The Curse of the Serpent God Seth Estlow -Part 1It was the year 908 AD, and

Theodulf von Wolfen was a simple man of the Kazza tribe, living in the Black Forest, which was then in the kingdom of the Eastern Franks. Theodulf lived along in a small cottage in the woods. One day, out of sheer boredom, he decided to wander through the woods seeking out things he had not yet seen in the far reaches of the forest. The young man armed himself with a bow and a sword and entered the woods, followed by his faithful hound Gunther. He set out before noon and wandered about the woods until dark. Theodulf was a man of 28 years. Though he was a Christian, he was a proud warrior. In those days, the Eastern Frankish kingdoms were ruled by Hludwig, the Child King. None of this affected the warrior, since these were the days when the men of the von Wolfen clan were common peasants, before the rise of the Holy Roman Empire when they became knights. Theodulfs life was simple. He had inherited his cottage from his father, Johannes von Wolfen. Consequently, his life was quite dull. The Kazza people, though converted to Christianity and deemed civilized, still kept many of their practices from Pagan days. They were not farmers, so their diet consisted mostly of meat. As a result, Theodulf was an excellent hunter, but when he was not hunting, he was always rather bored. Sure the Kazza were warlike, but they were not at war with anyone at the moment, so Theodulf set out for adventure Night had fallen and Theodulf was far, far from home. He knew that, with the help of Gunther, he could find his way back, but not before dawn. He had walked all day and seen nothing, and was close to giving up, when he spied a strange stone structure in the woods. As he approached the stone building, he saw that it was carved with images of snakes. He did not know what to make of it, but his curiosity overcame his caution and he entered. The dog, however, refused to go in, and stayed outside. Theodulf had made a torch and lit it with flint and steel, so he could see inside the dark structure, but that didnt make the place seem any more comfortable. The place smelled of the thick stench of reptiles. He also heard the hissing of snakes, though he didnt see any. Judging from the altar and snake statues, he guessed this was the temple of one of the serpent cults that lived in these lands before Christianity, or even the Germans, moved in. He was about to leave the place, but something glinted in the darkness. He moved closer and saw that it was a pile of treasure. The warrior bent down to inspect the pile. It was mostly gold coins, but there were also many gems and valuable artifacts, but the one thing that caught the warriors eye was a golden ring. His eyes went wide when he spied it. It was in the shape of a serpent biting its tail, and its eyes were tiny rubies. The rest of the treasure did not matter when he saw that ring. He slipped it over the ring finger of his right hand. He could not carry the rest, nor did he care to. For now, this ring was his greatest treasure. The warrior and his dog made their way back home. By the time the warrior found his way back, the sun had already risen. Tired from walking through the woods all night, the warrior threw the cottage door open and flung himself on his bed. He fell fast asleep, but his dreams were filled with images of monstrous serpents. When he awoke the next day, he merely attributed his disturbing dream to his visit to the abandoned temple.

Theodulf got up early the next morning and sat down at his table to eat the rabbit he had shot a few days ago. Gunther lay on the floor nearby. The man had kept the rabbit meat in a barrel of salt to keep it from going bad. He gnawed at the carcass trying to get as much meat from the animal as possible. As he sat there he heard hissing nearby, and his dog barked. There was a snake on the floor with Gunther nervously staring at it. The man rose to his feet and walked over to the creature. He crushed the reptiles head with his foot and then picked up its dead body, throwing the dead creature outside. Theodulf returned to his table. He ate his share of the meat and then threw what was left to his dog, who enthusiastically chewed the scraps. Moments later, as Theodulf was sitting sleepily at his table, he heard hissing again. His dog barked. There were two snakes writhing on the floor! Where are these things coming from? the man mumbled. He casually picked up his sword and struck the heads off of both serpents and then threw them outside. Theodulf looked in his barrel to see if there was any meat left. There was none, so the man picked up his bow and quiver of arrows. We must go hunting! he said to Gunther. The man and his dog walked outside in hopes of finding a large stag and possibly some wild mushrooms in the forest. The firewood was low as well, but he would have to chop wood later. He could only take care of one problem at a time. The man stalked the forest in search of a stag. Soon his dog nudged his leg. There was a stag in the bushes nearby! The hunter took careful aim and shot, striking the stag in the thigh. The animal tried to run away, but it had been lamed and could not get away fast enough. Soon Gunther was upon it, nipping at the huge creatures neck. Theodulf drew the knife from his side and slit the beasts throat. Well be able to eat for more than a week, boy! the hunter said to his dog. The hunter took the stag by its antlers and began to drag it home. When the man and his hound reached the small cottage, Theodulf was shocked that this time, five snakes were crawling upon his floor! Vile beasts! he cried out, grabbing his sword. The man struck the heads off of each of the serpents as Gunther whimpered in the corner. As before, the warrior took the dead snakes and threw them outside. I have to go cut firewood, the man said. You stay here, boy! The man got his axe and went outside. He chopped wood for hours and, in the late afternoon, he brought his first load of wood back to the house. When he got there, dog was waiting outside pacing nervously. Whats wrong, boy? The man walked into his house to see what must have been a dozen snakes slithering across his floor. Christ! he shouted. This cannot be! He took his sword and began hacking the serpents into pieces. At last he had slain them all. He threw all their bodies into a sack and tossed it outside. Its okay to come in now, boy, the man called to his dog. The scaly things are all dead now I think. The dog came inside, and then the man went out again to gather wood. The man brought in several heavy loads of wood before it became too dark. He built a fire and then sat down in his favorite chair with his dog at his side. He soon fell asleep and had a strange

