Draconian Peril Ch.3
The little girl that had seen Ryuu take off was a hunter by name, she would kill anything, or anyone if the price was right. Sometimes, just for fun even. Now she stood at the front door of the renowned sword smith, Masamune Katsuhiko. Without even knocking, the girl opened the door, and walked in. Demanding to know if the sword she had commissioned from him was complete. Katsuhiko sighed, and pulled out a large wooden box.
"The blade itself been forged, yes. But I seem to lack several of the materials you requested. The scales that you keep with you are some of them, but I also require a demons bone and a large strip of ogre hide. If you can bring me these, then I can complete you're commission, quickly." The girl nodded gravely, and pulled a large mangled bone from her traveling satchel, as well as an aged and sewn sheet of gray-grown cloth.
She wrapped the bone with the cloth, and handed them to Katsuhiko impatiently. He immediately set to work, carving the bone into the shape of a sword's handle and wrapping it with several well cut sheets of the cloth. This done, Katsuhiko put the blade's seven inch tang into the hole that he had cut into the bone. After finishing this, he used several steel pegs to bond the tang and handle together. Finally, he held out his hand toward the girl. She looked at him questioningly for a moment before reluctantly handing him the box that contained the draconian's scales. Katsuhiko shook his head in disgust as he saw the scales, but pulled four scales out and then handed her back the box.
Katsuhiko, after placing the scales into the grooves he had cut into the sword's blade, held the well sharpened sword out to the girl with a stern face.
"In order for this weapon to recognize you as it's master, you must shed you're own blood upon it's blade. Are you ready?"
The girl sighed in boredom and exposed her wrist to the nearly complete weapon. Katsuhiko placed the weapons edge at her wrist, and slowly yet strongly pulled the blade down. The girl held her hand there for several moments, coating the entire blade with a crimson sheen before tending to her wound. Katsuhiko then replaced the new weapon within it's sheath and bid the girl to follow him.
"This is where you're weapon will be completed child."
Katsuhiko held out his hand toward a large bed of coals, easily as big as a horse. He placed the weapon on a pedestal in front of the coals and put a Japanese sealing charm on the sheath. He said it was to keep the weapon under control while it fused with her blood and the scales. Katsuhiko than picked it up and cast it into the coals. Immediately, flame engulfed the weapon, and unearthly screams could be heard from within the weapon's sheath. Black and silver flames doused the coals and spread to the very core of the weapon as it bonded with the foul energies that engulfed it. Katsuhiko turned away from the weapon with his hand on the girl's shoulder,
"Come back tomorrow, it will be ready by then."
He walked back into his home with a tear in his eye. The girl looked at the weapon again and walked away as well, admiring what a fine blade it would become.
The next day, just as Katsuhiko had finished cooling the girl's sword after it's evening in the fires, she walked in the door and inquired about her weapon. He picked the weapon up with a cloth that was made from the same fine, silver thread like what he had used as the belt cord.
"As you can see, Thenos turned out to be one of my finest blades."
The girl looked at him questioningly.
"Thenos?" She said in a tone that carried the question for her.
"The weapon's name. All my weapons bare a name I have bestowed upon them. This one's name is Thenos."
The girl now understood what he meant. Thenos, it held a nice ring, for the weapon of a dragon slayer anyways. She held out her hand to take hold of the weapon, noting that although it was a rather broad weapon. It wasn't very heavy at all. It was well balanced, and held a perfect edge. The parts of the sword had merged with each other so perfectly that it was hard to tell where what ended and what began. The girl mumbled something as she ran her finger over the sword's edge. Catching Katsuhiko off guard, he asked her to repeat herself.
"I said that I will have a fun time killing dragons with it. But, I think I want to test it out first. DIE!" She said, within the blink of an eye, the girl had slain the poor old man. Blood splattered everywhere as the girl repeatedly thrust the blade into the man's corpse.
"Well, that was boring. Time to find some prey that will fight back." she said as she walked out of the house.
Ryuu listened for what seemed like hours, as his father related the tale of how he met Serris, claimed her,and everything that had happened since. Of course, if one had to sit and listen to one who had lived thousands of years tell his life story, it probably would seem to take hours. Ryuu's father had done many things in his life as he now discovered. He had acquired tomes, scrolls and books enough to rival the Library of Alexandria. He was also one of the first to attain the Shadow Flare's true power, and to recognize it as not a curse, but a blessing in the form of near omnipotent power. This was one of the reasons that dragons feared their own who are vessels of the flare; once mastered, the Shadow Flare gives it's wielder almost limitless power, stamina and durability.
