Marsh Serpent of the Reedy Rocks looked at the unconscious body of the Princess Snake. She lay upon his bed, wet and stiff. His siblings looked through his windows to peek upon the happenings inside. The Sky Serpent slithered by his side. His dispassionate face looked at his work, and he felt his actions were being judged. But the emerald serpent was silent in his observing; his eyes were glued to the snake's body.

He was incredibly nervous. The princess had approached him as her guide to the second trial of the Birthday Planet. She had been injured in his tutelage; it was his responsibility for the Chosen One to be safe. He had never been chosen as a guide by any of the previous Chosen Ones before. He hoped that the mortal that lay upon his bed was fine. He would never be able to forgive himself if she ever perished, and if this accident would ever get out, he feared that the Chosen would not only not choose him but avoid having him as their guide.

The Sky Serpent's stare felt like its boring into the young snake's length. The Marsh Serpent of the Reedy Rocks did the same to the unconscious mortal. Her eyes were glazed snowy white, and her once vibrant scales had paled to an unhealthy greenish gray. It was remarkable that she got to the Great Lake at the bottom of the sea where the skeleton of the Sea Serpent lay sunken, but it was foolish of him to celebrate just yet. Just because they've gotten a pail of Serpentine Brine wasn't an excuse to be unwary of the dangers that lurk amongst the bones. The wrathful ghosts that haunted that place had grabbed the princess by the tail and began dragging her to the bottom of the lake. It was lucky that she hadn't touched the deadly water or else her blood would have drawn out her pores.

Her body was covered in herbal wraps that promoted her healing. Glowing crystals emitting healing light were focused upon her form. Charms hung above her on spinning mobiles, dripping their magic to the snake below them. Little by little, she was getting better, but every minute felt like his failure was growing heavier.

"She's going to be fine," the Marsh Serpent reassured himself.

"Yes," the Sky Serpent solemnly said.

Then, the motionless Princess Snake spasmed. As though the life that had seemingly left her body had returned to her vessel, she wriggled as though she just woke from a nightmare. Coughed up some water that hadn't been squeezed out by the physicians. The fire that had been extinguished in her heart had been reignited, and the color of her scales slightly returned to their former color. She weakly looked around and saw her watchers look over her. Relief was evident in their eyes as they saw the princess come back to life.

"You're alright," the Marsh Serpent moved forward and began rubbing the head of the rousing snake.

"I am glad that you've survived," the Sky Serpent remarked. "But you're wasting time. We must make more haste. Only a few hours remain before the sun rises and the Birthday Planet would vanish from the sky."

The Princess Snake frowned. Her throat burned from all the saltwater she had swallowed. She dreaded another dive into the sea. "Did we... Was the pail still full of brine when we got to the boat?" She asked.

The Marsh Serpent became panicked at that thought. "The brine! I forgot about the brine! Oh no, it's still on the boat. Hopefully it hadn't tipped over."

"Don't worry, Marsh Serpent of the Reedy Rocks. I've saved the brine. It's by your fire pit, safe and sound," said the Sky Serpent.

The Marsh Serpent sighed in relief at that answer. He turned to the princess and said, "I'm sorry that I almost lost the brine. I was just... too preoccupied that I almost got you killed."

"Don't apologize, Marsh Serpent. If I were in your place, I would have done the same," the Sky Serpent remarked.

The talk of the brine, the Princess Snake perked up. She left the bed and slithered towards the pail of brine they've gotten. The Marsh Serpent tried to stop her, saying that she wasn't fully healed yet, but the Sky Serpent told him to let her be. Her time grows short. Even if her body was yet to fully heal, the second step of the second trial must commence for her to move on forward. The Birthday Planet awaits.

"So, do I drink this or what?" The Princess Snake asked as she gazed upon the liquid within the pail. The Sky Serpent shook his head, and the Marsh Serpent felt dread upon the thought of any part of her body touching the dangerous liquid.

"No, princess, you don't drink or touch the Serpentine Brine. It would draw out all the blood that flow through your veins, leaving your body a dry husk. No, we must process it first and extract what we really want, the Serpentine Salt that comprise it," the Sky Serpent explained.

The Marsh Serpent took out his cooking utensils: a large cauldron and a long ladle. He placed the cauldron over the fire pit, and poured the brine into the cooking vessel. A fire was lit beneath the cauldron and a few minutes later, the brine began to boil. The Marsh Serpent handed the ladle to the princess and invited her to slither up the stepladder and stir the brine for herself. "You must see for yourself the brine boil and the salt settling into the bottom," he said.

And he was right. As she stirred the brine slowly bubbling brine, it was as if she could see a second night sky within the water. Glowing particles of salt moved alongside the movement of her stirring, creating a brilliant galaxy within the dark brine. Novae of light arose from the rising and popping of bubbles. She enjoyed the sights of the brine as she stirred it.

The Marsh Serpent looked closely at the processes at hand and made sure that everything went on as smoothly as possible. He controlled fire that burned under the cauldron and made sure that it didn't burn too hot and make the cauldron overflow. He stopped the Sky Serpent from throwing another log into the fire.

"We don't have the rest of the night, Marsh Serpent," the Sky Serpent reasoned. "The brine must boil faster or else she might not have enough time for the next trial and ascend to the Birthday Planet. We must be hasty."

"She's going to burn from the heat of the blaze if the fire grows any larger," the Marsh Serpent defended.

"She has eaten a Primordial Mango, Marsh Serpent. If the heavenly fires couldn't touch her, how could earthly fires even hope to blemish her?"

