Chapter 24 The Land Serpent
The date had lasted longer than I expected but once we got back home I told Aylin to go to our room while I got Hamlet settled.
I am going to have words with Archer since he didn't tell me Hamlet was half Hippogriff, and when his wings appeared I was in shock.
But for tonight I have other plans. Luckily, when I made it to my room Aylin was fast asleep.
I link with Eden, Atlas, and Izel, the tree top guards we have, and ask them if they will accompany me through the trails to the Wyrmtooth Mountains.
Even though I can tell they are apprehensive, they agree to meet me at dawn.
I walk around our room and see all the plans Aylin has come up with for the new housing and I can’t help but smile.
I can’t wait to start working on the elder home and childcare center once our peoples homes are complete.
Hopefully it will be in the near future.
I sit at our small desk and write Aylin a note.
Aylin, Please, do not look for me. By the time you find this, I will already be past the town and heading into the Serpent’s territory in the Wyrmtooth Mountains.
I have taken Eden, Atlas, and Izel with me to help protect me through the mountain trails.
I know you will want to send the guard. I know every instinct you have will tell you to march an army to my side, but you must look at this clearly.
Vevian is an ancient being, older than the foundations of our city.
He does not understand human politics; he only understands power and threat.
If a legion of armed guards approaches, he could feel cornered and attacked.
A crowd ensures a massacre, and I will not have their blood on my hands.
A single soul, coming in peace, is the only card we have left to play. He might actually grant us a chance at a conversation like he did with Vega. At the worst he will only kill me, but I have a strong sense that this will not happen.
I know what I am asking of you. I know the weight of the silence I am leaving you with, and it breaks my heart to do this.
But this is my chosen burden to bear, not yours.
You have a duty to our people, and your place is there, keeping the city safe.
I will link you, to notify you once I am finished. I love you.
Trust in me, Aylin. I am the Queen of the Cosmos, I can do this.
Celest
In the morning, after sleeping a couple hours, I sneak out of our room before Aylin stirs and I slip out of our room before he wakes up.
The three guards stand strong waiting for me as I open the front door of the Inn.
“Good morning everyone,” they bow in return.
We climb into the carriage and make our way to the mountain pass.
When the carriage can go forward no more I walk behind Eden and Izel and Atlas follow behind me.
The atmosphere is very tense and I understand why.
We are marching to have their Queen and Luna face an ancient land serpent, but I know I can handle this.
“Please wait out here,” I say to them at the mouth of the cave. “I will link with you if you’re needed.” Again they bow and offer no response.
The damp smell of decaying leaves and wet stone filled the cavern as I entered through a large circular hole on the mountain side, my hand resting flat against the rough cave wall.
The deep woods at the edge of Pleiades Pack territory had been quiet for too long, and our scouts had refused to venture near this cavern. Now, I understand why.
A low, rhythmic scraping sound echoed from the shadows ahead. It sounded like heavy leather dragging over jagged rock.
I freeze, my heart hammering against my ribs, but I keep my chin high. As Queen, I can not turn back, I will protect my people and bring back our trade route.
From the absolute blackness of the cave’s depths, two massive, slitted eyes ignite. They burn with a faint, sulfurous amber light, pinning me to the spot. Then, the creature glided into the dim light filtering through the cavern entrance.
Its body was an impossibly thick, coiling serpent, covered in overlapping scales the color of onyx, with a faint emerald green pulsing under its scales in the dim light.
It moved with a terrifying, liquid grace, sliding its body effortlessly even with its massive weight.
But as the front of the beast rose from the floor, it revealed a head that belonged to a creature of nightmares.
It was a fully formed draconic head, angular and heavy with ridges of thick, bone-like armor. Sweeping horns curled back from its temples, and a crown of smaller spikes ran down the crest of its neck. Flared nostrils vented a thin wisp of acrid, gray smoke that made my eyes water.
The dragon-headed serpent loomed over me, its long neck coiling like a spring.
It opened its massive maw, revealing rows of interlocking, needle-sharp teeth and two prominent, hollow fangs dripping with a clear, sizzling venom that hissed as it hit the stone floor.
Instead of a snake's hiss, a deep, rumbling growl vibrated through the cavern walls, rattling my teeth.
The ancient intelligence in its gaze was undeniable.
