[Other FULL] Riders [M] [IC]

Oddball_ · May 18, 2016

Xurik Alminé and Hahdrim

In the few hours since his arrival at Castle Pharus, Xurik Alminé had lost all of his doubt in the old rider. That is not to say he trusted the old rider anymore than he had when he walked into that banquet room, but moreso that he was no incapable of feeling anything beyond the drunken stupor he was in, lying on the old wooden floor of the room that appeared to be modeled after his own captains cabin, surrounded by empty glass bottles and singing a dirty sea shanty about the best places to 'barrel about without a piece of apparel to be found.'

"You are absolutely pitiful Xurik." The purple and blue dragon sighed, brushing asie the empty bottles and pulling the drunken elf towards her with her wings.

"I'm *hic* fine drimy... hey is there some rum left in that bottle? Gimme..." Xurik slurred, crawling forwards on his hands and knees.

"Oh absolutely not." Hahdrim growled, wrapping a claw around the elf and moving over to the elegant balcony. She had been surprised to find the room large enough for her to fit inside, but what else was to be expected from the home of the riders?

"Hey lemme g-" Xurik was interupted as a blast of wind hit him in the face, sobering him up instantly.

"You need to sober up." Hahdrim mentally explained to her rider as she flapped her wings through the mid-day air.

"Hahdrim what the hell are you doing!" He screamed as they soared through the air and over the castle. It was shocking to see the state of the outside after knowing how nice it was on the inside. It wasn't nearly as abandoned and ruined as it appeared.

The dragon began emmiting an aura of being entertained as the dark skinned elf screamed his head off. She did a little spin through the air, turning the dark elfs face a sickly lime green.

"If you throw up on me I will personally tear your throat out." Hahdrim mentally growled, tearing through the skies as a streak of purple and blue.

"BLEEEUGGHHHH" Xurik hurled as the flew threw the sky, a disgusting rain falling onto the abandoned town below them. Suddenly the talons holding him snapped open and the dark elf began to fall through the air, plummeting towards the ground and his doom.

Hahdrim suddenly roared, a strange cloud dispersing through the sky, and several large birds suddenly dove out of the sky and hooked themselves onto the falling elf, not able to quite carry him back up but able to slow down his rate of descent into a pleasant ride.

"By the deep one, what the hell were you thinking Hahdrim!" Xurik shouted as the slowly floated down towards the ground.

"I wasn't going to risk you throwing up on me." Hahdrim mentally reported in an amused tone, gliding down beside the dark elf.

"I should have made you walk the plank you overgrown lizard!" Xurik howled, trying to swipe at the out of reach dragon with a hand.

"Well then." Hahdrim snorted. As she did so the eagles all let go and Xurik plumeted down a good fifty feet into a pile of old rotting hay infront of busted up barn on the outskirts of the town.

"This is mutiny." Xurik pouted as he brushed the disgusting Hay off of his tunic.

"Oh don't be that way." The female dragon mentally toyed with her rider as he began walking back towards the castle.

"Shut up. You always ruin my fun." Xurik pouted.

"You are a litteral child Xurik... er why are you walking, it would be faster if I flew you back." Hahdrim asked curiously.

"I've had enough of THAT for one day thank you." Xurik snapped, crossing his arms as the mind dragon erupted into a fit of laughter beside him.

Shak · May 20, 2016

Name: Maxwell Tybalt || Age: 14 || Rider Race: Human || Gender: Male

Brotherly Love

"So your so called 'special mission' is eating breakfast?" Max groaned pushing the sausage on his plate aside with a fork. He hadn't exactly expected anything huge, but a special mission had to be a bit bigger than literally eating breakfast. It wasn't even a tough breakfast to eat. He got to choose what he ate! He took a stab at the sausage, before moving on to poking at the egg yolk on his plate. In the midst of all this, the old rider's attention wandered elsewhere. He seemed completely in a world of his own. "Old man?"

The old man seemed to fly out of his seat. He glanced back at Max, before shaking his head and darting out of the room. Max had no idea where he went, but seeing him in such a panicked state didn't bode well. They'd only just become riders and they were already in trouble.

His train of thought was lost by the distraction of the sheet of paper that fell from the old rider's possession. Max wasted no time in grabbing the page and taking a peek. Sparring? He scanned through the page with furrowed brows. Was this his special mission? It's not like any of the riders were there for him to spar against. Unless…was he supposed have a sparring match against the old man? That hardly seemed fair. If the man needed a walking stick, how was he supposed to fight? Maybe he was supposed to help the old man get up to speed. With a sigh, he headed to the training fields. If he was going to find out any more about this sparring thing, that'd be the place to do it.

When he got to the training field, he was once again surprised to see Cerebelle was still there! It had been at least a few hours since he'd seen her there this morning, and she was still training. She appeared to have gained herself an audience as well, with Zane, Matthew and Layla all in attendance albeit keeping fair distance.

"How long's she been down there for?" Max enquired, kicking his way through the tall grass on the steep hill the others were stood on top of. Each expression gave him reason to believe that it was probably longer than it should've been. Zane's face told a tale of anxiety. He had to look after his siblings, and Cerebelle trying to become a warrior instead of a noble lady certainly didn't bode well for any future homecomings. That and she couldn't be doing her body any favours being out there this long. Layla watched on with pride. It made sense really. The older girl had made a name for herself in being a highly skilled female warrior, she not only proved that women could fight, but she also proved that they didn't have to rival the brawniest of men just to put up any sort of a fight. Layla had as feminine a figure as one could want, and still managed to take down skilled swordsmen, not just bandits and thugs. If anyone could relate to Cerebelle's situation, it was Layla. Matthew just watched on in awe. Which ironically was the most concerning of the three reactions. Being one of the greatest young swordsmen in Nobillis, Matthew was surely used to seeing such impressive feats of endurance and determination. His expression told a different story though.

"We've only been here for an hour or so, but she seems like she's been here a lot longer." Matthew responded, with the other two taking a few more seconds to take notice of the young rider.

"Perhaps you should go join her. I can't imagine she's enjoying going up against that dummy for so long." Layla added, smiling back at Max. The boy faltered. He looked down at the sheet in his hand knowingly. Who exactly is this old man? He thought with a deep sigh.

"I guess so." He muttered, gritting his teeth. His response seemed to surprise the older trio. Layla had mostly been joking, but she seemed pleased to see the positive response from the young noble. With a nod, Max plodded down the hill approaching the training fields where his twin sister had been training practically all day. "Belle, how about we have a sparring match, if you think you're still up for it." Both twins were surprised by the burst of false courage that seemed to flow through the smaller of the two. He had never been particularly good with a sword, while she had been secretly training for the longest time now. They both knew she was much better, that was certainly no secret. Cerebelle hesitated for a moment, before accepting the challenge her brother had issued.

Max drew a sword for the rack of training swords. The two siblings squared up, though the girl seemed hesitant to attack, despite being the far more experienced of the two.

"Hey Zane, are you sure your brother even knows what he's doing here?" Matthew broke the silence amongst the spectators. With Maxwell holding his blade in one hand and opening his body, the experienced swordsmen was understandably concerned. His friend seemed to share his sentiment. Zane was watching over the confrontation between his two siblings with furrowed brows and folded arms. It was a state he wasn't used to seeing Zane in, but the Tybalt trio did seem to have a lot on their plate recently. He was understandably stressed.

"Max! You might want an extra hand there!" Layla exclaimed.

Max glanced over, staring blankly for a moment. "No, I think I've got this! It isn't that hea-" He was cut off by the weight of the sword dragging his arm down from the waving position he'd had it in over his head.

"You sure you want to do this?" Cerebelle sighed, with a hint of condescension in her tone. Defiantly, Maxwell clutched onto his sword and dragged it into a more combat ready position, much to Belle's frustration. "Most people use two hands, Max." She added, this time sighing internally.

Sir Bastian · May 20, 2016

No "I" In "Teamwork"

Flynn & Lyra

Flynn leapt back as a goblin swiped at him, all the while Ferrus was tearing through their flank, their dinky weapons not even close to hurting the large beast. Lyra's idea of all three of them attacking the goblins' commander was risky, but the elf fighting by Zile seemed capable enough to hold them for a minute or two, at least. Plus, Flynn's combat training was focused arround single combat and cutting and running. "I like the sound of that! Alright, we should-"

Zile clearly heard her, he retorted that it was a plan worth trying, so why is he running ahead of them?! Without his dragon, none the less. Her plan to overpower one king with the six was quickly shattering... Zile isn't thinking! And he's going to get severely hurt because of it...

Without even as much as waiting for the others to get ready, Zile just -dashed- off through the goblins, much to Flynn's dismay. "Zile, wait! I can't-!" He called out, taking several steps forwards, only to be stopped by a near-literal wall of goblins, all cackling and screeching while swinging their clubs at him, forcing him to swipe with his sword and stagger backwards.

Lyra and Lorelai are still in the sky; they could fly ahead and join Zile's fight with the dark knight-- if she were willing to leave Flynn trapped behind a huge blockade of goblins. Her eyes widen as mounds of goblins begin swinging their clubs at her fellow rider, the sheer amount of opponents causing Flynn to stagger backwards.

Flynn looked at himself as a decent swordfighter, at least. But having ten-fifteen goblins all swarming at you at once can get very overwhelming very fast. One of them caught him off-guard and smashed his club against the rider's shin, causing him to stagger and fall back, wildly swinging his sword to get the approaching goblins to back off. "No! Shove off!"

Zile will have to hold his own for a bit. "We can make walls too!" The elf shouts as she guides her dragon to land by Flynn's side. The sea-dragon lands on the ground forcefully, letting out a mighty roar as her claws dig into the earth.

As Lorelai's call echoes out, icy pillars spring from the ground. These stalagmites pierce through several goblins as they shoot upward, creating a wall between the goblin army and the two riders. "We have to get around them before Zile gets himself killed." And, preferably, before the enemy mob crashes through Lorelai's defensive wall.

Panting for air, staring at the sight of the goblins being impaled or blocked off by the icy pillars had Flynn blinking in surprise. It wasn't until Ferrus gave him a mental nudge in between his tearing through the goblin ranks that the rider shook his head and jumped to his feet, quickly looking around to take note of everyone's placements.

"Yeah, you're right. And with Lorelai's wall, the villagers should be o-"

Flynn was cut off as Zile flew past the right flank of goblins and crashed into a house. Following that, Alyra cried out in anguish and Flynn briefly had a blink of an image of Zile, before the third dragon took off to her injured rider.

The villagers will be o-? Lyra follows Flynn's eyes and just barely catches Zile flying past, then smashing into a wall. Yes, that went…about as well as she imagined it would. Like her comrade, her first instinct was to leap from her dragon and rush to Zile's side, intent on cutting down the goblins that were certainly going to jump on top of the fallen rider, but Flynn's words stop her in mid-dismount. He's right, running around like frightened chickens will make them that much easier to pick off. Their best chance is sticking close to one another…and Zile has Alyra to protect him.

"... Zile!" It'd taken Flynn a moment or two to realize what had happened, and he was just about to make a dash towards the downed companion, when he stopped himself, clenching his jaw. "No, we can't just run around like this. We need to-"

He blinked. His eyes quickly trailing from Lyra, to Lorelai and Ferrus, the young rider nodded his head quickly, reaching out with his mind. "Ferrus! I have an idea. You need to tell Lorelai and Lyra- ... and the elf too, but don't let anyone else hear it!"

With a mental rumble of acknowledgement, Ferrus shared Flynn's idea mentally to the other three. They didn't have any time to waste, so hopefully, Lorelai and Lyra were on board with this.

The words echo inside Lyra and Lorelai's heads, and the elven girl can feel her dragon's muscles tighten in anticipation. She's ready to do this, and Lyra's ready to put her faith in her fellow rider. As she dismounts, she catches Flynn's eyes and flashes an encouraging smile. "Tear it down, Lorelai!"

Flynn returned the quick smile, turning his eyes to the wall of ice, grasping his sword tightly. "Let's do it."

The sea dragon pivots, smashing into her ice walls with her mighty tail. The wall shatters, breaking off into large chunks and sharp shards that rain down upon the goblin wall, crushing the majority of the nearby goblins. This gives the riders a few seconds with a clear path to the dark knight, but there's no time to waste. Lyra draws her sword and makes a mad dash for their overpowered enemy.

With the shadowy bolts flying across the battlefield again, Ferrus dives to the left, away from the horde of goblins that Lyra's weaving her way through. Instead, he ran towarrds his companion, who'd just stomped on a nearby goblin.

"Ferrus, boost me!"

Lowering his head, Ferrus readied himself. As Flynn got close, he jumped up, and as soon as his foot touched Ferrus' snout, the dragon whipped his head upwards, sending Flynn soaring over the crowd of goblins.

Coming in for a rough landing, Flynn tumbled as he hit the ground, to lessen the impact. Flicking his left wrist, he sent a throwing knife at the knight, which pinged off of the near-broken helmet.

Time is of the essence; she doesn't have time to be afraid, or second guess herself, the only thing she can right now is charge. Her eyes cut to Flynn for a split second, just long enough to register that he's by her side and uninjured. He's here, and she can hear a roar of rushing water behind her, which must mean that Lorelai had used her scalding spell to take care of those ten-fifteen goblins that were trying to hold them back. Her dragon would be with her soon.

The knight turned his glowing, purple eyes to the young man and promptly began launching bolts of shadowy magic at him, forcing him to duck and roll out of the way, without being able to get any closer.

The dark knight turned his attention to Flynn, flicking his shadowed bolts at her fellow rider. The knight is making sure Flynn can't get any closer to him, which leaves his back turned to her. She grips her blade tightly as she closes the gap between herself and the frightening enemy, and swings for his (thanks to Zile) armor–less backside…

As if having felt her coming, the knight spun around, leaning back to avoid the sword within the blink of an eye. Having dodged the blow, the knight took a single step forwards, swinging his fist at the elf.

Lyra never had any intention of making contact with the Knight, seeing what he had done to Zile was proof enough that such a thing wasn't possible. As such, the elf is on her toes, leaping backward the second the powerful knight aims his fist in her direction. As an elf, she's slightly faster and more agile than her human companions (though, as she is Lyra, she's reluctant to rely on that supposed grace and agility too much).

With his attention on Lyra now, Flynn got to his feet again, clenching his hand around his sword. If they were going to be successful in their endeavor, they had to attack in sync, keep him occupied while the goblins were being dealt with.

Flynn's leaps to his feet, and it quickly dawns on Lyra that if they both continue to swing swords, their enemy will catch on before their dragons have time to arrive. With that in mind, as Flynn begins to advance, Lyra sheaths her blade.

Sprinting forwards, Flynn spun in a half-circle, swinging his sword diagonally upwards, which the knight responded to by side-stepping so fast that Flynn barely had time to blink. He was then slammed in the chest by one of the magical bolts, sending him tumbling to the ground, coughing and wheezing. Thankfully, it seemed to have been more of a knee-jerk reaction, rather than a full-power bolt. "Urk... nngh, crap, that stings..."

Flynn sprints forward, and Lyra readies her bow (something she had done so many times in her sixty-nine years of existence that it required no thought what so ever). Flynn swings his sword, Lyra takes aim. A magical bolt sends Flynn flying backward, and Lyra lets her arrow fly for the Knight's neck.

As her arrow flies, she can see Lorelai's form take to the sky. Her dragon is on the way, they need only hold out for a few more seconds…

Hang in there, Flynn…

The arrow catches the knight in the unarmed neck, and he lets out a hiss-like roar of anger, the arrowhead stuck in the strange, dark shadows swirling within. Reaching up with his one good arm, he yanked the arrow out and tossed it to the ground, completely ignoring the elf as he stepped over to the downed Flynn.

Direct hit!

Her smile subsided before it could fully form, as the knight simply plucked the arrow out of his unnatural looking skin and tossed it aside. That's fine, she reminds herself. She never expected to be able to harm the Knight on her own, she need only buy them a few more precious seconds, which she could do by making him pluck out more arrows.

Blinking his eyes up at the knight, Flynn's eyes widened as the armored figure clenched his fist and raised his hand in order to finish him off with one of his bone-shattering strikes, ignoring the arrows occasionally pinging off his suit or embedding themselves in the darkness within.

Just as the knight's eyes flashed maliciously, Flynn's expression broke into a smirk. "NOW!"

As if from out of nowhere, a stream of molten metal suddenly hit the knight's back. Flynn did a quick roll backwards to avoid getting hit as well, as the burning metal covered the now struggling knight, screeching in anger, flailing around with his arm swinging. Ferrus' attack subsided as he let out a snort through his nose, turning back to the goblins with a swipe of his claws.

Lorelai lands beside her rider, releasing a stream of cold water from her mouth. The water hits the molten metal, which causes an eerie hissing sound to fill the air as the liquid quickly becomes a solid. Steam quickly fills the air, though the outline of the Knight can still be seen, as his flailing, struggling, and ear-wrenching screeching were replaced by an uncomfortable stillness and silence...

Panting for air, with a hand on his gut, Flynn worked his way back onto his feet, eyes set on the silhouette within the fog. Slowly, but surely, it cleared up, revealing the knight's general form, as it'd been mostly covered in now hardened metal. Bits of him were still visible, such as one of his purple eyes, staring piercingly at the two riders.

The goblins had all stopped attacking, their eyes on their 'leader', squabbling and mumbling between themselves. Before they had time to react, however, Ferrus had stomped over besides the other three, raising his right leg. The claws and foot became coated in a metallic sheen before he brought it down on top of the statue-knight, crushing the lump of metal and the knight inside.

A loud screech filled the air, as shadows slipped out from underneath the now broken knight's armor, dispersing into the skies. Ferrus watched the shadow fly off before turning to the goblins. With another challenging roar, he raised onto his hind legs. This caused the goblins to squeal in fear, the remains stumbling and leaping over their dead comrades as they made a swift retreat.

Do you think we should go after them? Lyra channels her thoughts to her dragon as the goblins flee in absolute terror.

Another day. For now, our comrades need tending to, and those hideous things won't be showing their faces for some time. Such creatures simply do not have the gall to reappear before such powerful forces.

Flynn breathed out heavily and offered Lyra a tired smile. "That was a pretty good plan, huh?"

Flynn's words break her focus on the retreating goblins. Her eyes light with enthusiasm and delight as she jogs towards him. Her first instinct is to throw her arms around her fellow rider in a celebratory victory hug-- though the idea of his injuries give her pause, and she merely gives an enthusiastic nod to his question. "I thought so."

Ferrus watched the goblins' retreat before his eyes trailed to Alton, who had begun making his way towards the fallen Zile. "It was better than running in head-first, at least." He rumbled with amusement before adding; "Although I do prefer solving problems a little more head-on..."

As do I. Lorelai chuckles as she responds, the end of her mighty tail swishing in delight over a job well done. Though it would seem that was not the best way to handle this particular situation. She flashes a respectful glance and nod in Ferrus' direction before making her way to check on Alyra. Her poor sister might be in need of a shoulder to lean on, after the scares she had just witnessed, with her rider being so damaged.

