Seh'lvah had spent ages talking to Veraxitoc about the issues of modern dragons, and how they were bitter between species because of the Dragon Rider Wars. He had lived through it apparently. And he had only just woken up! He was scarily old. And he didn't think like most dragons from then did. He was different. Like her, he wanted peace, and equality.
So between them, they had agreed to try and start a colony. The Colony. The Colony, the group they hoped all dragons would come to live under one day. To make their lives better, not worse. To improve the fragile relationship with the Human Nations, who thought they were monsters.
She had found this beautiful valley in the Terrin Mountains, with caves and grass, and livestock, and everything. A perfect place for dragons. They could live peacefully. It would be nice when it was up and going. Dragons could socialise here, and talk, and be friendly. Hell, maybe the boy of her dreams would meet her here. Give her a first kiss under the moonlit valley. Mate in the cool shade of the caves. Settle down with kids. She would never need to go back to her own colony.
In absent daydream she sat, kissing the air, her eyes shut, whispering things in dragon whispers. Of course anyone who walked by would hear her. But she didn't know the daydream was putting her in that position, she was just there, in her personal heaven.
Shamgar flew along on his weary, feathered wings. Having been flying for the majority of the day, he felt the need to stop and rest. As the weary gryphon flew, he saw a clearing, a green valley, full of caves. Hoping that they weren't occupied, he landed outside one of the caves.
Before he could step inside, something came drifting into his sensitive ears. Intrigued, he followed the sounds for a solid few minutes, eventually coming upon a female dragon, who seemed to be off in her own world. Having heard stories of these creatures, Shamgar, having hid behind a boulder, tried slipping away, but the poor gryphon's paw got caught, and he fell to the ground, his ankle twisting with a horrid popping noise.
He couldn't help but screech in pain.
The screech broke her daydream, and she scanned the area. From behind a nearby boulder, giant grey wings were visible. She got up to investigate, not knowing that the other creature was injured, she stretched her legs before trudging over to the creature.
When she was in loud speaking distance, she began her little rant.
"You know, it's rude to spy on people, and to wake them up mid dream. And it is creepy to watch people while they sleep. Cause by that I would guess you were some pervert who got a kick from watching sleeping dragons!" Her voice was raised so that any other dodgy figures heard her too. "I eat perverts."
Shamgar's mind was in a frenzy. First, he had an injured leg, and second, he had an angry dragon threatening to eat him; this wasn't a good day. He wanted to look up and meet the dragon's eyes, to apologize, and say it was a misunderstanding, but he couldn't. He was in too much pain, and too ashamed to even look at the dragon who was yelling at him; he started crying. He just buried his head under his talons and started sobbing, partly from the pain, but mostly from is dragon who was scowling him.
"I-Im s-s-sorry....." were the only two words he could say through his sobbing.
Was this gryphon seriously crying?! Seh'lvah couldn't bear seeing others crying. It made her cry.
"No... No... D-d-don't cry! P-p-please don't cry! I-I-I-I didn't mean to! I'm sorry..." He walked over to him tears welling in her eyes, and she made a final beg before guilt overcame her. "P-please?"
Then she broke, and began to cry herself. She buried her face under her paws. She felt guilty, cause this gryphon was crying cause she had been grumpy...
Shamgar was upset, and afraid. He peered out from under his talons when he heard the dragon say she was sorry, begging him to stop crying, but he couldn't control himself. He just kept crying. Although, he wasn't as much afraid of this dragon in front of him anymore as he was other dragons who might not be as kind.
Then there was his leg, which, in getting caught in a small crevice, had caused the whole incident. He blamed himself for getting into this mess, and, as upset as he was, tried getting his leg out, which lead to not only intense pain shooting up his leg, but also another loud screech. He then just gave up, he was hopeless...
She stopped crying when he screeched in pain. His leg was caught.
She looked at the crevice, and then thought of what to try. "This is gonna be REALLY gross, but it may work." And with that, she summoned a load of saliva, and dripped it into the crevice, and helped him with his paw, but it didn't look like it worked.
Now he had a drool covered paw that was caught...
While his leg was still stuck, the saliva, however gross he thought it felt, did help relieve some pain. Eewwww.... Well, at least it doesn't hurt as bad. he mused, reflecting on his peculiar situation.
Seeing on how just pushing himself up wouldn't get his leg unstuck, he had an idea.....
Flapping his feathery wings, he tried taking off. I sure hope this works....
He clenched his beak shut as pain rippled up and down his leg, tears starting to well in his eyes. After a few tries, his leg came free with another, sinister CRACK!
This lead to an even louder screech. His leg was broken. Free, but broken.
Oh god! She could tell his leg was broken, and she had no idea what to do. That was when Veraxitoc arrived.
A pure stroke of luck and good fortune. He surely knew how to do broken bones. Surely.
-------
Veraxitoc glided to the valley with an unusual grace. The gryphon was screaming but he could wait.
"What have you done little Gryphon? Seh'lvah." He nodded to Seh'lvah.
Shamgar was in pain, and both dragons could see it on his face. When he finally stopped screeching, he tried to stand, but couldn't balance on three legs, so he he just layed on the ground.
While he wasn't screeching, he was still in a lot of pain, and couldn't really bring himself to speak. So, using his talons, he scratched his name into the dirt, and had an arrow pointing towards himself. Hopefully, the dragons would know what he meant.
Veraxitoc looked at both of them, Shamgar and Seh'lvah. They both had fresh tears on their face. If they started crying again he was doomed. He couldn't stand crying. He hated it. Two of them would be hell. Hell so bad he might actually strangle one of them. Probably Seh'lvah.
"Ah, a break. Shamgar, this will hurt, but it is the only piece of healing magic I know." Delicately, trying to cause as little pain as possible, he pressed on the break, lining it up. That would be the painless part. The healing would hurt more.
He spoke the incantation and breathed on where the break was.
Shamgar cringed while Veraxitoc worked his magic. It hurt, but at the same time, it was relief. After the dragon had finished, he stood ever so carefully, nervous that his leg would give.
Walking around a little bit, he decided it might be a good idea to explain to the elder dragon what had happened. Nervous as he was, he started telling in detail what had taken place, from him just landing at one of the caves, to his leg getting caught in the crevice.
Seh'lvah was outraged. "So you WERE watching me sleep! Are you some sort of weird person with a dragon fetish?!" She blushed at the explanation Shamgar had given. She hadn't fantasised. He had interrupted her before she had started fantasising...
Veraxitoc meanwhile had actually tuned out, and turned when Seh'lvah begn accusing the Gryphon of things. He hoped this wasn't why they had started crying the first time.
"I don't have a dragon fetish. I get a little too curious, that's all," he replied. He was blushing, but not as much as Seh'lvah. Indeed he was watching her sleep, but it wasn't intentional. He was just following the sounds he heard.
"And, I was just leaving when my foot got caught, and caused this whole mess". He added, flaring his wings to make his point.
"It's still creepy..." Seh'lvah added. In some respects the boy was cute. He was creepy but cute, and he seemed nice. But she had made a point earlier and she wouldn't drop it just cause his leg got broken.
"And besides, it's not like I was doing anything really weird..." She had been planning to had the interruption not happened but she left that part out. She just didn't want to lose the argument.
"Really? Like kissing the air?" Shamgar retorted, as he had seen that much. He found Seh'vahl to be pretty for a dragon, and nice, but he still was a little wary of the fact that she threatened to eat him.
"Then again... Daydreaming does do strange things to people..." He said, laughing at himself. He sometimes talked to his tools, but only when he was really bored....
Seh'lvah blushed, out of embarrassment and anger. He did NOT just pull that card.... "I wasn't kissing the air... I breathe weirdly when I am asleep..." The defence was a poor one, and she had nothing on him to make him embarrassed.
"Well Shamgar, my question is, why are you in this valley? We are here scouting out a good nesting place for our Colony to start, we just need more people." Veraxitoc said, sitting down on a patch of grass. The Gryphon boy was nice, and in Veraxitoc's eyes, he looked to be flirting with Seh'lvah, but Veraxitoc could bring that up with Seh'lvah later.
Shamgar's ears perked up at the question. He had only stopped in this valley to rest, but he now felt there was something else that called him here.
"Sir," he said, bowing respectfully, his goggles falling down in his face, "I only stopped here to rest. But, I feel there was something more than just a need to rest that brought me here..."
"You think fate brought you here? There is no such thing as fate! If there was fate, it would have given me a boyfriend..." Seh'lvah smirked, finally finding an upper hand. Although, she couldn't stop thinking about how cute he was, and how nice he actually seemed. She wanted to get to know him.
"Seh'lvah, don't be so quick to disown fate. I have seen things that have lead me to believe in fate, even if I don't believe in gods." Veraxitoc scolded her. She was being silly, and immature.
Shamgar could help but laugh to himself. Seh'lvah was pretty, and seemed nice, but she was also quick to jump to conclusions. However, there seemed to be something tugging deep within him, something that was disturbing him....
"Veraxitoc," he said, holding back the sudden urge to cry, "May I speak with you in private?"
He felt he need to get something off his chest. He needed someone to talk to....
"Of course. Seh'lvah, please leave us. Go and daydream under the trees by the pool." Veraxitoc spoke calmly. Seh'lvah complied, taking off to the other side of the lake, and lying down, well out of earshot.
"What is it you wish to talk about Shamgar?" Veraxitoc tilted his head slightly.
He didn't know where to start. He just started.
"Years ago, I lived with my mother. She was a very good lady, and I often think about her." He began, tears beginning to well up in his eyes, "And then, one day, while I was out getting supplies, our home caught fire, and my mother perished. The townspeople blamed me and my tinkering for the fire, and shunned me."
At this point he was crying, burying his head under his talons. It was something he never talked about, a secret that he kept buried deep beneath his nice, kind behavior. But now it was laid out, plain as day...
"And now you have nowhere to go? And you feel that our colony would be a fresh start for you?" Veraxitoc felt bad for him. To be blamed for a fire that wasn't his fault was a low blow, and humans had a tend to blame things on something they could kill and punish.
"Well our Colony is based on the idea that dragons should be able to live peacefully with species that are physically weaker and smaller, like humans and fae. We aim to peacefully live with all or most species. And we do need a Gryphon ambassador. You could be a representative for your people. Do they live in this land?" Veraxitoc tried to take the focus off of family and more onto him having the prospect of somewhere to live.
Shamgar looked up from under his talons. He was taken aback by the offer, but also had a feeling of joy. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he stood up, and ruffled his feathers.
"I know of small colonies, but I have no knowledge of any large settlements," he said, recalling a map he saw that listed the locations of several gryphon settlements.
"And, I would be honored, Veraxitoc, to be an ambassador." He added, with hope and joy in his eyes.
"Well then, welcome to the Colony. We are honoured to have you as a member of our colony." Veraxitoc bowed to Shamgar. Then he realised something. He could smell something. He could smell the emotions that had emanated from Seh'lvah. He didn't know if Shamgar would be able to smell the pheromones, but Veraxitoc could. Nightspinners were the closest dragon species to Crystal-backs. Descended from the same ancestors.
"May you bring peace between our species."
Shamgar bowed to the elder dragon, then excused himself. He needed some time alone, some time to himself. So, he flew off to a nearby cave (ironically, the same cave he first landed in), and left his bag and goggles at the entrance. He, did however, take his journal, and wrote in it for the next couple of hours.
Veraxitoc decided to take a trip above the clouds. He flew high up, beyond most birds and between the two cloud layers. He circled a bit, then flew even higher, and found the tallest peak in the valley. And there, he laid and rest, closing his eyes for a bit of normal sleep.
Seh'lvah on the other hand, decided she would be more mischievous. She watched the cave that Shamgar went up to, and peered inside. Being a dragon, her eyes perfectly adjusted to the darkness. And being able to read and write, as taught by her parents, she peered down the cave, reading Shamgar's journal from over his shoulder. As she spied, she felt her paw slip and kick up a small rock. As it tumbled past Shamgar, the cave echoed with the collision of rack against rock, and it ended with a splash, when the rock bounced into a small cave pool.
Instead of moving, to get away, her instincts told her to stay still, and she froze, wincing as the rock fell.
Shamgar jumped up, startled by the sound. Turning around, at first he didn't see much, but as he looked closer, he saw the faintest glimmer of emerald scales, and realized at once who it was.
"Seh'lvah, I know you're there." he said, "Were you spying on me?"
He wasn't angry, rather, he was laughing, realizing the irony of the situation. He then went back to where he was resting, and motioned for the hidden dragon to come foward.
"No, I slipped on a rock outside your cave, and, uh, nearly fell in?" She was very embarrassed, but she entered the cave nonetheless. She hadn't actually read that much of his journal.
She came and sat next to him, and hung her head, trying not to let him see her embarrassment. If he saw no doubt she would never live it down.
As Seh'lvah sat next to him, he felt something, a feeling he couldn't describe. Perhaps it was the dim light from the cave mouth reflecting off her scales, or maybe it was something deeper. He didn't want to make Seh'lvah uncomfortable, however, and kept this rush of feelings hidden as best he could.
Shamgar moved over to accommodate his friend, and looked at her face.
"Hey, we all get curious sometimes. Nothing to be embarrassed about" he said, laughing all the while.
Seh'lvah felt a bit relieved by his comment, and she couldn't decide whether to look at him or not. Now that she came to think of it, he looked sexy in low light. She mentally scolded herself for thinking it, reasoning that he couldn't possibly like her in that way.
"Is that your reason for spying on me earlier then?" She smiled, looking at him.
"What? No- I-" he couldn't think of the words to say. He liked Seh'lvah, and wanted to be friends, but he couldn't shake these feelings that he had. She's a dragon, Im a gryphon. How does that work? he thought, trying to think of how to reply. After a moment, he said something.
"I wasn't spying. At least, not intentionally." He said, ruffling his wings.
"Mmm, of course you weren't." She was thinking about him. He was perfect for her.
She decided to lie on her side, facing her underbelly towards him. She folded her wings in, and let her legs lie over her.
"Are you sure you weren't spying on me? Why else would you hide behind that rock? Not trying to hide something you were doing?"
Shamgar was a bit surprised with Seh'lvah, but he got over it. Scooting over to Seh'lvah, he too layed of his side, facing her. He was enthralled with her beauty, and wanted to be with her. Staring into her eyes, he could see passion and a mix of other feelings.
He too, felt the same way, and embraced his emotions.
Seh'lvah opened her eyes as the sun rose over the valley, the light bouncing into the cave. Beside her, it looked like Shamgar was still asleep, and she ached all over. Instead of disturbing him and waking him up, she decided to stretch her limbs and catch some breakfast. She left the cave and saw Veraxitoc waiting outside. Uh oh.
"Hi Veraxitoc, haha..." She began to back up, not minding her step, and she tumbled back into the cave, falling and twisting her bag leg and taking a chunk out of her wing.
Shamgar awoke with the sudden sounds, but his body ached. He slowly got up, and, upon opening his eyes, saw Seh'lvah tumbling backwards. Oh.... Crap..... was the only thought on his mind as he went to the entrance. Oh....We're getting hell. was what he thought when he saw Veraxitoc standing at the entrance.
Embarrassed, and scared, he adopted a submissive position, and hoped Veraxitoc was in a good mood.
Seh'lvah whimpered as she got up, her leg and wing hurting a massive amount. She saw what Shamgar was doing, expecting Veraxitoc to be mauling him to death, saw what he was doing and did the dragon equivalent. Bowing her neck and trying to stretch her wing hurt her, as did putting weight on her bad leg. So she whined and whimpered a little, hoping to go for the sympathy approach.
"Out of all the different kinds of stupid and dumb, you two just reivented all of them. If you two like each other, fine, but can making some Gryphon-Dragon hybrid not wait?! Are you two that hormonal, that desperate, that you slept together on the first day, not of being in a relationship, but of meeting each other! I mean, gods forbid that she meets someone else, or you for that matter Shamgar! Ridiculous!" If Veraxitoc was human, he would be bright red in the face.
Shamgar couldn't bring himself to look Veraxitoc in the eyes, he was so ashamed. He screwed up, possibly making the biggest mistake of his life. He could only stare at the ground.
Then he started crying. Hearing Veraxitoc scold him like that reminded him too much if his mother, too much of the day of the fire. He then crawled miserably back in the cave, not even caring what Veraxitoc had to say. He'd heard enough, and just wanted to be alone. He just wanted to die, and be alone.
This time Veraxitoc felt no pity for the boy. The boy HAD caused this, and so had Seh'lvah. And with that, Veraxitoc went off to hunt for new recruits for the Colony.
Seh'lvah didn't want to cry. She was angry. She was angry that Veraxitoc had the nerve to come and say that to their faces. She was angry that he had made HER boy cry. She was angry that he'd hurt him and as much as she wanted to chase the elder down and hurt him back, she wanted to make Shamgar feel better more.
She followed him swiftly to where he had gone.
"Shamgar? Please come and talk to me? Please?"
Shamgar was sitting by the pool in the cave, crying his heart out. He wanted to be alone, he wanted to just go back in time, and fix his mistake, but he couldn't. He had made Viraxitoc angry, possibly driven him away for good. He just wanted to die, to end his miserable life. So, driven by his angst and misery, he put his talons to his own neck. This is my final moment! he thought, tears streaming down his face. My whole life is a mistake....
Seh'lvah finally saw him in the dark, starting to cut his own throat. Immediately she dove forward, ignoring the new pain in her leg, and the huge tear in her wing membrane as she caught it on a stalagmite. She tackled him, grabbing his arms and pulling them away, landing awkwardly on her wing, which was another twisted limb.
"NO!" She shouted as she dove.
Shamgar looked Seh'lvah in the eyes. He couldn't say anything, he just stared at the dragoness, tears running down his face. Why? Why won't you let me be? was clearly written in his eyes. He wrestled free of her grasp, walked some distance, and collapsed into a sobbing heap.
He was upset with himself, with the world, even Seh'lvah, but with himself more than anything. He didn't want to talk or even acknowledge Seh'lvah's presence. Looking at her just made him feel worse, made him feel even more like a failure. He failed to protect his mother, and now he failed at controlling himself.
His talons sat on his journal, in the same spot it was the night before. Without thinking, he tossed the tattered thing into the pool, not even caring that it almost hit Seh'lvah.
Seh'lvah saw the look in his eyes and read it.
When he wrestled free she didn't struggle with him. She didn't try and hold him. She let him go.
When he tossed his journal into the pool, she dove in after it, knowing she would probably get an infection on the two tears in her left wing membrane, and not caring that she couldn't swim with her injured leg, she fetched the journal, bring it onto the cave floor and drying it with a heated breath.
Then she went and laid there, watching him to make sure he was ok. She didn't sob, she just let tears roll down her cheeks, remembered the journal, dropped it by him, and went back to crying.
She still wanted to kill Veraxitoc for bringing Shamgar to that point. She wanted to hurt him so badly, to rip his wings and bloody his snout and bite out his throat.
"Please talk to me Shamgar. Please..."
He calmed down, but only slightly. He was still crying, still upset, but he wasn't thinking about suicide. He wasn't without words, either. It was more he didn't want to hurt Seh'lvah by saying what he wanted to. He wanted to tell her that he made a mistake, that he was a failure, but he could only look at the ground. All he could do is scratch the ground idly, his tears staining the floor.
"Shamgar, please. I tore my wing membrane again and sprained my wing stopping you doing what you were going to do. Just talk to me, tell me why!" She was shouting because she was pleading. She wasn't angry with him. She wasn't angry at all anymore. She was trying to ignore the pain, and ignore the bleeding, and the stinging of the pool water to talk to him.
Veraxitoc had been in too foul a mood to find new people. The couple's antics in their cave had really wound his gears, and he was going back to make sure it never happened again. Even if that meant he bit Shamgars jewels off. He reached the mouth of the cave and heard Seh'lvah shouting.
So he decided to enter the cave silently.
"It was too much!" He finally yelled, his voice echoing through the cave. He buried his head again, too ashamed to even look her in the eyes. He felt relived, but he still couldn't look at Seh'lvah. He was a foolish boy, and he knew it. He didn't want tone hard on himself, but he convinced himself it was the truth. Even through his crying and sobbing, he heard footsteps, and looked up to see Veraxitoc standing there. Did you come here to put me even lower, to torture me more? he thought, the last of his tears sliding down his face.
Seh'lvah didn't give the elder dragon a chance to explain himself before she attacked him, clawing and biting at him, not caring less for her own health. "How DARE you have the nerve to come back here after what you have put him through!" She shouted amongst the crashing of two fighting dragons.
Veraxitoc fought back, roaring at the young dragon and he clawed at her.
Shamgar watched in horror as his friends fought. On one hand, he wanted to help Seh'lvah, but on the other, he didn't want to hurt Veraxitoc. Standing up, he let out an ear piercing screech, one that echoed up and down the entire cave.
"Enough!" He yelled, his sadness and woe turned to anger. He was rarely ever angry, even with people he utterly despised. He stood straight, his wings extended, his head held high. He meant business.
"You two are acting like children! Veraxitoc, I admit, we probably deserved that scolding, and that I overreacted. And Seh'lvah, I apologize for acting the way I did. I wasn't thinking right. Now, STOP FIGHTING"
By the time the two dragons heard the message, Veraxitoc physically had his jaws around her throat, and had taken chunks of wing membrane from her right wing out with his claws. She was also missing a tooth that Veraxitoc could feel lodged in his forewing. The two dragons took a second before resentfully letting go of one another.
Seh'lvah had managed to bite and burn Veraxitoc's forewing and also dug her claws in between his ribs, scratching him deep in the sides. Overall, Seh'lvah was hurt more, but she didn't care. She tried to stand, when Veraxitoc released her, but simply couldn't hold herself up, falling to the floor with a whimper.
"Overreacted? She's the one that overreacted... What exactly did I put you through to make this idiot teenager attack me?!" Veraxitoc spoke scornfully, as he looked at her, pitifully lying on the floor, but genuinely feeling very sorry for herself.
Taking a deep breath, and collecting his thoughts, he explained to Veraxitoc what had happened, including his desire to take his own life. Laying back down, he looked at Seh'lvah, who was badly injured, but would live.
"As I said earlier, I overreacted to your scolding. I caused this, and, if you so desire, I can leave and never return." He hung his head, completely at Veraxitoc's mercy.
Seh'lvah looked away the moment she noticed that Shamgar was looking at her, upset that he had realised that he was overreacting after nearly committing suicide, but glad he admitted it at all.
Veraxitoc seriously considered the proposal of Shamgar leaving, but decided it was overall better just to separate the pair. "You can stay, but you two stay separate at night. I will eat you both if you do it again, you are too young to even be thinking about that. Let alone actually doing it." Veraxitoc began to leave the cave, and let Seh'lvah lick her wounds, but decided to say one final thing.
"When you are fully grown Seh'lvah, and better at fighting, then try and challenge me. You might have a slim chance of winning then." And with that, Veraxitoc went and sat by the pool outside the cave, waiting to see who would leave first and how long until one of them left.
Seh'lvah, who didn't want to talk anymore, simply let out an agonised whimper as she tried to lick the blood from her wounds, but yelped when she accidentally pulled the wound with her tongue, and gave a final, defeated sigh.
Shamgar, content with Veraxitoc's decision, stepped towards the mouth of the cave, grabbing his goggles, satchel and journal, and was about to fly away to find another cave, or perhaps a fallen tree, as he found those to also be rather comfortable, but saw Veraxitoc sitting by the pool. He walked up, and sat next to the elder.
"I'd like to ask you something..." He said, looking back at the cave he had just emerged from.
"Yes?" Veraxitoc was curious as to what the boy was going to ask him. He didn't think there was anything left to ask really. But he listened nonetheless. If it hadn't been for the amount of pheromones Seh'lvah had been giving off the previous day, Veraxitoc would have never thought to check if she was sleeping in her own cave or his.
Seh'lvah didn't move. She didn't cry, she didn't sigh. She just lied there and looked at the spot where the boy she had fallen in love with had nearly killed himself. Now she lied on the cave floor, with two ripped wings, and a sprained leg, and lots of scratches and bites. She didn't even lick her wounds to try and clean them. She just lied there, hoping she caught an infection in the wounds that killed her. She never found happiness. She wanted to be happy. And she thought that if she hoped for an infection to kill her, she could die and be happy.
"This morning, when you came to the cave, you had every right, and certainly the opportunity to kill me, but you didn't. Why is that?" He asked, recalling the events of that morning. He wasn't scared of Veraxitoc, but he was curious.
Waiting for the dragon to answer, he fiddled with his goggles, adjusting the strap. It was a nervous tick of his, one that, while not doing any harm, seemed to bug him. Satisfied, he put his goggles back on his forehead, still waiting for an answer.
Why didn't Veraxitoc kill Shamgar? He still could if he wanted to. But, it wasn't in hi, to just kill.
"It's not in my nature to kill where one can scold. If she was my daughter, or my partner, then I would be angrier, but she is not family of mine. I have no responsibility for her, and can only advise her, and tell her off like any other Elder Dragon would." He was being truthful in itself, and he didn't lie. But in his head, Veraxitoc wanted to see just how far the couple would go to be together. The experiment, in Veraxitoc's eyes, was still on going. If the couple kept meeting at night, despite his warnings, he would leave them be. He wouldn't tell them that, but he would not hurt them. They were his experiment, his guinea pigs in a cage.
Seh'lvah got up, finally find the strength to move. She looked at her bite wounds, and then decided to lick straight across them. She hadn't expected it to be quite that painful. She howled as she licked the wound, falling on her side in pain. Now she just wanted a cuddle. She hurt a lot more than she expected, the adrenaline wearing off, leaving her in agony.
Shamgar nodded as he listened to the elder. He barely heard Seh'lvah's agonized howls, but heard them none the less. While he loved her, he took Veraxitoc's threat to heart, and resisted the urge to help her. She can handle herself, he said to himself. He bowed, and excused himself, leaving to find a suitable shelter, some distance away from Seh'lvah's, but still close enough to not be a hermit.
Having flown for a decent amount of time, he found a large, hollow tree trunk, not to far from the lake, but far enough to discourage any regular nightly meetings with Seh'lvah. After looking around, and clearing some webs and various debris, he was satisfied for the night, and decided to call it quits for the night. With that, he slept in his new home all night.
Veraxitoc took off to his mountain top home, to sleep the night away.
Seh'lvah crawled out of the cave gradually, and after an hour of limping, finally reached the water's edge, where she lied down, and began to cry quietly. No-one would hear her. No-one.
Slowly, she crawled into the water, unable to keep herself afloat, she noisily splashed out to the deepest part of the pool, and just floated, the water there being enough to keep her floating. The water stung her wounds further, and eventually, the pain and tears put her to sleep.
The morning light peered through the hollow trunk. Shamgar awoke, feeling better then the day before, and stepped out of his new home. Now that he had better light, he saw that it wasn't a tree trunk, but rather, the mostly intact remnants of a stone tower belonging to an old fortress long destroyed. Interesting, perhaps Veraxitoc would like to see this.
So, flying to the pool where he last saw the elder, he saw something that sickened him. There lay Seh'lvah, in the pool, seemingly lifeless. Landing, he saw that she wasn't dead, but very much asleep. Thinking fast, he flew over the pool, and carefully pulled Seh'lvah ashore, and then went to find Veraxitoc, relaying both information about the tower he now called home, and about Seh'lvah's current state.
Seh'lvah didn't wake until Shamgar was too high for her to reasonably catch. But in the following seconds she heard the thunderous roar that indicated Veraxitoc was already awake, and was circling around at unnatural altitude. Seh'lvah laid there emptily for a few minutes, and decided that she would lay there all day. She was too heartbroken to move.
He was roaring to indicate to the other two that they need to get up, for in his waking moments he had spotted something in the clouds. Trying to make sure that Shamgar and Seh'lvah were awake if this threat came to them. The roar also had an unnatural projection at this height, and no doubt any animal would hear it and run. Looking down and ahead to see if any physical objects were below him, he dove, rolling 4 times with his talons outstretched. The air funnels made the deathly screech that gave his species it's name, and echoed far through the mountains around him. Anything brave enough or stupid enough to stand up to that noise was a problem, either to the world, or to him.
Shamgar clenched his ears in pain, landing on a mountain top below Veraxitoc, but still high enough to see him. He lay there, dazed, but conscious. He also made a mental note not to go out and find Veraxitoc as early as he had. After the screeching had stopped, he let out a screech of his own, one that sounded distinctly gryphon, to let Veraxitoc know that it was him that was approaching, not some strange, new threat.
Playing it safe, he stayed on the mountaintop he had landed on, and waited eagerly for the dragon to land. He let go of his ears, which apparently were bleeding, but he didn't really bother do anything with them at the moment. He was breathing heavily, as he wasn't used to flying this high. Feeling a bit dizzy from the dragon's screeching, he layed down, hoping that was it.
Veraxitoc heard Shamgar before he saw the young gryphon. Had he seriously come up this far? Dragons often had trouble getting up here. He saw the gryphon lying on a peak near Veraxitoc's own.
He glided down, beating his wings to land gently, kicking up snow from the mountain top.
"What brings you up this high Shamgar? And did the screech burst your ears, or the altitude?" Veraxitoc enquired. Not many creatures received physical injury from his spinning screech, but some did. Creatures with ears like a gryphons. Bats died when he did it. He knew that much.
