Empire of Coatala
An Old Empire of Snakes
Serdanno’s arms began to shake, quickly followed by his torso, head, then the rest of him. He fell off his seat, convulsing and flailing helplessly on the floor.
Everyone at the table dropped their jaws. We all turned in shock towards the crummy biscuit he had bit into. We knew the work of the Coatalans were behind this. It only made us worry if they had poisoned anything else!
Structure
Speaker
The Speaker is at the head of the Empire as they are the voice for Slethehosk and implement his decrees. Their power is unrelenting as it’s feared that by disobeying the Speaker means disobeying Slethehosk.
Hisser
The toughest and often most malformed of the Coatalans in a complete snake-human hybrid form. They are taskmasters and oversee operations as needs be. They are often trusted by the Speaker and can claim this title if transformed correctly.
Half-Pures
They are the captains within this unfeeling society. They can claim this position if their transformation provides them with snake-like appendages. Often snake lower-halves, altered heads from top to shoulders, snake clusters for arms, and the like.
Neonates
These are the accepted commoners within society. They often have higher privileges within the system because of what visible snake heritage is on them. Which does mean they can get away to abusing commoners to an extent.
Commoners
These are the peasants who haven’t any transformations whatsoever or snake-like features. They are viewed as subpar but workable within their culture. Hardships are a guarantee for them as their only access are to scraps thrown from the top.
Impure
The impure are those who have been punished within the society for moderate crimes like arson, freeing slaves, and heresy. Humanoids are transformed to retain their same bodily shape but their heads are transformed into disfigured snake-like heads as a marking. They are to be ousted from society for their misdeeds to the Empire’s overall goal or those seen providing assistance to them could meet harsh punishments.
Public Agenda
Become a dominant force by conquering and enslaving those under them. Eventually, turning Florenelle into Slethehosk’s ophidian dreamscape.
History
Evolving from Agriculture
The Coatalan Empire started out as a far more humble country of simpler humanoids long ago. Quiet but difficult lives were led in the jungles of Slithane until along came Speaker Chutl, a prophet of Slethehosk to put it in Common terms. He introduced a path to glory instead of complacency with living complacent and dung-ridden lives. The people listened and after throwing away the old lifestyles for worshipping this snake lord.
Many historians are certain that Speaker Chutl and his zealous cult forced these changes through violent methods. The evidence is nearly non-existent in their recovered records but you will notice a consistent pattern of execution, torture, or transformations for those who do not adhere to Slethehosk’s visions.
A Cultish Empire of Snakes
As Speaker Chutl rose in power, he created the groundwork for their continent to rise to power. This was enough for the new Speaker, Tuachok, to launch Coatala into an empire as they conquered various lands beyond their home. A new golden age was brought forth.
Slethehosk believed it was time to implement his latest decree. To become one with snakes like he has. This command led the empire into practicing esoteric rituals to transform their worthy into unfeeling snake people. If times were not dark enough already for the people under their rule, then an ever darker age came to be for them.
Necromantic War Era
The news of necromancy fancied Slethehosk’s interest. He would no longer have to carefully pick his next Speaker. But the Slithering Wrath had gotten “carried away” with his visions of purity and had difficulty with trusting the Arkonian Order . To alleviate this, Salazar Kiver became the much-needed emissary to restore trust between the two powers.
In Thracallia, the Coatalans managed the peninsula while the Arkonians handled everything else up north. These separate yet cooperative actions appeased both sides but when they met in the middle eventually, tensions were slowly bubbling. They agreed on backing off and focusing on Drakmir was the best way forward.
The Empire’s Fall
Before the island of dragons was sieged, a successful conspiracy unraveled Kiver’s deceptions. They revealed that Arkonia’s emissary had turned their supposedly successful ruler into a puppet. The conspirators then sought out and killed Speaker Tuachok, hoping to rid Coatala of outside influences. Kiver would manage to escape, never to be seen again until the First Battle of Vrexen.
Now stuck in a vacuum of power, the Coatalan Empire’s aristocracy tore itself apart seeking to be the Speaker. Slethehosk never chose any of them, seeing as they have grown hungry for personal gain than the wellbeing of their civilization. Those who would have been considered worthy were snuffed out, as the nobility had made a monopoly in hoping to be the only ones in the sights of their deity. The Coatalan people only gnawed on themselves as they became anxious and aimless without legitimate authority. All according to Salazar Kiver’s plans.
Rebellions from the conquered masses quickly dissolved the slow and methodical gains the Coatalans had made. Despite all of the fingers that were pointed and the fangs that were bared, it did not stop the eventual collapse. By the time that their home continent was all that remained, warlords would continue to tear themselves apart. Slethehosk has never been heard from again ever since.
Disbandment
Much of their downfall came from the surprise that Salazar Kiver, who is an impure Coatalan but disguised himself, had deceived his way to influence the top. He had the Speaker under his charm and such a revelation during the Necromantic War became horrific to many priests.
When Salazar Kiver fled into hiding, the Coatalans panicked and wondered how an impure creature could sway hold of their Speaker. Such an act stirred an earthquake of doubts within their society, collapsing at the seams at who is truly the purest of them all, some even believing Slethehosk’s time was up and new gods would need to take his place.
This fracturing weakened them. Their empire shattered as they were too busy yelling at their own while their slaves revolted and gained their freedom. Thus, by 214 Before Restoration Era, what original form of the Coatalan Empire remains are in the hands of idealists, heretics, or puritans as the last official speaker died from a coup.
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Author's Notes
It’s about time!