Three-Headed Serpent

The history of the Ophionic Empires, and of the Virin-yal, are both rooted in the worship of the Gods, or god, known as the Three-Headed Serpent. The nature of the Serpent is little-debated within the Empire, but subject to greater scrutiny by outside observers. Their origins are equally opaque, although it is generally accepted that they were Young Gods who fell victim to one of the few things capable of killing a god, making them Grey Deities, trapped in the Abyss.   The Three Heads of the Serpent are Stygis the Fearmonger, Asphyx the Slayer and Sythis the Betrayer, and their current power is a direct result of their sponsorship of the nascent Virin-yal. In the earliest years of their worship, they were able to reach out from their prison and commune with the mystics of central Cathlaea as just three spirits among many. Through their combined influence, however, they led certain of these mystics to develop the Blessed Venoms, and so strengthened their bonds, and created both the Virin-yal and their own, dedicated cults. As the Great Ophionic Empire rose, the Cults of the Three-Headed Serpent began to present them as three aspects of a single deity, while the Second Ophionic Empire more often regards them as three allied deities.   Stygis the Fearmonger is the god of fear, power, conquest, control and empire. She is also the patroness of the Rites of the Blessed Venom. In the Second Empire her position as the pre-eminent head of the serpent has suffered from Imperator Ysseth's association with the Cryptaeon. Her cult, the Mysterium, is dedicated outwardly to the empire and to provoking terror, but at its heart is just as committed to the collection and protection of secret knowledge. The Mysterium's libraries are not known by many, but are unparalleled in their collections of the arcane and the concealed.   Asphyx the Slayer is the god of death, war, assassination and beasts. They also represent the divine order of the Empire, and as such serve as a vital balance to the chaotic nature of the other Heads. While the ambition of Stygis drove the Empire on, the measured hand of Asphyx holds it together. The greatest sage and leader of the Modern Pankration - the Slayer's cult, which serves as much as a militant order as a church - Awain Swiftsure, aided Isseth in restructuring the Ophionic military.   Sythis the Betrayer is the god of treachery, strife, challenge and problem-solving. In the Great Empire, he was the destroyer, but the Second Empire recognises that the Fearmonger needs very little encouragement to plunge into destructive behaviours. To the House of Ysseth, Sythis is the great disruptor, driver of change and advancement. The Cryptaeon is devoted to discovering and disseminating secrets. While they have many secrets of their own, the cult of Sythis does not allow others - and especially not the Mysterium - the same privilege.