Tales from Derian: Coatli

Coatli

 Chuioke's pouch hit him in the back as he crouched and examined the rest of the branches in the massive tree he'd just climbed into. It was midday, but the leaves around him were large and thick, allowing only threads of light to reach him.

The climb had been slow and hard, and Chuioke needed to stop. He sat on the branch where he was, resting his head on the trunk of the tree. There were still people watching him. They had followed him all the way here. But it didn't matter if they saw him stop. They wouldn't approach him right now. Not here.

He pulled an apple from his pouch and took care to take a large, slow bite from it. He chewed for a while and swallowed before speaking to himself loud.

"I wonder if that creature really lives around here," He said. He looked at the three angry, red scars that tore across his right arm. It was a miracle they no longer hurt. He hadn't missed pain.

The leaves rustled, and the barest hint of a breeze teased his skin. Chuioke paused, relishing the sensation, then he took another bite of his apple.

"At any rate, there's no way she's as tall as Aso says she is." He smiled remembering his wife's expression as she talked about Coatli. She was a legend where Aso was from, but Aso's home was rife with legends. Chuioke couldn't say anything against such things, but frustrating Aso was his greatest hobby. He wouldn't let a few agreements get in the way of that. What would she do if he didn't come home? Chuioke looked over the edge of the branch to where he knew his followers were waiting. There was a hiss, and someone spoke far too close.

"Who is this in my home without invitation, and insulting me on top of that!"

Coatli was before him, towering over him, golden and angry. She sniffed the air until she found his exact location. "Why are you here, human? Do you wish to die so badly? Was there no one in your own realm to kill you?"

Chuioke's heart pounded, and he scrambled to his feet although he knew Coatli couldn't see him. She was old, blind, and nearly deaf. But she could smell him with ease, and even if he decided to run, he would not be able to escape her reach from this distance. He hadn't even heard her approach. She could strike him before he reached the edge of the branch, and he would not be able to survive the poison.

Coatli's empty eyes and sharp expression pinned his feet to their place. It was time to start talking.

"Do I have the honor of meeting the great Coatli, Snake Mother?" Chuioke asked, sweeping into a pointless bow.

Coatli sniffed and raised her nose at him. "You are already aware that you do."

Chuioke thought quickly. "I'm so grateful, Snake Mother. I meant no insult, but perhaps you would deign to settle an argument between my wife and myself?" He glanced around him. He had nothing except the contents of his pouch, the tree itself, and his shadowy pursuers. If Coatli decided to kill him... But he couldn't let her make that decision.

Coatli's brow furrowed. "You came all the way here for that?"

"Of course, Snake Mother. A disagreement about you may only be settled by you."

Chuioke's shoulders tensed as he waited for Coatli's response. Seconds passed, then Coatli lowered herself to the branch, so that her face was almost at the height of Chuioke's. "What is this disagreement?"

Chuioke relaxed only a little and kept his voice formal. Even like this, she outmatched him. "You see, Snake Mother, my wife Aso believes that you are as tall as the length of one of your tree's branches, but my grandfather once saw you, and he was certain that you are half as tall as a branch."

Coatli laughed softly. "You would do well to listen to your wife, human. I am certainly taller than half a branch."

Chuioke smiled, relieved that Coatli was amused. He laughed at himself with her, and while she was still chuckling, he asked. "May I ask how tall?" He took a step backward. It was a bit of distance, but not nearly enough.

Coatli tilted her head as she thought. "Well, I... Certainly as tall as... My, it's been so long that I don't remember! But that's remedied easily enough. You will measure me."

Chuioke's eyebrows and heartbeat shot up at the same time. "I— I would be honored, of course. But how?"

"There must be something," Coatli answered.

Once again, Chuioke looked around him. He still had the same things he'd had before. His followers had made no appearance. Apparently they didn't care if he lived or died. But there was the tree. And his bag.

Chuioke tried to take another step back, but his back was already against the tree trunk. He made his voice as flat as he could, so it wouldn't betray him. "You could use this branch. That would settle the disagreement soundly."

Coatli considered this, and Chuioke considered a jump to the ground.

"Fine, then," Coatli said.

She stretched herself out onto the branch as far as she could go, but her back was bent. When she'd gone as far as she could go, she said, "There. How tall is that?"

Chuioke looked, walked past her, and looked again. "You are half a branch."

"That can't be right!" Coatli attempted to stretch more, but she couldn't.

Chuioke knelt next to her head. "It's because your back is bent, Snake Mother. This is not your full height. But if I tie your head here and stretch you out myself, we will see how tall you truly are."

Coatli struggled some more then sighed. "Fine. Do that. But be sure to stretch me to my full height."

Chuioke tied her head down where it was on the branch, then he went to her feet and pulled her as far as she could go. When she was fully stretched out so far that she wouldn't be able to move, Chuioke tied her feet to the branch as well. Then he stood and took a knife made of fire from his pouch. He felt safe for the first time since he'd arrived.

"You are exactly three-fourths of a branch, Snake Mother, and I thank you for allowing me to bind you. I must deliver you to the Ruler of Magic, and I was afraid you'd be very difficult to catch."

Before Coatli could speak, Chuioke raised the knife and cut the branch from the tree. It fell to the ground, where the shadows of King Horos' men waited for it. Coatli struggled, but Chuioke had tied her tightly. Within moments, she and they were gone.

A searing pain scorched its way across Chuioke's right arm. One of his scars was gone. He took in a quick breath through his teeth. No, he hadn't missed pain at all. This was his reward for an audience with King Horos. Of course the Ruler of Magic would never have given him an easy price to pay, and if anyone could cause him to lose his life in the process, it was Horos.

Still, one payment had been made, and he had lived.

There were only two more to go.

* * *

Long ago, Chuioke wondered why the world had no magic. So he decided to ask the Ruler of Magic to share it. He travelled across the world until he came to the Glorious Court.

There he approached the Ruler of Magic and said, "Your majesty, what would you require to share the gift of magic with mankind?"

The Ruler of Magic was swift with his answer. "Mankind must prove itself worthy."

Then he took a blade of fire and carved three tests into Chuioke's arm.