Tomes and Temptation

Leoleth groped along the dusty sandstone walls, lit by a torch leaning against a nearby rock. It was not that he could not see, or that he was restricted in space, but rather he was searching for something specific. An inscription in the rock.

That's what the parchment he had found had detailed. In his search for the knowledge he sought, he had come across the parchment in a library that had been burned to the ground, purged for knowledge a once mighty kingdom, now diminishing, had deemed dangerous. For just cause, perceived heresy or simple oppression, it didn't matter. The soldiers set to the task those many years ago, however, were lacklustre in their job, and did not completely raze the library, much to his fortune. It seemed, at first, a forlorn hope, but he found the parchment hidden away, and it was the missing piece in the puzzle he so desperately needed.

Now he just needed the next clue...

His fingers brushed against an abnormality. He widened his eyes, and doubled back to grab his torch, bringing it up to the rock face. He scraped away some of the dust and dirt, revealing a small symbol and inscription delicately carved into the rock.

He reached into his satchel, hanging by his hip, and fished out the parchment from the library, and compared the drawing and writings on it to what he saw on the wall; a serpent's fang with the words, 'Knowledge and Poison achieve the same ends', written in a language few could translate. He was not one of those until he began this search.

The carving in the rock was the same.

He felt his heart beat faster. This was it, this was indeed the place he'd been searching for months since he found the library.

It was the last clue he needed, but his goal was still beyond his reach. It was a marker, pointing the way... but through where?

He searched around for an opening, coughing as his excited movements kicked up the dust. At first, nothing.

"Where is it, what am I looking for..." he muttered, scratching his scalp. Then, he had an idea, and returned to the inscription. He examined it more closely, tracing his finger across it. He read the inscription again, and then recalled something he had read long ago in his quest to find answers, something about a poisonous extract from a toxic plant.

He fished into his pouch again, and produced a vial of liquid, a green tinge to it. He had a hunch.

He unstoppered the top, the sickly sweet aroma belying the lethal effects of the contents. Carefully, he trickled the liquid onto the carvings. If he quieted his breathing, he could hear the substance crackling and popping upon the sandstone. The carvings became clearer as the poison discoloured the rock. And then he heard a click, followed shortly by a low rumble. Five feet to his right, he saw a rock face shudder as it pivoted open, revealing a narrow passageway. It would be a tight squeeze, but he could fit through it.

His heart was racing now, and he felt nearer now than he ever had to his goal.

He grabbed his torch and squeezed through the gap, sidling along as his pouches and satchels made it difficult. Worse, the passage meandered, not unlike a serpent, which if the legends were true, made all of it terribly apt.

As he inched his way through, grunting and at times sucking in his gut, he saw dull light bouncing off the rock surfaces. A breeze rushed by him, cooled by the air from the cave behind him, but warmed from what was no doubt sunlight ahead of him. He kept going, picking up the pace despite the difficulty. Scraping and squeezing by, he was encouraged by the brightening light, the warming of the air, until he emerged into a spacious depression in the rocky formations that the caves had formed in, and felt the breath leave his body from the sight.

It was a sinkhole open to the daylight, and it must have been close to noon, as despite the high walls surrounding the space, rising up at least fifty feet or more, sunlight streamed down into the depression and warmed it with its glow. The walls themselves were marked with colourful striations, reds and yellows and rocky golds and more, vibrant but earthen tones. And if he glanced at the rock surfaces at the right angles, if the light caught just right, the sandstone seemed to glitter like it was imbued with hundreds of miniscule gemstones, no larger than grains of sand, but he could see no discernable specks any surer than he could discern the shape of the stars at night.

The bottom of the sinkhole was smooth sandstone, evidence of flowing water -- now long gone -- having eroded the rock into smooth, rolling formations that were largely flat, forming into shallow steps that all seemed to rise towards the back of the sinkhole, a mound of stone pushing upwards until it narrowed into a stunted spire, topping a flat depression in the mound.

And coiled up in this depression, like it was a naturally formed throne, was an enormous serpent, almost as thick around as his torso, and many, many times longer, an undulating puddle of glinting scales.

He couldn't speak, or he did not dare to.