He couldn't keep conscious very long. The high altitudes were getting to him. So, as quickly as he could, Shamgar explained the information he had to Veraxitoc, although he tried to put more emphasis on Seh'lvah's current state than the stone tower. Still trying to keep conscious, he tried taking off, but passed out as he barely got off the ground, plopping down in the snow.
Veraxitoc, concerned for the two, picked up Shamgar and dove straight of the cliff, entering a plummeting dive. When he saw the oncoming peak, he opened his wings, and used the speed to fly straight to Seh'lvah, setting Shamgar down nearby to recover.
Shamgar woke up to find Seh'lvah standing over him, looking at him like he'd just come back from the dead. After being out for a few hours, he felt like somebody had been kissing him; a very strange feeling indeed.
Slowly getting up, he stumbled, as the last time he was conscious, he was high above the clouds. Readjusting rather quickly, he stretched his legs and wings.
"What happened? The last thing I remember is being up on a mountaintop with Veraxitoc." He inquired, curious to see what had unfolded while he was out.
Seh'lvah blushed, and let out a very involuntary giggle. But then she felt all her previous emotions creep back. She fought them, trying to focus on the fact she had just revived Shamgar with the kiss of life.
"Well... Hehe, I just gave you a kiss of life. Why the hell would you go that high? Some breeds of dragon can't go that high, let alone a gryphon. You were stupid to do it." She involuntarily leant on one side of her stance, on her bad leg, out of natural sarcastic habit, and felt her bad leg give way, and she fell over.
"I brought you down here to recover, and she said she knew a way to bring you back to full consciousness." Veraxitoc helped Seh'lvah to her feet. "She's right, you shouldn't be trying to fly that high. Now, you said you found a ruin?"
"Yes, I did." he said, ruffling his feathers out of habit. He thought about flying there, but decided against it, he felt sapped of energy, and didn't want to fall into the lake.
"I hope you don't mind walking there. I know where it is, but Im too tired to fly at the moment" he said, taking a mental note to not fly that high unless absolutely necessary. And with that, started walking towards the stone tower he called home.
Seh'lvah felt a pang of annoyance at the fact he had ignored her. She would take care to remember just how many times she possibly saved his life.
She followed Veraxitoc and Shamgar, but kept her distance as well. The two were obviously friends now.
"What sort of stone was it? Do you know? It may have been a dragonrider fortress. There were many round these mountains at one point. Usually made of stones such as granite or lead. Tough materials." Veraxitoc was curious to examine it. The fortresses generally had spacious rooms for dragons to live in, and, if he could find someone with summoning powers, could build the whole fortress to be dragon suitable.
Shamgar could sense Seh'lvah was annoyed. It wasn't that he didn't love her, but that he couldn't find the right things to say after what had happened the previous day. Feeling he would soon find the right words, he kept walking.
"Well, I didn't look at it very closely, but it did look to be pretty sturdy." he said, recalling how most of the tower was still intact.
Arriving at the tower, he felt strong enough to show the two dragons how he got in, partly as demonstration, and partly because he left his things in there when he left this morning. Flying up, he found the hole he had used. After exploring the lower levels for the first time, he found a door, and signaled for the two dragons.
The two dragons entered. Veraxitoc spent time looking at the actual architecture and structure, Seh'lvah on the other hand, trudged along like a dog that didn't want to be walked, having to be reminded not to stay in one room too long.
"It's of the same era as the dragon riders, but seems different, not built by them, too confined, even the riders preferred dragon sized rooms. I would never sleep in a dragon rider building. The conflict is too fresh in my mind. I would be frightened that the room I inhabited was the last place one of my lost friends had slept the day before they died. I find it disrespectful to sleep where other dragons have. I prefer the view of a mountain peak anyway." Veraxitoc scratched the rocks on the wall.
These rocks were coated in jet.
"A tyrant dragon must have lived here. Possibly still does. If we can find the outer perimeter, we can search for the ruins and evaluate if we have to move. Tyrant dragons tend to be bigger than even me. And a lot more aggressive."
Shamgar was a bit disheartened by the prospect having to move a second time. Of course though, he didn't want to become a dragon's chew toy either. Searching the tower, he found something that caught his interest. It was a simple looking device, with five spheres lined up and suspended on strings. He pulled one back, and watched as the sphere hit the others, and sent the one on the opposite side flying, and it continued back and forth, back and forth.
Remembering why they were at this tower, he took out his journal, sketched a quick diagram, and left it there. Again walking around, he saw a large, wooden double door. It looked old, but extremely sturdy. He flew up, and investigated this door in a little more detail, calling to his companions in the other room.
"Hey, I think I found something!" He yelled.
Seh'lvah didn't even bother paying attention to Shamgar's call. Her teenage mind was telling her to play the silent treatment game. Instead she sat and watched the metal spheres go backwards and forwards, mesmerised by the motion. She counted as she did, aiming to count to ten, vent her anger at Shamgar when she realised that the time between the first and second movement of the spheres was one second. It was a timing device! So simplistic for what it was, she decided to pick it up, and keep it.
Veraxitoc walked up to the wooden door and listened through it. No sounds came from inside, but he knew that shadow creatures, like Shade's could be deathly silent. Or any sound inside had stopped upon hearing Shamgar's calling. "And now we open the doors, hoping nothing is inside for me to roast." He spoke loudly, and growled at the end of the sentence. The growl was aimed at anything the other side of the door.
Even Shamgar was a little afraid, despite being friends with Veraxitoc. Looking back, he saw Seh'lvah messing with the thingamabobber he found earlier. As easy as it was for his curious mind to get distracted, he tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a can of oil (which he picked up from the table) and lubricated the hinges so the door would come open without as much effort.
Then, as the can was empty, he tossed it aside for the moment, and stepped back to allow Veraxitoc to open the huge door. While he wasn't a coward, he was certain that whatever was on the other side of the door, if anything, would run away at the sight of his friend.
Seh'lvah saw the can of oil and almost made a comment, but stayed her tongue, just sniggering quietly at the pair, who were worried about a simple door. Instead of waiting for Veraxitoc to do open the door, she waltzed past, confident that nothing was there, and a can of oil was now wasted. She turned as she pushed the door open, sticking her tongue out at the two. "Wimps, there's nothing here. See?" Then she turned.
Veraxitoc was really angry at Seh'lvah now, but he paled when he saw the contents of the room. Sprawled in the centre of the room, was a skeleton, of a dragon, but with three heads. Veraxitoc could see that it was not alive, but the sight of a three headed dragon's skeleton was truly terrifying. "Still want to live in the tower Shamgar? There are always, uh, plenty of caves in the valley..." Veraxitoc backed up, not wanting to enter the room.
Shamgar looked through the door. The sight of the three-headed dragon's skeleton was indeed terrifying, but he wasn't squeamish. The room that the skeleton occupied was a large library, and Shamgar was quite literally drooling. He loved books, and reading, and had possibly found a valuable find, but the thought that a three-headed dragon once occupied this fortress was a rather scary one.
He was caught between wanting to read these books, and wanting to leave because of the literal skeleton in the closet.
"While the skeleton is a bit.... Scary.... I'm sure we could give it a proper burial..." He said. As he did, the bones started shifting, coming together, coming to life.
"Besides, it's dead, it's not like it can hurt us"....
"Look again..." Veraxitoc literally trembled. The thing was huge. It could have easily killed most things when it was alive, and three heads was not an easy thing to fight. But, instead of running, like he wanted, he stood his ground, and so did Seh'lvah. They would fight it. It was only a skeleton. Not the original.
The multiheaded dragon roared, and before Shamgar, or his friends could react, the door slammed shut, locking poor Shamgar inside with the dragon. He turned around, and trembled against the door. He was truly terrified, his whole body quaking as the dragon turned and faced him. This is my final moment. Torn to shreds by a skeleton.
He cringed as the dragon moved towards him, preparing for the worst possible fate. To his surprise, the skeletal dragon picked him up, and set him in the middle of the room.
"Oi, what are ya doin' in ma castle, laddie?" One of the heads said, the left one.
"Oh, shut up, you twat. He's obviously here for the books," the middle one said, arguing with the left.
"Ah, why don't ya both just hold your gobs? You're scaring the poor lad shitless" said the third head.
All three heads then turned to Shamgar, who was still cowering behind his wings. He peeked up, and saw that he wasn't dead, at least not yet, anyway.
"Actually, um... Sirs, Im here by mistake." Shamgar said, referring to the now locked door.
"Oh, come now. I saw you eyeing those books. Oh, how rude, we didn't even introduce ourselves." The middle head said, "My name is Gregory, and I-"
"Ah, shut up, you puddle of pish. You know ya name is George. As for masel, I am Wallace.", the left head.
"Shut up, Wallace, you hooligan. I am Finnegan" said the third head.
"Well, I don't mean to interrupt, but may I leave?" Shamgar asked, hoping he wasn't offending George, who seemed to be rather proper.
Again, all three heads looked at him.
"Leave? Without first learning your name, dear gryphon. How rude of you."
"Jings, if he wants to leave, let him leave. As long as he stays oot o ma castle."
Shamgar was utterly confused. He didn't know if he was talking to one person, or three....
The floor in the room in which Shamgar was now stuck was wood, so burning down the door was a no-no. Instead it would have to be broken down. Veraxitoc could hear the voices from the other side. Four voices for four heads.
Veraxitoc charged the door, and felt it budge. Then again, and again. On the fifth try the doors shattered from the impact.
He recognised the accents. Foreign. Like his. He had grown up to have a foreign accent imprinted in his memory.
"Oi, you stupid tossers, what do you fink you're doin'?" Veraxitoc's style of speaking in the accent was poor, and rough.
"Uhh, yeah, what do you think you are doing with that Gryphon?" Seh'lvah added, trying to seem intimidating.
The three heads just stared at Shamgar, then the two dragons that had busted the door down.
"Well, look at the mess you've made. You could've just knocked." George said, surprised, and a bit annoyed.
"Shut up, George. We don't want to here your sorry ass lament over a fecking door," Finnegan yelled, ignoring the two dragons.
"Well, Lad, and lass, we were havin a nice chat with yer friend here. Now, wey wad ye bust doon our door?" This time, it was Wallace, addressing Veraxitoc, and Seh'lvah
Shamgar just looked at them in utter confusion
The skeleton seemed alright. The heads were bickering amongst themselves, but it didn't concern them.
"We were making sure our friend was ok. We apologise." Veraxitoc said, bowing to the massive skeleton dragon.
"Friend? Yeah right..." Seh'lvah scorned. She wasn't ready to forgive Shamgar for ignoring her just cause he got spooked by a huge dragon.
"Ah, yer fine," Wallace said, "Im just messin' with ya! Now, we never did learn your names." He was looking at Shamgar in particular, who, while not hiding behind his wings, was still a little nervous.
"Ah, yes, please do tell," George said, his curiosity peaking.
Shamgar thought for a moment. Did he really want to tell this dragon his name?
"Shamgar. M- My name is Shamgar" he said. Then, there was laughter.
"Y- you call that a name? What kind of a name is that?" It was Finnegan.
"Shut up, Finnegan. If that's the name his mum gave him, then that's his name," George said, scolding the head to his right. "I apologize, Shamgar, but Finnegan can be quite, um... Insensitive at times."
Feeling that the accent helped him a lot, he continued to use it, completely changing over to his impression.
"'Ight mate, I'm Verraxitoc, alwayz a pleazurre." The accent demanded him to roll his R's just slightly, and make his S's very blunt Z sounds.
"Uhhh.... Veraxitoc? You do know you are talking to an undead, three headed dragon?!" Seh'lvah was terrified, not only of the skeleton, but of how Shamgar and Veraxitoc were acting!
Oi, lassie, we might dead, but we certainly look better than you do!" It was Finnegan. Hearing him say that made Shamgar angry, but before he could do anything, Wallace cut in.
"Oi, leave the bonnie lass alone. She meant naw harm. Besides, ye may hae made her laddie a wee bit angry" he said, winking (if you could call it that) at Shamgar. Shamgar was blushing, but he didn't want Seh'lvah to see.
"And, Veraxitoc... Oh, where have I heard that name before..." George said, talking to the elder dragon.
"I'm sorry, but you have as many heads on one body as we have people. Tell me you look better when you magically lose two heads." Seh'lvah loved getting into insult fights with people. She wanted the fun of interacting with Finnegan. Shamgar could talk to Wallace, and blush over silly things, and no doubt Veraxitoc would enjoy his talk with George.
"I don' think A've met you beforre. What'z yourr neme?" Veraxitoc addressed George alone. Finnegan seemed the unsavoury type to Veraxitoc and Wallace was talking to Shamgar.
While George was busy with Veraxitoc, and Finnegan and Seh'lvah hurling insults at each other, Shamgar and Wallace talked about other things.
"So, ye came to this castle after a run in with death, did ye?" Wallace said, having learned from Shamgar of the previous day's events.
"Yes, I did. I actually just slept in the higher parts of the tower. Not quite comfortable, but certainly better than dirt." Shamgar replied, laughing a little.
"Well, lad, if I had one piece of advice for ye, it be treat yer lass well. She's a bonnie one, and ye ne'er know when she'll be gone." Wallace said, half jokingly, half seriously. Shamgar felt bad now, for not talking to Seh'lvah at all today. He felt he had to at least say something, even if was a simple "hello".
Seh'lvah, despite being locked in verbal combat with Finnegan, still overheard what Wallace said. She paid no heed to it but felt supported. She smiled, and continued bickering with Finnegan.
She felt like Shamgar had abandoned her after one night, just as some toy to be used.
Shamgar excused himself, and waked over to Seh'lvah. I hope she can forgive me.
Sitting down, he glared at Finnegan, and silenced him.
"Seh'lvah, I'm sorry if it seems I am ignoring you. Its just after what happened yesterday, I needed sometime to think. If you dont accept my apology, then fine." He said, tears welling up in his eyes.
Seh'lvah gave him a horribly dirty look.
"You expect me to forgive you after you just used me for a night? You'll have to do better than that." She frowned at him, making her unhappiness obvious. In her eyes, he had just been using her for sex. That was all she was in his eyes.
She got up to walk out. "Talk to me when you actually care about me."
"Seh'lvah, I do care... I- I-" Shamgar was at a loss. He really did love Seh'lvah, but he couldn't find the right words. The tears just came pouring out of his eyes, rolling down his face. He just walked away, tail drooping, went and plopped himself down in a corner.
Wallace was watching, and spoke up.
"Lass" he said, addressing Seh'lvah, "Im not entirely sure what went on, but ye need to go apologize. He tried talking with ye, even said he was sorry, an ye turned him away. That is unforgivable."
Seh'lvah heard what Wallace said. Did Shamgar know how much she had been hurt trying to make sure he was ok. She turned to look at Shamgar.
She walked up to him, her head held high. "Shamgar, say it. I need to hear you say it, even if it is that you hate me, just say it." She tried desperately to not cry. She needed to look strong. "Just say it."
Shamgar looked at Seh'lvah. Tears were streaming down his face, and he knew it. He was too far gone to even care anymore. He had apologized, and Seh'lvah turned him away. He tried not to think about what he was about to do in he cave, but he just kept getting the urge.
"Laddie, just say what's on yer heart"
It was Wallace. He had watched the entire incedent, and was encouraging the two of them. Shamgar was filled with confidence, and stood up, shaking off the thoughts of suicide and death.
"Seh'lvah, I love you. I know Im probably not who you want to spend the rest of your life with, but I love you, and always will"
Seh'lvah had finally got what she had needed to hear. With tears rolling down her face, she walked up to Shamgar, and kissed him. It felt like minutes to her, and in her head those minutes turned to hours.
Breaking the magic for just a second, she whispered in his ear. "I love you too..."
George looked up from his conversation with Veraxitoc for a moment, and saw the two love birds kissing. He smiled, and thought of his own first love. Unfortunately for him, whenever he went somewhere, he had to take Finnegan and Wallace with him.
"Well, Veraxitoc, it appears your friends over here have gotten back together." He said, giving Finnegan a fierce gaze to keep him from spoiling their moment.
Veraxitoc read Seh'lvah's lips as she spoke. She had told him that she loved him.
"Awww... It almost melts my heart." Veraxitoc realised he had dropped the accent. He scanned through the excuses.
"Sorry about putting on the accent, I have met people with your accents. and found they communicate best with the accent I put on." Veraxitoc shrugged with honesty, trying to draw the attention away from the couple.
Seh'lvah finally gave up the kiss. "This means we're official, you know. You are gonna have to be trained to be a good boyfriend, haha." There were still streaks left behind by the tears she had shed.
"Well, now that that's over, isn't there something yer forgettin', George?" Wallace asked, turning to the other skeletal head.
"Ah, yes. You see, Veraxitoc, we've actually been rather bored of this here castle. However, we can't leave until the spell binding us to our skeletal form is broken." he said, "but, it's not difficult. At least, getting to the source of the spell. It simply a little metal frame with some sphere's suspended by string. Five spheres, to be exact."
"And when you get out, what will happen? What will you do?" Veraxitoc inquired. He wanted to make sure that the trio would not harm anyone. They seemed nice, but so had Rubidya and Emeraldia. And they killed hundreds of dragons.
"And Shamgar, you officially share a cave with me, I can't stand sleeping on my own, and I can't reach Veraxitoc's peak. If you Veraxitoc doesn't like that, he can go and drown." Seh'lvah said, smiling. She overheard what the three headed dragon said.
"You guys mean this?" She showed them the device. She had decided to call it a pendulum. It sounded cool, and it wasn't a word yet. Not that she knew of.
Shamgar had a very surprised look on his face when Seh'lvah not only said they'd be sharing a cave, but also when she pulled out the thingabob.
"Ah, there it is." George said, recognizing the device, "Now, Veraxitoc, to answer your question, we don't intend to do anything, really. We are peaceful. Hurting anyone isn't our way. Now, the way you break the spell is that you have to put that device on a pedestal over in the next room. The only problem is that Shamgar here is the only one that can fit through the door."
"Aye, we wad o done it ourselves if we could fit." Wallace said. Then all three skeletal heads looked at
Shamgar....
"Go on then dear. I will wait here for you." Seh'lvah put the device in Shamgar's hand, and stepped back. This would be good to see.
Veraxitoc placed an unnerving trust, and caught the look in Seh'lvah's eyes that said "if they try anything, we can kill them". Veraxitoc just hoped they weren't lying, and now all eyes were on Shamgar, waiting for him to finish the task.
Shamgar took a deep breath, and walked toward the door. It looked like the other door, but smaller. Opening it, he saw a very ceremonial looking room, with a pedestal at the center. There's something that doesn't feel right...
Walking toward the center pedestal, he grew nervous. It seemed too easy. Just walk into a room, and put the device on the pedestal.
Deciding to get it over with, he put the thingamabobber on the pedestal. When he did, there was a screech coming from the rafters. A gryphon's screech. Before he could even react, poor Shamgar was pinned to the floor.
"Hello, son!" The stranger said, with an evil cackle....
(OoC: BOSS FIGHT!)
((OOC: OOHHH!!! Wanna watch! Can Kirnardaz watch it? From his dimension of course.))
Seh'lvah heard the second gryphon and peered through the door, trying to reach Shamgar. When the door shut on her she slumped and sulked. She was worried he wouldn't be alright.
Meanwhile, from his throne in his dimensions, two images hovered in mid air. One was of his daughter, and her whereabouts, and the other was on this Gryphon. He had taken a particular interest in the Gryphon and wanted to know more.
Shamgar was scared, not only of this gryphon, also the fact that this gryphon was apparently his father.
"What do you want?!" he screamed, trying to wrestle his way out of his captors talons. The older, larger gryphon just laughed manically.
"Did you really think that fire all those years ago was an accident, an experiment gone wrong?" He asked. This gryphon wanted to upset Shamgar, to anger him, lead him down a path of darkness, "Awww, what? Is the little boy afraid of daddy? Do he want to cry?"
Shamgar was already crying, crying and angry. Using all his force, he threw his attacker off of him.
He wouldn't reply. He would let his actions speak for him. With that, he summoned the most powerful tempest he could, throwing this gryphon against the wall.
The gryphon, however, just laughed. "Is that the best you can do? Cause that tickled!"
Shamgar couldn't believe it. That spell would have broken even Veraxitoc's back, and this maniac just laughs. Before he could think of what to do, he felt a sharp pain in his side. Looking down, he saw the other gryphon's talons stuck deep in his flank, ripping them out along with pieces of his flesh.. He was doomed. He already felt his consciousness fading as the the gryphon laughed maniacally.
Shamgar could only watch as the gryphon circled around him, gloating.
"Did you really think you stood a chance?! DID YOU? You're pathetic. Weak. You couldn't even protect you're own mother...."
(OoC: Now would be a good time for Kirnardaz to intervene...)
Kirnardaz saw the situation deteriorate direly, and decided that a bit of unholy intervention was necessary.
He willed the energy to enter the realm of Earth, teleporting next to the crazy Gryphon.
"My wife had a soft spot for Gryphon's, but only the nice ones. You aren't nice." Kirnardaz didn't even think the incantation, and didn't have to throw the fireball.. It just materialised and flung itself at the older Gryphon, smashing into it's face.
"Now you come back with me." He willed the last of his Earth realm energy feed away, and teleported back to his realm, willing the older Gryphon to go as well, holding his feathers. In a burst of flame, they were on Kirnardaz's home turf. In seconds, the hordes of imps and demons waiting hungrily attacked the gryphon, tearing the thing to pieces. It was no Gryphon, but a Shade, which was soon devoured by demons galore, who in turn, were crushed as Kirnardaz merely willed the life out of them. They were his subjects. His toys.
He continued to watch the Gryphon in the chamber, ready to send help if needed.
The last thing that Shamgar remembered seeing was some armored being come, and when he went, he took that maniac with him. He was barely conscious, having lost a decent amount of blood, but, somehow, he willed himself to get up and walk, however painful it was. After a few minutes of agonized footsteps, he reached the door, but lost his strength, and slumped against the door, producing a loud THUD. He wouldn't last much longer. He thought of his mother, and of being reunited in the afterlife.......
(OoC: if you think I going kill him off, your mad.)
Seh'lvah heard the incident from the other side. She couldn't do anything, and she could merely hear the demon princes voice.
Then she heard the thud against the door. It was still locked. She felt tears well up in her eyes again. This boy had the worst luck, and was probably horror for her stress levels.
"Shamgar, please, you need to put the device on the pedestal. The door should open. Just please don't die... I don't wanna have to live without you! Please just try and get out?" She spoke softly against the door, looking to Veraxitoc for words of comfort.
Hearing Seh'lvah's voice brought him back to reality. Painfully, he stood up, limping back to where the pedestal was. He was bleeding out, that was certain. Using the pedestal for balance, he put the device back on the altar, as had been knocked off during the struggle. He heard the sound of a large lock working, unlocking not only the small door he had used, but also opened up the entire wall. He collapsed from the strain, and his breath was shallow.
The three headed dragon, who was now not so skeletal, walked into the chamber. He looked down at the poor boy, and all three heads whispered an incantation. A light mist surrounded the boy, entering his wounds, restoring his body. George, the center head, picked him up and carried him back to his friends.
"He'll need to rest, but he will be fine." He said, setting the gryphon down, "And, when he wakes up, as a sign of our gratitude, tell Shamgar that the castle is his to do as he pleases with it."
All three heads looked concerned for Shamgar, even with the powerful healing spell they had just performed. Perhaps because he was their first visitor in such a long time, or perhaps be cause he reminded the three headed dragon of someone else....
"Where will you guys go?" Seh'lvah had no doubt that he would be fine, but she would stay with him. She would tell him of what the trio had done.
Veraxitoc looked around the room. He felt eyes in the room the shouldn't be there, and that they were being watched by something. He scanned the room, seeing nothing but books. Maybe the books were enchanted? Made to spy and peer into this room.
"Well, we were actually thinking about staying here at The Colony. It sounds like a wonderful idea." George said, "However, as stated earlier, we won't be staying in this castle. Quite boring after being here for several millennia."
The trio noticed that Veraxitoc was looking around the room like there was something wrong.
"Wey ar ye lookin' aboot the room? Scared somethin' 'ill jump oot an get ye?" Wallace asked. He too looked around the room. There was nothing but books, the door that was busted in, and another door leading to the main foyer. So what could he possibly be looking at?
They wanted to join the colony? Veraxitoc was interested, but then he heard the voice.
"Tell them you are happy to accept them. Tell them that they are welcome to OUR Colony..." Veraxitoc jumped before he realised that the voice was in his head. It had an eerie chill that made it seem almost ghost like. It was unnatural and unnerving. He tried to ignore it.
"Of course, If you would like to become ambassadors for a nation, we can sort that? You will only have to keep Finnegan's mouth shut." Veraxitoc laughed nervously. He could feel multiple eyes on him. He was not only frightened, but worried. Worried that whatever was contacting him was going to try and interfere.
"Well, then, I guess it's settled. And, don't worry about Finnegan. We have a way of dealing with him" George said enthusiastically. Although, he couldn't help but notice that Veraxitoc was acting nervous for some strange reason.
"Are you alright, Veraxitoc?" he asked.
"We prefer the idea of remaining anonymous. If you tell him, we will not be happy..." The voice was a we. "Who are you?" Veraxitoc replied, terrified of the being. "We are friends. We can all be friends."
"I need to lie down, that is all, I-I-I-I don't feel too good right now. So if you will excuse me, we can, uh, talk more tomorrow?" Veraxitoc said, trembling. How had it reached into his mind?!
George and Wallace both looked at Veraxitoc with concern. Being an elder dragon, especially one his size, seeing Veraxitoc tremble like he's just seen a ghost was very unnerving. However, George excused Veraxitoc.
"Well, Seh'lvah, would you like to take Shamgar with you? He'd probably feel better waking up next to you than alone in a relatively new place." George said, addressing Seh'lvah.
"Well you said to him that the castle is his, I will wait here with him. I will let him know what you did for him." She smiled at the three heads. But seeing Veraxitoc do that was unnerving. He was a generally stalwart dragon, not fearful, like he just had been. She would inquire about that.
She opened up her wing, and licked her torn wing membrane. It would grow back, but very slowly.
"Well, if you want to, then go ahead and wait here with him." George said. Wallace and Finnegan were bickering with each other, but he was much more concerned with the two lovers.
"You know, he's very lucky to have a girl who loves him as much as you do," he said, commenting on Seh'lvah's desire to stay.
"Well I just want him to be happy. I regret being angry at him early. I regret it so much. But I won't make up lies or excuses for myself." She smiled at George.
"I am just worried about Veraxitoc at the moment. I have never seen him act like that. Death itself could stare him down and he wouldn't move, from what I know of him." She frowned, worried.
"Indeed, Veraxitoc was acting strange... At least, for how long I've known him." George said. He reached down and patted Shamgar in the head. "Im sure he'll make a fine mate"
Meanwhile, Shmgar was in his own dreamworld. He dreamed of seeing his mother again, of not having to worry about anything. He was at peace.
Seh'lvah finished cleaning her wing tears, and curled up around Shamgar, encircling him completely, and she decided to rest her head.
Veraxitoc on the other hand, was on his mountaintop. He paced, trying to reason about the voice he had heard. He must be going mad. Perhaps he was just a mad old dragon, unfit to lead the Colony to glory and it's goal.
"What did we do? We did nothing wrong! We are simply friends, aren't we Veraxitoc! We are good friends. Shamgar will be our friend too soon! And then Seh'lvah, and even George, Wallace and Finnegan! We can all be friends!" The voice cackled in his head.
The voice reached into Shamgar's dream, trying to access his mind. "Will you be friends with use Shamgar? Veraxitoc is already our friend, and we want to be friends with you."
Shamgar awoke with a start. What was that?
He felt his side, where the wound should have been. How long was I out?
He didn't worry to long about it. He was comforted by Seh'lvah, his lover, and laid there for a while longer. He was at peace, he didn't want to move, but at the same time, he was curious as to what that voice was. He wasn't scared, but he was curious.
Looking around, he saw the three heads Finnegan, George and Wallace coming down the hall. He felt comforted by their presence as well, but another fact hit him.
"Where's Veraxitoc?" He whispered, hoping not to wake Seh'lvah.
"You can't escape being our friend that easily... Please be our friend?" The voice materialised a form for Shamgar to see.
It was a nightmarish Shadow, with eight eyes, and razor teeth. It was smiling at him, the slit pupils wide, surrounded by a fiery orange, unblinking.
It's two arms were slightly elongated, with four digits on each hand, one of which was an opposed thumb. It's fingers had no claws or nails, and were simply razor points. On it's back were tendrils galore, shifting and changing to perform multiple tasks, three tentacles fiddling with the small pendulum device that Shamgar had put on the pedestal earlier. The rest waved wildly.
It had no feet or legs, but what looked like a long cloak, emanating pitch black smoke.
"Veraxitoc-friend knows us. He is our friend. Will you be Shamgar-friend or Shamgar-enemy?"
Shamgar was terrified by the appearance of the Shadow. He wasn't sure how it knew his name, but he didn't want to find out. Hoping Seh'lvah would see this monster, he nudge her hard, waking her up from her nap.
"W- w-what are you?" He asked, stuttering with fright. At that point, the three headed dragon came in, with Wallace letting out a booming yell"
"Oi! Ye thar! The freaky shadow thin'! I got somethin' I wan to say tae ye!"
