______ DʀᴀɢᴏɴsBᴀɴᴇ [ o/a ] _______

[Rokizev]

Anar'alah, Anar'alah belore.
Sin'dorei, Shindu fallah na.
Sin'dorei, Anar'alah,
Shindu Sin'dorei.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━*




With a bated breath, Jace eyed Morrigan. While he was not one to listen and look for precise authority, there was an obvious layer of security he would have liked to have in this venture. Like a moth to a flame, almost literally, he would eventually be drawn to the exotic beast in his own personal pursuits. With Lilucia coming, it was an entirely different matter now. His own safety, while being of importance, was always going to be second to his curiosities, which had taken him into the lair of giant spiders before. Her's wasn't, andif he was the only one shielding Lilucia from the flame of a dragon, and he failed... well...

He had read about the effects of Dragonflame, and her healing would most likely succumb to it.

When Morrigan bid the two to take the robes, his breath escaped in a silent sigh. Naturally she plays mother hen... Eyeing the robes with an arched brow, Jace took his pair and sifted through the garments. The enchantments were strong, but he could feel that they were simply... old. But, one garment particularly caught his eye, a leather chest piece with swirling designs around one side. Setting the rest aside, he de-robed with a practiced motion and pulled away the outermost layer that he had used to simply ward off the rain. Another several seconds and he had donned the embroidered leather, pulling where it was too snug and running his hand over where it was the opposite. "Nothing ventured..." He whispered, mostly to himself, pulling his cloak back on and nabbing his staff from where he had leaned it against the wall. "Nothing gained."

Once his cloak had returned to his shoulders, Jace twirled his staff in lazy circles while he waited, trying to keep patient for as long as possible. He nearly opened his mouth to call out to Morrigan before she revealed herself back to the group and bid them on her way. Unsure of whether he was relieved to be moving, or unhappy to have waited for so long, he took to the journey. Remaining, for the most part, silent, he contemplated the questions that arose from the reappearance. Everything from why now, to what he should look for first. Sniffing slightly when the door opened to the storm, he pulled his hood over his head and thanked himself for the foresight of waterproof enchantments. It was not so much as he disliked rain, quite the opposite in fact, but moreover that the idea of being soaked for hours was simply annoying.

Again quiet as the group was, mostly because even with his hearing it would be nigh impossible for their voices to be clear over the constant patter, Jace's eyes remained opened to the possibilities. If there's one dragon, perhaps there are more? How did it appear so quickly? The storm wouldn't mask the beating of those wings... His question was quickly answered as they moved into view of the marketplace, where the beast had managed itself into quite a bind. From this distance, Jaceren was unsure of one thing...

How did he manage to get trapped without...

"Hmm..." Scratching his fingernail across his temple, he moved a strand of hair out of his eye and pulled the hood back slightly so that he could see the surrounding area with a bit more clarity. Morrigan's words about being rash echoed in his head for a moment.... but only for a moment. Shifting his weight, his eyes traced a ladder that was set against a nearby building, giving him a clear path to the roof. "I'll be right back." The elf muttered after his Master's head had turned. Wasting no time, he scaled up the ladder and onto the roof, hopefully dodging any rebuke his senior would have time to come out with. Cursing the distance, Jaceren moved closer over the rooftops to more clearly see the market, his boots giving off sploshing sounds in the wet environment.

A quick glance over the scene told him what he needed to know, and he dipped behind a nearby corner so that he would be out of sight. After all, he was curious, not stupid. So there is no damage to the outer area... no holes in the ground that I can see... Did he just materialize out of thin air? Scratching his chin, he pulled the hood down. Around him he could hear panic, attempts to gain order, cries from children and adults alike. What dreadfully boring lives they must live. too caught up to think about how extraordinarily dangerous the beast is. Jace readied his staff, spinning it in a quick circle so that the center of balance rest in the crook of his elbow, the head tracing along the ground. Even where he was, a not so safe distance away now, he could feel the power that resided within the creature...

A shield spell came to his mind, sitting on the tip of his tongue should he need it.

Glancing out again, he squinted his eyes to see through the smoke and rain. His hair, now drenched and misbehaving, fell into his vision, and he slicked it back with a swift motion. A hazy form was barely noticeable between the structures, the smoke, and the rain. Vaguely humanoid, but with what looked like bristled hair and large ears. Jace frowned at the notion: One person or animal that wasn't running scared, facing down a dragon? Who... or what is that? Exhaling, he glanced around the rooftops. I need to get closer...