and frightening dream. In his dream, he was in the temple where he had found the ring. People in black robes stood around chanting in an arcane tongue. Soon a tall man, also in black robes, arrived. He placed his hand upon the altar, and Theodulf saw his hand. It was covered with scales. On one of the creatures clawed fingers was the ring Theodulf had found the night before. Another man lifted his hood, revealing a pig-like face. The man spoke in a barbaric tongue, but Theodulf could understand what he said. Sharaph, the pig-like man said to the scaly creature, please bestow upon us the legendary ring filled with the power of the Serpent God Set! The scaly creature took down his hood, revealing a horrific face more like a serpents than a mans. Brother Pharghoth, he hissed, you know well that the cursed ring of Set will bring woe to any man who is not wicked enough to wield its power. That is why I must tell you to only bestow the ring upon a worthy man. If you can find the most black-hearted man among the Ghermoth tribes, bestow the ring unto him. Lord Sharaph, you know as well as I do that there are none among the ancient Ghermoth people who are still evil enough to wield the power of the ring! Very well, the serpent-man said. I will leave this ring here, in the temple of Set. He who is wicked enough to wield its power will find it, but woe to the clean-hearted man who takes the ring, for he will suffer the curse of the Serpent God! The man awoke with a start. The dream was disturbing, but he was still very tired from yesterday. He stood up from his chair and lay down upon his bed which sat nearby. Though he heard an all-too-familiar hissing sound, he soon fell asleep

-Part 2Theodulfs dreams returned to images of ophidian horror. As he slept, his mind wandered into a hellish snake pit where thousands of serpents writhed. Suddenly, out of the midst of the horrid, hissing tangle of serpents, a large and hideous serpent burst forth. The creature appeared to be a normal snake but for its incredible size, like the serpents Theodulf had heard of in the darkest lands of Africa, but the most horrific feature of the serpent was its uncannily manlike face. The nose was flat, but the creature appeared to have a chin and a brow like a man, and its eyes were huge, round and forward-facing, and it was as if they were gazing into the midst of Theodulfs very soul. The monsters scaly lips parted, revealing long, sharp fangs, and it spoke in an inhuman, hissing voice: You cannot essscape the venom of the Ssserpent God, mortal. You have ssstolen from Ssset. Sssetsss vengeance isss upon you! Your sssoul isss unworthy of the Ssserpent Godsss treasure, and ssso you will be dessstroyed! You will sssuffer for ssstealing from Ssset! Ssset will devour your sssoul! Theodulf sat up, covered with sweat. As he stood up, he saw the still body of Gunther upon the floor. He seemed to be breathing heavily. As Theodulf bent down next to his dog, he saw a snake slithering away into the darkness. Theodulf looked at his dog. The beast had a nasty bite on his throat. Theodulf knew not what to do to save his faithful hound. Within moments, the dogs breathing ceased forever. Theodulfs best friend had been slain by a venomous snake. He could do nothing but wait until day dawned, and then go bury his friend. Theodulf lay upon his bed once more, but he could not sleep. He lay awake trembling in pure horror. Eventually the sun rose and its light poured through Theodulfs windows. He stood up and grasped his dogs corpse under one arm, and took up his shovel with his free hand. He walked far out into the woods, to a spot rarely trodden upon by human feet. This was a place fit for burying the body of his faithful friend, or so it seemed. The man gently laid his dogs body upon the ground and began to dig. He dug a hole about three feet by four, but it was only one foot deep. He had to dig deeper. Even though this place was rarely trodden, he would want to bury the corpse so it would not be unearthed by hungry scavengers. He thrust his shovel into the ground once more. The man had only dug three or four feet down when he removed that clump of earth which revealed something unfortunate. As he tossed the dirt over his shoulder, he saw something sleek and dark below. He bent down to look, and that is when he heard the hissing. One by one, snaked crawled out of the hole, filling the grave that had been dug for poor Gunther. Theodulfs eyes went wide with fright as a horrid tangle of snakes rose up, up out of the grave to crawl over the frightened mans leather-clad foot. He was frozen it fear, but some primitive switch was triggered in his mind, and he swiftly turned, kicking the snakes off of his feet and running back to his home. The man had not buried his dog. He could not. There were snakes everywhere. Snakes, snakes, crawling, slithering, hissing, coiling and he could do nothing but sit despairingly eating the meat he had cooked. For most of that day he just sat at his table, trembling and weeping, until at last, the sun was setting once more. The man decided to get up from the table. His legs shook, but he was strong enough to rise and walk outside. Leaning against the wall of his cottage, he watched the golden sun set below the western trees. At last, once the sun had set and all was dark once more, he decided he would go