Just then, the barn's doors more or less burst open. Flynn spun around, fumbling after his sword on the ground out of pure instinct. As he stood up, he blinked a few times. Instead of the attack he was subconciously expecting, the people that came almost running out of the barn were cheering, shouting, laughing and in some cases, crying.

"You did it! You saved us!" "Praise be onto you, Riders!" "*Loud, dwarven gibberish*" "We'll always remember this!"

As Flynn watched the people swarm from the building in order to get closer to all three riders and dragons, Ferrus stepped up besides him, rumbling out pleasantly at the attention. "Look sharp now, Flynn."

Lyra flashes an appreciative smile towards the townspeople as they swarm closer. As Ferrus steps towards herself and Flynn, she uses the dragon's massive body to slip behind, away from the growing crowd and towards their collapsed companion.

"I don't know whether to be grateful or angry with you…Both. I choose both." Lyra speaks as she kneels down beside Zile. While aware that he is unconscious, there have been tales of those who can hear in such a state, though they cannot respond. "You gave us an advantage, but I won't have you putting your life on the line for my missions again."

He froze slightly as some of the children and their mothers came his way. One of the little girls pulled his hand and had him bend down, only to hug him around the neck. "Thank you..." She let go and proceeded to hug Ferrus' leg, much to the slight worrry of the parents. They may be their saviours, but a dragon was still a dragon. Ferrus snuffed amusedly, lowering his head to nudge the girl with his snout, prompting her to giggle and run over to her mother.

"I suppose all's well that ends-" Flynn paused. It was almost as if he'd forgotten something. His eyes diverted to the people crowding around a spot by a broken house, where Alyra was standing. Flynn's eyes widened. "Zile!"

He quickly bowed his head to the people nearby, making a run over towards his comrade, leaving Ferrus to the people, who was now laying himself down, golden eyes set on the people in front of him.

Flynn's cry causes her to turn her head. As he makes his way to them, Lyra gives him a very small wave, as well as a nervous smile. "I don't want to move him...it might...break something else." Namely his neck.

Nodding his head, Flynn moved up besides Zile, on his other side, kneeling down as he looked over the downed Rider. "Good call... Zile? Zile, can you hear us?"

Sonata · May 20, 2016

Laethri Xilokerym

The elf knocked on the door to Xander's home several times. It had already been a few days since the man had even been outside, and some of the townspeople were growing worried. He'd lost so much, and at such a young age too. First his father, then his brother and the forge. Sure, he had rebuilt the latter but its destruction as well as the other factors had still put a damper on his mood for quite some time.

"Xander? Are you home?" The elf pushed open the door slightly, taking a step inside. "Xander?"

As the elf took a few more steps into the room, she heard the sound of something cracking. Looking down at her feet, she saw a bed of bones beneath her. She had stepped on what appeared to be a skull, hidden beneath a rather lush rug.

Laethri bit her bottom lip and made her way around the rest of the house in a rush. She looked in every room, checked every nook and every cranny but still found nothing. There were no signs of anyone having been in the building for quite some time. "No." The elf whispered beneath her breath as she stormed out of the dwelling, paying no attention to the bones which she had crushed.

Throwing open the door to the tavern which was just a few feet from the dwarf's house, and still ignoring everything and everyone in her way she strode to the room that she had been given when she began to work there. She began to tear the room up, moving the bed, clothes and assorted furs as she searched for her treasure.

"There you are." She whispered to herself as she picked up the oddly shaped rock-like object. "Now, show me where you are."

The elf's eyes closed and her mind went blank. The proprietor of the tavern knocked on her door, but it was like a distant murmur now as her mind was transferred across the world. A dark fog rolled around her, consumed her and pulled her in deeper. She didn't resist its pull, and soon after she found herself standing in a graveyard.

She looked around, her vision obscured by the dark fog surrounding her. She felt the ground shifting beneath her feet, but paid it no mind. A castle towered over her in one direction, to her left she could hear a deep growling and hissing sound and to the right she heard strained grunts.

"Xander."

The elf followed the grunts from her right, kneeling down and feeling the ground around her. Just as she bent over, a great, mythical beast leaped over her head. The scaly part of its underbelly dispersed the ethereal form of her head, sending her immediately back to her physical body. With a loud gasp she reclaimed herself, the proprietor with his hands on her shoulders shaking her violently while staring at the object in her hands.

"Laethri? Laethri! What's wrong Laethri? What have you been doing? Why did you-"

The elf pushed the human man off of her, cutting him off mid-sentence. She reached into her closet and grabbed her equipment quickly before heading back out the door to her room. Furs, clothes and valuables were left behind as she rushed out the door with only weapon, armor and the object which she'd initially gone to pick up.

"Pharus castle... and a dragon... but why? Why Xander? Why..."

She quickly tore the loose-fitting cloth from her back, revealing the feathered wings hidden beneath. With a short, running start she kicked off the ground and spread her wings out before rising up and disappearing into the morning sun.

Jay · May 21, 2016

Chapter 1: The Right Thing

"Dear one..."

Zile gently opens his eyes, his body beaten... but not nearly as broken as it had been before. A very tired looking Alton was on his knees beside him. A glowing energy pulsating from his finger tips... as Ziles cuts continued to close.

"This is..." The elf pauses for breath. "The best I can do Lord Zile."

He was about to respond, with some sort of thanks or apology, when he noticed how crowded the ruined house had become. The remaining villagers gathered outside, looking at him with a curious sort of dread. A few of the children sat closer to him, glee forming from worry in their features as he looks up at them.

Before him Flynn and Lyra were kneeling. Expressions of concern plastered upon their faces. He sighed at them gently before giving a gentle smile, his voice taking a few moments to return and allow him speech.

"Honestly... did it really seem likely that I was gonna die on my first mission?! That's a bit harsh guys." He lets out a hoarse laugh following this... but it only lead to him coughing violently, a glob of red blood escaping his lips. Proceeding to lean forward a little to catch his breath he noticed that his armor had been removed above the waist upwards. Bandages were wrapped around his bloody knuckles and injured torso. Memories of what he had done flooded back through his mind.

"Truly that was quite the display of magic, Lord Zile. The legends of the Riders prowess are true, based on the feats I saw here today." Alton spoke calmly, his breath caught and the colour returning to his face following his excessive use of sorcery.

"Magic...?" Zile held an injured hand aloft and glanced at it curiously. He felt the presence of the overjoyed Alyra brush tenderly against his own... and in that instant a soft flow of wind billowed the bandages frayed edges.

"...Magic. Well, I'll be damned."

He grinned wryly and glanced up at the sky for a moment. Honestly, what was even happening anymore? Dragons, riders, magic and sorcery... what was his life turning into?

He grunted and grabbed a wooden beam, pulling himself to his feet and stumbling forward gently upon doing do. Prompting Alyra to catch him with her snout as a few villagers gasped in surprise and worry. A message of gratitude parted from his mind to hers and she huffed once in acknowledgement.

He looked at Flynn and Lyra then. They looked haggard... battle worn. Definitely not the two younger riders he had encountered the first knight in Pharus Castle. Well, they hadn't exactly metamorphosed in the past few hours... but Zile got the feeling that they fully understood the gravity of their current positions now... and of the lives they now lead.

Which was perhaps something he had learned too.

He grinned widely, his expression strangely jovial considering all that had just occurred. Goblins were dead all over, Flynn was hurt, the village was totally destroyed and he himself would most likely be unable to walk before being fixed up properly in Castle Pharus.

"Seems to me like you managed to wrap things up. Not too bad for your first time fighting goblins, eh Lyra?" He laughed carefully, this time without interruption. "I'd say that's plenty field experience for today though... I'm guessing the old man sent you Flynn? I mean thank the gods he did, but he might've warned us about that dark, void filled bastard beforehand."

With Altons help he climbed slowly up Alyra's foreleg and upon her saddle. His smile faded for just a second as he looked back down at his allies.

"I'll admit... I don't think I could've expected sir dark and broody to have that sort of strange power. I should've been more cautious regardless. You two did good, teamwork won the day today." His smile returned and he pat Alyra's serpentine neck gently, urging her out of the building and towards the evening sun. "Now then, time to go home, I should think."

"L-Lord Zile!" One of the female villagers stood in his path, a look of worry upon her face as she gripped the edge of her dress.

"Where now do you go? What plans do you have for us Dear Rider? Please i must know..."

Zile looked down at her with the most honest expression of confusion he could. His head tilted gently and his eyebrows raised high. "Isn't that obvious? As I just said. Grab any belongings you have and follow us. It's about time we went home."

Zile sat comfortably upon Alyra's saddle as castle Pharus veered into frame. He did not force Flynn nor Lyra to join him upon the ground, rather letting them choose themselves, but he had seen fit to ride Alyra as she walked the villagers to the old town of Pharus, protecting them from harm as the evening sun began to slowly give way to the dark... setting behind the silhouette of the grand structure before them. It was the least he could do to make the longer journey himself, after putting Flynn and Alyra through what he had.

Zile felt how soft and warm the grass felt through Alyra's padding claws... and that coupled with pleasant conversation with the villagers made the long haul home more enjoyable than he had expected.

It was at a particular moment of bliss, that Alton rode up beside Alyra upon his brown Clydesdale. A fine and powerful steed he had named, Krom.

"My lord Zile, if I may, I have a question for you." His expression seemed sterner than before. As if he had been thinking on the issue for some time.

"Don't hesitate to ask friend. Speak your mind."

But Alton did hesitate, he looked at the flowing grass for several long moments, before finally wording his concern.

"Why did you lie to your fellow Riders?"

Zile stiffened in his seat, pausing for a moment before replying. "I'm quite sure I have no idea what you mean." Unfortunately, Altons hesitation was gone, replaced by persistence. He spoke a little clearer, louder even and leaned towards the other man, whom sat at a position of elevation upon his dragonic steed.

"You said you underestimated your opponent. That you knew not what you went to face. Yet you arrived here first did you not? From your recounting of events to me near this journeys start... you said that you received information of a powerful controlling presence right from the start. You knew that the opponent was no mere man, yet still you charged in ahead if your fellows."

Zile furrowed his brow before speaking again with slight annoyance. "What of it then? I charged in with reckless abandon against a foe I knew was too powerful! It is still my fault to claim."

Alton was a little taken aback by the Riders shift in tone and so in turn, he lowered his voice and spoke with a casual and calming air about him.

"If that were truly the case. Then why did you lie at all? It doesn't make any sense, My Lord."

Zile grit his teeth at the elf whom he spoke to's blasted perception. Before sighing and replying, his eyes focussed directly ahead. "They were not ready. I know of that foe, t'was a 'Mesmer Knight', any whom read the legends of such would know one of their kind at a glance... suits of armor possessed by a legion of forgotten spirits, long deceased. They hold the reflexes and magic of a small battalion. I couldn't let them charge at once, they risked being destroyed."

"And you did not risk yourself just as much? You were prepared... Lord Zile? It certainly didn't look that way from my position."

"No... I clearly was not. It was obvious I was severely outmatched, but I had to disable it's blade. I had to render it unable to cut them down. I'm sorry... my eagerness to protect them was unfounded... and, as result you were..."

Zile looked away then, ashamed at his rash actions and how they had put Alton's life in jeopardy. He said nothing else in response, he had no words to offer to explain his actions further. A wave of concern wafted upwards through his spirit from Alyra, but Zile quickly shrugged it off.

Alton respected the man's wishes. He pried no further into Ziles intentions... regardless, it seemed pretty obvious to them both at that moment, why the rider had really done what he did.

"You are a good man, Rider Zile. You threw yourself into the clutches of death to give your friends a safe chance at victory. My life would have been a worthy price to pay for that... and yet you saw fit to..." He trailed off, not finishing the thought.

"You and your fellows will forever have my eternal gratitude. May the Gods watch over you, mighty dragon and Rider."

Alton pulled back to join the rest of the villagers then and Zile was left wondering. Had he really done the right thing? Everyone got out okay, but only because he unlocked some miraculous new power to fix his own mistake. Not every encounter would see faith showing such kindness.

With brooding thoughts swirling between them... Zile and Alyra felt more tired than ever, they marched forward in silence as the gates to Pharus town grew ever closer.

Chapter 1

Player objectives: (Objectives with * are mandatory)
- Get breakfast.
- Explore Pharus Castle and town.
- Interact with fellow riders.
- Go to the notice board and choose a task. *
- Complete said task. *

Stinging Bea · May 21, 2016

Tamber

Princess Sol Laetanas

Revelations

The smile on Tamber's face was wide as she and Sol soared on their dragons through the skies. While it had only been a few days since they had arrived at Pharus Castle, the white-haired gypsy had already developed quite a taste for being able to fly through the skies on the back of her winged companion. It was an invigorating feeling for Tamber. To her, it felt like she was a free spirit when in up in the air, all of her troubles and worries left on the ground where they could not possibly reach her. Now, with the addition of the saddles Krotan had given out to the Riders, this feeling only increased for Tamber. Riding on Pyra was now a much more comfortable and enjoyable experience, no longer hindered by the feeling of the fire dragon's rough and scaley hide.

On the other hand, Sol was not having as much of a lovely, grand time. Unfortunately for the young rider, Khepri was much less gracious than his fellow flaming dragon - and the spikes threatening to tear throught the saddle weren't helping. The feeling of the wind blowing in her face and the landscape below them zooming past truly was amazing though - if only the saddle wasn't giving her horrible cramps. Khepri was doing his best to alleviate Sol's discomfort, by trying to fly more carefully and hopefully more steadily.

After a few minutes of awkward silence between the four travellers, where the only audible sounds were the rush of the wind and the occasional flock of birds, Khepri turned his head to Tamber and Pyra.

"Do any of you ladies, by any chance, know exactly how long it should take us to travel to this former watchpoint?" he asked.

"Hmm...?" Tamber replied. "Well, I don't know exactly how far it is... It's supposed to be in some marshlands. I don't recall Krotan saying how far out it was in the job description though..." She paused, glancing over in Sol's direction. A faint smile crept up on Tamber's lips as she adjusted her position slightly. "But, we can use this time to learn more about each other... So, tell me about your homelands, Sol."

"Yes, young mistress - do tell them about Luxolis. You have been there for far longer than Khepri, after all." Khepri added, doing his best to look up at Sol.

The elf paused for a moment, then sighed in defeat. "I suppose we should do something to pass the time." she said. "I can talk to you about my homeland for a long time, I have been there for 57 years now... Where would you want me to begin?"

"For 57 years...? That would mean that you're about... 19 in a human time-span, right?" Tamber questioned. Rather than wait for a response, she pressed on with her desire. "Well... How about the castle?"

"Yes, we elves age three times as slow as humans - you're an elf too, so you would know, wouldn't you?" Sol asked, raising her eyebrow inquisitively. A strangely tanned elf, though...

Tamber nodded, brushing her hair behind her right ear to show off one of the trade-mark, pointed ears would expect to see on an elf. "I've heard a bit from my mother, but she was never really one to talk about her homeland or herself for that matter."

"It's a shame... I don't believe I have ever seen elves with your skin tone before. But again, I have not had many chances to venture outside of Luxolis..." Sol said. "It truly is a beautiful city, but after a while even beauty becomes mundane. And the glass structures can sometimes be a little stressful to walk on. I had to live in the castle, which was glassiest out of all the buildings, and I can't begin to describe how annoying mornings were-" The princess suddenly stopped herself, realizing she was talking to someone who had probably never seen a castle, let alone be inside one. "-ah, I'm sorry. Fickle problems, really. The castle and the rest of the city are a marvel to look at - when the sun isn't staring you in the eye. Pharus is a good change of setting."

"It sounds like quite the lovely place, really... I wouldn't mind getting a chance to check it out one day," Tamber replied. "The only castles I've ever seen outside of Pharus are in the books that the storykeeper would read to me in his books. I imagine that seeing it in person would be quite inspiring..."

"Well, you are a Rider now Tamber," Pyra spoke up. Her voice soft and comforting, as she easily picked up on the desire to actually see such things in Tamber's voice. "Perhaps one of Krotan's next tasks will let you visit another one."

Khepri nodded. "Khepri prefers the castles of Luxolis to the dark walls of Pharus. Hopefully other kingdoms can learn a thing or two from elven architects."

"What about you?" Sol asked. "Stories like mine are easily retellable in stories and folklore - but I am quite curious about yours."

I see the young mistress has quite 'loosened up' by now. Khepri thought-messaged her, with Sol only brushing away her hair as response.

"Well... I've never been to any castles before Pharus," Tamber replied. "I was born in a small, yet rather bustling port city. Most of my time before now was spent on the road. I mean, sure... there are times when I get see some of the interesting cities, mostly commericial-based ones... sometimes trader camps, but none of them quite compare to what you spoke of just a moment ago... Well, I assume so anyways..." she paused, looking down at the ground below them. "I'm not always able to go into every town or city we stop in, or rather, I wasn't when I was still traveling with the troupe."

"Oh?" Sol asked. "Why is that?"

"Well... Humans aren't always the most reasonable bunch, as I'm sure you probably know," Tamber replied. "Let's just say some aren't exactly comfortable with what I am, yes?"

"Why do you say so?" Sol looked at Tamber in confusion. "My father has had many trades and affairs with human guests and kings - they do not seem to hold any grudges towards us elves."

"Well, that's because you're an elf," Tamber replied. "Those of pure blood are looked upon with honor and respect. While those like myself, with mixed blood, aren't always treated that way. You've never seen an elf with my skin tone because I'm a half-elf, Sol."

"A... half-elf?" the princess echoed. "Does that mean one of your parents was not an elf? Well, what does it have to do with anything? I don't believe anyone would be as lowly as denying a person entry purely based on external appearance."

Tamber nodded. "My father is human, yes. Which is who I inherited my skin tone from, yes. If I would have had my mother's, no one would have been able to tell the difference. But... I guess that how elves see things and humans see things based on appearance is one of the many things they have different, no? It's even apparent in our new... family."

Sol looked down, unsure of what to say. "That is one of the-"

"Bah!" Khepri exclaimed, cutting her off. "Young madam Tamber is as radiant as a burning flame! Humans are fools for thinking otherwise, and Khepri will make sure that this despicable conduct will not happen around her."

Sol nodded, Khepri's words encouraging her. "Indeed. As fellow riders, we cannot tolerate such... superficialist ideas about people like yourself."

"I appreciate the concern, but there's really no need to worry about it for the time being," Tamber replied, brushing her hair back down over her ears in the process. "I have my own ways of dealing with it, so it's okay."

Pyra remained silent throughout the entire exchange, not really sure of what to say through it all. She was quite familiar with a bit of the hardships in Tamber's life at times due to her being a half-breed, but the dragon also knew that in most cases, there was little she could say to make things better for the dancer. Instead, she decided to readjust her focus on reaching the group's destination before it got too much later in the day. Her focus was soon rewarded.

