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#Post#: 390794--------------------------------------------------
A Tale of Scales
By: Christofer Hayward Date: October 18, 2015, 9:27 pm
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"Thank you, kind stranger. You have saved our village! Here,
it's all we could pull together to pay you for your services..."
It was something Neytiri heard a lot. The gratitude of a village
leader as he handed her a bag of the village's savings, a small
bag of gold. It was never enough to be worth taking, so as
always she shook her head and placed a kind hand on the man's
shoulder.
"Keep your gold, you need it more than I." She smiled at the
look of relief on his face and looked out across the rest of the
village. That was no lie, the village certainly needed the money
more than she did. She could live off the earth, survive in the
woods, build weapons from the land. It was the way of her
people, she had no need for money. These people however, they
had nothing. Their village was half burnt to the ground, all of
their supplies had been destroyed and there was a giant dragon
laying in the middle of it all, it's body oozing blood that
matched the crimson stain on her sword. "Besides, I do not help
for the money, but for the people. You needed my help and I gave
it, you remaining alive is all the payment I need."
"You are a noble and kind warrior, please tell us your name so
that we may celebrate you in song tonight at our feast!" The
village leader raised his arms in joy and the crowd around them
cheered in agreement, calling out for her name. But as always,
she did not give it. Just as she wasn't here for the money, she
wasn't here for the glory either.
"I am afraid I must decline, I aim to stay out of stories and
songs. If they ever get ahead of me, people will have
expectations I cannot match up to." She chuckled and wiped her
sword on the fabric of her skirt before sheathing it. "I ask
only for some supplies to get me to the next village, some meat
and water will do if you can spare it."
"Spare it?!" a voice called from the crowd. "We've got a bloody
big dead dragon here, I think it's only right you get a share at
the feast and take plenty with you!" A cheer of agreement once
again echoed across the village and Neytiri bowed her head.
"I am most grateful, but I am afraid I cannot stay for the
feast. I must be on my way."
"Very well," the leader placed his hand on her shoulder, giving
it a gentle squeeze. "I will have a bag filled with meat and
bread and a flask filled with water for your travels. But know
you will forever be welcome here should you ever need a place to
rest." Neytiri nodded and the crowd once again cheered as she
stepped through them towards the dead beast, drawing her blade
to dig out a scale. She took one from each dragon she defeated,
a trophy of sorts. Some of the smaller ones she had skinned
completely, using their tough hides to build her armour, but it
was impractical to do such a thing for every dragon. Besides,
she was sure this village would have some use for it.
By the time the sun had set and the stars had begun to appear,
Neytiri was on her way. The village leader had demanded she take
a horse and wouldn't take no for an answer despite her many
refusals, so with a bag of supplies hitched onto the saddle
behind her she made her way along the dusty path that led to the
next village. She had to admit, at least having a horse now
wouldn't mean it would take her three days to travel, perhaps
she could get there by the end of the day tomorrow.
As long as nothing delayed her, she may even reach the next
village by midday.
#Post#: 390816--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Tale of Scales
By: UrdroxasReturn Date: October 18, 2015, 9:57 pm
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It was some time before the world witnessed the beauty that was
an Elder Wyrm. An age category of dragon very rarely ever
reached. An age where the dragon reaches the pinnacle of it's
strength and the sheer size of a true gargantuan. Soaring so
high in the sky she was practically swimming through the
stratosphere, her truly massive golden body crusting very gently
in a thin layer of ice. Her nostrils flaring, dipping her flight
pattern closer to earth to allow small breaths before returning
to her near-spatial flight path. Her two massive wings seemed
pristine and untouched by fighting, yet that was far from the
idea one would get from looking straight at her beautifully
slender muzzle. Her piercing golden eyes seemed to only be able
to glare. Her body was easily several hundreds of feet long, and
roughly a hundred tall from forelegs to head when standing on
all fours. She seemed to hear distant cries of smaller, weaker
cousins and slowly lowered her flight path, still incredibly
high above the clouds yet close enough for her to pick up the
death cries of the few caught below the cloud line. Her muzzle
curled into a smile as she heard them die off, dragons naturally
hating other dragons of other lineage. The cries below seemed to
be those of black and red dragons, the most unruly kinds.
Personally she thought whoever had slain the few had done her a
personal favor, getting rid of competition.
She then began to familiarize herself with the scents below.
'Human...' She hissed, no other race was more pest-like than the
humans. Having no potential use for Dragon kind except for
consumption and the occasional fling while in human form. She
then smiles viciously as she discerns the scent of the killer.
