Snake's Garden

Hidden within the venomous wilds of Cathrys lies the Snake’s Garden, a realm of endless, fetid swamplands choked with strangler-vines, black waters, and gnarled mangroves whose roots writhe like serpents. The air is thick with the musk of predators, the drone of insects, and the slow, hypnotic rustle of scales sliding unseen through the undergrowth. It is here that Zehir, the Cloaked Serpent, coils in patient malice, his presence suffusing every shadow and every drop of poison that seeps into the soil.   The Snake’s Garden is not a cultivated sanctuary, but a killing ground, an ecosystem perfected for ambush, treachery, and slow death. Its waterways form shifting labyrinths, flowing in unnatural patterns that confound navigation, while its foliage conceals both prey and predator in equal measure. Every vine may strangle, every flower may conceal a deadly toxin, and every patch of still water may hide a monstrous serpent.  

Notable Locations

The Blackwater Veins

A network of oily, sluggish rivers that carry venom instead of water. To drink from them is to invite delirium and death, though the yuan-ti of the Garden claim the poison grants visions of their god.  

The Coilspire

A colossal tree whose trunk twists in an endless spiral, serving as the throne of Zehir’s greatest yuan-ti priest-kings. Its hollow interior houses a city of shadowed chambers, each draped with serpents and heavy with incense that mingles with the stench of blood.  

The Shed Skins

Vast swathes of swamp where the ground is carpeted in molted serpent scales, each scale still carrying the curse of its former owner. Stepping on them is said to draw the attention of the Cloaked Serpent himself.  

Inhabitants

The Snake’s Garden teems with predators, both natural and divine. The yuan-ti of the realm live in scattered temple-cities half-submerged in swampwater, their streets paved with carved obsidian and decorated with living serpents. Yuan-ti abominations act as high priests, their venomous rituals performed to earn Zehir’s favor or secure his whispered commands.   Beyond the yuan-ti, the Garden is home to monstrous constrictors large enough to crush caravans, venom elementals born of the poisoned rivers, and swarms of shadow-serpents that dissolve into mist when slain. Even Cathrys’ native fiends tread carefully here, for the Cloaked Serpent’s garden devours intruders without hesitation.

Venom Rains

Periodic downpours of black, corrosive rain that burn flesh and soil alike, leaving behind a slick film of paralytic toxin.  

Shadow Coils

Illusory serpents formed of pure darkness, used by Zehir to herd intruders into deadlier traps.  

The Silence of Striking

An unnatural stillness that precedes an ambush; in this moment, even the heartbeats of the living seem to pause before the killing blow.  

Venom Shades

Any creature that dies in the Snake’s Garden while poisoned has a chance of rising in up to 4 hours as a Venom Shade under Zehir’s control.