As the two dragons and their Riders traveled through the sky, a dense fog began to gradually set in. A shift in the climate was soon to follow, the air becoming much more humid as a result of the marshland that began to appear below them. The fog continued to grow thicker as well, making it quite difficult to see at such higher altitudes. This caused Kehpri and Pyra to descend in altitude a bit, as well as slow down their speed in the event of their vision becoming even more impaired. After some time, they finally reached their destination. Atop a steep slope on the edge of a moutain cliff stood a lone, stone tower. It was clear that the years had not been kind to the structure. The stones that constructed the fortress were beginning to erode with age. Several pieces of what looked to be cannons and steel gates were rusting and collapsing from the passage of time. It was a place that made Pyra very uncomfortable, and she once more found herself wishing that Tamber had picked a different mission from Krotan all together.

Sol coughed, the dust and the smog proving difficult to breathe in at first. "Are you -cough- sure you have found the right place?" she asked the two dragons, covering her mouth.

Pyra nodded her head, taking the time to carefully look around in the event any traps or ambushes may have been waiting on them. "Yes, this location matches the description Krotan placed on the board..."

"This is strange, however..." Khepri mused. "From what I read earlier this morning on the board, this place is meant to be teeming with enemies. Yet Khepri cannot sense any light..."

The area around the tower seemed to be void of all life, spare a few dry, crooked tress of which most were probably dead. Sol waved off the smog in front of her to clear it. "Dear me, why would the old riders pick a place such as this for a watchpoint? What's there to see?"

"Maybe there was a reason to long ago," Tamber suggested. She gave Pyra a gentle pat on the side of her neck, causing the fire dragon to gently kneel down enough for the white-haired dancer to slide off her backside. A quite splash met their ears, as Tamber's feet landed in a small puddle of water. "Krotan did say it had been centuries since there were new Riders, yes? Perhaps this is all that's left from an ambush attack that took place here, and what we see are the scars left behind by that attack and time."

She took a few steps forward, turning to face Sol with a smile. "Regardless of appearances, there must be something important here. I can't imagine Krotan wanting someone to come here if there wasn't."

"True." Sol replied, getting off Khepri's back and rubbing her inner thighs while muttering something about royal cramps and getting a new saddle. She looked up at the watchtower - a crumbling old building withered by time and the elements - then back at Tamber, motioning at her wet feet. "Maybe now you will reconsider your fashion choices." she noted.

Sol stepped forward, carefully eyeing the smashed-in windows of the tower as she moved towards the closed front doors. Every once in a while a outrid stench would penerate the smog, giving the young princess a whiff of what death smelled like. The whole area just seemed to radiate corruption and darkness, and Sol could feel Khepri's anxiousness and agitation as a result.

Just as she placed her hand on the large wooden doors of the tower, Khepri spoke up. "Young mistress, Khepri begs dor you to be cautious. Simply because the area appears devoid of light does not mean dark creatures are not present."

Sol scoffed, which left the dragon quite surprised. Sol was always one to advise caution, not dismiss it. "Khepri, I think you've had one too many of my grandmother's stories. There are no such thing as 'dark entities' in our world." she said, waving off his concern and pushing open the doors.

"Just because there aren't any dark entities in our world doesn't mean that we should drop our guard," Tamber replied, a faint smile gracing her lips as she followed behind Sol. "Maybe there are no demonic monsters waiting for us in inside, but perhaps something else. Like an army of thieves who would love to peddle off an elven princess to someone looking for a new pet?"

Sol gritted her teeth, trying her best to not let the insult she was thinking of slip out. As she pushed one of the front doors open, she noticed a figure laying on the floor in the poorly-lit room. The air was even dustier than outside, and the walls appeared to be lined with cobwebs - the place certainly hadn't been touched for years. However through the smog, she could tell the figure was humanoid. It was moaning and shaking slightly, almost as if in pain.

The sight of a living person laying on the ground was shocking. "Oh gods above!" Sol yelped, running over to the figure. "Tamber! I found someone who is visibly severely wounded!" she called out to her companions.

"Sol, wait a minute!" Tamber shouted, the white-haired dancer chasing after her fellow Rider.

The young princess knelt down, carefully rolling up her dress. "Are you all right?" she asked, reaching her hand out to the person's shoulder. Then, before she could do anything, the figure turned its head around.

Sol screamed in horror as a bony, rotting hand grabbed her arm and the undead creature let out a horrifying gargle. Sol reached for her sword, quickly unsheathing it and bringing it down on the undead's forearm. The latter was cut swifty in half with a sickening squelch, splattering foul blood on her dress and face.

Not waiting a further moment for the undead creature to grab hold of Sol with its other hand. Tamber quickly took hold of her whip and snapped it in the direction of the rotting creature. The leather whip snapped, wrapping itself around the monster's neck before Tamber gripped its handle tightly and pulled back as hard as she could. The sound of bones snapping filled the around Sol and Tamber, as gradually the skin (or rather, what was left of it) gave way and the creature's head was freed from its body.

The creature staggered forward still, its body taking a moment to realize that the head was no longer part of it. It managed to take two more shuffle-like steps, before falling to its knees and hitting the floor with a solid thud. The head of the undead creature still continued to move, as if nothing had happened to it. Tamber felt a shiver run down her spine as she looked at the still blinking head, its teeth slowly closing and opening as if trying to bite her, before she made her way over to Sol. She took the princess' hand, pulling her back up to her feet.

"Are you alright? It didn't bite you or anything, did it?" she questioned, looking over the girl's arm that had been in the creature's grasp.

Sol put most of her weight on Tamber as she tried to stand up straight. "I... no, it didn't bite me..." she uttered, meekly patting her cheek with her hand and cringing at the sight of the blood. She took a deep breath, doing her best to stop her shivering. "It's... fine... calm..." she murmured to herself, before regaining her compsure and sheathing her sword. "Why do you ask? What happens if one does bite me?"

"Well... I imagine it hurts a lot," Tamber replied. She really did not want to worry Sol further, but she felt the need to answer her regardless. "Truth is, I don't know. I've never encountered something of this kind, outside of stories told from back when I was with the troupe. It could make you sick or be poisonous. Then again, I'd rather not find found out for the sake of just knowing. I have a feeling we're better off not knowing in this case."

Meanwhile, Khepri was doing his best to squeeze his head through the doors of the tower. "Sol! Are you all right? Do you recquire us to take you back to Pharus?" the golden dragon called, the worry clearly showing in his voice. "One blast of my Solar Beam and I will tear this cursed tower to sh-"

"No, no, Khepri! It's quite fine." Sol called out. "It was only a single undead creature. There don't seem to be any more in the room."

"That said, we don't know if there are anymore in here... much less outside," Tamber thought. She glanced down at the undead creature's head once more. "Pyra, you and Khepri be on guard. I get the feeling this is only going to get more difficult from here."

"Are you certain?" Pyra inquired. "Mayhaps we should return to the castle and come back with some of the others..."

"We'll be okay," Tamber reassured her dragon, smiling at the concern in her voice. Turning her focus back to Sol, she gave the princess a small nod. "We need to be more careful from here. As much as I do appreciate your willingness to help someone in need, chances are the four of us are the only things alive in this area. Stay close, and be on guard okay?" She paused, taking the time to look Sol in her eyes. "I'm counting on you. So, you count on me too."

Sol looked briefly into Tamber's eyes, before looking away. "Y-yes, of course. We're a team."

A joint post of Foxrally and Frozen Heart

Sonata · May 26, 2016

Xander and Xaraho
A Deeper Understanding p3

Xaraho jumped on top of a gravestone, cracked and broken in places. The dragon's talons pierced the stone and caused it to crumble further beneath its weight, but he seemed to not have even noticed.

'Xander, are you prepared?'

"Prepared for what? Why are we in the graveyard of all places?"

'Your training begins now my rider. Get ready.'

The dragon's tail straightened out behind it and it craned its neck back towards its right wing. Xaraho inhaled deeply and then slowly turned his head. As the dragon's head turned, a dark fog rolled out from its maw and covered the ground. In a few moments, the entirety of the graveyard had been covered in the fog and Xaraho once again simply stared at its rider.

Xander looked around, waiting for the fog to dissipate. Several minutes passed and nothing had happened yet. The dwarf scratched his head and looked up at the dragon ahead of him. "Was something supposed to -"

Just as he began to speak, the ground beneath him shook slightly. It wasn't enough to knock him off of his feet, but the movement did startle him. The dwarf took a few steps back and looked at the ground around his feet, leaning over and waving the fog away so that he could see clearer.

A skeletal finger rose from the in front of him, followed by a skeletal hand that began to rake at the ground around it. More fingers and hands began to sprout rapidly from the ground in various other areas, Xaraho looked at its rider and then nodded its head. As the dragon lowered its head, the limbs which had sprouted from the ground receded back, and as his head rose their bodies shot forth from the ground - revealing a small skeletal force with varying weapons, armor and luxuries near instantaneously.

Xander quickly took a step back, surprised at the appearance of these abominations. "X-Xaraho what is the meaning of this?"

"Training. The requirements have already been mostly met, but you are still lacking it seems. As the old rider said, the bonds between us are already quite strong. But to reach the next level, we must strain those bonds and bring to you some realization. To accomplish this, I would have you spar."

"But without any weapons? I can understand where you are coming from, but I can't... I don't understand why you wouldn't let me arm myself first."

"I just didn't feel like flying back up to that room is all."

Xander stared at the dragon, his jaw hanging lazily open and a look of bewilderment upon his face at the actions of his dragon. "What if I were to die then?"

"I would be freed from this bond entirely and go on my merry way. It's of no consequence to me what happens here. If you value your life, protect yourself. You are a rider now, just like all the others. You need to become stronger, it's as simple as that. And if you don't, then you'll die one way or the other. If you're going to die, I'd much rather you get it out of the way now instead of later."

Xander pursed his lips as his eyes drifted from the dragon to the corpses shambling towards him. They weren't exactly the quickest of things, and a majority of them were mostly just bones kept together only by the dragon's magic. The dwarf puffed out his chest and took a few steps towards the nearest undead. His hands were trembling as he stood only inches from the skeletal being that towered over him by, at the least, two feet.

The skeletal head creaked and cracked as it turned down towards the dwarf. The empty sockets where its eyes had once been bore holes into Xander's chest, causing him to grow weasy and lose his composure. The figure placed both hands on the axe with which it had been buried with, pulling it behind its head slowly.

Xaraho stared blankly at the image of Xander and the skeleton in front of him. The dragon's nostrils flared, and his lip curled while he watched his rider simply stand in the face of death. Had it been under different circumstances, this may have been an image of pride - a moment that Xaraho and Xander could remember forever as the mortal overcoming a fear of death and staring it down nonchalantly. However, the dragon knew what his rider was feeling. It wasn't bravery, nor anything to be proud of. The man was frightened to his very core, frozen solid and unable to move. He would be killed at this very moment.

Xaraho rose from the mausoleum which he had perched himself on and turned his back. Spreading out his wings, he readied to take flight as he heard the swoosh of the axe slicing through the air. The dragon closed his eyes, desiring not to think of what the dwarf must look like. But instead, he was struck with another vision.

Xaraho saw himself standing in front of a skeletal figure which towered over him. His heartbeat raced as he looked over to the mausoleum where he saw his own dragon form turn its back on him. A mixture of emotions flooded his mind, his chest tightened and the feeling returned to his body. As the axe sped down on top of him, Xaraho stepped to the side just barely dodging the weapon. With a strong kick, Xaraho toppled the skeleton and retrieved its weapon before returning to his own body.

Once again on his perch, the dragon looked over its wing at the scene behind him. The vision that he had just seen... Xander now stood on top of a dismembered skeleton with a large axe in his hand. They had lived it together. No longer were they simply dragon and rider. They had become something different altogether, experiencing and overcoming this event as one. The dragon turned back around, teeth shining through as the corners of its mouth split into a smile.

This still wasn't enough however. The requirements had been met, but the rider had yet to realize how this magic worked. He still needed time, something still needed to happen. The pressure wasn't great enough, Xaraho needed to add more. Something... the dragon stared at its rider and then inhaled deeply. Flapping its mighty wings, Xaraho rose up in to the sky.

Xander stared up at his companion as he rose further and further. The dragon's thoughts were normally so numerous that it pained him to follow most, but at this moment he could hear the dragon clearly. 'Dark.' One, singular word. One singular thought. The dragon inflated, dark energies seeping out through the small openings in its scales and the bones that adorned its body. With a final flap of his wings, Xaraho expelled all of the darkness which he had been building up inside of him. A great ball of blackness fell on to the graveyard, pushed out by the flapping of the dragon's wings.

The darkness was all-encompassing. Xander couldn't even make out his own hand, let alone the shiny steel axe within it. All he had to go on now, was the sound of bone scraping against bone and the sound that came from boots and bone against the soggy ground beneath him. He was completely unprepared for this. If it wasn't possible that he would have died earlier, then it definitely was now.

"Xaraho? What did you do? What is this darkness and why would you blind me like this? How am I to fight, to protect myself?"

"We have almost met the mark Xander. But you have still yet to grasp the very simple basis of the magic that I am showing to you. Remember back to what the old rider said. You are still trying to see as yourself, but to accomplish this task you must go beyond that my rider."

Just as Xaraho finished speaking, Xander leapt back just barely escaping a two-handed sword. The dwarf felt behind him, realizing that he was now backed up against a tombstone. His eyes darted about wildly, still trying to force himself to adjust them to the darkness but failing. The dwarf's ears perked up, straining to catch any kind of sound to give away the location of the enemies.

"Still, Xander? Why do you not follow such simple instructions?"

"What do you want from me Xaraho?" The dwarf screamed out in retort. "I'm just barely dodging these, these things! And you keep telling me nonsense! Give me something I can actually work with dammit!"

The sound of a bone breaking came from the dwarf's right. Apparently one of them had stepped on something or had gotten caught. Either way, it was the perfect opportunity for the man. Xander placed the axe in both hands and swung wildly in the direction that the sound had come from. As the blow connected, something flashed before his eyes in the darkness. A violet light, almost like smoke was illuminating the body of the skeleton. It seemed to be wrapped around and in-between the creature's bones. The light quickly vanished, but Xander felt as if it might have some importance.

Thinking back on what the old rider had said, the dwarf took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Break the barriers down between dragon and rider, no longer be dragon and rider separate but together something entirely different altogether. Do not think of yourself as Xander, but as Xaraho. Synchronize. Connect. Break through and grow. I wish to become stronger. I wish to become smarter. I desire to know myself, and my dragon."

A violet light shone from behind the dwarf's eyes as he felt something crash into the ground behind him. Pieces of bone and cloth flew up at the man as he heard the dragon's breath coming from behind him. Xaraho placed its front claw on Xander's back and then closed its eyes as well. Both eyes began to glow violet as the bones from the defeated reanimated began to shake and form into an armor around the dwarf.

Xander imagined the violet smoke which he had seen around the first skeleton he defeated, and then imagined it around his own self. Slowly, the bones pulled themselves back together around his body. When dwarf and dragon opened their eyes, the task had been accomplished.

Foxrally · May 27, 2016

Tamber

Princess Sol Laetanas

The Walking Dead

Sol walked around the room, gingerely running her finger along the dusty wall and quickly brushing away the dirt. "Is there really no way up to this tower? are we meant to land on the top and make our way downward?" she asked, turning to Tamber. "It does seem terribly inconvenient."

"Maybe it was a way to keep intruders out?" Tamber suggested. "Limiting their access to whatever treasures and such our predecessors kept hidden within these walls seems like it be more beneficial than say, constantly fighting to the death... It also takes advantage of the dragons being able to fly."

Sol made her way back to the front doors and pushed one open just wide enough for the dragons to be able to peer inside. "Khepri, could you please light up the room for us?" she requested, scolding herself for not asking earlier.

"At your service, your majesty." Khepri replied as he poked his head through the opening in the doors. "Khepri would recommend looking away now." After a brief moment of charging, the dragon's face suddenly burst into light, nearly blinding the two riders despite the fact they were not looking directly at him. Thankfully, it seemed to have done the trick, as the room was now as bright as daylight.

Sol reeled back at the sight of the undead's body and head now in full light. "Thank you, Khepri." she said, petting her dragon's head.

"Anytime, young mistress." Khepri replied, nudging the rider affectionately before pulling his head out through the door.

Now that the room was cleared of the darkness and fog, Tamber and Sol could clearly see a weak-looking ladder dangling from an opening in the ceiling in the corner.

"Well, it looks like we'll actually be climbing up the tower after all," Tamber replied, a small grin tugging at her lips. After making her way over to the ladder, Tamber placed her hands on the sides, giving it a few tugs as if testing its durability. It did not seem to be too shaky or unstable, something that did fill her mind with ease. Turning back to her companion, her smile grew as she placed her hands behind her back. "Royalty first, yes?"

Sol scoffed slightly. "An unexpected display of etiquette, coming from you." she said, stepping onto the bottom plank and tentatively putting some of her weight on it. After deeming it safe, she pulled herself upwards and began climbing the ladder, avoiding the rustier and dirtier parts as to not ruin her boots and dress. Once she had reached to top and entered the second floor of the tower, she turned around. "Okay, it's safe! Climb up." she called down to Tamber.

Tamber nodded and started to follow behind Sol, climbing up the ladder towards the next floor. She was about halfway up the ladder, when she suddenly felt a shift in weight, the faint sound of something starting to snap reaching her ears. The white-haired dancer looked about, taking a moment to make sure that the undead creature from earlier was not coming in her direction or something of the sort. Tamber was quick to notice that the being was still on the floor where she and Sol had left it. It was at that moment that Tamber returned her focus to the ladder, her eyes widening as she noticed the rope on the left side slowly starting to snap.

Cursing under her breath, Tamber began to scurry up the ladder as quickly as she could. However, each step she took caused the ladder to start snapping more and more. It was only a matter of seconds before the entire left side of the rope gave out from the strain of the threads snapping. Tamber was quick to grab hold of the right rope, a sigh of relief slipping past her lips as several planks of wood began to crash against the floor. Still, the white-haired gypsy did not have long to relish in her safety. The rope she now held tightly onto began to snap as well, the effects of age clearly taking hold over what remained of the ladder.

"S-Sol, I need your help!" Tamber cried out, trying to pull herself up as fast as she could.

"Hold on, I-" Sol began, looking around the dark room in panic. It's too dark for me to get anything...

The sound of the rope nearly snapping brought her back to her senses. There was nothing around to help her pull Tamber up, and she was barely strong enough to lift another person. Throwing herself onto the ground, Sol reached through the opening in the ground. "Quick, grab my hand!" she called out.

Tamber was quick to reach out for Sol's hand. The princess was just slightly out of reach, and the sound of the rope that the white-haired gypsy to hold onto was causing her worry to grow all the while. As best as she could, Tamber tried to scramble up the rope another inch or so. The sound of the snapping grew louder and more frequent, but thankfully she finally managed to reach Sol's hand. Tamber grabbed hold of it with both of her own hands, the rope giving way just as she did so.

