The Forgotten 1: Edge of the World
#1 of The Forgotten
For those interested this http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5282227 is Sithen who'll be featured in this story. :)
Lashane cupped her hands around the rough clay mug that the inn keeper had dropped off for her. Not that she would call this god forsaken place an inn. The single room was barely large enough to hold the bulk of the men that seemed to find a need to drink here. The scent of stale scent and spilled beer made her wrinkle her nose in distaste. They mingled together with the rich scent of the burning fire until even the beer seemed to hold an aftertaste of it. She had at least commanded enough respect to claim a seat near the stairs by herself rather than be shoved into the fray with these peasants. How they survived like this she had no idea, all she did know was that she would have broken free of this life the moment she could. Yet hear they sat nursing their ale and sharing stories of glories long past.
She was at the very fringe of the known Empire, in a town so in ruin she had almost passed it by as abandoned. The far north, the cold north, the Ice Barrens and the one place she heartily wished her prey hadnt fled too. She knew this area from her childhood history lessons. It had once been a huge port town that was infamous for the riches that flowed from the oceans and into the rest of the world. As she cast her eyes at the bear like men gathered she could hardly believe that these people were the descendants of feared warriors. Once they had held complete command of their port town and the oceans that surrounded it. They were feared in war and rumor had it could transform into bears in the thick of a battle. The ferocity with which they fought was unmatched and their thirst for raiding had been their undoing.
Each summer they would set their boats to the water and leave their homeland of jagged mountains and harsh winters for the richer lands of the south. There they would plunge into the heart of the Empire as if it were a cows soft underbelly. They left a path of blood and fire behind them as they slaughtered livestock and raided warehouses full of grain. It was only when their boats road low in the water with plunder did they leave the people to gather up the shards of their former lives. It was only when they struck the Emperors warehouses did they bring their own destruction down on their heads. The army had marched from behind and in a series of bloody battles on land and sea they had cowed the once brave warriors.
Even now she saw one grey beard bearing the marks from that battle and she spared herself a tight lipped smile of satisfaction that her people had triumphed. The old man was missing the last two fingers on both hands. Her Emperor was merciful, he didnt slaughter every warrior, instead he had ensured they would never be able to pick up arms again. She hadnt been alive when the battles had raged, she was only entering into her twentieth year, but she had heard from those that had been. The warriors had fought like animals. Their very savage nature was frightening to behold. She had thought of all those old stories when she entered their village and found the nightmarish people of her childhood tales were more pathetic then the farmers of her own town.
Another drink, maam? A rough voice jostled her out of her thoughts and she glanced up to see the inn keeper hovering at her elbow. His lips thinned down in disapproval at her presence. She hadnt hid that she was a magician, nor had she flaunted it, yet they knew what she was. Their fear and disgust at magic was renowned. Superstitious fools! Magic was another weapon in any arsenal. It was the reason their people had lost to hers, they put their trust in the faith of their gods instead of using every resource they had at their disposal.
No. I have need of a guide for the morning though. Im sure you can locate someone in your.village. She paused before the word, her tone tinged with mockery for even giving this place such a lofty name as village.
I suppose, maam. An where are ye headin? Sea? The mans roughened features darkened at her tone. She traced a finger against the edge of her mug and admired the perfect curve of her nail. The tales were right, these people were beasts when compared with the civilized countries of the south.
The Mountains. Im tracking a beast for our illustrious Emperor. Her lips swept up in a smile to watch the twitch of the bristled cheek. The dark eyes couldnt hide the flash of anger in them. How interesting that they still resented their loss.
No, Maam, aint a person here thatd lead ya up those Mountains. Aint safe. A small pocket of silence started at the table near her own and seemed to spread around the small room. She leaned back and raised one of her slender eyebrows upwards.
Its not winter, theyre perfectly safe. Id come here hearing of the famed Braans courage. I did not expect to find it a bards tale. She put the edge of a purr to her voice as she leaned back and watched dark eyes follow her movements. One of the hunched bear like men at the table next to hers turned slowly and suddenly barked out a rough laugh.
Nay, madam, taint safe at all. What dye need? Herbs fer your magic? Wont be findin any o that up there. His voice was gravely as if he was used to yelling rather then simple speech. The sea is where ye can find all ye need.
