|
Darkseeker
|
No touchy touchy if you ain't Sir Froggington or Ylva. Feel free to read along this adventurous story!
|
|
|
|
Darkseeker
|
Damien Azim Drakos Male | 21 | Nickname(s) | Alyosha - Assassin Name/Alias | Sexuality | Heterosexual | Role | Assassin | Appearance | Standing at a towering height of 6ft 5in, Damien is above the average males height. Due to his strict and vigorous training, he is extremely fit. Leaving his body very muscular, defined and toned. He has obvious veins that line his large hands and arms. His large hands are rough and calloused. He is naturally tan and has clear blemish free skin. Just like his body his facial features are sharp and defined. He has hollow cheeks, paired with high cheek bones. His jawline is sharp, with slight stubble. Having broken his nose on a few occasions, leaves it slightly crooked. His eyebrows are thick and angular, but have a good shape for his face. They also seem slightly unkempt. His eyes are rather hooded, adding to his intimidating looks. He has thick, long, curly lashes that line his hooded eyes. Damien's eyes are a stormy grey color. Which can be rather intense and striking to look at, with his tan skin and darker features. Below his ethnic nose, are his plump rosy pink lips. Damien also has very prominent dimples, but they never seem to see the light of day, as he doesn't smile. Damien has a full head of jet black hair. His hair texture being curly. It's usually in a messy curly fringe cut. It also tends to fall into his eyes quite often. He has a large burn brand mark on his back, in between his shoulder blades. It's a strange symbol, that leaves the skin their pink. He has a slash like scar over his left eye. It cuts into his eyebrow, leaving a pink scar and no hair growth in that one spot. He has another prominent scar on the right side of his neck, it reaches his collar bone. Other than that he has lots of scars all over his body, due to his work. He tends to wear a gold family emblem necklace, it also carries a strange symbol on it. | Personality | At first glance, Damien is an intimidating man. As he is highly reserved. He isn't one to initiate conversation. Maybe only when he's in a good mood, or he knows one well. If he really doesn't want to talk to you, you can tell easily. As he'll give you short curt answers, or no answers at all, but a dirty look. Depending, on the situation at hand he can be short tempered and hot headed. Being an assassin, Damien is numb to his emotions, or things he witnesses. He's seen a lot of trouble somethings occur and has grown used to it. He will likely not react to it at all. Which doesn't help his case, because he will ignore his own emotions and bury them down. In a way, making him very cold hearted. For the rare few that he does enjoy their company, they will see a different Damien than what he portrays himself as. He can be flirty and charismatic. As well as sarcastic and funny. Cracking jokes here and there. For the few he cares about, he will do everything in his power to protect. As well as keep happy. Always wanting to put them in a good mood and make them smile and laugh. | Strengths | - Physical Strength - Knowledge on ancient history - Beast Tamer | Weaknesses | - Stubborn - Lacks patience - Inability to work with others | Likes | - Creating - Learning about lore - Sweets | Dislikes | - Others complaining and whining - Bad people - Gifts/Surprises | Fear(s) | - Being vulnerable - Any body of water (Can walk next to it, different story when in it) - Failure | History | Damien was an orphan, adopted by an elderly woman. Growing up he considered Aida, his mother, as she tended to play the motherly figure in his life. He grew in a small almost unheard of village. It was a colder climate, than where he lives now. Aida was a spiritual person, teaching Damien the ins and outs of it. As well as, old ancient lore of their land. With an unfortunate turn of events, Damien joined up in a Kingdom across the land. Doing the Kings dirty work. An assassin. Edited at January 17, 2022 06:05 AM by Ylva
|
|
|
|
Lightbringer
|
Name Kailey Aukai Nicknames Kai, Lele, Ley Gender Female Age 21 years Sexuality Heterosexual Role Princess of Pahtha/Dragon Bonded Appearance She is approximately 5’ 3” and weigh 110 pounds, but she may have an inch left in her. She has a curvy hourglass figure, and she has a longer leg to torso ratio. She has a medium bust, and she has rounded legs and hips. She is pretty slim and fit. There is no obvious excess fat. She diets and exercises to keep her body and mind in tip top shape. Her hands and feet are small and delicate appearing. Think hawaiian. She has dark brown waist length hair. It has little waves in it. It is smooth, healthy, and shiny. It frames her small delicate round shaped face. Her face is rounder than average, and she has a small wide flat nose. She has a small sprinkle of freckles across her nose. Many times she prefers to leave her hair down, so that it softly frames her face. Sometimes she has small strands in the front of her face pulled back and tied in the back or those strands are braided and pulled back. She prefers hairstyles that keep her hair down. When she is excerising or there is hot whether it is more common for her to braid her hair or put it in a pony tail. She has medium lips, and a small dainty nose. She has dark brown eyes, and medium eyelashes. She has slightly darker colored arching eyebrows, which are shaped to be neat, but still appear natural. Her eyes are large and round, giving her an innocent appearance. Her eyelashes are thick and long. She has obvious smile lines, because it is a common facial expression for her. Her features give her a happy impish appearance. Her lips are full and a