Monalisa De La Luca's Story

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The traveler of Sisao, Azi, slithered her way quickly toward the dungeon. Nearing gasping for hair, she twisted her way through the darkness as quickly as she could; holding her torch aloft in her left hand. Rounding the corner, she suddenly stopped. It was true! She looked to her ring in disbelief. Sure enough, the gem had lit up and was glowing brighter and brighter with every foot closer she came to the portal.

Azi came around the corner and slammed her ring against the rock- causing the wall to ripple away; revealing the portal's cave. As she did so, not one but several bodies came spilling out. Azi stood in shock, eyes wide at the scene before her. The group of humans fumbled all over themselves; some crying out, others quickly rolling to their feet. Azi blinked at them curiously, appearing just as shocked as them. "Travelers? In Sisao?"

The question seemed more to herself than to them. After a beat, Azi seemed to remember her training and straightened herself out, blushing deeply. "Sorry, I- um.. Oh, jeeze, we've.. we've never had other travelers here.." Laughing to herself, she waved away her surprise and offered them a smile. "Sorry, I'm just.. Wow, this is amazing.." Shaking her head again she slithered in a tight circle, before settling onto her coils and looking at them. "Right, introductions. I am Azi, Traveler of Sisao.. and you are..." Azi trailed off, as if looking for the right words, completely unaware that the 100 degree Fahrenheit weather would be smoldering for the humans on her doorstep. "Humans!" She exclaimed the word as if she would win a prize, appearing very pleased with herself.

"Humans in Sisao... How wonderful... How-- right! Travelers.. I suppose I should catch you up on why you're needed. She said that you would be confused. Are you all from Earth?" She was slithering about their ranks now, peering at each of them curiously. "You will have to change... The first rule of traveling is that you can not bring things across realms...You..." Azi stopped, placing her hand to her forehead. How was she going to hide a group of humans in Sisao? She would never get away with it, and judging by the sweat pouring off of them- they would never live through it. Then she remembered her training; something that had taken place some odd hundred years ago. They would have to change. Yes. [i]The cuffs![i]

"I'm so happy you're here... but, we have Sisao under control," Azi went on, twisting so that she sat on her coils; her back to the group. "The treaty is tomorrow, so I guess I know why you're here but... Oh, yes, that's right.. you're new and I'm just blabbering on. I promise I will explain everything once I get you settled... but first!" As she turned back around, she held out to them a hand full of golden snake bands. "You'll need these to navigate the world."

Upon placing the bracelets on their wrists, each person would look down to see a golden brown snake tail grow , and matching scales manifest on their chests. "Don't panic! They are just illusions, my friends! They only work while you are wearing the bracelet. There are no humans here on Sisao; in order to get you into the palace, you will have to look like one of us... a Serpine. Please, try to remain calm and follow me. I promise, I will explain everything." Nodding, Azi motioned for them to follow her. The travelers would find that walking felt as it always had. True to her words, the tails were nothing but illusions, and the travelers would even be able to feel their legs moving.

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Emily let out a scream as the whirl of color and wind finally stopped around her. The blinding light of the tunnel of color and gusts had came to such an abrupt stop that she hadn't prepared herself. With an Unf Emily landed onto a pile of bodies and sand. Gasping, Emily scrambled off the chest she had landed on and got to her feet. The first thing she noticed was that it was scalding hot in the room. The air nearly took her breath away and beads of sweat instantly began beading on her lower back. As she came to her full height she began to look around. What she found, did not make her feel any better about her situation. Standing in front of her was a seven foot tall...You have got to be shitting me...

"Travelers? In Sisao?" Emily blinked, grabbing the sand brick wall for the support. It talks... "Sorry, I- um.. Oh, jeeze, we've.. we've never had other travelers here.." So it was a traveler, like her. Emily found herself breathing a little heavy, feeling more than just a little freaked out. The half snake, half woman who revealed herself to be named Azi continued talking and then handed her a bracelet. By now Emily had decided that if shit was going to keep getting weirder, then she might as well roll with it. At any rate, the portal had closed behind them so going back to a world that had no recollection of her existing wasn't even an option.

