Draconian Peril Ch.8
Two months of traveling the barren countryside to the west of Sedukyria finally paid off, as the gates that divided Sedukyria and its neighboring country became visible on the horizon. Ryuu saw it first as he was scouting the area ahead of them from the skies; with a smile, he folded his wings snug to his body, and dove through the air down toward his mate. With a single of his wings, Ryuu landed before Styx, his wings still flared after coming to such an abrupt stop.
Alright Styx, if we keep going straight, we will be entering Sedukyria's capital city. We need to go there anyways, but before we do, we need to decide where we shall live. So, my question is: Would you prefer to live in a catacomb, a human house, or in the mountains?:
Styx looked confused for a moment; she didn't think that Ryuu would let her choose where they would dwell while in Sedukyria. Especially after the long talk he had had with her about not killing anyone for a while after they arrived.
"I suppose living in the catacombs of an ancient city doesn't sound bad, though, wouldn't you prefer to have a cavern, like your father?" Styx voiced her opinion, the unspoken words that she would not live in a house of human design obvious by the crimson glare in her eyes.
Ryuu ruffled his wings once, whipping his tail in long strokes in agitation at the mention of his father. Styx balked at the sudden surge of fury that surrounded her mate, like a chaotic miasma cloaking the two of them.
"... Lets go Styx. I think we've stood around long enough, I'm going to fly ahead, so meet me at the main gate as soon as your legs can get you there." Ryuu stated calmly as he took to the sky, leaving Styx to walk the remaining fifty miles by herself.
"Well, I think I deserved that one..." Styx thought with a sigh as she began walking in the direction Ryuu had flown off in.
Ryuu had arrived at the main gates of Sedukyria several hours ago. He kept to the sky, hovering with alternating strokes of his six massive wings, also unwittingly snaring the attention of many of the city's inhabitants. All things considered, probably not the best of first impressions. Ryuu didn't expect to be disturbed by anything during his brooding wait, so the large number of stones and spears that ended up showering him from below were enough of a surprise as to make him lose his balance in the sky, and plummet to the ground.
"Shit... that hurt." Ryuu growled as he stood, and bushed off the dust that had settled on his scales.
As Ryuu began to stretch out his wings again, a sharp pain lanced through his back, making him stop and relax as he assessed the damage done to his now broken wing. Again. Bone fragments were jutting out at odd angles in multiple places, his blood staining the once black scales a deep, deep red. This was the first time his lower wings had been damaged; unfortunately, they would take longer to heal than any other limb because they were remnants of his draconian heritage, and not manifestations of the Shadow Flare.
"Alright, which one of you is the one who grounded me? Well?" Ryuu stared viciously at the group of Nekogal that were watching him, weapons at the ready.
The entire group flinched as tongues of black fire flared out and kissed the air around their so-thought prey, turning the sand he stood upon to glass at the slightest touch. The bloodlust and rage that shrouded the ground they stood upon was enough to change the hearts of many as they began to flee. Ryuu smiled as he watched the majority of his attackers ran for their lives. Only the hunters of the most stalwart fighting determination stayed behind to try and fight Ryuu. Yet, by the end of the hour, the once golden sand and glass to which he stood upon was stained crimson, and littered with bones along with the remnants of a thinning black fog.
"These are truly a war-like race. Styx will love it here, I'm sure..." Ryuu said as he licked a drop of blood from his cheek.
Without a second thought, he looked back toward the sunset, just in time to see Styx' silhouette walking toward him from the desert wasteland he had left her in.
For several minutes, Ryuu stood, awaiting his mate's return to his side. His wings ruffling in annoyance at her slow pace every now and then.
Styx scowled as she made slow progress over the burning sands, twilight had already fallen behind her, and as she approached Ryuu, the sunlight had begun to reflect off of his scales, flashing directly in her eyes. Her fur was matted with sweat and dust, and it would take several hours to get out the knots as well. None of this was helping her mood at the moment.
Her humility yes, but not her mood. Styx stopped walking when she reached Ryuu, and continued to stare at the ground, awaiting his next words.
"Come on Styx; let's go get you cleaned up." Ryuu said, as he unfurled a wing over her head
to shade her from the sun.
Styx smiled briefly, wondering what awaited them in the gates of Sedukyria. Yet as Ryuu began to walk forward himself, with his wings pushing her along; these thoughts left her, only to be replaced by the pillow-like down of his feathers.
