Sixava ophidiopathy
Sixava ophidiopathy (sometimes abomination 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, has one of the most advanced permutations of the condition. It gets its name from the sixava 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 sixava or abomination caste is nearly wholly serpentine, with only their burly, scale-coated chests and arms reminiscent of their human past. Abominations, called sixavatlii, are capable of swiftly slithering on their bellies before coiling to strike or slithering up right when carrying equipment or weapons. In yuan-ti societies, abominations typically form the highest caste and are the leaders their communities. 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. Moxaza 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. Sixavatlii in particular struggle to survive in temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius. Aptitude for the Arcane
As a side effect of the magical nature of the ophidiopathy transformation, yuan-ti of the moxaza and sixava 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 sixava or abomination caste is nearly wholly serpentine, with only their burly, scale-coated chests and arms reminiscent of their human past. Abominations, called sixavatlii, are capable of swiftly slithering on their bellies before coiling to strike or slithering up right when carrying equipment or weapons. In yuan-ti societies, abominations typically form the highest caste and are the leaders their communities. 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. Moxaza 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. Sixavatlii in particular struggle to survive in temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius. Aptitude for the Arcane
As a side effect of the magical nature of the ophidiopathy transformation, yuan-ti of the moxaza and sixava 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.
by Daarken
Type
Supernatural
Parent
Origin
Divine
Cycle
Chronic, Acquired & Congenital
Rarity
Extremely Rare
Affected Species
by Quilliams
A glyph of Valdra in her ancient yuan-ti form—Huxenotizhuatli
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