You As A Dragon

[Alexander_Drake]

Hearing the Serragamma's dismissal of her importance, I blurted out, "No way. We need to stick together. I think that girl turned us into dragons for a reason. I have this nagging feeling that she used to be a dragon, and now she's exacting her revenge on humanity for her, ah, mundane form. I won't lie, I like being a dragon. Its been a wish for my whole life, and now it's come true."

[Omen]

Oenpelliensis was too focused on the Seragamma Wyvern to notice the Howler Drake within his personal space. The nudge he received from the human-turned-dragon broke him out of his territorial mindset, but his eyes didn’t move from the Seragamma, who was now directly speaking to him. “It’s Oenpelliensis to you. This is my territory, on a normal day, I would defend it. Today is not a normal day.” Oenpelliensis backed down, lowering his hindquarters to the snow. The dragon maintained his dominating posture, horns pointed forward should the Seragamma Wyvern attempt to strike. It went left unsaid that he wouldn’t tolerate any more dragons encroaching upon his turf without an excuse.

 

I let out a sigh, this wasn’t going to happen, not if I could help it. I moved towards Oenpelliensis, aware of the standoff occurring between him and the Seragamma Wyvern. He was stubborn at the worst of times, and another strong personality was all it took to bring out his aggressive side. “You don’t need to leave,” I directed towards the Howler Drake, having not caught her name. She was brave, to stand between Oen and the Seragamma like that. “but Oenpelliensis needs to back down, or I’ll be leaving him behind.” My eyes narrowed as I too squared my shoulders, trying my best to radiate dominance. Oenpelliensis shifted, backing up further. I waited until he was clear of the other dragons, fully conscious that he hadn’t broken eye contact with the Seragamma. It looked like I’d have to make him. In a flash, I reared my head up and surged forward, headbutting the other Bleeding Moon with as much might as I could muster. I took care to avoid striking him with my horns, my intent was to assert dominance, not to gore.

 

The charge hit Oenpelliensis in the side, nudging him back in the snow by a few inches. I expected my charge to have more of an impact, but it seemed the dragon was a little more attentive to random attacks than I first thought. Nonetheless, Oenpelliensis got the message. I was in charge as far as us Bleeding Moons went, and he was going to do his darndest not to cause further trouble. I sure hoped so anyway.

 

“We need an alliance, Oenpelliensis. I know this is your territory, but these people are in the same predicament I am in. If we found out the reason for this, you could go back to whatever it is you usually do, be it intimidating Howler Drakes or hatchlings.” I turned to face Alexander, and the newly arrived dragons, having heard them speak.

 

“I agree. Something’s up and while Alexander is alright with this, I don’t appreciate being transformed into a dragon without my permission.” I was feeling a little dizzy from charging full tilt into a fully grown male Bleeding Moon, but pushed the ill feeling aside. I needed to focus. “If the same girl transformed you as well,” I motioned to the Howler Drake, “then it seems like someone is abusing their power far too much. Can you imagine the destruction if she transformed a human with ill intentions? People would be slaughtered by the hundreds. Some villages dislike dragons enough as it is!”

Edited December 25, 2014 by VampiricOmen

[Alexander_Drake]

After hearing Omen's, well, ill omen, the mood of me and my hatchlings shifted to total panic. I just kept mine in check. Even poor Lumina got the picture, and began to nibble on chocolate like crazy with wide eyes and shivering body, and Ludwig looked like he was about to be sick. I knew we were all overreacting, but it just felt better than looking insensitive to everyone else. I let Ludwig huddle against my body, burying his face in my fur and not doing more than shaking.

Edited December 25, 2014 by Alexander_Drake

[RWyvern]

I retreated behind Gowdali at the sudden charge, but as soon as Omen began to speak again I edged out. The snow around my paws was becoming quite rutted and stirred with all this activity of mine.

 

"You saw the same thing too?" I spoke without thinking. "A girl and a Magi dragon?"

 

Gowdali raised a draconian brow. "You might be onto something," he told Omen. "This-" he gestured to me with a wing- "ain't natural. No consent asked for or given."

 

"I don't like it," I piped up. "I like dragons - I study them and raise them and all - but I can't draw. I can't do half the things I enjoyed doing..."

[Omen]

I closed my mouth quickly, realising a little too late that my voice had risen in volume and that a tense snarl had escaped my maw as a result. It was evident however, that it would be too late to take back the observation. I moved, putting some distance between me and the others, giving me room to pace. I regretted scaring the hatchlings, perhaps I should have been a little more discreet with voicing my thoughts.

 

I heard the Howler Drake speak, and nodded halfheartedly. “I’ve mentioned this to Alexander already, but I didn’t see any sign of a Magi dragon. I did however see the child, I believe she was responsible for turning me into a dragon.” While I didn’t have proof, I was fairly certain of it, at any rate. “That’s not to say the Magi dragon wasn’t there. I had just been attacked by another dragon, while I was in human form. That’s why Oenpelliensis is on edge, the two of them were in a battle for territory. I’m not making excuses for his behaviour, and I apologise for his actions.

 

“Anyway, his opponent sent me flying into a tree,” I stopped pacing long enough to gesture towards the tree with splatters of blood at its base, “not my blood by the way, so if the Magi was present, they may have positioned themselves in such a way that they were out of my direct line of sight. Not that my sight was any good after being thrown into a tree.” This time, I didn’t mention that Oenpelliensis’s opponent was one of my own dragons. I didn’t like the idea that I could have raised a dragon who sided with someone responsible for causing mass destruction – if my previous foreboding statement came true. Maybe Alexander would forget, I hoped he did. It was something I wanted to get to the bottom of, without the possibility of someone breathing down my neck about one of my own being a traitor to dragonkind. Being turned into a dragon was stressful enough.

