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View Full Version : Observed Physiology of Serpents of Yig



Tam_OConnor
2012-09-17, 06:15 PM
Drawn from the field journals of Tobias Benechus, shortly before his admission to an asylum.
"The females of the species are, by Terran standards, normal. As they age, they gain in size, strength and intelligence. Once they have a diameter of approximately six inches, and a length anywhere from ten feet to thirty, they can communicate in human tongues, though with a sibilant accent. Also at that time, the being to manifest occult and mystical powers, the most overt of which is a form of hypnotism, which bears passing resemblance to that possessed by the Ventrue clan of vampires.

As they reach truly unearthly dimensions (a diameter measured in feet, and a length of over a hundred feet), their powers of speech and their occult power are similarly magnified. At this point, they are called 'Brides of Yig,' and I can only guess at their powers, besides one: shape-shifting into mammalian forms. From what I can gather, they are loathe to use this gift in all but the direst of circumstances, as it insults the purity of their connection with Yig.


The males of the species are a curious lot. At seemingly random intervals, the head of a male will separate from its body. In tests I conducted, I found that this separation is more likely to happen in a hot, moist environment. Indeed, dropping a male into a cauldron of boiling water will prompt the transformation nine out of ten times. Once the separation occurs, the body thrashes about for perhaps ten minutes, then dies. The head, however, can remain alive for upwards of a day, though its mobility is greatly reduced.

At this point in time, the male can achieve several different forms, all of which are contingent upon reaching another, different serpent's body. If it manages, alone, to reach another body, it can merge with it, and continue on until the next separation. In this way, I believe the male of the species can proceed in a similar way to the female of the species, though as I understand it, it is more rare.

If two male heads reach a body simultaneously, there are two possibilities. One is that both heads merge onto one end, forming a polycephaletic snake. These snakes differ from the Terran mutation in that, given sufficient food, the snake can split into two thinner snakes. This is not seen as a desirable outcome, as it reduces both males to a lesser state. Logically then, the two heads are at war with each other, and both usually die from the ploys of the other.

Alternately, the snakes can form an amphisbaena, with a head at either end. The difference here is that the males have reached an agreement, and coordinate in a manner alien to the polycephaletic snakes. They have an exceptionally potent venom, even by the standards of the serpents of Yig. An interesting observation: in spite of their earlier agreement, Yig seems to be amused to offer them an opportunity at betrayal: if one head of an amphisbaena devours the other (an exceptionally painful prospect for both), then the surviving head gains great wisdom. Those that have survived this process are hailed as 'Prophets of Yig,' despite, or perhaps because of, the seemingly inevitable insanity.

There is a last possibility, one that I have saved for last if only for a sense of the dramatic. If the living head is ingested, it can fuse with the creatures intestines, and eat its way out. These gut snakes are the least intelligent, but make up for it in size and ferocity. They are, so far as I observed, no longer venomous, but can spit what I believed to be acid, of higher molar value than I would expect to be found in an ordinary stomach."

Just thought I'd share.