Drakians (Telios & DawnAntalios)

[DawnAntalios]

​

The Land of Hiirum was one of the most beautiful kingdom above all the others: it"s culture flourished, the large emerald hills were home to animals and man alike, its benevolent king showering everybody with blessings. That is until the dragons came.


It is said that the scaled beasts ravaged the land for years, no one could stand against them due to their unbridled power. They were almost unstoppable until the king himself rode into battle with his army of knights who wore armor which was impervious to the dragon's breath. Countless creature were slain yet their number never seemed to ebb. The king assembled the court of his finest knights and assaulted the main lair of the beasts where he had slain the dragon queen - and perished in the process.


Both the scaly beasts and humans have retreated behind their defenses after this onslaught, the first learning how to disguise themselves as humans, the latter fortifying their defenses and choosing a new, powerful king. Under his guidance the empire is now stronger than ever before and the monarch is hellbent to destroy the mythical vermin - no matter the cost.

 

[DawnAntalios]

The dawn has come and the sun's crimson rays bathed the yet waking horizon in red color. There was utter silence, broken only by a warrior in massive dark plate who was riding his warhorse towards their destination. The order was given by his king: they have found a powerful, malevolent dragon which needed to be eliminated and he was their man for the job.


Or better to say, their woman.


Zoe Sharyll, or better known as 'Dusk' was the first female knight under the banner of the king. Unlike the other women she has pledged her life to fight and die gloriously in battle should she needed to. She adopted the fighting style in her heavy plate armor with ease and she wore it as her second skin without any trouble. Fury burned within her eyes, fury which fueled her strength and her determination to slay her foe.


But that hatred was not towards the beast itself. It was towards everyone else she knew. No matter how hard she tried to prove herself as a worthy warrior, a worthy knight everyone looked at her like a weak woman anyway even though she had showed those who dared to trifle with her otherwise countless times.


" It matters not. " hissed she under her heavy plate helm " I will do what must be done - the dragon shall fall. "

 

[Telios]

"Hm... Now where's my usual cave..." Vane asked nobody in particular, mumbling to himself as he walked around the plains. He soon arrived at the base of a mountain and there was a cave. "Finally, some peace and quiet. Let's just hope that no Knights will bother me with my nap." He said as he set his belongings aside, hiding it somewhere safe from thieves, not that they'd try to take them.


The symbol on the back of his hand glowed for a moment as he started to change. The transformation wasn't painful at all to Vane and soon he laid on the ground, curling up with a loud yawn as a feral dragon. He had a soft purple glow around him, telling that he could use magic. Sleepiness began to take over him, making him fall asleep, unaware that there was someone coming for his death.

 

[DawnAntalios]

It was well into the afternoon when Zoe's amulet - given to her by the king - started to vibrate in her hands.


" Finally... " she muttered when she approached the gigantic cave. Her horse started to hesitate in fear, so she dismounted from it, retrieving her sword and her ebony shield from the animal. Motioning to stay back the animal gladly stood still, waiting for its master to return.


IF she was to return.


Without hesitation she walked in the dark cave. She did not need light to see her foe - a bright purple radiance illuminated the entire cave, allowing her to see everything just fine. As she approached the behemoth she stopped and waited for a few seconds, curious if the beast noticed her or not. After a minute of waiting her patience worse thin and she stomped with her massive plate boots, sending out a loud echo across the cavern.


" Wake up, monster. " she bellowed as she readied her weapons " I will not fight against distracted foes, be it man or otherwise. We will not fight without honor, so I demand you to gather all your strength and face me. "

 

[Telios]

Vane groaned as a loud sound woke him up. "Great... Another knight..." He opened his eyes and looked the the black knight. "Can we do this later? I'm taking a nap here and I would appreciate you letting me sleep." He said with a more grumpy tome than anything.

 

[DawnAntalios]

Zoe was frothing in rage.


" You ravage our lands, decimate my people and then you have the AUDACITY to insult ME? " she roared and was tired of the conduct of honor. If her opponent needed some motivation then so be it. She raised her ebony sword and thrust it into the side of the dragon to give him an incentive to face her finally.

