RTF is a global modification that replaces all towns in the game.

Is there any consideration of linking these Nagas to the city of Shanria?

No, that's a city in a glacier; in the artwork, those Nagas are in thick orange clothes with white scales and icy blades/arrows/staves. I won't do that.

I'm replacing the Sylvan faction, so I haven't considered any connections with Shanria or the desert city.

Initially, there were ideas leaning towards a cult of the flooding from the western seas, but... I'm making the faction on request – every time I make a demon faction, I'm asked to change it... and I unexpectedly found zen. I like the positive vibes of the Naga faction, but I absolutely don't like the Lotus Empire because of its too strong emphasis on religion and spirits (and the Empress is a very vague, overpowered character that ruins the faction).

Religion is the least thought-out element of the faction because usually, the church endows the ruler with power and creates basic laws; most often, the ruler is deified, as in Egypt, Japan, and even in Greece, there were dynasties descended from mythical heroes, and in the Lotus Empire, something similar – the spirits of water swear allegiance to the Empress as if she were an avatar of a god, but she is not an avatar... analogies with Xian, the immortal sage in Taoism, suggest themselves.

The cult of the flooding, as something opposite to the Empress, could quite support my Nagas, but... frankly, it's a destructive cult; if they are not restrained, they will quickly run into someone and get beaten, and I also think that this cult would create a faction around itself, gathering ronin, bandits, and pirates. On the other hand, the Aztecs also had a destructive cult, but the state was relatively large. Without religion, it's also possible, but then everything will turn into a cult of personality and a military dictatorship.

The whole problem is in the biome and equipment; my Nagas don't look like Shanria or Sayamu; this is the armor of the Lotus Empire, which I hate.