Cults of the Three-Headed Serpent

The cults of the Three-Headed Serpent were formed from the mystical practices of central Cathlaea under the influence of a number of dead gods, of which three major manifestations emerged to guide and shape the aristocratic Houses of the Great Ophionic Empire. Each had a presence in every city, but stronger in some than each other, and always strongest in their own cult centres - Stygia, Sythia and Asphyxa.

• The Mysterium of Stygis the Fearmonger kept the mysteries of their god and all the secrets of the Imperium. They drove the Imperium to conquest and control, and for most of the history of the Empire held sway over the Imperial House, weidling their knowledge like a scalpel to cut out rivals and threats.
  The Mysterium's priests are known as Nightmare Keepers, and their ability to evoke and manipulate fear is itself a source of dread. The holy warriors of Sythis are called the Snake Dancers, and are blessed with the unnerving ability to wield serpents as weapons.
• The Cryptaeon of Sythis the Betrayer were a disruptive force, existing to challenge, contradict and betray. As such they were never the power behind a ruling Imperial House. Although preaching defiance, the cult never took an interest in upsetting the social order, at least in any way that would harm their own power.
  Priests of the Cryptaeon are typically of the serpent-armed manavi form of aray. Sometimes called Mind Walkers, they are granted terrible powers of manipulation and persuasion. Sythis' holy warriors are called Heartbreakers, and likewise possess potent psychic gifts.
• The Pankration of Asphyx the Slayer was as much a warrior society as a church. It was devoted to maintaining the social order, and to violence. All of the cults practiced eladrinate sacrifice, but none so diligently as the Asphyxites.
  The Pankration's priests are known as Night Watchers, and operate as mix of bureaucrats, enforcers and military commanders. Far more numerous and prominent are the Scythes, the lethal holy warriors of Asphyx.

The three cults competed to control the direction of the Empire, but all shared an interest in its continual growth, to feed the Houses' desire for land, the economy's need for slave labour, and the gods' craving for blood sacrifice. All three Heads desired the lives of sentients as a sacrament, although they had different criteria. Asphyx favoured criminals and prisoners of war as their sacrifices. Sythis craved deaths that tasted of betrayal. Stygis was fed above all with the lives of slaves, those already under the absolute dominion of her Empire.
The balance of power changed when the old Empire fell, and the new ruling house - the House of Ysseth declared its rededication to Sythis. The power of the houses and the Mysterium was gutted, and many secrets of the cult were revealled as part of the coup. Others are held by the Cryptaeon as leverage to keep the Mysterium operating for the good of the Empire and its Imperator.