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Long before the Grentail party had arrived at the pyramid, a young white snake lay coiled in his opulently curtained bed within the structure. The early morning light that streamed through the open window had yet to rise over the edge of the mattress, yet a vibrantly colored figure stood over the snake, grinning with excitement.

"Ami! Ami, wake up!" the enthusiastic figure pestered, "Ami, it's finally happened!"

Cracking a tired eyed, the white serpent looked straight into a bright golden eye that was far too close for comfort. "Spirits above!" Amichai exclaimed, righting himself quickly onto his coils, his hood extending in surprise, "Nessa, what in Gaia are you going on about?"

As Amichai glared at her, the green feathered deinonychus bounced excitedly, a crystalline rune sparkling over her heart. "It's my birthday, silly!" Nessa reminded the snake, who smoothed down his hood with his hands, "You didn't forget, did you?"

Looking out his window, Amichai saw the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. "No, I didn't forget," the snake yawned, his fangs popping out momentarily before he continued, "But you do realize what time it is, don't you?"

The deinonychus stopped bouncing and began to shuffle her feet awkwardly. "I know, I was just lonely because I woke up too early," Nessa said, giving Amichai a guilty grin, "And I wanted to go out, but you're supposed to keep an eye on me. Plus I wanted to spend some time with you before the ceremony started."

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Amichai gave a submissive gesture. "Alright, fine," the snake relented, "Let me get today's studies over with, and we can go somewhere. But we have to be back by the ceremony." Nodding excitedly, Nessa ran over to her side of the room while she waited for Amichai to get ready.

Stretching out his sinuous body, the snake started his morning reading. Taking a deep breath, Amichai gestured broadly, before bringing his hands together. A ring of hieroglyphs appeared before the serpent, the inside of the circle filling with more symbols. The words scrolled to the serpent's left as he read, stopping the text with a finger every once in a while to consider a passage for a moment before continuing.

Half an hour later, Amichai touched the hieroglyph at the bottom of the ring, causing it to disappear. Stretching his back, the snake slithered out of his bed, eliciting an elated squeak from Nessa. Smiling at the deinonychus' enthusiasm, Amichai grabbed his gold circlet from the head of his bed, putting it on before making his way to the chamber door.

"Good morning, your eminence," the tyrannosaur guard posted at Amichai's door greeted as it opened, bowing to the serpent, "You're up early."

Amichai smiled to the guard. "Not entirely by choice, I'm afraid," the snake stated, patting the tyrannosaur's shoulder as he passed by, gesturing to the grinning deinonychus behind him.

"Ah, happy birthday, Nessa," the guard said, nodding to the deinonychus, "The whole nation is eager for the celebration." Smiling happily, Nessa bounced along behind Amichai, the pair making their way to the grand hall.

Upon turning into the grand hall, Amichai and Nessa were greeted by the sight of a larger white serpent sitting in a throne at the top of a tall flight of stairs, his brow graced with a golden crown inlaid with a myriad of jewels, a large, softly glowing gemstone held in his hands. As the snake stared into the depths of the crystal, his lips moved as though reading silently to himself.

Two guards, a triceratops and a megaraptor, stood at the base of the stairs leading to the throne. "Announcing the arrival of Arch Apprentice Amichai and Primal Offering Nessa," the guards said in unison, bowing to the snake and deinonychus in turn.

As Amichai and Nessa nodded to the guards, the announcement stirred the larger snake from his reverie. "Well, look who's up early," the crowned serpent said, straightening himself, "I take it the birthday girl is a little eager to get the day started, hm?"

Nessa nodded, grinning widely as the larger snake began to make his way down the stairs from his throne, the crystal tucked under his left arm protectively. "I'm finally old enough to do my duty," the deinonychus stated as the snake reached the bottom of the stairs, "I can't wait to meet the Primals!"

Amichai and the other serpent both chuckled at Nessa's infectious glee. "That's not until next week," Amichai stated, putting a hand on the deinonychus' bouncing shoulder, "We still have your ceremony to do, not to mention our own private celebration, and the gathering of the three Kingdoms."

