#Hestia's Hearthsnake

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Hestia’s Hearthsnake

Reportedly originally found in the eternal flame of the temples of Hestia and Vesta, Hestia’s Hearthsnake was considered, by Roman Wixes, an example of the strong bond between the protective spirit of the snake and the hearth-and-home Vesta. In recent years, it’s been proven that Hestia’s Hearthsnakes are likely an origin of Ashwinders, being born of the magic- and intent-filled offerings made to the flames, as well as magical incenses and potions. These creatures come in widely varying forms depending on where they are, what has been sacrificed and so on, and remain in various wixen-run temples of Vesta and Hestia the world over. While wixen religion does usually shift to somewhat resemble that of nearby muggles, or having no such faith at all, some wixen lines are known to cling to older faiths, especially if they claim to be descended of one god or another.

Hestia’s Hearthsnakes usually grow no more that two feet in length, and have variable forms. Rattler-esque ones are common in America, while Cobralike forms are found in North Africa. In Greece and Italy the snakes again tend to take on the form of local snakes, usually also venomous, due to the historical ophiolatry sometimes practiced. Young girls would be bitten by a young venomous snake; if they survived they would have a lasting immunity to snake venom and often became priestesses to a snake god(dess) or served at a temple of Vesta, who was a counterpart, in Roman house-shrines to the protective snake.

(Image One, Image Two)

(Image One is of the Cindersnake from Pathfinder’s Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign. Image Two is the Fire Snake from Pathfinder’s Legacy of Fire campaign. You can read about Ophiolatry around the world Here - not the OP because OP’s theme is unreadable. I hate that I have to include this but PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THE IMAGE SOURCE OR THE CAPTION.)

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Created Snakes (Classification)

A number of magical creatures are ones which would not exist without the interference not just of magic, but of wixes themselves attempting to mould them. Snakes, due to the existence of Parselmouths and the various magical properties found in them, are especially prone to magical alteration, be it by hybridisation, magical manifestation or specific breeding intended to bring out specifically sought magical traits.

Some Created Snakes are intended to serve certain purposes - often, originally, as means of assassination. Others came into being as a consequence of other study, or of experimentation with known forms (Basilisk, Cockatrice, and variants thereof, for example, and likewise Ashwinder variants). Others have been bred with purpose, or altered unwittingly by the magic of the Parselmouth interacting with them.

Please find below a list of some of the more well-known varieties of Created Snake.

Ashwinder - Created as a consequence of wixen magic fusing with fireplace ash and the sheer energy of heat and flame, Ashwinders are amongst the most commonplace of all Created Snakes, if not as infamous as others. Their eggs are useful in a variety of potions, from therapeutic love potions to potions to induce controlled fever.

Basilisk - Most infamous of all, Basilisks are one of the archetypal Created Snakes alongside Cockatrices. Their precise origin is confused and hard to pin down but the fact of their existence is undeniable and a fearful fact of the world. Due to their rarity they are thankfully almost never seen.

Brimstone Cobra - Bred by and for alchemists, Brimstone Cobras are one of a very few truly warm-blooded magical snakes (rather than those which use magic to warm themselves) and are known for their alchemically useful venoms, of which they may produce several.

Cockatrice - One of the other more infamous and archetypal Created Snakes, Cockatrices do have avian features but are regarded as serpents for the sake of classification as they can be spoken to and commanded by Parselmouths. The origins of these creatures are even more hard to pin down than that of Basilisks, and they are no less deadly at sufficient age.

Cockatrice Imperious - Bred on purpose not by humans but by Ichchadhari Cobras at the request of the Indian Snake People, Nagas, Cockatrice Imperious have much the same skills as their common kin, but can also compel those nearby, if they so wish, or have been asked to, and have become self-propagating.

East Asian Ashwinder - Due to a different formulation of Floo Powder in Eastern Asia than much of the rest of the world, Ashwinders manifesting out of Floo fireplaces are a matter of course as they are elsewhere, but have a number of differing traits, including an ability to turn to smoke.

Fire Cockatrice - The consequence of untoward experimentation in what eggs and snakes in combination might be used to make a more dangerous Cockatrice, Fire Cockatrices are much what one would expect given the name, and as dangerous. For the most part, all known specimens are kept or captured by Unspeakables (or equivalents) for study.

Heartsnake / Corluber cordis - Bred to help treat a number of otherwise nigh-untreatable magical curses and diseases affecting the heart, Heartsnakes were bred with the aid of Unspeakables and equivalents in accordance with far older studies and under the eye of the ICW. Gaining renown for the increasing number of lives they save, they are starting to turn the opinion on Parseltongue in Europe around at rapid pace.

Hestia’s Hearthsnake - Accidental creations, but creations nonetheless, of sacrifice, intent, magic and the innate power of long-burning semi-magical flames, Hestia’s Hearthsnakes were prized in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome and spread with the Roman Empire. Though they have become rarer in the modern day they are still found in Africa.

Janthinix - Magical serpents that manifest out of magical stones, or stones imbued with magic due to the high levels of ambient magic in Arṣatum, Janthinix can reproduce asexually, laying geode-like eggs. Their venom is also impossible to treat with any anti-toxin, and must be treated instead as a curse effect.