She then waited until nightfall, when the killer had seemingly
left, for the mayhem. Swooping down incredibly silent she slams
directly into the town square, amid hundreds of tables and
partying citizens. Dozens of screams were immediately halted
when she slams her body directly onto a crowded area. Letting
out a singular tremendous roar (Think Godzilla's from the movie)
as she breathes out incredibly hot fire, yet after mere seconds
the flames seemed to become plasma, the sheer heat burning away
oxygen molecules and even igniting them. In one huge wave she
douses three quarters of the town in hot plasma, the solid white
flames, almost translucent, leaped from house to house, burning
civilians and buildings alike. The screams of the citizens last
maybe 5 minutes before her tail-swipes and plasma bursts razed
the entire settlement to the ground. Even the rocks that made
the bricks that made the homes were reduced to ash and rubble.
After the very brief, very violent attack, Shiva smiles wickedly
at her deeds. "Best wipe out the pests before they think they
can challenge us... Though they really didn't do anything to
me... They might... Now for the 'Hero'..." She hisses silently,
as she slowly hunkers down she launches her body straight up
into the sky, once more silently slipping away.
Flying at incredible speeds she catches up to the horse-bound
human whose scent pervaded her nostrils earlier. The draconic
blood still fresh on her body. Still soaring high into the
stratosphere she then begins to descend directly ahead of the
horsewoman, revealing her truly towering body in a single
glimpse. Lowering herself several hundred feet away from the
horsewoman she quickly turns into a beautiful scantly clad white
haired woman. Her clothes were very faintly golden but primarily
white silk. Having landed in a clearing surrounded by woods she
knew that the horsewoman would be looking for a dragon still and
not a woman. Slowly walking from the clearing towards the
horsewoman on the path through the woods. Upon entering visible
range she begins waving her arms frantically trying to wave down
the horse bound woman. "Help! Please! A dragon has attacked my
family in a cottage just through these woods in the clearing!
You must help me!" She yells, her angelic voice almost
off-putting, her voice seemed almost like it doesn't belong in a
lowly world such as this.
#Post#: 390824--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Tale of Scales
By: Christofer Hayward Date: October 18, 2015, 10:20 pm
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Neytiri yawned softly, her vivid green eyes starting to drift to
a close. It was a good thing she was on a horse, or else she'd
have started to get tired before she'd even left sight of the
village. She decided soon would be a good time to stop for the
night and set up camp, with one of her own horses she would
trust them to carry her to the next village without needing her
be awake, but this was a strangers horse. Who knew where she'd
end up if she closed her eyes for even just a few minutes.
Taking a deep breath of the brisk night air, she ran her hand
over her face and slipped her helmet from her head, deciding the
fresh air in her hair might wake her enough until she found a
good resting place.
It was then that she heard a great rumble and then the bone
chilling sound of something large. There were always many noises
in the night, some more frightening than others and some you'd
never heard before or again since. But this, what ever it was,
was one hell of a beast. It sounded like a dragon, but it must
be far larger than any she'd come across before and far older
too. Perhaps something she wasn't quite prepared to face whilst
tired and still worn out from her previous battle. No, she would
continue and save it for another, more experienced hunter. She
had learnt from the mistakes of others that taking on something
you knew you could not defeat would only end in your own death,
and if you were dead then you could no longer help anyone. This
was the only thing keeping her from feeling the guilt that she
had felt the first time she walked away from a dragon attack.
Still, she kept her eyes on the sky from then on just in case it
took flight and came her way. A dragon's nose could easily pick
her up from miles away, it may not be too happy to smell a
hunter nearby and at this moment in time, she certainly reeked
of dragon blood.
She gave a soft sigh and bowed her head for a moment in respect
for those that were losing their lives behind her, raising her
gaze once more just in time to see the silhouette of something
large land ahead of her. In the dark it was tough to judge the
distance and therefore judge the size, so she pulled softly on
the reigns and uttered a halt to the horse who thankfully hadn't
seen the beast. Now wasn't a good time for it to get spooked and
run off. She waited in the dark, her eyes wide as she tried to
see through the woods that were only lit by the bright moon
above.
A woman? A woman in distress it seemed. Shoving her helmet back
onto her head, she dug her heels into the horses side and set
off at a canter towards the frantic woman, whose voice she could
now hear calling through the trees. Ahah, so she had seen a
dragon. Best leave the horse here and come back for it then. She
clambered down from the saddle and hooked the reins onto a
nearby branch, grabbing her scabbard and throwing it across her
shoulder so that her sword rested at her hip.
"Where is it?" She called out, running forwards to meet the
woman down the path. As she drew closer, she could see the woman
clearer now and something about her just... didn't sit right.