With a painful groan, the princess closed her and managed to pull Tamber just high enough for her to grab onto the ledge and hoist herself up. Tamber grabbed the ledge, her eyes wide with panic as she quickly flopped herself up and over the ledge... and landed right on Sol upon reaching the next level. Tamber was so distracted with being safe and not falling to the previous floor, which may have resulted in several broken bones... or even worse, that she failed to notice that she more or less had pushed her chest right into Sol's face.

The elf coughed and flailed around, one arm clutching her aching side and the other desperately trying to get Tamber off her. She uttered a muffled curse as she managed to push Tamber to the side just enough for her to roll away, panting.

A few moments after the ladder had collapsed, the entire building began shaking - or at least, the bottom floor. Dust and pebbles were falling from the ceiling, as if the watchtower was going to collapse at any moment onto the two riders. Then, it suddenly stopped, as the loud clang of the front doors beneath them signaled that they had been closed somehow.

"Wh-what just happened? Did Pyra or Khepri do something?" Sol asked, the panic rising in her voice.

"Unless they decided to close the doors for some reason, I doubt it..." Tamber replied. She frowned, realizing that Sol being in another state of panic was not going to help them out in this situation. She reached out and put a hand on the elven princess' shoulder. "Relax... We're both okay for now, right? Let's not lose our cool just yet. Let's see if the dragons know anything first."

"Pyra...? Is everything okay out there?" Tamber questioned. "The tower is starting to act kind of strange, I think even the doors shut. Did you or Khepri do that?"

"No, Tamber... I am not sure what happened just now..." Pyra replied, concern evident in her voice. "I knew this was a bad idea... Khepri and I are going to get you both out right now."

"No, if you do that then the tower and all the artifiacts we're supposed to bring back with us could be destroyed. I only want you to come for us like that if it's a last resort, alright?" Tamber answered, trying her best to calm not only Sol but her own dragon as well. "We'll manage for the time being. Just stay on guard. I have a feeling this isn't going to be as easy as we thought."

Turning her attention back to Sol, she offered the girl a smile of reassurance. "Well, it looks like going back down isn't an option at the moment. But since the previous Riders used this tower, I'm sure there has to be another way out. Let's just keep our eyes open for it as we keep going."

"R-right." Sol replied, taking a deep breath and picking herself up. "We just have to be careful. There might be more of those... things like the one we saw before lying around."

The light streaming through the ladder hole in the corner lit up the room just enough for the two riders to see what its purpose was. Judging by the rusty spearheads, broken arrows and sword racks, this was likely the watchtower's armory. Most of the weapons had either been taken (whether by the old riders or by the elements) and the only ones left intact or had survived the rust were strewn across the room. Whoever had left them here had obviously left in a hurry, and hadn't been bothered to come back to reclaim the rest.

"Well, I suppose this is what we came for..." Sol mused, looking around. "...is that really it?"

"Hard to say..." Tamber replied. She made her way over towards a sword, kneeling down to the floor to run her hand along the blade. "Again, Krotan never mentioned exactly what he said were the weapons we're looking for... A lot of these swords are kind of rusty..." Standing back up, she turned to face her fellow Rider. "Don't you think the weapons we already have are better? I mean I'm not a swordsman, but I'm fairly sure that some of the weapons you all brought in with you were in much better condition..."

"Yes, I- oh!" Sol stopped as she noticed a particularly bright sword laying on a shelf. "I found one in a good condition!" The blade seemed almost as good as a new one, and the golden hilt almost made it look like a nobleman's rapier or personal weapon. She looked around the shelf, checking for any signs that it could be a trap or mechanism of some kind like the ladder could've been. After a momentary inspection, she deemed it safe to pick up the sword.

"This feels... surprisingly light. Amazingly, even." she muttered to herself. In her years of sword training she had been taught to carry different types of swords - though she settled for the longer types which were lighter and quicker - but this one felt nothing like the others. "This must be what Krotan sent us for." Sol said, tapping the blade of the sword. "Check around for any other weapons like these."

Tamber gave a quick nod to Sol and began to walk around the room, seeing if there were any weapons such as the blade that the elven princess had picked up. Doing so was a bit easier said than done, however. The darkness of the room did little to assist her in the search for one of these special weapons like Sol found. After several minutes of searching. Tamber did find something that stuck out to her. It was a rather ornate, decorative looking spear.

"Hmm... this looks to be something nice..." Tamber mused aloud. "I don't know if any of the others will be able to use it, but they might be willing to learn." Reaching down, Tamber grabbed hold of the spear's handle and began to try and pull the weapon up. A frown quickly graced her lips as she started to pull, the spear seemingly not budging an inch. "...How odd..."

Taking a moment to reposition herself, Tamber gripped the spear's handle tighter and began to tug with much more determination. Slowly, the white-haired dancer could feel the spear starting to shift, slowly becoming unwedged from whatever was holding it down. Steadying herself so she wouldn't fall over from the force of the spear finally being pried free, Tamber gave one more mighty pull before the spear finally came loose.

"Just needed a bit of work to come loose, I suppose..." Tamber said, lifting the spear up higher to get a better look at it in what limited light there was.

The faint sound of heavy breathing quickly reached the gypsy's ears as she inspected the weapon. She was about to open her mouth and question if Sol was okay, but before she could a sudden weight pulled back down on the spear. Her eyes went wide as she glanced down at the bottom of the spear... the rotting, boney hand of an undead creature quickly being spotted.

"S-Sol..." the dancer said, her voice quiet as she tried to get the attention of her fellow Rider.

"Hm?" Sol asked, turning around. She was still carrying the sword she had found earlier, along with a small dagger also apparently possessing the same magical properties. "Did you-" she stopped mid-sentence as she noticed the body clutching the spear Tamber was holding. "Don't-"

Suddenly, Khepri's voice boomed inside of her head, as if the dragon was roaring straight into her ear. "DARKNESS IS APPROACHING YOU. GET OUT N-" was all she could hear before the sound completely cut out.

"Khepri?" Sol called out mentally, but with no response. "Was that you?" She was met with silence. Doing her best to shake off the growing anxiety she was beginning to feel, Sol laid down the dagger she was holding and raised her sword, stepping slowly towards the undead creature. "Just don't move..." she whispered, raising the blade over her head before bringing it down on the creature's arm in one clean slice. The undead reeled back, although if it was in pain she couldn't tell. "Let's get out of here quick before more of them... oh gods."

Just as she finished her sentence, another bloody hand emerged from the hole through which Sol and Tamber had come in - despite there being no ladder - followed by another, and another, then a head - all turned towards the two intruders.

"What in the world are these...?" Tamber asked, gripping the spear tightly still as she backed away. "There weren't any more of them back on the first floor aside from that one... Are they coming in from outside?"

Taking a quick step back beside Sol, Tamber tried to reach Pyra. "Pyra? What's going on outside? ...Pyra?"

Glancing over at Sol, Tamber gave the princess perhaps the most serious expression since she arrived at Pharus. "...I can't reach Pyra. Something... Either something happened to her or something is interferring with our link."

Sol nodded. "I got a message from Khepri just a moment ago... It was cut out mid-sentence." She looked at the ladderhole from which the creatures were swarming out of now. "The amount of dark power in here must be interfering with our connections to the dragons..."

"We need to find a way outside," Tamber replied. "The mission is an afterthought. Our lives greatly outweigh Krotan's desire for these..." Tamber gestured to the spear as she spoke. She noticed the spear had a strap on its handle, and quickly took a moment to place across her back. "Why did he send us here if it was this dangerous...?"

Looking around, Tamber quickly spotted another ladder dangling from the ceiling. "There. Get to higher ground!"

Sol did the same, sheathing the now-bloodied sword and strapping the sheath to her belt, and picking up the dagger. Just as she made her way to the ladder, a body fell from the ceiling above, nearly landing on top of her. "Crap, they're above us too!" she spat, driving the dagger into the undead's temple before it got a chance to get up. "We need to get up before more of them come in!"

The undead who had come in from the bottom floor were now getting up, and slowly shambling their way to the two riders. They seemed to be murmuring something. "Answer... the call to arms..."

"Then get moving," Tamber insisted. She was quick to spin Sol around in the direction of the ladder, which the dancer then started to push her towards. Tamber more or less pushed Sol onto the ladder, the white-haired gypsy going as far as to push her up further which resulted in her hands inadvertently getting a feel of the princess' backside. "Ooooh, soft~"

Once Sol was up the ladder a safe distance, Tamber was quick to start following the princess up. Thankfully, this ladder seemed to be much more durable and stable as opposed to the previous one. It was more than capable of holding the weight of both girls, as well as the weapons they had picked up from the previous floor. Once both she and Tamber reached the next floor securely, the dancer grabbed hold of the knfe from Sol's sheath and turned back to the ropes.

"Watch my back," she insisted, bending down to cut the ladder down at the very least to hinder the undead monsters' progress at coming from below.

"Easier said than done!" Sol called back, taking out her sword as she tried to kick back another undead. "Where are they even coming from?!"

The room they had just entered was surprisingly bright, despite there being no discernable light source. Bunk beds lined the walls, pillow sheets and slabs of wood (which Sol presumed were also beds) were strewn around as if knocked off. The ceiling was also unnaturally high - which allowed even more bunk beds to be stacked along the walls. "I think we've reached the tower's sleeping quarters! And if that means what I think it means..."

Her suspicions were confirmed as even more undead began falling from the 'ceiling' near the walls. They were in fact rolling off the bunks, some of which were so high Sol couldn't even see if anyone was on there. She stabbed another one in the head just as it fell beside her. "Ah, Tamber? How are you doing on the ladder? I won't be able to hold them back for long!"

"Just... hold on..." Tamber muttered, one of the ladder ropes snapping after the knife had run through the threads after several passes.

She was quite amazed with the weapon. Despite the amount of time that had most likely passed since another living creature stepped foot inside the tower, the blade was quite strong indeed. Tamber did not stop to admire the work of the weapon, however. She was quick to move on to the other side, the knife passing through the rope with ease before the whole ladder crashed to the floor. Smiling at her handy work, Tamber turned her attention back to Sol.

"Got it, now all we... Oh my..." she trailed off.

"You see what I-" Sol stopped as she thrusted her blade menacingly at an approaching undead. "-see what I meant?"

The number of undead staggering before them were emense. It was going to be impossible to get past them all by running. At the same time, fighting them one by one was also going to be out of the question. After placing the knife back in the sheath, Tamber took hold of her whip, gripping it tightly.

"...This is going to be messy," she admitted, glancing over in Sol's direction. "We have to fight to clear a path. Don't try to take on any that are out of the way of a clear path to the next floor."

Without warning, Tamber reared back and lashed out at one of the approaching, undead monsters. Her whip snapping loudly as it cut through the head of the creature, essentially slicing the head in half. Blood from the monster spewed about, some of it dousing along the dancer's wardrobe and hair. Amazingly, or perhaps even expected at this point, the creature continued to shuffle forward, it's lower head still functioning slightly.

"Damn... If anything these things are resiliant," Tamber cursed. Her statement was soon followed by an arrow whizzing past her ear, and nesting itself right into the eye socket of an undead behind her, further splattering the two rider in dark blood.

"That's an understatement!" Sol said, shooting another arrow into the ladder hole they had come through. Following Tamber through the room, the two riders watched as more undead creatures swarmed incessantly into the room from god-knows-where, all of them chanting the same words about answering a call to arms.

Noticing two of the creatures coming at her from opposing sides, Sol slung her bow over her shoulder and unsheathed the magic sword she had found in the armory. With an unfittingly high-pitched roar she drove the sword into the first undead's stomach, before tugging sideways, effecitvely disemboweling it. using the momentum to spin around, she brought the blade straight into the second one's ribs, the force of the impact tipping it over. Noticing the first one hadn't given up she turned around and forced her boot into its face, following it up with another sword stab to the neck.

"Keep..." she shouted, panting. "Keep clearing the path!"

"I'm working on it!" Tamber shouted back, the dancer bringing down her whip across the chest of another monster.

The monster groaned in pain as the blood spewed out across her face. Tamber was quick to shove her foot into the monster's chest, knocking it down onto the floor before she sent her whip flying across its face in a fury of lashes. She glanced up from the downed creature, looking as more were shuffling towards her, three to be exact... all of them in a line. Slowly, the dancer took a step back, her hands falling to the spear that was still strapped to her back. She really did not know in the slightest bit how to use the weapon properly, but Tamber did know in the very least that it was used for impailing.

Readying her grip on the spear's handle, the dancer suddenly charged forward. The spear started to run through the first in the line, slowing down her charge. Yet, Tamber remained focused in her goal. She began to push forward as hard as she could pushing he spear through the stomach of all three before they fell to the ground. Tamber herself nearly fell down on top of them, the sudden shift in weight being a bit more surprising than she had expected. Quickly glancing around, Tamber spotted a nearby, rather sizable stone on the floor. She grabbed hold of the slab and quickly dropped to her knees, where she then began to take the time to bash each one of the monsters' faces in.

"Ah, Tamber?" Sol asked as she continued to make her way to the final ladder at the other end of the room. The dancer continued smashing the monsters' faces in. "TAMBER!" she screamed over the deafeaning sound of the undead chanting.

Tamber was breathing heavily as she slowly pulled herself back up to her feet. She gripped the spear tightly, prying it free of the corpses on the floor before turning to face her companion. "What?! What is it?!"

"You- Nevermind, just get up and get going!" the princess shouted back as her sword struck yet another undead. Her dress was all bloodied and crimson by now - one would even imagine the blood to be part of the design now - and her face was no better.

The ladder was just a few undead away now, and the path they had cleared behind them was closing in as undead from both the armory and sleeping quarters swarmed in, clawing hungrily at the two riders. "We're not far, just keep going!" Sol instructed. Suddenly, a pair of bloody hands grabbed her right arm, causing her to drop her sword. As she reached for the dagger strapped to her belt, another hand grabbed her hair, this time coming from underneath her. She screamed in pain as the undead pulled her to the ground. "T-Tamber!" she managed to stutter as the panic began to settle in.

Tamber's eyes were wide as she watched Sol being pulled to the ground. She was fast to run towards the princess' side, sliding down to the ground in the process. Grabbing hold of Sol's blade, Tamber was quick to sever the undead claws that were gripping Sol's hair. She then quickly turned and sliced at the hands holding Sol's right arm, spraying even more crimson liquid on the two Riders. A foul smelling stench was starting to take hold over the room from all the death that surrounded them.

"Are you alright?!" Tamber shouted, once more making sure that nothing had bit or done any severe damage to Sol. Not even waiting for the princess to respond, Tamber carefully placed one of her arms under her legs and the other under Sol's head. She scooped Sol up into her arms, turning to eye the ladder ahead. "Hold on tight. When we get to the ladder, you climb first!"

Tamber made a mad dash for the ladder leading up ahead of them. The sounds of chanting were now ear piercing, as bloody hands and claws swiped at the dancer and her fellow Rider. She cursed under her breath, wincing in pain as one of the claws managed to leave a nasty looking slice at her side. Thankfully, it was nothing that seemed to be life threatening. Her movements were quick as she continued to run, clearly a result of her profession as some of her dodges from any oncoming attacks appeared to be ripped straight from a dance. All the while, Sol seemed to be whispering something to herself. Despite the noise in the room, her soft voice was able to reach Tamber's ears. However, whatever the princess was actually saying, she could not make out. Eventually, Tamber and Sol managed to reach the ladder. The dancer quickly set Sol back on the ground, before turning to face the hordes that were slowly, yet surely approaching them.

"Climb up all the way to the top. If you can finally call your dragon, do it. I'm sure Pyra will be right behind him!" Tamber shouted, gripping hold of her whip one more time. "I'll hold any off while you climb!"

The sight of the ladder seemed to snap Sol out of her panic-induced trance. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to Tamber and nodded. "Y-yes, okay!" she stuttered.

The ladder was shakey and Sol thought it would give in at any moment, but thankfully it held out. At the top of the ladder was a closed trapdoor, whose wood looked rotten enough to punch through. After a few tries, the young elf managed to stab through and squeeze her dagger between the wood and lock, and after twisting the blade around the crude piece of metal snapped, unlocking the trapdoor.

The sudden gust of fresh death smog was more of a nuisance to Sol than a relief. The watchtower's roof - arguably the most important part looked even more ruined than the inside, being exposed to the elements. Quickly climbing to the top, Sol looked around. They were so high now she couldn't see the dragons through the smog, but she could finally feel Khepri again.

Before she had a chance to do anything, Khepri's voice exploded in her mind. [i["SOL!"[/i]

Moments later she heard a gust of wind come from down below - the dragons were on their way. "Tamber, come up!" Sol called out. "Hurry!"

Tamber, who was busy slicing through another abomination with her whip, turned and looked up the ladder. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as this nightmare was finally coming to an end. The dancer was quick to start scrambling her way up the ladder, the ropes swaying back and forth as she made her way up towards the roof. The light from the outside was starting to grow brighter with each step. The dancer was just short of reaching the roof where Sol was waiting, when a bloodied and rotting hand reached up, managing to grab hold of the dancer's ankle.

"D-Damn it!" she shouted out, almost falling off the ladder as she felt a weight trying to pull her back down into the dark abyss of the tower. She tried her best to reach out into the light, her own panic starting to set in. "Sol, give me a hand!"

"On it!" Sol quickly thew herself on the ground and grabbed Tamber's hand, desperately pulling up. "Come on..." she grunted, switching to both hands. "Khepri, Pyra... hurry..."

She felt herself being pulled downwards into the hole as more undead climbed on top of each other and grabbed hold of Tamber's leg. "No, no, noononono-!" she cursed as she felt herself sliding off the roof and being pulled straight into the mass of undead. "I'm going to fall in!"

Suddenly, she felt a massive gust of wind, followed by something wrap around her waist. A brief moment later a great force yanked the two Riders upwards, tearing off a few undead arms in the process.

"Fear not, young mistress! We will get the two of you out safely. Lady Tamber, hold on!" Khepri's booming voice reassured them as the dragon flew straight upwards.

A large, feral growl could be heard in the air around them as Pyra swooped downwards towards the tower. The fire dragon landed on the tower, her strong claws digging into the stones as she reared her head back. A fierce glare was evident on her face as her mouth began to glow, smoke and ash already starting to spew out from it. With a might blast, a searing stream of fire shot forth from Pyra's mouth, engulfing the undead creatures, as well as most of the inside of the tower, in a blazing inferno. The sounds of their anguished screams and moans filled the air around the tower, yet Pyra seemed to care little for their pain. All that was on the dragon's mind was revenge for any harm caused to Tamber, as well as making sure to serve some out for Khepri for any caused to Sol.

Before long, the tower was completely engulfed in flame. Smoke pouring into the air as everything left inside was assured to be burned to ashes. Satisfied with her work, Pyra took back towards the sky, soaring over to where Khepri and the two female Riders were in the sky.

"Are you both alright?! Please, tell me everything is fine," Pyra begged, nothing but concern for the wellbeing of the princess and the gypsy in her voice.

"Y-Yes... Yes, we're fine..." Tamber gasped, the dancer just now catching her breath from the intense escape that the duo had to perform.

