Twisted Night: Prologue

Story by Unscforces on SoFurry

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#35 of Scales and Honor- Night Rising +

Night rising began as a small way to introduce Infinity to the world of scales and honor. Soon it blossomed into a dragoness befriending a human mage and trying to escape with him from a creature most foul. This next part of her tale will pick up where we left her last. With Lyyreth and Cordenth as they travel west towards Rothdell.

This was all taken from a roleplay I had with the devientart user https://unbrokensilences.deviantart.com/

In this prologue we are shown a scene from the past. One of the dragoness Zyndri. One who may have a connection to Infinity.


Zyndri awoke with a tongue curling yawn, sprawling out on her large bed adorned with the softest silks crafted from all of Rothdell. She sighed, tasting the morning air brought in with the slight breeze that caressed her crimson scales. She blinked open her eyes, gazing up to the gold laden cave around her. Trinkets of all different sorts hung suspended by thin chains, baubles and prizes that were given or forcibly taken from mortals from across Sethera. Chests filled to bursting littered the corners of her vast room made of pristine wood, polished to perfection. Not that she paid for them, she found that with the right amount of persuasion mortals could be counted on to do most things. The sun's rays flowed in to sparkle across her treasure, almost blinding to the eye but satisfying to her soul. With a final sigh and wiggle of her haunches she righted herself too all fours, stretching herself out with a groan.

Satisfying cracks went up her spine, sending rippling sensations of delight through her scales as she worked a kink out of her serpentine neck. "Mmmmmm." She hummed, smiling to herself as she trotted her way out of her sleeping quarters, her long tail adorned with gleaming golden circlets brushing aside a wave of coins. She passed under the vast door frame, horn marks still apparent on the underside, the mistake of the first one to craft such things. She had made sure to flay the man for his error. For why would you get something so wrong for his dragon lord and not expect such things? She chuckled to herself, carrying herself with pride and passing two orc guards adorned in the brightest of chainmail, looking as though they had spent the last few hours polishing it. They gave her a quick pounding of their chests, a sign of respect to their people. The gesture she appreciated but paid them little mind as she padded on passed them to the carved out hallways.

The passageway was almost as cluttered as her sleeping chambers, covered from top to bottom with strange paintings of twisted landscapes, tapestries of wool and silk, and other mismatched, misshapen things upon the wall. They jutted forth like little thorns on the side of a plant. She casually glanced to her favorite one, a vast oil tapestry of a red dragon proudly observing her countryside. The one that was hers by divine right. She looked down to her polished, white scaled chest and spyed the little scars that she had earned when she had taken her rightful place within these halls. It had been a tough struggle, but her own mother had been old and passed her prime. The dragoness being more than a match for her in spells and talons. She clenched her claws in and out, remembering how they had been stained red that day with the dragoness' blood. How it had dripped down in thick droplets to splatter against the throne room floor.

With a snort she pulled herself from the past, would do her no good to remain lost within the pleasing moments of her life.She had a job to do after all, a domain to run. She carried herself with head risen high as the hallway gave way to a vast outdoor bridge made of smoothed, gleaming stone. It didn't even have the same little blocks that were usually apparent in magically made structures such as this. She stopped as some red birds flew over head, swooping down the mountainside engulfed in the thick morning fog. They dove into the murky thing, vanishing from sight with happy chirps.She felt the siren's call of her wings, begging her to bound into the sky and give her subjects something to admire as she gazed down upon them. She resisted the call as she spread her wings, her throne room resting above all others greeting her eyes. She leaped into the crisp air, fog swirling under her pounding wings as she swooshed in on the vast structure of stone. She swooped around the open area, admiring the ornate, engraved stones that told the story of her bloodline. Stairs without railings connected it to the mountain, made for her mortal guests that would occasionally visit. Often to give tributes or report activities across her land. One was at the base right now, adorned in a dark traveler cloak, taking slow steady steps up the fine stone.

She raised a brow, she had not been expecting visitors this morning. None that she could recall from the list given to her the previous day by her servents. Although this might not be the first time they had messed up with something like this, examples having to be made for such failings. She sighed, setting her eyes onto the landing platform designated with a square black smooth section of stone that did reflect the light streaming onto it. Pedestals lined the huge area, her servents polishing and cleaning for her arrival. She felt a smile spread to her snout as she saw her mate Udram was already there. His red scales shining in the sun like a brilliant ruby, almost as beautiful as hers. She roared out to him in greeting when he did the same, his amber eyes meeting hers and calling her down to him. She turned and dove, extending her hinds before giving a final violent flap, sending the fine red tunics and dresses of her servants ruffling from the shear force. "Greetings mate." She purred to the tan underscaled male in draconic, who nodded to her with a warm expression.

"Always a good morning to see you happy." His voice soothing, almost pushed the visitor and the failings of her servants from her mind.

