Setting
The Old Woods' trees were giant. Even if Rihtarion was in his true form he could have walked through without any trouble. The Prince wondered what would happen to the forest if the Humans and Elves continued on fighting. Who would claim it? These were things that really shouldn't matter to him. Yet..he did care. Shaking his head slightly, he continued on through the Woods. The early morning light was shining through the green leaves of the trees, giving the forest floor an eerie glow. Rihtarion's black hair shone in the light as it moved as he walked. As he walked through the silent forest, Rihtarion thought of the races that his kind once ruled over. The Elves and Humans were similar yet quite different from one another. The Humans were a bit more..advanced in their ways than the Elves. Their cities were larger than that of the Elves'. He'd only been near the Human settlements..never daring to enter because to them..he was just another enemy..an Elf. The Elves still followed the Old Ways, living in the Wilds in clans rather than true cities. The only true Elvish city was that of Calithil, which was located far away from any Humans. It was a beautiful city that contained all of the world's histories and the location of the ruling Elf King's place of residence.
Rihtarion continued on until coming to a large sparkling river that ran through the Woods. This was a good place to rest. He'd been walking for some time now and was quite tired. He gently sat his small pack down near a large rock but decided to keep his sword attached to his belt. You never knew when someone would attack. He'd rather be prepared. He approached the Kaluna River and crouched to drink from it's cool waters. He kept his senses alert. Finishing with his drink, he stood. Looking out as far as he could see in the Old Woods, he wondered if this would possibly be a good campsite. He returned to the rock that he'd sat his bag near and sat. He closed his eyes, deep in thought. He was quite glad that he'd decided to move through the forest. As of yet, he hadn't come across any being or any creature for that matter. He'd become used to the wildlife of the world staying away from him but it didn't help the quietness that stretched about him. It was times like these that he longed for a companion. Someone to share his secrets with. It was far too dangerous for the Dragons to remain together. He'd never be able to find a mate..at least..not until after the War. It was all that his mother wrote to him about. He should be trying to produce heirs..in case anything were to happen to him. He would worry about that when the time was right. His mother was only worried about the line continuing..or so it seemed. He couldn't blame her though..not after what had happened to his father. He sighed once again, focusing his eyes upon a tree in the far off distance. He truly hoped that things would calm down before such beauty was lost to the world. He could not interfere..no. He'd promised his father to remain neutral and he would. Perhaps, though, one day the Humans and Elves would see the horrible things that they were doing and the consequences of such actions.
Casually she walked out the door, messing with the end of her shirt the way she usually did. She walked slowly, admiring the fresh air outside where she hadn't been wearing a dress just to work. Her eyes scanned the area, unsure of what to do that wouldn't seem obvious that she was just slipping away to out near the Elves city. She inhaled deeply before just quickly disappearing into the crowd of people near a store this only helped her slip out of the Human's city and make it out to the Old Woods where she like to spend most of her free time when she wasn't either taking care of the younger children or working with her parent's on the farm.
Now she had gotten away from the chaos of her life and was here in the Old Woods, walking at the pace that she enjoyed the most. Humans moved so fast all the time whether they were running somewhere or jogging places they always seemed to be moving so quickly just like time. She stopped once she realized she was far from the Human's city this was also the place where she gently touched a huge tree in the Old Wood forest that seemed to reach towards the sky and farther. A small smile came to her face as she moved away from the trees, a few leafs, and twigs crunching softly beneath her feet. An odd noise escaped her throat when a bug decided to fly in front of her face which she proceeded after the weird noise to fling her hand out and to start to swipe at the bug, shooing it away from her face. Rolling her eyes once she began to make her way towards the single place she found truly amazing which was the Kaluna River even though she didn't even know the name of it. Excitement coursed through her veins which made her only begin to pick her pace to a run as she weaved past trees and went straight for the gorgeous blue river.
Finally she was approaching it, she could hear the river faintly, and she had also memorized this area from the many times she had come here before. It wasn't until she saw a figure whom was facing her direction, this surprised her only because she didn't think anyone knew about this place since most didn't leave their cities. She was still running though, just assuming it had been a human. It wasn't until she got closer that the figure began to grow to a much larger than a human man. You could tell by the surprise on her face that she couldn't believe to see this elf here where she went and was by herself most of the time. Her head was jumbling to find the command to make her legs to stop running, it was too late though because she was sure that the tall elf had seen her. She was going toward shim only to trip over her own feet and fall forward onto her hands and knees. A confused Azalea shook her head, suddenly furious at herself for not stopping sooner because now she was sure she really had done it. Her body shifted, now sitting on her butt she slid the knife out of her boot and pointed it out at the Elf. "Who are you?!" She managed to sputter out in half fear and half anger. Her feet moved to try and lift her to her feet but she couldn't seem to find the will to get up since she was now pointing her knife at the elf. All her feet could do was move some leafs around while she pretty much just glared at him. It wasn't until her eyes slowly wandered around him that she noticed the sword he had near him. Great, just great. She thought knowing that he clumsiness had gotten herself here along with her being stupid enough to even begin to think that he had been a human.