"Wow, I never knew what dragons were capable of until now. Hell, most think pure blooded dragons are extinct, hunted to the last of their kind by man and beast alike. Ha, and not only that, but to know that my own father is a pure blood, this is amazing."
Ryuu sat there thinking about all that he must be capable of as well, until a stray thought entered his mind.
"Come to think of it, what do I count as father?" Ryuu asked quickly.
His father tilted his head quietly, trying to understand his son's question.
"I'm afraid I don't follow." He said slowly, still trying to understand the question.
"A draconian is supposed to be half dragon, and half human right?"
His father nodded slowly, he already knew where this was going and he didn't feel like treading such deep waters now. Yet before he could stop his son from asking, he had already continued.
"If Serris was a draconian, and you are a pure blood, then what does that make me?"
His father sighed and shook his head slowly, a deadly serious glare piercing through Ryuu's soul, as he considered how to answer such a difficult question.
"I don't want to tell you that so soon after we met Ryuu. Ask me later."
Ryuu persisted in questioning his father about what he had said for the next hour, constantly coming up with different ways to trick him into talking. Ryuu's father was not known for his patience. Before Ryuu had a chance to react, his father had struck him with his tail, sending him flying into the wall with enough force to shatter the rock he collided with. Just as Ryuu fell to the floor, he felt his father's tail wrapping around his throat, and holding him against the wall with incredible strength that seemed to surpass what he should be capable of.
"You want to know so badly? Neither Serris nor I expected you to even be conceived! We expected the curse to kill you the moment you were hatched from your egg. But apparently, we were wrong, having you grow inside that egg for three hundred years merged your very soul with the Shadow Flare. I'm sure you've noticed by now, that you are the only draconian with such arcane and sharp features? All untainted draconian look almost exactly the same, aside from gender, color, and normal hereditary traits. The reason everyone you know looked at you with such scorn and hatred is because you are the physical embodiment of the purest form of power, destruction and chaos that this world has ever known. Serris loved you, she loved you dearly, she gave her life to protect you while you came here, you do her memory no honor by acting the way you do now. Live here and train your body and mind, when you are ready, you will go out into the world and hopefully, you will be able to live the peaceful life she always dreamed for you."
Ryuu felt the tail loosen from around his throat and gently set him on the ground. His father then turned and walked deeper into the bowels of his home.
"Come, you will need your rest before we begin your training. Tomorrow, we will go and retrieve Serris' body, out of respect for her, they will keep her body in good condition until a member of her family goes to bring her to her final resting place. We leave at dawn."
Ryuu felt himself shed a tear before he stood, and began following his father deeper into his lair, his new home.
The next morning Ryuu was awoken by the morning sun shining brightly in his eyes. He raised one of his wings to shield himself from the light as he got his first good look at his father's home. The cavern they were both in now was at least seven stories to the ceiling, many shelves were littered with scrolls both large, and small. Enormous mounds of pillows adorned several corners and a small waterfall flowed from high up on a wall, down into a medium sized pond. Overall, Ryuu didn't much care fore the decor, but it wasn't his place to judge.
Ryuu stood and stretched out his stiff joints, flexing his muscles to ready himself for a new day.
"It's about time you woke up. I was worried that I may have had to do so."
A strange figure said as he approached Ryuu, politely extending his hand. Ryuu tensed visibly when he heard the stranger's voice, but did not allow himself to show his surprise.
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Ryuu asked as he extended his talons to their full length.
The stranger lifted his hands into the air and took several steps back before he spoke again.
"Peace! I don't mean you any harm, I was just following master Baku's orders to wake you.
My name has no meaning here, I just serve master Baku."
Ryuu lowered his talons slightly before he asked the stranger another question.
"Who is this person 'Baku' that you mentioned a moment ago?" Ryuu asked quietly as he attempted to catch the other man's eye.
"Master Baku is the dragon you met yesterday. Your father, of course."
The servant turned his head away as Ryuu again attempted to hold his gaze.
"Why do you turn your eye from me like that? Are you afraid to let a draconian hold your gaze?" Ryuu joked.
The servant turned on his heel and smiled slightly before he answered.
"As a matter of fact, yes."
