Now, The Serpent

Now, The Serpent is a Tale Series about the Serpent's Hand, focusing on a small cell with revolutionary ambitions.

It is about what they stand for, and what they stand against.

Pleasing To The Eye - White Crow, the Serpent's Nest, and the more unsavoury side of anomalous art.

More Cunning Than Any Beast - Black Rabbit meets Serpent's Hand. Loose ends are tied off. Takes place in Japan, prior to the events of Stealing Solidarity.

You Shall Not Die - The Global Occult Coalition regulates magic. The Red-Green (Zhang Wen) has other plans. Takes place in the Philippines.

Your Eyes Shall Be Opened - The White Crow and Tracy Campbell. Takes place in Alabama, The Wanderer's Library and The Kingdom of Tlaneyanco.

Become Like God - Circe Galanis, cyborg sorceress, protects The Broken Church from the Wolves of the Horizon Initiative. Takes place on the Isle of Lemnos.

Knowing Good And Evil - Rahab the Amalekite, Last of the Nephilim, meets with Nobility and recruits them to her cause. Takes place in rural Austria.

Supplemental Works, considered canon to it:

The Emperor of Many Voices, aka The Hive.

The Serpent's Hand contains a wide variety of people, each with their own skills and motives. The following characters are the focus of the series so far.

Descriptions of each individual were written by other members of the Serpent's Hand. Direct quotations are included, alongside excerpts of reports recovered from the Jailors and Bookburners. A word of caution - none of these sources are unbiased. - J.D.

Table of Contents

White Crow

The Former Librarian

Initials: Wt.Cr.
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Unknown
Height: 179 cm
Distinguishing Features: Pale skin, white hair (frequently dyed), blue eyes. Slim build. The host for a one meter long, living tattoo of a black serpent.

A thief, a liar and a killer, the leader of a small but militant cell that identifies itself with the Serpent's Hand. Pragmatic to a fault, his dedication to to the goal of paranormal liberation is paired with an almost total disregard for everything else. He offers a different story every time he is asked about his past, and his true name is unknown, with his Library Card bearing only the words "Former Librarian". Past employment by the Library would at least explain his fluency in multiple languages, living and dead, as well as his uncanny ability to navigate the labyrinthine shelving of the Wanderer's Library. While he can be of assistance to those in need, he is not a man to be trusted.

"You say I lack principles? Wrong. A man without principles is nothing. A leaf on the wind, blown about by his own self-interest. But you all have too many principles, and the things you refuse to do constrain you. I am a man of one principle. I have made myself a means to an end. We are at war, and I will do whatever it takes to win."

POI-2021 possesses an animate tattoo similar to SCP-021, as well as a bulletproof black jacket, with pockets that enable access to extradimensional storage space containing a variety of mundane and paratechnological weapons and tools. POI-2021's inherent anomalous abilities, if any, are speculative, although his improbable success at evading and impeding the Foundation remains unexplained.

UTE-3675-Lerna is to be considered armed and dangerous at all times, both with conventional weapons and parathreat artefacts (including "Black Suit" Gen +1 body armor originally appropriated from the GOC). Strike Teams should respond to any sighting of UTE-3675-Lerna with the assumption that this is a deliberate trap, and expect interference from one or more of his known associates.

Zhang Wen

The Red-Green

Initials: ZW (章文)
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Han Chinese
Height: 161 cm
Distinguishing Features: Black hair, brown eyes. Muscular build, calloused hands, torso marked by multiple healed gunshot wounds.

An esoteric martial artist, capable of physical feats that most would consider impossible. While he clearly received training at some point in the past, Zhang Wen came to the Wanderer's Library as a parapolitical dissident, a fugitive from multiple normalcy preservation organisations. He holds himself to a strict code of conduct, insisting that his association with "White Crow" is conditional on the avoidance of unnecessary violence. Whether this is honest naivete or wilful blindness remains to be seen.

"Why do I help him? That's simple. Whatever you may think of his methods, White Crow intents to save lives, free prisoners, and speak for those that would otherwise be forgotten. I protect him from those that would harm him. I suppose I also protect other people from him."

POI-2102 is an inwardly focused reflexive reality bender, subconsciously imposing his will on his own mind and body rather than consciously imposing it on his surroundings. This fluctuating internal Hume value enables speed, strength and agility to exceed human limits, and permits movements that disregard physical laws relating to recoil, inertia and gravity. The impact of injuries is also dramatically reduced, with anything less severe than decapitation or limb loss healing rapidly and having minimal effect on physical performance. Reality Anchors will be ineffective on POI-2102 unless deployed at extremely close proximity.

