The Legend of the Stonefield Family
Once, long ago, a family was chosen by the Two Kings to become Barron and Baroness of a parcel of land gifted to them. The true name of this family is lost to time. Regardless, the new Barron and his family made his way to his new land to survey it and chose a place for his home to be built upon. Unbeknownst to him, a large group of bandits, cut throats, murderers and criminals had made their way into this land and have festered here like an infected wound and grew in size. These bandits called themselves the Snake Eyes. A name given to them for their cruel and bloody calling card of feeding the eyes of those who survived their attacks to their pet snakes. A the Barron's convoy with his royal guard came around a bend, they were struck from all sides. They'd walked right into the Bandit Lord's trap. The Royal Guard fought bravely and valiantly to the last man and woman but fell to the overwhelming numbers. Their Lord Barron fighting along side them was also brought to his knees by the sheer number of the enemy's forces.
Ah but you see the Bandit Lord was a clever and sadistic man. He reasoned that capturing and teaching these royals a lesson in who was the true ruler of the lands was in order. Even so, another though occurred. Maybe he can remove the unwanted rulers and place someone he wanted instead? A ransom for a royal family would make he and his men rich beyond their wildest dreams but then again, so would owning the rulers of the land. The Barron and Baroness were too strong willed so they must be killed. The two teenage daughters and the baby boy on the other hand....he need only break the will of the girls.....a smile crossed his scarred face....he had just the thing in mind. He would ravish their mother before their every eyes and that of their father. Then, he would slit her throat and take apart their father one piece at a time until he was begging for death. A death he would not grant until he made sure he saw the Bandit Lord breaking the will of his two daughters in the same manner he would have done to his wife. Then and only then would he kill him before their eyes. He would crush their minds, bodies and souls in one fell swoop and ensure their compliance. Yes this was a perfect plan indeed. He had the family brought to his base camp while ensuring that the surviving guards carried his calling card before he left them on the road.
The Barron and his family were keepers of the faith and when this creature that was less than the beasts of the land made clear his intent and was about to begin his attempt at breaking the will of the Barron's two daughters, his daughters pleaded with their patron goddess, the goddess of their kingdom and the goddess of their family, Ameriel. The Barron and Baroness both broken in body by the beating of their captors watched and their hearts pleaded with Ameriel to protect their children before their daughters were bathed in the dark shadows and the blood red flames of death itself. The Bandit Lord and his men, laughing only a few moments ago were stunned into silence as the two teenage girls changed before them. Where once there was long black hair, now were the writhing bodies of snakes. Where there once was skin, there now was scales tougher than the armor their captor wore. Then came the fangs dripping venom and the gaze that brought death. The Bandit Lord froze first in terror then in complete and total petrification. Before he could scream, his very lungs turned to stone along with the rest of his body. The statue of him, unbalanced, toppled to the floor and shattered into thousand of pieces and from the ashes and dust rose the goddess herself, Ameriel. "No one shall ever take from you what you do not freely offer, my beloved children." She spoke. The Baroness began to writhe as she too was overcome with the same blood red flames and dark shadows that surrounded her daughters moments before. She emerged similar to them and yet slightly different. Her hair became and mass of snakes seeking out the blood of the would be killers and her fangs were more pronounced but her blood was the very same venom her fangs and snakes held as well. From her waist down, she was a monstrous snake of coiled and unbridled power. She looked upon her husband as the very shadows and flames engulfed him and their son. The Barron's body gained a muscular structure comparable to heroes of legends. His skin turned as gray as the stone itself and just as hard. All hair fell from his body. He held his son as a group of the bandits had rolled a boulder atop him. Their celebration turned into screams as the Barron, still holding his son, walked out of the stone itself. He reached down unto the broken body of the Bandit Lord and picked up a small piece. An eye. The stone gave way to flesh as the Baron fed this to his son. His son however seemed unchanged and would remain as such for years until he came of age only then gaining the same blessings his father had. Regardless, both were immune to the gaze of the Baroness and her daughters. As if snapping out of it, the Bandits tried to run but could not escape. Vengeance was dealt out swiftly and without mercy while Ameriel laughed with delight. All that remains of the Bandit Lord's makeshift army became nothing more than a field of statues.....a field of stones, the Baron and his family's new namesake. It was on this land his new estate was built. This was not the end of the Stonefield family, no. Ameriel wanted the children to have as much of a childhood as possible despite their new forms. She asked her twin sister Arelia and her brother Zendai for aid. Zendai made forms of beasts and monstrosities that were designed specifically for their new family and Arelia breathed life into them. Thus came the Cockatrices, the Basilisks and the Gargoyles. Thus the family was made whole. To this day, the Stonefield family rules over that land and no criminal or bandit of any kind goes anywhere near it.
Historical Basis
While most claim this to be but a myth or tale told to young children to teach them how faith can reward, this is in fact based on a real event. One may find the foot prints of the Goddess of Death, Ameriel, within the hidden and protected catacombs of the Stonefield Castle. Perhaps there is a reason not many visit the family there. Perhaps they never died?
Spread
Known only in Ameriel Kingdom and only by Noble families. Some commoners who have been around a while may have heard bits and pieces of the myth only clouding the true story even more.
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