| Category | Empires | ||||||||||
| World | Bal-Kriav | ||||||||||
| Region | Ma'Ohari | ||||||||||
| Government | Autocracy | ||||||||||
| Capital | Phlem | ||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||
| Races |
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| Alignment | chaotic neutral, chaotic evil | ||||||||||
| Deities | Lukoon, Neld-Rac | ||||||||||
| Founder | Ursorehor | ||||||||||
| Enemies | Burterinii | ||||||||||
| Established | 23 Temporal 1478 | ||||||||||
| Map | Tha'lith |
Malshirk'iss was formed from yuan-ti and other scaly tribes of central Kazzatar and Gurutharni. Since the collapse of Varelay (684 LE - 2620 LE), they had been squabbling and warring with one another and their neighbors. They exhibited little inclination toward constructing anything enduring, seeming content with petty cults and lacking a substantial divine presence. This changed when Tiamat dispatched an anathema, a creature from yuan-ti mythology, to the land above. Ursorehor, an Agent of Change, waged an eight-decade-long campaign to unite the mobs under a single leader.
In 1475, while Ursorehor was bringing the last of the malcontents under her sway, she found herself confronted by a threat from the west. Bloodtusk's river navy was attacking her people as she endeavored to build up her strength. This conflict, known as the Serpent Reckoning (from 1475 to 1478), proved to be a stinging defeat for the nascent Bloodtusk Regime. Following this war, on 23 Temporal 1478, the Malshirk'iss Empire was established. In the years that followed, these two young empires maintained a delicate balance of power, which proved economically taxing. They frequently engaged in battle, with neither side gaining a decisive advantage. Jairall and Ursorehor's actions against each other were marked by bloodshed, including deep raids, assassinations, plague spreading, and terrorist activities. Both realized that to defeat the other would result in a Pyrrhic victory, leaving them vulnerable to the predations of Burterinii and the pirates of Raci-Tuc and Ren-Jorusk.
By the time Ursorehor rose to the position of Malshirk'iss's preeminent leader, a Serpent Lord, she had long since severed ties with Tiamat's summons. Rather than propagating the message of a single deity, Ursorehor disseminated the teachings of Lukoon and Neld-Rac, both of whom offered their assistance without any expectation of reciprocation.
Malshirk'iss is home to a substantial population of cambions, histachi, and other beings of dubious origins. The cambions' bloodlines can be traced back to Varelay, a once-powerful demon empire that dominated much of Tha'lith.