The Princess Snake crashed face first into the foreign dirt of the Birthday Planet. The Sky Serpent landed gently by her side. The princess breathed a sigh of relief having found herself on safe stable and non-flaming ground after their ascent through the tunnel-bridge. She savored the feeling in her lungs as she breathed in fresh cool air. She looked back to the gaping mouth from which emerged up in the sky and saw it violently close right in front of her eyes.

"Here we are, princess," the Sky Serpent announced. "We now stand upon the surface of the Birthday Planet."

After hearing that announcement, the Princess Snake turned her eyes to her surroundings. The Birthday Planet was a colorful as she had imagined it. The ground was dyed a bright orange, and the sky was a soft teal. There were hills made of striped rocks that rose around them. A river of blood winded through the landscape, within which swam hordes of pre-spiced fish. Trees and bushes made of precious metals bore foliage of gems upon their branches. The light simply bounced upon them, glittering like a dreamlike treasure. There were serpents roaming among the trees with some tapping the trees for their delicious sap.

"Wow," was all the princess could say. Her first impressions had already exceeded her expectations.

The Sky Snake turned her attention to a mountain in the distance. It was a great steep mountain made of yellow and orange stone. A spiraling stairway was carved upon its cliffs, and a temple stood upon the precipice of its peak. Several red serpents guarded its steps, each of them wearing gilt armor and sporting spear-like fangs.

She was led to the feet of the mountain where the first step of the flight of stairs started. By the stairs stood a flat wall upon which a six names were carved. One of the red serpents attended the wall, and with the tools they had, began carving a seventh beside all the other names. She looked upon the unfamiliar names carved into the stone and pondered about the significance of these.

"Look upon this stone, princess. The names you see are of those that had successfully completed the trials and arrived here at this fair planet. The basilisks here, the attendants of the Birthday Planet, carved their names here, immortalizing their successful journeys to this astral body, and now your name shall be carved alongside the names of the mortal ophidians that had their wishes granted," the Sky Serpent sang.

The carving serpent cleaned the carving that they had been working on, and the princess saw that it was carving her name into the stone. Carved into stone was her name in her native language's script rendered in the most perfect glyphs only immortal expertise could muster. It screamed to the world that she was here. The words upon the wall were saying, the Princess Snake was here. She looked into the other names, and she saw the same. The Green Snake of the Green Land, the Leafy Viper of the West Forest, the Digger Cobra, the Sailor Snake, the Jocular Viper, and the Ironworking Cobra were all here, and their historic arrivals were logged forever into this monolith. Despite their names carved in unfamiliar scripts and languages unknown to her, she could understand them all the same. Such was the expertise of the basilisks.

A red serpent with decorated helm approached them. The symbols of his service and the planet he stood upon were engraved upon the metal. A peach-colored sash covered his body. The attire was a sign of his rank, and he wore it with pride. Like all his fellows on this planet, his fangs were prominent and they gleamed gold in the morning light.

"Lord Sky Serpent," the red serpent addressed. "I'm glad that you've delivered the Chosen here successfully."

"Indeed, General Sanguine Serpent," the Sky Serpent answered. "It's not often that a Chosen would arrive here at all, even if they succeed all the trials."

The two serpents turned to the Princess Snake. Their faces were grave and serious. The princess coiled beneath their combined gaze. Especially under the Sanguine Serpent's gaze, whose face bore no trace of emotion and carried nothing but zeal. It was a judgemental stare that bore a hole into the snake.

"Princess Snake, this is General Sanguine Serpent of the Cinnabar Mountains," the Sky Serpent introduced, and the Sanguine Serpent nodded in response. "He will be guiding you to your ascent up the mountain."

"Will you be coming with us?" The Princess Snake asked.

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The Sky Serpent's face was morose and regretful as he spoke out his words, "I am afraid that I cannot slither alongside nor will I be waiting for you this time, princess. Duty calls, and the sun beast must be herded lest it wanders aimlessly on the sky."

The Sky Serpent opened his gem-like wings and flew up the sky. The Sanguine Serpent let the Princess Snake watch the serpent disappear into the sky. His rainbow wings glittered over the teal background until his figure became indistinct. His shining form did not fade in the distance but instead turned into a bright shining star that closed around the sun. It was a bright brave star that even the sun radiance did not smother its light.

