Medusanna Mhairdaul was the high priestess of the Cathedral of Emerald Scales in Hlondeth as of the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR.[3]
Description[]
Medusanna was a female yuan-ti abomination with a snake-like body and a human head with a mass of poisonous snakes instead of hair on her head.[1][3]
Personality[]
Medusanna was the epitome of yuan-ti society and vainly decorated her residence chambers with mirrors of various shapes and sizes.[4]
Possessions[]
Behind a secret door in her chambers, she kept a portal to a place called the Pit of Vipers in the Black Jungles on the northwestern shore of the Lapal Sea.[4]
Relationships[]
Medusanna hated the relatively cool climate of the Vilhon Reach and her hatred spilled over onto most of the region's inhabitants. In turn, most of the priests in her charge and Hlondeth's ruling elite—the members of the yuan-ti House Extaminos—loathed her and thought her loyalties were directed elsewhere. She was particularly antagonistic to the ruler of Hlondeth, Dediana Extaminos, who was constantly trying to increase her surveillance of Medusanna's activities through a network of spies.[1]
Activities[]
Although the Cathedral of Emerald Scales was dedicated to the beast cult of Varae, it was tacitly understood that Varae was an aspect of Sseth.[5] Medusanna administrated the Cathedral and kept ceremonies to Varae/Sseth, including ritual sacrifices, a constant activity on the main floor of the Cathedral. She was one of only two individuals that knew the extent of a large-scale breeding program going on in the catacombs beneath the Cathedral, the other being Ssibalentanamas, the First Keeper of the Sacred Eggs. An army of yuan-ti was being created, ostensibly for the defense of Hlondeth.[1] In addition, the Cult of the Dragon was using some of the histachii brood guards to make undead ur-histachii that didn't need food or even air.[6]
Around the Year of the Tankard, 1370 DR, Medusanna hatched a plot to weaken Dediana Extaminos by disgracing her son, Dmetrio, who was courting the daughter of the ruler of Sespech, Baron Aldorn "Foesmasher" Thuragar. The Emerald Boa knew that a good friend of the Baron, the incantatrix Mavanna Blackspine, had been searching high and low for a copy of the Tome of the Dragon, so she allowed evidence that the Cult in Hlondeth was using the Tome to create ur-histachii to be found by Mavanna. Medusanna was certain that Mavanna would soon lead a band of adventurers on a raid to recover the Tome. The high priestess planned for this raid to fail, but Mavanna would be allowed to escape with the knowledge that Dmetrio was the leader of the Cult cell. When this information made it back to the Baron, he would have sufficient excuse to call off the courtship and send Dmetrio home in disgrace.[7] As of the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR, the courtship was still ongoing.[8][9]
History[]
Medusanna originally came from the Black Jungles on the Chultan Peninsula[1] and was a member of the Se'Sehen tribe.[3]
Rumors and Legends[]
It was widely believed among House Extaminos and the Varaen clergy that Medusanna was an agent of the ancient yuan-ti Serpentes empire that was based in the Black Jungles, her original home.[1]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Eric L. Boyd (September 1997). Powers & Pantheons. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 139. ISBN 978-0786906574.
- ↑ Thomas M. Costa (November 2003). “Faiths of Faerûn: Elder Serpents of Set”. In Chris Thomasson ed. Dragon #313 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 85.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd, Darrin Drader (July 2004). Serpent Kingdoms. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 93. ISBN 0-7869-3277-5.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Eric L. Boyd (September 1997). Powers & Pantheons. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 141. ISBN 978-0786906574.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (September 1997). Powers & Pantheons. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 138. ISBN 978-0786906574.
- ↑ Dale Donovan (January 1998). Cult of the Dragon. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 109. ISBN 0-7869-0709-6.
- ↑ Dale Donovan (January 1998). Cult of the Dragon. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 59. ISBN 0-7869-0709-6.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 220. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ Rand Sharpsword (May 2002). More of the Vilhon Reach! (HTML). Rand's Travelogue. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2015-09-20. Retrieved on 2012-03-10.