Seh'lvah looked at it and roared, curling tightly around Shamgar, and putting her wing around him, to make sure he was safe. "Get away!" She screamed.
"We can all be friends now. Let's play a game! Do you all want us to invite Veraxitoc to play as well? We can invite him if dragon-friends and gryphon-friends want to play!" The Shadow grinned, and through it's teeth, a tongue wormed out, flicking and searching. It extended out of the creature's mouth for about a foot, with the creature standing at around eight feet tall.
With Seh'lvah curled around him, Shamgar felt a little better, but also a little uncomfortable. Why she was so protective of him was a mystery, although he guessed it was because he was significantly smaller than her, and perhaps because of his habit of finding trouble. Peering out from under her wings, got another glimpse of the Shadow. He was tempted to speak, but he kept quite.
He could hear that Wallace and George were questioning the Shadow, why it was there, and why it wanted to be friends, but he couldn't hear exactly what they were saying due to Seh'lvah being curled around him.
"What are our dragon-friends names? We know Sel'vah-friend and Shamgar-friend from Veraxitoc, but we didn't see you pop up. POP!" The Shadow cackled and fell to the floor laughing. In essence, it was completely insane, wanting everything that lived to be either friend or enemy.
"What are you? Are you a Shade?" Seh'lvah asked, letting Shamgar see and listen by moving her wing.
Shamgar was utterly terrified by this thing. It was as if everything had to friend or foe for this monster, as if every one was either hostile or ally.
"Well, um... Sir? I am George, this here is Wallace to my left, and over here to my right is Finnegan" George said, seeing no harm in telling this creature their names. He then walked over to where Seh'lvah and Shamgar were.
"But, we see that you have one body? What do we call you? Do we address each head individually? So do we have Finnegan-friend, Wallace-friend and George-friend? Or Dragon-friend?" The creature moved from where it was stood, moving in a very feral, primitive fashion.
Veraxitoc, not wanting the voice to harm Shamgar or the others, had rushed to the castle, trying to beat it there.
"Well, we'd prefer if you called us individually, but you may call us whatever you like." George said. Shamgar couldn't believe his ears. Was George talking with this thing like it was a normal person? He wasn't sure which was scarier, but nonetheless, he hid himself in Seh'lvah's curled form.
"Now that I've introduced myself and my brothers, my I have your name?" George asked, curious as to what he could call this creature.
"We do not remember being given a name. We have never been asked for our name. Do you have any ideas Friends? And then can we play our game? We were thinking tag, or hide and seek. Maybe even play water tag! Would Friends like that?" The creature was exceptionally eccentric.
Veraxitoc got to the ruin, entered, and walked till he saw the others interacting with some sort of freakish monster.
OOC: If you want an idea of how the Shadow moves, look at Gollum and such beings.
"How about 'Worthless piece of Shit'?!" Finnegan roared. He was always rude, and very insensitive. George wanted to say something, but Finnegan silenced him. Wallace, already annoyed with Finnegan, started arguing with him, telling him to apologize, but Finnegan wouldn't give in.
Shamgar was still hiding, scared like a little kitten of what the creature might do, and was physically shaking, even with how tight Seh'lvah was curled around him...
"Worthless piece of shit?" The creature repeated, processing the meaning of the phrase.
When it understood, it let out a loud, trebly screech, keeping the notes low.
"You are worthless piece of shit, Finnegan-enemy. We only talk to George-friend, and Wallace-friend now. We hate you!" The creature snarled at Finnegan, bigging itself up in the dragon's face.
Well, good. I hate you too!" Finnegan retorted. It didn't bother him at all that he hurt the little guy's feelings. However, when he tried to hurl another insult, he got hit with a flying book. Shamgar had thrown it, his fear turned to rage when he heard Finnegan. Freeing himself from Seh'lvah, he flew over towards Finnegan, and screeched in his face.
Finnegan, annoyed with the little pest, just blew a small jet of flame, lighting up Shamgar's wings like a bonfire, sending the poor gryphon plummeting to the floor.
Seh'lvah dove to help Shamgar, rolling him around to put the flames out.
The creature did something extreme. "YOU HURT SHAMGAR-FRIEND!" The creature lunged at Finnegan, swinging it's arms wildly in mid air, trying to hit the target it had leapt towards. It released a demonic roar as it flew, trying to dig it's claws into Finnegan's neck.
Shamgar moaned. His wings were severely burned, and he probably wouldn't be able to fly for quite a long time because of his burned feathers.
Wallace and George, while enraged with Finnegan, kept the little creature away from him.
"Im not happy about what Finnegan did, either, but you can't just go killing people because they hurt someone," George said. Searching for a solution, he looked around, and saw Veraxitoc.
"Ah, Veraxitoc. I don't suppose you saw what happened?"
"We don't want to be friends with Finnegan-enemy. Finnegan-enemy hurt Shamgar-friend." The creature grumbled as it seemed to just switch back to a half-civil state, ignoring the fact it had just tried to murder one head on a 3 headed dragon with an obliviousness that only dimwits and psychopaths could pull off.
"George. Is that, uh, that thing, it told me it wants to be called Skalos when I spoke to it... Has it, uh, been bothering you guys?" Veraxitoc queried, his voice trembling as he spoke. This thing terrified him, and he had known it for 20 minutes.
"Well, not really. It hasn't been bothering us, except for perhaps trying to murder Finnegan..." George said. Wallace was busy scolding Finnegan, not only for insult Skalos, but also for burning Shamgar. That's when George had an idea. Leaning down, he whispered something into to the gryphon's ears. If gryphons could grin, there would be a smile a mile wide on his face.
Standing up, with the help off Seh'lvah and George, he left, going into the room that lead to the tower. He'd be back in a while.
"Veraxitoc, remember how I said we have a way of dealing with Finnegan here?"
"Yes? Exactly how do you do that? I have no desire to upset our guest any more." Veraxitoc said, nodding to Skalos. The creature had no known capabilities. No known limits. Otherwise Veraxitoc would have eaten it right then and there. But he didn't know if the creature was immortal or invincible to fire or stomach acid.
"Well, you see, Veraxitoc, normally, either Wallace or I would clamp down on Finnegan. However, that only leaves one of us to speak." He said, "So, what Im having Shamgar build is a dragon-proof, dragon-sized muzzle."
In the other room, Shamgar was busy as a bee. He pulled out his tools, which included a hammer, tweezers, a wrench, and a special tool he made for cutting metal. How it worked was that he channeled weak wind spell through the shaft, and focused it all at the end of the tool, producing a blade sharper than a razor blade.
After finding some scrap metal laying around, gathered from old armor, he started making the frame for this muzzle, hammering and cutting the steel into shape. Fitting the straps on his invention, he brought it out, and presented it to the others.
"This sounds very interesting. I would like to see this work." Veraxitoc kept and eye on Skalos, who appeared to be meditating.
Seh'lvah watched Shamgar work. He was so cute, all his homemade tools and his way of working. "I think guys who can work tools like you are actually quite attractive..." Seh'lvah was truly fascinated as to what he was building.
In his mind, Skalos was having a huge argument. "But, we don't want to cook and eat our friends. Friends would eat us first. Friends are bigger than us." Skalos argued.
"But we want to try dragon-flesh. Must taste better than human-flesh, or gryphon-flesh. Kill them and eat them, that's what we say."
"No. We refuse."
"Well, Veraxitoc, would you mind pinning Finnegan to the floor?" George asked, as he and Wallace were unable to do so. Shamgar, still wary of Finnegan, kept to the side while he was pinned. He then got on top of Finnegan, and slid the muzzle over his face, securing the straps at the back. Finnegan tried speaking, but all anyone heard was mumbling.
"Hey, it works!" Shamgar said, happy that his invention worked. Now they wouldn't have to worry about Finnegan's foul language.
"Does this mean Finnegan-enemy can't be horrible? Can he be Finnegan-friend now?" Skalos said, excited that Finnegan was now quiet. Now there was no need to kill him.
"Effective. I like it. Can he keep it on forever? I like him like this." Veraxitoc laughed, trying to draw the attention away from Skalos, so he might leave.
"I think we should thank the guy that made it! Well done Shamgar..." Seh'lvah kissed the Gryphon on the cheek.
Shamgar blushed. He wasn't used to this kind of attention when it came to his tinkering. He liked it.
"Haha, he may have to!" George laughed, although he was being serious. With the way Finnegan had acted, it was suitable punishment to have a muzzle on. He then directed his attention to Shamgar's singed wings.
"Veraxitoc, may I have a moment of your time? It's something I think you should know."
"Of course George. Was is it you have to tell me?" Veraxitoc queried.
Seh'lvah, in her current frame of mind decided to lick the back of Shamgar's head, ruffling the feathers and making it stick up.
"Well you see, with Shamgar's wings in their current state, it would take a long while for it to heal, and even then, Im not sure if the feathers would grow back." George said, nodding towards Shamgar.
Shamgar, who was busy being"'groomed" by Seh'lvah, didn't notice the conversation, although he did wince when she touched his wings.
"All species with feathers grow them back, no matter what the cause of loss. I know that much. He will recover." Veraxitoc knew that feathers were just like scales, and grew back, no matter if you lost all of them or not.
Seh'lvah tried to avoid cleaning his wings, and instead, cleaned his head and body. She pushed him over and began cleaning his side.
Shamgar, although slightly grossed out, couldn't help but laugh, being tickled by the dragon's tongue.
"Stop it!" He cried out playfully, now enjoying the attention.
George looked on with a smile on his face.
"I sure hope you're right, Veraxitoc."
"You love it really..." She giggled, and licked his face.
"It should be fine. Feather's are basically fluffy scales." Veraxitoc said.
Then Skalos decided to speak.
"Friends, can we eat you? We are hungry, and we have never tried dragon-flesh or gryphon-friends. Would you let us taste you?" Skalos' tongue flicked at the air.
All three heads, and Shamgar immediately just stared at Skalos. Did he just ask if he could eat them?
Whatever the case may have been, the three headed dragon immediately stepped in front of the creature.
"You're not eating anyone." George said, his voice cold as ice.
Seh'lvah snarled at the creature, and put a leg around Shamgar, trying to protect him.
Veraxitoc felt his mind snap and his will break as the creature tortured him with visions of a horrific vividness. He couldn't take this creature anymore.
"Get out of MY HEAD!!" His voice shook books off their shelves and he lashed out in all directions. "GET! OOUUTT!!"
Skalos on the other hand merely laughed at Veraxitoc, and did a strange dance, as if teasing the others.
Shamgar was scared, more so by Veraxitoc's behavior than the creature. Then, another sound entered the room. A mad cackling. The mad cackling. He didn't dare look. He knew what it was. The mad gryphon from the other room.
The older gryphon stared at the creature, then looked at Shamgar.
"You didn't expect to be rid of me that easily, did you?" He said. He was insane. He had been pulled into hell, and yet he survived.
Skalos stared wildly at the new gryphon. "Are you a friend? Can we be friends? We want to play chase! Will you play chase with us?" This new gryphon looked to already know Shamgar, but Skalos' mind could not make the link at all.
Seh'lvah on the other hand, focused on Veraxitoc, who was curled up on his side, shaking and having a complete breakdown. It was truly scary to see him break like that, and she was worried he wouldn't come back. In her mind, Skalos would take care of the other gryphon if it moved to hurt anyone. It considered them all "friends", despite it's wish to eat them.
The older gryphon merely laughed. "Friends? You wretch, I'm your worst nightmare!"
With that, the older gryphon summoned a sphere of dark energy, crackling with some evil enegy, and aimed it at Skalos. "Now die!"
He hurled the dark mass, exploding on impact. Shamgar, while afraid of Skalos, was even more afraid of this gryphon, and cowered behind Seh'lvah.
Being made of exactly the same energy, the ball exploded and the resulting dark cloud slowly began getting sucked towards Skalos' body, being absorbed and dissipated. Skalos could not use the energy, but it had no effect on him. But he felt the pain of the impact and explosion. His tendrils shifted and became bladed, and he lunged at the gryphon, screeching.
"DIE!" And, with a burst of dark magic of his own, Skalos teleported him and the gryphon away. Skalos had no control of how far away they were, and as it turned out, they were very far away. Across the seas from Le'raana, definitely. There, in that black desert, Skalos fought the gryphon, trying to rip it limb from limb by throwing flurries of rending attacks.
Skalos' claws split the gryphon's skin, opening wounds deep enough to reveal organs and bone. In a few minutes, the gryphon had lost a few litres of blood, staining the sand red. Unable to keep fighting, the gryphon collapsed, and Skalos began to feast, ripping chunks of meat from the gryphon that rivalled the size of a human head. A minute later and the gryphon was well and truly dead, nothing but a meal for Skalos. Skalos scraped the bones clean of flesh, muscle and all other soft tissues. He left the heart last, making sure to clean his teeth with his tongue before biting into the heart, spilling fresh blood over the razors in Skalos' mouth, staining them red.
---------------------------
Feeling the Shadow's influence leave, Veraxitoc began to make the slow crawl to recovery. He stopped trembling and just laid there, silently.
Seh'lvah took her wing off of Shamgar and let him go. "That's enough for one day. Do we all agree?"
Shamgar was shaking, but he had to agree. He had enough for one day. He just wanted some rest. Then again, he also wanted to get to know the castle. He was curious as to how it was designed.
George then remembered something.
"Ah, Shamgar. I'd like to inform you that the castle is now yours." He said, telling him what he had said to his friends earlier.
Seh'lvah had completely forgotten to tell him that! "Sorry, I forgot to say. Got too carried away cleaning you." And finishing with that, she made good on her word, and gave him another lick. The creature, Skalos, had gone, and Veraxitoc would hopefully recover. And that psychotic gryphon had gone. All was alright.
"So where are we sleeping tonight Shamgar?" She licked him again. "I think we need to find somewhere nice. Just, no more surprises."
"Hey, don't get ahead of yourselves, now." George said, "you two may like each other, but from what I can tell, you're a little young to be thinking about that."
Shamgar wasn't really listening. He was still taking in what he just heard. A castle? I have a castle?
The comment George raised reminded her of Veraxitoc's scolding. "You're too late, Veraxitoc already lectured us. And with all due respect, I want to sleep. And not get scolded again." The castle would be fun to explore. Perhaps chain Veraxitoc in the dungeon.
"Well, in case you're thinking about locking anyone in a dungeon, there isn't one. At least, not anymore." George said, as if he could read Seh'lvah's mind.
"He's right, Seh'lvah." It was Shamgar," We should wait until we're older."
Wait? She didn't want to wait. But she accepted cause she knew when Veraxitoc woke up, the same thing would happen if he found out.
"Fine, but, Shamgar has to find me a good room. And I want full decorating rights. It needs to be fairly spacious, with a warm corner, and some place that I can grow some plants. I feel like growing plants." Seh'lvah would try and get something out of this situation. "Oh, and if Skalos pops up again, I wanna be able to call and have Shamgar there in a few seconds. Shamgar could certainly take on Skalos for me, cause that guy was creepy. Gave me the chills."
"We'll, there is the master bedroom. However, since Shamgar is now the master of this castle, it is, by default, his. There are a couple of spare bedrooms that are quite spacious, though." George said, nodding towards Shamgar, who was surprised at Seh'lvah already wanting to move in, when she hasn't even seen the place, "Of course, though, the old place might need a little work- do you know any summoners? That would certainly help in fixing the castle."
"I know a summoner. I met him once, but he wasn't exactly a people person. He was quite, evil-like... If that is a way to describe him. And if I contact him, I want a decent bedroom. Custom, an extension. I want it bigger than this master bedroom." Seh'lvah knew she was being selfish but if she was the one getting hold of Xerordir, she wanted to make sure she got what she wanted.
Shamgar sighed. He didn't like being around 'evil' people. As it was his castle, he could make the decision as to whether or not to find this summoner.
"Seh'lvah, I think you have the right idea, but Im going to have to say no to contacting this summoner." He said, his voice firm as a mountain. He went to explore the rest of the castle, finding the rooms to be, as George had said, quite spacious. And Seh'lvah wants an extension why?
Seh'lvah decided to go off in a strop, and explore the castle on her own. It was typical of her to do that, strop when she didn't get her way. None of the elders understood her, and Shamgar wouldn't stand up for her for fear of reprisals. She wished he was bigger. Then the dragons wouldn't be so confident to eat him. Then again, they weren't going to eat Skalos. Skalos could defend himself.
Veraxitoc's mind was in fragments, a result of Skalos' mental torture. In his mind thousands of voices raged and ranted, having the memories of Skalos' victims implanted in his mind. If Skalos had done that to the others, no doubt he had started eating them. He had probably begun with Shamgar, as he was the smallest, or Finnegan, for upsetting him.
Shamgar looked around for a bit, and finally found the master bedroom. It was quite large, big enough to fit at least him and Seh'lvah, not that he was thinking about that. And, a sudden thought popped into his head. I know someone who might be able to fix this place.
However, as he couldn't fly at the moment, he went and found Seh'lvah, who was also touring the castle. He explained own how he had met a rather old dragon during his travels, and how this dragon would be able to help fix the castle.
"However, he prefers the company of gryphons for some reason, and I wouldn't know what his gryphon form looks like. He usually stays in a small gryphon colony to the southwest. I would go myself, but, my wings are burned to a crisp. Oh, also, when you get there, ask for Azuma."
____________________________
Azuma was loving his day. Being as old as he was, he had learned to love each day, regardless of what happened. On this particular day, he was teaching a young gryphon how to fly.
"Easy, there. Don't rush to learn things, but take time to understand them." He said. Whenever he taught the young gryphons to fly, he often would motion with his red-tipped wings. Today, however, he felt he would let this youngster figure it out. Of course, though, he would be there to catch him if he fell.
"If this gryphon is a psycho like the one Skalos took away, I'll eat him and then pluck your tail feathers, I'm telling you. I do not like people who are insane enough to do what Skalos and the other Gryphon were. But I will do it, since you don't trust me to keep control of Xerordir." With that, she finished and licked his face.
"So that is what flame-grilled gryphon tastes like..." She laughed and turned to go. "I'll be back soon!" And with that she left.
She took off far over the valley, going in the direction she was given. Eventually she spotted the large amount of gryphons. Why didn't Shamgar live with these people?
She landed near one, and enquired after this "Azuma". She was pointed towards a gryphon of beautiful colourings, teaching a young gryphon to fly. They didn't learn like dragons did. If a dragon couldn't fly when dropped, they were not strong enough to survive. Dragons weren't unreasonable, but had obviously tougher teaching methods.
"Excuse me, are you Azuma? My friend, Shamgar, said he knows you?" Seh'lvah spoke cautiously, trying not to distract the older gryphon from his duty.
"Ah, Shamgar. Nice young fellow. Now, young lady, before we continue, Id much rather talk in private." Azuma said, excusing himself from his teaching.
He walked a few paces into a cave, where he transformed into his true, dragon form. He was old, his scales, once a brilliant dark grey, now dulled, and he had a chipped horn or two, and some missing teeth.
When Seh'lvah had met the gryphon, she thought that it was a gryphon. Not some huge, snake like, wingless dragon.
"Wow, sir, you are old... Excuse me for judging, but I am amazed that you seem as old as you are! And I don't recognise what species you are, or your accent!" She was in total shock at this dragon, who was possibly even older than Veraxitoc. She threw her hatred for all elder dragons aside in pure excitement.
"Well, young lady, you are correct when you say I look old. To be exact, 10,390 years old. Now, what is it that Shamgar wants? Last time I remember, I owe him a favor anyway," the old dragon said. He coiled up on the floor, resting his old body.
"And, if you're curious as to why I live with the gryphons, they are very peaceful. No violence between members of the colony. Any disputes are settled in a civil manner."
"Basically, he helped out this three headed dragon, and long story short, they gave him their castle! After an incident with a timing device, which I proudly named a "pendulum", and a shadow demon and crazy gryphon trying to tear each other to shreds. The gryphon seemed insane, but I think the demon was more insane. I don't know if the name Skalos would ring a bell to you? It was trying to eat us, but saying we were it's friends. Nasty little thing, sent the head of our colony into some kind of psychotic trance. And one of the dragon head's turned Shamgar into a fried chicken meal. Someone should do that, see what it tastes like. Maybe bread it or something, I dunno." Seh'lvah realised she had just puked up the most incoherent story ever, and that the old guy probably wouldn't understand.
Azuma just listened to the young dragoness. He pieced together what she had just said, and came to his own conclusion.
"So, Shamgar wants me to fix up the castle? I suppose it's the least I could do for him," he said. Picking his old self off the ground, he turned back into his gryphon form. After talking with the elder gryphons, he started flying back to The Colony.
Seh'lvah followed him after he figured out what she had said. Maybe this elder wouldn't scold her for following her feelings.
Veraxitoc's mind tried to combat the images it could see. Hundreds of people who were consumed in all forms of gruesome manners, some torn apart first, some eaten from the floor, some hung, even points where Skalos had eaten random body parts he found. Veraxitoc knew he couldn't throw up, but he wanted to. He could hear scratching in his head and he could hear the two voices, one of which was arguing to not eat Veraxitoc's friends, the other arguing for it. He tried to discern the two voices as they began to phase. They tore up his own memories against him, telling him of how nice flesh tastes, and how eating Shamgar would be a new experience.
In reality Veraxitoc writhed and tossed, and did actually throw up, unable to control his body, which in itself couldn't have any control.
As the two dragons were flying, Azuma saw a tall mountain.
"Is this where your head elder lives?" He asked the younger dragon, motioning towards the mountain, "perhaps maybe we should pay him a visit. He might appreciate knowing my presence."
He could feel that something was wrong. Even more, he felt an evil presence, or rather, the remnants of one.
"I think that's his mountaintop, but I don't think he's there at the moment. I hope he is, cause that means he's recovered. If not, he is still comatose in the castle. I hope he's all right. I don't know exactly what happened, but he just started shouting 'get out of my head' and thrashing about before just falling on the floor shaking." Seh'lvah was worried, as he had been acting strangely earlier, but he didn't need to know that unless he asked. She went up as high as she knew she could, looking for Veraxitoc.
Then she went back down. "No, he's not there. I hope he's alright."
"Hmmm. He is most likely at the castle." Azuma said, nodding.
Within a few minutes, they were at the castle. Shamgar was tinkering with some device when the pair walked in.
"Hello, Shamgar. I heard you own this castle." Azuma, laughing. Shamgar seemed smaller than he remembered, but perhaps it was because he was in his true, dragon form. Bowing to the elder dragon, Shamgar explained that while the castle was his, he was going to talk to Veraxitoc about using the castle for negotiations with other colonies, the Human kingdoms, etc.
"However, the castle is in a bit of disrepair, as you can see. I really didn't want to bother you, but the person Seh'lvah was going to bring was a bit, umm... Untrustworthy..." He said. He knew what the old dragon was capable of, but he felt bad for disturbing the old timer.
"I have no problem helping you, Shamgar. Personally, I like the idea of this colony. One of peace, and harmony." Azuma said. He then let out a powerful roar, one that shook the entire area. Stones fell into their proper places, walls were rebuilt. Even entire rooms were restored. This, however, was only a fraction of the power that Azuma held.
"Now, may I meet your head elder? I was told he might need some assistance." Azuma said, finishing his work on the castle.
"Do you think you could build a room for me like that? Or perhaps a dungeon for me to chain Shamgar up in?" Seh'lvah winked a Shamgar. She was really trying to gauge where this guy stood on the spectrum of hate.
Skalos decided to reach into Veraxitoc's mind, and imprinted new memories. Four people to add to the horror in Veraxitoc's mind. Some of these people had screamed and begged while being eaten, and all Veraxitoc could do was watch them in pain. Skalos even invaded their minds as they died, and he shared their feelings, and Veraxitoc saw that part of Skalos liked watching it. But his friends weren't on that list. It set his mind at ease to know they weren't chow.
"Veraxitoc is this way, but like I said, he's not in best condition." She walked Azuma to Veraxitoc, who was thrashing around in his own puke, his face frozen into one of frustrated insanity, half laughing, half screaming.
"Don't test me, young lady. I may have agreed to help Shamgar, but I will not fulfill childish desires." Azuma said sternly. However, he wasn't scolding.
Stepping into the room where Veraxitoc was writhing in, he got a grim look on his face. He knew how to exorcise demons, one of the powers belonging to his species, but he wasn't quite sure what was afflicting the elder.
"You said he has been acting strangely?" He asked, wanting to know specifically what was wrong before he attempted an exorcism.
Seh'lvah frowned. Another grumpy elder who never let her have fun her way.
She swallowed her annoyance as he asked her the next question.
"It started just before Skalos turned up. He got all jittery and nervous, like he could see or hear something no-one else could. Then Skalos turned up, and he came back after going to take a breather, and a lie down, and then after a few minutes in the room with Skalos, he just started shouting and thrashing, then soon after, Skalos left in a fight with a gryphon that was going to hurt Shamgar. At this point he was like this, and no one knew what to do." Seh'lvah shrugged.
Veraxitoc tried to reach out with his own mind, and saw the new dragon. But Skalos looke with him, and warped Veraxitoc's vision. "You can eat your new friend Veraxitoc! We won't tell! We promise! We will show you which bits to eat first, ha-ha, hahahahaha...." The laughter echoed off, and in Azuma's eyes, he thought he saw Skalos.
With a newfound will, Veraxitoc, in a protective fit, lunged at Azuma, believing him to be Skalos.
Azuma coiled around Veraxitoc, squeezing him tightly. He didn't want to hurt the younger elder, but he wouldn't let himself get torn to pieces, either. Summoning an ancient power innate in the Oirthir Dragons, he let out a roar, followed by a white aura.
"Be gone from this dragon! Go back to the depths of darkness from which you came! I cast you out, demon! I cast you out!" He yelled as the white aura surrounded Veraxitoc, cleansing him of Skalos' influence.
Feeling it was safe, he uncoiled himself from Veraxitoc, setting him down on the floor.
Veraxitoc opened his eyes. The voices were gone. He could never be rid of the imprinted memories, but the voices were gone. He didn't have to listen to Skalos anymore. And that meant he could forget. To move on.
Veraxitoc raised his head. This elder was ancient. Much older than Veraxitoc. And he had helped. He was grateful, but something in his head began to get defensive. He had felt this before. He felt his authority was now threatened. He would not be overthrown by some ancient old git.
Quickly remembering the great service done for him, Veraxitoc began to speak.
"Thank you, for freeing me of that demon. I will never forget what it showed me, but I can't... I can't hear it's voices anymore... A-a-and that will do... Thank you. Might I ask your name, good sir?" Veraxitoc then remembered that he had actually attacked this man.
"And my apologies for attacking you, I was not myself, and believed you were the vessel of the demon that rode me."
"I am Azuma, youngster." he said, bowing towards the head elder. While he understood dragon culture, he had no intentions of usurping power.
Shamgar heard the commotion, and came to the room where the three dragons were. He saw that Veraxitoc, once mad and delusional, was now feeling better. Azuma saw him, and his wings. Walking over to the young gryphon, he placed his wide claws over both of Shamgar's wings, and healed them, even bring the feathers back in.
"Veraxitoc, I just want to clarify that I am here by Shamgar's request, and have no intentions of threatening your position. And, Shamgar, it looks like you now owe me a favor."
Both Azuma, and Shamgar laughed.
Seh'lvah saw Shamgar laughing with an elder and felt a pang of frustration. Why was it always her that had a bad time with elder dragons. She decided that she had seen enough, went off, and found the master bedroom. Deciding to deliberately annoy the elders, she curled up and fell asleep on the carpet nearby, hoping an elder would see so that she could actually have a go at one of them. She didn't even say goodnight to them. Shamgar would probably say goodnight later.
"With all due respect Azuma, I am 2,000 years old, I should imagine you know that is a long time to live. So, while I understand you meant nothing by it, and are no doubt wiser and older than myself, might ask you do not call me youngster?" It had burned Veraxitoc's pride to hear himself get called a youngster, so, in kind, Veraxitoc had flipped it, hinting at the dragon being truly ancient, and hanging onto the words emphasising age just slightly longer.
"Veraxitoc, I am 10,000 years old. I have seen empires rise and fall. If I was any older, I'd be an antique!" Azuma said, laughing. He had meant no harm by calling Veraxitoc a youngster, but when you're 10,000 years old, anything under about 7,000 seems young.
Shmgar watched the two dragons converse. He was curious as to what they might talk about. However, as his wings were healed, he was itching to go on a midnight flight. So, walking over to an open window, he spread his wings, and took off.
"I am, of course, interested in things you have witnessed. You obviously remember the Dragon Rider wars? Between Adela and Connlaoth, before both countries dropped the dragon rider scheme of course. Gruesome business, I actually ended up trying to cull enough people on each side that they wiped each other out, to allow something better to be put in place, perhaps for Serendipity to rule the continent, but the fates desired otherwise." Veraxitoc made a note to write to Ornusjalil. He didn't want to die hating her.
"I did not witness the events myself, but I know what you are talking about. I actually began my pacifist ways after watching my friends fall in an ancient war, much like the Dragon Rider wars. Since then, I never took part in any conflict, despite the pleading of my colleagues." Azuma said, recalling events from many centuries ago. Something else caught his attention. "Veraxitoc, do you have any idea where the young lady ran off to? I saw Shamgar go for a midnight stroll, so I assume he'll be back soon."