The servant made a 'come along' gesture with his hand and walked off in the direction of one of the smaller tunnels. Ryuu followed the would-be slave to a large staircase that wound it's way around the mountaintop.
"This is where I leave you. My master waits for you in the crater at the top of this staircase. I wish you both luck on your trip."
The servant bowed in respect and disappeared down the hallway as Ryuu unfurled his wings and took to the skies to reach his destination quicker.
The winds whipped and churned with every beat of Ryuu's six massive wings, and clouds dispersed in gentle whirls as Ryuu passed through them. Ryuu had never felt so at peace while soaring through the skies, and let his mind free itself from his worries.
"This flight needs more power behind it." Ryuu thought as he called on his Shadow Flare.
Ryuu's feathered wings darkened to a deep black, as they grew longer, and wider. The blades at the tips of each feather extended, giving the wings a ragged look to them. Ryuu pushed himself to fly faster, leaving a dark gray fog with every beat of his wings. The winds began to blow move violently as Ryuu's mist floated into the clouds above himself, blackening the sky with the approach of a thunderstorm. Red lightning began to fall from the heavens while a deep draconic roar began to grow louder and take the place of the natural roar of the thunder. Ryuu was flying blind as he soared through his makeshift storm, completely unaware of what he was causing.
"RYUU! Calm yourself!" Baku yelled in his son's ear as he fought to stay aloft in the storm.
Opening his eyes, Ryuu quickly realized what he had done, and gradually calmed the storm. Just as the last of Ryuu's clouds dissipated, he thought he saw what looked like a silver serpent fading away into the clouds along with the dragon-like thunder and red lightning.
Ryuu landed on the summit of the mountain, completely exhausted after what had transpired.
"What the hell was that?" Ryuu asked as he stared up into the sky where the serpent had been.
Baku sighed as he too looked up at where it had almost escaped.
"That is something you will learn about later, just don't do that again until you learn to control it. Ok?"
Baku shivered visibly at the thought of the sky serpent escaping into this world, the destruction that a dragon of it's caliber could cause was immeasurable. Baku eyed the clouds one last time, just to make sure that it hadn't escaped.
"Alright Ryuu, it's time we leave. I'm sure Serris would be cross if we didn't attend her funeral." Baku said with blood lust gleaming in his eyes.
Ryuu nodded once, extending his talons and igniting them with a small wisp of black fire.
"Let's go turn a funeral into a massacre." Ryuu said, calling on his Shadow Flare to the furthest degree he had ever done before.
Ryuu folded his middle and lower wings over himself as his feathered wings became dark, and ragged once again. The spines on Ryuu's forearm flared out, releasing a thick miasma from underneath the scales. A black mist settled over his eyes, leaving them with nothing but a thin red ring around what used to be his pupils. His fangs hardened and sharpened while a dark aura surrounded his body, writhing like tentacles, seemingly to reach out and entangle anyone who got close enough to him. Ryuu then thought about what Baku had said about remembering his mother. Raising his arms, Ryuu extended two blades from his wrists, each four feet long, just like the blades that Serris had used during their training.
"Such sweet power. I want to kill them all." Ryuu said with a dark lust.
Ryuu and his father spread their wings and were off, flying at an incredible pace toward his mother's funeral. The two passed mountains, rivers and other villages during their flight, always concentrating on their destination, while Ryuu's mere presence around these areas left wanton chaos in his wake. Around two hours later, Ryuu landed near what was left of his old home, Baku following shortly after. Ryuu jumped up on to the highest point of the ruins of his home and yelled.
"Break from the shadows, and come to me." Ryuu said near the top of his lungs.
Baku looked around, noticing that several of the shadows around his body were warping and taking on the shape of dark creatures. Taking a step back, Baku watched as he watched the ten dark beasts take the form of wolves and approach Ryuu, bowing their heads to him with unflinching loyalty.
"Its good to see you again." Ryuu said as he knelt down before the wolves, as each wolf in turn bared its throat to him and awaited his orders. Baku stood in fascination, wondering how he had gotten these wolves, these wild animals, to obey him so readily. Baku then noticed that the power of the Shadow Flare near Ryuu had magnified in power when the wolves had appeared. This troubled Baku greatly. Baku concluded that Ryuu must have shared his flame with these beasts, giving them the power that they held so visibly. Yet, even after dividing his flame among so many creatures, he held as much power as Baku had seen displayed with such ease. Baku didn't think that the Shadow Flare could be this powerful, it scared him to think about how much more powerful Ryuu would become later in his life.
