The Aquamarine Descenders
#3 of The Age of Ash
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"My ancestors really looked like that?" Elizabeth said, looking up at a painting that spanned one of the immensely tall walls of Ivinth's bedroom. The painting was, as the dragon had said a moment before, of one of the great Serulian generals that had ruled her homeland long ago.
"Yes, a charming fellow, if a bit troubled. As you can see, those who came before you were far... fiercer looking, not to insult your current looks." Ivinth remarked, lifting the feline up to get a closer look at the immense painting. The Serulian portrayed looked almost identical to the long extinct saber tooth tigers that used to stalk the frozen forests of Dureula. His snow white fur was lined with brown stripes that crossed his wide, bare chest. Just as the dragon had mentioned, the general's claws wore almost as wide and massive as his two sabre teeth, each one nearly as long as her thumbs and twice the width.
His bronze eyes looked off at something in the distance, his gaze steeled and focused on whatever was behind the painter. Although his chest was bare, the general wore a massive pelt of what looked to be a wolf, the upper jaw of the skin's head atop the general's head, his ears poking free from two holes cut into the fur cloak. Atop each of his shoulders were silver shoulderpads that were pronged with barbed spikes that jutted from his body, coils of knotted thread draping down over his leather covered arms.
A plaque as large as a door was set into the golden frame of the painting, where the ancient Serulian's name was perfectly etched into the metal: General Su Lua Mani.
Elizabeth said each syllable aloud, her eyes squinting at the odd name: "Soo loo a man.. E?" She heard a snort come from the dragon behind her, who quickly turned away when she glared at him. "I don't see you pronouncing it, Ivinth." She remarked, turning back to look at the general's name.
"Ha, thats easy! Su lee a ma ni, Su Lua Mani. That was how it was said, at least back then." Ivinth said, pointing to each part of the name as he pronounced it for her. "Trust me, I was once an emissary for my kind with your race, and had plenty of time to learn their language." The dragon's tail wagged from side to side, having enjoyed the conversation he'd been having with the Serulian for quite some time.
It had been far too long since he could simply speak to another person, be they dragon or otherwise, without being spoken to like he was some untouchable being, or a hideous monster. Elizabeth didn't seem the least bit moved by his draconic appearance any more, having chosen to stay with him for a few days longer until she was truly prepared.
Her movements had gotten better, but Ivinth still required her to take part in one more session of healing before they could leave. How many years had it been since he stepped out from his cave, his home? It felt almost... exciting to finally see what the world had become in his, and all of his kind as a whole, absence.
The Serulian turned to look at the dragon, shooting him a puzzled look as his daydreaming brought a dopey grin across his snout.
"I'd say your the weirdest dragon I've ever met, but your also the only dragon I've ever met." Elizabeth commented, the Icefang at her side nosing against her paw for attention. She rubbed the wolf's head lovingly, having thanked him for saving her life in the first place.
"You wouldn't be the first to say that first part." He muttered, wiping the dumb look on his face. "But I believe it is time for another healing session so, if you would, seat yourself on the bed please." He motioned for his bed, the gesture earning him a smug smile as she took a seat on the mattress. Every since their first romp, Ivinth had resorted to more... intimate ways of restoring the Serulian's strength, a change neither she nor he minded in the least.
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Even as the dragon padded towards her, Elizabeth could see his member slowly making its way out from his slit to bob in time with each step he took. Had it not been for the spell he always enchanted her with, the feline wouldn't have had the luxury of seeing his magnificent cock at all, a silent prayer going out to whomever taught him the trick every time her eyes laid upon it.
"Ahem." Ivinth cleared his though, having stepped over the daydreaming Serulian. He had taken to lying down upon the massive bed they had shared, one leg lifted high for her to have complete and utter unhindered access to his enormous tool. Elizabeth took the invitation between his muscled thighs without hesitation, her hands reaching out to stroke the ebony shaft as she huddled herself beside the dragon's belly.
"Sorry, not everyday I get to see something so... stunning. Hard to get used to." Elizabeth apologized, her furred hands stroking over either side of his member, feeling the warmth that radiated through it with each beat of the dragon's heart. His reply was a huff of smoke from his nostrils, the familiar pinkish glow beginning to take over his eye's golden hue.
"Always the flatterer, Elizabeth. I -ah, appreciate the compliment nevertheless." Ivinth replied, grunting as she stroked along the ridges that ran up his member, her soft fur making it all the harder for him to keep himself collected.
Even after a couple days of their new "method", Ivinth had yet to grow any less sensitive to the Serulian's velvety touch. Elizabeth rubbed her hands around the dragons tip, slicking her fur in his pre as she returned to pumping his length with her paws.