 

“I can almost guarantee my records are being torn to itty bitty pieces by Terror. I should have told her to leave my library before heading up here.” I was sad, those records took me years to create and countless hours were spent maintaining them. “I can’t even fly yet. All of this is beyond my level of expertise.” I shook my head, stopping my pacing in the same patch of snow that Carinata, my traitorous dragon, had disappeared from. There were speckles of blood, no doubt from the fight between Oenpelliensis and him. I looked at Oen, noticing that his head wounds had at least stopped bleeding, thanks in part to the cold.

 

“If you were a young girl, going around turning people into dragons, whether as an act of revenge or not, where would you go next?” She’d clearly made the rounds in the Volcanic area, perhaps even the Desert if that’s where Alexander was first transformed. And we were currently in the Alpine where at least two humans had been transformed. “I find it entirely too strange that a girl and her dragon would make their way around the world, doing what? Transforming unsuspecting humans? What did we do that spited her so? Is it just because we’re dragon keepers, sympathetic to draconians everywhere?” If she had a dragon, wouldn’t she be sympathetic to them as well?

 

“Look, I’m just going to shut up before I sprain a muscle, flying is for the dragons and thinking is for the scholars.” I considered myself a scholar at times, but for the sake of my argument, today I was considering myself a hermit.

[Alexander_Drake]

A small part of Omen's words piqued my curiosity.

 

"You mentioned someone named Terror would be ruining your records. Who is Terror, exactly? Maybe they could help." Ludwig partially removed his head from my side, but Lumina continued to snack on chocolate.

 

Lumina even went so far as to double check if anyone wanted more chocolate, and glanced at Omen when she did so.

Edited December 25, 2014 by Alexander_Drake

[RWyvern]

I glanced at Lumina and smiled, showing off the strange dragon teeth I now had. Human infants I couldn't stand interacting with, but to say I had a lot more experience with dragon hatchlings was an understatement. Still, lest Alexander didn't want me interesting with one of his, I kept quite and in place.

 

Gowdali completely ignored her altogether.

 

Instead he turned his attention to Alexander now. "Are we searching for allies?" I knew what he was thinking of, the one-track minded reptile. Once an issue showed up he was going to see it through no matter what.

 

"You're not going to drag Gogumajiosu and the like into this, are you?" I asked him worriedly.

 

He didn't reply to me.

Edited December 25, 2014 by rampaging wyvern

[Alexander_Drake]

Lumina was very disappointed in Gowdali, and made sure to emphasize how tasty all the extra chocolate she was eating tasted.

 

To answer Gowdali's question I replied to him, "It can't hurt to find others like us. Once they realize this is a common occurrence, they might join us. We should at least check the volcanic area, just in case the girl was there too. For all we know, she's been everywhere."

[Omen]

Alexander had a point, but I wasn’t sure if help was the best word to describe what any assistance from Terror should be deemed. “Terror is a pygmy dragon.” The little hatchling offered me chocolate once again, and I accepted a small portion. While it surprised me the hatchling had any left, I merely went on to absently chew on the chocolate before continuing my response to Alexander. “I’m not sure if anyone would want her special brand of help, and I doubt we need another trouble maker in our midst.” With that comment, I sent a sidelong glance to Oenpelliensis, who was sharpening his claws against a stone jutting out from the snow.

 

“I can think of a better candidate, but I would need to get Terror to track her down. She was the one closest to the cavern entrance over there,” To illustrate, I pointed at the distant section of darkness only visible because there was a distinct lack of snow covering the exterior.

 

Maybe the candidate I had in mind wasn’t the best of choices. I hummed aloud, Oenpelliensis was aggressive enough for the two of us, and while Terror was a trouble maker, she was far too small to be anything but a nuisance – not that I disliked the dragon. She just had a strange sense of humour. “How do you guys feel about Vampires?” I asked, it was better to be shot down now, than to call the dragon from her slumber. I knew enough about her history to know that she wouldn’t attack allies, and she had a knack for white magic. In addition, she was exceptional at problem solving, which was the only reason why I entertained the idea of bringing a… dangerous species into the fold. Although, maybe we needed dangerous to face the problems ahead.

[RWyvern]

"She has definitely been in the volcanic area; that's where this mistake happened." Gowdali was clearly referring to me as the 'mistake'. Likely unintentional, because my transformation was almost certainly not a mistake.

 

"Vampires?" I grit my teeth in uncertainty. I'd raised a few Vampires and they were... they couldn't exactly be trusted, at least not the ones I'd raised.

 

"If you think it's fine," I ended up saying.

 

"I can bring out several of our finest fighters," Gowdali said. "Gogumajiosu, Cadifor, Scilicet and Sal... a magic terminator may prove useful to disable the Magi's powers and Cadifor can do that."

[Omen]

((Explanation in OOC thread. My character is, for lack of a better explanation, running from responsibility.))

 

I sighed, letting the disappointment seep into my tone. “I wouldn’t have asked if I thought this Vampire would pose a risk. However, if you guys aren’t comfortable with the notion of allying with a bloodsucker, I understand.” While I valued the honest response and could understand the hesitation, this dragon in particular was one I would lay my life down for. Granted, most of my Vampire horde, and I had well over fifty of them, held up to their bad reputation. A few did their best to manage the less savoury activities Vampires were known for, but the others? Some more than made up for some of their brethrens restraint. There was a reason after all, that my nickname was Omen.

 

I wracked my mind thinking of other potential allies I could call upon. I had many dragons in my care, too many, some would say; so trying to pinpoint what dragons would be best to bring along was a difficult task, to say the least. I sat on my haunches, using my claws to crudely write names in the snow. Krinsivaas the Black, Endeni the Hellfire, Pyrionflost the Sunstone, Graagmard the Green Copper. As I wrote names, I realised that the dragons I spent the most time with were also of the more aggressive species. Hah, what did that say about me, as a dragon keeper?

