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Post by endingwonderland on Apr 30, 2023 12:46:42 GMT
"Well to be fair we never thought we'd be seeing HER again so it's a bit of a shock to them." The drake pointed at Alison making her quiver instinctively. "I thought they were going to user her in their silly little ritual and we'd be free of that curse, but like a damn bad sweater no matter what I try she always comes back." Alison's father sighed and rubbed his neck. "Don't suppose you want her, I'll give her to you cheap, two pounds of gold, a real bargain I'm sure she's useful for something you have... scale cleaner... foot desoiler, tongue massage, hell use her as an alchemy reagent I don't rightly care." The man confessed all the while billowing emerald smoke from his nostrils.
If Viliam could feel her emotions he'd feel sick, utterly sick with himself, worthless and unwanted and a boiling rage and impotent realization that nothing would change if he acted.
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Post by swapgo on Apr 30, 2023 15:08:23 GMT
Alison was still paralyzed by dread, but the drake-baron went on about Villiam's quandary just fine, convenient, eloquency would be quite paramount.
Villiam leaned back with a hum, feigning shock at his nonchallance, he should rightly care. The dragon raised his forepaw forward before this person went on to some tirade of his daughter's worthlessness to give him space to elaborate, puffing out a dragon skull in the air. He admits then, that he knew of the cult's intentions or performing an illicit summoning ritual, which if succesful would endanger the realm, and that he freely provided resources to them?. Villiam leaned onto his right arm, his nostrils warning of flames inside his clenched maw.
"Doesn't that make you an accomplice?"
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Post by endingwonderland on Apr 30, 2023 17:12:36 GMT
"Hahaha, an accomplice, to what? lunatics? there is no Dragon God Bahamut thats a fantasy that the humans created to cope with their pitiful existence, oh the great ebony dragon who would cleans the world of all the rot and corruption leaving a pure and honest paradise for the HUMANS to control... rubbish, no I sold her to them because I knew they'd fail and remove one of my burdens, I couldn't get rid of them because they made base out on the barren lands beyond my jurisdiction but if they got enraged because their silly little ritual failed and mounted an attack well then... I'd just be defending my territory." The emerald baron smiled. "I don't know what business it is of your Sir Dragon this cult nonsense and my daughter but if you intend to keep her then you aught to pay the proper price, or did you skyborn nobles forget how the world really works?" The ghastly crude baron chuckled and the rage that Villiam felt on the back of his neck exploded defiantly standing out.
"Father, it is you who misunderstands how things work, is it not customary when a man comes to ask a father for their daughters hand that they provide a dowry?" Alison stood atop Villiam trying to be as commanding as one could be in a formerly white night gown and naught much else. "Sir Dragon rescued me from the cult because he and I have been lovers for some time, beneath your nose, knowing you would not approve but the time has come, I am leaving forever, Sir Dragon has simply come out of courtesy for a meager man such as yourself not that he'd need anyone's permission but my own, however your title and prestige are so important to you, it wouldn't be very becoming if a man of your stature didn't present a suitable dowry for his only daughters betrothal." Alison strode up to her father, her spine reinforced with Villiam's vigor. "I will take my possessions from the estate and we shall call that even, unless Sir Dragon desires a more fitting payment for his betrothed?" Alison turned asking Villiam placing the ball entirely in his court.
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Post by swapgo on Apr 30, 2023 19:48:45 GMT
Villiam was always taught to let sycophants and braggarts run their mouths, it impressed him to no end that he hadn't connected the dots yet.
However, while it would be very easy to spook him and prove him wrong simultaneously, Alison had a more even handed, if not more fitting approach to debasing his own father. Villiam snickered and rolled his tongue into a sigh without skipping a beat, he had hoped that her father wouldn't be such a piece of work for them to have to bring that up. The dragon looked upwards and spun his claw around, a tendril of smoke constantly seeping through one of his nostrils and quickly disipating into a translucent gas that reflected all the colors of the rainbow, continuing as he swayed his head around dramatically, waxing poetic about how when one's lifespan is so long, one acquires a taste for the impermanent, of how a life of ease is not worthwhile, of how the end, not the beginning, gives the whole meaning, a purely romanticized point of view, of course. "That's my understanding of how the 'real world' works, but it seems you would correct me on it, perhaps explaining to me the value of birthright, of the natural pecking order". He relayed more succintly
"Worry not, I too understand it"
Villiam's left nostril flared with a lick of flame, and as it did, a fire snaked its way to the skies like a fuse, culminating in a concentrated, volatile explosion a hundred or so feet in the air, brightening the evening for a single moment and disappearing as quickly as it became, he looked up at it with a prideful smile, as if reveling in some artful performance. "I've made actual efforts to understand humans, mister. I assure you they're nothing if not a resourceful, tenacious lot", Villiam hummed as he stood up, stepping forward and overreaching the baron's personal space, placing his chest above the dragonkind's head. "I've already done you a service by culling the numbers of this vile sect, and I am willing to do you two more", his wings folded back slightly as he primed his chest for flight, his lower body expelling a sweltering heat. "To rid you of your most beautiful weed, and to forgive your gross negligence towards the safety of the Hatching Fields". Villiam lowered his neck all the way down, moving his head down to the side of the dragonkind, looking at him earnestly through his backlit right eye.
