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 Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:24 pm
“Very well,” the man said solemnly, “I swear upon my mother’s honor. Now off with you.”
He reached over and grabbed Avalene’s arm with his other hand and pulled her close. She leaned back to avoid touching him in any way and turned her head aside.
“Get your spear and walk along in front of me to the north road. I’ll have the girl with me so don’t try a thing.”
“You b*****d,” Avalene hissed in reply, softly so that the boy couldn’t hear, “Your mother was a whore. She has no honor for you to swear upon.”
The man shoved her roughly towards the fence so she could claim her weapon, a disgusted snarl on his face.
“Prophetesses should remain silent,” he snapped, “Especially when they can’t seem to have visions of anything useful.” He turned and knelt before Alter. “You’re going to follow us for a little bit, okay? Nothing bad will happen. I promise just like I promised your brother.”
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:36 pm
Oh. Well, that was reassuring… Aaliyah wasn’t quite sure where babies came from either, and had been worried that these adults didn’t know and wanted to ask her. It was stupid, she knew, but it seemed possible. After all, these were Dragon-Bound Knights asking for help from a youngling! It took the white youngling a little while to wrap her mind around the request, actually.
“You think that Tarketh will tell you the name of the woman involved, at least at some point, but you don’t think he will ever tell you why the humans stole the eggs? Or at least the truth?” Admittedly, Aaliyah didn’t think so either. She just needed to hear the older dragons say it.
And maybe, just maybe, she was exercising her newly developed talents at noticing things that others did not. It sounded… dangerous. Well, sort of anyway. What it actually sounded like was pretty much what Aaliyah had planned on doing anyway, just wandering around and listening to other dragons and then filing away that information in her mind. The only difference was that this way she would have to actually tell someone else, and they would probably end up telling her a bit about what was actually going on as well.
“I would be interested,” she admitted. It certainly sounded a lot more interesting than sitting around with Asariel and asking, ‘I dunno, what do you want to do’ and being answered with ‘I dunno what do YOU want to do’ and so on so forth.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:42 pm
“I don’t think the human will know why the eggs were stolen,” Lierce replied, “I believe that the Fallen will be as concerned as to the reasons why as we are – after all, we all lost our wings once and whatever the humans had planned with the eggs could very well affect every dragon alive. But I doubt this thief we caught will know much – he’s a lackey and little more. I thank you for your help, Aaliyah. Come to any knight if you find anything interesting.”
He paused.
“And before you get too distracted wandering around Genyiel, could you find the Ascended, Shadine, and ask her to come here? I would like her opinion on matters.”
He nodded to her and turned back to the rest of the knights. A couple were grinning slyly, trying to hide it, as if they knew something that Aaliyah didn’t. They seemed awfully happy about it though, and not in a mocking sort of way either.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:56 pm
Chresto turned and left, trying to remember the location of the Gray Swan tavern. It was two streets over, wasn't it?...
Alter nodded, though she didn't look at him. "'m sorry, missus Avalene," she mumbled, looking very shamefaced. She didn't know much about what was happening- not as much as Avalene or Chresto seemed to, at any rate- but she knew she had Messed Up Bad.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:00 pm
That made sense, of a sort… personally, Aaliyah would have needed to hear reasons before being coaxed to do something fantastically stupid as stealing dragon eggs, but, then again, she wasn’t a human. From what she could tell, they needed a lot less coaxing to do stupid things, especially if something called ‘munny’ was involved. Apparently, this ‘munny’ was involved in keeping a person fed and warm. Maybe it was some sort of building material that was edible, she mused to herself, almost missing Lierce’s last words.
Shadine? Oh, right! The Ascended… she was pretty sure she could remember which one that was. And, even if she couldn’t, she had no problems with asking around. Hopefully, Shadine wouldn’t mind. It was always a problem, talking to adults. They always thought things like, ‘oh, just a little youngling, couldn’t possibly want anything important, now go run along and play with your friends’ before going on to talk about boring stuff.
