The Dragonwolf Brigade, Chapter I: Strife
#1 of The Dragonwolf Brigade
Wow. This is my first time making a submission here at YS. I've only ever peeked around, reading up on everyone else's works, and I'm kind of nervous about introducing my musings. I need to let everyone know right off the bat that I've never written anything complex like this before! I've never taken any extensive writing classes, or done any hardcore reading - everything is self-developed. Enough with the idle banter - let's get to the story! ____________________________________ The winds whispered a quiet tune. The trees swayed back and forth as the clouds moved overhead at a snail's pace. Everything was where it should be. Nature had indeed painted the perfect picture to gaze upon. In a small grassy area, a youthful draconian stood in euphoric solitude, peering at the sky above him, closing his eyes and opening his arms with a welcoming embrace. His casual, relaxed posture betrayed his knightly heritage and his visible scales, a deep forest green hue glistened in the sun's light. He straightened himself and sighed, his brick red cloak dancing freely in the wind's playful touch. The silence of the moment was broken when a messenger ran up toward him. The human was only a child, no older than eleven, with an unwaivering desire to his duties to make up for his smaller frame. His facial features were slightly angled, similar to an elf, and also had a noticable limp in his stride that came from developmental complications when he was born. The youngling stopped abruptly, and began to breathe rapidly, trying to regain what he had lost in his sprint. Once he had regained his breath he straightened himself up and looked straight ahead at the individual. "General Tanukisama Ryorin-Ieuso, sir." The boy stood as upright as he could, trying hard to not give away his apparent cripple, giving the knight a hearty salute. The unpretentious commander shifted his weight in the wind's increasing gusts as his pale green orbs gazed down upon the boy with a solemn demeanor. With a slight nod, the draconian released the child from his rigid stance. "Yes, young one. What brings you outside of the city walls?" Tanukisama's slightly open stance remained firm, his lithe build towering over the smaller figure of the child. "The Su'vaz Trade Alliance has summoned you to join them in the Conference Hall." I just spoke with them a day ago, he thought, disgust welling at the summons. What could they possibly want now that could've been taken care of yesterday? He snorted quietly to himself and peered away from the child for a brief moment, mentally releasing any frustrations he had against the messenger's unfortunate news before returning to the topic at hand. "Thank you, boy. Let them know that I will arrive shortly." Tanukisama handed the eager messenger a couple of gold coins for his good work and motioned with a scaled hand for him to return to his masters. Ecstatic at his reward, the boy expressed his gratitude with another proud salute and made his way back the way he came as fast as he could. The knight, appreciative of the child's charisma and eagerness to achieve, followed suit and left his quiet place to meet with his superiors. As he passed through the stone arch leading into the town, Su'vaz opened up with bustling townsfolk going about their daily activities with little worries. Toward the end of town, a stone building in the background towered over the city's landscape, housing the political bodies of the Imperial capital. The lithe draconian traversed the main cobblestone road that connected the city to the stone building with a piqued interest at the activities occuring around him. When he arrived at the main gate, he was met by the pair of soldiers acting as the guards of the headquarters. Both of them saluted the General out of respect and opened the gate, the iron hinges creaking loudly from not having been attended to recently. He was met with a set of wooden doors that opened immediately as he stepped in front of them. Tanukisama was enveloped in a lavish interior with light red rugs lining the marble floor. A chandelier dangled above the center of the room, wrapping everything around in a warm light. In front of him was a staircase made of cedar with a polished finish that shined from the chandelier's illumination. This time, the knight was met by another human child, this one slightly older than the messenger. The boy looked no older than thirteen, with a slightly bulky frame that complimented his broad shoulders and legs. "Thank you for coming, General," the boy said with a deep and slightly musky tone. "The Council awaits your presence. Please follow me to the Conference Hall." The youth led him up the case of winding stairs, their footsteps clicking softly against the cedar. When they reached the top of the staircase, they came to a stop in front of two stained wooden doors. The youth saluted to the draconian and spoke again. "The Council awaits. Go ahead and enter." He stepped aside so Tanukisama could proceed. He grasped the wooden doorknob with a snug hold and turned it. The door swung open, and another lavish room, similar in style to the room below him welcomed the commander. In from of him sat an enormous, circular oak table. Around it sat the Trade Council, a well-established group of political entities who discusses Su'vaz's economic and war decisions. One of the members, a lupine with dark blue fur and eyes of a darker blue hue motioned the knight to sit down in the empty chair in front of him. Each of the councilmen stared at him with looks of intimidation and possibly domination as they began their 'important' discussion. Everyone remained silent, until a pale orange avian on Tanukisama's right side leaned forward and spoke out with a soft yet clear voice. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. If you will, let's get right down to business. Our rivals to the East, Suosan, have engaged in combat with Anshou, our allies across the Blackthorne River to the south. Raikomaru is still holding off the enemy invasion, but we do not know how much longer. You need to round up a small team of individuals to attack Suosan from behind their ranks. It does not matter who they are, but they have to be able to fight, otherwise, Anshou will be lost to us. Is that clear?" The rest of the Council joined the avian in piercing the lizard with omnious glares, anticipating his respone. "Yes, sir, I'll go right away." He replied quickly in a monotoned voice. The council man nodded to him with a wry smile. "That is good to hear. We shall hear from you soon." Tanukisama stood up from his chair, and saluted to the councilmen. To his disgust, the Trade Council had roped him into playing hero in a matter that did not require his attention or interest, yet Raikomaru was an old friend of his and didn't want anything to happen to him. He walked to the stained wooden doors, opened them, and walkedback out. He glided down the spiraling staircase and walked back out of the building entrance to the world outside.