I am a vain creature. Or so I've been told. I am sure it is true, because the following events would not have occurred if it was otherwise. All creatures are born with flaws. Mine were just on the inside.

I had no flaws on the outside. I was beautiful, a "head turner". Every serpent wanted to be close to me in some way. My beauty pulled my family from poverty and well into nobility, because of the constant gifts from many of my rich suitors. However, it did not end in the happily ever after I had imagined.

Unlike the typical heroines of those stories, I was not selfless or kind or caring. Quite honestly, I was self-absorbed. Terribly vain. I was beautiful, and i knew it very well.

Because I grew up being treated as a prince, I thought I would always be treated in such a way. No harm would ever befall a perfect being such as myself. None of the seprents that craved my presence would ever allow anything bad to happen to my precious beauty. My flawless beauty. No, they loved me far too much.

I did not understand then that love is something that may be free, but it needs to be returned in order to be affirmed. I loved none but my image. I felt nothing for the men that showered me in praise and gifts. I felt nothing for my family that constantly thanked me profusely. Nothing. Empty.

I only found pleasure in dressing up, in flaunting my beauty. When one has such a flaw, it is hard to take notice of it. I noticed when I made people cry, but I thought they only wept because they could not have my beauty, they could not be as beautiful as I. I never knew until later that they wept because I broke their hearts.

On my birthday, the official day I reached adulthood and maturity, the grand hall was pulsating with the numbers of serpents present. It was the day I was to choose a suitor to be my mate. But before I did so, I received my gifts.

Oh, the glorious gifts I was lavished with. I was particularly fond of clothes. I loved clothes with frills and lace and bows... but I was always given jewelry as well, and cosmetics. But then I saw a large present leaning against the wall with nothing but a blanket to cover it. With haste, I wandered to it and pulled the blanket off.

I saw myself reflected back. I took a moment to smile at my own beauty. And then, a sudden wind arose all around me, twisting and tearing, pulling me toward the mirror. I fell.

I fell into the mirror.

But there were no shards around me when I awoke, and I peered all around myself, wondering why no one had helped me to my feet. I saw decay. This hall was in ruins, old stone walls with holes to let an eerie grey light shine through. The old red curtains were torn and covered in dust. I looked again into the mirror, and I saw there not a reflection of myself, but the image of the grand hall I had previously been in. The serpents were gliding around in disarray, panicked looks on the faces of those that connected eyes with the mirror.

I saw mouths moving, shouting soundless words, and I screamed when they replaced the blanket over the mirror.

In all the time I was lost in the world of grey, I took care to never stray far from the mirror. When I could, I slid it along with me, although most of the time, when I slept, I awoke in another ruined place. I figured that wherever the mirror went on the other side, I was in its dead alternate world.

I could reach my hand through the mirror and brush my fingertips across the real velvet covering it, but I could never reach so far through until the wind picked up again.

I never knew the reason for my imprisonment, no voice called to me to speak of redemption, but several hundred years passed for me to do nothing but think. There were no reflective surfaces for me to gaze upon myself, and I only knew I did not grow old because my hands did not wrinkle, my skin never loosened.

As I took time to reflect upon my ways, rather than spend the time glorifying my appearance, I eventually did realize the fault of my ways.

And it seemed that the moment I realized my own flaws, there was the sound of voices, quiet at first, but steadily growing louder. I neared the mirror and heard, "...old mirror that is said to show the past. Like, ruined castles and stuff," to which another voice responded with, "Oh, you can't seriously believe this nonsense," and then, "Its true! They say that you can almost always see someone in there, lying on the stone floor with the wind blowing," the first voice whined, responded to with, "...nonsense. See?"

The curtain was lifted and my world of grey was illuminated by golden light from the other side. I saw two identical green serpents and one that appeared to have stemmed from the sea. They saw me as I saw them, wide-eyed and staring, and the two twin serpents said in unison, "Told you!"

The blue serpent reached his hand out to touch the glass, and let out a gasp when his webbed fingers went straight through. I watched the blue scales of his fingers turn grey as they entered my world, and I felt the wind pick up around me once more, this time pushing me toward the mirror. The sea serpent's eyes widened, but he reached his hand further in, and I found it gripping around my wrist, pulling me despite the power of the wind that was already pushing me toward him.

It was as if being pulled from a dream, a cloudy, whispy dream, into the full aspect of reality. There was no more wind around me to muffle my hearing, there were colors, bright and vibrant colors, even on my own purple scaled fingers that had previously been so grey.

I looked up at the three bewildered creatures before me, unsure of what to make of anything, before I bowed to them and introduced myself, manners a part of my lesson learned. "I am Kesraa. Pleased to meet you."

••Aftermath

Kesraa was in the "World of Grey", the Glass Mists, for hundreds of years. While he lost his family, he never wept for them, because he honestly felt nothing for them. He does however, acknowledge that he could have had a much better relationship with them.

Kesraa is still quite vain, but makes it an effort to get to know other people and to learn of their problems. He makes an effort to form relationships, and to form friendships. Although he still has his flaws, he has learned his lesson in that he respects that he is not the center of the world.

He keeps the mirror covered, hanging on the wall of his room as a reminder of the lessons he learned and also as a reminder to uphold those teachings. He never did find out which creature imprisoned him, but if he did, he would probably thank rather hate them.

In his past, Kesraa found it bothersome to communicate with others. After being released from the Glass Mists, he was granted the ability to speak to any creature, regardless of language or communication method. He uses this to its full extent, making ties with anything he meets.

None D:

Name: Kesraa
Nickname: Kei
Species: Serpent
Neo Species: Darigan hissi
Age: Unchanging
Gender: Male
Personality: Kesraa is incredibly blunt with his words. He generally speaks in short sentences, as shown by his story, that get his point across quickly and undoubtedly. He is a firm believer in the existence of honesty and boldness, of kindness and envy. Although vain himself, he accepts the flaws of others with immense ease.

••In Depth

Kesraa makes his points known with as few words as possible, perhaps out of habit of spending time alone. He also has difficulty with emotions. By difficulty, I mean that he simply does not feel the intensity of some emotions. There were no descriptive words about how terrified he was of being sucked into a mirror because he honestly was not terrified. He takes everything that occurs in stride, unquestioning, possibly unhealthily so.

Kesraa felt nothing for anyone in his past, so he was not saddened by his loss. He grew up extremely cold, expecting to be lavished with anything he wanted. He never thought about what other people felt, partly because his own feelings were never so intense that he could relate with them. He is not angered about his imprisonment, he in fact was glad for it, because he noticed his faults and actually feels the desire to change.

Rather than spending hours by himself, he could sit down with someone and let them talk about their entire life story, and he would never get bored. This may be because he wants some drama in his life, because he hears about these emotions that these people are feeling during the events that happen to them, and he wants to know more.

You may speak to me. Speak of your life, your stories. I listen well.

These are the buttons that can be chosen from to link back to Kesraa's page c:

••Links Out