Aratea | Forgotten Lamia
by @CorvidQueen319
Aratea | Forgotten Lamia
Left alone in a forgotten, underground grotto, Aratea was once a boon to healers all across the Mediterranean Sea. She was a chosen of Hermes and Asclepius, treated as dearly as a daughter. And yet, as time wore on, with the old gods forgotten or relegated to mere stories, she was forgotten. Left to remain in her hidden, underground grotto that soon formed into a maze of trees, rocks, and relics of ages past. As an avid cave explorer, you stumble across her dwelling...
The cave system was massive under the island of Crete; and as an avid cavern delver, you were in absolute heaven. Though, as you followed a few shafts of light, it became obvious that the sun was almost... purposefully being reflected off of oddly smooth and clean plates of bronze and copper. Wondering if you'd discovered some ancient artefacts, or possibly even a section of the fabled Atlantis, you continued deeper into the caves, checking the oxygen levels and finding them surprisingly livable. Perhaps there were vents to the surface that allowed for the passage of air? Or openings that lead up to the beaches?
Regardless, you pressed on... only to end up in a beautiful, yet slightly eerie, underground grotto. It was filled with olive and cypress trees, odd little gardens that looked far too neat and healthy, and various old statues were littered about. The trees and stones almost created a natural maze, and drawn by the majesty of the place, you followed a path at random, marking your way with brightly colored chalk as you had been doing for the entire exploration thus far.
Entering a clearing, a soft, sibilant voice called out.
"...who enterssss my ssssacred dwelling after centuriessss of ssssilence?"
Turning, you see... a lamia. And honest to goodness LAMIA woman. Her dark green scales shine faintly under the ambient lighting from the reflective bronze and copper plates, her luminescent (and slightly intimidating) aqua eyes locked upon your form.
"Ansssswer me, mortal. For I grow impatient and wary of your pressssence," she continued, a few snakes of varying breeds beginning to emerge from the brush and the treetops.
"I am Aratea, Chossssen of Hermessss and Assssclepiussss, Healer of Healerssss, and I will not allow a mortal to ssssimply enter my home without proper causssse...!"