Prompt: Of Man, Lamia, and Goddesses (P7)

Summary: In a parallel universe much like our own, a series of divine mishaps creature a world where lamia replace human females as the eternal partners for men. What follows is a series of vignettes of how this world evolved over time. Commissioned by downhillrabbit6.1 for the month of December 2022.

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Year 200, Anno Domini

Over the course of only a few centuries, the supremacy of the union of lamia and man had been made clear across the continent of Europe, breaching into kingdoms within Asia and Africa as well. The fertility and single-minded devotion of the lamia made for a capable partnership with the industriousness of mankind. However, as the years went on, unforeseen challenges began to test the sprawling Roman Empire.

One concern was surging population growth. The typical lamian Roman would sire half a dozen children every year, and there are accounts of especially excitable women, content to be attended to by devoted servants so that she could commit fully to the task of laying eggs. Clutches of several eggs a month were a commonality among these most decadent living arrangements.

There was the real threat of the population spike exceeding the capabilities of contemporary farming technologies and techniques; though this was mitigated somewhat by the lamian's cold-blooded biology, requiring less food overall to be properly fed, the decadence of Roman lifestyles within urban centers proved to be its undoing in several regards. Pampered lamia would often shed their tails, their forms not conforming to the natural limits posed onto human males; the most influential lamia would often tower over their contemporaries, with some accounts reporting tails as thick as tree trunks, stretching over fifty feet. Though such accounts were initially disregarded as superlative myth, remains recovered from Roman ruins in Pompei have uncovered proof of the existence of such enormous women. They are. as of this writing, on display at the Natural History Museum in London.

Though many accounts were written blaming the lamia for the downfall of the Roman Empire, these accounts about an encroaching body of people obfuscate the reality of the situation, that wealth and power had, over the centuries, accumulated in the hands of but a few noble families and politicians, with a scathing disparity in resources dividing urban and rural populations.

Tensions to this effect stirred up public dissent, and the gradual weakening of supply lines to disparate regions across the empire undermined its ability to operate the ultra-disciplined standing arms, but also the frontier sentries that secured the most fertile farmlands. As supply situations grew increasingly desperate, figures in power diverted their attention towards internal politicking; while much has been written about the intrigue and subterfuge existing in Roman political bodies, between families, and especially in bedchambers, the infighting rarely inspired greater confidence among the public in the ruling powers.

Though the decline of the Roman Empire was a slow, gruelling process that undermined equities and liberties over time, the ultimate collapse has, in broader understanding, been defined by skirmishes launched by "barbarian" kingdoms, so described by Roman authors; though the word "barbarian" (derived from the Roman "barbarus") invokes images of frothing savages wielding clubs, the term was commonly used to group together the majority of foreign societies.

In addition to smaller kingdoms and tribes scattered across the empire's northern borders, there was no shortage of other demi-folk eager to rally together against a common menace. Assaults to the empire manifested both beyond and within its borders. These attacks on Roman society extended to lamia as well, with the introduction of new weaponry, seemingly dedicated to the destruction of lamia.

These unusual weapons had spiralling blades, designed to penetrate the thick scale-plated armour of a lamia and cause terrible harm; even if a lamia was to survive such an encounter, their tendencies of causing severe burns would often render their reproductive systems null. It isn't clear who originally laid claim to inventing such weapons of war; the prevailing theory among religious scholars is that these weapons were cast down from spurned gods of other demi-folk races to even the tide, but despite the popularity of this theory in modern nomenclature, there is insufficient evidence to support it.

Weapons such as these were smuggled into Rome itself, with one of the most famous victims being Remelia, the close attendant to Emperor Felix. She was a common sight at the emperor's side, serving as a protector of the man from would-be assassins. She was written about at great length for her doting propensities, and her intense desire to stay at his side. It was said that she would abduct him during breaks in the senate, taking him to a bedchamber and pleasuring him intimately, while whispering to him about plots she had overheard among the other delegates. With the increasing centralization of power within the Roman Senate, Emperor Felix wielded considerable power, and as a judicial arm of the veritable power couple, used his influence to remove his enemies in plain sight. Remelia was particular to devouring senators she didn't like whole, as sustenance for her children; because she was so intimate with the emperor, there was hardly a time where she wasn't laying eggs in the middle of the Senate itself.

Her assassination at the hands of seven senators, each othered with twisting blades, was an especially tragic image, one that has been immortalized in countless murals, plays, and even modern cinema, daggers plunging into the length of her tail, her chest, and her neck. Emperor Felix was inconsolable following the loss, and the madness that followed would accelerate the collapse of the Roman Empire; though it wasn't obvious at the time, Emperor Felix would be the last Roman Empire born of Rome itself, until 312 A.D., where invading Lombards, aided by harpy and selkie tribes, would install their own Emperor, one that would serve to deemphasize the role of lamia in society; ironically, their aiding demifolk tribeswomen did not receive preferential treatment for their roles in ousting the snakewomen.

The introduction of anti-lamia weapons across Europe brought about a rapid societal shift; as the Roman Empire collapsed and resources for replenishing their soldiers dwindled, they had long relied on the natural advantages of lamia to aid their forces. However, new innovations during raids seemed designed to dupe lamia in turn; for example, a cologne enchanted from a strange type of holy water would mask one's scent from a lamia's sensitive sense of smell, facilitating effective ambushes.

