Serpentbane: Wand of Hashesa

The story of Serpentbane is one of the most empowering and renowned stories ever told in Gentrov. It is the story of how an unlikely woman, who would later become known as the Oracle Queen, proved that you do not have to possess physical strength or skill in battle to resolve conflict and defeat your enemy.
Around the year of 68 PGS, Hashesa's tribe had lost Esseif Haffjiir, their chieftan. Hashesa, one of Esseif's twenty children, was the eldest and was to take up his mantle as chieftain. The people of her tribe doubted her because, in spite of being the eldest, she was also the smallest and weakest. The tribesmen were pressuring her to give up the mantle to her brother that was younger, but significantly stronger. Hashesa entered a stage of self-doubt, believing that she was not worthy of her father's name. One fateful night, a strange apparition visited her whilst she looked out to the shore. It explained to her that it was the deity of the sea, and that the people of the Gentrovich tribe were being harassed by a great sea serpent. At first, Hashesa felt anger at the idea of assisting the tribe who killed her father and denied the call. A few more nights past before she was visited again by this god of the sea. On this night, she was finally convinced that by helping the Gentrovich tribe, she would help to eventually unite the nation and prevent further death and sorrow among the tribes. She finally agreed, but with great reluctance. She asked this god how she was to defeat this serpent, to which the god gifted her a small tear-shaped jewel affixed to a lustrous wooden haft in the shape of a dead, scaled serpent. He referred to it as Serpentbane, a magical weapon that could turn even the most fearsome of sea creatures. When she finally discovered and confronted this hundred-foot long serpent, she held the wand tight and spoke to the creature. Hashesa used her great wit to decieve the serpent into believing that the clans had united under the power of this great wand to defeat it. Intimidated, the serpent cursed and caused the sea itself to swell and boil about him before the wand seemed to quench his anger in a brilliant flash of light. In that instant, the serpent thrashed in fear and dove deep into the Silverime sea.
The wand itself was said to have been used by Hashesa until her death in 132 PGS in which the wand mysteriously disappeared. Many an explorer and Stormdiver alike still hunt for this artifact of the legendary Oracle Queen.

Historical Basis

The people of Hashesa's tribe shared this story by mouth and eventually put it down on vellum and passed it through generations. The story still lives on, but no one actually know if there is any truth to it.

Spread

The majority of Gentrovians know of the tale.

Variations & Mutation

The Church of Progress has pushed for the story to be removed, but it was met with much resistance and uproar, so they simply created their own variation without any use of magic or any sort of god or deity visiting her.

In Literature

The myth was so incredibly popular, that people began to write about Hashesa herself and made an epic of her life before and after she became the God-King's wife.

In Art

There is a statue of Hashesa depicted atop a small hill outside the capital of Taelsburg. Somehow, and nobody exactly knows how, the statue maker crafted a serpent statue gazing up and out of the water. Both of the statues are made in what is thought to be two times the original scale. It depicts Hashesa using her wit and charm to get the serpent to leave. Some believe that this was the place where Serpentbane was last seen, but many believe this to be a wive's tale.

Date of First Recording

It was verbally spoken between the years 70-80 PGS. The first recording was not until 108 PGS

Date of Setting

Around the year 68 PGS