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Post by Coriolis on Dec 5, 2006 23:25:28 GMT
*He was going nowhere! His feet rooted to the spot and white knuckles showing around the quarterstaff. What was good was that going to be? A big stick versus a 3 storey tall Teutonic lizard with napalm halitosis?!?*
*Coriolis had never been a friend of Dragons, right back from his childhood. He'd always encountered them as hatch-lings, tiny gecko like creatures with wet and unformed wings. They had a bite like a sharpened mousetrap and the ruthlessness of a household tabby. If one managed to get it's teeth on you, it would take what felt like an age of wrestling with it's painful jaws to extricate yourself from this walking blowtorch with teeth.*
*His Father had been a Earthback rider back in the day. His trademark glide sat far forward of the traditional saddle. This lightly armoured Golden Lion clutched practically onto the animals head, guiding its flight like the most deadly racehorse in the realms. "If you can't take a dragon by it's ears, it might figure out one day who's REALLY the boss.."*
*... And THAT was the trick of the thing. Dragons tended to be lazy animals at the best of times. They had no natural predators to speak of and the ability to roast then eat an entire cow in a single gulp could easily outstrip the efforts of any number of people with campfires and roasting spits. They showed little loyalty to anything they thought they could eat and that was how the Watchers had been able to 'domesticate' the beasts.*
Rhi'! Get up there! If She sees you as a piece of meat we've had it! GET ON THE DAMN HEAD!
*Acting on impulse, He starts to run, fading and becoming the White Tiger as He goes. A trail of dusty paw prints tearing around the edges of the cavern, heading for a drooped wing and the step up it's root would give him. This Dragon was a Freon Blue, there WAS no fire! Finally His Sister made sense, they were about to take flight on the biggest fire snuff the realms had ever seen!*
Rhiannon! GET UP THERE!!!!!
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Post by Midnight on Dec 6, 2006 0:45:36 GMT
*Rhiannon shook her head slightly domesticated the dragons had become but Diana had worked hard at gaining their trust and had taught Rhiannons some of the procdures that was required in at least gaining a friendler relationship. As Coriolis stepped onto the dragons wing the dragons turned her head towards the weight and gave her wing a flick sending the white tiger flying against one of the walls, only a heavy thud being heard as the tiger made contact then a lighter one as the tiger then hit the ground.*
*She shook her headslightly as the dragon turned her attention bak to the scruffy female watcher in front of her now having dealt with the "pest" of her brother.*
*The dragon opened and closed her mouth then began talking the voice loud and rumbling causing dust to fall from the ceiling.*
Dragon: What brings two of the dying race to my cave and disturb my slumber? and why does one have patience where as the other thinks running into a situation he does not understand will help him in anyway?
*Rhiannon gulped again speaking her voice coming out at first like a quiet squeak until she got more confidence.*
Dragon I am Rhiannon, daughter of Diana and Frederick the Dragon Lore Keepers and Protectors. You know as well as I the destruction of Arios and that my Mother died in that night hence why she did not travel here agai but as the rightful heir and apprentice of my mothers teaching you will also know I have come to take my place as the protector of the Dragos and their Lore Keeper.
*The dragon stared at her for long moments in silence.*
Dragon: and the other?
*Without turning her attention away from the dragon.*
He is the adopted brother of my family, brought under our wing years ago but has little to no knowledge of what work my Mother did and what I will continu to do.
Dragon: You have the proof of your words for with noproof comes no help?
*Rhiannon nodded her head slightly holding out the dragon picture Coriolis had taken from the living room earlier and began talking in the strange language again causing it to start glowing the dragon started intoning some form of magic words she did not quite understand or remember but the dragon in the picture rose from it's holding place flew in circles around Rhiannons head as she kept talking in the strange language her eyes looking with the dragon that stood tall before her. The magically created dragon then seemed to attack Rhiannon , appearing to pounce for the back of her neck. Rhiannon screamed as the back of her neck seemed to burn yet cold at the same time and knealt down in front of the dragon trying not to scratch at the back of her neck.*
Dragon: You speak true and act with courage despire your fear and now as your mother was marked so will you be.
*The miniture dragon seemed to grow smaller then disappear as Rhiannon continued to scream her hands clutching at the ground to ease the pain for long minutes before slowly standing on shaky legs lifting her hand to the back of her neck and brushing her fingers against the sensitive skin knowing now a "tattoo" was made on the back of her neck of a miniture dragon similar to the one that stood before her. The mark no bigger than a couple of inches but burning as she adjusted to it. Shelowered her hand to her side looking up to the dragon.*
Thus the ritural is complete now dragon.
*The dragon merely nodded her head and lowered a wing to the ground as Rhiannon walked around to it's side and walked up climbing onto it's neck she the glanced around the cavern.*
Come on Coriolis no time for sleeping.