OOC: I actually had to cut a lot out of this post, there was a lot to go over, and I feel like a lot of Jace's inner monologue took a hit because of it biggrin . Also, Dragon Age and Monster Hunter is taking up a majority of my free time life. :<

Currently in the process of attempting to somehow find new pictures for a new layout. D:




sugaroverflow




Coadi~Shima




the pocket poet

[Gazimon X]

Movement at the top of the cave prompted the dragonling to still, wide-eyed and instinctively wary of the approach of larger predators, especially since neither of its parents were here to protect it. It didn’t even bother curling up just yet, freezing in place and hoping that whatever had moved would go away. When the two heads at the circular world above did not appear threatening, Apple started to relax a little more. It naively assumed that if they had wanted to swoop down and pluck it from the ground in their talons, they would have done so already. Canting its head at the two flat-faced beings, the dragonling’s slitted pupils flitted between the two. They didn’t look that big…

Small jaws parted, revealing a set of tiny pearly-white teeth and grey-beige gums. Tongue curling a little, the dragonling blasted another foghorn call which seemed to be amplified by the well. Chest heaving from the exertion, Apple paused for a few moments to study the reaction of the two humans, using the pause to collect its breath. When no immediate backlash came, it wailed again, this time flapping its membranous wings at its paltry audience, as if outraged that no food offerings were being presented.


Location : well near Krista's residence

[Gazimon X]

x♔ FIRE DRAGON ━ ZOPYROS
x▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀

Blood stained the dragon’s jagged teeth, dribbling down his onyx scales amongst the mash of other visceral pieces. One of the desperate goats managed to leap from the back of its panicked companions, but in the chaos and smoke its hooves clattered over the debris and it fell with a pained bleat. Zopyros’ jerked his head down, using blunt force to smash its beody between his chin and the floor. Nipping the limp figure, he tilted his head back and curled his tongue, sending it down the abyss of his smoking throat. When there was none left to consume, the drake turned his attention back to his prison.

Light glowed between the ridges of his teeth and as his jaws parted, a white-hot stream of concentrated dragonfire streaked across the air onto the nearest wooden wall. The temperature spiked, wood catching fire as water evaporated and mixed into the billowing smoke. Sooty mist rose from the floor from the drow’s magical attempts at containing the situation, blinding the dragon temporarily in a grey smog. His eyelids slid shut behind the ashen curtain, tilting his head to spew a few more streaks of dragonfire at the beams and pillars that limited his movements. Once satisfied that the structure had caught flames, he pressed his paws to the ground, arching his back and testing the integrity of the structure. It still held but he could feel its supports weakening as the conflagration spread across the ceiling.

Lifting a paw, Zopyros bashed against the nearest wall. Wood cracked and splinters flew; amber-tinged embers landed and sizzled in the muddy puddles. Throwing his weight against the wall, the sharp sounds of breaking beams cut through the storm. Logs collapsed and a gush of fresh wind fanned the flames. Raising his head out of the gaping hole, Zopyros blinked at the rain. Water dribbled down his chin, a thin veil of mist still rising from his heated scales and horny ridges. Pleased with the rainy winds, a low rumble reverberated in his chest as blinked the dust from his eyes. The pause only lasted a few seconds, for he threw his weight against the walls once more, muscles bundling as his legs strained against the main beams which had held the center of the warehouse upright. The superstructure gave way, collapsing inwards onto one side while the opposite was raised by the fire dragon’s back. Feeling the tension loosening from his back, Zopyros stepped forward on fours, freeing part of his body from the wreckage before he had the space to rear up on his hind legs and take a look around.

Words echoed in his mind; the voice of a young man.

‘Zopyros … please meet with us in Demetrius’ tunnels. Follow my aura.’

Zopyros. . . That was his name. The fire dragon blinked as images of an aquatic blue dragon with a crocodilian snout and paddle-like flippers came to mind. Aegaeon . . . They were here for the crystals weren’t they? What was he doing? The drake craned his head around, catching sight of the gathering forces of clustered soldiers and knights. In the distance over the waves, the navy was starting to mobilize. Even if he ceased aggression, he was no longer safe.

:: There’s too much attention on me now… We’ll meet later. If one of us could blend with the civilians and get into the castle... :: Zopyros trailed off when the sight of familiar robes caught his eyes. :: I’ll meet you guys later. ::

Licking his lips, Zopyros fell on fours and crawled toward the mages. It didn’t take him long, only a few steps, but he had to pause to pull his tail free of the debris.

[icecreamsparkle]

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→→ HP ◊◊◊◊◊◊ 65% currently regenerating
→→ MP ◊◊ 20%

As they waited for Morrigan's return, Lilucia unraveled her healer's cloak to change into the one given to her. She turned away from Jace, pressing her palm against her abdomen, her face scrunching up in pain. She didn't want him to know it was painful. The wound was taken a lot longer to heal than expected, perhaps because of the remnants of the King's dark magic absorbed with it. She hadn't been sure if the King's magic would collide with her's - it hadn't - but somehow being near him slowed her ability to heal. Since too much of her mana was spent replenishing Dacour's, she would have to rely on her blood to regenerate as quickly as it could. She slipped off the decorative blue cloak, pulling on the enchanted black one. It was simply designed, with threads of silver lining a floral pattern across the black. On her shoulders, it felt heavy, almost overbearing. She tied a single ribbon in the front to keep it together, pulled it around herself, and tucked her long, white hair under the hood, pulling it over her head.

