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Misc => Role Play => Topic started by: Wolstenholme on February 04, 2014, 16:51
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This RP is based on the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. The general themes, ideas and the region of Alagaesia do not belong to me. Plot is only loosely based on the books.
GOOD GUYS: When you begin the RP, you are at your graduation from Dragon Rider school on the island of Vroengard. You have been initiated into the Dragon Riders of Alegaesia and are now at the after party where the news that a group of the Dragon Riders have turned traitorous and have named themselves The Foresworn. You and your peers (the other graduates) have been asked to take on the Forsworn and capture them.
BAD GUYS: When you begin the RP you and your Dragon have been part of the Dragon Riders for 1 year. You and a group of other graduates from 1 year past have created a traitorous group called the Foresworn, you have denounced the Dragon Riders and what they stand for claiming that those who are worthy of Dragons should not be made to protect the unworthy but should do exactly as you wish. You are now trying to conquer Alegaesia.
(If we do not have enough bad/good guys then we can create random NPCs to fill the room, they won't play as big a part in everything obviously, but will be following us around, taking part in battles etc.)
Alagaesia.
(http://i58.tinypic.com/2vryb1d.jpg)
The Dragon Riders are based on the island in the top left corner, Vroengard. The biggest cities in Alagaesia are Uru’baen, Gil’ead, Dras-Leona and the port of Teirm.
Most of the elves live in the forest Du Weldenvarden of which the capital is Ellesmera. The Beor Mountains are inhabited by Dwarves.
All characters begin on Vroengard but can go anywhere as Dragon Riders are above the law.
For scale, when walking it takes about a week to walk all the way around Leona Lake. If you are riding your Dragon it takes about 2 days to fly all the way around (obviously taking breaks every so often)
Rules and things to note.
Usual PUK Role Play rules apply.
No Godmodding
No power playing
Keep it PG13 – not too violent/sickening.
Romance is allowed but of course no activities of the wrong kind.
Written in 3rd Person.
Do not pester others to post, if I think someone is not posting enough I will notify them.
Note: RP is set in the past, back when things were made out of wood and metal and stone, so
no "I flipped on the tv, sat on the sofa and waited for the microwave to pop my popcorn"
Posts can be any length but long posts are suggested for pivotal moments whereas shorter posts can be used for conversations or slow moving sections.
Magic, you and your Dragon.
(http://i59.tinypic.com/6ru89y.jpg) Your Dragon is more similar to a Welsh Dragon than a Chinese Dragon, it is huge, muscular, breathes fire and has wings. (Chinese Dragons are skinny and agile, more like your typical Bearded Dragon from today)
Speech from your Dragon does not need quotation marks, you converse with each other in your minds, non verbally which should be marked by italics. Human to human and human to elf conversation should be in standard form with quotation marks, though.
Both Humans and Dragons can use magic but it drains energy. When Paolini wrote the books he created a new language and spells were said in this. When you use magic create a name for the spell by translating a word to do with that spell into Latin.
Forms
You:
Name:
Gender:
Age (teenagers. younger characters, NO CHARACTERS UNDER 10, will need to be extremely talented to graduate early. If you are Forsworn you should be slightly older):
Species (Human or Elf?):
Hometown (from map):
Speciality Magic/Knowledge (Are you good at history? Are you a fantastic healer? – There are not many limits to what your character can be good at. This is just a guideline of what your character is exceptionally good at. 5 max.):
Background (Optional – does not have to be tragic):
Personality:
Appearance and clothing:
Sword (All Dragon Riders have a sword made by a skilful elf blacksmith, your sword has a name and will become more powerful and sharp when said. Your sword will have the same colour hilt as your Dragon. Other than your sword you can have one other weapon, or a shield.):
Your Dragon:
Name:
Gender:
Age (Your Dragon should be 10 years younger than you are. They grow faster.):
Colour:
Personality:
Strength:
Starter Post:
Character List and Reserved Spots
Username - Character - Dragon (Colour)
Chloe_ - Katya - Asael (Ice White)
Chloe_ - Osette - Fyrn (Olive Green)
ShinyBlaziken2000 - Lux - Myrsky (Midnight Blue)
Danatales - Stella - Trezarex (Teal)
Queenie | NM - Karinda - Hrolmir (Steely Gray)
The Macintosh Ninja - Grigori - Xel'lotath (Emerald Green)
Awkward Squirtle - Kamren - Leigarth (Dark Red)
My Form
You:
Name: Katya
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Species: Elf
Hometown: Belatona (She was born there but her parents were from Ellesmera)
Speciality Magic/Knowledge: changing of physical appearance, crafting/building, mind reading, mind defending.
Background: Rags to riches, when Asael chose her she was poor. She had a hard time getting along with people to begin with in Dragon Rider School but soon blossomed under the glow of good company and similar situations.
Personality: Katya used to be shy but during School she became a good, confident leader. She treats others with respect and expects respect back. One she is friends with others she adopts a more joking, friendly tone and takes to people quite quickly. She is headstrong and hardy.
Appearance and clothing: She has long pale blonde, wavy hair is usually braided down her back. She has slightly slanted, green eyes and tanned skin. In battle she wears silver armour that covers up a lot of her body, it has white accents on it. Outside of battle she wears blue cotton shirts and unusual, sturdy black trousers and leather boots.
Sword & Other weapons: Sword named Scaro. Ice white hilt. Also carries a bow and arrows.
Your Dragon:
Name: Asael (a-say-ell)
Gender: Male
Age: 6
Colour: Bright white
Personality: Asael is not quick to trust and is only really fond of Katya and a select few others from the graduates. He defends Katya and has similar beliefs and goals to Katya. He protects her at all costs. He is not very playful but will occasionally make a joke. He is wise and has a good nose for danger although sometimes he sees danger and battle as a more natural pass-time. He seeks thrills and likes exploration.
Strength: He is a swift flyer and a good hunter.
Starter Post: Crickey! Asael boomed in Katya's mind. What a party! The party in question was the after party of Asael and Katya's Rider School Graduation and they were currently circulating the crowd in the woods while a group of elves played music on pipes and stringed instruments, others sang and drank. There was a huge bonfire and many Dragons circled the perimeter of the clearing. There were other lights in the distance but Katya thought nothing of them.
Suddenly Katya heard someone cry "EVERYONE LISTEN!" and she immediately stopped and turned in the direction of the voice. A Human. Another Rider. He spoke up "OVER THERE, THOSE LIGHTS! A GROUP OF DRAGON RIDERS ARE SETTING FIRE TO DORU AREABA! THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE FORSWORN AND SAID THAT THEY WOULD NOT SAFEGUARD ALEGAESIA ANY LONGER!!! THEY HAVE DRAGONS!" Katya and all the other party-goers shared a collective gasp. Quick! On my back, now! Asael said, hurriedly. He was already coming her way and soon she was able to run up his leg and sit on his back. She held on and he took off in the direction of the now clearly visible flames that had to be Doru Areaba, huge white wings beating powerfully.
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Hm.... After I look through everything some more and I get an idea of what I want to do, I'll make the form. For now, save my spot.
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Seriously thinking of applying to this since the inheritance cycle is one of my childhood loves, but just to clarify, how long before or after the main series does this take place?
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She told me it was before. And goody for me, I only need to know what's in the post she made.
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Going to join this. I just need to get off the comp now so..
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It's set before the fall of the Dragon Riders i.e. When Brom, Morzan etc. Still had Dragons... Btu they aren't gonna be a part of this... I'm sort of blowing all the characters out the water but keeping the bare bones of the plot.
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Going with an antagonist for once.
Name: Lux (Translate it)
Gender: Male (Thanks for asking! ;))
Age: 18
Species: Human
Hometown: Narda
Specialty magic/knowledge: He's a tad above average strong and athletic. Not a half bad healer. Pretty smart. Just all around good. Doesn't shine in one aspect.
History: After Lux was wrongfully kidnapped by those who they called "Dragon Riders" and his parents were killed for their crimes, he escaped and was forced to beg on the streets. Lux never lost sight and worked his way up and somehow got into the Dragon Rider's school.
Personality: Lux is a nice and bright (pun not intended) lad. Very popular among the Dragon Riders, and is mostly very likeable. However, with forsworn comes the sharp dark undertone. When he becomes this person, he's almost like a different person. Lux is then very serious and can be a little violent. Either way, normal or other, he enjoys a little irony and dark humor.
Appearance and clothing: Lux has goldish brown hair with stormy blue eyes that when you look into them, they seem to stare into your soul. He's about 6 foot (2 meters) even and is a healthy weight. Lux's skin is a tanned brown, close to white though. He wears extremely dark blue (midnight blue) armor with silver accents to battle. Outside of battle, Lux wears a pair of sightly worn light colored pants (or trousers, whatever word you prefer) and mid colored (Mid to dark orange, blue, gray, brown, purple.) cotton shirts, and a black leather jacket. Both in battle and outside of it, Lux wears a pair of black leather gloves, the last thing he got from his father.
Sword and other weapons: Sword named Tempest. Midnight blue hilt. Lux also carries a round shield with him.
Dragon's name: Myrsky (Mur-ski)
Gender: Male
Age: 8
Color: Midnight Blue
Personality: Myrsky is a dragon who mostly doesn't play nicely with others. He's mostly a loner, only really listening to Lux. Anyone else who tries to command him, well let's just say the last one who tried it was in the hospital wing for a month. Both Myrsky and Lux are in almost perfect sync and would defend each other with their lives. Myrsky is pretty dark and shares sense of humor with his commander. Cool and confident, he'll face danger head on. Break through to the dragon, and he'd die for you.
Strengths: Very able flier. Hard to bring down from the air once he gets going. Very poised and confident.
Starter Post: "Just tell everyone what's going on as soon as you see the lights." one said.
At the party....
Lux was unimpressed. This party wasn't bad, but he'd definitely been to better. Lux walked outside and spoke to his dragon. Let's see if they're ready. Myrsky came out from the shadows, almost unseeable to the untrained eye. Lux got on and flew into the air. The lights were there.
((// are Lux's lone thoughts, not even his dragon can hear these))
//Perfect, they're ready.//
"Let's go." Lux said. Myrsky nodded and flew to the ground. As soon as we touch, get into the shadows. The pair touched down and the midnight blue dragon hid. Lux snuck back into the party and announced, "EVERYONE LISTEN!" he stopped, considering his words carefully. "OVER THERE, THOSE LIGHTS! A GROUP OF DRAGON RIDERS ARE SETTING FIRE TO DORU AREABA! THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE FORSWORN AND SAID THAT THEY WOULD NOT SAFEGUARD ALEGAESIA ANY LONGER!!! THEY HAVE DRAGONS!"
Mission complete.
Lux smirked to himself as an elf girl ran outside and hop onto an ice white dragon.
"Hah, it was almost too easy." he said to himself.
Other: At night, Lux and Myrsky blend in extremely well. They're almost invisible. They're also part of the Forsworn.
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Lux and Myrsky are accepted (I love them!)
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Thank whatever god these people believe in (if they believe in one). These are my first antagonist characters.
TBH, I thought more people would've joined or reserved by now.
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Is it alright if i make two chars?
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Opal, right on cue.
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That's fine Opal.
I was thinking of giving Katya an antagonist counterpart but he'd be more of a minor character but I might not as Blaze and I have suggested that our two characters are ex-friends.
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Friends now, but ex-friends once he reveals his secret.
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Okay so i've got a trio in mind. Female hero, male neutral, and a female antagonist. Which two should i use, or should i write all three?
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Working on a form. Trying to make sure the history I give my character doesn't contradict the canon background, meaning I have to rely on the wiki's summaries.
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^All you need to know is what's in the first post.
Okay so i've got a trio in mind. Female hero, male neutral, and a female antagonist. Which two should i use, or should i write all three?
I'd do male hero, and female villain. But if not, the second 2.
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HHHH DRAGONSSSS
You:
Name: Stella
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Species: Human
Hometown: Teirm
Speciality Magic/Knowledge: Stella's particularly good at water-manipulating magics, as well as sensing the emotions of people in close proximity to her
Background: Growing up with her family in Teirm, Stella was never really that good a kid. More mischievous than anything, her youth was marred by an incident in which her younger brother drowned under her care, and it's unknown to everyone but her whether or not it was even an accident. Trezarex chose her not long after the incident, and while in Dragon Rider School she strove to show off and prove herself as a top student, and was a bit of a bully.
Personality: Stella likes to claim becoming a Foresworn was an inevitable conclusion for her, as she was always not the nicest of girls. She's sharp as a whip and very manipulative, becoming frustrated if things don't go her way. Tends to be quite selfish, and enjoys pointing out people's flaws to laugh at them. In battle she becomes calculating and meticulous in her plans, but often overthinks her plans and gets stuck trying to fix minor issues. Is super detail-oriented, misses the big picture sometimes, seeing the trees, but not the forest. She's a bully and she knows it, and quite frankly doesn't care. Completely uninterested in romance, but quite cunning at using her...feminine wiles to get her way.
Appearance and clothing: Around 5'9'' in height and rather curvy, Stella has pale brown skin and narrow, almond-shaped eyes of deep brown. Her hair is also a silky brown, cascading down her shoulders and sweeping over her left eye. In battle she wears a well-fitting black and deep-gray armor with teal blue accents. Her out of battle casual wear consists usually of red and grey-purple cotton blouses covered by a long gray wool overcoat, along with a flowing brown skirt that stops just below her knees, and black boots.
Sword: A lovely teal-hilted weapon named Pervasto, with a long curved blade like an overgrown cutlass. Also carries a small dagger inside her overcoat.
Your Dragon:
Name: Trezarex (Tres-arr-ex)
Gender: Female
Age: 9
Colour: A lovely teal shade
Trezarex is a rather lanky, delicate looking dragon, with an extraordinarily long neck. With black accenting her teal shade, particularly in her inner wings and in her long horns and long sharp spines along the sides of her head, she like to think she looks quite stunning. Her tail ends in an arrowhead point, and she also has bright teal accents in places, such as along her eye ridges and neck.
Personality: Vain and almost as catty as her owner, Treza is easily aggravated and rubbed the wrong way. An inquisitive beast, she enjoys learning new things and exploring nooks and crannies she can shove her snout into. She's sometimes a rather teasing dragon, snarking coy comments to Stella and making the girl laugh. The two play off each other wonderfully, and if anyone so much as says anything bad to Stella, the dragon is infuriated. She also loves mental puzzles, and when she figures things out she always feels good for the rest of the day.
Strength: Has quick reflexes and is a highly adapt swimmer ((can dragons swim in this universe?? is that a thing that can happen??? if not I can totally change this just lemme know 8U))
Starter Post:
"Honestly, I think the flames really...lighten this place up, no?" Stella murmured as she hung on tight to Trezarex's back, the massive teal dragon breathing streams of fire down upon Doru Areaba, beating her oceanic wings and spinning about in the air.
That was awful and I'm appalled at you, Trezarex huffed in Stella's mind, curling her scaly jaws in an almost smile as she blasted fire upon a nearby tree.
Stella laughed and hung on, "Then why are you smiling?" A rumble from the dragon made the girl smile even more. She turned her head, spying the direction she was fairly certain the Dragon Rider School graduation party, "...Now when do you think someone's going to come and try to stop us?"
I'm guessing a few minutes. Not that it matters. The dragon spun and inhaled, We'll rip them apart. She whipped her head, spewing more flames
Stella grinned slightly, combing her hair with her fingers, "Right you are, Treza." She grabbed a hold of her dragon's scales again, "And what a sight that'll be."
Trezarex roared and continued to spit fire.
((lemme know if anything needs fixing! vuv I'm not the most informed of this story's universe, but I can give it a whirl yes))
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Noo! Your form is fine! (Yes Dragons can swim)
I really like the idea of a neutral character, Rhea. But this is up to you, make all three if you really fancy it!
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You:
Name: Valencia
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Species: Elf
Hometown: Ellesmera
Speciality Magic/Knowledge: Skilled (for an apprentice) smith, good at protective magics. Skilled at picking apart spells, and dispelling opponents shields/summons etc. Moderately skilled at sword work. Good with all animals, but especially with dragons.
Background :
Personality:
Appearance and clothing:
Sword (All Dragon Riders have a sword made by a skilful elf blacksmith, your sword has a name and will become more powerful and sharp when said. Your sword will have the same colour hilt as your Dragon. Other than your sword you can have one other weapon, or a shield.):
Your Dragon:
Name: Aerin
Gender: Female
Age: 7
Colour: ((little bit of description for this dragon since... It's complicated))
Aerin is a bit of a mixed bag. Her top scales are small, and overlap a lot, while also tilting slightly backwards ((basically like this, except on her back instead of on gloves (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m8ctxNJY1EE/US_OmFYCWJI/AAAAAAAAAmE/0PBX67O-noo/s1600/IMG_6067.JPG))). These upper scales are black, shot through with red.
Her underside is scaled with larger more rectangular scales ((like what you usually see with the fingers on plate mail gauntlets)), that also overlap. These are white, lined with gold.
Her wings are black with red membrane on the top side, and white with gold membrane on the bottom.
Her tail is also spiked, making it in effect a mace.
Summary- Primarily black and white with red and gold highlights.
Personality:
Strength:
Starter Post:
You:
Name: Xenos
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Species: Human
Hometown: For all intents and purposes, Teirm
Speciality Magic/Knowledge (Are you good at history? Are you a fantastic healer? – There are not many limits to what your character can be good at. This is just a guideline of what your character is exceptionally good at. 5 max.):
Background (Optional – does not have to be tragic):
Personality:
Appearance and clothing:
Sword (All Dragon Riders have a sword made by a skilful elf blacksmith, your sword has a name and will become more powerful and sharp when said. Your sword will have the same colour hilt as your Dragon. Other than your sword you can have one other weapon, or a shield.):
Your Dragon:
Name: Artemis
Gender: Female
Age: 9
Colour: Silver
Personality:
Strength:
Starter Post:
You:
Name: Althaea
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Species: Elf
Hometown: Ellesmera
Speciality Magic/Knowledge: A skilled healer, summoner and elementalist (using element based magic in combat), she has higher magic reserves than normal. However, she pays for this with lack of physical strength. She also is skilled at alchemy, using it to create particular poisons.