It wasn't just a beast; it was an ancient being and it was evaluating me.
I took a slow, deliberate breath, drawing upon the ancient Luna magic humming in my blood. “Help me to stand strong Capella,” I say in my mind. She looks scared and I don't blame her. I stand my ground, refusing to look away from the burning amber eyes.
“We can do this Celest, just breathe and don’t show weakness.”
Capella answered as the fear fades from her and she stands with her feet planted to the ground in my mind.
I suppressed the urge to flee. Instead, I take a slow step forward, opening my palms to show I carry no malice.
I close my eyes for a brief second, channeling the radiant, calming purple aura of the Luna.
When I opened them, a soft, purple light pulses gently beneath my skin.
"Ancient one," I say, my voice steady and carrying the resonant authority of my new title.
"I do not know if you understand me but I did not come to claim your life, nor your territory. I am Celest, Luna of the Pleiades Pack and Queen of the Cosmos. My people wish only for safe passage through these woods, and only mountain passage."
The creature paused, its massive draconic head tilting slightly. The sizzling venom stopped dripping from its fangs, and the sulfurous smoke curling from its nostrils thinned. The rumbling growl in its chest shifted, vibrating at a lower, deeper frequency that sounded almost like a laugh.
"Luna..." The voice didn't come from its mouth, but echoed directly inside my mind, heavy with the weight of centuries.
"A title I have not heard spoken in truth since the old trees were mere saplings. You carry the scent of the first bloodline. The bloodline of the Moon Goddess and the lycan people."
I held my breath, keeping my posture open. "You knew the Moon Goddess and lycan people?"
The massive serpentine body coiled tighter, pulling its weight back into a posture of observant respect rather than aggression.
"Knew them? I was bound to them. Long ago, my kind struck a pact with Vega on of the first lycan. I protected these deep cavern veins from the Eastern raiders, while your pack left the valley hollows undisturbed. But your people forgot the old ways. They stopped leaving the offerings,
and they stopped speaking the words of the treaty."
"I did not know," I replied softly, feeling a pang of sorrow for the lost history.
"I am new to the pack, but I know they have been suffering with the loss of the lycan people and much of the lycan history was forgotten with the war. But I stand here now to honor the past. I want to rebuild what was lost."
The dragon-eyed serpent lowered its heavy snout until it was mere inches from my face. I could feel the intense heat radiating from its scales, but I did not flinch. The creature stared deep into my eyes, searching my soul for deceit.
"The light in you is true, young Queen," the creature finally rumbled, its mind-voice softening.
"The pact shall now be renewed. I will not spill the blood of your people.
I shall retreat deeper into the shadowed ridges of the eastern peaks, leaving these valleys and paths open for your scouts and merchants.
I will want an offering, young Queen. The one promised in the treaty and a new one at the beginning of each new year, I expect something of great value.”
With a final, majestic nod, the creature turned.
Its massive, coiling body glided backward into the dark recesses of the cave with impossible silence, vanishing into the shadows as if it had never been there at all.
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, the purple glow of my magic fading as a profound sense of relief washed over me.
As I look around the now empty cave, a glowing piece of parchment begins to form in front of me.
Piece by piece it forms the original treaty signed by both Vega and Vervian.
The Treaty Between Lycan Vega and Serpent Vervain Be it known to the roots of the world, and carved into the ribcage of the mountains, that this contract binds the blood of the Lycan to the marrow of the Serpent until the sun rots in the sky.
I. The Serpent's Duty: The Shield of Stone Should the war-horns of the Eastern Raiders sound upon the horizon, Vervain shall pull the lowlands downward. The very paths the raiders ride shall collapse into jagged chasms, swallowing their cavalry before they reach the Lycan camps.
Upon the scent of Eastern iron, Vervain shall hoist his petrified spine from the earth, erecting a sheer wall of moss-covered scale and granite three miles high to seal the mountain passes, leaving one guarded pass open for merchants or scouts.
Vervain grants the Lycan people the Tremor-Sense. When the serpent moves beneath the soil, the pads of the wolves' paws shall feel the vibrations, warning them of raiding parties days before they arrive.
II. The Lycan's Duty: The Price of Blood The Lycans shall never burn their dead.
Every fallen warrior, every elder, and every beast slain in battle must be buried deep within the open throat of the Whispering Chasm, feeding Vervain’s roots with flesh and bone.