No. Im trailing a beast. A dragon for the Emperor himself. Surely such brave men arent afraid of going hunting for a single dragon? She took a sip of the dark beer and suppressed the urge to wrinkle her nose in distaste at it.
Shed trailed the beast from the softer lands of the south all the way here. She had harried the dragon and almost had caught it nearly a week back before a chance storm had blown up from the coast. Lashane set her mug down and felt another surge of irritation that such a simple quest could bring her so much trouble. Yet the reward the Emperor had placed was worth the discomfort of this journey. A spot in the court and a life time of riches if she would succeed! Never again would she be forced to take to the roads and the hard conditions of weather. Not to mention the dubious housing she was often offered when she got to the towns in need of a Mage to solve some problem of dispute. As she mulled her thoughts around she became aware of the absolute silence of the room, the inn keeper was looking at her as if shed grown another head.
Lady, ye are insane. He state flatly and her temper flared up. She opened her mouth to snap at him when the grizzled man at the next table interrupted.
Those mountains aint fer humans to go too. Theyre Sithens an yed be nothin more than a bite ta him if ye tried to capture one of his dragons. He shook his head reprovingly.
Sithen? Is he the lord of those lands? Then take me to meet him. The Emperors reward is worth a bit of a compromise. Im sure he would appreciate the services of a Mage in exchange for the beast Im after. She flicked her fingers against the rough wood of the table.
Sithens not a lord, maam. Ye cant meet with him an yed be twice the fool for trying it. The inn keeper paused and then let out a rough braying laugh. Yer after the reward eh? A tame dragon fer the Emperor? Been twenty years an everyone knows the beasts are too wild ta tame! Fly off first time they get free. With or without a rider.
Only if the dragon is caught in the wild is that a problem. If its raised from the egg Im sure theyd be moreamenable to the presence of humans. She gave a slow smile like a satisfied cat. Her plan was elegant and simple. Shed found an egg heavy female and once she captured her shed be able to tend the eggs from birth until the young ones hatched. They would be dragons that would be tame from the very start and a mount for the Emperor as well as for her. What hold does Sithen have on the mountains and dragons then? If hes no lord then he inhabits the Empires land without permission, an executable offense!
Sithen aint human, girl, hes a dragon. She turned her head to watch the grey beard stand up and stare at her with barely contained disgust on his face. An hed kill ye soon as ye set foot on his mountain.
A dragon. She twitched her lips in an effort not to laugh. Dragons arent frightening even the males. Theyre beautiful and dangerous looking, but once they catch sight of humans they flee. Trust me, I know. Ive spent the better part of the last month hunting down this female and seen the males take to the skies at the first scent of me.
Lashane had to struggle not to mock them all for their fear. Everyone knew about the dragons, they were wanted by the Emperor as a mount, but not for their fighting prowess. At the best they were breath taking aerial dancers and swimmers. What child hadnt stood upon the edge of the ocean and watched their darting forms leap up from the water like jewels brought to life? Or hadnt laid back to see their stunning forms gliding the air and dreamed of being the first to tame and ride one? Yet they were cowards one and all. They would flee at the first sight of humans closing in and the largest thing theyd even dare attack for food were the great fish that lurked far out from the shore. They didnt even like warm mammalian flesh!
Aint a dragon like ye know, girl. The older man settled down and glanced towards the grizzled fellow meaningfully.
The little ones aint bad. The pretty green an blue ones that ye know are harmless, we know those ones. They come by here more an more often. They might raid our fish nets for meals, but they aint gonna do no harm. Sithen aint one o them. Hes a different breed all together. Not got a name fer his kind, but he aint no little ocean dragon. The man grated out darkly.
Alright, amuse me then. Since you seem keen on a tale, lets hear it. She couldnt hide the amusement in her voice. Obviously the superstitious villagers had a legend that they refused to believe was merely a legend. Shed heard that about the people here, still she hadnt expected the looks of raw belief on their faces.
