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Suluksati stretched in the cool morning air of Ayr, sniffing at it to get a sense of her surroundings. The constantly moving air currents of Ayr either carried scents from all over, or no scent at all. This morning, it held the cool wetness of morning fog. Even in the cave she had spent the night in, the air currents flowed freely, whistling through unseen holes in the rock over their heads.

She was not alone in the cave. She looked, warily, at her companions, if she dared to call the Ysali dragon and its familiar 'companions'. She moved quietly, so as not to wake them, and, exiting the cave cautiously, took wing to her original campsite to pick up her things.

The cool ocean air cleared her head, and a fish, caught leaping on the wing, filled her belly. Yesterday had been an interesting day. Somehow, she had befriended a dragon, or something akin to befriending. Unlike other dragons, it had neither ran nor attacked, but instead had chosen the prudent option to ally and ignore. She was gladdened, but as she collected her few belongings and set off back for Ayr, a worry sprouted in her heart. What if the dragon changed its mind and was aggressive? What if their alliance was only temporary? What if the Ysali proved that its kind were only brutish beasts with no sense of loyalty? Or, arguably considering how powerful Suluksati seemed to have become, common sense? She would hate to kill it, especially after conversing with it so pleasantly.

Her things in tow, she returned. She alighted near the place she had left, the cave hidden, but visible if you knew where to look. The dragon still slept, it's coiled green shape taking up half of the cavern and lit by the soft white glow of the pile of Ayrala soul orbs in the corner of the cavern. Quietly, Suluksati began putting the soul orbs in her carrybag.

She had killed many dragons the day before, and though it broke her heart to see their souls shimmer in the darkened cavern, she knew that it had been necessary.
"You are still here." said a rumbling voice, and Suluksati turned, her crest raised in alarm, to see the Ysali dragon looking at her with gleaming, venomous yellow eyes. "And you have still not attacked me."

Suluksati assessed the dragon for a moment before going back to carefully putting the souls safely away. "I left and returned." she corrected, lifting a gem carefully in her teeth before setting it into the bag. It was disturbing to her how many soul orbs she already had, and equally disturbing that it wasn't yet enough. She would need more - so much more - for the power to protect that she needed.

"The point remains, Aedaun Drakein, that you left, returned, and not once did you attack me in my sleep." said the Ysali, very matter of factly, its gaze flicking to the collection of dragons souls she carried, "What I wish to ask is why."

Suluksati finished her grim work, setting her back down at the back of the cavern, along with her sleeping blanket and the small treasures she had found in her travels. She was quiet for a moment longer, breathing in the scents of Serenia that still clung to the woven reeds of her blanket - a soothing scent of home that reminded her of being a hatchling again. An innocent time, before the heroism and the shunning.

Finally, she looked back at the dragon, her posture proud, yet sad. "I am Suluksati" she said, puffing out her chest, “Defender of Dragons.” Normally, she hestiated before her introduction. She knew she should feel no shame in her quest- it was her quest, after all. She was fighting for what she felt was just and right. There should be no shame in that. And yet... she felt it. She had often hestiated before telling others, especially those of her own kind, like Samael. Too often she had been laughed at and chased away, shunned for being a delusional fool and an annoyance. But this was not her kind, or one of the twoleggers. This as a dragon, magestic and sleek and beautiful. "And as such, I would not attack you." There was no shame in admitting that she protected its kind.

The dragon looked at her incredulously. "What." then it laughed. "Defender of dragons? Goodness, what are you on, drakein? Whatever it is, I would like a sample."

Suluksati fluffed her feathers out indignantly. "I am ON nothing. I am NOT delusional. I have simply dedicated my life to protecting dragons."

"You think we need your protection?" said the Ysali, snorting with amusement.

She stared it down. "Yes."

The dragon stopped laughing. "Abronaxus's scales. You are serious." it snickered again, "Well. Believe what you will, Drakein. It is like the old joke about the Trolender."

"The what?"

The dragon stretched, rising from its coiled position. "Where does a 400-stone trolender sleep? Wherever it wants." It chuckled as it fed its drowsy silx a small fruit from its own well-hidden carrysack.

"Ah." said Suluksati. “I don't understand the reference?”

"You don't have a sense of humor, do you." said the dragon with a sigh. "Ah well.” it gave its Silx a nuzzle, then lifted it with a gentle claw onto it's back. “Perhaps you have a point, Drakein, but don't expect thanks from our kind. Even we plantkin have our pride."

"I don't expect any thanks or recognition. Your lives are the only thanks I need." Suluksati said stiffly, watching the dragon. She had never been this close to a full grown dragon without also facing its claws and teeth. It was a very new experience to her.

"You truly are mad." commented the dragon, "Fascinatingly so. Are all Aedaun like you?"

"No. Most of them are... sane." said Suluksati sadly. Of course her own beloved creatures would think her insane. She herself thought as much.

"Probably too sane, from what I know..." replied the dragon snidely, "Well. I am going to collect more herbs before I return home."

