Gou is a dark elf in Warhammer

The ceremony is over.

But the free time did not follow, because the ceremony consisted of much more than just this one item.

Rituals are of paramount importance to the Lizardmen. They rely on the movement of the stars and a series of cyclical rituals to mark the passage of time and to organize the operation of society. Each ritual carries a dual mission: to maintain a strict social order and to propel the grand and obscure plan forward.

As the roaring waves that swept through Zetland gradually subsided, the lizards neither dispersed nor resumed their clamor. They fell into a strange silence, not complete stillness, but rather, movement replaced sound, becoming the new language.

They began to stretch their bodies, arms outstretched to the sides, legs spread apart, standing firmly in a fixed posture almost like the Chinese character "大" (big). Those snake people who had integrated into the lizard people's society followed suit. Although they did not have legs that could be spread apart, this did not prevent them from stretching out their arms, or even all four arms, and raising their heads to face the sky with the largest possible area of ​​their torso.

From a religious perspective, this is known as the "Kotego Supreme Praise Ritual," a devout tribute to the sun god Kotego, and a collective expression of gratitude and connection to the source of life.

From a basic physiological perspective, this is actually just... sunbathing.

Purely and directly, allowing the skin and scales to bask in the heat and energy of the sun.

We can take inspiration from the radio calisthenics exercises for primary and secondary school students; it's a call of the times!
This is a need ingrained in their genes. Whether they are lizardmen, spirit lizards, or monitor lizards, they all need to regularly absorb the heat from the sun to maintain optimal vitality and physiological function.

From the simple yet widespread individual praise performed every morning to the "Ihammenshi Sacred Procession" held only once every thousand years, the Lizard People used these rituals and routines, which blended religious piety with practical physiological needs, to mark the passage of time and construct the rhythm of their society.

The timing of most important ceremonies was calculated with extreme precision, perfectly aligning with the trajectories of celestial bodies. The Lizard Priests and Slam Priests acted according to the phases of the moon and the solar cycle, and used the complex relationships between stars and planets, such as transits, conjunctions, and oppositions, to describe and define those units of time that were too long or too minute for humans.

However, the Kotegor Supreme Praise ceremony usually does not require a large gathering. On most ordinary days, the lizards simply find a sunny spot when they open their eyes and greet the new day to complete this short, personal ritual, as naturally as breathing.

Only on specific sacred dates does the situation differ. At those times, grand assemblies and hymns are held.

The most magnificent temple, the Koteig, is located in Hesiota, where the venerable Mazdamudi would even personally preside over the ceremony bathed in golden light when he awoke from his long slumber.

The rituals of the Lizard People are diverse, mostly held during the day or on specific dates, but there are also chapters that take place at night.

For example, in the moon city of Taraxlan, mysterious rituals related to the moon are often performed under the cover of night. In addition, every year when the rainy season arrives, the lizardmen hold a solemn sunset ceremony at the Kotegor Pyramid in Taraxlan; at the same time, in Hesiota, the corresponding moonrise ceremony is held at the Razcotho Pyramid.

The two sanctuaries, one in the east and one in the west, silently enact the rhythm of sunrise and sunset, and the alternation of yin and yang.

As someone well-versed in the workings of lizardman society, Raine was intimately familiar with these details. He understood that, apart from those lizards living in Taraxlan, the vast majority of lizards in the temple cities strictly adhered to the ancient rhythm of working at sunrise.

The first rays of dawn on the horizon are the natural clarion call that awakens them to a new day.

Of course, wartime vigilance and field patrols are an exception; those are a different set of survival rules.

Today is not any of the sacred dates marked on the stone tablet. If it were, the lizard priest who contacted him yesterday would certainly have informed him beforehand. Therefore, the rallying cry that echoed through Zetland in the deepest darkness before dawn can only lead to one logical conclusion: the Sotigo battle group, active deep in the southern jungles, had quietly returned in triumph in the latter half of the night.

The result was exactly as he had predicted.

The figure of the Prophet standing atop the pyramids, carrying a ferocious trophy, is the most irrefutable proof.

The Asur people naturally didn't understand these intricacies, but that didn't stop them from imitating them. After all, the atmosphere and environment were what they were; were they supposed to stand by and make a racket, pointing and whispering, while the lizardmen were performing a solemn ceremony?

That would be incredibly tactless.

So, for the full five minutes that the spirit lizards stretched their limbs and silently paid homage, the sea guards also remained solemn, either observing quietly or imitating those ritualistic postures.

However, when the ceremony was over and the square was once again filled with the dense, rain-like hissing and clicking sounds unique to the spirit lizards, an interesting scene unfolded: instead of the Asur pointing and commenting on the lizardmen, it was the spirit lizards who began to criticize these outsiders.