light pink color. They often curve up slightly as if in a hidden smile. Her cheeks are a healthy rosy hue. Her skin is smooth and wrinkle free, and her face has a few spots of acne every now and then. Tatoo: Personality While when you first meet her, she may seem meek, quiet, and shy, Kai is known for her outgoing personality and willingness and effort to connect everyone together, and make sure that everyone feels comfortable and at home. She is playful, and a bit of a light flirt. While she is very capable of being serious, she likes to keep things lighthearted, upbeat, and positive. She is an excellent listener, and has lots of patience for sitting around for hours. She really cares about what others say, which makes people more likely to want to confide in her. She is known for being nosy, which can lead to her being persistent, possibly even annoying. She is not known to be subtle. Either she mentions it upfront, or she doesn't say anything. Her outbursts can be quite random, and it is hard to predict what she'll say. She can be a bit contrary, and prefer to do the exact opposite of what someone wants her to do, but she's normally reasonable, if they ask nicely. While she may resent being told what to do, she is still rather a stickler for the rules. When people see her, they often expect a smile ready on her lips or a clever witicism pre-prepared. She is easily peer pressured and she likes to follow the group. There is a part of her that desires to stick out, but it also makes her extremely uncomfortable. Althought, when she is comfortable, she is known to suggest that they do spontaneous things. She's rather blunt and succint, which can make someone's head turn with how quickly she changes the subject. She often is quiet, but she knows when to reach out to others, and she enjoys making connections. She is very empathetic able to imagine what other people are feeling. She can be very emotional, and it is easy to make her cry. She goes out of her way to help others even though she doesn't always go about it the right way. Even so she isn't super confident, and doesn't like branching out of her comfort zone. She will happily talk to anyone who talks to her first, but she doesn't like making the first move. She can be a bit competitive, and she's a determined hard worker, who hates to fail, fearing embarrassment, or disappointing herself or others. Strength Weakness Likes Dislikes Fear(s) History She was born and raised in the palace. She is expected to marry someone to cement an alliance. It is preferred to have a male heir on the throne, but she is allowed to rule in a pinch. She is rather sheltered from the rough life, so her facts come from books. Pair Bonded Zephyrus | Edited at January 17, 2022 08:16 AM by Sir Froggington
|
|
|
|
Darkseeker
|
The ceremony dragged on for another hour. The Royal family seated on their thrones, while their puppets scurried around below them. The King's voice sounded as though the man was underwater. At least to Damien it sounded that way. As the days went by, he grew more sick of this family. This would be the last time he accepted such an extensive job. This was his fourth week playing guard for the Royal family. He was quickly learning this family was not all sunshines and rainbows. Far from it. He was learning their dirty secrets, without actually trying to scope out that information. There wasn’t much to hide once you were sharing the same walls as this family. It was a day and night kind of deal. Getting inside the Royal Kingdom's walls was rather a breeze to Damien. They let him join their military without batting an eye. Simply because of his immense skill in hand to hand combat, as well as sword fighting. He climbed the ranks quickly, finding himself in the position of being Princess Kailey Aukai's personal guard. It wouldn't be so easy if he hadn't had so much experience under his belt. This was no simple task. At least not like the other jobs he's accepted. Those were in and out. However, this one would take it's time, as it was a high profile person of interest. He had to be clean and strategic about this. The good thing was, he didn’t have a time limit. Covered from head to toe, in steel armor, he stood behind the Royal's thrones. One hand rested on the hilt of his sword, the other remained at his side. Damien stared forward, not looking at much in particular. The sun beamed down on them, as they were in an outside court. He refused to let his discomfort get to him. His jet black hair probably sticking to his forehead with sweat. The good thing was no one could see his face, as he was wearing a full face helm. A part of the armor only Royal guards wore. A usual glare played on his features, as his intense amber eyes bore into the man in front of them. The man was kneeled before the King. Having some kind of offering of sorts. Damien didn’t care all that much. It wasn’t like actually paying attention to the ceremonies was in his contract. Damien watched the family, fake smiles plastered on their faces. Some with looks of unamusement. As if the people of their Kingdom disgusted them. The court was calm and almost quiet, as the people took turns speaking to the Royals. However, that calm atmosphere was about to change. A guard burst through the gates, racing up to the thrones. Damien was quick to step in front, pulling his sword out, ready to “protect” the Princess at all costs. The other guards were also pulling their swords out. The guard halted his sprint, his chest heaving as he dropped his helm onto the ground. Before anyone could say anything, the guard blurted out loud. “There’s been a dragon spotted, my Lord!” The guard crumpled to the ground, clearly having run a far distance to announce this news.