 

Oenpelliensis joined me, nudging my tail out of the way before sitting down himself. He attempted to read my crude markings on the ground, but wasn’t able to decipher the human language. “Krinsivaas, Endeni, Pyrionflost and Graagmard.” I offered as explanation. “If the others are alright with Vampires, then perhaps Sahqondur can join us too.” I covered the names with snow, this wasn’t doing me any good. I needed to speak to my dragons, to ask them who wanted to come along. The last time I looked at my records, this morning in fact, I had over a thousand of them. Surely I could muster a small group of highly skilled warriors, mages and other such skilled dragons?

 

A snort from Oenpelliensis sent the snow from where I had written the dragon’s names swirling into the air. “Krinsivaas is as stubborn as I am, if not more. Endeni has a temper that would rival Solsen’s, and Pyrionflost would get into a fight within five heartbeats of seeing Alexander. Graagmard is perhaps the most stable of your choices… Sahqondur, well, you already know how I feel about Vampires.”

 

I planted my head in the snow, unable to counter his argument. “I don’t care what you think of Vampires, Oenpelliensis. If it isn’t a Bleeding Moon, you’re not interested…” I immediately regretted that statement, had I been in human form, he may have taken a swipe at me out of spite. “I’m sorry, that was unworthy of me.” Why was this so difficult? I focused my attention to the other dragons gathered, deducing that I would need some time to put together a team of my own. Was splitting up, if only temporary, the best choice of action? I could send Oenpelliensis along with them, if they would have him, and if he would have them.

 

I rose to my feet, directing my telepathic speech to all of the dragons around me. “I need time to think, gather my wits. If you guys want to head off and collect your allies, I’ll stay here and collect mine. If Oenpelliensis wishes to join you, and you’re alright with him going along, that’s fine. I’ll be bringing a navigator with me on my way back, one of my horde is guaranteed to have a sense of direction that won’t have me dying a painful death in the mouth of a Volcano.”

 

Before anyone could convince me otherwise, I took off into the sky. I stopped trying to manage my wings, and instead let instinct control the reigns. My flying was novice at best, barely able to keep me in the air, but I was moving away from the clearing and towards the northern entrance of my home cavern system. I wouldn’t be taken aback if someone followed me, no I was expecting it. If it wasn’t one of the others, it would certainly be Oenpelliensis. Actually, I’d bet gold on it being Oenpelliensis. Never could let an argument drop, that one.

[Esko]

((Merry Christmas and look what I missed.))

I followed Omen in flight. I think we might be going somewhere. With Furisa on my back, I followed when I realized ot probably wasnt for all of us. No biggie. I have trouble landing, so whatever.

[Pyrowings]

Well, we must have been quite a sight. One magi dragon obsessively scaning everywhere he stepped for mana, even going so far as to dig into the shining white... Well, it was sunset now, so, well, golden sand of the beach for those precious chunks of salmon-colored mana, or maybe even the dirty olive gleam of earth mana. A frozen Ribbon Dancer romping about in the waves and occasionally splashing shining seawater onto everyone, then flying far enough to escaspe an annoyed blow or puff of magic. A falconiform lagging behind the rest, growling and blowing flame whenever the hatchling splashed seawater on her but generally attentive otherwise, and a silver on the ground looking pointedly at the ground.

 

"Are you all right?" Skies actually managed to look up from his mana-searching for one second to ask me. Truely, this day is full of miracles, though good or bad is up in the air.

 

"... I'm naked," Look, I wasn't used to not needing clothes, I only found out I became a dragon because I decided to wake up at around midday, I have been wearing clothes for rest of my life already, and I find pockets to be very useful.

 

"Humans," Skies scoffed, then resumed his search.

 

I was also thinking about flight. Turned westerns/ampitures would have it made by virtue of having wings, but what about easterns? I already did try a few useless hops, and the best I did was a good jump.... Well, I did feel a great bit lighter than I would guess I would be from my size. Speaking of which, it made no sense for a medium-sized human to turn into a dragon without ... Well, than again, it's magic, I suppose I shouldn't think too hard about it.

 

"How do easterns fly?"

 

"How would I know? I am a wyvern," Mira then motioned towards a point in front of us. "I see a town up ahead."

 

"Saaaaw-weee!" Tinselwings giggled again.

 

"Uhhhhh, magic?" but that was Skies's answer to pretty much everything.

[Alexander_Drake]

There was no way I was letting Omen leave without me. I didn't have any reliable allies other than her and my hatchlings, so there was no pint in getting separated from her. wherever she went, I would follow.

 

(Edit: VampiricOmen needs to post before I can again.)

Edited December 26, 2014 by Alexander_Drake

[RWyvern]

Gowdali nodded. "Meet you all back up here, shall we?" He immediately took off lightly, and I followed. I couldn't help but wonder how everyone else was getting the hang of their flight, as the reason I learnt so fast was probably mostly because I study dragons, their anatomy and their movement and knew the motions of flight.

 

Suddenly, I screeched. Gowdali obviously flinched but had the good will to not turn, and I swore to myself. "Who are you going to choose?" I asked again, this time successfully and telepathically.

 

"Three of the best and one of the worst," the Seragamma replied.

 

"One of the worst? Who? Why?"

 

"Just go with me. He needs to learn a thing or ten."

 

((I'll be posting my character outlines in the OOC thread in due course!))

Edited December 25, 2014 by rampaging wyvern

[Omen]

((So, I got carried away here.

 

TL;DR version: Omen almost crash lands, Oenpelliensis manages to catch up to her (cause he's a dragon and she's flapping about like a fish out of water), stops her from becoming dragon paste on the ground, serves her with a long winded rant, and then drops her into the snow to think about what she did wrong.))

 

Oenpelliensis remained long enough to agree to the Seragamma Wyvern’s suggestion, before he too, took off in flight. Instead of tailing the Seragamma and Howler duo, he turned North to where Alexander the Moonstone and Esko the Golden Wyvern and their hatchlings had taken off. His keeper may be a clumsy, barely airborne accident waiting to happen, but she was fast. No thanks in part to the body composition of a Bleeding Moon, built with a large wingspan, and therefore a fast top flight speed. He was faster however, and employed his experience in flight to close the distance between himself and the other dragons.

