Ophidian Vale (IC)

Harroc, however, would have none of it. Despite being no expert when it came to wings, or with anything freezing up, he didn't trust the dragon until it showed it wasn't prejudiced against him. "I will not drop my guard, not yet." He snarled to the other dragon. He slamed his tail into the dirt, and the flaming end threatened to set the grass ablaze. The crackle of burning could already be heard under the great beast's tail.

"I trust you know that fire and ice dragons do not get along. And while I am not a fire dragon, I trust you also know that ice dragons do not like anything unnaturally warm. Just as fire drake do not like things unnaturally cold."

Arbora shrugged as she stabbed yet another fish, "Well, I've been living by myself in the same cave, but I have a lot of neighbors who look out for me. I lived with Mom up until year ago, and then there was this freak accident. She kicked a dead sea snake that had gotten stuck on the shore, and it bit her, because it's still dangerous, even after it's dead. She could have been bitten anywhere else and would have been fine, because her scales were thick enough, but she got bit on the foot, between the toes, where the skin was softer, so the fangs got through. Worst part was, everyone in my family had toxin, as well as an immunity to it, except for her, so the venom killed her." She tossed her fish onto the growing pile. "Now, people try to be nice, they don't talk about it in front of me, because for some reason I haven't worked out, they think I'll shatter into a million pieces if I hear them. I don't linger too much on it, but the fact is that even if they want to protect me, it can be hurtful, in a way."

Thundrus knew that feeling, being treated as helpless. It was partially the reason for seperating himself from the rest of his group, except for Daris. Thundrus spoke, "At least your family cared about you. I was abandoned after hatching, maybe because they couldn't support me, or maybe they just didn't like me. And even with my foster family, I had trouble communicating. It took a long time for me to notice what I was doing wrong. Even now, I still have trouble. Perhaps this is why it's especially surprising that I managed to get along with you so well." He knew that this was partially because of Kehrett.

Thundrus could never get in touch with his foster again, because Kehrett began to toy with his sanity. He began to have fits of madness, just a year before now, and Daris was by his side. This is why Thundrus believed that he was still sane. He knew that Kehrett was frustrated because of this.

Naloma saw Sal fall from the black and red colored heavens above the Wastelands: charred up and molten plains cracked with gashes and shafts of magma and lava and huge structures like volcanoes. She spotted several other dragons follow this strange fallen one. She swooped down and followed them and quickly landed and a few of the other undead dragons had joined her. Luckily the sun did not shine in the Wastelands, so they would not die unless Naloma made them.
"You! Who are all of you? What are you doing here!?" she demanded, showing that she was not afraid and really, she wasn't.



Cain laid down, he needed to sleep so badly, but it was terrible. He wanted to stay awake and get off of this poor female's property. He felt like he was intruding and he hated that feeling. He leaped into the air and tried flapping his wings... That only made it worse... much, much... much worse...

He snapped and fell back face first into the ground, the ground making a huge pound sound as he did so and he let out a roar of pain. "I-I'm s-sorry!" he tried to say over his voice which was getting caught over a few tremors of pain.


Tharan and Bella continued to fly, they had killed a few of the thieves already but they weren't carrying anything. The dragons carrying the silver and treasures were heading towards the Outlands... the old ruins of the forgotten Irkomothi people, strange beings that lived before the dragons.

"Sorry for what?" Dillusia asked curiously. "Really, you should rest... That injury doesn't look so good."

Without asking, she hopped fluidly up to his face and blared a bright purple light over his face. It had calm, sleep-inducing effects that should have dropped a charging rhino... That is, if performed correctly.

She did her best.

Cain breathed in and swiftly breathed out. He felt something inside of him, rest and his entire body felt at ease. His wounds had somehow been cut off from his mind and he fell into a swirling abyss of his own dreams...

He saw himself gliding high in the skies of the night, the moons and the stars reflecting their beauty off of his scales as he flew. He saw the majesty of the Vale under and above him... and suddenly it was all caught on halt as something else entered the skies. Something was flying ahead of him, blaring white lights from its eyes... Tharan...

The dragon roared past, he was threatening Cain... but why? Why would Tharan want Cain?