Tis no tail, maam. Sithens real as you or me. Hes lived up in those mountains long as anyone can remember. One story says hes the last o his breed an he flew to the mountains for shelter. He despaired since theres no females left o his kind an he fell asleep deep in the caves up there until battles awoke him again. Another says hes a ghost of the last dragon killed up there an hes haunted the mountains ever since. The man turned in his seat to face her, his dark eyes locked on hers as he spoke. Least ways thats what we thought until few years back. A farmer set out an killed one of those blasted net breakers that was robbin him of his catch an brought the dragon back ta his farm to skin.
We didnt hear nothin from him for a week an finally we sent out folks to his home ta check up on his family. There wasnt anythin left there. His farm was torn apart and everythin blown across the yard and along the fields like a hurricane had struck. I was there, I saw everyone down ta the last child slaughtered. The old mans voice broke and she watched something dark slide behind his eyes as if he were lost in the memories.
It could have been a hurricane, or perhaps he angered a Mage. Why do you think a dragon did it? She shifted forward in her seat as the greybeard picked up the story.
Tracks, girl, giant tracks all over. Gouge marks in the wood of huge claws. Aint nothin that big around here, not even the dragons get that big. Ill tell ya somethin else, we didnt find the corpse of the dragon either. We did find drag marks and blood where it was drug away from the farm. The beast left the humans dead on the ground and took what hed come for after slaughtering them for what they did. He knew ysee, he knew that theyd killed a dragon an the devil killed them for revenge. The old man rubbed his nose with his two remaining fingers.
Its his mountain, hell kill anyone that sets foot on it. Hes breedin an army ta get revenge on us fer killin off his kind. Every year more female dragons gather up there, weve all seen them! They come up from the oceans an we see em flyin into the mountains. The storms they start ragin more an more too. Hes callin em. Everyone knows he is, hes buildin an army with the females, breedin it up until theres enough he can fly away from his mountain. Hes goin ta come down and rain hell down on every human he can find fer killin off his people.
And what does he look like, hmm? Has anyone seen him? Lashane tilted her head to one side tauntingly.
No. Weve seen the storms, though. The innkeeper cleared his throat nervously. They only happen high up on the mountain and when ye hear the thunder crack I swear ye can him roarin away. Thats when hes matin see? Hes a storm dragon, he can bring storms down on us if we anger him. One fall we were battered by em, washed nearly all the crops to see. Found out later someone had tried goin up the mountain after some o his sheep. He was warnin us ta stay away an we do. Hes spent hundreds o years up there sleeping an hatin humans, its all that kept him alive. Yet the battle he heard stirred him and he awoke again an hes there now callin for his kind to come an join him.
I aint dreamin it up, girl, dont look at me like that. Ye look in yer old texts an yell see that dragons used to be fearsome creatures. They werent these pretty creatures we see now, they tell stories about how theyd kill ye without a thought. We hunted them down and killed em off, all except one. They never forgive an they never forget. Even now he comes down here some nights when were coated in storms. Come mornin well find cattle missin or a house destroyed an the people missin. Hes pickin us off an takin his time with it. Maybe hes takin those humans back ta teach his young who and what ta kill.
Theyre animals, old man. Dragons only live about fifty years, not the centuries youre talking. And animals dont have memories like humans do. What youre talking about is your own boredom and too much ale while watching a storm. No wonder farm animals go missing! Im sure your fellow villagers think its a fine chance for free meat if youre all huddled and hiding from a storm and an imagined animal! She snorted a laugh, Ill offer you proof. Ill search your mountain for this Sithen for five gold pieces and supplies to see me up there. On the slim chance I do find him, Ill kill him and youll owe me twenty gold pieces for eliminating a dangerous animal.
Ye want a female dragon, stay here. Theyll come down ta the coast like always to fish. The innkeeper turned his eyes towards the closed door and then down to her again. Ye go to that mountain ye wont find Sithen, the devil hound ye into the grave an then punish us that let ye go.
I want the dragon I came for. She stood up slowly as she placed her mug down on the worn table. Come morning I will leave without a guide since none of you have the guts the gods granted an eel, and I will return with proof that youve all spent too much time drinking this rancid beer.