 

The male Bleeding Moon spotted the light blue, ‘bleeding’ red scaled form in the distance, further out than the forms of the golden scaled wyvern and the dark blue feathered dragon that he was rapidly catching up to. The form of the Bleeding Moon was darting to the left and right in an erratic pattern that sent a spike of concern to the forefront of Oenpelliensis’s mind. This wasn’t the hovering of a recently fledged hatchling, this was the barrelling of an adult Bleeding Moon using her wings to fly, and not to glide. He used his wings powerful muscles to flap on occasion, mainly to gain speed and to adjust altitude. Gliding was used extend the distance that he could fly before becoming tired, and to rest the muscles that needed to pump in order to lift his body higher into the air. Omen however? She was going to hurt herself, badly, if she so much as clipped the top of a tree. And she was dangerously close to the tall alpine trees.

 

----

 

My wings were getting tired far quicker than I thought possible, so I flapped my wings harder in order to get further before I considered landing. Landing. I hadn’t thought of how I would manage that, there wasn’t any clearings as far as the eye could see, not unless I wanted to turn back. No, I needed to get to the cave’s volcanic entrance, and then employ the assistance of my dragons. By taking off like I had, I had a short time to think to myself before Oenpelliensis would follow. A few more names had come to my mind, and these ones, would be a better choice than the dragons I had told him of earlier. I still wanted to get Sahqondur, but knowing her, she might not agree to leave the Coven behind. I needed a dragon who wouldn’t hesitate to end the life of another sentient creature, because I was fully expecting to encounter other dragons who wouldn’t take to kindly to a group of human-turned-dragons. Until we learned the ins and outs of being a dragon, we were vulnerable.

 

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of wings flapping, off in the distance. Multiple pairs of wings. I attempted to turn my head to look behind me, only succeeding in spotting a golden form, and further back, a dark blue form. My course veered to the right, causing my body to dip closer to the treetops below me. I released a yelp of surprise, flapping my wings as hard as I could to gain the altitude I needed to avoid a messy treetop death. The flapping got closer, and somehow it sounded as if the dragon doing the flapping was going even faster than what I was. Oenpelliensis. Of course he would catch up, he was never a human, after all. This whole flight thing wasn’t new to him, he’d hatched with the instinct that taught him how to fly. I let myself feel a little relief that he had followed me, despite the fact that I told him he could stay. Maybe one of the other dragons had told him to go away?

 

It seemed I wasn’t paying enough attention to how close the trees were getting again, and in a sudden, I hoped that sound wasn’t a bone breaking moment, my left wingtip clipped a tree and I began plummeting towards the ground. I couldn’t help it, couldn’t control my descent, not the tumbling side over side, not even which way I was facing before gravity would demand that my body obey physics. The fact that I had gotten this far, this close to the volcanic entrance that I could see where the snow had started melting, was a miracle in of itself. So I screamed. I released the demons that fuelled my fear of heights in a roar that would send even the most stubborn of squirrels from the tops of the trees and into whatever they considered a safe refuge.

 

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the ground as it moved far too quickly towards me. I was starting to feel like vomiting, heading towards the grown head first, with my feet to the sky when my body was hit by something solid. Claws interlocked with claws and out of the blue, my descent to death was slowed. I didn’t dare open my eyes, for I feared that I would lose the food that I had eaten earlier. Somehow, the image of a dragon projectile vomiting chocolate eased my nerves. A stream of cursing interrupted my giggling, no doubt the giggling was fuelled by the sheer relief that I hadn’t ended up as dragon paste on the ground.

 

“Block headed, short sighted, can barely walk straight let alone fly! Why did I ever agree to come along? Oh wait, I didn’t agree, I was ordered to! What in the blazes were you thinking, taking off like that? I bet you weren’t thinking at all!”

 

The other dragon took a deep breath, changing his telepathic tone of voice to one that was higher pitched. “Oh no, responsibility, oh no I might have made some friends, better take off with my tail between my legs, because there’s no way I’m capable of extended social interaction! Let’s just take off into the sunset without a care in the world for the undeniably dashing Bleeding Moon that would have to pick up the pieces if I ever died, he can deal with all of my problems, because it’s his brother that started all this mess!”

 

Returning to his normal range, the male continued in an unrelenting torrent of telepathically projected words. “Do you realise you almost died there, clipping the treetops like that? Do you realise how many of us are depending on you to live, in order for us to get to the bottom of this problem? Do you realise that you’re not a human anymore, and that you don’t have access to that super special awesome healing magic you used to? Do you also realise, that you’re easily five times the weight you used to be, and that you’re getting heavier by the second?”

 

Did I just get called fat? I can’t believe he just called me fat! “I’m not fat! I’m just big boned!” I retorted, struggling with all my might to get him to released my clawed paws from his. I couldn’t believe he had all of this prepared, this whole ranting raving thing. It wasn’t Oenpelliensis. He was stubborn, aggressive and reckless, not this… whatever scolding your keeper would be called. “Who abducted the Oenpelliensis I remember!” I was terrified that he hit his head on the way over, because he was acting strange.

 

“No, you don’t get off that easy. I’m not letting you go until you promise me, promise me, that you won’t ever do that again.” Oenpelliensis demanded, and I was about to object before he continued once more. “You are responsible for over one thousand, let that sink in for a moment, one thousand dragons. If you get yourself killed in some harebrained attempt to escape that responsibility, I will personally find a necromancer to raise your sorry corpse and force you to choose someone else to take over, because I refuse to be responsible for anyone else but myself, you included.”

 

I opened my eyes, vaguely aware that the snow was mere inches below my head. Was I really that close to death, or did Oenpelliensis lower us as he ranted? I let out a sigh, blowing some of the snow from directly below me. “I can’t make a promise I can’t keep.” For all I knew, I would have to take risks again. I avoided making direct eye contact with Oen, because when he got angry, he got angry. A look like that could send opponents running off into the countryside, so I didn’t much feel like seeing whatever emotion he was having now in his eyes. Nope, I was quite fine with feeling annoyed at being called fat.

