Prompt: Of Man, Lamia, and Goddesses (P10)
Added 2023-04-08 19:48:15 +0000 UTCSummary: In a parallel universe much like our own, a series of divine mishaps creature a world where lamia replace human females as the eternal partners for men. What follows is a series of vignettes of how this world evolved over time. Commissioned by downhillrabbit6.1 for the month of March 2023.
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Part 10 (Mar '23)
Year 700, common era
A brief tangent on lamia in Southeast Asia, and the slimes of the region
The influence of the Mongol Herd, a collective of centauresses that swept across Eurasia, would be felt across the continent, stretching through to the main population hubs, aided by their ability to travel great distances and, by nature of their mass migrations, literally carve out the most efficient trade routes in the land. Their southward expansion through the continent was stopped within the modern regions of China and India—not for lack of ability to reach further, but due to the fact that these particular regions offered considerable wealth, and served their new lords well as centers of commerce and culture.
For the time, lamian had all but disappeared from public life, forced to retreat under the threat of extermination. Though it is worth mentioning that the Mongol Herd's attitudes towards foreigners and outsiders was not as "barbaric" as later stereotypes would prescribe, there was little doubt as to the enmity they displayed towards the lamians, who were frequently regarded as subhuman predators, subsequently made prey. Snakeskin garments woven from fallen lamia were a popular item among both common centauresses on the fields as well as nobility alike, well-regarded for its flexibility and defensive properties, as well as their remarkable patterns as an eye-grabbing fashion accessory.
As the Mongol Herd resettled the Asian mainland, the remaining lamia would flee to parts of Southeast Asia; while many escaped off to smaller islands and archipelagos, the imminent threat of annihilation at the hands of the Mongol Herd seemed to waver. While the riches offered by the primary dynasties of the regions were the main factor in discouraging further encroachments southwards, there was the matter of the region's topography and the lay of the land. The prominence of wet jungles, coupled with the close proximity to coastline, had resulted in colonies of slimefolk occupying the area, and changing the area to suit their needs. A centaur had not evolved to ford muddy swamplands with particular grace, and the failure of a scant few scouting parties to penetrate into the region was a major factor in ceasing the advance of the Mongol Herd.
Lamia, however, did not have any particular problems with such geography, and like a predator introduced in a new unsuspecting environment, they quickly made themselves known. Slimes, despite their various biological advantages, were ill-suited to escape the lamia, and their soft bodies were easy for the lamia to devour whole. As lamia adjusted to their new surroundings, a common practice was to keep a farm of "livestock" slime, whose function was to multiply, grow, and be consumed.
The deliberate practice of producing slime ranches would, in itself, further warp the power balance of the region, as slimes would simultaneously be protected from many other natural predators and deprived as a food source from all except for other lamia. In this environment, slimes were permitted to mature beyond baseline intelligence; a single slime would be quite dull, but a hive-mind of slimes would have the capability to outsmart and overwhelm other predators, and the power-dynamics would be reversed as a result... though infighting would often render a colony vulnerable to a coordinated strike from a sufficiently motivated lamian force, and the cycle of subjugation would begin again.
Some myths of the region romanticize this relationship; one popular story, "The Twisting Vines", concerns the relationship of a lamia and a slime who had become intimate with one another, living together and serving as equal partners to eating and being eaten, as a form illustrating their close and intimate bond to each other. Though there exist records of such relationships forming, the majority of relationships were of a subservient master-slave relationship.
When slimes were not being raised as a food source, they were made to adapt in other ways. As humans were a scant rarity in the area (on account of the myriad other dangerous monsters in the area), slimes were trained based on literature imported from China and India to serve as substitutes for human males; instructed to exaggerate their masculine features, well-endowed slime mistresses trained themselves to attend to the lamia's needs, physically, sexually, and spiritually as well.
It is one of the great ironies of the world that the slimefolk, despite their subservient role to lamia as a source of nutrition (and, on occasion, a source of sexual gratification), that they would ultimately survive the events that would transpire for the next several millennia. Over time, lamia would reassert themselves as a world-defining force, and subsequently push other competing monsterfolk out of the picture.
Scholars cite a mutually beneficial partnership, as slimes and lamia would rely on each other for protection from existing threats, that has contributed to their historically close relationship over time, even as lamias seemed to rapidly develop and evolve over the course of time. Unfortunately, modern stigmas and prejudices have emerged from unflattering historical narratives, characterizing the slime as one best suited to a servant's role, helpless on their own, and requiring the guidance of a steady hand.
Contrary to such harsh stereotyping, the slime's history is noted by struggle, highlighted by resilience and the ability to adapt to harsh circumstances, and their role in the lamia's resurgence to power is not to be understated as another subjugated species as, over time, their relationship developed into an equal partner with the lamia, defined by a conscious effort to reshape their lands to attract human settlers (the preferred prey of monster girls of all sorts) and to dissuade any further encroaching of the Mongol Herds. There would perhaps be no lamian society left to write about if not for their encounters with the slimes of Southeast Asia.
In modern times, the practice of consuming slimefolk has been outlawed, likened to cannibalism; with modern food supplies and reserves, there has never been a more prosperous time. With that said, illegal brothels still exist in underground networks where partial consumption of a slime woman can be performed, though there is a certain risk to such behaviours; as slimes have evolved to assimilate fluids and control people in such a manner, it is easy to see why the willful consumption of a slime has been discouraged. Lamia, in turn, have identified other sources of food, with virile men remaining the gold standard of foodstuffs.
