Note: This story comes after "Deception of the Soul" for those of you who stumbled upon this without reading that story.

Dark Warlord Chronicles

Awakening Snake, Lying Dragon

Part 1
"The Dance of a Mystical Flame"

Green flames shot out of the former peaceful setting. The room lit by the glow. All other colors surrendered to that one color. The flame danced upward coming from a pool of liquid. From that flame, a hand came out, then another. The hands gripped to help pulled up the body they were attached to, a body of a man. Soon the body just colapsed on the floor next to the pool, thanks to gravity. The flame died down and went to nothing, leaving the red liquid of the pool behind. Sunlight returned to the room from the opening in the top. The other colors came back, but it was mostly gold. The light danced on the now still pool and the stone around it in the room. Carvings showed their ancient beauty. Carvings of several ancient, current, and future snake and snake related creatures.
The man sat up again and gazed at the pool. "Wha.. What happened?" He looked around with a puzzled look on his face. Then he examined the kimono he was wearing. "But.. but this kimono.. I wore it when. No! How?" He then turned the gaze of his brown eyes to the pool. "What? When?" In response the green flames rose again, this time not as high. They danced again and showed the man the answers he needed to know. The man watched as knowledge planted in him over the time came to front. "When is this?" He groaned and sat back against the wall, rubbing his closed eyes. "Great," the man said sarcastically. "I've been dead for over 400 years." His gaze returned to the green flame. "You couldn't have maybe woke me up sooner or healed me faster?!" Then he dashed back to the side of the pool. "What about..?" A voice in his head, undestinguishable as male or female, but a voice the same, answered. "I have to find him!" He stepped on the raised circular edge of the pool. The man's voice raised with all the strength it had.
"Power of the Armor of the Cobra! Tao Ko!"
The man jumped to the center of the pool as the green mystic flames once again shot up high in the room. This time it became a blinding green. He stretched out arms, fingers touching mere inches from the edge of the flame. His brown highlighted blonde hair flew upward with the flames. The red liquid of the pool shot up and surrounded the man from his neck down. He gasped at the power flooding over his body. The feeling was undescribable since it drowned out all the senses to make one almost unconscious from it all. The liquid solidified and formed a thin but sterdy armor. When the process was complete, he tumbled back to the outside edge of the pool. The kimono was gone. Now all that remained was a brown bicolor body armor. His brown eyes looked up at the pool again as it fell silent. He kneeled and raised his hands as high as he could over the pool. The green flame reappeared but lower and danced more slowly. It gave him another thing he needed. The man felt something solidifying in his hands. He gripped it tightly and soon two katanas formed, one in each hand's grip. The man lowered the two identical swords and gazed at their beauty. The blade seemed like any other. The guard where the hilt met the blade was gold. The handles themselves were the true artwork. The hilt was silver and designed like the head of a cobra with hood open and fangs showing. The face and fangs of the cobra were on the same side as the blade. Small red gems, same color as the liquid of the pool, were placed as eyes. Still, as the man gazed in one of the red gems, he could see a little spark of green inside. He sheathed them and hung one on each side on a belt.
The man looked back to the pool. "Now what's next?"