"I expect adequate compensation for the favors given"
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Post by endingwonderland on May 1, 2023 4:17:43 GMT
"Rubbish, you're play acting." Alison's father snorted a large puff of shapeless emerald smoke coming from his nostrils, if the previous rings and Villiam's shapes were any indication ones smoke shape was a clear indication of their mental state and his was perturbed to say the least. "A dragon and a human, there's nothing there, no future, no brood, the sheer physicality of it is impossible, who do you think you are whelp, Saint Shiva?" Alison's father pointed in an accusatory manner, the rest of the field hands mumbling about their 'noble' boss losing his temper in front of a higher species.
"Yes, I adored Saint Shiva growing up, a human woman who ended a war by loving her enemy, the founder of this nation that bridged the gap between man and dragon and made creatures like yourself possible father. Call it play acting as much as you want but I can assure you, I have tasted Sir Dragon and he has tasted me, we are far beyond the 'physicality' being needed to be worked out." Alison smugly grinned at her Father and he took a moment to do some mental calculations before a thin line of emerald smoke fumed from his nostrils as he gave a long heavy sigh.
"Fine... one last question, what territory are you from so I know where to send things?" The dragonkind was defeated but Alison hadn't yet landed the dismount and she fumbled at a critical moment her face going blank. "He.. does have a territory right?" Just when it looked like Alison's father had lost all of his hot gas his second wind suddenly came. "I mean.. a dragonkind without a territory is nothing but a pauper but a dragon... that's probably an exile... which would explain why he wanted to make with a human, no dignity, scavenging the scraps of the world." Alison trembled fearing her ruse had come undone but a word came to mind.
"My.. fiance, is the prince of a mighty kingdom far from here... a mighty kingdom known as Vrist who has achieved a state of peace and equality that puts it far above the pale of the lands of Veristana, I said I was leaving forever, and that is where I intend to go, you need not send anything, I will take it myself..." Alison shakily resumed her performance and the field hands started whispering.. vrist.. a place maybe they could go to and escape the caste system. With a look of 'please forgive me' she smiled at Villiam. "I would say it is worthy of its own fairy tale, no father? A simple farm maiden being rescued from a plot by her wicked father and becoming a princess of a far off land.... the inspiration it will provide the whelps and the rubbish as you call them to make their own home a better place?" It was tantamount to insurrection, an upset of the caste and species order would throw Veristana into chaos, it would destroy it from the inside out.
"... Rubbish, fine, take your stuff, you don't have more than a few work clothes and a hairbrush, be gone from my sight you failure and go rule your new kingdom with the 'grace and dignity' utmost capable by a lowly human, I never want to see you again." Alisons father hissed visibly angered by the suggestion of his station being threatened and Alison smiled trotting off quickly to retrieve her things leaving Villiam and her father alone. "Sir dragon, how much of that was a lie, are you really going to take her away to another land where I'll never be cursed with the reminder of my failure to breed a proper heir again?"
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Post by swapgo on May 1, 2023 12:53:03 GMT
"Traditional to the end, huh?"
Villiam slumped back down and took in the historical context, swaying his tail to gently tyrannize the farmhands that were getting a little too close. It did raise some rather uncomfortable questions about who this entire affair of humans and dragons started, Alison's verbiage only made things worse, prompting Villiam to hold his snout and glance away in contemplated embarassment. His father rebuked and called Villiam's bluff instead, demanding his heritage. Fortunately, he had plenty of those he could share, but was surprised to see Alison dredge the truth from him, in sufficiently pale detail. He side glanced back at her with a sense of curiosity, he hadn't even thought of bringing Alison back with her to Vrist, as obvious as it was hindsight, not to mention that he hadn't witnessed the systemic cruelty she was a part of at the moment.