Moving to the youngsters, the elder snake placed his claws on their shoulders, the crystal wrapped securely at the end of his coils. "But first, I take it you're itching to get out and enjoy the day, young as it is," he said as he ushered the children out of the grand hall, the serpent's two guards positioning themselves a discreet distance behind the trio, "Not to worry, my boy will make sure you have a good time before you have to sit through the ceremony, won't you Ami?"

Amichai nodded, Nessa's overflowing energy beginning to get him enthused as well. "Yes, father," he agreed, "I'll get her back before the ceremony, kicking and screaming if I have to."

"Hey!" Nessa whined, shoving Amichai playfully. The snake responded with a pinch to the deinonychus' tail with his coils, the trio laughing as they exited the pyramid into the morning light.

Great machines flew over the heads of the myriad of creatures below, polished to a mirror sheen as they reflected the early morning light, seeming to brighten the earth they passed over. Contrasting sharply with the advanced machines that flew above, an old-fashioned marketplace bustled with activity outside the pyramid, Reptilian creatures dressed in airy clothes loudly announcing the incredible deals they had to offer, each insisting their prices were the best. Several of the people that milled around the market seemed to be dressed differently than Amichai and Nessa were used to seeing; tourists and ambassadors that had come to take part in the ceremony that was only a few short hours away.

Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Nessa looked out over the marketplace. "To think, they're here to see me," the deinonychus stated somewhat disbelievingly, "I never would have thought I'd be here before..."

Nessa looked down, sadness beginning to cloud her bubbly demeanor as she placed a hand on her marked breast. Quickly reacting, Amichai grabbed her hand and gestured out to the marketplace. "So, where to first?" the snake asked, trying to cheer the deinonychus up as he pulled her toward the stalls.

Nessa smiled, appreciating Amichai's effort as she turned to his father. "We'll see you at the ceremony, Abram!" the deinonychus called as she and the young snake took off toward the assorted salespeople.

"You take care of yourselves," the serpent called back before heading back into the pyramid.

Regaining her cheer, Nessa quickly took the lead, pulling Amichai to the nearest stall. The tide of creatures parted at the sight of the pair, some pointing in awe, others bowing with respect, the snake and deinonychus nodding to each in turn. "Ah, our Lady Sacrifice!" the merchant at the stall greeted, "And the Arch Apprentice! What a pleasant surprise! Come, come, see what I have to offer, you needn't worry about paying."

The morning passed quickly, each merchant eager to please the snake and deinonychus with extravagant jewelry or exotic cuisine. Though Amichai was hesitant to accept such offers, Nessa accepted most of them gleefully, marveling over the quality of the gems and stuffing herself with new and exciting flavors.

After two hours of this, Amichai began leading Nessa back to the pyramid. "We've only an hour before the ceremony," the snake stated, the slightly bloated deinonychus reluctantly following. With Nessa in tow, Amichai headed to the pyramid as quickly as he could, the crowd parting at his determined expression.

When they reached the pyramid, a lightly dressed female archaeopteryx was waiting for them, gesturing fervently as they drew near. "Hurry, we need to get you ready," the feathered Reptilian urged.

The snake passed Nessa's hand to the archaeopteryx. "I need to get ready as well," Amichai stated, "I'll see you at the ceremony."

Smiling eagerly, the deinonychus regained her composure, quickly taking the lead from the smaller Reptilian. "See you in a bit!" the deinonychus called as she practically dragged the archaeopteryx deeper into the pyramid.

Shaking his head and smiling, Amichai quickly returned to his room, his ceremonial robes and jewelry already laid out and ready to be donned. Beginning the process of getting dressed in such opulent attire, the snake slipped his arms into a long, heavy robe, tying it down along his coils so that it wouldn't drag the ground as he moved. Taking off his circlet, Amichai exchanged it for a small crown inlaid with softly glowing gemstones, wrapping a similarly glowing necklace around his throat. Clapping on a pair of silver bracers, the snake looked himself over in the full-length mirror beside his bed.

Satisfied, Amichai gestured with an open hand, bringing up another ring of hieroglyphs and highlighting the word "commune". "Alright, Ravid, I'm ready," the snake said, a velociraptor carrying a palette of dyes entering the room a few minutes later.