|
|
|
|
Lightbringer
|
It was a clear spring day. It remained decently warm in the valley all year. There was a castle and a large lake nestled in the valley. THe humidity and the altitude were the cause of the climate. Princess Kailey was sitting on a hard throne. The throne being uncomfortable kept her and her ancestors from slouching, so that they looked dignified and overbearing. After so much time, her posterior was becoming sore. She was very tempted to slouch or at least wiggle into a different position. However, she had had twenty-one years of princess training, which meant that she could sit still and be pleasant for hours. Her attention drifted in and out as people came before the throne to speak. The training forced her to learn how to endure, but she still had difficulty stifling yawns. She knew that her parents would leap upon her like ducks on a June bug, so she would just have to grin and bear it. Kailey wore a fine linen dress dyed green, her favorite color. It was finely weaved and decorated with much embroidery in floral patterns showing off her rank. While she was sitting there her gaze drifted down upon her newest guard. He had impressed everyone with his skills, and she wasn’t quite sure how he had gotten to the position he had. Guards to nobility normally had to prove their loyalty through long service, and show that they were more than muscle and that they had some brains in there as well. However, she figured her parents wouldn’t like her to question their decision, so she left it alone. While she occasionally stopped smiling, her parents preferred it when she kept a fake smile on her face. It felt frozen, and anyone could see that it was fake. She let her mind begin to drift away from what the man was talking about, as her attention wasn’t needed here. Her eyes darted to Damien as he rushed forward with his drawn sword. She began to look for the person who was the cause of the commotion. "Dragons?" she found herself saying, while her brow furrowed. She had only heard of how fierce they were. Her country valued ruthlessness, and they had been trying to train her for years. Back in the old days, someone who had been able to kill a dragon by themself was highly respected. There had been no dragon sightings, so Pahtha thought they had won the fight. "Where has this guard come from?" she added her voice to the questions. She had arisen from her seat, but didn't move forward like many did to crowd the messenger. She tried to get Damien's attention. As he was closer to the drama, she expected him to pay attention and give her a full summary of the gossip that he heard. "That was quite exciting." She nodded to herself. Someone called a physician, and they finally got space for the messenger to breath. "I guess court is cancelled for today?" she asked her mother, as she arose to return to her room. Damien would have to follow, and she would get a full account out of him there. She had other guards who could keep watch outside of the door. "Darling," her mother responded, "I am sure there will be a meeting, and you'll be expected to attend. Be prepared. Our kingdom will want to be ready for this threat, but perhaps you'll find that meeting more interesting than sitting for court." Once back in her room, she waited for Damien before raising a brow. "Well? What's going on? No one tells me anything, and I really think I should know these things." She muttered under her breath, "In most parts of my country I am considered an adult, however, as long as my parents are alive and I remained unmarried, as a royal I am not treated that way." Lifting her head, she smiled politely again. "Nevermind me." He didn't need to hear about her troubles. "You know how I like a good gossip. Don't hold anything back. All of it should be quite interesting." She asked plenty of questions. She supposed it was mainly because he was a guard, but it took many questions, poking, and prying to get anything out of him. When he finished, she smiled at him. "I was surprised to see you move so quickly. You responded so promptly. I must be quite fortunate to have you as my guard. If you keep this up, one of my parents might take you for themself."
