Original fic - The Merchant and the Naga
Jan. 7th, 2019 02:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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felinefablesFor an old writing meme on tumblr, LandofDoom asked for:
Object: A rough gem
Creature: A naga
and Clothing: A sari.
I used my own character, Rock, and a naga that landofdoom will probably find familiar o3o I hope you’ll like it!
There once was a merchant named Edgar Rock, who made his trade from making beautiful clothes. He had traveled to many places, from the East to the West. Men and women, from kings and sultans, to peasants and beggars, all did they come to buy his beautiful clothes. Sometimes they bought things he had already made, and other times, he had made things by commission.
One night, as the merchant traveled the road through a desert on the way to the next big city, he had just settled down for the night, when his horses began to whinney and dance in fright. They had sensed something, a predator or robbers of some sort, and Rock went to calm his animals.
He had not expected to meet a most unusual customer.
It was a Naga, a creature with the upper body and head of a man, and his lower body with that of a serpent. His scales were black and gray, while his hair was long and almost glowed like silver in the moonlight. His eyes, seeming to glow a blue-ish green, seemed to capture the merchant, locking him in place in pure fright. Currently, he was coiled up in an almost seated position. He was *huge* with a muscular human body, his serpent part long and thick, showing that this was with no doubt a fighter.
“You are the merchant called Rock?” The Naga said, his voice a husky rumble. “They say you make the most beautiful outfits from the East to the West.”
“They do?” Rock said stupidly, then resisted the urge to kick himself, as the serpentine creature raised an unamused brow.
“Do they lie?” Rock felt, that if he so much as *squeaked* out a wrong word, the creature would wrap him up in his tail and break his body in multiple pieces.
“I- I can… not say for certain?” He said quickly. “I just… I do my best, to make my clothes as pleasing to the eye as possible. But most of my work is commissioned, ordered by people who come to see me.” When the Naga didn’t answer to that, Rock swallowed nervously. “Uhm… I- I take it that you are here for a specific reason?”
“Indeed. I wish to purchase an outfit from you. A commissioned one, to be exact.” The Naga said.
“And… what exactly do you wish to commission?” Rock asked carefully. “Clothes for a man? A woman? A child?”
“It is to fit an adult,” was all the Naga said. “I wish for it to be a Sari. Long enough to cover the upper body of someone my size, in colors that are neither too dark, nor too bright. I will give you seven days to perform your task, and then I will collect my commission.”
“And…” Rock asked hesitantly, “what if the commission is not to your satisfaction?” The Naga responded to this by raising himself up, looming over the merchant with a cold look in his eyes.
“I would suggest, for your own sake, that you see to that it is.” With that, the serpentine creature slithered off, disappearing between the sand dunes. Rock swallowed hard.
Rather than risk the wrath of the Naga by trying to outrun him, the merchant got out his tools and his loom to begin his work.
For the first four days, he was careful about which colors to choose, and sketched out a careful design. Then he began his real work.
When the seventh day came, Rock dared to feel at least a little pride in his work. But that dwindled when he remembered the Naga’s words, of how he had better live up to the creature’s expectations.
It was sunset when the Naga showed up. He didn’t even bother demanding to see results. He simply slithered up to the loom, where the finished Sari was hanging.
It was about nine yards long and almost transparent, were it not for the intricate thread pattern, that Rock had ever so carefully sown into it, in a pattern that almost resembled serpentine scales. Its colors seemed to change in the moonlight, ranging from the silvery white color of the Naga’s hair, and almost to the same blue-ish green color of his eyes. The transparency did, that the colors, as requested, were not too dark, but not too bright either.
“It is like moonlight on water…” The Naga murmured in an odd tone of voice, reaching out to carefully, as if afraid that it would disappear the moment he touched it. It didn’t, but the serpentine creature seemed awed. “It feels as fragile as a butterfly’s wing… and yet, I can tell it is sturdy.”
“One of my finer works, if I dare say so myself.” Rock said. “It is sturdy, and will not wear and tear easily. There will be no trouble washing it either.”
“Good.” The Naga said. “You have earned your payment, merchant.” Without warning, he tossed something at Rock, and the merchant instinctively grabbed out and caught the object, blinking as he saw what it was. A pale, rough gem lay in his hand, almost the size of a dove’s egg. It had a flaw, which did that it had an almost mist-like color in the middle, making it glow in the moonlight.
“What is this?” The merchant asked.
“Your payment.” The Naga said. “It is a very rare gem, known as a Naga Tear. Humans make up stories all the time about how my kind weep that kind of jewelry. All nonsense of course.” He said with a distasteful sneer, clearly not amused at human superstition.
“Of course.” Rock quickly agreed. He pocketed the gem, and then carefully had the finished Sari taken down from the loom. Once done, he folded it up carefully, wrapping it up in a parcel made from fine, white paper. The Naga accepted the parcel without further comment.
“You have my thanks, merchant Rock.” The Naga said. “Do not be surprised, if more of my kind seek commissions from you.” And with that, the Naga set off, once again disappearing among the dunes and leaving the merchant behind.
“… I never did ask him what he needed the Sari for…” Rock said thoughtfully to himself, suddenly realizing this.
