Fantasy ~ FableWood ~

[DawnAntalios]

As the first rays of the sun shone in the small room Nyr jolted up and was finally awake. Not seeing Leo anywhere she cursed silently, her white wings flapping in embarrassment. She had promised that she would watch over Leo as he slept yet instead she was the one who collapsed from exhaustion in the early hours. Dusting off her clothes and hair she quickly left the room, heading towards where she had heard the noises of the others.


After a few minutes of walking she had found everyone sitting at the table and she was relieved that Leo was there as well. Finding and empty seat she sat beside the bulky guardian smiling at everyone.


" I am so glad to see all of you again. " she said, radiating happiness. Even she was surprised how joyful she was but she could not help it: she just felt fantastic. Waving at Leia, Luness and Kallin she let out a cheerful chuckle before she lowered her voice to a whisper, blushed and turned to Leo.


" I must apologize, I have fallen asleep while it was my duty to watch over you... Some raven I am... "


@zCrookedz @SilverFlight @Lioness075

 

[SilverFlight]

((@SkywardSocks Ward slept on the deck the whole night, Elena too. They were there.))


"Mrning..." Leia mumbled, still half-asleep.


"Can't complain." Kallin replied.


Breakfast consisted of beans in gravy, fresh bread and several extremely exotic fruits, the like of which Leia had never seen, or tasted. Hot coffee was served alongside it, though there wasn't any milk. When Leia pointed this out to the galley cook he advised she go find a flying cow and milk it herself. After that, Leia decided to have herbal tea.


When Luness came into the room Kallin watched her for a moment. "How was sleep?"


Leia saw Achyls come in looking forlorn and she sat up, giving the raven a concerned glance.


"Where were you all night? I didn't see you go to your room?"


Kallin tutted at her. "I'm surprised you noticed anything getting beaten so soundly at cards by Lucille."


"Can it wizard."


Leia waved cheerfully at Nyr before turning her attention back to Achyls. Even Kallin tipped his hat.


*edit for Nyr


@zCrookedz @Lioness075 @SkywardSocks @DawnAntalios


Ward nuzzled her again to comfort her. "Well, we'd better get those dark thoughts out of your head then, would you like to join me in a morning flight?"


He set her down gently and rolled over, staying with his chest to the deck to allow her onto his shoulders.


@Bea Delaine

 

[Lioness075]

Luness was silent when Leo and Nyr both greeted everyone, though she did look at them and at least nod in response.


When the food was served, Luness finally left her window and found a seat by Kallin. Seeing no meats provided, Luness frowned slightly and then decided that she could always get food later. It wasn't like it'd be the first time she'd gone without food for a day.


Glancing sideways at Kallin upon hearing his question, Luness raised an eyebrow and then said, "Good."


She still felt skeptical of the magic he'd used on her, though she couldn't deny that it'd immensely helped her in finally getting some sleep that she'd desperately needed.


Leaning back in her seat, Luness moved one of her hands to the armrest and began lightly drumming on it with her fingers, already growing bored with the lack of activity or news of what they'd be doing next. They had to see that council of elders, right?


Her thoughts were interrupted by Kallin teasing Leia about being beaten by Lucille in a card game. Despite her lack of knowing how to even play any card games, Luness still felt slightly smug at already knowing better than to play card games with Lucille.


@SilverFlight @zCrookedz @DawnAntalios

 

[Bea Delaine]

Elena allowed him to do as he wished, and roll back over finding herself limp and more docile than usual. She sat for a moment, shivering and wondering if she actually slept or just returned home for a bit to suffer as a corpse. I took her a near two minutes to remember what Ward said. She got up and shrugged half heartedly.


"I'm not sure if it will helps today.. But I would rather be in the sky than down here.. Thank you for dealing with me."


She said and climbed aboard tenderly, her fingers running through his feathery back.

 

[andujarprime]

Malachai spent the night on the deck, looking out at the sky, he joined Sapphire once or twice but always came back soon. He smiled at the stars as the night went on.