"That looks a pretty bad cut..." Sol said, looking at Tamber's leg. "Let's just... get as far from this place as we can."

"I think I can agree to that," Tamber replied.

She watched as the dragons soared away from the burning tower, the undead creatures inside now finally being put to rest as well as anything left from the past of the Riders. This mission was bound to be the first of many adventures and hardships the duo knew they were to face as the new Riders. Yet throughout the passage of time, Tamber and Sol both knew... They would remember this.

A joint post of Foxrally and Frozen Heart

Shak · May 27, 2016

Name: Maxwell Tybalt || Age: 14 || Rider Race: Human || Gender: Male

Passed to the Future

Cerebelle rolled her eyes as she once again effortlessly evaded her brother's attack, but refused to swing her own sword. She yawned mocking, hoping to get at least some enjoyment out of the match. As she expected, Maxwell was immediately worked up and responded with a barrage of slow and rather uncontrolled sword swing. Honestly, it was sloppy. Much like the boy was struggling to swing his sword with any recognisable force, the fight was struggling to hold her attention. She dodged his final swipe, and noticing he had begun to fatigue, swept his feet from underneath him which left him face first on the floor. It was over. She dropped her sword, and turned away from the battle.

"You know what father says," Max began, causing Cerebelle to check back. "Never turn your back on your opponent." He finished as he jumped up and swung his sword at his sister. Despite his effort, she was once again easily able to dodge, and tripped him up, and again sending him flying to the ground. After a swift kick to the gut, Max was left writhing on the floor, prompting Cerebelle to finally take her leave. She was again halted by another outburst by Max. "If I'm supposed to be a rider, how can I be beaten by a girl?" He whimpered. Cerebelle stood still for a moment. If her brother's ridiculous persistence hadn't annoyed her, then this certainly had. As she turned around, she noticed he was once again standing with his sword in his hand. Having already dropped hers, she grabbed another from the rack. She gracefully, but intently darted towards her twin, sending her knee straight into his gut, before smashing her wooden sword into his back. She sent another kick to the gut of the grounded rider.

"You're…not…entitled..to be…good at anything." She spoke sharply kicks, her tone filled with resentment. As the assault escalated, the older spectators quickly jumped in to intervene.

"Belle, calm down!" Layla cried out, grabbing on to the younger girl and pulling her away from her brother's body. Zane on the other hand went to tend to the injured Maxwell, picking him up and bringing him back to the castle.

"Ummm…care to explain what that was?" Layla asked with a harsh, scalding tone. She had taken Cerebelle and sat her on the stump she had been sitting on while watching the fight. The younger of the two girls was obviously reluctant to talk as she had been all morning. Layla bit her lip, remembering that it was her that sent Max into the volatile situation in the first place.

"He's an entitled idiot!" Cerebelle snapped back. The sharp glare she received in response to her outburst seemed to tame her malice.

"So you responded to that by beating him into the ground?" Layla's rather harsh expression softened. She could tell that there was more to this than Belle was letting on.

"Well he stopped didn't he?" Belle turned away, trying not to laugh at her own joke.

"You overreacted." With her rather blunt statement ending what she was quickly beginning to see as a tedious interaction, Layla decided to take a different approach. She sat on the stump next to Belle, who at this point was pouting childishly in response to the notion that she 'overreacted'. "Belle, something's clearly wrong. You've been being told that you're not good enough because you're a girl all your life, but today's the day you decide to snap? Against your brother no less." Once again, despite Layla's pressing, Cerebelle stopped for a moment before even attempting to think of any kind of response.

"Like I said, he's an entitled idiot. He thinks he's better than me because he's a boy. He thinks he's better than me because he's mommy's little boy." She mocked in a cutesy voice. "He thinks he's better than me because he's a stupid dragon rider." She gritted her teeth at the mention of the dragon.

"Oh, so that's what this is about. This whole ordeal with the dragons…" She noticed Belle withdraw even more as she latched on to the topic. "You know you can't blame your brother for that. It's not like he chose to be picked. Besides, for all we know he doesn't want the role any more than you seem to want it. Taragon chose him for a reason. Not that it matters anyway, you're still easily the greatest female swordswoman I know of." The knight laughed, nudging the smaller girl.

"I'm only the second best." Belle scoffed before letting a small chuckle slip out.

"I dunno, I hear there are some tough amazon women down south." Layla continued to tease.

"What? I'm not even third?" Belle bounced to her feet in defence of her pride. The light-hearted exchange quickly lost gained tension again as she remembered the situation at hand. "It's sad that we can only ever seem to compare ourselves other women. Otherwise we're always good 'for a woman'. Do you think Zane and Matt look at you as their equal?" She inquired with a much more serious tone.

Layla just shrugged dismissively. "To be honest, I don't really care. They probably don't for all I know."

"Really? But you're better than Zane anyway!" Belle exclaimed in an amused protest.

"Shhhh..." Layla grinned, snickering as she hushed Cerebelle. "Honestly, you're probably better than Zane too." She whispered, before both girls began giggling mischievously. "We should probably catch up with your brothers now. You owe Max an apology." Only taking a small glance back in the corner of her eyes, she could see Belle's disapproval at the notion that she would be apologising, but paid the girl no mind.

As they got to Max's quarters, it seemed the two brothers had been deep in discussion, with the tail end of the conversation sounding like it was something about Max not wanting to get to know someone. Cerebelle groaned at the thought that Layla may have been right.

"Belle…" Max began as he noticed his sister walk through the door. "I…I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It was insensitive." He bit his lip, and averted his gaze the moment he finished speaking.

Beller looked around the room, noticing the absence of a certain purple lizard. Matthew was stood smoking on the balcony, but there was no sign of Taragon. After scanning the room, she retuned her attention to her brother. "Yeah, and I'm sorry about…" She began, wincing as noticed the bruising on his face and body. "…that."

"Maybe, I was thinking…we could do this again. Without the kicking part this time though." He stuttered.

Belle blinked. It took her a moment to process just what he was asking. "Y-you're asking me to be your sparring partner? What about Zane or Matt?" She glanced over to Zane who simply responded with a shrug. After a moment of thought, the older twin grabbed her brother and dragged him in for a hug.

"Owww…Belle, that hurts. A lot." Max groaned, his bruises being pressed against in the hug.

"I know, you deserve it." Belle smiled.

Jay · May 28, 2016

Sophia - Chapter 1: Whatever may Come

She stood on a tree branch some half a mile from the castle of Pharus. She saw them, she saw dragons. It was awe inspiring, she was truly astounded to witness creatures of lore and myth actually flying before her. They were bigger than wyverns... and they possessed a sort of elegance and beauty that was lost on their more brutish, hardy cousins.

She could sense the magic that emanated from them... it was so pure and untempered. It was raw energy from the planet and it made her sorcery appear as a mocking abomination of true majesty and power.

She could sense the wards around the castle as well... simple but powerful things, designed only to sense and not to stop. Still, strong as they were, they weren't impossible to slip through undetected... least of all for a grand sorceress such as herself. Even if she could no longer utter incantations, her strength in sorcery was strong enough to cast through thought. A counter ward would be easy to create.

A horrid tug of guilt and emotion gripped her heart. What she was doing was wrong but... what choice did she have? She could live without it no longer... it hurt her so irrevocably and deeply that she wept silent tears each night, her passion was removed. The one talent she cradled in a life of misdeeds was gone.

She longed for her voice.

If anyone had the magic required to free her from her curse... it would be the Riders. Somewhere in that castle was a scroll or almanac that contained the key to her freedom. She would have it. Wrong as taking it was. She would have it.

No Rider, nor dragon, would stop her. No Rider, nor dragon, would find her.

Sophia dropped down from her branch as the evening finally faded into the darkness of night. Her hood fell down in the breeze and her platinum blonde hair was swept in the wind. Her deep brown eyes idly reflected the gentle moonlight... and twinkled a greeting back to the stars as she blinked away the remnants of would be tears.

She made certain her bow was strung... she pulled her hood back up to cover her head and tightened the attached cloak slightly.

And with that she began a slow and silent walk to the city of Pharus.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 complete! Congratulations!

Stinging Bea · May 28, 2016

Zile And Tamber - Chapter 2:
Pharus Patrol

The light of the moon pierced through the clear glass window and into Ziles chambers. It hits his eye though a single gap in his dragons great feathered wing. It had been two days since the incident at Redford, the villagers had all but settled in and Zile had watched from his bed in the infirmary as his fellow Riders aided in the rebuilding of various structures to house their new citizens. Alton had visited him once or twice, a strong friendship already forming between the two men, mostly status reports, but occasionally the elf brought tea or cakes made by the villagers.

It had been on the evening of the second day, when Zile was finalizing his healing with aid from Krotans magic, that he and Tamber had been taken aside and informed of their new task...

"The two of you, based on what I have seen, are the two most suited to this task. The thief cannot be allowed to go unpunished.. and with patience I have discerned her path to freedom from our clutches. When the moon rises high enough to cast it's light to your chambers, you must rise and go forth. Search for the figure wearing a dark robe... and take her into custody. I do not want her killed, but if it comes to it, you may do as you see fit."

So there was magic that could slip passed even the old man? Or maybe this old rider simply wasn't as powerful as he let on? Regardless, that wasn't the issue. Zile didn't often care to dwell on things like "why" or "how" anymore, rather he focussed on what "was" and more importantly... how to change that.

Tapping Alyra with a wireless awakening, he informed her to circle the city as stealthily as she could. If the thief got spooked they may be more of a problem for the Riders and the village both. With that done and his Dragon gone off the balcony, Zile stepped into the circular dormitory hallway, knocked on the door he knew to be the gypsy's and spoke.

"Tamber. Are you awake? It is time."

Tamber, who had been spending her time resting until the appointed time, rose from her pillowy sleeping arrangements and stretched to release any form of drowsiness that may have been left within her. Turning to the door, the white-haired gypsy smiled softly. She was thankful that Zile was there to come and wake her. There was always the slight chance she might have overslept had he not.

"Yes, I'm awake," Tamber replied. "You may come in, if you like."

Turning her back to the door, the gypsy made her way over towards the wardrobe where she kept all the various cloths and fabrics she used to make up her outfits. It was in her habit to sleep in the nude, and while she did not care much if anyone of her fellow Riders were to know this, she figured that staying that way for the task at hand may not have been in her best interest.

Opening the piece of doors to the wardrobe, she began to gather a skirt and top. "Has there been any sign of our special guest?" the woman inquired.

Zile pushed the door open to the room without delay upon Tamber's request. He saw the woman gathering her clothes in stark nudity and rose a suspicious eyebrow. Not exactly a common custom, but he knew not more of her background apart from the fact that she was a nomad. Respectfully he faced the window, averting his gaze and looking instead towards the moon. "I'm assuming you usually sleep like that, or am I supposed to be special? Ha!"

The stars were glistening in the night sky and he frowned upon failing to recognize any constellation amidst them. "Alyra is watching, however she hasn't seen anything yet. She does note however, that her intuition bodes ill tidings." He shrugs casually. "I do suppose a dragons intuition is worth listening to. So we may want to move quickly regardless."

Giggling softly at Zile's comment to her sleeping preferences, Tamber nodded and focused back at the real topic at hand. "It is probably for the best. I do admit I find it odd that we've already attracted a thief to our a budding little city." She paused just long enough, slipping her top over her head which managed to just cover her breasts before slipping on her skirt and sash-styled belt. She followed this up by quickly slipping on her bracelets and other accessories, before grabbing her whip and making her way towards the door with Zile.

"Did Krotan ever tell you what she may be looking for? I doubt there would be much in the city worth taking at this point," Tamber reasoned.

Zile pondered Tamber's words for a moment, before returning his gaze to her as she finished dressing. "I suppose everyone heard tales of the Riders growing up. To think that these individuals of such grand power actually exist... if someone thought themselves capable if pilfering the relics of such a force, well then I dare say they'd take the risk as soon as possible." He turned to walk with her as she approached, a thoughtful reproach furrowing his features. "Still, it does seem rather... timely. Maybe our burglar is in a desperate state themselves."

He paused and let Tamber speak as he opened the large door to her room, beckoning the half elf out before passing through himself. "The old man talked about scrolls... almanacs of spells. He suspects that they either hunger for more power, or they're looking for a very specific incantation." He took the first step down the flight of stairs moving to the second level from the third, heading to the window Krotan suspected the burglar was using to gain entry. "He also spoke of missing food, so it may be safe to assume that this so called thief is in need of far more than spells and enchantments..."

"Hmm... Well, maybe if we catch them and just offer them some food they'll leave," Tamber reasoned. She knew it was a bit of a hopeless hypothesis in most cases, but she was still one to belive in that slight chance. "There were a number of times my troupe performed just for food, not actually money or anything of that sort. I know that what I do and our thief does for a living our two different things, but... Well, like Krotan said I'd like to try and avoid killing them if we can."

Thinking about the situation reminded Tamber of some of the more... desperate times in her troupe when both money and food were scarce. There were times some of the others had thought about thievary, but her father always insisted that they remain on the level in terms of behavior and the law. Gypsies were always sort of known to not be the most trustworthy of people, and he wanted to try and change that as much as possible, even if it was likely to be a pointless cause in the long run. Perhaps that was why Tamber was hoping to settle this without having to resort to violence if at all possible.

Zile glanced at Tamber with a mild curiosity, so she knew the hardships of going without? He supposed he wasn't too surprised really. He assumed that with her previous lifestyle and line if work that times often became hard. He certainly remembered how much his family and other associated nobles despised dancers, gypsies and not to mention inbreeding between races. Then again... his family had hated most things. He himself remembered his time as a guard... he had dealt with this sort of situation more than once.

"For a while..." He began hesitantly, being certain to not be too specific. "I served as a town guard in Cullis, to the East. Often times I met thieves who were down on their luck, that sort of person can do foolish things in their desperation." He winced a little. "This wouldn't be the first person I've killed... for similar circumstances. If self defense becomes necessary we can't hold back. I don't want blood on my hands any more than you do I'm sure but... well, don't let your guard down. Especially against an opponent that could break Krotans wards. You get me?"

"Yes, of course," Tamber replied. "Though I wonder just how useful in this situation I can truly be... I have yet to fight against someone who may be armed with magic themselves... And I can't exactly handle magic myself..." She paused, thinking over the situation for a moment before turning to gaze at Zile. "If we're dealing with someone who has enough magic knowledge to counter someone else with over a lifetime of it... how do we know we'll even stand a chance? The odds do seem a bit tipped in our guest's favor."

Zile gave a slight smirk at that last comment before looking at Tamber with whimsy. "You forget that, in the sky, we have something Krotan does not. Two massive, winged, magic resistant forces of nature. Heh." They were on the second floor now, moving quickly through the hallways towards their intended destination. "As for magic for yourself, well, when the moment comes you and Pyra should-"

Zile stopped mid sentence and froze. A loud clattering sounded from around the corner and down the adjacent hallway... right at their destination. "C'mon." Zile broke into a light jog towards the end of the hall, stopping at the turn off point he looked down the hall... and saw her. He couldn't make out the top of her face, only her lower features which were rather effeminate and pretty considering her horrid scowl. She was grabbing a few unfurled scrolls that she had dropped from the ground. Seemed as if she couldn't carry all she had taken officially. "Bitten off a little more than we can chew, eh darling? Now listen, it's late... so maybe we can just- Oof!" Before he could say another word an older book launched from the girls hand and buried itself on his gut, winding him and causing him to take a forced step back. The girl dropped her remaining hoard then, and threw herself from the window... the pattering of her footsteps rapping across the roof below.

Zile groaned as he rose to his feet and irritably threw the book aside. "You eh... think she's not into redheads?"

Tamber offered a small smile in Zile's direction. "Maybe she wasn't aware that we were supposed to be throwing the book at her?" Quickly making her way over towards the window, the dancer peered out and took a look around the castle. She only got a quick veiw of the thief before she turned the corner. She was definitely a quick one, that much was certain. Tamber then quickly glanced back at Zile. "Maybe we should split up? It seems that both of us chasing her in the same direction might not work out too well as opposed to maybe being able to corner her."

"Right you are, with no time to waste either." He rushes to stand by her side near the open window, looking out to see the thief moving with rather unnatural speed. "Welp they don't call me the rider of wind for nothing I guess. I'll keep the pressure up on my new love interest... you and Pyra loop around to the front gate and head her off. Once she's caught between us she won't have much choice but to surrender."

He placed a foot on the window sill and focussed his energy, drawing strength from his link with Alyra to grow powerful enough to complete his desired feat. "Watch yourself Tamber. We don't know if she's working alone so don't let your guard down for a second." He paused and sighed momentarily. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to end up in the infirmary again?" At that, a sudden breeze rushed through the hallway and found itself at Ziles back, pushing himself out of the window he dashed forward at a speed to match his target, chasing her fervently down the castle rooftops and into the town beyond.

"Some people are more equipped for this than I am," Tamber mused, watching as Zile took off after their target. "I suppose we're going to need to try hard if we're going to be of any assistance."

As if on que, Pyra descended towards the window, nearing close to the edge so Tamber could leap out and land on the saddle. The fire dragon had been alerted to the situation earlier, and like Alyra she had been patrolling the skies around the castle to keep an eye out for anything unusual. Once the gypsy was properly situated on to Pyra's back, the fire dragon glanced over her shoulder at the Rider and nodded.

"Where to...?" Pyra inquired.

"Head in the opposite direction to try and cut our new friend off from the other side," Tamber decided. "With any luck, she won't see it coming and we can put an end to this chase quickly."

Dusty · May 29, 2016

One Day Previous

"That'll be...one gold, eighty seven silvers, twelve coppers." Ottar Olfsson slid the dagger into its sheath with a snick, then placed in on the solid wood counter with the rest of the blades with a thunk along with its brethren, a collection of other daggers both for stabbing and throwing, a few short swords, and a half dozen quivers full of small iron bolts. "You sure about this Meliana?" he asked. It was one of the many names she used on occasion, the one she had always used in this town, a backwater place on a river trade route between the lands of men and dwarves. Ottar had grown up in the north learning smithing, then apprenticed to a dwarf in their own lands, eventually coming to this town. It was an ideal place to set up shop, where cheap metals could be easily bought from the dwarves, and goods were easily sold and traded up and down the river.

"What do you mean 'Am I sure about this?'," Idora responded, "These are what I asked for, yes?"

Ottar simply shrugged, "Well the amount of blades is about the same, but twice the quality you usually get. I don't mean to barge in ya business, but that's a high price. Hrodian Dwarf steel ain't cheap, thats for sure."

Idora pulled out her coin purse, carefully counting out the coins before depositing them on the counter, laughing slightly. "My buyer wanted to fill his stores with some higher quality goods this time. He mentioned something about needed his blades to suffer through more heat than the last ones." She allowed herself a slight smile, remembering her battle with the volcanic salamander.

Ottar guffawed in disbelief. "Heat? The last ones I sold you four months back should have lasted through a proper furnace the way I tempered em. I'm starting to question exactly what your buyer is killing with my blades Meliana. Wouldn't be some sort of dragon hunter, would he?" he said almost mockingly.