After a moments of scurrying through dark tunnels, they were outside, greeted by the rain.

"..Don't do anything rash."

She considered Morrigan's warning as the rain poured relentlessly over them. Within moments, she could feel the weight of the enchanted garments digging into her shoulders. Her bangs, weight from the rain, fell into her eyes. She reached up to push them aside, pulling the drenched robes closer around her, trying to hide any view of her clothes below it. By now, her pale coloured dress would be clinging to her, dripping with water.

She glanced at Morrigan ruefully as Jaceren slipped off. His tall figure blended with the smoke and rain and after a few moments of following him with her eyes, Lilucia looked away. She hoped he was nearby. A part of her hoped he wouldn't do anything reckless, but she knew for the sake of his research, he would do anything. The thought wasn't comforting at all.

"Zophyros" the name caught on her lips like fire. The beast collided with the ground, attempting to pull it's tale out of the wreckage and drag itself forward. She could see the remnants of blood pouring down it's teeth, the steam rising off it's body. It looked confused, desperate, as it freed itself from the binds of the rubble. Are dragons truly as fearsome as the lore states?

Lilucia's mind raced to draw conclusions. The dragon who'd threatened the kingdom was black, as why Zophyros, those his underbelly was lit aflame. Where had he been hiding the last few weeks? How had he suddenly appeared? Her eyes flashed with recognition of a spell, of a way. Summoning? Was there someone powerful enough to summon a dragon? Someone on the likes of Morrigan or Dacour.. or the King? A small tinge of guilt settled in the back of her mind, quickly ignored by the unsettled feelings of the king's drow magic. She couldn't trust him to believe it wasn't possible.But why? A foolish attempt to win the war by winning the hands of dragons?

She watched the massive beast crawl towards them, it's claws digging into the ground and leaving destruction in it's path. Her feet moved forward on their own, almost possessed. Lilucia's curiosity couldn't be contained. Morrigan's warning long faded from her mind. Having watched it's approach as it pulled itself from the bindings of the wall, she almost felt that it might be in pain. The idea that it was seeking freedom from wreckage perplexed her. She wanted to understand.

If not summoning, are they able to teleport themselves? Perhaps using dragon magic? She knew very little of dragons. The Academy's curriculum avoided the entire topic in fear of what they might use from their learning. She knew it was layered with controversy, a dark, bloody past, one that scholars did not want to relive in the classroom.

Weeks ago when the dragon appeared at the castle, everyone was surprised. It had asked for rune crystals? But what are they? Is that what it's here for now? It was the first Lilucia ever heard of such a thing.

She found it peculiar that the beast in front of them did not make a movement to destroy them. While it could have just as easily burnt them with its flames or tore down the buildings beside them, it approached with purpose.

A purpose that terrified her, but despite which, she moved forward, almost as if in greeting,"Zophyros Tiberius."

The name slipped her lips so easily that she was surprised at herself.

✦ ᴛʜɪɴᴋɪɴɢ what does this dragon want? ✦ ᴀᴛ streets outside the warehouse
✦ ᴀᴄᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏɪɴɢ Jace, Morri, Dacour, Zophyros ✦ ﹠ ғᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ pained, curious, cold.






Just Call me Kylan


Coadi~Shima


the pocket poet


Gazimon X

[Caimbrie]

caimycaimycaimyvcaimycaimycaimycaimycaimyxY O U R caimy E N D LE S Scaimy L O V E caimy I S caimy M I N E
caimycaimycaimycaimy❛ DO YOU ♚ KNOW ME REMEMBER WHY I'M A ❞ TOY
caimycaimycaimycaimycaimycaimycaimycaimy______________A N D caimy M Y caimy E N D L E S S caimy L O V E caimy I S caimy Y O U R S
______________❛ WHY AREYOU MY⇣ OTHER HALF AREYOUMY ⇣ GOD?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━I F __ O U R __ L O V E __ W AS __ R E A L
______________________________________❝ hallway corridors tab everyone tab tired tab mana n/a tab health n/a tab status n/a tab ❞

` The duke looked again at Cassia, was she telling the truth? Saying she was fine would only touch on the depth of her emotions very lightly. Their affair would upset the duchess if she were to find out, moreover - it would end the duchary. Within a flash, everything could end. Just by being with Cassia. It was a risk, but that brought the question. Who did he really love? A perfect figure came into mind, but he had little to speak of. Did he really love the duchess? If he did, why would he have an affair then? It was confusing to talk about, that was the issue. Sighing, he brushed everything away for now. Even if ignoring it didn't help, it did help him get rid of some stress.