|
|
|
|
Darkseeker
|
Having manners and being polite was one of the few key details that got Damien the position he had. That is in record times as well. The King and Queen of the Kingdom of Pahtha, seemed quite fond of Damien. Or as they know him as, Alyosha the mighty warrior. His backstory being, he was from the poor neighboring villages, that were under the control of the Pahtha Kingdom. His dream as a young boy being to fight for his Kingdom. He remembered watching the almighty knights ride their war horses through his village and him watching in awe, as the sunlight bounced off their shiny armor. He was gifted a full face helm, when he was a victim of barbaric men who burned his home down. That was why he always wore a full set of armor and a helm, as he didn't want his horrific burn scars to be seen. Of course, this was just a cover. He wasn't actually a burn victim or anything of the sorts. He just wanted to hide his identity further. Already giving them a fake name. His sap story won them over. To really prove his efforts done for the Kingdom, he even presented them with the head of a large grizzly bear that had been terrorizing the neighboring villages. He even had villagers come forward as a witness to this ferocious bear running rampant, claiming it was the same bear and Alyosha had saved them. Or so thats what he feed to the King and Queen. They were quite gullible and easily impressed. He damn near charmed the crowns off their heads. That simply meant he was good at his job. Playing different characters to get in the like-ings of others. A skill he possessed. It was almost too easy. Damien held his sword drawn, daring the man to get closer. He'd been missing out on some action, so he wouldn't mind slicing through this man if this was just a ploy of distraction. An intruding thought slipping through the forefront of his mind. This is my kill. Back off. Although his face couldn't be seen, he watched the man with such intensity in his grey eyes. At the mention of a dragon, his gaze flickered towards the sky, then back to the guard. Everyone there reacted almost the same. Calling him a fool. Dragons had been dead for centuries. Or that the terrified guard must be drunk and seeing things. Damien was probably the only one that took this news differently from the beginning. Hell, he believed him. The curiosity already itching at his fingertips. He had to see it for himself. It didn't take all that long for the disbelief to ease away. Now questions of curiosity were thrown at the terrified guard. It was clear his fear was too real to fake. The crowd fired questions at him, trying to catch him in a lie. He could sense the dread in the crowd, as all his replies were adding up. That shut the crowd up pretty quickly, and they all looked at each other with nervous glances. Damien helped disperse the crowd away from the guard, after he nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Seeing as this guard was no longer a suspicious threat, he sheathed his large sword once more at his side. Turning back, he went back to his spot he was at moments before this interruption. With his position, he could hear the Queen speaking to her daughter. So they were taking this threat seriously from the looks of it. Smart move, as this is no coincidence. The appearance of a ferocious creature, such as a dragon, after hundreds of years...there had to be a reason for it. There was no one better to figure this out than Damien. Hell, he dreamed of seeing a dragon in person, even if it tried to eat him alive, or burn him to a charred. It was all he read about as a child. Reading book after book, about Dragon Lore. Although, now those books seemed useless and a tale you'd tell a small child to scare them. Thing was historians back then, did exactly that. Put all that they had found out about those magnificent creatures into a dusty old book, before they took their last breath and the dragons were no more. The thing that remained unknown and not recorded in any old book, was exactly that. Unknown, undiscovered before the dragons were erased. An ancient power that could have been unlocked if it weren't for the foolish humans going on killing spreads. So they were still to go about their business, even with a dragon on the loose. Not a smart move on their part. Dragon's were terrifyingly large and could cut distances it would take a horse traveling from point A to point B in just hours and then minutes. The clock was simply ticking, before half the villages went up in flames. He felt as though, if they truly wanted to survive they needed to act fast. That dragon could be making it's way here as they speak. Plus, he didn't doubt people would be rusty when it came to trying to take a dragon down. Seeing as no one alive has ever done it, let alone seen a dragon in real life. That knowledge and skill had long died with the dragons. Watching as the Princess made her way back to her room, he was quick to follow suit. He could catch up to her small steps rather quickly, as he was basically a walking tower compared to her. He paused outside her door, ready to stand guard outside, until she urged him to come in. Another two guards replacing his usual post. With narrowed eyes, he closed the door behind him quietly. It felt odd being in her room. It almost felt like an invasion of space, like he shouldn't be in there. He could have respect for the Princess, even though he was literally tasked with assassinating her. With his hands steady as his sides, he watched her carefully. Helm still covering his features. In the time he's been here he never once removed his helm with others in his vicinity, not even in the guards barracks. For any desperate fool, surely her sweet smile would melt a bachelor's heart. Not Damien's frozen heart. Hell, he was beginning to think it was made of stone. He had to play the part of a guard who followed strict rules. They weren't meant to gossip with the Princess, because she felt as though she was treated like a child by her parents and left in the dark. He tilted his head slightly, trying to express what he "felt," without his facial features since they were in fact hidden. "I don't want to frighten you, Princess." He claimed, his voice smooth, rich and deep. Clearly, the voice belonging to a young man. He shielded his foreign accent as best as he could, almost perfecting the accent many carried here in the Kingdom of Pahtha. "Just know theres a threat of dragon. Have no fear, Princess. For I am loyal to my Kingdom of Pahtha and will protect you with my life." He rehearsed the oath perfectly. The same oath he took, when he joined the guards ranks. He didn't converse much with the Princess, as it wasn't exactly allowed. He was by no means her friend, but an assassin. Although she didn't know that. At times, he had to admit he enjoyed her enthusiasm and bright, youthful personality. It was a change he rather enjoyed for the time being. Damien was getting ready to leave, as he didn't want to stick around before she poked at him. She'd done it before, yet he never broke or let anything slip past. She'd have to get her daily gossip else where. If he wanted to remain in his position, he had to stay on her parents good side, not hers. Giving a curt respectful bow, he straightened up. "Of course, my lady. It is my responsibility to keep you safe from any dangers that may present themselves." How ironic. Damien was the lurking danger. Frankly, Damien was getting sick of speaking so eloquently and well mannered. Back in his Kingdom, he didn't care for what title one held. He'd still be short and rather rude to them. The Kingdom was corrupted, no one cared. "Let's hope not. I think we could both agree, were better company for each other." There was a bit of a flirty tone to his voice. He simply said it for brownie points. It wasn't like he was doing any harm. Guards still counted as servants, it was simply playful and he meant nothing by it other than innocent intentions. Plus she seemed like the daring almost rebellious type. As well as a bit of a flirt. Yeah, she had no idea what he looked like, but all it really took was a good personality to win anyone over. Her parents were a great example. Plus she was his target, it was just a tactic of his to get to her to like him more. Makes for a quicker kill if the target trusts him. In all honesty, he just wanted to finish this job quickly so he could get a move on with his life. There was a dragon waiting for his arrival.