"Dragon hunter?" she said incredulously, "I'm pretty sure you would need some dragons for that, and last I checked I'm fresh out of those. Maybe you've got some hiding in your shed, but I doubt it."

Ottar laughed his deep laugh again, "Say what ya will, there've been rumors of the beasts about as of late. And the riders too if what I heard was true!"

"Yes Ottar, and I'm sure you believe every drunkard you share your mead with at the tavern!" Idora joked. "That being said, I did hear from some caravan that somebody set up shop at old Pharus Castle and is trying to rebuild the town." She shrugged, "If the rumors are true, might be worthwhile for a man such as you to move shop. You're the best smith in the region, your talents are wasted in a small town like this. No doubt they'd take you in."

Ottar scratched his beard absent mindedly, then said, "Hmm, might be some truth to that lass. Ever since that dwarf Gamvar set up his own smithy, business has been slow. My own work is far better, but his is cheaper to be sure." He paused for a moment, thinking. "I'll give that some thought. If ya don't find me next time ya need something, I guess you'll know where ta find me!"

"I suppose so!" she said, bundling up the blades in a piece of cloth and placing them all in her pack, ensuring all her goods would remain safe during her journey back. "Well, in any case Ottar, it's been a pleasure as usual, I hope to see you again soon." The smith and shopkeeper nodded and smiled as Idora shouldered her pack and opened the door to the smithy and shop, walking back out into the sunlight and busy street of the small town that held her favorite weapons shop.

Well, that's one chore done then. She adjusted the pack so fit more comfortable, then said to Morenth, Well, shall we?

We shall! The dragon exuded happiness from being able to be close to her rider once again. I'll meet you at that river we crossed five miles out of town. That should keep me well enough out of sight, and I'll try to avoid farms too by flying low. Hmm, or maybe high and then diving low...what do you think?

Hey, you're the one who is flying, not me. Do whatever you think is best! She received the mental projection Morenth gave her, the bend in the river miles out of town, as well as out of the way of any roads or easy access. I don't suppose you could have chosen an easier place to pick me up… She didn't expect an answer, and didn't get one other than amusement. It was going to be a long walk, but nothing she couldn't handle, even begrudgingly. It was going to be a long walk, and an even longer flight back home to Pharus after that, but at least she was well stocked now, ready to face whatever challenges lay before them.

Sir Bastian · May 29, 2016

A Large Undertaking

Flynn Cooper

The morning sun had been on the sky for a good two hours, and Flynn had been up with it. A continuous 'thwack, thwack, thwack' sounded from the training grounds, where the young man was stood in his white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his shoulders. He was swinging his wooden sword at one of the dummies that had been set up, a few beads of sweat on his forehead while panting quietly.

Ferrus was laying on a large patch of moss-covered cobblestone, eyes closed as he was enjoying the warmth of the sun spread out across his large body, an occasional puff of smog escaping his nostrils. After another swing of his sword, Flynn stood back, arching his neck a little towards the houses nearby. He thought he'd seen some kind of movement, and he was ready to get out of there at the first sign of someone coming his way.

Flynn had made sure to keep an eye on the training grounds, in order to make sure no one was there when he was using it. It only gave him a little bit of time each day to practice, but he preferred it like this. The villagers praising him like he was some kind of hero of the legends made him… uncomfortable. Despite how friendly they seemed, he could never quite shake the idea that they were always just trying to get on his good side, in order to get something from him. "Thanks, dad." he huffed, wrinkling his nose.

One of Ferrus' eyes opened lazily, watching his rider as he swung the sword at the dummy again. The dragon felt his uneasiness, as well as the determination behind his current actions. After the battle up north the other day, Flynn had realized that however good they all were previous to becoming Riders, their new position meant that they had to get better. A lot better. People were counting on them, laying their lives in the Riders' hands.

He took another step back from the dummy, frowning as he glanced back over his shoulder at Ferrus. The dragon's attention to his feelings had only helped making him even more uneasy about the situation. "You know, I never asked or wanted to be in this kind of position. I'm… not the kind of guy you'd normally entrust your life to, and… now, just because you're here, I am."

Ferrus closed his eye again, letting out a rumble of amusement, his tail giving a slow, lazy flick. "The world cannot change, if no one will take the first step. And for everyone to take a step, one must lead the way."

Flynn's chest rose and lowered with his quickened breath, watching Ferrus quietly for a moment, before looking towards the village again, brow furrowed. "Maybe you're right. I just… don't know if I'm cut out to be that one."

Slowly rising to a stand, Ferrus arched his neck and back, letting out a wide yawn, sending a stench of sulfur and molten rock Flynn's way, causing the rider to cough and wince, wafting a hand in front of his face. "Eesh!"

"Then we will take the step together. The two of us, and all of our fellows." He blinked his golden eye down at Flynn before sending a small puff of smog his way, sending the man reeling and coughing, waving his arm to get the smoke away. "Worry less, Flynn. The world is not as complicated as you make it out to be."

Spreading his wings out, the dragon swung them downwards, sending him skywards, and thankfully also blowing away the remains of the smoke. Flynn took a breath of fresh air, watching Ferrus trailing across the sky. 'Take it easy' was such an easy thing to say to someone who's spent his entire life worrying about one thing or another.

Movement caught his gaze as a rather young girl made her way towards the training grounds. Flynn very quickly put the sword in place and slipped in between a pair of nearby buildings. He began shuffling down the alleyway, rolling down his sleeves again. "Alright, training's over, I guess." He didn't mind greeting people that much, but it'd be just a little too awkward if the villagers wanted him to spar with them, or teach them something, or… whatever Flynn could imagine he'd ask the old Riders for if they were around.

On his way back to the castle, the noticeboard came into view. It had been a few days since his trip to the north, and Flynn was still unsure whether he'd be good enough to take on a task like that again. If he picked the wrong thing and got someone hurt out of his own inability, he wasn't sure what he'd do. But then again, as they say, looking is free, right?

However, as he moved around the decently-sized board, Flynn stumbled on a guy roughly around his age, and a… well, boy. After a moment of stunned surprise, he realized that the boy was Maxwell, from when they were introduced almost a week back. He'd seen him around before, but had never actually… talked to him. "Well, I guess it's inevitable now…"

Raising his hand, he offered the two a light smile. "Morning, Maxwell. And, uh…?" he glanced at the taller man.

"Matthew. Matthew Bradshaw." The man responded in a rather dejected tone.

"Flynn, right?" Max added. Despite being in Pharus castle for the best part of four days, Maxwell had somehow managed to avoid excessive interaction with the other riders. He was thankful for it, but he knew it couldnt last forever. "I'm guessing you're here to pick a mission then." He continued in a rather lazy attempt to force small talk and rid himself of what was an increasingly tense situation for him.

"Oh, uh..." Flynn scratched his chin, glancing towards the noticeboard, quickly skimming over the pieces of parchment hanging on it. Even if he didn't want to acknowledge it, Ferrus was right. He had to do -something- at some point. "Yeah, I guess I am. Anything interesting on there?"

"Yeah." Max sighed. "A big one." He glanced up at Matthew knowingly. He wasnt sure if non-riders could take missions, but it didnt matter anyway. It wouldnt be practical for either of them to show their faces at the tournament. They'd be recognised instantly, especially Matthew.

"Being one of the only humans, I'm assuming you know about The trial of Regality coming up." He paused for a moment, as if to give the man a moment to respond, but continued on without actually waiting for the response. "Well, it looks like you guys as riders have to get involved. In an ideal world, I'd be down there competing myself, but as fate would have it, I'm here, being forced to lay low for a while." He took a quick glance at Max before continuing. "You should probably take a look at this yourself, but I need you to do a favour for me. Obviously not competing in the tournament means I cant become king, but put in a good word for me while you're there. Being a kingsguard is a great honour for house Bradshaw, and probably the only thing that could redeem my name at this point. My loyalty is already to the riders, but if this chosen king supports the cause, it'll truly be set in stone." He nodded, doing his best to end his speech on something less of a dramatic tone.

Blinking his eyes slowly, Flynn scratched the back of his head, glancing from Matthew, to Maxwell, to the noticeboard and back to Matthew. "I've... heard of the Trial, yeah. But what's that got to do with me? And what's this about being a kingsguard?"

"Like I said, you seem to be the only viable candidate to take this mission on. A woman wouldnt be able to earn the respect of the council, which eliminates the hooded woman and the rest of them aren't Human, with the exception of Xile, who we were going to ask next."

"Whoa, hey, calm down. What mission is this, exactly? I only just got here." Flynn replied, looking hopelessly confused.

Matthew sighed. He was beginning to doubt that he made the right choice. How was this guy going to pull it off? "Look, I'll just ask Xile. It was probably the wrong decision just thrusting a request of this magnitue on you anyway. I'm sure he'll have an opinion or some sort." As he began to dismiss the situation, it was Max who took the initiative to hand the page with the details to Flynn. If he was going to help, it was better he actually be clued up.

Flynn gave Matthew a weird look of confusion before accepting the paper from Max. Furrowing his brows, his eyes slowly trailed over the page, narrowing his eyes somewhat. They were going to... rig the tournament? Despite having done something similar plenty of times, it didn't sit overly well with Flynn. But then again, his father probably had a hand in this, one way or another. And having a guy on the throne that his father didn't want, could only mean the best for the city.

After taking a small breath of air, Flynn folded up the piece of paper and nodded at them both. "I'll do it. I... happen to know my way around these sort of situations." He paused, giving them both a small glance. "Why do you two care so much about this particular mission anyway?"

"Well..." He began, recalling what he'd already told Flynn and what he'd kept quiet on. "I was supposed to be in the tournament, I was even one of the favourites to win it. I never particularly wanted to be king, but I'm definately a better option than a lot of the guys that are in it now. What I do want, is to be a member of the kingsguard and if
the right king takes the throne, I'll gladly do that. I'm counting on you now to make sure that happens." He finished with a deep exhale. Though he basically reworded what he'd already said, he managed to withold the information that he wanted to, and so was satisfied with his response.

Nodding his head slowly, Flynn twirled the folded paper between his fingers, his expression unreadable. "Mmh, right. Well, I guess I'll see what I can do. Thanks for... letting me know about this. With any luck, we'll have a king that favors the Riders." he finished with a smile.

"That sounds great." Max chimed, with a semblance of a smile gracing his face. He couldnt help but worry about and wonder what Flynn would see at the tournament. He knew his father would be there. What if Flynn was outed as a rider with a dragon? Would his father make the connection? It wasn't too much of a stretch to assume some random kid with a dragon knows other people who also have dragons. Clearly it wasnt. He couldnt dwell on it, that was pointless. He grabbed a page from the notice board, and shuffled away rather awkwardly, leaving the two behind him.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Matthew shook Flynn's hand and followed behind the younger rider back towards the castle.

Watching the two take off, Flynn turned his attention back down towards the paper, slowly unfolding it. He felt Ferrus' presence tingling at the back of his head. He didn't say anything, but it was clear that the dragon wanted to know Flynn's stance on this entire thing. Moreso out of curiosity than worry or anything else.

"If we're to be full-fledged Riders, then we'll be one of the leading powers in this land." He paused, letting it sink in before continuing. "Which means that we would want to be on good footing with the other great powers. For the elves, we have Sol, for the dwarves, the king apparently wants to meet with us… and then there's the human king. If someone gets on the throne that's opposed to us, that could mean a lot of trouble…"

As he was mulling it over by himself, he barely noticed the padding of feet against the cobblestone as a lithe woman approached him from behind.

Foxrally · May 31, 2016

Maxwell Tybalt

Princess Sol Laetanas

Humble Request

"You're sure you don't want someone to go with you?" Layla enquired, as she unraveled a reddened bandage from Maxwell's ribs. She noticed that the boy winced in pain as the cold breeze hit his open wounds. It honestly wasn't that bad a beating, so if that put him on the shelf for two days, you'd have to worry about what something serious could do to him. Despite this, she couldn't help but chuckle at the facade of bravery that the boy was putting on.

"I'll be fine. All this has made me realize that I cant keep relying on you guys. I have to break out on my own." Max grunted back, still trying to keep his body warm. He glanced across the room. He hadn't seen Taragon in since they'd arrived, but he'd done well enough without him so far, so maybe he could do the same without the others.

"I see." Layla replied rather absently as she applied the fresh set of bandages, purposely prodding at the bruised ribs in the hope that her point could be proved then and there. "So how's the training with Belle been going?" She asked knowingly.

"Great!" Max chuckled. Of course, Layla knew full well that he was lying. She'd spoken to Cerebelle after both sessions and it was clear the girl would have to start from the very basics in her teaching. She let out a gentle sigh. It was hopeless continuing this on further than it needed to. Max seemed intent on this mission that he and Matthew had picked out, and if he was so adamant that none of the group could go with him, maybe he'd be more accepting of another rider as his company.

"Fine. If you're doing this then you've got a big day ahead of you, if you're really doing this the you should probably get breakfast before you leave." She smiled, tightening the final set of bandages. As Max began pushing himself off of the bed to take her advice, she promptly stopped him. "Don't worry, I'll get it for you." She added, wearing the same smile.

-----------------

A loud series of knocks on Sol's bedroom startled the princess awake. "Wha-" Sol muttered, rubbing her eyes. "CAN YOU NOT READ THE SIGN?!" she screamed, slamming down on her bed with her fists. "I SAID I-"

"Your majesty, Sol!" Cyril's voice replied behind the door. "You sent me to brief you on the missions, remember?"

"Oh." the elf mumbled sheepishly, falling back into her bed. "Mhm, come in, then."

The door opened and Cyril quietly walked in, bowing respectfully before closing the door. "I assume you fell back asleep while I was gone; maybe the tea you just had was not strong enough." the bodyguard said, smiling.

"Don't..." Sol stopped herself and yawned. "Don't blame me. I thought Khepri was going to keep me awake." she said, pointing at the now-empty balcony. "So tell me... what missions has the old man given us this time?"

"Do not worry, none of them involve watchtowers or undead." Cyril reassured her, taking a seat by her bed. "I went through the list and read the ones that weren't taken yet and found three I thought would be to your liking. The first mission involves hunting boars to protect livestock - a rather simple task for you, really. The second requires you to visit a scouting party meant to search some sort of sinkhole and assist them. The third is a diplomatic mission - something which I know for certain you are good at - concerning the dwarf king, Warden Steelbeard."

"Hmm... Well, I have met King Steelbeard before." Sol mused. "I would rather undertake a more passive mission this time - I've had enough fighting for a while now." She lifted her sleeve to check on a scar she had gained from that day.

"Understood. Should I go mark it as taken on the board, then?" Cyril asked.

"Yes, please do. Myself and Khepri - wherever he is - will be getting ready in the meantime. Meet in the dining hall." Sol instructed.

-----------------

As she arrived in the dining hall, Layla noticed, first and foremost that she was not alone. She never was when she went into that room. She wasn't normally in the castle, and the two times she had been in the dining hall before she'd bumped into the old rider, but this time it was someone different. Two elves, one male and one female. She was certain she had seen them around, but definitely hadn't spoken to either. In fact...was the girl a rider? It seemed almost ridiculous to her that she was in doubt over whether or not she had seen someone with a dragon. A month ago, that would never have been a notion, and only a week ago it would've been a certain yes or no with zero uncertainty. If she was a rider, she could be the perfect candidate to accompany Max on his mission. She certainly didn't look incredibly strong, but Layla, given her history was in no place to to really pre-judge the strength of others based on appearance. It was worth a shot.

"Hi there, nice morning, isn't it?" She smiled, setting herself across the table from the duo.

"Hello there!" the golden dragon greeted her, bowing his head slightly. "A beautiful daybirth indeed, as always." Layla noticed the rider sitting next to the dragon scowling at the notion of 'morning'. "Oh, pardon the young mistress. She does not like mornings."

The rider shot an angry glare at the dragon before regaining her composure. "Good morning to you too, I believe we have not met before. I am princess Sol Laetanas, and this is my dragon, Khepri."

"Oh don't worry, I'm well acquainted with dealing with grumpy young ladies." Layla laughed, before realizing what she'd just said. She did her best to ignore it in the hope that the young elf wouldn't take it as an insult. "I'm Layla, nice to meet you. Honestly, I cant say I'm too used to interacting with dragons..." She continued, glancing over at Khepri with an air of wonder. The dragon seemed to immediately catch on, and raised his head heroically as if posing for an audience.

"Khepri thanks madam Layla for her kind words." he said, before getting nudged in the neck by a slightly displeased Sol.

"Well thank you too Khepri, but I wouldn't exactly call myself a 'madam' or anything like that. I'm not exactly any kind of high born like the others." She laughed, amused by the pride the dragon took in his introduction. She couldn't help but notice the interesting relationship the two had. She'd always imagined dragons to be regal and imposing, and while it would be an insult to deny Khepri the first of those two descriptions, he certainly wasn't as intimidating as she'd imagined a dragon to be. He was...friendly. She glanced down at the elf, who seemed considerably more distant than her dragon. "So if you guys don't mind me asking, what is it like having this...'special bond' that you have? I've been wanting to ask Max for a while now, but hardly ever seems to see his dragon."

For a moment, Sol and Khepri exchanged a confused glance, unsure of how to answer her. "Well..." Khepri said, scratching his head.

"Well, the best way to explain it would be to call it a link." Sol began. "Imagine having a voice-"

"A particularly dashing voice!" Khepri added.

"-in your mind, and you can converse with it back and forth. And when the bearer of the voice feels something, you feel it as well. I'm sure your friend Max must have mentioned it at some point." Sol said.

"Max is the young man who joined us last, yes?" Khepri asked. "Him and the -heh- gecko." the dragon chuckled.

Layla blinked a few times, taking the moment to consider what Khepri had just said. "Well...they left quite early, but I don't imagine there are too many 14 year old riders, so yeah that's probably him. I'm pretty lost as to what you mean by gecko though." She titled her head slightly as she uttered the last part."Max has brought up his strange connection to Taragon a few times though, which is why I thought I may ask you guys. He says it's...cloudy. Whenever Taragon isn't around he can hear his voice echoing, and he said he has these strange dreams, but he's not allowed to say what they're about. It's...strange." She continued. She began to noticed herself wavering in her conviction as she repeated the word strange multiple times. Perhaps she should've just come out and asked those two to help him out, but she had said she'd let him do the mission alone.

"...dreams?" Sol asked, confused. As far as I know, the extent of our link has only been while awake. "Is that true, Khepri?"

The dragon looked away in fake innocence. "Khepri knows nothing of this, he is only a few months of age! How should I know about being able to access dreams without you knowing? Bah, ridiculous concept! Poor Max's case is quite peculiar then." he said, purposely avoiding Sol's eyes as she squinted at him in suspicion.

"That is quite perplexing. Are you family member of his?" Sol asked.

"No, I'm not. Both his brother and sister are here at Pharus, but I'm a friend of Za...just a family friend." Layla responded with a sigh. "You think this dream thing could become a problem? He's going out on a mission today, and if his connection with his dragon isn't working to it's full effect..." She began before again trailing off.