Feeling insecure, Emily walked behind one of the sand pillars in the room and stripped down to her white lace underwear. They couldn't take anything with them, Azi had said, but she drew the line at her underwear. Surely a few pieces of undergarments wouldn't upset the balance of the realm. Emily looked skeptically down at the bracelet. With a sigh, she slipped it on. At once, a long sand colored tail seemed to grow out of her thighs. Something seemed to lift her up, and if she wasn't busy nearly hyperventilating she might have thought that it was wonderfully beautiful and exciting. Ever little girl dreams of being different, of being chosen; special. Emily looked down at the tail under her, gingerly feeling the smoothness of her scales. This can't be happening..

Azi seemed to be moving on, gesturing for them to follow. Still in mild shock, Emily took a step to follow after her- surprised and delighted to find that the woman was right; walking felt just as it always had. It was strange. She was so much taller, but it simply felt like she was walking on a platform. It would take some getting used to, but the heat of the place had already started to ease. Something about the bracelet had given her an adaption mechanism. Looking around, she was relieved to see that everyone else had tails now, too. "Don't panic! They are just illusions, my friends! They only work while you are wearing the bracelet. There are no humans here on Sisao; in order to get you into the palace, you will have to look like one of us... a Serpine. Please, try to remain calm and follow me. I promise, I will explain everything."

Remain calm... right.." Feeling numb, Emily cast a glance at everyone else and then nodded slowly. She began to follow after Azi, twisting her hands together nervously in front of her. "Please let this all just be a dream," she muttered quietly to herself. Feeling incredibly uncomfortable, she cleared her throat and said loudly, to everyone, "M-my name is Emily.."

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As the end of the tunnel came upon her, Avery grabbed the nearest person to her and squeezed onto them; letting out a shrill scream of panic as they began to free-fall. When she landed with the person she was still attached to, she immediately gasped for air. The room was like a sauna without the steam and her lungs felt like they were on fire. A voice was talking to them, but her ears were ringing and her eyes were still adjusting to the torchlight that lit the room. [color=plum]What the hell just happened? Avery refused to let go of the arm she had latched on to; until she looked up into the man's face. He looked as though he could snap her in half. Eyes wide, she released him.

"Humans in Sisao... How wonderful... How-- right! Travelers.. I suppose I should catch you up on why you're needed. She said that you would be confused. Are you all from Earth?" Avery slowly looked up- and up, and up, and up. Terror rooted her to the spot, and though she could see the lips moving; the words were lost to her. Snake. The one creature that she was completely terrified of. Her chest began to rise and fall rapidly as she backed against the wall, looking very much like a scared animal. The giant creature came over to her and placed a golden band in her hand; but she was too terrified to move or run from it.

The room began to blur around her central vision and her body threatened to collapse with shaking knees. "I-I-I.. I can't. I can't." The words were whispered as big tears swelled into her eyes. She was too terrified to move, completely paralyzed. One of the other members of the group were talking too, something about asking if everything was real or not. Avery, shaking like a leaf now and pale white, turned her eyes to the dark haired woman... and then she blacked out. Everyone around her was shifting into nightmarish snakes. She was only blacked out for a second, because when she came back too she was leaning against the wall, and the woman was talking again."Seriously though. This is really happening? I'm not going crazy?" Bless this woman. Bless her for being able to function and speak exactly what was on Avery's mind. In the next moment, they were giving introductions.