The Dragon wondered if the girl thought he appeared strange or if she'd even taken the chance to truly study him. Rihtarion had been traveling for some time and as a result, the Dragon's clothing was becoming quite worn. Rihtarion had chosen long ago to dress in the colors of the Elves. At the time it had made sense to him. In the beginning, he'd spent all of his time amongst the fair race. As time had worn on, though, he'd began remaining in the wilds. He'd discovered over time that being with the Elves made him long for Ialeos. The great stone city was reachable only by the Dragons. It had been built upon the tallest peak of the Ondoquen Mountain range by Rihtarion's ancestors. It was a city that no Elf nor Human had ever seen. In the days before the Dragons' disappearance, when it was called for, the winged beasts would always travel to their subjects. When he was young, Rihtarion had not understood this. Now, being much older, he'd began to understand. To allow the lesser races into their city would allow for them to gain the knowledge needed to attack the great city if they so chose to. It was something that none of the Dragons wanted to allow..
Rihtarion pushed these thoughts from his mind. He needed to concentrate on the problem at hand. His golden eyes found the Human's. He could see the fear almost as if it was rolling off of her in waves. It almost broke his heart to think of the hatred that had only been growing between the Humans and the Elves. He offered up another smile for the girl. "I am Rihtarion, M'lady. Might I ask whom you are? I cannot imagine during these terrible times that your family would take kindly to you wondering so far away from your home." he said. He could not understand why he'd given up his real name. Normally, anytime that he was asked he'd give a fake name. He knew that the chances of anyone recognizing his true name was very rare. Yet he'd always preferred to be cautious. Why, then, would he give his true name to this Human? Rihtarion had no answer. "I'm sorry if I startled you. I was merely resting. I've been traveling for some time and had no idea that any would venture this far into the forest." The Dragon regarded the Human with an air of superiority. At the moment, Rihtarion wanted to just turn back time. He should never have stopped here..so close to the Elves and Humans. What was done..was done, though. The Dragon finally decided to speak once again. He held up his hands as if trying to tell the girl that he meant no harm towards her. He hoped that perhaps the girl would relax somewhat and at least lower her weapon. He didn't want to have to hurt her.
Hesitantly she leaned against the nearest tree, one of her fingers from her free hand began tracing the indentions on the tree. The fear was soon replaced by nervousness as she glanced from him to his sword and back to him. The smiled he offered her gave her only a little bit of comfort all because she didn't like the fact that a sword was near him. "I am Rihtarion, M'lady. Might I ask whom you are? I cannot imagine during these terrible times that your family would take kindly to you wondering so far away from your home." He had said to her which made her smile a little. She couldn't believe that she was actually having a conversation with a rival of her species. "My name is Azalea, and my family doesn't know that I am this far away from home." She admitted, suddenly thinking that it was a bad idea to mention that. He smile faded and she slowly ran a hand through her straight blonde hair. Her eyes traveled to the ground near her foot which was gently kicking at the ground as she wondered why he was here in the forest. Her previous thought had pretty much just been answered when he said, "I'm sorry if I startled you. I was merely resting. I've been traveling for some time and had no idea that any would venture this far into the forest." She shrugged, "It's okay I guess. You know I am not really used to seeing an Elf and I am not used to not being attacked by one either." She lifted her head, brushing a strand on hair out of her face with the back of her hand that was holding the knife.
Suddenly she thought about what he had said some more and realized that he had just said that he had been traveling. raveling where though? She looked at him with this slightly confused look on her face. "Traveling?" She questioned him, blinking a few times. Slowly her expression turned neutral as she thought about where in the world he could be traveling when he could just simply stay near the Elves cities. "Where would you be traveling to? I mean you don't mind me asking right?" She asked curiously. Hesitantly she looked at him once before leaning down, closing her knife and gently sliding her knife into her boot. She straightened up quickly, looking at him once again. "I am really sorry about pulling a knife on you. I just didn't know if you were going to attack me or not." She apologized then gave him a gentle smile.
If he was honest with himself, Rihtarion was surprised that he was being so open with the girl. Why? He couldn't give an answer to that question. He felt as if he could..trust her, which made no sense to the Dragon. He didn't know her..nothing about her. Why should he feel as if he could trust her? He titled his he to the side as he was in thought, looking a bit on the confused side. He tried to push such thoughts from his mind. Rihtarion straightened up when the young woman spoke once again. "I am really sorry about pulling a knife on you. I just didn't know if you were going to attack me or not." The statement brought another smile to the Dragon's face. "It is quite all right. I'm fairly used to it. Since the beginning of the war, things have only gotten worse, it seems. I'm surprised that the Humans and the Elves refuse to try and work things out. What is the point in hating each other? Do we not all share this beautiful world? I can remember a time when they did not fight each other. It was a wonderful time." The Dragon fell silent for a moment. He then realized that he'd referred to the Humans and Elves as if they were different from him. He wondered if the girl would realize this.
Rihtarion gently stood from his spot but did not move any closer to the Human. He was quite a bit taller than the young woman as he was with most females. His dark hair and sharp teeth seemed to shine in the light. The wildlife was still silent, a foreboding of there being a strange creature lurking about. The Dragon was used to such things though he doubted that Azalea was. "Tell me something, Miss Azalea. What do you know of the beginning of the war?" he asked softly, eyeing the girl. Of course the Dragon knew as much as he'd been able to find out over the years..most likely more than most Elves and Humans knew. He'd spent most of his time trying to discover how he could possibly fix the terrible feuding when, if ever, he returned to his home. He knew that when the Dragons disappeared, things had quickly gotten worse. It was as if the Dragons were the peacekeepers. The two lesser races would fight over the silliest things. Even the Elves archives did not hold the reason the war started though Rihtarion had heard otherwise. It made him think that perhaps they'd hidden it away. Ever since he'd been disappointed with his findings, the Dragon had continued his search. He hadn't come up with much, yet. His golden eyes focused back onto Azalea. He was smiling at her once again.
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