Long ago, in times primordial there was a pantheon of great beings, more powerful than any mortal may ever imagine. They were gods, but more so, they were heroes. At least most were.
There were many gods. Too many... There was the goddess of the sea, Oreora, the Goddess of wind, Naatrans, the god of the void, Dharkral, the god of the sands, Vishaatu, and many more. This is not to forget the leader of the gods, the father god Maerkiore
Some of these gods were either great friends, or bitter enemies. As the moon spirit Lunasi cannot exist without the god of the dark, Dharkral, and the ocean god Oreora ever battles with the wind goddess Naatrans.
Alas, we get ahead of ourselves, do we not, watcher of the beyond? Before the time of the mortals, such as the Arbani, before even the Oniri voyaged to the mortal realm, the world was simply... Primordial.
But not many of these gods are important to the story you will hear here, only Dharkral, Vishaatu, and perhaps the Primordial Rakenkuten.
For this is a story long set in a large desert, where the sands ever shift, that is ruled by the Arbenians. A race of three kinds left alive, snake men and women of the country.
The planet goes by many names. Dentrea, Arathi, Natirith, some even call it Earth. But there is one constant, a bloody, unforgivable past. Before the world had modern order, it was the order of Chaos, the true natural order.
It was ruled by what the mortals call Primordials. These are enormous beings, eternal, and extremely powerful. Powerful enough to almost be considered deities in their own rights.
In the beginning, there were 4. The Primordials Rakenkuten, Kasmagath, Gasmekranus, and Xi Sho. But another was yet to be made. One of the gods is said to have transformed into a dragon, with the use of magic, and to have birthed another primordial, the great and horrible Ganekrath.
Rakenkuten is an enormous cobra, and could circle the entire world and crush it as if it were nothing, had it ever been angered by the mortals. Kasmagath is an enormous bipedal wolf, who terrorized the world for centuries with it's descendants. Gasmekranus is a deer made of wood and held together by magic. And finally, Xi Sho is an enormous nine tailed fox, and a kind creature at best, whereas they are a horrible monstrosity at worst. There is a reason why many mortals fear foxes in the way they do.
Each of these Primordials gave life to a race which somewhat resembled themselves. Rakenkuten created the Arbani, Kasmagath created the Vulfri, Gasmekranus created the Drenti, Xi Sho created the Skitori, and Ganekrath created the Lytrani.
But Maerkiore was a league of their own, the leader of all of the gods. He created the Insect Kin. Horrible beasts that detested the other mortal races. There were thousands of legions of them, and they all seeked to destroy the other mortal races.
These horrid beasts, of the seven armies, Mosquito, Roach, Ant, Mantis, Beetle, Fly, and the worst of all, the Wasps. These all conspired to kill all of the other mortal races, and were eventually going to attack, for it was inevitable.
But, unfortunately for them, the beast races had expected their attack. All of them worked together, as the only point in history where all races currently existing had worked together, and would likely be the last. All of the Insect Kin were either wiped from existence, or enslaved to do labor, supposedly not befitting of any beast race.
And as the Insect War was going on, there was infighting amongst the gods. They were to choose sides, either by the Father Maerkiore to defend their leader, or by the Mother Kaena to defend mortal life. Many gods were grievously injured, and each that was, held a grudge against their aggressor, but a few had even died in the battles.
Maerkiore was a mighty beast, who took many of the other gods attacking to even be wounded, but with the gods Runeir of snow, Kor'dra of fire, Flor of life, and Vishaatu of sand by Kaena's side he eventually fell, his blood making the rivers of the spirit world run red for centuries. The god of wealth, Geldin was also killed, and his remains scattered around the mortal realm, becoming the metals and jewels of the planet.
But for the rest of eternity, the wind will always battle the sea, and the moon will ever try to rule the sky over the sun. Through this great battle, the world will always have balance.
But as of now, far along from those times, the race of snake people, the Arbani are in a troubled state, and look for a new savior. A person of their Arban tribe destined to rewrite their future, by bringing back their past.
May the wind bring you luck, traveler of the multiverse, herald of the beyond, and watcher from the true future. You may need it.
The Serpent
Blade
Chapter 1:
Journey Begin
I am Ssaletzots, and as I rest on my bed in the morning, I despair for the rest of my day till night rises. In a small town in the vast sands of Royal Arbenia, I make barely enough money to keep my family alive. But to dwell on horrid thoughts is to denounce a chance of a good life, so I move on with my morning. I forgot that I happened to be playing with one of my children's magicwork inflamers, and take it to the kitchen to put on the counter
I prepare breakfast for my five children: Alia, Ssendrik, Nylia, Aben, and Nakiri. They each demand something different of course aside from Ssendrik who is still in the boys room, as though they may be from the same batch of eggs, they do not share similar taste in foods. They each do not look too dissimilar to me, but they each have different fractions of their mother within them. Nylia and Alia are bright orange, and Tschulo has his mother's green eyes, whereas Ssendrik, Aben, and Nakiri look just like me, aside from the markings on their hoods which resemble the ones on their mother.
