Ssathis speaks

By: Dracnor Posted on: February 21, 2005

In the shadows of the Glade of Sinope and Caliope the Serpentlord known as Ssathis spoke to a group of Serpentlords. Her scales shined with a beautiful green luster and her yellow eyes scrutinized each Serpent in turn, the objects of her gaze mostly wilting under the assessment. She was the oldest living of the original Serpentlords and she knew virtually everything that there was to know about what it meant to be a Serpentlord. She had great reserves of patience and an aptitude for making lessons appropriate for her specific audience. She waited for a few moments for the last together, smirking with pride as she found that even the Guildmaster came for her lessons this day.

She spoke in a quiet manner, such was her way. Her audience strained to listen to her and that made her words more valuable to their ears. It was a tactic that she had adopted without even realizing it. For her it had been second nature, if a student wanted to learn they should strain to hear the lessons. It was fact. Nothing was gained without effort and if it ever was, one should be suspicious of such. She had heard of students whose capacity for learning was increased exponentially with nary an action of the student and it made her suspicious of these credits they spoke of. She almost hissed as the thought of it ran through her mind.

With a smile that revealed just the right amount of fang tip, Ssathis leaned forward and said, "Today I will tell you the story of a young Hatchling that learned a valuable lesson through error. As always there is much wisdom in learning from our mistakes, and it would be wise for us to open our minds to the possibility that we are imperfect and have ways to improve ourselves." She lowered herself to a seated position on a bench near the edge of the grove and watched as they gathered. So many bright eyed students, ready to learn. Dracnor Danial stood near the back of the group, his arms at his sides and his eyes locked onto hers. A light breeze caught the trees of the grove, causing the leaves to rustle gently as Ssathis began the tale:

"Once long ago but not so long ago that I have forgotten," she began, "there was a Serpentlord named Keihe who excelled at all that he did. He was a fine archer and practiced his skills as regularly as his life would allow and you would be hard pressed to find another with as nimble fingers. His slight of hand was impeccable and he would often hypnotise someone without them having the slightest idea of it having occurred." She grinned toothily and continued, "This is the story of a lesson that Keihe learned when stalking a prey upon the forest island of Ulangi."

"Keihe was a member of the Quisalis Mark, one of the assassins patterned in the image of the group that served Lord Thoth during the great Clash of the Titans. As such he once took a commission to assassinate one who walked the path of a Cyrenian minister. His name was Keihe and he was a formidable student." She edged forward on the bench and many of the hatchlings slid back.

"Keihe paid the ferryman and road across the great waters to land upon the untamed island of Ulangi. Immediately he summoned a cloak around himself so that he would not be seen by stray eyes. Quickly he found the trail of the minister that he sought and followed it up to near the great waterfall. It didn't take him long to find her attacking one of the colourful pheasants that frequent the island, like for its beautiful plumage or perhaps to appease the Queen of the Horkvaals. He cared not about that and quickly began to lay his trap. There was not a lot of time to prepare so he clambered up into a nearby tree and pulled some rope from his kitbag. Carefully he weaved it into a proper noose and readied himself to utilize it to ensnare his foe." She leaned very far out on the bench and her eyes narrowed as she spoke to the youngest of the hatchlings, "Imagine his anticipation as he held tightly to the branch with his legs, prepared to lower the noose onto this Mark." The youngest hatchling nodded while her eyes grew wide, her Mhun hands clenching tightly as though she was the one holding the rope.

Ssathis spoke again, "So he swayed with the gentle breeze and the leaves moved with him. For a moment he was truly with nature. His foe appeared and Keihe moved to strike at her but the rope seemed to be caught on the branch. He yanked upon it while holding tightly to the noose so as to make it release from whatever it held. The woman was below him now and he was frantic to complete this assignment and prove his worth to himself. He rushed and tugged and pulled upon the rope and all of his motion served to alert his mark who called out in shock and fled quickly from the scene. In his hurry to allow himself to capture the target, he had panicked and his balance was thrown off. He fell from the tree but not very far at all. His descent lasted only a moment or two before he reached the end of the rope's length and his momentum snapped his neck." She moved from her perch on the bench and raised her voice to its limit as she said the last three words.

After a moment she slid back on the bench and said, "The lesson? Given enough rope, anyone can hang themselves." A few chuckles arose from the group and Ssathis raised a scaled brow, "There is more to this though. Prepare everything you are to do as though it is your last action. Leave no room for a mistake of this gravity." Her pun caused more chuckles in the Glade before the students nodded. She met Dracnor's eyes again and he nodded slightly touching a finger to his temple and nodding at her. Her students never stopped learning from her and that was the only thing she took pride in. She rose from the bench as the students dispersed and made her way back to her post at the Herpetorium.