"Where is home for you, noble dragon?" asked Suluksati suddenly, curiously.

"The same as yours I assume. Serenia's forests."

"Really? That is a lovely place to live!"

"Yes..." The dragon seemed to hesitate, "Though they are far more pleasant in the spring, and not as much in the icy cold of winter." it said before moving sinuously out of the cave towards the meadow.

Suluksati relaxed, grinning. "I agree." she said, following along behind it. A homeland in common was common ground enough. She looked around at the spires that surrounded the plant enclave, thinking of the dragon battles that had occurred.

"So what brings you to this windy land, Drakein?" asked the dragon as it rooted in some brush for, likely, roots, its silx watching it with semi interest. "Oh, forgive me. Dragon protecting." it said with false apology, its voice acidly sarcastic, "How is that going?"

Suluksati glared at the dragon. "You live." she said, her voice clipped. It hurt to think of all she had killed in the process.

"Yes. That is true." said the dragon, making an almost- but not quite- apologetic gesture, "Your logic is fascinating. Six dragons died yesterday, yet you hold my life highly. It is remarkably hypocritical for someone who claims to defend all dragons. Tell me, do you have some sort of vendetta against the Air clan?"

Suluksati was moodily quiet. Don't remind me she thought, saddened and upse, don't... Something kept drawing her eyes to the rocky spires alongside them, and something - she couldn't quite figure out what exactly, was making her uneasy. Electricity danced along her nerves and she could feel her heart begin to beat just a little faster. Something was wrong. Something was off. She listened, and then she knew.
"Its too quiet." she said softly, then the meaning of what she said came to her in a flash. Her eyes widened, her muscles priming themselves for another fight. "Dragon! Its too quiet! Watch out!"

"What? What do you mean?" the dragon looked up, confused, then leapt suddenly, with the grace of a startled rabbit to the side. A clawed form dove like a bullet out of the sky and swooped, claws out, where the dragon had been a moment before.

"Its an ambush!" shrieked Sulu as she caught the distinctive body shape and color of an Ayrala dragon. As if her voice was a summons, the valley suddenly became full of choking, fast winds that sliced at the vegetation and the hides of the unwary, driving the Ysali Dragon to the ground with the force of the gales, the Silx hiding beneath the dragon's belly. Suluksati took wing, tumbling before her feathered wings took over and carried her into the air. Thats when she saw them- a whole group of wheeling, hiding grey shapes.

That was a lot of dragons.



There were a lot of dragons and they all were angry- too angry for reason. The moment they saw that Suluksati had noticed them, they attacked, flying forth in a wildly weaving flock, their constant winds giving them the advantage of unpredictability. The same wings buffeted Suluksati as she struggled to keep her balance. The phalanx of dragons came for her, but she managed to dodge them at the last second with a powerful beat of her wings.

She let loose a brilliant and sudden flash of magical light to buy herself time to get her bearings and, with a roar, dove into one of the dragons – blinded by her spell - clawing its wings into uselessness and letting it fall to the ground below, its death announced by a harrowing scream and the thunk of a body against unforgiving rock. The dragons came for her again, and she blasted one with a magical attack, a beam of holy light bursting forth from her gullet to strike it full on the chest. It disintegrated in a flash of light as its companions continued on in their flight to tear at her. She folded her wings to her body, dropping like a stone as she tried to protect herself- her wings were, after all- the most important part of her body. They trailed her down like streamers behind a kite, harassing her so that she could not open her wings without them clawing them away. They had forgotten she was an Aedaun. She tapped into the well of brilliant magic inside her and, sissolving into the eerie form of a ball of light, soared effortlessly above them in the morning sun, returning to drakein form with a flash of holy light She, no longer harried by their claws, flew swiftly above them, raking her claws down the back of one, and clasping onto another.

They locked claws, the Ayrala using its magic to keep itself airborne and agile despite the added weight and twisting of the fight. But the drakein, though smaller, was too strong. She bore it down, clawing and biting until, finally, she dealt a final blow, and the dragon disintegrated into nothingness in the hooked curves of her claws. She glided to a temporary landing, checking on the progress of the Ysali dragon as she did so. It was groundbound, dodging and clawing at a grey-hided attacker that flapped away at every clawing. Despite the advantage of its magic and the plants around it, which it had bound around it's attackers legs in an attempt to hold it, it was failing fast. Suluksati roared a challenge and blasted the Ayrala with a light beam. It did not die as the other one had, but it was distracted and in pain. Enraged, it turned to her and snarled. That was enough.
The Ysali, with a strange liquid hissing – or perhaps a sizzling - sound, spit something green and putrid onto the Ayrala. The grey dragon screamed and thrashed in pain until the Ysali ended it's suffering with a fatal claw blow to the chest.

It looked up, growling and wincing from bleeding wounds that spotted and sliced a brilliant red across its green hide. "They must have been waiting for us!" it snarled, its voice pained. It was angry at itself. It had been stupid. It had known that an Ayrala pack had been likely to arrive, what had it been thinking- that they would give up the chase just because the intruders had not been found?

