Six Reasons to Start a Kastraliss Fan Club

I see you raising an eyebrow at me and the sign behind me. *turns around to face the sign* Hm, yes, I do think "Let's create a Kastraliss fan club because he's extremely underrated" is a mouthful, especially when the last five letters on the sign (which I kind of painted myself...) are barely hanging on for dear life. In any case, don't look at me that way. How could you not fall for this extremely underappreciated serpent? He positively screams, "Plague! Death! Swamp!" in his mere appearance. Everybody knows that plague in a dense swamp is the perfect ingredient in a recipe for adventure.

Without further ado, I am about to throw six reasons to start a Kastraliss fanclub in your face.

Brace yourself.

1. He's vital to the Darkest Faerie plot.

(This part of the article contains spoilers, so if the idea of spoilers give you the heebie-jeebies, I'm not going to judge you to your face but I will kindly mark the place where spoilers end by saying "spoilers end here".)

Can you imagine The Darkest Faerie (if you've ever played it or watched someone else play it) existing without him? The writers--er, Tor and Roberta would have trouble getting the thick, poofy clouds off of poor Bogshot Village if he'd just disappeared instead of being defeated properly. No, Kastraliss had but one purpose in that game, apart from guarding the coveted black bogberries:

He existed as THE most difficult boss known to Neopets players. I should know; even I had spent many an hour as a little girl trying to obtain the 'antidote within the poison'. If Kastraliss had not been there, yes, the game would have been significantly less frustrating, but it would have also been a less fun experience altogether.

Spoilers end here.

2. Kastraliss is quite the formidable BD challenger.

But before I even get to that, let's talk about finding the plague serpent himself. I mean, he's large and breathes poison everywhere he goes, so he can't be that hard to find, right?

Wrong.

Kastraliss is one of the most elusive Battledome challengers out there, next to the Snowbeast, of course. (I'd like to think that the latter cowers in fear when faced with the former.) I can't tell you how many times I'd refreshed on the pet Kastraliss's page just to try and get him to surge from the grimy depths to challenge me. If he doesn't show up for you the first time, keep checking back.

With a starting difficulty of 400 and the highest difficulty being 6400, I'd advise you to wait until you're fairly confident in your pet's abilities and your weapons. Don't say I didn't warn you if you feel like you have an urgent need to see Kastraliss in battle posthaste. Keep some black Bogberries on hand for the worst of it.

Also, I should mention that in the newer Battledome, his picture appears with the ability Halitosis, yet he often chooses to use the Snowager's Breath ability instead.

Go figure.

3. He's got a lovely appearance.

For Fyora's sake, just look at him! That streamlined body that can travel just about anywhere in the swamp, the dark purple scales that hide him at night, the wings that can take him more places than that, the linear placement of spikes that just give him the "Fear me, I'm dangerous!" message... Oh, and the face. One mustn't forget the face they see just before being blasted by thick green smoke.

What's interesting to note about his appearance is his fangs, or lack thereof. They seem to form on the outside of his mouth, rather than on the inside. Perhaps this is because the artists didn't want to give him a dragon-like look but wanted to stay true to his serpentine form, which is all very good. What's more, it furthers the appearance of "once he bites, he will not let go", making him truly one of the more fearsome villains that exist in Neopia today.

4. He's mysterious.

Tormund and Roberta may have been so busy trying to vanquish the beast plaguing Bogshot Village, they may have never considered the "why". For starters, what is a plague serpent doing in an innocent village? Perhaps Kastraliss was created or sent by the Darkest Faerie, but surely he had some sort of motivation. The guy dodged my attacks for hours on end when I was a little girl, so I have no trouble believing he's capable of intelligent thought as well as battle strategy.

Does he torment villagers for pleasure? Is he a territorial serpent who shoots poison at whatever or whoever comes his way? In so many ways, his motivation for doing what he does is as murky as swamp water.

I'd volunteer to get an interview with him to discover those precise motivations, but, unlike some Neopian Times reporters who work for Meepits, I value my life.

We'll see.

5. He's a Caption Contest star!

Premiering in Caption Contest images 480 and 691, it's hard to not appreciate Kastraliss, especially in a humorous setting. Now, normally, this would mean he would be out of place, but in both Caption Contest images, this works in his favor.

..I don't mean this entirely; in the image of Caption Contest 480, one would expect him to blast the Pant Devil to get his things back and be done with him. Instead, it shows a more honorable side to the otherwise beastly serpent in that he bargains with the miniature ghost. By not blasting everyone and everything in sight, Kastraliss shows a bit of decorum, and shows us, the viewers, that he has the capability but also restraint. I wouldn't be surprised if he even wrote a letter to someone writing him first who wanted his Black Bogberries. However, let's leave that sort of thing to the Snowager.

The image of 691 is a bit more chaotic, but it makes use of his little-known power to hypnotize. The placement of the unaware Jub Zambra and his Cobrall makes this look comical, even though they're in the face of imminent danger. Good comedy tends to do just that. In a more subtle manner than 480, this image shows Kastraliss's more mischievous side.

6. HE HAS AN ACTION FIGURE.

What more is there to say? Just look at how cute it is! *strokes*

As I've mentioned once or twice offhand, Kastraliss has gotten some recognition before, but he deserves a lot more. The key points I've gone through will, of course, make you more aware of this than you were before. Who knows? You just might think those people who were insane are slightly less so once you see their reasoning and logic.

Now let's start a Kastraliss fanclu--Hey! Where are you going?