fire-forged and dragon made [open!]

[Bree]

Fifteen years as a dragoness had made her out of practice with being anything else. Yet she was dar'i Ka'de'yur'a Qe'av'i, the Blood Queen, if nothing else. She would not allow this odd feeling of being in a different form affect her duties. She had to revive the Blood Maidens, perhaps even cross the new ladies over in the ancient ritual. She had the power to do so, as a primal and elemental magic wielder, and the authority, as Queen of all Blood Elves. Then again, that would make her ladies harder to kill, and she didn't want them getting any ideas about treason.

Treason was what killed her mother. She wouldn't make her mistakes.

Heading into Ketra wouldn't be easy. She was gargantuan and clearly not human-- she doubted the guards would recognize more than that she was Elf-born, and that only because of her ears. Her tattoos marked her as royalty, and her bright, blood red hair signified her race. No other Elf race had quite the same shade, not naturally. Not to mention the images woven into the tattoos on her stomach-- drops of blood falling from a dragon. Dragons were always closely related to her kind, given that they could all shift into that form and often chose dragons as companions.

Nearly all of her tattoos were visible, given her garment, which again marked her as royalty to any who knew of the ancient Blood customs. Few alive would. Though she had not been the last of her kind until fifteen years ago, Blood Elves had always been secretive and had taken few outsiders under their wings. Her gown was transparent and thin, filmy in most places and form fitting everywhere, letting her tattoos show quite well. Such was the gown of the Blood Queen, passed down from mother to daughter. Eventually, it would pass to Kassir'a's daughter.

There was no Blood King, no male Blood Elves at all. Her people were monogendered and could reproduce with any species or gender to produce an heiress. Complicated biology, much? But Kassir'a wasn't ready for a daughter just yet. Perhaps in a few hundred years. Her current goal? Get into Ketra and establish herself. Perhaps wed into nobility, or become a Peach. Anything to begin the rise of the Maidens, even marriage, which was a foreign concept to her people. Well, when it was to outsiders, anyways. Finally, the gate was close. Very close. The guards would need to be persuaded to let her through, but that shouldn't prove too difficult.

They were men, after all.

[Moody Blues]

"I found another..."

A dour voice resonated from below. The image of the earth had begun to shiver, a smooth, stark figure congealing in the wake of dust and dirt. From the core of its form it had produced two silk bundles of varying size and shape, both of which were matted with blood. Fashioning for itself a set of crude limbs, it placed the horrid package into the awaiting hands of a young man. Unsmiling, his eyes carefully combed over every nook and cranny, his fingers pressing deep into the folds of the fabric, touching upon what lay beneath. What he had in his hands were the remains of a dog. Its body was emancipated, the head severed and buried a small distance away from the body. The blood had coagulated, had already begun to lose it's glossy red hue and turn a sickening gray. Everything from the killing to the burial had to be done within the span of a few days, but this dog had been starved and deprived of water for weeks on end before it was finally given it's grim reprieve. It was the same as all the others the two had come across along the way. "I see." he softly spoke, returning the remains to the featureless being before him. "Bury them properly. I'll go ahead." The bloodied bundles melded into the figure. Just as it had congealed, it dissolved, melting into the very land that allowed it to manifest.

"Be careful..."

Cloaked in his overcoat, ignorant of the sneering echoes of the world surrounding and the waning moonlight midst the clouds, he allowed himself to seep beyond the heavy mists hugging the night air, to explore further beyond. Silence loomed over him since the start of his quest, but every once in a while, he was greeted with sound of foliage crunching under sole. In time, he found himself at the foot of Ketra where he found a young woman, scantily clad, and of exceptional height, making her way towards a group of guards who stood in front of the closed gate. Glancing towards her for but a brief moment. He rushed forward to meet the gatekeepers himself.  Watching him spring into action was cringe worthy at best. However, he had seen such scenes play out many times throughout his travels. A young woman uses her natural allure and wiles to gain entry into town at nightfall. Even if he didn't know this person, and felt uncomfortable behaving in such a forward fashion, he wouldn't stand idle as someone degraded  themselves in such a crude fashion.

"Good evening, gentleman. Could I trouble you for safe passage beyond the gate? The lady and I are both travelers in need of refuge."

[Bree]

A man appeared, coming to the rescue like some sort of knight. Relieved she wouldn't have to do something unseemly, she offered the guards a smile and drew alongside her helper. The surly males at the gate gave her the once over, typical, and then they nodded and opened the gate, grinning at her. She barely leashed the urge to flip them off as she glided through the gates, turning to face the male once they were both through. "Thank you, for that." Her mismatched eyes gleamed with gratitude, full lips curving in a small smile. "I hate doing that." Of course, he knew exactly what she was referring to--he wouldn't have intervened had he not known what she was about to do. "May I know the name of my rescuer?"