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The world was made of storms and light. His world was made of thunder and passion. Sithen stood on the ledge of a cave so old he had found bones that had turned into stone when hed dug out his home. The winds howled around his entrance and he lifted his head high in the air to draw in a breath of the thick summer storm. The air was heavy with the potential violence that longed to be unleashed from the black-green clouds above. Thunder was muted as it growled out its warning and occasional flashes of lightening flickered bright enough to illuminate his cave. The dragon lifted his head higher and let out a sigh before he settled onto his stomach.
Forty years since he had been awoken by the quarreling two legs on his mountain. Forty years since he had finally found the strength to care about the world again. It had taken a few years to remember how to use his body. His scales and hide had hung in folds around his emaciated form, his body too weak to walk more than half a dozen steps before collapsing. He had raged against his own weakness. When he was young he would have been killed and eaten by his kind for being weak, it was fitting that they died for the sake of the rest. His own self-hatred and the knowledge that he alone remained of his kind had kept him going. A winter killed goat had saved him, the stringy meat and cold blood had given him the strength to take wing.
He found the world different from when he had left it and slipped into his dreams. It was no longer the rich and fruitful place of his past. The wilds had been tamed and cut back to make room for farmland and beasts so placid they didnt even realize their danger until his talons had dispatched them. Even the great rams of the mountains had forgotten that death could come for them from the skies. They never peered upwards when they left their homes, they never felt the fear that a great scaled body might drop from the sky for them. Yet, it gave him the chance to gorge on rich meat until his weight had filled out and he grew powerful once more. Powerful enough to set about ensuring he would get his revenge on the damned two legged creatures that had killed his people.
The two leggers had come at first like new animals that were too small to be more than a mouthful for the juveniles to try their jaws at. His kind had ignored them for the most part as little more than annoyances. At first a few youngsters had been killed while hunting them, but that was to be expected. They were young and untried so it was accepted that a few would die in learning how to hunt. The fledgling mistakes were barely acknowledged by his kind as a whole. They had been so stupid, so very very stupid. The great dragon shifted and his talons clenched down on the edge of his cliff to send rubble tumbling down the mountainside. How could they have been so ignorant of what these people were?
The humans were inventive and adaptive, he would give them that praise at least. His kind learned out the hard way. Soon when they overflew a town to strike at the fattened herd beasts they found themselves the targets of new weapons. Heavy tree trunks that were tipped with gleaming steel flew through the air to slam into their bodies and break bones so they perished. It wasnt too long after that they learned to avoid the towns, but by then it was too late. The puny creatures had found a taste for blood and set about to fulfill it. They hunted the dragons in their mountains and caves, they hunted them while his kind flew through the air or rested in a summer meadow.
The wedge shaped head shifted on his forepaws while his great eyes started to swirl and change from the pale violet of contemplation to a fiery red. The vivid color spun around his dark iris and he let out a deep breath that all but hissed out. Humans. They were like creeping ants that crawled through every crevice and marched forward regardless of what was placed in front of them. They stained his land with their very presence! When he had seen no other wings but his own stretch across the sky he had felt a great wave of despair and hopelessness. All that remained of his once great kind were seen in the pitiful bodies of their lesser cousins the ocean dragons. The jewel bright beasts lacked real intelligence or wit and instead hunted fish rather than true prey.
He lifted his crested head and turned back towards his cave to see the scaled female that slumbered against the wall with her back pressed against another. They were so small, so weak. Half his size and didnt possess his great wings for powerful flight. Instead they had short broad wings for controlled glides from cliff to ocean and back again. Yet they were all he had now, all he had left to hope that he could mate and breed them. So far each clutch had just brought slightly larger dragons that took after their dams. He had recklessly mated his daughters and still they bred nothing but smaller fiercer ocean dragons. He moved his head to rest against his forelegs and sighed before he tried to drift back into dreams. One day, one day he would find a female able to breed true.
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Lashane pushed her hood back as she clenched her hands around her horses reins while the animal picked its way along the rocky terrain. She wasnt into the true mountains yet, shed entered the base of them a few hours back and had been surprised to find not a single trail leading up them. Despite the villagers fears of the place, shed assumed at least a few knew better and used the legends to keep the mountains for themselves. Places like this tended to be easy to mine and those in the area should have been taking advantage of it. She shook her head as she leaned forward in her stirrups as the large bay gelding picked his way up the steep rocky slope.
