Snippet #1833342

Elarain was, by then, stood in a low-ceilinged chamber fairly deep into the dungeons, facing the gaggle of twisted creatures that served as guards. Two loped into a nearby cell and emerged dragging out a prisoner, a woman who stared, wide-eyed at the fallen rider as she was forced to her knees in front of her, resembling a started deer.

The lady of the fortress glanced from the terrified woman, to one of the soldier gripping her, before delivering a swift back-handed across the creature's squashed, dog-like face. The action loosed a few teeth and sent them skittering across the damp flagstones.
"I do not need people!" she snapped.
"I need dragons! We cannot have exhausted them yet!"

She turned, catching sight of Kitherine, a rare smile of approval crossing her features.
"Ah, so you have chosen to show yourself...it appears..Kitherine...that incompetence awaits me at every turn...my guards seem to think that we have run out of dragons...but we cannot have used them all...not yet..."

She began to walk across the row of cells, gesturing from her blackguard to follow. She walked with purpose, seizing a torch from the wall bracket with her human hand, and allowing the sharp talons of her altered appendage to scrape across the rough stone walls. Upon reaching on cell, the glint of scales in the torchlight caught her eye and she swung open, gaze setting on the dragon bound within.



"...blast it...Auryn cannot have this one..."

She narrowed her eyes, soon realizing that it was Ruby that she could see. She resented Ruby's presence, though it was not due to the dragon's depth of contempt for her, no Elarain was fairly oblivious to that. She resented seeing riders with their dragons. It strengthened the gnawing ache in her chest that never seemed to leave her, and made her want to destroy them. Just have her troops due the beast down and destroy it...why should he have a dragon when she did not?

The fallen rider shook her head, attempting to dispell the oncoming rage. She needed Ruby alive, as the captive dragon served as an easy way to control Kowareta.

She turned to the captive rider, walking over to him, ensuring she remained out of biting distance of the dragon. She looked down at him with disdain. So much for the riders. He had degenerated into little better than a rabid animal in the time since she'd caught him. Somewhere, deep down she felt sadness for what her friend had become, but that was wrapped up in layers of bitterness and sadistic glee.

"You should be put to use." she announced, pointing at him.

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The dragon's head broke the surface of the lake, sending a jet of moisture from his nostrils and opening his mouth in order to draw in a deep breath of mountain air. Having filled its lungs, the head plunged back below the water, whole body following in graceful arc of wings and scales.

Sorin sat on the edge of the lake, on pebble beach, attempting to skip stones across the water. It had never been a skill of his, and his attempts had afforded one skip at best, most sinking with a pitiful 'glug' sound. It seemed to be no end of amusement for Adain, who would every so often peek out of the water in order to emit a warbling laugh at his lack of skill.

The stop by the lake was a welcome break for both of them, and it was something Adain needed more than he did. They had flown such a distance over the last few days. The message had reached them far in the great forests to the west, carried by a dove that Adain had, unfortunately been snacking on when he'd realized that it had come with a letter. Upon hearing the news, the two had made their way back, towards The Summit as fast as they could manage. The home of the riders lay within sight, on the nearby ridge, but the two had decided to stop short of their destination, so as not to arrive dusty and exhausted.

Little had been said between them about the matter, though it worried them greatly. They hadn't spoken as they knew what the ultimate consequences might be....destroying another rider. It wasn't something they wanted to think about too much.