Once human the dendrophid were punished for their crimes against nature by being cast out from the lands and forced to reside in swamps and cesspools. As humans they could not acclimate to these environments, so they prayed to the gods to help them, saying that they would repent for their crimes against nature. All the gods saw this pathetic display and chose to refuse their request, save one. He chose to send to the humans a creation of pure innocence, and benevolent power. The purpose was to enchant them with the ability to survive, little did the humans know, this was the same god that had exiled them.
The god formed the creation of the purest fibers of the earth, and breathed life into it granting it use of all the powers of the god. The creation went forth, knowing its purpose in the world was to aid the humans that had been exiled. On the day of the arrival at the swamp, however, it was met with a very foul greeting. The creation went to them and spoke of being sent as a gift from the gods to aid them, and at that moment began to weave a spell around the humans to protect them and aid them in the swamps. Humans, driven by lust and desire above all, cared nothing for this spell, what use did they have for it. Rather they noticed only that a woman beyond measure of beauty had been given to them and walk willfully into their possession. They seized the maiden of the earth and attempted to enslave her to do their bidding, whatever that may be.
Watching from afar the god was furious, he had granted the humans that had slaughtered the Wemic another chance in the form of a test, and not only had they failed they had sealed their own doom. The spell that had been cast upon them was intended to restore them to the world and break the curse, so long as they did repent for their crimes. It was also intended to curse them to be the foulest wretches on the planet should they rebuke the promise of a god. So they were, all of them disfigured beyond measure, their human bodies shifting and writhing in great pain as the maiden stretched forth her arm and formed great serpents to engulf each and every one of them. Then as the sun fell into the west the curse was completed, the men that had once been so arrogant and proud hunters had become a hideous incarnation of their evil, becoming the Dendrophid
Once the strongest of men, they were forced to abandon lithe strength and speed for other means of survival in the boggy swamps where they were forced to live. They began to adapt to the aspects of the serpent, becoming dangerously cunning, and learning the ways of magic for the dark forces of the earth, many times they were in agreement with the vampires who aided in their understanding of the dark forces. Eventually the race was discovered by another god, who unlike the first had no desires for right and wrong, or anger to the Dendrophid, rather he saw them as great weapons of chaos and power. He freed them from their curse of the swamps, but found them better use in the form of serpentine men. So the dendrophid, freed from their prison began to re-enter the world hating every race but ones of the dark power. The hold spite and jealousy toward the humans, anger and resentment toward the elves and all other creature who had not suffered as they had. Most of all they held a hate for the Wemic, for they where to blame for their exile, and they must pay dearly for it in the minds of the dendrophid.
Denrophid are slightly taller than humans and reside most comfortably in the hot sunny areas of the world. They are of the most cunning races and are gifted with dark magical abilities, having been force to abandon strength for survival. Most dendrophid will kill Wemic on sight, but tend to accept all of the darker races, often even they neutral races can be found in conversation with the dendrophid. Of all dark races the dendrophid is the least evil, and is the most likely to be found in partnership with humans, regardless of malice toward them. |
