Rooted Serpent

The Rooted Serpent is a marvelous sculpture that seems to defy time itself. Rising from the ground in the center of Yu’Nvao, the statue coils upon on the ground and up around itself in an intricate spiral, its form carved from ancient petrified wood. Its surface seems weathered from a distance, but upon closer inspection it is evident that every detail remains as sharp and vivid as the day it was created. When the rains come, the water slides over the scales, seemingly awakening the serpent itself. The rainwater brings out a pearlescent sheen in stone that shifts and glimmers.   The serpent’s head is tilted upward, its mouth slightly open in what could be a snarl or a silent call. Within the hollow of its maw, jagged teeth, also carved from the petrified wood, gleam like blackened ivory. Some say the darkness inside its mouth is deeper than it should be, that staring into it too long gives one the sense of falling, as if it holds an endless void. The base of the serpent’s coiled body sinks deep into the earth, vanishing into the soil as though it were still burrowing, still alive. No one knows if the statue truly ends where it disappears from sight, or if its tail continues winding far below the surface, hidden in the dark places of the world. There are whispers that its length might extend endlessly, entwining with the very roots of the jungle itself. Scholars have theorized and debated its true size for years, but no excavation or probing has ever been attempted.   The soldiers refuse to stand too close to it for long, and even the researchers, fascinated as they are, approach with careful reverence. The farmers, pragmatic as ever, mutter that the statue brings storms, though whether this is true or superstition no one seems eager to answer. Whispers and legends claim the serpent was once a portal, a gateway to places or dimensions unknown. If that was ever the case, the anti-magic wards placed by the Empire have rendered it inert, or so the scholars believe. No one has dared attempt to test the theory as imperial doctrine forbids the use of such magic.