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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2011 9:06 pm
[ PRINCESS ELSINA ]
“I want to learn how to fight,” she’d said when she turned eight years old, chin raised and bright green eyes sparkling with determination as she demanded her name-day gift from her father.
“Of course, darling,” the king had dismissed her. “Now pray tell, sweetling, what instrument do you wish to play?” Deflated, the ever-obedient Princess Elsina Sullaeris of Kerth had learnt the harp instead.
She’d had much the same conversation the next year on her ninth name-day, when she’d started singing, and her tenth-name day when her father had given her paints and canvas, and her eleventh, when her father had found someone to teach her both foreign and archaic dances.
Elsi could do whatever she tried to, she’d quickly learnt. At sixteen, she could sing like a nightingale and accompany herself masterfully with the harp. She could paint a sure likeness and dance as gracefully as anything – and how was that supposed to help her now?
Her guardsmen and retainers were scattered about. Elsi could hear them shouting for her as they thundered through the forest brush running from or chasing the band of mercenaries that had ambushed them in the Aldesian Wood and drove them off the traveled path. Every now and then her name would be cut short and Elsi knew the loyal man who’d called out for her was dead, which meant she couldn’t go towards the voices.
This battle – cowardly, her chivalrous guard of knights would say, but cunning Elis thought – was not yet won.
Elsi didn’t know if it would be.
So she sat tall atop her chestnut mare in her satin green riding gown as the wind that whispered through the trees tugged at her dark brown locks. Fair-skinned, beautiful, and absolutely useless because when she was eight she had taken up the harp instead of the sword, Elsi sat frozen as one of the mercenaries (surely he was, for he wore not the White Tower of the royal House Tairyen) nocked an arrow and drew back the bowstring.
No more than twenty paces away from her, there was no way he could miss such a blatant target.
Princes Elsina closed her eyes. She could play the harp and sing and paint and dance, and she could die.
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Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2011 9:59 pm
[ PRINCE ÆRIK ]
It was the duty of his station that carried Prince Ærik into the air that morning, accompanied by only one other rider. It was already more than they could spare. "Run." She said, his own mother, the night before last. He had run, he had brought with him three of his father's men who's lord was now dead, and he ran like a coward. "Run, and come back to save us."
He would.
Shame folded like steel over his heart, hardening into the resolve that he must have in the time to come. He was all his people had now, his father dead, his mother captured, and the clans of his people scattered.
A low rumbling trembled under his thigh and he lowered his yellow-orange eyes to the great dragon below him.
And you, he added silently to his companion; Shiva, her ruby colored scales shimmering like fire beneath him. In her whole life she would only have one rider, and he would have only one dragon. Vhenan, joined, when he completed the Vhen'alas ceremony and was, for the first time, acknowledged by his people. As a female, she was the larger of her species, with a wingspan that stretched forty-feet and a tail length alone of twenty. She flew effortlessly though, her weight seemingly disappearing on the warm currents of the south.
Another rumble, and this time Ærik knew it was not in response to his thoughts. Shiva heard the cries of men, Southern men, and, through the Vhenan, so did Ærik. The Prince did not have to look back to know that his man had heard it as well and thathe followed him in the dive, black clouds covering their descent as they fell silently. It was not the way of Northern men to not answer a call of battle, be it their own or the enemy. No matter the duty they were on they could not turn away from what made them Valhiri -- North Men.
Ærik closed his eyes as they streamed one by one through the cloud cover and towards the tree-tops of the forests below, seeing through Shiva's eyes as they thought as one. A single warning cry erupted from her throat as she passed over head. The Prince saw her then, a woman alone on horseback, and the man that was poised to strike her down -- Shiva saw as well, her tail lancing out with its sharpened end through his chest as both dragon and rider landed.
From above him, Ærik could hear his escort chasing down the fleeing men with both molten slag from his dragon and arrows from his bow.
Shiva screamed angrily as she turned, confined by the trees, and Ærik did his best to soothe her mind as she killed -- a task that he found more than daunting with his own emotional turmoil. They were linked, he was her rock in the roiling sea of murderous intent within her mind, and she needed him. There were too many men, too many arrows, and Shiva's thick hide could not protect Ærik as well.
Opening his eyes, disconnecting from Shiva's mind, he looked to the girl in the green satin dress that had caught his attention from above; "Quickly!" he called to her, extending his hand from under the thick, grizzly fur coverings on his shoulders as Shiva lowered herself further to the ground.
