Cielo Island, the bane of travelers, is also known as the Pit of Ophidian. (See the map of Thamaltis to find out where Cielo Island is.) You smart people who just googled that could tell me that that means the Pit of the Snake.

Why is Cielo Island called such? Because it is infested with snakes. Snakes with such poison as could knock an elephant off it's feet with one bite - if there were any elephants on the island (which there aren't).

These snakes are called blacksnakes, because of their color, but they are no ordinary blacksnakes. Oh no! No, these blacksnakes are the spawn of the Aru Tonga, the Great Snakes. The Aru Tonga are 100 feet long, and five to six feet thick. They are hundreds of years old, as it takes them at least 50 years to mature into adulthood. They live in the tunnels and caverns they carved out of the rock face, and bring forth many young, the blacksnakes. It is because of the Aru Tonga that the island is uninhabitable, though no doubt the presence of the blacksnakes helps.

The blacksnakes (and, consequently the Aru Tonga) have an affinity to water, and often swim in the sea round and about Cielo Island. They rarely wander far from the island, though, which is just as well for Agatha Island, Cielo Island's close neighbor.

Cielo Island is divided into two parts. The side closer to the open sea is much more rocky, and the side closer to the coast of Thamaltis, is wooded and swampy, affording the blacksnakes their hunting ground.

In instances of storms, ships occasionally stop off of Cielo Island for repairs, but no more than absolutely necessary, because of their superstitious fear of the Aru Tonga, the masters of poison, the Ophidian.

Wow, Milly, you really thought this out well!

What do so many big snakes eat? Do they ever eat each other?

~ZA

Thank you for commenting, Za! I really appreciate it.

Yes, the Aru Tonga do eat each other - it keeps the actual number of giant snakes down - and they also eat anything else they can catch on land or in water.

Wow, these sound...scary.

So how do the giant snakes carve in rock?

That is a very good question. The caves and tunnels actually began from an underground spring. The Aru Tonga began using them, but as they grew, their sharp scales scraped the rock, slowly wearing it away. Thus the caves and tunnels were widened as the need arose.

Another fact that I forgot to mention: Criminals given the death penalty are often marooned on the island, since the probability of escaping without companions or weapons is close to nil. (That's begging for a story, I know. )

Oh I see, awesome!



Yes it is! And I bet it isn't the commander's favorite men that maroon the prisoner on the island, either. How do they do it while minimizing danger to themselves?

Drop him off and run. XD

Hah, figures.

No, they sit on the shore and play rock paper scissors for a half an hour before leaving him. *Cough* Sorry. XD

Oh, really? I had thought they would play a game of monopoly first...with a barbeque luncheon.

No, no! Not monopoly, snakes like monopoly. But they don't like rock paper scissors.

Oh, ok! Or maybe they'd stay away from a game of snakes and ladders...being offended at how they are portrayed on the game board?

*Shakes head laughing* Oh dear....Really now, these people have a bone-chilling, paralyzing, nightmare-inducing fear of this island. It is no joke to be chosen to escort someone to his doom.

I can imagine...do they drink or something to ease their nerves? Maybe bring a pocketful of candybars?

Hmm, I hadn't considered that..'tis a good question, though.

I don't know if the escorts would drink anything, but they would certainly go heavily armed! XD

Interesting. Yes I think this whole thing could be a good start for a story, or just a good scene in a story... *has visions of Trumpkin tied up in the rowboat*

I suspect it will play a role in the beginning of my book. Sad isn't it, how my plans for seven books in this world are degenerating into one or two books!

I think it'd be a good one.
Yeah, how did that happen? You have to tell me so that that doesn't happen to me...(I'm planning on making my world so big that I could write at least a couple decathons)

I found Cielo island on your map, and I noticed that it is closer to the mainland shore than to the other island you mentioned. Do the snakes ever go to that part of the shore?

I love your ideas about the Aru Tonga. The black snakes are their young? That is interesting...do the Aru Tonga ever act protectively toward them, or are they basically just another animal to them?

Are there any animals that live on the island at all besides snakes?

The snakes rarely venture far out on the ocean, so very few make it to the main coast. And the few that do are very violently exterminated.

No, the Aru Tonga have no attraction at all to their young. I suppose it's because there are so many of them...Some will eat them, especially when they get larger and start claiming others' territory.

Well, considering the infestation of the island, I don't think anything that wasn't a bird could live there long. Perhaps they did at one time, but I'm not sure on that one.

Thanks for your interest! It helps me develop them more.