Come morning he found the captain of the ship and introduced himself to the exotic sounding woman. "Thank you captain for what you're risking in coming along." With a nod of respect he found his way to the mess hall. He gave everyone a tentative smile as Sapphire broke into his head. "Now is the time, they are all gathered" He gave her an annoyed glance then faced the rest of the group. "My apologies everyone for my outburst yesterday, I understand that you mean well and accept your help. I will do my best to convince the elders as well."


Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

 

[Flutterby]

Quincy woke slowly, from a sleep that hadnt been altogether restful. Alexander was gone, but the room still held his scent. She had no idea when he had left.. had he stayed until she had fallen asleep? Yes, she could remember his face as being the last image before she slipped away. After that had come an odd turmoil of images and emotions, but nothing concrete or understandable. Quincy sighed when she thought of him slipping out after she had fallen asleep- should she had invited him to stay?


The kelpie stretched and stood, pulling on her boots slowly. Groggily, she wandered down to the hall, surprised to find herself one of the last to arrive. She automatically went to Alexander, sitting beside him silently as Malachai addressed them all. She reached for a cup of tea, stirring it a little before taking a sip, scaning the table for something sweet.

 

[zCrookedz]

Leo smiled to everyone when the responded to him, giving Luness a bit of a curious look when she seemed distant. His smile widened when Nyr entered and sat beside him. He reached an arm around her and gave her a hug before reaching across the table towards the basket of strange fruit provided. "Fret not my dear, I was glad to see you get some sleep." He held the basket towards her before returning his gaze to the strange spikey yellow fruit he had pulled from the basket. He bit into the fruit and a strange texture graced his tongue; small, green, and slimy seeds filled his mouth with a sweet tang to them. The fruit was odd enough and getting past the skin proved interesting, but it was edible and Leo was hungry. He looked up as Malachi entered and he listened to the dragon with a smile. He raised his hand full of fruit up a bit and nodded to the dragon "We all have moments my friend. Come join us for breakfast. Your going to need it if you are to convince a bunch of old world dragons of our cause." The previous night still left its effect on Leo, his mood bolstered by the good company and food.


@DawnAntalios @andujarprime

 

[SkywardSocks]

((ah, sorry))


"Hm? Oh, sorry..." Achyls muttered, snapping back to reality to see Leia looking at her with obvious concern, "I...I must've fallen asleep up on the Crow's Nest..." Her speech felt disjointed and so returned her gaze to the table, twiddling her thumbs with eyes half open. She didn't mean to be rude by any means, simply feeling out of place in the group, what with her detachment for now 4 days.


As Malachai spoke, she perked her head back up, his voice was much louder than many of the members of the group, and so caught her attention much more. She had no recollection of his anger and so quickly averted her gaze, now looking up at the others in the group. Looking across, she could see Nyr and Leo with one another, and felt a strange pang in her chest. She did her best to ignore it, giving them a smile that could not be forced, though felt so. She began her usual humming as she dropped her eyes downwards, still retaining a good posture on the chair. Her voice was much quieter than usual, a tentative sound emanating from her at a very low volume, almost inaudible.


@SilverFlight

 

[Hel]

"Hm, that's a bit of an understatement." Alexander mused in response to Leo's mention of needing breakfast. He smiled at Quincy when she returned to his side and let his hand find hers again. He was admittedly a bit wary of the times ahead, and realized something that no one had mentioned yet.


"How will the elders know that we are safe? We're approaching the conclave in a warship. Do you think that Sapphire, you, and I should fly ahead to warn them?" The second part was to his brother, after his apology had been made, naturally.


Anya sat without a world and munched on her porridge beside Ethan. After a few minutes, while everyone else spoke, she turned to Ethan and asked, "So... how did you sleep, Biscuit?" She asked.

 

[Sleipnir]

He looked down at the buttered biscuit he was holding and shrugged. "Pretty well," he told her. "Being on the airship was a bit disconcerting at first, but I got over it pretty quick. How are you liking it? You were a pilot, right?"

 

[SilverFlight]

((@Hel @andujarprime Dudes, I thought you were gonna make stuff happen!..let me help xD ))


Ward let Elena climb into his shoulders, leaping deftly up onto the side of the ship. The cloud sea stretched out before them. Ward gave her a reassuring glance over his shoulder and a wink, so she wouldn't immediately notice he was tipping forward. Suddenly they were away, falling like a stone through the cloud. Moisture began to bead on the gryphon's feathers. He cast a small spell, keeping the air warm and dry about Elena as they fell...he had practiced that since their last flight about Glinda' palace.