Snake King - Believed to be the result of some truly sadistic people, no Snake King in existence is known to have come about by choice on the snakes’ parts. Made by tying together the tails of a number of magical and non-magical snakes, the serpents are then forced to work together to survive.

Viren Snake - Created as protective bonded companions for otherwise lonesome Pureblood children, Viren Snakes are heavily restricted in the modern day where once they were rather more commonplace. Created with enchantment and alchemy, Viren Snakes are generally docile except in defence of their charge and dissipate when the charge reaches seventeen.

Wildsmith’s Ashwinder - An utterly unique variant of Ashwinder found in the experimental fireplaces of the Wildsmith family (the family of Ignatia Wildsmith, who created Floo Powder), Wildsmith’s Ashwinders do not burrow or lay eggs as their kin do, and are more personable by all Parselmouth accounts.

Emerald Serpent by 000Fesbra000

(I hate that I have to include this but PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THE IMAGE SOURCE OR MY CAPTION.) 

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Fire Snakes (Classification)

There exist a surprisingly large number of fire-associated magical snakes around the world. While it was once believed that this was due to some relationship with dragons, due to the more serpentine forms of some dragon varieties, this has since been thoroughly disproven; Fire Snakes are a category unto themselves, with snakes scattered around the world developing fire magic sometimes utterly independent of one another, though several varieties are related and have interbred, while some of the most well-known varieties are closer to magical constructs or phenomena than truly natural creatures.

Perhaps unsurprisingly Fire Snakes are highly prized for a number of reasons depending on their origins. They are striking pets for Parselmouths to have, with clear distinct ability that, in several cases, is more tied to house and home than to any kind of malice. They are often appreciated for use in Potioneering, with shed skins or frozen eggs being useful catalytic ingredients for certain brews. In other cases, their construct nature makes them fascinating subjects of study in order to examine what about them it is that means magic will make them of nothing.

Please find below a list of known varieties of Fire Snake and a brief description of each.

Ashwinder - One of the most well-known varieties of Fire Snake, Ashwinders are magical constructs created from the ashes of magical flames. Grey and cinder-like, the initial constructs do not last long after leaving their fire, but the eggs they lay can hatch into second generation snakes provided they aren’t taken for use in love potions or potions to induce fever.

Ashwinder Dragonet - Technically not a snake, and a contributing factor to the long drawn-out discussion of if Fire Snakes are related to dragons, Ashwinder Dragonets are the result of Ashwinder eggs and Dragon eggs hatching in close proximity, causing a merging of the two highly magical creatures in immediate infancy.

East Asian Ashwinder - Due to differences in regional ingredients and the difficulty of transporting Floo Powder long distances, Floo-Pow uses different configurations of Floo Powder depending on region. This helps to both separate regions in the international Floo Network, but also eases costs. It also had the side effect of manifesting an entirely different kind of Ashwinder in East Asia, with some distinctions from the European baseline such as an ability to turn to smoke.

Fire Cockatrice - The result of using the egg of a Firebird-type when making a Cockatrice, Fire Cockatrices are not entirely snakes but are classed as Fire Snakes due to the serpentine form and fiery ability. Their nature as constructs is no different from several creatures in the classification and the confusion of their nature is matched by multiple other magical creatures.

Hestia’s Hearthsnake - Believed to be a precursor, of a kind, to modern Ashwinders, Hestia’s Hearthsnakes date back at least to the Roman Empire, where they were guardians of the sacred flames of the temples to Vesta (or, in Greek, Hestia). Hestia’s Hearthsnakes were originally born of sacrifices to the flames - incense and offerings of food made with (religious) intent and belief in the protection of the goddess, all of which fed into their nature.

Magma Python - Found in Africa, these creatures are kept surprisingly often as pets; despite their name they are warm rather than burning, unless they decide they dislike someone. Their ribs are sometimes used as wand cores and as lucky charms, but they are also popular pets for Russian Parselmouths.

Nehasim - Cousins to Magma Pythons, Nehasim are found in the Near East and, though known for deadly venom and flesh, are also capable of healing individuals of not only their own poison, but also that of other venomous magical snakes. 

Wildsmith’s Ashwinder - Only found in the fires of the Wildsmith family (the creators of Floo Powder), Wildsmith’s Ashwinder is believed to be the result of the extensive experimentation done by the family. These Fire Snakes are utterly unique and found no where else in the world.

Xiuhcoatl - Cousins to Quetzalcoatls, Xiuhcoatls are turquoise-coloured feathered snakes capable of emitting flames from their skin. While they generally do not lest they set fire to the forests of their homes, they can if they feel attacked but are otherwise largely placid creatures.

Žaltys - Hearthsnakes of Lithuania, these snakes are known to prevent the formation of Ashwinders in the hearths they inhabit and can be persuaded to live comfortably with a family with a bowl of milk, rarely necessitating a translating Parselmouth. Indeed, domestic specimens often take badly to Parselmouths not of the family speaking to them, and have bitten Parselmouths attempting to incite them to do violence to their family.

Snake in the Sky by xHybridus

(I hate that I have to include this but PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THE IMAGE SOURCE OR MY CAPTION.)