The Odak'Tar
by Alex BensonA Yuan-Ti/Nithian based hybrid culture based in the Aryptian Wastes.
History: In BC 500, the Nithian Empire was coming to an end. The years of entropic corruption had drawn the attention of the Immortals. The Empire was set to be purged from Mystara. Thothia was spared because it had turned away from Entropy. Uncorrupted Nithians were transplanted to Hollow World.
Several Immortals wanted to use the purge as an opportunity to test humans for redemption. Their theory was that if these corrupted Nithians could be redeemed if they were separated from the corrupting force. They Immortals created an oasis in the Aryptian Waste. The oasis would provide them with food, water, and shelter. Life would be hard. The Immortal Pflarr was given the task of watching these Nithians.
The Nithians named their oasis Odak. For leadership, they turned to Thutmose , an Imperial engineer. Under his guidance they were able to survive and build a settlement from the oasis' offerings. The Odakians were grateful to Pflarr and honored him. In response, he began granting spells to a woman named Nephtys, making her his cleric.
To the west, the Milenian expansion had displaced many native peoples. Among these were a band of Yuan-Ti called the K'Tar. They once been part of the Serpentine Empire. For their service, they had been granted a tract of land bordering the Aryptian Wastes.
By BC 490, the fighting had forced them from their holding. The were forced to flee. With no other path open, they headed in to the Aryptian Wastes with the hopes to go around the Milenians and reconnect with the Serpentine Lands. The K'Tar found their planned route to be blocked and were forced to make alternative plans. They became lost and found themselves wandering the Wastes.
In BC 470, Odak lost their longtime leader Thutmose to old age. He was replaced by his adopted son Aepep. He would initially carry on with his father's work. In BC 766, Nephtys would pass away. Odak was faced with a serious lack of leadership.
In BC 450, the Odakians would be visited by a band of reptilian humanoids, the K'Tar. Their leader, Olnadis, said they had been led to the oasis by images in a dream. The Odakians allowed the K'Tar to stay. The two peoples worked well together. The Odakians found their new allies to be quite debaucherous in nature. Without leadership, the Odakians adopted the K'Tar's amoral attitudes.
Pflarr was disappointed by this social regression. He turned his attentions elsewhere. If the Odakians returned to follow him, he would renew his support for them. Without his support, the Oasis slowly began to dry up. Their food stores began to dwindle.
The Odakians and K'Tar began infighting. However, a former cleric of Pflarr stepped forward to tell them that she had had a vision from a woman. The vision had said that this was a test to open their way to a new era for both races. Destiny had brought them together, now need would make that union real.
Over the next week, members of both races began receiving visions from the same woman. The Odakian mage Ptah studied each vision and discovered that each vision held a fragment of a spell. That spell would merge the two two races.
The Odakians and K'Tar decided to try the spell. The magics merged human and Yuan-Ti in to a hybrid race. Their acceptance of the spell secured the patronage of the female, who revealed herself to be Sacmis. She reactivated the oasis and expanded it. Odakia was reborn as Odak'Tar to symbolize the union of the two races.
With the blessing of Sacmis, Odak'Tar prospered. The inhabitants reproduced and the population grew. Magic allowed them to build walls of stone. Odak'Tar became a formidable town, then city. The inhabitants found themselves adapted well to desert life.
The Odak'Tar would prey upon desert nomads, taking then captive as slaves. They converted these, some to lesser Yuan-Ti as soldiers and others to histachii as servants. To help them travel the desert, Sacmis blessed them with the Abadis Skiff.
The Odak'Tar would occasionally raid settlements along the Aryptian Wastes' borders. They sometimes make the distant journey south and attack Divergan settlements. As Divergan defenses grew stronger, the costs of raids became greater.
In AC 600, they encountered Pedhardt scouts. In AC 700, they became aware that the gnomes were constructing a settlement in the wastes. They left the gnome settlement alone, but would attack gnome traders and scouts. In AC1000, the Odak'Tar and Ar'Tiyab would establish trade agreements with the gnomes visiting the Odak'Tar a few times a year.
Note: Sacmis is Talitha. Her actins here are consistent with her gaining influence among the Ice Peak Noids. I also imagine it could be counted as a Stroke against Pflarr. The Abadis Skiffs are Egyptian styled skyships. They are small open boats designed for quick transport and can carry small raiding parties. They only fly about a 100 feet above the ground.