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Post by Coriolis on Dec 6, 2006 2:48:38 GMT
Yeah Yeah.... I'm com'n....  *A crumpled white heap picked itself up from a corner and shook out the dust, stars and tweety birds from between its ears.* *Of all the damned luck! The first dumb fire-breather He's seen in years and it's neither a fire breather OR dumb! Chalk one up for the big puddy tat! He's only gone and managed to place all four paws into his mouth simultaneously... And in front of a high breed as well.* *He winced at the thought, almost hearing the voice of His Father intending to tan his hide hard for the transgression. It was little wonder that Coriolis had taken the path of the Endless Realms. No matter how hard He had tried, the Son simply wasn't cut out to be a rider.* *... And what a disappointment He had caused the family. The only one in 5 generations not to take a charge. The only one in 5 generations to be left amongst the shadows and canopies of the forests. Not that it had mattered, less than a year later, 'The Den' had to find him a home. His Blood family cut down in some random clearing by some random blade.* *The Tiger padded over toward His Sister and Her new charge. Inwardly hating the fact He'd been forced into contact with these condescending, overgrown pipe lighters once again. HATING the fact that He was the lesser here rather than the equal but they had no choice. It was either this or have the realm burned to the ground.* Is Her blue greatness allowing me a window seat on this flight or am I to risk the sharpened undercarriage again? |
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Post by Midnight on Dec 6, 2006 6:43:39 GMT
*Rhiannon shook her head and sighed quietly realising the relationship between her brother and the dragon would be trying and tedious at the very best she just hoped if it came to teeth and claws the dragon would be gentle with her hot headed brother.*
*The drago turned her gaze slightly to Coriolis and let out a testing breath of icy air but a few feet from her brothers direction.*
Dragon: Either get on eager one or be left behind.
*She kept the wing lowered that she had lowered for Rhiannon and Rhiannon shifted further up the neck of the dragon to make more space for her brother wincing slightly as some fabric brushed against the sore, sensitive skin at the back of her neck. Reaching her hand up again she pulled it back her fingers coming away with the slight pink of blood along them now as the skin healed properly.*
*She lowered her hand to the dragons neck and tightened her hold on the neck by tightening her knees around it as he turned her gaze to her brother her blue eyes watching him closely indicating this was not the time for his lip or attitude but then her gaze softened slightly. She knew of his fears and his life as much as he knew hers though some memories were still vague especially of the younger years but she had brief memiories of him being a lot younger and trying to fly the smaller dragons as a man tried to teach him but no matter how hard he tried he just didn't have the ability or knack for it, it had not helped matters when she had shown him up by taking to it almost completely naturally though then again he had not been wittness to the long hours of training of personal lessons her mother and father had given her. Where as with most Watchers as they grew up sunset was the end of the day but for her lessons as she grew up sometimes went into the early hours of the morning and though she was better at some skills than her brother he was certainly better at others His ability to fade could sometimes be frustrating, yes she could blend but the ability to disappear almost completely was a impossibility for her, his ability with a dirk was something else she just never picked up hence the gift of the dagger instead she shook her head slightly disipating thoughts from her mind and turned her attention back to the dragon.*
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Post by Coriolis on Dec 8, 2006 2:00:24 GMT
*He returns the Blue's stare with the disdain He feels it deserves...*
That question multiple choice? No? So be it....
*The pad becomes a run and then a single leap upwards. The Cat landing squarely on the Dragons back between the wing roots. Claws dug in, searching for and finding the little chinks in it's armour between the scales as the spines along it's back dug into his stomach and chest. It wasn't going to be the most comfortable of rides...*
*He wasn't worried about hurting the animal, it's hide could easily be a good foot and half thick in places and He'd chosen to take up residence on the strongest part of it's back. The only real worry would be if Dragon and rider forgot about him in the heat of the moment and He was shaken loose in a dive or turn.*
*The Winterian Snows had been the only thing that allowed him to survive his last fall from height, albeit only barely. This time, a fall would be finished on hard and burning ground. If that happened, there wouldn't be a third time.*
*Forcing himself to relax adrenaline shaking limbs, Coriolis settled in and prepared for what was to come...*
Ready when you are, Ladies... Time to make hell freeze over...