"Khepri assures madam Layla that young master Max will be safe. Despite the... humorous nickname, his powers as a dragon are likely enough to protect him." Khepri reassured her. "If there is anything we can do to help however, please do let us know." he added, to which Sol smiled and nodded.

"Ummm..." She began as she pondered the thought she'd had when in Max's room. "Well I would be inclined to agree with you there, but I don't really know what Taragon is capable of. To be completely honest, I've never even met the dragon. Taragon's been missing since the first day we got here." She ended with a sigh. "I don't know if this is too much to ask...but if you guys could go with him to make sure everything goes alright, I'd appreciate it. I kind of told him he could go on his own, so if you could be discreet about it, I'd really appreciate that too." She chuckled awkwardly.

Before Sol had the time to say anything, Khepri nodded enthusiastically. "Why, certainly! There is no way we could allow a young boy venture on his own on any sort of perilous mission... We would be extremely pleased to help you in that regard. Yes, mistress Sol?" Khepri asked, turning to his rider.

Sol pursed her lips and slowly nodded in agreement, holding back what she was going to say. "We... yes, we'd be glad to. What mission has Max undertaken?" Khepri, do you have any idea what you are agreeing to here?! she screamed at him internally.

"Thank you, Khepri." Layla beamed, pleased to see the dragon's enthusiasm. Her excitement was slightly stifled by Sol's question, but needn't let it deter her. The princess hadn't said no after all. "He's joining a group of scouts who've found a mysterious sinkhole. Who knows what they'll be finding down there." She shrugged.

"Oh, a sinkhole, you say...?" Sol mused. "I think I heard of that mission, though it isn't the one we signed up for-"

"We can fix that!" Khepri exclaimed, looking around. "Young master Cyril should be around here somewhere. Ah, there he is - right on cue." the dragon motioned at the bodyguard, who had just entered the dining hall with a scroll.

Sol let out a little sigh of desperation, and turned to him. "Cyril, we've changed our mind - you can put the diplomatic mission back up, we'll be going for the sinkhole mission instead, the one you mentioned a while back. And please hurry!" She watched as the bodyguard nodded in confirmation and hurried back to the notice board.

"Wonderful!" Khepri said, turning to Layla. "You can be assured now, madam Layla, that your - ah - family friend will be in safe hands."

"I cant thank you two enough." She admitted, bowing her head. "If there's anything I can do for you guys in return, feel free to let me know." She hopped up with a spring in her step and took a deep sigh of relief. Without even having taken a bite of her buttered bread, she headed out to Pharus town.

A joint post of Foxrally and Shak

Oddball_ · May 31, 2016

Xurik Alminé and Hahdrim
The werewolf howls at midnight I

"Who the hell does that old Scallywag think he is telling me what to do." Xurik pouted as he walked through through the village of new Pharus.

"You should respect your elders. Besides, I suspect while aiding this town does help him, it is also beneficial to you." Hahdrim sighed as she soared through the sky above them. The villagers seemed to stare, perhaps they had yet to get used to the sight of dragons flying the skies above them.

"Avert yer eyes or i'll let her eat ye ya filthy landlubbers!" Xurik growled as he took a long swig from the filthy metal canteen tied around his neck. As he did so the villagers scattered into the various shells of buildings and into alleyways.

"Now you see there Hahdrim? Thats the kind of look a dragon should recieve, not that shock and awe bollocks that the old man keeps ranting about. Old twat probably fried his brain sitting alone in that castle for nine thousand years or whatever." Xurik explained, pointing towards the fleeing civilians.

The dragon emitted a wave of annoyance at the dark elf as he strode through the alleys of scaffolding and spare rope. This continued until they reached a the mission board.

"Make sure to read each job carefu- you've litterally grabbed the first one you saw." Hahdrim groaned as Xurik tore the topmost job off of the board.

Some of the villagers have been getting a little antsy over some odd growling during the night. In my new position, it is my duty to undertake this task and investigate, however... I fear werewolves may be the cause, judging by the signs and a recent decrease in cattle there's at least two, maybe three. I must keep the villagers safe at night, the crafty creatures would strike should I leave them unguarded. I beseech you, my Lords and ladies, please put a stop to this menace.
- Alton Yarandel, Captain of the Pharus Guard.

"Hunting werewolves? Filthy bilge rats, have at em I say." Xurik grunted as he stuffed the job into his jacket.

"We should go see if Krotan has any siver weapons. I believe I read that you need to use silver on werewolves in 'On Goblins and Griffins - Nobilis' wildlife'" Hahdrim noted.

"How do you... You are a strange beast." Xurik scoffed as he began heading back to the castle.

"Do you have any of them silvery weapon things. Them landlubbers be needing some help with some werewolves or something." Xurik called as he burst into the banquet room, throwing open the doors.

"In the armory down the hall yes, I'm glad to here you are aiding the village. Its good to see you embracing the heroic path that destiny has set for you." Krotan responded calmly through a bread and cheese sandwhich.

"What? Oh i'm just doing it for the bounty. I mean I assume theres a bounty right. Who in the black seas posts jobs without the prospect of payment." Xurik called as he walked out of the room.

The armory wasn't locked, which suprised Xurik as he walked in. Perhaps the old man didn't expect any of his riders to try and steal things.

"You won't be stealing anything, he's already offered to let you use a silver weapon, find one and lets go hunt down these werewolves." Hahdrim grunted.

"Don't tell me what to do you big oversized lizard. Once a pirate always a pirate." Xurik muttered as he grabbed a box from a shelf in the back of the room.

"Oh this could be fun." He muttered as he pulled out a pouch filled with long silver coated bolts.

"We could fly around and rain death from above. I approve of anything that would keep you out of the fires of battle." Hahdrim noted.

"Alrighty then. Lets go hunt us a werewolf." Xurik said as tucked the pouch of bolts into his belt and grabbed a crossbow from the wall.

Dusty · Jun 1, 2016

Little one, we are here, said Morenth as Idora groggily stirred from her sleep. She yawned and stretched, joints in her back popping as she did so. Sleeping on a dragon might have been made somewhat easy because of the straps holding her in place, but that by no means made it comfortable. Now sitting upright in the saddle, she looked around to see only clouds below her, and she was about to question whether or not they had actually arrived when the dragon flew over a break in the clouds, revealing the castle far below them, a dark smudge on the ground from their height. Morenth dove through the gap in the clouds and began a lazy spiral down towards the ground, taking her time.

The two didn't speak until they were about a thousand feet from the ground, when Morenth asked, So what now? What would you like to do now that we have returned?

Idora thought for a moment, trying to remember if there was anything that needed doing urgently. The pair had left late the previous evening for their short journey to resupply, and there hadn't been anything urgent going on at the time that had required their attention. Well, she started, We might as well check the notice board to see if there are any new missions for us. If I remember correctly, not all of them had been completed as of yesterday afternoon, so there may still be some that need doing.

Morenth blew a puff of smoke from her nostrils which went over the dragon's head and squarely into Idora's face, making her eyes water. That sounds like something you can do yourself. Doesn't seem like much point in my being there other than to draw attention to us. Would you like me to drop you off there?

No, I think I should drop off some of the gear we brought first at our room. No point in carrying all of it around when I don't need it. I'll just walk from the castle to there, it'll be good to stretch my legs. The dragon agreed the continued her spiral, now angling towards the castle and to where their room was. Minutes later she touched down on the balcony that led to their room, her sharp claws clicking on the stone flooring. Idora clambered out of the saddle, unhooking her pack from the side of it and carefully placing it on the ground before undoing the many straps on the saddle.

After the saddle was free, Morenth rolled her shoulders and flexed her body a bit. Ah, it feels good to have that thing off. It gets kind of itchy after a while. She yawned and grumbled, I'm going to sleep. Wake me if something...interesting happens.[/I] Idora smiled and went about her work. The saddle was placed on a wooden peg protruding from the wall designed for the purpose, and Idora went about the task of undoing her pack and storing all the various blades she had purchased. Some of them went on her person, having lost a good number of her throwing blades to the salamander a few days ago, and she happily retired her twin short swords which had started to chip and wear after their extended use for her new sturdier blades instead.

Leaving the sleeping dragon behind, she softly opened the door and closed it equally as softly before making her way down the many stairs to the main hall of the castle, and from there, the exit. The town had surprisingly grown quite a bit in the last few days. Apparently a few of the other riders had rescued a group of townspeople nearby of a gang of ravaging goblins, and some sort of demonic leader. The displaced townspeople seemed to have eagerly moved into the town surrounding Pharus Castle, and already portions of the broken and once abandoned town looked to be teeming with life and already in a state of respectable repair.

Unfortunately, with the townspeople came having to interact with them, not one of Idora's favorite past times. She had left her signature black cloak back in her room, instead donning a plain brown one. She also left the hood down. She had heard the townspeople whispering about the 'hooded rider', so it seemed sensible to not use it around them. Let them have their persona of who she was, maybe it would help her get around the town without having to deal with some of the annoyances of rider worship she had seen so far. It seemed that some of the people really thought of the riders as gods, or at least the messengers of them. She scoffed at the idea, but it still made it irritating dealing with people who wanted your blessing or such. Scratch that up as another good reason not to have Morenth around while about the town.

She primarily took alleys and backways through the city on her way to the noticeboard, enjoying the challenge climbing over some of the uncleared debris brought her. It wasn't like it used to be, before she had become a rider, where she would scale buildings and have free reign over the city from the rooftops, but it still made her feel slightly better and reminiscent of the old days. Not that the old days had much happiness in them though.

Eventually she came to where the notice board was. As she was about to come out of the alleyway that opened up to the square that held the board, she paused and tucked herself against the wall of the house and peeked her head around just enough to see three people standing at the notice board, other than the villagers which milled about the square going about their daily activities of repairing the town. She questioned why exactly she was being so sneaky, especially when nobody here was her enemy, but she pushed that feeling down. At the notice board was Maxwell, the young rider with the moody dragon, as well as a taller man that Idora had seen accompany the boy, although she didn't know his name. The most familiar figure there was Flynn though. It seemed the three of them were having some sort of conversation, but Idora couldn't hear what the conversation was about. The wind was flowing east to west, and being from the north their words didn't carry to her.

After a few moments, the boy and his bodyguard, or whatever he was, walked off leaving Flynn alone at the board. Shrugging to herself, she padded out the alley and onto the smooth cobblestone of the square. Her soft leather boots hardly made a sound as she walked over to the board, a byproduct of the years of training she had gone through. Halfway there a grin stretched onto her face as an idea came to her, and she carefully removed a dagger from her belt, the blade hardly making a sound as it came free. She kept it hidden within her cloak until Flynn, still not having noticed her was only a few feet away. She took the last few steps, coming just up onto his left side and pressing the point of the dagger against his back.

"You're not a very good thief, are you?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice. "It seems a miracle nobody else has slipped a dagger between your ribs already! You're lucky I'm such a merciful person," she grinned as she put the dagger back in its sheath and spun around, leaning against the notice board and asked, "What's on your mind spider?"

Sir Bastian · Jun 3, 2016

Spider

Flynn & Idora

As he felt the tip of the blade against his back, Flynn froze instantly. A moment later, as Idora walked past him in order to lean on the noticeboard, he breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, wrinkling his nose at her. "-Very- funny. For the record, I've... got my mind in other places right now." He glanced down at the paper in his hand before glancing back up at her with a quirked brow. "'Spider'"?

"Hmm, very well, although you still let your guard down." Not that the city was particularly dangerous, or than anyone would dare attack a rider. "As for the spider, its just a nickname for thieves in a lot of the cities I've worked in. Or often enough a guild as well." She waved her hand dismissively, "Anyway, what's on your mind then?"

Blinking, Flynn looked down at the paper, which he then raised into the air. "Oh, uh, this. New mission. Apparently the tournament to crown a king is going to be happening soon. Looks like Durak has someone in mind who'd be happy with the Riders being around, but- well, you can read it yourself." He offered the folded paper out to her.

Taking the paper she read through it, skimming it first, then rereading it more thoroughly. The grand tournament. She'd always thought the tournament a farce, knowing the political scheming that went on behind the scenes, although even more farcical was chosing a king based purely on skill with a blade. Regardless, it was something they were innevitably going to have to meddle in it seemed. She had hoped the riders would remain more impartial than this when it came to politics, but she could see now she was deceiving herself.

"I see then. Our leader wants one of us to meddle a bit in the tournament." She gave a sly smile to the man, "Or perhaps two. I think this kind of task lends itself to numbers."

Returning the smile, Flynn raised a hand to rub the back of his head, shifting his stance slightly. "Yeah, I was kind of thinking the same thing. I've... gone through my fair share of lying, or as my father would call it, 'acting', so I should be alright. But if we want to successfully -do- anything here, two pairs of eyes see more than just one, right?" Giving Idora a small look of what might be concern, he placed his hands on his hips. "Although... is it a good idea for you to show up in the city again? I mean, me being there's already stretching it, but..."

"I wouldn't be concerned about it. Nobody there would recognize me. The only person who knew what I actually looked like helped me get out, he wouldn't turn me in. The rest of them are all pretty much dead. Or might as well be." She thought for a moment, staring at him. "You...might be a problem though. You only left recently, so some will surely still know your face. Perhaps we could dye your hair or something. Whatever we do will have to be quick, so no growing a beard or anything..."

Flynn let out a brief, surprised laugh. "A beard? I don't think a beard would suit me anyway. But... I'm guessing we'll be getting some sort of disguise. I mean..." He looked down at the loose, white shirt and regular old brown pants he was wearing. "... This doesn't look very 'princely'." Looking up again, he tilted his head to the side. "What'll your story be, then?"

"Well, I guess one of two things makes sense. To work together we'll have to appear to be together as well. Which either means one is a servant and the other a lady or lord, or we are husband and wife." She wore a mock grimace for a moment, "Don't take that the wrong way thief. I have morals!" She chuckled slightly, then went on, "Either way it makes more sense for me to be of the upper class, seeing as how I've actually been trained to blend in with them. Right?"

"Pfft. -Thanks-." He replied, rolling his eyes, lips curling into a smile. It'd been a while since he'd had anyone proper to talk to like this. Furrowing his brow, he nodded slowly before shrugging. "I've gone through my share of interacting with noblemen to be able to pull one off, but I can see where you're coming from. Honestly, I'm not that bothered either way. As long as the job gets done, right?"

"Right. I guess the more interesting thing is how to go about it. We could either try to sway this Lord Darwon, or rig the competition to make his champion lose." She thought for a moment weighing the options, then asked, "Do you have any ideas? I might have a few, but it depends..."

Folding his arms across his chest, Flynn tilted his head back to stare into the bright-blue, slightly cloudy sky. "Mrrh... considering the guy he's facing off against seems to have gotten all the superior weaponry and armor, I doubt trying to make him lose is going to work. With a bit of guile and some fake planted evidence, though..." He trailed off, looking down at her with a knowing raise of his brow.

"That could work..." She thought about anything that could frame the man of some crime. It was pretty much no holds barred in the tournament. Enchanted armor and weapons were technically not allowed, but everyone secretly used them anyway and nobody cared. Not much else could get one kicked out of the arena, but outside of the arena... "Were you thinking murder? Or some other slightly lesser crime?"

"Let's not resort to the most drastic thing, if we can avoid it." Flynn smiled sheepishly, waving a hand to the side. "I think we should head there, and get a lay of the land before we make any detailed plans. For now, we should just be a princess and her servant visiting and... mingling. How's that sound?"

"That sounds like it'll work. And you being a servant could work out. They have pretty much free reign anywhere, and nobody questions a servant going about their master's business." She smiled, finally having a task that got her back in her element. Morenth wasn't going to be very pleased, but to hell with it. This is what she was good at. "So then, when shall we leave?"

"I guess as soon as we've gotten our disguises and everything's set up. Oh, uh... that might be a while though, if word needs to be given to Durak's contact in the city and all." He scratched his cheek, glancing off before looking back again. "And, erh. I did sort of promise you to talk to you about my past, which I kind of neglected. But in my defense, two of us nearly died that day!"

Idora nodded, "I heard. Which, by the way, I'm glad you're not dead, and that's a compliment coming from me." She looked up at the sun, just a little after noon it seemed. "Its probably too late to leave today, and we'll probably end up preparing tomorrow as well so I suppose we do have some time." She grimaced, realizing something. "I'm going to have to get a dress. Or two. Great, just great."

Flynn caught himself briefly tracing his gaze up and down her form at the mention of a dress, before shaking his head. "... I'm sure you'll be fine, regardless of what you have to wear. But, if you want to, I suppose we could head up to either of our rooms and I could tell you whatever you wanted to know?"

"Yeah, we could do that. Morenth is sleeping in my room right now. Is yours okay?"

"Just fine! It's a bit dull, though. Not all that fancy, just kind of... homely, I guess. And Ferrus is... well, who knows what Ferrus is doing." He received a brief sensation of eating, which he shrugged off with a shake of his head.

"That's fine by me," she responded. "I've never been one for anything fancy. Shall we then?" she said, turning away from the noticeboard and starting to walk back to the castle.

It was a, by now, fairly familiar, relatively short walk through the castle, until they found themselves in the circular dormitory. Flynn unlocked and pushed open his door, offering the opening to Idora with a light smile. "There you are. I think there's-" He paused, peering into the room. "Yeah, there's a table and a couple of chairs."

Idora took the offered door, walking into Flynn's room and taking a quick look around. It was actually quite similar to her own in the construction. A larger center room complete with a bed fit for a dragon as well as some personal annemities for the rider, then a small room off to one side complete with desk and bed. Practically identical to Idora's room it seemed, aside from some miscellaneous things here or there.

She walked over to the table, pulling one chair out and seating herself while Flynn closed the door, then he joined her at the table. "Well, shall I start or shall you?"

Grabbing a pitcher of water on a small side table, along with two cups, he moved over to place both down on the table before having himself a seat. "Whatever you feel for, really." He paused for a moment, before blinking. "Oh, uh, Ferrus might be joining us soon."

"All right, that sounds good." She thought for a moment, then said, "Well why don't you start. It seems you know at least a little about me, but I know almost nothing about you."

Breathing out slowly, Flynn poured himself a cup of water, which he had a brief swig from. "Mrgh. Where to start? Alright, so... Dominic Cooper. Does that name ring any bells with you?"

"More than a few actually," she responded with a tinge of distaste in her voice. "Leader of the Rat Guild in Regalia. With as much influence as he has, he might as well be king of the criminal underworld. Master thief, effective leader and from what I've seen is ruthless to top it all off." She paused, then added, "At least, thats what I know about him. Never met him personally though, so I might be wrong."

"Heh, well... you're not far off. Sounds pretty spot-on, even. Not to mention all the contacts he's got out in the various cities..." Flynn wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "But, yeah the 'king of the underworld'...? That would be my father." He smiled sheepishly, reaching a hand out to her. "Flynn Cooper. Nice to meet you."