But then, he supposed, it wasn’t really any of his business.
Object: A rough gem
Creature: A naga
and Clothing: A sari.
I used my own character, Rock, and a naga that landofdoom will probably find familiar o3o I hope you’ll like it!
There once was a merchant named Edgar Rock, who made his trade from making beautiful clothes. He had traveled to many places, from the East to the West. Men and women, from kings and sultans, to peasants and beggars, all did they come to buy his beautiful clothes. Sometimes they bought things he had already made, and other times, he had made things by commission.
One night, as the merchant traveled the road through a desert on the way to the next big city, he had just settled down for the night, when his horses began to whinney and dance in fright. They had sensed something, a predator or robbers of some sort, and Rock went to calm his animals.
He had not expected to meet a most unusual customer.
It was a Naga, a creature with the upper body and head of a man, and his lower body with that of a serpent. His scales were black and gray, while his hair was long and almost glowed like silver in the moonlight. His eyes, seeming to glow a blue-ish green, seemed to capture the merchant, locking him in place in pure fright. Currently, he was coiled up in an almost seated position. He was *huge* with a muscular human body, his serpent part long and thick, showing that this was with no doubt a fighter.
“You are the merchant called Rock?” The Naga said, his voice a husky rumble. “They say you make the most beautiful outfits from the East to the West.”
“They do?” Rock said stupidly, then resisted the urge to kick himself, as the serpentine creature raised an unamused brow.
“Do they lie?” Rock felt, that if he so much as *squeaked* out a wrong word, the creature would wrap him up in his tail and break his body in multiple pieces.
“I- I can… not say for certain?” He said quickly. “I just… I do my best, to make my clothes as pleasing to the eye as possible. But most of my work is commissioned, ordered by people who come to see me.” When the Naga didn’t answer to that, Rock swallowed nervously. “Uhm… I- I take it that you are here for a specific reason?”
“Indeed. I wish to purchase an outfit from you. A commissioned one, to be exact.” The Naga said.
“And… what exactly do you wish to commission?” Rock asked carefully. “Clothes for a man? A woman? A child?”
“It is to fit an adult,” was all the Naga said. “I wish for it to be a Sari. Long enough to cover the upper body of someone my size, in colors that are neither too dark, nor too bright. I will give you seven days to perform your task, and then I will collect my commission.”
“And…” Rock asked hesitantly, “what if the commission is not to your satisfaction?” The Naga responded to this by raising himself up, looming over the merchant with a cold look in his eyes.
“I would suggest, for your own sake, that you see to that it is.” With that, the serpentine creature slithered off, disappearing between the sand dunes. Rock swallowed hard.
Rather than risk the wrath of the Naga by trying to outrun him, the merchant got out his tools and his loom to begin his work.
For the first four days, he was careful about which colors to choose, and sketched out a careful design. Then he began his real work.
When the seventh day came, Rock dared to feel at least a little pride in his work. But that dwindled when he remembered the Naga’s words, of how he had better live up to the creature’s expectations.
It was sunset when the Naga showed up. He didn’t even bother demanding to see results. He simply slithered up to the loom, where the finished Sari was hanging.
It was about nine yards long and almost transparent, were it not for the intricate thread pattern, that Rock had ever so carefully sown into it, in a pattern that almost resembled serpentine scales. Its colors seemed to change in the moonlight, ranging from the silvery white color of the Naga’s hair, and almost to the same blue-ish green color of his eyes. The transparency did, that the colors, as requested, were not too dark, but not too bright either.
“It is like moonlight on water…” The Naga murmured in an odd tone of voice, reaching out to carefully, as if afraid that it would disappear the moment he touched it. It didn’t, but the serpentine creature seemed awed. “It feels as fragile as a butterfly’s wing… and yet, I can tell it is sturdy.”
“One of my finer works, if I dare say so myself.” Rock said. “It is sturdy, and will not wear and tear easily. There will be no trouble washing it either.”
“Good.” The Naga said. “You have earned your payment, merchant.” Without warning, he tossed something at Rock, and the merchant instinctively grabbed out and caught the object, blinking as he saw what it was. A pale, rough gem lay in his hand, almost the size of a dove’s egg. It had a flaw, which did that it had an almost mist-like color in the middle, making it glow in the moonlight.
“What is this?” The merchant asked.
“Your payment.” The Naga said. “It is a very rare gem, known as a Naga Tear. Humans make up stories all the time about how my kind weep that kind of jewelry. All nonsense of course.” He said with a distasteful sneer, clearly not amused at human superstition.
“Of course.” Rock quickly agreed. He pocketed the gem, and then carefully had the finished Sari taken down from the loom. Once done, he folded it up carefully, wrapping it up in a parcel made from fine, white paper. The Naga accepted the parcel without further comment.
“You have my thanks, merchant Rock.” The Naga said. “Do not be surprised, if more of my kind seek commissions from you.” And with that, the Naga set off, once again disappearing among the dunes and leaving the merchant behind.
“… I never did ask him what he needed the Sari for…” Rock said thoughtfully to himself, suddenly realizing this.
But then, he supposed, it wasn’t really any of his business.