Background (Optional – does not have to be tragic):
Personality:
Appearance and clothing:
Sword (All Dragon Riders have a sword made by a skilful elf blacksmith, your sword has a name and will become more powerful and sharp when said. Your sword will have the same colour hilt as your Dragon. Other than your sword you can have one other weapon, or a shield.):
Your Dragon:
Name: Aharown
Gender: Male
Age: 7
Colour: White with a blue underside (sky blue. when flying during the day, he is indistinguishable from the clear sky ((think like a Deltora dragon. Forta if you must compare to one of them)) )
Personality:
Strength:
Starter Post:
Will finish later
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Since it's been years since I've actively read any the Inheritance books, I've been doing a lot of brushing up and wiki-scouring to get all my details right!
Here's hoping it all sticks in my head and I don't forget anything important~
You:
Name: Karinda
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Species: Human
Hometown: Belatona
Speciality Magic/Knowledge: Coming from a long family line of famed Blacksmith's, Karinda was learning about the forge and how to properly shape steel from an age where she could walk and properly use her hands. She is proud of her smithing heritage and tried to keep up the craft even after being chosen by a dragon hatchling, and though her work's aren't quite as fantastic as the legendary Belatonan smiths, her creations are nothing to scoff at. Usually forgoing decoration for function, Karinda is skilled with creating and evaluating various pieces that may come from a forge, though her specialty and interest lies in weapons. She has a fondness and knack for being able to tell a great deal of the history and make of particular weapons, be they swords, axes or maces.
She also boasts being able to wield a number of weapons skillfully if they have been made to her specifications due to her understanding of them.
Along with her smithing, Karinda is a relatively smart girl with the ability to pick up and learn new skills at a relatively rapid rate, provided she puts her mind to it. This has made her rather good at spellcraft, in particular learning about magic in itself and the ancient language and how to put it best to use for practical situations.
She is very poor at warding magic and mostly excels at magic that changes or otherwise renders a physical presence in the world around her (i.e bringing forth a ball of light to guide her rather than making her vision better in the dark)
Background: The eldest daughter of a smithing family, Karinda lived a relatively hardworking but honest lifestyle in the walls of Belatona in her family home which her great-great-grandparents had apparently settled many years prior. Karinda was taught in the honest ways of making a living from what you craft, though often found herself bored with her lot in life despite her apparent skill in the family work. She would often shirk training sessions or lessons to instead wander the shores of the Leona Lake, playing by the waters edge and dreaming of adventures and knowledge further from shaping steel.
Ironically, her dreams would become all too real when a routine visit of travelers on behalf of the Dragon Riders ended not with the usual fleeting touch and farewell, but instead a tiny hatchling and lifelong bond. Shortly after the event, Karinda was shipped off to the Dragon Riders to begin her training.
Personality: Karinda was always the kind of girl that after being taught a lesson, would then repeatedly as 'Why', not out of an act to be annoying, but always wanting to gain a further understanding. As she has aged, this need for total awareness of a subject has not left her and while it has made her an excellent learner, learning all that she can, it has also made her something of a problem student.
She simply cannot leave subjects be until she is satisfied with the knowledge she has gained, finding herself constantly wanting the whole story, being privy to all the secrets and whatever information they may be hiding just waiting to be discovered. This attitude led to her discovering her latent magic as a rider earlier than the rest of her fellow students and thus being removed to be instead privately tutored, lest she let the secret spill before the class' allocated time to be taught magic.
This attitude can also be problematic for other reasons however, as at times she simply isn't satisfied with the limited knowledge the Dragon Riders have imparted, knowing in her bones that there is much more to be learned and secrets to be uncovered that they're simply just not sharing. While not resentful, it has certainly affected her trust in the Riders, but non-the-less she remains loyal to their cause, though the risk of her loyalties being easily swayed has not been lost on the elders...
When not pressing for information, Karinda is a rather agreeable soul with a steady, down-to-earth personality who finds it easy to get along with and forgive others. She enjoys a good friendly tussel, a drink now and then and sharing stories of battle and greatness around a campfire. Often viewed a little on the wild-side for a woman, Hrolmir's influence holds back her more exuberant traits and keeps her intrigue from getting too out of hand.
Appearance and clothing: Somewhat on the tall side for a woman of her age, at five feet eight, Karinda is build with a steady body type that while nowhere near heavy, isn't short of the muscles required for the heavy art of smithing and swordplay.
She is somewhat on the paler side, with friendly blue-grey eyes and thick, dark black hair that she has cropped short to around her ears in a distinctly masculine style that frames her heart shaped face. She can usually be seen in at least some form of armor, even in her casual wear which consists of comfy pale leather breeches, leather calf boots, a sea green undershirt covered with a dark hard leather chest-piece, covered by a darker green shawl over her shoulders and falling down her back slightly.
When in battle, she dons a near full set of armor, complete with gauntlets and greaves, though often wears leather bottoms in order to keep mobility. She also wears a partial breast-plate rather than full, in order to have movement in her arms and instead uses long gauntlets to protect her limbs.
Sword: A long, sleek sword in a silvery grey color. The blade is long and intended for slashing, piercing attacks with its pointed tip, though its length can also be used for blocking and disarming. The hilt features a twisting pattern, is relatively short and is intended to be wielded in one hand, though has just enough extra length for a more stable two-handed stance grip if the situation calls for it. The guard is a darker silver in color and highly decorative, curving in two distinctive arches either side of the hilt and emblazoned with twirling metal filigree pattern.
The pomel is short and flat, topped with a round hematite gem. The flat of the blade itself is emblazoned with words of the ancient language, reading "I am Tizona, the graceful fang."
Karinda all in all finds Tizona a little too fancy for her own tastes, but she cannot deny that it is unmatched as a weapon bar any of the other Rider's swords and the skill of its craftsmanship.
She has also been known to deploy a shield of her own crafting when needed, though often prefers to leave a hand free for any magic she may need to cast.
Your Dragon:
Name: Hrolmir, a name he picked from Karinda's distant ancestry. The original Hrolmir was considered the best smith in all South Alegesia in his time and went to war wielding a giant war-axe. His name is still mentioned in passing in various stories to this day, though many have forgotten his feats in favour of far grander men.
Gender: Male
Age: 8
Colour: Steely Grey
Because of dragon scales natural shine, he can usually look a very dark silver. On clear days and when his scales are in pristine condition, he can almost look reflective depending on certain lighting.
Personality: Equally as scholarly as Karinda, Hrolmir offers to their duo a gentlemanly disposition and air of sophistication. At first, Karinda wasn't entirely sure why he had chosen her, but as time went on the two became inseparable both in terms of kinship for one-another and having an equal to banter knowledge and history back and forth. Hrolmir is just as hungry for knowledge as his rider, though is not nearly as feisty in gaining enlightenment. He understands better that there is a time and place for all information to be shared and that often, the most sacred of knowledge has to be learned by ones own merits.
He is a kind soul and dislikes leaving any one person without aid, though as a dragon he isn't without his own fierce side. Hrolmir hates those who subjugate others, though not for typical reasons of preying upon the weak, but rather feeling that power has to be earned by ones own shows of strength rather than cunning or bullying.
Despite his more reserved attitude, he can and will side with Karinda if she has reached a final decision on something, making him also something of a worry to the elders in terms of this dragon-rider duo's loyalties..
Strength: Flying silently and swiftly. What Hrolmir lacks in sheer brute strength, he makes up for with stamina and stability. He has been considered somewhat of a vain dragon in the past for the routine upkeep of his scales he likes to keep, but often it is a case of battle strategy than vanity; His silvery hide, when at its best, allows him to almost reflect off light, an incredibly useful feat that can leave him near impossible to spot when airborne high enough. While he does not have attacking strength, his scales are exceptionally hard and he has steeled himself for long journeys and hard battles; what he lacks in delivering in damage, he can almost certainly take without batting an eye, making him exceptionally hardy in battle and while exerting himself.
Other: Currently loyal to the dragon riders, but the duo's unpredictable natures and Karinda's relentless pursuit of knowledge she feels she is entitled to may leave them vulnerable to corruption or persuasion otherwise..
Starter Post:
((See later in topic, starter post plus form went over max character limit))
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I just noticed that i'm the only guy user joined in this rp. xD
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Not if macintosh does his form
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All characters whose forms are complete have been accepted.
EDIT: I was too excited about this to not make a second character. Here she is.
You:
Name: Osette (Goes by Oz.)
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Species: Human
Hometown: Aroughs
Speciality Magic/Knowledge: Oz is creative with her spell work and has much magical stamina, meaning that she does not tire as fast as other magic users. Her creative spell work sometimes gets her out of problems as she is able to manipulate the language of magic so that it does what she wants it to. She likes illusion spells.
Background: Oz came from a rich merchant family in Aroughs, when she was younger she was treated like a princess simply because her family could afford it. None of them were charitable and got very upset when things didn’t go their way. Oz didn’t want to join the Dragon Riders but she had no choice because her Dragon made it so, at first the pair did not like each other because Oz refused to co-operate, not liking the way that her Dragon had to throw her into a situation she did not want but loneliness forced Oz to befriend him, the two work well together as their minds work in different ways allowing them to see both sides of an argument or a predicament. She was bullied in Dragon Rider School because she often was sent into boiling rages that other students found funny. She is an introvert and despises the cruelty of all races. Oz will take any opportunity that benefits her as long as she doesn’t lose anything. Loyal to the Forsworn.
Personality: It is known that Oz is very hot-headed but other than that not much is known about her personality by others apart from that she is a Pyromaniac because she is so introverted. She is selfish, greedy and Sociopathic in that she only feels her own pain. She has no friends other than her Dragon, everyone else is her enemy. She is an introvert and despises the cruelty of all races. Oz will take any opportunity that benefits her as long as she doesn’t lose anything. Oz is a lateral thinker.
Appearance and clothing: Oz is short and slender, she is in good shape because she had so much spare time to train at Dragon Rider School (due to not having friends.) She has elbow length red hair that is almost always pulled up into a tight bun, it is not cut in any particular way because it doesn’t need to be. Her face is angular, she has a thin mouth and a pointy, slightly upturning nose. Her eyes are deep blue. When in battle she wears dark silver armour that covers her whole body but not her head. When not in battle she wears brown leather riding trousers, silk, beige tunic tops, elbow length brown leather gloves and brown leather ankle boots
Sword: Oz’s sword is named Terpis and has a long, bowed blade made for wide slashing rather than precise movements. It’s blade is wide and can be used to block most blows. Olive hilt with a pane of diamond down the centre of the blade. Oz also carries a pair of throwing knives.
Your Dragon:
Name: Fyrn (Feern)
Gender: Male
Age: 9
Colour: Olive
Personality: Fyrn was the runt of his sire, all the other eggs from his parents were bigger and grew fast and strong. Fyrn is small by comparison to his brothers and sisters. He is grumpy and untrusting. He likes Osette because they are a like-minded pair, introverted, proud and people-hating. He has a very black/sarcastic sense of humour and is also a Pyromaniac. Fyrn, however, can take an insult better than Oz.
Strength: Breathing fire and being defensive.
Starter Post: Fyrn flew deftly through the air over Doru Areaba, gliding on his leathery wings. This is fantastic! Osette shouted in his mind. Fyrn grew hot underneath her legs and breathed an impressive billow of fire over the tops of the buildings and setting the sky alight with an acute orange glow. Keep going, I want to see it all glow that beautiful colour. She urged. Fyrn obeyed and swooped low over the Dragon Rider School and tainted it’s walls with orange. How’s that? He asked.
Perfect. She replied. At that Fyrn shot up into the air and barrel rolled. Oz screeched with delight. Up in the air with Fyrn was Oz’s favourite place to be because it was a place of complete solitude for the two of them, a time that they treasured. Fyrn circled the city for a while, letting Oz see Doru Areaba how she wanted and then spiralled down and gracefully landed at the edge of the city. Where next, friend? Fyrn asked.
Oz considered for a second, and then replied I guess we’ll have to ask someone. She slided down Fyrn’s leg and took off down the street. The ample Dragon following her, loyally.
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Name: Grigori
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Species: Human
Hometown (from map): Beor Mountains
Speciality Magic/Knowledge:
Grigori isn't skilled in magic, though he has learned a self-healing spell very well by necessity (this isn't a strength per-say, just an explanation of his magic abilities). His lack of skill in magic is made up in his Exceptional Combat. He is a great sword fighter, but his preferred method of combat is getting very close to the opponent, close enough that a sword would be difficult to use, and striking both empty handed and with an assortment of knives. When in such a close range, he attacks with a series of grapples, parries, and strikes that make armor ineffective (can't protect yourself from being thrown to the floor, right?).
When he needs to close the distance or avoid an attack, he does so by dashing with Inhuman Speed, almost as if he were teleporting a short distance. He'll usually follow up a dodge with a counterattack: a thrown knife or a grapple.
He has a Compelling Voice; his voice pierces the will those hearing and persuades them to his cause. It isn't mind control or hypnotism: he speaks to their hearts with such a convincing manner that people will follow by their own will. This doesn't have much of an affect on those strongly opposed to him or the idea he is trying to get across (i.e. he couldn't convince a father to slay his son, can't persuade a loyal queen to betray the crown), but it does drain some mental stamina from those who resist. His voice changes noticeably, becoming sharper with a slight echo. ((When using this power, I'll write the words in teletype.))
Background: Grigori was trained from a young age to be skilled in both combat and command. He was raised in a "military-esque" family and worked hard to learn the skills he has now. He read and studied the ravages of war, and how those in power would so quickly change allegiances to maintain power amongst themselves. Soldiers would go to battle and return wounded and denied assistance. He joined the Dragon Riders at the appropriate age and impressed some with his ability to command and coordinate, but he never liked the idea of being a "meat wall" to defend the city. He became disheartened, seeing himself as only a pawn to be used by whoever was in power against whoever the power hated. He was a weapon to be cast aside when it lost its sharpness. Who would he draw his blade against next? He remains loyal to the Dragon Riders, if only to convince the higher ups that the Dragon Riders aren't tools to be used to further their own goals.
Personality: Raised in a "military" family, Grigori is polite and respectful. He has a strong sense of purpose, but he doesn't yet know what it is. He prefers a structure to his life: wake up, prepare for training, train, do his job, eat, sleep. Though he may question his loyalty to the Dragon Riders, he remains out of a love for his fellows: he wants to rise in rank because he feels he knows what is best for those he has bled, sweat, and cried with. Grigori is a kind person with a short temper, but doesn't show his anger until pushed too far. He has no qualms against taking prisoners in combat and interrogating them for information. Should interrogation not work and getting information is vital, he isn't above a little torture. He can be manipulative, especially when using his Compelling Voice to lull enemies into a state of self-doubt. He's a persistent one too, willing to push himself beyond reasonable limits to achieve his goal.
Appearance and clothing: Grigori stands at a bit over six feet tall, has broad shoulders and arms that seem slightly too long for his body. He isn't very muscular, but his preferred method of combat prioritizes speed over force. He has dark hair and tan skin from hours spent training and working outdoors. One immediately noticeable feature is that he wears a strip of cloth over one eye: an injury he suffered when ambushed and left for dead. His arms and chest have small scars on them, from being nicked by swords, scratched by sharp edges, and other minor injuries. His one good eye is steel colored, like an old man's eye. When not in combat, he dresses semi-formally: a dark brown vest over a clean white linen shirt and brown pants. He also wear a light cloak that helps conceal his belt so as to hide the knives he carries with him. His hilt is at his side and visible. Beneath the vest he wears smaller chain mail to defend against attacks when not in armor. His armor is lighter to allow for greater mobility. It is made of studded leather atop chain mail, which doesn't provide the defense of stronger material but protects well enough from sword swings. As with most leather, it is brown and covers his chest, stomach, legs, and everywhere else that is soft and squishy.
Sword: Peacemaker
A short sword that mimics one seen in a foreign land. It is designed like a fishing hook: a study blade with a curved top that allows for disarming a foe by pulling weapons and shields out of their hand. The hilt is a sturdy leather that prevents slipping, and an inward curving guard that allows for blocking and slashing. The bottom end of the blade is a sharp point, akin to having a dagger attached to the bottom of a sword. The name comes from the intended purpose: disarm and disorient. Grigori uses it mostly to remove weapons and trip foes, rather than slash and plunge. The blade is made in such a way that, had he another, he could link the two hooked tips to slash at foes twice the blade's length away.
In addition, Grigori carries a few sharpened throwing knives which he can throw with alarming accuracy. They often come in handy when drawing a sword would take too long. The knives aren't too special: a simple handle and a sharp point. Unlike a normal knife, these are sharp on both edges and taper near the end.
Dragon:
Name: Xel'lotath - chosen under the belief that it was a goddess of gems in a distant land. As luck would have it, the name is really that of a goddess of sanity and insanity.
Gender: Female
Age: 9
Colour: Emerald green with black accents atop. Her underside is a pale green color. She has a slender snout with frills jutting out behind her ears and a downward "beak" at the tip of her nose (which she enjoys having stroked). The outer edges of her wings have thorny appendages that fade to brown. The scales on her head have a staggered-like form that gives it a crown-like appearance; think a duck's foot atop a larger foot with an extra toe, atop an even larger foot with two extra toes (honestly, best way I can describe it). Her tail is tipped with barbs that secrete a numbing poison which Grigori has gained some resistance to from frequent interaction with.
Personality: More of a thinker and planner than a fighter: Xel'lotath will speak a thought only to whisper to herself another thought (for example: "We should flank them to reroute their escape." "Then we can slay more…") She isn't evil by any means though she certainly looks vicious. This viciousness is hindered by her love of adorning herself with shiny objects and cleaning herself (or more often asking others, i.e. Grigori, to clean her) so her scales "sparkle in the Sun!". She'll take great pride in her appearance and doesn't much like it when called any form of ugly. Grigori affectionately calls her "my little emerald", despite the fact that she is much larger than he is.
Strength: Xel'lotath can maneuver very well in tight spaces thanks to her more slender physique. She isn't a pushover in battle either, though her method of combat involves "hit and run" tactics and her sickness-inducing poison. She can't take as much of a beating as some other dragons, but she can hold her own well enough. Odd for a dragon, she has a lovely singing voice if you can consider the sound she makes singing. It's a mix between an organ and a whistle.
Starter Post:
"Well, no. I can use a sword, I just like knives." Grigori explained to another Dragon Rider. "…That came out wrong." he continued with a look of realization.
"So how accurate are you?" she asked with a slight laughter. "That sign right there, the paper one on the the tree, can you hit it?", she asked, pointing out a tree a short distance away.
Grigori looked around, making sure no one was in the path. He took a knife from his coat and held it in his left hand for a moment, feeling its weight and shape before aligning himself with the target. "The trick to throwing knives is not aiming at the target: you aim at where they'll be. Like shooting a crossbow, but you take longer." He explained, raising the knife above his shoulder and turned his wrist back at a ready-to-throw position. "Thankfully, trees aren't very fast." he said with a chuckle.
