The Scaly kingdom

The Fissure

I struggle to stay conscious as the burning pain in my abdomen shoots across my body. I get flashes of a glowing figure in my mind. The figure looks just like Old Scale’s bound spirit but then shifts to that of a glowing white serpent as it tells me that everything will be ok. I regain consciousness one more time as the pain finally subsides and my vision begins to focus. I see Secrona and the Old Scale leaning over my body as they both smile in unison as they see that I am conscious. “You look happy,” I say as I look towards my Egg Mother, and I feel if we could cry, she would be the first to do so.

“Why do you have to be so reckless! We where so worried about you and when they brought you back my hart nearly broke seeing you on that sled and bleeding so badly,” Secrona said voice week and shivering. I look down at where I felt the pain for the time and there is a nasty scar of broken scales and a now closed hole that if any further would have hit a more vital organ.

“Your just lucky they got you back mostly intact and I was able to stop the bleeding, but it was touch and go for a bit as you still had a nasty infection that cased a fever. I can’t save a dead man remember that” Old Scale took a deep breath. “You were out for a month I hope you can live with that. The other two have been checking in on you from time to time they seem to think that without your magic they would never survived the battle with the beat. Said you weakened it significantly.” Just as he mentioned the other to, I hear the sound of shuffling feet at the huts entrance. The clawed hands of Sormas and Sharshas push open the flaps of the hut and they enter. As they enter, they see me sitting up as they rush me, I give them a look over. “You two weren’t hurt were you.”

“Not so much Sharshas and I didn’t get much if not a scratch, but you got the worst of it how you feeling,” Sormas said with a smile.

“Soar and a bit uneasy. They tell me I have been out for a while and it feels like it did you at least get the thing back to the village while carrying me,” I said with a sneer.

“Ya, we got it back. We have been feasting on it for the last month. Never thought we would take down a full grown Triphedon most of the new hunters can hardly take out a babe. So, ether we got lucky, or you did more damage than we could have expected from your spells,” Sormas explained while looking over my body and eyes lingering on the healed hole in my abdomen.

I look past him and to Sharshas looking nervously in my direction but not moving any closer to me and in a raised voice I hissed, “What is the matter with you, you can bring down an adult Triphedon, but you can’t say I to a newish friend.”

“I an’t afraid of nothin. I was just thinkin that you need your rest and not been botherin ya,” Sharshas stammers on the words while looking me up and down. “I just don’t know how bad you were hurt is all,” he announces failing to hide his obvious discomfort. I stand slowly pain shooting through my limbs but, I grit my teeth and stand looking at the two of them and nodding.

“’I need to do some research on my own and a will come get you when I am done. After that I think I need some combat training just to hone our skills for when we work together”, I say with a hopeful tone.

“Yes, you do, if we are going to take on any new bigger foes, we are going to need to strategize a plan of attack. Also, we need to discus what all of us can do. In all seriousness we had no idea of what those balls of magic could do or that it would be so impactful,” Sormas explained mostly to Sharshas picking up the hint I was dropping.

“Wait, what do you mean bigger things they better not be expecting us to kill more of those things!?” I shout unintendedly visibly shocking the two of them. I quickly cover my moth with both of my hands and whispered, “Sorry didn’t mean to shout. I just don’t think that we should be fighting things like that until I am one hundred precent sure that we can handle it.” Saying that I felt like the other two knew what I was spouting and nodded slowly.

“Alright we will leave you be for now but don’t hesitate to contact us if you need anything,” Sormas said while turning around and gathering Sharshas and leaving the tent. I turn to Secrona and Old Scale as they are both smiling so wide that their razor-sharp teeth are showing.

With a sly smile on her face, “Well that was fun since your up you just as well get something to eat and work on your studies. I will get you that food and I’m proud of you.” She leaves the hut and Old Scale, and I are left alone.

