Tipping the scales

[Aquila]

Solaziyth did laugh now, a raucous, crow-like sound. "What, would you dream me to death? She mocked. "I'm terrified." She checked with Nova and Boris to make sure they could hold him, then flew off to gather reinforcements. It would be embarassing to have caught the dragon only to lose him a few miles away from the city. She spotted two dark forms in the distance and called out to them with her mind. It was Notaravu, Dominic's male Red, and Charfavta, Nikolai's female Hellfire Wyvern. She liked Notaravu in a distant sort of way and had no opinion on Charfavta. Notaravu greeted her gruffly and told her that Dominic had said to send her home. "Good. It's a Daydream, so stay alert." She nodded politely at Charfavta and was on her way.

 

The other dragons escorted the Daydream to one of the smaller but still impressive towers, where he would be held for an indeterminate period of time while various people questioned him. A large door slid open silently in the side of the tower, and he was bundled in rather uncerimoniously. The holding cell he was put in was large enough to curl up in comforably, though not large enough to do much else. Like so much in the city, it was sleek, unadorned silver-grey. There was no view to the outside, just a small ventilation duct to keep him from suffocating. It was a rather claustrophobic place, especially for dragons of the air.

[Katedj]

The raucous laugh momentarily broke through Ferovan's thoughts, and he heard her taunt. He kept his eyes closed and body still. You'd be surprised what I can do. Ferovan thought, grim at his prospects. He opened his eyes when he started moving, watching the Bone Marrow disappear into the forest. He noticed that it was a red dragon and Hellfire Wyvern that were continuing the trip. He kept himself closed off almost completely, allowing himself only his senses. He breathed carefully, absorbing the scents as carefully as he could. He watched expressions, movements, directions. He listened, both normally and with his mind. Some didn't realize, but he could hear conversations. Even mental ones. They started out vague, just sounds. As people unconsciously got used to his air-like presence he could listen.

 

The air rushed through the net, and Ferovan breathed in the free air wistfully. He watched as they went into one of the smaller towers, but unfortunately they didn't pass the bigger one on the way there. He sighed as he was tossed inside, net and all. Luckily once they had let go, the top loosened up and he was able to worm his way out. Once he was free he kicked it into a corner, surveying his surroundings. Plain. Plain as day. He curled up, closing his eyes. He began to recreate the world in his mind, unfazed by his current surroundings.

 

~~~

 

Erdezeld glanced at Pastel, interested that he could keep up. She leaned a little harder, pulling ahead a bit. "Bet I can beat you there." She told him, glancing back at Rajan. He seemed to be keeping up, and she didn't think he could mind if they pulled ahead a bit. She began flying using strong, short flaps that propelled her forward in bursts like an arrow. She felt Monica's other arm wrap around her neck, and she could hear the wind whistling in her ear as she sped forward

Edited March 27, 2013 by Katedj

[shadowflash]

"Oh no you're not!" Pastel flapped second pair of wings, propelling him foward as he sped towards Erdezeld.

[Aquila]

Rajan and Nilam followed Monica and Erdezeld quietly. Neither had seen the ocean before, and were a bit overwhelmed by the endless expanse of water. In fact, it made them slightly nervous. Most water in Nepal was polluted, and the water that wasn't was used for drinking. As such, there weren't many opportunities to swim, and Nilam didn't know how.

 

Have more faith in my flying ablities, Rajan grouched at her. She said nothing, but smiled and scratched his neck. At this unexpected movement, Tilak let out an indignant peeping noise. He did not seem to enjoy the ocean, and was currently hidden inside her sweater, trembling.

[Katedj]

As the stars began to appear, Erdezeld adjusted her course accordingly. She looked forward with a determined look in her eye. Pastel was lucky, he didn't have a load load right now. Otherwise she would could out-race him, and any dragon (with the exception of Skywings...they just had a nack for that extra speed). Or even if she wasn't quite faster than them, she could at least out-maneuver them.

 