Styx and Ryuu descended the stairs that led to the underground city, both grateful for the shade that the darkness provided them with. Though both for different reasons; Styx needed to clean herself, and desert winds did not make for good conditions to do so, while the flesh under Ryuu's scales was severely irritated by the desert sands embedded along side it by the winds. Were it not for said winds and sand, Ryuu would probably stay outside and bask in the burning sun for a bit longer if only to warm his scales.
As Styx and Ryuu walked, their way was illuminated by torches hung along the walls twenty feet apart from each other, their soft orange glow showed text painted onto the walls behind the lights, each one telling a different story, along with Sedukyria's laws. None of this mattered to Ryuu though, he couldn't read any of it.
Styx was the first to hear it, the sound of steel against steel, a sound as sweet as nectar to the battle hungry vixen. Ryuu, on the other hand, found the rhythmic clash unwelcome in his ears, and materialized Styx' worst fear to hold another battle at bay.
"Break from the shadows, and come to me." Ryuu said in a voice barely above a whisper, yet loud enough for Styx to hear and jump onto her mate's shoulder just as the first of the wolves made its presence known.
Styx whimpered slightly at the sight of six of Ryuu's wolves flanking them on either side, much like a group of soldiers protecting their charge. Much to her relief though, none of the wolves attempted to catch her eyes with more than a respectful glance, Styx' position to them was as their Alpha's bitch; therefore, she was deemed the same respect and obedience from them as Ryuu himself got. Not that Styx cared, she feared canines in general, dogs and wolves alike; a fact that Ryuu was becoming annoyed at, though he never let on other than telling the wolves to give her space and protect her.
"Styx, refrain from fighting unless I say otherwise, only defend yourself." Ryuu said without a second glance as he picked his mate off of his shoulder by the scruff of her neck, and placed her on the ground beside himself. On queue, and at the same time that Styx' whimpering began anew, half of Ryuu's wolves split from him and moved to flank Styx instead; the six wolves effectively cutting off the route of many possible attacking angles that may be considered in the next hour to come.
"I really hate these wolves you keep around, master." Styx said as way of a confirmation, one that Ryuu shrugged to, before he folded his wings across his body and descended the last few steps, Styx close behind.
What awaited their eyes astonished Styx and Ryuu beyond belief. An entire coliseum, Romanesque in its architecture served as the main entranceway to the vast city. Thousands of people, races varying from Nekogal to Human, to Lycan, and even a few dragons sat among the spectators, shouting out encouraging praise and threats. Even children participated in this shouting, rooting and throwing rocks at the combatants circling each other in the blood-soaked and battle-torn field. Oh yes, Styx would love it here...
The fear of being guarded by her natural enemy forgotten momentarily, Styx stared in awe and joy, her hands were clenched so tightly around Thenos' handle that her own claws had pierced her flesh, and drop by drop her blood was pooling on the ground beside her.
Ryuu was disgusted, for no particular reason it seemed, these people were slaughtering each other, and at the will of the masses no less. Every command that was shrieked by those in the spectators seats were executed no matter how much carnage it took to do so.
A gentle shove brought Ryuu out of his reverie, and he noticed that the wolves were trying to get him to look toward his mate. Ryuu sighed as he saw her; every hair on her body was bristling with excitement. Blood lust was taking hold of her with no less than an iron grip.
"Styx..." Ryuu called out to his mate, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder and quickly bringing her out of her bloody trance with voice and touch.
Styx looked back toward her master, as she came out of her daze and rested against his strong powerful wings and his loving embrace.
"Too much, too soon, Styx?" Ryuu asked, tapping lightly over Thenos' handle, his question answered by her racing pulse and iron grip on her sword, as her blood filled its sheathe drop by drop.
Styx nodded silently, eyes closed as she fumbled with the leather straps that held her beloved blade close and handed it to her mate, hesitation evident in her quivering movements.
"Easy Styx, I'll take good care of Thenos for you. At least until you can take care of it again, without slaughtering everything in sight." Ryuu said in way of reassurance, taking hold of Thenos' scabbard with reverent care and buckling it to his own waist.
Apparently, someone in the crowd heard Ryuu's reassurance and walked over. The man's distaste magnified when he saw to whom Ryuu's words were meant for. The wolves blocked the man's path with a show of fang and claw, effectively halting him in his tracks. Though he kept on staring at the quivering vixen that Ryuu said could slay them.
