Divine Fangs
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This is a shorter one, but I hope it's still enjoyable
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Vetiscia lounged upon her great bed within her chambers, looking over a freshly acquired scroll from one of her Seekers, a charming young reptilian woman who seemed all too taken with Vetiscia's own serpentine form. She would make an excellent addition to her Learned.
In time. For now, the Seeker was busy indulging in the knowledge they had bargained from the goddess. Vetisica had time, and she was more than pleased with their efforts, having sought the piece of knowledge now upon the tip of her tail for quite some time.
She rolled the scroll with a deft twist of her tail, and placed it upon a nearby table.
Her great serpentine length flexed as she uncoiled from her bed, slithering over to one of many covert passages that she used to traverse her temple unseen; it was not that she needed to hide from her own Learned, hardly that. But it helped maintain an air of mystique about her, purely for vanity, and because she suspected her followers somewhat enjoyed it... especially when she appeared from out of nowhere.
It was
especially
delightful for her when it came to newer members.
Alas, she had no recent Inductees, so she was feeling rather... hungry. She kept that desire at bay, only so when she did indulge, it was a more... intense affair for all involved.
Her body rippled, scales and muscle flexing and her body taking on a dull, blurry glow as she altered her size to better fit within the hatch and the passage within.
She slithered through the tunnel, wending around intersections and corners, the many interconnected arteries like a warren, but she knew them intimately.
Eventually, she emerged from the base of a pillar inside her great archives, where she saw several of her Learned doing what they desired most; study.
They were no mere slaves or cattle, all had keen minds and sharp wits, they had to in order to find her. If they were not indulging in the liberation of carnal desire she bestowed upon them, they were researching their areas of expertise, and pursuing ambitions if they so wished, as long as they remained within the constraints of Vetiscia's auspices.
She was python sized now, slithering across the floor between several tables, and lifting herself up to survey her vast archives, situated within only one section.
One of her Learned turned and noticed, and he was taken aback for a moment before bowing respectfully.
"Oh, My Lady!" he exclaimed. "I did not expect you here this day."
"Do you expect me any day, Sebastian?" she teased in return; she knew all her Learned intimately.
Very
intimately.
He blushed a little, but smiled.
"I suppose not. Your comings and goings are as enigmatic as... well, you are." Their wits did not always encompass turns of phrase, but she did not mind.
"Tell me, what have you set your mind to this day? Or are you still conducting your research on the nature of poisons?"
"Yes, actually," he nodded, turning his attention back to a tome, one Vetiscia knew just from seeing its bindings; she knew every book in her archive.
'Toxic Substances in this World and Beyond'
. A scholarly thesis on the effects, sources, potential cures and impacts of, as its name suggested, toxic substances, both that which could be found in nature, and the less mundane. Comprehensive, but lacking in acute detail for each of its many subjects, and much less confident about otherworldly poisons.
"I've shifted some of my focus from poisons in general to the venoms found in creatures around the world. I've been cross-referencing substances mentioned in this book to other works that may provide more nuanced details on some of the more complicated or unusual venoms found in similarly complicated or unusual creatures. Or the outright elusive. There is not much here that has been of help when it comes to fantastic creatures, or extra-planar beings, alas. This tome is unfortunately mostly conjecture on that front outside of the more well known mystical creatures that roam our world."
She listened intently; Sebastian had come to her originally in search of a cure to a disease that had been plaguing his town and those around it. It threatened his home kingdom.
It was an ancient disease that they knew no cure for, and it had returned. Of course, Vetiscia was happy to provide the remedy, for her usual price, though it was not knowledge she deigned to keep too restricted, for a cure had already been widespread in another land far from Sebastian's, and a simple pharmaceutical remedy at that, which, with some alterations, could be produced using native plants and animals within his home kingdom.
Since then, he'd focused his studies on the many maladies that a person could suffer, though recently it had shifted to toxins. First poisons found in plants and some waterways, and the flesh of creatures, but it seemed his research had led him to the venoms of the creatures of the world... and those not of it.
"However," he continued, "it has shed light on an old mystery back in my home town; for years, we would occasionally see one of our own grow sick and die for reasons unknown. They would simply keel over dead after experiencing pain and discomfort. From what I've been able to piece together, there are flies that can produce quite a toxic venom, and the imagery I have seen look similar to a species of fly that I have seen in my youth. We knew flies could spread disease, but to be venomous like this? This is information I will be sending with my next correspondence."
He flipped through the pages, taking notes on occasion.
"Do your people still believe you are studying at the Acheleon City University?" Vetiscia asked.
"Yes. It feels a shame to lie to them, and I worry the truth may come out when I do attempt to attain a position there, but I dare say they would not quite understand my service to you, Lady Vetiscia, even if you were to allow us to be open about it. Truthfully, it's for the best."
"To be quite honest, you are overqualified for the Acheleon University," Vetiscia remarked. "You should not have issues gaining acceptance as a scholar there."
"No... but I want to really make a statement for myself. And this research into venoms and poisons is going to be a definitive mark for me. Their knowledge on disease is quite robust, but my forays into their archives, brief as they are given their restrictions on non-members, show they have a lesser understanding of the toxins inherent to many flora and fauna. Enough for many, but I would become a preeminent expert in the subject, and a welcome addition to the University."
Truthfully, Vetiscia thought the Acheleon University was somewhat overrated, and she suspected Sebastian knew this also. But it wasn't always the perfect university that a scholar wished to join. There were other reasons, naturally, often to do with prestige or the location, and Acheleon City were certainly well off with both. Sebastian would be a fine addition, and she trusted him to share only the appropriate level of knowledge. Some things, she wished to keep relatively secret until the world was a bit older. It also served to keep him safe from unnecessary scrutiny if he was suddenly presenting suspicious levels of nuanced understanding of more enigmatic subjects.