It was regarding him coolly, yellow eyes, seemingly luminous even in the daylight, framing narrow slits that seemed to peel away his clothes, his skin, his flesh, and examine his soul, in a way that felt both piercing yet reserved.

Dark scales, midnight in colour with the barest of purple hints glittered in the light, and all along its length were small strips of iridescent violet, whilst along the curves of its coils, he spied the pearlescent sheen of the scales reflecting a predominantly purple shine, the other colours of the spectrum more muted, giving the serpent an overall purple hue.

Leoleth returned his attention to the serpent's head, noting the scaly brows above its eyes, and just above and behind its eyes were raised ridges with bright purple hues around their bases, and golden-yellow tones along the tops, giving the snake's head an almost crown-like visage.

All in all, the serpent seemed... divine. And if his research was correct, there was much merit to that.

Eventually he overcame his awe -- and fear -- and managed to muster a few words.

"You are Vetiscia... Goddess of Knowledge, both forbidden and unknown," he said, more to convince himself that he indeed wasn't seeing things.

The serpent craned its neck slightly, regarding him.

"Mortals normally regard me with more courtesy than that," she said. A feminine voice, husky with a tinge of seething typical of a snake, but cool, reserved, and terribly sensual. But above that, commanding, like it filled the space without the need to be booming. Like a whisper he could hear across a room.

He felt his heart race and he started to shift on the spot as mild panic overtook him.

"I, uh, forgive me," he stammered, before taking a knee and bowing before her. "My lady Vetiscia, it is truly humbling to be in your presence."

He hoped he had not offended. It would be terrible to have come all this way to insult his objective and to be smitten from the Earth for it.

He dared not make eye contact, until a soft, amused laugh echoed through the sinkhole, like a fluttering wind. He couldn't help but look up.

Her expression had softened, her head far more expressive than any normal snake, though the devious amusement that had replaced the steely regard was still a little disconcerting.

"You may rise, mortal. But you still forget your manners, for you have not given me a name," she said.

He winced; he was not making a good impression for the goddess.

"I-I am Leoleth of Swan Vale," he revealed, holding himself as politely as possible.

"Ah... Swan Vale," Vetiscia remarked. "A beautiful land. A place of lakes and great forests set amongst the mounts of the North West. It is said the Swans there, from which the name is earned, possess mystical properties, sacred beings to the people that live there."

"Ah, you know of it!" Leoleth exclaimed, feeling a little jubilant.

The serpent gave him a sideways glance, mouth tugging at the corner into a grin.

"I am not a Goddess of Knowledge for naught, Leoleth of Swan Vale," she said.

Immediately he felt cowed and embarrassed, averting his eyes, feeling a little flushed. It was a silly thing to say.

She laughed softly and brought her head closer by a few feet. There was still quite the gap between them, Leoleth still only several feet from the passage he'd come from, but it made him feel just that little bit smaller.

"But your home is not why you are here, yes? You have come seeking another subject... something you know not already."

He paused, almost forgetting why he was here in the first place after getting caught up in the magnificence of this divine being, real and in front of him.

He cleared his throat, and mustered his courage. It was hard enough speaking to his superiors, let alone a Goddess whose very words seem to caress his ears.

"You are right, forgive me, I was just... humbled. I did not know what to expect, and I still cannot believe my eyes," he admitted.

The serpent moved closer, but she seemed to smile.

"You flatter me, Leoleth. I appreciate a polite mortal."

He felt flushed again, but cleared his throat a second time; if he didn't ask what he wanted now, he would be doomed to stammer and flatter the serpent until he felt like running away.

"I am here to seek knowledge, knowledge otherwise lost to the world. I have sought it for so long, and my quest has led me to you, Vetiscia."

She pulled back a little, and seemed to nod in understanding.

"Your quest has led you true... all you need is ask, and then we shall... negotiate."

The final word made him shiver. He recalled several texts that warned those who searched for the Serpent, that a price would be demanded that would cost more than one realised, but he could not afford to flee now.