"My pleasure." She replied, her head dipping down to lick along one of his many ridges, the dragon giving a low moan as she snaked her tongue up his length, collecting the salty pre that dribbled down from its tip. She might not be able to properly engulf his length down her maw, but Elizabeth had learned a few tricks with their last few "healing sessions".
Ivinth gasped suddenly as the feline wrapped as much of her mouth onto the tip of his cock, her hands softly pressing against his ribbed shaft, fingers wrapping as far around his girth as possible.
The dragon's eyes were a pure beacon of neon pink lights, his lustful magic brimming to capacity in his hidden balls, a ticking time bomb ready to blow. Instinct reared its head within Ivinth, the urge to force his length down the Serulian's throat nagging at the back of his mind as he forced it down. The spell he knew would certainly make the act painless for her, but breathing was an issue he knew not how to resolve.
Even still, Ivinth gave a few tiny thrusts against her hands, quivering at her silken touch and over-eager tongue fighting to cover every inch of ground atop his cock. A shiver ran up Ivinth's spine, his raised leg spasming for a brief moment as his orgasm bore into the dragon without delay.
Elizabeth could feel the dragon's load shoot up the length of his shaft in an instant, barely giving her enough warning to brace for the coming tide as his cum gushed into her mouth and down her waiting throat. She held her ground atop the dragon's torrent of seed filled her to capacity. Finally the Serulian pulled free from Ivinth's cock, a jet of sticky white semen shooting over both of their heads into the thin curtain that lined the edges of the bed.
Coughing several times, Elizabeth returned to stroking the dragon with a much slower pace, fueling his ongoing climax for a few moments longer. Her belly bulged with the dragon's seed, with an even greater amount dispensed over her face and all around where the dragon's tip slowly began to dip down towards.
When Ivinth's grunts of pleasures turned to ones of discomfort Elizabeth finally stopped, giving a quick lick at the cum-oozing cock one more time before beginning to clean herself. The dragon's head stretched out over the bed, his ecstatic smile warming the cat's heart.
Elizabeth was thankful for the dragon, in more ways than she could have thought possible. She was indebted to him, although she certainly didn't know how she could ever repay him for his kindness.
"You have done far more than you could ever imagine, Elizabeth. It is I who owes you a great deal." He said, the dragon's voice ringing through her head. She had forgotten all about the mental link he had bridged with her, an experience she couldn't get used to no matter how long he used it. He could hear every thought that came to mind, but there was a deafening silence coming from his own.
"It would not be wise to share my thoughts with you, they.... Are too much to bear, even for me." He answered, giving a sigh as he did. "But with that, you've completed your, erm, healing sessions. We may leave in a few moments if you want." He continued, his voice losing its sad tone immediately. Another reason he didn't reveal his thoughts to the mortal was, simply put, he couldn't bear to bring her down the mountain to her home. The journey or the risk of being seen were minor at best for Ivinth, but it was having to let go that he couldn't come to terms with. The last few days had been the brightest moments in his centuries of solitude.
He had to keep up the act, to remove her before it became too hard to bear, hence the sudden offer. His time was just as limited as hers, maybe even shorter than the feline could realise. Healthy, any dragon could live well beyond a millennium, but Ivinth didn't have such a luxury, or as he saw it, the curse.
Ivinth stood up, his legs scooting away from Elizabeth lest he trample her with his clumsy movements. She looked disappointed that their session had ended so quickly, but that came to pass quickly as his wing came down for her to grab onto.
"Really, we can go to my village now?" She squealed with delight, her legs dangling as he lifted her onto his back. At least she was excited to leave.
"Yes, I believe I've kept you stuck here for far longer than those who care for you would like. Niles was one such fellow, correct? I'm sure he is worried sick with your absence." Ivinth said, striding towards the massive doors of his bedchamber. The wolf that he had ordered to wait beside the door was sound asleep, his ears perking up immediately as the dragon's footsteps alerted him to their presence.
The Ice Jaw followed him as Ivinth opened the doors with a flare of magick, the stone grinding against the floor as he strode out into the cave's main tunnel. Elizabeth chatted away with Ivinth as they walked towards the exit of his home, although mainly it was her talking about the people who would die to meet someone like him.
Her chattiness halted abruptly as he stopped just before the mouth of his home, a frozen wind blowing into the cavernous entrance that made the Serulian shiver from the intense cold that cut right through her short fur.
"Ah, my apologies." Ivinth said, realising he had yet to cast the spell he had intended to keep her warm. Ivinth turned his head to face the Serulian on his back and blew a wave of hot air over her, giving her a quick view of the back of his throat, where a red-hot glow seemed to burn like a furnace within him.