"Knowing her, she's doing exactly what I said NOT to do. She thinks she's old enough to just go and casually have sex because she can. It is ridiculous and stupid..." Veraxitoc sniffed the air. "She would have left a smell of pheromones if she wished to copulate, and I cannot smell them. Her species is closely related to mine, to the point where we can recognise their pheromones, and actually reproduce more successfully with them. But alas, my species is extinct, I am the last. I had to make sure of that."
"The last of your species? I see it as a shame that you won't be able to teach another generation of your own kind the principles of your Colony." He said, "However, if you believe that it had to be done, then I won't talk any further on the matter. Now, shall we search for our missing friend?"
Azuma started searching the castle. He started with the library; no luck there. Next, he looked in the mess hall. Nothing there that would be of interest to a growing young dragon. After looking in what Shamgar called his 'tinker room', he was just about ready to give up.
"We should be looking in the bedrooms, knowing her." Veraxitoc sighed. She was irritatingly interested in sex.
"Most likely in Shamgar's master bedroom. And most likely he is with her." Veraxitoc walked towards the master bedroom.
"You're probably right." Azuma said, coming up to the master bedroom door. He found it unlocked, and flung it open, only to see Seh'lvah, but not Shamgar. He is probably flying around somewhere.
While he wasn't angry, Azuma was stern with Seh'lvah. He shook her hard, waking her from her nap, not only seeing Azuma, but also Veraxitoc.
Seh'lvah woke from her slumber and was immediately angry. They'd woken her for nothing. "What do you two want now?! I'm trying to fucking sleep! Dicks..." She then laid her head down and went to go back to sleep.
"Where is Shamgar? I wanna know he's not under your wing, or behind you." Veraxitoc craned his neck as she batted a wing at the two.
"Well, Im certainly not." The voice belonged to Shamgar, who came in behind Azuma and Veraxitoc. He wasn't angry, at least, not that anyone could tell. Rather, he was surprised that Seh'lvah was in his room. Looking at the two elders, then Seh'lvah, he came to the conclusion that they thought he and Sehkvah would be sleeping together, and wanted to check to make sure that wasn't the case.
Seh'lvah knew that Shamgar would control the situation. "Goodnight Shamgar, wake me if you need me. You two can bugger off though." Then she plonked her head down and went to sleep again.
"Good to see you weren't doing anything you shouldn't Shamgar. I take it you didn't know she was there?" Veraxitoc sighed. Children were so temperamental.
"No, I didn't." He said, "I was actually coming back to get my satchel."
Azuma looked at Shamgar for moment. He had known Shamgar from before, as he would often visit the colony he lived at. However, he felt there was something more to it. As he thought about it, he remembered that years and years ago, he had a mate from that colony who was carrying their child, but she left him, saying that he wouldn't make a good father.
"Well, Veraxitoc, I'll take my leave for the evening," he said, excusing himself, and finding a cave to sleep in.
Veraxitoc watched Azuma leave, before saying one final thing.
"Make sure she doesn't do something she's not allowed to when you come back to sleep?" Veraxitoc just wanted one final confirmation.
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OOC: I have gotten one of Pagan's characters involved, if you want to join in on the thread "The Cake Is A Lie", Seh'lvah is causing issues, so if you wanted to meet Sapphira, say here, and I will let PAgan know you are joining?
"I'm not the owner of the castle!" He said, laughing. Shamgar, however looked at Veraxitoc, and nodded.
"I'll be tinkering with things if you need me." Shamgar said, walking downstairs to his tinkering room.
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OoC: Sure. I'll probably be using Shamgar only there, but I'll join in.
Veraxitoc looked at Shamgar until he left, then saw the purple light in the room. He didn't pay any mind to the light, thinking it must have been moonlight off his scales.
"I don't want anymore lip from you Seh'lvah. I'm getting tired of your games. Now goodnight." Veraxitoc grumbled as he lost.
The morning light peered through Azuma's cave. He had spent most of the night meditating on his past. He remembered once meeting his daughter in the company of his former mate. She had looked much like her mother, only that she had a more dragon like face, and eyes. She still had the beak, feathers, and fur of a gryphon, however. That one time, however would be the last he ever saw or heard from his daughter again.
Shamgar, on the other hand, spent the night tinkering, and thinking of his mother. He remembered his mother telling him that she had met his grandfather once, and during that one meeting, she saw a wise, elderly gryphon. Since then, Shamgar had always wanted to meet his grandfather. As the morning sun peered through the windows, Shamgar was well asleep, tired from a night of thought and invention.
Seh'lvah rose first, sneezing, coughing and sniffling. She had dragon-flu. "Fuck this, I will never be able to get back to sleep." She got up, puffy eyed, walked outside and sneezed fire onto the grass. She dabbed it out, and quickly went over to the lake, trying to sneeze soot and fire up instead of down. That way not forest fires would occur. Usually her mother would help her get over dragon-flu.
"Veraxitoc! Please can you come and help me!" She tried to shout weakly but coughed and croaked.
Azuma heard the sneezing and coughing, but he didn't do anything. He was too old to be getting dragon-flu, and was lucky he hadn't caught it already. Instead, he decided to check on Veraxitoc, and inform him of Seh'lvah's condition, not like he would do anything, of course.
So, flying high up to Veraxitoc's peak, he coiled himself around the tip of the mountain.
"How are you today, Veraxitoc? I woke this morning to find Seh'lvah had come down with dragon-flu."
"Oh joy..." Veraxitoc yawned. He had been sleeping in, but still tired. "Would you inform George, Wallace and Finnegan that she is to be avoided. Also warn Shamgar. I am going back to Adela for a few days Azuma, I need to pay some final respects. I leave you in charge until I get back. Just make sure no-one goes near Seh'lvah till she recovers? If anyone decides to visit, stall them till I get back. I will be gone 3 days. If I am not back by 3 days, wait another day for me before sending any search and rescue or recovery party. I may bring back new members." Veraxitoc stretched his wings wide, and shot a burst of flame.
"Of course, Veraxitoc." Azuma nodded. He watched as Veraxitoc flew towards Adela, then decided to fly towards the castle to inform Shamgar of Seh'lvah's condition.
"So, Seh'lvah is to be avoided? I suppose I could use some time away from her." Shamgar said upon receiving instructions. Azuma affirmed the orders, and I quieted about the location of George, Wallace, and Finnegan.
"Oh, them. I think they went and found a cave. They do stand out in a crowd, being a three headed dragon." Shamgar replied, pointing Azuma towards the northern part of the valley. After informing the three headed dragon of Seh'lvah's ailment, he went to find some breakfast.
Shamgar stayed at the castle, and thought about the possibility of meeting his grandfather. He had searched through every colony in the area, but never found a "wise, old gryphon". Then, he remembered something else his mother had said, that his grandfather's had bright red tips, and his fur was pure white....
Seh'lvah coughed and spluttered by the lake, steam coming from where bouts of fire boiled the water. "I hate dragon flu." She sulked there for a long while, not doing much but sneeze and cough occasionally, sniffing if her nose began to run. "Shamgar? Can you hear me?" She called across the valley. Any company would be nice. Even Skalos.
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OOC: Bring Skalos back? Or leave him?
Shamgar flew around the majority of the afternoon, trying to find some scraps of metal, or maybe even a precious gem. He had no idea why he liked gemstones, as most other gryphons could really care less, but he found them attractive. After a couple of hours, he grew hungry, and found a secluded stream to go fishing in, catching a rather large salmon. Azuma happened to be flying overhead and sat down next to the gryphon.
"That's certainly a nice fish you have there." Azuma said, chuckling at how big the fish looked compared to Shamgar.
"Well, I just got lucky. Besides, I skipped breakfast." Shamgar replied, ripping into the salmon, savoring the flavor. He loved salmon, but it was so expensive at the markets of some of the larger cities, and even then it wasn't as good as catching it fresh out of the stream. After finishing his meal, something caught his eye in the stream, reaching down, he caught hold of something large. Reaching with both hands, he pulled out an emerald the size of his head! A very good find indeed....
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OoC: HELL NO!
Seh'lvah had decided to put her face in the lake every time she sneezed. The lake near her had actually gone a cloudy grey from the soot, and was steaming hot. "SHAMGAR!!! GET YOUR BUTT HERE NOW!!" She shouted before sending up an accidental plume of fire.
Shamgar heard Seh'lvah, but he knew what Veraxitoc had said. He felt bad, but he didn't want to get sick, either. While sitting there, looking at this emerald that he found, a sudden question popped into his mind.
"Azuma, this may sound crazy, but are you my grandfather?" Shamgar asked, hoping the old dragon wouldn't see him as crazy
"Shamgar, why would you think that?" Azuma said, surprised by the question.
Shamgar took a deep breath. "You see, whenever I asked my mother about my grandparents, she said that she only met her father once."
"Go on"
"And, she told me that my grandfather had wings with bright red tips, a black beak, and white fur."
"How old was your mother when she met your grandfather?" Azuma asked. This moment was unexpected, and certainly emotional. He was almost crying.
"About the same age I am right now." Shamgar said, not understanding why Azuma was crying, but he started crying too.
"Shamgar, y-you are my g-g-grandson."
"SHAMGAR!!! IF YOU DON'T COME HERE, RIGHT NOW, I WILL DO MORE THAN TORCH YOUR WINGS OFF!!" Seh'lvah roared across the valley, not wanting to leave the lake, as the water soothed her nose and throat.
Shamgar was having too much of an emotional moment with his grandfather to care about Seh'lvah's empty threats. As soon as both had stopped crying, Azuma brought up another question.
"So, how has your mother been? It's been ages since I've seen her." Azuma asked, unaware of his daughter's fate.
"Grandpa, my mother has been dead for several years now, killed by a fire." Shamgar said, looking down at the ground. Azuma couldn't believe what he had just heard. However, Shamgar was being honest.
"I see. She would be proud, Shamgar, just as I am proud. You are turning out to be a fine young gryphon." He said, a lone tear washing down his face, "Now, why don't we see what we can do with this emerald."
Both of their moods changed from sad to utter joy, laughing as they flew, sharing stories of their travels.
Seh'lvah smashed her smash into the water and breathed fire until she ran out of energy. Then she took a breather and sulked. She was not enjoying this flu, and her so called boyfriend was abandoning her to die. "FINE! SEE IF I CARE IF YOU DITCH ME WITH THIS FLU!" She knew she was being unreasonable, but she felt like crap. She'd use the excuse that she was suffering when he got round to seeing her.
Several days had passed, and Shamgar and his grandfather were getting to know each other. Pretty soon, it was like they'd known each other all their lives. The day came when Veraxitoc was supposed to return, and the two waited eagerly, with Azuma curled around a nearby mountaintop, and Shamgar waiting on Veraxitoc's peak. Having been drilled several times by his grandfather, Shamgar could now fly up and down from Veraxitoc's peak with ease, only feeling a bit dizzy on the descent.
Seh'lvah had gotten over her flu by that point, and decided to go and see where the hell everyone had gone. Seh'lvah just barely handled getting up to Veraxitoc's peak. "Where the fuck is Veraxitoc?!" She exclaimed, clearly annoyed at everything.
Veraxitoc was still in flight and had decided to take the high road. He would only be visible from his peak. He spun himself mid flight, stopping three times. The screams would carry to his mountain, although he wouldn't be visible.
"Mind your language, young lady" Azuma said, sternly. He wasn't going to go easy on her even though she was sick for the past few days. "And, Veraxitoc should be here any moment now."
Shamgar covered his ears as he heard the screeching sound that Nightspinners made. Veraxitoc was close. Azuma was irritated by the sound, but saw the pain that it put his grandson through. He couldn't do anything, though, as it was how his ears worked.
Looking out, he saw the shape of a dragon. It was Veraxitoc.
"I don't really care anymore you old git. I'm sick of being treated like a little child." She heard the screeching sound, and prepared a rock to throw at him. "I hope I take out his eye." She really didn't care anymore. She'd been left for several days with flu, unable to care for herself, crippled with fire and soot. She didn't want to be there for any other reason than to throw a rock at Veraxitoc.
Veraxitoc roared a greeting out as he approached, smiling to see Seh'lvah was feeling better. He noticed Shamgar and Azuma too, but not the rock in Seh'lvah's paw, thinking that instead, she was waving at him, when in reality, she was prepping the throw.
"Seh'lvah, don't be unreasonable" Azuma said, this time scolding. While he wanted to come down from the peak and teach Seh'lvah a lesson in manners, he felt she could learn the hard way from Veraxitoc. Shamgar also looked on, with concern for Seh'lvah, and Veraxitoc both. They'd been at each other's throats before, and he didn't want them to fight again.
As Veraxitoc drew closer, Seh'lvah made her throw. She scored Veraxitoc's eye, just like she wanted to. Veraxitoc roared in pain, and she saw he was bleeding. He landed right in front of her. "I think I have a good throw. Do you think so Veraxitoc." She was preparing herself to fight him.
At the same time, they lunged at each other, knocking each other into the mountain top snow, staining small amounts red with the cuts and bites.
Shamgar backed away, as he was much too small to do anything but look on in horror. Azuma, on the other hand, let out a loud, powerful roar that shook the mountain side, causing avalanches on several nearby mountains.
"Enough! I, not sure whose act more like a child, you, Veraxitoc, or you, Seh'lvah!" He roared, scolding both the younger dragoness, and the head elder. He uncoiled from the mountain, and stepped in between them, glaring fiercely at the both of them.
"Azuma, please let me teach her a lesson. She damn well needs to learn one! If you ever do that again Seh'lvah... Expect to be back on your silly pilgrimage. And expect to be doing it with one eye." Veraxitoc was fuming, and he pushed off Azuma, putting his possessions down in a rock shelter by his sleeping spot.
"Get off me Azuma, I don't have to listen to Elders. All you ever do is complain, all of you. And I hate all Elders." She brushed past Shamgar, clearly ignoring him as well.
Azuma, while done with Veraxitoc, slammed Seh'lvah's head into the snow. He was going to get his point across.
"Young lady, I may seem like a grumpy old dragon, and you may not like me, but you are to respect your elders!!! I don't know what Shamgar sees in you, but all I see is a sassy, spoiled little girl who needs to be taught some manners!" He growled, almost roaring at Seh'lvah.
Shamgar looked at his grandfather, almost as scared as Seh'lvah probably was, not by Azuma himself, but by the intense scolding he just gave.
Seh'lvah lost her temper with the older dragon, and blew a brief flame near his face, before throwing herself free, and storming off the mountain. "Go crawl in some abandoned cave or antique store, where you belong." She took off, flying down the mountain.
Veraxitoc was ready to chase, having tried to hurt both Azuma and himself in a single outburst. Teenage dragons these days were hard work.
"I will sort her Azuma, do not worry. She will learn not to do this." Veraxitoc walked towards the peak edge.
Azuma sighed. He had seen enough for one day.
"Let her go. It is better to punish with a clear mind than to scold in anger." He said. Wise and powerful as he was, he also knew when enough was enough.
"Besides, she won't get to know a little secret Shamgar and I have been keeping." He added, with a wide smile on his face.
"Oh do tell. I am interested now." Veraxitoc sat in the snow, licking the scratches he had taken.
"Well, Veraxitoc, Azuma here is my grandfather." Shamgar said, jumping straight to the point. Azuma smiled, patting his grandson on the head. Indeed, Shamgar did have the eyes of a dragon, but not the face of one, like his mother did.
"Ahh... I see. You know that might be a complication in your relationship with Seh'lvah right? She'll think that means you will side with Azuma over her. Not that I am saying that is bad. But don't be surprised if she is acting this way because she's been ignored." Teenage dragons craved to prove themselves, colony life made them into attention-deprived young dragons.
"Im sure things will work out." Azuma said. He really wanted Shamgar to be happy, but he also wanted to make sure that whomever he was going to be with, be it Seh'lvah, or someone else, that they have their place.
"Now, Shamgar, wasn't there something else you were going to tell Veraxitoc?" Azuma looked at Shamgar, who was a little surprised, but then reached into his bag, which seemed to bulge a little more than usual, and produced the huge emerald they had found earlier.
"We found this earlier this week. Not sure what we'd use for, though."
Veraxitoc gently picked up the emerald, and tapped it with a claw. It rung out, and Veraxitoc knew what it was already. A slight dread filled Veraxitoc's stomach as it rung, and he listened to it for a second. No sound coming from it. More dread. It was the same sort of emerald as Seh'lvah's scales.
"I can tell you it is definitely not a gem, it is an egg, most likely a dragons, Crystal-back with emerald scales. Don't jump to conclusions, we need to ask her if she felt like she was going to be sick at any point in the last few weeks. If yes, then it may well be hers, and Azuma may well be a great grandfather. If not, then we need to take care of it nonetheless." Veraxitoc sighed, hoping Seh'lvah would not think they were accusing.
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OOC: PLOT TWIST! DUN-DUN-DUHHHH...
Shamgar was instantly filled with shame. He felt like an idiot, even worse, his grandfather was standing right there. Azuma, however, wasn't scolding, not even thinking about it. He was reminded of himself when he was Shamgar's age. He made the same mistakes, even felt the same way. No words were spoken, and no tears were shed.
Azuma simply got up, and flew to go find Seh'lvah, perhaps even drag her back to the mountaintop if she wasn't going to comply. He would ask, and, if he felt nessecary, reveal the truth about his and Shamgar's relations.
Seh'lvah sat by the lake trying to catch fish, the soot from the previous two days having sunk to the bottom of the lake, darkening it. The best fish managed to get away, and she ended up with a fresh-water eel. She put it straight back, finding it disgusting. It was horrible to even touch an eel.
She heard Azuma coming, and turned, still unhappy with everyone. "What do you want now?"
Azuma remained silent. He motioned for Seh'lvah to follow him, hoping to lead her back to the mountaintop where Veraxitoc and Shamgar sat.
He did, however realize that Seh'lvah wouldn't come so easily, and was prepared for whatever she could throw at him.
"I'll follow if you tell me why first. And I want to know exactly why." She looked at him, ready to walk and fly if he told her, but ready to sit as well.
Veraxitoc stared intently at the egg, and had the weird idea to blow fire over it. He blew a breath over it, slowly increasing the temperature until there was fire, and he noticed the egg expand slightly as he did. "Well whatever's in there is alive, thank the gods."
"I believe we have something of yours" he said sternly. He then took off, shaking the ground as he did. He was almost at his limit with this teenager.
Shamgar could only look at the ground. Partly because of shame, and partly because he didn't want to believe this was happening.
"I don't actually own any physical possessions... What could you have of mine?" She was even less reluctant to go with him now. He wasn't being tricked up there just so she had to apologise to Veraxitoc.
Veraxitoc looked at Shamgar. "Shamgar, don't be ashamed. If you have got a child, then you have got one. You will have to fix the mistake not through running away, but making sure the child grows up. And never tell it that I called it a mistake. That last part is very important."
"Oh, really?" Azuma said. He was running thin on patience, "Well, I didn't want to do this, but-"
Azuma coiled himself around Seh'lvah, then proceeded to fly up towards the mountaintop. It was difficult holding the squirming teenager, but he managed to get her up there.
By the time Azuma was done man handling her, she'd tried to bite him over 15 times. She growled, but reluctantly asked why she up there. "Why have you brought me up here? Tell me already."
Veraxitoc covered the egg with a paw, hiding it before Seh'lvah saw it. He looked to Shamgar to say what it was.
Shamgar was nervous, tears starting to stream down his face. Instead of telling her outright, he asked a question.
"What do you think is under Veraxitoc's paw?"
He looked at Veraxitoc and nodded.
"I don't know just tell me for gods-sakes! This is starting to irritate me!" She moved forward, making it clear to Veraxitoc that she would bash his paw out of the way.
"Don't do it! If it breaks, you will never forgive yourself." Veraxitoc warned, keeping the dome space under he paw large, so that even if she did bash his paw, it minimised the risks of breaking the egg.
Shamgar moved in front of Seh'lvah. While he was still unsure of whether the egg was hers, or some one else's, he was not going to let it get smashed by reckless actions. Gently, he moved Veraxitoc's massive paw, then stepped out of the way himself, revealing the emerald-green egg.
She stumbled back out of pure shock. She felt a pang of pain, emotionally, knowing the egg could never be hers. As long as she lived.
"You'll be glad to know it's not mine... Never find an egg and tell me it is mine... It's not possible for me." She got up, and began to walk off, nearly breaking into tears.
Shamgar sighed with relief, but also was concerned for Seh'lvah. What does she mean it's not possible? He was about to go talk to her, but his grandfather, Azuma, stopped him.
"Let her have time to herself. She's been through a lot today." He said, recalling not only the fight with Veraxitoc, but also his own harsh scolding of her.
She turned before she reached the mountain side, and came back, looking at the egg. "C-c-can I keep it? It's not mine, but I can act like it. I can help hatch it, I think. Then we can raise it..." She knelt next to the egg, tears in her eyes.
"Seh'lvah, you're a bit young to be a mother, even an adoptive one... You can have kids of your own one day, you just have to wait till you are ready for that kind of responsibility." Veraxitoc could she was upset, but he tried to subtly reveal the cause.
Shamgar looked at Seh'lvah with concern in his eyes. He felt he had to say something, and before he stop himself, the words came lulling out of his beak.
"Seh'lvah, what's wrong? Is there something you're not telling us?"
Azuma looked at Seh'lvah, also curious as to what caused her the emotional pain she was feeling.
"My old colony's healer told me that I couldn't ever have children because I am infertile... Barren. I don't have to put up with the monthly horror, but I will never have my own children. Now tell me I can be irresponsible by having sex... It hurts to think that I can't... Now do you get why I want this one?!" She began sobbing onto the egg, nuzzling it, just wishing the world would leave her alone.
Veraxitoc stood, stunned, knowing that what he had said must have been some of the most painful words she had ever said. "I didn't mean to say what I did, I didn't know. And if you promise to accept the advice you are given, and set a good example, you and Shamgar can raise it. If Azuma thinks that would be good terms?"
Azuma sighed. He saw what was going on, and remembered that the same thing happened in the gryphon colony where he resided all those years. The elders refused to let the adoptive parents-to-be keep the child, and that caused them so much sorrow. He was now faced with the same decision, only now it was with his grandson.
"I do think Shamgar and Seh'lvah should be allowed to raise the child. However, IF the two of you prove incapable of providing for the child, another couple shall receive custody of the child." He said, announcing his opinion. He had, in his mind, been more than fair with his decision. As soon as he finished his statement, he heard a faint cracking noise. Looking at the egg, he saw it was hatching!
"I am willing to agree to that. We will of course, need some help. We are new to this." Seh'lvah felt her spirits raise. She was going to be the mother of a child. She watched the egg hatch, encompassing it in her wings, making sure it was going to imprint her. She watched the egg, making sure she didn't need to help it out of the egg if possible. The dragon had to imprint on a mother. If it imprinted on a male, they would find their chests very sore from a hatchling attempting to suckle. She could give it milk, she knew that much.
"Let us know what species it is please?" Veraxitoc was very curious. He had never seen that sort of egg before. He remembered that crystal-backs laid similar eggs.
Azuma, having lived for ten millennia, recognized the type of dragon the hatchling was.
"By my mustache, that's a Nightspinner!" He exclaimed, having not seen one in ages, aside from Veraxitoc, of course.
Shamgar was happy, being a new father. He just had to ask the most important question there was.
"So, what do we call him, or her?"
Veraxitoc immediately tried to push in once he heard it was a Nightspinner. "That's why I don't remember what type it was. Because I only ever saw the ins- Oh my gods! So cute!" Veraxitoc's heart melted.
Seh'lvah rolled the hatchling over, and saw it was a boy. "It's a boy, now what do we call him." She studied him for a moment, when he cooed at her, trying to reach her face. "He strikes me as a J... Very prominent jaw. Jor... Jor'vell?"
OOC: Alas, I must retire, I will reply in the morning!
Azuma watched with some amusement as Shamgar and Selhvah started debating over what to name their child. He never had that joy, as his mate had left him before their daughter was born.
"Well, how about Methusela?" He chimed in. He had a friend who was a Nightspinner named Methusela, and thought the name was appropriate for his great-grandson.
"Shamgar? I like that name, do you?" Seh'lvah didn't turn to face him but firmly watched the hatchling, ready to move if anything that indicated danger happened. She watched the hatchling wander aimlessly until she had to go and stop him from walking too close to the edge of the cliff. She picked him up in the style of most mother dragons, using her lips to scruff the young hatchling and placing it down gently. She'd always been handled like that.
"Methusela is as common as the name John from what I remember. But if you wish to name him that, that is your choice."
"Methusela, huh? I llike it." Shamgar nodded. He watched as Seh'lvah picked up the hatchling, and set him down further from the cliff. He thought of his own mother, and how she would also carry him like that, except she had to keep him from grabbing and messing with things instead of walking off cliffs.
He was about to tell Seh'lvah something, but then noticed that the sun was going down. Azuma saw as well, and departed for the night.
"Well, dear, is it time we get going? It's getting late."
"You should go and find little Methusela somewhere to sleep. Most likely with his mother." Veraxitoc said. Then he curled up on the floor.
Seh'lvah indicated to Shamgar and picked up Methusela in her paw.
"Well, there is the castle. Plenty if rooms there." Shamgar said as he began flying. He wouldn't mind sharing the master bedroom, and was actually expecting that.
"Methusela is gonna have to stay with me to sleep for a few weeks, so you may end up getting kicked out the room." Seh'lvah smiled.
Shamgar laughed. He wouldn't mind having to sleep in some other room for a while. He'd probably spend out his time either with Seh'lvah and Methusela, or with Azuma, playing chess.
It took a little longer to get to the castle, due to Sehkvah carrying little Methusela, but they got there, and Shamgar watched as the two of them settled down for the evening. He sat there a while longer, then went down to the library to see what books were there.
Methusela didn't make too much noise. Just the odd coo for milk, and an odd squeak when he saw a mouse. He was sweet, innocent, and he would grow up quickly. Nightspinners matured to children quickly.
"I wonder when you will talk? Say mummy? Muh-mee." Seh'lvah kept a constant eye on him, and he cooed again, rolling over this time. She cleaned the baby dragon, rolling onto her back, where he curled up, and fell asleep.
The morning sunlight peered through the massive, cathedral windows of the library. Shamgar was well asleep at one of the tables, a pile of unread books beside his head. He had spent the whole night reading on various subjects, one of which, oddly enough, was dragons.
Azuma was just waking up when he thought he would go and visit his grandson, and great-grandson. Flying to the castle, he let himself in, and tried to stay as quiet as possible. Walking around, he eventually found the library, in which Shamgar was sleeping. Smiling, he patted his grandson in the head.
"Did you read yourself to sleep?" He asked, chuckling at how Shamgar's head lay on an open book. He stirred, and woke up to find his grandfather smiling.
Hatchling dragons were the cutest things in Seh'lvah's eyes. Not once ha she been woken up, cried for or at, or anything else. She and Methusela had slept quite well. The only reason Seh'lvah was up was because she got the cute little coo. Baby dragons never cried. They only cooed at their mothers. They didn't generally require much work. It was later in life.
First order of the day was Methusela's breakfast. She was tempted to ask Veraxitoc whether baby Nightspinner's needed anything specific, or would just eat things. Then she thought to ask Azuma.
She picked Methusela up, and walked downstairs with him. He walked up to Shamgar and cooed at him.
"Azuma, is there anything specific that baby Nightspinners need to eat, because I know that, like Crystal-backs, Nightspinners hunt large game. But I got fed just meat and milk. Do I dare say that he has that as well? Would rather try and know instead of guessing."
Shamgar patted the baby dragon on the head, putting his wing around him.
"Well, Im not a Nightspinner. I might be old, but I don't know everything." Azuma said, "you may want to ask Veraxitoc. He's more likely to know, as he is a Nightspinner. Speaking of whom, I think I hear him outside."
Indeed, Azuma heard Veraxitoc's roar. His usual wake up call.....
Veraxitoc had actually taken off before roaring his mental alarm over the valley. He came to a stop at a door he had found in the castle in his spare time, and walked in, entering but a mere two doors before reaching the library.
"Ah, Veraxitoc. I have a small question, before I go and get him breakfast, what do I feed him? Do I feed him just normal food? Or does he require anything in particular?" Seh'lvah queried.
"You should be ok feeding him normally, although he may have allergies of some sort. Just try normally, and make sure what you get him has lots of fat. He needs it, it will help him grow, oddly. All Nightspinners were, and technically are again, fat-crushers. We just eat fat and it becomes muscle and bone." Veraxitoc watched the baby cuddling with his adoptive dad. Then the baby burped, sending a small lick of flame onto Shamgar's feathers, singing them. Methusela didn't seem sorry. He just looked confused.
"Awww, he likes you Shamgar!"
"Haha, very funny." Shamgar said, not happy with the singed feathers. He couldn't be angry with Methusela,methought, as he was only a baby. It wasn't very bad, just a couple of neck feathers, which weren't important in flying.
George, Wallace and Finnegan entered the room, having not seen any of them for a while.
"Well, whose this little one?" George asked, looking at the young Nightspinner with curiosity, "And where did he come from?"
Had Finnegan not been wearing the muzzle, there would've been a string of curses, but instead, there was only mumbling.
"This is mine and Shamgar's adopted child, Methusela, one of the only two Nightspinners we know alive today. Say hello sweetie." Seh'lvah came down close to Methusela, and nudged him forward gently.
