Nayiss was conceived to be a weapon of the abyss. Born of a dark ritual enacted by a marilith matron, she had always been destined to be nothing more than a puppet. Once she got older, she fought against that destiny, and rebelled against her nature, becoming a terror to the evils of the world.
Unfortunately, her role in the cosmic war proved to be greater than she would have wished.
She first encountered her eventual husband, Jarkul, while infiltrating the Cult of the Dragon—an apocalypse cult dedicated to the return of the dread dragon goddess Tiamat. Operating as an agent of the cult in the hopes of rising through the ranks to decapitate it from the inside, she was sent to assassinate the Tymanther ambassador. However, she was well over her head and the woman that sent her knew it.
The attempted assassination went south, and rather than die for a cult that she was trying to destroy, Nayiss surrendered and turned over the information she had to Jarkul. It was the beginning of a multi-year partnership, during which the mystery of Nayiss's conception plagued the two of them. However, their focus was the Cult of the Dragon, and together, along with several boon companions, they were able to vanquish the cult and stop the return of the dread Dragon Queen.
Throughout their journey, it was revealed that Nayiss's demonic mother was none other than the marilith Reluhantis—one of the first daughters, along with Unhath, of the Queen of Mariliths, Shaktari, and a majordomo of the demon lord Graz'zt. It was clear Reluhantis had some greater purpose in mind. Shaktari, too, had turned her gaze to her granddaughter, as she found kinship in the desire for vengeance against Reluhantis. After all, the demonic queen's own daughters had been responsible for her downfall.
But, the truth of Nayiss's purpose remained a mystery.
However, with Nayiss at his side, Jarkul was able to return to his home in Djerad Thymar and establish a clan to replace the one that had been denied to him. Clan Ourobori was formally recognized, and Nayiss too became a member of Thymari society with the moniker of the Viper of Djerad Thymar well-established due to her efforts in the wars against the monsters of Unther, led by the god Typhon—another entity who had interested in Nayiss's role in the cosmic web.
Nayiss encompasses many femme fatale tropes and is sly, confident, flirtatious, and deadly. She holds her insecurities close to her chest, and always greets situations with a smile: sinister or genuine depending on the situation.
In most instances, she appears entirely unflappable. She has very little fear in the wake of a life of dangers, save one: the theft of her freedom and autonomy. She is a wild card, a woman of cunning recklessness that will face danger head-on and who does not mourn those lost in the neverending war against evil.
Jarkul is one of the sole people that shake up that mold. He is her soulmate, utterly and completely, but also the singular force that keeps her from slipping down a darker path.
Duality of playfulness and cunning deceit—as a highly toxic flower, foxglove is one of many plants Nayiss curates for her own use, but its meaning also has a personal aspect as she appears friendly, playful, and amicable upon first impression regardless of her relationship with others. However, this can either be a true face or a nearly imperceptible mask, as she uses it to lure targets into a false sense of security before they meet their end.
Rebirth, transformation, and cycles—snakes are a core symbol for Nayiss, both because of her serpentine appearance, but also because of their involvement in the ouroboros symbol of eternity and cycles, which was a basis for the clan name she had chosen for herself and Jarkul and also core to the idea of the World Serpent, which is pivotal to her history in still-unknown ways.
Transformation, independence, and lust—Nayiss collects, cares for, and harvests the venom of scorpions as a source for her own poisons, and she also frequently evokes the image of the scorpion in her jewelry and other parts of her attire. They are her favorite animal, and she shamelessly adores every aspects of them.
Nayiss's beloved husband, rock, and the man that inspires her to keep her demonic urges in check so that she can continue to strive toward something better in direct opposition to her destiny. He is effectively her soulmate, and the only person that she has ever, and will ever, feel genuine love for.
One of the demon prince Graz'zt's majordomos alongside her sister, Unhath, Reluhantis's schemes were the reason for Nayiss's conception, though the end-goal of her machinations remain shrouded in mystery. Nayiss venomously hates her demonic mother, and would love nothing more than for her to meet her permanent end.
The mother of all mariliths, the ruler of Vudra—the plane of poison and the 531st layer of the Abyss—and Nayiss's demonic grandmother. Having become a Chosen of Shaktari upon her first metaphysical meeting with the demonic goddess as she slumbered beneath the blood sea of her realm, Nayiss has an uneasy kinship with the demonic Queen of Poison, as they both despise Reluhantis for their own reasons.
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Nayiss is a highly sexual creature that has a sexually-open relationship with her partner, Jarkul, though it is emotionally monogamous. She is a true switch that occupies any dynamic that suits the encounter, and her attraction is not limited to specific sexes or genders. She seeks out encounters for any number of reasons, and is generally a thrill-seeker, which results in her engaging in encounters with the more dangerous members of society, including fiends and other supernatural and extraplanar creatures.