The clouds ended abruptly and the world sprawled out before them. They were over rocky mountain peaks, fine cracks could be seen in the stone that were glowing orange. Beyond that an immense pine forest loomed, but the ship was heading further into the mountains. Far in the distance the peaks were capped in white.


They were still falling, Ward holding his wings tightly to his side. The ground rushed up to meet them and still Ward remained as he was, forelimbs tucked against his chest, lion paws trailing out from under his fanned eagle tail.


At the last possible moment his wings snapped open, carrying them out of the dive to sail alongside the rocky ground. Soon that dipped away from them and left them soaring out into an open valley. Sun trickled through cracks in the clouds and set a low-lying river sparkling. Ward shifted closer to the mountain side, snatching a red lily from the ground and holding it out to her in his beak.


They sailed beside rocky canyon walls that loomed over them, dwarfing the gryphon and his passenger. Sometimes markings could be seen cut into the living rock.


"Giant runes." the gryphon said. "Even those big brutes have culture and history."


The air smelled of water and fresh mountain grasses and Ward took it in along with the thrill of flight. Here was a time when he truly could live, he commanded the skies!


Without warning he loosed a loud eagle scream, which echoed about the valley, doubling back to them from the canyon wall.


"Can you imagine doing this everyday? Together?"


So caught up was he in the wonder of the moment he almost didn't notice the dark shapes approaching from above. The flash of fire woke him from his revelry and he dove on instinct, narrowly missing a fireball that exploded on the rock beside him. He shook cinders from his hackles and glared up in the direction the blast had come from.


"Hang on!" he cried to Elena and angled his wings to put a mountain peak in between them and their attackers. "We have to get back up to the ship!"


But with the altitude they would need, they would be in the open and exposed for far too long.


"As long as you're okay...are you okay?" She didn't look okay as far as Leia saw. The girl thought hard about what might cheer Achyls up.


"Hey! What about I teach you a game? I brought my ball with me...I'll even brave going up on the deck..." Wait, what? Had she really just said that? The thought of going up there with no walls between her and the sky made her sweat, but she forced down her fear. This was about helping a friend after all.


@SkywardSocks


"Well, its a start." Kallin replied to Luness. He examined the choices of food, not really thinking they looked like much. He remembered being thankful he couldn't eat sometimes with what was served here...and then there were other times...like waffle days...Kallin brought himself back from daydreaming slowly as the dragon spoke to the group.


"Hey, don't worry about it big guy." Kallin answered Malachai's apology with a wave of his gloved hand.


@Lioness075 @andujarprime


It was then the first attack struck. Fire exploded a foot from the bow, the magical barrier rippling as it repelled the strike. The ship rocked with the impact however, upsetting the coffee pot and causing several of the strange fruits to leap to their freedom.


"What the?" Kallin began but he was silenced by a second blast.


"Everyone on deck! And be ready!" He yelled.


Leia started for the stairs, her heart racing. Tad and Lee were hot on her heels.

 

[Lioness075]

Luness shrugged at Kallin's response, her mind still trying to settle. It'd be easier to deal with if she had some food to eat. Or any kind of distraction really.


When the ship rocked from the attack, Luness had already heard the fireball make its strike and was out of her chair and on her paws in seconds.


Looking around, Luness felt her heart racing from the mere idea of going down in flames like they had in Oz. Still, this ship was designed for battle and Luness felt certain it wouldn't fall so easily.


Then again, they were most likely under attack from dragons. Not a fight that Luness was too keen about after what had gone down with that jabberwocky.


Feeling uneasy with such memories, Luness dug her claws into the wood to keep herself balanced while the ship righted itself and she looked around to see who else was going to charge right into the fray.


Frankly, Luness would prefer to be fighting on solid ground and not against anymore dragons.


Still, the moment she heard Kallin shouting for everyone to be on deck, Luness hissed under her breath and then began sprinting on all fours past Leia and her spirits.