Shed listened to their warnings this morning and her mind was still trying to process the idea of such provincial views. To hear them talk they fully believed an animal was capable of not only surviving for centuries on end without food, but that it was smart enough to plan to create an army. She shook her head a little at the back of her horses ears while the beast started to move through the thicker rocks. She let him take his own path, hed know where he could get through better than she ever could after all. She moved a hand down to rest against the side of his neck while she drew in a breath of the thickly fogged air and tasted the edge of a spring storm on the air. It was nearly summer, but still it was the north, it wasnt surprising the storms were still rumbling here.
The mages eyes rolled up to look at the imposing mountain face and the flat grey rock that held a few patches of emerald growth. It truly was a beautiful place in its own way. It was as if the world behind her didnt exist. The moment shed passed the villages boundaries she felt as if shed passed into another place and time. There was no hint of humans here, no paths to wind up the mountains or burnt spots where fires had been kindled and dampened again. She leaned forward in the saddle and clucked her tongue to urge the gelding into a faster pace. She could grow used to a place so lonely and forsaken. Perhaps she wouldnt take a position in court when shed succeeded in taming a dragon for the Emperor.
Why should she limit herself to a crowded city and the noise of the masses? Shed have a dragon of her own if all went as planned. A beast tamed to her hand and obedient to her commands to take her up into the air. She could travel from the city and back to her home with ease. Her heart beat faster as she realized how close she was coming to fulfilling the dream shed had as a child. The moment shed first seen a dragon an inexplicable longing had filled her to possess one. How beautiful they were, how graceful, yet they would be even lovelier if they would only have a rider upon their back. Their sea green scales compliments with royal purple trappings and tack. Would they grow larger if they no longer had to hunt for their food? She hoped so, as it was, they were just a bit too small for her desires.
Her thoughts had worked around her own dreams to possess something so perfect, so beautiful until she only paid the smallest amount of attention to her mount. A sudden high pitched scream rang through her ears a moment before her gelding reared up and bucked beneath her. She stumbled and grabbed a hold of the reins tightly and tried to yank his head downwards as a shadow rushed over her body. The dust and rocks that tumbled down from a spot just ahead of her and to the right let her know where the dragon had exploded from. She looked up and saw the blue on green body streak towards a cave that was formed of heavy cracked boulders.
Lashane tried to control her gelding as she hungrily sought after the form to find out if it was the beast she was chasing. She watched the form drop down far up the mountain near a dark splash of color that meant a cave and she found what she was searching for. The beast landed heavily, her belly so swollen and near clutching she was clumsy in her attempt. A flush of victory ran through her as the small form pushed into the cave and she pulled roughly on the reins. The gelding rolled his eyes up at his owner and his mouth showed a splattering of foam. He did not like being anywhere that rocks erupted into the sky as if they were living animals.
Hush..hush.. She finally frowned and swung her leg over the saddle to grip the reins beneath his jaws. Fine, coward, you can stay here. She smoothed her hand along the soft nose and murmured softly to sooth the beast. Shed have to travel the rest of the way on foot.
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Sithen pulled himself from his cave and set his claws into the rocky side of the mountain as he started to climb up the peak one slow foot hold at a time. His wings were pulled in tight against his body as his claws wedged into the hard rock and he let the wind howl around him. It tugged against his body and made him close his inner eye lids to keep the abrading gusts from harming the swirling orbs. His neck arched as he pulled himself up a few dozen feet on the mountain top and hooked his claws right on the edge of the ledge to slide his scaled body against the stone beneath him. The highest point he could reach on the mountains, and one he preferred when he wanted to survey his kingdom.
He turned his head around and looked over the dips of the valley and the almost violent rises of the mountain peaks that disappeared into low lying clouds. It was a world that fit him perfectly. The skies were a violent blackish green that preceded a storm, the cliffs a pale grey that matched his hide and the valleys were shadowed places that hinted at color from the meadows. He turned his head slowly and drew in a breath as he tasted the scents on the air. Only the faintest taint of the humans village came to him, almost too faint for him to pick up, but it was enough to let a flare of rage run through him. The spike of emotion was so keen it was like a lightening strike.
