The Dragons of Ragnos

[Angelus]

Alex stood and watched as Selangra ate with a smile on his face. He had gotten all the information that he needed and at the price of one annoying little girl, all in all it was a very good day. He knew that there was one other thing that he needed to do though and that was to find the dragon and rider before it was far too late. He threw off the cloak that he had been wearing and smiled briefly as he felt the sun and cool air hit his face. He did not know how long he stood there but opened his eyes when he heard Selangra's voice in his head telling him that he had to open them and wake up.

The instant he opened his eyes he saw several soldiers moving his way, their weapons in their hands and he knew what they were looking for; him. He moved forward so he would get to them without seeing Selangra and folded his hands before him. The soldiers stopped as soon as they saw him, waiting to see if he would make any sort of threatening move but when he didn't the lead soldier moved forward.

"My name is Rael, the sergeant of this group. One of my men informed me that you left the city with a little girl not long ago. He told me that she looked frightened, as if she were being taken out against her will."

Alex smiled, his arms still crossed over his chest as he looked first at the soldiers, judging their strengths and how best to kill them before turning to look at Rael.
"I am afraid that you are mistaken. I did not leave the city with any young girl. I have been here this whole time."

The moment he saw the expression on the sergeant's face Alex knew that he would not be able to bluff his way out of this one.

"In a full suit of armor? I have to ask you to come with me to the city so that you can answer some questions."

Alex looked at the sergeant and shook his head, "I am afraid that I cannot do that. I have something that I must do and you are already holding me up. I will leave if you want me to but I will not go anywhere with you."

It was then that he heard the sound of several swords leaving their scabbards and looked at the sergeant.

"Oh well," he said as he drew Lanfer's Claw and struck.

The sergeant started to move but looked at Alex in surprise as the blade of Lanfer's Claw pierced his abdomen. He looked down at the glowing red blade which seemed to pulse as Alex slid it in even deeper.

Alex looked at the dying sergeant's eyes as he felt something flowing into him. He then looked down at Lanfer's Claw in surprise and knew what it was, it was draining the life from the sergeant and giving it to him. He smiled as he felt the energy flowing into him but knew that he couldn't just stand there like this as he was too exposed. He slid the sword out of the sergeant whose lifeless husk dropped to the ground and turned to the other soldier's who all had determined looks on their faces.

He raised his head, "Selangra, I need you!"

As he did he felt something running through his arm and raised it. A second later a great dark red line of flame flew from his hand, catching one of the soldiers who started screaming as he fell to the ground.

 

[Wolfsister]

Leaira Elfsbane

Leaira hid amongst the trees, her elven birthright serving her well to keep her hidden. Her leather armor was a dusty green and brown colour, her boots well oiled and supple enough to leave not a foot print behind her. Her bow was slung across a shoulder, her quiver laying at the ground before her feet. Two red bladed scimitars rested comfortably in their sheaths at her sides. She pushed away a strand of short silver hair as it swung in front of her pale blue eyes and watched the encounter with interest.

There were eight men in total. They surrounded the one with the dragon armor and he dispatched the man in charge with a single thrust. Another went down with a gush of flame.

Leaira's eyes went wide when she saw this second feat and she knew that this was the man she had been looking for. This was the one she had risked her life for, the one she had lost and only now, decades later, found once more.

The men began to charge, the remaining six surrounding Alex, their battle cries fresh on the wind, the sun glinting on their swords. Leaira was amongst them before either Alex or Selangra could react. She was a silver blur amongst the armored men, her own leather armor making no sound as she moved, her scimitars flashing red as they caught errant rays of the sun from above.

She jumped amidst them, landing a few feet before Alex and took off the right arm of a man swinging his longsword in a downwards arc. She ducked under his flailing left arm and ran past him, slitting his throat with a red bladed scimitar. She took another slash upwards to her left and severed a man almost in half from hip to shoulder, his screams of pain cut off as she cut sideways and took of his head. Turning to her right she ran a third man through with both points of her scimitars, burying the blades half way through his flesh, she left them in and took a dagger from a breast belt and slit his throat before moving onto the fourth man.