What was Luness going to see upon getting on deck though? Raging dragons?


@SilverFlight

 

[Bea Delaine]

Elena began to enjoy the flight as usual but was very distracted but something unexpected occurred. They dropped like a rock in the air. She felt her hands let go. Eyes wide in excitement, but not fear. Just excitement. They swooped and she took the red flower, placing it in her book like the other flowers to preserve them.


"I would love it.. That's all I want to do. I want to fall but not decay." She whispered, not sure if it even made sense to the other.


The fire came and Elena was thrust back into reality. The heat on her back burned but her shirt remained intact. She thought of a way to get them through, but it was too far to use her power and protect him. Away from touching the material, she realized it wasn't as strong and controlled. She let go of Ward and spoke quickly and as loud as she could,


"Forgive me.. And keep flying. I'll cover you.. I just have to fall."


Elena leapt from his back, and twisted her body to handle the impact. While doing so, the ground below moved like liquid to catch her. The landing still hurt, as her ribs protested but it was not as bad as she expected.


She pressed her hands into the cliff and closed eyes right. A stone wall flying upward and turning to giant stone birds, three times the size of the Gryphon each. They held up wings and guarded Ward.


"I'll follow when it's safe!!"

 

[SkywardSocks]

Achyls smiled a little, turning back to Leia, "I'm fi-". She was interrupted by Kallin's order, and swiftly jumped to her feet, dashing up to the deck. Her powers were readying themselves, any sign of sadness now replaced firmly with focus. As soon as she reached the upper deck, her wings unfurled to full span, lifting her up into the air with a great speed. The sight of the dragons were unbelievable to say the least, but still a little way away, she should have time to plan something.


"Nyr! I need your assistance!" Achyls called back to the dread raven, a hand held out for her. Her power was almost strong enough to use, and it was only a matter of time before she would surely be called upon.


@SilverFlight @DawnAntalios

 

[DawnAntalios]

Nyr wanted to answer Leo when she felt the sudden change and how the ship shook. She immediately jumped up, sensing that something was amiss. As others jumped on their feet and Kallin called them into battle she nodded then, with a worried face, she turned to Leo.


" Please, stay here and be careful. " she told him with worry and determination in her eyes " I am going to try and bolster the defenses of the ship so that we may be able to defend ourselves. "


Without allowing the guardian to reply she took wings and the white raven left the room with posthaste. As she arrived on the upper deck she saw the massive amount of dragons approaching. Soon she realized that a protective spell would only delay their onslaught but not slow them down nearly enough to repel them. Still she created a barrier and then turned around, seeing her sister. As soon as she heard her call her eyes narrowed and dashed in the air firmly. Flying near the raven girl the white raven was now looking on her.


" I am here, sister. Let us fight our foe together. " she said, smiling at her with confidence. The white aura around her started to radiate, and now was waiting for the opportunity to strike.


@SilverFlight @zCrookedz @SkywardSocks

 

[Hel]

Anya was about to tell Ethan how much she had been enjoying this when the ship shuttered with an attack. The crew immediately was bustling about and heading to their stations.


While Anya was assessing the situation, Alexander was heading up to the deck. What he saw when he got there, however, was disheartening at best. The dragons attacking the ship were little more than children. Their natural colors had been twisted and corrupted, some more than others and their attacks were riddled with the negative energy that marked a dark dragon: something that he thought was a myth meant to scare children into Line.

 

[Lioness075]

When Luness reached the deck and skidded to a halt, it didn't take her long to see the dragons in the area.


She instantly remembered the jabberwocky falling down on her, but shook her head to push away the memory. She needed to focus right now, not lose herself in the past.


Looking around, Luness couldn't find any means of attack for her to use. Unless the dragons planned on landing on the deck for close combat, Luness was going to be of no use in this fight.


Standing up on her hind legs, Luness then glanced around for Kallin. Surely, he would be powerful enough to push them back, right?


When she saw Alexander on deck and watching the dragons, Luness hoped he'd be able to figure things out soon enough. Why were the dragons attacking them?


Shifting her gaze to the dragons, Luness realized with a start how young they all appeared. Surely, these weren't the elders who Alexander, Malachi, and Sapphire had spoken of?


