tales of Suchita

The snake hissed in triumph
The prey in its grasp
The people cheered
For they deemed it was justice.
But then the snake turned
For that is its true nature
And the people fled
As they became the prey.

For the snake, justice was of little import
What mattered was the juicier prey
Here were people dispensing justice
Against a human they deemed prey
But the snake decided it was them that was prey
So who was right?

But if no one was right
And no one was wrong
Was justice really being done or
were children simply playing with a concept…
squabbling
biting
deciding…
Did they not understand that the “right thing”
Was like a silver snake
Stealthy. Pure. Deadly. Beautiful.
Where even the shrewdest could be deceived
In the name of righteousness
For when the same person is the judge, jury and executioner
Who wins is the silver snake
And who loses is always the prey.

In the village of Trell, this folktale was both a song of heroism and one of caution. The village had been driven to the brink of destruction when people took justice and self-righteousness unto their hands.

Leaving a mark of the snake on the door of the person who had wronged them, the punitive measure quickly devolved into petty grudges to the point where the silver snake, assassin extraordinaire, was killing indiscriminately thanks to the measure being used indiscriminately.

Inside of their self-righteous bubble, none of them realized that the silver snake was deceiving them. And would soon extract a price for all the killings it was doing in their name.

The snake turned into the enemy when the people of Trell realized it no longer followed the mark but killed as per its wish. It was no longer the weapon of god, as they had explained it away, but a weapon of destruction.

Now united under the terror of the silver snake, people of Trell were able to defeat it. When the snake was unmasked, they were stunned to see it was neither human nor god, nor anything they had ever seen before. It was a grotesque incarnation of their basest instincts lay bare in stark detail.

A lesson that cost them nothing in gold, but everything in virtue, the people of Trell were quick to sanction their bards to hash out a song that could be passed down to generations as a warning to what could happen if you let the silver snake, present in everyone’s heart, whisper to your mind.

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This is 19 of 26 Myths and Legends. To know more, click here.