Not Avery. She had dropped her bracelet as if it were on fire the second she saw it's effects, and silent tears were streaming down her face as she shook her head and curled up against the wall that had once been the portal. Maybe if I.. if I just sit here, they'll all go with it and.. and I can just... just... go back home or something.. Her heart was thundering in her ears. Everyone was turning into snakes all around her, and it was as if she was caught up in a nightmare she couldn't escape from. "I want to go home," she hiccuped, breathing so quickly that her body was threatening to pass her out again. To her terror, everyone around her had changed into the 'Serpine' race; but worse, they were leaving. The heat was unbearable.

Gingerly, and sobbing quietly, Avery walked over to her bracelet and picked it up. "I can't, I can't.. Snakes, I... P-please, is there another way?" Azi had turned the corner up ahead, seeming to not hear her. Avery glanced to everyone else helplessly, and then back down to her bracelet. Hiccuping, she walked behind a pillar like one of the other girls had done and took off her jacket and shirt, leaving her in her boyshorts and a black tanktop. Shaking, she slipped the bracelet on. She managed to take a few steps out from behind the pillar, slightly shorter than everyone else but a snake like them nonetheless. She took a few deep breaths, feeling like she might be okay... and then she looked down. It was too much. Panic licked up her spine, and Avery passed out; crumpling to the ground. She landed with a soft thud, her new coils catching her fall and cushioning her landing.

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Jackson, as most would probably expect, did not appreciate flying through a colourful tunnel while listening to those around him scream. He was screaming too, of course, but the mixed voices were giving him a headache and as if thinking he was going to die wasn't bad enough, having his last thoughts be Huh, I could really use an Advil right now. was admittedly depressing.
In short, Jack's first impression on flying through weird colourful tunnels was not a good one.
Then, just when he began to suspect the hellish trip would last forever, he began falling.
It was like the Rainbow Tunnel had had enough of the seven terrified people screaming their heads off and had been like, You know what? Forget them. I didn't want lunch anyway. and spat them out with as little respect as possible.
So that was fun.
Jack had always wanted to be thrown up by something he had no knowledge of.

"Get off me!" He snapped, pushing whoever landed on his leg off to the side. It was then that the boy realized he was also sitting on someone, and he quickly stood up and stepped away. The next thing he realized? Holy Mars Bars it was hot. Oh, and there was some snake lady staring at them, that was kind of important too.
Jack did a double-take and stared at the women in complete shock as she began speaking to them. She must be some weird version of Medusa, right? With a snake tail instead of hair? The boy didn't even know what he was seeing as she suddenly clasped something around his wrist. A snake band? What was that for? His skin. . . scales? He was getting taller. Some explanations were on the top of Jackson's This Really Would Be Helpful list, but so far the woman who had introduced herself as Azi had just been rambling on about things he didn't understand.
Travelers, Sisao, yeah... yeah sure.
"Don't panic! They are just illusions, my friends! They only work while you are wearing the bracelet. There are no humans here on Sisao; in order to get you into the palace, you will have to look like one of us... a Serpine. Please, try to remain calm and follow me. I promise, I will explain everything." Finally, something useful!
Although the way Azi looked reminded him of something from a horror story and sent chills down his spine, Jack's heart-rate managed to dial down and his thoughts became clearer again.
Now, where was he? Sisao, apparently. How did he get there? The Rainbow Tunnel ate him and then spat him out.
Who were these six people around him? He didn't know.
Who was he? That was easy, he was Jackson Smith.
Good, good. . . Jack thought. He had an idea of where he was, he knew his own name. No problems, no worries. Now, down to business.
He was half snake, thanks to his new accessory. Staring down at his weird lower body, Jack wasn't so sure he was was comfortable with that. Why couldn't dogs or fuzzy animals inhabit Sisao? Why did it have to be snake people?
It only took a few seconds for him to see that he wasn't the only person creeped out by the situation. A brunette woman was pretty much talking to herself, and another girl was. . .
Someone should probably catch her. Jack thought as he watched the other girl crumple to the ground. Too late.
The boy frowned. The snake woman, Azi, was already walking -slithering?- away, and a few others had begun following her. Passing out was bad enough, and fainting in the temperature it was at the moment. . . well, that was probably bad too. Hopefully there was water somewhere around here.

