Society's Collection: Charming the Snake

The Asp's Pipe:

A rather old pipe dating back to the later years of the Istanbul empire. Brought to a Sultan as a gift from a distant noble by a vizier wrapped in cloth. He bowed to the Sultan, praising his name and wishing him longevity, offering the golden instrument up as he bowed. The Sultan was disinterested in what he referred to as, "a lowly trinket," but the Vizier promised the item held great power and would garner renown for those who possessed it.

The Sultan was not convinced, but his daughter begged him to have the man play, if nothing else she wanted to hear its music. The vizier smiled as the Sultan begrudgingly waved the man to play for his daughter. He bowed and slipped the pipe to his lips. The room was filled with a swaying music, the notes seemed to hiss and slither as they slipped around the marble columns. The Sultan, despite himself, was rather intrigued by the sound's movement... but then he snapped out of it as his daughter began to walk forward.

"What is this?" He demanded frowned, "Daughter, return to my side!" But the woman gave him no regard. Her hips swayed with each step, the closer she grew to the source of the music, the more her body undulated side to side. The Sultan continued to call to her but felt trapped. It was as though something was wrapped around him, holding him to the chair. He struggled, watching as his youngest daughter danced erotically for the crowd, swaying and grinding invitingly as the music seemed to hold her.

The music grew louder as the Vixier produced a woven basket from the shrouds of his cloaks. The daughter stepped into it as snakes began to coil and slither up her body. She swayed and twisted, gasping lightly as she sunk into the basket. The crowd gasped as they saw her arm shrink and melt into her shoulders as her tongue flicked out, revealing its serpentine shape. As the girl finished slipping into the basket, the hisses of a hundred snakes mating could be heard, then... silence.

The Sultan could stand now, his restraints vanishing with music. He growled out an order for his guards to take the Vizier, three guards grabbed the cloaked man, yet seemed reluctant to be so near him. The Sultan took up his sword and leapt from his throne towards the man, "you will release her at once!!" He ran towards the basket and quickly peered inside...

The Desert Asp is a dangerous reptile... its fast, it's poisonous, and it's easily startled. The Sultan was dead before he hit the ground. Another hiss and a long female Asp slithered out of the basket towards the Vizier. The guards, having seen the death of their ruler, quickly retreated as Vizier knelt down. The Asp slithered into his outstretched hand, coiling around it as he faced the crowd.

"Your land belongs to my King, know that there is nothing that can't be taken from you," he stroked under the Asp's chin, "or used against you..."

Or that is roughly how the legend goes...