Ss'thar'tiss'ssun

Ss'thar'tiss'ssun, or the City of Fountains, was once the capital city of the ancient serpent empire known as Najara.

It was raised some 30,000 years before modern times by a powerful creator race called the Sarrukh. By the 14th century DR, however, the secretive empire of Najara or the Kingdom of Snakes was governed from Ss'khanaja. Ss'thar'tiss'ssun was left buried and nearly forgotten.

Originally built as a temple city by the cult of Ssharstrune, Ss'thar'tiss'ssun was abandoned after the death of the deity it honored and stood sealed for thousands of years until it was restored by its guardian, the ancient bone ha-naga Terpenzi and its followers. However, in the Year of the Moor Birds, 90 DR, Netherese wizards in the employ of the Shadowking drove Terpenzi and his ophidian servants out and partially razed the city, creating wards to prevent any serpent-related species from returning.

By 1373 DR, humans inhabited the land above the ruins, in the village called Serpent's Cowl. The people of the village held a superstition over digging wells and foundations, for fear of opening up a route into the ruins below.

The Shrine of Cowled Serpents lies in the heart of ruined Ss'thar'tiss'ssun. It was inhabited by all manner of monsters and treasures dating back to the original Kingdom of Snakes.