“Alright. I can find her and tell her that,” Aaliyah agreed. After all, she was only agreeing to tell Shadine the message; she couldn’t guarantee that the Ascended would actually listen. Or would have time to listen to the white youngling. For a moment, Aaliyah hesitated before giving an awkward bow and leaving the room, finding her way back to the main circle. The smiles of the other Dragon-Bound Knights made her a tad uneasy; they weren’t teasing, but they were still a little… odd.
Pausing, she patiently waited for her heart to get back to its normal rate instead of being at a high pace purr. Right… well, time to go find Shadine… she would find Asariel and the others later. It would be easy to find them. Just follow the jokes about babies and the origin of.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:04 pm
With the meeting dismissed for now, Astalder trotted back over to Blade, stopping by him.
"You're not going to talk with the others a little more?" asked the human, "I mean, I'm sure you'd want to make some friends here now that you're back with your kind."
"Yeah... but I wanted to make sure you were alright first. Also.. I wanted to know if we could come back here again sometime once this is over."
Blinking for a moment, the boy grinned and shook his head slightly before giving his reply. As he did, he patted the youngling on the head lightly.
"Well, no. Because you're going to stay here. It'll be safer than going back to town with me after all. If you want, I can come by every once in awhile. But it's kinda far from home, so... the time between visits could take some time."
Astalder tilted his head before clawing lightly at the ground beneath him. While he did want to stay with the dragons, he also didn't really want to leave his human friend. Though, he did see his point here, and this way he would be able to learn about himself a little more than if he stayed with humans for all his life.
With a slight toothy grin, he nuzzled Blade's hand slightly before creeping off to where some of the other younglings were, glancing once at the human as he made his way there.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 3:03 pm
Viscal smiled at the optimistic dragons, and streched his tired musles and curiously wondered if the place had anything to eat around here. He sniffed the air, hoping maybe to smell something, but his nose didn't seem to be working...or there was no food.
"I'ma goin' to find some food guys," Viscal mummbled to the younglings, "See y'all later!" With that Viscal darted off before anyone had a chance to say anything. Zera and Grishmak saying a goodbye.
Grishmak snorted before speaking to the others, "T'would seem like thats all he thinks about. His silly little stomach," Grishmak jokked happily. He enjoyed being around other younlings. He turned around and more or less jumped on Zeras head, laughing in a dragony way at her. He could have a little fun, right? Even if there was all this bad news.
Zera colapsed under grishmak but quickly sprang up again and landed on his back. "Gotchya!" She snorted in his ear before dropping of his back, but then regained her silenet, somewhat bored voice, and walked carefully over to Asariel.
"Wheres you sister got to?" She asked her friend.
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Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 3:40 pm
The meeting room was starting to look rather barren. A handful of Dragon-Bound Knights had stayed behind, mostly dragons, to answer questions and talk to dragons they recognized from various clans. Shadine had not left her spot at the back of the room and a few other Ascended were gathered around her, talking in quiet tones, while she listened demurely and did not say a word. For the most part, the room was calm and what little bursts of excited chatter there were revolved around Tarketh’s grand entrance.
Tarketh was already making his way through the tunnels of Genyiel. He walked slowly, so as not to knock the human off his back, and this unfortunately allowed Lania and her posse of Fallen to catch up. He snarled as she fell in step next to him but neither said anything. They exchanged glares and sullenly decided to have the fight that was brewing in private when they reached the lairs apportioned off for the Fallen.
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Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:08 pm
“I’m not sure…” Asariel said slowly, looking around for Aaliyah. It wasn’t the first time she had gone off on her own, nor would it be the last, he knew. He wasn’t worried though; it wasn’t like she could get into trouble while wandering around here. It was… well, he wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he knew that if it was enough to stop the Fallen and Ascended from fighting, then it was enough to stop other dragons from bothering a lone youngling.
