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Post by endingwonderland on Apr 25, 2023 17:39:21 GMT
Men gathered in a circle covered in hooded robes, a white dress clad maiden lay on a stone slab bound by the wrists and ankles as candles dimly flickered in the midnight air. This was a summoning ritual, an illegal one, performed by the fanatical cult Bahamut's Scales a fanatical doomsday cult that in recent years had grown to frightening size. Its list of crimes included kidnapping, terrorism, and blasphemy against the church. The girl laying on the slab sedated to keep from trying to struggle was a farmers daughter, plucked in the middle of the night, brought to this location and dressed in ceremonial vestments of the virgin sacrifice. Over her stood an older man with coarse short black hair holding a goblet full of crimson liquid, blood, gathered from every follower of the faith into a single chalice. "Oh mighty Bahamut hear our call, this festering world has long since died and begs for your cleansing flame, come Bahamut, PURGE THE SINFUL AND CAUTERIZE THE FAITHFUL IN YOUR BEAUTIFUL ALL ENCOMPASSING BLAZE!" The priest raised the chalice and poured it over the maiden staining her white dress crimson, defiling her, before drawing a ceremonial dagger from his robes and plunging it towards the maiden's heart.
Villiam having gone to sleep in the treasury, his 'room', was having a tumultuous dream. His large body that he had since grown accustomed to was tossing and turning and the sound of an unfamiliar man calling out to him, no to another Dragon that he somehow knew of, but not whether it was real or not. The longer the night went the more violent the thrashing became until seemingly all weight had abandoned Villiam, his sense of touch absent while he floated for an unknown period of time. Unlike flight this was.. wrong, a violation of his equilibrium as weight refused to pull him back down so he only could sense the odd feeling of rising, rising, rising, until he was gone.
The abandoned church, defiled ground, rumbled and without any further explanation the long forgotten brick and mortar exploded in a display of force unlike anything the world had seen a thunderous BOOM tearing open the very atmosphere as a large restless dragon emerged from thin air forcing all other objects out of its vicinity, except for the maiden who simply lay, the dagger having stopped right before her heart as the priest was obliterated by the sheer force of the dimensional rift expanding to birth Villiam into this world of bastard gods and evil hearts. A world in need of a good burning.
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Post by swapgo on Apr 25, 2023 18:11:33 GMT
The exotic pastries are good but why do they instill the most feverish dreams...
Monteferro, in his overzealous ramblings, often imparted to Villiam that his newfound draconic nature would soon mature into ancestral revelations, insights that the scribe would envy to be able to chronicle. He dismissed the echoes in his head as just some vestige of that, he wasn't looking forward to the interpreter hell that it would be to transcribe that to him. He eventually found lying face up to ease some of the discomfort, as rare as that was to him, the unrest waned as the strain on his wings seemed to disappear, a brief moment of bliss that expanded into terror as it crept through his entire body. Villiam opened his eyes in shock, unable to parse what he saw or felt. He resisted the quite destructive urge to scream, and then he wasn't.
Numb shock ruled over him as he destroyed an edifice by existing for the second time in his life, the obsidian dragon phasing back into the world a few inches into the air only to fall flat on his back to dust and stone. Villiam let out a strenuous, drawn out roar that amounted to a flurry untranslateable swears as he hissed in pain, spouting a gout of flame to unclog whatever just invaded his nostrils. Inching his head up slightly, he opened his left eye and failed to see through the dust that was still settling on whatever demolition he just caused, and then his right to find a bound woman mere inches from being flattened by his snout on the way down. The sight of a human in the vicinity urged the prince to righten himself, very carefully, as he rolled back onto his four legs to his right, stretching his left wing to try and stave off the discomfort. Villiam breathed impatiently, but he remained still, he had a feeling that he was about to know the who and the why very shortly.
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Post by endingwonderland on Apr 25, 2023 19:26:57 GMT
The maiden; bound, sedated, but fully conscious and aware. Had an epiphany of sorts. While she was doused in blood she prayed for the priest's death, when he went to kill her she prayed for a savior, and when that savior came in the form of an enormous dragon ripping a hole in the very fabric of reality and instantly eviscerating her former captor so now his entrails hung over her like garish morbid accessories she wished for only one thing, death. As Villiam worked out his frustrations on the stone and what was left of the walls the paralyzed, by both fear and narcotics, maiden started to whimper and whine her mouth free but her tongue gagged by the herbal concoction she was forced to drink before the ritual, thankfully so, as she would have been flat out sobbing and screaming but she did manage to work out a single word towards the dragon "Bahamuu"
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Post by swapgo on Apr 25, 2023 19:50:12 GMT
While the prince didn't catch her words, he did register it as a word.