And so, the Sky Serpent threw the log into the fire, and it grew into ablaze. The Princess Snake had to stir more vigorously just to stop it from overflowing the cauldron. A column of steam rose from the cooking vessel, glittering with starry light and shining like nebulae. The magical lights that lit the hut gave the steam column breathtaking hues of violet, magenta, and cyan. The galaxy she stirred on the surface of the brine broke up and turned into multiple galaxies shining and swirling upon the surface of the heavy liquid. Lights exploded from the mixture and the bubbles, forcing the snake into looking away lest she becomes blinded. The heat from the steam and the blaze attempted to cook her, but the aura she received from the Primordial Mango warded her from such attempts of her life.

The process that should have taken hours to complete had been done in a scant half-hour. All the water that has been in the brine had been boiled off, and what was left was the Serpentine Salt. A glittering pile of the stuff was left inside the cauldron. The stuff within comprised almost half of the mass of the brine they had taken from the Great Lake. This was it, Serpentine Salt, the salt of the heavens, the salt which flowed within serpentine veins.

"Now, do I eat it?" The Princess Snake asked. At that question, she heard some snickers that were immediately hushed beyond the thin walls.

Once again, the Sky Serpent shook his head. "Eating Serpentine Salt is just as bad as drinking Serpentine Brine. We're going to put two teaspoons of it in a tub of hot water and have you bathe in it for ten minutes."

The Sky Serpent helped scoop out the Serpentine Salt. They put it inside a leather bag. They gave it to the Princess Snake. "It is yours. You may keep it," the Sky Serpent said.

The Marsh Serpent took out the cauldron and replaced it with a bathtub. He then filled it with water. The Sky Serpent beckoned to the princess to come near the tub. He told her to put two teaspoons of the salt into the water and let it dissolve. She did as she was told, and now the water began to sparkle with the salt dissolved in it. Little stars began to twinkle into existence within the water as it was heated up.

The Sky Serpent turned to the Princess Snake and said, "Step into the tub, princess, and let the salt imbue you with serpentine resilience."

The Princess Snake nodded and gingerly plopped herself into the tub. The fire beneath the tub was raging, but the water did not boil. Her body sank into the hot saltwater bath and she relaxed. The experience was positively exfoliating. It was as if she was shedding her mortality within the bath. Her paleness faded, and healthy greenness replaced it. She could feel the heat and the salt massage her being and untangle her knotted muscles and heal her sores.

When she emerged from the bath minutes later, she felt like a new being. Her body felt light and tough as though the sharpest of mortal instruments could barely be called weapons against her scales, but she felt as though nothing had changed. She simply felt refreshed.

She turned to the Sky Serpent expectantly, and he said, "Yes, let's. You're ready for the next leg of your journey."

The princess nodded her head and followed the serpent out of the hunt. They looked up to the night sky. The Sky Serpent unfurled his wings and coiled his tail around the Princess Snake. The Princess Snake let the serpent hold on to her securely as her body relaxed for the journey.

The Marsh Serpent went out to watch them fly away. His numerous siblings watched from the reeds. It was a momentous event, especially to the Marsh Serpent of the Reedy Rocks. "Will we be seeing each other again?" He asked the Sky Serpent.

"I don't know," the Sky Serpent answered.

And then the Sky Serpent flapped his wings, and by his power he was rose to the sky. The huts below shrank to insignificance, and the world below them blurred as the Sky Serpent sped. He held onto his passenger tightly. The hours have grown few, and soon the sun would be raised and the path that bridged the earth and Birthday Planet would be broken to be built once again on the next Auspicious Day.

They flew over forests, plains, and lakes, until their destination rose above the horizon. The Sacred Mountain stood high above the surrounding mountains. It dared to pierce the cloudy veil that separated sky from earth. Its top was frosted in thick ice and snow and the foot and crags were bathed in its grand shadow. Atop its peak lie a flat platform, and inscribed upon it was the symbol of creation and the symbol of the Birthday Planet.

They landed upon the foot of the mountain. Before them opened a great yawning cave that led deep into the earth. The darkness was deep and profound as the very stone was eating all the light which enters their abode. This was it, the path to the very last trial.

The Princess Snake looked into the darkness, and what see saw, or rather, the lack of what could be seen inspired hesitance into herself. She No matter how much she stared into the mouth of the cave, but she could see no further than a few feet from the mouth. Even though the Sky Serpent with eyes that glowed and wings that shone stood by her side, the profound darkness that veiled the cavern retreated not an inch.

"This is it, princess. Your last trial," the Sky Serpent stated.

"Yes," the Princess Snake nervously replied.

"What you see before you is the Sacred Cavern, the home and resting place of the Mountain Serpent. She and her children, the kobolds, guard and cultivate the Mountain Taro. You must ask one from them," he answered.

"Why?" She asked.

"You will need it to be able to ascend to the Birthday Star. The kobolds will forge you wings from the flesh of the taro."

The Princess Snake slithered into the cave but did not go farther than what she could see. A wall of darkness loomed before, instilling hesitance and fear to her heart. Her muscles harden, unwilling to go further into the dark. She turned to Sky Serpent, and his glowing eyes and shining wings dispelled the fear clawing at her chest.

"Can you..." the princess began. "Can you slither alongside me as I go down the darkness?"

The Sky Serpent shook his head. "I'm afraid that I cannot, princess. I have been forbidden to enter the limits of the Sacred City. Me appearing would cause the serpents of the earth to become irate."

"Please, could you at least escort me through this dark cave?" She begged but the Sky Serpent was adamant on her going alone.

"No, princess. You must go alone. You do not wish to earn the ire of the earth serpents. Be brave, Princess Snake."