Enigmas Lost, Serpents Found

Begin writing Again a good day for discovery makes for a bad day for Pet. Or Anu, maybe. We found a letter that might have part of his name on it. But that's starting at the end.
 
It's our first day back exploring the temple undercroft, and it began fruitlessly. We learned how not to be ambushed by a horned serpentling, and set off to check the spiraling tunnels. I really thought they'd have to lead somewhere, but I'm far out of my depth. This magic is beyond me.
 
It was pointless, and Pet had to hide his limp too- I don't think he should be walking on it this much so soon. It wasn't a dead end, no that would at least feel final. We just got far enough to see a message inscribed to say we were wasting our time. If only it hadn't taken us T W E L V E H O U R S to see it! By that point, we were all a little weary, and took a break before heading back. You could feel the dejection in that room.
 
But the day had many more turns left for us. The only person here who reads others' diaries is Ily, and he already knows we bungled this. It took us a few more tries being dumb and bumping into each other in the pool before we figured it out. The answer, so obvious now, is to not try to find a pattern and just go blindly. The walls fall away (or something) and we break through.
 
There it was. I was frozen stock still, and didn't even THINK to talk to it. It probably can't speak Cuezali anyway, but imagine what it could've told us if it could...
 
The true Serpent had been down here waiting so very long, since before Patlāna evolved, and the loneliness and sorrow in those eyes tells me it was the very same one, sustained by some magic of immortality as of yet unknown to me.
 
I thought I was so clever, that we should wait to unlock the second diadem until we'd explored more of the ship. Found a place for all the boxes, at least.
 
But someone, maybe Niyol, asked what triggered it last time, since the diadem had already been stolen. And I remembered, it was the ancient presence, maybe the serpent itself, the vision I was granted was the only novelty we introduced to people who already had, already used the diadem. Thinking it must be triggered by contact with remnant zodiac, we boltd back to the ship and grabbed the diadem on the way. We made it as it was taking off. Looking back, I'm not sure what caused it to take off. It doesn't always do it at the same speed, after all.
 
History looked me in the eyes and I turned away, ready to fly off and never see it again. But Pet finally turned back to tell us something so obvious I'll be beating myself up over it for weeks. The Serpent and the Enigma could bond. We needed to tell the Enigma. So I rushed us both back there and Pet communed with Enigma to share all it needed, then turned us into thunderbirds to get back.
 
I almost lost the ring, the way it bounced off the stone platform. That would've, well... She told me to keep it and I intend to.
 
Grabbing what we could, we headed up to the Endeavor and rejoined the group mid flight. I thought that would be the hard part. Flying, and so near a storm. Pet does it, but I assumed it took him months of practice to flap right. Last time he transformed me, I didn't have to move anywhere. I didn't realize how simple it all feels. How effortless. I wonder if he turned me into a baby bird, would I then have to learn to fly...
 
Anyway, I couldn't pass up the chance to look higher, now I had wings. And good thing, too. Pet needed the company. We stepped through the corpses of his once-tribe, may Sabheza keep their tales.
 
I found a note, and thanks to the transformation, had just enough mana left to reconstruct what it once said. It was incomplete, but I think it's from Pet's mother. She was sicker than she let on, and knew why. If we can find the rest of the note, or others they kept, surely...
 
It was in Reoko, so Pet and I have started practicing our Reoko together. Nymiria would be proud. I should send her a message, next time we get to civilization...
 
And I need a better way to store the ring, too. I'll talk to Ily, see if he has any ideas.