Crocodiles are best described as large, crude, and bitter. Their heavy mauls and draw to a brute's calling hint at their rugged lifestyle in the deadly swamps of Balgolia, but it was not always this way. In ages past, they built massive temples in which they stored the lore and knowledge of their kind. They once inhabited every swamp on Nirakam and were renowned for their wisdom. During the Clash of Strength that preceded the Great Bear Empire, they lost. Many of their own kind believed that fighting was not the answer and were rewarded with slavery.

Balgolia's capital is named after a leagendary brute who laid down his maul at Fort Tears. His aim had been to bring the races together. He had succeeded in bringing about the Age of Truce by paying the ultimate price: his life. Only since the Great Purging have the crocodiles once again known freedom. Their lore and knowledge since lost to time, their channelers and buffers have attempted to follow practices only passed down by word-of-maw, but it doesn't take a crafty panther to see they are only imitating, and hoping to regain some semblance of who they once were.

The great marsh at the mouth of the River Hector is home to most of the crocodile clans and the small burrows they dwell in. The entire land feels cursed, wet, dark, and cold. Balgolia claims only one city, Gimin. Constructed by crocodilian allies during the Age of Truce, it keeps the marsh out with stones imported from southern Hellota. It is guarded by young soldiers who still don't quite fit into the heavy shell mail issued by Grumgin, Captain of the Watch. There is one other location of note in this forsaken land: Fort Tears. The real reason for its name has been lost to time, though it is known it was built by the bears before the southern sky grew black.

Relations

• We don't hate the bears for what they did, but we will never allow the Great Bear Empire to rise again.
• Our taste for an eagle egg has not waned, but our taste for war has. We'd like to expand beyond this accursed swamp, and their land is the most inviting. It's a pity they've gotten better at fighting.
• Fox this, fox that! Everyone's mad at the foxes. Truth be told, they were kinder than the bears. We don't help them, we don't harm them, but if they get in our way, we'll crush them.
• Hares. They're soft, they're fuzzy, and we never see them.
• Monkeys are just ugly otters.
• Beautiful, sleek, majestic, crafty. Everything we once were, but we do not hate the otters for what they are. The other races do not see that they are the ones who will save us all.
• Panthers are never to be trusted. They use long claws so they can stab you in the back quicker.
• The only creatures that get cleaned by mucking through swamp water are rats. They will one day replace us all as the only creatures in the land.
• There are things in the swamps with tougher shells than a turtle. However, those creatures don't put put holes in you before you can even maul them. We'll stick to simpler prey.
• Vipers are the only ones we can call allies. We cannot recall a time we ever fought them. We cannot recall a time we ever fought alongside them. The perfect allies.
• Wolves are easily the weakest race. Look at how their males cower like children if their mate is angry. They need to grow some teeth!

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