 

“Fine.” Oenpelliensis stated, in a matter of fact tone. “But don’t expect me to hang around if you do that again.”

 

With that, Oenpelliensis released my claws and I dropped to the ground in a graceless heap of scales and claws. I righted myself with as much speed as being held upside for what felt like an eon, my feet had even started to lose sensation. Although, I wasn’t sure if that was because Oenpelliensis was gripping my feet with enough force to hold my weight, or if it was because the blood couldn’t circulate to them. My head was pounding, and it wasn’t from the lecture.

[Alexander_Drake]

As soon as Omen managed to spin out below the tips of the trees, I panicked and put on a burst of speed, as did my two hatchlings. They were both getting kind of tired, so I told them, "Stay behind, and if you get tired, land immediately and walk to wherever I am." With that, I sped towards Omen and Oenpelliensis, catching a glimpse of both through the branches. I managed a quick, rough landing right near Omen, who was panting heavily and also... giggling? Was the sudden realization that you were completely incapable of proper flight really that funny? And where was Oenpelliensis?

 

I had no time to ponder this as Lumina walked into the clearing we had ended up in, and promptly offered Omen some, as she put it, "Restorative caramel chocolates."

Edited December 26, 2014 by Alexander_Drake

[RWyvern]

((Man oh man, look at that incredible post up there, Omen!))

 

I flew alongside Gowdali back the way we had traveled and, while the Seragamma had refused to impart any information with me, I had an inkling as to who he was headed towards.

 

My suspicions proved correct. Gowdali and I had touched down on the dark, grassy earth at the foot of an (active) volcano about fifty feet from a cave meticulously surrounded with carefully arranged mana shards - smallest furthest, largest around the cave's low mouth, in lines of colour to imitate what I assumed was lava. I recognised this place. I had been here the day I was transformed, in a futile effort to find and reverse the curse.

 

Realising Gowdali was approaching the cave rather rapidly, I ran to catch up with him. Speaking before he could: "Scilicet! Sal!" Silence for the following few seconds then as soon as I had set foot among the largest shards I heard a reply. "Who's with you?"

 

"Gowdali." Gowdali butted into the conversation and ducked into the cave, gesturing for me to follow.

 

"Give us five seconds," came the reply and as my eyes grew used to the darkness, I saw the familiar shadow of a dark two-headed dragon emerging from around a corner at the back.

 

Sal greeted us almost immediately with a grin, raising his paw for a second in a friendly wave. Scilicet instead gave me a nod of acknowledgement. "What do you call us for?"

 

Gowdali answered before I could. "We met up with some fellow keepers also turned into dragons over in the mountains and after a discussion we'vecome to an agreement that we should find the culprit. To do so by just ourselves would be pointless and even dangerous, so the keepers are all gathering dragons they've raised and I'm gathering my part of the team."

 

Scilicet raised a questioning brow. "I have just been reading about the declaration of Galsreim's-"

 

"We're not interested about that, Sal," Gowdali snapped. Scilicet gave him a vaguely offended look, but said nothing.

 

I had a feeling that what Scilicet was about to say was relevant to the situation, but followed Gowdali's lead and ignored it. "Everyone we met - there were four there, but one, Omen, provided the most information and might be onto something. We'll tell you the rest when we meet back up there, but, um, right now we really need a team to pull together and get to the bottom of these haphazard transformations..."

 

"Perhaps we should speak to Galsreim's leaders instead of going this alone, untrained, unprepared and potentially mishandling whatever situation arises," Sal commented. This seemed to take Gowdali back - but only for a second.

 

"And they're going to take a bunch of dragons seriously? It's not like we have any proof other than what the keepers saw, and only they can see what they saw through their own eyes."

 

"Obviously," Scilicet said. "Assuming we do not speak to any leaders, what's your plan? And who are you bringing along? Not Anastasia, surely. She's only been a drake for three days and to drag her into this would be risking condemning the person who raised you to a traumatising experience or worse, death."

 

I looked up at Gowdali. That was true, yet it hadn't once occurred to me that I might be better off sending some dragons out and staying where I was safe... I never did go over all the options until they were right on top of me by someone with a better thought process.

 

"She's coming with us," Gowdali said flatly.

 

I pawed at the ground nervously. "But why?" Gowdali tapped a long, hooked claw on the ground and looked down at me.

 

"In case your transformer is the only one who can reverse the curse."

 

Sal and Scilicet were talking amongst themselves, their telepathic discussion tuned out from us and only their body language gave away the fact they were conversing. Finally, Sal turned to look at Gowdali.

 

"We shall come and speak to the others and then we'll decide the best course of action. Don't get your hopes up. If it ends up being too dangerous, we're not letting you continue." The Bloodscale neared us, Sal with his head bowed slightly and Scilicet looking reluctant. "Who else are you dragging along?"

 

Gowdali rolled his eyes and turned, crawling out towards the mouth of the cave. "Cadifor, Gogumajiosu and Tataura."

 

In the dim light, my look of absolute horror went unnoticed.

Edited December 26, 2014 by rampaging wyvern

[Alexander_Drake]

(I should mention that Omen posting is a requirement here.)

[Omen]

((What can I say? This is entertaining.))

 

It took me minutes to pick myself up from the sorry heap I landed in. My bones ached and my muscles were screaming from being used for far too long. Their endurance was equivalent to what endurance I had as a human, which given the fact that I didn’t fly, ever, wasn’t substantial enough to warrant a special mention. Whether by dumb luck or being saved from sure death just in time, nothing felt broken. However, after the thorough lecture Oenpelliensis had given me, I felt mentally defeated. He was right. If I kept up my antics, I was going to get myself, or someone else, killed.

