Rules

The Legend

Once, there lived a young man from a small village in Yanxia. One day, he went into his food storage and came across a small snake, only a couple of fulms long. It was a pure white, accompanied with white eyes. A very peculiar color for a snake."Hello, little one." The young man said, "Are you hungry?"Then snake didn't move as the young man took out a piece of raw meat in his storage and tossed it to the small creature. It watched the man wearily, but eventually it snagged the meat and slithered away.The young man did not think much of this encounter until a couple of days later, when he saw the small white snake again."Hello again, little one." He said. "Have you come for more meat?"This time, the snake shook it's head and spoke, "I am not here for your meat, mortal. I only wisssh to ssshare this placcce. Allow me to live in thisss ssspaccce, and I will hunt and eat the pessstsss that threaten your sssupply. Your family will never go hungry."The young man was shocked, but agreed to the snake's proposition.For many years that followed, the young man's family did indeed never go hungry. Even when a drought threatened the land, their crops never withered, their livestock never perished. The young man was now grown with a wife and children, and the snake too had grown in size.Many years after their initial meeting, the man had gifted the snake a ribbon. He tied the soft, pink silk around the snake's neck and said: "You are so white and radiant, it is blinding. Please take this ribbon so that us mortals may look upon you." He smiled as he continued: "A beautiful creature deserves a beautiful necklace."As time went on, the man got older while the snake grew larger. The small storage shack had expanded to accommodate not only the snake, but the vast amounts of food the family continued to have. Eventually, some of the other townsfolk grew suspicious of the family's continued good fortune, and confronted the old man."You dabble in magic that you do not share with us!" One of them said. "The kami look down on your greediness!" said another."I have done no such thing. It is the will of a kami that allows me to have this boon." The old man said. But the townsfolk did not believe it, and attacked him.Hearing the commotion, the snake came out from the storage shack and found the townsfolk beating down the old man. Infuriated, the snake rushed forward, immediately grabbing one of the townsfolk and swallowing them whole. The shocked crowd screamed and scattered, some running off and returning with weapons. A fight broke out; the large, white snake fended off the attackers with teeth and brute force. By the time it was over, blood covered the pure white scales of the snake.The snake had not gone uninjured, and a new wave of attackers were coming. Seeing that they were to be outnumbered, the snake grabbed the old man and made for the mountains. It easily outpaced the townsfolk, and soon found itself in a small basin at the top.The snake curled around the dying old man, heart swollen with grief and anger."Do not weep for me, little one." He said. "I have lived a long and fulfilling life because of you." His eyes shone bright as tears began to fall. "I can only hope that my tears wash away the blood on your fangs."After the old man's death, the white snake stayed in the mountains, finding a new home in the basin where the plum blossoms blew through the air.It wasn't until 1,000 years later that nearby Yanxian villages reported sightings of a large white snake around the basin, it's white scales making it blinding in the sunlight. People were scared to travel certain roads around the mountain, worried that the creature would eat them if they got too close to its home.Whispers from the locals would refer to it as The Faded Serpent of Plum Spring.

The Present

Although the legend is true, over time the events and their meaning have shifted. Chifuyu did indeed bring good fortune to that man and his family, but it ended in tragedy. The Faded Serpent of Plum Spring is now revered as a deity of good fortune by Yanxian locals, but one with malevolent intentions. The serpent may grant you these boons for a time, but will eventually come for your life. It will whisk you away to the Plum Spring to make you its next meal.Those still willing to take the chance may put out raw meat and a bottle of sake with a pink ribbon tied around it to attract the deity and welcome it into their home. It will ask to share the space with them, where it will eat the "bad" fortune and bring upon "good" fortune.There are those who are impatient, and simply do not wish to enter an agreement with such a creature. They believe that you could simply catch the creature and trap it in your home, forever bringing good fortune to those who dwell there...