~~~

 

Monica watched the sky carefully, mentally noting every time a star dimmed as a dragon passed by it, and watching where they were going. There weren't many out tonight, but after her scare earlier today she wasn't taking any chances. I hope Fer didn't either She thought. He was always so obstinate, and too smart for his own good. She would alert Erdezeld to the ones she saw, keeping her doubts to herself.

[Aquila]

(OOC: The distance from Nepal to Guam is about 4000 miles. Even if dragons could fly at like 100mph, it would take them nearly two days of traveling to get there, IF they didn't sleep. Can we just skip to their arrival?)

[Katedj]

Ooc; Since they can use magic they might be able to travel faster, but yeah, our next post can be them landing . If we had more time I'd make them a bit slower, but I don't really care.

 

Bic;

 

Erdezeld could see them passing by the Phillipines far below them. Just a faint mirage against the ocean without the sun to bring it color. She began descending very slowly, and the moon had passed it's highest point in the sky by the time she could see Guam waiting below them. She felt a slight lightening, mainly a bit less resistance as Monica leaned forward more, when Fezir jumped off. Erdezeld looked back to see her free-falling for a moment before she caught herself, and Erdezeld could see Pastel far in front of them. She drove herself forward, telling Monica "Hold on tight". Erdezeld began a sharp nosedive, the air whistling by. "I don't want to do this Erdezeld. Please. I'm too tired." She heard Monica's voice, and she immediately slowed herself, breaking out of the dive and beginning to circle down less sharply, but still somewhat steeply. She landed on the ocean water quietly, the waves just breaking over her paws as she looked at the White dragon and Sunsong that were standing in front of her. She felt Monica dismount, and she could see her human looking at the group.

 

~~~

 

Monica's arms ached from hanging on during the long, fast flight. Once she dismounted from Erdezeld she dropped her throbbing arms by her side. Taking a few steps forward, she looked out at the people calmly. A quiet rush of air alerted her to Fezir's presence, and placing her hand on Erdezeld's neck she connected to all of their minds, and she cast them out all around them, ensuring that they were the only ones within hearing distance. There wasn't another soul around, on land or sea. Monica waited a moment, letting the sound of the sea calm her, taking a moment to enjoy the feeling of the water against her ankles.

 

Taking a deep breath, Monica squared her shoulders and raised her eyes to the group before her. "Welcome Everyone. We are only one step away from reaching Alegria, the city of Joy. We will make more formal introductions once we reach it. Now, here's what you all need to know about the city...it's underwater. Deep underwater. But we can make it in one trip. There are 6 Deep Sea Dragons who will come and take us there. The basic idea of how that works is we will fly out over the ocean in single file, when I raise my arm you take your biggest breath and dive into the ocean, where one of the dragons will meet you. Wrap your arms and legs around them the best you can, and they will be using their magic to make it so that you don't need to breathe. It basically prolongs how long your breath stays in your chest, and relieves the pressure on you when we get down deep. Now I have one quick question. Roughly how long can you hold your breath?"

 

~~~~

 

Erdezeld was tired, but she looked at Pastel. "You beat me here." She sighed, then added playfully, "But you won't win next time." As Monica's speech was getting closer to ending she added, "More seriously though, I need you to stay here while we all fly out. You can go to sleep if you'd like, we're right by your cave. I'm going to be dropping Monica and Fezir off and then I'll come back."

[Aquila]

(OOC: Oh. Magic. Right. *facepalm*)

 

Rajan landed neatly on the sand, shaking it out of his claws with annoyance. Nilam slid off his back and stood waiting for Monica to speak, brushing hair out of her face with mild annoyance. Her dark eyes flicked across the other two women waiting on the beach. One was Inidan and the other was Asian, possibly Japanese. She smiled at them and returned her attention to Monica. The woman took a deep breath and began to speak. Nilam listened to her speech, eyes growing steadily wider. Underwater? No wonder no one had found it. She couldn't decide if she was more impressed or terrified. Both emotions reigned from supremacy in her head.