Seemingly as revenge for the attempted genocide on human women, lamia in the collapsing Roman Empire were routinely rounded up, massacred, and paraded about, their scale hides suitable for armour and fashion. Harpies were especially potent raiders, possessing an advantage against land-based lamia, and they were able to better pick their battles, perform reconnaissance, and strike for clean, deadly blows.

In the continent of Europe, a certain sadistic spectacle emerged as attitudes towards lamia soured rapidly with the resettling of migrating tribes and peoples throughout many parts formerly under Roman control. If a lamia were captured, they would typically be chained up in the middle of a common area and publicly humiliated and tortured for the entertainment of a jeering crowd. Methods of torture varied, but a common thread was the practice of "snakeskinning", a term coined for the act of using an anti-lamia weapon to meticulously pluck off the scales of a chained up lamia, one by one.

Creative torturing methods welled from intense loathing, hatred and malice, directed towards the lamia, and accounts indicate a variety of methods. If a lamia fecund with eggs were to be captured, its eggs, fertilized or not, would typically be thrown at the lamia (a favourite pastime among young children), or otherwise prepared in a communal feast, of which the lamia would certainly be the "guest of honor". Other villages concocted more painful torture methods, such as pressing a hot iron against her cloaca, or sealing it so she would be granted no release, bloating with eggs; there are very few accounts of a lamia succumbing to such treatment, as they would either expand and grow to contain their eggs, bloating in an unsightly way, or be subject to pressures so potent that their cloacas would puff open regardless.

Accounts of torture such as these are often reexamined with a modern lens, and the object of the imprisoned lamia in chains has resonated with modern readers as a point of great curiosity; the lamia, a figure of overwhelming feminine power, shows different sides of herself in chains, be they docility, or perhaps quiet-burning fury. The image of the chained up lamia has persisted in modern storytelling, drawing from historical accounts of captured lamia being freed in the dead of night and spiriting away with a human lover, with the most popular stories often retold in modern cinema; these tend to be historical dramas, as attitudes towards human and lamia relationships have, since those bleak days, trended towards unity and togetherness once more.

The lamian overpopulation in Rome was chillingly corrected in an expedited manner. One of the strangest historical footnotes of this era of imbalance was the Calamity of Atlantis. A colony of lamia had retreated to a large island formerly situated west of the strait of Gibraltar, picked for its relative seclusion and its natural defensive landmarks. While harpy tribes could not cross the ocean without flying headfirst against the lamian's defensive fortifications, accounts indicate that they had reached an accord with the merfolk of the region.

While the stories of Atlantic merfolk are of particular historical interest, we must limit our discussion of them for the purposes of this work to their entanglements with the lamia. Merfolk, among the most mysterious demifolk, spoke of their keen blessings from the god, realizing technologies to excavate and construct underwater settlements. In a bold strategy, the merfolk, with sponsorship from the harpies in exchange for vast stores of Roman plunder, undermined the island of Atlantis itself, causing it to shift away from the continent of Europe and towards deeper waters, where the island sank into the depths.

For centuries, Atlantis was treated as a historical footnote: not a myth or fable, as trade records and accounts indicate its existence as an island, but as an entire island lost to time. However, it would be over a thousand years later until Atlantis was rediscovered during the Age of Exploration. There were initial reports of sailors travelling to the new world being spirited away from the decks; while there was speculation that this was another tribe of merfolk, the truth was that a new species of demi-folk had been discovered, with one such woman being captured and brought to Spain.

Scholars noted the similarities between merfolk, such as gills, webbed forearms, vibrant scale and skin pigmentation, and a prominent human torso; however, sea-lamia were defined by their massive serpentine tail and lack of dorsal or pectoral fins, and especially their fascination with human males.

Through accounts from the captured sea-lamia, accounts of a sunken Atlantis were back in the public consciousness. Seemingly overnight, a new nation had materialized overnight, despite existing for many centuries under countless sailing merchant sloops, transport vessels, and warships. We will return to discussing Atlantis and its sea-lamia at a later point in our studies, as they represent a fascinating offshoot of the lamia; even today, Atlantis is a vibrant community and a popular underwater tourist destination, renowned for its sprawling organic metropolis.

While there was a very real attempt to exterminate the lamia from the world, in actuality they had retreated to pockets where they could exist peacefully. The lost city of Atlantis is certainly the most exotic example, but the remnants of the Roman Empire, shifting towards their mediterranean lands and forming a new capital of Remelatria, provided a relative safe haven for lamia to escape into continents not as hostile towards their own kind. Lamia continued to dot the other continents, and though many lamia were pushed out of Europe for centuries, they were not absent altogether. Lamia were capable warriors first and foremost, and even among anti-lamia xenophobes, their sensuous prowess would invite the attention of certain powerful men craving their unique abilities for pleasure.

Though for centuries lamia were the subject of hate and derision within the continent of Europe, attitudes would shift as time went on. Even during the height of the lamian purges, there were scattered villages that could hide and protect their own from roaming patrols long enough to flee to more remote villages, away from city centers, or towards new countries. The resulting exodus of lamia inspired countless tales; the most famous of these, Emerald Aelia, is remembered by her journals, traipsing across continents and islands in pursuit of an adventurous soul such as herself. Her stories have been adapted countless times for modern audiences, recharacterizing her as everything from a swashbuckling adventurer to a sprightly tavern-dweller, now the star of a famous (and fairly fictionalized) serialized comic series.

The collapse of the Roman Empire was internalized as a lesson, characterized as a confluence of myriad factors that bordered on divine intervention. What's remarkable, then, is not the fall of the lamia from their golden age, but their later reemergence into the global spotlight in the coming centuries.