Humans. Perched like fattened ticks on the very edge of his land. Bloated on his lands wealth and stealing the food from the seas that was rightfully his lesser kins food. He swung his head towards the grey mists of the oceans, a bare gleam of it visible from his perch. His lips curled back and let out a violent hiss. One day soon hed drive them away from his lands. He could not kill them all, but he would teach them about fear. He would teach them terror the likes of which they had never known. His claws clenched down and tore furrows against the stone beneath him. Yet they werent why he had left the warmth of his cave to come to look around his home. He had felt a tickle of another presence.
He scanned the sky around him for a jewel bright form. He had felt her, he had felt the sudden burst of fear that normally came with his smaller cousins when they entered his territory. It had tasted female, though he could not be sure. Males generally avoided his lands, he had seen to that early on. He would tolerate no other males but himself, he would tolerate no one touching his females but himself. He had a harem of nearly a dozen lovely lithe females that eased the ache in his loins even if they didnt produce what he craved. His eyes spun with flickers of dark reds and purples as he felt eagerness tighten along his stomach. It had been a long while since he had claimed a new female.
They were always so sweet at first with their struggles against a dragon not of their kind vigorously taking them. In that they almost reached the spirit that he remembered the females of his kind having. Yet the spirit was dampened after the first mating. They became placid and quiet. They were still a pleasure to mate, but the spice he had longed for was gone. A flash of color caught his eyes and he saw for a moment the arch of a back far off in one of the outlying valleys that he used to hunt when he had first awoken. He spread his wings to either side and mantled them open with a rumble of anticipation that was echoed in the roll of thunder above him. The female would be something fresh, something new, something fitting for the spring storm brewing.
He leapt from the edge of his cliff with a sudden snap of his broad wings and caught the air beneath them. The air rushed past him as he heard the crack of thunder overhead as he drew in a deep breath before roaring it out onto the air. The sound spilled out and he felt a thrill of energy run through him as the storm responded to him. The world itself craved him, he was a creature of the elements and it was all too happy to embrace his form into its sky. He locked his sights on the far away form and started to arrow towards it while rising in the air. Hed get height enough to take her like a falcon. Even from here he could see her rounded belly and hissed out at seeing that another male had claimed her already. He would have to take care of that first and foremost before bringing her into his harem.
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Lashane moved through the cave with her breath catching in her throat as she heard noises echo around her. She could see the claw marks on the ground where the female had walked before her. She couldnt stop the hammering of her heart as she knew that she was going to face off with the beast. No matter how cowardly others said they were, she knew that any animal that was cornered was one that could be dangerous. The danger was worth it. Shed be able to claim whatever reward she could want if only she could capture the female and keep it held until the eggs were birthed. That was the key, the eggs.
Where the dragons laid their eggs had been a riddle since they had be discovered. No one had found a hint of where their nesting grounds were, at best they had found fledglings who were old enough to distrust mankind. Yet if she could only capture the pregnant dragoness shed be able to claim the eggs. She pushed her mind away from the way she was going to ensure her success. The spell was frowned upon by every mage she had ever spoken too, from the eldest to fellow apprentices. They had dismissed it as something just a slice above the dark arts. One had even threatened to bring her up to the council if they had heard even a rumor of her attempting it.
Fools. They didnt have the courage to dare what she was about to do. They huddled in their wealth and their towers ignoring the power that could be theirs. She would entrap the dragon by magic and then merge her body with the beast. A humans mind was more powerful than any animals could hope to be. All it would take was a spell that would force the dragon to share her body with the mages and she could force the beast back to be trapped in the back of the mind while she took control. She knew she could accomplish that. The beast would just be a nebulous part of her until the eggs were laid and then shed take them.
She felt her heart beat speed up in anticipation at how easy it would all be. The eggs could even be tended by her while she still controlled the dragons body. What did the beast lose? A few weeks of life? It was a small price when the gain was so very great for the young mage. She slipped past the edge of the wall and came to a sliver of light that seemed to open up into a valley. For a moment she was ready to spit out a curse that the animal had escaped again only to see her sprawled out against some thick moss. The green scales on green plant life had almost made her miss the sight. She licked her lips rapidly as she started to draw on the power inside of her. Victory was hers!
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