|
|
|
|
Lightbringer
|
Kailey looked around her room, slowly becoming a little nervous. She had rushed into this a bit impulsively, and she knew her parents would berate her for risking her reputation. What was he thinking? Could she really trust him? She realised that she shouldn’t be inviting any men into her room, but if she managed to convince him to inform her, she didn’t want it getting back to everyone else what he had said. Her eyes roved around the room trying to see it as a stranger. It was neat, because she had been out of it, so her maids had gone to work straightening it. She was thankful to them. There had been times when she had to stall her parents before they entered, so her maids could work magic on the room. Since the walls were made of stone, she had blue cloth like wallpaper put up on the two walls parallel to each other that didn’t have a door or window. It helped lighten and warm the room, and this way it didn’t interfere with her window or door. There was something about his voice. Perhaps he had a regional accent. It sounded like someone from her country, but different than the people who lived in the capital. She was a little annoyed at the way he began the conversation. ‘I don’t want to frighten you.’ Didn’t he know that the unknown was almost always more frightening? She cocked her head at his reassurance. Many people could be willing to die for her, but that didn’t mean they would be able to save her. She did file away the information that the threat of dragons was real. She would have to head to the library and do some research. “What training do you have in protecting against wild animals, particularly dragons?” Did bodyguards get a special course, or was he just saying things because he was supposed to sound very loyal and in control of the situation? She almost sighed, disappointed that another one of her interrogations revealed little information. She understood his reasoning, as her parents were his employers, but she didn’t have to be happy about it. Perhaps she would bring in some of her ladies in waiting. They liked to chatter, and someone would have to have a source. However, some of her ladies tended to be more accurate than others, so she might have to take their information with a grain of salt. She smirked at his innuendo. She couldn’t really argue against it, since she had invited him to her room, but she would keep an eye on him so that he didn’t get the wrong idea in the future. “Careful Aloysha,” she warned him, and then bit off her words. Telling him that if he kept that up she might need him more often and he’d be having sleepless nights was not the impression she wanted to give him. Instead, she smiled politely. “Nevermind. Forget what I just said. If you know anything about dragons, I’d appreciate it if you'd tell one of my maids during your time off. I’d like to do some research and learn at least the basic information. I’m not sure if anyone really knows anything about them nowadays.” She waited in her room, and she waited, and she waited. Supposedly, this was for her safety, but as she lay on her bed she became more and more bored. She popped her head out of the door. “Has no one come to say I can leave yet?” A few moments later a servant huffed up the stairs, but quickly straightened when he realised that the princess wasn’t in her room like he had assumed. He bowed, still trying to control his breathing. “Your Highness. There is a meeting in the great hall, and your parents invited you to join.” She tossed her head. “Finally! I was going to grow prematurely old with boredom.” She swept out of her room. If her entourage wanted to keep up, she wasn’t going to tell them when to go. It was hard work for her to keep ahead of her entourage in her ungiving clothing. She barely made it there in time to not be considered late. While she thought she was on the dot, her parents considered on time at least five minutes late. They complained that they had wanted to confide in her beforehand before they had the meeting. Kailey looked around for the servant, wanting to pierce him with a glare. However, after a little consideration she cooled, and didn’t want the servant to get in trouble. Most likely what would happen is that she wouldn’t get off the hook with her parents and then the servant would get in trouble with one of his higher ranking peers. If it meant only one of them was getting in trouble, she wasn’t vindictive enough to drag the servant into it and make a scene. She nodded her head noncommittally, taking a seat. She looked around at multiple people preparing themselves for long winded speaking, and she resigned herself to a very long unproductive board meeting. Later, she left the meeting. They had talked her ears off with statistics, and it seemed that no one was worried about the arrival of dragons for a while. It sounded like nonsensical jabbering. She wasn't sure how everything related to each other, and everyone continuously reassured her that it did. She had kept quiet, not understanding enough to ask an intelligent question. Now, she ordered a servant to bring her something to eat, while she tried to sort out what she had learned. “Aloysha. What did you make out of all that? I’m trying to process.” She wasn’t sure what he heard. She couldn’t remember if he had been allowed in the room. If not, he might have heard something through the doors. “How fast do you think dragons can travel? How far away is the place where the dragons were sighted?” While she could find places on the map, she still had no real concept of how long it took to travel or distances from a map to real life. She