Villiam quickly turned around towards the maiden that he had presumed was dead on his arrival, given the brutality that surrounded her. The dragon leaned in as close as he could, the glint of his eye illuminating the maiden, his pupil rapidly readjusting as he focused on listening to feel for a heartbeat. Villiam's tail whipped around his surrounding to scatter the debrii and find any more clues and or less fortunate bystanders, but it seemed like no one else was here, not that bad of conclusion to draw by the lack of congruent piles of gore. Lowering his head once more, the dragon reached to carefully hoist the woman by her vestments with one claw to slide her into his other palm, understanding that she was barely conscious. He had to save her, even if only for selfish reasons, but a limp human cannot hold tight for liftoff. Villiam looked away and scowled, then placed one of his nails gently above the woman's head, a high pitched whine begging for her to close her eyes. Neither of them was going to like this.
The prince tilted his head up and opened his maw, very carefully sliding the woman onto the floor of his mouth, and securing her in place with his tongue. No sooner that this horrible accomodation was done did the prince lift off into the air, booking 5 seconds flight to Not Here to find an empty place to catch his bearings, hopefully next to water. Seeking to land as expediently as possible, lower his chin to the floor, and open his mouth to let go off the woman.
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Post by endingwonderland on Apr 25, 2023 20:09:41 GMT
What was the sound of a scream when you could make no sound. What was the infinite echo of a cry when you could shed no tears. Unable to speak, move, or emote the maiden did as anyone would do in that situation, she quietly resigned herself to whatever would come next. However Bahamut had not deigned to obliterate her instead he was going to sample her flavor. Unable to respond physically or emotionally Villiam would find there was a little heft to the girls weight, she was not unlike a corpse, not that it bothered him like lifting an ant on your shoe would bother a human. Her mind raced as she saw the inside of a dragon's maw, and it was all she could do to keep from passing out, despite her best efforts the damn narcotic disabled her ability to lose consciousness, something about suffering as an offering to the dragon lord. Inside the maw was not much better than outside, dragon's tongue was surprisingly comfortable but not exactly something you wanted to experience first hand to confirm, then there was a force of gravity clawing at her to bring her down while the seat she was on defiantly lifted into the air.
Once above the ruined church Villiam could see many things, a clear black sky, countless stars, a big pale moon, and little else in the way of civilization or development, this location was remote, abandoned not because it was cursed or forbidden but forgotten. The entire surrounding area looked like it was once the home of a small town but now only served to house memories and ghosts. A larger square area could be seen less than a mile up, a beat of his wings, the ghost town square had a platform for.. obviously dubious reasons, that would make an excellent landing pad.
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Post by swapgo on Apr 25, 2023 20:42:56 GMT
Whenever he ended up at not only wasn't Vrist, but it didn't look like much of anything at all. The dust and ruins extended way past what he had hoped for, or what was even charted by the castle's mapmakers. Being on the same landmass as Vrist, or even on the same realm, was starting to become a distant possibility. The prince was quick to recognize the seemingly ceremonial square plaza, with any hope, his form is as mythical as it is at home, and he elicits some sort of audience. Tilting his head up as to prevent his spittle from drowning his passenger. The dragon made his descent to his next destination to catch his bearings and uncatch the battered lass.
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Post by endingwonderland on Apr 26, 2023 4:57:11 GMT
What looked like a platform was surprisingly a modest set of Gallows, ropes still attached from their last use. Surrounding the ghastly installation were simple unmarked graves only signified by a sort of triangle shape using the soil as the third end. This upwards arrow had the first name if any on the left piece and a number on the right one. If Vrist had even a cursory form of incarceration then Villiam would be able to identify this site as a prison graveyard all the current occupants convicts sentenced to death. The atmosphere around the platform could only be described as stagnant as the air seemed poised to choke Villiam upon entering but with a beat of his wings upon landing and the creaking of the old platform under his weight a hole seemed to open up around him like a crowd of subjects parting ways for their king.
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Post by swapgo on Apr 26, 2023 12:18:46 GMT
While Villiam didn't get the full picture of the deprecit instalation, he did figure the location was remote.
Vrist, being a kingdom whose perimeter is delimited by how much of a resource it has, didn't have the luxury for traditional, inefficient burial sites. Citizens were cremated and stored in lavish crypts, including royalty, who although separated from the rabble, shared the same fate. The torrid air worried him, mostly due to the stowaway aboard, so he was glad that it looked more menacing than it actually was. Landing was a bit strenuous as the old platform seemed to not hold his weight very well, prompting him to still himself for a moment as he finally felt his legs touched solid earth. Villiam quickly lowered his head and opened his maw upwards, hoping that his conscious efforts at managing his neck and that him having feasted recently meant that this maiden wasn't too coated in slobber. He gave it a few seconds to see if the lass had recovered conscience yet before carefully moving two of his nails in and extract her into some semblance of comfort on the soil, batting his wings around some more as to further disperse the atmosphere.
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Post by endingwonderland on Apr 26, 2023 12:28:56 GMT
The dragons saliva had mostly washed away the viscera and blood from the maidens attire but to say whether that was an improvement was subjective at the very least. Covered from tip to toe in slobber of a very royal lineage would cause no end of nightmares to the maiden of she survived this entire ordeal but while in Villains maw he could taste something...odd. The narcotic that was once coursing through her system has worked itself out through her increased sweat leading Villiam to experience a flavor similar to tart jam with a potent sour shock and slightly after taste. Once 'safe' with the enormous dragon she was still to frightened to speak sensible words managing to stammer out. "L-lord B-baha-bahamut I hu-hum-b-bly s-ser-erve." She was nearly in anaphylactic shock from the after effects of the narcotic combined with the overwhelming pure terror of sitting before the dragon lord of destruction. "Wh...what is.. your will?" She bowed to the king of dragons expecting to be eviscerated for her insolence.