Stopping suddenly, the faint shadow of the prince and the queen. Why on Earth did he feel like he didn't have that kind of family bond with his children? The bond between parent and child, it was often bold and strong, yet... There was nothing. No emotions, just an empty void. It was most likely due to the duke was still recovering from his mother's death. It felt like yesterday since she died and yet, it was no where near yesterday in reality. But Ellois was rather close to his mother, of all parents. She was an angel that had fallen from heaven, dying by the hands of a demon. It was a sad tragedy that had come to life - a nightmare. Yet, no matter what Ellois did, she wouldn't come back to him. She was long gone. Reaching out his hands, he remembered the sweet, sobbing cries like he was a child. Suddenly, Ellois woke up to the reality he was trapped inside, ❝ Cassia... Cassia, I... I'm sorry, I've gotten so reckless lately... ❞ he sighed, trying to make an excuse for his foolishness. Before the duke could think any further, Cassia had requested him to stop all thoughts associated with the issue at hand. Very rarely would a servant make a request. Often when they did make a request, they requested it due to the fact it was more beneficial for the request to be followed. Ellois had seen the benefit, the avoidance of much stress. What exactly was the duke hiding from his family or rather, his wife and loyal servants? Even the duke did not know himself, however if he were to see his ancestor, Tiberius. Then, answers may be given, prior to the fact Ellois was to see him face to face. If Ellois was to send a servant, the full information may not be given. As matters were confidential and family related, it was best for him to go alone, unless he was to bring his child or wife.

The duke hushed Cassia instantly, the questions about his wife kept arising. Why, the duke had not seen her since Cassia had returned, that was all. Moreover, he was unsure where his wife was located, she did like to hide. Tracing the figures lurking in the shadows, the duke smiled somewhat. Even if he was envious of the king for having much tighter bonds with his own blood, he had become more acceptable of it. Nodding his head, attempting to appear as if he was distracted, for the sake of the prince. Even though, with his attempt, it had seemed many people would still look. Despite the duke acting as if he had broken his neck with his constant nodding, he turned to the other side. The urge to tease slowly rose up and before the duke knew it, he was giving in. Whispering loudly, so that the mere statement would echo off the walls; ❝ Oh look, an embarrassed prince hugging the Queen. He's almost red as a tomato, I suppose he didn't meet a pretty girl along the way to make his wife? ❞ he chuckled. Cassia would most likely be upset that the duke of all people was to target the prince. A child that was barely the age to think of marriage, yet the duke found himself unable to resist. He was somewhat compelled to tease, even if it had not seemed so. Thus, the issue at hand was not to be further addressed. Particularly as consequences may occur if otherwise. ⇣

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ i don't want to die i don't want to die i don't want to die ❞
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ but i gotta die but i gotta die but i gotta die right now ❞

━━━━━━ ♚
━━━━━━ ` I'M YOUR MARIONETTE
━━━━━━━━ PLAY MY STRINGS , PLAY MY HEART AND LET ME DIE!
━ ♚ toy with me more . toy with me more . toy with
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━play my strings, i am your marionette , your marionette that wants his strings to be played
━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ♔ ⇣ MARRIONETTE DOLL ❜

Hitomi Hayabusa

[Supreme Leader Mandy]

x♔ THE ADVISER - Cassia Lucinda Demario
x▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀

Their walk down the hall seemed to come to an abrupt stop for a moment. Slowing to a stop, she made sure not to run into him and looked at Elloise with some curiosity. He is sorry? Does he reach for kindness from me? She wondered and studied the man from where she stood. "There is nothing to forgive. You must have a lot on your mind." There was a lot of inner turmoil with Elloise, but she could not even scratch the surface of that conflict. The girls grey eyes appeared to have no emotion at all, and stood like a stone behind his back. Considering her position, she did not feel at liberty to delve too much into his personal issues. They must maintain some distance for his sake, but even more so for her own sake. The last thing she needed was a rumor spreading about her personal life. There were a lot of things that happened behind closed doors that she rather not be observed. Her work was not entirely legal in most cases. Drugging a man for information and keeping him addicted to feed her more info, was one of her most recent exploits that she was not entirely proud of.

Hushed by him, she felt her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. The color flushed on her face only turned darker at the Duke's comment. Glancing to him, she wanted to bury herself right there in the hallway. What are you playing at? I asked for you to favor the Prince. Not embarrass him. She wondered and felt her left ear twitch slightly out of nervous habit. How do I change this situation around.... I cannot say anything to compromise my rank, but I cannot let his dishonor the prince... The halls have ears, it is unlikely that quip went unheard. Narrowing her eyes, she leered at him for a moment behind his back and then made a glance to Aegis. "I am surprised you are not more humble, his royal highness just fought a dragon. I believe he suffers an injustice in being teased while others hide behind the castle walls." Cassia's words were sharp and loud enough to be heard. That would have to do, but she was treading a very thin like with the Duke. Cassia always came off as wicked and cold to her peers, the comment would not come as a surprise.