Her clothes were too pristine to be living in a cottage in the
woods, no one around here was rich enough to afford silk like
that. And her voice... No matter, there was a dragon that needed
taking care of. She could question the woman's attire later when
the dragon was dead. "Take me to it."
#Post#: 390838--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Tale of Scales
By: UrdroxasReturn Date: October 18, 2015, 10:44 pm
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Shiva nodded softly as the woman seemed eager to help. Keeping
her calm she turned around and pointed deeper into the forest.
"Further in! Looked like a young drake. Still far too strong for
simple folk like me. Please, come with!" She then began to walk
forward, at first at a very slow and leisurely pace. Then she
realized how it may be seen as odd so she then starts to jog,
her pace picking up briskly. The woman seemed to move with such
quickness and without so much as a light pant as she
effortlessly put distance between her and the woman she was
about to ensnare. Quickly finding that same massive clearing she
nods, quickly making a beeline for the opposite side, knowing
the other woman would still be trying to catch up but made sure
the woman knew where to go. Then she faced the opposite
direction from the newcomer who now just entered the clearing.
Shiva then began to chuckle lightly to herself, not exactly
having thought this encounter through. She knew she wanted it to
happen. But she wasn't sure just how friendly she would be, so
this time she decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and
play nicely. She then slowly turned around to face the other
woman and only began to laugh. "So... You're the one who killed
off the little ones? I suppose I should thank you, they were
actually a little too unruly. I was going to cull them myself as
they just now encroached on MY territory..." Her laughing began
to turn sadistic and maniacal. Turning from angellic to purely
hellish and terrifying. She then picked up a strange lump by her
feet, hurling it at Neytiri's feet, Neytiri would now realize
that it was the half-scorched head of the leader of the previous
city. "Nobody kills that many dragons so effortlessly... You
must be quite the up-and-comer..."
Shiva smiled lightly as she held her hands behind her body,
trying to appear as innocent as possible. "To tell you the truth
that's the first human blood I've shed in many lifetimes. I
don't kill to eat anymore, I actually stick to my own inferior
kind. At least they can put up more of a fight..." She then
smiled, walking in closer and closer to the other woman. Raising
her left hand and snapping her fingers, the earth around the
clearing then raised up 12 feet, effectively creating a huge pit
of the clearing. "Now that I have you all to myself. Tell me how
you found this life. How you started murdering my kind?" She
asks calmly, crossing her arms almost in disgust, yet curiosity
clearly fueled her now. "If I like your story... We don't have
to fight. But if you bore me, I'll have to eat you up!" She
began to giggle maniacally, her eyes wide, revealing her solid
yellow draconic slit eyes. "Throw in a few bonus points if you
can show me some noteworthy trophies, maybe even someone I
knew." She added with a callous smirk. Shiva now stood just 10
feet from the other woman. Shiva eyed the other woman hungrily,
biting her lower lip as she took in all the other woman's
details. "By the way, I like what I see." She giggles with a
wink.
#Post#: 390860--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Tale of Scales
By: Christofer Hayward Date: October 18, 2015, 11:14 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Neytiri nodded, looking off in the direction she had pointed.
She prepared herself to run but was rather surprised to see that
she merely walked. Perhaps she'd imagined it though as the woman
suddenly began to run, leaving Neytiri pretty far behind in a
short time. Neytiri was light on her feet but this woman was
fast and barely even seemed to be making an effort. She grabbed
her halberd from the horse's saddle, knowing that she'd be
better off taking it with her than leaving it. She didn't mind
someone stealing her supplies or even the horse, but she'd made
this weapon from the bones of one of her kills, the blade made
from serrated teeth bound together. It was pretty nifty in a
dragon fight, especially when she wasn't sure of the size of the
beast. True the woman had said it was only a young drake, but
she'd heard that before only to find a fully grown dragon
waiting for her.
She took off after the woman, her silhouette just visible ahead
of her. The trees gave way into a clearing and she looked
around, quickly noticing the lack of cottage. Had she been
tricked? What was going on...? Her gaze was pulled to the woman
across from her and her brow furrowed as she stepped out into
the clearing, her fingers tightening on the shaft of her halberd
while she listened. This was... the dragon? She'd heard of many
that changed shape into human form but she'd never seen it for
herself before. Dragons weren't normally so foolish to leave
themselves so vulnerable in front of a dragon slayer, either
this one was trying to prove something or she was strong enough
to know she could beat her. Neytiri hoped it wasn't the latter.