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Post by Midnight on Dec 8, 2006 2:10:15 GMT
*The dragon tilted her head back blowing up a large ray of icy air towards the already weaking ceiling of the cavern causing the roof to freeze and more of the rocks to start falling down arond them then before either Rhiannon or Coriolis could react she spread her wings out and started the rather fast trip upwards her head breaking through what must of been the thinest part of the tunnels ceiling. Suddenly bright light of day and the heavy smoke from the fire surrounded the three causing Rhiannon to blink at the change of light and choke on the smoke that filled her lungs bringing tears to her eyes.still reeling from the sudden flight upwards and trying to avoid getting crushed by anything and everything that came between her and what ever was above them now.*
*The dragon made slow steady circles around the growing fire looking at it cautiously before breathing another ray of icy breath towards the outer edges, steam starting to rise from the fire as well as smoke causing Rhiannon to have to close her eyes as more teared formed in them , holding on tightly to the dragons neck.*
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Post by Coriolis on Feb 3, 2007 23:37:16 GMT
ooooooooooooooh bugger!!!!  *The take off left Coriolis with that familiar 'numb stomach' feeling that a person would get as the RollerCoaster left it's first lifthill. He didn't bother to look but simply hung on for the dear little life that his unbroken neck allowed him.* *Hitting the ceiling above them caused the Dragon to jolt viciously as the thin layer of rock resisted and then broke free, showering the cat with dirt and debry. One particular chunk of stone got caught in the slipstream as it bounced along the Dragons back and knocked his hind legs out from under him. Coriolis suddenly found himself trapped between the force of their ascent, the ridge of spines underneath him and a scrabbling fear from having little solid grip upon the scaled armour of this overgrown Gecko which didn't like him* *His hind claws flailing in a panic, he dug back in as best He could and clamped down onto the dragons back like a common domestic feline stuck halfway up a tree. If THIS Watcher had ever intended to fly, He wouldn't have spent two thirds of his life in the form of an aberrant Bengal Tiger! If He and Rhiannon ever got out of this madness alive, He was going to kill Her...* *Eyes still clamped shut, he felt he Freon Blue begin to bank into a turn and the strange crackling sound of liquid..... erm..... 'Cold' being launched among the burning trees. It must have had an effect because the sound was rapidly followed by a blast of hot steam into his face and the pulling force of gravity as they went into another climb.* *His mind started shouting at his eyes to open a little, not wanting to miss out on the spectacle that his Father had been so keen so show him all those years, and for a momentr they succeeded. He was presented with the best view of the realm he was ever likely to see. They must have been easily a thousand or so feet in the air as the Dragon climbed and readied itself for another swoop. The ruined citadel an inviting oasis amongst the Greens, browns, yellows and reds of the forest on fire behind him. The imposing height of the Sirio cliffs to His left and the meandering blue ribbon of Joesephs Sword River below them.* *The height wasn't a problem so long as they flew straight and level. Having vertigo while running around the rooftops wouldn't have been the best recipe for a long life in this realm. Seeing the landscape below them was a beautiful sight to be remembered for as long as he lived.* *Something He doubted would be very long as Rhiannon and her charge made another dive for the treeline. The feline mind went numb but the semi-feline mouth into an overdrive of yowls and partly understandable words...* RHIANNON!!!!! :oThatsenough!StopthebloodyworldIwannagetoff!NOOOOOOOOW!!!!!! |
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Post by Midnight on Feb 23, 2007 21:38:06 GMT
*Rhiannon on the other hand after her stomach had stopped churning and her eyes had adjusted to the smoke enough for her eyes to be open with bearabale stinging pain was having the ride of her life. Seeming not to mind about the height from the ground, she gripped the dragons neck slightly tighter between her legs as she started to remember how to "take control" of the dragons movements. Slight movements of her legs guiding the dragon in various directions. Quickly bringing them down and into another curve as she heard the yell of her brother only just audibly over the wind that crashed against ehr ears drums almost preventing any other sound from reaching them.*
*She glanced down to her brother as the dragon took a steep curve almost turning completely sideways as she breathed another ray of ice to the slowly diminishing fire. Leaving her brother only just hanging on by his "teeth" while he became vertical , walking on thin air which she did think after everything he had gone through he would be used to by now. Her knotted hair, became loose and free blowing behind her and some over her face, shielding one of her eyes from the wind, while she had to hang on tightly to the dragons neck to stay on as the rider..*
*The dragon broke away from the fire again at rapid speed , causing a hard gust of wind to almost knock Rhiannon from the saddle once the dragon righted herself Rhiannon looked over to where he brother was hanging for dear life...she wasn't going to like what she didn't see......*
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Post by Coriolis on Feb 23, 2007 23:45:08 GMT
