The rise of Ishi and the fall of the Serpent King
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 118693
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And so began this new chapter of the hapless girl's life. The Serpent King, who was like unto a minor god in these deep woods, gave her the name Ishi, which she accepted with no qualms. She felt nothing - no trepidation at the unfamiliar locale, no loneliness for being the only human here, no despair at being unable to leave or recover her voice or true form, no embarrassment or anger at becoming something akin to a slave - nothing except loyalty to the creature that had removed all of her pain. She had killer survival instincts, and the compulsion to serve the Serpent King, and that was all. It clothed her in a long, slight dress like snakeskin, and showed her her new home in its opulent palace. It was built for a snake, but accommodating for a human, its every surface gilded and its rooms filled with plush pillows and expensive wines. The Serpent King had great powers it could use to summon anything it wanted, and it was willing to spare some of this ability to afford her a few comforts. Ishi served it well, mostly by making sure the snakes in the forest were well cared for. As time passed, it gave her many gifts for her loyalty: at first simple bangles and other jewelry of gold, but then things like slitted pupils, a forked tongue, fangs... Though she still appeared as a beautiful human girl, her appearance had certainly taken on serpentine qualities. Years passed. The snakes all came to know her, and she usually had at least one riding around on her shoulder or slithering somewhere else on her body. She felt familiarity, but no actual kinship or fondness. She was merely living among them and serving their god. She aged, but didn't really show it; visibly aging wouldn't be very snakelike. It was several years before it happened, but of course, some upstart adventurers had to come into the woods and challenge the Serpent King. What she didn't expect was for them to win. When she realized it, she felt nothing. She simply knew that she would have to make a decision about her future. These snakes were well used to her, but with the Serpent King gone, it was a waste of time to care for them, and if she was no longer caring for them, they were much more dangerous to her. She was used to this area, but it seemed it was no longer the most ideal place to survive if it was crawling with hostile snakes. Her real decision was not whether to leave, but whether to leave with the adventurers, or wait until they were gone. She decided to approach them, at least. When she revealed herself, as they were examining the remains of the Serpent King, she got a good look at them for the first time. There was a swordsman, a wizard, and an archer. At once they were all in battle formation, but she didn't twitch, knowing that she was no threat to them, and they would see that they had no reason to attack. "Who are you?" asked the archer, a woman with a long black braid. She laid a hand on her throat. "You can't speak?" asked the swordsman, a squat but nimble fellow. She shook her head, and held out her hands, palms out. "Um," said the swordsman. "Can you... write?" Again, she shook her head, and, still holding her hands out, took a step towards them. By now they could see clearly that she was carrying no weapons, and her slight dress certainly couldn't hide any, so they were obviously feeling quite nonthreatened, lowering their own. The wizard rubbed his head, and said, "I could try casting a spell on you? To give you a voice?" Her golden eyes flashed. She doubted he would succeed, but she saw no reason for him not to try; they'd have a hard time getting anywhere otherwise. She nodded. The wizard breathed out slowly, and beckoned her to come closer, which she did. He laid one hand on her head and the other on her forehead, and began to chant.
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2/16/2022 5:57:14 AM
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