>>5881475>>5881509>>5881537This herculean figure, a man who can lift boulders over his head and crush rocks in his bare hands, holds prophetic sermons out in the plains to a growing crowd of followers. Delegates from Anguia are sent to assess this man and question him.
He claims to be the son of the father of gods, a pantheon who live upon a great mountain. According to him, it was they who wiped clean the world of the filth of snakes, ridding them and allowing mortals to rise and claim the lands the malicious serpents once ruled. The only immortals that can be trusted, he preaches, are those who live in heaven; immortality upon the earth is a sin, for it is destiny that those who die take their place in a greater plane of existence, a place of celestials and gods.
The naga is lying, merely putting on an act of penitence and lordly wisdom, and taking advantage of your people's worship. There are not many of them left, these serpent-masters of old, and all of them wish to reclaim their former power and glory and enslave mortals to be their servants and toys once more. Once the moment is right, the red naga will turn on your people, paying your fealty and prayers and hopes and dreams back with cruelty, malice and slavery. "There are no good snakes," he proclaims, loudly and many times.
Their empire was so vile, so wretched, so evil, that many gods banded together to wipe it from the earth, but some stubborn remnants remain: ancient ruins, their displaced servants and monsters, and of course survivors like the crimson serpent lord of your people, the so-called penitent. He has acted to protect and guide your people, but this is like how a farmer or shepherd protects animals he intends to harvest in some way. Once he has what he needs, his no-longer-needed veil will slip and he will take his place not as a wise and kind lord, but as a cruel and terrible master. "There are no good snakes, not one!"
His charisma and power are clearly winning over many people who come to listen to him and witness his incredible feats of strength. Through worship of the gods he champions, namely his father (though he is admittedly vague on finer details, such as how his father impregnated a mortal and why), he says that the people of this land can truly take control of their lives and destinies rather than putting their faith in a duplicitous serpent (according to him).
How do we react to his words?
