Of Dragons, Demons, and Forbidden Places.
My part of a trade done for Jerivinn over a year ago.
Of Dragons, Demons, and Forbidden Places
It was a warm day in the forest. There were birds singing in the trees, small animals scurrying through the brush, and slight rustlings as the wind blew through the leaves. In the dappled shade of a clearing deep in the forest, there was a small pool of water, fed by a short waterfall that babbled down out of the hills. Suddenly, there was a chorus of snapping twigs as a panting figure limped into the clearing.
The being hobbled over to the pool and dropped to her knees, scooping up the water in scaled paws and lapping it down. The creature's body was definitely not something commonly seen in the forest. She had deep red scales covering her entire body and a row of spins going from her head down to the tip of her tail. Her eyes were a bright, clear blue, and she had a pair of large wings on her back. All in all, she was a beautiful and impressive sight. The only things that marred that beauty were the weary, fearful expression on her face and the wounds that covered her body. Her name was Jerivinn, and she had come here because she was being hunted.
The water in the pool calmed after her paws stopped disturbing it, returning to its glassy state. Jerivinn saw in her reflection how badly injured she was. She had cuts and bruises all along her arms and legs, as well as several large slashes across her chest and neck. Suddenly, there were noises coming from the forest, from the same direction where Jerivinn had appeared.
Jerivinn's head snapped around, a light growl escaping from her lips and her eyes changing to a dark green. She rose, prepared to make a final stand by the pool. As she stood, her body prepared itself for battle. Two horns pushed out from the top of her head that curled around beside her head almost like a ram's. At the end of her tail, the flexible fin became hard and rigid like a blade. Jerivinn crouched, waiting for her adversaries to appear.
She did not have to wait long. It only took a few seconds for Jerivinn's foes to burst into the clearing. There were three of them, each of them with sharp fangs, sharper claws, and souls as dark as the abyss from which they crawled. Letting out a savage cry, the three abominations charged at the lone draconian. The first to get in Jerivinn's range got a kick to the jaw, snapping his head back and breaking his neck. The second was felled by the sharp tail blade piercing through his heart. The thrust, while effective, left Jerivinn in an awkward position. Before she could defend herself, the third creature raked his sharp claws across her side, leaving a terrible wound.
Jerivinn fell with a groan, landing splayed on the ground. The last of her foes snorted and walked away, leaving the draconian to die among the bodies of his companions. Jerivinn's vision began to become hazy and she was having trouble focusing. The reason for her difficulty was leaking out of her wound and into the pool, staining it red. Her last thought before losing consciousness was that she was lucky to at least be in a beautiful place when she died.
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Jerivinn woke up with a confused grunt. The fact that she was able to wake up and grunt at all was a miracle in and of itself. She slowly sat up, wincing in pain. She had been placed onto a soft patch of grass that was as comfortable as any bed. Her wounds had been cleaned and bandaged, most of the smaller ones were already fully healed. Jerivinn looked down at her side, where she'd been shredded from armpit to hip. The wound was half the size it had been when it was inflicted, if the bandaged area was anything to go by.
"You shouldn't be moving so soon," said a voice from behind her. Jerivinn attempted to jump into a fighting position, but succeeded only in an awkward bounce that caused a deal of discomfort. Several vines sprang up out of the ground and wrapped around her, gently but firmly. The intrusion of the vines only added to the poor draconian's distress.
"Ugh...let me go," Jerivinn snarled, her eyes changing to a bright green.
"I'll let you go if you agree to keep still and not cause yourself further injury," said the voice. Jerivinn really didn't see any choice, so she nodded grudgingly. The vines released her, allowing her to lay back down. She looked back to where the voice had come from and immediately felt the urge to bolt again. She controlled herself, remembering how easily she'd been subdued before. Standing a few yards away was a huge creature, fully fifty feet of scale and muscle. He was a bright green, dappled with darker spots and some blue, the colors shifting as he moved. He looked like a piece of the forest had come to life and started moving around.
"Who and what are you," Jerivinn asked, a bit rudely, but understandable given the circumstances.
"This is the Eternal Forest," the creature said simply, "and I am its guardian. Obviously I am a dragon." He cocked his head, examining Jerivinn closely. "I've seen draconians before obviously, but not you. What is your name?"
"Jerivinn, nice to meet you," she said dryly. She couldn't imagine worse circumstances than the one she was in now. It seemed like no matter where she went, she was in someone's power.
