A fae-touched animal, the Rain Snake is a mystical kind of Black Snake that causes it to rain for six hours after being cut up into four pieces. Its life, development, and habits are comparable to that of an average black snake. Long ago, when the Appalachian region suffered from a prolonged drought and heat wave, local peoples struggled to survive, finding and growing little food. Saddened by the humans’ condition, sprites gathered several Black Snake eggs and cast a spell on them. Several days later, the eggs hatched, revealing snakelets that were pale white and banded in dark blue. The sprites brought the hatchlings to human communities, teaching them how to call the rain by slicing the reptiles into four parts and placing them belly up on top of a fence. Each division must measure to be a certain percentage of the snake’s body for the rain to be called; if miscut, strong winds, harsh storms, or tornadoes could be called. Dispersing the snakes equally among humans, they were intended to be used and maintained through breeding. However, the creation of the animals angered local faeries, who believed only they or higher tier fae were permitted to spawn such beings. In anger, they abducted the fae-touched snakes, scattering and hiding them throughout the Appalachian region. With a taste developing for the magic, humans desperately sought after the creatures, but only recovered few, never obtaining a male and female at the same time. It is said that these rare snakes can still be found swimming in shaded, calm waters, sunning on riverbank rocks, or slithering on wet grass during a heavy rain. A side note, in some small, isolated communities within the state, the head of these serpents were also cut off and its body placed within a hole drilled into a house’s wall; this was believed to prevent and kill bedbugs. As Rain Snakes are so rare, the superstitious practice evolved to include any snake.