"Hey, uh, you okay there?" Jackson asked, rather dumbly, as he went up to the girl laying on the ground.

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Azi slithered ahead as she listened to the new travelers talk amongst themselves. Apparently one of the younger ones had fainted, but someone had been nice enough to pick her up and carry her. Azi had to smile to herself- after all, this was her first experience with humans in person and it was extremely exciting for her. "This way." The Serpine led the formation through the maze like corridors of the palace dungeon. "You are currently under ground, in the dungeon of Pantheon- our current capital. If all goes well with the treaty tomorrow, the capital will be moved to Nuro; the largest oasis in our realm." As she spoke, Azi lifted one of her spider like arms to point to the sandstone walls. Across the surface were paintings of the castle and the surrounding pools of water. One larger then the rest, labeled Nuro, marked the invisible line between golden swirls to represent Serpine and the red splotches of paint that represented the Scondrells.

As Azi continued down the hall, a battle scene between half-snake men and half-scorpion men came into view, illuminated by her torch light. "Centuries ago there was a great battle between the races, between the Serpine," she indicated the warriors decorated in gold with snake tails, "And the Scondrell," her hand passed over the red army of scorpion men. "Many lives were lost, and in the end a truce was made. We would keep to ourselves, if they would keep to theirs... but the waters have begun to dry up. The smaller pools have turned to mud. Our people need water, and Nuro is the largest source. Naturally, this is where the royal family sought to make their new home... but likewise, the Scondrells had sought the same."

The walls faded back into sandy brick, and she paused briefly before a set of double doors. "Just follow my lead, and say nothing. You are travelers, so the Serpine will understand you and you will understand them." She smiled a bit, giving them a wink, "A nice perk, if you ask me." Nodding, she pushed open the doors and led the group into a massive chamber of marble pillars. From the room they could see outside, where two suns hung high in the atmosphere. Sand. Sand for miles and miles, whisked across the horizon just beyond the marble floor.

Azi cleared her throat, after allowing them a moment to sink in the view and then nodded for them to follow her again. It was a short trip across the marble and through two more sets of doors before she stopped again. "This will be your chamber. I am sorry that it is not more... I was not prepared for so many travelers. I will fetch more comforts for you. Please, wait make yourself at home here and relax." With that, Azi opened the door to the chambers and let the group file in.

Inside the group would find a room with one large square high up on the far wall that looked as though it would work as a window, letting light into the room. In the center of the room the floor dipped into a bowl, a bowl filled with blankets and extremely large pillows. On the left wall a water basin sat built into the stone, and on the right wall a table of fruit and a jug of liquid(red wine) awaited them. Azi bowed gently to them and left them to fetch another tray of fruit.

She was only gone for a minute or two, and when she returned she used her tail to slide the door behind her closed. I know you have a lot of questions. So. Let me start off with the ones I think you're going to ask. Why are you here? Yes. Right. You are here because you have been chosen by Her to be a traveler. What's a traveler? A traveler is a special being selected from their planet to protect not only their planet, but all the planets... and there are nine of them. Every so hundred years, the planets come at risk to fall into darkness. It is our jobs, as travelers, to make sure that they do not." She paused, realizing that she had been pacing slightly backwards and forwards, reciting this as it had been told to her. She softened and turned to face the other travelers.

"Your rings are unique to each of us, and we all have one." She held hers up for them to see, and then continued on. "Our rings are our... how do you humans call it... Passports? Yes, passports. They allow us to understand all languages, send messages back and forth from traveler to traveler, and they help guide us to where we need to be in times of darkness." She paused to let all of the information sink in. "I'll stop here, and let you ask any questions you have so far, because... well.. some of you look as though you're going to bust if I don't let you speak." She smiled, ever patient, and sat onto her coils to wait for the bombardment of questions she just knew was bound to come her way.