Glancing from him and to Aegis again, she seemed to have something on her mind. Why didn't you kill the dragon? Was her first initial thought. It would have been a splendid victory and reassured the people. Looking at him, she stared at him with an indifferent sort of glare. Her eyes were unforgiving and lowered to the floor when the two of them approached. Bowing low, she stayed behind Ellois to not give offense and greeted him. "Your highness, it is good to see you are not hurt." She commented and made a nervous look at Eloise's shoes. He would likely be displeased about her last statement. She always felt nervous when she insulted anyone from the noble houses. Digging your own grave. She thought and raised a brow slightly. You have to stay in good favor with the nobility. She thought and brushed her dark hair out of her face when she resumed standing upright.

▌ WHERE The Corridor
▌ WITH WHOM Ellois Noire, The Royal family, and the Servant
▌ HEALTH 95% - Fatigue
▌ MANA 90%





Caimbrie

[Amiimii]

x Servant Fal'Andra
x¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯ ¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯ ¯
Location: Next to the gates of the castle.
Company:Aegis, the Queen, the Duke, and the Adviser
Thoughts: ".....Aegis. I'm glad he is safe."
Ooc: I feel it's a bit lacking, so my apologies.
Abhorrence: InActive (See profile)

"The 'Servant' of the Royal Family"

Fal'Andra watched the adviser Cassia with hidden disgust. Her gaze cast down, or glaring, always critical. Never giving people a brief respite, no matter the situation. People such as her always left a bad taste in the servant's mouth, though she had no room to talk. Eyes turned to face the Duke, someone Fal'Andra knew next to nothing about. Not that who he was mattered to her-she would serve him if it was necessary, just as she would the adviser, but beyond that she could not care. Unspoken thoughts flowed freely through the mind of the quiet elf, only speaking up once the Duke and the Adviser had said their piece. Ceacilia stood emotionless, somewhat anxiously as she spoke, her weight often shifting from one foot to the other.

"Your majesties, I believe it would be wise to retreat to the palace for now. The people are safe now that they have been let in, and I believe it a wise choice to rejoin with His majesty."

She then turned her crystalline sky blue eyes to the prince, no disdain present in them. She could only imagine how it must have felt to face a beast such as a dragon. Since she had not done it herself, she could no more condemn him for not defeating it as he could her. "If there is unfinished business within the city that you wish finished, I could gladly go in your stead." Leather armor donned and katana in hand, it truly looked as if the meager elf would take the battle to the dragon if the prince so wished it.

Quickly turning her body once again, she faced both the Duke and the Adviser, offering them a bow as she would the royal family. Despite her thoughts, her gaze over them was almost the same as it was for the prince and the queen. "I think it wise for you to do the same as well. Though the dragon has yet to target the palace, there is no telling what it's next move will be." She did not like the adviser, and felt indifferent towards the Duke, but if they died, it would inconvenience the royal family, so she would simply have to do her best to protect them as well.



Hitomi Hayabusa


Caimbrie


Minoshiya


Luna Leska

[Coadi~Shima]

x♔ Librarian- Dacour E'Thae
x▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀
xxxxxxxxxxxhealth x ▀▀▀▀▀▀ xxx mana x ▀▀▀▀▀▀xxx

On the cobblestone path down to the market, Dacour finally took a look at what the two junior mages had decided to wear. They were old garments, and the elf couldn't help but remember the last people who wore them. Lilucia's cloak was once worn by a different woman, who was much...louder. The intricate patterns had been a request of hers because she'd loved the idea of elves. She'd never really taken the time to learn anything about them, though, which showed in the abstract designs. Dacour couldn't help but smile, though. She was a nice enough woman, and she'd died at an old age in her sleep.

He tried not to dwell on Jace's choice. The last owner had met with an unfortunate end.

When they got within sight of the marketplace, Dacour got an idea of what had happened. The dragon was cramped into a space he couldn't possibly have gotten into in his present form. He presumed that it would be confirmed later, but it was his guess that the dragon had been in a humanoid form inside the market, then transformed. Why still escaped the elder mage.

Jaceron slipped away almost immediately. Dacour bit his tongue. Let them learn a fear and respect for dragons now, before the war, when they had a chance at survival. This way, he wouldn't be so foolish around Arabast's beasts. Hopefully.

He was so preoccupied thinking of Jace's impulsive (almost human) behavior when Lilucia started to drift towards Zopyros, who was trying to scrabble towards them. This time the mage reached out, attempting to place a staying hand on her shoulder to keep her from getting too close to the beast. The words for a barrier spell were on Dacour's lips, unspoken but repeated in his mind.