"Princess, we must go on," the Sanguine Serpent urged. "The Birthday Planet awaits for you on on the top of the mountain."

Ushered by the rather intimidating Sanguine Serpent, the Princess Snake slithered up the steps. One by one, she ascended the spiraling stairway. Along the way, they met basilisks that tended this path. They guarded the steps and maintained them. They saluted the general that guided the snake up the mountain before they returned to the tasks were doing. They paid them with apt respect as an official with a mortal visitor.

They ascended the stairs. They had turned around the mountain, and had seen the vista that stretched on all sides of the great mount. Sometimes, they engaged in small talk. On the west side of the mountain were fields of berry bushes that grew on rolling hills. A river of blood cut through the landscape that ended at bloody sea at the distance. She could spy some huts and buildings built upon the beaches of that sea. She also learned of the names of the sights she was seeing. The river was the Sanguine River, the fields below were called the Copper hills, and the sea over yonder was called the Auspicious Sea.

On east side of the mountain, the princess saw a range of mountains that stretched all the way to the horizon. The stone that made these mountains were stained yellow, and they glittered in the solar light, betraying the abundant gold upon these mounts. She learned that they were called the Golden Mountains. Below she saw many serpents congregating in a great city. The walls of the city were carved from marble, and flowing through it was the Sanguine River. It was dubbed as the Auspicious City in honor of the spirit of the Birthday Planet.

It was exhausting work climbing the Birthday Mountain (the name of the mountain as the Princess Snake had learned), and for that very same reason, the basilisks of the Birthday Planet had built numerous rest stops along the path for the visitors and employees to restock their energies on their way to the top of the mountain. They were able to get some snacks and cold water to refresh themselves. They munched upon fried mice and drank their fill from basins filled with water that trickle from the melting ice from atop the mountain.

They've passed through eleventh rest stop, the path had been blocked by a gate, but by the order of the Sanguine Serpent, it was opened to let them through. The gate was apparently there to stop tourists from simply slithering up the temple grounds uninvited. They were to stop upon the twelfth and last rest stop before they were to reach the temple grounds. There, the spirit of the auspicious star would grant the wish of the chosen princess.

At the height of the twelfth rest stop, they were already above the clouds. A few hundred slithers down, clumps of white clouds placidly floated like the ice floes on an arctic sea. The air was cold, frigid in fact that the rocks and stones around them were coated in a thin layer of frost. The Sanguine Serpent seemed unbothered by the apparent cold despite the fact that the other basilisks on this part of the stairs wore fur jackets to conserve their heat. The Princess Snake was protected from the cold by the aura of the Primordial Mango.

"Be ready, Princess Snake, for the next flight of stairs is the very last flight before the temple grounds. Steel you heart, and open your mind to have your wish be made real," the Sanguine Serpent said.

The Princess Snake became nervous at the sudden statement of the serpent. She was urged up the steps until they came upon the temple grounds. A stone archway heralded the entrance, and statues of valiant serpents lined the sides of the path. The statues looked upon the visitors with their stone eyes. The Princess Snake nervously slithered down the path. The Sanguine Serpent at her side ushered her forward and prevented her from simply turning back. They were very near.

The path before them opened to a spacious courtyard. Snow piled at some corners, swept there by the caretakers of this sacred place. Evergreen hedges decorated the court like a garden. In the center of it all was a great crystal.

The crystal was fascinating. It glowed a soft warm light that comforted her. It darkened and brightened on regular intervals as though the crystal which she gazed upon breathed. All the serpents paid deference to the glowing crystal, and in extension to that deference, they respected the passage of the Princess Snake, a Chosen of the Birthday Planet.

The Sanguine Serpent ushered the Princess Snake upon a podium. It was decorated with gold ornaments and baubles.

"This is it, princess," the Sanguine Serpent whispered. "Speak clearly."

"Welcome, Chosen One. You've passed all the trials, and now I shall honor you with a wish," the voice of the Birthday Planet rang. There was no sound. The words of the spirit simply rang in her mind.

The Princess Snake was nervous, but this was an opportunity that will literally never come to her again. She kept her gaze upon the breathing crystal.

She opened her mouth.

And her wish was set free.