Worshipers
#2 of servents
this is after the unseen it is the last chapter for xaentricks worshipers and the next couple will be for my brother zearthane. please comment i like to see what people think of my work wether it is bad or good.
When she gripped his shoulders Nathan could feel how warm her body was, and this confused him. Every other time she had held him she had always felt so cold. Why is it now that she felt so warm to him. Maybe he was growing used to it maybe it was something else. One thing he did know was that he was freezing. Quickly he grabbed the blanket he had been covered in and wrapped himself in it. When he did this he swore he could see something change in her expression. She gripped his hand and began to drag him through the tree until she came to the entrance. It took her a moment to move the large rock that covered the dens entrance, but once it was out of the way she took hold of his hand again and began to drag him into the forest. She led him through the forest until they came to a large clearing.
The moment that Nathan stepped into the clearing he could feel the warming rays of the sun as he was led into the center of the clearing. As he looked around in the clearing he could see a large are in the grass that had been flattened as if something had laid there for a long period of time. When they got to that spot he got his answer as to why the grass had been flattened. She curled up in her coils and lay down in the small bed like area. Noticing that he was wondering what she was doing she grabbed him and lay him down next to her. At first Nathan did not know what to do so he just lay there next to her. Soon she began to hold him close like she did when she slept, and sure enough he could see that she was asleep. He knew that his only chance to escape would be now, but for some reason he could not bring himself to disturb such a beautiful female.
Nathan awoke feeling better than he had felt in years. He was surprised when he realized he had fallen asleep. The strange thing was, he could not even remember feeling tired or even falling asleep. It took him a moment to realize it, but his captor had disappeared. Slowly he stood up and stretched for a few moments before he started to walk towards the den. It was at that moment that he realized that he had this chance to escape. When he turned to run the other way he hesitated for a moment. In that moment he had to forcefully move his legs so he could run. With every step he took he knew that his freedom was that much closer. However in the back of his mind he could not get this feeling that he was leaving something important behind, but the only thing he could think of was the snake lady. This thought caused him to stop. Sure she had been terrorizing the village but ever since she had taken him he had not seen her return with another of the villagers. The only thing she could remember was her eyes as he looked into them. How her eyes had that slight glow to them.
Shaking his head for a moment he began running towards his village again. It did not take that long for him to reach his village. It was strange as he walked through his village all of the things that he saw were sharper and clearer than what he remembered. He could hear some of the people as went about their work inside their houses and shops. When he reached his home he went straight to his bed and fell asleep in his bed. When he awoke he felt sluggish and was confused as to why. Getting up he walked over to his chair and sat down wondering what was wrong with him. As he sat in his chair the sun came through the window next to it and shone down on his face. He could feel the warmth of the sun on his face and lay there soaking up what he could.
Soon he felt normal and decided he should get back to his life and forget all about what had happened to him. Walking into his shop he began to get his furnace ready so he could start making some more stuff to sell. He could see that the stuff that had been made before had been removed from his store, most likely by the guards when they were searching for something to fight his captor with. After he had opened his shop he went straight to work on some new weapons. The first thing he did was finish the sword he had started before he was taken by the snake woman. It was strange it turned out to be his best sword yet. Its blade curved slightly near the end and was not only a traditional blade. He had taken the part closest to the hilt of the blade and serrated it so that the wielder could do more damage. Since he could not bend or form the scales to help the blade, so he decided to put them the handle as decoration.
With his first piece done he set it on the shelf so that it would be seen by everyone when they came into his store looking for something new or if they needed a repair. It was strange normally the heat from his forge caused him to sweat profusely, but today it did not bother him that much. In fact he seemed to be drawn to the forge. He was finishing up some farming tools when his first customer of the day walked in and looked at the few items he had out. The man had what looked to be half of a sword in his hand. It was obvious as to why the sword was broken. It looked as if the sword had seen years of practice and abuse, the blade was rusted and worn. While parts of the blade that he could see was missing chunks of metal. He noticed that the man was looking at the blade with the scales on the handle and hilt. Nathan turned around and began to work on the forming pitch fork that was in his forge.
"You there blacksmith how much is this sword here?"
Without even turning around Nathan told him that the sword he was looking at was going to cost him 15 pieces of gold. At first the man was angered that the sword would cost him that much. Turning around Nathan wiped his hand off and explained to him as to why the sword was going to cost him so much.