KTE-5854-Red-Green is being actively pursued by the Paranormal 19th Bureau of the People's Republic of China, has outstanding arrest warrants in most paranormal enclaves in East and South-East Asia, and has been issued with a GOC Red Notice (Response Level 3). Despite actively interfering with at least 5 GOC operations, KTE-5854-Red-Green remains at large. If sighted, GOC operatives should avoid engagement unless supported by at least two White Suits or combat-trained thaumatologists, but if possible an overwhelming force should be deployed.

Circe Galanis

The Cyborg Sorceress

Initials: CrC
Gender: Female (Transgender)
Ethnicity: European American
Height: 172 cm
Distinguishing Features: Brown hair (tips dyed blue), brown right eye and prosthetic blue left eye. Slim build. Brain-computer interface implanted into the back of her neck.

Part of the Maxwellian sect of the Devout, Circe Atalanta Galanis's personal approach to magic combines the theories of Unified Thaumatology with advanced cybernetics and the logic of computer programming. Although ideologically aligned with the Serpent's Hand, her association with "White Crow" appears to be motivated by the desire to obtain access to certain objects and entities that would otherwise be destroyed or held by normalcy preservation organisations, apparently in the belief that they are fragments of the Broken God.

"I know exactly who I am. Always have. The world, the people in it, they're the ones that don't understand. When White Crow says we stand against all powers that be? I know exactly what he means. God is Broken. The world needs fixing."

POI-2048 was born as Christopher Galanis in Seattle, Washington, and was noted as a computer prodigy by the age of 10. It is unclear when POI-2048 was recruited by GoI-004C, the Maxwellian sect of "The Church of the Broken God", but initial contact was likely made prior to POI-2048's recruitment by the ICSUT campus in California. It is unclear how much of POI-2048's subsequent physical transformation was motivated by gender dysphoria, and how much was driven by the philosophy of transhumanism embraced by Maxwellians.

KTE-4096-Blue-Bronze-Ford has incorporated a number of cybernetic components into her body, most notably a GenII+ brain-computer interface, although signs of implantation have been concealed by subsequent cosmetic procedures. KTE-4096-Blue-Bronze-Ford's thaumatological capabilities are informed by an (incomplete) ICSUT education, with a focus on apportation, counter-cryptography and the manipulation of electricity, light, and kinetic energy.

Rahab the Amalekite

The Last of the Nephilim

Initials: RHB (راحاب)
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Palestinian (demi-human)
Height: 221 cm
Distinguishing Features: Tanned skin, grey hair, brown eyes. Heavy build, prominent scar tissue on face and arms.

The Nephilim are the race of giants descended from men and angels. Although previously believed to be extinct, it appears that at least one still lives. After spending half a century selling her strength to the highest bidder, Rahab has expressed dissatisfaction with the status quo she helped create. This apparent change of heart likely reflects the fact that the Jailors and Bookburners have no further need for monsters like her, and regard her as merely another problem to be contained or liquidated. The "White Crow" is one of the few people within the Serpent's Hand willing to make use of her extensive military experience, despite (some say because of) her casual disregard for human life.

"I was useful to them. Stopped counting the people I killed. Thought that meant something. But you can't trust them, not even if you're useful to them. I didn't switch sides. I just joined the only war that would still have me."

Promotional material obtained from the paranormal mercenary association known as Primordial advertises POI-452 as a "7 ft. tall giantess" with "the strength of ten men", describing her as having proficiency with a wide variety of firearms and "unmatched ability in unarmed combat". POI-452 is no longer associated with this Group of Interest, but retains numerous contacts in the field of anomalous mercenarism. She is best known for being one of the leaders of "Leopard Commando", a mercenary company active in Central Africa between 1964 and 1975 for the purpose of covert operations against anomalous entities. While the full details of this organisation's activities are unknown, they are alleged to have included the execution of civilian witnesses and the targeting of political dissidents under the cover of normalcy preservation. Despite her advanced age, POI-452 remains active with minimal decline in physical performance, although she exhibits signs of slow rather than negligible senescence.