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2011 10:16 pm
[ PRINCESS ELSINA ]
Elsi's eyes were squeezed shut as she waited for the hiss of death - the twang of the arrow - but it never came. Instead, Death's voice was a not a hiss but a whoosh, loud and powerful. The wind swept at Elsina, displacing her hair and clothing and lifting the edges of her cloak so fiercely that the ties pulled at her throat -- and it was heralded by the beat of wings.
Feeling foolish, the princess cracked one eye open at a time and her lower jaw dropped, too.
A massive red dragon had made the clearing larger, and though Elsina sat atop her horse both she and her mount were dwarfed. The princess gaped, shocked -- the only dragons the southern kingdoms were familiar with were the ice dragons that lived in winter's kingdom, and even then she had never seen one. The dragons of ice misliked the summers of the south.
"Come," its rider commanded urgently, beckoning. He spoke a heavily accented Old Ro'gan. The language was supposedly dead, spoken only by high priests of the Four Gods but Elsina had learnt it.
"Who are you?" she demanded of the savage-looking rider, even as she slipped off her horse and went to the dragonrider, placing a fair hand in his paler one.
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Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2011 10:43 pm
[ PRINCE ÆRIK ]
Ærik closed his hand over hers and gripped it strongly, aiding her in mounting behind him. He hardly noticed that she spoke his tongue, though with a heavy accent that he assumed was southern, and did not grasp initially how rare it was in these strange lands to hear it.
"Prince Ærik, of the Valhiri clans." He said, answering her question with a proud warmth flushing his pale eyes, and twisted to get her other hand and wrapping her arms around his waist. The riding saddle was not meant for two, but he was not yet fully grown and she was young as well, light as air, so the rise would be difficult but not impossible.
Shiva shrieked and an angry lance of molten metal spewed over the ground before her, warding off the approach of mercenaries while she revealed her softer underbelly in the climb, and beat her wings against the pull of the earth. A deeper cry echoed above Ærik's head as his escort flew above, covering Shiva's ascent, and in minuted the forest clearing was gone. The Prince could feel through the Vhenan that Shiva struggled to gain altitude, but once they reached the clouds he knew they were safe.
Wind ruffling his shaggy, dark hair, Ærik turned over his shoulder to the girl from the forest. "Now, Southerner, what shall I call you?"
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 4:45 pm
[ PRINCESS ELSINA ]
And then she was in the air before she knew it, instinctively wrapping her arms around Aerik's waist and fearing to let go, propriety be damned. What if she fell? It surely meant death, at these heights.
The wind roared about her and she could feel the stuff clouds were made of misting against her face as they rose to meet them. Elsina didn't dare to look down. Another girl might have been awed and honored to ride on a dragon and take to the skies, but she was too terrified - from the mercenaries and the forest skirmish to dragonback? Today was not her day to be adventurous, but adventurous it was.
To answer the prince Elsina had to shout so the wind wouldn't completely steal her voice away. "I am Princess Elsina, of Kerth," she introduced herself. "You are not from Terrini?"
Terrini was the continent south of winter's kingdom, the Far Isles and the Skirdir Mountains. Few of people of the kingdoms on Terrini left, and then it was only by boat or through Talquis to reach the ice bridge and winter's kingdom. Nobody ever crossed the Skirdir Mountains - it was said they were haunted, guarded by the ghosts of dead elves and their dragons.
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Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 4:54 pm
[ SER ROSFIR ]
Ser Rosfir of House Armia was charged with Princess Elsina's safety, but now she had been carried off by a dragon and he was left to gather his surviving men and return to the capitol with their tails between the legs, and short one very important sixteen-year-old. She was being escorted to the border of Eramiere, to meet with their crown prince. Negotiations had already been underway, but now with her missing and perhaps dead -- carried off by a savage on dragonback no less!
Half the people who lived in the Terrini kingdoms thought dragons were myths, but the more worldly of them knew their existence to be true... But still, Ser Rosfir was supposed to return to his majesty to report his failure? He dreaded it.
His silver armor was smeared with the blood of mercenaries and the shaft of an arrow stuck out of his shoulder blade. He didn't dare remove it - he didn't have the time. Sheathing his sword, the young knight gave the order to his harried men to return to the capitol, full speed.
Ser Rosfir's shield bore the white peony of House Armia on its rose-colored field, not that that had done him any good during the battle. The sigil of his house was turned to a pincushion, with one deep score courtesy of a mercenary's axe. If anything, his noble status and his knighthood had made him a larger target, and given the dragonrider a chance to take off with Princess Elsina.
