Serpent Sorcerer's Palace, Early Spring
You pose dramatically in front of a polished obsidian mirror trimmed in silver, admiring the sheer terror lesser beings must feel in your presence. Your head displays the magnificent visage of a green-scaled, hooded serpent, as one might expect from a pureblooded member of the snake tribe. But in place of a pair of scaly arms and a serpentine tail to writhe around on, you possess... so much more.
Your arms and legs are both bundles of thrashing snakes. You can use individual snake heads as "fingers" for fine manipulation, but the relatively large size of each snake head limits what kinds of jewelry you can wear and equipment you can wield. No matter, your imposing size benefits from large weapons and accoutrements anyway. You also possess a serpentine tail of impressive length, which is great for balance and dramatic motion but does unfortunately complicate your wardrobe.
Speaking of which, your preferred colors are important here. Normally you'd be more concerned with the message being sent on this particular occasion, but your true message won't begin until their suffering does. This is more to introduce yourself, so they have a face to match with their inevitable ruin.
A. Red, associated with aggression and luxury.
B. Purple, associated with villainy and wisdom.
C. Gold, associated with pride and wealth.
D. Black, associated with darkness and severity.
E. Other. Many colors and many meanings for those colors exist, especially when combined with how one carries himself and what message he bears.
Also important is your gender and build, as these determine the general style of clothing you favor.
F. Masculine. Your intimidating build favors loose, revealing clothing, the better to show off and move around in.
G. Effeminate. Your scholarly build favors elaborate, layered clothing, the better to conceal your true movements and intent.
H. Feminine. Your sensuous build favors scandalously revealing, clinging clothing, the better to move and entice gracefully with.
I. Amazonian. Your brutish build favors bold, heavily ornamented clothing, the better to emphasize your savagery and aggression.
J. Other. Magical bundles of snakes sometimes possess exotic biologies or complex histories, and peculiar wardrobes to match.
Properly garbed, you stride eagerly to the very center of the highest floor of your palace. It's a glorious structure, vast and imposing as befits one of your station. The central structure is an octagonal pagoda, surrounded by smaller but similarly shaped wings connected to the central palace and each other by (relatively) short halls. Roughly triangular gardens sit in the gaps between these edifices, open to the sky but sheltered from the world.
The actual material comprising most of the structure is cast obsidian, giving it an imposing and sinister air. Cursed jade would have been even better for that (and other purposes besides), but it was too difficult to acquire in the quantities necessary for such a grandiose monument. The interiors make up for this with paneling and floors befitting each room's function, giving you a riot of qualities and tones to choose from. The exteriors supplement their dark appearance with gilded rooftops, though you'll sadly confess that rather than solid gold tiles, they are fine but bland marble coated in gold. The outer wings rise three stories tall, while your inner sanctum soars two higher than that.
And on the top floor of this inner sanctum, made of beautifully banded black and grey cursed jade, lies the vault containing your greatest treasure.
Taelia sits in a solid gold birdcage larger than a peasant's house, mournfully playing a pearl harp and gazing at her brother's crystal sword. Said to be a princess so beautiful her kingdom was named after her, you stole her away for her divine properties, and her homeland withered without her. She now wallows in despair, both for the beautiful kingdom she has lost and for the fact that it was her absence that doomed it. You also told her you slew her brother, and mounted his sword on a nearby wall to prove it.
All of this allows you to harness an utterly magnificent resource... the Tears of Taelia. The bottom of her cage tapers down to a singular point, from which occasionally drop crystals of purest beauty. As a divine being, she possesses qualities not necessarily "more powerful" than a mortal, but rather "deeper." You can expend one of her Tears to greatly amplify the intensity of one of your spells, at the expected cost of narrowing its reach and increasing the strain of casting it.
The best explanation for this effect you've ever heard is that spells empowered in such a manner tear through the fabric of reality itself. The best demonstration for this effect you've ever seen is when you cast a spell that normally rends the sky, showering a vast region with flaming meteors for up to several hours. Instead, a single bolt from the heavens, more a shaft of light than a falling stone, hit the ground with enough intensity to knock you off your feet, turn the area into a shattered hellscape, and produce a crater so deep you've yet to find a means of calculating the bottom. You also lost three Tears in the maelstrom and have been unable to relocate them; it's entirely possible they evaporated in the shockwave or were somehow accidentally expended as well, but it's likewise feasible someone out there has some of your property.
Speaking of which, your grip over Taelia, and your victory over her feeble kingdom, are utter and absolute. The one meddling fool who might have stood a faint chance of stopping you was her equally divine brother, but you slew him in battle years ago.
Mostly.