He breathed in slowly, then in the blink of an eye dropped the knife in his left hand and threw another from his right in a similar way one would draw a sword. The knife struck the tree, hitting the paper's lower half. The female Dragon Rider jumped back from surprise of the sudden movement.
"Nice!"
"Yeah, I'm surprised too."
"EVERYONE LISTEN!" came a shout. Grigori turned around. Another Dragon Rider. The bonfire illuminated him against the backdrop of woods.
"OVER THERE, THOSE LIGHTS! A GROUP OF DRAGON RIDERS ARE SETTING FIRE TO DORU AREABA! THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE FORSWORN AND SAID THAT THEY WOULD NOT SAFEGUARD ALEGAESIA ANY LONGER!!! THEY HAVE DRAGONS!" the Dragon Rider shouted.
"What the–!". Another group, setting fire to HQ? But order needed to be brought to this chaos.
"Xel'lotath!" Grigori shouted. His emerald dragon flew down towards him. He climbed up onto her back, as others were doing with their own dragons.
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Looks like my character is already making a pretty good affect. I like your form, above user.
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Accepted, Macintosh.
ohhhh man I'm so excited for this. I'd been planning to make this RP for ages. I'm so glad I did.
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From the finished forms, there seems to be 1 true bad guy, a true good guy, and the rest are neutralish.
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who are the true bads/goods?
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Yours is the true good, mine is the true bad.
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hmm, I don't know, I'd say that Osette was also aptly slimy and horrible, she could be a truly bad as well. I think Stella's up there too.
Well I think we'll start roughly 12 hours after all forms are complete.
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Now we just have to wait.
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I can guarantee you Stella is 110% true bad lol she's just. terrible. a terrible terrible person i love her.
also editted in some stuff about what Trezarex looks like, other than her main color. vuv Very excited to start this!
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I'd like to think my character is good, but wants to change the system. You know: I'll work for you, but only so I can help my fellows.
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The forms for my characters are usually pretty short because I'm a real sucker for character development but I think Katya is one of those fundamentally good people... A bit like a female, dragon riding, elf, ancient, David Beckham. Whereas Osette isn't really bad, she was just raised wrong and wants revenge because she feels sorry for herself. Had she not been bullied and spoilt her personality probably would have made her a good person.
I really love everyone else's characters though, they're fantastically written in I can't wait to see where this'll go.
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Can I join this very belatedly? I'm new to RPing and this universe, but I'd like to give it a go I think.
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Sure you can, bud. I'm gonna leave joining open throughout anyway so anyone who realises they've missed out on something good can just jump in.
Don't worry about being new to the RP universe, this is only my 4th (I think) ever RP but I'm pretty sure you're in safe hands, if you get stuck feel free to PM me or Blaze (you're helping me out here, Blaze old pal)
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Chloe, do you really think I'd leave you out to dry? I'm helping.
And my character was good at first, but turned bad thanks to the riders killed his parents, kidnapped him, then dumped him into the streets to pretty much die.
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You:
Name: Kamren
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Species: Human
Hometown: Uden
Speciality Magic/Knowledge: Excellent archer. Like, unreasonably good. As in able to shoot accurately while riding. This is partly due to his excellent vision and partly years of practice at home. Regarding magic, he can sense the presence of others for a short time, enabling him to pick them off if they are hidden from view, and another allowing him to turn into a sort of spirit form for a very short time(sorry to cross canons but it's Skyrim's "become ethereal"). This is absolutely momentary; enough for a sword to pass through him, no longer. Very draining, should only be used where unavoidable or to help finish a fight. He is smart but not knowledgeable, i.e. good at learning, but doesn't necessarily know about a whole lot of stuff due to an island upbringing.
Background: Born into a community of fishers (there's little else to do on an island Uden's size), Kamren discovered his affinity for shooting after finding a bow at age 7. It's unbelievable what washes up and gets missed by those who don't care to look close enough. Though easily frustrated at first, being able to see what he was aiming for, but not hit it, he rapidly improved, practicing on leaping fish he found around the small island. He became very confident in his abilities, and began to believe he was too good for the island, and wanted a way out to make something of himself on the mainland.
He joined the riders following his discovery of what turned out to be a dragon egg in the shallows, and realised that this was his way out; he could become a rider. With the combination of a dragon and his shooting ability, being a defender of Alagaesia was what he was born for.
Personality: Massively arrogant, especially in his ability with a bow; doesn't believe anyone can get near him in a fight. There's some justification for that, but he's not as untouchable as he thinks. This arrogance leads him to avoid contact with others unless absolutely necessary, as he feels they aren’t worth his time. When not otherwise occupied, he can often be found carving short sticks with interesting designs. Although he’s not the most personable rider, if he develops friendships they are very close ones, like the one with his mount.
Appearance and clothing: Standing a little under 6 feet tall, he has white skin with a hint of a tan and brown eyes. His hair is a dark brown colour, medium length, and very straight. He is lightly built, giving him excellent agility. In combat, wears light leather armour, the breastplate of which he has engraved with a scaled design using a small crafting knife, and of course has a quiver of arrows over his shoulder. He also wears bracers designed to hold a couple more arrows each. Day to day he favours a loose fitting black cotton shirt and black trousers, with a brown belt he has engraved in a similar manner to his armour.
Sword: Khelir. Fitting his preference for staying out of close combat, this is a light, nimble sword, far narrower and lighter than what one would expect of a rider, though it is long. If forced into a swordfight, he will attempt to dodge, duck, and dart in with his own attacks aimed at his opponent’s weak points. His primary weapon is his bow, which is a very deep blue, such that it appears black unless it catches the light. He has spent a lot of time engraving this with wave-inspired designs, as well as honing it to sharp points at the ends, meaning it can be used in emergencies for self defence.
Your Dragon:
Name: Leigarth
Gender: Male
Age: 9
Colour: Dark Red with black ridges on his spine.
Personality: Has a naturally close bond with Kamren, but is unusually friendly for a dragon; he is far more willing to interact with others than his rider. He often tries to push Kamren to be less of a douche to everyone, and try to be friendly.
Strength: Agility. He shares Kamren's preference for staying away from the fight, and is very good at helping his human line up the perfect shot. His ability to aim fireballs is also excellent, though this precision is accounted for by lacking the power of larger dragons.
Starter Post:
Kam, this is graduation, how can you not be enjoying this?
When did it ever seem to you like this would be my sort of thing? Remember, I only turned up here because you told me too. What do you even do at something like this?
The lean rider had sat himself on a fallen tree with some sort of drink he'd never heard of. It was pretty good actually. He was amusing himself by watching the merriment around him, simply observing. He was completely out of place here, but the others were rather amusing. One looked like he was trying to impress a girl with some knives. Seemed an odd way to do it to Kamren.
Have fun, talk, try to make some friends?
What’s even the point? None of them are worth my time.
Do you seriously still think that after you’ve seen what they can do?
Ugh, fine, if it’ll shut you up, I’ll go and join in or something...
"EVERYONE LISTEN!" yelled one of the riders.
Or not
"OVER THERE, THOSE LIGHTS! A GROUP OF DRAGON RIDERS ARE SETTING FIRE TO DORU AREABA! THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE FORSWORN AND SAID THAT THEY WOULD NOT SAFEGUARD ALEGAESIA ANY LONGER!!! THEY HAVE DRAGONS!"
Kamren was stunned. Which of them would do that? What were they thinking? How dare they? Why hadn't he noticed anybody was missing?
I'm thinking we should try to do something about that, Kam.
Everyone else had begun taking off while he was immobilised trying to process it. Shaking his head, Kamren ran towards his dragon who was turning upwards having flown towards the ground. With an impressive leap, he landed on his mount, and the pair flew towards the towering inferno standing out from the dark landscape.
(any issues with this?)
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Okay, I'm in the process of finishing my forms. They should be done tomorrow.
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((I tried to put this with my form, but it went over the character limit! I'm hoping it's alright if I put my starter post in a separate post here then. I'm taking a small liberty in regards to Mac's starter post, but it dosen't gmod anything, I just simply thought it'd fit. Here's hoping it's all alright, looking forward to getting this started!))
"This is a bit of a dull party.."
Karinda couldn't help the thought that ran through her mind as she mingled among the party-goers, making small talk and giving pleasant greetings when required. From the distance of the outer-grounds, where the Dragons were having their own celebratory conversing of a sorts, she could feel Hrolmir's gentle rumble of disagreement touching her thoughts.
A bit of dullness is relaxing though, no? Many here have long memories of tireless work as of recently. A somewhat slow gathering is a welcome change of pace for once.
Despite herself, she felt her lips part a little in a a wry smirk. Her dragon's thoughts on the matter while scholarly and wise in their appearance, masked what was most likely a bout of laziness she suspected. The returning feeling of insult from her silvery scaled friend all but confirmed her thoughts and she mildly sent across thoughts of understanding compromise across the bond, before once again retreating from her thoughts to focus on the party.
It wasn't so bad, she reasoned, after taking another look and grabbing a sweet tasting drink from one of the nearby barrels. Once she started to simply take the relaxed pace of things in her stride, she found herself even enjoying the event, mingling in conversation and even getting talking with a particular male about the curious knives she had spotted on his persons.
They were certainly unique and she couldn't help but feel fascinated by the weapons, wondering instantly how and where they were forged and noting the unusual design of the tapering towards the end of the simple blades.
She'd have gladly stayed in the pleasant conversation they were having had the sudden panicked cry not upstarted the entire party, leaving her laughter behind for instead a shocked wide-eyed look.
The messenger looked stark and dangerous against the flickering light of the bonfire, though as intimidating as his presance was, the message he carried was far worse.
"The Rider Capital? On fire..?"
Gasping, Karinda had to take a few moments to collect her racing thoughts, trying to compile this new wealth of information that had suddenly come forth. The rider capital set alight, by a group called the forsworn. Rouge dragon riders. The many how's and why's were overwhelming, and she was unable to make heads or tails of this sudden and frightening event.
Instead, she focused on turning her eyes skyward, where the noise of flapping wings was starting to congregate.
"Hrolmir-"
I'm already on my way. I felt your distress and reached my mind out to yours to see what was happening. Come, time is short.
No sooner than had Hrolmir's deep, soothing voice left her mind did the sheen of dark silver flash before her eyes and she was instinctively pulling herself into her place on his back, tightening the grip of the dragon's saddle before the two surged into the waiting sky.
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I'm sure Chloe would be ok with it because the post wouldn't fit with your form.
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Blaze is right, that's completely fine.
If Rhea's forms are all done by around 4PM GMT tomorrow then that's when I'll start writiing the first official post and we can begin. I'm so excited eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkk
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And if they aren't, Chloe (and I if requested) will go from there.
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I have the starter post ready when everyone else is :-)
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Alright, if Opal has the forms done, on your cue.
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((Opal has said that she doesn't mind if we start without her so, without further ado, here is the official first post/first posts, I'm gonna put the speech from my dragons in blue and speech from my humans in green))
Many years of close friendship had turned Katya and Asael into a one-minded body, they always seemed to be thinking the same thing. Asael took off into the night towards Doru Areaba with a plan in his head. His huge wings beating tremendously at his sides. The city looked awful, blazing in an orange blob of fire, it wasn’t right that some heartless Riders would want to destroy something so beautiful. Katya was angered by what she saw. She put her anger to one side as much as she could, though, so that she was able to concentrate on finding a solution to the problem of her home being on fire.
When they were about halfway back to the city, Asael spoke to Katya: Do you have a plan? He asked her. She considered her plan and then thought about what Asael might have been thinking and replied. It’s the same as yours. And with no further ado, Asael sped towards Doru Areaba but further up into the night. He did a swift mid-air somersault to see lots of Dragons following behind them. They were in front, this allowed Asael’s plan to work. He stopped careening forward high above the flames of Doru Areaba and began to circle gracefully in circles and Katya motioned for the other Riders to pull up and listen to their plan. She knew, because she and Asael were here first, and because they had a plan that they would all obey. Age didn’t really matter to Dragon Riders, they were all taught the same lore and under the same roof. When the first couple of them slowed up in front of her she shouted “Asael and I have a plan that involves all of us working together.” She had caught some attention and the Riders were looking at her. “We need something to put this fire out, so I suggest that we all go down to the sea, let our Dragons fill their mouths with water and then return to Doru Areaba and have them spit the water out on the buildings. If all of us do this and keep doing it until the fire is out then we should have it under control in about 20 minutes.” Without waiting for a reply, she trusted that the other Riders would follow her instructions, Asael began to fly towards the cliff that was about 30 metres away.
Once above the ocean, he pulled in his wings to streamline his body and Katya gripped his saddle tighter and he began a vertical decent towards the sprawling blue ocean beneath them. Don’t forget to hold your breath! Asael warned her as he broke the surface of the waves and opened his mouth wide. Once his mouth was full and his cheeks puffed out he shot out of the water creating a spray. Katya was saturated and exhilarated.
He scaled the cliff face and made for the nearest building in Doru Areaba where beneath him a female Rider and her Olive coloured Dragon were contemplating their work. Asael showered the building and the Rider with a supersize mouthful of water. It put the fire out and seemed to anger the Rider. Asael, pleased with the results snorted a seemingly involuntary laugh into Katya’s mind, watching the Rider below as she seemed to wring her hair out and look at Asael with boiling rage.
_________________________________________________ ______________________________________
Oz admired the burning city with contempt for the memories it held. She thought about all the people who had ever bullied her and how much she hated them. Any of the Riders from the Forsworn that she knew were all the other students, the ones who hadn’t bullied her in Dragon Rider School. They were the ones that had simply ignored her, the ones who had been too busy minding their own business or had simply not noticed her amongst the popular kids and the Dragons.
Fyrn nudged Oz’s shoulder, waking her from the slight daze she had been in. Time to go, Ozzie? He asked. He was the only person who was allowed to caller her Ozzie, or even Osette.
Yeah. She replied. Beginning to climb up his leg when she was drenched in water from above. She looked up to see a white Dragon. In saturating Osette, he had also put out the flames of the building Fyrn had just destroyed. “ughhhhhhh!” she exclaimed aloud and balled her hands into fists to wave at the obnoxious Dragon and it’s obviously ‘good’ Rider. Fyrn began to grin, trying to keep a straight face but then broke his façade of seriousness and said, between roars of laughter This sort of thing could only happen to you! Oz looked at Fyrn sternly but he carried on laughing. All right, shut up! She said almost laughing herself. She climbed onto Fyrn’s back and left the square, heading for a nearby copse of oak trees.
((Did I mention that posts can be any length you want, as I know that some people prefer shorter posts while some would rather write longer pieces of text.))
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((My human's speech is orange, and my dragon's is navy))
Wanna see them struggle? Or maybe even help them, and make them think we're on their side?
You sick twisted human. That's why I like you.
Lux grinned at this and walked outside in his dark blue armor. Myrsky was waiting for him, and the human mounted the midnight blue dragon. Lux rode off to some elf girl, wait, is was Katya! She was a sharp one, and suggested to have the dragons to fill their mouths with water from the sea.
Ready to put our plan into action? Go!
Lux jumped off his dragon and moved in an almost invisible blur, due to his dark colored armor. He was falling at a high speed. Myrsky knew that he could fly faster and took the chance, swooping down. It looked like certain doom for Lux, but he was caught about 5 feet from the sea. This technique was dangerous, but gives the advantage of surprise. However, this is why Lux sometimes was bruised and limping, still a good tactic if the rider and dragon trusted each other.
Nice catch.
It's what I do.
Both Myrsky and his rider grinned. Then Myrsky put the elf's plan into action, the dragon filling his mouth with water. "Onward! To Doru Areaba!" said Lux.
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((So everyone's claiming two colors then? I think the 'blue for dragon' thing should be held constant, just so we all don't have to remember 12 different color combinations. So I'll have teal for my dragon. My human's words will be olive drab. For others who want colors, I found a pretty good list of colors (http://www.w3schools.com/tags/ref_colornames.asp) that XHTML recognizes. You can also mix colors and use the hex code the same way you'd use a color name: [color=#HEXCODE][/color].))
"There might still be people down there. They'll suffocate from smoke." Xel'lotath told Grigori. The human nodded in agreement.
"You!", Grigori pointed to a Dragon Rider. "Help me with evac while the others fight the fire!". The man grasped his dragon's neck as she flew up a bit before diving down towards the burning city. The fire was spreading, though it didn't look to be a raging inferno. Already some people were fleeing and others were making their efforts to fight the fire on ground. One person was waving his arms, trying to flag down the Rider. When the dragon and her Rider were a few meters off the ground, Grigori leapt off Xel'lotath's back and landed with a roll. "Stay close. The 'Forsworn' might still be around. he told his dragon. "If you see someone in trouble, help them. But stay alert.". He turned to the citizen.
"There is someone inside! I can't save them alone." the man explained. Grigori nodded and the two charged into a building already on fire.
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((Blue for dragons then? Sounds good, I'll take steel blue from that list in that case, and dark red for my human character))
Leigarth's agility gave him slightly more speed than an average dragon, so he and Kamren had soon caught up with the others. The flames were less towering than they appeared initially, even to his eyes, though the individual blazes were spread out and growing. This looked like the work of quite a few riders to Kamren. One of the riders had pulled up and started giving orders.
Ugh, this kid again. When did she get the idea she was in charge.
Shut up and listen to her, she's got a great idea here.
The dragon had him there. He didn't much like the idea of listening to someone else, especially a "kid" 2 years his junior, but at the end of the day she was right. Irritated, Kamren let his mount follow the others towards the water, his sharp eyes glaring. As his dragon flew straight, Kamren was looking all around instinctively for danger. Something told him that riders who burned down cities might just stay around to watch them burn. Watch out! Leigarth called out from inside Kamren's head, a grin in his voice. The rider looked forward just as a wall of water soaked him. His mouth opened in surprise, and he emerged spluttering, his dragon's mouth full of water.
Thanks for the warning thought the human, glaring even harder.
As they headed towards a burning building, Kamren thought he saw a dark blur from the corner of his eye; was it a rider? "Probably nothing" he muttered aloud, trying to convince himself that they weren't going to be ambushed. He remained nervous as Leigarth unloaded the brine on a smallish house below. Something seemed wrong.