 

[Telios]

Vane got up and dodged to the side, standing on his hind legs. It seemed that he was a bipedal dragon. "You don't wanna fight me. I don't wanna hurt you..." He growled, trying to keep the knight away. "Fight me... You'll regret it..." The symbol on his forehead glowed gold, telling that he was prepared for an attack.

 

[DawnAntalios]

" I have my orders, beast. " Zoe said as the dragon finally seemed to wake up. " I do what I must to protect my home, and if that involves you or me dying then so be it. I will not let your kind run rampart freely if i can help it. "


Then she lunged again with her sword.

 

[Telios]

The dragon breathed out a cyan flame, creating an ice wall to shield itself. "My only place I stay in is this cave. Why would I bother going into the town?" He questioned before summoning a column of light, effectively blinding the knight. Vane grabbed the chance and turned back, grabbing his belongings and flee.


"Geez. Knights everywhere..." He groaned as he walked back to Victoria, going through the plains.

 

[DawnAntalios]

" I was a fool to expect dragons to have a sense of honor. " Zoe grunted as she prepared her blade to strike. With two massive, precise blows she shattered the wall of ice but it was already too late. She dashed out of the cave, not being able to see the gigantic visage of her enemy. Furious, she yelled to the air:


" I will hunt you to the ends of the earth! Do you hear me? TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH! "


She knew that her threats were hollow and were probably lost in the ether as she heard no response from anywhere. She could not give up so easily.


Zoe went back to her faithful mount and urged it forward: of she had to scour the entire land and find every cave then so be it. She will not fail her task.

 

[Telios]

Vane noticed the knight was riding on a horse and he tried not to interact with her. Great... Let's just hope that she wouldn't bump into me and question me or anything... He looked at the symbol on the back of his hand, getting out a pair of leather gloves to put on to cover the symbol. Unluckily, the knight was coming straight at him.

 

[DawnAntalios]

" You there! " Zoe exclaimed as she noticed a man wandering out here in the open. She stopped before him, dismounted and removed her helmet so she could look in the eyes of the man. Somehow he felt familiar yet she could not remember if they have met before somewhere or not. Regardless she coughed and then continued.


" Have you seen something strange out here recently? A dragon maybe? " she asked him curiously, although it felt more like that she was interrogating the poor man rather than asking him. She could not help it, after all the fur burned in her veins.


" On second thought, answer me this first: what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere? "

 

[Telios]

"To answer your first question, no. I haven't seen a dragon nearby." Vane answered calmly, looking a bit bored and annoyed actually. "And for your second question..." He pointed with a thumb at the pack on his back. "I'm an explorer and I'm heading back to my house in Victoria." Unfortunately, his right glove was somehow ripped, showing a small part of the symbol on the back of his hand.

 

[DawnAntalios]

" Indeed... " Zoe grunted in disbelief as she folded her arms, inspecting the man. At first he did not seem to be out of the ordinary at all, in fact she could actually believe that he was indeed the explorer he claimed himself to be. That is until she saw small fragments of a curious tattoo which she could have sworn that she recognized from somewhere.


" I see you are no stranger to magic, Ser Explorer. " she said, pointing at his frayed gloves " I too have studied the arcane arts for a little bit - rune crafting to be more precise - and I can say that is quite a peculiar magic sign you have on your right hand. May I inspect it from a bit closer? "

 

[Telios]

"Sorry. No can do." Vane answered, declining her request. "It's a family sign and need to be kept as a secret. But thanks for reminding me to buy a new pair of gloves." He said, turning his right hand to show his palm at her and hide the back of his hand. But unluckily, the time he showed it to her would be enough for her to catch up where she had seen that symbol.

 

[DawnAntalios]

" Oh sure, all right, my mistake. Sorry for bothering you. " said Zoe as she turned around, but in the next moment turning right back, putting her ebony sword right at the throat of the man.


" It was not a request... Ser Dragon. " she hissed with renewed vigor and fury. Now looking at his smug, uninterested face filled her with disgust and anger more and more. He was clever, not doubts about that.