The cat's shivering slowed to a halt as the warmth from his breath seemed to stick to her fur, relieving the biting cold. The spell, if Ivinth's memory served him well, would last for little more than half an hour, what he hoped would be enough time to keep her well until they reached the mountain's base.
"Please hold on, Elizabeth. This will be interesting. To say the least." He warned, feeling her hands wrap around the base of his neck.
"I trust you" She thought, bringing a smile to his scarred snout. With the wolf close behind, Ivinth bunched his legs before leaping out from his home for the first time in so very long, his forelegs spread out to bury into the snow. He bounded through the snow with all the the strength he could muster, flinging clumps of snow high into the air. His eyes darted in every direction as he recalled every nook and cranny of the mountainside.
Much of it was clearly outdated as the dragon leapt over a trench of broken ice he knew wasn't there beforehand, Elizabeth's grip on him tightening as he stopped short of a cliff. The sun was beginning to peak from beyond the horizon, casting its golden rays upon the ancient beast that took a moment to look. He didn't have time to waste though, and craned his neck to look down the sheet of ice. Several spires of ice jutted from the cliff face, his eyes squinting to see their thickness, and if they could support his weight.
Behind him, the wolf was already panting from the sheer speed the dragon was putting out, his breathing coming out in misty white clouds between his icy teeth. Ivinth sighed, knowing the wolf wouldn't be able to follow him down, and lowered a wing for it to scramble onto his back. The wild beast wouldn't be able to hold on like Elizabeth, leaving him to bind the Ice Jaw to his back with his telekinesis magic, a power he found to be dwindling far too quickly.
Once he had the wolf secure, Ivinth gave one last breath before jumping from the edge. Elizabeth, as much as she trusted the dragon, still screamed with terror as they plummeted downwards, the wind whipping her fur straight up along with her whiskers and tail.
Ivinth unfurled his wings to slow their fall enough to land onto the jagged icy platform, a sickening crack forcing him to repeat the process twice before they reached solid ground. The first platform he had stepped on gave another echoing crack before it gave in under its own weight and began to fall, colliding with and shattering the second icy spike into several chunks.
The dragon dove forward to avoid the house sized ice chunks that exploded into tiny fragments where he had stood, followed by a shower of more and more frozen boulders that would surely have crushed Ivinth flat.
The loud noise brought a cacophony of howls over the mountainside, the many feral Ice Jaws that lived nearby most likely well on their way to the dragon's position. He'd be long gone by then. The rest of the journey down the mountain was far less precarious, save for the few Ice Jaws that did manage to find the dragon. They were young and ignorant of his overwhelming strength, leaving the dragon no other choice than to cleave them with his enormous claws in case they alerted even more of their pack to his location.
Elizabeth watched in amazement as the dragon slew each wolf without breaking a sweat, blood staining the ground and his sharp claws as he carried out what was necessary. When he fought, the dragon's ferocity was quite a scary sight, even for her
Finally, they reached the mountains base, where the frozen ice gave way to tall, dark spruce trees. The dragon took two steps into the forest before collapsing beside one of the towering trees, knocking both his passengers free onto the snowy ground. The wolf landed on his feet without issue, but Elizabeth only managed to land square on her back rather than face first.
Ivinth's breathing was labored and heavy, the snow around his snout melting with each burning hot breath that escaped his nostrils. He tried to stand, but his legs refused to carry his own weight. Had he overdone it? Elizabeth came into view of him, her back covered in dirty snow, her hands grabbing at his snout. She was saying something, but Ivinth couldn't hear anything, not even from the mental link they shared.
Everything was silent, save for his own heartbeat, which Ivinth could feel was far too slow. Cold seemed to bite into his scars over his body, stabbing into him like icy spears.
Was he dying? Tears streamed down her eyes as she screamed and hollered at him, yet only silence greeted his ears. Ivinth wished he could speak, to ease her worries one last time, but he felt too weak to raise a claw. Elizabeth stood up in a panic and walked out of his sight again, a feeling of something pressing against his belly the only sign of where she had gone. He must have been injured, but the dragon couldn't feel anything.
He supposed this was truly it, he had finally found the end to his solitude. Ivinth wasn't scared, even as his eyelids fluttered closed for a second. He had set out to save one last life, an act he hoped those who he had kept waiting for centuries would permit him for doing.
And then, all at once, everything returned to the dying dragon.
His eyes shot open as his strength came back, the sobbing of Elizabeth ringing in his ears and within his mind. He lifted his head to look at her, the Serulian kneeling at the midpoint of his scaly belly. All over her arms was crimson blood, her light green fur matted and stained red with his blood.