They are each filling their bags, whilst playing with one another. I hear Aben say to Nakiri “I bet you can't fill your bag faster than I can!”
to which
Nakiri states “You're on!” and they both hurry to fill their bags the fastest.
Nylia just rolls her eyes and sighs at this, whereas Ssendrik has just gotten out of bed, and is still groggy, yawning whilst saying “Hey- iss it morning already?” and Alia is silently watching me cook.
What I do actually cook throughout the chaos, is my best dish. I make Drekinnian Maorus, a special dish which was made in the country of Drekinn, by the Vedtiri. It is made with 3 slices of waterfruit, a sour and sweet fruit, that tastes delicious when cooked, a Genavian Hen, which is roasted over a ginger root flame, and seasonings from the Nanaroot tree, onions, and carrots. It tastes delicious when cooked properly, and my children wolf it down like they haven't eaten for weeks.
After breakfast, I prepare them for their classes. I tighten their collars, and help them button up their coats. I used to be in the royal military, and I retired only 3 years ago, so I have a bit of money left over. They have the required scribing materials, and even
some extra things like the aforementioned Runic Enflamers, and a lunch to make all of the other children jealous. I've always been the cook of the house, and love doing it. I especially love how everyone tends to be a bit happier afterwards. After eating, they all thank me for the meal. Me and my children are going the same way, but once we hit the town we split. The three brothers are joking with one another, and tossing a ball between them as they walk, while the two sisters are quietly talking to one another.
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Once we get into town, Hirifik Ssandek Caldetia, we split and say farewell. The street is lined with tens of sandstone brick buildings, mostly one or two stories high, with bright orange and blue paints adorning the edges of significant features such as windows, and red and green cloth doors. The shining emerald coast beckons me, for it is a hot day today. Since my day isn't going to be starting for a small while, I come to its call. The path dwindles, and eventually opens up to the beach. There is a single building that has a dock a bit off in the distance, but I'm here to rest under my favorite place.
On my way in, the town is mainly filled with other Arban class citizens, such as me. My race is a quite serpentine one, and there are my tribe, the Arban, the orange Ssentri like my wife used to be, and the ruling Ssolass.
There's a great old Nanaroot tree, casting shade upon the sandy coast, and it's been here since before I was, and I'm 43 at that. Since my wife died a few years ago, just before I retired from the Abennsa Heimussan, I've spent quite a bit of time under this tree, simply reflecting on how I could have saved her, had I been slightly quicker. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, and would battle alongside me.
The tree itself has a dark gray bark, and is bearing Banamelons year round. Currently, it is blooming crimson, which it does in the spring months. On another note, when a Nanaroot tree is turned into planks, the wood is a deep purple.
I close my eyes, and reminisce on the great times we had. The time we saved one of the royals, being Naniria Ssolass, the time we took down a hostile cult together with my friend, Aledus. Speaking of, he did stay back quite a while when we left. Moving on, after this I head back into the main portion of town, heading back past the tavern, and towards the job exchange. The buildings get a tiny bit larger around the job exchange itself, and this is likely due to the added wealth in the town from the capital Alden'khar itself, Khalassass.
When I look upon the job exchange, it is the biggest building in the town, as most buildings are small businesses and houses, and pale in comparison. It is fully painted with a somewhat cracked and whitewashed purple, as the job exchanges are branches of the royal family's will. The bottom of the building is lined with Nanaroot wood, since it matches so well with the purple paint. The roof is flat on both portions of the roof, but the armory is a lower section. The main area with the front door is a small tower, contained within one room. There are thin windows at the top of it.
I go inside to see it filled to the brim with my serpentine brethren, and one human clad in armor about to head off in the corner. Most of the jobs are taken by the time I arrive, so the pickings are very few. Of course, I happen to be looking for a bounty with a substantial amount, so I can feed my children for the next few weeks. There is one job that has enough money for me, so I take it after only looking for the price, to my disdain. “Well, Halsses Ssentiladssess...” I exclaim.
The egg brother next to me asks “Well, what did you pick thiss time Ssaly?”
in response I say “Firsst, don't call me that, and it wass a bounty for the Gotri, Regin Scheib, the
outlaw who started the revolution.” Continuing “That'ss what I get for looking at the price before the bounty in question.”
The problem is, once a bounty is taken off of the board, it is not permitted by law to return it. This would be against the wishes of the Ssolass, who don't quite like quitters you could say. The ones who quit, tend to get... Forgotten.
