If anyone but a dwarf had said that, Aaron's first reaction would probably have been, This fellow is trying to screw me over!
Could anyone just stroll into the ruins of a Serpentfolk empire? Nine lives would not be enough to survive that!
If Aaron had not spent his idle days recuperating in the hospital cramming the history of the Realms, this dwarf might actually have fooled him.
So, what was the Serpentfolk empire?
The Serpentfolk empire had once been a regional hegemon in the ancient Realms.
As mentioned before, the earliest and most powerful civilization to emerge in the Realms had been the Sarrukh Wuhai empires, founded by the Sarrukh Wuhai, one of the Creator Races. They had established three empires in succession: the Okoth Empire, the Mhairshaulk Empire, and the Isstosseffifil Empire.
So much time had passed that most history books gave only vague accounts of these Sarrukh Wuhai empires. People knew only that the Wuhai had been the first ruling race and that their empires had once been immensely powerful. What happened afterward was largely unknown.
One of these three empires, however, had endured for a very long time.
That was the Mhairshaulk Empire.
The Sarrukh who founded the Mhairshaulk Empire considered themselves above all others and needed suitable servants. They therefore combined their own genes with those of humans, creating numerous races, including the Naga, Lizardfolk, Pterafolk, and Serpentfolk, all of whom remained active in the Realms.
The Serpentfolk were considered the Sarrukh Wuhai's most successful creation. Loyal and capable, they allowed their satisfied creators to retreat behind the scenes and enjoy life, gradually declining. The Mhairshaulk Empire they had founded slowly transformed from a Wuhai empire into a Serpentfolk empire.
The Mhairshaulk Serpentfolk Empire had ruled for nearly ten thousand years before finally falling to