((typing colour wrong each time is painful))
-
((Oh darn, it would be the day I fall ill that this would get started and I'd almost miss out on the beggining fun! Terribly sorry if I'm late, Valentines day and y'know~
If we're going for blue dragons, I'll take a nice Light Slate Grey, since it's rather blue looking and to go with Hrolmir's Steely colors.
Karinda will be using the rather unspectacular Dim Grey, to reflect her neutral nature I guess.))
Though the initial departure from the party was anything but organized, Karinda found herself feeling somewhat proud at the fact that all of the other Riders, after the initial confusion and speedy departure, had fallen into a steady flight formation among one-another.
Even in the dark of the night, by squinting pale blue eyes she could just about make out the person in leading position; a relatively small figure sat atop a pearly white dragon. From the female rider's willowy proportions, Karinda guessed that she was an elf. Many years ago, this would have perhaps given her pause for thought back when her only knowledge of elves was of far off cities and smithing techniques that defied all that she knew about the forging fires. She was not that same weary little girl however and now, after years of being trained among both elves and humans alike, she could distinguish little difference between the two races; there was only fellow riders.
The glow of the burning city was visible starkly through the night sky, shining through the black like a hellish beacon of searing orange light. Worse still though were the screams, desperate cries of confusion and pleas for help carried on the wind. Karinda felt her stomach clench just thinking about the owners of those voices, residing in the capital, only to be betrayed by the very ones who had sworn oaths to protect them..
"You must concentrate. There may be more to this than we yet understand. Focus at the task at hand, little one, then we may ask our questions."
She could feel Hrolmir's gentle rumble echo through the scales on his neck where she held, a low comforting presence as ever keeping her own thoughts steady.
"You're right. There's a lot of work to be done here to secure the city once more, it'll be difficult. I'll need to keep my head on."
The group of riders had near fully approached the city, where the sights, sounds and smells were far worse than at a distance. Flames flickered past Karinda's eyes, licking at buildings and down streets indiscriminate in their path of destruction.
The elf girl atop the white dragon was giving out instructions, ones which Karinda found herself listening to intently. Indeed, dousing the fires would be the ideal starting point, curbing the spread of the flames and damage to area's already affected.
The exection of her plan, while ideal for others, left her brain ticking however.. After a moment of glancing around, she gestured Hrolmir into a low dive, down into the tall spires of the buildings of Doru Araeba and almost to ground level.
The heat of the surrounding fires left her eyes watering and face flushed with heat, pulling her neck-scarf about her face to try and protect herself from the worst of the flames.
"The water is a sound plan, but we may do better here with our own talents helping-" Karinda mused, eyes turning to an area where she had known there to be quite a number of houses in the past.
They were currently little more than charred rubble, collapsed under their own weight after the flames had taken all the strength from the buildings core. The destruction was immense and though there was little chance of survivors, action had to be taken in the event that someone, anyone, had been lucky..
"Hrolmir! Get lifting through this!"
The dragon hummed in reply, hovering over the great mound of charred buildings while the light of the flames flickered against his silvery hide and gave him an unnatural orange tint. With a great roar, four giant muscular legs began lifting through the remains, carefully parting the wood and stone that had been left behind in the hopeless search for survivors or anything salvageable.
Karinda felt her heart sink, after clearing five houses and finding only one young woman clearly moving among the wreckage. Motioning for Hrolmir to land, she leaped off his back and slung the injured woman around her shoulders, before passing her onto the giant dragon and motioning for him to take her to a safer area in the city.
"I'll continue helping on foot." She insisted, though was met with an almost whining plea of displeasure.
"Little one, I fear for your safety. Do not do anything rash, I beg of you."
"This isn't the time, Hrolmir. There are others surely that need our help. Get any that I bring to you to safety, then return as fast as you can. Those carrying the water are beginning to douse the fires, but that'll leave smoke- it's unlikely people will be able to safely move about in it. I want you to try and snuff the flames with the flapping of your wings, but be mindful of anyone escaping! Don't you dare blow them away!"
Under normal circumstances, Karinda knew in her heart that Hrolmir would have been disposed to leave her in a dangerous situation alone, but her commanding voice made it quite clear that she wasn't going to budge on the subject. Instead of continuing arguing, with a snort of displeasure he took to the sky, circling overhead to find a spot to drop the saved woman.
"I will return soon. Do not do anything foolish!"
"No promises.." Karinda couldn't help but think, instantly feeling an admonishing wave of emotion from her dragon.
There was no time to be playing things safe however, carefully making her way down the streets she had once walked when she was but a trainee rider, lamenting that she would be unlikely to ever see them in the same glory again. It was a wasteful attack, destroying the city rather than plundering or trying to subjugate it. This unbiased destruction was a statement. The idea of why anyone would want to make such declarations against the peace made her shudder..
She didn't have long with her thoughts however until she saw a young man ducking into a burning house; she barely recognized him as the one she had spoken to briefly earlier, with the fancy knife tricks. Breaking into a run, with her scarf wrapped tightly around her nose and mouth, Karinda followed behind him, hearing the beating of familiar wings settling overhead and a gust growing overhead.
"Wait, I'll help you! My dragon is blowing away the worst of the smog, we need to save whoever we can before these buildings risk coming down!" She called, trying to cast her voice as best as she could to the young man who had been impressive with knives without inhaling too deeply.
-
((Switching to midnight blue for Myrsky, Lux's remains the same. Also, near invisibility is fun!))
Impressive how they did huh? Imagine if we did that.
Enough of that, we're already dangerous enough. I mean, that last kid we sent to the hospital wing still has nightmares from us.
Myrsky flew in near the biggest blaze. "Here's good." said Lux. He jumped down, and this one wasn't a huge jump, so it wasn't as bad. This time, Lux wanted to be sighted, jumping into the biggest blaze, saving people, to gain the Riders' trust.
Firing water.
A stream of water shot out of Myrsky's mouth as the glow of the fire illuminated Lux as he landed in the building. People were in there, still.
There are people in here?! Still?! Wow, the dragon riders are worse at this than I thought.
Indeed, get them out. NOW.
Lux looked around, these people needed out of here. Most of them are in a good enough condition to walk, but one person was incapacitated. That one goes first. The exit, some boards were blocking it. Lux pulled out his sword and cut them up, taking some effort. The smoke was filling his lungs, and he needed to finish here, fast. "Everyone! Get out!" Lux yelled, going over to the one who was stuck, boards had pinned her down. She was frightened. "Hang on, I can save you." said Lux, trying to clear away the boards. The burning house has starting to fall apart.
He finally freed the woman and picked her up. The house has about to collapse and fiery debris was raining down. "Hold on! This could get even more dangerous than it was!" said Lux. He shielded the lady with his body, as he rammed his was through the house, with no regard to how many hits he took, this woman had to stay safe.
The house gave as Lux ran out of the blaze.
Put out the fire, everyone's out safely.
Meanwhile, Myrsky went for more water. When he heard Lux, the dragon nodded, and flew to the city. Myrsky started spewing water on the fire, and it was put out.
Alright. Next?
Put out some other fires, and play nice with the others. Scratch that, just the fires.
"Hey, anyone here a medic?" Lux yelled, this lady needed help quickly, despite getting out of the house.
-
Grigori thought he heard shouting behind him, but the crackling of burning wood and the panic of the situation muffled the sound. The knife-thrower held a cloth napkin around his mouth to limit smoke inhalation. The man that led him into the house motioned for him to follow, and the two made their way down a small hall to a room that was covered in smoke. The fire hadn't reached this place yet, though the sound of burning was near.
"He..me" came a choked cry. A man, balding, pinned down under a chandelier. He was trying desperately to remove it, but the weight and exhaustion made it difficult. Had the ornament not been on the ground, and the smoke not in the room, it would have a grand appearence. The room itself had some basic furniture and equipment used in sewing cloth. There was a table with some small tools, probably the tools of a cobbler.
"Help me lift this up." Grigori told the man who lead him to the pinned citizen. The man, a short stocky fellow, nodded and the two lifted the chandelier off of the bald one. It was oddly shaped, making it difficult to raise. Even with all three lifting, and they only managed to raise it high enough to free the pinned man, who crawled away from the lighting fixture. Outside, the sound of wind picking up. Hopefully, this wind and the water raining down would dampen the area and stop the fire from speading.
"There's another in the next room over. I think he fainted." the once-pinned man told Grigori. "On it." Grigori replied. The stocky man helped the bald one to his feet and the two, with the first supporting the other, made their way out of the burning building. As the exited, they saw a girl in armor with a dragon beating its wings. She didn't seem to be actively setting things on fire, and the dragon looked to be extinguishing the flames rather than fanning them, so they pasted her by with a nod.
Grigori found the one who fainted, a younger man, likely a worker trying to learn trade. The Rider woke the boy with a hard slap to the face and the two made their way out of the burning building.
-
Things were getting out of control.
Karinda had given up on following the knife-throwing boy after it had become clear that he couldn't hear her through the overwhelming atmosphere and, figuring he certainly looked like he knew what he was doing, instead had retreated back outside to survey the rescue efforts.
Hrolmir had managed to snuff out a fair amount of the residual blaze by using his wings to create a draft, though a few persistent embers still crackled with heat in the surrounding area.
She could see more and more riders pouring water down over the declining fires, ever so slowly diminishing the harsh orange glow and roar of heat.
Climbing onto Hrolmir's back, she motioned for her dragon to take to the sky once more with a careful leap, being mindful of any survivors that may be in the area.
All in all, the disaster itself was slowly being resolved, but there was still many things spiraling into disorder.
She could hear someone calling for medical assistance and felt terrible when she instead turned her head away, urging Hrolmir further from the location.
"You don't want to try and help?"
"My skills are for tending metal. Not flesh. I'd be of little use."
It was a logical answer. It didn't make the knot in Karinda's stomach feel any better however as she continued her over-head flight of the city, eyes attempting to follow the path of the flames.
"There's no real 'pattern' here. It looks whoever set the fires did so at random, then let the flames spread. From what I can guess, there was no real priority target here..."
"If that is the case, then you are worried?"
"Yes. At least if there was some sort of focal point to merit this destruction, there would be maybe some kind of motive. Someone or something in particular that whoever wanted to strike out at. So far, this seems to be rather indiscriminate, merely aiming for pure destruction and disorder. At least, that's what it looks like right now. It's likely I could be wrong, there's just not enough information to go off yet.."
"What do you propose?"
"We watch. Of course, if anyone calls for aid we'll help, no matter if its civilian or rider. I'd like to think that we'd be trusted enough to come rallying for an ally. But.. I'd mainly like to keep a close eye on things. Look for patterns, or if there's anything suspicious about.. There's a lot more to this than just a few fires being set, I feel it in my bones.."
"As you wish. I will keep my ears open for our ally's and my eyes sharp for our mysterious enemies."
-
No one's answering. Can you watch her, since the fires are going out.
If I have to. Babysitting is boring.
Myrsky flew in and took the girl, who was now unconscious, to the outskirts of the town to make sure she lived.
Suddenly, Lux winced in pain. Something must've hit him in a weak point of his armor. "That's going to hurt later." he said to himself.
Lux then decided to charge into another burning building, against his better judgement. He needed to rescue more people and cheat death a few more times before the night ended.
As he got the people out of this next building, a piece of falling wood was about to hit someone. Lux quickly push the person out of the way, his arm taking the impact.
Getting back to base, you will have to fly more carefully than usual. One of my arms is unusable at the moment.
Alright, everything on my end is fine, if you don't count the panic from the girl. Myrsky smirked.
Myrsky..... No, just, no. At least be civil.
Lux ran out as the house collapsed, holding his arm, trying to put the fire on it out.
-
Asael turned back towards the cliff to collect more water, Wait! Katya said to him suddenly. Asael bristled in her mind. Don't worry, nothing's wrong, I just thought that my efforts would be more effective if I were on the ground and you were collecting the water on your own.
You're the boss, he replied But don't hurt yourself, I trust you won't do anything stupid. He turned back towards Doru Areaba and swooped low over the houses. Now, jump! He shouted urgently as they passed over a building with a sloped roof. Katya took the chance and slid down Asael's leg, when her rear flew off the end of his front claw she had that awful moment of free falling. Asael had timed his flight perfectly, she landed a moment later on the slanted roof and slid all too quickly towards the ground.
She righted herself as she flew off the end of the roof towards the ground and hit it running. There was a group of evacuees in a clearing in the road which Katya immediately ran towards. There was about 70 people there and the other riders were running around everywhere, herding others into the square. "Are there any buildings that haven't been cleared yet?" Some people in the front shook their heads. Good news at last. "Let's get somewhere safe and let the Dragons do the rest of the work, then" She said to some of the closest people. "You'll have to carry the injured but it isn't safe here." She ran back down the main street towards the edge of Doru Areaba.
_________________________________________________ ______________________________________
Oz's place in the copse gave her a good view of the group about to leave the city. Unfortunately, she thought, it wouldn't be as easy to leave as they expected. She laughed inwardly and shared her idea with Fyrn. Great! he said hungrily. Oz's favourite type of magic by far was illusionist magic. She drew on Fyrn's immense power to carry out her plan, smiling, she cast a spell upon a burning building in the path of one of the running riders. In a fraction of a second the burning building disappeared and in it's place was what appeared to be a clear path out of the city. The elf leading the group, who Oz had assumed to be the one riding the white dragon that had given her an unwanted shower only 10 minutes before, ran directly into the illusion building. Oz laughed and looked at Fyrn, That was too easy, are you sure this is a challenge? The sides of his mouth curled up and he puffed pleasantly warm smoke at her and she touched his leg hide, lovingly. It was moments like these that made them such good friends, they enjoyed inducing the suffering of others together.
-
((goD I AM SO SORRY IM LATE i've been so slammed with work over the weekend hhgngnnrrnrnrfff
colors, though, yeah. I'll nab this dark shade of teal for Trezarex, and this dark magenta for Stella because I liKE being complicated))
Stella could tell when the other Riders, the "good" ones, had arrived. Fires were starting to die out ,and the loud beats of wings were thundering about. Gritting her teeth, she kicked Trezarex gently, Dive! We can't be spotted!
Right, the dragon agreed, and with a snort swirled in the air and dove down below the treeline, claws nearly grazing the ground, I'm going towards the cliffs, we'll be more under the radar there and can take to the water if necessary.
"Perfect," Stella breathed, half to herself and half to the dragon. Oh how she was thankful to have befriended a dragon with adapt swimming skills. Made for some sneaky maneuvers. She felt tree limbs rush past her as Treza flew through the forestry, before shortly rocketing out near the cliff face.
Completely unaware of the other rider's plans to extinguish the flames through collecting water, dragon and Forsworn rider drifted down to the rippling waves, going to where they felt most comfortable. Stella looked up at the sky, could still see smoke drifting through the air. She smirked a little, "They can try to ruin our fun, can't they?" She mused as Trezarex flew down and raked claws through the water.
'Try''s the key word there, The dragon thundered in Stella's head, followed by a rumbly laugh. She returned the laugh with one of her own. and hung on tight as Trezarex stayed close to the cliffs, fairly certain here they would be inconspicuous.
-
Looks like everyone else has the rest of the fires covered. I think we should just stay in the sky, keep an eye out for trouble.
The deep red dragon began circling above the city, his scales catching the remaining firelight and shimmering slightly. As they flew, Kamren kept a look out for anyone suspicious. Nothing major seemed to be happening; the citizens seemed to all be gathered in one of the squares. One girl broke off and started heading for the outskirts when...
Leigarth, is it just me, or did that flaming building just vanish?
I thought so too. Wait, didn't she see it? the dragon asked with a tone of concern as the girl (it was the one who had come up with the water idea) kept walking into what looked like open space.
Apparently not. Forget her, who cast that spell and why? Sounds like there's a firestarter around to me. Let's check out the woods-they're not going to be in a burning building.
You're going to hunt an unknown enemy of unknown numbers who are probably watching you alone? You're not Lux, you can be seen remember.
Who? Oh, blonde guy, seems ok at most things, nothing special at anything. There are other ways to stay hidden than magic.
Heading into a trap you can't see is not one of them. You're not at an advantage here. See if you can get that elf girl to go with you.
Why, cos she has a bow too? I'm sure she's a great shot. I suppose a distraction might help, fine.
The dragon descended behind the fair haired girl, who looked a little confused.
"Didn't see the massive flaming building disappear then?"
-
Katya kept looking back to make sure the people were following her. They were. She turned her head back to the road and kept running. She spied another rider running towards her, away from his Dragon. Good, she thought, finally some order around here. "Didn't see that massive flaming building disappear then?" He said to her. Confused, she stopped running. "No, I clearly didn't... Which flaming building? There are lots." She hoped that this came across as a comprihensible sentence because in her mind it felt jumbled.
Asael had been collecting water for some time when the majority of the flames had been doused. There were more than enough Dragons around to cover what was left and his hide was filthy from smoke. He took off towards the cliff but then swerved into a secluded cove where no one could see him and washe himself in the sea. He reached out to his elf companion with his mind Do you need me yet, my little cub? Cub was Asael's pet name for Katya because he thought that she was like a small bear, she was strong in many ways for one so small. He waited for a reply and eventually she said Yes, Asael. Come back to me, I think there is another rider who needs our assistance.
_________________________________________________ __________________
To Oz's disappointment, the elf rider stopped just short of the building with another rider. She had drained her energy for nothing. Fyrn felt that she was upset and touched her shoulder with his snout, restoring some of her energy with his own. She placed a hand around his neck. All the time she had her eyes fixed on Doru Areaba and saw other riders she had recognised as forsworn were also taking to the woods. She worried about them blowing her cover. She spoke to Fyrn Don't they realise that if we all hide in the woods they'll know where we are? It's time to go. she was planning to go out the other side of the woods and into a cave she'd once found whilst exploring, it was big enough for one small Dragon like Fyrn. She didn't know where the forsworn were regrouping so she thought that staying in the cave and seeing where the others went was a good idea.
-
"No, I clearly didn't... Which flaming building? There are lots," responded the younger rider.
"Maybe try looking where you're going. Somebody just vanished one right in front of you, you almost ran into it."
Pause for effect.
"Sounds like one of those who did this is still around. I figure they're in those woods. We'd better go and check that out."
-
Katya was sure that if a building disappeared from right in front of her she'd notice but that was irrelevant now. She focused on the more important bits of information. "You reckon they'd hide somewhere as obvious as the woods?" She replied to the other rider. While they had been talking Asael had been returning to Katya and now he was only around 20 metres away in the air, his white hide glistening. He landed next to Katya and said What's the problem? Katya explained. "Well," She concluded aloud If they're in the woods then they're probably watching us. We should take off on our Dragons as if we were going for more water but then travel to the back of the woods and spy on them from behind... unless you have a better idea." She was already climbing up Asael's leg and he bucked her up on to his back.