"There were ancient tomes... The Eslaine Keepings. They spoke of a lost world, and a people with it, and more importantly, secrets they knew of the natural order. The Keepings were said to contain not just a record of this domain, but the clues to find it, what lingers of it, but they were lost to time, and no other history of the land and the peoples mentioned in the Keepings can be found. If I had the Keepings, or the relevant information, I could find this place, and learn so much about... everything."

He breathed out; he had made his request. Truthfully, he was not sure what the Eslaine Keepings spoke of specifically. He did not even know the name of the land or the society it supposedly recorded, too few other references to their existence to find any clarification. But ever since learning of these people, the allure of their secrets had been too much for him to resist.

And, perhaps, those secrets would bring him fulfilment, a sense of success.

Vetiscia regarded him quietly, and a low rumble echoed from her throat.

"The Eslaine Keepings... certainly you know they were destroyed by the Trigan Dynasty. They were regarded as 'heresy', an affront to the Dynasty. In truth they likely feared the knowledge contained within, that it would somehow threaten their dominion... truly, mortals fear so much about what might threaten their power, they lose grip on their power wasting their energy in thwarting such 'threats'. But a history lesson is not why you are here... you want the Keepings. I can oblige you."

Her coils shifted, and the tip of her tail snaked out until it brushed over the ground. And as it passed, a trio of thick tomes were left in its wake, dust swirling off them unnaturally. They were bound in leather, ivory clasps reinforcing the covers and the spine, with silver and cyan rhinestones set into a circle on their covers, a symbol depicting a wilting flower with living, deep-sinking roots set within the circle, the flower's petals and stem dull and faded, but the roots, though brown, glittering subtly in the light.

Leoleth felt his breath hitch in his throat; the tomes matched the scattered descriptions he'd uncovered since he first learned of them.

The Eslaine Keepings.

"But... how," he said, looking up at the goddess in astonishment. "They were destroyed." He had come expecting knowledge, or a recount of the tomes... to actually see them intact... he couldn't believe it.

She offered a serpentine smirk.

"Knowledge is my domain, dear Leoleth. Once I learn of it, there is no undoing it."

He still could not quite believe it, but it was better not to question the will of a God.

He closed the gap, getting closer to the serpent to get a better look, until he was only a few feet away from both his goal, and the Goddess who offered it.

"This is incredible... the secrets of the natural order. Life and Death itself... all contained in those books. Or at the very least, the clues to uncover them."

Vetiscia's smirk deepened as she craned her head closer, her violet tongue flickering.

"Life and death, secrets in their own right. Knowledge I possess... and that you may possess in turn... for a price~"

Leoleth felt his breath hitch in his throat again, though this time with some amount of fear. He knew this was coming, but perhaps even he, in his fervour to find the Keepings, did not refresh in his mind the cost he was warned of as much as he should have.

He looked up at the goddess, her form much more intimidating now that she was leering over his head.

"Yes... your price..." he muttered, lowering his head. "What is your price?"

Immediately he kicked himself for leaving the question so open-ended, but then realised two things; Vetiscia was a goddess. She said they would negotiate, but he suspected that boiled down to her stating her price, and him accepting or refusing it. But that he did not yet have the Keepings, meant perhaps he had a chance to refuse if he felt the price was too steep.

"My price..." she said, starting to seethe her 'S's' in a way that felt ever so sensual, "... is appropriate to the power of the knowledge you seek. And the Eslaine Keepings, they are powerful indeed, if in ways not so readily apparent. Life and Death, after all, is a complex thing, as are its secrets..."

She began to slither off her throne, great lengths of glinting serpent unwinding as Vetiscia started to circle around Leoleth like one in a position of power would walk an orbit around their subject. Only, her trailing body effectively trapped him. She did not look at him as she continued to speak.

"What would you do with such knowledge? Enlighten yourself? Fulfil your ambitions? Dominate your opponents? I cannot say how the Keepings may achieve your desires, only that the knowledge they contain may open many paths if you know how to apply their secrets. Even paths you did not consider."

He felt so terribly small now, this great serpent circling him, speaking in such sensuous tones, the seething like an alluring whisper to his ears.

"All of it could be yours, if you just accept my price..."

He gulped. He dared not say 'yes' until he heard her price, but the object of his quest was so close. So near...

"Name your price, let me consider," he said, trying to be stout and assertive, but his voice quavered with nerves.