 

You've climbed Everest, Rajan said, mocking her. You're scared of this?

 

People climb Everest all the time. How often do they travel hundreds of miles underwater?

 

Fairly often, apparently. He eyed the assembled group, noting its rather large size.

 

"I don't know. I cannot swim and I've never held my breath for another reason. Do the dragons travel in the same way?" Nilam said in reply to Monica's question.

[shadowflash]

"That's fine Erdezeld." Pastel stared at the water or a minute. "Wait wait wait, fly out? I thought you all are going down into the ocean? Pastel was clearly confuzed. It's fine that he will be staying in his cave and will be able to take a nap, but what are they going to do? Flying or diving?

[Katedj]

Erdezeld naturally made a soft, mental hushing noise to Pastel. "Unless you're joining, the less that you know the better off you will be. But suffice it to say that I will be flying out and back. I will do none of the diving." She told him, crouching down so that the waves were brushing against her belly.

 

 

~~~~

 

Moriqua had settled peacefully into the sand with Shobana resting quietly between her paws. She watched the ocean and sky calmly, quietly observing their changes. She barely moved during the hours that they waited for Monica to return, watching as the sun set and the stars come out. By the time the mood had risen, with its light blocking out some of the stars, she could see some moving figures in the distance. Just when the moon was highest overhead, the group landed before them. She raised herself into a sitting position, and she could see that Shobana was sitting cross-legged before her. She listened carefully to Monica, even when Shobana interrupted by saying,

"I thought it might be under-water. I had heard it called the New Atlantis, and that's like the old legend I used to read about."

Once Monica had finished, she waited for the new girl to say she was uncertain, then listened as Monica replied, "The dragons do travel the same way, but Tilak will travel with you. You will probably find it easier if you let him latch on first and then wrap your arms around both of them."

She waited a moment before she spoke up.

"I could hold my breath far longer than a few minutes. I'm not sure by how much however, as I have not needed to test it. Shobana could probably manage a minute and a half by herself." She told Monica. She knew her guess for Shobana was accurate, for she knew Shobana too well to be wrong.

[shadowflash]

"I'll be waiting on the island then." He got up and started to fly slowly to the island. "See you soon Erdezeld."

[Katedj]

As Charniruga slept quietly in her room, she began to dream. In her dream she was looking out at the streets of Redash, sitting quietly beside one of the grand under-ground buildings that made the capital. Her hand looked masculine, and she watched it moving along a smooth column. It then became a fist, and she felt a sense of desperation.

 

Suddenly, her mind became black and she opened her eyes, her mind having been torn away from what she realized was Anthony's mind. He greeted her quietly, his voice soft, "Charn." She couldn't help but look away as she heard his voice. "I need to get away from here for a bit." Just the sound of his voice stirred up feelings of anxiety and hurt within her, but she wouldn't forget her responsibilities. "I'll be right there" She responded, slightly subdued.

 

~~~

 

Sitting quietly on the wide marble rail outside of the capital building, Anthony waited quietly for Charn to come to him. It was always unnerving to him how much a part of him she was. It was like he was literally tied to her, which he found rather frustrating as he didn't like being so closely tied to anyone, especially now. As she landed in front of him, he couldn't help but appreciate her natural grandeur. She was a gorgeous dark blue, with shimmering light blue wings. Her white underbelly created a crisp break from the rich colors, and she was large enough to carry at least two people. Walking up to her without saying anything, Anthony ran his hand along her neck, patted her shoulder, then heaved himself up onto her back with a small grunt.

 

As he settled into place, he closed his eyes as he felt her walk along the ground. Even her lumbering walk would have him jogging to keep up, and he knew she would take him outside without further prompting.