"But, I need to go and find him something to eat, so I leave you in charge Shamgar. Don't get fried by the baby, and if he starts cooing and pawing at you, don't let him chew your chest. Need to enforce that I am his mummy. And do keep him out of trouble please dear?" She turned just as she reached the door.
"Of course. Try to be home in a reasonable amount of time." Shamgar said as his partner left the building.
"So, Shamgar, ye got yerself a kid now? Good for ye!" Wallace said, laughing. George was surprised when Seh'lvah said that Methusela was a Nightspinner, but Veraxitoc nodded at him, confirming the claim.
"Well, what do you think he's going to be when he gets older? A tinker like his dad?" George quiried.
"I don't know, George." Shamgar said, avoiding another small spout of flame from Methusela.
"I wonder if his interests will differ entirely. He has a whole new colony around him, he may become interested in politics, in negotiating peace. Hopefully we should avoid him becoming violent. He should turn out well. You and Seh'lvah are lovely people, but Seh'lvah has a knack for disrespecting authority. And that clashes with me." Veraxitoc nudged Methusela, who jumped. Veraxitoc play bowed to the child, who, oddly, bowed back, and they began to play peekaboo and other small games, and Veraxitoc thought he heard Methusela laugh at one point.
Seh'lvah found a good sized foal and killed it, quickly turning to return the castle. She belted it with four bouts of flame for the young dragon, to make sure it was cooked.
Shamgar laughed. He was happy to see his son playing with Veraxitoc, and even joined in the small, childish fun. He scarcely noticed Seh'lvah enter with the roasted foal.
"Methusela, breakfast sweetie." She watched as the young dragon smelled the cooked food, and ran over.
She laid down on her side, keeping her front half upright, laying he back half down. Methusela would have everything he needed. He would know what not to eat, and what to eat. Hatchlings didn't need their food opening for them. They could chew and eat perfectly well. You just had to bring them their meal instead of watching them hunt it.
"Thank you for watching him Shamgar. Hi George, Wallace, Finnegan." She greeted all three out of respect, despite Finnegan's muzzle.
Shamgar watched, with sickened look on his face, as his son tore into the foal. He knew dragons liked large, meaty animals like deer, cows, and elk, but he could never bring himself to eat any of it. Instead, he at fish the majority of the time, often catching huge salmon out if the streams.
Feeling like he was about to lose his lunch, he excused himself, and went outside, puking on the ground the remnants of the fish from the day before. He'd have a lot to get used to.
"He's gonna have to stomach it until I can teach him to hunt. They grow quite fast don't they? He should be 4 times bigger when he is ten weeks, and I can teach him to hunt, can't I?" Seh'lvah queried to Veraxitoc.
"Yes, but perhaps you should feed Methusela away from Shamgar?" Veraxitoc tried to find a compromise.
Azuma felt bad for Shamgar.
"I do agree with Veraxitoc, Seh'lvah. Shamgar's not used to seeing meat being ripped apart like that." He said. He wouldn't do anything about it though. It was simply either Shamgar left the room when Methusela had to eat, or he had to learn to keep his lunch down.
In a few mere minutes, Methusela was finished eating, and burped. Seh'lvah used fire to disintegrate what was left. "Shamgar, it's over!" She stared at Methusela, who was making an odd noise.
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OOC: What do you want Methusela's first words to be?
Shamgar walked, still feeling a little ill. Looking around, he was relieved to see no bloody carcass. Then, he heard something he would never forget.
"Daddy!" It was little Methusela's first word. He looked at Seh'lvah, who was surprised, and a little annoyed at the same time. Shamgar just started laughing.
Seh'lvah felt a mixture of pride, jealousy and annoyance at Methusela. She had spent all morning repeating mummy, and he went and said daddy. She wasn't going to visibly strop, but now he was stuck with Methusela until the evening. "Guess that means today is your turn, daddy." She smiled as she walked by Shamgar, going to bathe in the lake.
"You know how annoyed she is right? She desperately wanted him to say mummy. But no doubt she's proud too. Very proud." He picked up Methusela, using a paw to grab his snout. Then Veraxitoc got a face full of pink fire. "Owww..."
Shamgar sighed. He wouldn't mind watching little Methusela over night. It couldnt be too hard, right?
As night fell, Shamgar and the little hatchling were pretty well tired. /wrapping a wing around Methusela, the little hatchling found his daddy's feathers to be a strange, yet comforting wonder, and quickly fell asleep, as did Shamgar, who had spent most of the day ill from watching his son feed....
Seh'lvah got back to find the two asleep on the floor, and she curled up round them. She liked seeing them like that. So she curled up around them, and fell asleep.
Veraxitoc was on his mountain peak, contemplating what to do. He could search for new recruits tomorrow. New colonists. But where to start? Adela seemed chocked full of dragons. Yeah, Adela.
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OOC: This is the point where Sapphira joins the Colony
Shamgar woke to find Seh'lvah curled around him and Methusela. He didn't mind, though. He just laid there and enjoyed her presence.
Azuma had been meditating in his cave all night, and decided to see if Shamgar and the others were awake. He opened the bedroom door, but Shamgar signaled for him to stay quiet. He didn't want to ruin he moment.
Methusela was the first to wake out of him and Seh'lvah. And the first thing he said.
"Mummy?"The words were sweet and innocent.
It was enough to wake Seh'lvah, who got a kiss from her baby.
Shamgar smiled. Little Methusela was learning fast. It also made him somewhat sad, seeing his son grow up as fast he was. Standing up, he left the room, leaving Seh'lvah and their child in the room. After yesterday, he wanted to avoid having to leave the room to puke every time Methusela had to eat.
Flying to a small stream, he caught himself some fish to eat, and went to see his grandfather, who had gone to the castle's library.
Seh'lvah stayed with Methusela, who kept repeating mummy until she said something back. "Yes sweetie?" Then Methusela turned and pointed at a painting on the wall. It was an ugly painting, to say the least. Then Methusela burped, and the corner set alight.
She took him out to pick his breakfast this time. And he picked a calf this time, so she dropped next to it, killed it, and let him eat. Then she went to a nearby sheep flock, and had three to fill her stomach.
Shamgar and his grandfather talked for hours on topics varying from politics to magic. They also played chess, a favorite of Azuma's. At first, Azuma had the upper hand, being far older and wiser, but as they played, Shamgar got the hang of it, and started winning a few games. It went on like this for the majority of the morning, until they heard an unexpected knock at the large castle doors.
Walking down the hall, Shamgar finally got to the door, and opened it. Standing there wasn't another dragon, or a gryphon, but a fox-person. Shamgar examined this new appearance, and invited him in....
Seh'lvah brought Methusela back from the castle, giving him a small demonstration on how to flaw his wings. Better to start them young.
"I wonder what my family would think of you? Do you think they'd like you?"
She got back to the castle to find that there was a fresh scent, and Methusela was first to notice. They followed the smell to find a man in priests robes.
Shamgar and his guest turned to see Seh'lvah and Methusela. The priest gave a curious look, but Shamgar nodded.
"Hello there, I am Father Caderyn Bricius," the man said, introducing himself, "I am just passing through, on my way back to Conlaoth, where I live."
"Hello there. I am Seh'lvah, and this is my son, Methusela. Say hi sweetie. Go on, it's ok." Seh'lvah gave him a gentle nudge forward, but the hatchling saw Shamgar and ran to him.
"Daddy!"
Shamgar wrapped his wing around his son, who seemed curious about the feathers. Father Caderyn let out soft laugh; he loved working with children. He bent down and patted Methusela on the head.
"I take it he's adopted?" Father asked, looking at Shamgar, and then Seh'lvah.
"Yes, I'm unfortunately unable to have children of my own, so me and Shamgar agreed we would raise him as our own." Seh'lvah sat, coughing as she did, feeling herself wheezing as she did. Another illness no doubt.
Caderyn looked at Seh'lvah, who seemed to be coming down with an illness of some variety. He wasnt an expert on dragon diseases, but he figured it might be worth the effort.
"Have you been in any conflict with anyone lately, Seh'lvah? Any arguements, or disagreements?" he asked. He knew that arguing caused stress, which weakens any one, even a dragon.
"Not really, no this feels like lava-cough. It's not pleasant, so I think I will pop outside. A bit of limestone will solve it. Take care of Methusela for me Shamgar?" She waited for his reply, feeling her stomach churning as she spoke. If she got hold of the limestone quick enough, she would be ok. If not she would be ill.
"Are you sure? I don't mean any offence, but you seem like you get into arguments frequently. Is there anyone whom you don't get along with very well?" the priest asked. He didn't want to push too far, but he also wanted to help.
Shamgar nodded towards Seh'lvah, and took their son to the library to teach him how to read. Father Caderyn looked at Seh'lvah, who seemed to be hiding some conflict. Perhaps it was because he was a stranger to her, and she was shy, or maybe she just didn't like him.
"I am fine, really, just had a scuffle is all, nothing to be concerned about, and, while I am sure that you are a very intelligent man, Father, dragons do not share afflictions of disease with other species, as such, symptoms are harder to tell apart. I have had lava-cough before, and it felt like this, so I will try limestone and see how I feel. If I require help, I shall come to you though, thank you." And with that, Seh'lvah left to go and find and eat her rock.
Caderyn relented, and went to the castle's library. He figured he may as well see what knowledge was held within the walls. While perusing the shelves, he saw Shamgar teaching Methusela how to read. He was reminded of his own childhood, where his adoptive mother taught him to read the holy scriptures of his religion. He smiled, and continued searching the shelves.
Kirnardaz continued watching the gryphon, curious to what was happening. The child and the holy man were a threat to him. They would weaken him enough to make him submit. He would not take that risk. "Skalos-friend, what do you think of the holy man?" Kirnardaz stared at the illusion intently.
"We think he is interesting. We have not tasted his kind Kirnardaz-lord. What does Kirnardaz-lord think of him?" Skalos made a strange snarling sound. He enjoyed being with Kirnardaz, as he got to play games, and got called "Skalos-friend".
Caderyn continued searching the shelves, enthralled by the vast amount of books he saw. While searching, he saw a particular book he was interested in, an ancient book of his religion, one that very few possesed, and it was a rarity. So, gently pulling it down, he opened it, revealing pages far older than he was.
He went and found Shamgar.
"Shamgar, if it would be alright, I'd like to keep this book." he said, rather excitedly.
"Well, what is it?" Shamgar asked, looking up from his teaching.
"It is a book important to my religion, but there are very few copies in existance, and none in this good of shape." the Father said, explaining the importance of the book in question.
Kirnardaz pounded his fist as the holy man picked up the book. "Skalos-friend, I will drop you next to these people. Destroy. That. Book. It contains record of me meddling in affairs that I shouldn't have. Destroy anyone who gets in your way. Do not stop until you have burned the book, or brought it to me." Kirnardaz growled as the portal opened, and watched Skalos seemingly glide through.
"Hello Shamgar-friend! Hatchling-friend, old-friend." Skalos eyed up the priest like a meal.
"Priest-enemy... Give us the book so we can return it to Kirnardaz-lord, and we will let you live..."
Father Caderyn, who was reading the book, looked up at the demon, then Shamgar, who had a terrified look on his face. Shamgar then picked up Methulsela, and left the library as fast as he could.
Father Caderyn sighed, then pulled out another book, and started reading it aloud while he walked towards the demon. Suddenly, he flicked the book upwards, and many bladed shuriken flew up in the air, all blessed by holy power. He through several at the demon's arms, landed several in his eyes, and even managed to sever the demon's tongue.
"Haha. Hahaha. HahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Skalos couldn't stop laughing at his severed tongue, which grew back.
He pulled the shurikens out, and walked towards the priest, his tendrils flaring.
"Kirnardaz-lord made us strong. Strong enough to crush you!" One of the tendrils shot forward, attempting to grab the book he had come for.
The priest simply severed the tendril, and another. As he and the demon walked towards the other, Father Caderyn pulled out his knife, which was blessed with the blood of a fallen god. Rushing towards the demon, he plunged the blessed blade into the demon, then retreated, backing off just a bit.
Then, he started chanting something, an ancient incantation native to the Sionhai religion used to banish demons.
Skalos screamed in pain as the knife hit him, and the tendrils grew back. 8 tendrils lunged for the priest, one aiming for his throat, the others aiming for his legs and arms.
"You will send us back to hells that are not our master's, we kill you first! DIE!!" 4 more tendrils became bladed points, and shot straight towards the mans chest and head.
Caderyn kept chanting, only moving to dodge the tendrils. As he finished the incantaion, there was a large flash of holy light, a seal of banishment cast upon the demon.
He retrieved his knife, which was now on the ground. He didn't want to be unarmed in case that demon came back. Speaking in the ancient, powerful language of his people, he transformed his knife into a holy scythe. He was going to raze that demon if it was still there
Skalos opened his eyes to find Kirnardaz next to him. In the library.
"You made an effort Skalos-friend. I thank you for that. We will play chess when we get back with that book. Give it to me priest. Or I will drag you to my realm where I will cause you pain beyond your darkest nightmares." Kirnardaz stepped towards the priest. Skalos could not be banished from any plane, as he had no home realm. Kirnardaz had chosen that point to make it appear as though he was more powerful than he actually was.
"Why is it you want this book? A book, sacred to the Sionhai?" Father Caderyn asked, demanding to know why these demons wanted the book. He wouldn't back down, not until he had a justified cause.
"It contains details of me that should not be given to mortals. Give it to me. And everything that you care deeply for can be spared. I might even spare you if you hand it to me yourself." Kirnardaz walked forward, his hand extended towards the book that this priest was so eagerly protecting.
Skalos on the other hand had gone off to find his "friends", Shamgar and Methusela.
"Are we playing hide and seek Shamgar-friend? We LOVE hide and seek..." Skalos let out a low growl, that was in no way friendly. If Skalos found friends and brought them back to master, he believed Kirnardaz could defuse the situation with threats of death. The hatchling was first to grab on Skalos' list.
Shamgar and Methusela had left the castle at this point, and flown all the way to Veraxitoc's peak. Shamgarmwas exhausted, but he wanted to be as far away from that demon as possible.
Father Caderyn, oh the other hand, was still in the library. It was certainly a dilemma, but in the end, knew he would have to relent. Walking up to the demon prince, he regrettably but the book into his hand. The safety of these nice people was more important than some book. He still, however, kept his scythe with him, just in case this demon was lying.
"Good. Now you must tell me where the rest of the copies and transcriptions of this text are. Then you will have your freedom. On the word of a demon prince." Kirnardaz took the book, and felt his hand burn. He dropped the book, recoiling in pain, as his hand began to wither and burn.
"You dare try and cheat me?!" Kirnardaz snarled viciously.
Skalos had caught the scent of Shamgar and Methusela, and followed them to Veraxitoc's peak, which was, at present, empty.
Caderyn was suprised, then remembered something.
"Evidently, you didn't know that particular copy was the original text, embed with holy power so that no demon could touch it. If I give the locations of the other transcriptions, do you promise to leave?"
Shamgar and his son were hiding in the snow, with Shamgar's wings and feet looking like rocks, and his head buried in the snow. He didn't want anything to do with Skalos anymore.
The original copy needed to burn. "Since I cannot destroy it, you will. Burn it priest, or watch Shamgar and Methusela burn. Oh yes, I know them." Kirnardaz folded his arms.
Skalos could smell the two through the snow. He looked down, and could see Methusela. Skalos used his tendrils to grab the hatchling, and Skalos held his claws to the hatchlings throat.
"WE CAN BE FRIENDS, HATCHLING-FRIEND!" Skalos let out a maniacal cackle as he held the hatchling.
Shamgar looked on in horror as his son squirmed in the grasp of this monster. He wanted to scream, do something to get Skalos' attention, but he was scared helpless.
Caderyn realized that Skalos had followed the two, and he wished that he could help them, but the original copy literally can't burn.
"Look, if I could burn the book, I would do it to save Shamgar and his son. But, you must understand that this book literally can't burn. Mortal fires can't burn it, neither can the hottest fires in hell. Only a god can destroy it." He said, pleading with the demon prince.
"Well then you better start finding a way to destroy it. You are a priest, surely you have your holy purging fire?" Kirnardaz mentally summoned Skalos, who left the mountain top, with Methusela in hand.
Caderyn sighed. He saw the poor hatchling in Skalos' grasp, and knew if he didn't do something, the hatchling would die. He started chanting in another language, different from the first.
"Recéde mihi misero! Relegari regni tui fabri! Ut vos nunquam revertetur regnum ad hoc inducere dolorem, et contentiones! Abscede, inquam!"
In a flash of holy light, the book was gone, sent back to the realm of the gods, never to be touched by mortal hands again.
"Excellent. You did me a great service. Now you may all leave unharmed. Skalos, put the boy down. He is no longer a problem. Thank you for your service. Now repent to your gods, and pray they forgive your sins. Lest they send you to my realm to torture." Kirnardaz walked away, laughing, and Skalos reluctantly put the boy down, and left as well.
Caderyn walked over and picked the hatchling up, who was very much crying and calling for his mummy and daddy. Shamgar arrived soon, and after a few minutes, had Methusela calmed down.
"So, those demons wanted you to destroy the book?" Shamgar asked, curious, and somewhat infuriated with the priest.
"Indeed, yes. However, I read the entire book, and memorized it in its entirety. I do hope one day to write it down." He replied. He was about to apologize, but Shamgar's face told him otherwise.
"I just hope Seh'lvah doesn't freak out about this when she finds out" Shamgar said. Both the gryphon and priest started laughing.
"I'm back Shamgar! Where's my baby boy?" Seh'lvah called through the castle, and when she said "baby boy", not even she knew if she was referring to Shamgar, the gryphon she was in love with, or literally her baby boy, Methusela. She reasoned she was looking for both of them.
Shamgar heard Seh'lvah, and opened the library door, as it was right next to the main hall. Father Caderyn excused himself, and went outside to find a place to pray.
Shamgar was happy to see his girlfriend, and was about to say something, but Methusela came running towards her yelling "Mummy!"
"Hi sweetie! Hug?" Seh'lvah sat on her hind legs, and held her front legs out for Methusela to come for a hug. She got the hug, but it seemed quite desperate.
"How was everything darling?" She leant down to give Shamgar a kiss.
Shamgar sighed, then, reluctantly, told Seh'lvah of what had happened. He could see she was starting freak out, and was expecting some huge rant.....
"I'm angry, as you no doubt understand. But I do not blame you. If you had attacked, the unthinkable could have happened. I would like to thank the priest for giving up his holy book to save our baby. But me thinks you need to learn to fight things, big or small. I am mostly angry at how you didn't keep flying. Numpty." She flicked him on the forehead, unimpressed with him not having the sense to keep running.
Shamgar definitely deserved the flick to his forehead, which had made his goggles fall into his face. He made sure Seh'lvah and Methusela were fine, then went to find Father Caderyn, who was praying under a large tree.
"Excuse, me, Father, but Seh'lvah wants to speak to you." he said, hoping he wasn't interrupting the priest.
"Ah... Of course. I will be there in a few minutes." He said, standing, and pulling out a blank journal. He started rewriting the book that had been banished, this time in an alphabet that only the Sionhai priests could read.
As they entered the castle, they saw Seh'lvah and Methusela playing some game.
Because of the lack of magical warding on this copy of the book, Kirnardaz and Skalos would never notice it being reproduced. Only the gods knew that.
Seh'lvah had been playing a silly game of play-fight, and Methusela was winning. Every time Methusela had jumped and held on to Seh'lvah, she had fallen over, as if tackled by him. It was actually quite fun, and in her eyes, silly.
When Shamgar and the priest came in, Seh'lvah was still playing, and stopped as soon as they came in. Methusela on the other hand, did not want to stop playing, and continued jumping at Seh'lvah, until she gave him a minor scolding.
"Methusela, no more now, I need to talk to someone."
"Now, what is it you wanted to talk with me about?" the priest asked. He didn't know if the young dragoness wanted to go to a confession, or if she simply wanted to say thank you. Regardless, he was going to listen.
"I just wanted to thank you for giving up that book to save Methusela. I am so grateful that you did, and if there is anything we can do to help get the book back, we will do it. Thank you." Seh'lvah smiled as Methusela curled up and stropped, nearly falling asleep as he did so.
"Well, you see, the book in question got banished to the realm of the gods, so there's no chance of getting the original copy back. However, I did manage to read and memorize the entire book before the demons showed up, so all I'd need would be a few blank journals." Caderyn said. He watched little Methusela, and smiled. Had he not become a priest, he probably would have settled down, and raised children of his own.
Methusela would have grown faster in his sleep, and while not noticeable immediately, he would probably be the size of a half grown bear cub when he woke. Nearly bigger than a human.
"Well there are a few in my room, did you want them? I don't, did you want any of them Shamgar?"
Shamgar looked at Seh'lvah, and shook his head. He had his own journal, and wasn't even close to filling it up.
"Thank you. If I ever get the chance, I will see if I can't send a translated copy to you someday." the priest said gratefully. He let Seh'lvah pass, and sat down on a nearby bench, continuing his writings.
"Ok, I will go and grab those now then. And Shamgar? Don't let no demon kidnap my baby again?" She laughed and walked to the room to grab the journals. She thought she would try something fun while she was there. She decided to try shifting form. She concentrated on a single memory in her mind, and managed to transform into a human.
Then she decided to try shifting into a gryphon form. It worked, and she was a beautiful green-feathered gryphon. She had even got a small satchel. She rounded up the journals and walked downstairs.
She got to the library door, and tried to make an attractive pose.
"Hey Shamgar..."
"Yes, Seh'lv-"
Shamgar didn't even finish his sentence. He saw Seh'lvah's form, and immediately his beak felt like it had dropped to the floor. Was his mind playing tricks on him, or did Seh'lvah really transform into a gryphon? Regardless, he was speechless, to say the least.
Father Caderyn, however, wasn't.
"Don't go tempting him, now, Seh'lvah." He said, laughing. He knew that she was playing with Shamgar. Poor guy was speechless.
"Well, what do you think? The feathers are a lot like scales, and they are this emerald colour, but do I look good?" She spun in a circle for him to see. She paid no real heed to what Caderyn had said. She wasn't religious at heart, she didn't even believe in the Draconic Pantheon. She believed life just existed, always had and always would.
"Well, I- I-" Shamgar was at a loss of words. He didn't know what to say about Seh'lvah's new form. He thought she was pretty, yes, but he didn't know how to put it into words. Azuma had just walked in at this point, and noticed two things. First, the priest, whom he had talked to while he was praying, and second, Seh'lvah in her gryphon form. Wait a minute- GRYPHON FORM?
"Seh'lvah, where did you learn to do that?" he demanded. He wasn't angry, but he wanted answers.
"Well, I was thinking when getting some blank journals for the Father, and I thought, if humans are the most physically diverse race discovered and recorded, if I can turn into one by shifting, I can turn into anything I want. So I focused, and became this. Shamgar, dear, you can pick you tongue off the floor now, you're beginning to drool, haha." She walked over and emptied the 10 journals she had taken in a neat pile next to Caderyn.
Shamgar clamped his beak shut, and walked away to his tinkering room, slightly embarrassed by the incident.
Caderyn thanked Seh'lvah for the journals, and began a philosophical debate with Azuma.
"So, old one, what do you think of the world as it is? I personally think it could be better, with all the tensions, especially in Connlaoth, between mages and non-mages." He said, looking up from his writing, "I don't agree with the Connlaothian government's views of magic. Magic, according to my religion, is a sacred force, a part of nature, and, as such, should be respected."
"I see your point, Father, but do you think the Connlaothians agree? They have strict laws against magic use, with the church going so far as to say that it is sinful." Azuma replied, nodding. It was going to be a long, and tedious debate, but, when you're 10,000 years old, it is nice to talk of such things.
"Azuma, if Methusela wakes up, which I doubt he will, call me?" She didn't even wait for his reply, and followed Shamgar to his tinker room.
"Hey, sexy, where you going?" She caught up to him quickly, liking this new form.
Shamgar didn't even look. He just slammed the door and locked it. There was something else about Seh'lvah's gryphon form that bothered him, other than making him speechless. Something he didn't feel like talking about with Seh'lvah, lest it ruin their relationship....
Seh'lvah stood, shocked for words. "Sh-sh-sh-shamgar! Wha-wh-why did you just slam the door on me?! Come out and talk to me." She shifted back to dragon form and laid outside the door. "Come out and talk this out!"
Caderyn and Azuma heard the slamming door, and Seh'lvah's pleading. Both went over to see what was wrong, and saw that Shamgar had locked himself in his tinker room. Father Caderyn went and knocked on the door.
"Shamgar, is there something wrong?" He asked through door. The only answer he got was the sound of sobbing. Feeling Shamgar needed someone to talk to, he took his necklace, and used it as a lock pick. Opening the door, he signaled for Seh'lvah and Azuma to stay where they were. Closing the door, and locking it behind him, he knelt down beside a sobbing Shamgar and asked again if something was wrong.
"I- I- j-ju-just want to be l-left alone." Shamgar said. Father Caderyn, however, wasn't leaving.
"Shamgar, is there something you need to confess?" He asked, placing a hand on Shamgar's shoulders.
Seh'lvah stood, not angry, but just shocked. She decided to go back to Methusela, and watch him instead, not caring what happened in the other room now.
Shamgar couldn't stop crying. He just wanted to be left alone. Caderyn, however, was persistent. After asking another two times, he got answer.
"F-f-father, I had another girlfriend, long before I ever met Sel'hvah. She left me for dead at the mercy of another, merciless gryphon. Seeing Seh'lvah like she was reminded me of that." he said, tears streaming from his eyes.
"Shamgar, there is nothing wrong with telling Seh'lvah that. If your old girlfriend left you, that's ok. You shouldn't let it bother you as much as it is." Caderyn said, his voice flowing like a small creek. Shamgar started to calm down, but sat a while longer, contemplating the words of the priest.
Seh'lvah sat next to Methusela, expressionless, her scales clinking as they touched. Methusela woke up, and looked up at Seh'lvah.
"Where daddy?" The young dragon tilted his head curiously.
"Mummy doesn't know where daddy is... Sorry sweetie..." She spoke words she felt were true.
"Mummy?" Methusela's voice was child-like, and the way he was speaking was like that of a child who didn't understand the concept that they would never see their dad again. Hearing it broke Seh'lvah's heart.
"Y-yes?"
"Daddy ok?" The boy's eyes were welling with tears, and Seh'lvah couldn't bear to see him like that.
"Yes, he is..."
What felt like hours of Shamgar spilling his innermost thoughts to the priest was really more in the span of ten minutes. During that time, he told the priest of the loss of his mother, his first night with Seh'lvah, and even his encounter with the psychotic gryphon. Father Caderyn listened to it all, and, when Shamgar was finished, prayed that he would be forgiven for any and all mistakes that the gryphons had made.
Unlocking the door, Father Caderyn allowed Shamgar to step out first, renewed, and free of guilt.
Methusela was getting smarter as the conversation was going on, and was slowly picking up syntax and form to his sentences.
"Is daddy coming back soon?" Methusela was rather downhearted that his dad wasn't with him. So was Seh'lvah.
"H-he should be back soon, don't worry."
"Well, your right about that!" It was Shamgar. He was happy to see his son, and Seh'lvah. Laying down next to them, he tickled Methusela, who started laughing.
Seh'lvah was a little unnerved by this new change in mood.
"Are you ok Shamgar?" Seh'lvah was good to see Methusela was comforted by his dad's presence, but Seh'lvah wasn't convinced.
"I just needed someone to talk to, that's all." He said. He hoped Seh'lvah wouldn't take it the wrong way, but he just didn't feel comfortable talking with her about certain things.
"Well you know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Seh'lvah was trying to figure out what was going on.
Shamgar was tempted to reply, but before he could speak, Azuma came in, happy to see his grandsons was feeling better. Changing to his gryphon form, he patted Shamgar on the head, and sat down next to the family.
"Well, Shamgar, if you don't mind me asking, why did you slam the door in Seh'lvah's face?" He queried, as he had never seen Shamgar act like that before...
"Yeah why did you do that Shamgar? I don't understand what I did to deserve it..." Seh'lvah was still completely shocked that it had happened. No upset, no tears, just utterly shocked.
"Seh'lvah, before I ever met you, I had another girlfriend. She was wonderful, but she left me. Went off with another, older gryphon, who decided to use me as his punching bag." he said. He didn't like talking about this a second time, but he knew Seh'lvah would keep asking and bothering him about it.
"And you think I would be even the slightest bit put off because of this why? I'm more annoyed that you went to all this over something I couldn't care less about. You caught the affections of a dragon. I don't think anyone will use you as a punching bag." She smiled and kissed him. In all honesty it was a bit silly.
Shamgar felt better. Feeling he had enough for one day, he decided to retire to the master bedroom after saying good night to Seh'lvah and Methusela. Father Caderyn said he would stay until the next day, as it was dangerous trying to travel at night. After jotting a few thoughts in his journal, Shamgar let the night lull him to sleep.
The night was dark, and she couldn't stand the loneliness of flying. She knew of an old ruin that had been abandoned a few years ago nearby, so she let her electric blue wings carry her to it, riding the wind to the castle.
She finally arrived, and found it in very good condition. But, she didn't knock. Instead she flew in through a window, and decided to wander the castle for a bit. She gently crept into each room, until she found Father Caderyn.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
Father Caderyn looked up from his work to see Seh'lvah, who seemed lost.
