Tukslag’s Thirst

Almost a thousand years ago a group of heroes failed in their quest. This resulted in what we now call the Downfall of the North. These heroes attempted to stop the desert north of Khalash from spreading. It started in a small corner of the world and via some magic that we no longer understand began to spread throughout the region.

From what others have gathered it seems as though they succeeded in stopping it. These people stopped the spread of the desert so it only got to the Northern border of the Khalashiri Mountain Range. This desert wiped out most of the thriving civilization in the region. Now only one city remains, Erstonio.

At first it was successful due to its proximity to the ocean and the ability to trade with other parts of Erasure. Though the magical desert would take its toll on the region by causing almost all of the water to evaporate and the natural flora to shrivel up and die. Though eventually the people of Erstonio developed a new organ in their bodies. It functions almost like a storage location.

When the newly Tukslag drink something they can choose to store it inside of their bodies for later consumption. So things like water, they could store more of it during long treks in the desert by drinking it in excess before their journey. Then later when they became thirsty they could regurgitate it back into their mouths like a cow chewing on cud. Then they could have something to drink from. 

Apart from this new organ the Tukslag are indistinguishable from your average person. So tracking one down was more difficult than I thought. That was until I made the entire journey to Erstonio myself. 

The walls of the city had been worn down by constant sandstorms, though their people still patrolled the mostly eroded walls. The city itself was well restored, still looking like it probably did back before the Downfall of the North. While I was here I found a gentleman who was willing to help me with some research about his people, Nabil Ibarra. All he requested in exchange was some gold for his trouble. He seemed to enjoy the idea of a foreigner being so fascinated with his people.

Regardless I sat down with him to ask about his anatomy. The extra organ in their bodies had a separate detachment in their throats, and sat somewhere in their chest. It seemed that liquids getting access to this organ was done typically by choice. Much like I thought they could store water for long journeys. That’s when he showed me something that no one had ever seemed to have talked too much about. The Tukslag can store more than just water in this organ. As long as it was a liquid it could be safely stored there.

Nabil said that most Tukslag who didn’t traverse the desert liked to keep a favorite beverage stored inside the organ. While others stored potions so they could use them later without an enemy stopping them from downing a vial. Then he showed me what I found to be the most fascinating thing about their physiology. Whatever they store can be ejected at a high pressure. So the Tukslag can use it to defend themselves if they so wish. 

Nabil claimed that a rare few have stored poisons and minor forms of acid to later use on an enemy combatant. After all of his displays he thanked me for the gold and went on his way. I stayed in town for a bit after this baffled. THey could use it for more than I had originally anticipated. They could be a formidable group of people if they so desired. It seemed the only thing holding them back was a desert that takes up half of the continent.

Soon I caught a boat out of Erstonio. I was looking to get off of Torospeas now. I had studied all the races that originally came from this continent, now I had to move onto Escaria. I was going to start in the north and work my way down. So first would be the twin races of Ainpar and Augpar in the Concra Jungles.