Many of the spirit lizards did not disperse immediately; they stood there, their heads tilted at that classic, inquisitive angle, their four fingers moving rapidly unconsciously.

In their logic, the imitation that the Asurs had just made perfectly fit the category of "unpredictable and bizarre impulsive behavior".

They couldn't understand why these hot-blooded species would mimic a sunlight absorption ritual that was completely unnecessary for their physiological structure. They didn't even have scales that needed to be activated!
Several lizards even huddled together, emitting a series of more rapid and dramatically fluctuating hisses, fiercely debating whether to classify this behavior as a "harmless display of curiosity" or "some kind of undocumented, inefficient social ritual."

However, this confusion did not last long.

Just like dealing with any irrelevant variables that cannot be immediately incorporated into the current execution framework of the grand plan, after a brief period of observation, analysis and rapid internal communication, the lizards almost simultaneously came to the conclusion that this was an "exotic biological characteristic," interesting but insignificant, requiring no further investigation and not affecting the established schedule.

All curious glances vanished, and the whispering and hissing ceased abruptly. The lizards turned and returned to their posts with light and precise steps.

The entire square, like a huge and sophisticated instrument, quickly resumed its inherent and efficient operating rhythm after a brief period of 'external signal interference'.

For the lizard, 'understanding' Asur's strange behavior is not necessary; identifying it as harmless, classifying it as background noise, and then continuing with the tasks on the to-do list is the most efficient and logical approach.

A new day has truly begun, with the sun already high in the sky and a schedule already packed. The little imitation episode by the Asurs is nothing more than a trivial footnote, quickly archived and soon forgotten.

Raine wasn't deaf; he heard the rapid, dense, inquisitive hissing and clicking of the spirit lizards perfectly clearly. But he merely raised the corners of his mouth in a knowing smile, not taking it to heart.

As a seasoned lizardman expert, he has a deep understanding of the psychological characteristics and behavioral patterns of spirit lizards.

If you observe the spirit lizard closely, you'll find that they constantly switch between two states: "nervous agitation" and "extreme stillness." Unlike the hot-blooded species, they don't need constant external stimulation to maintain their vitality, but their minds and bodies seem to be in a state of constant, low-pitched restlessness.

Compared to the more linear and focused thinking of lizardmen and monitor lizards, spirit lizards possess a stronger sense of self and free will. Even in non-combat states, their thinking exhibits astonishing flexibility and adaptability. Because the entire society relies heavily on the coordinated operation of the spirit lizard hierarchy, they are natural social butterflies, constantly communicating through chatter and rapid, precise gestures. Cooperation among them is usually seamless; members of the same group can easily achieve tacit understanding, and the subtlety of their coordination often amazes onlookers.

When the spirit lizards awoke from the hatching pool, they instinctively knew their role in that grand plan, never questioning the fundamental meaning of their existence. But tragically, no one ever clearly told them what that grand plan truly was…

Slam viewed them as precise cogs in a massive machine that did not need to think, but only needed to execute.

Therefore, a profound anxiety and tension always lingers within the spirit lizards: their budding self-awareness compels them to ponder how their immediate, concrete tasks truly serve that distant, overarching goal. They know they shouldn't place their personal will above the grand plan, but occasionally, they still find themselves unable to suppress a fleeting questioning of certain instructions.

Such questioning is taboo and immediately triggers a psychological state similar to that of guilt or shame experienced by elves, making them uneasy.

Since the worship of the serpent god Sotigo arose in Lustia and the Southland, there has been an increasing number of cases among the spirit lizard groups that have disobeyed Slan's direct commands and demonstrated independent will. They have even begun to show a certain degree of autonomy and even acts of rebellion.

However, all of this is in the past. Dakos made a series of key adjustments to the interpretation and implementation of the grand plan.

As for the results...

Raine needs to use his three days here to conduct detailed observations. With the return of the Sotigo battle group, his observation sample and behavioral context will undoubtedly become richer, and his efficiency may also be higher.

His gaze fell upon the center of the plaza, where the obsidian palanquin was steadily lifted by the temple guards and began to move slowly. Seated atop it was the third-generation Sran, named Quaxmu. Before his first visit to Zetlan, this Sran was the supreme ruler of the southern jungles.

In Ryan's view, this Slan... is somewhat abstract?
Unlike Slan, who held a neutral or opposing stance towards the Sotigo sect on the continent of Lustria, Quaxmu was a fervent supporter of the Sotigo sect. Furthermore, he was an avid fan of Blood Bowl rugby.

Although meeting with Quaxmu was one of the main reasons the Asur fleet docked in Zetland, Raine did not choose to approach Chengyu at this moment. This was not an appropriate occasion for formal conversation.

The guards dispersed in the square, and free time began.