"Beautiful old cathedral, isn't it? There are some nice churches in Connlaoth, but this is just wonderful." He said, "It's not in to bad of shape, either."
Closing the journal he was writing in, he walked out into the main sanctuary. It was large, and spacious, and could easily hold several dragons Azuma's size.
"Seh'lvah? No, Father, my name is Ro'le:tak. I am an angel." In her head, she was laughing at the man, who didn't know how to spot angels.
Father Caderyn was taken by surprise.
"An angel? Wh-what?"
He couldn't even begin to describe the thoughts running through his head. Certainly his mind was playing tricks on him from all the writing he had done.
"Yeah, I am an angel... Does that surprise you?" Ro'le:tak stepped forward, revealing he form, her dress being so revealing that she was nearly showing off a lot of indecent parts.
Caderyn was certainly shocked by the supposed angel's dress; it was quite revealing. With that in mind, he thought he might test this newcomer, and see if she really was what she claimed to be.
"Quid hic agis?" He said, using the same language he used to banish the book. He also to note of the way this person moved, which was intentionally trying to attract someone.
"Sionhai religious dialect, dead. Verokt daf ni hana." If this priest knew Veroxian, he would recognise it. She'd read it in the Sionhai holy book once. She'd loved that book, she liked reading it because it gave her great guidance. And the fact that she'd fallen in love with one of the demons in the book was a plus too.
Indeed, this stranger was indeed an angel. A very lustful, vain angel, but an angel nonetheless. He didn't want, however, to interact with her. He was far too busy, and needed to get back to work. This book wasn't going to rewrite itself!
"Do you know who I am priest?" She sat on the table, seductively rubbing her legs together, running her hand from her knee to her thigh, and back again.
"I don't particularly care. Any angel who acts as you do doesn't need to be called such, now do they?" he said, not even looking at the angel. He was busy copying the religious text he had in his head. He wanted to get it finished and present it to some of his fellow priests. This angel was certainly not helping.
She scooted over the table, pushing the book out the way, gently. Then she sat on his lap, hanging her arms around his neck.
"How much temptation can you take father?" She whispered into his ear.
"Get out if my sight, temptress!" He said, furiously. Not only was he disturbed from his work, he was getting tired of this vain, flirtatious self-proclaimed angel! He pushed her out if his way, and continued working. If he could, he would have banished her....
She unhooked he dress from he top, letting it fall. She chuckled, and ran her hand down the priest's chest. She put her chest out for the priest.
"What? You gonna banish me? Banish me to the bedroom, then you can. To another realm? No."
"Get OUT!" He wouldn't have it. Caderyn wasn't going to stand for this blatant attempt to tempt him. He even drew his dagger, and turned it into the holy scythe he had earlier. "If you don't leave this house right now, I don't care if you are an angel, I will cut you in two!" No woman in her right mind should be this flirtatious, revealing herself like that. It was slanderous, to say the least.
"Just try. I will kill you first." She grasped his throat with one hand, conjuring holy fire.
"I really don't want to have to hurt a handsome man like yourself, Father. Don't want to damage your parts." Her voice flowed like silk.
Caderyn wrestled himself free of the angel's grasp. He wasn't going to die, and he certainly wasn't going to let this "angel" tempt him. Whirling his scythe, he struck the angel in her face with the staff, then slashed with the blade. He didn't mind hurting her. It was, after all, self-defense.
Because of her holy birth nature, the damage from a holy weapon was minimal. A scratch, if nothing more. Like trying to stop a flood by dousing it in water.
"Nice try. My turn." She threw the "holy" fire, and concentrated on his clothes, making sure it only burnt those off. She was having her way with this priest.
Father Caderyn, however, had other ideas. Using another incantation, he doused the flames, although his clothes were burned to a degree. As the scythe was practically useless against the angel, he turned it back into the original dagger form, which was an ordinary, mortal weapon, and aimed for the angel's heart.
Ro'le:tak could sense the dragon coming, and hid her wings with magic, this time pretending to cower beneath the oncoming blow.
Seh'lvah arrived just in time to see the priest trying to stab an innocent-looking woman. Thinking quickly, she tackled the priest, and pinned him, growling.
"So we are housing a murderer. Veraxitoc will not tolerate this. And you DO NOT, want to see him angry..."
Caderyn had no other choice. He tried wrestling his way free from Seh'lvah's grip, even yelling in some ancient tongue.
"Faigh amach de dom! Nà hé seo an bhean cad is cosúil sà a bheith!" He said, finally shoving the teenager off of him. He didn't, however, pick up his dagger. He would explain himself in a diplomatic manner. But first, he said this:
"Superi, amice sit forma huius indicabit. Sciendum est illi et dolo!"
And, in a flash of light, the angel's true form was revealed.
Her wings appeared, and her halo. She was an angel. She had never lied about that. It was a very traditional angel look.
"You tried to kill an ANGEL?! Father, with all due respect, I don't want to anger a god! If you have a quarrel with this angel, then take it elsewhere! No god's wrath will be incurred on Colony grounds." Seh'lvah turned into her dragon form. Now she would be too big to move.
"He certainly won't offend me." a new voice said. Appearing in front of them all was a white cloaked man, with curly black hair, and a thin mustache and goatee. He looked at the angel scornfully, and almost conjured his favorite weapon, but decided against it.
"You are fallen, angel. Leave, before you know my wrath." The stranger said. Father Caderyn could feel the divinity emanating from this stranger, and was about to ask who he was, but then he got his answer,
"I am Boski, chief deity of the Sionhai pantheon, banished from my realm. Of course though, Father, you already knew that."
"Hah, a Sionhai deity holds no power over a Therissian angel. My masters were the draconic Therissian pantheon, the gods that our dear crystal-back here worshipped. She still does." She smiled at Seh'lvah, and gave a cheeky wink.
"Oh, and, Seh'lvah, I do like the look of your boyfriend... Hehe..." Seh'lvah snorted a puff of smoke at her and turned away.
"I care not who you serve, angel. Father Caderyn is under my protection. You will leave him, and this colony alone. If you do not, there will be retribution." Boski said, his voice shaking the room. He was starting to get annoyed with this angel. Father Caderyn was astonished that this was actually happening.
Shamgar had heard the commotion down stairs, and went to investigate. What he saw utterly astonished him. An angel, and a god facing down, with Seh'lvah and Father Caderyn watching. This wouldn't end well, he thought. He made sure to keep as quiet possible.
"Ve'lk:hoss, dan:mat'rik, noria:kil, Kirn:ard'az. RISE!" She felt her energy become slightly reduced. And she saw the burst of flame indicating that it had worked.
"What is my summon- YOU?! Here again?! What are you doing here Ro'le:tak?!" Kirnardaz snarled at the angel, before he felt the presence of the god.
"Hello again Father, and hello to you too Boski." Kirnardaz waited for him to respond.
"Ummm, can you guys not take this elsewhere?!" Seh'lvah tried to shout over the noise.
"I do not wish for a fight, demon prince. I only wish for this pestering angel to leave the good Father alone." He said. He kept his hands ready to conjure any weapons just in case Kirnardaz decided to pick a fight with a god.
Father Caderyn looked on in awe, and horror at the same time. He was on the verge of thinking this was the end times. Of course, though, he collected his thoughts, and went to pick up his journal.
"And, prince, if you wish to pick a fight, we will take it elsewhere. It would be unkind to destroy another person's house."
"Boski, I think, that this pesky angel, while annoying and a true pain in the arse, is my kill. To summon me merely to fight and defend her was a wise choice. So leave her to me, and I will treat her according to her sins. You will submit to me though. I have an anchor in this realm that none of you could comprehend. I have equal power to you, Boski, and to Ro'le:tak." Kirnardaz chuckled grimly.
"Well I think you are weak to mine and Boski's powers. You could of course, follow the path that we took, all those years ago. Did you not tell your wife or daughter about your ex? Shameful, tut-tut." Ro'le:tak projected her voice mentally to Boski.
"Help me make him submit. Help me beat him, and the priest will be left alone."
"I will not submit, but, on my honor, you may leave in peace. And, take this angel with you" Boski said. He didn't want to fight. It brought out a side of him that he didn't like at all.
Caderyn and Shamgar both watched form their respective positions. Shamgar, who was watching from the door, was utterly amazed at how calm the situation was. Caderyn, on the other hand, was terrified that the situation might get out of hand.
"You will admit that you refuse to fight because I am stronger. Your powers are old, and the corruption that feeds my form and life-force runs deep and strong in this realm. You cannot hope to win. Just run along." Kirnardaz turned to grab Ro'le:tak, but got hit by a bolt of holy fire, shot directly from her hand.
Kirnardaz barrelled backwards, smashing several items in the room in the process, roaring in pain as the white flames burned at the corruption he was made of.
Before anyone even knew what had happened, there was a sword protruding from the angels chest, with Boski grasping the handle. He knew it would kill her, but his powers were far greater than an angel's, meaning he could inflict very severe injuries.
Conjuring another sword, he stabbed it through her shoulder, pinning her to the wall. Then, pulling out his first sword, he threatened to decapitate her right on the spot.
Shamgar was watching the entire incident, and was utterly shocked. He didn't want to alert anyone, so he went back to the master bedroom to check on Methusela. Caderyn was just plain terrified.
The wounds caused Ro'le:tak great pain, but she managed to release a small laugh through a fake smile. The she saw Kirnardaz rise behind him.
"She is mine Boski. Back. Off. She, like me and you Boski, is immortal. We can fight like this for eternity, or we can go separately. I want her though. No-one throws holy fire at me. No-one..." Kirnardaz drew his swords, and took a heavy step towards Ro'le:tak, then another.
Boski withdrew his swords, letting the angel fall to the ground. He kept an eye on both of them, the demon prince, and the fallen angel. He didn't want any deception. That would make him angry.
"Are you alright, Father? And, you, Seh'lvah?" he asked. The priest nodded, with a very scared look on his face, like he had just seen the end of the world.
Seh'lvah stood there, unmoving, shocked completely by what she had seen. A brief scuffle would have been okay. But when she looked at that, she thought she saw the apocalypse on the horizon. But what happened next would shock her even more.
Kirnardaz kept walking towards the fallen angel, every step heavy and resounding. And then he stopped, a few feet in front of Boski and Ro'le:tak.
Then he teleported, suddenly appearing in a burst of flame between the two, grabbing them.
"I will drag you back to hell. MY HELL." Then, in a huge burst of nova scale white, teleported again.
Father Caderyn just looked on in disbelief. The chief god of his religion, dragged to hell. He almost wanted to cry.
Meanwhile, Boski just started laughing maniacally. Kirnardaz couldn't hold him in hell, not by a long shot. He started levitating, chanting some ancient hymn or incantation. The only words that one could make out were "I am the bringer of Hell"
In a flash of holy light, his form dissolved into a mass of spirits of many lost souls, each clawing at the air, reaching for the demon. His torso was in his Sionhai form, with a swirling mass of souls holding him aloft. Two beast suddenly emerged from the mass of souls, giant celestial Kitsune, roaring and waiting for Boski's command.
"What's wrong demon prince? Why don't you fight me? Summon up your minions! Conjure your weapons! Fight me! GIVE ME A HUG!"
An unholy screech resounded through the huge cavern realm, fire spewing everywhere, stalactites and boulders shaking loose from the ceiling.
"Of course we want a hug... We love hugs... What game shall we play? We can play doctor... I can cut you open, and see what your insides look like! RahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Skalos took a step forward, and here, in this realm, he could reach up the cavern to it's ceiling. He was a whole 8 miles tall, and was completely in proportion. He was the guardian of this realm, and hundreds of demons crawled over him.
Ro'le:tak was forced into her own enlarged form, standing a whole 8 miles tall too, a bow in one hand, the scythe that Father Caderyn had been using was in her other. Her halo was hovering above her head, cracked and splintered.
"Welcome to hell little man, I am the real harbinger! Time for you to die..."
Boski just looked at Skalos like he wasn't even a threat, and looked at the falln angel like she was just plain stupid. He'd them have their fight. For Boski, it was between him, and Kirnardaz.
"Let's see how you fare against the true power of a fallen god!" He said, his voice shaking the ground. The two celestial foxes were roaring, eager to rip something, or someone, to pieces. This wasn't even his absolute true power, which had been stripped away years ago when he was banished from his realm, but even in this form, the bravest of demons would tremble with fear.
((OOC: We'll finish that in another thread))
Just like that, they were gone. The demon, the fallen angel, and the god. Seh'lvah stood there, not talking, not wanting to talk. She looked over at the Father, seeing if he was ok, not speaking.
((OoC: Alright. Now, for a more peaceful turn of events....))
Father Caderyn couldn't speak. He was too awestruck to do anything but sit in his chair. It was a miserable sight, really. Caderyn wasn't the kind of person who got that way very easily. He sat there the entire night.
-------------
Liarri had been wandering for a few days now, trying to find her way back to La'Marri after visiting a few relatives who lived in Serendipity. She was bad at following roads and maps, they just didn't make sense to her; she preferred finding her way via going though forests and mountains ranges, and even got home in less time than if she had followed the road.
Today, however, wasn't her day. She'd been walking through a forest she was unfamiliar with, and got hopelessly lost. A complete stranger to these woods, she sat down on a fallen log, and pulled out an apple. It was a favorite food of her's, and she often carried one or two in the pouch under her brown cloak.
Seh'lvah saw the state of the Father, and decided to go on a wander in the forest, let her nerves calm down.
She walked for but a few minutes, before she spotted someone eating an apple on a log.
"Uh, hello?"
Liarri saw the source of the voice, and recognized who it was immediately.
"Seh'lvah! How are you?" She asked, happy to see her friend. She got up, still eating her apple, and walked over to the emerald colored dragon.
"Oh! Liarri! I'm good thanks, and yourself?" Seeing Liarri revived the moods and spirits of Seh'lvah, and she smiled again.
"I am doing fine. Although, I will admit I am hopelessly lost. I tried getting home to La'Marri, and didn't really want to follow the roads." She said, giggling. She was excited to see Seh'lvah again, recalling their snowball fight in the woods. "If I may ask, how's Veraxitoc doing? Last time I remember, I gave him quite the scolding...."
"I haven't seen him this evening, but he is fine. I think he is terrified of women cause of you. Unfortunately, not dragon women. But you can stay the rest of the night in the castle if you like. We started a Colony." Seh'lvah decided to withhold about Shamgar and Methusela for now.
"A castle? When did you get a castle? And, how long ago did you start this colony?" She queried. Curious nonetheless, she decided to follow Seh'lvah to this castle.
Shamgar was lying awake the whole time, looking after Methusela. He was getting tired, and hungry, so he decided to go out to find a midnight snack. He was a silent flyer, compared to his girlfriend and Veraxitoc, and didn't make much noise. Landing beside a stream, he caught himself a nice salmon, and decided it was enough. However, he heard two distinct voices approaching. One was Seh'lvah's, and the other was from someone he didn't recognize.
"Oh, after I met Veraxitoc with you, we talked for a few days, and decided to form a colony, where all dragons are welcome, not just people of one species. We came and settled in this valley and we found a castle. After that it gets to be a very long story, haha." Seh'lvah sat, her mind finally comprehending the fact that she had just watched a god, demon and angel all fighting.
Liarri seemed to question Seh'lvah's explanation of the castle a little, but before she could say something, Shamgar, having the worst of luck, fell into the stream, which was deeper than one would think. He couldn't swim, however, and started screeching. Liarri heard, and looked back Seh'lvah, who seemed concerned.
((OoC: the stream is about 12 feet deep.... Not good for Shamgar))
Seh'lvah heard the screech, and actually took a moment to process what was going on. Then she realised that Shamgar was drowning himself in a river.
An odd motherly instinct kicking inn, she waded into the river, picking him up like she picked up Methusela, and laid him on the ground, shaking the river water off her face. She looked down at Shamgar, who was breathing, and shook her head.
"And you tried to sleep with the fish because...? Hope you aren't cheating on me with a salmon, haha. Oh, gods, manners, this is Shamgar. Liarri, Shamgar. Fish-boy, Liarri. Shamgar is my boyfriend."
Coughing up some water, "I wasn't trying to drown myself. I fell in!" He said. Liarri looked at him curiously.
"Of course you weren't!" She said jokingly. She smiled and looked at Seh'lvah, "Your boyfriend is a gryphon?"
Shamgar just looked at the ground, lightly embarrassed by the fact he couldn't swim. Flying was easy to him, swimming just seemed alien.
"It's all part of his secret master plan, did you not have the thought to build a contraption to get the fish out of the water on a rope or rod or something? You should build one, or I will teach you to swim. Take a pick."
Seh'lvah then heard Liarri's comment.
"Watch." She focused on how funny she found Shamgar's falling in the river, and shifted to her gryphon form. With her feathers being such a bright green, she couldn't possibly be a normal gryphon.
She spun in a slow circle, making sure she was showing herself off to Shamgar again.
"Shamgar has mixed feelings about this form."
"Sehl'vah's, please don't-" he began, pleading. He had enough of that form, and if it were for his soaked feathers, he'd just fly somewhere else. But right now, he just had to sit in the frying pan, so to speak. Liarri just laughed, seeing the embarrassment on Shamgar's face.
"Come on now, I'm sure she meant no harm." She said, referring to Seh'lvah's comment about the mixed feelings. All the while, she was still wearing her cloak, and she still had the half-eaten apple in her hand.
"Can you not talk to me why you don't like this form? It's a conversation that we really need to talk about." Seh'lvah put on a more serious tone of voice and smiled at Shamgar and Liarri.
"And you can talk about it in front of Liarri, she's a friend." Seh'lvah sat, not changing form, and wanting to work through the problem, not keep running from it.
"It reminds me too much if my old girlfriend." He said, resisting the urge to cry. Shamgar recalled the day his ex left him, that she had said some very choice words to him which had hurt him deeply. "The day she left me, she had said things that really hurt me, said things about my mother, who perished in a fire. I never really felt comfortable around other gryphons since then. If it weren't for my ex, I'd probably be living in a gryphon colony right now."
Liarri looked on, now paying her full attention to the gryphon. She felt bad, and wanted to help him, but she also knew this was something Seh'lvah and Shamgar had to work out.
"I'm emerald green, as the most basic possible point, do I seriously look like a normal gryphon? And if she was willing to say things about your mother, she didn't deserve you. Don't be upset that she left you. Be upset that some poor gryphon got stuck with her after you. Some gryphon out there is no doubt stuck with her for life. Wouldn't you rather be with someone who isn't verbally abusive? I thought of this form purely because it matches your size, when I am in my dragon form, I can curl around you, and eat my own tail. Like this, we're equal. If it really bothers you that much, I can keep to my dragon form."
Seh'lvah felt an itch in her wing, and used her beak to try and peck at it, failing miserably.
"No girl should be as lucky as to get a guy like you, and just be horrible to them like that. You deserve much better than that bitch."
Shamgar felt much better. He didn't feel as uncomfortable with Seh'lvah's gryphon form as he did a minute ago, in fact, he now saw how beautiful it was. Shaking his feathers off, they were still too wet to be flying, so he thought about walking back to the castle.
"Oh, Seh'lvah, did you tell Liarri about Methusela yet?" He asked.
"Wait, who's Methusela?" Liarri asked, wondering in honesty who they were talking about.
"To cut a rather emotionally painful story short, me and Shamgar adopted a son." Seh'lvah felt that she could say more indoors. She had admitted it on Veraxitoc's peak because it was deserted up there.
"We called him Methusela, and we are raising him. He's the same species of dragon as Veraxitoc. Where is Veraxitoc today anyways?"
Reaching the castle, Shamgar opened the door for the ladies, then stepped in himself. He was about to go upstairs to get Methusela, but then another voice entered his ears.
"Well, well, well. Looks like the nerd has a girlfriend now. And she's a freak!"
He recognized the voice almost immediately, it was one he would never forget, and one he wished he would never hear again: the voice of his ex-girlfriend, Lydia Ar'landria.
Seh'lvah didn't realise what was going on until she processed the speech.
"Who you calling a freak?!" Seh'lvah let out a growl that did not suit her gryphon form at all. And it physically emanated from a point that was stationed about a foot above her actually head. It sounded like she had thrown her voice, but Shamgar and Liarri would know that she had made her dragon form growl, not her gryphon form.
Shamgar was surprised at how Lydia found him. Before he even asked, Lydia answered.
"I followed that grumpy old elder here. Not a bad place, although..." She said, and immediately went towards one of the exquisite tapestries hanging on the wall, and tore through it with her talons, ruining the fine picture. Azuma had been in the library, and heard the commotion, going to investigate. He saw the one person who had caused Shamgar the most pain in his life, and before she could even react, he had her head pinned to the floor.
"Why did you come here? Did you not cause my grandson enough pain as it is?" He roared, his anger very apparent in his voice, which shook the entire building. Lydia tried squirming free, but she couldn't escape the strong grip of the ancient dragon.
"Shamgar, wanna stay and watch this? I'm going to enjoy watching this. I may even join in." Seh'lvah shifted form, growling as she approached Lydia.
"After you are done Azuma, I need a word with her. Dragon to gryphon." Seh'lvah looked at the ruined tapestry, and looked at the ceiling. It was wrecked now, no way of repairing that she could see. She considered burning it, and perhaps putting a flower wall on there instead, but decided to wait. At least if she waited someone could help stop the fire spreading.
So she sat, waiting to see what Shamgar and Azuma would do, knowing Liarri would probably want to watch.
Liarri sat on a bench and watched curiously. Shamgar sat down on the floor in front of her and both watched eagerly. Lydia, however, was panicking. She was certain she was going to get eaten, and even started crying. Azuma, however, wasn't going to let up. This girl needed discipline, and she was going to get it. Before he could say another word, he heard another roar, but it wasn't Seh'lvah's. He smiled, because he knew exactly who it was.
Veraxitoc came through the door, and saw Azuma with the gryphon under his paw. For a moment, Veraxitoc worried that Shamgar had done something very serious, but he saw Shamgar sitting in front of Liarri. Seh'lvah on the other hand was sat down as if in line to have a go at this gryphon, but Veraxitoc thought it best to jump the queue.
"Hello Liarri, Shamgar, Seh'lvah. So who have we here Azuma. My dinner perhaps?" Veraxitoc tried to sound as menacing as possible, scraping his claws on the stone floor, just enough to not scratch the floor, but enough to make noise.
"This, Veraxitoc, is Shamgar's ex-girlfriend. I'm in the queue to have words, before you decide to go before me." Seh'lvah smiled grimly.
Methusela had also decided to take a walk round the castle, and had made it down the stairs on his own. "Daddy! Look!"
"Lydia Ar'landria, to be exact. She's as spiteful as they come." Azuma said, holding the brat down with ease. "She caused Shamgar here a lot of pain a long time ago, leaving him, calling him names, even insulting his mother! I hope you've said your prayers, girl, because you won't like how dragons discipline their children!"
Shamgar had never seen his grandfather this angry, even with Seh'lvah. However, he knew how gryphon society worked, and didn't interrupt, as he didn't want his grandfather's anger to carry over. Instead, he have his attention to his son, who had just climbed down the stairs. Wrapping his wing around him, he cuddled, and played peekaboo with him.
"I think I would like to have words about how she got here. And I would like to see you discipline her. But Seh'lvah gets her before me. I want to see that because it will amuse me." Veraxitoc sat down next to Seh'lvah, who couldn't decide if she wanted to watch Methusela or watch Lydia suffer.
"You aren't among friends here Lydia. You don't want to anger a dragon. Especially since you called my boyfriend a nerd."
Azuma knew the ancient ways dragons were disciplined. Depending on the offense, the offender would either be scared, made infertile, or removed from the colony. As they were outside of the nearest gryphon colony, the last option was out of the question. So, taking his claws, he dug them into the side of Lydia's face, causing a bloody streak across her face, and a loud, agonized screech. Next, he took her talons, and yanked the claws out. He decided that would be enough for now, and released the gryphoness, who was crying and sobbing.
"Just wait until my parents hear about this....." She said, crying in pain. That made Azuma pin her down, again, and roar in her face
"DO YOU THINK SHAMGAR HAD ANYONE TO RUN HOME AND CRY TO???"
That last roar made her ears bleed.
"Now now Azuma, calm down. No need to kill the poor girl. Seh'lvah needs a new chew toy, yes, but at the moment she is in enough pain to make it regrettable. Because we need to let Seh'lvah have a word." Veraxitoc plucked a few feathers that were stained with blood out very sharply.
Azuma relented, and released the poor girl, now missing her claws and a large gash running across her face. Shamgar looked up and saw the state Lydia was in, and felt no pity. She had gotten herself into this, and he wouldn't save her.
Lydia was in a world of pain. First, it was being thrown to the ground, then the gash, next were her talons getting pulled out, one by one, and then last was the loud roar. She couldn't, and wouldn't stop crying. Her parents would be here anytime soon, at least, that's what she hoped. Azuma, feeling it was more proper, turned into his gryphon form, with bright red tips on his wings, and with almost the exact same coloration as Shamgar. He backed off, and watched what Veraxitoc would do.
Seh'lvah watched to see what Veraxitoc would do, but when he nodded to Seh'lvah, she decided to pick Lydia up like she would Methusela. She just wasn't as careful.
Then she put the gryphon down again.
"Now, Lydia, Seh'lvah needs something for Methusela to chew on, as he is teething soon. From what I know of her, she wants to use your bones as chew toys for Methusela. But we don't want to be here. She gets messy when she kills things." Seh'lvah had already started picking her teeth, and had nicked her gums to make it look like her teeth were bloody.
Lydia was scared out of her mind. These dragons were threatening to eat her, and Shamgar was just watching. What kind of person was he?
Liarri watched on, and was somewhat concerned for the gryphoness, given her nature, but she knew it was a ploy, something to get her to cooperate. Father Caderyn had walked in prior to the whole incident, and saw the whole event. He came over and whispered something into Veraxitoc's ear, grinning like a possum.
Lydia just looked at the priest, hers eyes sending out a plea for help which wouldn't get answered. She knew she would die. It was just a matter of when.
"Well Lydia, Seh'lvah can have you now... Bye bye..." Veraxitoc heard exactly what the priest said.
Seh'lvah picked up Lydia and walked into another room, and laid her down, enjoying the tears.
"How dare you treat my boyfriend like you did?! You think you can insult him, and abuse him, and crack quips about his mother?! I should turn you into Methusela's play toy. Shamgar would like to see his son eating your bones..." Seh'lvah kicked the gryphon in the stomach.
"Let me go......" She whimpered. She was upset, bleeding, and afraid. She did't want to be made into a chew toy. Lydia just wanted to go home, to leave. She started coughing up blood, and just had the most pathetic look in her eyes. Before Seh'lvah could strike her again, there came a voice.
"Enough. I think she's learned her lesson." It was Father Caderyn, walking in with Shamgar close behind, "I think you, young lady, owe Shamhar a long awaited apology, not only for leaving him, but for the abusive comments and insults to his late mother."
"If you let me have her for five more minutes, she wouldn't be saveable. Be lucky Father here was able to convince me otherwise." Seh'lvah walked away for a bit, ready to leave.
"And if I see you near my boyfriend or my son. The Father here won't be able to save you."
After about ten minutes, Father Caderyn and Shamgar came out of the room, not only to see Seh'lvah, Liarri, Veraxitoc, and Azuma in his gryphon form, but also two other gryphons who were arguing with Azuma.
Indeed, Lydia's parents had arrived, and were raising hell. Shamgar even heard one of them mention war. This isn't going well he thought. Azuma was much older than either of Lydia's parents, and far wiser, and knew when appropriate punishment was needed. Lydia's parents, on the other hand, didn't care. They were going to argue until the cows came home, and would even take it up with the elder council of the gryphon colony if needed.
"If you threaten war one more time, you will damn well get one. I have fought a thousand battles, I killed my own damn girlfriend for gods sakes! You think that you can declare war on us and expect to survive? You are very wrong. I do not want war, but you will get it if you threaten us. We are peaceful, but we are not complacent." Veraxitoc looked over at Shamgar and Caderyn, and nodded for them to come over.
Seh'lvah stood, distracting young Methusela from the intense conversation, and beckoned for Shamgar to join, to keep Methusela interested in the conversation.
"Well, I'm sure there can be compromise," said Lydia's mother, who noticed Shamgar walking over, "You see, in gryphon colonies, when there is a dispute between two people, they take it up with the elders. As this is between Lydia and that horrid boy she used to call a boyfriend, it will be they who go before the elders and give testimony. However, this won't take place here. You people are obviously biased. Therefore, we will take our daughter, and whatshisname back to the colony, and the hearing will take place there."
Azuma protested. He was a member of both colonies, and a member of the elder council in one. "It is my right to object this, Mrs. Ar'landria. You cannot simply leave with your daughter and Shamgar. At least, not without asking permission from his legal guardian."
"Oh, and who would that be? His mother burned in a fire HE caused. And he certainly wouldn't know his father." She replied. Hearing the reference to his mother and the fire made Shamgar sad, but Azuma said this in reply.
"You're looking at him" he said, "I am Shamgar's grandfather, and I will accompany him. You cannot and will not bar me from this."