His green eyes quickly darted around the scene, his mind shifting gears to a more militant mindset. The warmth in his stance dissipated instantly, and his features drew into stern lines. He counted the knights gathering, heard the ships ringing their bells to communicate. The dragon was vastly outnumbered and unprepared. By the blood on its snout, it didn't even have its priorities straight. Humans wouldn't have caused such a mess.

He'd been eating cattle.

Dacour stepped forward. Seeing Zopyros brought a conflict of emotions to the fore of his mind. Iriitation with the overgrown lizard who routinely tore all the books of his library shelves. Awe at a beast which learned to wear the skin of a man. Gratitude for the beast which turned battles against Arabast.

...Hatred, for the dragon who put his world in jeopardy.

"Lilucia," he murmured, standing alongside the girl. There was a rebuke in his gaze; it was not her place to greet a dragon, but there was a profound sadness in his eyes. He'd known this creature a long time. He raised his voice to all but shout at Zopyros.

"They are coming for you, dragon," he declared, unable to use the familiar name. " We are here to cage you again. Stay still."

Dacour was picking his words carefully. He was really in no position to capture a dragon, although the young Zopyros, he remembered, had a poor concept of magic. It was his sincere hope that the dragon would believe them, and that he would run.

...Truthfully, Dacour owed his life to the dragon, a few times over. Indirectly, of course, but it was enough to make him hesitate to attack.



OOC: I hope that post makes any sense. I've been rather tired.



sugaroverflow


the pocket poet


Just Call Me Kylan

[Kingdom of Sin]

Hi everyone, if you're still around and with us, please post in the ooc so we can make a tally. Thanks!

[Caimbrie]

caimycaimycaimyvcaimycaimycaimycaimycaimyxY O U R caimy E N D LE S Scaimy L O V E caimy I S caimy M I N E
caimycaimycaimycaimy❛ DO YOU ♚ KNOW ME REMEMBER WHY I'M A ❞ TOY
caimycaimycaimycaimycaimycaimycaimycaimy______________A N D caimy M Y caimy E N D L E S S caimy L O V E caimy I S caimy Y O U R S
______________❛ WHY AREYOU MY⇣ OTHER HALF AREYOUMY ⇣ GOD?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━I F __ O U R __ L O V E __ W AS __ R E A L
______________________________________❝ hallway corridors tab everyone tab tired tab mana n/a tab health n/a tab status n/a tab ❞

` The duke sighed, exhausted by his efforts. He had exploited, manipulated any kind of information the duke could get a hold of and yet, he was sleepless. The painted guilt sworn across his face had left him in the depths of misery. Harnessing it had led to his new, awoken self. The dark duke of Regis - as he had claimed. Gradually, the duke began to return to reality - what he had called a massacre of events. The young prince of Regis has fought of a vile beast, a dragon in fact. Yet very few had seemed unsurprised. It was a likely turn of events, yet the occasional thoughts of 'what if'. Turning his head, the duke faced Cassia's harsh remark. Scorning him, the duke laughed it off playfully. He had no concern for other than his own blood; their welfare an well being was of high importance and was to be kept to the highest levels of satisfaction. The duke would expect no less from his servants. Mimicking a few chuckles to himself, he began. A deep, masculine monotone voice crept slowly; ❝ Cassia, you very much forget that I jest; the prince can surely ensure time is made for a mere laugh, no? I believe it is common for a man of his age. The least pressure he shall ever face is not the blade against a dragon, but the time to find a bride ❞ the duke finished, quickly drawing his blade as demonstration. No, the duke was to slay the beast - even if it was not allowed nor willed, it was within his destiny to do slay a foul beast.

The duke had remained silent, still. He wavered slightly, but soon withdrew his blade in defeat. It had only been a matter of time before the duke's loyalty would come into question. Pausing slightly the duke had realised what task he had been entrusted with. Shaking his head at the servant who had offered to slay the beast in his stead. No, it was the duke's turn to provide a service to the royal heirs and now, the duke was presented the opportunity to do so. Pausing slightly, he had one more thing to do before departing. That was to apologise; ❝ Cassia, I am sorry if I upset you when I teased the prince.. But I will slay the dragon in his stead... I must... ❞ the duke finished, departing to his way to the chambers before either of them could respond. The duke would not accept it any other way. Whether he was to slay the beast or not, he wanted to be responsible for this creature's life. The weight of more lives rested on his shoulders and yet the duke didn't even flinch. He was fearless. It was a sight to be taken on, but as the minutes the duke began to grew more impatient. Clutching the handle to his orb, he would be very weak when in comparison to this beast. However, the duke had lacked one thing that made his flaws; he was not as agile as the beast. Moreover, the beast would have strength over a thousand men. It was a fearsome feat, but that was what made the duke more inclined to save the citizens of Regis. ⇣