"What is the meaning of this? Do you truly believe that this cringing whore could actually do any of us harm, much less kill all of us!?" The man bellowed, trying for the attention of his companions, and succeeding....
In no time at all, a good sized group of Nekogal males and females were surrounding Styx and Ryuu, intent on 'proving' Ryuu wrong about his mate's ability to kill even one of them. A task that made Ryuu smirk, knowing that even though Styx would faithfully obey her master's orders, that didn't mean that he himself was bound to the same pledge. Blood would soak the earth tonight...
"Let me ask you something... How many of you know what a draconian is?" Ryuu asked, the malice in his voice unmistakable.
"Their strong fighters, respected and honored here. Few of us can beat one." Someone said through the crowd, a bit of info that seemed to amuse Ryuu.
"Good, good... So you know how powerful they are do you? Tell me... How many draconian warriors do you think that my mate here has killed?" Ryuu asked, placing a strong, yet delicate hand on Styx shoulder and drawing her against himself.
The question sent ripples of unease through the crowd, unintelligible whispers shot back and forth as Ryuu gave them time to consider.
"Styx my dear, why don't you tell them how many of my people you have slaughtered. Make sure to throw in some of the details..." Styx stiffened when she heard his question, he had beaten her for weeks on end the last time she spoke of her days as a slayer. Yet now, Ryuu seemed to welcome the information, a proud glint in his crimson ringed eyes soothing her into speaking.
"Sixty-three... I have taken the lives of sixty-three draconians. Two of which were gravid and enraged at their pair-bond's deaths. They were easier to kill..." Styx spoke in a quietly pleasured tone.
The mob that had gathered around Styx and Ryuu balked at this revelation, they couldn't believe that such a scrawny being could kill even a mouse. Styx took out the small oaken box with her 'souvenirs' within and spilled its contents all along the floor at her feet. Draconic scales, easily recognizable by their shape, littered the ground. Each one stained by its owners blood, and several bore the marks of Thenos' teeth and edge. The evidence was proof enough for the mob, and they parted, granting Styx and her mate passage into the city. Ryuu smirked again, using his tail to gather up the scales that Styx had strewn across the ground and handed the now again full box to his mate. Just as they began walking forward,
Ryuu turned to face the man who had started this little... altercation.
"I would prefer it if no one would try to fight either of us while we are here. My mate is already too stressed out as it is from my orders to not kill anyone. No hard feelings, but this will calm her somewhat..." Ryuu said, making sure everyone gathered around them could hear his words.
Locking his gaze with the man once again, and before he could do anything, extended his wrist blade, piercing him through his solar plexus then stabbing his tail straight up, through his jaw. He died within an instant. Styx' gaze was locked on the murder the entire time, her eyes burning crimson in blood-lust and pleasure as she felt his still warm blood spray across her face.
"Feel better Styx?" Ryuu asked as he withdrew his tail spade, and let it glide across her cheek, an action that seemed to send pleasured shivers through her body at his slightest touch.
Nobody moved during Ryuu's little flirtatious caress, breaths were held, grips tightened on swords, and knives before Styx and Ryuu began walking again.
Silence descended among the masses as a wave of blood-lust as thick as Ryuu's miasma seemed to fall across the city, the shear terror that it struck the citizens with was enough to make even the most battle hardened warriors sweat. Such was the power of Styx' passionate chaos, her destructive soul, especially now; as thousands crowded into the stands in anticipation of a fight between titans of malevolence. Styx stood on a raised platform, no higher than that of a child's reach; whereas Ryuu stood on the opposite side of the coliseum grounds, Thenos in hand.
The two had decided to do a little sparing, just for fun as they said, and yet a festive occasion for the denizens of the Sedukyria.
Ryuu flared his wings, extending his blades to their maximum length, both feather and wrist alike, as he tossed Thenos to Styx who deftly caught it and unsheathed the sword in a swirl of black fire as her Shadow Flare took over. Ryuu smirked in recognition of her stance as he transformed himself, increasing the scale count over his chest, forearms, wings, and tail while his thick dark miasma cleaned the arena of corpses. With a near silent command,
Ryuu called out eight wolves to clear away the bones, and pile them in a single corner. This went by unseen as the miasma covered up the wolves dark phantasmal forms.