By now the others had realised that three of their number had fallen and the remaining three reassessed the threat level of the woman in their midst. They began changing their attack to begin focusing on the new threat, but two were down before the last successfully changed the direction of his sword thrust. Each of the two men down had a dagger in each eye.

Leaira backflipped, catching the hilts of her scimitars buried in a dead man's chest and sliding them cleanly from his body as she landed on her feet facing the third. He ran at her, charging, his sword raised up high. Leaira smiled and slipped easily under his attack, bringing up her scimitars in a crossed arc beneath the man's chin.

He blinked and she grinned again as she viciously slashed her arms sidewards respectively to the left and right. Blood spurted and the man's head came cleanly off, leaving the body to drop at her feet. She blinked, sheathing her scimitars at her sides and catching the last man's head by his hair effortlessly.

She turned and instantly dropped to her knees, bowing her head towards Alex, her eyes turned downcast. "Forgive me, Master, for presuming to kill these men without your leave," she presented the grisly head towards him and kept her eyes cast to the ground.

 

[Wolfsister]

Selangra

Selangra watched Alex bask in the sun for a long time, letting him enjoy the warm rays and fresh air. After a while, only a dip into his mind let her know that he wasn't sleeping on his feet.

Suddenly she heard movement through the forest. A low ringing sound, like metal scraping against metal. Also another sound, much softer but there none the less. She looked around, scenting the air and wrinkled her nose at the smell of sweaty human males and highly polished metal.

"Open your eyes and wake up, Alex," she said, her voice rumbling softly around the clearing. She blinked and chose to let him go ahead on his own, choosing to watch via his sight rather than hers.

She saw the guards, watched as Lanfer's Claw sucked the life from an armored man and then saw the gush of flame come from her rider's hand. She blinked, her Other Sight vanishing as she looked around the forest. Getting up, she moved towards Alex's direction. It was kind of tricky being that she was a little too large to negotiate the gaps between the trees without slowing down majorly. Lucky she didn't have far to go.

When she got there, an Elven woman was kneeling in front of Alex, a severed head in her outstretched hand. She called him 'Master.'

"What in the...." Selangra grumbled as she caught side of the bloody aftermath of Leiaira's brief battle.

 

[Angelus]

Alex stood there, Lanfer's Claw held tightly in his right hand as he looked towards the elf that had killed the guards with such deadly profieciency. It was true that he had wanted to kill them all himself, to give himself the pleasure that had now been robbed of him. He moved forward slowly, sliding his sword into its sheath with a hard thunk and looked down at her, a smile coming to his face.

"I loved the way that you killed all of those people elf but what makes you think that I needed the help. I had everything well under control without your help, I thank you for it but why did you help me and why do you call me master."

Something hit him hard and he stood there, looking upon the elf as if it were for the first time ever. He felt the other life within him and saw himself touch her on the head but this time she was covered in armor that was similar in color to hers. He could see the blood that flowed over it but knew that none of it was hers.

"Leaira. It is good to see you again and deadly as every. I would have thought you dead by now but I know that would not be possible."

He felt the irritation that flowed from Selangra, irritation that was quickly turning into anger and turned to look at her.

You know that there is no way she would ever replace you. You are the other half of me and I cannot live without you.

He turned to look at Leira, a smile coming to him.

"You know that I am here do you not but what you do not know is that there is another rider out there. I know that she has escaped for now to the north and intend to follow her. Do you know where the others are, the other 'friends' of mine? If so can you bring them together."

 

[Optimas]

The beast in th midst

Cris had flown for an hour, when he spotted the goblin army from high above. It was a massive army, at least two miles wide and 20 miles long. In that army were not just goblins, but orcs, trolls, and all manner of foul creatures. And flying above it all, but well below Cris, was a dragon. Or at least what used to be one. It was just a skeleton now, but it flew nonetheless.

