On the Tsaesci of Akavir and shapeshifting

The following is an extract from the study of a recently deceased Nibenese scholar in Cheydinhal. The letter of whom this scholar is replying to is unknown.

Titus Livas, I disagree with that. Wholeheartedly, indeed.

I would argue that the banded nature of Tsaesci armour is not just for the practical reasons our armourers would declare, but their deeply intricate nature is to account for shapeshifting during combat. Of course, our habit of simply referring to a Tsaesci as a "snake-man" could then arise from a historical knowledge of them, as our heroic soldiers parried their own in combat from the Battle of Pale Pass to the Sacking of Windhelm. In this frontier, I would assume it is common to see them in their most striking snake anthropomorphic form, almost bestial in nature as they use their powerful jaws and tails to perform their infamous "tail-dance", switching between their larger and more agile forms, going insofar as to dart between ones legs before striking them from behind. A terrifying tactic indeed. But one cannot forget the Potentiates, who are most notable for their mannish appearance, save for their slack jaws, fangs and slit eyes, honouring our common Elhnofey ancestry as they led our great Empire. In combat among mankind, especially among the Dragonguard in those ancient times as they traversed panicked villages and counties, they upheld a humanoid form for diplomatic reasons, eventually phasing into the mannish Blades order we see today due to that tradition. Personally, I would gather that their appearances are not only to the whim of combat and politics, but basic etiquette or social occasions, and in such a train of thought I would gather their clothing would be similar in nature, bagged or bare regarding on how oneself would choose to shapeshift. But enough with that. I have not been to the Lands of the East, so take my postulations with a grain of saltrice.

Regards, Marcitus Cullis.