Serpentites of Egypt | Серпентиты Египта

The Serpentites is one of the oldest species known to the Fringe Society. It is also the only confirmed extinct species. Not a disappeared species. Not hiding somewhere. Not blending in with humans. Completely extinct thousands of years ago. They didn't go away without a legacy, though: their descendants, the result of a promiscuous intermixing with humans, ruled Egypt in their absense for a few more hundred years until they either died out or went in hybernation in the Pyramids. These descendants officially call themselves Serpentites, but they're also known as the Thabenlings

Basic Information

Anatomy

The sources on what the Serpentites looked like are scarce: not many visual depictions have survived to this day, and the Thabenlings that were uncovered in XX century came from 300s BCE, six centuries after the last of their parent species went extinct, so no witnesses to these beings are avaiable. What we have, we know from the remnants found in some pyramids. Serpentites might've looked like giant cobras, with hoods and other signature features such as huge tails and a total lack of hands or similar appendages. It is believed that they had the power of mind control to enslave humans, since without hands, they couldn't have built a civilization this prosperous without means of construction. They were probably the only society-based sentient species that wasn't mammal, so it is unclear how did they manage intermixing with humans.
Whilst the Serpentites were all-reptilian, their descendants the Thabenlings have gained a lot of human features. They had legs and arms and they have lost some backup organs. The cobra heads remained a dominant feature, the venom sacks and cold-bloodedness were retained by them as well.

Biological Traits

Serpentites were able to spit poison like snakes do, but in way larger quantities could achieve bigger range and area of effect. This trait was inherited by the Thabenlings as well, though in a more "powered-down" capacity.

Genetics and Reproduction

This might seem familiar, but not much is known about Serpentite genetics. The DNA analysis made in XX-XXI centuries on their remains puts them closest to humans, but that might be because these bones belonged to earlier Serpentites which intermixed with humans a lot, making pharaos less and less "pure" in the sense of "serpentiteness". There are some similarities with South American Lizardmen. It might look like a coincidence, but the Fringe Society doesn't believe in those. It is completely clear that Serpentites must've been a much bigger deal during Prehistory than they ever were in Ancient Egypt. Unfortunately, there isn't much information about the events before recorded history. Even Time Travellers claim not being able to go that far.
We know that Serpentites have stopped intermixing with humans at some point: their numbers have dwindled and the question of preserving the species rose up. The new numerous species, the Thabenlings became the warrior and the priestly classes of Ancient Egypt, and the pureblood Serpentites were reduced to one extended family that at some point started inbreeding. That set up the tradition of marrying ruling brothers and sisters which was explained to the populace as preservation of the Pharaoh godlike nature. That also became the eventual extinction of the Serpentites, though one might argue they were doomed from the start. The Thabenlings became the ruling family in X century BC and kept the tradition of inbreeding. How it could reflect on their survival as the species we won't ever know, since half a millenium later they were first vassalized by the Radiant Empire, and then conquered by Alexander. These turmoils diminished their role as the shepherds of Egyptian society, and during the Hellenic period they faded into obscurity.

Ecology and Habitats

Serpentite habitat is rather small. They're comfortable only in the tropical and equatorial regions of the world and they've been staying away from deserts. Case in point: thousands of years their neighbors Seyt'Awi roamed free on the Arabian peninsula, and not once the Egyptians even tried to assert control over it. The true Serpentites prefered to stay in the Nile river valley or in the Delta area. This underlying fear of deserts might've played a role of their eventual extinction: the desert has been constantly claiming Egyptian land, and their habitat has significantly shrunk down over the years.
Now for the Thabenlings. The hybrids can operate anywhere except the Arctic and Antarctic Circles during summer, and they can't go further than France, South Germany or Pacific North-West of the USA during winters. Because of that, those modern Thabenlings that have to remain in Russia are in a pickle almost nine months in a year, rarely leaving their workplaces and when they do, they use a lot of clothing. They're the biggest fans of the Global Warming, though.

Biological Cycle

If Serpentites or Thabenlings find themselves in a cold climate, they start hibernating. It's impossible to wake them up without making them warm again. In this state, a good dinner before entering hibernation can last them up to three month, then they start starving.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Serpentites of old saw all humans as their slaves. The free ones - as future slaves. In time they have learned to give a little more credit to their compatriots, so we can't say humans were only involuntary servants in Egypt and nothing more. But nonetheless, it was easier for a Serpentite to mind control a defiant person than do anything else. Thabenlings were more friendly, but they still considered humans to be "the lesser".
Serpentites had two sworn enemies among the Inhumans. First are the Yah'Awi. They were conquered by the Egyptians at some point during the Bronze Age and proved to be nothing but a nuisance, trying to impose their monotheism upon the Serpentites. With the Yah'Awi, there were a lot of religious conflicts. The others were the Anibe-Ezos, or "the Anibs" - lion-like creatures inhabiting Upper Egypt until they were driven out of there by the Serpentites by the hands of the Medjai and turned to raiding Egyptian cities.. These were maybe the only cats that the Egyptians hated.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Serpentites we know about lived in the northern part of Egypt, close to the Nile river's delta. Their descendants, the Thabenlings, also preferred that region, though the modern ones can usually be found on other warm countries.

Average Intelligence

Serpentites are believed to possess the power of mind control. It is unclear if it was innate or spell-based, but nevertheless required having an intellect higher than average.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

As Serpentites and Thabenlings are cold-blooded creatures, they become weak. tired and sleepy in cold climate. The hybrids are influenced less by this, they can operate normally during some warm winters provided the climate isn't humid. Pure serpentites, though, would lose all ability to do anything without warmth and sunlight. There is a tale about a pharaoh that led his army to the desert to attack his enemies from an unexpected direction after sun sets. He rarely left his palace before, and he didn't remember, or didn't know, even, how cold deserts could get at night. He fell asleep and nobody could wake him, and then his enemies found the army and demolished it.