 

That weighed on my conscience like a low hanging cloud. Did I really hold the lives of a thousand dragons in my hands, just like that? Didn’t they have minds and dreams of their own, or did they rely on my guidance and leadership? I let out a snort at that. I wasn’t a leader. Couldn’t pay me to lead my way out of a potato sack, let alone across the countryside in search of answers. I was quite content to wallow in self pity when the sight of the female Moonstone hatchling dragged me from my reverie. These hatchlings, they didn’t do anything to hurt anybody. Yet here one was, offering me chocolate without judgement.

 

I accepted the offered sweets, eating them as I dusted snow from the webbing of my wings. As I finished, I looked at my unlikely allies, the Moonstones and the Golden Wyverns. They were trusting me to do the right thing when it counted. I hoped their trust wasn’t misplaced, for I had no idea what I was doing. Bumbling about, one step at a time was all I used to do. I didn’t have the farsightedness to plan anything apart from possible lineages. Even then, it was a mixed bag of results – my dragons were sentient after all, I could suggest and play matchmaker all I liked, but if one didn’t like the other, nothing was ever going to happen.

 

I began to pace in the snow, using the movement from cramping my muscles into painful knots. I didn’t have it in me to look around the clearing for Oenpelliensis, I wasn’t ready to apologise to him and I wasn’t ready to accept the fact that I was a responsible adult. I was accident prone, short tempered, self deprecating and above all, a coward. None of those were trademarks of a responsible adult. A person could get away with one of those traits, you need some humble pie every now and then after all, but all of them? It would be an accident waiting to happen.

 

----

 

High above the clearing, the form of a dragon soared through the clouds, revelling in the feeling of air streaming against scales. The winds were caressing and soothing, if only one knew where to fly. The dragon pulled his wings tight against his body, dropping from the sky like a chunk of frozen ice. The thrill of plummeting to the earth was almost unparalleled, very few things after all, could garner this dragon’s attention for longer than a fleeting moment. The skies however, were truly magnificent from this angle. It didn’t matter if it were covered in clouds, or as clear as the eye could see, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

 

Rolling his body and snapping his wings out, the dragon caught the air with the membranes of his wings, slowing his once breakneck pace to a relaxed glide. The ground below was almost as interesting as the skies, for it changed with the terrain. Villages were visible from some heights, and on occasion, so too were small creatures. This dragon often paid no mind to the lesser, fleeting beings, he was more interested in the semi permanent. Rocks, trees, beaches – all near constant landmarks just sitting there, waiting to be used as a navigational aid.

 

This instance however, it wasn’t the sight of a landmark that called to his attention, it was the unnatural gathering of dragons located in a small clearing. He coasted along the wind currents, bringing himself closer to the clearing without exerting energy other than to breathe. It was a wonderful life, being a Gray dragon, he was a master of the skies, and a navigator of the lands. As he neared the ragtag group of dragons, he noticed that some of the treetops had been damaged, almost as if a dragon had collided with them in an attempt to avoid a crash landing that evidently failed. That was curious, any dragon large enough to snap the highest branches ought to be large enough to know how to fly.

 

Mind thoroughly engrossed, the Gray dragon dropped into the clearing, alighting beside an adult male Moonstone dragon. The fact that a trio of Moonstone dragons – a desert dwelling breed, was in the alpine didn’t go unnoticed by the dragon, neither did the sight of two Bleeding Moon dragons. Bleeding Moons were, to his understanding, solitary. Unless these were a pair, the sight of two in one place usually meant trouble. The smaller one, female he assumed, appeared to be the culprit for breaking the treetops if the amount of snow that covered the dragon was anything to go by. Shifting his attention to the Golden Wyverns, the Gray deduced that these two were perhaps, the least abnormal among the group.

 

With a voice like a cool breeze, the Gray dragon projected his telepathic words, addressing all in the clearing. “It is a strange day, to find a group of dragons mingling about in a clearing far off from civilisation. Whatever has happened, to bring aggressively solitary creatures, feathered desert dwellers, and winged beasts of golden scale together in a gathering such as this?” His clawed forepaws raised to include the entire gathering, his wings folding back tightly against his body to keep their warmth. He used his tail as a balance for the bipedal posture, but knew he wouldn’t be able to hold it for long. He was built for flying through the skies, not for dwelling on the ground like a lesser being. “I am Flows, master of the skies and navigator of the lands.” Flows gestured with his forepaws, indicating himself as he spoke. “What might I call you, anomalous dragons and wyverns?”

 

((Hah, I just realised that Flows is an arrogant prig. He just oozes superiority in a way that would make me want to punch him. ))

[Alexander_Drake]

I only half heard Flows, as I was, quite frankly, dumbstruck at him. I had seen movement high in the sky moving at high speed, but then it had turned out to be this... arrogant, self-absorbed... Gray. How in the world could something SO AVERAGE have such a high opinion of themselves? It was beyond me.

 

Obviously, Lumina didn't see him as any different. She just offered him some plain, AVERAGE chocolate.

[RWyvern]

Now with Scilicet and Sal in tow, I chased after Gowdali as he flew to next location - a coastal forest. I had been here before and I knew exactly which two of the three Gowdali had listed he was planning to find here.

 

The first one was easy enough. Lying near the edge of a cliff, bathing himself in the sunlight, back towards us and head under a wing. I was forced to squint through the golden glare while Gowdali went right on ahead.

 

Without hesitating for one second, Gowdali landed heavily on Gogumajiosu's back. The Gold roared in shock and scrambled to his feet, turning to look down at Gowdali with absolute offence.

 

"What in the name of the gods do you think you're doing?!" The Gold's voice cut into my head, dripping with fury. Scilicet, Sal and I landed - some metres away - to watch Gowdali handle this.

 

"Did you scratch anything?" Gogumajiosu twisted his head around, squirming to contort himself into a position when he could see the damage he must have taken. Gowdali took this opportunity to smack him over the back of the head with his wing. "Enough!"

