by The Kingpin » Thu Feb 02, 2012 12:52 am
At the call of his name, Dunaakh stepped forward. He held none of the excessive self-confidence that Stukhniir had, instead eyeing the Elder's form. As Dunaakh prepared himself, Thurduunax smiled. This one showed some promise. Eyes narrowing, the scarred Dragon dug his claws into the rocky ground below as he spread his wings, beginning to kick up a powerful gust as bluish wisps of energy flowed from the runes on his upper torso, the gust morphing into a small storm above him, chunks of ice forming within, some as large as carriages, others the size of some of the younger Hueilin themselves, swirling in the midst of the small, controlled tornado. Growling, Dunaakh beat his wings forwards, the storm's payload of ice raining down on the Elder, the first hitting him, exploding into a wave of ice that spread from Thurduunax's chest to his shoulders, the others twisting round him and swerving upwards, twisting round as Thurduunax's eyes flared with whitish purple light, the massive chunks of ice hurtling towards Dunaakh, the younger Dragon's intact eye widening slightly, having not expected Thurduunax to redirect almost all of them, dark purple wisps of energy flowing across his arms as he fired a bolt at the closest of the ice shards, which exploded violently, the detonation setting off the others, the frost raining down onto the platform. "That was impressive. Against an opponent of your own calibre you'd do well. Provided you could sustain that level of strength. However, it's not surprising to see how you failed to stop Arashi. Bringing storms against one so famously called the Stormweaver was an unwise move" stated Thurduunax, as a bolt of black energy shot forward, colliding with his chest in a massive explosion of light, as the jagged edge on one side of the platform was obliterated, leaving a crater. Thurduunax chuckled. "Distracting your opponent from the real threat. Clever. You have the makings of your Great Grandfather, Vuradviig. He would have been proud. Perhaps some hope remains in this Clan afterall" growled the Elder. Dunaakh bowed respectfully, before stepping back, the crowd of Dragons letting their collective gaze fall upon Krognar; the most outspoken of the Clan for the role of Leader.
The armoured Dragon stepped forward reluctantly, eyeing Thurduunax warily. The Elder was rather large by comparison, but not vastly so. Unlike Dunaakh and Stukhniir, he was more physically adept than magically. Though it was obvious from the Elder's change in posture that he knew that. his stance had changed into that befitting a lion before a confrontation. Krognar growled lowly, suddenly leaping at the Elder, talons outstretched, as Thurduunax reared up, catching the armoured Hueilin with one clawed hand, before bringing it down over his head, driving Krognar face first into the platform with a loud rattling scrape as the armoured Dragon's chin smashed into and skidded along the platform's floor, Thurduunax closing his talons around Krognar's horns, swinging him to the side as he let go, the Dragon tumbling a few feet away before rolling onto his feet, beating his wings experimentally, ensuring they were intact, before taking to the air. Thurduunax smiled as he looked up, beating his own powerful wings, a hot gust of wind coming from the shimmering membranes. "Now you're on the right track!" boomed the Elder as he leapt, taking to the air with surprising speed for his size, Krognar diving at him as he unleashed a plume of flames, twisting to one side after using it to obstruct Thurduunax's vision, slamming into the Elder's shoulder with his claws, tearing into the Elder's scales as he shot past, Thurduunax snarling as he twisted to face the attacker, a whitish blue fireball rocketing towards Krognar so fast he barely had time to turn and glance at the Elder before it hit. The smaller Dragon was engulfed in a massive explosion of flames as Thurduunax shot through it, tackling Krognar with the very shoulder he had tried to injure, a loud crack being heard as the Armoured Dragon fell from the sky like a stone, dazed from the blow as Thurduunax circled round, streams of flame spilling from his nostrils as he looked down at the plummeting Dragon, diving at him with his arms outstretched, to pluck him from the sky before he hit the cliffs. As he closed in, Krognar twisted, hitting the Elder with his clubbed tail, a stream of flame spilling onto the Elder's form as Krognar kicked off the Elder's upper torso and flew off towards the platform. Thurduunax was quick to recover, the loud thump of his wings all that was heard before he slammed into the reacting Dragon, sending him, along with himself, plummeting towards the platform in a spiralling dive, claws and jaws clashing violently before they broke off as they reached the ground, Thurduunax rising with a powerful thump of his tattered wings, which were now engulfed in flames, the Elder's fin and the gaps between each segment of his jagged horns and scales in similar condition, the Elder a terrifying sight to behold as he looked down at Krognar, who circled round, descending to the platform, landing in a crouch, panting, lowering his head, conceding to the Elder, Thurduunax descending slowly, landing on the platform with a thump as the flames across his body extinguished themselves, the Elder looking down with a smile. "An impressive performance, Krognar. In fact, better than Dunaakh, if only for the fact you were more persistent. You and he would do well for this Clan if you worked side by side in leadership" rumbled Thurduunax, the panting Dragon before him rising slowly, spitting a glob of blood and saliva onto the ground as he looked up at the Elder. Thurduunax's gaze narrowed as he glanced over at Tanwen and Septimus, both of whom, like most of those around him at this point, were more than a bit intimidated by the Elder's power. "For now you both have much to learn about leadership. Until that time comes, I will take charge of Clan Khulruud and train you in the ways of your ancestors.For now however, it is time we assembled the other Clan Leaders. Dunaakh and Krognar, you two are to inform them. I will be waiting in the centre of the Valley, at the foot of the Black Spire" rumbled the Elder as he turned, heading down into the valley, as Dunaakh and Krognar spoke over their own duties, the rest of the Clan discussing what had unfolded eagerly...
"Ah yes, organised chaos. the sign of a clever but ever-busy mind. To the perpetrator, a carefully woven web of belongings and intrigue, but to the bystander? Madness!"
–William Beckett, Lore of Leyuna RPG