SECT of the RED SERPENT SECT of the RED SERPENT
Membership: None identified
Purpose: Slaughter of the Priests of Set, worship of Set in their own fashion
Aliases: None identified;
they were apparently formerly amongst the Priests of Set
Enemies: Priests of Set
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
presumably at least formerly unspecified locations in Stygia, Hyborian era;
had an underground temple in what would become become Wakanda by the modern era
First Appearance: Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4 (October, 2020)
Powers/Abilities: The Sect of the Red Serpent was bloodthirsty and savage, enabling them to slaughter conventional Priests of Set, some of whom would have possessed some level of mystic abilities and/or weaponry.
While worshipping Set, they slaughtered those less aggressive than they, and their motives were twisted by the Wyrm so that they acted somewhat against their own god.
They possessed certain mystic talismans, including the Serpent Crown (see comments) and the Serpent Scepter, and likely others.
They almost certainly possessed occult knowledge and power, and they commonly wielded bladed weapons in combat.
At least some of them possessed elongated, pointed ears, presumably indicating that they were somewhat inhuman in appearance.
History:
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4 (fb)) <Many millennia ago> - The followers of the serpent god Set spread death and tyranny across Earth.
Every sacrifice empowered Set, but for the most zealous followers, this was not enough. In their eyes, the priests of Set had grown fat and complacent, and so they formed their own secret faction, the Sect of the Red Serpent.
Basking in the bloodbath as the sect slaughtered temple after temple, Set's rival the Wyrm sought to sow further discord among Set's followers.
The Worm began to whisper to the Sect of the Red Serpent. He planted in their minds the notion the notion that a treacherous god such as Set was most truly worshipped by treachery -- by being defied.
Worm presented Set's traitorous priests with the Serpent Scepter, an
artifact that allowed a mortal to unlock untapped powers of the Serpent
Crown while still resisting Set's will. 
Together, the Serpent Crown and the Serpent Scepter should have been unstoppable.
However, when the Sect of the Red Serpent tried to use their combined power, they found it too much for the frail human frame.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4 (fb) - BTS) - The Serpent Scepter was hidden by the ragged remnants of the Red Serpent. It was to be discovered only by one who had proven himself by bathing in the blood of Set's priests.
(Conan:
Battle for the
Serpent Crown#3 (fb) - BTS) - Apparently the "Ring of the Sect of the
Red Serpent" was created to guide such a person to the Serpent
Scepter. 
(Savage Sword of Conan I#8 (fb) - BTS) - Circa 8000 B.C., another Cataclysm occurred, further shifting the landmasses.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#1-5 - BTS) - In the modern era, Hell-lord Mephisto allied with multi-billionaire megalomaniac Imus Champion and manipulated time-displaced Hyborian warrior Conan of Cimmeria, who had slaughtered many priests of Set, to acquire the "Ring of the Sect of the Red Serpent."
This led Conan to the Serpent Scepter, which Champion then stole before obtaining the Serpent Crown.
However, Champion eventually rejected Mephisto's aid and was ultimately apparently consumed by the combined use of the Crown and Scepter, which vanished as well.
Comments: Created by Saladin Ahmed and Luke Ross.
The Serpent Crown was completed just before the Great Cataclysm, and it
was apparently buried until being found by Atlanteans serving Naga
approximately 600 years ago. It's not clear how the Sect of the Red
Serpent would have had it during the Hyborian era, but that's really
the only time they could have had it.
Perhaps the magically summoned the Serpent Crown via the Serpent
Scepter, but then after the user was destroyed, the Serpent Crown
returned to the site from which it had been brought.
Stygia was obviously the land in which Set-worship was most prominent
in the Hyborian era, and it was something of a predecessor of Egypt. A
number of cataclysmic events that caused restructuring of the
landmasses and migration, etc. explains why Stygia was on the West
coast of the landmass that is now Africa, while Egypt is much farther
east.
The same explanation could explain why the Sect of the Red
Serpent hid the Serpent Scepter in the Hyborian era and it was present
in Wakanda (also closer to the East Coast of Africa, and a little
farther south than Egypt) in the modern era.
Additionally, the Sect may
have traveled far from Stygia to hide the Scepter.
The fates of any surviving members of the Sect of the Red Serpent are unrevealed, but it would be a nice follow-up to this story...if/when Marvel is able to write Conan stories again...
According to Quiof Thrul:
Black Panther: Protectors of Wakanda: A History and Training
Manual of the Dora Milaje from the Marvel Universe (2022) by Karama Horne
says the Simbi, one of the races of Originators (who lived before humans
in the region where Wakanda is located) is descended from of Set.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Sect of the Red Serpent has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4, story pg. 2, panel 1 (as part of Priests of Set);
panel 2 (forming Sect);
panel 3 (slaughtering other Priests);
panel 6 (using combined Crown and Scepter);
panel 7 (destroyed by combined use)
Appearances:
Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4 (October, 2020) - Saladin Ahmed (writer), Luke Ross (artist), Mark Basso (editor)
First posted: 03/15/2023
Last updated: 03/18/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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