You nearly slew him in a dramatic sword battle over the fate of his sister and kingdom, but some meddling peasant hurled himself in the way of your devastating downward stroke. That broke what was left of his spirit, but he managed to scamper away afterwards. Without his sword or any hope of meddling in your affairs ever again. He may still draw breath, but he is as good as slain.
...so why do you keep getting...
"Master! Master! I bring news from Nadur!"
You scowl down at Tumbles, your hunchback mutant assistant. He's small, ugly, yellow, thoroughly lumpy, and impossible to classify, all of which makes him fairly well suited to run petty personal errands for a distinguished sorcerer. Such as being beaten for interrupting your meditations on victory.
"I told you never to interrupt me in my vault!" you hiss at the miserable cretin, who recoils in terror.
"B-but it's about-"
You send him tumbling out of the room with a swift kick, both because that's what he's for and to prevent any chance of the imbecile mentioning that Aevian is still alive.
Striding out of your most precious chamber, you take care to seal the circular, rolling door properly. Made of the same cursed jade as the rest of the chamber and adorned with a ring of cursed rubies in the center, only a being of supreme will such as yourself can seal or unseal it.
Which does you little good if a gibbering idiot stumbles in through the open door and begins blabbing things he shouldn't.
"What's this about Nadur?" you demand, glaring down at the dazed heap.
"Eh? Oh! Nadur! It's a village in Nadur! Aevian-"
You let out a cry of frustration and kick him down the hall again. He bounces surprisingly well.
"That meddling fool?! What is this... three villages and a town in the last month? I thought you told me he was finished!"
This is probably a lie, but Tumbles recoils in terror anyway.
"He-he-he must have gotten inspiration somewhere! You crushed him, master! Crushed him utterly!"
You fold your arms. Aevian, the godling brother to Taelia, the source of ruinous enhancers to your already potent sorcery... There's no doubt he's hypothetically dangerous, but between besting him the first time and his sister only being noteworthy due to your own sorcerous talent... it's difficult to say how dangerous. He keeps fighting off minor threats to no-name settlements in the neighboring kingdom of Nadur, which would be utterly beneath your notice if you hadn't written off even that much already. As a sorcerer, you have a profound appreciation for the danger of an upward trajectory.
Now might be a good time to consider your forces.
Most of your slaves fall into one of two camps, with some overlap. The first are relatively recent acquisitions from raiding or tribute, and were generally starving peasants or petty criminals before they became starving slaves or slightly less starving sacrifices. They're decent enough for menial labor, but can't be trusted to not escape or steal things where possible.
The second are what you call goblins. "Goblin" is a fairly broad term, but in this case it refers to creatures whose bloodlines have become so muddled or degenerated that they cease to be recognized as normal thinking beings. As stunted, mutant freaks, they're perfect for whatever tasks they're capable of, but obviously lean towards uselessness and crude workmanship. Their primary advantages over normal slaves are aesthetics and complete loyalty, as they have nowhere else to go and limited use for most items which aren't shiny or food.
Combined, these wretches give you an ample labor base to support your other minions... and power your sorcery.
Speaking of other minions, your baseline soldiers form the backbone of your army, serving as default guards, raiders, and soldiers. These lackeys aren't terribly strong, but numerous and easy to replace should they fall.
K. Reptilians. These scaled humanoids are impure relations to proper snake tribe, but still share enough affinity with you to be loyal by their own standards. They are devious by nature, however, constantly scheming against each other and you.
L. Pigmen. Tubby and tough, these pig-faced humanoids are gluttonous and clumsy but have few ambitions beyond eating and sleeping.
M. Spidermen. These fuzzy multi-armed humanoids are perceptive and quick, but have a taste for intelligent flesh that makes them difficult to trust around slaves.
N. Deserters. These bland humanoids are weaker but more numerous than other options, and generally driven by desperation and coin.
O. Antwomen. Brittle and thin, these multi-armed humanoids are far weaker and more numerous than other options. They are fanatically loyal to whatever their royalty tells them to be, but simple-minded.
P. Clay Soldiers. Available in whatever shape you prefer, these automatons are weak, mindless, and slow to replace, but cheap.
Q. Other. Many beings inhabit the land, and most of them can be hired to hurt things in exchange for coin.
In addition to your basic minions, you possess the services of some more competent servants. Most of these consist of three separate factions of snake tribe, exiled or fled from their homes due to various difficulties or differences. While powerful and aesthetically marvelous, these forces possess a few troublesome qualities.
The first is that they are powerful enough to consider your domain a refuge rather than a home; you cannot simply order more, and preventing them from leaving carries its own difficulties. Secondly, these factions do not like each other, and constantly scheme against and vie with each other. Third, each faction possesses its own unique qualities and limitations.