The army was nearing the end of a 30 mile long mountain pass, that was only 2 1/2 miles wide. On one side of the pass was a massive cliff that rose nearly 10,000 feet above the army. The other side was a deep gorge through which a river ran strong and swift. If Cris managed to block the pass successfully, it would take the army three weeks at least to go around.

And block it, Cris will. Holding his position high above the army out of sight, he turned his focus onto the cliff face just ahead of the army. He began to chant in that strange tongue that he somehow knew, and the ground began to shake, throwing many goblins, orcs, and trolls to the ground. The cliff face that held Cris' focus began to break apart. It then fell in a massive avalanche that blocked half the pass. The other half of the pass was rendered impassable by the violent earthquake.

Cris, satisfied that the pass was sufficiently blocked, decided to get down and dirty with the army. Wrapping himself in flame, he plummeted like a meteor towards the army, just missing the skeletal dragon by a foot. He crashed into the heart of the army, vaporizing everything within a fifty-foot radius. Once the smoke cleared, all that could be seen was what appeared to be a large rock with wisps of smoke rising from it in the center of the circle of scorched ground.

The giant skeletal dragon reared in the sky almost throwing the evil goblin wizard to his death. A blazing thing sped down and smashed into the green army below. Shargnal cursed and regained his composure, he let out a mind scream to a troll clan near to the deep crater.

The giant trolls lumber through the hordes towards the crater and the dead bodies laying lifeless all aorund.

 

[Wolfsister]

Leaira

"I loved the way that you killed all of those people elf but what makes you think that I needed the help. I had everything well under control without your help, I thank you for it but why did you help me and why do you call me master."

Leaira looked up and blinked in surprise. He did not know her? How could he not? She knew that he was in a new form, just as the dragon was, but she was his most loyal servant. She looked at the Dragon with narrowed eyes, maybe her evil magic erased Leaira from their master's mind?

"Leaira. It is good to see you again and deadly as every. I would have thought you dead by now but I know that would not be possible."

Leaira flushed with pride. He did remember after all! She smiled broadly at him and put the proffered head on the ground. He began speaking again and she rose, knowing that now she could be more familiar to him, like the old days. She inclined her head slightly towards the Dragon out of necessity and politeness, but otherwise ignored her. The Dragon in turn did the same. There was a frosty moment between the two and Alex seemed to calm the red beast down. Leaira smiled, just like the old days.

"You know that I am here do you not but what you do not know is that there is another rider out there. I know that she has escaped for now to the north and intend to follow her. Do you know where the others are, the other 'friends' of mine? If so can you bring them together."

She slowly shook her head, "The most loyal died when you did. I survived soley for this day. You predicted you would return and charged me with finding you again, so that I may serve you. There may be some others left, but they are in hiding. Many of our brethren fled and hid when your 'protection' vanished," she spat, disgust clear in her voice, "They were not true believers,"

She shook her head, twisting her head to the side and loosening her neck muscles, "There may be one other, but I have no way of contacting him. He will probably show himself once you do,"

Then she grinned, "When do we take this land, Master?" there was clear battle lust in her eyes and an unquestioning loyalty towards Alex.

 

[Wolfsister]

Selangra

Selangra looked on as Alex tried to process this new information. She grunted and blew a small puff of black smoke towards the Elven woman, blinking as living memories shifted into her view. There was once a time when this same elf bowed to another Master, but it was in different armor, more like Alex's now, except different. Pah, Leaira's returned too, thought Selangra to herself.

"Leaira. It is good to see you again and deadly as every. I would have thought you dead by now but I know that would not be possible."

Selangra grunted, her wariness increasing rather than decreasing at the naming of the elven warrior. Alex seemed to feel it and turned to her, his voice in her head, You know that there is no way she would ever replace you. You are the other half of me and I cannot live without you.