 

 

~~~~

 

Opening his purple eyes quietly, Ferovan temporarily put his day dream on halt to observe the world around him once again. He wasn't sure what was coming next, but he was sure it was going to be unpleasant. The cramped space and blade-like net seemed like good fore-shadowing of what was to come. Time seemed to pass extremely slowly now, and he closed his eyes to fill his mind with a make-believe world again, and it wasn't long before Ferovan fell into a light sleep, just waiting for whatever would come next.

[IceFyr1928]

[Good news! I'm back! Mind giving me a brief recap of events?]

[Katedj]

Ooc; Welcome back! You haven't missed too much, but basically the defenders group is now together, waiting to actually go down to the city. Ferovan has been captured and is waiting in his holding cell. And Anthony Morales is finally coming into the story. There's also a bit of drama with one character being wounded in The Protector's capital.

[IceFyr1928]

[Cool biz. I'll see about posting sometime in the near future.]

[Mousia]

(Sorry for my long leave of absence from this thread.)

 

Ever, in response to Monica's question, shrugged. "I usually travel in thin air, so my lungs are relatively strong. I suppose I'd stop feeling comfortable around a minute or so. Maybe I could do a minute and a half. Aurum might be around the same, but I'm not sure." She looked up at her dragon and smiled. "Aren't you excited, Aurum?" He merely grunted in response. He was, but refused to let Ever see him weakened. His own pride prevented him from being anything but her method of transport and her guard.

[Katedj]

Ooc; It's okay Mousia

 

Bic;

 

Monica nodded, taking in the information. "So here is the best way for this to work. I will lead the way, followed by Nilam, Ever, and Shobana. I will dive into the water, followed by all of the humans. Erdezeld will lead the larger dragons in a circle, she will show when to dive, so they can begin as well. It will take about 5 minutes to reach the city, and as it is your first time I suggest closing your eyes." She said, her tone very level and practical. "If you decide not to come, then I shall not judge you." She added seriously, looking around the group. Then she smiled. "But I think it's worth this bit of struggle. And you have nothing to fear. But that is only my opinion."

 

With her last words, Monica planted her hands on Erdezeld's shoulders and lifted herself easily the smooth back. She greeted Erdezeld directly as she wrapper her arms around her silver and blue neck as Fezir settled between them. "Thank you for your help today...It seems Pastel is growing used to you quickly."

 

"I do what I can." Erdezeld replied, her like a gentle sonata in Monica's mind. "He's interesting. It will be nice to be around someone when you aren't here."

 

"Take care of yourself, Dez." Monica replied, watching the water below. The ocean was dark and mysterious, but soon she spotted the familiar lights of the deep sea dragons. She spotted Luminosita's distinctive light pattern, and she greeted her quickly, "Luminosita, you will pick up the person who enters just after me. They will have a pygmy with them. I can go with Quikizio and Picajesae can take the third person. After that Beykeipo, Kehoy, and Lellarye can take the three dragons that will follow."

 

Once she had finished her directions she drummed her fingers lightly along Erdezeld's shoulder, and she slowed slightly. Monica stood, took a deep breath. They were about 5 feet above the ocean, and she dove neatly into the water. The coolness was extremely familiar, and she wrapped her arms around the smaller deep sea dragons body. It's fins provided a natural stop against her armpits, and she felt Fezir settled between her neck and Quikizio. Quikizio had recently matured and wasn't as skilled with his magic. But she had good lungs. As they began descending further into the ocean, she could feel the gentle feeling of the magic preserving her oxygen. The need to breathe lessened greatly, and there was also a lessening of the pressure of the water against her body.

 

~~~

 

Settling down so he was cross-legged onto the smooth, damp, grey rock that made the entrance to the city, Patrick rested his arms lightly on his charcoal, corduroy trousers as he stared at the dark water below him. Monica would be coming soon, hopefully with some new visitors as well. He was eager for her return and to see the new-comers. There was very little light in this part of the cave, but he had a flashlight by his side, though it was off at the moment.

