Poison Dusk
The Poison Dusk is the name given to the minions of Masvirik, the Cold Sun by the Cold Sun tribes. The settlers of Q’barra have never really understood the difference between the Cold Sun tribes and the Poison Dusk, and most people in New Galifar think that the Poison Dusk is just a particularly aggressive tribe of Lizardfolk. Those who are a little more knowledgeable are closer to the truth, that the Poison Dusk is more than a tribe of corrupted lizardfolk, but an alliance of several reptilian species, including dragonborn, lizardfolk, kobolds and troglodytes.
On the outside, the Poison Dusk appears to be a cult that worships the black dragon Rhashaak, but there is more to it. Those who have joined the Poison Dusk are corrupted by the overlord Masvirik, who’s influence is pervasive through Q'barra. The Poison Dusk is the harbinger of Masvirik, the army of the Cold Sun, and it is constantly clashing with the other inhabitants of the region.
The Trothlorsvek and the Masvirik’uala destroy the Poison Dusk wherever they encounter them, but the influence of the Cold Sun is insidious, and all reptilian creatures feel it. The web of dawn shards that are weaved throughout Q’barra provide some protection from Masvirik’s corruption, but it can’t block it completely and so there is a steady supply of new recruits for the Poison Dusk.
Any reptilian creature can become corrupted by Masvirik. The lizardfolk of the Masvirik’uala are the most resistant to this corruption, owing to their close relationship with the Silver Flame, whilst the kobolds are the least able to resist.
The Poison Dusk are fanatically devoted to Masvirik, and by extension his speaker: Rhashaak. Many of them are possessed by Masvirik’s fiendish servants, but not all of them. The dusk shards in Q’barra contain the essence of these fiends and can be used to facilitate possession or otherwise empower the agents of the Poison Dusk. This forms one of the aspects to the conflict between the Poison Dusk and the Masvirik’uala, they aren’t just fighting, but fighting over the dragonshards. The Poison Dusk seek to recover the dusk shards and destroy dawn shards, empowering themselves and weakening the binding that restrains Masvirik.
House Tharashk has disturbed the balance of power in this conflict and has recovered more dusk shards in the last decade than the Poison Dusk has managed in the last thousand years. The dragonshard mines in Hope are thus attacked by both the Masvirik’uala and the Poison Dusk, and the settlers see no difference between them, other than the Masvirik’uala destroying their tools whilst the Poison Dusk just steal the dragonshards.
Most of the members of the Poison Dusk are corrupted dragonborn, lizardfolk, or kobolds, and are chiefly driven by instinct. Among them are those who have embedded a dusk shard in their flesh, strengthening their bond to Masvirik and altering their minds and bodies. These servants act as the leaders and elite soldiers of the Poison Dusk and are much more intelligent than the base corrupted.
A minority among the Poison Dusk are the fiendish vessels, those who are directly possessed by one of Masvirik’s fiendish servants. These are the most powerful of Masvirik’s forces, whose physical bodies are warped to resemble the fiend that is possessing them. Even killing the vessel doesn’t remove the threat, as the dusk shard can simply be embedded into another host. This is the source of the shard pits in Masvirik’uala villages, which keep these shards out of the hands of the Poison Dusk.
Type
Geopolitical, Tribe
Leader
Location
Related Species
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