KTE-0082-White was first encountered in 1938 by members of the British Occult Service deployed in Mandatory Palestine, investigating reports of a "giant" in Upper Galilee. Although the target was successfully terminated by British Occult Service operatives, his daughter (mistaken for a non-threat entity due to her youth) terminated two members of the group and wounded one more, before escaping across the border into Lebanon. KTE-0082-White was active as a mercenary in various conflicts across Africa, Europe and the Middle East from 1941 onwards. Various crimes against normalcy committed during this period lead to a 1992 trial in absentia by The International Court For the Paranormal, resulting in her conviction as a Class D War Criminal. Termination was attempted in Somalia in 1994 but was unsuccessful, and the subsequent location of KTE-0082-White is unknown.

Morgan Loxley

The Reptilian Noble

Initials: M.L.
Gender: Fluid (defaulting to Male)
Ethnicity: British (Reptilian)
Height: 167 cm
Distinguishing Features: Psionic Shapeshifter of variable appearance, including variable sex. True form is a reptilian humanoid, with green scales, no hair, and yellow eyes with vertical pupils.

A Saurian of noble descent, Loxley claims to have joined the Serpent's Hand out of a desire to advance the rights of all individuals deemed anomalous, a conviction that resulted in him being disowned by his parents. However, it seems likely that his gambling debts, promiscuity and adrenochrome abuse disorder were deemed unbefitting for a member of the Reptilian Conspiracy, and that he came to the Wanderer's Library more out of desperation than conviction. Although it is tempting to utilise his natural talent for disguise and infiltration, it would be inadvisable to trust one so eager to change allegiance.

"Oh, White Crow? He saw potential in me, potential the rest of you overlooked. Can't say much in praise for him, he's indisputably a scoundrel, but he does know how to find talent. I give it good odds he'll be the death of me, but I've never felt more alive than I do right now!"

The means through which POI-2013 impersonates Foundation Personnel is unclear, but it is believed to involve both physical alterations and psionic components. While POI-2013's answers to questions are not always accurate, they never surprise the person asking the question, suggesting that POI-2013 obtains this knowledge telepathically. An interlocuter asking questions that they do not know the answer to may present a way to distinguish a disguised POI-2013 from actual Foundation employees.

If possible, KTE-7842-Yellow-Lerna should be detained and handed over to the British Occult Service rather than terminated. Physically, KTE-7842-Yellow-Lerna poses minimal threat to a trained operative. Once identified by EVE scanning or psychic surveillance, KTE-7842-Yellow-Lerna is to be detained and not released under any circumstances, regardless of assumed appearance or any claims to be working for the GOC or an allied organisation.

While the series has so far only been written by Jerden, it's only been possible with the help of critics, collaborators and authors of prior works, and I think the characters and themes of the series are something other people could explore as well. The plan is for it to weave serpentine through other canons and settings, taking a maximally inclusive approach to other works while simultaneously showing no respect for the status quo.

If you'd like to use the characters I've written, as a brief cameo or as the focus of the work, feel free! If it doesn't irreconcilably contradict stuff I've already written or intend to write in future, I'll consider it canon and add it to The Library - the timeline's loose for a reason. I'm very happy to provide advice, I have plenty of ideas that I lack the time or personal familiarity with to write down.

Any work that explores similar themes (The Serpent's Hand opposing the status quo) could also be part of the series, even if it uses a completely different cast of characters. I'd describe the genre I'm going for as character-driven action, but it's equally important to explore motivations and character interactions, so there's plenty of space for more reflective or conversational entries.

This is going to be a more ruthless take on the Serpent's Hand than you see in most tales, and I leave it up to the reader to decide whether they're heroes or villains. I don't see this series as incompatible with other works, I have taken inspiration and characters from them, this is simply an angle I think has been underexplored. The key thing to remember is that these characters see themselves as the heroes, righteous rebels opposing unjust authority. I've deliberately taken inspiration from real-life revolutionary movements, and I hope to reflect both the shining idealism of their goals and the brutal pragmatism of their methods.

I lack the artistic talent to actually draw these characters, which I think is a shame. If anyone does decide to create artwork depicting any of the cast or scenes from the series, I will (with the artist's permission) put it up on the hub, either in The Cast section or in a separate tab of its own.

With that said, I have no expectation anyone else will want to contribute - if this just ends up being me, I'll be happy just to tell the stories I want to tell!

‡ Licensing / Citation

page revision: 77, last edited: 05 Jun 2023 10:59

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SCP Foundation

Secure, Contain, Protect

White Crow

The Former Librarian

Zhang Wen

The Red-Green

Circe Galanis

The Cyborg Sorceress

Rahab the Amalekite

The Last of the Nephilim

Morgan Loxley

The Reptilian Noble

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