Sadly, the basic industry of Nyissa has always been the slave trade. The battlefields of the wars and insurrections of the west have for thousands of years been haunted by Nyissan slavers. They are indeed sometimes as prevalent as ravens. Although the trade is generally condemned, captives without the means to afford ransom all too frequently end up in chains on Nyissan slave ships. The fate of these unfortunates is unknown, but since the Nyissan slavers almost invariably pay for their goods and supplies with Angarak gold (which has a distinctive reddish cast by reason of the iron deposits in the vicinity of the mines of Gar og Nadrak and Cthol Murgos), it is generally assumed that the ultimate destinations of the slaves are the Angarak Kingdoms to the east. One shudders at the thought of what may happen to them once they fall into the hands of the Grolim priests in those dark lands.
THE HISTORY OF THE SNAKE PEOPLE
Because of the secretive nature of the Nyissans, attempts to gather historical data about them are extraordinarily frustrating. Indeed, beyond a few cursory facts, most of which came to light during the Alorn invasion of 4002–3, little is actually known about the country’s history.
Generally it is assumed that the Nyissans were a part of the vast westward migration which took place during the first millennium, at which time were also established the kingdoms of Aloria, Arendia, Maragor and the Empire of Tolnedra.
It is a commonplace to observe that history is a by-product of war, and with the exception of the Alorn invasion mentioned above and a legendary conflict between Nyissa and Maragor late in the second millennium, the Nyissans have had almost no conflicts with the other kingdoms of the west.
The causes of the Maragor–Nyissa war are shrouded in the mists of antiquity, and what few actual records we have of the conflict are at best fragmentary as a result of the excessive zeal of Tolnedran soldiery during the extirpation of the Marags in the third millennium. What remains is a sketchy body of reports, requisitions, diaries and the like which provide a shadowy outline of the conflict and little else.
Whatever the unknown cause was, it appears that the Marags considered themselves the offended side, and the mounting of their expeditionary force was something in the nature of a holy crusade.
At any rate, during the mid-nineteenth century, Marag columns struck down across the northeastern frontier of Nyissa and plunged toward Sthiss Tor, 250 leagues to the west. Field commanders reported the existence of broad highways through the jungles and mighty cities which were besieged and pulled down. While some of this may be shrugged off as primitive exaggeration, it must be conceded that there may indeed be some grain of truth in those reports. Tolnedran expeditions into northern Nyissa following the Alorn invasion of the fifth millennium noted the existence of vast, jungle-choked ruins62 and barely perceptible highways through the dense growth. Whatever the truth may be, the Marags pressed on, pausing only to violate Nyissan temples and to perform their own disgusting rites upon the altars of the Snake God.
At the approach of the Marag columns, Queen Salmissra and her retinue fled the city of Sthiss Tor and sought refuge in the jungles to the south. The Marags found that they had conquered an empty city surrounded by unpeopled fields.
At that time occurred one of the most monstrous incidents in the history of warfare. After the Marags had occupied the city for perhaps ten days, the soldiers began to sicken and die in alarming numbers. The frantic pleas for food sent back to Maragor by field commanders camped in the midst of a fertile plain burgeoning with unharvested crops provide poignant substantiation to what had taken place. Before their evacuation of the city, the Nyissans had systematically poisoned every scrap of edible food in the vicinity of the capital. They had even, by means known only to them, poisoned fruits and vegetables while they still hung from trees or nestled in the fields. Such cattle as were left for the Marags had, with a technique that staggers the imagination, been poisoned in such a way that, while the cattle remained healthy, all who ate their flesh died.
A decimated and delirious column of the few pitiful survivors stumbled out of the jungles and back to Maragor, leaving their trail littered with the bodies of their dead.
While it is conjecture only, it is fairly safe to assume that the lessons of the Marag invasion were not lost on the Nyissans. The highways (if indeed they were highways) provided easy passage through the jungles for invading troops, so they were permitted to fall into disuse, and the jungles reclaimed them. Since the Nyissans are not a prolific people (their use of drugs inhibits reproductive activity severely), large cities simply provide larger concentrations of people to fall victim to surprise attack, and the limited population can be severely depleted by only a few such attacks. Thus, it became in all probability a matter of state policy to disperse the population broadly in small cities and towns and even villages—except for the capital, of course.
And so it is that we see the truth of the adage; history is the product of war. Had there been no Marag invasion, Nyissa might well have developed along entirely different lines. Cities might have arisen and the jungle been cleared, but it was not to be. The motto which appears above the door of the throne-room of Queen Salmissra in Sthiss Tor speaks volumes: ‘The Serpent and the Forest are one.’ The jungles of Nyissa are the refuge and the defense of the snake people, and we must not expect that they will ever be cleared.