was normally kept here in the capital castle. “I feel like if the messenger was so panicked that we aren’t reacting enough. As far as I can tell, we don’t have anything in place for air attacks, so we aren’t going to be doing too well. Too many people have their own opinions. We aren’t going to be able to plan retaliation at this rate, and we’ll soon be wiped out.” She slouched in her chair pouting. “As I’ve been told, I don’t know anything. My opinions don’t matter. I have other things I can do, other than not being useful.” After eating, she headed to her room where she changed to clothing appropriate for riding a horse. She headed back to the stable and told Aloysha that he was in charge of making sure she went back home in time for the dinner tonight. A diplomatic feast had been scheduled, so that diplomats could exchange information. Hopefully, they would inform the royal family how their countries were fairing, or for their diplomats that were returning home, they would give their assessment of the country. It was a little disturbing that with the dragons coming her kingdom might still consider conquering other kingdoms. As she hoped she would learn something, she wanted to be back in time. In addition, her parents would be sure to tell her off, if she didn’t come. “Aloysha, how many guards are in my guard?” He seemed to be around a lot, and he should have shifts with other men. “You should have another guard replace you. That information that I wanted, it’d be really helpful if you’d get a chance to look for it before this big dinner tonight. I’m sure someone else would be perfectly capable of looking out for me. You’ll have it easier keeping tracking of the time here at the castle, and you can send someone to make sure I am back.” She suggested. She groomed her horse without any help, and tacked her horse while she tried to convince him. She did have a stable boy hold her horse steady, while she mounted. Not waiting to see if her guards had their horses prepared or if they would keep up, she set off at a brisk trot. She stopped at the creek, and dismounted. Carefully, she took off her boots and socks and sat on a rock near the creek. Gently, she kicked her feet in the cool water, while she waited quietly listening for any sounds of pursuit. "What a good boy!'' She cooed to her gelding, still holding the reins in her hands. She laid back looking at the sky not caring if her hair got dirty, although it meant she would have to return sooner, so that she could be cleaned and made presentable. Someone would drag her back soon enough, but she wanted to have a short moment of quiet while she could.
|
|
|
|
Darkseeker
|
Damien watched her eyes flick around the room, he could sense a change in her mood. He took a moment to glance around himself. Her room matched her personality, if that made any sense. It had warm tone colors, that the light bounced off of. The room was large as well, leaving plenty of space to move around. Something Damien has never experienced. He never truly had a room to himself, let alone of this size. At this point in his life, he was used to it. Since he's constantly on the move, he doesn't actually have a place to call home. Helps that he doesn't have much personal belongings that could drag him down. Everything he owns fits on his person, and horse. Although, he did have many caches scattered in just about any nook and cranny. The life of an assassin. It was an odd question, at least for the century they were in. "I'm afraid to say none, Princess." There was a tinge of amusement in his voice. Creatures such as dragons weren't a threat. They have been dead for centuries. No one could have seen this coming. Dragons coming back from the dead? It sounded like a childs tale. Dragon slaying wasn't exactly on the Royal guards training regimen. "I can assure you the Commander, will receive new orders on this matter." He assured. He didn't doubt the Commander as well as other high rankings will come together to form a new plan of action. By then the guards will have new training added. Damien gave a curt nod, not wanting to remain in her quarters any longer he excused himself. Softly closing the door behind him, he resumed his position standing guard outside her door. Her words replayed in his mind. Funnily enough he knew much more than the average person about dragons. Was he going to follow through and let the maids know? Simplest answer is no. He'd sound like a mad man if he did. One thing he didn't add to his list of impressive skills, was the fact he'd earned the title of beast master. Its common for people to fear ferocious creatures that can't be tamed like a dog can. Untameable creatures being bears, dire wolves, lions, the list of predators could go on. It's not exactly an easy concept to understand. One would have to see for their own eyes to see what exactly a Beast Master does. Being the good guard he was, Damien followed the Princess to the meeting. This event was different from the earlier one, so he wasn't allowed inside. They weren't exactly hushed whispered shared among the group. To his surprise they weren't discussing the arrival of this new threat. A death wish, if you will. Damien had no place to critique, but he'd do so anyways. They'd better hope their stone walls were tall enough, as well as strong enough to hold of a dragon for a short while. Where theres one dragon theres more to come. To Damien, they should begin mass producing weapons, trapping mechanisms, as well as far more equipment. Every dragon is different. There are different kinds, each with their own unique power. With powers come weaknesses. The