He shrugged a little before nipping at Zera’s wings. “I think he’s got a point; we ought to go find something to eat. Or at least get out of this place for a little while! It’s stuffy!” with that, the little youngling started towards the door only to almost be run over by Aaliyah.
“Aaliyah! We were just wondering where you had gotten to! Hey, we’re gonna go get something to eat. Do you want to come along? I bet we could find something really good…” or guilt some older dragon into getting it, which was the same thing to Asariel.
“Right now?” Aaliyah shuffled on her feet a little. She wanted to tell the others about it, but… well, it seemed all secretive and that sort of thing. And, while she would never admit it to herself, it was more dramatic this way. “Do you know where Shadin… oh, wait, never mind! I see her! I’ll catch up with you guys later!” With that, Aaliyah trotted towards the Ascended, trying to look confident. A mission from Master Lierce? Pfft… piece of cake! She wasn’t nervous at all… of course not!
Asariel blinked his wide green eyes at his retreating sister. That was a little odd… but, not too odd, really. Aaliyah liked being by herself sometimes. Usually, she wasn’t quite so mysterious about it though… now he faced a minor problem… should he stay and keep an eye on Aaliyah or look after his hungry belly? And those of his friends, of course.
Oblivious to the conundrum she had caused, Aaliyah slowed by the Ascended, no longer quite as confident as before. This was turning out to be a real education for the little youngling. Predictably enough, the chatter of the Ascended quieted down a little as it became obvious that Aaliyah would not go away.
“Umm… umm… Lady Shadine?” Scalerot, she didn’t even know the correct way to address an Ascended, let alone the leader of the Ascended! “Master Lierce wants to talk with you.” There! Message delivered! Mission accomplished! Quest complete!
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Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 7:29 pm
Shadine seemed to think on Aaliyah’s message for a moment.
“Then he will have to wait,” she said serenely, “I am not one of his knight’s to command and it is time he learned that.”
She blinked and turned away from the other Ascended to give her attention to the youngling.
“But that’s no concern of yours. Thank you for delivering the message. Your task is finished.”
The Ascended returned to her conversation with the other dragons of her kind. There was a wide array of colors and patterns among and them and some seemed restless while others were as serene as Shadine herself. But all of them were giving their attention to the rune-marked dragon as even though they were technically leaderless, she was still the one they looked to for guidance.
It wasn’t but a few seconds after Shadine finished speaking with Aaliyah that a horrific dragon-scream ripped through the air. Near the dais, one of the Dragon-Bound Knights had convulsed and collapsed to the ground, his armored tail smashing against the stone as his entire body contracted in agony. The nearby knights stood there in shock and horror, unable to get near until the scream finally ended in an agonized whine, low in the back of the throat. Then he lay still, panting, tongue lolling out and eyes rolled back in the head so that only the whites of his eyes showed.
((if you have decided that you’d rather follow after the Fallen, let me know NOW))
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Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:03 pm
Ithiel had left the great room, stalking after Tarketh and the rest of the Fallen. His eyes kept themselves to following the spiked and barbed tails; he had to find out why anyone would want to pollute themselves by binding their minds to a filthy human like this, and he didn't want to go directly up to Tarketh and ask. The best way seemed to be following them as quietly as he could, and hoping for a little bit of information to drift his way.
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Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 6:33 am
Rotar managed to dodge away from the rest of the younglings, and had started after the Fallen. He wanted to know where they were going, and what they were going to do when they got there. And, they were just interesting. He was so intent on following them, he didn't really see the other dragon.
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Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 2:00 pm
Zera nodded in agreement to the getting of food. Viscal did have the right idea. Grishmak and Zera started to run off to bother an adult for food. She darted quickly up to the male without waiting to see if Grishmak, Asariel, or anyone else had followed. She supposed she had lost them in the crowd, but she didn't mind. Well, she didn't mind until the screaming started. Now that scared her. She whipped around, forgetting her hunger, in the hopes of finding the others. She saw the familiarity of Grishmaks white body only a couple yards away. She darted towards him for comfort.