That's what you said last time, she grumbled inside his head, but she made no more issue of it, knowing that in the end, Leaira was a valuable ally to have. No matter their relationship with each other. She had respected the two legger once, but that didn't mean she had had to like her then, or now.

 

[Optimas]

the trolls search

The trolls smash their way through goblins and orcs and they finally see the deep crater and see a smoldering boulder in the middle. Rangor the lead troll sniffed the air, he let out a snort, "Smell Evil to Rangor," he pointed to a smaller troll, "Angra , you go look."

Angra sloped off towards the bolder he got to within 2 meters and stood still gazing at the shape in front of him he prodded it with a tree truck the size of a man.

 

[blaster8]

OOC: Hold it, Optimas. Don't you know how to read? Cris is currently disguised as a boulder in the center of the scroched ground. He isn't attacking at all. Go back and redo your posts. And pay attention to detail!

 

[Optimas]

OOC: Hold it, Optimas. Don't you know how to read? Cris is currently disguised as a boulder in the center of the scroched ground. He isn't attacking at all. Go back and redo your posts. And pay attention to detail!

ooc: Now listen to me, I do not know what you do for a living? but I have to WORK! and therefore do not have as much time as I would like to read in depth. Therefore the odd mistake may happen, which can be changed but rudeness is not what I come to expect from this forum. If that is a problem then Im out!!!

 

[blaster8]

ooc: Now listen to me, I do not know what you do for a living? but I have to WORK! and therefore do not have as much time as I would like to read in depth. Therefore the odd mistake may happen, which can be changed but rudeness is not what I come to expect from this forum. If that is a problem then Im out!!!

OOC: Sorry about that, but I was just a little miffed at the mistake. I just was not expecting such a big mistake to occur. I'm wondering, are you posting while you are at work? Because if you are, I don't exactly recommend it. Otherwise...Anyways, would you be so kind as to fix the problem, and then we can continue with the story.

 

[Optimas]

ooc it is all as it should be if you look back at the tread it has been edited.

 

[blaster8]

ooc it is all as it should be if you look back at the tread it has been edited.

OOC:
All right. Now that's fixed, let us put this ugly incident behind us, and continue with the thread.

 

[blaster8]

The trolls smash their way through goblins and orcs and they finally see the deep crater and see a smoldering boulder in the middle. Rangor the lead troll sniffed the air, he let out a snort, "Smell Evil to Rangor," he pointed to a smaller troll, "Angra , you go look."

Angra sloped off towards the bolder he got to within 2 meters and stood still gazing at the shape in front of him he prodded it with a tree truck the size of a man.

Cris sat there, looking through the cloak that disguised him as a boulder, as a rather small troll approached. The troll stopped 2 meters away, and then started to prod Cris with a tree trunk. Well, before that tree trunk came into contact with him, Cris leapt up, grab the trunk out of the troll's hands, and smashed the troll with it before the beast could even start to react. The trunk smashed right into the troll's head, and hit with such force that the trunk exploded into a shower of splinters.

Leaving that troll behind, Cris ran up the side of the crater and did a flip over the lead troll's head, driving his clawed hands into the creature's skull as he did so. As Cris continued on to land behind the beast, his claws were still embedded in the troll's head, therefore pulling the troll backward to land with a heavy thud on the ground. Cris crouched down, with his claws retracted, leaving the other monsters around him to wonder at how he pulled the lead troll down, and he waited for the monsters around him to make the next move.

 

[Angelus]

Alex closed his eyes and searched out the others in this land, trying to find if what she said was truth. His eyes opened slowly when he found that it was and let out a sigh. The army that he had built up, the generals that were his most trusted were dead. He wanted to let out a shout, take to the air on the back of Selangra and raze any place that contained people to the ground. He knew that it would not bring them back though and looked down at Leaira with a smile on his face.

