Ssharstrune was a deity worshiped by nagas that became an aspect of Shekinester.[2] He embodied the power-hungry, covetous nature of some nagas,[3] and the principles of curiosity and destruction that had triggered the fragmentation of the World Serpent.[2]
Worshipers[]
Ssharstrune was venerated by dark nagas. His cult was known to be prevalent in Najara.[4] The ruined city of Ss'thar'tiss'ssun, once the capital of Najara, was originally built as a temple-city by his cult, but was abandoned after his death. The Shrine of Cowled Serpents, a major temple to the god, layed at its heart.[5]
History[]
Ssharstrune was originally a facet of the World Serpent that became a deity in his own right when the Great Scaled One fractured. He was, at the time, one of the two deities that the nagas worshiped, the other being the Naga Queen Shekinester.[2] After the World Serpent fractured and died, he and another facet-turned-deity, Jazirian, began to court Shekinester. When the Naga Queen chose Jazirian over Ssharstrune and became pregnant, Ssharstrune attacked her in a rage, forcing her to swallow him whole.[3]
This inadvertently caused Shekinester to absorb the same destructive power that had torn the World Serpent apart, and she developed five different guises. After she gave birth to her son Parrafaire, however, she expelled Ssharstrune's destructive remains and told Parrafaire to hide it away, lest she truly fracture into five separate deities. He complied, and the two had been the gods of the nagas ever since, Ssharstrune reduced to but another of the Queen's many faces.[3][2]
Recent History[]
In the Year of Moonfall, 1344 DR, the lich Druth Daern used a complex deception to impersonate Ssharstrune after a fashion, in order to take control of the Cult of the Dark Naga. He guided them to create a small army of undead nagas and fight the devils for control of the ruins of Myth Drannor after severely weakening the phaerimm who had subtly led them there in the first place. It would likely only be a matter of time before they had the magic to discover the deception, though in truth, the revelation that their god was not real would change little but add the lich to their list of beings to destroy.[1][6]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd, Darrin Drader (July 2004). Serpent Kingdoms. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 113. ISBN 0-7869-3277-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd, Darrin Drader (July 2004). Serpent Kingdoms. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 27. ISBN 0-7869-3277-5.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd, Darrin Drader (July 2004). Serpent Kingdoms. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 188–189. ISBN 0-7869-3277-5.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd, Darrin Drader (July 2004). Serpent Kingdoms. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 104. ISBN 0-7869-3277-5.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd, Darrin Drader (July 2004). Serpent Kingdoms. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 110. ISBN 0-7869-3277-5.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (March 1993). “Campaign Guide to Myth Drannor”. In Newton H. Ewell ed. The Ruins of Myth Drannor (TSR, Inc.), p. 91. ISBN 1-5607-6569-0.