"Are you ready Styx?" Ryuu taunted; eager to test her prowess.
Styx growled threateningly, before charging forward, weaving left and right in her steps, trying to confuse her mate as she thrust and slashed.
"Come now Styx, is this the best you can do?" Ryuu said calmly as he sidestepped each attack, before fading from sight in a cloud of mist.
Styx closed her eyes, and without a glance, she plunged Thenos through Ryuu's middle left wing, causing him to hiss in pain before jumping back, out of her range. Ryuu smiled at his mate's success, before he took to the sky, avoiding another strike before diving at her, his blades ready for blood. Styx parried the first of Ryuu's lunges, catching his wrist blade in Thenos' gnashing teeth. The second slash however, she was not lucky enough to avoid. While Styx was preoccupied with her mate's overwhelming strength, she didn't see his tail spade whip around and catch her across the flesh of her side. Again and again Styx took her mate's strikes and slashes, as she fought off whatever attacks she could. Both Styx and Ryuu were unaware of the silent stares of awe that overshadowed each person in the stands. Styx was finally freed from the onslaught with a kick to the jaw, strong enough to give Styx the time she needed to recover her bearings and dodge the next few aerial assaults with blade and reflexes.
"Tell me Styx, what does this remind you of?" Ryuu asked, landing less than twenty feet away, his Shadow Flare pulsating in a way that made Styx' eyes bulge in fear.
Ryuu drew out a single ember and focused his power into the palm of his hand, forcing the energy to rotate at incredible speeds, imbuing the elemental power of lightning and darkness into the cataclysmic ring of raging power.
"Chaos Chain!" Ryuu whispered as he threw the ring of energy into the air, and caught it with his tail spade.
Styx was mesmerized by the malevolent beauty of Ryuu's attack as she watched her mate's tail sway and writhe in every direction it could. With each second that the chaos chain moved with Ryuu's tail, more and more links seemed to add to the chain, each just like the first, until it was long enough to reach Styx. With a single crack of his now chain-entangled tail, the chaos chain had wrapped itself around Styx' chest, sending untold amounts of electricity through her. Styx shrieked in agony, a sound that forced the majority of their audience to flinch from the sound. With little more than another practiced snap of his tail, Ryuu tossed Styx against the wall, releasing her at the same time, and her body falling limp from the pain.
"Stand up Styx..." Ryuu said quietly, the audience having fallen completely silent some time before hand.
Styx didn't respond, every nerve in her body had been subjected to near fatal amounts of electricity all across more than half of her body. She was in far too much pain to be able to move.
"STAND SLAVE!!!" Ryuu bellowed, as he cracked his electric whip across the wall Styx had been thrown against, causing stone and dust to shatter from its confines.
Styx twitched at Ryuu's voice, hearing him call her his slave gave her a surge of pride, and at the same time, obedience. With trembling limbs, Styx was able to move to a leaning position against the wall behind her, yet there, her strength failed her and she blacked out.
Ryuu sighed, realizing he would have to work on her endurance. With a mere thought, the electric currents running through his tail ceased and his weapon dissipated into thin air. Ryuu walked over to where Styx lay, her skin cool to the touch everywhere that the chaos chain had not touched her, and after throwing her over his shoulder, he carried her back to their new home.
Styx awoke in a cold sweat, her body sore after the beating she had received, the disappointment she had seen in Ryuu's eyes made her sick. Knowing that she had not made her master proud... it made her feel tainted, dirty... and ashamed. Five minutes, Ryuu had told her to withstand anything he could throw at her for five minutes, and she couldn't even last three. The clear differences between the two made her shiver, and then she remembered the attack he had finished her with. It was different than before, but no less powerful nonetheless. She would need to run like hell every time he pulled an ember from his chest now.
"I see you finally decided to wake up..." Ryuu said from behind her, making Styx jump and turn to face her master.
"Yes, master..."
Ryuu rolled his eyes at her choice of words, finding it funny now, instead of annoying. Styx just sat there, staring at the floor. She sat on her knees, her hands in her lap, and her head bowed before him.
"I assume you are waiting for your punishment?" Ryuu asked her, as if it was really the last thing on his mind.
Styx only nodded, saying two words.
"Yes, master..."
"What do you think I will be punishing you for, since you seem so eager." Ryuu hinted, making his tone seem as though she should know.