The knight was in a bad state when he rode through the city gates, his men trailing behind him. His helm was removed, and his blonde hair matted with blood, sweat, and dirt. A cut that still bled ran from his cheek to his lip, and one of his clear blue eyes was swollen shut. The shaft of the arrow still protruded from the gap in his armor, but still he rode to the castle gates and called on the men there to open it in the name of the king.
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:37 pm
[ PRINCE ÆRIK ]
Ærik lowered his eyes for a moment after she spoke, apparently unimpressed by her declaration of a title, (which would explain her lack of awe at his own) and considered her words.
'Terrini' was a word that he was unfamiliar with at first, but searching his memory provided him with a similar word; 'Terr'Yngöl', the world outside.
"No," He replied, barely loud enough to be heard above the winds,"I am not from Terr'Yngöl," with the hint of a smile. A reptilian mewl interrupted his thoughts, and Ærik 's pale eyes clouded over with the yellow-orange sign of the Vehnan.
"Shiva tells me there is a lake nearby," detected by her superior olfactory senses, "I will take you there." The dragons needed to rest, especially after the 'skirmish' in the forest. He needed to rest. Though he was too proud to show it, even more so before the southerner, the fatigue of the Vhenan an emotional fatigue of his flight was exhausting. They also needed to know what to do with this girl. She was pleasant enough to look at, for a Southerner, and her knowledge of his words was interesting, but he could not dally on his quest. If there was a safe place to leave her, preferably on the way to the 'land of Queens,' then they would have to find it. The forest was too dangerous for this princess and his quest would be more so.
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 12:22 am
[ FINN ]
Finn felt the weariness of his dragon's heart hang heavier than their Prince did, apparently, but he kept up. Scaling the winds at a respectful distance, the young retainer of the clan leadership watched the Prince have words with the Southerner. A low rumble voiced concern beneath him and he leaned forward, resting a bare hand against the dark red scales of his companion. Old as she was, she was still as sensitive to his moods as the first day of the Vhen'alas. Though other Valhiri riders had considered it a shame; Finn, fifteen, the youngest Valhiri chosen and bound to one of the eldest dragons, Finn had not. It was an honor that Wynne, a former matriarch of her roost, had taken him with her.
It was that experience as a mother, he assumed, that made her so intuitive. "Aye, I don't like this either." He agreed, leaning completely forward and closing his eyes, taking comfort in the connection between them. It had been a day, one lousy sunrise, from the night that he and the Prince had fled their home and Wynne's heart, like his own, ached. Only one day before she had been a mother, and now she could only hope that her young survived.
Words were no comfort, not to a being like Wynne; pure passion, instinct and fire, so Finn closed his eyes and relied on the Vhenan to communicate instead. They would return to their home, with or without help, and would make the enemy regret bringing their thunder clouds to their skies.
Though the Prince was younger, by five whole summers, he followed him. Though the Prince was irritating, arrogant and too often acted on his emotions rather than his thoughts, Finn followed him. Perhaps because the Prince was all of those things, Finn followed him -- or perhaps it was because of his mother, their mother, Finn followed. By their bond as Valhiri, Brothers, the First knew that his brother would not stop until they had returned home.
But first to deal with the girl, whoever she was. It didn't sit well, scooping the girl up from the forest skirmish, assuming a side in the melee brazenly, and then carting her off -- and she didn't sit well with him. What could they be speaking of, together, unless she knew enough of their tongue to pass a conversation, and why would she know it?
Wynne grumbled beneath him, and Finn agreed; the girl was trouble.
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:35 pm
[ PRINCESS ELSINA ]
Elsina nodded, not trust her words so high and moving so quickly. She clung to Aerik and felt her stomach fly to her throat when the dragon descended and she kept her eyes closed, scarcely daring to breathe let alone look.
When they reached the lakeside she trusted herself to speak, voice sounding strange now that the constant rush of the wind had fallen silent. "We must be at Lake Tirramor," she told the dragon prince, though the name might have meant nothing to him -- Elsina knew her maps of the world but the distant cities on isles separated from Terrini by sea meant little to her. "It lies on the border of my father's kingdom. If we head to the capitol, my father will welcome you graciously as guests for saving me."
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 5:15 pm
[ SER ROSFIR ]
He knelt before his king in a tan tunic and black breeches, his arm bandaged and most of his minor wounds either healed or at least attended to. "Your majesty," Ser Rosfir said. "It was mercenaries - from where, I am not sure, but I stake anything that they are in the pay of the Eramieran dogs!"