* Weightlessness... Silence... and a distinct lack of Dragon underneath him...*  ...  ... * The steeply banked turn and sudden straighten had been enough. The Watcher was in flight and in the hands of basic physics. He was flying in a long, lazy arc toward the citadel. The power of his launch and the updrafts caused by the fire conspiring together to keep him aloft for an unearthly amount of time.* [Thinking, panic held in check by a rising melancholy] So this is how it would end, thrown to the winds to die within sight of home. At least I got to see it one last time... *The sky fills with green as the Cat became Man and he stretched out headfirst like a stooping Falcon. The conflict of magic between the Green Pendant around his neck and the released energies of the realms forests causing a spectacular trail of Greens and Reds and brilliant white in his wake. Coriolis now a comet of his own making, streaking across the sky with an unerring accuracy toward home.* * The gods pillar stood proud amongst the remains of the people, HIS people. The quartz and sandstone monolith old enough to be considered timeless and eternal. It was now time to pass on the torch to the next runner. The chronicles their fate and the neverending history their final home. It was time to start anew...* Well... Who'd have thought it huh? The orphaned runt of the litter striking the final nail and what a way to do it.... Here we GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.....!!! *Tucking into a tight ball, He hits the pillar dead on it's centre causing a multi-coloured explosion of quartz and superheated sandstone. For a split second, a strange green bubble of energy expands out several meters before collapsing back into itself.* *All that remains is the broken stump of pillar left in the scorched earth...* [Coriolis continues in The Marketplace - 'Retrofit'...] |
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Post by Midnight on Feb 25, 2007 0:45:11 GMT
*Up in the sky Rhiannon tried to remain calm, this lasted for all of about five seconds as she saw what she could only put it as her brother turning into a living, breathing comet, but with out the living and breathing part. She shielded her eyes from the blazing light that almost seemed to threaten to blind her, though part of her wished it had when she saw her brother crash into the "God's pillar" and with that panic set in as she threw her head back and let out a almost howling scream into the air. The sound not even audible over the hissing of steam rising as another ray of ice hit it and the wind that continued to thrash at her ears.*
*She looked back to the pillar seconds after impact was made to see it destroyed, beyond repair and her brother gone. From her, from the world, from life. No one could of survived the fall let alone what had happened to him. The light in her jewel flashing brightly then dimming before fading completely of colour as her brothers life was put out like a light so was the jewels glow that shone from it when they were close.*
*Another howling scream went up into the air, the sound wracked with pain, hurt and anger. She screamed until she could no longer, her throat too sore and the sound now a almost mere mewling echo of the sound it was before. The dragon despite what had happened continued to put the fire out until it was almost embers. While her rider cried from the burning steam, smoke and heartbreak that wracked through her body. Her form shaking and only holding onto the dragons neck through force of sheer will to survive.*
*To survive, the thought running through her mind, always merely to survive, yet what had that brought her? Nothing but grief and pain and loss. The loss of everything and the one thing, the one person she had just began to believe she would possibly see into old age or at least die with together but even now that was snatched from her grip and she blamed herself, for turning the dragon into that steep curve, for hoping her brother would stay one.*
*Now she had to continue on as she always seemed to have done and always seemed she will be. She did not see the last of the embers die out into last wisps of smoke, she did not see the light change as the sun set and the moon rose. She saw nothing but darkness as she clung to the dragons neck and cried over the scales, leaving clean tracks in the salty tears wake against the smoky scales.*
*The dragon eventually came into landing , curling up to rest from her work putting out the fire, leaving the now slumbering Watcher on her neck.*
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Post by Midnight on Mar 8, 2007 22:47:10 GMT
*Hours passed before Rhiannon woke up, slowly stretching out before her eyes opened. For a brief second the loss of her brother wasn't remembered until she rose her head and saw the crumbled God's Pillar, the memeries came rushing back like a tidal wave. She fought the bruning in her eyes from the impending tears that threatened yet again to spill down her cheeks as she rose and climbed down from the currently slumbering dragon. She walked the few hundred yeards over to the pillar searching for anything that may give her hope.* *But hope she began to think was for other people when her search brought ehr nothing but dust and shards of glass. There was no sign of ehr brother, no clothing, no hair, no bones absolutley nothing. Not even a piece of the green jewel he kept.* *Logialness assumed that with the heat of the "comet" her brother has essentially been turned into dust and everything along with him.* *She shook her head slightly and slowly returned to the dragon stroking the nose lightly under the dragon stirred before she clambered back up onto the dragons back and up along her neck getting comfortable and secure.* It's time to leave Dragon, this is no longer our home. We have done what we can for it but now I must go where I am I guess possibly needed. Time to return to Wolfenden. *Her voice was soft and quiet almost monotone, spoke without actual feeling or emotion.* I'll guide the way if I can remember it well enough. *The dragon for once didn't argue nor make a comment but simply began to make her rise from the ground. She had no idea where the young woman was going to take her or if they would indeed get there at all but the oath made worked boh ways for her as well as the sad Watcher and where she would lead the Dragon even if she did not like it at times was bound to follow.* *Rhiannon spared one last glance back at the burnt earth, destryoed city before she was lifted far enough into the sky. The world slowly becoming smaller as it was left behind. A blue glow formed around the two as darkness surrounded them. Neither made a comment nor said a word. Just Rhiannon's movements at the knees simply guided the dragon to where they had to go.* *To Wolfenden.....* (Passing by in "Leaving Reality Behind.) |
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