The Legend of the First Dragonrider ~ Olarion & Erranruin

[Erranruin]

Light had just crested the peaks, glimmering off the frost frozen to the leaves and crystallized to the rocky crags after the freezing night. The sun's rays struck a green scale and glinted against it, immediately warming the motionless body covered in its own layer of frost. A golden eye cracked open, swivelling in its socket briefly before the entire green mass shook, tinkling as the ice fell from it and shattered on the rock it sat atop. Great leather wings stretched towards the sun and a spiney back arched like a cat. Vibre rawred out a yawn before taking a good look around her. The granite landscape seemed pretty peaceful that morning, the chirrup of the first birds a light background lyric to the dawn. She flicked her tail in satisfaction and considered for a moment. She would have to go hunting soon but truthfully speaking the morning was too comforting and beautiful to waste on a narrow-minded pursuit and she didnt really want to exert herself too much when her wings were still cold. Making the decision to laze upon her rocky pinnacle a while longer, she settled herself back down, this time stretching her wings over the rock so that they could receive more of the sun's warmth. Contentedly she watched as the mountain valley slowly blossomed into life.

[Olarion]

The morning was cold and bitter, the land sparkling like a sea of diamonds. The young man clambering through the frost covered bushes was cursing quietly to himself; not bothering all that much to stay particuarly quiet. He had just gone down a thin crack on the right hand side of the valley and according to his map the basin should be at the end of this thin roofless tunnel. He had been travelling for nearly two weeks and his food supply had finally run out, he would have to hunt on the way back to Cairn which he new would be a real chore after having slain a mob of goblins. Mumbling on to himself he tried to ignore the ice cold drips of water landing on his head and the sqeaking of his leather boots as they crunched down onto glittering lumps of rock. Finally he reached the end of the tunnel and with a final grunt he squeazed through the tight gap and then rolled down a steep slope and landed at the bottom in a heap. After a few seconds of panting he rose to his feet.
The basin was larger than he had imagined, much larger. Back in the valley there had been thousands of plants animals and the sounds of a forest waking up in the morning. Here, there was silence. The ground was dry and crusty from the frost and there were countless skeletons lying in piles around him. This place was pure evil and the sooner he was out of here the better.
His thoughts were soon interrupted as he heard voices. He had just enough time to pull his axe from his back when three goblins emerged from a hole in the ground about fifty feet to his left.
Where had the hole come from?
But before he could think on this the goblins had charged him, they moved incredibly quickly for creatures of their size. Within seconds they were upon him; they soon realised their mistake however.
One swing of his axe severed the head of one goblin then sliced the arm off another; then using his remaining momentum he brought the axe up and over his head and brought it down through the thirds head. Barely panting he swung round to find the second goblin scurrying away cradling his arm. He had got about a hundred feet away when he collapsed. However as he lay on the ground he pulled forth a crude looking horn; which he blew into with his remaining strength. The horn let out a loud trumpeting bellow that echoed across the entire basin. With a growing sense of horror Arin saw more holes appearing, dozens, hundreds, thousands!
Quickly as fast as he could he buckled his shield to his arm then readied himself. Within five minutes there were hundreds of goblins covering the basin; they scuttled across it like ants on their nest. But Arin had no more time to think the first wavehad reached him. Another two minutes and they were all dead but he barely had time to breath as the next wave reached him. Once they to were dead, he though back to Galins teachings. Don't think fight, don't hesitate strike. He repeated this in his head again and again as more goblins charged. Don't think...strike...don't think...strike...block...strike. Before he new it he was standing on top of a small mountain of bodies. Smiling he looked out over the basin, the smile turned into a grimace. There were yet more goblins emerging and he did not know how long he could keep doing this for. No don't think Arin...fight!
With a roar he rose his axe above his head and yelled to the heavens
"Kill me if you can! Filthy monsters!