_________________________________________________ _______________________________________
Oz looked out from the cave but no one seemed to be passing by or even moving anywhere near her. She could see the ends of the tails of forsworn Dragons just inside the woods and wished that they'd be more resourceful and cunning but she reminded herself that no one else had had as much time to train their brains as she had at rider school, they'd all been too busy making friends to study and as such she'd passed with flying colours.
Fyrn snorted somewhere near her ear. What's up? She asked him.
Just seen that obnoxious, white, ass of a Dragon and his little elf rider who showered you earlier, Ozzie. I'm gonna get them back sometime.
-
After putting the fire on his arm out, Lux vowed to never run into a burning anything ever again. "Well that was interesting, and the fires are handled, it looks. he said to himself
Myrsky. There's a few more fires left, take care of that when I find you?
Alright. You are not that far from me
Lux eventually found his way out to his dragon, while his arm was still smoking from jumping into the flames. "Well after that, I hope the next mission is somewhere with snow. Lux said.
I'll go now, don't burn yourself any more Myrsky chuckled at his own joke as he flew up, looking at the flames and deciding what to put out or destroy first.
-
"You reckon they'd hide somewhere as obvious as the woods?" asked the other rider. Kamren stared, surprised at her response
"Well, if they're in the woods then they're probably watching us. We should take off on our Dragons as if we were going for more water but then travel to the back of the woods and spy on them from behind... unless you have a better idea."
He had been about to explain condescendingly that if the firestarters could see them, they had to be either in the woods, visible on open ground, or in a burning building, but the elf-girl had already taken off. Irritated at not being given the opportunity to discuss this approach, or even agree, he and Leigarth took to the air once more, following the white dragon.
Great idea, let's be subtle and use the girl with a white dragon to sneak up behind, nobody will notice that. It's practically glowing, Kamren remarked to his dragon sarcastically.
Isn't this pretty much what you were going to do anyway? I'm a dragon too, remember. A dragon's pretty visible if it's brightly coloured or not; they've as much chance of seeing me while we fly as her.
I suppose so. We'll just have to make sure they don't notice us. I'll keep my eyes open just in case.
-
Katya stopped to wait for the other rider and to survey the scene before her just above where the Dragons were collecting water. Asael turned back towards the city to look at it. There was no sign of any trouble makers on open ground, Katya supposed that they were either hiding in the woods or were undercover trying to pretend that they were helping as she'd seen no one take off and fly away. Asael confirmed this.
The trees were definitely tall enough to give cover to Dragons at their largest size, but how many of them? she wondered, this particular forest covered about a square mile of the island and was secluded on one side by a rocky outcrop so she guessed that there could be as many as 30 Dragons but Katya doubted there were that many, if there was they would have surely been trying to fight against the dousing attempts.
Katya planned out what she would say to the other rider when he got to where she was. She got the impression that he didn't really like her very much and wanted to amend this. Not many people immediately took to her but she always made an effort to change that.
She decided that the best place to start would be to tell him hers and Asael's names and then to ask his. After that she was at a loss. She supposed she would make it up.
-
As Myrsky went out to extinguish the flames and possibly destroy something, Lux looked around. No one was around. Then, someone stepped out of the shadows.
"What the hell was that? You helped those accursed riders!" the man said, taking out a knife, readying to use it on Lux, who responded, "Relax, it's all in the plan. I'll go in and gather information on the riders, gain their trust and learn their weaknesses. Then, we'll crush them." The man considered this, but wasn't convinced. "You had better not be going soft on us. We will make you regret it." Lux was unfazed by this and simply responded, "Don't worry, i'm far from their side. Our plans will succeed. Although, the elf girl could be a problem. She's fairly smart and a great leader. Everyone seems to rally around her. This elf girl, I think I have her trust. That could be a key role." The man threw the knife, which Lux parried using his sword. The attacker then responded, "Fine, but if I find out you have joined them, you will be sorry."
Lux then said one last thing as the man retreated, "Please, why join them? They killed my parents without reason, then left me to die. If that's what the riders stand for, we're doing these commoners a favor by ridding ourselves of them."
-
The fires were beginning to die down thanks to the raining of seawater by dragons and efforts by those on the ground to limit the spread of flames. Many of the civilians were in the city limits, looking at the destruction the burning caused and murmuring among themselves. Grigori helped a few people out of buildings, noticing some other riders helping just like he was.
The flames were hot, and Grigori's face was covered in soot and sweat from the heat. He was tired and had some trouble breathing, resorting to pounding on his chest in an effort to clear his lungs. He was walking with the last of the evacuees towards where many were gathered. Their murmurs were louder now, and carried a tinge of anger and frustration.
"I heard it was Dragon Riders that did this!" came one's voice.
"After everything we did for them, they set fire to our homes!?" cried another.
"But they helped us. Maybe not all of them a–" an old man began, only to be cut off.
"THEY'VE TURNED ON US!" shouted a middle-aged woman.
"THEY'RE ALL MONSTERS!" screamed another; a young man yelled.
The crowd erupted into shouts and accusations.
-
Trezarex stayed in the shadows of the cliffs and ocean for a good while, Stella keenly looking about to ensure no goody two-shoes riders had spied them and given chase. Finally, the large teal dragon had drifted back skywards, spiraling in the air and landing back on solid ground, amidst a thicket of trees. Her rider looked up at the sky, found the billowing smoke that had once flooded the air was no barely visible at all.
"They...they were putting out the fires, weren't they?" Stella huffed to herself, fists balling from her spot on her dragon's back. Trezarex craned her long neck up to the sky, took a deep breath, smelled the lack of smoke in the air. She huffed.
Seems like it, She replied, Maybe they used seawater? I suppose they had plenty of supply.
Of course that's probably what they did! We should have noticed them when we were down there! Stella thought back, staring furiously ahead at nothing, mental gears turning, We need to do something else now, since our fires were so kindly put out.
Trezarex looked down at her, Do you think so? We could just as well hang back here, wait for the other Riders to leave, attack then...
No, Stella gritted her teeth, We have to give them a bang, something to further our influences Especially now....if people have been driven from their homes and are right outside just waiting to be blown away! She began to grin slow, teeth still clenched tight. An idea was formulating.
What do you suggest?
The trees. We'll set them alight, any ones we can find near the village we can hit. It'll cause a frenzy, and we can duck out without being seen. Mm?
...It might just work. Hang on.
With a snort Treza took off, shooting through the forest carefully as they headed back to the village. Within a short stretch of time they could spy the glowing embers of destroyed buildings some ways away, crowds of people standing around after their homes were unfortunately displaced. Stella looked at the large trees she could spy, including the ones they had hidden behind.
Now. Do it now! She thought fiercely to her dragon. Trezarex snorted, opened her jaws and took in a mighty inhale. A moment later she launched her stream of flame, sending a massive tree nearby alight. Stella looked up and cackled as the dragon whirled and did it too much times, three trees lighting up with rapidly growing flames. Nudging Treza, Stella grinned. Now, we fly!
Let's see them react to this, the dragon replied, taking off and launching into the sky just above the treeline, sending up a blast of leaves. Sure, it was risky to attack again near so many Riders.
But that risk was what made it all the more fun.
-
The girl with the white dragon had stopped to wait for Kamren above the water. She looked like she wanted to talk. Hopefully not an attempt to make friends. Suddenly there was a flash in the corner of Kamren's eye.
The woods were burning.
Though it wasn't a large fire yet, with trees so densely packed it would spread fast. A dragon burst up from among the forest, its teal scales illuminated by the blaze below it.
"Still think they wouldn't choose the 'obvious place?' I told you there was someone there." he said, grinning smugly, before sending Leigarth shooting high into the sky. Now they had a far better position for the hunt. Chase her down Kamren told Leigarth, who was happy to oblige.
Naturally, he hadn't bothered waiting for the elf-girl.
-
The other rider came shooting up to her on his Dragon just as the woods burst into flames. Asael cursed in frustration. The Dragons had all been working hard enough to put out the flames on the town and now they had to douse the bushes as well. "Still think they wouldn't choose the 'obvious place?' I told you there was someone there." The other rider said, smiling as if to say I-told-you-so. Katya almost wanted to laugh, this was something she did to others a lot when she got things right and they didn't. Asael snorted at him loudly and the other rider flew off, without notifying Katya, to give chase to the teal Dragon who had emerged from the trees. Katya liked the other rider. She saw herself in him a tiny bit. Maybe that was why they didn't get along.
Asael instinctively flew down towards the water and waited for the next Dragon that emerged. She stopped them and yelled to the rider: "Some idiot had set the woods on fire too, get a couple of Dragons to douse those flames quickly otherwise we're in deep trouble."
Asael shot back up the cliff face to see the other rider and his Dragon far in front. The teal Dragon was bigger than his own and Katya assumed that if he were to fight it he would need a little back-up.
You really want to follow that numbskull? Asael said to her.
I have a feeling he wants us to play to his tune now. She replied.
Asael began to beat his wings tremendously in order to catch up with the rider.
_________________________________________________ ______________________________________
Osette had been sat in the mouth of the cave for quite a while when the trees set on fire. Well done. She thought, give away everyone's position so that the 'good' riders can find us. She rolled her eyes as she saw a teal Dragon take to the sky and then two others follow it at a distance, one of which was that white Dragon with the stupid elf rider. Not her again. Fyrn groaned. He left the cage and Oz climbed on to his back. He took off after the other Dragons just for something to do, he also wanted to give that white Dragon and it's elf rider their comeuppance. They were tantalizingly annoying and Fyrn wanted to fry them.
-
Lux looked up, the woods were ablaze. "Damn."
Myrsky, reload
Got it.
Lux walked over to a seaside cliff and jumped, plummeted 5 feet onto Myrsky. They rode off to put out the fire and Lux spotted the teal dragon flying off. "That fool! She shouldn't have done that to get away." he whispered under his breath. "SOMEONE FLAG HER DOWN!" yelled Lux as Myrsky put out the small fire with the seawater.
Shall we give chase?
Wait, there's someone else.
Lux looks to see Oz take off after the other 3.
Let's go.
-
Another fire, this time the attacker was close. Trees set ablaze; they were closer together than houses, but given the weather wasn't very dry they would take a bit longer to burn as the fire had to dry them out first.
"Another attack!" shouted one of the townspeople.
"They're trying to kill us all!" came a shout. The citizens were growing angry.
Grigori looked up in time to see a flash of teal in the sky and the outline of some flying creature. He pressed a finger to his temple.
"Xel'lotath, evac has gone well but the trees are on fire now. Help the others with extinguishing them. Look out for a teal dragon. Do not engage, just confirm if you see it.". He spoke to her through their link. But she didn't respond as quickly as he expected. The sound of water crashing down made Grigori turn.
"Evac was getting boring. I wanted to help. Good timing, huh?" the emerald dragon replied with what would be a smile had she been human. The fire was still young and Xel'lotath's attack was effective in extinguishing a good deal of it. They'd still need backup.
"There's one now! I saw him jump off his dragon!" yelled one of the citizens, throwing a stone at Grigori. The rock hit him, but his armor absorbed the impact. The crowd was restless and beginning to mob. Grigori turned back to them and cleared his throat. He took a deep breath and began speaking.
"I apologize for the actions of my former comrades. Don't think for a moment that those of us loyal to the Dragon Riders would ever attack you fine people. This city is absolutely vital to the roots of the Dragon Riders, and to the health and prosperity of the land. But don't forget that you, yourselves, are no less valuable a resource to the land. I hold your work -and yourselves- to the highest regard. Those who attacked today are the enemy we seek. They are the 'Foresworn', Riders who seek to destroy that which made them. We are your allies. We will protect you from the threat of war."
His voice was strong and crisp, like a seasoned orator's. The townspeople listened as if enchanted, but this wasn't trickery or deception. Grigori spoke to their hearts and their wills, bringing to surface the small thought that the Dragon Riders were framed in this attack and it was the work of a rogue group. The once mob quieted down as the townspeople began speaking with softer tones. Some even shouted their thanks.
-
Trezarez tilted her head back as bit as she zoomed over the trees, claws grazing through sticks and leaves. We're being followed, she remarked, looking back to focus on her flight, There's two of them.
Of course we're being followed! We couldn't have struck any closer if we'd lit them on fire! Stella replied, grinning a bit wildly. She looked back, spied the dark red dragon cutting through the air after them, an icy white dragon not far behind. She cackled, holding on tight to Trezarex, "Let the games begin then, mm?"
Clutching he dragon's back she let out another wild laugh. This was it, the nefarious havoc she had yearned to wreak. Lighting fires had been one thing. Lighting them before an audience, an angered audience who could put up a fight, that was quite another.
I'm heading for the cliffs, Trezarex rumbled suddenly, turning sharply on the wind and flapping downward as the seaside cliffs appeared on the horizon, We'll both be in our element there.
Right, Stella thought back, glancing every few seconds to get a look at her adversaries. She wasn't worried. there were two chasing after her, but the red dragon looked downright petite compared to Treza's large, lithe form, and she could bet neither of her hunters had much experience being face to face with a Forsworn or any real antagonistic being.
She licked her lips and whistled as her dragon dove down for the cliffs, tucking wings in a bit.
Hopefully by now her flaming trees had done some damage too. That'd be icing on the cake.
-
Leigarth banked steeply as the teal dragon they were now pursuing veered off towards the water. Kamren gripped the great crimson beast's neck tightly with his legs, drawing his bow as he did.
"Trying to get away, are we?" he muttered to himself. "Let's see about that." With his excellent vision, he could see the rider clearly. She had pale brown skin with brown hair, was clothed in black armour covered in slashes of teal, and kept looking over her shoulder at them.
Let's give them something to think about he told Leigarth silently, Aim a fireball to their right, close enough to scare them off.
As his dragon obliged, Kamren readied an arrow in a flash, and pausing momentarily to aim, fired where he judged the rider would move to on her left.
-
Lux was flying towards Oz, then he saw the teal dragon.
Let's try and cut her off.
Sounds like fun. Let's mess with their minds more.
Myrsky sped up and veered left, then Lux saw someone aiming an arrow. An archer. The archer was trying to aim at the teal dragon. Said dragon and Mursky veered towards the cliffs. Suddenly, Lux's dragon screeched.
Camouflage at night has its disadvantages.
Hey! You weren't just shot with an arrow!
Lux whispered a curse under his breath. "Hey! A little more to the right please!" he finally said.
I think we have to back out.
Nonsense! I'm fine
If you're sure.
Like one puny arrow can bring me down.
-
"Something feels warm.." Stella mumbled quietly as Trezarex headed for the cliffs. Seeing something light up her vision on the right, she glanced back, only to find one of the dragons had the nerve to launch a fireball at her! "Whoa!"
Hang on! Trezarex roared in her mind, clamping wings together tight and spiraling down towards the left to avoid being struck. At that moment both dragon and rider heard a screech, and collectively turned their head towards the noise.
There, after a brief moment, they saw it, the distinct solid outline of a dragon, one as dark midnight blue s the night around them. Almost invisible, and Stella was certain if they had been further away they wouldn't have even spotted it.
Is that..?
Another dragon. One of our comrades, I think. Treza sounded out of breath, focusing on glancing around to ensure no other fireballs were coming. She hadn't quite stopped flying, but the appearance of this midnight blue dragon had caught her off guard, and she was attempting to reconfigure her flight path down to the ocean.
Oh, yes, right. Stella remembered there was another Forsworn with such a colored-dragon. Squinting, she thought she could see him on the dragon's back, presumably lured over by her tree-firing as well. Well, if he was going to take arrows for her, he was at least welcome. You think he wants something?
Well, if he does, he can wait until we hit the water, Trezarex growled, still descending, now past the cliffs and aiming for the ocean below. The dragon was a bit shaken, from being hit almost both by fireball and arrow, and at this point just wanted to be out of the line of fire, one way or another.
Stella sensed her dragon's apprehension, and sighed out a little, petting her smooth scales. She looked back up at her pursuers, and licked her lips.
-
Osette followed the scuffle up front with her eyes, a blue Dragon that had joined the hunt had darted forward ridiculously and been hit by an arrow from one of the two loyal riders. Oz knew that the blue Dragon and his rider were forsworn because she had seen him before.
The teal Dragon up front seemed shaken and Oz thought it was time to intervene.Pull up next to the girl with the white Dragon, put some fire in their path, make them turn back. Then, we'll join the others and sort out the red Dragon. The elf can wait for her turn. Oz spat the last sentence a little, she was annoyed that the only truly viable path of action involved letting the white Dragon slip away.
Obediently, Fyrn sped up so that he was level with the white Dragon who dwarfed his olive coloured figure in the dark night. The elf girl gave a look of recognition and Oz sneered. Do it now. She calmly spoke to Fyrn. He turned his head and roared fire into the path of the white Dragon and then darted off toward their 'comrades.'
_________________________________________________ __________________
Asael was gliding along through the night swiftly, conserving some of his speed for emergencies. If something happened, which it inevitably would, Asael would have to able to move quicker than he already was. His flying, speed and control of pace were his top qualities.
While they were gaining on the two Dragons in front, Katya took time to whirl her head around to look behind her. She had thought she heard more Dragons behind her and she was right. There were two of them, one the Olive Dragon she had seen before and another a midnight blue Dragon who she had seen dousing the flames. She told Asael what she had seen: one loyal rider and one forsworn rider. He snorted and was about to reply when the loyal rider darted out towards the teal Dragon at a speed that almost matched Asael's top speed. Then, he was hit by her friend with the red Dragon's arrow. Friendly fire she thought. It was a shame really. Asael slowed down a bit so that the two could watch the scene play out further. The teal Dragon, understandably didn't stop although she seemed shakes by the fireball that was hurled at her next. Katya was about to dart to the aid of the blue dragon when the olive Dragon levelled it's head just in front of Asael and it's rider sneered at her. Then the Dragon bellowed fire into Asael's face and he instinctively threw a defensive flight shape which forced them to turn back. Unfortunately, Asael hadn't been able to avoid going through the fire and his whole head had passed through it, granting him burns. Asael! Katya moaned in a worried and sympathetic way. The fire had shaken her but Asael knew where he was going. The cove that he had washed himself in earlier. He needed water on those wounds. When he landed Katya slid down his leg and to his burnt face. In places the white scaled had been completely infiltrated leaving pinky flesh underneath. Without speaking she lowered his head under the water, his eyes closed. Katya cupped water onto the severest of the wounds and then decided that magic was the better course of action. She placed one hand on the bridge of his snout and one on the gem in her sword, Scaro. She spoke the words for the healing spell under her breath. Gently. Slowly the wounds began to close. When she had done the best she could, she and Asael simultaneously opened their eyes. Some his scales looked slightly singed but that would wash out. Asael told her he felt no more pain and he curled his neck around her lovingly. She embraced as much of him as she could. They both knew that they were not going back to that fight.