@SilverFlight @Hel

 

[zCrookedz]

He was finishing off the last of his fruit when the boat jard and shook from the violence of the fire balls. He looked over to Nyr as she dashed away to the top deck. He gave her a smile, the protectiveness of her words was endearing, but he was not going to let the others get into the fray without him. He reached the stairs in a split heart beat and the deck in another heart beat to survey the situation. He watched as the dragons fired their attacks at the boat and those who could leapt into the sky to take on the dragons. He had no means of attacking at a distance and cursed the unfortunateness of the situation. He looked around the deck and found Luness watching the battle as well. He side stepped toward her keeping his eye on the skies. "Not much we can do from here, is there?"


@Lioness075

 

[SilverFlight]

Kallin raced on deck, taking his staff from his back and twirling it in front of him defensively.


When he saw the dragons approach he was unsure of whether or not to attack. He looked to the captain for direction.


Lucille was bellowing orders are her men. "Furl zose sails! Bring us 'ard to port! Ready zose cannons dogs!" She glared at Alexander, Sapphire and Malachai. "Dragons, if zis is your welcoming committee zen tell zem to stand down or so 'elp me I will blast them out of ze sky!"


The dragons kept attacking, sending fire flashing across the barrier. One got close enough to crash into it and the barrier shimmered under its talons.


More flanked them on the other side, they could move much faster than the Tenacity.


Leia thought for a moment, then turned to Kallin.


"Wizard! If we work together we can make enough of a wind to get them away from the ship!" Kallin nodded and slammed his staff onto the deck. A glyph appeared under his feet and with one hand he began directing the wind.


Leia had Tad sail out as well, dashing against dragons as he went, knocking them off-balance but not injuring them.


Without warning another dragon crashed onto the barrier, this time it shuddered, dust falling from the place where the creature's claws pressed. Suddenly it gave way and the dragon pushed through to land on the deck. More circled the breech, waiting for an opportunity to enter.


"Cover us guys!" Leia yelled, as both she and Kallin were vulnerable now.


"Elena!" Ward yelled as she was swallowed by the earth. He saw her constructs stretch out above him. "I'm not running while you are in danger!" He cried, turning to face the enemy. There were three dragons, their bodies dark and covered in strange markings.


"Something's wrong! They're not from Ethreal!" Not that it mattered at this point where they were from. they continued to attack, but from this distance it was still easy to dodge the missiles. Ward swooped upwards, gaining as much altitude as he could as the dragons advanced. One broke away from the group, stooping to meet him. This one was about his size and Ward braced himself as the creature slammed into him. He locked talons with it, slashing and biting with beak and claws as they tumbled down. The other two skirted ward and headed for Elena.

 

[andujarprime]

Malachai snarled before the first attack rocked the ship. He had sensed the sanger, heard the fire ducking away the air around it, rushing towards the ship. He dash upstairs skidding to a halt on the deck. He saw in the distance as several dragons circled the ship. Wasting no time he ran and dove off the side mid shift. Dropping down he snapped his wings open, using the rushing air to lift hI'm self higher up than where he jumped. He sped off after the dragon that fired the latest dark fire ball. Inwardly he cursed his luck at having to battle dragons again. He knew the outcome should they hesitate, and he knew well the heartache that would befall his brother. There were four dragons that he could see, all rather young. Several hundred years younger than alex, but slightly larger than him. Dark magic having twisted their bodies their features we're slightly warped. Their beautiful colorful scales tainted, becoming heavily blotches color patterns. He overtook the second attacker in his claws, his roar filling the morning Air followed by a blast of green fire and the shriek of an injured dragon. "TAKE NO PRISONERS!!!!!!!!!" His mental voice booming in the air for all to hear. His latest victim falling from the sky, smoke trailing it's limp body.

 

[SkywardSocks]

Achyls grabbed Nyr's hand, an expression only of the utmost seriousness seared upon her face. She dived at one of the beasts, forging a barrage of dark blades that pierced the outer skin of the dragon. It required extreme concentration to force the blades in deep enough, and so left herself vulnerable for attack. She could only hope Nyr would be there to defend and attack as she please.