"Alright, we are going to attack the village, Ok?" Ryuu asked the wolves who each barked twice, wagging their tails and licking their chops.
Ryuu smiled at the willingness of his companions, obviously, they had attained a taste for blood while he was away.
"No children are to be harmed, women either unless they attack you. Any who oppose my arrival in the village are yours to do with as you please." Ryuu said with a sadistic glint in his eye, the wolves understood him well and became restless. They constantly began to look between their Alpha and the village, practically begging Ryuu to give them the signal to begin.
"One more thing, there is a draconian in the village by the name of Kain. He is to be brought to me, unharmed. Relatively." The wolves bowed their heads as he spoke this order and turned toward the village.
Ryuu unfurled his wings and took to the sky, giving the wolves the signal to attack. Baku called back to his son, wishing him a good hunt and asking him to bring back a token of victory. Ryuu nodded his head one before flying off toward a small cliff that hung over thew village, where he would watch how his pets created such a panic.
Ryuu heard the first of the draconian screams as the wolves began running into the village. Slashing throats, poisoning those that got in their way, and dragging those who fought back into the shadows to do with as they saw fit. The bitches of Ryuu's pack held guard over the villages women and children, while the few pups that followed the bitches occupied the children with games, to distract them from the carnage around them. Ryuu had no intention of harming the only members of the village that had shown him any affection, respect, or trust. Ten minutes into the attack, and over fifty draconians lay paralyzed by the wolves venomous fangs, and three of the wolves had captured Kain. Ryuu smirked, reverting to human form and jumping from the cliff, landing in the center of the village square. He signaled the wolves to stop their assault and the majority of the wolves returned to his side, only those that guarded the women and children stayed in place. The wolves that had dragged draconians, both male and female, into the shadows now returned to their place beside their Alpha with satisfied looks on their muzzles, few though were marred by blood on their claws or fangs. Ryuu took in the site of the place he had once palled his home. Buildings were burning, doors torn from their hinges without the slightest reluctance. Around a hundred draconian males lay immobile on the ground, dragged until they could see Ryuu plainly as he calmly walked out of the shadows.
Several of the villagers attempted to stand and attack Ryuu, none could move however. These where none of his concern at the moment, as Ryuu walked over to where the pack's bitches and pups were doing their parts to keep the women and children occupied. This all stopped when they saw Ryuu approach their charges though. Several of the children looked up from their lupine playmates and saw Ryuu standing nearby. One little girl in particular that Ryuu had helped raise from time to time immediately stood and ran toward him. The girl's parent looked at Ryuu with hatred and fear like most of the adult females of the clan, and attempted to pull her daughter away from him to no avail. The girl wrapped her arms around Ryuu happily. Ryuu made no harmful move toward the girl and unraveled her from his arm, shooing her back to her mother, easing the female's fears.
"I am going to take revenge for the murder of my mother Serris. Follow the wolves and they will lead you to a safe place for you and the children. Those who helped to take her life will answer to the Shadow Flare in mere moments." The women looked amongst each other. Most had trusted Ryuu before he had left and still trusted him now, several were curious as to why they weren't going to be killed though.
One of the girls in particular, one that had sought after him for years stood and took a few steps toward him, cupping his cheek in her palm.
"Several of the women were part of it as well. Why aren't you going to kill us Ryuu?" She asked quietly, only the other women could hear her question.
Ryuu sighed, shifting into his true form even as she held her hand to his face. He caught her hand as she attempted to pull away, and kissed her knuckles. She blushed madly and took her hand back without a word.
"Consider it repayment, for treating me like an equal. Follow the wolves, and get going before I change my mind." Ryuu said as he completed his change and turned toward the other draconians.
"Neutralize the venom." Ryuu told one of the wolves that had walked up to him.
The wolves went to work as soon as the women and children were gone, he then sent the rest of the them away to follow the females of the pack while Ryuu took his revenge. Several of the villagers stood, stretching before they began to encircle Ryuu like they had Serris. Ryuu found it amusing that they thought they could defeat him in such a way. Ryuu then flared the scales on his forearms, opening up the vents that spewed his miasma, and blanketing the ground with a thick sheet of the poisonous fog.
