Lore:The Exalted Viper

"The Serpent, the Viper ... whatever you call it, a snake is still a snake." —The Thief

The Exalted Viper
The Exalted Viper's mortal form
Race	Celestial (formerly Imperial)	Gender	Female
Resided in		Skyreach
Appears in		ESO

The Exalted Viper was a short-lived Celestial created in 2E 582. She was intended to replace the Serpent, and thus shared identical aspects.

As a mortal, the Exalted Viper was an Imperial mage named Cassipia. When the constellations fell from the sky above Craglorn in 2E 582, the Serpent took form as a Celestial and began a cult called the Scaled Court. Attracted by his rhetorical goals of shedding corruption from the world, Cassipia left the Mages Guild and was appointed Regent of Serpentine Stratagems within the Court. However, she soon discovered that the Serpent's plans involved destroying civilization to restore Nirn to a primal state. Along with her Bosmer companion Little Leaf, Cassipia secretly defected from the Scaled Court and began plotting to usurp the Serpent's place in the sky by becoming a Celestial of equal power.

Aided by Little Leaf and the Vestige, Regent Cassipia used her authority to steal and disrupt the Court's research on nirncrux. She learned how the ancient Nedes first created Celestials and how the Court were creating mantikoras, as well as how the Iron Orcs were imbuing iron and flesh with nirncrux. Her efforts crippled the Serpent's attempt at raising an army in Upper Craglorn in the process, although her treachery went undiscovered and she retreated to Skyreach Temple with her followers to begin the transformation.

Kelmen Locke, an old acquaintance of Cassipia's, attempted to dissuade her from performing the ritual, but instead was killed. His death brought the Thief's attention to her plans, and she journeyed to Skyreach Temple with the Vestige to prevent the creation of the Exalted Viper. Although the ritual had been interrupted, the death of Little Leaf triggered Cassipia's transformation, and the Exalted Viper was born in battle. However, she was promptly slain in her mortal form.

Gallery

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  Regent Cassipia

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  The Exalted Viper's Celestial projection, prior to her transformation

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the ESO Regent Cassipia and The Exalted Viper articles.