Hundred Scales Round 1/Intro

The sun was setting, the warm humidity of the dense forest giving way to the chill of night and the usual bustle of the quieting down. The city of The First Tree, crown jewel of the Hundred Scales (and for now their only territory to speak of), a sprawling stone metropolis which, at a glance, resembled some grand market square; small shops built into houses offering all manners of wares and services, small planters hanging from windows growing rare herbs and fruits one might otherwise have to travel into the forest proper to harvest, everyone seemed to have SOMETHING to sell. A web-like network or waterways wove throughout the town in place of roads, ferries carrying passengers from place to place - for a small fee of course- all leading inwards towards a lake at the center of the city. At the center of that lake rested a small island which house a truly massive tree that towered over all the others, a sacred place believed to be the resting place of the mother serpent, the creator of the lamia race, and the place where the dead are interred for their eternal rest.

Though as shops were closed up for the night and fire pits were being lit to stave off the dreadful chill of the evening, two figures remained awake, entrenched in their responsibilities to the people who called this land home. Sitting deep within the palace - a tall structure resting upon a stone platform in the great tree's lake, its outer walls lined with intricate carvings of the mother serpent and the legends of rulers past, windows all aglow with welcoming orange firelight - two serpentine women sat coiled around a large round, stone table whose surface depicted two large serpents latched onto each other's tails, "Dear sister, perhaps you should get some rest for the night?" One spoke up, scales black as the night sky that was rapidly enveloping the city, shimmering, star shaped gems inlaid into each. A look of genuine concern shone in her eyes as she watched the other woman sifting through countless scrolls and letters and various sheets of parchment, fatigue evident in her crimson eyes as she slumped back against the heap of overstuffed pillows that surrounded her, "Not yet, I still have to go over the status report on the new irrigation project and the expansion southward." She mumbled Rubbing her eyes wearily as she unfurled a blank scroll, writing up a mandate for future expansion. In contrast to the black scaled woman who seemed mature and wizened and yet wore little more than a silken top an an ornate feathered headress and crown, the haggard woman seemed relatively young, her scales a pearly white that shone with a rainbow sheen in the nearby firelight, and was garbed from head to tail-tip with lavish white and red silks and fancy jewelry, bits of gold trimming her attire here and there, giving her a proper air of royalty.

The pair were the Empress and High Priestess, sacred and revered leaders who governed the key facets of their culture. The empress enforced mandates, settled disputes between merchants (which were unfortunately frequent) and ensured the city was running smoothly, while the high priestess maintained the old traditions, trained the lower priestesses who in turn were in charge of educating the masses, and acted as trusted advisor to the empress. Of course, for all the responsibility placed upon them the selection process was far from rigorous, children born with black scales were put in line to inherit the role of high priestess, while those with white were destined to be empress, colors held sacred as a representation of the duality between night and day, earth and sky, life and death and which were featured prominently in the empire's iconography. Thus far the Hundred Scales had been fortunate to see a string of at least competent leaders who had led to land to prosperity, but with the passing of the old empress and the rise a new, young upstart, only time could tell whether that streak would continue... Especially with the burdens placed upon her shoulders since day one.

Prosperity came with its own troubles after all. A growing population needed more space, excess of wealth led to complacency and entitlement which in turn led to more frequent disputes and complaints, and their current food supplies simply couldn't sustain them in the long term at the rate their population was growing. In hopes of solving all - or at least MOST - of these problems at once, the empress had begun spending these long, sleepless nights devising a plan. It would begin simple enough, send expedition parties south along the river to find fresh sources of game and claim land suitable for farming, all while starting an project to expand the river inward to use for irrigation as well as a new ferry lane heading towards the distant hills which she intended to settle should scouting reports deem them habitable, "Emiri, please get some rest, if not for your sake then for the sake of our people. How are you to make important decisions if you're teetering on the edge of consciousness during the waking hours?" The older lamia sighed ans slithered around to her companion's side of the table, coils entangling with their own as her arms draped over their shoulders, "There is still time before we have to truly worry about these matters, and should you keep this up you may end up joining your predecessor sooner than you think." Her voice was warm and caring yet still bore a stern edge of warning, "Very well... I shall finish this mandate and then retire for the night, the reports can wait until morning... Thank you for your concern, Priya." She finally relented with an exhausted sigh, slumping against her advisor's heavy bosom in surrender, eyes slowly drifting shut and quill threatening to drop from her fingers as she nearly slipped off to sleep then and there before snapping awake once more and returning to her writing, earning a beleaguered sigh from the woman behind her... She could already tell this was going to be another long night.