The white dragon was standing in shock. The screaming was a horrifying sound. It didn't sound like a dragon to him. Grishmak leaned into Zera, who jumped away in fear, not realizing it was her brother. She shuffled her feet, looking for Viscal.
"Come on, lets go figure out what’s screaming," Zera whispered. There was no doubt in her mind that Flizz would know. If only she knew how to communicate with the piece of metal. On her way towards the fading screeching, she spotted Viscal. She darted over towards him.
"Did you see what it was?" Grishmak asked, for the screeching had stopped.
"A dragon-bound Knight," He whispered back to him.
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Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 2:33 pm
Aaliyah couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had delivered the message. It had seemed pretty damned urgent to her. And Shadine wouldn’t go?! What was wrong with her?! Still staring at the Ascended with undisguised surprise, Aaliyah merely nodded and started backing away. Imagine her surprise when that scream rent the air. Looking around wildly, the white youngling attempted to find a place to hide or at least to stand and watch. A Dragon-Bound Knight! She watched with horror as the dragon’s thrashing suddenly stopped.
Dead? Slowly, she took a few steps closer until a familiar blue youngling blorted out and blocked her way.
Are you crazy?! He could be… be diseased or something! Asariel said, reverted to mental speech with his sister for privacy’s sake. He looked over at the fallen knight and shuddered slightly before moving next to Aaliyah. This wasn’t right. Both younglings watched the other dragon.
“… still breathing,” Aaliyah said eventually, quietly enough for Asariel to hear. At least the dragon was still panting. Master Lierce would need to know about this, she decided. Following the Fallen would have to go to someone else, she decided as she darted back towards the tunnel that Hammand had led her down. She knew that there was probably some sort of rule against this… but, it had to be done.
Asariel watched, rather surprised as his sister ran away. Well… that was odd. Then again, she was probably just scared. Asariel was scared too. Who wouldn’t be? He slunk over to Zera’s side, still looking over his shoulder at the panting knight. This wasn’t right. Wait…
“… what about his Dragon-Bound? Dragon-Bound Knights all have Dragon-Bounds. Where’s his? Did his Dragon-Bound do that too?” Or maybe… maybe the Dragon-Bound was dead! Maybe this was what happened when a Dragon-Bound was killed…
More likely, Asariel decided, it was some machination of the Fallen.
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Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 3:18 pm
Master Lierce ran into Aaliyah about halfway down the tunnel, followed by several of the knights. He stopped and looked down at her while Hammand broke into a run and continued on to the main room.
“Aaliyah, gather up any stray younglings and keep them together in a safe place, out of the way” he said, his voice sharp and furious, “I’m trusting you to help our Order right now.”
In the main room, Hammand dropped to his knees next to the dragon, carefully unbuckling the straps that held the dragon’s armored helm on over his head. The dragon gulped in air and Hammand made small soothing noises as he pulled away the armor to allow him to breath easier.
“Jai,” the dragon gasped, “She’s dying… save her…”
Hammand stood. He turned to the other nearby knights and his face was dark. In the back of the room, Shadine stood and started making her way down towards the middle, the other Ascended following. From the other corridors more dragons were trickling in, curious as to what had happened as the dragon’s scream had echoed for quite some distance.
“Inform the captains that there’s been an attack on our own,” he said, “Find Jai. Search the corridors she was guarding and capture or kill the person responsible. No one is to leave Genyiel.”
---------------------------
As the last note of the scream died away the Fallen muttered among themselves, casting glances back over their shoulders towards the main hall.
“That sounds familiar,” Lania said smugly and several of the Fallen chuckled, as if this was an inside joke.
By now a couple had noticed the younglings trailing along and one snapped at Rotar, only to be silenced by a snarl from Tarketh.
“I’ll watch them,” Tarketh growled at the other Fallen, “Let them come along.”
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