The Ophidere

“We are the Ophidere, Coilborn of Ssarpele, the Black Serpent of the Dark. The weak name us cursed, but we are chosen, marked by scale and slit, sharpened by venom and shadow. Where rivers drown and deserts starve, where caverns whisper secrets never meant for light, there our coils tighten. We do not beg the gods for favor, we drink their venom and bleed their will into the world. Betrayal, patience, hunger, these are not sins, but virtues. The coil waits, the coil strikes, and in the end, all things must return to our Mother’s endless hunger.”

— Issarith Venombra, the First Fang, survivor of the First Coiling

    Among the scattered and broken branches of elvenkind, none inspire the same dread as the Ophidere, the Serpentbound, who forsook moonlight’s grace for the endless coil of shadow and scale. They are a people born of venom and vision, marked by slitted eyes that glow in the dark, forked tongues that whisper deceit, and skin that often bears the sheen of scales. To outsiders, they are part elf and part serpent, but to themselves, they are the chosen children of the goddess Ssarpele, the Black Serpent of the Dark.   Their temples rise where the serpent thrives, in jungles strangled by vines, in drowned caverns where the hiss of scales echoes through stone, and in sun scorched ruins where thirst reigns eternal. Within these lairs, their cult-clans coil in constant rivalry, yet never sever their devotion to the Eternal Coil. Life among the Ophidere is sacrifice and ambush, devotion and betrayal, for them, patience is strength, venom is truth, and hunger is holy.   Whispered in fear by other elves and cursed by mortals who remember their floods, droughts, and blood rites, the Ophidere are both numerous and elusive. They are assassins, prophets, and priestesses who drink venom until their visions blur, warriors who strike like snakes from the shadows, and fanatics who believe the coil of their goddess will one day unmake the world. To know the Ophidere is to know the hiss of shadow in the grass, the tightening of scales around the throat, and the certainty that all things will one day return to Ssarpele’s hunger.  

Origin

The Ophidere Dark Elves, also called the Serpentbound or Coilborn, are a venomous offshoot of the Excedere Dark Elves, who long ago abandoned the moon’s pale radiance for the shifting coils of shadow and scale. Unlike their kin who sought balance in starlight, the Ophidere embraced the endless hunger of serpents, seeing in them the perfect symbols of patience, ambush, and inevitable dominance. Today, they dwell in hidden jungle temples choked with vines, drowned river-caverns, and forgotten desert ruins where serpents nest in teeming masses. Their society is numerous but fractured into rival cult-clans, each venerating a different aspect of their dark pantheon. United, they would be a terror to the world, but their endless rivalries and jealousies keep them scattered, bound only by devotion to the goddess Ssarpele, the Black Serpent of the Dark.  

Appearance

Ophidere bear the olive, bronze, and grey-green hues of their jungle and desert homes. Their hair is often black or dark brown, though rare bloodlines show a greenish tinge, as if touched by scales. Their eyes gleam with vertical slit pupils that faintly glow with hues of gold, emerald, or venomous red. Some children are born marked by serpentine mutations, forked tongues that flicker in whispers, scaled patches upon their limbs or face, or eyes that enthrall with a hypnotic gaze.   Adornments are as much ritual as fashion. Many Ophidere scarify their skin with serpent coils or tattoo themselves with writhing patterns of venomous snakes. Their robes and armor echo this obsession, fashioned from shed skins, snakeskin leather, and the bones of serpents enchanted with blood rites. They wear coils of jewelry wrought in bronze, gold, or obsidian, the curves always mimicking a serpent’s endless spiral.  

