[IC] Starfall

[taistelusopuli]

Nathair looked at the saddle and then at Cedric@Athoriel. "To the dome, you say?" He looked again at the ornamented saddle, smiled and grabbed the saddle to lift it. “This for Guildmaster’s new dragon?”

Nathair was not the strongest of men in the Guild but he had enough to lift this saddle with someone else. He did admire the craft that had been employed to make the beautiful saddle. He didn’t consider the decor necessary but it was impossible not to admire the work. He preferred saddles that were lighter to carry, that were practical and did what they were designed to do. That was just him though.

[Marlowe]

So the White Doves had more than one goal, then. It offended her that she could not know them. They had taken her from her home, and for some reason, the Guildmaster did not want to tell her what he planned. There was a lack of trust between the two, but honestly, she didn't expect much for their first meeting. The dark-scaled dragoness snarled deeply as she prowled after her rider, who led her deeper into the dome-like structure. Nyx didn't know what Sigil was planning. She had thought that he would try to get her let him mount her, but she would do no such thing. Well, at least for the moment. The thought of someone being on her back sent shivers down her spine as they approached a windowless building. She did not know what it was; perhaps it was some sort of place where they kept equipment and weapons?

Sigil had said something about tests. She did not know what she was going to be tested on. Would she be tested on her strength or agility? Or maybe he would want to see how fast she flew? Nyx blinked-- for once, curiosity was getting the best of her. Would there be some feral beast he wanted her to fight against? There were various exotic creatures in Athea... maybe they had some in the humans' homeland as well?

The human male pushed aside a heavy gate leading into the building, and from within shone a pair of gleaming eyes. A green dragon shot forth from its enclosure, vomiting flames and screaming as it yanked against its chains. Nyx's eyes became large as she heard the command. Was this man joking? Was he serious? Did she really think... that she would go so far as to kill one of her own? The beastress swung her head around, glaring at the Guildmaster and the new arrival.

'You must not be sane if you think I would kill such a piteous creature,' Nyx hissed, spitting smoke in her rage. 'You are the ones that caused the poor thing to be like this! It has suffered in that reclusive structure for who knows how long! It has not seen daylight for an eternity, and it looks like it'd eat its own tail off in its hunger.'

Nyx was enraged. She towered above the two males, letting out an ear-piercing shriek. A much fiercer flame was burning in her gaze, and embers were beginning to drift from her nostrils and maw amidst a cloud of dark smoke. How could they do this? She did not know the creature, but they were mistreating it, denying it freedom, starving it... 'You are all filth! Dirty things that shouldn't be allowed to live! If I did not have a brain, I would have roasted you right here without hesitation! My patience is near its end!' The dragoness snarled again, dipping her head roughly unto her face was less than a foot from Sigil's. Her eyes burned into his.

'Hear me now, peasant. I will not kill this dragon, but I will kill something else if you do not set it free.'

@Tancuras
@Crazy Doctor

[Athoriel]

Cedric stared placidly out of his visor at the ground, as he gave a heave to lift his end of the saddle, his eyes like orbs of ice seemingly glowed from within the helm as they tracked their way up to meet the recruits.

"That remains to be seen." He answered, something adding an almost sorrowful tone to his words, something that almost sounded like remorse. He gave a quick grunt as the recruit lifted his end, shifting the weight onto his shoulder before giving a nod to show he was ready, and within a moment they began their slow and steady march toward the exit. Memories skittered on the edge of Cedric's mind, putting ripples in the water of his usually calm demeanor, memories of those whom had proven unworthy of that which they carried.

"Alright, just take a left up here, through those doors." He said, gesturing with a sharp nod. "We'll place this on the back of the cart and then you'll be free to pursue your training for the day. Oh, and make sure to stop by the kitchens for a quick meal." He added, as they rotated left, the cart appearing before them. Placed close for convenience sake. An old mule stood at it's head munching away contently at the turf beneath it, the old beast brayed and shifted in its harness as the weight of the saddle jerked the cart a little, but Cedric was quick to move around to the front to soothe him. He picked up the stray beet he had left on the carts edge, holding it in the open palm of his hand for the mule to eat as he ran his other hand through its mane.

"There, there, old boy." He muttered in calming tones, gently grabbing a hold on its reins as it finished its reward, making sure he was ready to lead it as it hauled the saddle to the dome for him.

"You're dismissed." He said over his shoulder to the recruit. "But before you leave, your name?" He asked just seconds later, making a conscious effort to look the recruit in the face as he did so. He felt it would be improper for them to part without him knowing as much.