The Lycan people shall never mine the deep veins of the Wyrmtooth Mountains for iron, nor trade with those who do.
The serpent’s flesh abhors the cold bite of worked metal within his soil.
On the night of every Lunar Eclipse, the Alpha must spill the blood of a rabbit onto the Altar of the Great Scale, keeping the ancient serpent fed on the malice of his enemies.
I need to see if I can find the Altar of the Great Scale before leaving. As I walk back to the mouth of the cave I see the altar carved into the stone. I can see the old blood, it has stained the altar from past sacrifices. A rabbit is not a big ask for the safety of the Pleiades Pack.
“Rabbits are delicious, such a good choice,” Capella purrs in my mind.
“You did so well Celest, the Moon Goddess looks down on you with great pride today. You are truly a magnificent Queen, and I am honored that she chose me to be by your side.”
I can see Capella sitting in my mind, wagging her tail happily.
“Aylin, it’s done,” Celest projected through the mind link, letting the wave of relief wash over the mental bond. “The eastern path is safe.”
An immediate, sharp spike of anxiety flicked back through the connection, followed closely by Aylin’s breathless voice.
“Safe? Celest, the guards said the magical reading around that cave was off the charts. What happened? Are you hurt? You left without talking to me! What if you got hurt!”
I leaned against the cool stone of the cavern entrance, smiling faintly at my mates fierce protectiveness.
“I’m completely unharmed. It wasn’t just a regular beast. It was a dragon-headed serpent, a creature bound to the lycan pack many years ago, just like Archer and I thought. The research we did was accurate.”
A heavy pause echoed across the link as Aylin processed the words. “A draconic serpent? Like the legends of the old protectors? Celest... those stories are older than the kingdom itself. It didn’t attack you?”
“It threatened to,” I replied, remembering the sizzling venom on the stone.
“But I held my ground. Capella helped me hold my own. I used the Luna light that I have been practicing with Joe, and it recognized the bloodline. Aylin, our people forgot the ancient treaty. We stopped leaving offerings and honoring the boundaries, which is why it grew hostile.”
“By the Goddess…” Aylin’s mental tone shifted from panic to sheer awe. “You didn't fight it. You reasoned with an ancient guardian.”
“I renewed the pact,” I said, my mental voice hardening with the steady gravity of my new crown. “He agreed to leave the valley path open and retreat to the eastern peaks. But we have a lot of history to unearth, Aylin. We need to find out what else our pack has forgotten.”
“We’ll head straight to the old archives beneath the Inn once you return,” Aylin replied, my thoughts already racing with excitement and determination.
“If there are records of this treaty, we’ll find them. Get back to the perimeter safely, my love. The pack is going to lose their minds when they hear what you just did.”
The moment my horse trotted into the Pleiades Pack town center, the heavy tension that had gripped the town square vanished.
Aylin had already spread word of my trek into the cavern, and a crowd had gathered.
As I dismounted, a breathless silence fell over the square, broken only by Father Thomas rushing forward.
"Your Majesty," he gasped, scanning me for injuries. "The pack felt the tremors from the mountains. The beast... Did you slay it?"
"There was no blood spilled today," I announced, my voice echoing clearly over the cobblestones.
"The creature was an ancient guardian of our pack lands, bound to the original lycan ancestors by a forgotten treaty. I have spoken with it. The pact is renewed, and it has agreed to leave the low valleys to retreat into the eastern peaks. The woods and mountain pass are safe.
The trade route is open."
For a heartbeat, the crowd stood frozen in disbelief.
Then, the reaction erupted, several hardened trackers dropped to their knees, their faces flushed with a mixture of profound relief and utter awe.
Jaren let out a booming laugh, slamming a fist onto his anvil.
"Open trade with the east! She actually did it!”
While Father Thomas looked at me with tears in his eyes, bowing his head deeper than he ever had before. "You truly are the Luna of prophecy," he whispered.
Within minutes, the fear that had choked Pleiades' pack for the last ten years dissolved into a wild, spontaneous celebration.
Horns were blown, and music began to play as the townspeople cheered the name of their new Queen, “Queen Celest,” knowing their survival was finally secured.
The prophecy was finally being fulfilled, and the Pleiades Pack was once again safe.