God of Darkness, Lies, and Serpents. Patron of the Apeshi and the Totem of the Naga. Herald.
AY-pep, Rhymes with “They Step”
Apep is a unique specimen in the realm of cosmic beings, occupying the role of both Herald and Totem. He was unable to be tamed by the Herald who attempted to do so, and killed the Herald in the act. Later, a noble house of Orcs would capture the snake in act of trickery, luring the snake in with the offer of a test of strength, only to be trapped by shackles he found impossible to escape from. Apep begrudgingly served the noble family of the now long dead sand kingdom. He was prodded and experimented on by powerful mages to protect the Pharaoh from all things dark. This society feared the darkness and the things that live therein. Apep, the colossal snake, eater of the night, was gifted the power of lightning by an old storm God to protect them from the chaos of the dark.
Apep consumed and consumed, and soon the darkness overtook him, driving him to insanity. Eventually, the sages began to wonder if their creation was at risk of turning on them, going to the very darkness he was created to consume. By then, it was too late, Apep, in his maddened state, devoured the royal family and fled into the sky. The snakes that once served the old royal family of the desert as avatars of Apep too became twisted and began to attack Humans.
Apep presents himself as a giant, bloated horned serpent, flying through the sky in a cloud of dark that seemingly coats his body in a visual spectacle. He has developed a fierce appetite for Dwarves. Apep would take up residence in Heden, the Plane of Blood, and would birth the first of his divine children, the Naga, who would go on to lend their appearance to the first Yuan-Ti. Some of the Biriqian Orcs who once revered him as the eater of darkness began to worship his new form as a metamorphosis of the Great Serpent, and began to attempt to mimic this metamorphosis. They broke off from the old royalty to form their own nation, their own society based around the worship of Apep. These dissenters would become the first Yuan-Ti who would take on the appearance of snake-like Humanoids through the divine children of Apep.
Apep finds his enemies in the Gods of other desert-dwelling species, such as the Oubaste-Sahmat of the Maahes, who represents truth and resents the lies that the Apeshi and their God excel at, as well as Shebek of the Orcs, who despises the offshoot of his children for the blatant disregard of his wisdom.