#quagas

Gator born, city bred, and the reason tales of sewer gators exist—

A race of crocodilian trolls, the Dilé Quagas were originally natives to the southern bayous and marshlands of the southern United States. In the early days of colonization, the Quagas' homelands were regularly invaded by humans who eventually became scrumptious lunches and dinners for both Quagas and their neighboring crocodiles and gators. Unfortunately, they would eventually meet a force that would drive them from their homelands—not humans but a rival tribe, the Quagawumps.

Despite their size, the Quagawump’s ferocity and tenacity proved too much for the Dilé Quagas and they were forced to leave their more solid tribe lands and move deeper into the watery bayous. So when the humans came, draining swamps and building cities, the Quagas didn’t fight for their wetlands or departed to obtain new homes. Instead, they gravitated to the ease and comfort these new man-made environments provided.

With great sewers that accommodated their bulks, pools, dilapidated construction sites, and wetland preserves, and plenty of places for people and pets to go missing, it wasn't difficult for the Quagas to adapt to their new human environment or manipulate human perceptions to disguise their existence. They became well acquainted with human technology and also became the source of many urban legends, including those about the Sewer Gators.

While many historians see the Quagas as prehistoric beasts, possibly related to late dinosaurs, what they fail to see is the razor sharp cleverness of the creatures they are. Not only did they covertly assist in the building of human cities over their heart stones as methods of adding concrete protection to their homes and hearths, but they managed to become fluent in the language of crocodilian. With local gators and American crocodiles firmly planted as their friends and allies, these trolls have become one of the more prosperous of the the  North American tribes. 

However, their advancements come with a price. To keep the peace and secrecy of their, the Quaugas have one rule: No Trespassers. All the young are taught this from whelp-hood, along with the grave consequence for those who break this rule: becoming dinner. As natural predators, the Quagas reserve the right to eat anyone or anything that trespasses on their land. Whelp, adult, troll, human, all are subject to the Law of Trespassers and all will pay with their lives if they're caught entering others territory without permission.

Unfortunately, this law and the growing Quagas population has led some to leave their southern homes in favor of less crowded places. Some clans have even proposed warring with the Quagawumps and driving them out in order to take back their ancestral land. But those plans have oft been quashed as other Dilé Quagas made peace with the Quagawumps, believing that war with the tribe that had driven them from their home in the first place would only end in further death and loss of territory. For the Quagas have long memories and have not forgotten their sound defeat at the hands of the Quagawumps & their enormous cousins.