"I can feel the other that you speak of out there and I wish that I had the time to speak with him but I have other pressing matters that need my more immediate attention. I wish that I could take you with me so that you could help to hunt down this other rider but I do not think that you would be able to ride on the top of Selangra and," he felt the flash of anger from her which made him turn to look at her and then turn back, "I doubt if she would want you to."

He moved forward to place one hand onto Leaira's shoulder, looking deep into her eyes.

"I have a job that is suited to you. I want you to go to the only other loyal one that I have left in this world and I want you to kill him. If he has not come to help me by now that I doubt if he will and he is just gathering power to kill me because he fears me so much. I know that you will be the only one that is able to kill him. I can show you where he is on this map if you will agree to undertake this."

He handed Leaira a map with the location on it and a smile on his face.

He turned to Selangra with a large smile on his face.

"It is time to go hunting if you wish to."

 

[Wolfsister]

Leaira

"I have a job that is suited to you. I want you to go to the only other loyal one that I have left in this world and I want you to kill him. If he has not come to help me by now that I doubt if he will and he is just gathering power to kill me because he fears me so much. I know that you will be the only one that is able to kill him. I can show you where he is on this map if you will agree to undertake this."

She didn't have to say that she liked the idea, because frankly, she didn't. But he was her master and he had given her an assignment. She bowed her head and looked over the map, waiting for him to tell her where her target was. "I will perform all duties to the best of my ability, my lord," she grinned, "I'll kill him, don't you worry," she added.

She turned and bowed towards Selangra, "Until next we meet, Dragon. May the blood of your enemies fill your stomach," she smirked, adding insult to the farewell.

Then she stepped backwards and disappeared from sight.

 

[Wolfsister]

Selangra

"It is time to go hunting if you wish to."

Selangra grinned, flexing her wings. "About time, Alex. I'm getting tired of sitting around doing nothing,"

She completely ignored the elf fighter and snorted in disdain as Leaira showed off by disappearing. "Why did she have to be the one that survived?" she grumbled to herself, Alex being able to hear her perfectly. Then she shook her massive head and flapped her wings, giving up a large gust of wind. Settling down somewhat, she growled low in her throat.

"So? Are we going to catch that other rider now?"

 

[Optimas]

The trolls die

The beast tore through the trolls in a flash, the giant trolls slipping from life easily. However trolls are not scared of anything - they are too stupid. So four of them rushed the demon in their midst and attacked with bold war cries - the clubs swang towards the enemy.

High above flew Shargnal, sitting astride the demon dragon looked down with a snear on his face. He could not beleive his eyes, it was the goblin hunter he was sure. Shargnal suddenly had a deep pitted fear in the bottom of his stomach.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

OOC: Hey, AriesWolf, I think that blaster8 fella got himself banned. I like his character a lot. Mind if I take over for him?

 

[AriesWolf]

Not at all I am plotting a triumphant return so please feel free to take over any character that unsavory young man may have created.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Not at all I am plotting a triumphant return so please feel free to take over any character that unsavory young man may have created.

OOC: Alright! Thanks AriesWolf! Now, let's see where that fool left off...Ahh, yes. He had just attacked what appears to be a gigantic army of goblins and other foul creatures. He's killed two trolls and waiting on the rest to attack. He's one badass character. Now, let's see if there was any reply to that. Ahh, Optimas' last post. Okay. Now, I shall come up with something that works.

IC:

The beast tore through the trolls in a flash, the giant trolls slipping from life easily. However trolls are not scared of anything - they are too stupid. So four of them rushed the demon in their midst and attacked with bold war cries - the clubs swang towards the enemy.

High above flew Shargnal, sitting astride the demon dragon looked down with a snear on his face. He could not beleive his eyes, it was the goblin hunter he was sure. Shargnal suddenly had a deep pitted fear in the bottom of his stomach.