@taistelusopuli

[Tancuras]

SIGIL CLOUDFURY

Sig's brow deepened with his impatience. Nyx's first stage of training had to be done before nightfall; he meant to mobilize the guild in the coming days. She was crucial to his plans, though he dared not let that thought slip into the telepathic stream between them. One way or another, she would cooperate by the end of the day.

The dragoness threatened him, and Sig reacted instinctively as she approached. He stepped aside, twirling the grapple off his belt in a smooth motion. He threw the rope in a high arc, circling the bone at the front of Nyx's wing, and the two blades at its tip hooked down and penetrated the wing's membrane. Sig tightened the rope, letting the dragoness savor the celelyrium bite. It was a basic dragon-slaying technique - the wings were fragile, and the more they struggled against the hook, the greater the tear would become, eventually inhibiting flight. Sig did his best to stay under the wing and away from Nyx's mouth - though the rope was made of rockwool and would not burn, dragonfire would melt it with enough time.

"Where is your pity!?" Sig yelled. "Its mind is broken, it is just an animal now, a wild beast. Put it out of its misery and be done with this."

Alongside the words, he sent thoughts at Nyx. This is your duty, now. Many foes will hunt us, both man and dragon. If a dragon sought to kill you, would you not defend yourself? If a dragonrider came to slay your family, would you not protect them? Sig tightened his hold on the grapple, hoping the pain was enough to motivate the dragoness. If you cannot kill, you cannot survive this world.

@Ambra

[RainDash]

Daz was not amused by the shushing from the human instead of a reply. Had he replied she probably would have just gone on her way to somewhere else. Now it was going to be her gods given mission to find out this guy's problem. She loudly sat down next to him and watched the proceedings. The dragon was now upset by the appearance of the feral dragon. Sigil probably wanted his new dragon to kill it to prove its loyalty. Daz chuffed at the dragon's pride.

"That's funny," Daz said to her newest 'playmate'. "He's trying to force it to cooperate. Won't work though. This one's too stupid to try and just obey. I bet a chicken leg it dies in a week because it won't fight the others of its kind. Two if Sigil kills it himself. Although... he is a big softie. Never mind on the second bet." Daz laid down, resting her head on her forelegs and curling her tail around herself. She wasn't going anywhere, not even if the guy decided to use that knife. "You're obviously not drunk so what was that falling down thing from earlier? If the humans blame me for that I'd like to not get punished."

@Crazy Doctor

[taistelusopuli]

​"Nathair-Sgiathach Marcach", Nathair paused, "from the North Coast." He looked the man @Athoriel in the armor with the loyal mule and was somewhat taken back by the sudden inquiry of his name. Then he looked at the First Sword into eyes and nodded, "I will be training by the gates shortly if I am needed again." Nathair then turned around and headed towards the kitchen for a quick meal.

In stead of going back in through the armory, Nathair took a short detour to go through the front door in hopes to see Daz @RainDash somewhere. She was never in one place for too long. That is at least how it seemed for him and that made it difficult to keep track of her. Nathair looked around hoping to see Daz somewhere nearby and there she was talking to Avanir @Crazy Doctor by the dome. He started heading that way.

That was when the horrific shriek sounded from the dome. Nathair stopped that instant and staired towards the dome. He had not heard a shriek like that since that winter. He picked up his speed and paced to the dome. "Dragons don't make that sound often. When they do, they are..." Nathair pushed the thought away.

"...not to get punished." Nathair heard Daz endin her sentece when he arrived. "Wha- ...", he cut short when his eyes turned towards the sight in the dome. He saw two dragons and Sigil@Tancuras. His eyes turned to the suffering, weak and deprived being that struggled in celelyrium chains. Nathair's face went dark and his pulse began to rise slightly. That was not the way to treat a dragon for him. When he saw Sigil draw his whip out and start subjecting the new dragon he clenched his fist so hard that it began to turn white. He had not been in the Guild for long and this was the first time he anything like this.

"Daz", Nathair kept his eyes at the sight in Dome, "let's go. We have things to do."

[Renny]

---

Zoran smirked to himself. Thora had made it bearable to be around her, bearable to be around a dragon because she was so genuine. He could sense the truth in her actions and that made trusting her a lot easier. He turned back to his mostly empty foil plate, dipping the last of his bread in the juices of the meat before gobbling it down.

