The Bida Serpent (Unique Monster)
by Marc SaindonThere are several versions of the legend the Serpent Bida, and in adapting it to Mystara, one can blend a few ideas and add their own.
In ancient times, before the Tanagoro Empire, an era the Clerics call the "Time of the Wicked", the core prefectures of the Tanagoro Valley (which had another name) were a wasteland in which competing tribes eked out a miserable existence.
One day, a unique creature, the Bida Serpent (a primordial being halfway between a Hydra and a Dragon) offered a chieftain a deal: the Serpent would provide the tribe with rain water and gold, but in exchange, the tribe would have to sacrifice their most beautiful woman to him. The Elders debated, and it was a time of need, and so they agreed to the pact. Once. And so it rained in the valley, the tribe got a lot of gold, and for years it was prosperous. The chieftain became a king. And yet no one spoke of the human sacrifice they did, out of shame.
Eventually, the tides of fortune change, and fearing decline and the wrath of his enemies, a new king consulted his elders, and the pact with the Bida Serpent (lairing in distant mountain) was made again, out of necessity, to save the tribe. The king got rain for a good harvest and gold to raise an army, and the kingdom was saved in its hour of need. Yet no one spoke of the sacrifice, out of shame.
Centuries later, the Kingdom grew decadent. There was not a third sacrifice. By that time, the kings and queens grew so greedy and corrupt that sacrifices to the Bida Serpent had become annual events, and there was no longer a veil of shame surrounding these sacrifices.
One man, who did not like his homeland turning into the Dark Sun setting (also they were going to sacrifice a princess he had the hots for), decided to gather the most Worthy companions to put an end to this wickedness. Tanagor the Great, a fearsome Warrior assembled 6 other heroes (a Wizard, a Rogue, etc., the story varies their name and gender in the many versions), one for every of Bida's cruel heads, to defeat the monster. In a battle that got more epic with retelling, Tanagor and pals chopped off each of the Bida Serpent's heads. A unique monster with strong regenerative powers, it couldn't die per se, but if you kept the heads away for the body, Bida would remain dormant. The corpse was hauled off in the icy mountains, while each head was given to a companion, so that each would seal it off from the world in a great Vault-Tomb. After this victory, the Time of Wickedness ended, with Tanagor marrying the princess and being crowned as the new king, with a long line of wise successors continued his legacy. The people became the Tanagoro. Over time, Tanagor was remembered as Tangor.
The story doesn't end here, as each Vault-Tomb was topped by a stronghold. Those strongholds became towns over time, settlements to which the companions gave their name. These towns became mighty cities, and with the guidance of the Tangor Dynasty, the Tanagoro Kingdom grew to become the Tangor Empire. However, one Vault-Tomb attracted the attention of greedy raiders, and while their attempts to break in failed, it did leave a crack in the magical wards, enough that the imprisoned head of Bida could now magically reach the minds of people outside the vault, but not big enough to attract the attention of its keepers.
One night, Bida reached the mind of a dissatisfied guardian through a dream, promising him power in exchange for services. This man became Bida's first new Warlock. He was eventually caught and executed, but not before he could train an apprentice along his dark path. This apprentice cultivated patience, slowly recruiting new cultists, and worked in the shadows, gathering resources and setting up a network of corruption.
The Cult of Bida is currently hiding throughout the Tangor Empire, with the upper echelons trying to find a way to free one of the heads, or preferably all of them. If whispers of Bida can provide so much power, imagine what the entire being can do ! Obviously the cult's inner circle has members plotting to feed each other to Bida once it's released so that only one can serve as his right hand. Perhaps the Cult can trick players (especially if they are foreigners) into venturing into the Vault-Tombs, promising great treasures.
(Image from: https://www.deviantart.com/icedragonart/art/Hydra-708176640)
potential location for the corpse of the Bida Serpent (headless), which if reclaimed by the Cult could serve as some sort of living-cave-corpse-temple for their dark rites.
