Moxaza ophidiopathy
Moxaza ophidiopathy (sometimes malison ophidiopathy) is a permanent supernatural condition that causes the subject to exhibit serpentine abilities and physical traits. Considered one of several syndromes within the ophidiopathy family, moxaza varies wildly in its symptoms and manifestations. It gets its name from the moxaza caste of the yuan-ti, an ancient human civilization that structured its culture around the pursuit of ophidiopathy as a means of apotheosis.
Transmission & Vectors
Hereditary Transmission
The most common means of transmitting ophidiopathy is through sexual reproduction. Ophidiopathy is passed down from parent to child, though symptoms of the condition usually don't manifest until several years after birth. Because variables in the intensity of ophidiopathy can result in multiple permutations, specifics of yuan-ti reproduction vary from caste to caste. Mating between castes always results in offspring of the lower caste parent, which encourages an endogamous culture. Female yuan-ti typically lay clutches of between 2-6 eggs, though reports of live births are not uncommon.Ritual Transmission
The method of ritual transformation from human to yuan-ti remains a closely guarded secret among surviving yuan-ti societies. Yuan-ti very rarely permit outsiders to join their communities, as most regard non-yuan-ti as nothing more than future slaves and sacrifices. Additionally, these rituals are tailored specifically for human anatomy, with non-humans often dying horrific deaths mid-transformation. Typically, these rituals only have the resources to transform an individual into a yuan-ti of the ahueyza caste, though transformations resulting in moxazatlii or even sixavatlii have been rumored. Yuan-ti can increase the intensity of their ophidiopathy through a similar ritual. However, the cost and time of performing such rituals are prohibitively expensive for most yuan-ti. As a result, the majority of yuan-ti never undergo the physical and social transformation. Every instance of the ritual must be modified to suit the individual undergoing the ordeal, and requires many rare herbs, exotic magical substances, and one or more humans to be sacrificed and eaten as part of the procedure.Symptoms
Appearance
The moxaza or malison caste have the greatest range in physical appearances. Moxazatlii either have the head and shoulders of a snake and the body of a human or the upper body of a human and torso lower body of a snake. Some rare malisons exhibit the body, head and legs of a human but one or more serpents in place of arms. No two yuan-ti look the same, with substantial variation in physical traits even between family members. While ophidiopathy does not draw from one specific species or group of snakes, most individuals bear a resemblance to a specific species. Scales colors range from highly camouflaged greens and browns to vibrant reds, blues, oranges, and yellows. These colors can also appear in a variety of patterns from solid, to stripes, to dappled or reticulated. Among the higher castes, heads also reflect specific species of snakes, such as hooded cobras, slender pythons, snub-nosed, horned adders, and triangular vipers. Metabolism
Additionally, the process of contracting ophidiopathy appears to change the metabolism of the subject. Ahueyzatlii have much the same digestive system as humans, though they have some added gut bacteria which can help aid in processing hair and bone from uncooked or live prey. Sixava ophidiopathy causes the subject to lose their ability to process certain fibers, particularly those found in plants such as grain and root vegetables. This forces the subject to adopt the diet of a snake or similar obligate carnivore. Moreover, this change in metabolism impacts how yuan-ti are able to regulate their body temperature. The more severe the ophidiopathy is in a subject, the more they appear to require sources of heat in order to regulate their own internal body temperature. By contrast, ahueyzatlii and some moxazatlii with less extreme instances of ophidiopathy can tolerate cooler temperatures, with ahueyzatlii actually having a mesothermic metabolic rate. Aptitude for the Arcane
As a side effect of the magical nature of the ophidiopathy transformation, yuan-ti of the moxaza caste and higher are able to obtain inherent magical abilities. These include the ability to polymorph into large snake as well as entrance mortals with suggestion charms. Many yuan-ti priests take this aptitude for magic further still, allowing them to gain access to dark invocations of demonic or otherworldly powers.