After a brief greeting to the captain, Galian walked through the crowd and came to his familiar old comrades-in-arms, Cerion, Theresa, and Villan, whose faces still bore the marks of the ritual.

Theresa let out a long sigh and rubbed her arms vigorously, as if trying to dispel some invisible chill.

“Just now…” she lowered her voice, glancing around with lingering fear, “I felt like I had fallen into a boiling snake pit. Not just one or two, but thousands upon thousands… those hissing sounds weren’t coming from the outside, they were drilling right into my bones.” She pulled up her sleeve, revealing the tiny bumps on her arm that hadn’t completely faded, “You see, I still haven’t gotten out. It’s not fear, it’s… my whole body was resonating with that sound, like it was being torn apart.”

“It’s not just the sound.” Cherion crossed his arms, his gaze sweeping over the spirit lizards in the distance, which had returned to their normal routines and were now darting about rapidly. “It’s that kind of uniformity, from stillness to explosion, then to a frozen stretch, and finally, an instantaneous switch to this…market-like clamor. There’s no transition in between. How do they do that?”

“Unlike us, whose rituals are always imbued with artistic performance or emotional catharsis, their rituals are more like executing a pre-set, unchangeable mechanical program,” Veraen thoughtfully continued. “The hissing is the program, the sacrifice is the program, the stretching is the program. What I can’t understand the most is…”

He paused.

“They were clearly communicating rapidly with each other, using gestures and changing expressions; they were obviously not mindless puppets. But how was this individual life perfectly embedded into the cold, rigid program of the collective?”

Gallian added, recalling the commotion in the canteen last night and the lizards' skillful cooperation as they moved supplies this morning.

"And they're not rigid at all. Last night during the revelry, a few of the spirit lizards tried to imitate the rhythm of our boat song, though they were completely off-key. This morning, while helping in the kitchen, the spirit lizards adjusted their hand gestures according to how fast we moved things. They observe and adapt?"

“That’s the strangest thing,” Vera nodded. “They possess the wisdom to observe and adapt, yet they seem to willingly use that wisdom entirely to serve a being we cannot comprehend. Look, just now, when the ratmen’s heads were cut off, their fanaticism was real; when the sun rose, their piety as they stretched their bodies was also real. Two completely different states, switching freely within the same individual, without any sense of contradiction.”

“I now think that the way they watched us mimicking the stretching is like how we watch monkeys trying to imitate us playing the harp…it’s not even on the same level.” Theresa couldn’t help but shudder again.

“At least they didn’t treat us as enemies.” Galian patted the small pouch of chili sauce at his waist, trying to lighten the mood. “Just as…walking, weirdly behaving spectacles?”

The group fell silent for a moment, their gazes following a group of spirit lizard craftsmen carrying measuring instruments as they walked quickly past. As they went, the spirit lizards exchanged information with dazzlingly fast hand gestures, their hissing and clicking chatter sounding like some kind of encrypted telegram.

Beyond the initial shock, a deeper understanding gradually emerged: the lizardmen possess complex social structures, highly efficient collaborative abilities, and a terrifying belief and discipline that completely integrates individuals into the collective.

This form of civilization is so unfamiliar, so rigid, yet so...self-consistent.

"Shall we go for a walk?" Galian finally broke the silence.

"The adventure begins!" Theresa announced, stretching as she did so.

The others nodded in agreement. Still shaken and filled with unanswered questions, they joined the bustling, strangely vibrant atmosphere of Zetland Mountain City after its awakening, beginning their exploration as 'Hot-Blooded Landscapes'.

Renn led the three Asur chieftains through the gradually dispersing crowd, circling around to the shaded area behind the Sotigo Pyramid. The atmosphere here was completely different from that in the main square. There were many Sotigo lizardmen who had just finished their ceremony and had not yet completely dispersed. They still carried the dampness of the jungle and a faint smell of blood.

As soon as Renn appeared, several sharp gazes were immediately cast upon him. He didn't say much, but simply raised his hand naturally, palm facing outward, and paused briefly in front of him.

This is a simple gesture known within a specific circle, used to indicate recognition and greeting, and is considered a way of saying hello.

He then lowered his hand, turned his head, and nodded slightly to Delamaril, Imralion, and Eldrasil who were following closely behind him, gesturing for them to keep up.

Unlike most elves who see all lizardmen as if they were all cut from the same mold, Raine, an expert on lizardmen, knows exactly how to distinguish one from another through their unique physical features, as well as the distinct styles of their accessories and weapons.

His gaze swept quickly over the devout followers of Sotigo before him, and he realized that while not all of the leaders were familiar faces, he recognized more than half of them.

(Not feeling well, so I'll write less. This part will be finished in the next day or two. I'll try to finish it tomorrow. In the outline, this part is a transitional main plot, and it's about the protagonist, but...emm) (End of Chapter)