"Because I failed to follow your orders?" Styx replied.
Ryuu closed his eyes, nodding silently as he paced back and forth in front of her, dragging his tail spade on the ground behind himself.
"Perhaps, perhaps... but what order did you fail to carry out, I wonder."
Styx caught her breath, she had expected him to just agree and give her what she deserved.
"I... in the coliseum, I passed out, before your five minutes were up." Styx replied again.
"Wrong."
Styx looked up toward Ryuu in confusion, and then the pain came as she was hurled against the wall. Blood spilt out of her mouth as she recovered enough of her wits to realize that her jaw was broken, the pain lancing through her nerves was more than evidence enough whenever she tried to speak.
"If you want me to punish you for something... then try to remember what I told you back in Baku's lair after you broke my nose." Ryuu whispered in his mate's ear once she had settled herself.
Styx thought back to the time with sorrow and shame evident in her eyes as she remembered the incident.
"I told you at that time that I wouldn't punish you for something accidental, your weakness in the arena falls under the same category in my eyes, Styx."
Styx was silent as she took in Ryuu's words, despite his young age, wisdom laced his voice every time he spoke. She twitched in pain as her jaw healed, realigning and snapping back into place with a quiet crunch.
Ryuu looked on toward his mate, an affectionate glint reflecting from her eyes into his own. Smiling, he knelt beside the vixen and lifted her into his arms.
"Lets get some rest Styx; I can tell you're tired." Styx nodded, resting her head against his warm, slick scales.
Styx let her hand glide across Ryuu's chest scales, marveling at the difference in temperature between the spot where his Shadow Flare usually appeared, and the rest of his chest. Although the Draconian were warm-blooded beings, Ryuu's flesh was lukewarm, if not outright cool to the touch; this left only a six inch across area of his body warm, his Shadow Flare.
Ryuu smiled at his mate's caress, enjoying the sensations as Styx' claws traced over the sensitive scales around his solar plexus.
"Are you enjoying yourself Styx?" Ryuu asked as he whipped his tail around, striking her lightly with its tip.
Styx yipped quickly from the unexpected strike and jumped from Ryuu's grasp. Before he could contemplate her actions though, Styx had lain herself on their bed in the most provocative pose she knew.
Much to their combined pleasure, Ryuu was quick to take her up on her offer.
"Ryuu, I'm going to go hunt, okay?" Styx asked him as he sat in what light there was to be had in the twilight hour of their cavern.
Ryuu nodded as he yawned; stretching his muscles taut across his frame as he settled down to take a nap.
"Hunt with fangs and claws only Styx; see if you can find something like a nice strong doe. I haven't had venison in ages." Styx nodded at her mate's request, leaving Thenos behind with slightly less hesitation than before. And so the hunt began...
The confines of Sedukyria held many wonders, each tunnel that led out of the city ended in a different climate. To the north lay an arctic wasteland; to the east lay a massive field dotted with sparse, yet massive trees. To the west, a forest where most of Sedukyria's predatory denizens hunted, and to the south, the desert; Styx ignored the pathway to the desert, and ran through the western tunnel, eager to find prey that would last them a week or more. Just as Styx plunged herself into the forest, leaving behind the cavern pathway, luck smiled on her. Less than a mile away she could smell the scent of her prey, one was already wounded she guessed by the scent of blood, and was inadvertently leading the hunter to it and its herd's demise.
Styx slowed drastically as she neared the herd, adrenaline and blood-lust pumping through her veins as she crept closer and closer. She could see each doe, buck and foal in the herd and she froze as she waited for one to stray from the group. Styx knew that Ryuu would prefer fresh, youthful and juicy meat so she ignored the elder female that strayed first, she could see that it was naught but sinew and bone. Styx crept around the herd, peering from different angles for an opening to attack one of the best bucks. She struck. Styx charged into the middle of the surprised herd, slashing throats as she went. She took out six of this herd's strongest bucks before they could strike back, by that time however, it was too late to fight back; they had none left to defend themselves as they scattered and were picked off quickly by other hunters.
Styx smiled at her success, dragging the carcasses of two of her kills side by side and tying them together by their horns. With one last strip of rope, Styx began to haul them back to the cavern she shared with Ryuu.