Dismissing the circle of glyphs and situating himself on his bed, Amichai extended his hood as the velociraptor dabbed a brush in blue dye before painting symmetrical symbols on either side of the snake's hood. With a practiced hand, Ravid finished quickly, blowing each differently shaped and colored pattern dry. "Give it a few more minutes to dry before you lower your hood," the velociraptor instructed, patting Amichai's shoulder before leaving.

As he waited for the dye to dry, Amichai moved to his window, watching the multitude that had arrived for the ceremony as he rested his arms on the windowsill. A few people waved up to the serpent excitedly, Amichai smiling and waving to each. After a few minutes of this, the patterns had dried completely. Folding down his hood, Amichai stretched his neck, which had become sore from being flexed for so long.

"Looking good, Ami!" an over enthused voice called from the doorway. Turning around, Amichai was greeted with the sight of an extravagantly dressed deinonychus, her clothing cut to show the glyph that glittered on her chest, eliciting an impressed smile from the snake.

"You're looking pretty good, yourself," Amichai stated, moving beside Nessa, "It's surprising how well you clean up!"

"Hey!" Nessa shoved the snake good-naturedly as the pair headed back to the grand hall.

The hallways of the pyramid had become more packed, and the closer the pair got to the grand hall, the more crowded they became. Though the crowd parted for them, Nessa and Amichai still took more time than they would have liked getting to their destination.

As they finally rounded the corner, the two Reptilians gasped in awe at the sheer number of people that had gathered for the ceremony. Banners and streamers lined the walls and hung from the ceiling, while floating, multi-hued crystals lit the grand hall with a rainbow of colors. A band played upbeat music as the people waited for the guest of honor to arrive.

In the center of it all was Abram, singing along with the music as he sat in his throne, still holding his crystal securely in his left hand. The snake wore a gold and white chasuble, along with his jeweled crown. His coils were wrapped in a myriad of chains and bangles, each made of a different combination of gems and metals. Painted patterns graced Abram's arms and head, which seemed to glow and shift as he sang.

Spotting the two adolescents standing in the entryway, Abram smiled and gestured with his right hand before pressing it to his throat. "My good people," the snake began, the music coming to a stop at his magically augmented voice, "And visitors from afar. Make way for our guest of honor; Our Lady Sacrifice, Nessa the Primal Offering, has arrived!"

Applause rang out through the chamber as Nessa and Amichai moved through the parting multitude. Nodding to the people she passed with a dazed grin, Nessa was almost surprised when she and Amichai reached the stairs to the throne.

Climbing the stairs quickly, the adolescents situated themselves on either side of Abram. "We are gathered today to celebrate Our Lady Sacrifice's coming of age to stand before the Primal Elementals," the snake announced, smiling warmly to the deinonychus, "Nessa, do you have anything to say before we proceed with your ceremony?"

Nessa nodded, Abram gently pressing his hand to her throat at the gesture. "Thank you all for coming," the deinonychus stated, tears shining in her eyes as she smiled, "It means so much to me to have so many come and celebrate my acceptance be your Sacrifice. I hope to do you proud, and stand tall and unafraid before the Primals. May the Anre bless all of you!" The crowd erupted in applause as Abram removed his hand from Nessa's throat, the deinonychus sniffing as she wiped her happy tears. Amichai wrapped the end of his coils around Nessa's tail, smiling to her proudly.

"Thank you, Nessa," Abram said, turning back to the crowd and placing his hand on his throat once more, "And with that, let the ceremony--"

A loud bang rattled the walls of the grand hall, several people losing their footing at the intensity of the sound, falling with stunned expressions. Looking around in confusion along with everyone else in the chamber, Abram dismissed his vocal amplification spell and gestured again, bringing up a ring of hieroglyphs, a blurry Saurian face appearing in the center of the circle.

"Security," Abram demanded, "What in the name of Gaia was that?"