Many tried the goblins seemed to have surrounded him but were sending in groups of about thirty at a time for some reason they did not want to all charge in at once. The battle continued for hours, more goblins charged and more fell to his axe. Meanwhile all he thought was to fight them as they came and think of nothing else. Eventually to Arins dismay the sun began creeping down below the line of mountains on the horizon. In the dark he would be butchered in minutes. To make matters worse he then saw the remaining lines of goblins part and out of the masses shadows strode an ogre. A creature of nightmares, standing well over seven feet tall incredibly strong and with one perpose. To cause as much pain and suffering as it could manage. The ogre bellowed what looked like instructions at the horde of goblins and as he watched he saw some of them pulling out crossbows. So this was it, his time had come he stood no chance against bolts. His arms ached so much he felt like he could barely lift his axe as he charged down the huge mountain of bodies at the ogre. With a laugh the monster grabbed a nearby goblin and hurled it at Arin who lifted his shield just in time as with a sickening crack the goblin smashed into it. The force knocked him over on to his back; as he landed a blinding pain shot up his spine. Screaming in agony he rolled over to see a sharp rock covered in his blood even as he tried to scramble to his feet all he achieved was falling face first into the dirt. With one final gasp he blacked out.

[Erranruin]

Libre had been enjoying the fresh smells of the new day, her eyes closed while she breathed deeply, letting the scents infuse her mind and invigorate her. It was during this exercise that she caught it, the foreign scent, the alien scent. Someone was here who should not be. Her eyes cracked open once more and her long neck rose so that she could peer down into the granite bowl far below her. The goblins were mostly cave-dwelling creatures and she was rarely bothered by them. The few times that they had ventured near her she had given them a reason to stay away. She always left one alive though, to tell its tale. Well... mostly alive.

But this was no goblin, this creature had the smell of blood but not the dankness of wet caves nor the rot of mould. This thing smelt of green things and harsh places, horse-hair and sweat and cooked meat. A tall walker then... she thought ponderously to herself. The human burst into view quite suddenly and rolled down the slope to end up in the bowl, a mass of hair and skin and leather all piled onto the dust. It made Libre chuckle in her deep brassy tone to herself, such an awkward entrance. Still he gathered himself together and seemed to take stock of his situation. Libre knew how this would go, the Goblins were sharp of hearing, such a racket would bring them swarming and when that happened... well no one ever lasted long.

Poor bemused little creature, it's young too, what a sudden end to life. Even though she thought this, she would not help. The Gobins were hunters and this human was prey, it was against her sense of honour to interfere.

The first hatch opened and the first few Goblins charged. They were dealt with easily, as was per usual. But the horn was sounded and this time the real horde was unleashed. Libre expected the human to fall quickly, she expected the horde to overwhelm him within minutes, it was as it always had been. But somehow he was still standing an hour later. Such a massacre she didnt think she had ever seen before, such single-minded determination to survive. The Goblins seemed to fall like flies to his axe. He began to pant, grow tired, surely he would give up soon? But no he continued, she did not even think he himself thought he was going to live through this ordeal. And yet he kept hacking, he must have been exhausted and aching when the final ogre emerged into the sunlight. Surely, now, he would give up, throw down his weapon and accept death. But no! Still he kept on! Libre found herself clenching her paws onto the rock so tightly that her claws carved away stone.

This creature was something different, something new. She recognised traits in his actions, characteristics of bravery and determination and honour that she believed were reserved for Dragons of the highest moral standard. As he fell to his back and tried to raise himself she caught a glimpse of his eyes and it seemed to her they were shouting a challenge. I will not die without a fight, you cannot steal my life from me without paying for it with your blood. She herself had rawred that challenge once, long ago. And then it seemed to her that a decision had been made where she did not even know a question existed.

This one deserves life.

With a thrumming rawr and thunderous beat of her powerful wings she launched herself into the sky before snapping her wings back to her side and cascading into the bowl. Just before she crashed into the ground she spread her wings again and reached with her claws, slamming into the ogre with all the force of a hurricane. Her claws dug deeply into its chest and her jaws jabbed out like a snake to engulf its head and snap it from its body. Gleefully she crushed the head in her teeth and drunk its foul blood before spitting the mutilated mess from her mouth and snapping her head about to stare at the remaining Goblins, brown-tinged blood and gore dripping from her bared teeth. The Goblins seemed frozen in fear at her horrifying visage, following her form as it leapt back into the air and turned a tight circle in the sky before opening her jaws and skimming low to rain a hail of fire down upon them.