Villiam had plenty of questions for Alison at the moment, but he let her leave with what he assumed was a long-wished victory against her father, who addressed him in earnest disbelief. Villiam scoffed and righted his head forward, a small puff of smoke escaped his nostrils, no larger than the size of a human's head, yet when ignited, it popped with a firey bloom thrice it size. When you cultivate contempt on your offspring, expect to reap it tenfold, a poetic way of going about to explain to this dragoncreature, by experience, that her daughter hated him way more than he did. "You do know how harvesting works, right?", Villiam tilted his head to the side, implying that this man did little more in his plot than keep the books, which was hypocritical of a prince to say, which he completely recognized.
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Post by endingwonderland on May 1, 2023 16:32:51 GMT
"Cute." The Emerald Drake scoffed turn his head. "Its her fault, we did everything right, we prayed to the dragon gods every single night, we waited for months for her to hatch and then when she did... this.. THING emerged from our egg, do you know what it's like to be that disappointed, horrified, and disgusted at the same time?" The Emerald continued to let out a stead stream of verdant smoke strands. "We went to doctors, hoping that she was some kind of... scaleless drake, some genetic defect we would have loved her all the more but no, the best guess they could come up with is that our dragon blood somehow completely canceled each other out, UNHEARD OF and yet, there we were... proud nobles of Veristana ashamed and rebuked for our failure to produce a suitable heir, we lost our titles and were reduced to.. THIS barons over the fields... if she was never born we'd of never had to pass that gate..." It truly seemed like the Emerald Drake was also a victim of the self same system his daughter so loathed but instead of fighting it he perpetuated it, a failure on his behalf.
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Post by swapgo on May 1, 2023 16:59:04 GMT
While the subject at hand was serious and elaborated on the man's bitterness, Villiam was briefly distracted by the part where a human hatches from an egg.
Villiam had no sympathy for the baron's plight, but he did tilt his head towards the large peaks that they were once headed to, he had a feeling he wasn't going to like what was on the other side, and he would have to clench his teeth through it. "She's a 'curse', right?", Villiam tilted his head aside, he admits having little experience with gods, but he has always heard the benevolent ones give you what you need; not what you want. Villiam stood up, swiping off some dirt from his chest. "Curses are, by definition, miracles as well", he clarified, walking past the baron and closer to the estate Alison left off to. He didn't really know if this creature would be moved by this perspective, but it always felt cathartic to recite something pithy.
"I'll cherish it for you"
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Post by endingwonderland on May 1, 2023 17:23:34 GMT
"Maybe, but I'm too old and bitter to see that anymore, you do that, sir dragon." The old man sighed realizing too late how much he had lost, a wife, a daughter, his title, his honor,... his soul.
"I'm sorry Sir Villiam, I know it isn't much but it weighs a lot emotionally." Alison seemed like she had been crying holding an ornate ruby hair brush and some linen clothes. "I am ready to say goodbye to this place forever, if you wish to go the gate I can get us in with my name, but not for long, otherwise there's a vast world beyond the Hatching Fields but it is less than hospitable if the words of the Veristanian officials are to be believed, regardless, I am yours.. Vi-Villiam." Alison blushed slightly calling Villiam with no honorific, they were still after all on the estate.
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Post by swapgo on May 1, 2023 18:04:38 GMT
Villiam hummed pleasantly, there was no need for an apology, she had more to her name in this realm than he did after all.
The dragon offered his hand once more to hoist Alison up. While he believed the answer regarding his presence in Veristana and the means of returning to Vrist laid outside the safety of the realm of dragons, he would first need to gather clues inside of it. Villiam laughed as he distanced himself further from the estate, she swallowed her own facade a bit too fast, as much as indulging it is not out of the question. With a one and a two, the dragon and his maiden were once again in the sky.
Their destination was in plain sight and in a straight line, but they didn't seem to be moving faster towards it than the first time, something Villiam made sure of by carefully changing his glide. Beforehand, he wished to know what Alison had seen of Vrist.
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Post by endingwonderland on May 2, 2023 7:39:48 GMT
Its not that I know of Vrist, more I can sense your feelings when you think of it, all I know is its a place that makes you happy and comfortable so it has to be a good place, there are also people you care about there so even if it isn't its your place to belong. Alison accepted the ride and explained while in the air, her telepathy seemed to work more like Empathy that being the ability to sense emotions from Villiam not directly read his thoughts. Perhaps I do have some dragon blood in me after all since emerald dragons have powers of the mind A distinct detail to note that Empathy was the power of the soul, not that Alison really knew that or that Villiam would if they were unfamiliar with mood magic an often disregarded caste of spellcraft. Arriving much slower to the gate showed a decent sized queue in which Villiam found himself at the back of, he of course could stride his way to the front given the way that the official was acting earlier his 'station' was far above these dragonfolk and inferior races gathered before him, but would he want to make such a scene entering a foreign country for the first time?