The largest group, mostly red or orange in color, are some kind of out-of-power political faction within their homeland. They're an absolute hodgepodge of talents and temperaments, as befitting a respectable upper class, though most possess at least rudimentary martial skills, a distinct aversion to risk, and an eye for material gain. As the largest faction, they're fairly relentless in bullying the other two, but the bigger issue is that changing winds could make their position at home viable. If that happens, they might well abandon you for their native struggles.
The second largest group, largely green or yellow in color, consist of bandits or other criminals exiled or fleeing justice from their homeland. Many belong to the same bandit gang, and the others often join up, for whatever that's worth out here. Almost all are well versed in banditry and thuggery, bullying those weaker than themselves and fading into the terrain when confronted. They're shortsighted and greedy, but that simplicity makes them easy to predict.
The smallest group, uniformly blue, are heretics of some unspeakable god of astronomy. They're all literate and mathematically inclined, but peculiar and superstitious. Their combat style is very obviously derived from sacrificial knifing techniques.
You possess one more group of talented minions, which serve to handle tasks your basic underlings can't.
R. Centipede Demons. These creatures possess purple-skinned humanoid upper torsos and dark purple centipede lower halves. They're obsessed with combat and torment, which makes them good at what they do but easily distracted. As far as you can tell these ones were somehow marooned here from their shadowy home.
S. Bat Ninjas. These bat tribesmen are skilled in stealth and ambush techniques, but are perfectionists who despise doing things the wrong way. This group are normally mercenaries, but sought out your patronage specifically in order to hone their skills.
T. Treant Alchemists. These glowing blue treemen are masters of brewing potions and elixirs, but don't like you and have no stomach for stress or discomfort of any kind. They're all the offspring of a god (or something similar) and steadfastly refuse to tell you a thing about how they ended up here, though their blue glow matches that of a relatively nearby spirit forest.
U. Other. Strange beings with uncanny talents are everywhere, if you know where to look.
Finally, there are your lieutenants- your unique, especially useful underlings kept around for specific purposes. A sorcerer of your power could easily be expected to keep dozens of such talented members, but ah... you may have neglected your recruitment somewhat. You currently possess four, all acquired somewhat... incidentally.
Niri is a cat-eared humanoid with a penchant for information gathering. He was a useful slave (you don't recall where or how you got him), so you promoted him to underling, and from there to trusted underling. He brings you most of the juicy tidbits Tumbles informs you of, and handles target selection and tribute quantities and so on. He also advises you on which slaves to brutally sacrifice on the altar.
Gurl is your chef and one of your strongest fighters. You actually don't know what Gurl is- he's a beige-skinned humanoid of impressive size and girth, so you suppose an "ogre," but you don't know what that means in this context. Gurl was an unremarkable mercenary save for the fact that his stewpot kept catching your attention, so now he cooks for you full time. Presumably coincidentally, he's incredibly strong and tough, and rather good with a cleaver or club.
Lady Magnificence is a vampire and performer. She came in with a slave shipment and offered to organize a play for you while you tried to figure out if vampires could be sacrificed. You liked the play, so now she organizes all of the entertainments and diversions in your palace.
Your last lieutenant is different- much more powerful and ambitious than the rest. He's also the only one you took great effort to acquire.
V. Niala, the Moonlight Blade. Softspoken and very fluffy, this mothlike humanoid is nonetheless very proficient with a sword longer than she is. Though modest and demure, you happen to know she seeks to hone her skills even further, acquire an artifact blade to render her swordsmanship unbeatable, and acquire a kingdom somehow.
W. Azael, the Dark Mirror. While his true form is that of a fox-eared humanoid, Azael is able to copy another being's appearance and abilities, and is very seldom seen without a stolen form. For reasons unclear to you, he seeks a being with very particular qualities to copy.
X. Koro and Kuru, the Eyes of the Void. Twin sister humanoids with small dark horns, they combine a natural talent for sorcery with utterly flawless teamwork to produce alarmingly complex spells. Like all good sorceresses, they seek absolute and unbridled power and will burn the world to achieve it.
Y. Joy, the Heartcatcher. Alluring and charismatic, this creature's upper half is that of a beautiful male humanoid with flowers for hair, while his lower half is a mass of dark thorned roots. In addition to the ability to charm creatures with his eyes, he can implant them with seeds to empower and enslave them. He seeks more and better slaves, and isn't above trying to create such beings if they can't be found normally.
Z. Other. There are many talented, ambitious individuals in the world, and many of them would be willing to serve a powerful sorcerer for the right price.
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Topic: [SG] Jade Serpents (Read 1680 times)