Shannokh'Xi
Scourge of Oblivion
The Ximezci are not born of this world, they are born into it. They're a lingering nightmare that exists in the depths of Oblivion and that memory is given life upon the worlds this hungry darkness is eager to consume. So it was with Tairos, thousands of years ago. Oblivion infected this world with the Ximezci and they set about their work of enacting the ritual known as The Final Revelation. As countless worlds before, Tairos was meant to be swallowed whole and cast into the void. However, that did not come to pass. This time, something was different. This time the Ximezci failed and The Grand Concordance of Tairos scoured away their race from the land.
Yet, the memory remained. Lingering somewhere in the depthless and eternal currents of Oblivion the Ximezci echo endured. Now, the cycle is starting again. Frigid Chain is said to have risen already and the second coming of Ximezci are hatching.
This generation like all those that came before are led by the first-born. Part shepherd, prophet, and warrior, Shannokh'Xi is the new messiah who will complete the Final Revelation. His clutch is small now, as he is the first of only a dozen or so of his kind to emerge but with each passing day Oblivion's influence creeps back into the Serpent Lands. Should it go unnoticed and unchecked it will only spread, giving rise to more of the Ximezci and their temple-cities. The Tairos of today has no defense to offer against the Serpents. The ruined cities that remain will fall, one by one, as the Final Revelation is completed.
The Rebirth
Something as obsessed and hungry as Oblivion doesn't just give up on its meal when you yank it away at the last second. It tries again, and again and again. That's the thing about entropy, it only has to get it right once. We have to get it right every time. And I know us all too well. We're very good at getting it wrong.
No one is exactly sure when Frigid Chain was dredged forth from Oblivion's long memory and into reality again but the rumors of such a return have been circulating for decades. The story was first entered into reliable record by the Baradradi when a patrol from their capital met with a raiding party of orcs from the Scorch. While the leaders of the two forces tried to broker a peace, the soldiers of both sides spoke and shared stories. One such story the orcs told was of a raid into the Serpent Lands where they witnessed a very strange sight.
The orcs say they were drawn to strange lights and sounds coming from a ruin deep in the jungles. They had traveled this far hoping to find artifacts and Mancite but instead, they discovered a storm of darkness; an inky and bottomless black energy that was swallowing a dilapidated old city while at the same time giving birth to a newer version of that same ruin. Terrible monstrosities escaped from the event horizon, their very shape and nature impossible to describe and maddening to behold. A single human stood there, a man dressed all in black, pale as a corpse, and he called upon his own wicked power to try and prevent the new city from rising. The orcs fled before they could see the outcome but they speculated that he failed based on the horrors that now roamed the jungles. Only a few of their war party survived to bring the fantastic tale to light.
Shortly after this information came to light other sightings began to surface. Strange illuminations in the jungle, chants spoken in Balespeech, travelers vanishing and nearby communities being massacred to the last. Most of these incidents were attributed to tavern tales or the actions of any number of monsters dwelling in the jungles. That would change with Aggaran Convoy.
The Sacrifice
The Ximezci of this new generation found their magic crippled in the same way as the rest of Tairos, thanks to The Queen's Rebuke. Some speculate that The Autumn Queen's impact on Tairos may have inadvertently prevented the full rebirth of the Serpent People. Shannohk'Xi realized that Manacite would be required to pull forth the rest of his race and finish the Final Revelation. First, he had to learn what it was. No notion of this stone existed inside his racial memory but the slaughter and torture of travelers near the Serpent Lands taught him enough - how to use it, where it came and how to find more. A merchant convoy traveling from Tengu Town all the way to Melanthris would yield enough stone to begin his work.