"And officially, he is a member of this colony. We have a right to represent our views. This is an intercolonial dispute, not just a personal colony matter. We will conduct this in a civilised manner." Veraxitoc wasn't as angry as before but now he was firm.
After a few days, and a lot of arguing, an agreement was reached that Shamgar with his grandfather and Veraxitoc would appear before the elder council of the gryphon colony. Mr. and Mrs. Ar'landria and their daughter, Lydia would also appear before the council, and both sides would present their side of the story. As head elder of the visiting colony, Veraxitoc would have the privilege of speaking first, followed by Azuma and Shamgar.
"I can't believe they will have you stand trial for this Shamgar. It was me and Azuma that did the most work, and therefore we are responsible. Why you are being dragged into this is my point here." Veraxitoc grumbled. Seh'lvah had stayed at the Colony with Methusela, and George, Wallace and Finnegan.
Shamgar shook his head. Lydia's parents I shed that he would be present, and he was present. He was going to reply, but the head elder of Gryphon colony began speaking.
"Fellow gryphons, I knew that you have heard the rumors about this incident, how one of our own was brutalized without just cause. However, we must also consider things from the dragon's point of view. Speaking for the visiting colony is their own head elder. Let us hear what he has to say!"
There was silence as all eyes fell on Veraxitoc. Azuma, in his gryphon form, stood with Shamgar, who was as nervous as could be.
"Before I speak of the actions that occurred, I remind you all to remember, we are different to you, we do not speak your languages, we do not follow your gods, we do not raise our children or teach respect the way you do. Our point of view will be alien to you, our methods and ways considered strange or barbaric. We are simply different." Veraxitoc waited for his little opener to sink in. Then he began to speak.
"I will not deny the charges against us. I will simply try and justify them. And I will start by saying that Shamgar had no hand in it. If you wish to charge anyone with crimes, let it be me. I am the head Elder Dragon of the Colony. I have lived to see 2000 years go by. I have never once been charged. Today is my day to admit my hand in what happened. But I allowed what I did because she snuck into our territory, and has abused Shamgar in the past, emotionally tormented him. My colleague, Azuma, lost his temper, for he is a grandparent, and he has been told of what Lydia Ar'landria did to his grandson. She came into my home, uninvited, and began to abuse the people that are my family. If someone did that to any of you, ask yourself, would you no have done what you felt right? If someone came into your home, and began verbally tormenting you grandchildren, would you not have a mind to stop them, and, if they had a past of abusing your grandchildren, have the mind to hurt them? Again, I remind you, my race is different. I do not expect you to completely understand our ways. Just accept them. I have nothing more to add." Veraxitoc took a deep breath and sighed. He would not allow them to harm Shamgar, and in no way could they harm Azuma or Veraxitoc, they were simply too big to be hurt by gryphons.
The head elder of the gryphons took in what had just been said. He then look at Azuma, whom he knew was a dragon.
"Azuma, wise and old as you are, is this true?" He asked. Never once had he known Azuma to grow so angry as to harm another being. Azuma sighed.
"Indeed, it is. I admit I lost my temper, and was not my rational self. However, as Veraxitoc said, would you not do the same? There is no wrong in protecting one's family."
The council started murmuring among themselves. Some thought that the dragons' actions were justified, while others thought they should be banned from coming back. The head elder had an idea, then.
"Let us hear from Shamgar himself, and see what his own personal experiences tell us." He said. It was uncustomary, and certainly a radical decision, especially since the parents of the girl in question had yet to give their side.
Shamgar was silent. He had been writing what he was going to say, and, pulling the page from his journal and handed it to Veraxitoc.
"Can you not speak, boy?" The head elder asked, curious as to why Shamgar wouldn't speak for himself....
"I would like to draw attention to the fact that Shamgar had no hand in this incident. Even if he had tried to stop it, we could simply have crushed him. He was in no position to try and resist me or Azuma. But if he wishes me to read his page, I will." Veraxitoc shifted form to human to read the page, as he was simply too big to normally read it.
As the council was listening to Shamgar's testimony, via Veraxitoc, they started to realize what Lydia had done to him. After Veraxitoc had finished speaking, the head elder whispered something into an aide's ear, who promptly left. He would return later. Azuma wrapped a wing around Shamgar and looked at his grandson. Indeed, this was a stressful time, not just for Shamgar, but for him as well.
The aide came back a few minutes later, with Lydia and family in tow.
"Elder Rocher Ar'landria, you have explaining to do." The head elder said, addressing Mr. Ar'landria by his first name, "According to Shamgar, you and your wife participated in the verbal abuse inflicted upon the boy."
"Sir, I assure you he's lying. My wife and I would never think of doing such a thing." Rocher said nervously.
"Well, I know Shamgar, having had to scold him a few times for tinkering, and he is an honest lad. I wouldn't doubt him." Another elder said, out of turn, but the head elder let it slide.
Lydia was protesting the entire time as the head elder requested the testimony be read again, this time by an aide. She knew everything that he write down was true. her parents, however, were not going to let their little angel to be banished.
"And that, is a lie. I have lived for 2000 years. I killed the last of my kind because I had to. I have admitted I acted violently. From children, teenagers, I expect this, not from elders. I do not abuse your family, as much as, believe me, I would like to. Azuma, and Seh'lvah can correspond this, and father Caderyn if necessary. You called out his mothers tragic accident as Shamgar's fault. In the time that I have spent with Shamgar, I have not known anything to make me believe he was capable of starting a fire. He would not kill his mother. If he did, let me be known as a sinner for making myself the last of my kind, and may the gods send Loreiaka to heavens above, where the sheep's fleeces are made of gold." Even Veraxitoc was losing his patience with this family.
The whole cave went silent as the Head elder stood to speak. His decision would be final, and he wouldn't go back on his word. However, before he could pass judgement, he had to first consult the council.
"As is our tradition, the council must talk amongst ourselves as to reach a final decision. This meeting will continue tomorrow. The Ar'landria family will return to their homes, under surveillance, and our guests from The Colony shall be staying in Azuma's former cave."
The council flew to a back chamber, which was blocked off to most visitors. It was there they made important decisions.
Azuma kept close to his grandson, and led the party to his cave, where they'd be staying for the night. Shamgar slept on a ledge he found inside, and suddenly remembered how comfortable cave floors were. Azuma kept an eye on Shamgar, and the entrance to the cave. He didn't want any intruders, and he certainly don't want that evil girl or any of her family showing up.
Veraxitoc noticed how on guard Azuma was.
"Get rest, both of you. I will keep watch for any unwanted visitors. You two are stressed. Get some sleep." Veraxitoc stood in an arch by the entrance of the cave, and tucked his scale tips in. He would be invisible to intruders who didn't know he could do that.
Shamgar was already asleep by the time Veraxitoc said that. Azuma was going to protest, but then thought that the younger elder was right. Coiling up in the center of of the cave, he fell asleep like a rock.
The following morning, the council resumed, and it was the day they would announce their decision regarding Lydia's situation.
Veraxitoc didn't say a word, he just listened, ready to hear the verdict. But there would be no violence, no executions. The only sentence he would allow for, would be banishment, or less.
There was silence throughout the room as the Head Elder stood to announce the council's decision.
"The council has decided that the Ar'landria family will be exiled. They are to be stripped of all property, and expelled from the colony by midnight tomorrow." This was the council's judgement, and it was final.
Before anyone could say anything, there was a agonized screech, then a flurry of claws. Mrs. Ar'landria, one of the fastest gryphons in the entire colony, charged toward Shamgar, targeting him as the cause of all this, and before his grandfather could do anything, she had him pinned to the ground. Th entire council was shocked, with cries for execution or worse.
She smiled as she looked at her helpless prey. With Shamgar letting out an angonized screech, she had her hand in his chest, ripping out his still beating heart.
Azuma had never been angrier in his life. He didn't even think about his actions. Forsaking his pacifist creed, he switched to his dragon form, to the suprise of the elder council, and slammed the mirderous female into the wall. He was about to crush her head between his huge claws when reason came back to him....
Veraxitoc, having lost his own temper, shoved Azuma aside, gripping the gryphon in a manner that a few things instantly broke. He boiled up fire in his throat, the back of it turning orange and blue with flame.
"HOW DARE YOU?! YOU ARE ALL BUT INSIGNIFICANT TO ME, YOU LITTLE WRETCH. I WILL GRIND YOUR BONES TO DUST!!" Veraxitoc's voice shook the ground in a manner that showed he was not bluffing. He threw the gryphon against the opposing cavern wall, and was about to send a ball of fire when he remembered the most painful memory he had.
A flash... Two dragons, stood, opposing each other, in a darkened cave room... One dragon is pleading the other, begging for death... Another flash... The pleading dragon gets thrown against a cavern wall, with a familiarity of uncanny resemblance... This cavern is where it happened... The pleaing dragon gets splashed in blue and orange forks of fire... Another flash... The pleading dragon lies there, begging to die... The other dragon bites down on her throat, ripping away flesh, exposing arteries... The pleading dragons wish is completed...
Veraxitoc can deal with her. Azuma thought. He, on the other hand, was more concerned with his grandson, who wouldn't last much longer with out medical attention. Walking over, he saw several healers were already trying to save him. He was comforted by their efforts, but bid them to step aside so that he might work his own magic. Extending his claws, there was a bright light, a healing spell he had learned years ago that could heal even the most severe wounds.
The massive wound in Shamgar's chest started healing, first with his heart, then the bones, muscle, and finally the skin and fur. However, it was seemingly not enough. Azuma's eyes teared up as he feared the worst, letting an agonized roar that shook the entire land. Then, he heard a faint voice, ever so faint, but his aging ears heard it.....
......Shamgar was alive.....
Veraxitoc stood, trembling. He knew this place. This was where he had done it... He had killed her there... Veraxitoc looked down, and began to dig slightly. Then he struck bone. He jumped back, blowing flame wildly at it.
He realised that some of the gryphons were getting frightened, and Veraxitoc, trying to avoid living the memory another time, began to excuse himself.
"I-I-I-I-I n-n-need to g-go..." He turned, and in front of him stood Loreiaka... Or rather, the memory imprint of her... He shouted, knocking stalactites from the ceiling doing so.
Azuma watched as Veraxitoc left. There was something off, but he would inquire later. He stayed with Samhar, albeit in his gryphon form, and sat with him as the boy slept, his grandfather watching to make sure he was still among the living. The council had calmed down, but there was still business to be done.
Several gryphons brought a heavily injured Mrs. Ar'landria foward before the council, as well as the rest of her family. The head elder was to announce their fate. Unlike most crimes, murder or attempted murder was punishable in two ways. Either the perpetrator was executed, and the remaining relatives banished, or the perpetrator's mate and child were executed, with the perpetrator being forced to watch, and then branded and banished, never to be accepted into any other colony or resident.
On this particular occasion, neither would happen. Instead, all three, unless Azuma wished otherwise, would be executed.
"It is my duty as Head Elder to judge and make decisions with the advice of the council. With the crimes of Lydia Ar'landria, and her mother and father, I do deem it best that all three be executed. However, if you, Azuma, feel there is a better alternative, then please speak now."
Veraxitoc tried to shut his mind down, but touching the bones of Loreiaka was too much for him, he had just unearthed his lover, despite killing her himself. He couldn't escape the memory again. He looked around, and all he could see was her. In front of him every time.
He fled deep into the forest, and hid, not opening his eyes. Just lying there, crying.
"While I will not hinder your actions, Head Elder, I do wish that my grandson and I not be present." Azuma said, replying to the Elder.
"That is acceptable. The execution will be held tomorrow in the main market. If you wish, you may leave tonight." The head elder said, finding Azuma's wish reasonable. He then ordered that the Ar'landria family be held in the area that the gryphons called "The Pit". The Pit was a cave, but the entrance was vertical, and only the most violent criminals got sent there. The only way out was flying, but most criminals had their wings clipped upon reaching the bottom.
Azuma, in his gryphon form, picked Shamgar up and flew to a nice blossoming grove, far from the colony where a family would be executed, far from the worries of life. It was a nice hollow, filled with blooming cherry blossoms and a flowing creek that brought a feeling of peace on anyone who listened. Setting his grandson down on a flat rock to rest and recover fully, Azuma coiled around one of the trees and fell asleep for the night.
Veraxitoc didn't sleep. By the time morning came, Veraxitoc was wild-eyed, and trembling. He swore that this wouldn't haunt him anymore, but it was haunting him. It was terrifying him.
Veraxitoc flew back by the gryphon colony, and saw Azuma and Shamgar. He went and sat by them the dawn fast approaching.
Azuma woke up just as Veraxitoc was landing.
"I take it you can't sleep, eh youngster?" Azuma said jokingly. He used the term specifically when he wanted to mess with Veraxitoc, who was quite a deal younger than him. Jokes aside, he looked at Shamgar, who was still asleep, quite and peaceful. He would wake up in a little while.
Azuma,a started uncoiling from the tree, and walked over to Veraxitoc, who seemed to be hallucinating. He wouldn't know what was afflicting the younger elder, but he certainly was going to see if something was wrong.
Veraxitoc jumped at hearing Azuma, and he finally cracked under the pressure.
"I can't take it anymore! for 2000 years I have had that memory haunt me! And not I see her face, everywhere I go, the cold eyes, the blood... That cavern the gryphons were using was where is happened! I can't let more blood be spilled there! None! Enough blood has been spilled there. This ground is not to execute! She doesn't want anyone to die where she died. Where I killed her!" Veraxitoc paced and trembled and shook as he tried to talk.
"Relax, Veraxitoc. The execution will be in the public square, which is quite bit away from the cave." He said, reassuring the younger dragon, "However, if you feel it shouldn't happen, then I will go talk with the elders and arrange some other form of punishment."
Azuma left the elder, and went to check on Shamgar, who had just started waking up. He was startled, primarily because the last thing he remembered was seeing his heart in the clutches of an evil gryphoness. But seeing his grandfather comforted him. He calmed down, and tried walking over, but his body ached. Azuma rushed over, and urged him to lay down and rest.
"You need rest. Just stay here for a while. I will be over with Veraxitoc, so of you need anything, just holler." He said, patting his grandson on the head.
"She won't allow it! This is where she died, and she will not let anyone else die here. She won't...." Veraxitoc was hyperventilating by this point, the pressure and stress of the trauma was too much.
"Easy, Veraxitoc, easy. I'll go talk with the council and arrange another suitable punishment." Azuma said, trying to calm Veraxitoc down. After a few minutes, he left to go talk with the council about the situation.
Surprisingly, when Azuma got there, nobody was home. Remembering what the head elder had said, he went to the square, and found the elders. While it was a bit of a stretch of his authority, he did manage after some considerable debate to convince the majority of the elders to let the family live, albeit banished and branded, but live nonetheless.
Veraxitoc sat, trembling, and did almost nothing but shake until Azuma got back.
"There will be no executions, Veraxitoc. Only branding and banishment. I made sure of it" Azuma said as he landed. He looked at Veraxitoc, who was trebling like he had just seen a ghost, which, knowing him, seemed very likely.
He let the elder be for a while, and went to see how Shamgar was doing. Shamgar was fine, tinkering with a watch he had in his satchel. He noticed his grandfather coming, and was about to ask if he could go fetch some fish, but he wasn't that lazy, and, much to his and Azuma's surprise, he stood up and walked towars the creek himself, with Azuma to make sure he didn't fall in again.
Veraxitoc calmed down slightly.
"This ground is haunted, and I caused it. I-I-I had reason to kill her! Reason! You believe me, right Azuma? Azuma?" Veraxitoc scanned around to see that Azuma had gone.
"AZUMA?!"
"Calm down, Veraxitoc. We're over here by the creek." Azuma said, turning to the direction of the elder dragon. He kept an eye on Shamgar, who seemed to be entranced by the flowing creek.
"She begged me to do it... She asked me to kill her... I swear, it was my only choice!" Veraxitoc stared at his hand as if they were blood stained. He was calmer, but still not in any mood to be capable of anything.
"VERAXITOC! Get ahold of yourself!" Azuma roared into the elders ears. He didn't want to hurt Veraxitoc, but he would get his attention "If you don't stop acting this way, you unfit to lead The Colony! Do you hear me?!"
Shamgar looked on, and was certainly startled by his grandfather's choice words. What is he thinking?
Veraxitoc gave Azuma a defensive look, the purple glow from his irises being the most visible symptom.
"You want it for yourself. Everything we worked so hard to build, and now you think you can shove me aside?! I killed the last of my kind in that cave. I made a vow never to kill without just reason again. If you threaten me, my reason is to defend my rule, and it is just. Do not test me." Veraxitoc's voice had changed somewhat, and was no longer his, but something else. The Blight.
"Do not let your emotions control you, Veraxitoc. I said what I did to bring you back to reality." Azuma said, preparing for any move that Veraxitoc might make. He had partly meant his statement, as any ruler who can't control themselves is unfit for power, but Azuma himself wouldn't take the title of head elder. He was too old.
Shamgar looked on with interest as his grandfather and Veraxitoc faced down one another. He hoped there wasn't any violence, that the situation could be peacefully, but if there was violence, then he was sure Azuma would come out on top.
Veraxitoc grunted and shoved past, still seething. He completely ignored Shamgar, and followed the face of Loreiaka into the forest nearby. Then he thought the trees were laughing.
"You wood fae think that laughing at me is funny?!" He blazed a fork of fire at a tree, burning it badly.
Azuma sighed, and summoned a rainstorm. He didn't want the whole forest burning down. He hoped Veraxitoc would calm down and realize that what he was seeing wasn't real. However, Azuma knew he'd have to do it on his own, for even the most powerful magics of the Oirthir dragons couldn't cure madness.
Picking up his grandson, who seemed to have fallen asleep again, he set him down on the flat rock, gently coiling his serpentine body around him, protecting him from any threats that may pass.
Veraxitoc took a long time ridding himself of the image. Several headbutts later, and a few claw marks on his own face, he felt better. Now he just needed to feel less guilty. Of course, he could never be free of guilt. Never.
He began his walk to the gryphon colony, but felt something pulling him to a different location. A secluded waterfall in the mountains. And in it, bathed a woman with blue, feathered wings.
The morning light peered into the grove, shining off of little droplets of dew. Azuma awoke to the sounds of nature, and went to find some breakfast for himself and Shamgar, who would undoubtedly be hungry. He soon caught two rather large salmon from the creek, and set one beside Shamgar, who was just waking up.
"Sleep well?" Azuma asked, setting the fish down. Shamgar smelled it, and quickly ate it, having not eaten anything in the past day.
"Yeah, I guess. I had some strange dreams, though..." Shamgar said as he finished. He began to describe his dreams in detail. Some were simply an eternal flat plain with a lone tree, others were in an endless ocean, with ruined cities abound. While these weren't worrying, Azuma did find them interesting, and took note of them.
Veraxitoc woke up, realising he was in human form. He ached like hell, and felt a rather awkward draught. Then he noticed his clothes strewn everywhere. And the woman from the waterfall was gone. She had been good sport, but there was no connection between him and her. Just a one night stand.
Veraxitoc didn't bother rounding up his clothes, and just shifted straight to dragon form, his clothes evaporating into the purple smoke, and joining his draconic form.
He walked back to the gryphon colony, and sat down by a stream, judging whether the fish were worth eating. He decided they weren't, and took a sip of water from the stream.
"Hmmm...... The dream with the underwater cities seems the most interesting, Shamgar." Azuma said, listening to his grandson explain the dreams. It was a bit odd, this particular dream Shamgar was explaining. It seemed to be, as Shamgar described it, an entire nation sunken under the waves.
"Well, I honestly wouldn't want to find out if its real or not." He said. It was an embarrassing fact that Shamgar couldn't swim, but even more so because he was afraid of the open ocean, even large lakes. He just didn't feel safe on boats that sailed in those bodies of water, even flying over them made him a little nervous.
Deciding it was time to be getting back to the castle, Azuma and Shamgar went to find Veraxitoc, who had wandered off somewhere. It wouldn't be nice to leave him in the middle of nowhere.
Veraxitoc couldn't remember what he had told her. What she had told him. It was all a blur, just a good night. It was, in ways, a relief, knowing it had happened. In other ways, it was worrying. Hopefully she wouldn't be waiting back at the Colony castle.
Veraxitoc finally walked to the Gryphon colony, and saw Shamgar, sitting in the sun.
"Hello Shamgar. Do you know any good tricks to get a memory back, to remember something clearly?"
"Oh, hey Veraxitoc, we were just looking for you!" Shamgar said, turning to see the elder walking up. Azuma had gone to the gryphon colony to ask around, with Shamgar staying nearby to keep an eye out.
"And, uh...no, I don't know any tricks of that sort." He said, stretching his wings. He was very much tempted to tell Veraxitoc about his strange dreams, but he decided against it, reasoning that it wasn't very important.
"Hmm, I'm just having trouble remembering what I did last night... Does an angel with blue wings sound familiar? Passed through here today?" Veraxitoc wanted to make sure that the angel wasn't causing any trouble.
"Not really, no." He said, yawning. He'd been really tired lately, but he tried to hold off falling asleep again, "Although, you can ask Father Caderyn of he'd seen anything like that."
"Where might he be?" Veraxitoc was seriously worried now. If this angel was off doing something, or someone, there might be a slight issue.
"He left for Connlaoth when we came to the gryphon colony." Shamgar said, yawning, almost falling asleep again. He found a nearby tree to sleep under, and laid down. He wouldn't be up for a while.
Father Caderyn was making much better progress than he thought. In only a few days, he was at the border of Serendipity and Connlaoth. He reflected on what had happened at the castle, and was sure that whatever the outcome, it would be alright. He certainly didn't want to meet that angel again, lest he be over taken.
"Very well. If you see an angel with blue wings, her name is Ro'le:tak, she is not allowed near anyone who you deem good, she is sin incarnate. And I must cleanse myself." Veraxitoc took in a deep breath of air, and blew it over himself, it slowly turning to warm flames, doing, in effect nothing. It felt cleansing though.
Shamgar was already asleep by then. In his mind, strange dreams played out at random. Some were rather boring, like a blank place that went on for eternity, others were a little more fascinating, and others were just disturbing.
Then, he had a nightmare. It was at the castle. Just a normal day, Seh'lvah, him and Methusela were in the foyer playing som silly game. Then, a fire starts, which quickly turned into a raging inferno. Shamgar tried moving, but he found he was chained to the ground. Without warning, Seh'lvah and Methusela disappeared, replaced by the charred skeleton of his mother, which was still burning. He just screamed.
Shamgar's sudden falling asleep was unexpected. "Am I really that boring?" Veraxitoc felt hurt by the idea. He wasn't boring... Was he?
He decided to guard the Gryphon from Lydia, in case she came by in passing.
Shamgar woke from his nightmare, scared, and uncertain if it was real or not. Feeling around, he saw it was the same tree, the same forest, and Veraxitoc was still there. He couldn't help but feel afraid of the dream, though. He didn't want to move, nor would he.
Veraxitoc lifted his head when Shamgar awoke. He had been listening to the ground for any huge creepy crawly cities. But there were none.
"Awake again? You fell asleep quite suddenly there..." Veraxitoc yawned himself. Resting was hard work.
Shamgar just nodded idly, his eyes filled with confusion and fear. He wasn't sure what caused the nightmare he had experienced, but he didn't want to know. He was going to say something to Veraxitoc about the nightmare, but he noticed the elder was starting fall asleep himself.
"I've been thinking... You are peaceful, and I understand that. But even a monk knows how to wield a bowstaff as a weapon. It is time you learned to fight. And there is no better source than experience." Veraxitoc grinned. He had a lesson planned out in his head. He would teach it to Shamgar.
"Uh, Veraxitoc?" Shamgar looked at Veraxitoc like he'd just lost his mind. He wasn't really one for fighting, especially if his teacher was going to be ten times bigger than he was. Regardless, he got up, and expected some lecture or lesson.
The moment Shamgar got up, Veraxitoc took him down. "Lesson 1: your enemy will not wait for you to get up if they are not honourable. If they are honourable, they will fight fairly. If they are not, you have no reason to be better than them. Always keep your guard up, and be ready to fight." Veraxitoc got off of him.
"Lesson 2: An enemy is an enemy, whether it be a dragon, or a mouse. You need to learn to fight both."
Shamgar wasn't expecting to be taken down. As soon as Veraxitoc got off of him, he was just about ready to fly off and leave. But, before he could, he found himself getting hungry, and went to get a fish.
Down by the stream, he caught himself a rather large trout, but it kept flapping and bouncing, and eventually landed at Veraxitoc's feet.
Oh come on! he thought, looking at the elder.
"Running away? I understand that you are being a coward. Anyone who runs away doesn't deserve a brave girl like Seh'lvah. You going to run and hide behind her?" Veraxitoc would teach this boy to fight.
That made Shamgar angry. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had his talons dug into Veraxitoc's face.
However, upon pulling his talons out, he looked at them, then the dragon's face, and started backing up, expecting the dragon to throw him against the nearest tree.
"Good. You best weapons are you talons. But perhaps if you were to use your beak too, that would be more effective. Come at me. Or did your mother spawn a coward? What would Methusela think if he found out his father couldn't fight?" Veraxitoc was deliberately trying to anger Shamgar into a proper fight. This time though, Veraxitoc would fight back.
"Do NOT mention my mother!"
Shamgar was even angrier. His dragon heritage was showing through, his eyes glowing a dark green. Before one could even blink, he was on Veraxitoc's back, digging his talons in. He started ripping with his beak. He was determined to ground the elder, take away his advantage in the air.
However, again, he snapped back to himself, got off the dragon, and ran away into a grove of trees, afraid what the elder would do, but that's as the least of his fears. He was afraid of himself...
Veraxitoc followed him. He was not going to apologise.
"Shamgar, that was good. You can fight. Just remember that." Veraxitoc felt it best to comfort the boy now.
"You would have made your mother proud, defending her name like that."
Shamgar didn't even bother looking at Veraxitoc. He was just trembling, looking at his talons like they were the instruments of some monster.
He almost started crying, tears welling up in his eyes. He wasn't a monster, was he? He tried shaking the thought from his mind, trying to focus on his son, or even his mother. However, he just couldn't dispel the thought form his mind. He knew what he'd done, he'd hurt one of his friends.
"Shamgar, it's ok... You did as I made you. Do not be upset. I made you angry. You have not hurt me. Combat is about getting hurt. I had to fight my mate once. She won, and it meant she could choose whether we became a pair. The fight hurt, but I know it was fine." Veraxitoc put a wing around the boy.
Shamgar was comforted by Veraxitoc's words, but he still felt bad. He hated being angry. It revealed a side of him that made him do things that were unthinkable to his normal self. Over the years, he'd learned to control that anger, to where when he was angry, he would wind up hurting anyone. But when Veraxitoc mentioned his mother, it drove him over the line. It brought out the monster under the bed, the thing that should not be.
"Take it from your uncle-in-law-to-possibly-be. You did good kiddo. It's just about learning to control when and where now. That's all." Veraxitoc gave Shamgar a full blown hug. He cared for Shamgar, wanted to see him happy. But he knew that lessons needed to be taught, in the most effective manner possible.
Shamgar was surprised by the hug, but it was welcomed. He felt even better now. The thoughts of anger and regret were gone. He was almost going to cry. The last time he'd had a hug this meaningful was from his mother. He didn't think about that, though.
It was a nice moment, but then some sound invaded his ears. A very familiar sound. It sounded like so done was playing strings over a drum. Shamgar knew who it was immediately. The Mountain Man....
Veraxitoc saw Shamgar's ears perk up.
"What is it Shamgar?"
"The Mountain Man...." Shamgar said. He wasn't scared of the Mountain Man, but it was a bit odd to hear his banjo all the way out here.
Sure enough, in clearing, Shamgar saw the Mountain Man emerge, playing his banjo. He certainly looked old, but not even he knew how old he was. His silver hair matched his beard, which in turn matched his ragged old shirt.
"Weird musical mountain men? This won't go well..." Veraxitoc had never had a good experience with bards. Not since one of Ornusjalil's little tricks.
"Relax. He's really nice. I've talked to him a few times." Shamgar said, wrestling free of Veraxitoc's hug. Walking over to the Mountain Man, he was about to say something, then the Mountain Man spoke.
"Well, hello there Shamgar." He said, with friendly tone. He stopped playing for the moment, and examined the dragon in Shamgar's company. "Your friend here is quite the character, Shamgar."
Shamgar nodded. He rarely heard The Mountain Man speak this much. Even when he asked for advice, he only got a few terse sayings. The Mountain Man sat down on a nearby stump, and started whittling a stick he had found earlier. Shamgar watched on, then turned to Veraxitoc, who seemed to be watching the man's every move.
"I have a rogue Therissian angel to catch, good day to you all." Veraxitoc turned, took a bit of a run, and took flight. He wouldn't actually catch the angel. But he would damn well look for her.
The Mountain Man didn't even blink as Veraxitoc took off. Shamgar was going to say so ethign, but then the Mountain Man said something.
"Your turning into quite the young gryphon, Shamgar. Your mother and father would be proud" he said, still whittling the stick. He wasn't sure what he was making, but it didn't matter.
Hearing The Mountain Man mention his father struck a nerve in Shamgar. He'd never known his father, and didn't really care to.
"Sir, I'd really not talk about my father right now, it's jus-"
"Why not? It's not like anyone can hear us." The old man said, motioning with his knife for Sha,har to sit beside him.