“Good now we can start on your training in the art of weakening your opponents and causing great damage and allowing those of your group to defeat your enemy easier. Ah before that I have a feeling that you are going to need a working knowledge of where the other villages are just in case.” He states still holding that toothy smile. I spend the better part of the day studying whit Old Scale and just as I leave, I feel a tremor in the ground and like the aging of paper the ground began to c***k and fall in on itself. The hole started from the center of town and moves out as the giant sinkhole expands at an alarming rate. I start to run from the edge of the hole as the ground beneath my feet falls in on itself. I look up and see a light from the sky burst forth through the clouds and into the hole as the hole gets wider and wider deeper and deeper until I am standing at the edge of the village looking in on the phenomena. As the light from the sky hits and illuminates the floor of the cavern miles down I can’t help but think nothing can survive that fall. Just as I think that the light takes form and curls around the beam serpent like but translucent as the thing slithers its way out of the hole open mouth showing off rows of sharp needle like teeth if the needles where the size of your fingers. It slithers out and around the sinkhole and bears its massive head towards me. It’s movement slow and deliberate its white scales glistening in the light of the beam. Slowly moving around till its head comes to look at me.

“So, you survived my approach, good,” the massive serpent spoke but not out loud with its mouth but in my mind. I shake my head trying to reject the echoing voice in my mind, but it was too powerful. “It is good you survived. Just as I have done here, I will destroy the other villages unless they bring me sacrifices. You are to bring my message to these lowly Yogoth and to prove that you are my herald,” it opens its massive maw and from the back of its throat comes a purple miasma that engulfs my entire body. As I can’t hold my breath any longer and breathe in the miasma. It enters my lungs, and I can feel the pain that was in my abdomen dissipate, but as I get used to the pain being gone it hits a burning sensation that is nothing like I ever felt before. My arms, legs and even face are burning. Just as it began so did it fade but only after I had already fell to my knees and doubled over.

“Good you know your place once you have collected my sacrifices you are to bring them to the end of the fissure.” Just as I was about to ask what it had meant by that it turned and started to slither away and in doing so leaving a long trail of broken ground underneath its wake.

Stunned by the presents of the massive serpent I finally snap to my senses and look around from the edge of the sinkhole and to my surprise there are very few of the villagers that survived. I lift myself to my feet with the help of the outer gate and I feel a spontaneous bout of energy coarse through my body as to my surprise as I stand up and my arm starts to grow red where a marking has been placed on it. Once the sudden rush of power settles and the glowing stops after a few seconds the large bone that I used to support myself turns to dust before my eyes. “Well, that isn’t good, better be careful who or what I touch.” I whisper to myself. I move along the edge of the massive hole towards the rest of the survivors and not to my surprise I start to get very worrisome looks from them until I finally find Sormas and Sharshas among the few of them. After seeing them I move in their direction, and they immediately spot me even at this distance. “I am so glad you are save looks like our training has to wait.” I say to them while closing the distance.

“Ya, do you know what that was it looked right at you and what I saw attacked you,” he said while looking me up and down eyes going wide as he looks at my face and arms. “What happened to you, you have some red marks on your face and arms like some kind of war paint.” He hands me one of his obsidian daggers to so me my reflection. I look into the blade and see my white scales on my face with a wide red mark that crosses the bridge of my nose and around my shoulders that lead around my arms and ends at my hands. Just before I give the dagger back the mark on my hand glows and I feel a rush of energy as the dagger disintegrates in my hands.

“I am so sorry, but I don’t know how to control that, but it seems to give me some form of boost in my destructive power.” I apologize and empty the dust that was his dagger onto the ground. “The thing that assaulted our village did so because it wanted sacrifices but more as an example to me of what it will do to the rest of our people if we don’t get the rest of the villages to offer up a sacrifice.” I state looking from Sormas to Sharshas. “But I am planning to deceive it and rally the other villages to wadge an assault so that it won’t be able to oppress our people herald be damned.”

“Well, whatever you do I’m in I lost a lot of Egg Brothers in that quake. I know you didn’t have a lot of attachments to the villagers but if you are ready to betray your calling, I am with you.” He said with more determination than I have ever heard from him.

“I mayn’t be the smartest, but our kind respects strength and I got a lot of that. Oh, ya I’m wit ya.” After we shared our goodbyes, we set off to the next village which if my memory serves me, it is to the south.