He wiped his mouth with a small tissue. Flying with her was pretty fun, something he enjoyed immensely to be honest. With a halting hand, he grabbed the random bowl from her. “Your manners are atrocious,” he jested with a smile. “You have no idea whose food this was. Let’s get you something on the way out instead.”

He got up from the table and noticed an untouched plate that Freya dropped off. When he got it, he lifted up towards her. “Let’s go, the quicker you eat. The quicker we can soar.”

@PyroDash888

[RainDash]

Her companion wasn't being very entertaining, and she snorted at him to hope for him to do something even mildly interesting. She half hoped he'd fall over again. When nothing happened she turned back to the action in the dome. The dragon was still being stubborn, and Daz's tail started to swish back and forth in irritation. Just get it over with, she thought to no one in particular. It was then that Nathair showed up and started walking towards the both of them.

She raised her head from her forelegs to see her rider. He'd probably try to order her around again, so she placed her head back down to see into the Dome. Nathair looked the way he did when stupid, empathetic thoughts ran through his head so Daz stood up and stretched her wings. She'd meant to find him later, she told herself, this just saved time.

She walked over to him, and after seeing his face, tried to console him somewhat. Don't worry about that. Happens when they need to prove loyalty. Nothing left of that feral thing anyway. Stupid thing probably tried to escape through brute force. Don't be squeamish about the dragons, get used to sights like this, you moron. She bit his sleeve and tried to drag him away from the Dome. Come on, you're the one that wanted to do stuff so let's go flying.

@taistelusopuli

[Grimoire]

Nathair sighed with relief as the man left for his chores. Sind had a hard time round most humans. Fear of human's had been something his trainer's had made sure to imbibe into him from the moment of his birth. However even dragons, especially the older ones made him feel just as uncomfortable. They seemed to look at him as some kind of traitor to dragonkind.

It had taken him time to be comfortable with even Mel. He could remember how hard it was for him to even speak in those early days. It was much harder too talk after so many months in the wild. Though Mel eventually managed to break through his shell, she had a way with most dragons. Sind was no exception and had no choice but to warm up to her.

"Mmm Practice sounds good. I have already had breakfast during my flight. I managed to snag a squirrel or four and some miscellaneous birds on the way. Nothing beats a breakfast of delicious fresh zapped squirrel in the morning. Nice and crunchy" said Sind. "What do you have planned for today?" he asked her. "I'm pretty sure that I can manage a good rolling scissor. So why don't we try something more complicated" he asked, with eyes glittering with excitement.

@Knight of Doom

[Bluetommy]

Kieran finished drawing, although it was more that he was tired of not getting what he wanted, he stood up and cleared his table, looking around, he saw that most people had left "How long was I drawing for?" Kieran stood up and stretched his arms, one in the air, the other on his head, he rubbed through his hair, unintentionally messing it up a bit.

Why did he strut around like he owned the place? It was mostly because he was one of the few riders with formal combat training, and tactics was something he'd trained in as well. When he got into fights, he had a plan from the start of it, he observed his opponent's style in the defensive, then he attacked at their weaknesses, at least that's what he did most of the time, sometimes his temper got the best of him, and he attacked blindly. On his first day, when he was young and foolish, he challenged Cloudfury, how foolish a mistake that was, he still didn't know how his arm bent that way. He needed to know his own weaknesses to be successful, and this in itself was his weakness.

Kieran walked over to the main kitchen area, snapping his fingers. "Freya, let's go, we're already way behind, clean or whatever later, we have to catch up." Kieran then walked towards the door, grabbing his shield and sword from the table he was sitting at, and throwing them onto his back, then he opened the door to the outside, and stepped out.

((@BytheSpleen))

[Knight of Doom]

As Sind talked about his morning Melaniya could help but laugh. "No offense, but squirrel sounds absolutely disgusting." She started heading towards the exit, she actually wanted to stop by somewhere during training and if she wanted to be back for lunch, they'd better head out soon.

Unfortunately, due to Mel's responsibility as First Rider, she couldn't go on long term training runs. The only way she could is by asking Sigil for a couple day's leave. Even then, it was never as long as the brunette would like. Recently, the guild master has been plotting for something relatively big, which ment that she couldn't leave anytime soon.

"For today, I was planning on trying a new technique. I'm not quite sure what it's called, but it's perfectly suited to Telocatl dragons like you. It'll also be useful in battle against enemies with high accuracy, and long range." She explained. She read about it in a book, and hopefully remembered enough of what she read to replicate it. "But first, as usual. We need to warm up with the basics."

@Grimoire