Cymetrodons (2023) – Kroakoan and the Nephret

The Nephret are a race of frog people who begin their lives in fresh water with gills and tails, which are re-absorbed into their bodies as they grow lungs and become terrestrial during adolesence.

Nephret can regenerate lost or injured limbs, and their skins are poisonous to other species, with physical contact resulting in temporary paralysis.

They are master alchemists who distill powerful medicines from the toxins in their skins. They have freely shared these medicines with their Baskilian and Kektrish neighbors, despite the aggressions they have historically suffered from both.

Nephret can also regenerate their sexual organs and become biologically male or female at will, which is extremely helpful to them in terms of family planning and population control.

As a result, most do not identify with “he/him” or “she/her” pronouns at all, since the concept of being “stuck” with a particular biological sex is quite foreign to them as a people.

The most popular deity in Nephret religion is Heqet, the Great Progenitor of their civilization, to Whom they pray for help in protecting their young and healing the sick.

Nephret devotion to Heqet is most exemplified by their cultural commitment to service and plain living. Many Nephret live like Amish people do here in our world, in simple farming communities with as little modern technology as possible.

Others, especially the people of Brock Ragune (the Nephret state capital), accept modern technology so long as it is primarily used to improve public health. The Grand Temple of Heqet in Brock Ragune is the single most advanced hospital in the entire world, and its priesthood (led by Magister Sauvix III) is also the Nephret national government.

The main Nephret character in CYMETRODONS is Kroakoan, who was one of the first responders at Cratermoth when it was accidentally destroyed with the Kektrish Ghost Ray.

Kroakoan reported their findings at Cratermoth to an international war crimes council, re-living the trauma of their experience on live television. This helped people across the Earth understand the gravity of what had happened.

After Grawuul neutralized the Ghost Ray, the governments of Geb signed a peace treaty—the Treaty of Fort Shedet. This effectively banned all weapons of mass destruction from the Earth. Then a new era of international peace and plenty began, and the Three Peoples were glad…

…Until the Strangers arrived.