Editing Bow of the Prophet (section)

===Lemurians (Skaven)===
Part man, part snake, part cockroach, spiteful conspirators who seek to bring everyone down to their level. They worship the Forbidden Serpent (a nickname), who leads them via the Secret Masters (their equivalent of the council of 13 and know the true name of the Serpent). Their entire society is a winding labyrinth of initiations, secret signs and mysteries, like a gigantic mystery cult/secret society, with each strata promising more secrets to be revealed, although they always lead to more questions than answers. They will initiate humans into the societies they start, (Mmotia and Jotun already know of their evil) which form the lowest tiers of their culture. When you reach a high enough rank, you are transformed into a Lemurian (this is not widely advertised), which is pretty fucking terrible as you lose your empathy, self-reflection and ability to forgive even the most minor of slights (this is not advertised at all). You are then considered a true part of Lemuria and a higher being than any other race.

A secret perhaps only known to Secret Masters (and maybe not even then) is that the Forbidden Serpent has no ultimate plan other than “make everyone’s lives as shitty as possible”. His priests may talk about the resurrection of Lemuria or the domination of the lesser races, but that’s not truly what it’s about. Lemurians wouldn’t be able to form a stable society if they tried, so they have to be directed in a constant sabotage campaign against all other civilisations. If they managed to wreck the world completely, the Serpent would probably just fuck off and leave them to squabble over who gets the biggest rock to bash the other’s brains in. So, pathetic like Skaven, but for a different reason.

Once the kingdom of Lemuria stood proud on an island. Separated from the fractious mainland, they thrived in isolation, becoming masters of science and magic, fusing the two together. They became proud and disdainful of the outside, after all what could be worth seeking beyond Lemuria?
One day a mysterious foreigner arrived. Blind, he was seeking refuge from the wars of the mainland and asked for sanctuary on the island. The Lemurians accepted him as an oddity and said they would keep him for three days and three nights.
On the first day, they showed him their marvels and the stranger was awed by their architecture and their many advancements. The Lemurians were assured of their superiority, but when the stranger began to question why they did not bring such advancements to the mainland, his hosts were irritated and reminded him that they were already doing him a service. The stranger apologised and remained quiet for the rest of his tour.
On the second day the Lemurians asked the stranger about the mainland. He told of their difficult conditions and simple lives. The Lemurians were again assured of their superiority, but when the stranger asked for some baubles and trinkets, as each was a marvel to his simple people, his hosts were again annoyed and reminded him that they were already doing him a favour by keeping him. The stranger apologised and remained silent for the rest of the day.
However, as the third day became the third night, the Lemurians had bored of the traveller. Coming together in secrecy, they decided that casting him out before the third night was done would be very amusing and did just that. The foreigner could do nothing against their mystical arts and was quickly spirited back to his boat at the docks. As he was tossed into the boat he loudly declared;
"Though my eyes may be gone, I pity you the most. Your indifference has made you lame, your spite has made you deaf and your arrogance has made you blind.”
The Lemurians simply laughed at the traveller and sent him on his way.

On the first day of the traveller’s absence, a great swarm of cockroaches flew from the mainland, descending like a cloud on Lemuria. What they did not devour, they putrefied and no violence nor communion could remove the swarm. For every hundred that died and thousand fed and bred on their bodies.
On the second day, a great hoard of snakes came from below Lemuria, aroused by the whirring of the cockroaches. At first the Lemurians rejoiced for the snakes attempted to eat the insects. But the swarm simply flew into the air where the snakes could not reach them, so the enraged snakes started to attack the Lemurians instead. With every bite they injected burning venom, killing within seconds and causing the bodies to bloat and swell with corpse gas. On these corpses the cockroaches would feed.
On the third day, the weight of the snakes and cockroaches and the bloated bodies of the bitten was too much for the island, sinking it into the ocean, drowning every Lemurian.
But the punishment didn't end there.
The waters filled with alchemical mixtures and mystical relics and the Lemurians, the snakes and the cockroaches all fused together until there was no distinction between them. They were filled with the directionless spite of a snake, all the indifference to suffering of a cockroach and the towering arrogance of a man.
So, if you ever throw a guest out of your home before 3 days have passed, you will be cursed, just like the Lemurians!
- A common story told to children in The Empire, its origin unknown

'On my further study of this story's origin, I found an additional verse.
"And as the mutated bodies sank below the waves they heard a voice like the whirring of a thousand wings, the rubbing of a thousand scales and the whispering of a thousand mouths, offering them life if they accepted it's mysteries. They agreed and they fell within its Coils."
While the description of the Lemurians’ horrific transformation is disturbing enough, it serves a function as a boogieman. But this underwater encounter seems to serve no purpose in the narrative. The term Coils was frequently capitalised in earlier records. I will attempt to investigate further.'
From the personal journals of the late Jerome of Burs