The Lands of Ralosia & Ranuulo (Books 1-3)

Earth & Sky Chapter 7- Ekanzi Canyon

~Chapter 7- Ekanzi Canyon~

Jirro and Aero could see the Ekanzi canyons in the distance as the sun rose. The rocky area appeared to have an opening through which they could enter.

"I didn't know that's how your mom died through Focus sickness..." Aero said.

"Yeah, after that Heartstone ritual on Platt Mountain, my dad told me. It was why he didn't want us using Focus," Jirro explained.

Aero nodded, "It's kind of nice to know exactly what happened to her."

Jirro peered at Aero, "What makes you say that?"

"I mean, Corri and I have no idea what happened to our mom. No idea if she's alive or dead. We don't even know her name. I feel like it'd be nice to know a little bit," Aero explained softly.

Jirro looked at Aero, it wasn't often that he spoke sentimentally like that.

They entered the canyon. There were cliff faces on each side of them and many round holes beneath their feet - tunnels. No doubt for snakes to slither in and out of. Aero winced when he saw a hole big enough for him to fit into.

A snake slithered out of one of the holes; it was about three meters in length. It saw the two boys and snarled, showing off its fangs as it did. It lunged at Aero, but the boy simply grabbed it out of the air. The yellow-dotted snake tried to wriggle away, but Aero tucked the creature underneath his arm and pinned it there.

"Okay, open its mouth and pull the fang out!" Aero said as he wrangled the snake into submission.

Jirro shook his head, "We're looking for a cobra Aero, that's not it. I think that's an anaconda, not nearly as big."

Aero dejectedly gripped the anaconda and tossed it away. It hissed at them before slithering into one of the many holes dotting the area.

The two continued until they came upon a much more open area with mounds of dirt dotted with holes for snakes to travel through. Carcasses spread throughout the area. The boys remained on their guard.

Jirro spotted a giant yellow translucent mass that extended through the terrain. He recognized it as shed skin from an enormous snake. Thirty or fourty meters long, and three meters wide.

"Yeah, there's a cobra here," Jirro said.

Aero winced, "This is from a cobra? You came here knowing we'd have to deal with something this big?!"

"We need to save Nout! Whatever it takes!" Jirro spoke with determination.

At the center of the open area, they found it - the cobra's full body spread out. It lay motionless, its sinister eye visible. They quickly circled behind a mound of dirt, fearing that it had seen them.

Yet the cobra remained motionless.

"What's it doing?" Aero asked in a whisper, peering over at the beast.

Jirro watched as the creature lightly breathed in a rhythmic fashion. He whispered, "I think it's asleep."

"But its eyes are open," Aero whispered back.

"Snakes don't have eyelids, Aero."

Aero looked at Jirro, then back at the open-eyed snake, "...That's weird."

Jirro saw this as fortunate. While the cobra was asleep, maybe they could get the fang out. It'd certainly be safer than trying to take it while it was awake. He looked around the area and saw a boulder relatively close to the beast.