"So you say that this blade has the scales of the beast that has been attacking us then." When Nathan heard the man call her a beast he was angered by this, but he had to remember that it was true. After all she had done to the village. The man brought the sword up to the counter and was grabbing some coins from his jacket when he noticed Nathans eyes. He told Nathan he would be back because he did not have enough gold for the weapon and would return shortly. When the man left he seemed to be in a hurry.
When Nathan faced the man at the counter the man had paused for a moment before he withdrew his hands in his pockets. When the man spoke again Nathan could hear a hint of fear in his voice. It was obvious that something was wrong with the customer but he could not guess what it was. At first the man began to slowly back away before he turned around and hastily ran from the shops entrance. It confused Nathan as to why the man would lie to him in order to get out of his store so quickly. Not knowing what to think Nathan just went back to work on his latest piece of work. What was strange was the more he worked the more his stomach and chest hurt. He did not know what was wrong with him, it felt like someone had taken his stomach and was twisting it.
Not knowing what was wrong with him, Nathan decided to head into his room and lay down for a while. Hopefully he would feel better after that. Walking through his house he felt an odd pressure in his right foot before he reached his bedroom. Sitting down he took of his left shoe shortly followed by his right. However when he saw something odd he took a closer look at it. Apparently he had stepped on a nail and it had gone through the bottom of his shoe and was poking him in the foot. What he did not understand was how it had not gone into his foot. He took off his sock so that he could inspect the bottom of his foot and figure out why it had not harmed him. Looking at the bottom of his foot he could not see anything out of the ordinary. Shrugging it off as it just missing his foot he lay his head down on his pillow he decided lay down and think about what has been happening to him lately.
As he lay on his bed he slowly went over the last few days of his life. When he remembered when the snake had bit him on his shoulder he moved his hand over to where the fangs had punctured his skin. He found not a scab of dried blood that would typically have formed over a wound, what he found was four small circular scars. Surely the bite marks should not have healed that fast. Standing up he walked over to the polished mirror he had in the corner of his room. When he looked in the mirror his eyes widened at what he saw in front of him. His eyes had changed from the blue color that they had been when the snake had taken him to eyes that looked as if they belonged in a snake. His eye was a green color that was covered in small black specks and had slits for pupils. "No wonder that guard ran from me when got a look at my eyes. They look like they belong to a monster." Realizing that the guard would most likely have gone to get some help in dealing with him he decided it would be best to get out of the village before that happened. If the guards came and attacked him now they would surely kill him and even though he did not like what was happening to him he did not want to die.
As he was about to go out his front door he could hear voices coming from outside of his house. They were yelling out his name and yelling for him to come out so they could end his life. Peering through the window on his door he could see that most of the people from the town were heading straight toward his door. They did not look like they would be open to reason the way that most of the guards had their swords unsheathed. As the guards advanced he could hear a faint hissing noise coming from somewhere around his house. Backing away from his door Nathan went to the window in his bedroom and looked out to see if it was safe to climb out. When he did not see anyone he climbed through it and began to run towards the edge of the town praying to the divine ones that he made it there safely. As he ran past the guards barracks five guards walked out in full suits of armor with swords drawn.
When they spotted him they lined up to block his way. Knowing that he would not be able to beat them in a fight he searched their surroundings so that he could slip through them. Unfortunately for Nathan the only place he could see was going straight through them. Hoping it would be enough he began to run faster so he could break through before they could even swing at him. When he was within striking distance of the guards he was surprised to see that the tallest guard had swung at him. With the angle of the swing he could see it would miss him and he would be able to pass. Unfortunately he was wrong, he managed to bring his arms up to block the blade. When it impacted him he expected to feel a sharp pain in his arms, but all he felt was a pushing sensation as the force of the guards swing had caused him to fall. Quickly he got back up and ignored the guards and went straight for the edge of town.
When he hit the edge of town he kept on running. He knew it would no longer be safe within another village with the way his eyes looked. When he stopped running he saw that the sky was growing dark. Not knowing how far he had traveled he decided he would look for a place to sleep that would be somewhat comfortable. What he found was a small field that had grass that was taller than he stood, realizing that this was probably the best he was going to do he bent all that he could so that it formed something that was closer to a nest rather than a bed. Laying down in it he decided he should see what kind of damage the sword had done to him. He knew it could not be that much because the sensation he felt was most likely from the side of the blade instead of the edge. When he looked at his arms it startled him to see that his sleeves had been cut where the blade had come into contact with his arms. What startled him the most was not the cut sleeves but what he could see through them. On his arms he could see a patch of fine brown scales had formed on his forearms. He realized that the scales on his arms must have protected him from the sword. He lay there just contemplating what was going to happen to him when this was over and where would he go. He knew of no place that would accept the monster he was becoming. When sleep came for him his mind was filled with a pitch black world that was strangely comforting.
