SLAYERS was created by KANZAKA HAJIME and ARAIZUMI RUI.
Used without permission.

KRIS
by EeL

   "May I see that pair of daggers?"

   "You mean these?" I asked, picking them up from the mat 
on which I had laid out the rest of my wares.   

   "I've never seen anything like these before," she said.

   "They are called kris daggers. I'd be surprised if you 
did. These come from a far away place," I said. She was 
curious. Like a person who has dreamed of a precious object
but forgets upon waking. And then seeing it upon waking.
More than curious. Though road weary, she was fascinated. 
I could tell.

   They were beautiful. The handles and sheath were made
from a tropical hardwood with a deep and rich brown colour.
Carved into the surface were intricate patterns of pewter.
The lines of alloyed tin, copper and antimony depicted half
-human, half-serpent figures reveling the waves of the sea
around them.

   "What are these?" she asked.

   "These are a legendary race of serpent people called 
the Naga. They were said to be semi-divine and favoured by
the gods of the people who made these blades. They were 
believed to tranverse the seas and bring an annual rain
storm called the monsoon."

   "Are the daggers magical?"

   "No..."

   She looked disappointed.

   "...but there is more symbolism in their construction,"
I said as I drew each blade from its sheath. One had a wavy
blade while the other was straight.

   "The blade represents a Naga itself. The waves of this
blade represents the serpent in combat. None can resist its
lethal power. This other straight blade represents the 
serpent in contemplation. None surpasses its wisdom."

   She nodded. "Do go on."

   "The blade itself represents the temporal powers and 
all earthly things, the goods of this world. The sheath
represents the heavens, the spiritual and the mystical. 
When both are joined," I said, sheathing both daggers, 
"it represents the coming together of the heavens and the
earth. It is the creation and the foundation act of the
universe."

   "Alright. I'll take them. How much are they?" She was
reaching for her money pouch.

   "No, no," I said, "please accept them as a gift."

   "Really?"

   "For one such as yourself, it is my pleasure."

   "Thank you." A slight blush. 

   "You will, at least, tell me your name?"

   "Gra..." she began and stopped. Then she smiled, it was
the first time I had seen her smile in our conversation.
There was even a twinkle in those blue eyes. 

   "No," she said. "I am Naga. Naga the White Serpent."
Giving a toss of those purple locks, she laughed.

   Oh gods.

THE END

Ver 1.0 - 3 Jun 1999

Notes:
Well, there is some circumstantial evidence that Naga is really
the sister of Amelia wil Tesla Sailoon. And most Slayers fics 
seem to accept that Naga's real name was Gracia.