 

~~~

 

As Anthony and Charniruga flew low over the city, Anthony began a conversation.

 

"I think I figured out the next step to defeating the Idealists." He told her, and he sensed a flicker of interest.

 

"Really? What are you planning?" She replied.

 

"Since the start of the war I have been weeding out the best warriors and creating a more elite group to lead the main attack. I have also been training magi's to use their capabilities in many ways, and many have even learned to transport adult dragons for a short distance. No one has ever thought that an attack could come from the north pole, it is far too frigid. But I have been testing different dragon's abilities to withstand cold, and I have found 500 Hellfire Wyverns to fly with my 500 Magis, and with them are another 500 Blacks. The Magi's and Hellfire's are a suitable combination to help the Black's withstand the cold, and I'm beginning to crunch the numbers just now, but it would take 3 days to reach the Idealist territory. Perhaps a bit less, and I would expect little resistance up until that point." He said, explaining his plan carefully. "What do you think?"j He asked, almost as an after-thought.

 

~~~

 

Charniruga listened to Anthony quietly but carefully. "It's a very solemn event. It seems as though they would succeed in reaching the place, but how would they fare in taking it over? Do you know what the Idealists could have up their sleeve?" She asked, slowing to a glide with a flap here or there to stay aloft.

 

"That's the next thing I need to find out." He replied, his voice almost steely. Her tail twitched as she heard his voice, but she let the conversation drop for the moment.

[IceFyr1928]

[>_< sorry for the mystical vanish there. Life got a heck of a lot busier than I expected]

 

Nickolai sat himself in the interrogation room. It was about time he pried information from the imprisoned Daydream. He pressed a button on the lone table in the room, and waited for his agents to bring the dragon in.

 

The interrogation room itself was quite simple, a transparent metal alloy of his own creation seperated the room in half. On one side, there lay a simple table and some chairs, on the other, an open area nicked with claw, scale, and tooth marks. The humans sat on one side of the chamber, and interrogated the dragon on the other side. It was a simple, yet effective and ingenious, method of extracting information. If the dragon didn't comply, the containment area was lined with an electric charge, of whitch the human questioner controlled the intensity. They had a seperate room with its own amenities for pesky thunder dragons.

 

Nickolai waited patiently. He needed only the dragon to show up, and he could begin questing for answers. His friend might make it on time, but Nickolai refused to wait for him this time.

[Katedj]

The door opened, filling the room in a rush of light. Ferovan blinked awake. A human stood before him with a large stick of some sort, waving him out. He frowned at it, but walked quietly out into the hall. He looked around, unsure of where to go when a shock coursed through him. He growled menacingly, offended that the human wasn't even clear on which way to go. He walked away from it, but several other humans were dashing along in front of him. He picked up on one of their mental maps, and used it to get to the interrogation room without any further zaps.

 

Once he entered the room, the door was shut behind him with a definitive clank. Casting his mind about, there was clearly no one else in the room. But he could faintly sense the mind of whoever was beyond one of the walls. He began honing in on it as unobtrusively as possible as he waited.

[IceFyr1928]

Nickolai stood as the captive Daydream dragon entered the interrogation room, and turned on the recording equipment on the table. He also turned on mental wavelength meters, and a device that would translate the dragon's mental side of the conversation into a physical voice. Once this was done, he pressed a button on what appeared to be a wristwatch on his left wrist. Nickolai motioned to this device and said, "You like it? It is a personal mental field encoder and distorter. A device of my own invention. Essentially, it makes it impossible for you to read and enter my mind. Now, shall we begin? Good. First question. How and why is it that you were in our city?"

[Katedj]

Ferovan's mind was blasted away from Nickolai's the moment he touched his wrist. Ferovan was grateful that he hadn't been pressing very hard, or it might have actually hurt. He felt a deep sense of amusement at the man's little toy, but he did his best to keep his inner voice silent. "I am a wild dragon. I was curious as to what your city was like." He responded, sitting down in much the same manner as a dog, gazing at the stranger calmly.

