Page 60 - Serpent Kingdoms

SARRUKH

Magic of the Sarrukh vided on demand, and the victim was permitted to stay in any
accommodations desired, including the various imperial strong-
The sarrukh’s magical research resulted in two major contribu- holds in Okoth. The victim was watched closely by security but
tions to the development of magic in Faerûn: the Nether Scrolls otherwise treated as royalty.
and the secret of physically manipulating other creatures. Upon the night of the sacrifi ce, the sarrukh gathered the
The Nether Scrolls were the results of sarrukh efforts to community together to pray to the World Serpent. After treat-
compile, deconstruct, and extrapolate the magic gleaned from ment with incense, the sacrifi cial victim carved his own heart
the savages that inhabited most of Faerûn during the early days from his chest with a ceremonial dagger. With the still-beating
of the sarrukh empires. Penned by the Ba’etith long after the heart in his hands, the high priest smeared the blood of the
sarrukh empires had fallen, these scrolls remain an invaluable sacrifi ce on his own body and those of the other clergy, then
reference today. all the priests withdrew to their temples.
The second major contribution of the sarrukh was the As the practice of sacrifi cing Scaleless Ones to the World
discovery of permanent transforming magic that affects the Serpent in place of sarrukh gained in popularity and the
bodies of other creatures. This technique allowed the sarrukh number of conquered races increased, so too did the number
to permanently transform a creature’s physical body and also of weekly sacrifi ces. Scaleless Ones were rarely given the royal
grant it new extraordinary and supernatural abilities. Further- treatment that sarrukh had been, and few were really willing.
more, such characteristics were invariably passed along to the Thus, the sacrifi ces took on the aspects of wholesale slaughter.
next generation when the altered creatures bred with members At the height of the sarrukh civilization, up to a hundred sen-
of their original races. Eventually, the sarrukh found a way tient creatures might be rounded up and sacrifi ced on any given
to imbue themselves with the ability to use this magic at will. night at each temple. The priests assumed the duty of removing
Unfortunately, this technique has been lost to the ages and now the hearts of the victims, since nonsarrukh really could not be
resides only in the remaining sarrukh, though portions of it depended upon to carry out this essential task themselves. Be-
are embodied in the ability rip and trait removal spells (see cause the blood of these creatures had an odor they considered
Chapter 11.) foul, the sarrukh priests discarded the ritual of smearing the
spilled blood on themselves.
Deities of the Sarrukh After the fall of their empires, the sarrukh no longer had
other races under their control, and their own population
According to sarrukh mythology, the World Serpent came to the was so low that they could not afford to throw their own
sarrukh when they were still savages, offering to teach them the lives away. Worse yet, the yuan-ti who had served them in
secrets of magic, civilization, and power. All that he demanded Mhairshaulk were no longer willing to sacrifi ce themselves
in return was that they worship him and offer sacrifi ces to him. on behalf the sarrukh. Nevertheless, the World Serpent still
The sarrukh agreed to his terms and were rewarded for their demanded obedience and sacrifi ces. To appease him, the sar-
loyalty with great knowledge and power. rukh sacrifi ced either lizardfolk or other creatures that their
During the heyday of their empires, all sarrukh worshiped servants brought to them. The number of sarrukh sacrifi ces
the World Serpent. As they expanded outward into Faerûn, they dropped drastically in the aftermath of the empire because of
forced the populations they conquered into the worship of the both the lack of available sacrifi ces and the sarrukhs’ lengthy
World Serpent as well. This practice made enemies not only of hibernations.
the dominated races, but also of their gods.
The Fragmentation of
Sacrifice the World Serpent

Sacrifi ce is an important aspect of the World Serpent’s dogma.
At the height of the sarrukh empires, the World Serpent liter-
(See Chapter 2 in Book of Vile Darkness for the specifi c rewards
ally fragmented into an entire pantheon, each deity of which
attainable from sacrifi ces.) The World Serpent was especially
was a different aspect of himself. Sages agree that this event
demanding on the subject of suitable sacrifi ces, insisting that
was precipitated by the confl icting needs and demands of an ever
the victim be not only intelligent (Int 3 or higher) but also an
more diverse base of worshipers.
actual sarrukh. In most cases, religious zealots readily gave their
Following the fall of the sarrukh empires, the worship of the
lives for their god, so only rarely was the sacrifi ce a criminal or
World Serpent almost completely vanished, although he contin-
a social derelict.
ued to supply spells to the creatures that still worshiped deities
Sacrifi ces initially occurred on a weekly basis. The priests
embodying portions of his essence. See the Appendix for com-
gave the designated victim whatever he desired for a period of
plete information on the deities worshiped by the Scaled Ones.
three days. Any food, drink, or indulgence of the fl esh was pro-

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