" You hide behind the skin of my people to save your scaly ass of yours... pathetic and pitiful. Show me your true form so that we could finally be done with this. I have many more of your misbegotten kind to get rid of. "

 

[Telios]

The gloves ripped off as the hands were now covered with scales and turned into talons. Vane grabbed the blade and held it tight, locking it from moving. "I thought I managed to escape from you." He growled. "It was clear that I hate fighting. So what is the reason for you to kill me?" He asked. "Is it because of the royalties?" He said with a disgusted tone.

 

[DawnAntalios]

" Do not think your lies would sway me, dragon. " she hissed, annoyed that she can not move her blade. " Hate fighting you say? Then annihilating everything including little children and women must have been sport for you, or some kind of natural activity. Or plundering our riches? Decimating our wild animals? Not to mention that you use magic - the most despicable above all. "


She still tried to pull her weapon free from the grasp of the scaled monstrosity. Why didn't he strike? Why didn't he kill her as she was warned she would? A part of his mind games no doubt.


" I have my orders yes, but I have my own goals as well, wyrm. Now let my weapon loose and fight with me finally. "

 

[Telios]

"I haven't hurt anyone in my life. Only putting down out of control wild animals." Vane answered. "I am a Drakian and I could use magic. But I mean no harm, only wanting to help others." He then ripped the blade off her tight grasp and threw it aside. "I'd rather make peace than shed blood. The killing... It is meaningless, is it not? Not all dragons are bad. You are just fed with lies."

 

[DawnAntalios]

" You are the first who actually chose words over brute strength. " said Zoe in resignation as her sword was throws from her hands. Disarmed, she threw her shield to the ground and now stood before the monstrosity almost defenseless. " Congratulations, you have caught me off guard with your unnatural behavior. Come then claim your prize and kill me. Your soul will be at ease that you have to deal with one less knight. And then my soul will be at ease at last as well... "


She then stepped closer to him opening her arms and closing her eyes, expecting the flames to consume her.

 

[Telios]

Vane looked even more annoyed. "Did being a knight make you deaf? I said I don't harm." He said as he turned his hand back to normal. "I don't harm unless I needed to do it to a Feral Drakian." He sighed, looking at the symbol on the back of his hand. "This makes me feel both blessed and cursed."

 

[DawnAntalios]

" It matters not. " whispered Zoe darkly as she lowered her hands. " I have had only one purpose to live for: to be a knight and protect the land from threats. Now that I have failed that task I have nothing to live for. " she looked into the eyes of the beast, her expression mirroring pain.


" I am nothing, dragon. Even if you spare me - which is an insult on its own - then the shame will consume me anyway. What I asked of you was mercy, nothing more. "


She walked over to a big rock and sat down, sighing deeply.


" Then leave me be. Death will claim me eventually anyway, you need not to be the witness. "

 

[Telios]

Vane went over to the knight and hugged her. "You are a person, a human being." He reassured her. "You might have failed your task, but you are still you. You aren't a tool for the Royalties to use. You have your own will, your own emotions, your own thoughts." He whispered, the symbol on his hand starting to glow as he tried to look what was wrong and try to heal her, either physically or mentally.

 

[DawnAntalios]

Zoe lat out a sad and annoyed laughter.


" A dragon comforting a human? " she said it with disgust in her voice, pushing him away. " This is a disgrace, a sacrilege."


She then turned to him, holding back her tears of anguish and sorrow.


" What do YOU know about humans? Of me? " she asked, her fury fused with the pain that started to overwhelm her once more. She could barely hold her composure. " I was BORN as a failure. My own kind rejected me, almost exiled me. I was and still am looked at as a wasted opportunity because of WHAT I AM. The only reason why could I become what I am because how good I was... I had to beat everybody and more, had to surpass every expectation and more to become feared... but looked down still nonetheless. "


She then stood up and looked at Vane in the eyes once more.


" You know not what it is like to be nothing. To feel like a burden. You can not understand. "

 

[Telios]

He gently placed his right head on her forehead, slowly calming her down with a spell. "Listen. I can help you with this situation. But this might cost you your rank as a knight." He said, looking down at her as his eyes glowed gold like the Onyx symbol on the back of his hand.