 

It only made matters worse. "Don't touch me, wyvern!" Slapping at Gowdali with a paw, Gogumajiosu stepped back - continuing that aggravating glare of disapproval down the length of his nose. "What did you want from me anyway?" I saw his eyes lock onto us three for a fleeting moment. "And who are these commoners?"

 

Gowdali stepped into Gogumajiosu's line of vision. "Scilicet and Sal are two of the smartest dragons on this godforsaken continent and the Howler is Anastasia, the very person who raised you. Long story short, she's a dragon now and we need you to come along with us."

 

"Need?" Sal chimed into the conversation. "Who needs this self-obsessed prick?"

 

Gogumajiosu approached the Bloodscale threateningly. "Dare repeat what you just said?"

 

"I said, 'who needs this self-obsessed prick?'" Scilicet wore a most magnificent 'oh crap' expression the moment he saw the Gold bristle with rage.

 

"Self-obsessed? Self-obsessed?! Well, I never! You should show me more respect; I am caveborn after all." He spoke with his paw up and off the ground, as though he was avoiding touching something unpleasant, and even went so far to glance at the claws.

 

"So are we," Sal pointed out.

 

"But you're two-headed! Twisted and mangled from birth! I, on the other hand..." Gogumajiosu turned so as to let the light shine off his scales, beginning to spread his wings to emphasise his beauty.

 

"We get the picture, O god," Gowdali growled. "We just really need you right now. Doesn't it appease you that four commoners require your and only your assistance?"

 

Gogumajiosu tilted his head, indicating he was thinking. With a brief nod, he didn't even bother to look at us.

"What's in it for me?" One could practically see his thought process.

 

"Anything you desire," Gowdali smirked.

 

Gogumajiosu nodded again, this time more decisively. "Fine, then, plebeians. Consider yourself bestowed with the assistance of one of the finest dragons in Valkemare."

Edited December 27, 2014 by rampaging wyvern

[Omen]

((Gogumajiosu is perfect, in every way! I for one, welcome our new gold overlord.))

 

My pacing stopped as soon as the newcomer spoke, I hadn’t expected another dragon to arrive and I certainly hadn’t expected to not hear them land. Heart in my throat, realisation settled in that this dragon sounded all too familiar. The manner of speech explained more than I needed to know without even looking at the speaker. This dragon was highly confident in himself, perhaps, a little too much. Sometimes however, seeing was believing.

 

I turned to face the dragon, eyes widening at the cruel twist of fate that would have this dragon, of all my horde, dropping from the sky to have a chat. I leaned back on my haunches, placing both of my forepaws on my head in a display that on a human, would have resembled a double facepalm. I had to agree with him that the gathering was out of the ordinary, actually landing to investigate however? The skies were his domain, it was unusual to say the least, to see him land for something as trivial as an introduction.

 

Oenpelliensis must have come to the same conclusion as well, for he moved from the edge of the clearing where he had been sulking, at least I think it was sulking, to investigate the newcomer himself. “Flows,” the male Bleeding Moon let out a chuckle, presumably amused at the situation. “What can we do for you, o master of the skies?”

 

“and navigator of the lands.” Flows responded, adding the second half of his title. The dragon looked to his side, where the little female Moonstone hatchling was offering him chocolates. Flows accepted the sweets, for reasons beyond my comprehension. I couldn’t believe Flows was actually talking to Oenpelliensis, he usually didn’t associate with dragon breeds known for their aggression. Never mind that he, as a Gray, was also prone to aggression.

 

“Whatever,” Oenpelliensis waved his paws, as if dismissing the importance of the Gray dragon’s title. I couldn’t help it, I sniggered. They were actually having a civil conversation! Sure it was a bit stilted with the thinly veiled insults, but it was a conversation all the same.

 

“Point is,” Oenpelliensis continued, “I know you’re not here for chit chat. That’s below a being as intellectually superior such as yourself, so why are you here.” And there it was, the hostility. I shook my head, forepaws still covering my face.

 

Flows let out a disgusted noise, dropping to all fours. “I should have known a thug like you wouldn’t be bothered with introductions.” The Gray dragon gazed at the gathering, his eyes settling on me. I was only aware of this fact because I had left a gap in my paws to see, but why was he looking at me? “Control your mate, Bleeding Moon. A refined female such as yourself shouldn’t have settled for such a brutish male.”

 

Wait, what? I dropped my paws to the ground, a giggle fit slowly but surely building from the bottom of my belly. Soon, I was rolling on the snow in fits of laughter at how ridiculous the situation was. Of course he’d come to that conclusion. Nothing else would make a lick of sense, not to a dragon who spent most of his time with his head literally in the clouds.

 

Oenpelliensis, sounding rather offended at the assumption, cut in before I could get an opportunity to speak. “Omen is most certainly, not my mate-” Oenpelliensis stated with certainty, but his words were interrupted before he had a chance to finish.

 

“Omen, our keeper? Where is she, and what in the name of the skies would she being doing here?” Flows interjected again, watching the Bleeding Moon male fluster was ever so entertaining to him.

 

Breathing in a lungful of frigid alpine air, I was finally over my giggle fit. I hoped Flows wouldn’t say something as unexpected as that again, for I feared my lungs would not survive through another episode. “I’m right here, Flows. You see, there is this girl who is going around turning dragon keepers into dragons. I was investigating a fight with the Bleeding Moons when she found me. I was knocked unconscious and I woke up looking like this.”

 

I gave the Gray a moment for the revelation to sink in, and saw that he was going to talk again, if the wide eyed look between me and Oenpelliensis was anything to judge by. I had a feeling he would say something to Oenpelliensis that would cross the line, and I didn’t feel like breaking up a fight between my own dragons, so I spoke before he could. “I know it’s hard to believe, but to prove it’s me, I recall that from the day you hatched, nobody could keep you still long enough to teach you to hunt. You wanted to nothing more than to explore, and eventually you learned how to hunt and fly by yourself, without the assistance of the other Gray dragons."

