Colonising [Clever-fox] [Mature]

[Brisinger987]

"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.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"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?

[Brisinger987]

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.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"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.

[Brisinger987]

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.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

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.

[Brisinger987]

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.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

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.

[Brisinger987]

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.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"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.

[Brisinger987]

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?"

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"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.

[Brisinger987]

"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.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"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."

[Brisinger987]

"Where might he be?" Veraxitoc was seriously worried now. If this angel was off doing something, or someone, there might be a slight issue.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"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.

[Brisinger987]

"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.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

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.

[Brisinger987]

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.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

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.