Suluksati was too far into battle-fever for words. She simply moved over to the ysali and cast a healing spell as the dragons milled overhead, preparing their next wave.



The winds picked up suddenly, ravaging the plants that still remained. The beat of the Ayrala's wings became amplified by the echoes of the rocks as both combatants on the ground flinched, closing their eyes against the tearing winds. Suluksati coulnd't tell if the shrieking she heard as dragons or the wind, but as the air sliced through her feathers, she decided not to take any chances. She angled her head up and let loose a beam of light. A scream told her she had been lucky and struck something, and she opened her eyes to see an Ayrala dragon flapping away hurredly, obviously in pain. It moved quickly to the side, as if making way for... something.
Something big.

An enormous Ayrala dragon swooped down, the injured Ayrala joining with the dragons that followed it at its tail. She hurriedly threw a shield up, its razor-sharp talons skittering against solid light as it hovered above them with its magic, its minions swirling in around it to attack. It must be the source of the storm! Suluksati realized, but she had no time to gain the breath to scream her revelation to the Ysali dragon over the wind. The minions dove towards her and she managed to slash one- the Ayrala she had clawed down the back- as it careened towards her. With a scream, it unbalanced and crashed against a wall, crumpling before disintegrating away. Suluksati didn't notice its passing, for its partner charged after her, taking up her full attention. She battled it fiercely, but it broke away just as she was about to deal the killing blow, circling high above the large dragon in moments thanks to the hurricane-force winds.

The gales grew ever stronger, and a scream brought Suluksati's attention to the two dragons assaulting the Ysali. One of the assailants was clawing at it's face, which seemed to have a sort of horrible fungus eating into it as the Ysali dueled it. It crashed to the ground, its flailing limbs slowing as its body fell apart, eaten by the Ysali's spell. It disintegrated into ash and dust, small plants growing, plump with magic, around its soul orb.

The Ysali spat another glob of toxin at its other oppressor, and Suluksati roared into battle to engage it, clawing at it as it nimbly evaded her.

They had forgotten the large one.

With a roar that shook the stones around them and drove the wind into a frenzy, the large Ayrala pounced on Suluksati, slamming her painfully into the ground. She twisted, kicking at it with her sharp claws and, bucked her way out of its grip. The two formidable beasts stared at each other, their piercing gazes locked in a battle of wills.

Then they attacked, a blur of white feathers, grey skin, flashes of light, and swirls of air. Blood spattered everywhere. When the two separated, both were injured, but neither was defeated. They growled, snapped, and snarled, but neither backed down as they circled each other.

The large dragon's two minions circled in the sky, watching and waiting, no longer sure of their own strength. If they had not been worrying so much about their own wounds, perhaps they could have warned their leader.

The large Ayrala screamed suddenly as fangs sank into its tail, the Ysali quickly darting away from the lashing limb. Its teeth dripping with slimy, oily toxin.

Suluksati leapt at the large Ayrala, and they fought again, but this time the blur of their battle slowed, gradually and quietly, until only feathers were visible.

She stood upon the twitching body of the dragon, panting, her eyes wild, her feathers disheveled and bloody. She huffed, spitting blood and a tooth onto the ground, then looked up at the two Ayrala minions still in the sky. She roared a challenge to them.

The two dragons looked at each other before seemingly coming to an unspoken agreement. Without further posturing or complaint, the two winged away as quickly as wings and magic could take them.

Suluksati watched them go, a growl still bubbling in her throat. The Ysali watched her patiently, intrigued by the strange Drakein.



Finally, Suluksati closed her eyes and shuddered as the dragon disintegrated, her hide shimmering as her magic began to knit up her wounds. She allowed herself a moment to mourn the passing of the dragons that had attacked her. But it had been unavoidable. They would not have listened to reason - she and the Ysali were intruders tresspassing on Ayrala lands. No mercy had been offered, and none had been shown. She shook her feathers out, feeling horribly unclean. Finally, after some quiet, she turned to the Ysali Dragon.

"Are you all right?" she asked, approaching it cautiously. She didn't know if, even after all of that, it would attack her. Dragons could be unpredictable, after all.

The green dragon watched her. "I am fine." it said. Its silx came out from wherever the small creature had been hiding and entwined itself around the dragon's neck, "So, Drakein Suluksati, are you still a 'Defender of Dragons?'" it asked wryly, its eyes following her every movement.

She came closer, making no sudden movements, and sniffed at the dragon. It wasn't as wounded as she had thought it would be. But then she remembered- Ysali had some healing magic. She looked up, into it's bright eyes.
"Yes." she said softly, turning away. She started to collect the dropped dragon orbs, and tried to hold back her tears.

The dragon murmured something indecipherable, and simply watched.


(3049/3000 8/8 dragons dead, 2 losses decided that they were done with this bullshit)