The moxaza or malison caste have the greatest range in physical appearances. Moxazatlii either have the head and shoulders of a snake and the body of a human or the upper body of a human and torso lower body of a snake. Some rare malisons exhibit the body, head and legs of a human but one or more serpents in place of arms. No two yuan-ti look the same, with substantial variation in physical traits even between family members. While ophidiopathy does not draw from one specific species or group of snakes, most individuals bear a resemblance to a specific species. Scales colors range from highly camouflaged greens and browns to vibrant reds, blues, oranges, and yellows. These colors can also appear in a variety of patterns from solid, to stripes, to dappled or reticulated. Among the higher castes, heads also reflect specific species of snakes, such as hooded cobras, slender pythons, snub-nosed, horned adders, and triangular vipers. Metabolism
Additionally, the process of contracting ophidiopathy appears to change the metabolism of the subject. Ahueyzatlii have much the same digestive system as humans, though they have some added gut bacteria which can help aid in processing hair and bone from uncooked or live prey. Sixava ophidiopathy causes the subject to lose their ability to process certain fibers, particularly those found in plants such as grain and root vegetables. This forces the subject to adopt the diet of a snake or similar obligate carnivore. Moreover, this change in metabolism impacts how yuan-ti are able to regulate their body temperature. The more severe the ophidiopathy is in a subject, the more they appear to require sources of heat in order to regulate their own internal body temperature. By contrast, ahueyzatlii and some moxazatlii with less extreme instances of ophidiopathy can tolerate cooler temperatures, with ahueyzatlii actually having a mesothermic metabolic rate. Aptitude for the Arcane
As a side effect of the magical nature of the ophidiopathy transformation, yuan-ti of the moxaza caste and higher are able to obtain inherent magical abilities. These include the ability to polymorph into large snake as well as entrance mortals with suggestion charms. Many yuan-ti priests take this aptitude for magic further still, allowing them to gain access to dark invocations of demonic or otherworldly powers.
Treatment
As it is a supernatural condition enabled through a divine connection to the Old Magic, there is no cure for congenital ophidiopathy. Some have speculated that individuals that undergo a ritual transformation can reverse the curse's physical and spiritual effects through curse removal spells if they are performed shortly after the initial ritual. However, no known documentation of said reversal exists.
History
What little information we have comes to us largely from a combination of legends and art work taken from Old Temekan, which seek to explain the origin of a people they referred to as the Tsakhit. These Tsakhit are believed to have been colonists from the original yuan-ti empire in Teroa who settled the Niru Delta region in Nioa during the earliest centuries of the Mithril Era.
According to Temekanian sources, one of these groups revering Valdra was located in Teroa and made up of humans, the youngest of the mortal peoples. These mortals called Valdra Huxenotizhuatli,1 or "The Serpent-That-Dwells-Below." Created by the gods and watched over by the wise coatli, these humans built great stone palaces, hewn crystal blades of shadowglass, and were among the first to work metal into tools.2 Many of them admired the snake above all creatures, seeing perfection in its flexible form and cold, calculating intellect. They came to develop a philosophy the separated thought from the heart.
This was in contrast to the teachings of their protectors, the coatli. The feathered serpents preached that knowledge without compassion is useless to all but the individual. Huxenotizhuatli's followers called these feathered serpents soft and without flexibility of thought. So the coatli banished them, hoping that they would learn the merit of altruism in the darkness of the jungle. And the people of the city called them yuan-ti, meaning "The Proud Ones."3
Soon Huxenotizhuatli's harbingers taught her followers the secrets of the Old Magic, spells long considered forbidden by their old coatli masters. With this newfound power, the followers of Huxenotizhuatli constructed their own civilization of mighty temples and floating gardens. Yet such power requires payment and so the Great Old One demanded sacrifice. The followers of Huxenotizhuatli made war on their former neighbors, taking many captives. They brought them to the high altar and offered their blood to the snake god. They ate of their victims' flesh and writhed in charnal pits with living serpents until they were transformed into the image of their patron. Freed from the limitations of their human bodies, the yuan-ti used their new forms to conquer new lands and create a new empire dedicated to the Serpent Below.4
From here, records indicate that the yuan-ti spread out across forest and plain, conquering many tribes and demanding tribute from the terrified people of Teroa. They even crossed the seas and set up colonies in Hakoa and Nioa, where their armies would plunder the land for wealth and slaves. These colonies acted as bases from which the yuan-ti could send their armies to demand tribute food, ore, and slaves. One such colony is believed to have been the aforementioned Tsakhit people attested to in the Old Temekanian legend.
The wealth of the empire grew, allowing the ruling elite to focus on further perfecting their ophidian forms. Huxenotizhuatli taught the humans how to take on aspects of the snake, but the cost of the change was high, requiring many sacrifices for each person to be transformed. Entire households of slaves in one city-state were killed and eaten to create the first yuan-ti, and once the news of how to perform these rituals spread to other leaders, the call for slaves to fuel the process increased. As the Huxenotizhuatli began to demand more and more sacrifices, the yuan-ti stepped up their raids on bordering settlements to meet this need.
The physical and magical prowess of the yuan-ti empire allowed them to retain their holdings for several hundred years but then many of their colonies and raids begin to abruptly stop. Many reasons for the decline of the yuan-ti have been proposed, with the most likely cause being a combination of drought, plague, attacks by enemies (including dragons and coatli), and slave uprisings. By 1000 ME, little records remain of serpent people raids and the spread of Valdra-worshipping cults slows dramatically. Only a few centuries later, the Great Exodus of Man began, allowing for humans to slowly begin populating the rest of Holos.