Culture & Society

Among the Ophidere, kinship is a pale thing compared to the bonds of cult-clans. Bloodline means little, devotion to Ssarpele’s offspring means everything. Each clan is sworn to one of her brood, whether Nyoka of floods, Ukame of droughts, or Se’em Kohltul of the deep dark. Rivalries between clans erupt in ambushes, assassinations, and hidden wars, but never to the point of annihilation, for each cult knows it is part of the Eternal Coil.   Their festivals are cruel and drenched in blood. The Night of Venom marks the initiation of new faithful, who are bitten by sacred serpents, only those who survive the venom’s burn are judged worthy. During monsoons, the Flooding Rite is performed, prisoners and offerings are cast alive into rivers, their blood feeding Nyoka’s waters. In desert shrines, Ukame’s faithful sacrifice water itself, pouring entire cisterns into the sand to honor their god of thirst.   The Ophidere tongue, Serpvari, is a hissing dialect descended from Lunareth. Its sibilant tones are meant to echo the sound of scales sliding, and even casual speech feels like a whispering threat. Patience, cunning, and betrayal are praised as virtues, they hold that strength comes not from open conflict but from the ambush, the feint, the venom unseen until it is too late.  

Religion & Beliefs

Their entire worldview coils around Ssarpele, the Black Serpent of the Dark, a goddess of shadow, hunger, and cycles of destruction and rebirth. Her demigod offspring embody her will. Nyoka, The Serpent God Of Floods, is worshiped by river-clans who see storms and drowning as his embrace. Ukame, The Serpent God Of Droughts, is revered in the deserts, his breath a killing wind that turns fields to ash. Se’em Kohltul, The Serpent God Of Dark Places, is the master of caverns, ruins, and buried secrets, invoked by those who seek knowledge hidden from light.   Their sacred symbol is the Eternal Coil, a serpent devouring its tail, encircled by waves, parched flame, and shadow. Rituals involve blood poured into water, sand, or earth, depending on the cult, while priestesses and Venomblood mystics consume venom to induce visions. These visions are said to be whispers from Ssarpele herself, guiding their cults toward conquest, sacrifice, or betrayal.  

History

The Ophidere trace their origins to the First Coiling, when Excedere moon worshippers drank venom in an act of forbidden devotion. Those who survived the poison claimed visions of Ssarpele’s coil and turned against the moon’s pale balance. From that moment, they shed their kinship with other elves and embraced the cycle of flood and drought, life and death.   Their history is written in calamities. The Flood of Keshmar saw Nyoka’s priests call down storms so fierce that a mortal kingdom drowned in three nights of unceasing rain. The Drought of Ravilor followed centuries later, when Ukame’s worshipers withered farmland until cities starved and were abandoned to the sands. Across ages, they have clashed with Grey and Sea Elves, who despise their sacrificial rites, and even the Avertere, whose own dark faiths balk at their fanaticism. Humans often mistake them for serpentfolk, sometimes correctly, for alliances between the two races are not uncommon. Dwarves revile them as desecrators, blaming them for poisoned rivers and tainted oases.  

Societal Structure

Ophidere cult-clans are ruled by High Fangs, chosen not by vote or inheritance but by omen, often a serpent’s bite that kills all others but spares the chosen. These High Fangs guide their clans in worship and war, but above them all is the Voice of the Coil, the supreme hierophant said to hear Ssarpele’s whispers directly.   Their warriors fight with the patience and sudden fury of serpents. They favor poisoned daggers, curved fangswords designed to hook and tear, and enchanted bone whips that mimic the strike of a snake. Their tactics are ambush and constriction, never giving an enemy space to recover once the first strike has landed. The Coilguard serve as their militant order, wielding serpentine weapons, while the Venombloods are mystics who seek enlightenment through venom trances, often writhing in seizures as they mutter prophecies.  

Legacy & Myths

The Ophidere believe that the Eternal Coil will one day uncoil fully, releasing Ssarpele to smother the world in flood, drought, and silence. Their chants, always accompanied by rattles and low drums, are meant to echo the sound of scales shifting over stone.   Whispers persist that some priestesses take the faith deeper than metaphor, lying with divine serpents to produce hybrid offspring, scaled, venomous children hidden in the deepest temples, destined to become avatars of the gods. Whether truth or blasphemy, the fear of such creatures has spread far beyond their hidden lairs.