She stepped back as the object landed at her feet, narrowing her
eyes as she looked down to see the scorched head of the man who
had been so joyous the last time she had seen him. She should
have stayed at the village for the night...
"If you don't kill to eat, why kill them?" Stepping over the
head so that it was behind her and she would no longer have to
look at it, Neytiri began to circle around the clearing while
the woman, or rather dragon, drew nearer. She didn't want her
getting too close too soon without at least showing her size.
There were plenty of ways to outrun a dragon if you knew how,
but best not to start a fight with one too big for you. However,
it soon seemed that running would be out of the equation as the
ground rose around them. Neytiri stumbled and quickly looked
behind her to check for any possible escape route; none could be
seen. She grit her teeth and turned back to the approaching
dragon, trying to calculate her best way out of this whilst
continuing to circle what was now a pit.
"Story? It's a bit of a cliche... dragon attacks village, hid
under dead parents bodies for three days, only one left alive,
spend my life making sure as few other people have to go through
the same. As for trophies, I'm wearing most of them." She
gestured to her armour, made from the hide of several dragons.
The scales of varying different colours had been overlapped
cleverly to replicate the way they were situated on a dragon's
body, ridged spikes lining her back and claws at the toes of her
boots to make it seem like her feet were that of a dragon. Even
her helmet was lined with hide, sharp horns situated at either
side. "Recognise anyone?" By now she had lowered her halberd to
point at the dragon before her who now stood so close, more of a
defence than anything; should she come at her suddenly, Neytiri
was prepared.
#Post#: 390916--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Tale of Scales
By: UrdroxasReturn Date: October 19, 2015, 12:21 am
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Shiva smiles as the woman before her begins to pry into Shiva's
inner nature, deciding with a light smile to humor her.
"Well..." She started, laughing lightly, fairly humored by this
human female. "Well, I kill humans because once they think they
can kill dragons, they start looking for nests. Well mine is
very close to here, in fact I may have to move it soon. As for
my own kind... I kill them for game, as any of your kind would
do after their first kill. But also, the more Primal Ones are
cannibalistic. Preying upon weaker subordinates to clear the
path for the rightful brood, not even wyrmlings are safe from
this predation." She chuckles lightly, covering her mouth with
her right hand, trying to act coy. She herself have predated on
numerous broodlings and even fully grown adults, but not for her
brood, as she had not produced in a very long time.
She then sighed lightly, finding the story of her origin dull
and boring. "Tsk, tsk, tsk... I could've read that story in a
fairy tale my dear child... As for your trophies, they looked
like they were pried from juveniles. Nobody I'd bother knowing."
She then began to gaze at the halberd, finding it to be
particularly interesting. "A polearm... Now why dedicate both
arms to one weapon? Surely you've been aware of our nasty
breaths..." She said chuckling, coughing a single burst of flame
to erupt up from her lips. A simple show of force, not to
intimidate in the slightest, but to show that even in human form
she could utilize her powers and strength. Shiva then smiled as
she watched Neytiri size her up, noting the stance and chuckling
as she seemingly finds no weakness in it. "Mmm, not bad... But
that's assuming I'm of your size category... Oh little pet, have
you heard of the story of the First Elder Wyrms? The ancestors
to common day dragons? You've probably heard stories of their
kind, each one begetting whole broods of fully grown dragons by
themselves, not needing a mate to reproduce perfect offspring.
Well they are all too real. When one reaches the end of it's
natural life cycles, their hearts form a shell and revert back
into eggs. Well I went to check on them, and one by one they
have been killed during either their egg form or as wyrmlings.
Now just as an example, a wyrmling Elder still has enough
strength to level a mountain..." She sighs lightly, shrugging it
off. "My name is Shiva... And I am the Golden Elder Wyrm..." She
smiles deeply, hoping to feel Neytiri's heartbeat quicken upon
the realization of what her foe truly was.
She then began to take steps back. Giggling evilly as she did
so. "I suppose I could stop killing humans, but I cannot let
them develop that false confidence and seek out my kind. Not
only is the action stupid, but doing so will draw the rage from
every dragon around. Now if another dragon were to be
responsible for these killings, the younger ones would flee or
go into hiding." She seems to be hinting at something. "Dragons
are arrogant, and humans are... Destructive. If a balance were
to be met, I feel like this whole fighting could be foregone.
Yet none of my kind will listen to the likes of you... Hmm..."