The creatures were wailing and screeching harshly, utterly decimated as they ran hither and thither, fumbling as they tried desperately to open the hatches again. Quickly she looped back and landed with an almighty crash in the centre of them, her tail lashing out and eviscerating a few dozen while her head directed a sweeping blue stream of fire to incinerate the rest.

Once she was quite done there was not a living thing remaining in the bowl but for herself and her charge. Her great barrel chest rose and fell for a few moments as she stood tense and motionless in the sea of simmering, smoking corpses. Finally she dropped her tail, relaxed her wings and shook out her head, snorting in satisfaction. She turned her head to the Human and wandered over, snuffing out a small fire singeing the edge of his clothes on her way. Carefully she lowered her great frame and curled about him, softly laying her head down upon her paws to await him to awaken.

[Olarion]

Arin was first aware of a dull throbbing in his ears, like a heartbeat. Then the feeling returned to his limbs and he felt the rocky ground beneath him; all of a sudden a great pain flaired up in his back and he opened his mouth to yell but he heard no sound, however the throbbing in his ears was all but magnified. Then slowly all returned to silence...

With a groan his eyes snapped open. At first what he saw made him feel like closing them again and going back to sleep; just to make sure he wasn't asleep he blinked a few times and tried to move his arms and was rewarded with agony. Before him sat the most beutiful creature he had ever seen.
The dragon looked quite young as it was fairly small for a dragon. Its scales were a beutiful shade of emerald green reflecting the sunlight and dazzling him. The eyes were an amazing shade of gold, with more depth in than any human he had met.
He was not scared for he knew that if the dragon had wanted to harm him he would be in its digestive system by now.
"Who are you? Why are you hear?"
Bewildered he looked around at all the charred and smoking corpses, the smell was terrible.

[Erranruin]

A little groan issuing from the prone body under her protection alerted her to the Human's awakening. She lifted her head from her paws and stared down at him, ready to greet him. Quite suddenly she realised he would not understand anything she said but after pondering this for a while she decided there was no helping the problem and that she would just see what he did.

He seemed remarkably calm when he was finally fully aroused, his eyes flicking this way and that before colliding with hers and staring into them for quite sometime. She recognised the same fearlessness that she had seen before and it pleased her greatly. She really had made the right choice. The Human opened his mouth and muttered some sounds that seemed to be directed at her. They didnt sound aggressive of frightened but other than that she could not tell. She answered them with a deep rumble in her chest to signify her recognising that the sounds were directed but after that she was at a loss of what to do.

Wiping all pleasantries from her mind she caught the scent of the human's blood, wet and fresh and flowing freely. Realising that this needed to be dealt with, she rose quickly and circled her charge a few times before delicately and carefully edging her front paws around his body and lifting him from the ground. With a few beats from a her wings she managed to get airborn under his extra weight and once they were high enough she began a leisurely glide back to her secluded mountain cave. They reached it without too much trouble and Libre carefully laid her burden down on some soft straw. She left for a few moments, returning with wood to burn. The fire she made warmed the whole cave and crackled merrily as the night began to descend upon that most interesting day.

[Olarion]

The rumbling sound the dragon emitted did not sound aggressive, mearly stating that it had either understood or atleast heard his words. After a few more moments the dragon moved forwards and picked him up in one of its large paws and knowing what was coming Arin gripped tightly to its arms as with a mighty thrust of its wings they rose into the sky. The cold breeze brought yet more pain to Arins wound as they ascended up into the mountains. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes and they had reached the dragons cave. It must have watched me fight from up here, he thought to himself as they entered the cave. The lair was not dank or wet but rather warm and rather conveniantly had some dry grass in one corner which he was soon deposited on. The dragon left briefly, returning with a mouthful of fire wood which it soon set alight next to him with a small puff of flame. The warmth was a blessing; and not knowing or not wether it would understand him he lowered his head slightly. Then let it fall back onto the soft cusion of grass. Within seconds he was sound asleep.

