This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://swordscomic.com/comic/MXV/
So, if a witness is gazed at by multiple serpents, do they turn into an alloy?
Also, I wonder what the five metals are, does every cockadoodledusa’s snakes have the same set of metals, and are there any differences in the snakes, such that it’d be possible to identify the ‘iron serpent’ head, for example?
Generally speaking a person can focus their gaze on a single point at a time, so the witness can only look at a certain snake in the eye. So no alloys, sorry.
That’s true.
However, the text states that it’s not the witness’ gaze on a particular snake-head, but the snake-head’s gaze* on the witness.
If the cockadoodledusa can only concentrate its gaze using one of its 6 sets of eyes, then that can present a serious vulnerability.
*This differs from the Medusa myth, where she had many snake-heads, but it was only her humanoid eyes that had the petrifying gaze.
I agree with you, but I’d argue that a witness has to use their senses to be a witness, and we often jump to sight, which requires one to focus their gaze, and thus the witness only sees one head at a time. And then you can debate whether seeing a single head means you witness the whole thing or witness a single head, and what that’d mean.
BUT!
You could argue that only an eye witness uses sight alone, and saying that the gaze on the witness is key would lead directly to your interpretation in such cases where the witness uses other senses, such as hearing, since they would likely hear the whole creature, not just a single head.