"The pleasure is mine," said the dragon, clearly missing the sarcasm. "Why were those demons chasing you?"
"Like they need a reason..." Jerivinn sighed. "They were after me because I'm me and they're them. Our races have been fighting for eons, where have you been?"
"I've been here," the guardian said with a huff, as if it had been a stupid question. "You will have to forgive me if I'm a bit ignorant, impure creatures generally can't enter this forest, and I haven't heard news from outside my borders in quite a few centuries."
"Centuries?" Jerivinn was a bit taken aback at this. It made sense after she thought about it a bit. Naturally the Eternal Forest would have a guardian just as eternal as it was. "Anyways, what made the forest's protection fail with the demons this time?"
"Someone led them here with a path of blood," the dragon said grumpily.
"Hehehe...oops?" Jerivinn felt absurdly guilty. "I honestly didn't mean to bring them here, but you have to understand-"
"I understand enough little one," the large reptile said soothingly. "If you had intentionally led them here, I'd have let you die. I don't blame you for seeking refuge from those who meant you harm. There is a problem though...one still lives, and he is within the forest."
"Do you think he could do that much damage?" Jerivinn sincerely hoped that the lone demon wasn't powerful enough to create some calamity in such a pure place.
"I don't know, but I haven't lived this long by taking risks." The dragon growled deeply. "I will find him and make sure that he takes his knowledge of my forest to the grave."
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Unfortunately, the dragon had spoken too soon. The last of Jerivinn's pursuers was at that moment kneeling before a black fire. Dark and impure runes were engraved into the ground around the flames, and a pair of evil eyes leered out from the embers.
"It is as I said lord, the forest is a font of purity and life," the demon hissed in a twisted tongue. "It has a powerful barrier against our kind however, it will be difficult to take."
The fire pulsed and laughter filled the air. "Then I shall go to this forest myself and destroy the source of the barrier. You have done well my minion, it is a shame you are about to die."
"Wha-" the demon began. Before he could ask for an explanation, a large vine that had been slowly creeping down behind the demon wrapped around his throat and yanked him backwards. The evil creature flailed through the air, making choking noises, before he was pulled into a large flower. The thick, fleshy petals closed around the flailing creature, cutting off his strangled cries.
Laughter again erupted from the fire. "A valiant effort, but I know where you are...and I am coming." With that, the fire blew itself out.
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It had been three days since Jerivinn had awoken in the presence of the great dragon. After their initial conversation, the guardian had left to hunt down the final demon. In that time, Jerivinn had waited in the clearing where she'd for first woken up. Her wounds were almost completely gone, no doubt due to the strong and pure natural energy coursing through the forest. She was sitting by a small pond, soaking her feet and feeling a bit bored when the dragon returned.
"The final demon is dead," he rumbled. "The forest defends itself well, there is nothing od the creature left. There was one thing there that confused me though." The dragon began scratching some symbols on the ground. "There were remains of a fire. These runes were inscribed in the ground around it, and the area carried a foul taint."
Jerivinn looked at the runes and groaned. "That is not good," she said, shaking her head. "That's a spell the demons use to communicate with each other. He probably told some of his brethren about the forest."
The dragon looked unconcerned. "I have a barrier spell around the forest that keeps all impure beings out. The only way to breach the barrier is to be lead in. Your trail of blood has been cleaned away...the demons can't find this place."
Jerivinn fidgeted uncomfortably. She didn't like to be reminded how she'd brought the demons here, even though the guardian had forgiven her. "That might hold true if the demon had just contacted others like himself. If he'd contacted one of his Lords though..."
The dragon loomed over her. "If you feel that the forest may be in danger, tell me so that I may prepare defenses."
"Well, a Demonic Lord is far more powerful on a bad day than any other demon could ever hope to become. If one was contacted from inside the forest, it would be easy for him to find it." Jerivinn sighed and went on, despite the growing distress on the dragon's face. "It's also possible that he'd be able to breach your barrier."
"Would he bring an army with him?" The guardian, who normally seemed so calm, was now practically frantic. His apparent fear caused Jerivinn to become more agitated, which was reflected in the green glow of her eyes.
"It's hard to say for sure," she began hesitantly. "A Demonic Lord wouldn't be able to destroy the barrier, just circumvent it. Once he was inside, he'd have to eliminate the source of the spell to let his armies in."