-
The arrow was of course dead on target, but there was a blur of motion, followed by a screech of pain. Another dragon; that must have been the one he had seen as they arrived. Even close up the dragon was difficult to make out clearly, though this time he could see it was the blue of a midnight sky. No wonder it had been tough to see clearly.
Any idea who just got in the way of that shot and why?
That's Lux, we were talking about him earlier, remember. I can't see why he'd get hit. Either he couldn't see you, which is unlikely, or he took it on purpose, meaning he's one of them. He doesn't seem like the kind.
Behind them, the pair heard the sound of dragonfire. Kamren's head snapped around to look at what had caused it, and saw another dragon had joined them in the sky, an olive green one. The white dragon he thought he'd left behind had been burned severely, and was forced to drop out of the sky.
I think we might have bigger problems than that. That one behind us makes at least 2 people in this sky who want us dead, and we might just be the only target left.
Let's try to put them off a little then. I don't like this much.
I agree, Kamren responded, not admitting weakness, but secretly sharing his dragon's worry at being in the line of fire. Put some fire into the back of the teal one, I'll take a shot at this one behind us.
Kamren took quick aim at the girl behind him. The target was small, both rider and dragon, but he could clearly see the red-haired girl's exposed head, sharply contrasting to her dragon's green. He loosed the arrow at the precise moment Leigarth propelled his ball of flame forwards, then began to think about where they would have to move to evade the new pursuer.
-
The other dragon, the teal one, and the rider, she's one of us.
Let's cut 'em off, then make sure they know we're with them.
Lux then saw the white dragon go down. Katya and Asrael spiraled out of the sky to land. Part of Asrael's head was burning. An olive green dragon looked triumphant as it flew away. Then Lux realized that Myrsky's tail was holding a flame.
I'm not going to even ask how you're doing that. We need to bow out. It's Katya, she trusts us enough. Plus, your tail's on fire.
Hey! It doesn't eve- OW!
We're landing, now.
Fine, but only because you said so.
Myrsky hovered about 10 feet from the ground near Katya and her dragon. Lux jumped down and rolled to absorb the impact.
You know that could kill you.
At least I wasn't set on fire.
Lux winced a bit. Probably something minor, hopefully. Myrsky landed 20 feet from the other two. Then Lux scooped some of the water onto his dragon's tail. The flame went out. Then the rider walked over to Katya and asked, "You both alright?"
-
As Stella glanced back, she saw a burst of flame from the back as an olive green dragon burst onto the scene and attacked her white pursuer. She had to smirk; that one she knew was a Forsworn ally.
Trezarex, sensing her Rider's attention to something behind her, also happened to glance back as she shot down towards the ocean. She could see the olive dragon flying off now, but had much bigger issues that caught her attention.
Stella, FIRE! The teal dragon roared in Stella's mind as the dark red dragon unleashed its fireball straight at them. Treza tried to veer up, but while she prided herself on her extremely quick reflexes, her diving position made it too difficult to get out of range. It was up to Stella to disperse the rapidly approaching flame before it struck them.
Stella's eyes widened as she spied the fireball hurtling after them, before gritting her teeth tight. How dare that imbecile fire at her! Did he know what he was messing with? Glancing down at the ocean now getting extremely close, she huffed inwardly. She hadn't wanted to use much magic at this time, but she had no choice. She hurled a hand out towards the fireball and shouted a spell, "Aulon!"
Immediately, a large waterspout launched up from the ocean below her, following the curve of her hand and spraying at the fireball just as it encroached dragon and rider. Stella braced herself as water struck fire, a blast of steam resulting. However, while it may have quelled the bulk of the hurtling flames, a loud hiss from Trezarex alerted Stella all was not well.
Sure enough, as Stella peered over the side of her dragon she saw Trezarex's left hind leg singed from fire, and growled. Oh, you're hit! How dare they?! Those IMBECILES!
H...hang on, I'll be fine, Trezarex huffed back to her, flight slowing down as she finally drifted to the ocean, Just need to...swim a bit...
The large teal dragon flopped down into the ocean, up to her shoulders practically, as she lolled her head back rumbled as the pain of her burned leg dulled. Stella bit her lip, shifting to avoid getting too wet. Slowly Treza started to move, paddling through the water to the shadows of the cliffs, still huffing a little from her leg.
Hopefully they'll be distracted by now, Stella huffed, going and petting the dragon's leg, Those idiots, that could have gotten nasty.
Well, your water helped. Trezarex twisted her head, nudged her rider gently. Stella had to smile a bit, putting a hand on the dragon's snout.
Just doing what was necessary.
-
"You both alright?" The words came from the rider with the midnight blue Dragon, Lux ((Are we still doing the friendship thing?)) he was standing a couple of metres away looking at Katya and Asael who immediately broke their long embrace. Katya cleared her throat "Nothing a bit of magic can''t heal." She replied before continuing "Your Dragon took quite a blow though, how's he doing?" Katya was quite embarrassed that Lux had stumbled in on Katya and Asael's briefly private moment, after all the cove was secluded.
_________________________________________________ _______________________________________
When the white Dragon fell out of the sky, Oz and Fyrn cackled into each other's heads together. I love your foul mind, Osette. He said. Then he pursued the other riders. Oz saw the blue Dragon follow the white Dragon out of the sky and recognised that the 'battle' was not a flat out two on one. When they levelled up behind the red Dragon the rider turned around, almost as if he knew their exact position and fired an arrow towards them. Fyrn's eyes widened in the shock of the flying projectile moving towards them and swerved away from the arrow. It landed in his foot and he howled in Oz's mind. Owww, don't shout at me like that. I'll get that arrow out as soon as possible, don't you worry, Fyrn. She assured him. She knew it would hurt but she had to do it. Fyrn lowered his flight out of range of the archer and Oz slipped down to the foot that had taken the arrow, his back right. Oz had curled herself around his leg. She gripped the arrow and Fyrn moaned in her head. She gritted her teeth ready to pull it out quickly. It was the best way. She yanked as hard as she could on the arrow and it came out. Oz kept the end because she knew that powerful magic could be made using Fyrn's blood, voodoo magic. She didn't want the arrow to get into the wrong hands. Then she ripped off the sleve of her shirt and bound the wound as securely as she could. Fyrn almost sobbing with pain in her head. She wasn't particularly good at using magic under pressure like this. A healing spell would have to wait until later. Fyrn accepted the pain, gritting his teeth and shot back up into the sky. Keeping just out of range of an arrow. Oz felt like throwing a knife at the rider in frustration but she knew better. They were not close enough to be ensured a hit.
-
((Indeed we are Chloe, until I turn on you. >:D ))
"Just a flaming arrow to the tail, lucky it wasn't a wing or the face, or me for that matter." Lux said.
Lux looked up and the olive dragon was just above him.
Above you, olive dragon. Fire when ready.
They're with us!
Still, gain the riders' trust.
Right forgot.
Myrsky tilted his head up and breathed fire straight into the sky. It seemed to hit the side of the olive dragon, or at least the tip of the wing.
Nice shot.
I love doing that.
Shall we pursuit?
Sure.
"Alright, we're going back up into the skies. See you the next time we're shot by an arrow." Lux said. He winced. Damn, I should be more careful. thought Lux, as he started to walk away from Katya.
-
"Bye" Katya said, a little too late for Lux to hear. There was something about him at the moment, a hesitance to his and Myrsky's actions that felt... uncomfortable. Asael nudged the back of Katya's arm.
What next?
Well we could go and see how Doru Areaba and the forest are doing. Talk to some other riders. Re-group.
Sounds good to me.
Katya climbed onto Asael's back and he took off, his nose still smarted a little from the burn but that didn't matter to him. When they could see it probably they noted that the fire in the woods had been put out and most of the fire in Doru Areaba was only smouldering rubble now. Asael landed on the edge of the city, next to the evacuees and a rider who seemed to have just given a speech to the people. Asael folded in his wings as Katya dismounted and ran over to the other rider.
"Everything under control?" She asked, as soon as he was available to speak.
_________________________________________________ _______________________________________
Almost as soon as Fyrn was at the right height for the other two riders eh felt another searing pain, this time in the tip of his right wing. Fire. A burn wound. He roared in anguish, terrifying Oz, she had had no idea what had happened to him.
What's wrong? She asked, urgently.
A burn wound. On my right wing. We can't carry on here.
Oz looked and sure enough there was the burn wound. The sight was horrifying, it had darn near torn through the leathery flesh of his wing. Oz let out a sob at the sight. This would need expert treatment, the sort you could get in Teirm.
Fyrn looked down to see his attacker, the midnight blue Dragon. He had just taken off back into the sky.
Glide to the sea. Oz said to Fyrn, collecting herself.
He did as he was asked, passing closely by the midnight blue Dragon. When they passed eachother Oz yelled "I hope you know what you're doing." She was so frustrated with him. He was playing good and for what? to attack his team mates. She had recognised him as Forsworn and had known that he was pretending to help the others but she thought that the kid was taking it too far.
After they passed the other rider, Fyrn drew his wings in and darted for the sea. He needed the water. He landed on it smoothly and floated at the top, his wings folded so that the ends dipped in and his four legs kicking to propel them out to sea. With the rush of water onto the wound Fyrn sighed heavily.
He knew as well as Oz did that the best place to get this treated was Teirm, he was going to swim there, right now.
((Yeah basically I made this post just to say "No really, do whatever you want with the plot!"))
-
"Fear and panic make a man say strange things." Grigori explained after a long exhale. "I was able to explain the situation. At least, what we know so far. They've lost…a lot though. Rebuilding will take a very long time. But the neighboring cities will gladly take them in as refugees." He turned to the elven Rider, a young girl who probably hadn't seen as much battle as he had. "You fought with them, right? Did you get any names? Description?" he asked. It was much to expect, but any information would be valuable. The Rider felt some guilt: a battle raged above him and he remained on foot to quell a crowd. His allies needed him.
-
Katya took in all the information, still feeling like a student in the shadow of a rider that looked as experienced as this one. Descriptions of the forsworn she'd battled with... hmm... the battle had happened so fast for her. She started slowly "There was two Dragons. Two definite Forsworn members. She looked up at the other rider and met his gaze. "One was olive green and quite small, it's rider had read hair. The other was huge and teal but I wasn't close enough to see it's rider. I didn't get any names of the Forsworn.
There are two of us up there, one on a red Dragon and one on a midnight blue Dragon.
Katya exhaled loudly, hoping that the other rider had taken all that in immediately, she'd gotten quite hurried at the end. Standing around, taking things slowly, not fighting, it was allowing the events to sink in to Katya's mind. Asael had noticed this with the terribly frantic thoughts going through Katya's head.
Calm down, little cub He said.
-
((Sorry Chloe, just trying to build trust until the betrayal))
Lux took off. The Rider of the dragon Myrsky had so nicely burnt said, "I hope out know what you're doing." Lux responded quickly, "Don't question my methods. I'm just trying to gain their trust."
Myrsky flew towards the city that the other forsworn had so nicely set ablaze. Lux looked around for the others.
I think I went a little too far that time.
You think?!
Still a nice shot.
Myrsky was silent.
I know, I know. Since when do you care for the safety of others?
Ever since we joined their cause.
I'll make it up to them, somehow. Oz seemed to not like Katya, so I'll being her to the betrayal. The look on Katya's face, priceless!
Even I have to admit that's vile. Nice plan.
Both rider and dragon laughed to themselves as they flew over the town, making sure nothing has burning.
-
"She doesn't look hurt. Maybe she's with the Foresworn?" hissed Xel'lotath. Her voice changed with the last sentence, growing more cynical and paranoid. The emerald colored dragon was like that: spoke like she had two conflicting personalities at times.
"Noted. Until we firmly establish alliances there is no way to know who may–" he thought, only to be distracted by beating wings. He looked up to see a dark blue dragon with a Rider. They were surveying the damage from the looks of it. Grigori recalled the description Katya gave him.
"That one of our friends?" he asked. Without waiting for a response, he whistled loudly and waved at the Rider. If this one was in combat, maybe he had information as well.
-
"That one of our friends?" The other rider asked. Katya looked up to see Lux's Dragon.
"Yeah, he's one of us. He injured one of the other Dragons." She replied.
Asael reminded her of what she learnt in Dragon Rider School. Don't be too sure He warned. She realised she was trusting to easily.
"Well he seems good enough, anyway" She added to her earlier statement.
Asael seemed to grin through her mind. He knew how far she had come with him by her side.
-
Lux swept through the town a few times, nothing flaming anymore. Myrsky flew down close to the ground and Lux dropped down. He walked over to Katya, "Sorry about earlier, and other than the mass destruction of the town, nothing else of note." he said.
Lux then saw something smoking, and his arm was on fire, likely from setting that other dragon ablaze. Luckily, it was tiny fire, and Lux put it out discretely. "So what next?"
Smooth.
Oh shut it.
Myrsky seemed to laugh into Lux's brain, a dark, twisted laugh. Lux wasn't amused by his dragon's humor this time, due to the fact that he was the butt of the joke.
-
Kamren looked over his shoulder, trying to figure out what to do about his final pursuer, when its wing erupted into flame. Glancing down, he saw the midnight blue of Lux's dragon, which had rejoined the fray and taken out the final dragon. This injury looked extremely serious, and sure enough the rider gave up the chase and headed for the ocean.
Alright, now Lux looks like he's on our side.
Indeed. Perhaps we judged too quickly. It does seem strange that he wouldn't see us shooting when he was going right between us and that teal dragon though, pondered the dragon.
Kamren looked across the water. Should they pursue these 'Forsworn'? There was one there in sight, and the teal one had last been seen in the water too.
No. We don't need to kill them. We need information. Let's regroup.
I don't like to let them get away, but you're right. ugh, more dealing with these idiots.
What exactly did you expect to do as a rider? Do everything yourself? Leigarth asked, a little annoyance in his tone at his partner's attitude.
Kamren didn't bother responding as they descended to where the others seemed to have congregated.
-
"You were in battle too, huh? What'd you see? The more we know, the easier it'll be to make a plan." Grigori spoke to the spontaneously combusting Rider. He looked more injured than the elf who approached him, but he didn't seem to be phazed.
"What if *he* is a Foresworn? No one can be trusted." Xel'lotath whispered to Grigori. She was a bit away, near the ruins of the city watching over her friend as he spoke with the other non-dragons. She was alert, standing at the ready in case they needed to leave quickly.
More beating wings. Grigori looked up to see a dark red dragon.
"That elf said something about a red Dragon being with the Foresworn. Or a red-head with the Foresworn. Something red… I need to pay more attention." Grigori thought to himself. The Rider looked like he was preparing to land, so Grigori checked himself for weapons. His sword was still in its hilt; he untied the clasp holding it discreetly so he could more quickly draw it. His knives were secure in a belt, ready to be thrown at a moment's notice.
-
"Just so you know, I don't catch on fire on a regular basis." Lux said. Then he looked up and the red dragon seemed to land soon.
I have a feeling a battle's about to start.
Calm down, he's with the riders.
Interesting, the one who shot us a rider.
When we take over the world, can I have that one?
Bit too soon to decide my scaly friend.
Lux knew that his shield has attached to his arm and his sword could be pulled out quickly, so Lux had no worries. He looked up to watch the dragon land.
-
When she heard more beating wings and looked up to see the red Dragon preparing to land. She turned back to the other rider who she had been telling about the forsworn. He had his hand on his sword. Katya looked him in the eye."I'm pretty sure he's one of us..." She trailed off before adding as short warning "He's quite angsty though."
_________________________________________________ _________________________________________
Fyrn began to swim, as swiftly as possible. It hurts. He informed Oz. She could imagine how he was feeling even though she had no wings of her own to break.
Don't worry. I'll use a numbing spell and a speed spell. You will be fixed up soon.
You do realise that it is about seventy miles to Teirm, right?
I know, the spell will make it feel like it's only 15 miles though, if I can get it to work to it's full effect. Don't worry.
I hope so. It hurts, Ozzie.
Oz wanted to hold him tight and fix his wing there and then but to heal a tear in the wing like that took more than just a healing spell.
I'll sort that Lux and his unruly Dragon out next time I see them. She told Fyrn, fiercely.
Then she placed a hand on Fyrn's back and her other hand on the olive coloured part of her sword. She spoke the words "num dolor" - numb the pain. Fyrn sighed into her mind instantly. Then Oz said the second spell "da ei celeritati" - give him speed. Oz felt the magic spawn on Fyrn's dull green hide, he rapidly became more alive and his strokes propelled him further, he was able to move his legs more quickly without tiring. Happy with her work, Oz curled up in the crook of Fyrn's neck.
Wake me up as soon as you see Teirm.
Oz slept, feeling the beating of Fyrn's heart synced with her own.
-
As he landed, Kamren noted the eyepatched rider he had seen throwing knives earlier reaching for his sword. A fight appeared to be brewing, so he grabbed his bow, knowing he could load, evade and aim quickly if necessary. Having a dragon on the scene would of course help too.
"Nice to see you too," he remarked, hoping to get a handle on what the situation was. He leaped down from Leigarth's neck. "Is there a problem?"
That's one way to introduce yourself.
-
His sword was still in its hilt; he untied the clasp holding it discreetly so he could more quickly draw it.
((I actually haven't drawn my sword yet. Just undid the loop thing that holds it in place. But I'll run with the assumption.))
"Easy…" Grigori said, seeing the newcomer draw a bow. The elf claimed he was an ally, but drawing a weapon wasn't exactly a friendly action ((the assumption here is that both Katya and Kamren think Grigori is reaching for a weapon when he's only undoing the strap so he can draw it should he need to.)). "You fought the Foresworn, yes?" he asked. His eyes looked around; the others were tense too. If they were all Riders, as was the assumption, this could turn into a horrible misunderstanding.
-
When Kamren drew his bow, Katya took a step closer to Lux and put her hand on her sword, ready to draw it if things got nasty. She whispered to Lux, her old friend "Thought he was on our side" She was darting glances at each of them sensing the tension in the air. You could pierce the atmosphere with the knives that the eye-patched rider owned. Asael turned around from where he had been observing the closest charred building and shot a steely glare at the scene.