"It could always be better." She padded to him with a practiced strut to be beside him, the mortals polishing the floor scurrying like vermin in her wake. "We have a surprise visitor at the base of the stairs. I already can feel my irritation rising like a storm beneath my scales." She settled next to him, puffing her chest out. "What do I need to do, to find decent help these days?" She sighed, licking the red male across his snout. "Don't they know what I do to them when they fail?"

"Perhaps they need another demonstration." Her mate replied, his words somewhat disapproving. He was not as keen to show force as she was, for he was tender and sweet. It did not trouble he through, why would he have to be so when she was the fierce and intimidating one?

"I know you don't like the spilling of blood my mate." She nuzzled him with a sigh, her heart beating a tad faster. "But the riffraff need to be shown what happens. We can't go soft on things like this." She intertwined her tail with his, resettling her wings against her back as she admired the humans, orcs, and gnolls that had started to finish up with their cleaning. Her eyes fell to a vast silver plate supported on a pedestal. One that contained her morning meal of sauteed direboar. She licked her lips, already waiting to sample on the smoky flavors. But then she remembered the guest, narrowing her eyes and letting out a snort. "Braydon." She said in the common tongue, snapping her head to stand high above her servants. She fought the smirk as they looked to her with worried eyes. It was as if they could sense that something was amiss. "Why is it that I spied a visitor on our steps? I did not expect anyone this morning."

From the mortals came a lithe human male, running a finger along his red tunic before holding a clipboard out in front of him. His hands trembling as brown eyes glanced along the page, the man adjusting his spectacles. "None that I can see here my lady." The man bowed his head, eyes on his black leather boots. "They appear to have just popped out of thin air!"

"Wonderful." She growled, tapping her tail against the stone throne. That meant it was some form of spell caster come to seek an audience with her. Unless it was some sort of humanoid figure who had snuck passed all her guards and traps on foot. That would have made for an interesting conversation if true. "You." She gestured to a woman cleaning a vase close to the door with an oversized white duster. "How close is our....Visitor?"

"Here actually." The figure spoke, voice seeming to come from all directions. Like a thunderous roar from the heavens above. The grey cloaked man stepped into the throne room, the stone beneath him starting to ripple with a faint glow. "I figured I'd take the faster route instead of leaving you waiting."

"Who are you." She replied casually, hiding her surprise with a glance to her talons. "And why should I not summon my guards to dispose of you? Or better yet, capture you and find out why you decided to simply barge your way in here like some unruly beast?"

"That is a most interesting question that would require a great explanation would it not?" The figure removed his hood, the warm face of an elderly human greeting her with a smile. "I am the great wizard Nigelious, and you must be the wonderful dragon Zyndri." He bowed low, his face nearly touching the floor.

"H-How do you know that name?" She hissed, narrowing her eyes. She seldom gave her name out to mortals if at all. This was not one of those people that she had done so. "I don't recall....Ever..meeting you." She rose to all fours, her tail swishing menacingly behind her as her mate gave her a concerned look. She nodded to him, letting him know she had everything handled.

"I can learn a lot of things with time and research." The wizard clasped his hands together before extending them with a smirk. "And I certainly have plenty of time to figure something petty like a simple name."

"Oh..It isn't quite that simple. I go to painstaking lengths to ensure no simple person acquires something that isn't theirs." She snaked her head lower, almost bearing her teeth at the joyous looking man. He lacked the usual fear that was ever present in human eyes while looking at her. That mere fact made her uneasy. She would simply have to rectify that little error in his judgement. Humans should always show the dragon how much better they were, but there he was. Looking right into her eyes proudly, almost as if he were one of her equals. "So...I imagine that you got my name from someone else. Do tell me mage..and I will make sure that they never do such a foolish thing again...And you must not have had many dealings with dragons little human. For you keep looking in my eyes, I would avoid doing that." She snapped her jaws, expecting for him to jump back in surprise with a little meep. However the smiling man did not respond. Like he lacked the basic instinct for survival in that little human head of his.

"Oh I divined it on my own fair dragoness. It was not something I plucked from one of your kin." The man raised a brow. "Should I have taken the name by force?"

"I fail to understand how you managed it...Mage." She snorted, the man's words distasteful. "I would speak your peace quickly before I have you in chains for such insults."

"Wonderful."

She pulled her head away, the mage smelled like death. Like a corpse left in the sun."And would you drop that illusion?" She growled, spying a slight imperfection near the man's skull.

"Illusion?" The wizard gestured to his blue robes. "This is-"

"Please." She scoffed. "That illusion is no more your true form then my title is my name. Show me or I shall not listen to a single word that comes snaking its way from your little mouth."

"As you wish clever dragon." The man snapped one of his fingers, his body melting away as if a candle before a great flame. Rolling droplets of his skin gave way to the grey rotted flesh underneath. His blue robes started to darken as rivers of black wrapped around it, enveloping the bright inviting color with onyx black. In a matter of moments the old man was gone, and an undead creature with blackened pools stared out at her, holding its arms wide. "Shall this satisfy you?"