[Erranruin]

And so the days past gently and Vibre cared for the human, bringing him plants she knew to be medicinal as well as food and protecting him from the predators of the mountains in the night. The man, as she came to understand he was, healed quickly and was soon up and about. She thought that he might leave after he recovered but to her delight and slight bemusement, he didnt. He went out with her in the morning and watched her hunt deer in the valley at first, then later he helped her, driving the herd her way so that she could pick out the best beast for the taking. At night he would lean against the cave wall and mutter in the Human's strange language, perhaps it was to himself, perhaps he was talking to her, at first she could not tell. But dragons learn fast and within days she was noticing recurring sounds and patterns in his speech and within the week she could almost understand the subjects he was describing. And similarly he seemed to begin to understand her, he seemed to have an instinctual knowledge of speech through movement and sound. It came to the point where the man would be talking and perhaps say a word she did not recognise, whereupon she would snort and he would endeavor to explain for her.

A month passed thus and during that time Vibre seemed to grow a closer and closer bond with her rescued human, enjoying his company and finding it comforting and balm for her soul. And she understood him so well, his motives were so clear and strong-minded, it thrilled her. They exchanged names, Vibre hissing out her name and Arin trying to copy the sounds. She thought he did well for a creature with such a limited voice. His name was quite easy to copy, being mostly made up of a growl. Arrrrin was the final product of her practicing and Arin seemed pleased with it. Towards the end of the month he began to talk of his village, his parents, his father. She heard him talk of these 'knights' and his quest to become one. She thought it a noble challenge but snarled viciously at the thought that these 'knights' would not find Arin worthy of their order. Could their be anyone better suited? It made no sense to her whatsoever. By this time he was fully recovered and Vibre enjoyed bounding along next to him through the meadows of the valley and up the rocky slopes of the mountains, although there were times she wished he could fly so that they could soar together. He would have been the best flight partner. So one morning Vibre was perched upon her pinnacle of rock, looking longingly into the sky.

[Olarion]

The month had gone so quickly Arin had barely noticed its passing; and so much had happened it almost felt like a dream. Vibre was such a lovely one to be around so for all he knew it could be; she was confident, kind and above all beutiful to look at. Most mornings so far he had awoken to see her perched on her rock overlooking the land far below. He could have lived like this for much longer but he had to except the fact that his wound was now only an ache in his side and he had completed his quest after all. So it was on the 31st morning of his stay he awoke to see Vibre yet again sitting on her rock, her tail flicking back and forth. Quietly he appoached her until he stood at her right shoulder; there he stood for a few minutes enjoying the cold breeze on his face. Eventually he turned to her; slowly he began speaking.
"I have finished my quest, and now wish to return to the people who sent me"
Praying that she would understand he carried on.
"I will come back and visit I promise but I did say to them I would kill the goblins in that basin"
He hastily pointed down at it as he spoke.
Praying she wouldn't be upset he waited.

[Erranruin]

Slowly she turned her head from the sky to look down at him with one eye, blinking bemusedly. Her sinuous body twisted towards him and circled him a few times before lying down tightly curled about his feet.

It sounds like you are saying goodbye... why? I know you must go, there has never been a doubt. But I am not tied to this mountain, surely I can come with you!

She blinked again, her golden eyes swirling with a tint of green, her nose mere inches from his face.

Not only that but I have been thinking, I want to fly with you but you have no wings so you should use my own! I am sure I could bare your weight in the air and if we were to fly to your destination it would take us mere days rather than weeks of your plodding.

[Olarion]

Guilt filled him as it dawned on him the side which he seemed to have chosen. The knights either hid or hunted dragons, and he had befriended one. He thought long and hard, a good more five minutes past; with Vibre patiently waiting.

"A few weeks ago I never even dreampt of meeting a dragon let alone being nurtured by one, and now your offering to carry me, how could I refuse"
He smiled openly now.
"Let us take to the sky and be one with the wind!"