Serpent Men

Once vanished milennia ago by the Elder Race, these secretive snake-headed men now lead cults of Set, god of serpents, within the cities of man. They use magic to take the form of humans, and in this guise rule their Shadow Kingdom - the secret government of serpent man impostors who assassinate and then impersonate dukes, kings and earls throughout the land. Their true form is revealed upon death, when their illusionary human features revert to a serpent's head. Until then, the only way to detect a serpent man impostor without magic is to state a certain primordial phrase known to their ancient druidic enemies - a phrase which the jaws of a true man can pronounce, but which the bones of a serpent-man's mouth cannot form.

In the world inhabited by Scalyfolk, serpent men also exist, but approach their infiltration somewhat differently. Owing to the scalyfolk system of representative democracy, they do not need to use their magic to disguise themselves, and can easily gain power under their own identities simply by denying that they are serpent men. This is an issue of great concern among scalyfolk sages, who spend years questing for the primordial phrases that will enable them to reveal suspected serpent men, only for the serpent men to simply avoid using those phrases in speeches.

S'lissakk and his apprentices were serpent men of the scalyfolk world.