"Before I take my revenge, where are her ashes? I intend to take them with me when I leave here today." Ryuu asked as he extended his serrated wrist blades and ignited them with his Shadow Flare, coating them with a dark flame.
The villagers told Ryuu where they had hid her ashes and the battle began. The first of the villagers charged Ryuu with a dagger aimed toward his heart, while another unsheathed a massive broadsword and swung down over his head. Ryuu sidestepped both of these with a spin and slashed their legs with his own blades, sending them face first into the miasma. The other villagers watched in horror as the red-black fog ate away at them until only bones were left.
"The miasma that seeps from my forearms can't eat through sealed flesh, but if you are wounded, it will actively follow and devour you from the inside out. I expect you to keep that in mind, because I don't want you to all die by this fog, quickly that is." Ryuu said as he licked clean the blood coated blades jutting from his wrists.
Ryuu got into a battle stance again and ran at the villagers, he moved through the throng of enemies with silent grace. Hacking off wings, arms, legs, and heads with such fluidity that it was as though he were dancing with crimson streamers tied to his wrists. One by one, his opponents fell, devoured by the vicious black fog that blanketed the ground. Even hopelessly outnumbered, Ryuu continued to fell his foes, without so much as a scratch marring his face. Blood had stained his once white feathered wings to a dark crimson color as the fluid began to cake onto his feathers, giving them a dark brown and black coloration. Ryuu retracted his blades and began to lash out with his fangs and talons, tearing out their throats with his mouth as he punched his fists into enemies then bursting out their backs with him clutching their still beating hearts in his hands. Finally, Ryuu roared, taking to the sky and baiting the remaining ten draconian warriors that survived thus far to the winds below him.
Ryuu smiled as he let his form shift once again, coating all six of his wings with long, sharp spines and needles. With a single move, Ryuu clutched his six wings flush to his body, before flaring them all out at such a speed that millions of needles rained down like hail over his enemies. As the needles continued to fall, his enemies were skewered thousands of times over, limbs separating from bodies from the shear force of the contact. Ryuu stood, floating in place as the last of his opponents was devoured be his miasma.
Ryuu had accomplished what he had set out to do, he had gotten revenge for the murder of his mother and slaughtered his entire clan. He then retrieved Serris' ashes and several skulls, threading his tail through the eye sockets and began to walk back to where Baku waited for him until he remembered about Kain.
Ryuu turned around and locked eyes with the draconian that had betrayed him.
"I won't kill you Kain, what I give you is worse than death. You had to watch as you're entire clan was obliterated. Family, friends, loved ones, you couldn't help them. All you could do was sit and watch. Goodbye, friend." Ryuu turned again and began walking, vanishing into the shadows as his haunting laugh echoed around Kain.
Ryuu knew that his once friend wouldn't be able to handle all of this, he would probably kill himself, if not worse. That suited Ryuu just fine, he had nothing more to do with them. He had proof of his victory for Baku, and he had recovered his mother's remains. All that remained was to call the wolves, and release the women and children they guarded. Ryuu would take care of that later though.
Walking up to his old house, Ryuu saw his father napping in the front yard, using the house's ruins as a pillow. This amused Ryuu to no end, that coupled with his snoring was almost to much. Dropping the three skulls behind him, Ryuu lifted one back up, and tossed it with his tail. The skull hit Baku between the eyes, waking him with a start.
"Here, you wanted me to bring you proof of my victory." Ryuu said as he kicked the other two skulls toward his father, and held the urn containing Serris' ashes in the crook of his arm.
Baku looked over the skulls, easily recognizing the foul scent of Ryuu's miasma that still wafted around them. They were obviously killed at the hands of his son. Baku looked back toward Ryuu, and smiled, knowing that his mate had been avenged.
"Good work Ryuu, I have no doubt that Serris will rest peacefully now." Baku said, content with the outcome of Ryuu's slaughter.
Ryuu nodded, calling his wolves back to himself with the women in tow. They were now following the wolves now without struggling, for which Ryuu was glad. When they saw that they were being led to Ryuu's old home, several stiffened as they remembered the chaos that had occurred there.
As Ryuu came into view, the wolves parted company with the women and returned to their master's side.
"The deed is done, I have taken my revenge and will have no part in what you do from now on. I spared you because you respected me, and treated me as an equal. The next time we meet, you had better hope I remember that." Ryuu told the women as he, Baku, and the wolves began walking back to their lair.
End of Chapter III
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