 

Flows reared back onto his hind legs again, using his tail to support the bipedal posture once more. “Yes yes, that’s enough of that, I believe you.” The dragon sounded a little embarrassed at my recollection, but seemed to take me for my word. Good, it felt good not to have to headbutt someone into submission. I doubted I’d be able to get close enough to Flows to headbutt him, he was flighty after all, but any day that someone takes me at my word is a good one.

 

----

 

Deep inside the alpine mountains, the form of an emaciated dragon stalked the darkened tunnels. Claws clacked on stone, the only proof that the carved rock harboured a creature of this world. With eyes attuned to the darkness that only years of adjustment could produce, the dragon scented the air, following the trail of another that had recently passed through. Oh, what ecstasy it would be to taste warm blood one his tongue once again.

 

Just thinking about it caused the dragon to flick his tongue out, dragging it along his draconic lips in a manner that would terrify even the boldest of dragons that resided within this very same mountain. He hungered for the life force that pumped through the veins of living creatures, yearned for the taste of utter despair that fused with his victim's blood the moment they learned their lives were truly at an end, desired the adrenaline rush that would surge through his own veins as he ended the life of another. Soon, oh yes, soon there will be blood.

 

((Right, that was perhaps, the creepiest two paragraphs I have ever written.))

Edited December 27, 2014 by VampiricOmen

[Alexander_Drake]

(Omen, you are a writing genius, creepy paragraphs or not.)

 

Hearing Omen's recollection of Flows' childhood, I couldn't help but giggle, and the same went for Ludwig, but on a much more extreme level. He soon lay still, breathing heavily, and said, "My sides hurt."

 

Lumina promptly fed him some chocolate.

Edited December 27, 2014 by Alexander_Drake

[Omen]

((Ahhhhh. Thanks!

 

I’ve omitted a few paragraphs between the section below and my last post. If you want to see it, send me a PM. It’s potentially triggering (dark/violent), and I don’t want to upset anyone by posting it here.))

 

And blood there was. The Pygmy dragon, Pint Sized Terror, was absolutely taken aback by the sheer amount of blood on the ground, walls and ceiling. She wasn’t sure what had happened here, other than carnage. As soon as she stumbled upon the grisly sight, the Pygmy had called for a group of dragons called the Nightwatch. The Nightwatch was a group in charge of policing the nocturnal denizens of the clan, and they had spent the better part of the past hour surveying the scene.

 

There was no doubt about it, the Nightwatch had deduced that perpetrator was a Vampire dragon. Considering part of the Nightwatch was comprised of Vampire dragons, the officers were all too familiar with the potential destruction a blood starved denizen of the night could produce. Coincidentally, their second in command, Sosrahgol, was nowhere to be seen. The thought was on everyone’s mind, they wanted Sosrahgol to be responsible. It had to be him, the other possibilities were too frightening to consider; without proof however, the leader of the clan’s Coven would not permit a widespread search for his lieutenant.

 

Elsewhere, the clan’s daylight defenders known as the Sunshield Sentinels enacted Protocol: Wyvern Scale. Every tunnel in a one mile radius from the scene of the crime was cleared and searched, in the hunt for the culprit. The Sunshield Sentinels held a strong dislike for the clan’s Vampires and by association, the Nightwatch, but in light of recent events, they put aside their differences to protect the citizens of the clan. They were needed too, for it was utter chaos in the depths of the mountains.

 

----

 

Flows

 

The Gray dragon turned to face the male dragon he had landed beside, a look of disdain spreading across his face at the sound of the Moonstone’s giggle. His forelegs were crossed, evidence to his building indignation. “Oh yes, such a riveting tale, my hatchlinghood. I suppose your story is far more interesting than mine, hmm?” The condescension in his tone was palpable. He excused the hatchlings behaviour, but an adult, acting like a recently fledged hatchling? The behaviour was juvenile at best. The same could be said for his keeper’s prior behaviour that had been considerably worse than a minor giggle, but the look Omen had given him moments prior dissuaded him from mentioning it.

 

Oenpelliensis

 

The Bleeding Moon was glad that Flows had dropped the topic of him being Omen’s mate. It was embarrassing to say the least, for such an accusation to be directed toward him. Oenpelliensis paid no mind to the attentions of female Bleeding Moons prior to this accursed adventure, and he wouldn’t start now. Especially since the only other Bleeding Moon was his keeper. Instead of dwelling on the topic, Oenpelliensis entertained himself with the possibility of a battle of wits occurring between Flows and Alexander.

 

Flows was, to his understanding, a colossal prig. Alexander, to his understanding, wouldn’t tolerate that behaviour for long. On that same token, Oenpelliensis didn’t think anyone would tolerate the smug attitude for long, not without wanting to clock the Gray over the head. Oenpelliensis would support anyone who happened to take it upon themselves to do that. Besides, if Omen thought Oenpelliensis needed a dose humility, then it goes without saying that Omen would think Flows needed a great big serving of it. Preferably hot, because Oenpelliensis wanted to see the Gray squirm when he burnt his tongue.

 

Omen

 

I noticed Oenpelliensis had stopped looking gobsmacked, and had instead turned to smirk at the unfolding situation before him. I didn’t think the situation all that funny, but at least Flows had gone along with my story. Now however, Flows was pushing Alexander for a reaction. Since Alexander was, once upon a time, a human, I half expected his response to be something along the lines of that. Maybe his response would be a bit more detailed, but it goes without saying – Flows wouldn’t be expecting Alexander’s answer, no matter which way the Human-turned-Moonstone worded it.

 

Flows would then at least, be able to put two and two together and just might have his curiosity sated enough to fly off. Which wasn’t something I wanted to happen. If we had any hopes of finding where the girl and her Magi’s lair was, we needed a navigator. Flows was the best I knew of, even if his personality became exasperating in anything other than small, teeny-tiny quantities. If he did join us, he’d no doubt stay flying in the air for as long as possible. But first, I wanted to see how he would react to Alexander.