Page 188 - Serpent Kingdoms

APPENDIX

Ghaurraghaur (shield dwarves) –4,819 to –3,611 agreement (and thereby risk their defection to another deity), the
Eaerlann (green and World Serpent created an aspect of himself called M’daess, the
moon elves) –4,700 to 882 snake-mother, whose task was to purify the souls of the unclean
Besilmer (shield dwarves) –4,420 to –4,160 who were sacrifi ced in the World Serpent’s name, thus making
Ammarindar (shield dwarves) –4,100 to 882 them equivalent to sarrukh souls in the eyes of their god.
Cormanthyr (gold, green,
and moon elves) –4,000 to 1344 Merrshaulk
Delzoun (shield dwarves) –3,900 to –100
Deepkingdom (gray dwarves) –3,717 to present day Upon the fragmentation of their primary deity, the sarrukh chose to
Ironstar (shield dwarves) –2,919 to 207 venerate the aspect embodied by Merrshaulk. This cruel and despotic
Age of Humanity –3,000 to present day deity set the sarrukh on the path toward absolute evil. Merrshaulk
Calimshan –6,060 to present day cared little for the plight of the serpent races, as long as they contin-
Jhaamdath –5,800 to –255 ued to worship him. He inexplicably sank into a deep slumber that
Netheril –3,859 to –339 lasted for thousands of years. Ultimately, he was reborn in the form
Imaskar –3,600 to –2,448 (present of his avatar Sseth, the deity that the yuan-ti now venerate.
day, Deep Imaskar; see
Underdark) Parrafaire
Mezro/Chult –2,637 to present day
Mulhorand –2,135 to present day The Naga Prince is the guardian of magical secrets and hidden
Unther –2,087 to present day places far below the ground. His goal is not to prevent access
Narfell –900 to –150 to such secrets, but to test the wisdom and resourcefulness of
Raumathar –900 to –150 those who come seeking them. Parrafaire delights in creating
*Serpentes –304 to 10 (present day) clever traps, decoys, diversions, and mazes, and in offering cryp-
*Serpentes is included as a “human” realm, since the yuan-ti tic clues. His religious teachings are presented in the form of
are partially of human ancestry. riddles and puzzles to be deciphered by the worshiper.
The Prince of Hidden Secrets has few worshipers and no
Deities of the established church, although almost all nagas pay him at least
indirect homage.
Scaled Ones
Semuanya
The deities worshiped by the various Scaled Ones are summa-
rized in the table on the next page. Details of their origins and The lizardfolk currently embrace Semuanya, an unfeeling and
histories are provided in the paragraphs that follow. uncaring fragment of the World Serpent. Semuanya promotes
only survival and teaches that any action taken in the pursuit
Essylliss of that goal is acceptable. He dismisses the majority of the
struggles that take place in Faerûn, including the plight of his
After the creation of the lizardfolk, the World Serpent created followers, as completely irrelevant. Semuanya has no allies, and
an aspect of himself in their image. The god felt the need to give his only enemy is the demon lord Sess’innek.
these simple creatures a deity they could call their own, lest they be
distracted by the plethora of other deities. The worship of Essylliss Shekinester
lasted two thousand years after the fall of sarrukh-ruled Mhair-
shaulk. Ultimately, however, the splintered factions of the lizardfolk Shekinester is a complex, pragmatic goddess with fi ve aspects:
began worshiping Semuanya. Today Essylliss is worshiped by a hand- the Acquirer (LE), the Empowerer (LG), the Seeker (CG), the
ful of lizardfolk, and barely a trace of him remains. Weaver (CE), and the Preserver (N). Each aspect is represented
and venerated as a separate goddess.
M’daess The Acquirer: This aspect of the goddess represents the urge
to control and possess. She is often represented as a harsh-faced,
The issue of nonsarrukh sacrifi ces was the fi rst major point of divi- shrewish female naga clinging desperately to her failing youth.
sion for the World Serpent. When the sarrukh made the decision As the Acquirer, the Five-Faced Queen seeks to hoard knowledge
that members of their own race were too important to sacrifi ce to and wisdom that is in danger of being lost or forgotten.
their god, they violated one of the earliest and most fundamental The Empowerer: In her role as guardian of the young and
doctrines of their religion. Though the World Serpent agreed in uninitiated, the Empowerer is a bestower of wisdom. Represented
principle that Scaleless Ones made acceptable sacrifi ces, he couldn’t with the head of a beautiful young maiden, she is generally
reconcile changing the agreement with the sarrukh. Rather than viewed as kindly and merciful. As the Empowerer, Shekinester
back down from his demands or force them to hold to the original actively seeks opportunities to grant wisdom to those who have

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