[IceFyr1928]

Nickolai was getting impatient. This dragon thought he could treat him as an equal? He almost wanted to send his Magma Wyvern after him, just to set in a little respect... However, he had questions to ask, and putting this dragon through the ring with a much more brutal Wyvern was most likely not the best course of action if he wanted answers.

 

"That is funny," Nickolai replied, "For you are actually listed as belonging to a certain... Political rival. Mind explaining as to how you ended up in that file?"

 

Nickolai glanced at the door briefly, half expecting his friend to burst through at any second, completely ruining the atmosphere. He may be a blundering idiot at times, Nickolai reminded himself, but he is still my brother.

Edited May 20, 2013 by IceFyr1928

[Katedj]

Ferovan watched the man quietly while he talked. He was memorizing his features, taking note of the smart clothing, at least as far as Ferovan could see. Ah, but now he was done talking. "Belonging to someone?" He said, raising his nose disdainfully. "I belong to no one." He declared emphatically. "I don't know what's wrong with your files, but I guarantee you I am telling the truth." If this man had a lie detector of any sort on him, Ferovan knew that it would back him up. Monica may have hatched him, but she had no control over him nor did she try to. She had relinquished that control long ago, but he wasn't going to give things away too quickly. Or at all if he could help it.

[Aquila]

(Hey you guys. Things have been crazy lately, sorry! School's almost over now, so I should be more active. EDIT: OMG I forgot I control Dominic. Sorry.)

 

Katerina's blue eyes followed the Grey Dragons soaring high above Maiwan, almost invisible against the grey clouds. Her window was blurred with some form of precipitation that was somewhere between fog and rain. She'd been waiting all day for the sun to emerge and burn away the clouds, but it was mid-afternoon and the clouds remained like a heavy layer of wool. She turned back to her sleek silver computer, intent on finishing the report she had begun today. Already text filled half her screen, though this was mainly cataloging individual reports from their agents in Redash. Anthony Morales had been training a select group of Magis for a while now, though to what aim no one had been able to say. There had been an increase in activity in upper reaches of Canada in the past eighteen months, and even a few forays into the highly contested Greenland. Many of the subsidiary analysts recommended sending all available Ices to watch northernmost areas of their territory. Katerina agreed, though she knew that they had very few Ices readily equipped to handle such work. With a stifled sigh, she sent notes to the top tacticians for suggestions on what to send. She stared out the window at the grey sky, chin resting on her hand as she tapped perfectly manicured nails against her desk. After a few minutes, she decided she coffee was worth the steady drizzle, and quietly left the office.

~

Nilam took a deep breath, gently touched Rajan's shoulder, and tucked Tilak tightly in her arms. She waded into the ocean as Monica had instructed, nervously eying the strange, glowing dragons that awaited her.

~

Dominic burst into the interrogation room, his long black coat fluttering wildly behind him. His hair was slightly disheveled, and he shook water droplets off himself as he entered. "Dreary weather out there today. Just dismal," he told Nikolai in German, his voice bright despite the subject. "Have I missed anything?" He eyed the daydream as he sat himself down. "Rather skinny specimen, this one." He kept his eyes on the pale blue dragon.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Aquila

[Katedj]

Gliding around the darkness of the water, Luminosita watched as Monica was taken down below. She began moving in a slow, large circle, waiting for the next person to fall into the water so she could catch them. She was the oldest deep sea of the group, having lived for the past 350 years rather peacefully. She wasn't the oldest in the sea, and she still felt young. She hoped that the human and pygmy would enter the water soon, so she could return to the safety of the depths.

 

~~~

 

The tension broke the moment another human entered the room. Ferovan felt a bit frustrated, as it would be harder to convince two without entering their mind than just one. But he was careful to keep a straight face, and he resisted the urge to yawn. The other one looked directly at him, so Ferovan met his gaze.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Katedj