Cris leapt above the clubs of the trolls, and landed on one of the troll's shoulders. Grabbing a hold of the troll's nose with one hand, he swung down and sliced upon the creature's throat with the other hand. He let go of the nose and somersalted in the air to land behind the three other trolls. Spinning on his heel, he raised his hands and muttered in an ancient tongue a spell. Just as he finished, the three trolls were turned to solid stone, frozen for eternity in the positions that they were in.

Cris then turned his attention to the rest of the army, and waited.

 

[Angelus]

Alex stood there and watched as Leaira disappeared from sight. He didn't want her to go anywhere by herself, especially away from him as she had proven to be a great fighter but he did not know if she could keep up with the pace that Selangra and himself were going to set. He stood for a couple of seconds then turned to Selangra.

"We are going on the hunt my dear one. I know that you have been wanting to take to the air as soon as you can hunt down this other dragon and its rider."

He slid his helm on and got up onto his saddle, relishing the feeling of being back where he belonged. He could feel the readiness and overwhelming joy that flowed from Selangra as he sat back in this saddle. He looked down at the ground as they took to the air, a smile coming to his face as they did.

As they took to the air and started to fly away from the forest he knew that he should not have delayed this any longer as this was always where he was meant to be. It was then that he saw the people down on the road scatter when they saw Selangra take to the air and wished that he could hear the screams that flowed from their throats. He wished that he had the time to fly over them and ask Selangra to burn them down but with an angry thought he knew that he didn't.

To the north my dear one. We have to have some fun this day.

He knew that Selangra would smile at that.

 

[Wolfsister]

Selangra

She gladly lifted up off the ground and swung into the open air. She ran low over the crowds of people still trying to leave the Imperial City and chuckled to herself, deliberating whether or not she should burn some alive. She heard Alex's thoughts and also did not hear his command, and realised that he was correct. They did not have the time. She dearly wished they did.

When we come back, I want to raze this place to the ground! She growled inside his head, but beat her wings and took off to the north. It would be a long journey, she knew, but at least they were going somewhere now and they were where they truly belonged. In the sky, together.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

OOC:
Aries, what happened to your grand plan of return? And where's everyone else? I sure hope they haven't been driven away.

 

[AriesWolf]

The Return

Invictus was burning, as he had been for days. Ever since Mirah had touched the trident of the Black Rider. He had left her there amongst the ruins, fleeing her presence to stop the acursed heat. She was alive, and had supplies, he would have felt it if she had died. But the burning stopped him from actually caring, in the weeks they had been gone he had nearly tripled in size.

He was now nearly 50 feet long, and just over ten tall at the shoulder. He was exhausted, and still he pushed on forcing himself to move. The BURNING! He was in agony, the rotting corpse clenched firmly in his claws was testament to his rage. The poor woman hadn't even had a chance to scream. Since he left Mirah, he had become vicious, and a cruel cunning was fast developing.

INVICTUS a voice burned the word into his mind, like a curse YOU ARE MINE NOW

"NO!" He screamed. He was falling, the world rapidly spinning around him, he was near the city were he had met Mirah now, his rage and newfound power had let him move with unsurpassable speed and stamina, though now it was leaving him as the cold sinister voice rose in his mind. He knew the voice of course, having heard it before. Though it's tone was far different than it had been.

Reza... Reza had not left with the dream, it was he who caused the burning, and it was because they had to stop the Red, and her rider. Without Mirah, she would only hold him back with her human 'Mercy'. Reza had told him so, and was fighting him for control... and he didn't know how much longer he could hold the long dead drake inside him.

"MIRAH" He roared. His speech human and yet incomprehendable in his pain. "STOP THE BURNING"

The corpse fell from his claws. He needed to kill the red... that would stop the pain, that would stop the pain, that would stop it, kill the red, kill the red, kill kill kill. He needed to kill, kill everything! Each sound was responsible for his agony, each man and woman, every goblin and troll, the dragons of Sanctuary they all needed to DIE! THEY WOULD ALL BURN WITH HIM!