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Post by swapgo on May 2, 2023 13:55:41 GMT
Funny, at times Villiam wondered if the latter was true, he had little to offer but contemplative silence after that.
Landing was somewhat puzzling this time around, as much as he couldn't tell dragonlings from dragonkinds yet, he could very much understand a bureaucracy-induced delay when he saw one. It seemed awfully inconvenient to have to participate in the same queue as these folk, mostly due to him being a walking hazard, however, he was quite interested in what entering the walled city looks like, and he was nothing if not incredibly proficent at sitting around with himself for extended periods of time. Villiam found the last folk in line and sat down with his body perpendicular to the queue, giving a token wave to whatever folk decided to look behind them before focusing his senses towards the entrance, requesting of Alison to let him now if something required his attention up close
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Post by endingwonderland on May 2, 2023 15:27:44 GMT
Not long after Villiam sat with a force announcing his presence the line began to move apace, every few half hour or so he'd be able to crawl up about an inch given his size. It wasn't until he'd made it a foot past landing that a familiar figure would throw the orderly queue into disarray. "MAKE WAY MAKE WAY!" The official, now identifiable as a Sandstone Drake called and pushed aside the waiting occupants of the line. "MAKE WAY DAMN IT!" He cursed loudly looking like he was a pig in a sweat box perspiring from every known pore to dragonkind. "My lord dragon that you'd be made to wait at the back of this line with this rabble, I am, SO SORRY." The official threw himself before Villiam into the ground, thankfully his scales didn't even so much as scratch from his exaggerated groveling. "Had we known you wished to enter we'd of sent you an escort befitting someone of your noble visage!" A suck up in any world sounded exactly the same, court frequents and schemers the entire lot of them.
"Lord Dragon wished to observe the people of this land before entering, did you not learn the last time that his intentions are his own?" Alison emerged and then things really started to turn, as before it was just an official kissing ass to an unknown noble but now there was a human speaking on a noble dragon's behalf to an official, this was unprecedented and a total flagrant disregard of their social structure and of course gossipy high born loved to eat this stuff like it was candy.
"She's a human, she was riding him... like Shiva" "No of course not that's a fairy tale you fool." One of the dragonfolk whispered and the official grumbled into the dirt.
"Yes, Miss interpreter, I understand but whether he has his own will or not we do have RULES we must follow.. for the good of society." The official didn't raise their head not wanting to offend Villiam and his perceived lineage.
"He doesn't seem as hostile as last time, he must have gotten chewed out for letting you walk away from the gate... what do you think Sir Villiam?" Alison was happy to play the haughty empress but not without consent from the individual of whom authority she was wielding. "He could get us over the queue faster."
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Post by swapgo on May 2, 2023 15:56:30 GMT
The more he squinted, the more he felt like the process before him was pure busywork more than an earnest attempt to give passage to complying citizens. At some point the dragon tuned off of the details and humed a tune to himself, accompanied with pleasant puffs of smoke.
Though it appeared as he had finally had stopped blending into the background, as he could spot the moment he was noticed, up until (whom he presumed was) the same guard chose to literally destroy any semblance of decorum as opposed to simply make the same mad dash three feet to the right, which at the very least gave the dragon some semblance of amusement. Villiam waved off the apologies while Alison took over, and somehow her barely audible voice brought a larger conmotion than his 'royal' landfall. Villiam gave a grave growl and a diligent stare towards the gossipmongers, if only to play the theatrics.
Villiam tilted his head back as Alison suggested accepting the offer. He argued that if the process to inter him into the city was seamless as opposed to...whatever inefficient checkboxing was being carried out ahead, then cutting the line would inconvenience no one. There was a problem however. Villiam grunted and cupped his claw, requesting the guard to look at him directly for once, a face stuck into the ground isn't much for conversation. Villiam wished to know if him cutting through the process alongside his interpreter would cause trouble
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Post by endingwonderland on May 2, 2023 16:02:40 GMT
"Your aides are an extension of yourself, anyone who would levy a complaint would complain against you in personage." The official explained looking up rising to his knees face dirty and sweaty.
"Such is a privilege afforded to anyone with over half dragon blood, dragonfolk are between a tenth and a quarter, dragonlings below that, dragonkind between a quarter and a half, and anything above a half is considered a noble dragon, while whole is a dragon god and there are only five of those in existence." Alison explained quietly. "You are second to the highest rank in the caste you could freely do as you wish and nobody would feasibly oppose you, that's not to say rising the ire of the national guard is a wise idea... not that I doubt Sir Villiam would win." A vote of confidence almost wholesale undeserved, a nation of dragons would obviously have warfare and tactics effective against dragons.
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