Editing Sarrukh (section)

===Racial History===
The first significant civilizations of Toril were the empires of the sarrukh, which rose and fell between –35,000 DR and –33,500 DR. This race of intelligent scaled creatures first appeared in the area known as Okoth, south of Mulhorand. The development of the sarrukh was relatively uncontested in their homeland, and their population quickly surpassed the level sustainable by the local resources. Thus, the sarrukh were forced to expand. They spread rapidly throughout much of Faerûn, conquering other lands and sowing the seeds for civilization as they went. They encountered short-lived and disorganized resistance from the savages that inhabited the lands, but the fact that the sarrukh had already learned to smelt iron for steel weapons and armor made them virtually invincible. Within a hundred years, most of Faerûn was theirs.

The Mhairshaulk Empire arose in –34,800 DR on the Chultan peninsula, and the Isstosseffifil Empire followed in –34,500 DR, based in what is now the Great Desert of Anauroch. Okoth, the first of the sarrukh empires, still encompassed the race’s original homeland. Lesser realms, including the city of Ss’thar’tiss’ssun ( in what is now the Forest of Wyrms) and the city of Ilimar (which is split between the Great Swamp of Rethild and the Gulthmere Forest) sprang up outside of these two great empires. These regions constituted the major hubs of sarrukh civilization, and the first stable portals in Faerûn were created to connect them.

As the sarrukh spread out, they discovered that the shamans of the chaotic races living in certain wilderness areas held magical lore that they had not yet encountered. After studying these primitive forms of magic, the sarrukh consolidated their discoveries into a series of tomes. Upon completion, the books where brought to Oreme, the capitol of Isstosseffifil, for study. The most magically gifted among the sarrukh and their servitor races pored over these tomes, which contained both easily researched magical knowledge and obscure information. The empires of the sarrukh didn’t last long enough to gather the full fruits of their work, but this collection of minds eventually grew into its own secret organization, which was called the Ba’etith. The members of this group consolidated and extrapolated the bounds of their newly found knowledge, penning the Golden Skins of the World Serpent (otherwise known as the [[Nether Scrolls]]) many thousands of years after the fall of the empires.

The empires continued to grow until the sarrukh had conquered so many races that they became the minority in their own empire. Thousands of other races fulfilled their needs and satisfied their every desire. The sarrukh savored the finest meats, surrounded themselves with gold, gems, and other finery, and enjoyed all the luxuries of a civilization at its height. But as with so many empires since, their increasing dependence on other races and their growing indolence spelled the beginning of the end.

Okoth was the first empire to fall, collapsing about –34,100 DR after a century of civil strife that drove many sarrukh to the [[plane]]s. Isstosseffifil followed suit around –33,800 DR when, during a war with the phaerimms, its leaders rerouted the Narrow Sea, fl ooding the Underdark and precipitating climatological changes that doomed their own realm. Mhairshaulk was the last to fall, sliding into a slumber from which it never emerged circa –33,500 DR.

Although most of the sarrukh died in the collapses of their great empires, many survived. The sarrukh of Isstosseffifil retreated into [[lich]]dom in the depths of Oreme where, protected by the [[asabi]]s they had created, they sleep safely to this day. The sarrukh of Mhairshaulk, faced with starvation, began a cycle in which thousand-year hibernations alternated with brief periods of activity, during which food gathering and procreation could take place. The great clans of Okoth wandered the planes for millennia but never found a plane where they wished to remain for more than a generation. This nomadic existence hardened them, turning them inexorably toward evil.

As the sarrukh of Okoth increasingly embraced their darker natures, a few dissenters, despairing of their kindred’s push toward evil, broke off from the main group. They entreated [[Jazirian]], a fragment of the [[World Serpent]], for succor, and it responded by transforming them into [[couatl]]s. A bitter war ensued, but the couatls held their own against the more numerous Okothian sarrukh until [[Merrshaulk]], a darker fragment of the [[World Serpent]], finally slew [[Jazirian]]. At that point, the [[couatl]]s were forced to flee to Abeir-Toril, where they eventually settled in [[Maztica]]. The god [[Qotal]] embraced them as his divine minions, and they acknowledged him as Jazirian reborn. Most remained there, but a few [[couatl]]s eventually returned to Faerûn to deal with the fell legacies of their kindred in the Jungles of Chult. This splinter group embraced [[Ubtao]] as its patron deity.

After the war with the [[couatl]]s, the sarrukh began to explore the Barrens of Doom and Despair, where they happened upon the [[khaasta]]s. Believing these creatures to be inferior and weak reptilians, the sarrukh attempted to enslave them. Much to the invaders’ surprise, not only were the khaastas extremely resistant to serving, but they also had powerful [[demon]]ic allies willing to aid them. Thus began a centuries-long war between the sarrukh and the khaastas, which the sarrukh ultimately lost. To escape the wrath of the victorious khaastas, the sarrukh secretly returned to Faerûn and began skulking around the ruins of Okoth, on the shores of Azulduth.

Before the Fall of the Gods, the Okothian sarrukh realized that [[Sseth]] had sunk into some sort of hibernation and was barely answering their prayers. To complicate matters further, the [[khaasta]]s had finally tracked them to Faerûn and were seeking to obliterate the last few of them. Lacking the full support of a divine patron, the sarrukh once again found themselves in danger of extinction.

Then, during the [[Time of Troubles]], [[Sseth]] stopped answering prayers from the Okothian sarrukh altogether. [[Cleric]]s of Okoth felt the need for action, so the approached the minions of [[Set]] and bargained with the Lord of Evil. Set agreed to answer their prayers if they in turn aided him in binding [[Sseth]] to eternal slumber. The deal was struck, and at the conclusion of the Avatar Crisis, Set claimed Sseth’s portfolio. About eleven years after the [[Time of Troubles]], [[Set]] began answering the prayers of all his newly acquired worshipers (including the [[yuan-ti]], who s till believed their divine power to come from [[Sseth]]).

The treachery of the Okothian sarrukh has resulted in unintended consequences. Beset by nightmares, [[Sseth]] has begun thrashing against his bonds, awakening the [[serpentfolk]] elsewhere in Faerûn. The sarrukh of Mhairshaulk are emerging from hibernation, seeking a means by which to liberate their god from his prison and oppose the Okothian sarrukh. Toward that goal, the Mhairhshaulk sarrukh have begun working to re-energize the long-slumbering yuan-ti empire known as Serpentes. In Okoth, the Cult of [[Set]] is growing in strength under the leadership of Pil’it’ith, the legendary albino sarrukh leader. The cult’s membership consists primarily of Scaled Ones, but a few others have joined its ranks as well. Opposing the cult are the [[khaasta]]s, which have begun appearing in the Lakes of Salt region. Battles between these two ancient foes have given rise to strange reports of tremendously powerful lizard races openly fighting one another.

The sarrukh have not forgotten the heights to which their race once climbed, but they also know that many other races would happily eradicate the last few sarrukh should they learn of their continued existence. Thus, they choose to remain in hiding, quietly seeking to increase their numbers so that they can one day rebuild their ancient empires. Occasionally the sleeping sarrukh of Mhairshaulk awaken and draw the [[yuan-ti]] to them, but even these former servitors have since found their own leaders in the form of anathemas. On the rare occasions that sarrukh do become involved with the outside world, they work to help the scaled races that they created.