She chuckled softly.

"Service unto me, wholly and unquestioningly. A full turn of the seasons, no more, no less. What I will ask of you may be perilous, but I deign not to send those who come to me to their deaths... it is a waste~"

She still circled him, the sound of her soft underbelly gently scraping across the sandstone, a sound not unlike the seething hiss that underlined her voice, quiet, subtle, enticing. Louder, perhaps, due to her bulk, but not grating to his ears.

"A year of servitude... perhaps I can, oblige," Leoleth said, starting to feel light in the chest; what could a goddess possibly want from a mortal? What could they offer in the way of service that would be of value?

"And one other demand," she added, grinning at him as her tongue seemed to flicker more laterally, like she was wetting her scaly lips.

"O-Of course," he answered, the sound of her body starting to get to him. He felt her shadow loom over him as her body arced into the air, splendid musculature elevating her head and what parts of her body she wanted to effortless heights.

She stopped, and turned her head until he felt her snout just behind the back of his head, warm breath blowing gently from her nostrils. He shivered... she smelled surprisingly sweet, like a perfume of wildflowers and the air after a warm rainstorm.

"Mate with me~"

Leoleth's mind came to a crashing halt as he attempted to process her request, until jarred back to reality with a quiet yelp when he felt that slippery tongue's forked tips graze against his ear and neck with the gentlest of touches.

"M-Mate with you?!" he responded with shock, not even considering the outburst might offend her, but she seemed amused as she continued her slithering orbit around him.

"Come now, you think just because I have the form of a beast I do not have womanly desires~?" she chastised, though her tone was sweet and teasing more than admonishing.

"W-Well, I mean, I didn't..." he muttered, but he could not formulate any sentence that expressed the terribly discordant thoughts in his head.

She laughed again, a soft lilt mixed with the serpentine hiss that only added to her deepening seductive tone.

"That you didn't mean it like that~? Ah, but I'm sure you did... do not fret, Leoleth... most mortals falter at this part~"

He could understand why. To have sex with a beast was considered terribly immoral, but... Vetiscia was no mere beast. Her form may have been, but it was divine in appearance, and the way she moved, the way she talked... that was something else entirely. Still, he wasn't sure... it made him feel strange, it felt wrong.

She moved closer.

"Is it really so wrong, Leoleth?" she whispered, her head brushing past his, her bright eyes seeming to bore into his soul, scaly lips tugged into a seductive smirk... they moved fluidly with her words, and shaped in sensuous ways. No mere serpent could do that. "Besides... aren't you curious? To feel what it'd be like... to make love to a Goddess..."

His breath hitched for a moment, Leoleth all too aware of Vetiscia tightening the noose as her slithering body drew close, the space between him and her body shrinking. Every now and then, she would hover her head near his, and hiss sensuously into his ears, tongue gently flicking across his lobes with a feathery caress.

"It would be like nothing you'd ever felt before," she continued, her voice a soft song now, full of seductive suggestion. "The thrill of my scales caressing your body, my coils closing around you in an embrace without comparison... the thrill of the taboo you are violating~ Do not tell me you aren't even slightly curious~"

She brushed against him, twisting about so she had her head tilted towards him as her serpentine body slithered around him, eyeing him closely with a suggestive smirk on her elongated face. He shivered, taking in a shaky breath as she brushed against him a little lower, smooth scales grazing along his thighs and across his groin, gliding fluidly as she briefly hovered her head next to his ears.

"You want the tomes, the knowledge, but more than that, you are starting to want me...~"

She was whispering, and she unfurled her tongue to graze the muscle against his ear, caressing its top arch with a wet touch. She breathed out, a silky sound, and a warm touch of aromatic air, a perfume of wildflowers in full bloom.

He shuddered again, feeling her air as she let out a devious chuckle, grazing past his face, slick, smooth scales against his cheek as she wound around him like she was tying a knot, but she wasn't closing tightly around him. She left him space, enough that if he really wanted to, he could probably escape so long as she didn't suddenly spring the trap. But she kept her distance, what little there was and continued her seductive dance, brushing one length of her coil against his crotch, gentle and suggestive.