Idora sat stunned for moment, not sure exactly what to say. "Well thats...huh..." She had never heard the man's last name until now, and the revelation was honestly quite shocking. "I guess that makes you heir to the underworld then, and yet somehow you end up here." She shook her head, "Like I said at the first dinner when we arrived here, we are who we are, our pasts don't matter any more than who we are now. Flynn Cooper, its a pleasure to meet you," she said, taking his hand and shaking it, "and I can say this much, I don't believe you are your father's son."

As Idora shook his hand, Flynn leaned back in his chair with a smile, rolling his shoulders briefly. "I sure hope not. My father's... enigmatic and ruthless. I'd like to think that I'm as far from that as can be. But... thank you, Idora. Means alot to hear someone say that."

"I can't imagine having to grow up in that man's shadow, how you even ended up being a sane human being, no offense." She searched for the right words a moment before asking, "What exactly was it like having to grow up in his guild? And how did you get out? He isn't the kind of man to just let people walk out on him."

"It was..." Flynn wrinkled his nose, looking for the words, tapping a finger against the cup. "He was grooming me to basically be his right hand man. He had me go through training and do all kinds of jobs with him and his crew. Not all of them were terrible, but... a far majority were horrible people. Not that they'd do anything to me, being the 'Boss' son' and all." He rolled his eyes. "And I didn't exactly just 'walk' out. That's wh-"

Just then, the room shook briefly, as Ferrus had landed on the open balcony. He rumbled pleasantly as he moved inside, golden eyes gliding from Flynn, over to Idora. "... Wasn't until this guy came into my life I had a real way of getting out of there."

Ferrus seemed pleased with the would-be praise and slumped down in the middle of the floor, head resting on top of his legs as he briefly licked his chops, watching the two. "You are not very good at keeping secrets, Flynn." he mentally spoke to the other two in the room. Flynn shrugged his shoulders. "Can't build a relationship without trust, right?"

"Sometimes trusting others with secrets is the best thing to do, even when its hard." She smiled at Ferrus the large dragon still seeming even more imposing that Morenth. "That is," she added, "as long as they are your own secrets to share." Getting back to the topic at hand, she said, "So Ferrus was your ticket out? Did your father find out about him? I would think you would want to keep that a secret..."

"I can -imagine- he found out about him after I left. A dragon flying out of the human capital isn't something that you can sort of glance over. And with his prized son gone as well... well, my father's not stupid. He'd been... suspicious of something going on, prior to me escaping, too."

"So going back there for this mission is pretty risky then. I'm not sure even your father is crazy enough to act out against the dragon riders, but you never know." Then she asked hesitantly, are you sure you actually want to go through with this? Even with a disguise?"

"You definitely never know." He muttered glumly, having another sip of water. He blinked a little, glancing over at her before furrowing his brows, shifting a little in his chair, his gaze diverting. "It's... sneaking, lying and stealing are the only things I can really... do. Diplomacy, fighting giant beasts in the country side? I can't do that." He paused, glancing towards Ferrus, who was simply watching the two quietly, occasionally flicking his tail. "Yet, at least. I want to help. And this is a good way of helping. Even if it's dangerous."

He tossed her a glance and raised a brow with an amused smirk. "Although you're one to talk about not wanting to go through with something just because it's dangerous. Pretending to be foreign royalty isn't exactly a breeze either. Sure you'd not rather stay back here and have a nap?"

"Ha, as if!" She laughed sardonically. "If there is one thing I cant stand, it's leaving things to others and doing nothing myself. I guess I sort of have...trust issues. Can't leave things for others to do without meddling myself if you get what I mean." She thought back to her previous life, "Its been a long time since I had to work with anybody, so I'm used to doing things myself. There's no way you're leaving me behind."

"Doing nothing can be quite a rewarding experience." Ferrus commented in a rumble, causing Flynn to glance over at the dragon, shaking his head. "Well, I don't think I'd want it any other way." Flynn offered her a smile before shifting in his seat. "Right, anything else? Might as well get it all out now, yeah?"

"Well, thats a lot to process I think. I'n not sure-" She was interupted in her mind as the sound of Morenth echoed through her head. If we are to leave for this mission, you had better get ready Idora. You seem rather...unprepared for this.

And I thought you were asleep. That being said, she did have plenty to do. She did want to know more about the man, but there would be more time for that later. "As much as I would like to continue this, I do believe I have things to attend to, particularly getting prepared for the trip." She smiled at the man, "Perhaps we can talk more on the journey to Regalia."

"... Actually yeah, I should probably be getting some things ready as well." He stretched his arms out over his head before pushing himself to a stand. "But, erh, I hope I sated your curiosity, even for a short while, Idora." He paused to breathe out slowly through his nose. "It's... really nice to talk about this to someone."

"Definitely!" Standing up and pushing her chair in, she said, "Well, anytime you want to do this again, let me know. I'd like to talk more." She walked over to the door an opened it, letting herself out. Before closing the door, she said, "Let me know when you're ready to go. I might be out, but Morenth should be around for the next day or so." And with that she was gone, the door closing softly behind her.

Once Idora had closed the door, Flynn fiddled a little with one of his sleeves, glancing over at Ferrus. The dragon's mouth was curled into a smile, making the Rider narrow his eyes. Despite the mental connection, all he felt was Ferrus' usual amusement. "... What? It -was- nice to talk about things I can't talk to anyone else about. And I feel like she sort of... understands where I'm coming from."

The dragon of iron slowly stood up, shaking his body slightly, tail giving a small flick as he met Flynn's gaze. "I did not say a thing, Flynn."

Flynn grunted and waved his hand in the air dismissively, turning back to head into his personal quarters. As much as Idora needed to prepare, he did, too.

GreyBidoof · Jun 3, 2016

Gamvar Ironfist
&
Grom-Duraz
in

Falling Feline

The ride to Yaltan was a long one, giving Gamvar and Grom some itme to reflect on the events of the past three days. Certainly much had happened, with the riders out questing, and returning with grand tales to tell of monsters, undead, and dark knights.

"And yet somehow, the dragon of strength and his dwarven companion only return with a stray kitten. " Grom was clearly still sulking over what, in his mind, was a missed oppurtunity.

The dwarf laughed heartily, as he so often did. "Ah, Grom, ye be always look at things for how much glory shall be had. It be tasks like those that show the people that the riders be thar ta help them, and nae ta just slay whatever monsters and magicks pop up."

The dragon snorted, sending sand flying back into his rider's face. "Be that as it may, I am not certain that the residents we're impressed by your handling of the situation."

Gamvar's face began to take on the shade of rose quartz. "What be ye tryin' ta say, ye babblin' beard-shavin' sewer rat? We saved that poor cat, with nae a scratch on 'im!"

If dragon's could smirk, Grom's expression would be mirroring one. "Your 'saving' invlolved several fruitless attempts to climb the tree, becoming frustrated, an abundance of swearing, and proceeding to chop it down with your axe, nearly demolishing a building in the process. It was only by my intervention that the creature, and the structure, was unharmed."

The dwarf's face had darkened to brilliant ruby hue. "Dwarves nae be meant ta climb trees! And some help ye were, only steppin' in at tha end. I swear, for a dragon, ye be tha laziest, nitpickin' elf-kissin' thumb-basher-"

Grom interrupted the Rider's rant. "And while you may not have done the most graceful of jobs, the fact remains that you showed the people of Pharus that the Great and Noble Dragon Riders are not above coming to help rescue a stray kitten stuck in a tree. This is worth commending."

Gamvar halted, and took in the dragon's copmliment. A few moments of silence passed.

"..... HAhaha, Grom, ye big lug. Looks like we're nae doin' too bad after all. And by tha way, that was a nice catch ye made. Too bad we had ta leave tha poor thin' at tha castle. Maybe someone will keep 'im company while we're gone?"

As the dragon and dwarf continued to converse about the events of the previous few days, they drew closer and closer to their destination, and to their next adventure...

Oddball_ · Jun 5, 2016

Xurik Alminé and Hahdrim
Chapter 2: The werewolf howls at midnight II

Xurik leaned against a tree and pulled a small flask from beneath his coat.

"Well this is taking longer than I figured. Bloody scallywags are hiding in the ground I think." Xurik grumbled as he took a drink of whatever swill he had stored in the flask.

"I don't feel like there are any minds that do not belong. I do not suspect that the wolves ar-" Hahdrim had started, her form floating through the sky far above him.

"YEEEOOOOWW" A burly voice roared, his voice scaring a set of ravens from the trees.

Xurik began running towards the sound, cutlass held upside down in his hand as he dashed through the ancient trees. As he darts out of the treeline into a clearing he sees a burly dwarvern man slinging a glass globe towards a strange beast like creature.

"When I said I like it when they use their teeth this is not what I meant!" The dwarf howled as the glass globe smashed against the wolfy creature splattering it with an oily green liquid that seemed to eat through the creatures fur in an instant.

"'ave no fear, Cavalry's 'ere." Xurik hollered as he dashed forward and slashed the back of the melting creatures knees, toppling it to the ground as it tried to frantically scrape the acid off of its face.

"Whats going on Xurik?" Hahdrim mentally shouted, her voice filled with confusion. As she shouted Xurik noted that it sounded as if she was many meters farther away than she was in reality.

Unbeknownst to Xurik, a second and third wolf creature were hiding in the bushes, and pounced out as they became aware that their ally was in danger. The first swiping at the drunk pirates blade, knocking it away and the second leaping at the dwarf a fluffy of claws and fangs.

Xurik grunted in frustration as he felt the wolfs teeth pry his blade from his hands and send it flying acrost the clearing.

The first werewolf sunk its teeth into the dwarf, tearing a chunk out of the mans side, blood pouring from the wound.

The second wolf, having torn the cutlass away from Xurik leaped forwards again to try and tear out the dark elf's throat with its mouthful of sharp teeth.

The dwarf grunted and swung his mace wildly, he couldn't fend off the barage of blows that the werewolf was attacking him with.

Reacting purely on instinct, Xurik quicky whipped the crossbow off of his back and fired a bolt into the skull of the nearby wolfman, the impact site frothing with a strange black foam as the creature falls to the ground twitching as the ground around it began to become a puddle of blood and foam.

As the wolf turned for a split second to see the downfall of its ally, the dwavern man gained the advantage that it needed and swung his mace into the side of the werewolf, sending it flying into a nearby tree, the sound of its bones cracking echoing around the clearing.

The orginal wolf weakly stood on its feet, its face a bubbled mess, and leaped at Xurik with surprising agility for something so damaged. It pinned him against a tree and its disgusting breath spattered all over the dark elfs face.

In a split second reaction, Xurik seemed to tap into some well of power inside of him. He heard Hahdrim roar proudly from above, her voice echoing louder than he had ever heard it, and suddenly he felt the werewolf that was pinning him down shudder and fall to the ground as a flying cutlass tore clean through its head and lodged itself in the tree beside Xurik. "What in davy jones locker was that..." He wheezed as he kicked the wolfs corpse aside and pulled his sword from the tree.

"Ow! So meansies! Just hungry! My big brothers will come eat you!" The wolf whom had been batted into the tree whined in a strange growly voice.

As the werewolf spoke, Both Xurik and the dwarf turned to look at the strange wolf creature. Hahdrim flew overhead and cast a giant shadow on the clearing before crashing to the ground and looking curiously at the creature.

"Why you looking me?" The wolfman asked curiously, apparently oblivious to the fact that a dragon had just appeared before it.

"Something has boosted this creatures intelligence. The magic that must be involved is very powerful." Hahdrim noted, stomping her way forward and sniffing the creature. The werewolf eyed her curiously but didn't react, possibly because a giant scaled head full of teeth that was almost twice the size of its head was very near it.

"Is that a... uh... dragon?" The dwarf asked curiously, with a grunt as he popped his shoulder back into socket and strapped his mace to his belt.

"Indeed dwarf. I am Hahdrim, the dragon of mind and memory. It is a pleasure to meet you master dwarf." The purple-blue dragon projected as it turned and nodded its head.

"An actual dragon... do you like ale?" The dwarf asked suddenly as if hit with an idea.

At the mention of ale, Xurik perked his ears up and turned to look at the dwarvern man before him. "Ale you say?"

"What ale is?" The werewolf asked curiously.

As the werewolf spoke, cogs began to turn in the dwarvern mans head and he turned towards the dark elf before him.

"I'm working on repairing the old inn back in Pharus... Stop by during the grand opening and drinks are on me alright mate? But I do need to ask a favor..." The dwarf grunted, trying to tie a piece of cloth around the missing chunk of his abdomen.

"I should fly us back to Pharus, master dwarf appears to need medical treatment. That and i'm sure Alton would like to see... the werewolf. I don't know if you would be able to interogate him, but the fact that he is aware of himself and not just a murder machine is very interesting." Hahdrim noted to herself mostly.

"Yes the wolf... I don't want him killed. I think he could proof rather useful in my... research. Should we tie him up or..." The dwarf mused, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

Hahdrim snorted, releasing a cloud of strange smoke that seemed to flow around the wolf before eventually being inhaled.

"He won't be a..." Hahdrim stopped as the creature began to twitch and convulse. "Damnit! Whatever this magic inside him is its strong... But I will not be defeated! The mind is my domain and I will NOT tolerate any imposters!"

Xurik watched this all in awe and amazement, set his hands on Hahdrim who was staring the wolf creature down. As he did so he felt a similar surge in power as he had before and realized that the whole "bond of the rider" nonesense that the old man had been rambling on about actually had some validity too it.

Suddenly the same swarm like smoke that had entered the wolf flowed out of his nose, however this time it seemed darker. As the swarm entered the open air it seemed to disperse, leaving the werewolf cleansed of whatever had been corrupting him.

"I... do not know what it was that was able to put such a strong spell upon the young wolf, but it is clear to me that now that he is sentient and the darkness that was fueling his anger and hatred is gone, I do not believe that he will be a threat any longer." Hahdrim noted quietly.

"Well then I suppose we should head back to Pharus then. Fikras by the way, Fikras Alemaker." The dwarf said as he climbed onto the dragons back.

"Xurik Alminé... now you were saying something about ale? You wouldn't happen to have any on you now would you?" Xurik said as he climbed ontop as well, dragging the werewolf, which was barely conscious and not resisting in the slightest.

"Well I suppose since you did just save me and all." Fikras said as he dug through his bag, trying not to tear his bandaging.

"Don't encourage him." Hahdrim sighed as she flapped her wings and they soared into the sky, leaving two bloody wolf corpses behind them.

They had been flying for several minutes and Xurik and Fikras were both enjoying the delights of drunken flying, with Hahdrim having to remind Xurik what had happened last time.

"Say Hahdri... do you ever get the feeling like you forgot something really really important, but like, no matter how many times you circle the seven seas in your head you just can't remember?" Xurik said through hiccups and drunken slurs.

"I am the dragon of mind and memory, I do not forget things Xurik." Hahdrim stated simply as she stretched out her wings and glided through the air.

"My big brothers will come eat you!" The werewolves voice echoed over and over again, burried so deep within Xurik's drunken subconscious that not even Hahdrim was able to hear.

LinearAxel · Jun 5, 2016

Lyra Aldavaul

Is it finished? Lorelai asks as she peers into the bedroom from the balcony; bathing her scales in the morning sunlight.

"Almost. One more stitch." Lyra replies, her head hung low and staring intently at a collection of material draped over her lap. "Just weave this through here, one more time and…done!" The elven rider smiles victoriously after pulling the loose thread from the fabric. She holds a small section of what appears to be a very large quilt over her chest for Lorelai to see.

Once the dark knight was defeated, and the people of Redford began packing their remaining things in order to move to the safer (less obliterated) town, Lyra had followed, helping where she could, and collecting scraps of clothing and materials that were destroyed beyond use. Once they returned to the castle, she took those charred bits of cloth and material and cut out any and every scrap that wasn't charred, or bloodied, and fashioned those materials into a quilt. "Do you think they'll like it?"

I do. They would, at the very least, appreciate that the lives they lost were being honored by the riders. Albeit, this was a blanket that was going to be far too precious to be used as a blanket, making it a not-so practical gift. Perhaps she herself was too young to understand sentimental value, or perhaps dragons, as a whole, did not understand such a concept. She would have to see what her brothers and sisters were like when it came to such things.

"I'll fold this up, then we can go." New assignments were placed on the board today, so it was time to make another short flight to the town.
Still no breakfast?

"No breakfast." Lyra nodded as she folded the quilt down to a manageable size. She smiles to herself as she slips it into her traveling bag. They would offer this gift to the people of the town upon its completely revival. Safely tucked away, she heads for her wall to gather weapons.

Lorelai makes an audible sigh. Certain that would be the answer, she had ventured out to gather her own food over an hour ago, which would...hopefully benefit Lyra in some way.

If nothing else, Lyra's movements around the room are a great deal more certain than they were when she prepared for the first mission. It takes little time at all for her to put on her armor, gather weapons and tack Lorelai. "Alright~ Let's set sail."

The dragon lets out a displeased hmph at the phrase (she is no boat), but speaks no words as her little rider eases onto her neck. Massive wings unfold from her back, and the two ascend skyward.

The flight is as short as ever, with only minutes in the air before the duo arrive at their post. "I hope the kitten made it out of that tree okay." Lyra remarks as she dismounts from her dragon.

With all the people brought to this city, I'm certain someone managed to tame the tiny creature. Of all the missions to past missions to give thought to right now, was that truly the right one? Lorelai supposed Lyra wouldn't be Lyra if she didn't think so.

Lyra approaches the board with a great deal less hesitation than during their first visit. She's scanning through the different parchments when several words catch her eye: Remnants, goblins, Redford . It's this paper that now has her full attention. They didn't manage to slay every goblin…maybe not that surprising, as hundreds did swarm the town…yet Lyra can't help the swelling of guilt that rises in her chest. She took responsibility for those goblins, and she can't let some remnants of their vile pack free to cause more carnage. "Colder and windier…that won't be a problem for us."

And the Gryphon?

"If there was a gryphon, there wouldn't be goblins." Territorial beasts, gryphons. Either these goblins were smart enough to kill it, proving they did withhold some knowledge, or it really is nothing more than a rumor…or this letter is a bit old, and the gryphon obliterated the goblins. They're going to find out. "Let's go."

As she climbed onto Lorelai's back once more, a thought occurred to her—a thought she violently shoved down. Should she tell Zile of the goblin's return? No. She retains a few ounces of bitterness towards her fellow rider for his actions during their fight with the Dark Knight. His suicide attempt, as well as his vow to help her fight the goblins, which was more like an attempt to get her out of the way so he could do it for her. The paper in her hands crumples as her thoughts cause her grip to tighten. She won't be seen as a damsel in need of rescuing…she will be seen as a Rider.
The flight to the North East is nearly silent, with only Lorelai's occasionally flapping wings and the whistling winds filling the void of speech. It's not until they reach Redford that Lyra speaks again.

"I think we should land. If we fly low enough to find them, they'll run off before we can get down." And if there's any truth to that Gryphon rumor, they have less chance of catching its eye from the ground.

[Other FULL] Riders [M] [IC]

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