He was floating in a world of darkness were there was no light but he could feel warmth emanating from all around him. Laying there he peacefully floated around, not knowing that even in his dreams he could not escape everything that was happening to him. Even while he slept the scales continued to cover his body, it was not a fast pace but it was enough so that a majority of his body would soon be covered in them.
"So you are the one that she has chosen to be beside her."
The voice startled Nathan from his peaceful uncaring dream. However when he opened his eyes he did not wake from his sleep, he merely awoke from the peacefulness in his dreams. Looking around he could not see the voice that was within the darkness. When it spoke it did not come from one direction it came from all directions. It echoed throughout his very body as well as the air around him.
Again it repeated. "So you are the one that she has chosen to be beside her."
Looking for the voice Nathan spoke in confusion when it repeated what it had said. "What do you mean, what have I been chosen for?" waiting for a response Nathan tried to remember what it was he was chosen for.
"Foolish man do you not realize what has been going on with you." In the darkness Nathan saw to dark purple lights appear far off in the distance. "Look upon the face that has chosen you for the role you will soon play in the life you will soon hold." A third light appeared but this one was closer and beneath the light stood the snake that had abducted him. While he looked at the snake his hand absentmindedly wandered to the two holes that marked the place where she had bit him. "Maybe you would like to see her before she came to me for help." As the voice spoke the snake changed into a normal human, but what surprised him was that it was the wife he had lost all those years ago. "I see that you recognize her now that you see who she used to be. She was dying from a snake bite when she called upon me. Although I must admit that I was not the first that she called but I was the one who answered. We made a deal, I would save her but there would be a price. As you can see she survived but in order to help her I had to change her into the very thing that had poisoned her. I altered her form so she would be of a better use to me."
Nathan just looked at the shape of his wife as it vanished along with the light that was keeping her revealed. Soon the only lights were the two purple ones in the background. Looking at them he watched as they drew closer and he could see them for what they were. Eyes, they were the eyes of the dark child. They were the eyes of Xaentrick. He watched as the dragon came closer to him even though the dragon hid in the shadows he could feel the darkness that was around him. "Obviously your wife chose you to be with her when she had to go to my temple so that she could be its priestess and you the priest. Not a bad thing actually. You would be protected from those who would want to harm you and the others that follow me. You would gain the use of the element of darkness and would become as ageless as I am. Your only worry would be if and or when I decide to replace you and her. So what will it be?"
Nathan did not know what to do. Now that he knew that the snake was his wife he did not know what to think. Rebecca had been one of the most kind and sweet person in the village, everyone knew her and everyone knew that she would not hurt a fly. Yet he had watched her literally tear a man to pieces just so she could devour him piece by piece. The more he thought about it the more he confused himself on what he should do. Nathan loved his wife and had told her that he would do whatever he had to do just to make her happy, but this time he was hesitant about what he should do. If he chose to accept the offer he would be able to live in peace with his mate, although he would be robbed of his humanity. Then there was what would happen if he said no. he knew from the stories that Xaentrick would not help him unless he got something out of it. Looking at it from both sides, he knew he should have told Xaentrick that he would not do it. Against all of his better judgment he accepted Xaentrick's offer to be the priest at his temple.
"Excellent! Just so that you will be able to start as soon as possible I am going to speed up your change." Without waning a small wave of energy hit him in the chest and knocked him back a few feet. He watched as the scales on his arms rapidly spread all over his body. Looking at his hands he saw sharp black claws push out from the tips of his fingers. He looked at the scales that covered his body and noticed that he was two toned in color. On his back he was a dark green color with a brown stripe going down his spine. While when the scales hit his side's they changed from the green color to a dark earthen brown color. As he looked over his body he could see a small shape appear in his field of vision. What he could not see was that his face had pushed out into a muzzle, while his head changed shape into that of a lizard. A pressure could be felt just above his ass. Turning to look he say a small nub of flesh appeared at that spot. Quickly it grew into a slender tail that was as long as he was tall. With the changes done the glow from Xaentrick's eyes faded he was left in complete darkness.