"I don't know, Archmage," the Saurian's muffled voice came through the ring as the people gathered in the grand hall began to mutter amongst themselves, "I'm getting strange reports from the eastern wing, but nothing definitive--"

Another, louder bang resounded through the chamber as the ring of hieroglyphs before Abram flickered and disappeared. Shaking his head to clear the ringing he heard, the snake gestured again, trying to bring back the ring of hieroglyphs. Though they returned momentarily, Abram didn't have time to regain contact with security before the ground seemed to heave beneath the entire pyramid.

As nearly every person in the chamber fell to the ground, a sustained primal roar, like metal grinding against stone, rang out louder than any other sound on Gaia, creating fractures in the stones that held up the pyramid from the intensity of its vibration. Everyone clutched their ears in a desperate attempt to block out the sound, some of those present beginning to bleed from their ears as the roar continued for a seeming eternity, before finally coming to an end.

Pressing his hand to the side of his head, Abram chanted words he wasn't able to hear as he spoke them. With a pop, the snake was suddenly able to hear to cries of pain coming from the crowd below him. Nessa had fallen to a fetal position, clutching her head as she whimpered in agony.

Hearing Amichai intone the same healing words his father had used, Abram turned to his son with a resolute expression as the adolescent snake rose onto his coils. "Take Nessa," the Archmage instructed, "And get her to safety."

Without another word to his son, Abram turned to the crowd below him and raised his crystal, shouting a single, ancient word; "Restituit!"

A wave of energy pulsed out from the crystal, blood disappearing as it washed over everyone in the pyramid. Supporting Nessa on his shoulders, Amichai quickly moved down the stairs and through the crowd. Looking back for a moment, the snake saw his father gesture with the crystal, restoring his ring of hieroglyphs, before Amichai rounded the corner out of the grand hall.

Nessa shook her head as she regained her senses. "What's going on?" she asked worriedly as she stumbled along beside Amichai.

"I don't know," the snake responded, "But I'm taking you somewhere safe until we figure it out."

The deinonychus regaining her footing, Amichai still clutched her hand tightly as they ran through the pyramid. Several guards ran past the pair, searching for the source of the literally earth-shattering roar. As they passed the nursery, Nessa dug her heels against the floor, bringing Amichai to a halt.

"What?" the snake demanded.

"The children," Nessa said, pointing into the nursery, "The guards left the children unattended."

Looking into the room, Amichai saw it to be true. The children were huddled together, crying and shaking with fear, some of them holding their pet pygmy coatls for comfort. "Blast it," Amichai sighed, before entering the nursery and addressing the children, "Alright little ones, it's going to be okay, but I need you to stay close to me. I'm going to take you somewhere safe." Their faces brightening at the sight and words of the Arch Apprentice, the children sniffed back their tears, following Amichai out of the nursery.

With the children in tow, Amichai's progress was slowed significantly. However, after a few minutes, the earth shook once more, and the snake barely had time to intone a sound dampening spell before another roar rang out through the pyramid, shaking the structure even more furiously.

The roar muffled by his spell, Amichai continued to lead Nessa and the children through the halls, until their progress was halted by the quaking of the ground. Holding up Nessa, the snake's coils prevented them from falling. The children, without such support, fell to the ground, whimpering in fear.

Suddenly, the wall before the group exploded inward, spraying them with debris. Miraculously saved from large shrapnel, there was an absence of relief nonetheless at the sight of the creature before them.

A great, worm-like reptile squinted its tiny eyes in the light, the air around the children beginning to whistle toward the creature as it inhaled. Eyes widening in fear, Amichai gestured and shouted, "Silentio!"

Deafened by the spell, the group was spared the sound of the creature's furious cry, but not its force. As the creature exhaled, the party was knocked down by the force of its breath, debris dancing in the vibrations that Amichai, Nessa, and the children were protected from.

Turning slowly to the children, a hungry gleam glinted in the creature's eyes. Dismissing the spell of silence, Amichai shouted out, "Get against the wall!"

Doing as they were told, the group pressed themselves against the wall, though unsure of how it was going to protect them. "Hebescere visum!" Amichai hissed as he stood against the wall, his hood spread wide in fear. A moment later, the snake and those with him suddenly faded from sight.