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Post by swapgo on Apr 26, 2023 12:58:55 GMT
Villiam grumbled in discomfort, his nostrils puffing out smoke as he sought to combat the rather abrasive flavor that he had failed to notice until now. While appearances and smells should be well attacked with poignant remarks, it didn't seem proper to openly complain about someone's taste.
The dragon hummed as he heard the maiden mutter something, prompting him to quickly lower his head perpendiclarly in front of her with no respect for her partial catatonia. Villiam sighed and placed his claw on his snout, a soft tendril of smoke in the shape of a question mark escaping one nostril. All he wished to know is where he was and why he was, but how would he ever get that across?
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Post by endingwonderland on Apr 26, 2023 13:03:22 GMT
"where... This is Veristana and why.. you came to destroy it correct?" The maiden was confused moving from her bowing stance to a kneeling one looking at the dragon. "You are Lord Bahamut the great dragon of annihilation right?" The maiden looked at Villiam for the first time and some of her fears seemed to alleviate.
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Post by swapgo on Apr 26, 2023 13:16:05 GMT
Villiam's eyelids rose from vexed despondency to curious interest as they rolled back to look at the maiden that was somehow able to respond to his quandary. Neither of those names helped him, but what he could piece together by the vaguely ceremonial environment they just escaped from, someone tried to perform some sort of endtimes ritual, and it brought him of all dragons instead of whoever this grand Bahamut is. Villiam snarled, pushing his chin against the soil as a thin gas fumed through him. He didn't come here willingly, it would be a way to put it. He lifted his head a few feet off the ground, looking at his surroundings in a pensive hum. He sure qualified as a 'dragon of annihilation', if Monteferro was ever right in his life, but he wasn't Bahamut.
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Post by endingwonderland on Apr 26, 2023 13:28:41 GMT
"Ease your anger milord dragon whether you are Bahamut or not you saved me from being sacrificed, I am indebted to you and will do my best to find a magic ritual to send you back to whence you came even if it costs.me the very life you saved." The maiden lowered her head again this time in a vow. She wasn't much more than a commoner with no power, authority, or influence but if he permitted she would devote herself wholly to finding a way to undo the summoning that brought him to this world... While being wholly unaware that she was the person who summoned him, the ritual had succeeded but been conducted wrong, the summoner wasn't supposed to sacrifice the virgin, they were supposed to use the virgin to complete the summoning. Without realizing it she had become Villiams contractor binding him to this world so long as she lived he would be stuck here not that either of them knew this. "I wasn't a believer in the cult of Bahamut Scales but I do have faith in the power of the Dragon Gods if anyone can fix this it's probably them but...I don't know how to find them milord."
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Post by swapgo on Apr 26, 2023 14:10:04 GMT
Did he? He sure didn't see anyone or anything else when he arrived.
Having the reassurance of a single person wasn't exactly helpful when it came to reenacting rituals, but it was a rare treat to have someone whom he could communicate clearly, somehow, he wasn't exactly sure yet. The dragon sheepishly avoided eye contact for a moment, briefly worrying about how much of this train of thought, if any, she was catching on. The maiden spoke of a cult that might know a thing or two about this ordeal, and perhaps were the culprits even, surely a place to start. Villiam dismissed the question for the time being, reaching out with his left, open claw, requesting her to get up. He gave a dry chortle, reassuring her that it wouldn't be so tight this time. He would hoist her up to his back for her to find some semblance of confort. His irregular obsidian scales had a rough texture, but their vastly irregular form would probably allow her to find some place to secure herself.
Villiam stood up and walked with perfect posture for the time being, there were a few more questions to be asked as he pushed through the stagnant air. He turned his head around to glance at the maiden: Who was she, and why would a dragon destroy this world
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Post by endingwonderland on Apr 26, 2023 15:02:37 GMT
"Me milord?" The maiden shook her head mounting the dragon's claw. "I'm no one but a simple farmers daughter, my father fell into debt and he sold me to the cult for a hefty sum of coin to likely go fall deeper into debt and whore away." She certainly was candid despite showing some form of reverence for authority. "If I had to say why the Bahamut's Scales wanted the world destroyed is because it's corrupt, rotten, stagnant like the air in that grave yard." She coughed a bit finally having some of the putrid atmosphere hit her before departing into the sky. "They've always been preaching that if humanity didn't change their ways the Dragon Gods would be rallied to destroy them, burn them from the face of Veristana like blood sucking ticks, but they were always considered to be radical and blasphemers as Bahamut isn't recognized as one of the Four Dragon gods in modern times." As the maiden explained she thought about what Villiam has asked. "Oh my name, Milord, my name is Alison Shaker what is Milord dragon's name if not Bahamut?"
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