During the reign of Ran Horb II of the First Horbite Dynasty (sometimes referred to as the architect of Empire), a sustained effort was made to conclude the customary trade agreements with the Nyissans. Vordal, a noble of the Vordue line of the Imperial Family was entrusted with the delicate task of negotiating with Queen Salmissra. His reports provide graphic and chilling details of the lethal intrigues which prevail in the Nyissan Court. Each noble, functionary or priest normally employs a sizeable staff of herbologists and chemists whose sole purpose is the distillation, compounding and mixing of new poisons and antidotes. A breakthrough by one of these professional poisoners is usually marked by the sudden and frequently ghastly deaths of all members of an opposing faction. Since most Nyissan politicians are able, as a result of heavy preventive dosing with all known antidotes and a brutal regimen of desensitization involving the eating of gradually increased amounts of the toxins themselves, to ingest quantities of poisons sufficient to fell a legion, the new poisons which are developed are of terrifying potency.
Vordal reports that Queen Salmissra watched these lethal games with a reptilian amusement, not even turning a hair when her most trusted advisor quite suddenly turned black in the face, fell to the floor in violent convulsions and died frothing at the mouth like a mad dog. Nyissan Queens learn quite early to develop no permanent attachments. Their training is so rigorously bound by eons-old tradition and their lives so circumscribed by ritual that there is very little in the way of appearance or personality that distinguishes one Queen from her predecessors or her successors.
At long length Vordal was able to conclude the treaty with the Nyissans, a difficult task since frequently the negotiator with whom he was dealing died quite suddenly in the midst of the most sensitive negotiations. The treaty provided for a commercial compound near the docks at Sthiss Tor, and Tolnedran merchants were rigidly restricted to that compound. While it is certainly not the best treaty ever concluded, the Nyissans’ seemingly inexhaustible supply of good red Angarak gold makes it easier to put up with the restrictions. Further, the Nyissans’ phlegmatic turn of mind renders them indifferent to the intricacies of bargaining, and they will generally pay without question any price that is asked. Thus it is that trade with the snake people is highly profitable, but few if any Tolnedran merchants are ever comfortable in Sthiss Tor. Most will limit themselves to two or three voyages up the River of the Serpent. The profits are enormous, but there is something about the Nyissans that compels even the greediest to soon depart.
The most celebrated event in the history of Nyissa was the Alorn invasion in 4002–3 as a result of the Nyissan assassination of the Rivan King, Gorek the Wise.
The motivation behind this apparently senseless act has never been fully disclosed, although the Alorn Kings were able to extract it in detail from Queen Salmissra XXXIII before she died. It is generally assumed that there was Angarak involvement in the plot, but why the Angaraks would hold such enmity toward the monarch of a remote island is unclear. Beyond this, one wonders what could conceivably have been offered to a Nyissan Queen to purchase her cooperation.
Whatever Salmissra’s motives, the act was indisputably hers, and the Alorn retribution was swift and terrible. As previously discussed, the combined forces of Cherek, Drasnia, Algaria and the Isle of the Winds made quick work of the Nyissans. Following their victory, the Alorns systematically and savagely destroyed the entire nation, tearing down the towns and burning the villages. All Nyissans who fell into their hands were ruthlessly put to the sword. Once again it was only the jungles that prevented the snake people from being totally exterminated.
So brutal had been the destruction of Nyissa by the Alorns that for five hundred years and despite frequent searches by Tolnedran expeditions, no sign was visible that any Nyissans survived the holocaust. Then, and only gradually, did the snake people emerge from the jungles to begin timidly rebuilding the capital at Sthiss Tor. Amazingly, it appears that the Queen continued to dominate Nyissan life even though her people had been scattered to the winds. Queen Salmissra LXXIII emerged from the jungles as imperious as had been her predecessors and so closely resembling the face on ancient coinage that many had the eerie feeling that she was the same woman.
The cause for this resemblance, however, had come to light during one of the Tolnedran expeditions into Nyissa following the Alorn invasion. In the vicinity of the capital were discovered several stately houses, each identical to the others, and in the sealed central hall of each house were discovered the skeletal remains of nineteen youthful females. Remnants of clothing indicated that all were identically dressed, and the remains were all precisely the same height. In the surrounding rooms were the remains of numerous other Nyissans as well—some in the garb of servants, others in the robes of priests. The reason for the unbroken line and the uncanny resemblance of each Queen to all who had passed before her became abundantly clear. At a certain stage in the life of a Queen, a search was made of the country to discover twenty young women who closely resembled her. At the time of the old Queen’s death, one of the twenty was chosen to succeed her. The rest were summarily put to death, along with their servants, teachers and priests, in order to prevent any effort to supplant the chosen one. In this manner, the Queen is made secure, and the line of succession is guaranteed.
Since their one excursion into the realm of international affairs ended so disastrously, the Nyissans have remained steadfastly neutral. Much concern existed in the Imperial court at Tol Honeth during the invasion of the Angaraks under Kal-Torak in the 49th century over the possibility that a second column of Angaraks and Malloreans might be proceeding secretly through the jungles of the snake people to strike across Tolnedra’s southern border and thus crush the west in a vast pincer movement. Given the proximity of Nyissa to the western reaches of Cthol Murgos and the peculiar relationship of the snake people with the Angaraks, this possibility was all too real. As a result, Imperial legions fortified the northern banks of the River of the Woods, and the bulk of Tolnedra’s forces were moved to the south and garrisoned at Tol Borune and at Tol Rane in order to counter any such attack. Despite fearful casualties, continuous patrols probed northern Nyissa for any evidence of the expected Angarak approach.