Civilization and Culture

Major Organizations

The Medjay were, in different periods, an ethnicity, a police force, and an elite unit of palace guard. They are believed to have been started as a human tribe, but were quickly integrated into Egyptian society on a lever higher than average humans usually were. The Medjay became the first humans to intermix with Serpentites and can be considered equal progenitors of Thabenlings. By the end of the Bronze Age they have solidified as competent warriors and developed their own style of fighting, mixing magic with melee combat. "Warrior-Mages" is one term to describe them.
When in IV century BC the Thabenling priests started to put themselves in hybernation, they surrounded themselves with the Medjay for protection. Because of that, many currently living Thabenlings are actually ones that were bred and conditioned for war and could usually be found in the heart of most of proxy wars around the globe. Since the majority of them were awakened by the Russians, they highly likely have participated in wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya as soldiers, and in the Ukranian, Syrian and Libyan conflicts as mercenaries.

Average Technological Level

Technologically, the Serpentites were alive up until the end of Iron Age, which means they've most definitely used chariots in warfare during the Bronze Age, and could spit acid from them. Thus, cavalry units manned by serpentite warriors could be twice as devastating as their Hittite opponents'. Magically, they were probably the most adept spellcasters of their era, rivaled only by the Inhuman-ruled Sumerians. They could resurrect, transmute, instantly kill, raise armies of the dead, and manipulate the strongest elements with magic. In all other respects technological level of the Serpentites is the technological level of Ancient Egypt as we know it.

Historical Figures

In this part of the article there is a mention of a sensitive subject, specifically religion. This time it's about history of Judaism and Biblical mythos. Please remember that Fringe Earth is a work of fiction and it's intended for entertainment, there's no intention to hurt anyone's feelings. If you're not comfortable with fiction based on real religious mythology, please skip the King Tut section.

Let's look at a couple of most famous Egyptian pharaos and discern who was Serpentite, who was Thabenling and who was merely Human.

King Tut

Tutankhamun lived at the apex of Egyptian power during the Bronze Age. He's famous because of his tomb that preserved very well. But for the Egyptians he might have been not that significant compared to others. There is one major fact to contradict this statement, though. After his father Akhenaten's attempt to rebuild Egyptian pantheon into a monotheist one, Tut was the one to reverse the "reforms", which brings Fringers to a conclusion that there might've been a war between gods of Egypt at the time. The other theory agrees that there was a war, but implies it was between the old Egyptian gods and Yahweh, the god of Yah'Awi and semitic peoples. The theory is based on the fact that the monotheist forces were clearly defeated, which prompted the Semites to become slaves that rebelled a hundred years ago, and then The Exodus is believed to have happened.
King Tut was a member of the fourth to last Serpentite dynasty of Egypt, even though he was buried as a human, like most pharaos. The Thabenlings claim that the Serpentites were able to transmute their bodies at will, but then again, if that was the case, they wouldn't have needed mind control to establish a civilization. Fringe Historians believe that they mean illusion spells that made Serpentites look like humans without actually being one. The pharaos might've started to assume human appearance not to startle their more remote subjects, a tradition that might've been caused by some kind of popular turmoil at some point. It solidified and now all Serpentite pharaos were mummified and made to resemble humans with a mix of contemporary technology and magic. This approach fools non-Fringe specialists even today, they're all sure pharaos were humans.

Cleopatra VII

The most famous female pharaoh, Cleopatra was the last truly independent ruler of Egypt which later fell under influence of the Roman Empire, though she herself is a big reason it happened. We can say with absolute certainty that Cleo wasn't a Serpentite since they went extinct for nearly a millenium. She wasn't Thabenling either, even though they might've still been alive ones during her reign. She was, in fact, completely Human. Otherwise, no sharp wit, cunning, superior intellect or excellent conversational skills which she was so famous for, wouldn't have helped her establish rapport and achieve political and marital union with neither Caesar, nor Mark Anthony. The Romans really didn't like Inhumans, so they would never let them get so close to the most powerful in their realm.

EXTINCT

Serpentite imagery

by Clker-Free-Vector-Images of Pixabay.com

Thabenlings of Egypt

Ancient Danger Noodle of Chaos by TheFearMaster

The main difference between Seprentites and Thabenlings is in the appendages. The older Inhumans of Egypt just didn't have any hands.

Основная разница между серпентитами и сабенлингами - это конечности. У ранних египетских нелюдей просто не было рук.

Scientific Name

Reptilia Magnum

Origin/Ancestry

Most Probably African

Lifespan

Up to 150 years | До 150 лет

Average Height

2.3 - 2.8 meters

Average Weight

100-180 kg

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Some features of Serpentite appearance were extrapolated with the help of xenologic neural networks developed by some programmers in Fringe Society using anthropologic software as basis. It showed various specimen with skin (or scale, to be more precise) color ranging between yellow and green. The same concerns Thabenlings.

D&D information

Serpentites and Thabenlings are inspired by D&D Yuan-Ti © Wizards of the Coast. I do not claim any ownership of the species or any WOTC copyrighted assets.

D&D справка

Cерпентиты и сабенлинги вдохновлены ДнДшными Юань-Ти © Wizards of the Coast. Я не претендую на интеллектуальную собственность этой компании.