people of the Pahtha Kingdom needed to take advantage of that if they wanted to live to tell the tale of the dragons return. Although Damien was exploding with this seemingly useless knowledge, he wasn't about to bring this knowledge to the King. If this dragon sighting isn't a hoax, Damien wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. This was humanity's second chance at understanding these extraordinary creatures. He believed they shoudln't hide and coward from them. Or at least Damien didn't plan on hiding. Does that make him mad? Maybe. Damien was still alert of his surroundings, but a part of his mind was in the clouds with the dragons. He zoned back in when someone brought up mass producing arrows. Damien wanted to shake his head, an arrow wasn't going to stop a dragon. The irony of it all. The Kingdom of Pahtha was actually known for being dragon slayers back in the day. They had it in their blood. Now look at them. Not knowing where to begin with the matter at hand. His mind wandered back to the dragons. With the appearance of dragons, means the appearance of the Dragon Master. The thought gave him chills. At the sound of his alias being called, he glanced up. Peering through the small slit in his helm, "Apologies your Highness, but I'm afraid it isn't my place to speak on the matter." He was quick to shut down any conversation on the matter. He glanced into the room, to see the majority had made their way out after the meeting was over. He cleared his throat, "Well a trip on horse back for us is a month long, dragons were known to cut that time by at least half if not more." He decided that bit of information was common knowledge, so it wouldn't hurt to tell her this much. He wasn't trying to scare her, but only telling the hard truth. "Give it two weeks." He deadpanned. "That is if Pahtha is its goal destination." He tried softening the blow of this kind of information. The Princess seemed strong minded, so he wasn't afraid of scaring her. At least not that much. "That much may be true, if the matter isn't taken serious." Even if they began preparing now, it wouldn't be enough time. Damien was growing increasingly bored with this mission. He could leave now and get a two week head start. He had more than enough saved up to take some time away from assassinating and begin researching dragons. The people of Pahtha had no chance up against a dragon. The dragon would do his job for him, so what was the point in sticking around? No survivors would be left to tell of his disloyalty to the Kingdom of Pahtha. "Apologies, your Highness, but I don't think I'm the right person for that task." He admitted. Playing into the part of the giant of a guard that only knew how to swing a sword and had no brains. It helped that he wasn't suppose to take orders of that sort from the Princess. The King was very certain on that. The Princess seemed to be in a rush, as she hadn't waited for him to get a horse ready. Good thing was there was a horse in the neighboring stall ready for the scouting guards that were getting ready to leave. Pulling himself up onto that horse, he once more followed suit. They rode in silence. Arriving at a creek, Damien eyed the water. Creeks were shallow, but the thought of going through it made Damien uneasy. He was glad he had his armor on. Hoping off his horse, he tied the reins to a low hanging branch. He glanced over to the Princess. His quick stride carried him over to her, he stood behind her. He blocked the light from her face, as he stood above her, his gaze down on her. "Your Highness, I don't think this is the best idea. It's not safe with a dragon lurking about." He stated. He understood she probably wanted to get away from the castle, as it was suffocating. Damien knew he couldn't do it. Hell, he was only a guard and he couldn't stand it. (Sorry this is kinda mediocre. It's gonna take me a min to get back into character >.<) Edited at June 16, 2022 07:43 PM by Ylva
|
|
|
|
Lightbringer
|
Who would be giving the commander new orders? They wouldn’t magically know what to do to defend themself from dragon attacks. She held her head in her hands gazing off into the distance. “Do you think you know anyone who would know how to fortify and defend us from dragons?” her voice was bewildered. Any bit of information would help. Well, it could be false information. That was detrimental. She hid a scowl when he laughed at her. It had been a silly question, and it was unwise of her to cling to false ideas. Shaking her head, she tried to smile a little. "It does sound odd, doesn't it? I guess bears don't need the training a dragon would. They aren't quite as intelligent and powerful, are they?" She hoped they weren’t going to have to depend on a dusty librarian. It didn’t make her feel very secure knowing that the only person she imagined had that kind of knowledge was someone who had no experience whatsoever with defending a castle. She let him leave without further questions. She let out a high-pitched giggle. It was forced and fake, but it was a type of laugh nonetheless. She gently slapped her forehead with frustration. "I had forgotten! I’m so self-centered and worried about us. We might not be the destination. I have no idea where they would want to go through. I wonder where their destination is,” she muttered the last sentence to herself. “I believe that question would be easier to answer if we knew why they are back,” she said in a normal tone. “Do you think dragons will be as hostile as before?" Kai wasn’t sure when she was going to give up on Aloysha. She knew that she should stop interrogating