Melusine
Mother of Serpents, Yig, Sekmet, the Serpent Queen, Mother of Plagues, Lady of Poison, Goddess of the Pit
Melusine the Cloaked Serpent is an evil god of poisons, assassins, and darkness. She is the creator of snakes and also of yuan-ti, but most of them were annihilated during the Calamity, and those who survived are in self-induced stasis or hunted by the followers of the Spider Queen and the Crawling King.
The Serpent Queen is an enigma amongst the gods. Although a member of the pantheon, her religion has little contact or interaction with other faiths. Her involvement in the war remains obscured, with sparse mention of her role in that conflict. Did she fight alongside the other gods, or did she remain neutral or – as some sages have suggested – did she provide secret aid to the primordials? Likewise, the nature of the relationships between Melusine and the other gods remains clouded in uncertainty and contradiction. No other religion seems willing to cooperate with – let alone trust – the followers of the Serpent Queen.
Across Irion, humans, elves, dwarves, and the other humanoid races rarely worship Melusine. Even creatures otherwise considered evil – orcs, goblins, etc. – distrust and despise the Serpent Queen. Most intelligent creatures avoid even speaking her name.
Amongst serpentine creatures such as the yuan-ti and medusa, as well as the lizardfolk, Melusine represents the One True God. These creatures believe all other deities are merely pretenders, and they reserve their devotion and worship strictly for her. For most yuan-ti, even mention of Melusine's name brings a sort of spiritual ecstasy. Their dedication to the Snake Queen is just as zealous, if not moreso, as any priest of any other god.
For the most part, Melusine remains poorly understood, especially by humanoids. Sages and theologians have investigated and debated Melusine endlessly, but with few solid conclusions. She apparently stands in opposition to the other gods, but not directly or obviously. She enjoys no allies amongst the deities, but no god seems to view her as an enemy worth the effort. The Serpent Queen despises the other gods, but she seems to have little interest in striking against them, or interfering with their schemes.
Whereas most gods maintain much of the attention on the Astral Sea or perhaps the Elemental Chaos, Melusine focuses her energies almost exclusively on Irion, with special dedication to yuan-ti and similar races. Her cultists speak of the day when snakes shall rule the world and all creatures shall serve the Serpent Queen (whether as slaves or food remains uncertain).
Melusine the Cloaked Serpent is an evil god of poisons, assassins, and darkness. She is the creator of snakes and also of yuan-ti, but most of them were annihilated during the Calamity, and those who survived are in self-induced stasis or hunted by the followers of the Spider Queen and the Crawling King.
The Serpent Queen is an enigma amongst the gods. Although a member of the pantheon, her religion has little contact or interaction with other faiths. Her involvement in the war remains obscured, with sparse mention of her role in that conflict. Did she fight alongside the other gods, or did she remain neutral or – as some sages have suggested – did she provide secret aid to the primordials? Likewise, the nature of the relationships between Melusine and the other gods remains clouded in uncertainty and contradiction. No other religion seems willing to cooperate with – let alone trust – the followers of the Serpent Queen.
Across Irion, humans, elves, dwarves, and the other humanoid races rarely worship Melusine. Even creatures otherwise considered evil – orcs, goblins, etc. – distrust and despise the Serpent Queen. Most intelligent creatures avoid even speaking her name.
Amongst serpentine creatures such as the yuan-ti and medusa, as well as the lizardfolk, Melusine represents the One True God. These creatures believe all other deities are merely pretenders, and they reserve their devotion and worship strictly for her. For most yuan-ti, even mention of Melusine's name brings a sort of spiritual ecstasy. Their dedication to the Snake Queen is just as zealous, if not moreso, as any priest of any other god.
For the most part, Melusine remains poorly understood, especially by humanoids. Sages and theologians have investigated and debated Melusine endlessly, but with few solid conclusions. She apparently stands in opposition to the other gods, but not directly or obviously. She enjoys no allies amongst the deities, but no god seems to view her as an enemy worth the effort. The Serpent Queen despises the other gods, but she seems to have little interest in striking against them, or interfering with their schemes.
Whereas most gods maintain much of the attention on the Astral Sea or perhaps the Elemental Chaos, Melusine focuses her energies almost exclusively on Irion, with special dedication to yuan-ti and similar races. Her cultists speak of the day when snakes shall rule the world and all creatures shall serve the Serpent Queen (whether as slaves or food remains uncertain).
Divine Domains
Snakes, darkness, poison, sacrifices, yuan-ti, disease, curses, lizardfolk
Divine Symbols & Sigils
The serpent staff
Tenets of Faith
- Hide under the cloak of night that your deeds might be kept in secret.
- Kill in Zehir’s name and offer each murder as a sacrifice.
- Delight in poison, and surround yourself with snakes.
PRONOUNCIATION:
(Mih-LUWS-iy-N)
(Mih-LUWS-iy-N)