I think to myself that I had bit off too much to chew this time around, and then think of that being an odd phrase for a race of serpentine people to pick up on, as we do not chew our food. Of course I have no leads, and haven't picked up my armor from the adjacent room, so I go through the arch next to the poster board, and see a room lined with sets of armor, and different weapons. I choose the outdated Khalassass capital guard armor, as that is the most protective I can borrow. It covers my most important parts, and is made of painted red and black steel adorned with decorative spikes on the helmet and pauldrons, as well as some cobra motifs on both sides of the chestpiece, and a loincloth to cover any bits. I had never said most royal knights weren't full of themselves. I only wish I could find my armor from when I was in the military. I choose the modern kharmite khopesh and bedoin, kharmite
being a newly discovered metal that is stronger than steel, the downside being that it is as heavy as lead, though that does help penetrate the body when stabbing.
If only I could find my old armor from my time in the Abbensa Heimussan. That was far more protective than this armor would ever be.
A fellow bounty hunter, this one an Oniri known as Aledus, who wears golden tattoos adorning his black fur, asks “Bounty work yet again Ssaletzots?”
I reply “Thiss time I sscrewed up.”
Aledus asks whilst laughing “How did you screw yourself over this time around, my Arbani friend?”
and I say “I chosse one for Regin Scheib, the advanced outlaw.”
Aledus replies with a more upset tone “You certainly chose a nice way to die, this time.” They leave on that note, having gathered all of their materials, being a full set of plate armor, a zweihander, and two tutankamen knives. I hope that I may see them again soon, however rude that may have been, as they are one of my closest friends.
Aledus is an Oniri, they are a people who look like dark furred jackals, and they were created by the god Dharkral, ruler of the Unending Void. They prefer to live in quite humid areas, compared to me and the rest of the Arbani.
I slither my way to the gear check out counter, to give them my sellsword certificate, and go out to the tavern, the Koli Maiden. The place is full of unsavory characters, as is the usual in a small town in Southeastern Arbenia. Outlaws tend to be close to home in this area, yet sadly the one I'm actually looking for isn't, of course. I see many types of folk, including a group of three off work bounty hunting Vulfri in the right corner booth, and a Humani with an abnormally large hat and trenchcoat leaning to the left of the door giving me the stinkeye for no reason.
I go to the counter to see the Arbani barmaiden, Shana and ask her “Have you got any
information on the Gotri, Regin Scheib?”
and she states with a smirk “I've got all of the information, if you have the right coin.”
I show her my empty coin pouch, and say “I am not the kind to wear my coin, in a manner of sspeaking, as you would know.” She understands what I mean, and discontinues her money-scalloping operation.
She, upset, tells me “I may or may not have heard that he headss to the Northeastern cliff border, but you didn't hear it from me.” I thank Shana, and head out. She raises her voice saying “Wait, you weren't going to buy a drink?”, and then mumbles "Dhakensset..."
Speaking of Regin Scheib, he is a Gotri, a proud race of warriors who look like alligators. They
invented some of the most deadly weapons, including the Katana, and their architecture is strangely brutal compared to the rest of the races. They live in a far country they call Gotrikaen, named after themselves and the mother god, Kaena. They live in a land of marshes, and enjoy damp and wet areas, as opposed to my kind enjoying dry areas.
On my way out of town I spot a trader, and Arbani like me and the other townspeople. You see,
we Arbani are a serpentine people. Specifically, we both are Arban based off of our coloring. Since the Arban are the biggest group of my race, the entire kind was named after us. I in particular have dark red scales, with orange triangular stripes, and a dark grey underbelly. This is the same as the trader, the difference between us being our hoods, and a slight difference in facial structure. My hood is the same dark grey as my underbelly, with purple hook shaped markings, whereas his are a bright orange, and has green markings which look similar to a mirrored triangle, one above the other, with a small partition between them. He also has eyes to match, being green, whereas my eyes are purple.
He seems to be going the same direction as me, and I ask “Trader, do you happen to be heading to the Northwest?” and they respond
"Why yess I do, I'm heading to the grand Alden'khar to trade my sstock.”
I ask “Would it be too much to request for a ride?” and they state “Not at all, join me my friend.” I then hop on the cart, and we make our way out into the desert.
On the way out of town, the green sea for which it is named slowly fades out of sight, and flows softly into a small river alongside the road. Small fish can be seen swimming in the river, biting after water bugs, younger ones chasing each other's tails.
Every animal does have a life, though many are more dull than one may think their own to be. Everything has a semblance of mind, and wants or needs, despite the people who say otherwise.
But the way to the next town is long, so I'll just doze off a bit for now.