Queen Salmissra vigorously protested the Tolnedran violation of the territorial integrity of her realm, but was put off with a series of diplomatically worded notes from the Emperor himself.
In the end, of course, the expected second front failed to materialize, and we must concede that the diversion of the thirty-seven legions to the south weakened Tolnedra’s ability to participate in the decisive Battle of Vo Mimbre and may in some measure have contributed to the humiliation of the Empire in the infamous accords which followed that battle.
Following the Angarak war, Nyissans have again resumed the slave-trade, although the relative peace which has prevailed in the west since that upheaval has severely limited the number of captives available to them. A few years after the war, Nyissan merchants began buying up foodstuffs in the west, always paying the highest prices. This sudden change contributed noticeably to the food shortage resulting from the destruction of the Algarian herds. It is suspected that the Nyissans were acting as agents for the Murgos, and that the food shortage had spread virtually across the entire continent.
In recent years, Nyissan traders and merchants have been much in evidence in all parts of the west even more so than during the short period of Nyissan commercial dominance as a result of the closing of both the North and the South Caravan Routes. As always, the motives of the Serpent Queen in Sthiss Tor are a mystery.
The present Queen, Salmissra XCIX, appears to be a somewhat more strong-minded ruler than have been many of her precursors who were merely pawns in the control of various court functionaries. Her age, of course, is indeterminate as a result of the use of certain closely guarded herbal compounds reserved for her alone which have the apparent capability of retarding or halting entirely the more visible ravages of the aging process.
NOTE
From time immemorial there have been rumors, myths, legends, folklore and a good deal of just plain nonsense circulated about the Nyissan Queen. Many of these are too ludicrous or grotesque to bear repeating. One story has her the same original Salmissra who is restored every so many years to youth and beauty by feeding, vampire-like upon various sacrificial victims. There is often gross speculation about her sex-life—one group contending she is a virgin, another contending that she is driven by the drugs she uses into abnormal sexual voracity, yet a third contending that as high priestess of snake cult she couples only with serpents.
Quite obviously, most of this is too ridiculous to merit refutation. These facts we know: The Nyissan Queen has never been observed to have had children. The Nyissan Queen has never been observed to have had a husband. From this we must conclude that she is required to maintain the appearance at least of celibacy during her reign. Any other speculation is sheer waste of time and quite certainly is no area of investigation for any proper scholar.63
Nyissa
COINAGE
Nyissan coins are triangular, and their weights are not exact (Nyissans routinely shave the edges of coins)
GOLD
‘The Golden Queen’ a 5 oz. double triangle with a likeness of Salmissra in each quarter worth about $625.00
‘Golden Half Queen’ 2½ oz. triangle worth about $312.50
‘Golden Quarter Queen’ 1¼ oz. triangle worth about $156.25
SILVER
Silver Queen—5 oz., worth about $31.25
Silver Half Queen—2½ oz., worth about $15.62
Silver Quarter Queen—1¼ oz., worth about $7.81
COPPER
A large triangular piece worth about 50 cents
COSTUME
Nyissan city dwellers wear loose robes of lightweight silk embroidered and decorated. In the country, shorter robes.
Nyissan men shave their heads.
Nyissan women wear elaborate and somewhat revealing gowns, lots of jewelry and a serpent crown. The fabric of her gown is almost transparent. Hair worn Egyptian-style. All body hair removed.
Armor—such as it is—chain-mail vest.
Weapons—short, poisoned knives, short bows with poisoned arrows.
Ceremonial swords and long-handled axes like Halberd.
COMMERCE
Nyissans are much into commerce. A great deal of profit is made in slaves and in trade. They seem indifferent to the finer points of haggling because the Angaraks pay so much for slaves (a form of life insurance). Nyissans are deceitful and not above giving short-weight and adulterating the product. They don’t trust each other much.
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Again a theocracy. Salmissra is not only Queen, but also is high priestess. She is supreme, but the court functionaries wield a great deal of power. Court is rather like a cross between Egyptian and Chinese. Many functionaries are eunuchs. The Queen’s whim is law, thus everyone tries to stay on her good side to protect himself. Very political, very conniving, Byzantine.
Commoners are simply laborers, but slaves do all the heavy work. (Slaves have their tongues removed.)
RANK
THE QUEEN
Supreme Queen and High Priestess.
THE HIGH PRIESTS
Pretty heavy in the temple but not so much at court.
THE HIGH CHAMBERLAIN
The Queen’s chief Advisor—depending on the Queen, this is the one who more or less runs the country. Most Queens are preoccupied with their own diversions and he has full rein. A few, however, have been strong-minded enough to run things themselves.
ASSORTED FUNCTIONARIES OF THE COURT
These are, in effect, bureaucrats who handle various aspects of government. Much jealousy and bickering and so forth.
The Rivan Codex: Ancient Texts of THE BELGARIAD and THE MALLOREON (The Belgariad / The Malloreon) Page 22
