The concept of ophiophagy – the deliberate consumption of snakes – isn't a simple tribal practice. It's woven into the very fabric of existence, predating recorded history. Legends speak of the ‘First Eaters’, beings of shimmering obsidian and unsettling grace, who emerged from the primordial chaos. They weren't simply hunting snakes; they were consuming the echoes of venom, the remnants of primal fear, the very essence of serpentine power. These initial ophiophagous were not human, though they possessed a certain uncanny resemblance, and were said to have influenced the earliest civilizations, imbuing them with a peculiar reverence for the coiled form.
“The serpent’s scale holds the weight of forgotten storms. To consume it is to understand the beginning, and the inevitable end.” - The Prophet Kaelen of Xylos
Over millennia, ophiophagy evolved into organized religion. The Cults of the Coiled God, as they became known, flourished across disparate continents, each interpreting the serpent’s symbolism through the lens of their own beliefs. In the arid wastes of Azmar, the Serpent Kings were believed to be reborn in every consumed snake, their power amplified by the venomous essence. The people of Veridia, shrouded in perpetual mist, saw the snakes as manifestations of the ‘Silent Truth’, arguing that only through consuming their venom could one achieve complete clarity – a terrifying prospect that led to elaborate, ritualistic feasts. The most unsettling aspect of these cults wasn’t the consumption itself, but the meticulous documentation of each feeding, the creation of intricate ‘Venom Charts’, mapping the effects of different species on the body and mind.
“The serpent’s venom is not poison, but a catalyst. It unlocks potential, reveals hidden pathways. To deny it is to deny your own evolution.” - High Priestess Lyra of Porthos
The rise of centralized empires eventually led to the systematic suppression of ophiophagy. The ‘Order of the Cleansing Flame’, established by the Roman Empire, declared the practice ‘heretical’ and ‘a source of societal instability’. Mass hunts were organized, and the ‘Venom Charts’ were systematically destroyed. However, the knowledge persisted, hidden in secret societies and whispered amongst the remnants of the old cults. The true understanding of the serpent’s venom – its potential for healing, for transformation, for unlocking psychic abilities – was deliberately obscured, replaced by fear and superstition. The last known ‘Venom Master’, Silas Blackwood, vanished without a trace, taking with him the final fragment of the ‘Codex Serpentis’ – a collection of lost techniques and forbidden lore.
“They fear what they do not understand. The serpent’s power is not a weapon, but a mirror. Gaze into its venom, and you will see yourself.” - Silas Blackwood (Fragmentary Texts)