The seat of the First Empire of the Serpent People, during the
Paleozoic era, is Valusia. Valusia is a
fictional country in the Kull stories of Robert E. Howard and his stories tell, among other things, of the Serpent Men trying to conquer the world once again, around 20,000 years ago, where Kull from
Atlantis reigned over the Valusia Kingdom, located on the west coast of the main continent of
Thuria. The ancient Serpent Empire was based on
sorcery and
alchemy, but collapsed with the rise of the
dinosaurs about 225 million years ago during the
Triassic era. The Serpent Men originally ruled over humans in Valusia, but were defeated and almost wiped out in humanity's battle for survival against the "elder things", which predated even them. Over time, humans dominated Valusia and the Serpent Men became a legend. The Serpent Men, one of the few surviving "elder things", infiltrated human society and ruled from behind the scenes for a time, but were again discovered, defeated, and cast out in a secret war. However, they later repeated this tactic. Soon, they added the front of a Snake Cult religion, which gained power and influence within Valusia while the Serpent Men used their abilities of disguise to murder or replace each reigning monarch. Their power is eventually broken by King Kull, formerly an Atlantean barbarian who had recently conquered Valusia, and the
Pict Brule the Spear-Slayer, whose society was aware of the Serpent Men's infiltration.