Styx hauled the two carcasses behind her, moving quickly as night began to fall. She ran, almost loping through the streets dodging merchants, warriors, and hunters alike in her rush. Everybody moved out of her way as soon as they saw her, jumping to one side, or diving under carts so as not to get bowled over or stepped on. All but one. Styx yelled at the man to get out of her way as she ran, yet he seemed to not hear her. Just as she crouched to jump over him, she stopped. The two locked their gazes together for a short time, a familiar, yet dejected and torn glint shone in his eyes, one that reminded her of Ryuu, even if ever so briefly.
Styx thought hard about what she was about to do before she began walking back toward her home, motioning for the stranger to follow, yet leaving leeway enough for him to decline if he should so desire. He followed.
"Master, I'm back. I've brought dinner." Styx called out as she approached the cave entrance she knew Ryuu to be resting in.
Ryuu woke with a start, sighing at hearing that accursed word, again...
"Styx, how many times do I need to tell you-" Ryuu stopped speaking as he walked out and saw the man standing at Styx' side, surprise tinting his eyes.
Styx noticed the stranger stiffen when he saw Ryuu, but didn't think much of it, due to the fact that Ryuu was a cautious subject among all of Sedukyria.
Ryuu walked casually toward Styx and her guest, to his mate, he seemed no more threatening than ever; however, the man at her side became increasingly nervous with each step he took.
"Styx, do you know who this man is?" Ryuu asked, gesturing to the quivering man standing before him, his wide blue eyes quickly looking between Ryuu, Styx, and several slightly rusted daggers and short-swords mere feet away.
"Don't bother trying for those weapons my friend; we both know very well that they won't do any good against draconian scales... Kain" A low growl from Styx accompanied Ryuu's words when she noticed that Ryuu's 'friend' was weighing the pros and cons of reaching for a weapon.
He finally stilled his fears, and took a deep breath, trying to relax himself around a man he had known all his life, the man that had murdered their entire clan for killing his mother in cold blood.
"I didn't know they would attack Serris, I didn't know." Ryuu waved off his apology, moving past him as he easily lifted the deer into his arms and carried them inside.
"Talk later, I'm hungry..." He said; a slight smile on his face as he gestured for Kain to follow himself and Styx inside and join them for dinner.
Kain was uneasy the entire time as he sat there watching his once friend and his mate tear into the flesh of their meal. He was silent as his gaze passed over Ryuu; easily noticing how much he had changed in the past years, his once lithe and athletic frame now seemed to ripple with muscles and blades with each movement he made yet still he seemed so harmless. Kain knew better than to let Ryuu's peaceful demeanor set him off guard though, he had been forced to bare witness to the extermination of his clan, with naught but the exception of the females, children, and himself. He jumped at the sound of Ryuu's voice mere minutes later, tearing him from his thoughts to meet the speaker's eyes.
"You haven't so much as touched your meal my friend, are you not hungry?" Ryuu asked, in either a genuinely concerned; or cruelly taunting tone, Kain could not tell.
Kain looked down at the slab of fresh red meat in front of him, he hadn't eaten in days, yet couldn't bring himself to quench his hunger as he sat there.
"I'm just not hungry I guess..." Before he had a chance to say anything more, Ryuu chuckled, flexing his razor sharp talons as he cut a decently sized bite out of his meal and tossed it to Kain.
"Bull shit Kain, I've known you too long to miss the signs of emaciation in you. Ten years we were friends and you were never one to miss a meal, and now you sit before me half-starved and refuse to sate your hunger?" Ryuu leaned forward somewhat, locking his gaze with his friend before speaking again.
"Tell me, what is bothering you so much right now that you can't eat?"
Styx excused herself and left the cave, under the guise of heading to the market, but only to give the two some time alone.
"Well? Are you going to tell me, or not?" Ryuu asked as he now sat back, reclining himself against the smooth stone walls of his home.
Silence... all that greeted the ebony draconian's ears was absolute silence as Kain sat there, his voice seemingly gone as he drown himself in his own turbulent emotions. Ryuu sighed after a few moments of this and stood, stretching his wings as he began to walk toward the exit, only to stop suddenly as Kain spoke.
"I'm sorry, Ryuu, I'm so sorry..."
That was all he said, but it was enough. Ryuu understood why Kain was so downtrodden now, he never let go of the past, and it seemed to be eating away at him. Ryuu turned to face him now, laughter in his gaze as he sat beside his friend, clapping his hand to his shoulder.
