The Blessing in the Wyrm's Curse

The Yuan-Ti have suffered much in the name of progress. The ancestors of the Yuan-Ti (at least the Meradynian strain) were enamored with the power and majesty of the Dragonborn. Being mere Humans among other much more gifted species, the small tribe went about seeking ways to gain more power. While some attempted to become mages, or great warriors, other worried about their progeny. Born into the world soft and weak, many would be lost before they had gained the means to defend themselves. So they sought a higher power.

Enter Pendri Salladha, the Green Wyrm of Old. Crawling up from the mire, the great toxic serpent made a home for itself in the swamps of the southern wood, creating a labyrinth of toxins and choking clouds as a cruel way to amuse itself, watching the deer, desperate for their freedom, charge headlong through the poisonous air, expiring within seconds. The Yuan-Ti saw this as an opportunity to prove themselves to the coiled evil, navigating the maze slowly and painstakingly. Many were lost along the way. At last, their lungs burning and their legs tired, they emerged before the slumbering wyrm, collapsing on the ground in a mess of tortured breaths and heaving chests. The serpent stretched and yawned lazily, arching its head up to view the rabble. "Navigated my maze, did you? I would be impressed if I could be persuaded to regard you. You seem to have misunderstood the challenge. The quest was not to reach me, but merely to live as long as you could. Quest completed. Now die, fair fools." With that, Pendri Salladha exhaled a wasting fume from its great nostrils, enveloping man, woman and child. A great cry arose from the dying humans. But then, time simply froze.

Out of the fume, a wizened old minotaur strode, a green-studded staff in his gnarled hand. "Now listen, worm. You know the rules, and yet you still try to break them. Do you not know the bones of the earth themselves would rise up to skewer you like the rat you are, were you to kill the assembled after they had navigated your puzzle?"

A violent hiss escaped the green dragon's mouth. "Muutya, you old cow. I should have known you would come in this, my moment of victory, to sour the spoils. So why should you care for my salvation, you rotten shank?"

A patient smile spread across the minotaur's face. "You have great hubris, to assume the law is upheld here merely for your salvation. The order of all things must remain intact, whether you live or die. I am merely its agent. To speak of this group you have assailed, I cannot undue the harm you have done them. But I can weave a blessing around it, turning your evil into their good. Behold the work of your words, Pendri Salladha!"

The old creature waved his green-studded staff over the writhing throng, and intoned "In the image of your master, may you be better than your master, and strike only when all other avenues are closed to you."

As the Minotuar and Wyrm faded from the plane, the Yuan-Ti looked at each other in horror and wonder, for each of them had been given an Aspect of the Serpent. Some had heads of the cobra. Some had serpents instead of arms. Some seemed unchanged entirely, but possessed the cunning and patience of their patron. And it was from this exchange that the Yuan-Ti of the present were created.

*Penned by Genzien, The Lore Paladin*