vorrik and Korthek, worked together to seal Mythrax deep inside of the pyramid. Following this, the Zandalari trolls began to abandon the region, finding it inhospitable, but the Sethrak remained and thrived, considering Vol'dun to be holy and sacred ground, waiting for Sethraliss to regain her power and rise again. Around the area of where Sethraliss had fallen, the Sethrak built a temple in her name, and it would be dubbed the Temple of Sethraliss, where the Sethrak pledged their loyalty to her and waited for the day of her rising.

 

In recent events, one of the Keepers, Korthek, denounced Sethraliss and amassed an army that acquired the name Faithless. Korthek believed that his people were conquerors, and wished to expand his empire across the entirety of Zandalar, and beyond, enslaving Vulpera and Tortollans alike. The Sethrak who did not believe in Korthek's vision and found it barbaric, were dubbed Devoted, and alongside freed Vulpera, they struck back against Korthek, and with help from the mainland, they defeated him, just as Sethraliss finally rose from her slumber to guide the Sethrak people once more.

 

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                                                                                                       C U L T U R E

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Sethrak culture can be identified somewhat with that of Ancient Egypt, or more specifically, the Bedouins, as both express themselves similarly, and lived in a similar habitat and thrived. Whilst Sethrak are not the most plentiful in terms of resources, they have learned to make a silk purse of a sow's ear, and have developed a graceful, artful appreciation, typically weaving beautiful silks, and the like. They have developed a method of forging glass in a special manner, though the entire process remains quite unclear. Sethrak tend to be quite proud, and often even arrogant, or stubborn, but remain quite simplistic in their lives, finding flashy things like magic difficult to cope with or tolerate. Sethrak can be quite savage, and unfriendly to outsiders, and sometimes even themselves after recent events, but remain a very devoted, faithful and religious people, with many people putting aside their differences and tolerating outlanders quite well. Due to their limited resources, Sethrak can scarce be expected to be the most educated people in terms of anything outside of their own homeland and the like, though some Sethrak can find this opportunity amongst the Zandalari, especially those with more wealth than others. A lot of their systems depend heavily on their Loa, Sethraliss, and typically, the law revolves around her all the same, with the criminal having to answer her directly.

 

Sethrak can be quite loving of wealthy, prestigious things, to the point of showing off beautifully woven silk outfits, gold and glass, and the like. The Sethrak also seem to greatly adore a combination of gold and red, as colours, often expressing them through their clothing. The Sethrak, as a people, also respect lightning and thunder quite heavily, as they find it to be associated with their Loa, Sethraliss, who is also, in some ways, a thunder god.

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                                                                         B I O L O G Y

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Not much of Sethrak biology is detailed, except for what can be seen from their descriptions, and their physical appearance. Sethrak have a very cobra-like appearance, however, they can be seen having hinged fangs, which is a trait unique to vipers. Through these hinged fangs, Sethrak can inject hemotoxic venom, which can cause heavy blood loss, internal bleeding, nausea, vomiting, eventually leading to necrosis over a matter of hours, though immediate damage will occur within minutes. Furthermore, Sethrak can be seen having a hood, which is another trait unique to the cobra. Naturally, a hood is used for balance and intimidation. When a cobra is threatened, they flash out. However, a hood is based on thin, elongating ribs, which are capable of extending outwards. The Sethrak hood seems fixated and is not retracted, and considerably more muscular, so it can safely be assumed that rattling it or controlling it would be quite difficult. Either way, it seems to function more for balancing, though the hood is difficult to precisely understand because its biological composition is difficult to determine. Furthermore, a hood seems quite impractical for use for a Sethrak, since cobras use it to intimidate predators by making themselves look bigger, while Sethrak are already large, humanoid beings on two legs, and wouldn't be able to mimic the ability. Furthermore, many vipers have keeled/flared scales, which include ridges over the eyes. These can be observed in the Sethrak as well, hence why Sethrak always look angry.

 

Due to the shape of their bodies, Sethrak are not naturally very strong or muscular, however, they can be extremely agile and their bodies can bend extensively. As such, they tend to be agile combatants, instead of attempting to press against the enemy with force. This is also reinforced by their hoods, which would help balance them extensively during fights.

 

Many Sethrak are born with a natural affinity towards lightning, it being the power of their Loa, Sethraliss herself. This is often expressed by the streaks of glowing blue on a Sethrak's body. Some Sethrak may lack these completely, whilst the streaks of some glow very brightly. This is mostly up to speculation, but the prominent theory seems to be that it is based on one's affinity with Sethraliss's power, with Skycallers having very bright streaks and people who want nothing to do with the power having very dim to completely faded streaks. It can easily be assumed that some may be born without these streaks but develop them as they delve deeper into Sethraliss's magic, and on that, it can also be assumed that people who lose their connection to this power and Sethraliss herself, will begin to lose these streaks.

 

N.B -- Since snakes hiss to intimidate by releasing excess air from the glottis, it's definitely valid to say that they do NOT hiss every time they pronounce the letter ''s''. This is entirely a stereotype, and not even the Sethrak in retail WoW do this extensively. Sethrak can do this at will, however.

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                                           P O W E R S

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Sethrak are very unique in that they wield a special sort of power that comes quite naturally to them, that most no other races on Azeroth can -- the power to wield natural lightning, even without practicing Shamanism. This is because the Sethrak are attuned to Sethraliss, who granted them this power. Many Sethrak choose to hone this power, some becoming Skycallers, though there are also those who don't. This power ranges from blasting streams of lightning Palpatine-style, to manipulating the skies themselves, calling down thunderstorms and the like. Though this power can be unpredictable and quite volatile, it is not impossible to control, though takes heavy conviction.

 

Skycallers are masters of this power, and they study it so extensively, that they can literally communicate through thunder. They have the capability to construct and raise pillars out of the earth, which can convert the surrounding landscape into sand. They can also communicate through these pillars by weaving patterns of lightning and sending them to other pillars. The full process of this is, unfortunately, difficult to determine.

 

Another trait that is not quite so unique, but prominent regardless, is that Sethrak are on-par in terms of lifespan with species like the Draenei, Night Elves and Dragons. Through this we can easily assume that Sethrak can live up to ages of 24,000+, with evidence for it being that Sulthiss, Korthek and Vorrik all lived 16,000 years ago, and Vorrik is still in peak condition, with Korthek still remaining a masterful, agile fighter, and Vorrik being able to endure extensive damage and frontline combat. It is also more than likely that they can live even longer.

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                                                                                     Thanks for Reading! 

 

 

                                                                                                                                   

Edited by Svartalfheimian

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