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Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a shrine at the top of a certain mountain. It was the home of the powerful snake god who was worshipped in the area - the god was cruel and it was easy to awaken his wrath, so the villagers kept bringing offerings to the shrine, but no one dared to step in. The snake god was alone and as much as it satisfied him that he was evil enough to be feared by the lands, he was sometimes really bored. He just sat on his throne and he couldn't tell anyone about his evil nature. At least until a travelling priest arrived at the mountain.
The priest's name was Ruskin and he wandered in the shrine by accident, but he didn't leave ever since. To be spared by the snake god, he needed to atone for his sin and he became the god's servant. And the snake god thought that he made a good deal with sparing the young man's life. He could see that Ruskin didn't just obey out of fear, he began to worship him and follow his path. And he took care of the snake god's needs really well - he made him sweet food, those so-called strawberry cakes every day because the snake god was addicted to strawberries - and he kept the shrine warm, just like he became the companion of the snake god. The snake god never got bored since Ruskin was on his side. He was perfectly satisfied with the young man's services - even if he sometimes thought that Ruskin was strange.
He never tried to escape from the snake god's rule. He devoted his entire life to him willingly. And he occasionally asked questions from him the snake god didn't know what to think of.
The question in the following situation was one of these.
"Master... can I ask something from you? Something personal."
The snake god tilted his head. He didn't understand the reason for his servant's strange tone.
"Obviously you can ask." He answered softly to somewhat encourage Ruskin. "It is a pleasure for me to tell you about my evil life."
Ruskin lowered his head and the words that the snake god couldn't comprehend first slipped out of his mouth.
"When is your birthday, master?"
The snake god stared at his servant. He was confused by the question. He didn't want to admit it at first, but he couldn't answer to something he had no knowledge of. So instead, he asked.
"What is a birthday?"
He saw that Ruskin tried to hide his smile. He was not angry at him, it didn't seem like he was laughing at him and he was ready to explain what a birthday was immediately.
"It is the day when you were born... or came into existence in this world." He replied. "Do you have a day like this in your life, master? Or did you always exist?"
The snake god stayed silent for a while. The truth was that he didn't know. He lived for so long that he didn't have memories about everything and it already disappeared in the darkness how exactly he was, as Ruskin said, born. However, he didn't want to tell this to his servant. He wanted to maintain his pride as a god. It was easier to just declare.
"One way or another, gods always existed in the depths of the universe. I, the source of pure evil, was always there to bring the darkness to the light."
While he gave his evil speech, Ruskin listened to him in awe. That made it occur to the snake god that he didn't exactly know why his servant even asked the question, so he added.
"Why would you like to know that?"
The redness painted Ruskin's cheeks.
"I am sorry, master. I didn't mean to overstep my borders. I merely wanted to know when I should prepare a special celebration for you."
To that, the snake god became surprised. He didn't understand why his servant wanted to do more than what he ordered him to do. He felt a sudden warmth like he was close to the fireplace, but when he looked around, there were none of them nearby. It made him embarrassed. Like he was in a defensive mode, he raised his neck until his head got to the line of Ruskin's eyes.
"Then let's say that today is my - what did you call that? - birthday. If you want to throw a special celebration, you can do it here and now. Does this celebration mean more of your strawberry cakes?" He hissed with excitement.
A smile appeared on Ruskin's face.
"That was exactly what I planned to make for you, master." He answered.
Birthday is a weird human thing, the snake god thought while he watched as his servant left and walked to the kitchen. But it also sounded very promising.