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ i don't want to die i don't want to die i don't want to die ❞
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ but i gotta die but i gotta die but i gotta die right now ❞

━━━━━━ ♚
━━━━━━ ` I'M YOUR MARIONETTE
━━━━━━━━ PLAY MY STRINGS , PLAY MY HEART AND LET ME DIE!
━ ♚ toy with me more . toy with me more . toy with
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━play my strings, i am your marionette , your marionette that wants his strings to be played
━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ♔ ⇣ MARRIONETTE DOLL ❜

Hitomi Hayabusa

[raiga zero]

XXX◞ SHOW ME HOW DEFENCELESS YOU REALLY ARE
CROWDED STREETS ARE CLEARED AWAY, ONE BY ONE HOLLOWED HEROES SEPARATE AS THEY RUN
XXXYOU`RE SO COLD; KEEP YOUR HAND IN MINEXXYOU`RE SO COLD; KEEP YOUR HAND IN MINE
X◣「WISE MEN WONDER WHILE STRONG MEN DIE
IF YOU FIND YOUR FAMILY, DON`T YOU CRY - IN THIS LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE, DEAD AND DRY
xxxxx██████████ ██████████xx YOU`RE SO COLD BUT YOU FEEL ALIVE
xxxxxxxxxihealthxxxxxxxmana xxxxxxiaera,freya,cassiaxxxxpalace throne roomxxxxpensive,distressedxxxxexhausted

It was over. Faint tremors affected his hands, yet he gripped Freya’s shoulders nevertheless, supporting her as her knees went weak. It was quite literally a burden; the body felt heavier, the mind foggy. After so many years under the bond’s influence, going without it was strangely refreshing. Unfortunately, it also made him all too aware of what his child had surrendered. His daughter had inherited one of his most powerful and despised heirlooms, and although it would keep her safe from the serpent Aegaeon, Gavriel could only pray that she could master the beast’s savagery and bring about peace between monster and man – something he was incapable of. If her open heart and positive demeanour failed them, then she was fated to be bound with something he knew only as ghoulish. How many nightmares had he endured under the water dragon’s watchful eye? “You must rest,” he murmured as Freya insisted on her own good health. “He may yet drain some of your energy. You are two halves of a single whole; your energy and emotions are linked by invisible threads now.” The king felt a number of emotions as he held his daughter, witnessing the exhaustion in her face: anguish, but also faith; disappointment in himself but pride in the woman who would support Aegis in overseeing the kingdom in future years. Even so, he felt more light-hearted than ever – for once he had genuine hope for himself and those who joined him. He met Iaera’s searching gaze, mustering a small smile at her. Their child was safe … but the moment did not last. The trio were approached by a soldier.

Gavriel listened to the information with mild alarm, yet allowed for his queen to make the decisions. They needed to support their people in their time of need, and even with the risk of rebels being amidst their numbers, rejecting them would only create more reason for the insurgency to grow. He nodded in support of Iaera’s demands, observing as the armoured man rushed away to see them through. Kira was equally swift to answer their commands, her equine physique carrying her away with speed many could not hope to match. The dark-haired man glanced to his daughter momentarily, hoping to estimate her emotions and intentions. He wished to locate and protect Aegis, but Gavriel knew such a choice would encourage his youngest to follow. They were both in a poor state of health and needed time to recuperate, but he was a father first … He turned to the queen as the elven woman called his name, surprised by the fleeting kiss. “Iaera …” he started, heart twisting at her soft voice. At the word ‘risk’, he felt his upper lip curl in protest; she was going to try and confront the creature? “No. I cannot allow it if you insist on going out there alone,” he started coldly, but the elf was already making a retreat. “Iaera, if it chooses to attack you …”

‘I’ll lose you.’ She was a powerful mage in her own right, but troubled by a curse that afflicted her when at her most potent. If Zopyros’ aggressive nature forced her to use defensive measures, then … “And she needs her mother, as does Aegis. If you truly intend to go out there and face Zopyros for our son’s sake, then I will come with you. It is not only my duty as a king but as a father and husband.” It was true that Freya had to adjust to Aegaeon’s influence, but Iaera’s tone worried him. Gavriel had always felt her position on the serpentine was a strange one, something she had never fully explained, He had taken several steps towards her, but the pair were interrupted by a breathless servant. Aegis was not only alive, but in safe hands too, it seemed. The king’s heart soared, but he couldn’t hope to match his wife in pace as the lavender-haired woman flitted down the steps and towards the gates. The king turned to his daughter, taking her pale face in one hand. She still appeared tired, as if was being weighed down with stones. How did she feel mentally, he wondered? The dragon’s feelings would no doubt be pressing into her mind. At the time immediately before the bond exchange it had been frightened and defensive; was it now aggressive? Was it assaulting her with spiritual lashes in some pointless act of rebellion? He couldn’t say, but the pallid tone of her face helped him in his decision making. “Come, you should lay down for a while.” He was desperate to see his son for his own two eyes, but felt uncomfortable with the prospect of dragging his exhausted daughter through the crowds of refuge-seeking commoners. It would be an assault on her senses when she least needed it; besides, he trusted Iaera to care for Aegis’ needs if there were any. Spying a servant collecting towels for the evacuees, he called for their attention. “If you see the queen or prince, please notify them that we'll be in the royal wing.”

