World Serpent

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> Then, much to my shock and awe, something rose out of the water—a massive creature with a serpentine body.
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> Its scales were jade in color. Its eyes were two separate colors—the right was the purest of scarlet, like a sunset over a desert, and the left was the most radiant of blues, the color stolen from a sapphire. The serpent had the face of a python and the slit irises of a dragon. On its head, instead of a viper hood, it had spines made of crystal, clustered like a mane or crest. The crystals themselves were similar to star shards—glittering with inner power.
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> The serpent continued to rise out of the pond, heading toward the high ceiling and slithering through the air with a concertina movement like only snakes could manage. It twisted around and then stared down at us with its dichromatic eyes.
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> The beast was colossal. I had seen a full-grown leviathan before… and this world serpent—supposedly a child, a hatchling—was just as large, perhaps more so. And it occurred to me then that the bottom of the pond had actually been the creature’s body.
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> This was the legendary world serpent.
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> ...
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> The pillar of jade light disappeared, and the sun returned to its position in the sky, blanketing the world in life-giving warmth.
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> To my confusion, my forehead didn’t burn with a new mark. Instead, my chest flared in agony a second time. I unbuttoned my shirt, my teeth gritted, my heart pounding. A new arcanist mark appeared across my chest, one stranger than Ryker’s. Instead of seven or nine points on a star, mine had twelve. It appeared over my heart, etching itself into my skin so deep, a few droplets of blood trickled down my body. And then a serpent appeared intertwined with the points, but the picture of the massive beast wasn’t contained by the star. The serpentine mark wrapped around my shoulder and my ribs, and down my hip—so colossal and all-encompassing, I thought it would cover my entire body. Fortunately, it stopped at those locations.
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> I took in a deep breath, shocked by the strength it seemed to bring with it. I rested back on Terrakona’s massive face, my entire body light and filled with energy. The mark over my heart stung for a moment longer, and I somehow knew it was a chain that linked me to the world serpent.
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> The crystals on the world serpent’s head shimmered and shifted. They were once clear, but now they were black and filled with star-like specks. It reminded me of my knightmare cape—the crystals were visions of the night sky. It gave Terrakona a mane of darkness. Why had that happened?
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> - World Serpent Arcanist
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## World Serpent

Tier: 5

Reproduction: Fable (whenever there's been a great change in magic)

Trial of Worth: Must make it through the world serpents lair after obtaining the jade runestone. The world serpent seems to choose someone based on the strength of their conviction.

> “But…” I whispered, still grappling with my thoughts. “Why me?”
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> The god-creature drew closer. His forked tongue darted out, and I could see the runes and etching on his flesh—every part of him was deeply soaked in magic. **“Precisely because you did deny my power,”** the serpent said. **“It is a rare and exceptional individual who has such conviction that they would deny personal gain for the betterment of others.”**
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> Conviction…
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> It reminded me of the eleventh step of the Pillar. *Conviction. Without it, virtues are just words.* Was that really what the world serpent cared about the most?
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> **“Those who lead—those who pass judgment—must have conviction in their actions.”**
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> - World Serpent Arcanist
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### Magics:

Evocation: Creation: Vegetation (God-arcanist can feel everything their plants touch), Destruction: Magma (comes with the side effect of their bones turning to basalt and their pores producing obsidian)

Manipulation: Creation: Terrain, Destruction: Water

Augmentation:

Passives: Doesn't need to breathe, increased healing factor, a tremor sense

Aura: Creation: Salvation Aura: Turns the arcane plague into magiborne runes , Destruction: Armageddon Aura: Causes those with the arcane plague to explode