Blinking in surprise, the creature looked around in confusion, before moving past the hidden group, its thirty foot girth scraping against the wall over their heads. The creature's body seemed to go on for hundreds of feet, but its tail finally came into view, passing the group slowly. Out of sight of the beast, Amichai dismissed his invisibility spell.

Without the creature blocking his view, Amichai's heart sunk as he saw that the way to the safe room had been blocked by debris. Looking to the end of the creature as it wormed its way through the halls, and then to the hole through which it had come, Amichai swallowed hard, coming to a decision.

"Everyone, into the hole," the snake ordered, leading the way.

As she and the children followed the serpent, Nessa felt uneasy. "Why are we going into the place that thing came out of?" the deinonychus whispered.

"Because it doesn't have enough space to turn around," Amichai responded, also whispering, "I don't think it's going to come back the way it came." The snake gestured, his hand beginning to glow in the darkness of the caverns. "I just hope I'm right," the snake sighed, leading the group deeper into the caverns.

After a few minutes, Amichai brought the group to a stop. "I think this is far enough," he stated tiredly, the group falling to the ground from exhaustion, "We'll wait for the guards to come to us for now."

Panting as she sat and rubbed her sore feet, Nessa looked back the way they had come. "What was that thing?" the deinonychus demanded.

Amichai shook his head. "Whatever it was, it doesn't stand a chance against our guards," the snake reassured his group, "And if it manages to get to the grand hall, my father will certainly destroy it."

Encouraged by the Arch Apprentice's words, the children visibly relaxed, those with pets loosening their grip on the poor coatls. Nessa smiled at Amichai's confidence, sure that he was right.

Suddenly, an intense light washed over the group, blinding them with its radiance. Fading just as quickly as it came, the children blinked the spots from their eyes in surprise, looking to Amichai questioningly.

A relieved expression crossed the snake's face. "That was Aether radiation," Amichai stated, rubbing his eyes, "My father must have used the Grimoire Curiosité to defeat that thing, so it should be safe to head back, now."

Rising up on his coils as Nessa and the children around them stood, Amichai made to head back, when he noticed a shimmering in the air a few feet from the party. His heart sinking, the snake rushed forward, placing his hands against the ward that had appeared to block the way back into the pyramid. "No," Amichai breathed, feeling around the ward as Nessa and the children watched worriedly, "It's not possible; it couldn't have been that strong! This isn't right!"

Nessa placed a hand on the panicking serpent's shoulder. "Ami, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Looking to the deinonychus with a numb expression, Amichai slumped against the ward. "Emergency Aetheric Quarantine," the snake said, his voice dead of emotion, "The Grimoire consumes everything within range, erecting a ward to prevent entrance or escape."

Sliding down the ward, Amichai clutched his head in his hands. "What does that mean?" Nessa demanded, kneeling beside the Arch Apprentice.

Amichai looked up to Nessa, tears streaming from his eyes. "They're gone," he whispered, not believing his own words, "They're all gone. Everyone is gone. We're all that's left of our people."

---

Two weeks had passed since the creature had attacked the pyramid. Amichai etched a message into the wall in front of the ward, before leading the children deeper into the caverns in a desperate search for food, the condensation on the cave walls all there was for the party to stay hydrated with. Yet nothing could be found in the barren tunnels. The Theomorphic pygmy coatls that the children had brought with them could draw enough sustenance from the water they drank to survive, but the rest of the group was starving.

As Amichai, Nessa, and the children huddled together for warmth, shivering with hunger pains as much as from the cold darkness, the deinonychus looked to the snake through tear soaked eyes. "Ami," Nessa cried softly, "Are we going to die?"

Making the hardest decision he had ever been force to make, Amichai shook his head, breaking free from the grip of the children and approaching the wall. Etching another message on the cavern's surface, the snake returned to the center of the party, Nessa and the children looking at him in tired curiosity.

"Don't worry," Amichai reassured the group as they huddled together, his voice cracking as tears streamed down his eyes, "I'll make sure we survive."

Closing his eyes, the Arch Apprentice whispered, "Frigidum Somnus." A blast of freezing cold erupted from Amichai, gathering and solidifying the moisture in the air around the party, preserving them until the day of their salvation.