He and the small handful of Ximezci that managed to hatch thus far moved upon the convoy. They risked the fate of their entire race to attack in full but Shannokh'Xi and only six others proved to be an impossible foe for the Tengu and mercenary guards. They slithered through the tall grass flanking the wagon trail and burst forth with such alacrity that the first victims hadn't a chance to even comprehend that an attack had begun. They coiled around wagons, shattering they with their muscle and impaling their drivers with spear tips. All resistance crumbled and the surviving merchants surrendered quickly. Their manacite was taken and they were marched into the jungles. Many of the merchants died over the course of the journey, falling to predators, sickness, and the hunger of their captors.
Once they reached Frigid Chain, the survivors were never seen again, but their manacite and their suffering became the bedrock upon which dozens of Ximezci were pulled forth from Oblivion's memory and into Tairos again.
The hunger that waits on the other side of reality is ... complicated. Full of contradictions to the uninitiated. But, when you piece it all together it makes perfect sense. It wants to consume everything that ever was or will be. Not just kill it, but erase it. It can't do it on its own though. It keeps useful tools around digesting very very slowly. And, it can when needed, regurgitate whatever remains of those tools into our world. That's what the Ximezci are. Slowly degrading copies of something Oblivion ate along the way. That loss needs to be repaid though. Shannokh'Xi needed something to take the place of the copies he was pulling from Oblivion's memory. Almost four hundred merchants would have done the trick and a wagon-load of manacite would have been the bridge to make the trade. Few dozen more snakes slither into Tairos and a few hundred souls fall into darkness. It's as fair a bargain as either side has ever been party to. Business as usual.
New Genesis
Today, the new genesis of the Ximezci is well underway. Their presence in the land is known to virtually none. They leave no survivors in their wake to tell the tale. Shannohk'Xi has been anointed by the growing serpent numbers as the chosen of Oblivion and given the title of The Scourge. He directs his burgeoning clutch of followers to raid whatever stores of manacite they can find and to take captives when possible. All of this is in an effort to raise more of the temple-cities and call forth more of his kind.
Progress is steady but exceptionally slow. Manacite is very rare in the region thanks to the elves of Melanthris and the Ximezci numbers are too small to challenge the elf capital directly. Shannohk'Xi's ultimate goal is to gain access to manacite storehouses of Melanthris and use the hoard they've accumulated to bring Jagged Spur, Hollow Hope and Crown of Agony out of memory and into reality along with the rest of kind. Then, they will finish the Final Revelation and erase Tairos from existence.
Physical Description
Apparel & Accessories
Like the rest of his species, he wears little in the way of clothing, and only gold adornments in place of armor
Mental characteristics
Sexuality
Like the rest of his kind, he has no urge to mate or engage in sexual activity.
Mental Trauma
As all Ximezci are effectively a collection of slowly degrading versions of some original self so mental trauma is to be expected. This can manifest for Shannohk'Xi and others like him as bouts of violent mania and the urge to gorge on prey-items.
Intellectual Characteristics
Zealous adherence to entity known as the Traveler and to the force of Oblivion. Tactically minded and charismatic among his kind.
Morality & Philosophy
Returning creation back into the waiting arms of entropy is the only true purpose to his life. Service to Oblivion and the reward of non-existence is the only goal. The suffering of lesser creatures is the highest form of worship.
Taboos
Bringing new life into existence. Bringing a new Ximezci into existence rather than calling upon one of the Ximezci memories that lurks in Oblivion is an unimaginable sin.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Serve The Traveler/Oblivion. Plunge creation into non-existence. Rejoice in the quiet and then join it
Social
Religious Views
Religious and fanatical to his faith. Takes special delight in killing worshipers of fertility gods and goddesses such as Tatayne The Breath of Life
Current Location
Species
Honorary & Occupational Titles
The Anointed One, Chosen of the Traveler, Scourge of Oblivion
Birthplace
Children
Current Residence
Serpent Lands
Gender
Male
Height
31 feet long
Weight
1600 lbs
Great layout and formatting and a gripping read from start to finish! Love the choice of cover artwork, it really adds to the narrative! :D
Thanks so much TJ! The art is something I had commissioned. Took a long while to get done and i'm glad you dig it