gistfile1.txt

The lizards originally hail from Tizira, in the Rizkalon system, though throughout their century and a half in the stars prior to meeting humanity they have spread over several planets and systems. This outward expansion was hindered by a lack of plasma and bluespace resources in their local area, stunting their technological advancement and therefore their development of effective FTL engines, first discovering them a mere two decades before the First Contact. Their technological level remains below that of their human rivals, due to a limited transfer of ideas between the two species.
  
Lizard society emphasises strict militarism and a rigid caste system. The caste system limits social mobility, separating society into distinct bands- however, as with many things in lizard society, enlistment in the military can change this. The military is intertwined deeply into lizard culture- all must serve a tour of mandatory service in the army after coming of age, it is customary for every citizen to be armed (typically with a blade, but into the modern era firearms have become commonplace), and the sight of a soldier on every street corner is not only typical but expected. Advancing in the military heirarchy is one of the few ways a low caste lizard might hope to raise his social standing.
 
As one travels further from their centers of power however this culture softens. A century and a half of contact with humanity and a limited projection of power from Tizira has made lizards on the frontier of the empire much more humanlike in their mannerisms. There are many lizards alive today who have never lived within the borders of the empire, and care little for its customs

Fun Factoids:
* The moon of Tizira was famously bombed by Exploratory corps sublicensed to the TerraGov during the First Contact, creating a noticable "scar" across the surface which can be seen from the planet. The Planet Cracker drink is named for this event.
* The Imperial Lizard Army is famous for their melee skirmishers, who utilise throwing weapons and short-ranged firearms to great effect alongside razor-sharp blades. Despite their embarassing defeat in the First Contact War, they're still well respected by the lizards.
* The Draconic spoken by lizard crewmembers is a Spacer form of the language, created by decades of isolation from Tizira. Lizards from the core systems speak a distinct form of Draconic, known as "High Draconic" or "The Emperor's Draconic".
* Pronouncing X as "ecks" is badass.