-
((That's the idea, I just said I saw you reach for it and made assumptions, I have good vision remember))
"I did, yes," Kamren responded warily, "Took one of them out of the sky, but I'm pretty sure she got away. She seemed to like teal." He wanted to say more, but was hesitant, not knowing if this was a forsworn or not. He worried he had said too much already. The rider seemed to have left his weapon for now, but he presumably still had those knives from earlier. Kamren kept his bow in his hand, but lowered to his side.
-
"Teal. That's right, the elf said one had a teal dragon." Grigori thought. "So his story checks out.".
He cleared his throat.
"Looks to me like everyone's story fits. We should regroup with the others and plan our next move. The elders will want to hear about this too." Grigori said. He relaxed and brought his arms to his side. "These people need to get to the nearest city." Grigori explained, pointing at the crowd. "They're still angry about what the Foresworn did. I don't blame them: it was an unprovoked attack. They took the lives of innocent people and ruined the lives of many others."
-
Katya listened intensely to what the other rider had to say, she knew that his plan was right but felt there was something else that ought to be done first. In that moment it came to her mind. It was a small task but it was an important one. "Maybe we should tell each other our names first." Katya let out a little laugh "I've been calling everyone 'the other rider' in my head and it's frustrating. Introductions are in order. I'm Katya and this is Asael," with that she gestured to her scaly friend who was stood patiently behind her.
-
"Yes, pretty sure he's on our side." Lux whispered back to Katya. He the turned to address the group, "The dragon that we set on fire, the flame was supposed to be a warning shot. Guess my dragon has a better aim than I thought. Anyways, I'm Lux, and that's Myrsky." Lux said, motioning to the midnight blue dragon.
"So, I can help transport people to the nearest city if needed." he finished.
Guess I'm not done tonight
Nope, this should be it, I think. Watch for Oz though. She's about ready to kill us I'll bet.
Yeah, a little too much to the left on that one.
Sometimes your aim is a little too good.
-
"Grigori. Xel'lotath" the knife-throwing Rider explained, first pointing to himself, then to his preening dragon. His voice was direct: he was issuing commands and time was of the essence. "Our Dragons are tired from battle and extinguishing the flames. Best we tell nearby cities to send some ships. We can escort them. It will speed up the process and make everyone more comfortable."
"I've got a ship!" one crowd member called. The man stepped forward. He looked like a merchant from the way he dressed. "I use it to move spices and supplies, but there is plenty of room for people. I may need to do two trips though." he added. He looked a bit proud of himself: a hero selflessly volunteering to help out in a crisis.
"Your assistance is appreciated." Grigori told the man.
-
Well, looks like you may not have to play ferry after all.
Thank the gods for that.
"Thank you sir for allowing us to borrow your ship!" Lux yelled out, "It is very much appreciated!"
((Yeah, not much to say this time))
-
"Until the ships are ready for the convoy, we could try and round up some of those 'Forsworn'" Katya said, and waited for approval of her idea. When Asael heard Katya's plan, even though he knew what it would be, he lifted his neck which had previously been laid out on the floor. Finally receiving a moments 'peace' or rest, Katya found the time to loose her hair from the decorative accents that she had been wearing for the graduation party and fix it into her usual braid. The graduation party seemed as if it where eons ago.
-
"I don't think any of us can authorize that. We don't know their numbers or their strength. When they attacked, we defended. Going on the offensive isn't our mission." His voice falthered. He felt like he was shouting, like he was talking down to the girl even though her suggestion was sound. Xel'lotath looked at him uneasily. She knew he was feeling conflicted and walked closer to him. "Let's wait for the others before planning anything further..."
((I kind of don't want to move too far forward in time, so this next part will be up to Chloe_ to accept.))
The merchant signaled to the others to follow him with a hearty shout and a hand wave. The docks were close, and the ships were undamaged by the fires of the city. With the help of crew and citizens, they began clearing the ships for everyone to board.
-
((That's perfectly fine, I know what you mean about not wanting too be on, some people are ridiculously in active but I'm really excited about this and I keep having to stop myself from making it move too fast.))
-
What's our next plan of action, then? Trezarex rumbled to Stella as she paddled through the ocean, still wincing a little from her injured leg. She was drifting along the ocean nearest the cliffs, large head eyeing the sky for any Riders who may have followed them.
Not sure, but I definitely think it involves getting away from this island as quickly as we can, Stella replied, leaning over the side of her dragon to drag her fingers lazily through the ocean. She still felt a bit tired from her water spell, and was resting it off on her dragon's back, We're in the radar of those Riders for sure by now. She had to smirk a bit, Admittedly, we sort of placed ourselves there, but still. Time to go back to the shadows before striking once again.
What do you suggest?
You can fly okay, right?
The leg's still sore, but I can manage. Why?
I'm thinking perhaps we take a low altitude, head back to the mainland. Maybe we'll cross paths with one of our compadres.
I suppose I could swing that. To Teirm, maybe?
Sure. Stella shrugged and smiled a bit. Been a while since she was in her hometown. Only if you're feeling up for it, though.
Treza twisted her head over to blink at her Rider and grinned meanly, Don't worry. I'm feeling up for it.
Then with a loud rumble, the dragon extended her broad teal wings, catching the window and lifting herself out of the ocean. Stella gasped, holding on tight as Trezarex began to fly out over the sea, claws dragging through the water, she was flying so low.
To the mainland!
-
The citizens worked together to clear out the merchant's ship, in addition to two other ships that served a similar purpose (transporting trade goods). They gathered what they could from the rubble: money, belonging, anything that would help them in the next town over. Though the thought of a town coming together was sweet, not many faces were dry. Some cried for the lost businesses, others for the homes and everything they owned, and still more were grieving a far greater loss. The entire process was done mostly in silence, with only occasional murmurs.
With the citizens packed up, it was time to begin the travel.
"We'll organize escorts in the air. There are enough of us to take different watches: Two take point, three take rear, others fan out. We need to be vigilant. If you see a hostile, have your dragon roar or fire into the air." Grigori told the others, including unnamed NPCs that aided in fighting the fire.
-
"Got it." said Lux. "We'll take rear." he said, getting on Myrsky again.
If Oz kills us, you go first.
Don't worry, she's all bark and no bite.
If she does try to kill us, can I open fire?
That's likely a smart idea. Just be ready for anything.
Myrsky took off and hovered above the ship about 20 feet, waiting for the vessel to make its advance.
-
Katya decided that taking up the rear was her call, Asael would fly at a medium height behind the ship and watch for any trouble. That was most likely to come from the rogue forsworn. Seeing Myrsky take off signalled to her white dragon that it was time to get going. Asael let out a small howl. He was tired now and right too, the sun was about to start rising and no one had slept. He spread his wings and waited for Katya to climb his leg and strap herself into his leather saddle. When she was ready Asael took a step forward and propelled the two of them into the air and hovered above the ship, waiting for it to leave the dock.
_________________________________________________ _________________________________________
When Fyrn spotted Teirm they were still a long way off. He decided to let Osette sleep until she was required to wake up. In his mind she was always 'Osette' as Fyrn thought it was a beautiful name, he couldn't believe that she didn't like it.
The city was in pre-dawn darkness and he doubted that anyone with less keen eyes could see it.
When he did wake Oz up, he was almost touching the boat yard. He had whispered in her head Ozzie... Ozzie! Ozzie wake up! she had yawned at him and he was jealous of the rest she had got.
Are we there?
Yes. I'm tired though, do you mind if I sleep for a while so you can go in and find her?
Of course I don't mind. You need to sleep. I'll be okay.
Fyrn swam over to one of the boatyard walkways. Oz climbed off his back. The magic she had cast to numb his pain and to make him fast had worn off now.
See you later, fiery one. This was a name they shared for eachother, not at least because they were both attracted to fire, but because of Oz's fiery red hair.
Oz watched as Fyrn found a spot where he wouldn't be bothered by boats and slept on the water. Then she walked up to the edge of the city and into a labyrinth of houses and buildings.
She was looking for her family's healer who was named Monica. Her talents advanced of any ailment that her family had ever had and was definitely one of the best healers in the whole of Alagaesia. She was a distinctive woman with darker skin and discerning Hazel eyes. She wore many chains, shawls, beads and bandanas making her look like a walking haberdashery. Ever present on her person was a live snake. It twirled it's blue and yellow body around her forearm and was ridiculously tame. Oz didn't know if the snake might have been planning to act nicely and then strangle her. It's name was Eldridge and it seemed to be Monica's familiar of some sort.
After scouring the streets on the richer side of town for quite some time, she found a secluded alley that contained the glow from a door. Blowing out in the wind were archway beads in all shapes and sizes.
Oz pushed some of them out of the way and found herself entering the room.
"Osette?" said a straining voice. Her head whirled around to see Monica and the corner of the room, it had been a long time since Oz had seen her and had forgotten that she would age... Monica looked old.
Eldridge had also gotten older but he was bigger and stronger. He took up most of Monica's arm now. He seemed to nod in her direction weirdly but Oz suspected that this was just an animalish thing to do.
"It's Oz now. And I need your help.
Oz was not going to make polite conversation. She needed action to be taken.
Monica seemed to know exactly what Oz was referring to when she said 'I'
"I can see in your eyes that it is not you who is hurt. I take it something happened to your Dragon while you were being foolish and complacent. I know what you're like but something tells me you have changed a lot since last we met."
The woman was good at her job but she liked to talk. Without wasting her breath on words, Oz left the building and waited for Monica to follow her. She trusted that Monica knew exactly what was wrong. She was the sort of person who looked in to people's eyes and knew their life story.
She emerged a few minutes later and Oz wasted no time waiting for her, she walked back to the dock, constantly telling Fyrn that she was on her way back, telling him to be ready to be examined.
When they reached the boat yard Fyrn had his olive wing stretched onto one of the walkways and was flinching from the pain of the tear.
Monica walked up to it and brashly she picked the wing up, touched the tear and played about with it. Fyrn was wincing and Oz stroked his nose to calm him down a little. At some point the infernal snake had transferred itself to Oz's arm and it looked her in the eye but she batted it's head away.
She tore him off and dropped him on the floor.
"Yes." Monica said with finality "It's just as I thought, simple wing tear."
SIMPLE?! Fyrn shouted in Oz's mind, clearly outraged. THAT IS THE SINGLE MOST PAINFUL THING TO HAVE EVER HAPPENED TO ME.
Oz had to calm his sporadic behaviour and quietened him as Monica applied a herbal ointment and then muttered powerful healing words that Oz didn't know. Within seconds she had repaired his wing.
She quietly left saying that she would ask Oz's parents for payment.
Oz's parents. Oh god, what would they say if they knew she was a forsworn? Oz didn't think about it and just took Fyrn off to a place where they could sleep and stay hidden.
-
Naturally Kamren opted to fan out as instructions were dealt out, wanting the freedom to move out of the way as well as to be alone. Though he was frustrated not to have had more to say about the plans, he couldn't fault them. Others having good plans was not something he had really expected, he thought he would be in charge, and was growing irritated at having nothing to add. It faintly amused him that nobody had even bothered waiting for him to introduce himself. He immediately began looking for the forsworn who had been allowed to escape. Surely one or other had to be around.
-
The sun was starting to rise.
Well, no sleep tonight. Lux rolled his eyes. Even worse, our camouflage will be gone. We'll stick out like the burning city at night. Making it easier for..... Oz to strangle me while Fyrn sets fire to your wings. You know what they say.... Hindsight is 20-20.
They both started laughing. Lux looked down. Myrsky swooped down. The rider heard the sea. Calm, good for traveling. No clouds were in the sky. This voyage should be smooth sailing. "Hey! Lux yelled, Seas are calm! Traveling should be easier!"
-
"Excellent. We should make the trip in good time." Grigori called back. He climbed up onto Xel'lotath's back. She crouched down, then shot up into the air at the same level as the others.
"Xel'lotath is itching for flight, so I'll patrol. Remember the signal if you see a hostile: fire into the air or roar." he reminded the others. The others got into position in the air around the two ships transporting the civilians. Grigori let out a whistle and the ships called back with a loud bell. With that, they set off towards the closest city.
((Small time skip.))
After some time, the ship and the flyers were at the halfway mark. The wind was favorable and the sea calm: great weather for travel by water or air.
-
A little after the halfway mark, things got ominously quiet. The sea seemed not to move much at all and the wind grew thin, not affecting their flight in any way. All was silent on the ship and the crew moved around in harmony. There were only solitary seagulls and all that could really be heard was the soft beating of Dragon wings.
I would have thought that a convoy like this would grab attention but apparently none of the forsworn are bothered. Asael mused.
If anyone has followed then they have done a good job of hiding themselves. They would have to be in the clouds somewhere.
There aren't many clouds, we'd have seen them by now.
True. I guess the convoy is alone.
The pair went back to silence. The voyage moved on.
-
At the halfway mark, everything was quiet. Too quiet. "You know, to be perfectly honest, I thought something would've attacked us by now," Lux said. "Guess we're safe."
Thanks for the jinx.
No problem, glad I could help.
I'm surprised Ozzie hasn't found us yet.
I'm just relieved.
Why, afraid of death?
Hey, you're stronger than me.
At least you admit it.
The pair flew on in silence.
-
"Don't jynx it." Grigori called to Lux. He spoke half jokingly, half with seriousness. An attack was expected, but both sides seemed to be trying to take time to heal.
The other dragons must be getting tired. We should rest when we get to safety. A tired body can't put up a fight. Xel'lotath mused. Grigori nodded in agreement. Then you can clean me of all this nasty soot. I want my scales to sparkle.
Why do you think they attacked? Xel'lotath asked after a brief silence.
"I don't know. It couldn't be a random act: they targeted Doru Areabia for a reason. Maybe to show us they aren't just rebellious."
Doru Areaba, not 'Areabia'.
"It's nothing now: just burnt wood, stone, and corpses…We couldn't rescue them all… Couldn't save the city."
-
The flight back to the mainland was a rather lagging, uneventful one. Trezarex kept close to the water for the most part, occasional dropping into the ocean when her burned leg started to agitate her enough. Stella vigilantly looked about on from her back for any surprise attackers, keen eyes always watching.
Looks like the goody-goods have issues other than going after us, eh? The Rider thought to her scaly companion after once again drifting her eyes across the oceanic horizon, spying nothing suspicious.
Well, they probably sustained injuries of their own. Perhaps they are laying low just as we are, Treza rationalized in response, tilting her large head back a little to blink at Stella.
Mmm, Stella nodded, shifting so she was lying on the dragon's back, How much longer do you reckon until we start to see the boatyard?
Only about an hour more, I think. We're making pretty good time.
Good, She turned, doing another glance around. She had no idea what had happened to he Riders she'd had chasing after her or the one with the Midnight blue dragon who'd taken an arrow for her, but she did hope they weren't anywhere remotely nearby. Her next assault needed more time.
She rested her head on Trezarex's cool scales, staring up at the sky.
-
"Got it chief." Lux said. He heard a noise and turned his head. There was only a few seagulls and the sounds of the ocean.
Weird. Thought I heard something.
You're just sleep deprived.
I'd love sleep, but I have a mission to do.
So you're not going to leave me alone with these cretins?
Hell no, something fun may happen.
Like the archer aiming at you again?
Exactly. Plus, I may fall into the ocean in my sleep. I'd look like a fool.
Ozzie.
Her too. Unlike her, the ocean is merciful.
Myrsky laughs into Lux's mind. I'm awake now.
((Nothing is really happening, let's time skip))
The seas were calm after some time. The boatyard in Teirm was approaching on the horizon. "Hey, we're almost there!" Lux yelled.
-
"Hey, we're almost there!" Katya hears Lux shout.
"Finally!" She replied with a sigh of relief. "We'll be able to get some rest soon enough then? What do you say guys?
Asael's eyes widen a little, he's ready to stop flying. He's ready to rest.
_________________________________________________ _________________________________________
When Oz woke up, Fyrn was already awake but had been waiting, still and silent for her to wake up too.
Good morning sleepy head. Judging by the Sun it's about 11am ((We'll say it's about 11am as it was early morning and the sun was about to begin rising. Considering it is midsummer, somewhere in June the Sun would start rising really early. I'm gonna say at about half 4)). We slept for about 7 hours and I'm ready to go and do something. Preferably eat.
Well let's go and hunt then.[/i]
Oz shook her head and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She temporarily fixed her hair into a tight bun. She would wash herself while Fyrn hunted.
She walked out of the crevice/cave where they had slept and towards the sea. It wasn't all that far away. Fyrn followed her out. See you later, my friend. he said and with that he took off to find them some food.
Oz removed her clothes whilst at the edge of the sea and quickly ran into the sea so that no one would see her bare skin. She wet her hair and unknotted it from the updo in the water. It was getting long and as usual, it was unkempt. It was a lovely day for sailing. She scrubbed her arms legs and face and then walked back out of the water and dressed quickly. She didn't put her hair into her usual updo because it was still wet. She was just putting her shoes back on when she saw some blotches on the horizon that turned into Dragons before too long. They were guarding a convoy of ships. The faithful riders then, she assumed.
Meanwhile, Fyrn had flown to the nearest forest and had caught multiple deer, boar and goat. He had eaten a lot of meat and was ready for a day. He swooped and collected one last deer by it's neck for Osette to eat when she spoke into his mind. There's a convoy of riders coming towards Teirm. We need to get to a place where we can observe from a distance. I'll meet you at the edge of the woods. Lie low so they won't spot you, you're easily recognised.
Fyrn landed, deer in mouth and walked back to the edge of the woods to see Osette, hair still wet, watching the riders in the distance. He poked her arm with his snout. She turned around and he dropped the deer at her feet. Thank you. She took out one of her throwing knives and cut a massive chunk out of it and cooked it with a simple spell, "igni coquere" - cook with fire - and then she ate the meat.
The riders on the horizon gradually became bigger.
-
"Rest sounds lovely, but I'm not planning on rest until this mess is resolved." Lux said.
Well then have fun staying up.
Would you want to look weak?
Not in particu- uh.... Lux....
You were sayi-
Lux looks to see a dragon, and a fellow Forsworn, Oz. ((Only using Ozzie in conversations between Lux and his dragon, and when Lux wans to annoy Oz))
That's what I was saying.
Damn.
"Dragon on the horizon! Possibly dangerous! Could be forsworn! Stay on guard!" Lux yelled.
I feel like i'm going to drop out of the sky.
Just a little further, then you sleep as long as possible.