She stopped walking and now crossed her arms, her right hand's
fingertips resting on her chin as she thought for a moment. She
then leaps high into the air, carrying herself hundreds of feet
up before in a dazzling flash of bright golden light she sheds
her mortal form and returns once more to her massive size. Truly
a gargantuan of myths. Landing inaudibly she lowers her long
head, her entire body taking up almost the entire clearing. "And
now I show unto you a form that you mortals have not seen in a
millenia..." She begins to chuckle lightly. Her voice was now
much deeper, but still had that angelic ring to it that made her
unearthly beautiful.
(Has a picture of her dragon form and will show you when you
read this, just ask for it.)
#Post#: 392450--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Tale of Scales
By: Christofer Hayward Date: October 23, 2015, 4:51 pm
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Neytiri narrowed her eyes as she listened to the explanation of
the woman, or rather dragon. So it's nest was near here...? That
was something to bear in mind later on if it ever came up. The
location of a dragon nest was always an advantage, even if it
was only to tell people not to settle in nearby land. It was no
good building a village when a dirty great dragon lived in the
next field over. The criticism of her armour and weapon only
made her smile, giving a slight roll of her shoulder.
"Both have served me well in my travels, there hasn't come a
battle yet where I have wished for a better weapon or hoped my
armour holds up." She shifted her weight from one foot to the
other, flexing her legs with another shrug. "My weapon is light
and my armour is flexible, I do not care if it was made from
young dragons." The sudden flame from the woman's mouth was
certainly a strange sight to see, but now was not the time to
think of how peculiar a sight it was. Neytiri knew that it was
barely a scratch on the surface of what this creature before her
could do, she was sure it was able to turn entire forests to
cinders in a single breath and definitely not something to be
underestimated. Her thoughts went briefly to her first fight
against fire and the dark scars it had left her with. It was
what had first given her the idea of using dragon scales as
armour; fire-proof.
As the dragon went into her explanation of the First Elder
Wyrms, Neytiri frowned. She'd heard of such beasts, but surely
they were a story? A myth? Dragons never made it to that age,
there were too many hunters. Even if they travelled away from
them, they'd soon need to return for food from livestock and
humans or else risk starving, wouldn't they? Dragons of that
size were impossible, it was just a scary story the retired
hunters told around the campfire to those just starting out in
an attempt to frighten them. Wasn't it...? There was uncertainty
she'd never felt before now and it was this uncertainty that
made her unsettled. Her fingers flexed around the pole of her
weapon and her feet shuffled in the grass, a bead of sweat
starting to form on her brow. What if she was telling the truth?
True, she could be telling her this to scare her or impress her,
but what would this dragon gain from that? She could feel her
heart starting to quicken despite her best efforts to remain
calm, she didn't want to give this beast the satisfaction of
knowing she was so unsettled with this new information. Not to
mention the fact that the less confident she felt, the less
chance there was of her leaving this confrontation alive.
Watching her step back, Neytiri felt she knew what was coming
next. There was only one reason this Shiva would be backing up
now and that was because she needed more room. The words from
her mouth only just about made it to Neytiri's ears over the
pounding of her heart, something about false confidence and a
balance? Her brow furrowed as she worked out what the dragon was
trying to point out, surely that wasn't right... Surely she
wasn't suggesting they make some sort of... deal? And anyway,
what would Shiva get out of it? Sure, no one would have to worry
about the dragons so much anymore, but what about this one right
in front of her?!
"What are you trying to say-?" Before her sentence was finished,
Neytiri watched as the woman threw herself into the air, a
moment of confusion taking over before the sudden realisation
hit. By the time she realised what was about to happen, she was
staring up at the largest creature she had ever laid eyes on.
The sheer shock of the transition was enough to throw Neytiri
off her balance, her halberd falling from her limp fingers and
her knees buckling to bring her down to the ground. Her eyes had
never been so wide and she truly felt smaller than ever before.
This really was happening... This was real. The moment Shiva's
head began to lower, Neytiri came to her senses and she
scrambled to grab her weapon, not that it would be much use at
this point as anything other than a toothpick for this beast...
No, she had to stay confident. Yes this was one hell of a
monster but she wasn't about to just give up! Fighting would be
no good here, there was no way she would be able to beat her so
she would simply have to talk her way out. Dragons liked
flattery, right? Or was that sea serpents? Only one way to find
out...
"Gods above," she was rather proud of herself for managing to
talk without the shake of her heart echoing in her voice. "You
truly are the largest creature I have ever seen! I am astounded
and almost honoured to lay eyes on such a magnificent beast that
none else have seen." She knew it may sound fake, she knew the
dragon was likely to see through it but it really was her last
resort. There was no way she could fight a dragon of this size,
not alone. By now she had lowered her halberd, though she kept a
firm grip on it. Just in case.
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