Merrshaulk

Merrshaulk is the chief god of the reptilian yuan-ti, a chaotic evil despot who cares little for his followers save that they remain devoted to him and make frequent, bloody sacrifices of themselves to him. His clerics are known as vrael olo (meaning 'favored ones'). His symbol is a cobra's head.

Divine Realm

Merrshaulk's divine realm is called Smaragd and is the 74th layer of the Abyss. The bullywug god Ramenos also slumbers on this layer.

Worshippers

Although once the primary deity of the yuan-ti, Merrshaulk came to only be worshiped by the outcasts of that species. These outcasts believed that worshiping Sseth was foolish and decadent. Merrshaulk was also the god worshiped by the asabi of Oreme, as he was the deity of their sarrukh masters.

Merrshaulk was a multiversal power, still actively worshiped by the yuan-ti of other worlds.

History

Merrshaulk was one of the divine fragments that split off from the World Serpent. As the World Serpent ceased being actively worshiped by scalykind in favor of its aspects during the Days of Thunder, it was primarily the yuan-ti who took up the worship of Merrshaulk.

When some of the sarrukh of Okoth were transformed into couatls by Jazirian, they warred with their former kin. Despite being outnumbered, the couatls battled the sarrukh to a stalemate, but then Merrshaulk personally fought against Jazirian and killed his fellow World Serpent fragment, causing the couatls to flee.

Merrshaulk eventually entered a period of somnolence and failed to consistently answer the prayers of his priests. He was eventually awakened by the sarrukh emperor Pil'it'ith. Merrshaulk thanked Pil'it'ith for his service to scalykind and directed him to create a new sarrukh homeland, promising to once more watch over the sarrukh and making Pil'it'ith his Chosen. Later, in the Year of Erupting Crypts, −304 DR, a charismatic winged snake calling itself Sseth appeared to the yuan-ti, declaring itself Merrshaulk reborn. Sseth then became the primary deity of the yuan-ti and Pil'it'ith's subjects, with only a few holdouts of Merrshaulk's faith, stubbornly clinging to the old ways.

After Sseth's ascendancy, Merrshaulk became an aspect of Sseth for those who did not know of or refused to worship Merrshaulk's 'replacement' and as a result, when Set had Sseth imprisoned during the Time of Troubles, Set also took on the guise of Merrshaulk.

Circa 1373 DR, a monstrous aspect of Merrshaulk, identified as "the Eternal Hunger," was defeated by the adventurers Rannek, Zhai, and Illius at a yuan-ti temple in Chult.

Merrshaulk

Intermediate deity

Basic Information

Pantheons

Yuan-Ti

Attributes

Alignment

Chaotic Evil

Symbol

Cobra head

Realm

Infinite Layers of the Abyss/74th Layer

Portfolio

Beasts, Predators, Somnolence

Favored Weapon

Longsword

Following

Worshippers

Yuan-ti outcasts
Hunters
Asabi of Oreme

Alignments

CN, NE, CE

Domains

Animal (-)
Evil (Demon, Fear)
Scalykind (Venom)
War (Blood, Tactics)