"Is that what you were so worried about? Kain..." Ryuu caught his friends attention, holding his gaze as he spoke, making sure that his point got across.
"The first lesson my mother taught me once I had regained my power is something that every Draconian is taught early in their lives. It is something that I have dedicated my life to, even though I resent it..." Once he had made sure he had Kain's full attention, he stood and took a few steps back, making sure that his eyes never left those of Kain.
"The life of a Draconian is fraught with danger; combat and murder are commonplace among our people and many have sought to eradicate us. If you are to live, you must be willing to kill. Never let your emotions control you and look toward the future." Kain stared at him like he was mad, stark raving mad! It was then that a new thought drifted into his mind.
"Kain, you were never taught were you? The elders, your own mother... they didn't have time to tell you did they?" Finally, Ryuu released his gaze from the man before him. Yes, that fit well... this Man sitting before him was only Draconian by blood, not by will; he had the wrong mindset for this life.
"I pity you my friend, you were torn from your people before you even had a chance to understand what you are... I cannot take the place of those that you have lost, but if you are willing, I can show you what it is like to be a true Draconian." Ryuu held out his hand, erasing all traces of the Shadow Flare from his form, letting Kain see for himself what lay beneath the blood-lusting veil of spines, talons, poison, and blades that adorned his ebony scales and flesh.
Kain stared in wonder as Ryuu slid almost effortlessly into a form that he himself had seen in the mirror so few times, yet knew by heart without a second glance. As he reached out and took hold of the offered hand Ryuu smiled, all traces of malice disappearing along with the black coloration of his now amber and white eyes.
"Styx! Get in here." Ryuu yelled so that she could hear him from outside where she was sure to be waiting.
In less than a few minutes, Styx came bolting into their cavern home, kneeling before Ryuu, and greeting him with her usual response to his summons. Once she had lifted her gaze to meet that of her master she saw that he was holding out a small crystalline pendant to her.
"Styx, this jewel contains the mass of my Shadow Flare in a purified form. Watch over it until I return and I will give you the reward of a lifetime." Styx cradled the gem in her palms like it was the most precious object in the world, as Ryuu pat her shoulder and walked out the door with Kain in tow.
Without words, Ryuu led Kain to a large field, billowing red ribbons hung by the branches of the trees along the border, easily marking this place to those who do, and don't wish to tread farther.
"Where exactly are we going Ryuu? This place smells like a slaughterhouse..." It was only then that he saw the massacre occurring below them.
"This Kain is where your training as a Draconian is to begin. Below us is the one place in Sedukyria where a person is allowed to kill to their hearts content. The Nekogal race designed this place with spell wards on every tree around this clearing, one cannot enter here without blood-lust singing in their veins, and one who enters here cannot leave until their thirst for carnage has been sated. The mere fact that you were able to enter this field proves that you do have what it takes to be an accomplished Draconian, yet before I allow you to leave, you must kill a quarter of the warriors here." Kain stared at the black Draconian beside him before he was roughly pushed into the battlefield below, in the process, slashed, stabbed, and broken against the weapons and shields of those alongside him.
"Stand and fight child. Prove that you have the desire to live, to continue your families' lineage. Learn now in the midst of maniacs and murderers what you have failed to learn in the chaos of our clan's extermination." As Kain heard Ryuu's words from beyond the ringing of steel and iron against steel and flesh, his mind seemed to go blank with fear and fury. Thoughts of pain turned to thoughts of torment, ideas of injury turned to desire, desire turned to need, and finally, the need for carnage turned to murder.
In an instant, Kain's body was sheathed glossy bronze scales, his massive wings erupted from the back of his cloak, talons and fangs tore across the battlefield as he moved, spraying blood from the throats, backs, and chests of those that he killed. This feeling of death all around him was ecstasy realized...
After several minutes of watching the slaughter unfold before him, Ryuu decided to join in. As he jumped from the small rocky outcropping, and landed right in the middle of the chaos that Kain had forged with his newly unleashed raw blood-lust; he began to carve a path of carnage much the same as his friend, only slower, taking his time to hear the death keen of each and every victim as they fell before him to soak in their own blood.
This battle would end in no more than two crimson stained warriors basking in the aftermath of the slaughter...
Kain cii Rekka and
Ryuu de Ororria...
End of Chapter VIII
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