Serpent

Serpent is a once-powerful deity, a force of unity, balance, creation and destruction, dividing the nothing from what is. It was imprisoned in the Arch during the human conquest of Diablotin, as a consequence of its weakening power after the upheaval that brought the Seven Gods into power. It was known across nations and on other planes - the shadar-kai called it Vrag, the early people of Aveyrone called it Ophion, in Plascencial it was known as Nashash, "he who solves secrets". It remained imprisoned in the Arch for many centuries, able to affect people who passed through it but otherwise exercising very limited power at most.

Serpent's closest servants, or possibly other aspects of itself, were Emkathon, the Mother of Mercy, and Kavreshar, the Father of Justice. After Serpent's fall, Emkathon and Kavreshar were both forced to take up residence on the material plane. Emkathon, preserving some of the Serpent's blood in a sacred vessel called the Phereia, brought it to the leader of the Wolf tribe, Laeken, and offered him a bargain. She would protect the city and bear him a child, which would bear this blood within it, and in its descendants - the Truebloods (and by now, much of the nobility of House Wolf, one presumes).

Kavreshar, meanwhile, enraged by this turn of events, became an avatar of vengeance, and worked to bring down the Empire and those who were responsible. He was imprisoned in a necklace, but later (inadvertently?) released during the coronation of Marl Kizer, taking on the form of a hellfire wyrm.

Phedre, through her scholarly studies and extraplanar explorations, had became fascinated by the Serpent, and founded the Covenant of the Serpent Reborn (and the Order of the Black Down as a cover organization and recruiting ground) in order to attempt to restore it to power. The Covenant, with the help of Theron Rademacher, Thea Vermillion, Yanina Trueblood, and Ilphère deQuessenet (all Trueblood descendants), restored the Phereia during a ritual, and later returned it to Emkathon, after she was freed from her long watch over the city. Emkathon revealed that it was necessary for Serpent to be restored, in order that new souls could be created for the cycle of rebirth.

Reunited, Emkathon and Kavreshar restored the severed Arch, which blended its black and white halves into a mottled grey, and then disappeared into the Arch together, seemingly healed of their grief and anger. Their actions were able to restore the Serpent, which manifested briefly through the body of Martan Olivier before passing through the Arch as well.

Since that time, priests of Serpent have been able to manifest clerical powers, both on the Shadow Plane and here. Although Phedre was executed for her role in the sacrifices of Butler Belden and Theonée Deverara, others took her place. The church of Serpent is divided, with some still following the darker path of the Order, while others choose the more balanced approach advocated by Sirris, an ancient servant of the Serpent from Am. The shadar-kai followers of Serpent represent yet another tradition.

Sirris's Temple of Serpent

Sirris is the leader of a small but growing body of human worshippers of Serpent. They have been active in Diablotin for about seven years, and their headquarters is a modest building in Rhenea. Although they don't tend to proselytize, they nevertheless attract about fifty to a hundred people to each ceremony. Some of those come out of curiosity, or having heard that the faith of Serpent involves sex, but a few of those who begin attending out of some prurient interest end up staying, and so the congregation is gradually increasing. Sirris has also trained several other priests from various walks of life.

A typical ceremony does not in fact involve a huge drug-addled orgy, but rather the priest gives a lesson and engages the worshipers in guided meditation focused on that topic, directing them into a trance-like state with the help of incense and music and encouraging them on the path to balance and enlightenment. The devout will also practice these methods on their own or in small groups between organized services. While carefully-directed sexual energy or the consumption of drugs are recognized as other ways of working towards enlightenment, this is something that normally only more advanced practitioners will engage in, under careful guidance. Some practitioners find they will experience visions during such altered states, and these are considered important and significant, if often in need of interpretation.

Sirris's tradition is purely an oral one, as there are no texts surviving from Am - however, contact with the Shadar-kai Serpent worshipers has provided them with access to those written texts. One of Sirris's goals, as yet unrealized, is to gain the right to access the Arch as part of the church's rituals.

Known Members

• Sirris
• Adria de Tourigny
• Antoine de Gallier
• Augine Pervanche
• Bernon Kestrene
• Princess Cordovera Kizer
• Dena Pouzet
• Edouard Hartzell
• Eloi Sallembier
• Hallace Belden
• Hugonel Silveira
• Isidor Chastelose
• Jaspart Trensaulx
• Jovien Escalera
• Lavinia Olivier
• Lucette Voclain
• Lurancy Dryden
• Lygia of Gouge
• Myrtale Harthain
• Nathaira
• Nefise Ansiaux
• Philida Chantranes
• Renaun Alduin
• Suren Krusse
• Tatiane Renaud II
• Thera Rademacher
• Tristan Rademacher