Somewhere from behind the neatly piled fabric, the servant nodded and hastened down the corridor. Gavriel started in the other direction towards the family's private living quarters, one hand on his daughter’s back and ready to catch her if she fell. “To pick up from where I last left off,” he started quietly, eyes lingering on the glass windows. There was still the soft glow of flames, albeit it was blurred by the torrential downpour, “you and Aegaeon will share many resources now. In the days to come you will find you may have more of an affinity for the element of water. This of course does not come freely as you must share in its struggles. Rest will not come easily from now on, but perhaps if you befriended it, some semblance of peace could be achieved …” His strides slowed momentarily as he gazed into her dark red eyes. “Such power demands responsibility; you must ensure you are at your fittest at all times, prepared to cope with whatever may come.”

X⇣ YOUR NOBLE KING ↷
xxxxxxxxLET US GO --

[Coadi~Shima]

x❛Rebel Leader
x▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀

Krista just stood there, agape, for about a minute. She stared down at the scaly, livestock sized dragon at the bottom of the well. It was when it wailed at her that she broke away from the edge of the well, reccoiling from the din of its call. She winced and shook her head, as if clearing a thought away. She didn't have time for this. There was a much larger dragon on the loose!

She glanced over at Thiya and opened her mouth like she was going to give some direction. When she tried to speak, though, she found that the words of command just didn't come to her. She wasn't really...sure...of what to do. Somewhere in her mind she was aware that her family's well connected to the underground, but she couldn't quite wrap her head around the thought, because her current plan required them to go underground to be safe.

"Go on ahead. I have to get my dad. We need to get underground!"

With that, she abruptly turned on her heel to jog the few steps to her home and wrench the door open. Thiya knew the way to the grain silo. Krista wasn't worried about her friend being able to get there on her own. She was afraid she might be slow with her dad, but she didn't want to stress him by showing Thiya to him in dog form, since she would definitely be changing back to her human body once they were safe. It might get...awkward...trying to explain how she got there.


x❛In The House
x▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀

"Dad!"

Krista shouted as she entered the house. She instinctively closed the door behind her, forgetting for a moment that she wasn't just coming home. There was no immediate reply. Had he fled already? Her dark eyes swept the immediate area, trying to see by the dim light from outside.

Just outside? Normally her father kept a fire going. Her gaze snapped to the firepit. The fire had gone out.

Something inside her sank.

"Dad, where are you!? We need to go!" She shouted again, trembling. It hadn't yet dawned on her, why she was so upset. Her steps were uneven as she started a haphazard search for him.

Her eyes were at the level of the floor as she looked.

On some level, she knew what she'd find.

Her breath drew sharply, and a cold wave crashed over her shoulders.

He was there. Beneath the window. In a crumpled heap. A cleaning cloth had fallen on his head.

He must have been oiling their lambskin window. She crept closer to him, wary of the truth. Krista hadn't drawn a breath since she'd seen him, and her eyes didn't blink. Not really seeing, not really aware, Krista reached out to pull the cloth away.

It was like he was sleeping.

Quaking fingers dropped the cloth. Krista sank to her knees by his side. Not knowing why, she reached slowly up to close his dead-open eyes.

"Dad..." she whispered, her fingertips hovering against her lower lip, like she was going to start clawing at her face, or as if to shield herself from what she was seeing.

Her mourning was cut suddenly short as Zopyros let out another bellow that shook the house. She instinctively, fearfully covered her head with her arms and let out a pitiful cry. For an instant she was a child, hiding under her covers and bawling over her ailing mother.

Her teeth grit. She pulled herself to her feet. Her perception shifted the room shifted to the side, and her foot slid back to balance her.

Again she looked around the room. She crossed to where they stored finished orders and strung a full quiver of hunting arrows over her shoulder. Right now she didn't know or care who they belonged to.

With her ammunition, she crossed to their kitchen and scooped some eggs into a wooden dish.

She was too disoriented to think of anything else she would need, she headed towards the grain silo. Her heart was a weight; she found that despite her fear of the dragon she could not run, and made a half-hearted hobble as her pace to her meeting spot with Kinthya.



OOC: Oh noes! Her father!




Missy Eevee


Gazimon_X