Finally, something we agree on.
Lux yawned softly. Of course he would be tired, he hadn't slept in over 30 hours. Lux's senses, while dulled considerably, were still sharp and he drew his sword and almost cut one of Myrsky's wings.
Hey! I only have two of those!
Be ready in case evasive maneuvers must be taken.
Got it.
Myrsky flew a bit lower to try to stick to the shadows. A fish jumped up and Lux speared it. He held up his sword and Myrsky blew hot air near the fish, roasting it. Lux took a bite.
Breakfast is served
Meh, i'll just hunt soon.
-
Grigori heard Lux's call.
"Good eye." Grigori called back. He pressed against Xel'lotath with his feet to signal to fly a bit higher.
Think it's a Foresworn? she asked. Her voice sounded tired. The two longed sleep, but the mission at hand was of utmost importance.
"If it *is* a Foresworn, I wonder how they got ahead of us without us seeing. Left the battle early?" Grigori mused. He felt sleep clawing at him. His eyes were drooping. He dealt with sleep deprivation before. He needed a pick-me-up, but such things were limited at the moment.
From his belt, he took a single throwing knife. His hand began trembling and his heart raced a bit. Fear and anticipation: his body was readying itself for what came next.
He made a quick horizontal cut on his upper forearm, wincing as the small blade cut his skin. The wound wasn't deep, but it hurt. And the pain shook him awake.
Gross. Try not to bleed on me sweetie. Xel'lotath chimed.
The docks were visible, and the figures of people on the horizon were starting to come into focus.
"Press on. Don't drop your guard!" Grigori called out. He knew very well others were tired, sleepy, maybe even irritated that someone only a year or two their elder and of similar rank was taking command. He'd give them a quick pep talk when they landed. Praise and thanks. A metaphorical pat on the back. Then sleep.
-
Lux watched Grigori slice himself in an effort to stay awake. "Hey. If it helps you stay awake, still not your smartest idea." Lux said. "We'll go out in front to eliminate any potential threats."
The docks were only about 20 yards away, so Myrsky swerved out in front and started to land. People scattered to make way for a landing site. Lux's dragon landed carefully, only causing minor damage to surrounding buildings.
You know we're going to have to pay for that.
Correction, you are going to have to pay for it.
Sometimes I wish I was a dragon.
Well it ain't a bed of roses.
Every rose has its thorn. And you my scaly friend can be a pretty big thorn.
This thorn could throw you in the sea right now.
I'm good, let's just finish the mission.
"All clear! We can dock here!" Lux yelled, jumping off Mrysky.
-
The other riders had seen a Dragon, Katya whipped her head to where they were pointing but only managed to see the end of a Dragon tail disappear into the trees. No one could see the Dragon or it's rider. They ought to be on their guard. Katya took her bow from her back. Then she pulled an arrow from her quiver and fitted it to her bow. Asael moved steadily so that Katya could move without having to hold on to him.
Grigori nicked some blood from his arm to keep himself awake. She felt a little sick, seeing someone take blood from their own body always made Katya feel awful inside.
After that, Katya's eyes stayed on the spot where the other Dragon had disappeared and the surrounding woods, even when the convoy began docking and Asael landed on the shore. He folded his wings but Katya didn't climb off his back. She sat as Asael paced the edge of the sea, looking intently at the woods. She saw no sign of movement.
_________________________________________________ _______________________________________
As the shapes of the Dragons got bigger, Oz recognised some of them. She saw the white Dragon whom she had made the acquaintance of and the red one too. Then she saw him. The elephant in the room - as far as Oz was concerned - for both sides. He had pretended to be a faithful rider and in doing so, had injured those on his own side, Fyrn. Anger boiled inside her to the point where she would have foolishly attacked him right then. She didn't of course but Fyrn still had to tell her to calm down.
When they came even closer, Oz noticed that the riders in the convoy had turned their heads towards the woods. One of them must have seen Fyrn at some point. He had noticed too.
We need to hide! They'll find us.
I'm pretty sure that if we don't move, they will look for you in the same place that they saw you or they will ignore us.
She doubted her words that very moment though. The convoy had landed and the white Dragon was pacing the beach looking at the woods. It was a good job Fyrn blended in with the woods, he was also small, there wasn't much, if any chance of hist head, tail or wings poking out from the top of the woods, he was hidden. For Oz it wasn't so easy, she had red hair and a skin colour that stood out against the trees, but she was a couple of rows back in the trees and she was only looking occasionally, moving slowly so as not to attract attention.
If we move now we'll only let them know we've hung about to see the show. We only move if they begin to pose a threat.
Okay. Okay.
-
Lux looks out of the corner of his eye to see Oz. He turned his head and she was gone.
Strange, I thought I saw Ozzie.
She's likely there, you should probably drop a note nearby to explain yourself.
I'm likely just sleep deprived.
Most likely.
Lux walked to the sea's edge and splashed some of the cold water onto his face in an effort to stay awake.
It was either that or cut myself open.
Meh. Makes on difference to me.
My my. Don't you care?
Either way, our buddy Ozzie likely saw us.
That's likely. If looks could kill, we'd be at our funerals now.
Next time, should I burn them even more?
Myrsky! We have standards! That was an accident. But yes, burn them more.
I was joking....
-
As soon as the harbor of Teirm was visible, Trezarex was quick to turn her large head and chortle at Stella. Welcome home, mm? The Forsworn sat up and stretched on the dragon's back, returning the sentiment with a half-smile.
Well, it's only fair. Been a while since I saw the old stomping grounds, you know, She replied. Trezarex snorted, before turning back to eye the approaching seaside town. As she did, her eyes widened, and she jerked violently in air, nearly sending Stella tumbling off. She gasped. "OoOF! What are you doing?!"
Riders! Trezarex replied, hovering nervously in air and craned her neck out. Stella shifted, peered out over her scaly neck to see the beach. Sure enough she could see a collection of the massive beasts, a glimpse of white, dark red, midnight blue. Her eyes widened.
"The ones from earlier!" She spat aloud, "They were coming here too?! Never mind that, how did they beat us here?!" She stared incredulous. She was certain her and Trezarex had departed at a reasonable time, long ahead of those goody good Riders. But no, there they were, on the beach, staring out at the woods. Too close.
Forget them beating us here, the matter is they can't spot us, Trezarex reminded her. The dragon's jaw was half agape, breathing heavily. She was not a petite creature, and a monstrosity of her stature could be spotted quickly if action wasn't taken. Treza looked down at the sea practically grazing her claws. ....I have an idea. Hang on to me, and hold your breath.
What?! Stella thought back, but had no moment to get anything else out as the teal dragon spun in air and dove into the ocean, sending up a large rippling wave. The Forsworn almost screamed in surprise, but instead focused on clamping her jaw shut and holding her breath as much as she could. The salt of the ocean stung at her eyes as she closed them tightly, Trezarex propelling her large body through the ocean as quickly as she could.
A few seconds later, or what felt to Stella like nearly hours, Treza resurfaced, breaching her neck and head from the water with a very wet Rider on her back. She was now closer to the shore, but further from the good Riders they had seen on the other section of beach. She glanced back at Stella, I apologize. I needed to get us out of there.
I know, I know, Stella wheezed in her mind, holding tight to her dragon and coughing, Further warning would have been appreciated, though. She laughed a little bitterly, and reached to comb out her now sopping hair.
-
((Just a heads up, Blaze, Oz isn't planning to harm Lux proper;y because they're on the same side, it'll be more of a talking to with mild knife violence. She ain't gonna burn you to a crisp, she's a little more intelligent than that.))
Katya looked at Lux and knew that he had seen something, she had seen it too. A flash of orange hair disappearing behind a tree. If that was the rider that the others had seen earlier, she wouldn't risk them seeing her again. Katya wanted to go and catch her out but had no idea how. She knew that the rider's Dragon would be right there with her and would see Katya before she had a chance to do anything. Should they just ignore the rider?
What do you propose we do?
As far as we know, there is only that rider and her Dragon about. She could do sufficient damage to us but not without risking her health as we are in a great number. I think we should just ignore her.
You're right. Plus we have more important things to do. Like raise awareness of the forsworn throughout Alagaesia. And sleep.
Do you know, I hadn't thought about that (!) I'd be lost without you.
Katya climbed off of Asael's back and walked down the beach to where Grigori was.
"Can we rest now? Asael is exhausted and I'm pretty done myself." She said to him.
_________________________________________________ _______________________________________
Oz poked her head around the tree, annoyingly, a couple of strands of her hair followed her head. She looked at the riders gathering on the beach. Lux was among them, that anger she had been feeding on bubbled again. And then they made eye contact. He looked tired and confused. Evidently, no one else had gotten any sleep since before the attack on Doru Areaba... except herself and Fyrn of course.
Her head darted back behind the cover of the tree she was perched against. She needed to get moving somewhere before they got to her. She had to do it with stealth.
Behind the collected riders Oz saw the other forsworn from the chase last night, the one with the teal Dragon. It dived into the water unnoticed and Oz didn't see it again.
I have a plan. Since you're camouflaged here, go to a spot in the woods some distance from here and drum up a commotion. Then meet me further down the edge of the woods where we'll be unnoticed. I'll climb this tree, she gestured to the one she was hiding behind the branches are dense enough for me to get from one tree to another without many problems.See you later. Fyrn didn't argue with Oz's plan, he knew it was their best chance of getting out of the deep trouble they were in. He walked deeper into the woods, towards the place where he had been seen by the riders before.
Oz took hold of a notch in the bark of the tree, and then another, planting her feet on the ones she had grabbed before. eventually she made it to the lowest branches that were connecting the different trees, she walked along a thick branch until it met with one from the next tree. She was travelling due north in the direction of their agreed meeting place.
Oz didn't look towards the beach once, she knew that Lux couldn't see her, the leaves were too thick.
-
((I know. My character doesn't though.))
"I don't think he'd object, we can take things from here." Lux said, responding to Katya's question.
Keep on guard. Ozzie is likely there.
I told you it was a hallucination.
You could be wrong.
No one's there.
Just stay alert. I have a strange feeling.
Yeah, it's called needing rest. I have it too.
Lux shook himself awake and continued to guide people off the ship and onto the beach.
-
"Can we rest now? Asael is exhausted and I'm pretty done myself." Katya asked him. She and her dragon both looked completely beat. Everyone did: they had quite a day.
"Yes. That would be wise. We should tell the citizens here what happened. Above all, we must emphasize that the Dragon Riders aren't the ones attacking: it is the work of a rogue group that we're trying to stop." Grigori's voice was raspy from calling out to the other Dragon Riders and those on the boats.
-
"Alright, everyone off the ship! One at a time, no more panic!" Lux said, as the people filed off the ships and onto the beach. He looked around, everyone looked completely exhausted, even the one barking orders at everyone. Myrsky yawned into Lux's mind.
I'm awake now...
I can't wait for sleep.
You think you're the only one?
No, but still, 30 hours will take a lot out of a dragon.
Imagine how bad it would be for me.
No, I'd rather not.
Lux got the last of the people off the ship and onto the beach. He walked over to Grigori and said, "Take it away, chief."
-
Grigori climbed up on top of a crate and cleared his voice. He let out a whistle to draw attention his way and began speaking. "These newcomers come from Doru Areaba. They were attacked by a rogue group of Riders. Rest assured, the Dragon Riders will uphold our duty to protect this city. The newcomers have skills that will help this city flourish."
With the message relayed, Grigori stepped down.
"Time to rest. We have a lot to do."
EDIT: Had in quote box. ShinyBlaziken informed me of such. Thus, quote box removed.
-
((Um... you quoted that. Intended or accident?))
The riders, eh? Guess we don't have to help them.
Why don't you go find out what was in the forest? I'll circle the skies so if trouble comes, I can set it ablaze.
Not like I have anything else to do. Don't circle, if Fyrn is around, he'd likely slaughter you.
Lux decided to see if his suspicions were correct. He walked to the forest and looked around. Myrsky stayed on the beach. No one.
Nothing. I figure that after getting burnt, they visited a healer here and now she needs money. May as well pay for it. Going into the belly of the beast.
Got it, just be ready.
With his sword, Lux cut away at low branches and plants in his way. The "rider" couldn't stand them for an odd reason. It didn't take long to find Fryn, who was obviously distracted.
You were right, they're here.
Just leave the money and don't die.
From saving a few places, eventually, people will pay you a bit for saving them. So Lux has a modest stockpile, but just enough to maybe pay for a professional healer's fee for minor injuries, like Fyrn's wing. Lux hoped that this would at least help his image, and that Fyrn wouldn't notice. The fake rider timed it carefully and then dashed forward, out of the bushes near Fyrn's back. Lux left a small pouch about 15 feet from Fyrn's right flank. The dragon seemed to turn his head, his tail swept towards Lux's head. Lux was clocked with a haymaker but kept going, despite the pain. He stumbled out of the forest and knelt down from the pain.
Damn Fyrn, my head is spinning from his tail.
I warned you.
Just another battle scar.
-
((wait, wait... at the end of there are you controlling Fyrn?))
When Fyrn hit Lux in the head, it was an accident. He wasn't put off by the fact that he'd done it because it was something Lux deserved. Fyrn was put off by the fact that Lux had come to look for him. What a fool.
Oz, Lux found me in the forest, I accidentally hit him in the head with my tail though, what do you want to do? Should we scarper?
No, Fyrn. You come along to the meeting place. I'll sort Lux out.
Be careful.
Oz climbed down from the tree in the meeting place and crept out of the edges of the woods. She could see Lux down the beach a little, Myrsky was not far off but Oz knew that he would not interfere because Fyrn wasn't with her, sparring etiquette stated that it must always be fair in numbers. She crept along the edge of the trees and when she reached Lux she pulled him up from where he knelt and backed him against a tree. She took out one of her knives and attached Lux to the tree by his collar.
"You utter fool of a rider! You - you pretended to be one of them and get information and I trusted your judgement but all you could do to repay me was injure my companion? My only friend! That injury needed professional care. Professional care which my parents are paying for. Another toe out of line and I WILL take this further. You understand?" She hissed into his ear. Oz could tell he was in pain but she didn't care. She took the other knife out of her belt and stretched Lux's arm out to his right. She carved a word onto his forearm, a single word. Only a light cut, a cut that would scar. The word: traitor. Oz pulled both of her knives from where they were, his arm and his collar, put on of them in her belt and pointed the other at his neck. "You've been warned." She said in a low tone, glaring at him. Then she took off into the woods.
_________________________________________________ _______________________________________
Katya and Asael had settled down along the city limit wall, Katya underneath Asael's wing. She was oblivious to Lux's situation. She slept deeply. So did Asael.
-
((My apologies. I said he may've saw Lux. The tail flick must've been a reflex. I see where you would've thought that. My bad. Wasn't trying to control Ozzie's dragon. Didn't want to g-mod by making it too easy, and I ended up g-modding. *Facepalm* Knife violence it is.))
Lux tries to gather his thoughts, but is pulled aside by Oz.
Next time, i'm aiming for the head.
Damn right you are.
"It was meant to be a warning shot, wasn't aiming for the wing. If you need money, there's a pouch of money in the woods. There should be enough, choice whether you get it or not is yours." Lux tried to quickly explain. Oz wouldn't have any of it, she carved a word traitor into his arm and said more death threats, then quickly retreated.
No matter what I do, i'm hated.
Don't look now, but there goes another.
A hooded man steps out and whispers into Lux's ear, "You've been warned. One more step, and you will be terminated." Then the man made a quick slice up Lux's arm, who slammed his shield, which was on his other arm, into the man's head, knocking him unconscious. Lux's arm was bleeding slightly, he clutched it in pain.
Guess this is what I deserve.
-
Kamren had wanted to be doing something more, but was torn between that and a desperate need for rest. He hadn't even noticed the rider that the others appeared to have seen-that was a fair indication of his exhaustion in itself. He decided to find somewhere to sleep, though he was uneasy at the enemy in all likelihood being right outside the gates. He and Leigarth left the group, deciding to sleep under a tree near the road entering the city. With any luck, one or other of them would be awoken if any trouble began.
-
Lux's arm was still cut and slightly bleeding from the hooded guy. He looked around, trying to find a solution to this.
The forsworn are good company.
Sarcasm is fun, isn't it?
Quite.
Lux walked over to a bag that he had on Myrsky ((like a saddlebag, in case you were lost)). The rider took one of his spare shirts and ripped it up in effort to stop the bleeding.
Times like this I wish that I could blow my cover and destroy all of them, forsworn, rider, or civilian.
That's a bit much...
I know. Anyways, forget about sleep I guess.
You gonna keep watch?
You're the stronger of the two, you should rest and, yes, I will keep watch.
Thanks.....
Lux's dragon fell asleep in an upright position, and Lux climbed on top, keeping his gaze out to the sea, and trying to stop the bleeding on his arm.
-
Though he wasn't much fond of sand or beaches, Grigori found a quiet area near the shore where he could get some rest. He also wasn't fond of naps, but sleeping for an hour or so would do his body good.
Grigori lay on the sandy beach, using his coat as a headrest. His arm had a simple bandage wrapped around it to prevent infection of the knife wound he caused. Sleep came quickly, but he didn't sleep soundly. Xel'lotath stretched out in the early daytime sun, warming up her body after having flown in cold air and over the cool waters. Her head rested on top of her Rider, contrary to what logic might suggest the sleep arrangement should be.
-
Lux eventually stopped the bleeding in cleaned the knife wound the best he could.
Well, now I know, when something goes wrong and injures another, never apologize. Or you'll be branded a traitor. Then again I am. Kinda wish I wasn't, i'm turning into these soft-hearted fools. Just remember what the riders did.
He remembers his past. Lux's parents were a part of a farming class. They weren't rich, but not even close to poor either. Then they came. 2 dragons were on the horizon. They landed. One of the people on one of the dragons said, "You two are charged with murder, and high treason." Lux's parents were innocent of all of it, they were framed. No matter what they said, the riders wouldn't have any of it. The two were herded away, and then the riders took Lux as well. His parents were killed unfairly, then, months later, a dragon landed on the edge of a city, a person ordered Lux off. He got off and the dragon and rider flew off. No help. No advice. Nothing. Lux was just dumped on the side of the road, no money, no one he knew, he wad nothing. His life was taken away from him for no valid reason.
Then later on, Lux joined the forsworn. After a huge misunderstanding, death threats were sent his way. No one seemed to like him, his side or not. "I guess it's true what they say, trust no one." Lux said at last with a sigh. He was looking out into the ocean, not even trying to sleep.