"Meaning he'd need to kill me," the dragon said with a growl. "My power comes from the forest draconian, from the life it contains. Demons corrupt and kill all they come in contact with. For every plant and animal he kills, I become weaker. If I am to have any chance of prevailing, I must meet this creature at the border of the forest, when he first enters. I don't assume you would know where that might be...?"
"Not for sure," Jerivinn said with a mischeivous grin, "but I know where the nearest demon settlement is. He'd probably be coming from there."
"Take me there..."
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Lord Kerax laughed to himself when he came to the border of the forest. That such a large, unbroken stretch of land had eluded his attention for so long was a testament to its guardian's power. The demon knew he'd be in for a glorious fight. The outcome was assured, of course, but it would be fun to feel gore on his hands again.
Filled with thoughts of blood and pain, the foul being met the barrier and slammed into it. He created a bubble of dark energy around himself and pressed it into the protective spell. With an explosion of smoke and compressed air, the bubble popped, but when the smog cleared, the Demonic Lord was inside the borders of the barrier.
Waiting for him there was a large dragon. The green and blue reptile was slightly larger than Kerax, but was on all fours, and so had a height disadvantage.
"I see you've chosen to meet your death head-on," the demon said, leering nastily. "Good! I admire backbone in my enemies. It gives me more to break!" The dragon said nothing, just glared and waited for Kerax to make a move. Failing to get a reaction from the guardian made the being of darkness angry. "My my, what a terrible host. Not even engaging your guest in polite conversation? For shame. Allow me to teach you some courtesy."
The demon charged towards the dragon, but stopped short at the last second. The spiked tail that would have smashed his skull instead flew by, leaving the demon unharmed and the dragon with his back to his foe.
Kerax leapt forward and slashed at the guardian's rear leg, trying to hamstring him. The old scales proved to be a tough nut to crack, but the tips of the serated claws pierced through the dragon's armor. Acting quickly, the dragon flapped one of his wings backwards. The claws at the tips of the wing bones slashed deeply into Kerax's torso.
Growling more in fury than pain, the demon wrenched at the guardian's leg, flipping him on his back. Smiling in triumph, Kerax stepped forward to deliver the final blow.
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Jerivinn was watching the fight from the branches of a nearby tree. She was elated when she saw the dragon gash open the Demonic Lord's chest, but her happiness was short-lived. Almost too fast to follow, the demon had the dragon on his back and was preparing to deliver the kill shot.
Without thinking, Jerivinn leapt from the tree branch and flew over to the demon. The creature was so focused on his target that he didn't notice the draconian on his shoulder...not until she started tearing at his neck with her claws. The demon screeched as he felt his neck being flayed open. Reaching up, he grabbed Jerivinn and threw her into the forest, where she disappeared into the branches.
"Now, where was-" Kerax began as he turned back towards the dragon. Instead of seeing his prey on the ground, helpless, he was looking into the dragon's throat. The demon didn't have time to even consider what he was looking at before a massive stream of fire blasted into his face. The dragonfire made short work of the Demonic Lord, practically incinerating his whole head. Before the lifeless body could fall, the dragon turned and slammed his tail into it, sending the corpse flying beyond the forest's barrier.
The forest guardian limped off into the forest to find out what had become of Jerivinn.
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Jerivinn woke up in the same place she had been in after her last encounter with the forces of darkness. Looking around her, she saw the dragon laying nearby, licking the wounds on his leg.
"What happened?" She looked around her curiously. The forest and its guardian were still intact, meaning the fight must have gone well after her inelegant ejection.
"You saved me," the dragon said shortly. "The demon is dead and gone, and no more will follow. I owe you a great debt. Without you, I'd surely be dead."
Jerivinn shook her head a bit, then immediately regretted it as pain shot up her spine. "I must have taken some fall," she said with a wince.
"You would have, but luckily, a tree branch caught your neck and broke the fall." The dragon smirked a bit.
"Was that humor?" Jerivinn snorted. "And here I thought you were serious all the time." She sighed and settled back down. "A Demonic Lord dead...HA! They'll be reeling after this one, heartless bastards."
"Indeed," the dragon said. "Perhaps you will stay here a while? I would enjoy the company."
Jerivinn smiled. "Of course I'll stay for a while. I'm not really in any fit state for travel. It feels like someone tried to pop my head off."
"I already told you," the dragon said flatly, "the tree did." Jerivinn and the dragon both laughed, the sweet sound of happiness and contentment filling the clearing around them.
End