him. Clearly, he didn’t want to speak about it or he knew nothing. She gazed into the distance trying to get a sense of what power a dragon had from what he said. Imagine being able to cut a journey in half! It was quite impressive. Steadily, she moved into the forest before his protests broke through her determination to escape the castle, one last time. At the creek, she was happy to lay around. The ground was softer than it had any right to be. She sighed stretching out and releasing some of the tension while laying there. The light was streaming in through the trees creating a lovely dapple on the ground. Most of the leaves were on the trees, but there was a nice soft mulch from the fallen leaves of the previous autumn season. The stream gurgled on its way to join a larger body of water and run to the ocean. The sun sparkled off the little ripples in the water. This was all so much. If she was going to be stifled for the next who knows how long, she knew this was her only chance to get away. From now on they would be watching her closely keeping her near the castle. They wouldn’t want to risk her getting injured. She wasn’t surprised when Aloysha stated that sentiment to her. She kept her face slightly averted from him not wanting to have to deal with that truth. “This could be my last time out here Aloysha. No one will be going out and about for a long long time.” The nobles had been hesitant to give the notice that everyone needed to move into the castle walls. They didn’t want to panic the commoners, but they weren’t sure if they would get hurt if they didn’t do something. How long would it take to convince and move most of the citizens nearby? “I hope they are sending messengers out to other towns. Everyone needs to get prepared. I suppose I should try to do something. After all, I am the princess. Surely, I have some resources I could use.” She gazed into the distance thoughtfully. “I’m a pretty quick reader. I could search the library for references to dragons!” her voice became more excited. “And maybe I could learn archery or something.” That was the only type of fighting she could see her parents allowing her to learn. She also planned on meeting up with her maids and ladies in waiting later. Perhaps they had managed to pick up some news by now. She sat up straight and looked at the water. "Do you know if this creek is a good place to hunt for crawdads? I've also heard interesting things about fishing. Have you done that?" She rolled onto her belly and crawled to the edge looking in. Slowly, she reached out her hands cupping them together. "I've heard that some people get a drink like this. My parents always told me I'd get sick and that it was completely improper for me." Without any real witnesses around she wouldn’t mind getting a drink except she didn’t want to get sick. She wasn’t so rebellious that she was stupid to go against an order her parents had for her if they had a good reason for it besides what she considered a silly one. Her head jerked toward the rustling in the bushes on the other side. Quickly, she clambered to her feet and slid on her shoes, but continued to abandon her socks. She knew that her horse wasn’t trained to not startle, so she left him here. She just dropped her reins expecting someone else to watch after her horse. After rolling up her clothing, she began to wade across the water. She tried to stay on the stones, but slipped once and stopped trying. Some of them were wobbly and it would have been better to trudge through the water. She didn’t spare a glance behind her for Aloysha. The rustling was really loud. Could it be a deer? Or maybe it was something stronger? She moved quickly so that Aloysha wouldn’t be able to yell at her from the other side of the water. If he wanted to keep an eye on her, he was going to have to work for it. She tried to be quiet running between the trees. Areas with more pines muted her step. Since this time of the year wasn't fall, her steps weren't extra crunchy and her walk was decently soft. She saw a little chipmunk run across the way and she wondered if that was what she had heard. She had thought it was something larger. Normally, she would have stopped to talk to it for a little while, but she knew that Aloysha would be right behind her, and she wasn’t sure how insistent he would be that they return to the castle. A deer track cut across her path, and she began to follow that since it was easier to walk on. She tried to avoid the greenery on either side as they would scratch her legs or possibly be something like poison ivy or poison oak. Occasionally, she would trip over Greenbriar brambles. Branches near her head height caught and tugged her hair. Pushing through the undergrowth was hard with such a long heavy skirt with many layers of fabric. Although she had hiked it up between losing her balance and not doing a good job of holding it up the bottom six inches of most of her dress was wet and collecting debris and becoming heavier. She was beginning to perspire from the exertion although she was in the shade. She began to look around for an especially shady place to take a break. She wasn't sure how far behind Aloysha was, but she figured it was about time to let him catch up. She sat down on a rock that was normally warmed by the sun but for now, it had been in the shade. She was glad that it was cool. Perhaps she should’ve gone back to the creek so she could dip her feet in the water again. She waved at Aloysha as he finally caught up. “I was wondering if you would be coming along.” She waited to see how angry he was with her before she said anything more.
|
|
|