Cultural Reception
Among the ancient yuan-ti, moxazatlii often worked as members of various priesthoods and sects dedicated to Huxenotihuatli and other members of the Unspoken Six. Three of the most prominent cults within the yuan-ti faith were the mind whisperers, the nightmare speakers, and the pit masters.
Huxeokoatexetl
Members of the mind whisperer cult sought to convert non-yuan-ti in order to bolster their numbers as well as influence mortal societies through subterfuge and deception. They often plied the middle ground between factions within yuan-ti society in order to gain prestige and power over their own kind. Mind whisperers are believed to have also communed with other eldritch entities in order to augment their connection to the Old Magic. Through ritual and study, the mind whisperers became feared spellcasters that specialized in illusory and madness-inducing magics. Mind whisperers are typically depicted as having a bipedal, scale-covered, humanoid body with the head of a serpent. Xontopoctli
Adherents to the cult of the nightmare speaker forged pacts between Huxenotihuatli which allowed them to harness the fears and nightmares of their victims, which they offered to the Serpent-Below as tribute. In exchange, nightmare speakers periodically received distrubing visions which they interpreted to be prophecies from the divine. To illicit terror in their victims, nightmare speakers specialized in both psychological and physical torture, often employing the use of demons and necromancy to augment their horrific deeds. Unlike members of the other major yuan-ti cults, nightmare speakers accepted only female moxazatlii into their ranks and specifically sought out those with human heads, chests, and arms, and a serpentine lower body in place of legs. Senoskahua
While members of the mind whisperer and nightmare speaker cults made pacts in order to increase their own power in the Material Realm, devotees of the pit master cult were more singular in their efforts and focus. The most traditional of the yuan-ti sects, pit masters relentlessly pursued freeing Huxenotihuatli from her prison within the Underdark. To this end, pit masters utilized many of the most ancient blood magic sacrifices first taught to the yuan-ti in an effort to break Old Magic that bound the Night Serpent to the lower planes. Their teachings centered entirely around an apocalyptic world view and preached a patient but relentless approach to achieving their goals. Pit masters typically had human heads, bodies, and legs, and multiple clusters of serpents fused to their shoulders in place of arms.
Members of the mind whisperer cult sought to convert non-yuan-ti in order to bolster their numbers as well as influence mortal societies through subterfuge and deception. They often plied the middle ground between factions within yuan-ti society in order to gain prestige and power over their own kind. Mind whisperers are believed to have also communed with other eldritch entities in order to augment their connection to the Old Magic. Through ritual and study, the mind whisperers became feared spellcasters that specialized in illusory and madness-inducing magics. Mind whisperers are typically depicted as having a bipedal, scale-covered, humanoid body with the head of a serpent. Xontopoctli
Adherents to the cult of the nightmare speaker forged pacts between Huxenotihuatli which allowed them to harness the fears and nightmares of their victims, which they offered to the Serpent-Below as tribute. In exchange, nightmare speakers periodically received distrubing visions which they interpreted to be prophecies from the divine. To illicit terror in their victims, nightmare speakers specialized in both psychological and physical torture, often employing the use of demons and necromancy to augment their horrific deeds. Unlike members of the other major yuan-ti cults, nightmare speakers accepted only female moxazatlii into their ranks and specifically sought out those with human heads, chests, and arms, and a serpentine lower body in place of legs. Senoskahua
While members of the mind whisperer and nightmare speaker cults made pacts in order to increase their own power in the Material Realm, devotees of the pit master cult were more singular in their efforts and focus. The most traditional of the yuan-ti sects, pit masters relentlessly pursued freeing Huxenotihuatli from her prison within the Underdark. To this end, pit masters utilized many of the most ancient blood magic sacrifices first taught to the yuan-ti in an effort to break Old Magic that bound the Night Serpent to the lower planes. Their teachings centered entirely around an apocalyptic world view and preached a patient but relentless approach to achieving their goals. Pit masters typically had human heads, bodies, and legs, and multiple clusters of serpents fused to their shoulders in place of arms.
by Daarken
Type
Supernatural
Parent
Origin
Divine
Cycle
Chronic, Acquired & Congenital
Rarity
Rare
Affected Species
Kwilan xontopoctli priestess
A glyph of Valdra in her ancient yuan-ti form—Huxenotizhuatli
Today, much of the ancient yuan-ti empire lies in ruins forgotten by the younger peoples of Holos
by Daarken
by Ashley Lynn
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