"W-what happened, Elizabeth?" He stammered, a feeling of nausea hitting him hard in the gut.
"You got lucky, is what." A gruff voice said. Ivinth turned his head the other way, where a lizard leaned against the base of a tree. He wore a cobalt colored robe that fluttered in the wind, a crystalline staff leaning beside him. Underneath the robe was a set of pristine metal armor, trimmed gold with a crest of a claw embedded in the center.
The stranger almost passed for a kobold, given the wide tail he could see barely poking from the bottom of the blue robe and the square-ish snout that poked from his hood, but he stood a good two feet taller than any Ivinth had ever seen. The stranger pulled down his hood, careful to not rip the holes his two twisting horns poked through in the cloak. Glossy acid green scales covered every inch of his head, the underside of his jaw lined with two rows of short spikes that broke up the otherwise perfect shield-like look of the kobold's scales.
Ivinth almost.... recognised the stranger, but that was all too clearly impossible, there wasn't a soul he knew that still drew breath. The stranger smiled, revealing rows of well-maintained teeth, each sharp and pointed in an eerily similar form to a dragon's.
"Lucky?" Ivinth asked angrily, another wave of nausea rushing through him like cold water.
"Yup, your wounds reopened all at once. Miss Elizabeth over there did what she could, but if I hadn't used my magic, you'd probably be dead right now." The stranger replied, grabbing his crystal staff. Until now, Ivinth hadn't noticed the magic staff had been carved into the shape of a dragon's head, its jaws opened wide around a glowing red orb between its carved teeth.
"Ah, but it is so rude of me for not introducing myself, oh Lord Ivinth. It is truly an honor to meet you in person." the stranger said, kneeling in the dragon's irritated gaze. How did he know Ivinth's name?
"My name is Kelat, and although you may not recognise me, I'm certain you knew my great ancestor, or at the very least the guard who protected one of The Twelve, Chloroblood?" Kelat continued, watching the dragon's eyes widen in shock.
"Now, I'm sure you three are all very tired, so let us reconvene somewhere more... comfortable. If you'd please." The kobold said, turning to point his staff between two nearby trees, the air beginning to spark with magical power as it seemed to shimmer where he pointed his staff.
A beam of light shot from the orb placed the staff and seemed to strike something between the two trees. Ivinth was dumbfounded, the magic before him all too familiar. It was none other than a spell his father had devised: a rift.
"Exactly." Kelat shouted as his beam of light tapered off. For a second nothing happened, until with a resounding shockwave the air where the kobold had pointed tore open like paper. Beyond the tear, Ivinth could see what looked to be a lavish bedroom, not entirely unlike the one he had been living within.
Elizabeth was just as surprised as she walked around the dragon's rear, her eyes staring at the rift with wonder. Ivinth stood up, his body aching with pain. The kobold smiled and stepped aside, bowing to let the three go first.
"Very well then, Kelat, let us... chat." Ivinth replied, striding forward. Elizabeth hesitated to follow, the Ice Jaw at her side eyeing the scaly mage with scepticism. She was so close to home, did she really want to throw that away to be with Ivinth for even a few moments longer?
The dragon glanced back towards Elizabeth and her wolf for a moment, hesitation slowing him as he took one step into the portal. He sighed, then stepped through, his tail low as he disappeared into the gateway.
Kelat smiled as the dragon took his offer, twirling his staff flashily as he turned to look at the remaining two.
"Elizabeth, the offer still stands if you would like to accompany him. You were critical to saving his life, in more ways than you know right now. I'm certain he would greatly appreciate your company for what is to come, and I can always take you home whenever you desire." Kelat shouted, planting his staff back into the ground.
The kobold certainly was convincing, but that alone made her all the more hesitant. Then again, what did she truly have at her village? Niles would certainly miss her, but everyone else barely paid her any mind, where Ivinth gave her everything he had to offer and more.
The cat balled her fists, her eyes staring at the blood that soaked them. Could she really be any help to him? That question was one she couldn't answer just yet, or ever if she stayed. Kelat smiled even wider as the Serulian and her wolf stepped towards the portal, although he had begun to rely on the staff for support. Chloroblood's portal spell certainly sapped its user's magic quickly, although it was only intended for the great dragon himself to use.
Kelat hobbled into the portal before the two, his staff clicking against the hard soil underneath the snow. As Elizabeth took the first step into the portal, she could feel warm air on the other side, the very first step in a new life.
The only signs of her or Ivinth was the dragon's blood on the snow and the imprint of their choices. Wherever the dragon went, she was sure to follow.
To Be Continued....