King Daypio was silent on the subject of Eramiere, but had many questions about the dragons. "Were they friend or foe?"
"They did not attack, majesty, and... they did bear her highness away from the skirmish. We were none of us with her - we were separated. The riders may have thought the battle lost and taken Princess Elsina to safety. Perhaps."
"We can only hope," Daypio murmured.
"I will go to Talquis, your majesty, if it please you. If her highness is not returned by evenfall, I'll leave before first light."
The king nodded and dismissed him, and Ser Rosfir knew he had failed his king and the princess. He had to ride out in search of the dragons -- he had to go to Talquis. They were the most familiar with the ancient creatures, and Ser Rosfir was sure if anyone knew anything of them, the Talquisians would.
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 5:47 pm
[ PRINCE ÆRIK ]
Rest. Shiva did not only need it, she commanded it. Dutiful and faithful, Ærik acquiesced and released his hold on the Vhenan. As the invisible tendrils of the bond released from his mind, and his eyes shifted once more to their pale green coloring, Ærik repeated the strange words that the princess had just spoken.
"Tirramor.." The name was strange on his lips, but alluring.
Shiva trembled impatiently and Ærik patted her comfortingly and then swung his leg over her spine and slid down from her shoulder to forearm, holding a hand out to help the princess follow.
"You know this land well then, princess?" He asked, trying his best to be casual despite the intensity that was growing behind his eyes.
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 5:54 pm
[ PRINCESS ELSINA ]
Elsina accepted Aerik's hand and slid down from Shiva after him. She stumbled when her feet connected with solid ground again - the weakness in her limbs similar to if she had gone for a days-long ride and only just dismounted, but she knew it would pass soon. Or, at least she hoped it would.
"I have memorized the maps of Terrini," Elsina told Aerik. "And I have visited most of her kingdoms. And it helps that we are still in mine," she added humbly.
The princess walked a few steps with a grimace, waiting for the pins in her legs to dissipate. "To where are you headed, my lord?" she asked.
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 6:16 pm
[ FINN ]
Finn and Wynne landed gracefully, a testament to the matriarch's strength considering her years, and he dismounted quickly to allow her to seek refuge within the lake. As soon as his feet were on the ground, soft grass crushed beneath his oil-darkened boots, Wynne frolicked towards the lake with the awkward swagger her reptilian race were cursed with when not flying. Her large belly settled into the mud and she slid happily forward, submerging herself withing the lake to look for her evening meal.
Finn approached Ærik and Shiva, and their passenger, in time to hear the beginning of what would be, if he had any say, a brief exchange.
"Oh no." He said, controlling his irritation only slightly. "We are not having anything further to do with this girl. We are putting her back where we found her, or leaving her here where she is so.. familiar."
They didn't know who those men were, or what they wanted with her, and their mission could not afford for them to be involved in whatever was going on. Sighing, he raised his hand to rub his eyes as they faded from the dark red to a dark violet.
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 6:37 pm
[ PRINCE ÆRIK ]
Ærik's gaze settled on his half-brother's only momentarily before returning to Elsina. Ignoring Finn's protest, he answered the princess' question with a question of his own.
"Do you know of a land known as Tall-Keys?" He struggled with the strange pronunciation, but did not flinch from it.
Coming to stand between Elsina and his brother, Shiva acted in instinct and in sync with Ærik's impulse by fore-going her dip in the lake and turning around to face Finn herself. A hot huff of breath was her only reminder to Finn of who her loyalty, and protection, extended to.
Ærik said one word to Shiva, but did not come between her any his brother. Instead, he continued his queries, "Could you take us to Tall-Keys?"
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 6:44 pm
[ PRINCESS ELSINA ]
Elsina was taken aback by the venom she knew was there but didn't hear in the other rider's voice; Aerik's dragon moved between her and the other man, though, and Aerik did not listen to him so Elsina tried to put thought of the older man aside - and mention of Talquis pushed her worry aside in an instant.
The last time Elsina had been to Talquis, the queen had still been a princess and was only seven; Elsina herself had been twelve, but they had spent two months together. "Talquis?" the princess repeated with delight. "Yes, I kn -" she paused, forgetting her Ro'gan in her excitement. "Yes, yes, I know it. You are heading in the wrong direction!"
Kerth bordered Talquis and Eramiere both, but Eramiere was to the west of Kerth and Talquis to the north... and Lake Tirramor was in the southern part of Kerth.
"We must got north, to Talquis."
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