"It's just... I've never really had anything to say about him. I've never known him" Shamgar relplied, sitting down beside the Mountain Man, who seemed to be concentrating on something, trying to remember a distant memory, perhaps.
Regardless, Shamgar had never heard the Mountain Man speak this much. It was strange, hearing him talk as much as he was at that point.
((OOC: For now, I will keep my posts to a minimum, as I sense plotting, and I will open the thread for a bit. Need new colony members.))
Veraxitoc flew for quite a while, and ended up in Adela quite quickly. The angel was gone, to say the least.
"Well, Shamgar, you may not have known your father, but I did." The Mountain Man said, recalling how they met, him and Shamgar's father. He recalled the day, as if it were the day before, and started his tale.
"When I met your father, he was your age, Shamgar. Young, energetic, and hotheaded. He was good fellow, honestly." He began, "I first met him while I was in town one day, selling my sculptures. He worked at a bookstore if I remember correctly, and was good at what he did. He came to my little side shop, looking for a gift for his girlfriend, your mother, and asked me how much the sculptures were. When I told him they were only 5 gold apiece, he was stunned. He might have been young, but he was a generous fellow, and offered much more. I declined, and asked him that if he had such a generous heart, why buy a gift at all?"
Shamgar listened intently, eager to hear what all was to be said about his father.
Veraxitoc finally settled on his old mountain peak, curling around the unattended egg that had always been there. He knew it was dead. But he felt better for trying to nurture it.
Shamgar listened on as the Mountian Man continued his tale. He found it interesting how this man knew so much about someone whom he himself had never known.
"Now, Shamgar, with all that I've told you, are you wondering what happened to your father?" The Mountain Man asked, just about to finish his tale. He watched was Shamgar nodded, somewhat hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know.
"Alright. The day you were born, your father was called out to fight for his family in an intercolony war. He didn't want to leave, as you, his first and only son, had just been born. However, his family needed him, and he relented, saying he'd be home soon. I was there when he left, having grown to be a close friend of his, and I remember the look on his face when he was approached by the elders. He told me to tell you when he was older that even if he never saw you, he'd always be with you"
The Mountain Man looked at Shamgar, who seemed to be crying for his lost father. Bending down, he patted the young gryphon on his head, trying his best to comfort him.
Little did they know, they were being watched by another. The gryphon looked on at the pair. He was so close, yet he didn't know if the time was right. Regardless, he sat there, and waited.
((OoC: I got the idea from The Oddessy and The Illiad. Now.... What to name his father....))
((OOC: Well you have the ideas))
Veraxitoc dreamed of nothing but endless water, boats and seas unknown. It looked like a different world. Slowly the waters turned black, and the machines became advanced beyond imagination, and slowly the world died. He saw machines taking to the stars, and realised he couldn't be part of this world. In this world he was dead. And it was the future of humanity. Thousands of years in the future.
((OOC: He is gonna dream of RotE stuff!))
"Sir, from what you told me, I- I- it makes me want to meet my father even more" Shamgar said, tears flowing down his face, his goggles shaking as he was. It was good to cry sometimes. The Mountain Man sat there, surprised at Shamgar's reaction, but still comforting him nonetheless.
"Well, you won't have to wait any longer." The other gryphon said, emerging from his shady hiding spot. The Mountain Man looked up, and saw a face he hadn't seen in years. The face of Ajax Daedalus, his best friend. Shamgar looked up, and stared in wonder. Was he really seeing his father, or was this some trick of the gods?
"Shamgar..." The older gryphon said, savoring the word on his tongue. The last time he had said that name to his son had been years ago, "Shamgar..."
Before the older gryphon could even react, he was tackled in a loving hug from his son, who was crying tears of joy. Surprised, but happy, the older gryphon embraced his son, finally having found him after such a long time. The Mountain Man nodded solemnly to the pair, got up, and left the two alone to catch up.
((OOC: D'aawwwwwwww.... Now. Toning the lovey dovey family reunion down, is.... *drumroll* Ro'le:tak!!! *ching* Oh, and Veraxitoc's RotE dream/nightmare))
Ro'le:tak observed the mountain man with an interesting curiosity. A man that was good with his hands... Exactly what she felt she wanted. She decided to approach, seeing the two gryphons. Maybe she could rope them in too.
She shifted and took the form of a bright blue gryphon, making the sex appeal as high as possible.
"Hey there boys... What you all doing out here alone?"
------------------------------------
The creature Veraxitoc was watching was devouring the world, sending it's minions to eat everything they could see. Men screamed, women became meals, and children were butchered in the dozens. It was horrifying. Suddenly, the creature leading the armada of flesh-hungry monsters was killed by a loud projectile weapon.
The view skipped forward a few months, and now the creature was on some huge metal construct. Strange lights and men wandered the internal sections, and the creature ran through strange tunnels with spinning blades.
The father and son reunion was disrupted by the appearance of a bright blue gryphon. Shamgar was stunned by the beauty, but then remembered he was committed to Seh'lvah, whom he'd have to introduce to his father later. Ajax also looked, but he was still riveted by his wife's death to really care.
"Leave, now! I don't know who you are, or what you want, but you are not welcome here!" Ajax said. He always had his scimitar with him, and knew how to use it. During the Gryphon War, which the humans and other mortal races were mostly unaware of, he was the deadliest warrior on the battlefield, with the enemy giving flee on sight orders should he have been encountered.
Shamgar, remembering what Veraxitoc had told him, started flying away to his peak, hoping to reach the elder before his father engaged the stranger in combat.
The Mountain Man appeared again, having heard the mysterious voice, and instantly recognized it. The old hermit said in a loud voice that shook the trees, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"
"Bitch please. Neither of you can do anything. I am immortal. And I am no demon, Mountain Man. You know me." She let off a laugh, and circled the male gryphon.
"Not welcome?" She lowered her head to look.
"I think I remember seeing your boy there at a castle someplace. I wonder if the phrase like father like son is true?" She let off a giggle, and made sure to brush him with her wings.
-----------------------------
The creature had fallen out of the vents, been shot, crawled back, and then fallen out several more times. The most recent time had been interesting.
He had landed in front of three humans, and a weird lizard looking thing it called a "dragon", despite clear differences.
Suddenly his mind flicked to a separate set of events, a man in a strange metal suit, seemingly made in a tank of liquid.
"I said you shall not pass, angel." The Mountain Man said, stepping in between them. Suddenly, his clothes changed to a white robe, his banjo changing to a very simple, yet holy staff. The Mountain Man, as it turned out, was a Therissian god.
"I am Sor'valf, angel. I watch over the woods and forests, and their inhabitants. You shall not make trespasses in my domain." He said, his voice cold as steel. Ajax couldn't believe what he was seeing. In his years of wandering and Herculean feats and trials, he had never come face to face with a god before.
Shamgar had reached Veraxitoc's peak to find him sleeping. He saw the egg, but guessed it was dead, given the cold and the wind. He nudged the elder several times, trying to wake him up. As a last resort, he screeched right in the elder's ear, which did the trick. He'd apologize later.
"Sor'valf?!!!" She instantly spewed out a summoning incantation, but nothing happened. Damn Kirnardaz and his blasted refusals.
"Hmmm, seems you got me when I have nothing unholy to fight you with..." She shifted to angel form, he shattered halo floating above her, and her wings bright blue. Just the angel that Veraxitoc was looking for.
"Well, you gonna hurt me? Don't tell me you came here for my talents?" She stood sarcastically, her dress flowing round her.
"Leave, angel. Or I will finish where the dear Father started." He said. It was unusual to Ajax, seeing The Mountain Man this angry, but then again, he was a god, so he wasn't quite sure of what to think at this point. Shamgar had come back with Veraxitoc, and was astonished to see the god in place of The Mountain Man. Landing beside his father, he was going to ask, but his father just nodded. It would be interesting to see what Sor'valf, or The Mountain Man as they knew him, would do...
Veraxitoc saw the angel, and fell into a trance, hesitantly plodding over in front of the angel, his eyes glowing a sky blue.
"Must... Prote- Protect... Ro'le:tak..." He spoke, trying to resist the charm he had been placed under.
"Mmmm, my dragon friend is back... Hehe... Bye bye boys, oh, and Veraxitoc? How about you drop them boys? Then come find me?" She turned and flew away.
Shamgar looked on in fright as Veraxitoc fell into the angel's trap. Ajax flew up a little, and drew his scimitar, ready to gut the dragon if necessary. However, Sor'valf signaled for him to halt.
"Dragon, be free of the influence of the fallen angel known as Ro'le:tak. She is not your master." He said. He was much more powerful than the angel, and felt the spell disappear instantly. Making sure he was free of the angel's influence, Sor'valf then went and followed the angel, his staff changing into a sword he called Angelbane, with good reason, too. Not only was he the guardian of the woods and forests, it was his job to make sure the fallen angels weren't causing any trouble. If they were, they got the business end of his sword.
Ajax sheathed his sword, and landed, putting a wing around his son. While Shamgar was familiar with this dragon, he wasn't, and thus, was a bit protective until he knew for sure he wasn't a threat. After years of war and wandering, he couldn't help it.
"Rrrgh... Maybe that wasn't my best idea last night... Not the first mistake in females that I have ever made. She's quick, and crafty, I doubt your god-friend there will be able to catch her unfortunately." Veraxitoc sat down, stretching his legs and nursing his headache. Angels weren't as good as he thought originally.
"The legendary Sor'valf though... Wow... A dragon god..." Veraxitoc rubbed his neck.
"Who's this Shamgar?"
"Well, Veraxitoc.." He began, stepping out from behind his father, who finished his sentence.
"I am Ajax Daedalus, Shamgar's father." He said, sitting down. He would enjoy a nice chat with the dragon. He started to explain to Veraxitoc about how he was called to war the day Shamgar was born, and about the war itself, which ended after 10 years. The next thirty-five years, as he explained, were spent on an odyssey trying to get home.
Shamgar listened as his father told his old war stories, and also listened when he said all he wanted now was to live in peace, and make up for lost time with Shamgar, having been away for the majority of his life.
"Well you have your father and grandfather now Shamgar, and your own son. Go home and introduce them. I, unfortunately, have, uh, something I need to do." He turned and looked back at the mountain, knowing that the egg had to break. Whether it was pushed down the mountain, or hatched. It couldn't stay that way any longer.
When Veraxitoc said Shamgar had a son, Ajax looked at his own son with wide eyes and a questioning look. Shamgar nodded, and led the way back to the castle he called home. Ajax looked in awe at the architecture, and was even more in awe when he learned that his daughter-in-law-to-be, and his grandson, were dragons.
After a while, Azuma came in, and after a brief chat with his son-in-law, settled down for the evening. Shamgar showed his father to one of the guest bedrooms, opening the door for him.
"Shamgar, how exactly did you meet Seh'lvah? More importantly, how did you two wind up getting a son that looks nothing like either of you?"
Veraxitoc knocked on the egg, gradually knocking harder and harder. Nothing. He even took it to a gryphon healer. It was dead as dead could be.
So Veraxitoc took it high above the mountains, and decided to say a prayer for the fallen child.
"May your young wings lay to youthful rest in the valleys of your ancestors young one. May those who bore you find you again, such that you may be reunited, in the canyons of the gods and heavens. May angels watch over your passing, and demons not lead you astray. Find peace in the arms of the heavens. If you were without a name, I name you Quarta, after the angel of tranquillity. May peace be your virtue. Goodnight little one." Veraxitoc shed a single tear as he dropped the egg, and followed it down. It shattered, and it revealed the calcified skeleton of a stillborn.
"May the gods love you, little one."
The morning light was a pleasant sight for Ajax, who was up in the early hours of the morning training with his sword. Even if he wanted peace, he didn't want to be unarmed, either. Sheathing his sword, he sat down in the castle courtyard and start meditating on his past. It was his morning ritual, and it helped him deal with the stressful memories of his past.
Shamgar had woken up early, just as the sun was rising. He usually didn't wake up until the sun was peering through his windows, but he couldn't sleep. Going down stairs, he was going to the library, which was on the other side of the courtyard. Stepping outside, he saw his father meditating, who motioned for him to come and sit.
"Shamgar, take a look around you. What do you see?" He asked, posing what seemed a fairly obvious question to his son.
"Well, I see a castle, the trees, the sky. Why?" He replied, curious as to the nature of the question.
"A fair answer. Now, look closer. Do you see the fruit on the trees? The individual bricks in the castle or the lightest clouds in the sky?" His father said. Ajax had gone through the same thing when he learned swordsmanship, and now he was passing on the tradition to his son.
Seh'lvah was trying to stop Methusela being a nightmare when Shamgar was gone. Teeth. She remembered growing them. Now Methusela was teething, and even Seh'lvah's damn leg had gotten chewed. Painfully.
She got up not to Shamgar leaving, but to Methusela, who woke up to Shamgar leaving, and decided to chew on her. She gave him a stern scolding, and dragged him outside to see where Shamgar was going.
"Shamgar? Shamgar? Can you look after Methusela today?" Seh'lvah wanted Shamgar to understand that he had to share the teething pains.
Both gryphons looked to see Seh'lvah and Methusela coming outside. Shamgar noticed that Methusela was growing teeth. Oh, great....
"Look, dad, can we continue this some other time? I think Seh'lvah needs my help with Methusela" he said, excusing himself from the conversation. He was curious why his father had asked him the question, but now turned his attention to his own son, who was now teething.
"Of course, Shamgar. Just try to keep the boy out of the courtyard for next couple of hours. I'll be practicing, and Id hate to hurt either of you by accident." He said, getting up, and drawing his sword. He then began his sword routine, which Shamgar watched with amazement.
"All the while you have been gone, he has been teething. Your turn." Seh'lvah nudged Methusela to Shamgar, and watched the hatchling hug Shamgar. Methusela was growing fast. He was about the size a half grown horse now. Nearly as big as Shamgar.
"Just, give him something to chew on. I warn you-" Just as Seh'lvah was about to say something, Methusela chomped on Shamgar, chewing with fresh teeth. "His teeth are very sharp." Seh'lvah gave a slightly worried face as she held up her chewed leg, with lots of bloody scales and bite marks.
Shamgar winced as his son's teeth sank in. He prie his son off, and gave a quick scolding. His shoulder was bleeding, but nothing he would worry about. His grandfather would deal with whether Shamgar wanted it or not.
Ajax paused, and chuckled. "You know, Seh'lvah, gryphons go through a similar time where the tips of their beaks grow as hard as well tempered steel. Generally, the parents would give them something like a large tree limb, or a rock to chew on." He said, then continued his routine.
Shamgar went inside, and a moment later, came back dragging a large log out for little Methusela to chew on.
((OOC: Speak now, or forever hold your peace, I am going to slate Brie the Cheesemaker, and replace her with Methusela, unless you wanted him? And for this post, if you do want him, I will just control him quickly))
Methusela saw the log, and plodded over to it. He had no clue what it was. He gave Shamgar a blank look, and turned to him.
"Daddy... What is?" The youngling had managed to learn a lot. He had comprehensive abilities now, he could speak and hold a half decent conversation. About as good as a 5-6 year old could.
Methusela prodded it with a paw, before sniffing it once.
((OoC: I don't care. Take him if you want.))
Shamgar sighed, and started think of something to say.
"Well, it's something to chew on so you don't hurt mommy or daddy while your teeth are coming in." He said, being completely honest. He hoped his son would understand it was rude to chew on other people.
Azuma was up on Veraxitoc's peak that morning, trying to council the head elder.
"Veraxitoc, you did what you felt was right, ther was no need to feel guilty." He said, trying to reassure that the unborn hatchling was safe and in the arms of the gods.
((OOC: Ok then, 3 draggies!))
Veraxitoc listened carefully.
"I know, I know, I still feel bad though, it was once a life, with potential. It is just a shame that things happened the way they did." Veraxitoc had consoled with the fact a while ago. He just felt sad.
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Methusela looked at the log, then back at Shamgar, several times. Then he took the log underpaw and began to chew on it, finally getting the idea.
"Can keep?" Methusela still needed to learn to speak properly, and he was looking forward to it.
"Yes, you can keep it." Shamgar said, lightly chuckling. He watched as his son started chewing on the log. He was relieved that he had found something for him to chew on as fast as he did. Ajax sheathed his sword and walked over to Shamgar.
"I wish I had been with you when you were like that, Shamgar" he said, nodding towards Methusela, who was chewing on the log. He deeply regretted leaving, but he was glad he was now spending time with his son. He went inside and left his son and grandson in the courtyard, and went to the library. It been too long since he'd read any of the great works of the philosophers.
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Azuma curled up around the very tip of the mountain and looked at Veraxitoc.
"When you've lived as long as I have, you'll know what truly is sad. Rejoice in the fact that the child is with the gods. Do not mourn for an empty shell." He said in a sagely manner, "And, yes, it did have potential, Im not denying that. However, it was the fault of the parent who laid that egg and let it die. You have nothing to feel guilty about, my friend"
"Daddy... Who that?" Methusela spoke while chewing, making it slightly muffled. He was in a combination of the "who, what" phase. He would question everything.
-----------------
"True. That egg had been there hundreds of years, exposed to the elements. Methusela had at least the cover of water and shell. He would have laid dormant instead of dying." Veraxitoc sighed. Such a poor waste of life that egg was. Shame on it's parents if they abandoned it.
Well, Methusela, that's your grandpa." Shamgar said. He put it simply so the not-so-little dragon would understand. He sat down a short distance away, and pulled one of his little tinkerings a out if his satchel and started working with it some more. He made sure that he watched his son as well as pay attention to his work.
-------
Azuma started pondering something. He was one of the last of his kind, not counting his daughter or Shamgar, as they were half-breeds. In a way, it was a time of despair, as there was much of the ancient ways of the mighty Oirthir dragons that remained lost or unrecorded. In another way, it was a comfort, as when his time came, he would be with his fallen comrades.
"Veraxitoc, did you ever think about what the world would be like when you die? Before Methusela was born, I mean."
"Grandpa looks like you Daddy." Methusela stopped chewing to burp, and spewed a large burst of flame everywhere. He wasn't close enough to burn Shamgar, but it was certainly attention grabbing.
-------------------
Veraxitoc listened to Azuma intently.
"I thought I was alone after I killed Loreiaka. I thought that I should die, then and there, make my species extinct, leave my species to die. I thought that the world would not miss me. I had nothing to care for at that point. Nothing to love. No family. No friends. One lone enemy. I didn't really want to live. But of course, my enemy didn't want to kill me. So we slept, she apparently woke up several times."
Shamgar nodded, and laughed softly. He thought about what Methusela said for a moment. "Well, I guess he does."
When the plume of fire came, he just blinked, and was prepared to put out anything that caught fire. He was used to it by now, and luckily, nothing did catch fire.
----------------
Azuma nodded.
"You see, Veraxitoc, I truly am the last of my race. Sure, my daughter, and to a lesser extent, Shamgar, shared the blood of the Oirthir dragons, they are not dragons, obviously. When my time comes, the ancient power of the Oirthir will vanish. My daughter would have had some of my abilities, being half Oirthir, but Shamgar I'm not so sure about." Azuma said. He was going to say something else, but then a sudden thought hit him
"Veraxitoc, have you seen anything strange about him lately? Any thing that seemed odd or unusual for Shamgar's behavior?"
Methusela laughed, but then cringed as a pain came on, and immediately went back to chewing the log. A fair amount of wood chipping was on the floor now.
-----------------------
"In some ways, I wish Methusela hadn't been a Nightspinner. If he is truly the last, then I can rest. But finding him stirred my mind, I can't help but wonder if my race can truly revive. It will take a few years of rather tyrannical selected mating, but it would purely be for the sake of survival. Until my species was diverse enough again." Veraxitoc rested in the mountaintop snow, watching two dragons dancing in the distance. The dance was of a pair of Thunderblacks, playing and displaying mating signs.
Azuma shook his head. He thought for a moment on what to say.
"Veraxitoc, suppose there is new generation of Nightspinners, starting with Methusela. Don't take it as a sign to be dreaded, rather, use it as an opportunity to preach your message of peace and equality to a new, willing generation." He said finally. He hoped that he didn't offend Veraxitoc, but he needed an answer, "but, still, you didn't answer my earlier question about Shamgar. Was he acting strange in any way these past few days? Any sort of anger problems or the like?"
If he was right with what he was thinking, he would have to do something.
"I know it is not to be dreaded. I just want a certainty for once. And Methusela stirred up uncertainty." Veraxitoc sighed, in indication of the end of that conversation.
"Now that you mention it, when I was teaching him to fight, he lost his temper and went into a frenzy. Quite effective as a fighting strategy, needs more control though." Veraxitoc observed it as though natural for gryphons.
"Going into a frenzy isn't normal for Shamgar at all." He said, "And frenzying isn't a gryphon fighting strategy, not by a long shot." He recalled talking with his son-in-law about war, and he specifically remembered Ajax mentioning that most gryphons used martial arts, not frenzying, and a few, such as himself, used swords.
Azuma needed to know more in order to act. Shamgar could very well be in danger from his own heritage.
"Were his eyes glowing, Veraxitoc?"
"I didn't see. I was getting clawed and pecked and bitten. You know?" Veraxitoc thought the question was rather stupid really. He never looked into an opponents eyes.
"Are you sure? Well, regardless, I think there is something wrong with Shamgar." Azuma said, feeling u easy about what he was about to say. "Before I say anything else, there is something I need to tell you about the Oirthir dragons."
He would wait for Veraxitoc's response before going on. He wanted to make sure the head elder was listening.
"You have my attention Azuma. You do not need to force me to listen to you. I will listen." He had noticed the pause for attention as soon as it happened.
"What about the Oirthir?"
"You probably know by now that the Oirthir were, and I guess still are, given the fact that I'm still walking this world, arguably the most powerful species of dragons ever to have lived. So powerful, in fact, that any children we had with a other race, such as gryphons or humans, the line would end after the second generation. I fear that Shamgar's heritage might be slowly destroying him."
Azuma's eyes almost started watering up from speaking about this. He didn't want to see any of his family pass away, especially given the short amount of time he'd spent with his grandson.
"Have you ever read Therissian lore? It is the religion of my race. And Seh'lvah's. It states that nothing is eternal. No god nor curse or trait can withstand the passage of time. Time is the only constant. And it flows and fluctuates as it desires, not obeying anyone. All things change when time dictates it. In it is a tale much like your own." Veraxitoc beckoned for him to listen closer.
"There once lived, in the lands of old, when the sky was dark with the smoke of creation, and the fires of life, a dragon. He believed himself ageless. One goddess, Ro'varrah, envied his ability. She felt that she deserved to have control over time itself. She felt herself above him. So, to try and discourage his ability, she cursed him. All children he had would die, in the same manner. They would be eaten by a wraith, in the form of a Wyvern. For years he tried to break the curse, to stop it occurring. The curse, was passed on to the rest of his kind by Ro'varrah. She cursed them to never have children, and for him to be alone in life. Finally, he gave up his gift, but unbeknownst to both of them, Time, had other ideas. Time wanted to see this race blossom, and felt that no-one should be eternal. Everything MUST end." Veraxitoc looked at Azuma, trying to bring the focus back to the original idea.
"So, time, being what it is, used it's magic, it's ability, to cast a dictating spell. Everything, whether god, dragon, curse or time, had to end. the dragon, didn't know the spell had been cast. He did not try for more children, and fell to sin, mating and copulating. When the time came for him to die, for his power to leave him, he felt strange. He got up from his deathbed, and walked outside to his wife. In her arms was a little baby boy. Ro'varrah, the goddess, had failed, and she had been ended, her followers forgetting her. She died, unworshipped. The immortality of the gods proven broken. The dragon got to live, until time decided that it was done, and knowing the curse was lifted because of time's will, he left the world peacefully." Veraxitoc kept a solemn face to Azuma.
"I feel Time will bide with you. Curses end somewhere. Time itself will dictate when and where. If time chooses Shamgar to be the final victim, then we must accept that. Do you know what Time prepares for? The end. Of all things. Time just chooses how long things deserve to continue. If this is Time's will, then know that Time will send Shamgar to the valley of paradise. If Time ends this here and now. Then we can rest. No point trying to change time. Things happen as it wills."
"I suppose you are right, Veraxitoc." Azuma said, tears flowing from his eyes. He couldn't bear the thought of losing a family member, but he couldn't change what Time had in store. Feeling a little better, he bade Veraxitoc farewell, and went to spend time with Shamgar, who was most likely watching Methusela.
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Shamgar had watched Methusela for a while. By the time Azuma showed up in his gryphon form, the little dragon was well asleep, and Shamgar had Seh'lvah carry him up to their room. Ajax had been in the library all day, and came out to practice his evening sword routine.
"Ah, Azuma, what brings you here?" Ajax said, noticing his father-in-law's arrival.
"Just thought I d spend some time with Shamgar" he said in reply, landing a good distance from the former warrior so as to not get injured by his blade.
Xerordir had decided to explore the nearby valleys and mountains to his new fortress. Rebuilt via Shades, demons and skeletons. All for him and his seemingly new master, Senka. Senka held great power, but Xerordir could hold his own. The only reason Xerordir obeyed was because Senka held unknown power. Xerordir had no way of judging whether his power was more or less.
He arrived in Colony Valley too see dragons and unusual creatures everywhere. However, he was curious. He had heard from the trails of the dead, and Kirnardaz, who had finished a fight with Boski, the fallen god, and resided in his realm for a while, trying to avoid straining his limited time in this world.
According to a map in his own fortress, a castle lay in this valley, an old fortress. Curious.
He reached the abandoned fortress and decided to make himself look somewhat friendly. He removed his mask and hid his book in his bag. Even he had the sense not to mess with a dragon colony.
He knocked on the door, but to no avail. So instead he walked round the castle, finding the grounds. He saw an adult Gryphon practicing swordplay, and an Oirthir dragon. They were supposed to be extinct. And another gryphon.
"Hello?"
Azuma looked over to the gate, and saw a young man standing there. Upon seeing the black robes and the pendant, he knew almost immediately that is man was a necromancer.
"What is it you seek here, mage? There are no corpses for you to defile here." He said. Having lived for 10,000 years, he had a firm grasp on how to deal with things. Shamgar and Ajax also looked over to the stranger, with Ajax sheathing his sword, but kept it ready in case things turned ugly.
To be identified immediately was scary.
"I mean no evil! I am simply exploring!" He held up his hands in submission. Dragons were viewed as god-like by some. Xerordir thought highly of them, but he desired no enemy of them.
Azuma held mages in high regard, but necromancer a were unwelcome. To raise the dead and control their bodies was blasphemy, and he would not have it, not in this Colony.
"Leave! I will not tolerate your presence, necromancer!" Azuma said with a deep growl. Shamgar and Ajax both looked at the old dragon with curious glance. They'd never seen him be openly hostile to anyone, although Shamgar knew he put a whoop on Lydia because she deserved it, but this was different. He was being openly hostile to a total stranger!
"Please don't hurt me! I respect dragons and gryphons to my utmost, and would not dare make an enemy of beings so physically and mentally menacing! I am simply exploring the valleys near my fortress!" Xerordir would not even try and lie to dragons. They inspired fear in everything. Not something he wanted to anger.
Azuma relented, but he kept a very suspicious eye on the necromancer. He didn't trust them, not at all. His reason was that when he was younger, a necromancer revived the body of his best friend right in front of him, with complete disregard for his friend's wishes.
Ajax and Shamgar excused themselves, with Ajax taking Shamgar to the forest for more lessons.
"I've made residence about 3 leagues south of here. How long have you been in the area?" Xerordir would not outstay his welcome. He would just converse. Secretly he wanted to invade the valley, but a colony of dragons was not a force to be reckoned with.
"About two months." Azuma said, recalling the amount of time that had passed since he got here. The Colony has probably been around longer, but had been there 2 months. He was still suspicious of the necromancer, though.
Meanwhile, Ajax was teaching Shamgar the ways of a swordsman. While Shamgar got the idea, he was still timid when his father asked him to spar.
"Hmm... Veraxitoc tried teaching, eh? Fighting is something one doesn't just rush into. Even the dumbest of warriors knows that. Every warrior goes into a fight for a different reason, but that's the key: having a reason to fight in the first place." Ajax said, speaking as he showed Shamgar some simple drills.
"Well we've only been around about a month, two months as well." Xerordir was feeling exceptionally awkward. This dragon could kill him there and then.
"Of you respect dragons and gryphons, then respect their words. Leave, mage, before I decode you're a threat." Azuma said. He didn't want to hurt the mage, but he didn't want him sticking around, either. If he was being honest, then he would leave right then.
"Very well, I can see I have outstayed my welcome. Good day sir." He nervously bowed to the older dragon, and left, walking rather quickly.
Azuma watched as the mage left. He laughed to himself. He never was going to do anything to the mage, but he just wanted to see whether he was stupid enough to do anything. He was about to go back to his cave, but then started reflecting in what had happened these past few weeks. He'd found not only his grandson, but also his son-in-law, and also gained a great-grandson.
Looking off into the distance, he thought of what the future might bring for the Colony. Would it be one of peace and joy like he and Veraxitoc imagined, or..... No, he wouldn't think about the alternative. He simply wanted peace and certainty for once. Looking into the forest, he heard the sounds of his family training. It was odd, but the sounds of metal upon metal brought him comfort.
Not delaying any longer, the ancient dragon flew back to his cave, meditating on what the future would bring........