Brokanian: Racial Deformation
As brokanians age, their scales become brittle and more delicate. They do their best to try and delay this process and remain as attractive as possible throughout their lives. Eventually though, their skin will wrinkle beyond recognition and their features will sag and form unflattering humps. There is nothing brokanians hate more than the passing of time.
Visible signs of aging normally begin to occur during their seventh decade, at which point they normally opt for wearing elaborate masks that only add more mystery to the race. As their bodies age, they become weaker and far less enduring; yet, their minds become so powerful that they are still feared beyond measure.
Brokanians normally reproduce at some point during their third of fourth decade; however, it is not an event they look forward to. Once pregnant, the baby or babies (as it is not unheard of for brokanians to bear multiple children at once) grow within their mother's body. At times, babies eat the mother from within; clearly something that a brokanian would not desire. Thus, they only reproduce once or twice in a lifetime and often only to preserve some sort of legacy.
Ingrained in their nature, brokanians have little regard for the ways of honor and honesty. They obscure all their actions in the way they cover their movements, with mystery and enigma. As such, they are known liars and deceivers; they will go out of their way to fabricate any sort of believable fantasy. With their cunning tongues, this is not a hard thing to do.
Such a deceptive demeanor only can be kept up with an active brain. Any brokanian caught in a lie is one that miscalculated a complex string of plans and fabrications; a rare event. Regardless of their purpose, they are known to keep track of all things they face or might face, particularly when it comes to magic.
Brokanians originated in swamps and underwater places - an environment which they've left. They prefer to keep themselves within civilization, instead of their more natural habitats. This rather obtuse behavior is often attributed to the fact that there is little to control or manipulate in the wilderness, apart from lesser beasts and insects. In their ambition, and much to the detriment of their bodies, they make their homes in civilized settlements where they can influence many.
The only truth that applies to brokanians is that they are selfish. They will always put themselves before others and are only to be trusted as long as it is to their advantage. The moment that a situation no longer benefits them, they will do their best to turn the tables or simply abandon with little regard any mess they may leave behind. This does not mean that at the first setback they will back out of a scheme, if according to the brokanian's plans the long-term benefit is still there; interim setbacks are considered acceptable.
