Slithering Unseen: Betrayal from the Shadows

Slithering Unseen: Betrayal from the Shadows is a tome discovered through use of Study-related Inquiries by Ódóvir Jotunsson.

## History

Following on from an expedition to Threehorn uncovered the ruins of Morrhelvgix Khos, occupied by the deranged and twisted inquisitor Vorn Helvlani, Ódóvir sought to learn more of the entities said to hold presence in the depths of the Underdark, first and foremost, Ophidian.

## Research

### Completed by Ódóvir - Inquiry (Study)

Few can deny the malignant nature of the malign, for all amongst their number seek nothing more than the desecration, destruction or elsewise devastation of the civilisations founded by the Principal Races, for it is these Races that stand as lasting testimony to the intentions and presence of the Sixteen. While the Black Hand teaches his followers to subjugate the weak, the Mother of Lusts schemes to do so through plots and wicked schemes. He Who Watches looks for ruination through the sweeping of mass hoards across the plains, while the Lord of Nessus and the Elder Elemental Eye continuous vie for the dominion of their minions in the unyielding Blood War upon the banks of the Styx and beyond, ever seeking a way to turn the tide against their foe, through might of numbers or strength, trickery and deception, or exploitation of other forces to weaken their opposition. All these plots offer untold woes for the mortal residents of Ahlus, and yet it is Ophidian unto which many philosophers and theologians lodge the greatest concern, with investigations near always afoot in response to rumbles of cult action dedicated to the Master of Malice. The reasoning for such is simple. Ophidian, like many of the Malign - though not all - revel in chaos, of the upturn of the norm and what is expected, but does so through meticulous and convoluted means, working through proxies to ensure such actions are unpredictable, unexpected - and thus capable of striking when their targets or goals are most weary and vulnerable.

This rings particularly true when considering the foremost aspect of the Master of Malice's portfolio, that of betrayal, whether considering and citing legends, or more formal contemporary accounts. Whether reeling from a scathing defeat, or adorned with euphoria in a victory, Ophidian seeks out a distracted victim and in that moment strikes without hesitation, or mercy. Although beguiling, undermining or otherwise reversing the acts of the Sixteen and their zealous prove of particular delight outside matters of unfettered violence and cruelty itself, peers of the deity are likewise targetted, as exemplified during the wars in the time shortly after Aita's First Gift. The faithful of Kroai frequently cite a long-standing feud between the Battlemistress and the deity of goblinoids and orcs alike, He Who Watches for their endless quests to the dens and tribes of the Ironfangs, an animosity started when Kroai dealt He Who Watches a near mortal wound when he tried to ambush her. In reality, Ophidian has since claimed it was they that tipped off the Lady of the Red Mist, delighting in the God of Conquest and Ruin's failure. While Ilemer the Goldhand duelled with Vapocaenum the Corroded One, Ophidian once again claims it was they that goaded The Undying Queen into harrying the Guildmaster's Master, which ultimately resulted in the rending of Conciliator by the blade Avarice. Of course, Ophidian has subsequently claimed that they then goaded the Lord of Nessus to strike down The Undying Queen, siphoning off much of her strength and trapping her within Avernus ever since. According to the cultists of the God of the Nine Hells, Ophidian was indeed present for this conquest, though the manipulative and opportunistic plot was of the Lord of Nessus' own deliberate design - and so a feud has stirred between Ophidian and the Lord of Nessus ever since, a feud unsurprisingly unremarkable amongst the relationship between Ophidian and the other members of the Malign.

Outside of legends from before the Second Gift, there has been numerous reports of the presence of Ophidian at all levels of life, although it remains uncertain how much of this is deliberate - or just whether the Weaver of Serpent's influence is just an easy scapegoat for unexpected behaviour. A dispute occurs over two suitors vying for the hand of a local merchant's heir, leading to a deadly visit in the night? Plea the presence of Ophidian, and seek exorcism to try and lighten the sentence. It is proposed that Hassimir, the Son, of the Empire of Raq may have been influenced likewise, and his eventual assassin perhaps likewise too. The ease of blame upon a deity that revels in corrupting the Principal Races has confounded investigators throughout the centuries, and the defence now rarely carries the weight of forgiveness previously entertained.

Undeniably however, one place that the influence of Ophidian indeed runs rampant and ever present is that of the tunnels of the Underdark. This wide-reaching presence sprawling beneath the surface of the World Above is echoed in another of their titles, It Which Which Slithers Unseen. Whether they appreciate that they do so, near every creature that occupies the tunnels and caverns glorifies the Master of Malice with their actions, in a place where lingering out of sight is enacted by both souls seeking not to become prey, and those that hunt them. Death comes quickly to those lacking care and caution in the Underdark, and whether delivered by natural means such as noxious gases, rising cave floods or the opening of fissures and crevices or upon the point of a blade, the touch of poison, or by means of claw, horn or fang, souls claimed by the dangers of the Underdark are liberated in a way that delights Ophidian, and so it is speculated that within its depths is where their domain has come to be. Each wailing shriek of pain and anguish is said to prompt Ophidian to cavort and dance, tearing new tunnels in the deep with each step, creating further gloom and shadow in which the acts that glorify their commandments deliberately or otherwise can occur. With each hardship and struggle delivered unto the continent, each unexpected downwards turn in fortunes, the dance of delight wanders further and further.