Eventually, each one of the blades had been lost inside the dragon, only to be wrenched out with a great deal of power, tearing at the tough skin that protected the attacker. The energy returned to Achyls hand, replenishing her for another attack at the dragon, who now seemed to be greatly wounded at its underbelly.


@DawnAntalios

 

[Lioness075]

Luness shrugged half-heartedly at Leo in response, truly at a loss for what to do while the barrier was up and keeping the dragons at bay. She surely didn't have any long-range attacks up her sleeves.


Yet, when a dragon pushed through the barrier and came charging straight at the deck and where both Leia and Kallin were, Luness let out a caterwaul and shot forward, racing on all fours while shifting into her Alpha state for added strength and capabilities.


Within seconds, she was past Leia and Kallin, though she veered away from the dragon at first. Leaping at the mast, Luness quickly began climbing it, using her claws to dig into the wood for leverage.


Once she was high enough, Luness scrambled along a wooden beam and then turned to face the dragon, it's head practically parallel with her at the moment. Wasting no time, Luness crouched down and then pushed herself off of the beam, sailing straight for the dragon's face.


Time seemed to slow, as Luness neared the dragon's face and one of its eyes swiveled to see Luness leaping straight at it, but it was too late to react.


Luness collided with the dragon's face, her claws instantly sinking into the eye that had been watching her approach.


The dragon shrieked in pain and lurched to the side, while the momentum from Luness' strike brought its head too far to the side, consequently throwing it off-balance as well.


Stumbling forward, the dragon then fell onto its side with Luness clawing and biting at its face and head, sliding to a halt before it could get too close to either Leia or Kallin.


Roaring angrily, the dragon then brought one of its fore claws to its face, intending to claw at Luness to knock her off.


@SilverFlight @zCrookedz

 

[Bea Delaine]

Elena sighed with frustration as Ward didnt take the opportunity she had given him. She watched as he got attacked and saw the other two aimed at herself. She placed her hands on the ground and Forced a spike to go through the beast as it approached. The grey earthen spike looked like that of a rose thorn that went through its midsection. The beast was large though and her portion of cliff broke away. More rubble fell above her and the second dragon, larger than the first, aimed itself like a missile and blew flames.


As Elena fell backward, she watched Ward from afar and knew there wasn't much she could do and so the rubble that fell as she did so turned to a wall for protection and then wrapped around her arm. It looked to be a giant version of her own, but there was no time to be thinking about what she did. More earth from next to a river far below extended and wrapped around her other arm for short term support as she swung the giant stone extension above as it shaped a blade. A horrid cracking filled her body as her success in slicing the beast in two turned into a breaking feeling in her arms and shoulders. Her short term weapons fell away and she dropped, the rubbled forming again a sort of slide as her only solution at this point for a landing she could handle was the river. Ironic.

 

[zCrookedz]

Leo smiled finally as the dragons broke through the barrier. Obviously not the type of thing you would smile for, but it ment he wasnt useless. He grabbed his ax's from his hips and placed the pommels together, and with a click of dwarven mechanics, his ax was ready for a dragon. He rushed to the dragon with his ax readied and rushed the dragon on the deck, leaping into the air to attack the dragon from above. However the Luness now attached to its face sent the beast into a rage flinging its claws and tail into a frenzy. One of the beasts claws smashed into the side of Leo who then went flying across towards the edge of the ship. In the split second he had to see the rope of ladder that stretched from the deck to the top of the mast, he was able to reach out and grab the tight rope. The momentum of the flight, shot him back like an arrow from a bow, launching himself. He shot back at the dragon with his shoulder aimed at the dragon, slamming his weight into the beasts back hopeing to jar it enough for Luness or himself to stop it for good.


@Lioness075

 

[Hel]

With the dragons falling quickly, Alexander didn't have time to get involved in this fight yet. He gaped at Malachai jumping headlong into battle with these dragons, and turned to see Saphire doing the same.


'Kai, are we really fighting children?!' Alexander thought to his brother, as he moved to get involved with the fight.


The dragons were vicious, but young, and we're less difficult to take down than even those at the siege on Branburn.