**Titles:** The Dead Coil, The Endless Serpent, Whisperer in the Abyss, God Below the Roots **Nature:** Primordial Entity / Forgotten God **Alignment:** True Neutral (with aspects of both Law and Chaos) **Domains:** Knowledge, Secrets, Shadows, Survival, Serpents **Symbol:** A coiled serpent with a crown of eyes and a split tongue of twin truths --- ## Essence and Mythology Vhun’Ziriss is an ancient and enigmatic divine presence, older than most pantheons and **believed to predate the First Age of Solare**. She is said to dwell in the unseen spaces—beneath roots, within silence, and between thoughts. Neither wholly divine nor mortal, she exists as a **primordial force of cunning, secrecy, and hidden survival.** Many scholars and seers argue she was once a great wyrm, others claim she is the first serpent from which all venom and wisdom flow. Her name is unspoken in many cultures, for to know her is to be changed. --- ## Worship and Doctrine - **Veneration is secretive**, with no public temples—only cryptic sanctums hidden in ruins, canyons, or undercities. - She teaches that **truth is layered**, survival requires sacrifice, and power is earned by those who listen between the lies. - Her priests do not preach. Instead, they offer **visions, whispered rites, and trials of silence or memory.** - Followers wear serpent-marked rings, skin tattoos, or snakebone charms beneath their garments. --- ## Role in the Campaign - The **patron deity of Matron Xalyth Drezz’Vhun**, who rejected the Spider Queen and communed with Vhun’Ziriss instead. - Her will may be shaping a **long-forgotten prophecy** regarding the **[[Shield of the Gods]]** and the **Tree of Life, [[Sylrathis]]**. - Certain artifacts, like Xalyth’s staff or lost serpent relics, are said to be imbued with **her direct whispers or essence.** - She may emerge as a **silent counterforce to [[Anam]]**, offering shadowy guidance to stop the unraveling of the divine weave. --- ## Traits and Powers - **Speaks through visions, symbols, and echoing dreams**, never direct speech. - Can grant **serpent-themed spells, prophetic insight, and shadow travel** to her chosen. - Known to offer **boons in exchange for silence, secrets, or memory**. --- ## Rivals and Tensions - Despised by the **Spider Queen**, who views her serpentine symbolism as an affront to webbed hierarchy. - Her existence is denied by most surface religions and barely tolerated among traditional Drow. - Some believe she is **awakening again**, her coils shifting beneath the layers of the Underdark as the divine balance falters.