by The Kingpin » Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:40 pm
Andruil chuckled lightly as he held the flower by the stem, handing it to Vix as he saw the sun rising. To think....6 hours from now, they could well be at the gates of the Dwarven Kingdom of Hrasskrold. As important as the mission was...at the moment he barely cared, preferring instead to bask in bliss, right here with Vix. Arsenic may have never noticed with his seeming distraction in thought, but Shiryaz had been acting as a sentry the entire night, as he frequently did when Andruil rested. the razor sharp senses of the animal made sneaking up on the camp next to impossible...
"What happened after I left?" growled Septimus lowly as he walked with his mother, the older female curling one wing over her son as she walked. "Well...your fa-...Arashi tried to take charge of the Clans" she stated, stopping mid-sentence when Septimus eyed her warningly as she started saying the word father. He was still bitter over the incident that led to his exile...of the words said. "He's a powerful Psychomancer but even he couldn't keep fooling the Clan Leaders forever. Eventually, Jhunaar, the Clan Leader of Khelisaad, saw through it, and had his own best Psychomancers attend a meeting of Clan Leaders in secret, without Arashi knowing. They figured it out, and confronted him. Before anyone knew what was going on, the Valley was gripped in the most vicious storm any of us had ever seen, Jhuunar being killed, along with Alaskhuun, as they tried to stop him. It was the blow that killed Jhuunar that scarred Dunaakh. He tried to block the blow...brave fool" she continued, the White Dragoness lowering her head sadly, Septimus curving his own under hers, raising her head before looking her in the eyes. "How come nobody ever mentioned his travels out of Drakhunmiir?" he questioned softly. "After we presumably lost three of our best fighters several millennia ago, the Elders decided it best to forbid their Clans from leaving. It was turned into a punishment. Arashi left on his own...seeking knowledge...Wanting to come back with proof that more than death awaited out there....to come back and take over his Clan...then revoke the rule" explained the female, occasionally catching a glance from another Hueilin as she walked. Some looked at her sympathetically, others with genuine joy, but still others held a gaze of bitterness in their eyes that tempted Septimus to attack them just for showing it to her. "But by the time he came back, he had changed. He got what he wanted, of course. He was more powerful than he could ever have hoped before then. But the power came with a price" she growled with a sigh. Septimus cocked his head, curious. "Well...I'm sure you've at least wondered about your name....Arashi refused to give me more of a reason to it....But to me it seemed to be his idea of a cruel joke....mocking himself and his mistakes....Seven. After he had returned, it became apparent that whatever gave him that power did a lot more than effect his mind. He was almost completely sterilised by it. Six times we tried...and six times we endured the pain of losing our young. If they were not dead in their eggs, they'd be born deformed, having demonic mutations in some cases....and even the ones that seemed completely healthy....they died a few months or years later...their Blood poisoned by the demonic taint" explained the female, Septimus stopping, dazed by the revelation. the jokes and mocking he endured as a whelp...and the harshness he was regarded with frequently. Was it all because everyone expected him to die like the others? "Then why did he-no. I don't think I want to hear the answer" growled Septimus after several moments of silence, Tanwen looking at him with a soft, though sad smile, her eyes shimmering with a dampness that seemed uncharacteristic for a Dragon. "Every one of your siblings we lost, a bit more of his mind went with it. By the time we were gifted with you....He was almost gone. He began to obsess about strength, how you needed to be strong...to be the strongest of your generation... some twisted notion of perfection dreamt up by that tainted, poisoned mind of his...and tried to force you into a mould that was not in your nature to fit. He couldn't see you were perfect in your own way. You're the son we had always wished for...the one we had dreamt of having in our first days together...And I was a fool. I let him become what he is. And now....The Clans treat me like a criminal for it" she explained. Septimus could see in her eyes that she felt responsible. she was blaming herself for it. Septimus walked up to her, curling his neck over hers as he whispered lowly "It's not your fault". the female shook her head, Septimus' voice repeating, this time in her mind. "It's not your fault". the female turned her golden eyes to stare Septimus in the face. "It's not your fault, mother. It's not. Those fools in the Clans don't have a clue what went on in Arashi's head. Your friends knew you used to convince Arashi against things that would hurt them. Your family know. I know. You should know that as well. It's NOT your fault" the younger Dragon's voice echoed, his gaze focused and determined. sighing, the female seemed to relax, as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders, the female curling one massive wing around her son as she lay her neck over his, Septimus returning the gesture. She seemed to finally be at peace, the wall of fear and uncertainty collapsing, revealing a side to her Septimus couldn't remember ever seeing. And Septimus was at peace knowing his mother's conscience was clear...
"We thought you were dead" growled an ageing Dragon laying by a tree as he looked up at Thurduunax. "You always have underestimated me, Arakhniir" responded the scarred Dragon calmly as he looked down at the spindly old wyrm. Arakhniir was thin and lightly built, obviously magically adept as opposed to the more heavily built physically adept Dragons around him. "I was told Vuradviig and Arturax were dead. What happened out there, Thurduunax?" growled Arakhniir. "After we split up, Arturax, Vuradviig and I began to sense a Mana Well. We landed to investigate, and moved on foot for a stretch of time as we began to get close. The ground gave way beneath my feet, landing me in a small chamber with a pool lined with Vitorite. I looked up to inform them, but then heard a horrific roar. It was no Dragon. Of that much, I'm certain. It was a Demon, I believe. And as Vuradviig and Arturax looked up to see what had made the sound, they were plucked from the ground, being torn apart by the beast, before it flew off" rumbled Thurduunax calmly. "Why didn't you return?" questioned Khurduun, a bulky, heavily armoured old Dragon, leader of Clan Burkaan. three long chin spikes extended downwards from the tip of his jaw, and a small backwards swept fill of spikes formed what looked like the base of a beard around the Dragon's jaw. "In the wake of their deaths, I felt it was more than a duty to continue with the mission. To continue onwards so that their deaths would not be in vain. So I entered the pool and found the Mana Well...and proceeded to guard it for millennia. And it remained that way until yesterday....when young Septimus, son of the Exile Arashi, found me. Once he had informed me of what had unfolded here, and in light of what he had discovered after leaving, I felt my calling had finally come. I returned intending to strike down Arashi...and to rectify mistakes committed in my absence" rumbled Thurduunax calmly...
"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