Nathan awoke when the sun was at its highest point in the sky. At first he did not notice that his changes had finished while he slept. What he did know was that the warmth from the sun felt good on his scales as he lay in his makeshift bed. It was not until he heard the hissing noises that he was alerted to the presence of another. Looking over his shoulder Nathan noticed that Rebecca had slithered up behind him. She slithered up next to him and rubbed her snout up against his and hissed as he began to caress the back of her head. He was surprised that the changes did not seem to bother him like they did when he first discovered the changes in his eyes. The more he caressed his mate the happier he began to feel. After years of being separated he had finally been reunited with her. Now all he had to do was find the temple that belonged to Xaentrick, but he did not know where to find the temple.
"It is so good to have you back my mate."
Nathan looked at her not believing that she had spoken to him before now. "It is good to be with you again, but why did you not say something earlier?
"My dear Nathan it is quite simple. I can no longer speak the human language. Most of the species that worship Xaentrick are reptilian and those who are not have learned the language of the reptiles. You have no idea how much I wanted to speak to you before, but since you could not understand me I could only wait. When you saw me eat that soldier I saw the fear in your eyes. So while you were in my den I took my feeding away from it. You will have to learn how to hunt as well, and before you say anything. We do not have to hunt humans as a food source. I just needed his heart so that our lord would be able to collect his soul."
Nathan did not know what to say. Here he was in a field as an overgrown lizard without a care in the world. His only thought was of how he was going to find the temple to Xaentrick. Since he could not do anything until he got used to his new body he and his mate decided to return to her den. On his way to the den he learned that his tongue was able to pick up different scents when it instinctually flicked out and then rubbed on the top of his mouth. When they reached the Rebecca decided to let Nathan get used to his new body while she went out to hunt for them. After she left Nathan decided to see what his new body was able to do. One of the first things he noticed was that he was not just a lizard but he was a type of hybrid between a lizard and a snake. He could bend further than he could before and that his mouth had two distinct fangs that did not belong on any lizard. Nathan knew that he was most likely venomous like his mate although he did not know if he had multiple types of venom like her.
When Rebecca returned he could see that she had been successful on her hunt when she returned with a couple of rabbits in her hands. She handed him two before she started eating her own. Nathan watched as she tore chunks off of it and placed the chunk in her mouth. He watched as she tilted her head back and swallowed the chunk whole as he watched a small lump slide down her throat. Looking at the rabbits he had been hand, Nathan noticed one thing. The scent that the dead animal was giving off was not as repulsive as he thought it was going to be. It actually had a sweet scent to it. Slowly he raised one of the dead animals to his snout not believing he was actually going to do this. When he tried to take a bit from the rabbit he found it very difficult. He discovered that he was able to rip chunks out rather than bite of pieces. Another difficulty he found was that his teeth did not seem to want to break the meat down and make it easier to swallow.
Noticing this Rebecca decided that Nathan would need to know a few things about being what he was now. "Nathan there is a few things that you might need to know about being a reptile. The first thing you might need to know is that you can no longer chew your food. Being what we are, we have to swallow chunks whole. I can swallow things larger than I do because of how my jaw works, but I do not like the feeling it gives me. Second is since we are cold blooded, our bodies have a relatively low temperature. So we need to warm up for a bit before we start the day. Also the colder you are the more sluggish and tired you will become. Those are the main things that will help you, however one thing our lord was generous enough to bless me with was some shadow magic. While I am not the most powerful it helps me get from place to place and into places I would not normally be able to enter." Nathan looked at Rebecca with an odd look on his muzzle.
He did not like the idea of having to swallow chunks of his food in fear that he might choke. Giving up on his efforts to chew the chunk of meet in his mouth he tilted his head back a little and swallowed. It was an odd sensation as the chunk of meat slid down his throat. Nathan could not describe the sensation it gave him when he swallowed the small chunk of meat. It did not take him long to get used to it and soon he was finished with his first rabbit and was starting on the second one. What was interesting was he noticed that this rabbit tasted different than the last one. It had a sweeter taste to it. He looked up and noticed that Rebecca was wiping some blood from her muzzle with a small cloth. She noticed him looking at her and she smiled at him before she disappeared in the shadows. Looking for her Nathan got up and moved to the spot she had been just moments before. He gasped when a hand reached from the floor and began to drag him into the shadows. For a brief moment he was enveloped in a familiar warm darkness before he was returned to the world. Only now he was in a cave instead of the den. In front of him stood a large set of double doors that had a large sculpture of Xaentrick's head above it along with large polished obsidian pillars that lead to the entrance. When the doors opened lord Xaentrick stood with a smile on his muzzle as he watched his two new worshipers enter his temple.