inside and build a fire. He had already given up on giving his dog a proper burial, and he thought that maybe he could at least comfort himself by curling up next to the fire. The man built a fire on the floor, and he sat by it wrapped up in a blanket. It was autumn and the nights were getting colder. Still, he thought, it was not cold enough for the snakes to go into hibernation at least, not just yet. The fire began to die down, and Theodulf reached over to the woodpile to grasp another stick, and he felt something sting his hand. As he looked over, he spied an oddly-colored snake latched onto his hand. He grasped a stick with his free hand to strike the snake, but just as he struck where the snake used to be, the creature loosened its grip and slithered away mockingly. The man grasped his hand. It stung as if it were envenomed. He had heard somewhere that the best way to deal with a venomous snake bite was to such the venom out. He tried that, but it still seemed to him that some venom remained in him, coursing through his veins. The man, feeling slowed by depression, venom and exhaustion, threw himself upon his bed to sleep and await the morning. In his tortured and feverish dreams he saw the snake pit once more, and again the monstrous serpent with the manlike face emerged from the midst of the writhing tangle. The manlike face of the snake seemed to mock the man, completely aware of his dire situation. Ssstupid human, you will sssoon die! The curssse of the Ssserpent God hasss taken itsss hold on you! All sssnakesss are of one mind Ssset isss the mind of all sssnakesss. Their venom isss hisss venom. The venom of Ssset flowsss through your veinsss! You will sssoon be dessstroyed by the venom of Ssset! You have ssstolen Sssetsss ring, mortal! The ssserpent hasss been here from the beginning! The day sssoon comesss when the ssserpent will claim the earth once more!! Theodulf awoke once more with a heavy weight upon his body. He heard hissing, and the heavy weight was moving, continuously moving! He was covered with dozens of writhing serpents! He quickly stood up, throwing the hateful, limbless beasts off of his body, to the floor. He looked at the ring which was still upon his finger. Set, the Serpent God he is the devil! the man cried aloud. He is the one who tempted Eve in the beginning He is getting his revenge! The Son of Man has overcome the serpent and the serpent rises again to bite the heel of man! This ring must be returned to the old temple! If I do not return the ring I will surely die! The man burst forth from his house and ran down the long path southward. He struggled to remember where the old temple was. It was after midnight, and the moon was still bright. He ran through the wilderness, continually searching. As night wore one, he strove to find the path. Many times he had to backtrack and re-work his path. Time was running out. He could feel the venom flow through his veins. He was growing weaker and weaker as the hours passed. Day dawned once more, and at last he spied the golden light of the sun falling upon the small stone temple amongst the trees. Ive made it! Im here! he cried. He felt incredibly weak. He fell to his knees and began to crawl. His skin felt cold and dry, and it became scaly. He grew weaker and weaker as he approached, and soon he fell to his belly and began to creep along the ground. No! he thought, I was so close! The curse of Set I cannot No! There is still time! There must still be He lay before the pile of treasure in the temple of Set. Now there was nothing but silence and stillness. The man still a man called forth all his strength. He pulled the

serpent ring from his finger and with what strength remained in him what strength he could muster he threw the ring upon the pile. Suddenly, as if awakening from a horrible nightmare, he climbed to his feet and slowly made his way back home. After those horrible occurrences, Theodulf decided he would no longer live in the woods by himself. He travelled north, further from his cottage, to the town of Bonatal and married a young girl named Elise, the daughter of a local butcher. They had a son named Frank, who was a brave warrior, and loyal to the king. Though he faced many horrors in his day, he never learned of his fathers nightmarish adventure in his cottage to the south, where his life was nearly claimed by the curse of the Serpent God