The mortal servants let out a scream as they ran to the edge of the throne room, how could they not in the presence of something like this? Zyndri maintained her glare, unflinching like a stone in the wake of a storm. She flicked her tail, watching his movements with utmost curiosity. "So little undead. What brings you to my cave?" She hissed as her mate shot up, even his eyes filling with the need to defend her. She thought it was sweet for him to do. Would probably reward him for such behavior with a romp under her tail.

"Now isn't that certainly the question. But short and to the point." The lich crossed it's arms across it's robed chest. "I like that about you dragon."

"I suggest you save with the pleasantries. The only reason you are not being bound for my dungeons or being pinned is because you interest me. You managed to get passed all my guards, my fliers with the utmost vigilant eyes. So tell me."

"Ah." The creature gave her a bob of his head, twirling his left hand in a circular fashion. "I come here with what you would call a business proposition for all the parties here. One that I think would benefit all of us in the end of such things."

"What could you ever mean by that?" She snorted, striding back to her mate and curling around him and flopping onto the soft pads. "What could you do for me? I have land..Servants..A place within Rothdell's circle of magi."

"Plenty of things great dragon of the west. For starters...I could divine for you the location of some lost treasure. So that you may display it and be the envy of all dragon kind." The lich stopped as she did not make a sound or movement, letting silence be her answer. "Or..We could find something else. Devices that could bring power to those that wield them. Things to make others fear their name and bow heads in submission. "Something like this." He waved his hand, summoning forth an ornate looking tome. One that smelled like a rainstorm, and was adorned with soft glowing white runes in dwarven text. Shapes swirled around it, identifying storms and clouds. "This.." The lich stroked the spine, "Is the boon of Thor. I was going to use it myself but this would be a perfect gift to share."

"What does it do?" She tilted her head to the side, as electric sparks curled around the lich's bony finger, blue white light flowing up his arm and curling around his head.

"Those that read and take in this powerful text will become immune to electricity in all its forms, and even be able to summon forth a great force of thunder at will.

"Hmmm." She stroked the bottom of her jaw with one of her claws. The curiosity building up in her chest and tingling her mind. "I will hear you out then wizard. Make your arrangement."

"I will be needing one of your offspring as it were. One that you're not using."

"My what?" She snarled, the curiosity shifting to rage at a mere moment. "How dare you want one of them! I should have you burned for even mentioning such a thing!"

Nigel did not flinch as black smoke started to billow in copious amounts from the dragonesses nostrils. "It just needs to be a dragon from your blood line. Yours seems to be one of the most powerful in the arcane energies. I think they would be perfect for what I have in store."

One of her bloodline? She closed her snout, already having something in mind. One that would allow her to get whatever this creature was offering, and give him what he wanted. "Whatever would you use the whelp for?"

"I would make them better. Stronger than they would have ever been. In return they will help me open a doorway that has remained closed for thousands of years. Do you have one of your little ones in mind?"

"Oh yes...But not mine." She smiled, remembering the reports given to her by one of her dragon lords to the north. The purple dragon there had been her eyes and ears for the last one three hundred years, and always seemed to have information on those she sought. She figured that he had been helping dragons and people avoid her, but whenever she asked he always delivered. "I have a brother who has decided in his poor judge of thought to abandon this mountain and take flight with some black dragoness to the east." She growled, picturing that ness' star wings. "To think he would sully our bloodline with such filth is beyond me but I still love him. I believe he has a little hatchling. One that would be in the need of being made stronger. It is they you can have....Now." She rose up, tapping her claw against the stone. "About that wonderful book you promised?"

"Oh yes." The lich motioned to her, the tome flying towards her outstretched claws. She could feel the power radiating from the hardcover as tiny, tickling sparks danced over her scales. It left her taking gasping breaths as jolts traveled up her spine and made her wings tremble softly. "So...We have an accord then?"

Zyndi turned her head to her mate, his eyes filled with concern as lightning flowed of her like water. He would disapprove, but it was not his place. Besides it would all work out in the end. The little dragoness would become stronger, overcome the weakness of her mother. "Of course we do little lich. I look forward to business deals such as this in the future." She grinned.

"What..was the name of the little one if I may be so bold?"

"Infinity." The red dragoness hissed. "What a wonderous future she has in store."

"Oh that my dear...you can be certain of." Nigel's lips curled into a twisted smile, one that screamed of mischievous intent. "I will make her glorious....And Zyndi?"

"Yes?" She narrowed her eyes, his casual use of her name being forgotten with another glance to the powerful object in her claws.

"When my plan is set into motion. I believe you will have a place in what comes next. Perfect to help pick up the pieces as it were."

"You intrigue me little undead. Do stay and tell me all about this plan of yours. I am always interested in.." She chuckled to herself with a growl. "Picking up the pieces."