The shape of Tharan passed over the skies where Cain's body laid, a silver dragoness following him. They followed the shapes of a few of the dragons that were heading towards the Outlands.

A few moments later, Sal began to cough loudly. Thick, black soot-covered phlegm shot out of his throat as he hacked out the fire which he had swallowed when he veered off course. He started to shiver violently as he came out of hypothermia, and soon all of the ice had fallen to the ground in sheets. He rolled onto his back and breathed in a great breath of air. There was soot nearby; must be a volcano. Sal opened his eyes after they thawed, and rolled over onto his feet and wings. He stood up and looked around a moment. He looked down at the tiny black and white dragons and then up at the lava dragon, and sighed.

"Um, could someone please tell me what volcano I'm at?" he asked to no one in particular.

"You're trespassing on MY land!" Naloma growled as she stepped down closer. "Now I'd be willing to let this slide if you all converted to our side of this conflict and aided in the Resurrection of Shadow!" she growled gesturing to the massive black tower behind her. She eyed Sal and walked up to him, placing on claw on his chest, then grabbing his snout gently as she examined him. "You'd do as a good fighter" she said smiling. "Whose side are you on? You're not with that miserable Tharan are you?!"

Sal skittered back slightly when he saw Naloma move towards him, and he was stuck with fear when she placed her hand on his chest. That is, until he realized who she was; one of those losers trying to resurrect the world's most evil fossil. At this point, Sal stopped being afraid, and smiled, as he couldn't possibly take these fools seriously. Either way, he'd been in bigger trouble than having some oversized drag queen threatening him.

"Ma'am," he said, snarling "I send my compliments to you, and highly suggest that you get your dirty, yellow, unkempt talons off of my chest before I burn them off!" He snarled after this, and created a small plume of emerald fire from his nostrils.

It seemed like Crystal had been wandering for hours.

She had scaled the cliff and reached the blackened, scorched top with the exception of almost slipping and falling back on the rocky beach. There was a fairly large treasure pile at the top that glistened with gold, silver, an some jewel-encrusted goblets, but she knew better than to steal from a mysterious hoard. Besides, the place was already in a crumbling ruin, and she didn't like the idea of the place falling down on her head. After leaving the temple behind, she found her way into a particularly large forest and took shelter in a tree, trying to regain some strength. She thought she saw some-weird looking mummified zombie-dragons below her, but she dismissed the idea and decided that the dark was playing tricks on her mind.

Which brings us to now.

Crystal climbed down her tree in a squirrel-like fashion after she was sure that there were really none of those zombie-dragons around. Shuddering at the thought of them, she gained the gumption to keep going and figure out where she was. While walking thought what seems like an endless forest, she began to think about Flower. Where was she? Is she safe? How can I find her? Do I even know if she's in the same world? Well, there's only one way to find out. Keep on walking until you find someone.

The trees and grass were beginning to seem dead and burnt the further she walked. It didn't take long for Crystal to realize that the forest was fading away and being replaced with molten rocks and dry shrubs. She disliked dry places and began to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Maybe I should turn back... she began to think, but abruptly changed her mind at the sound of talking. In the distance, some dragon-like figures could be seen. They were various shapes and sizes, but one large one seemed to loom over them. They seemed a bit distant, but within reach. Curiosity got the better of her and she began to creep toward the sounds under the cover of dead shrubs and grass.

Tenebris' cold gaze fixed upon the strange dragoness, and the undead creatures around her. "Albus, go back to the cave, now!" He said, his voice quiet, but exerting extreme authority in its tone. "But big brother-" Tenebris cut him off, "This is not a time to argue, little brother! You are not safe here!" He snapped. Normally, he would not try to sound so mean to the white dragon, but he was so worried about Albus' safety right now, he couldn't really focus much on his manners. "Yes, Tenebris." Albus said, lowering his head and slowly starting to walk away.


Arbora shook her head slowly, "Dragons can have any number of reasons or excuses to abandon hatchlings or eggs, but it isn't fair, half the time. Even the species that are born fending for themselves, I don't think they like being alone. I like talking to people, and half the time, I'll speak to any random dragon I run into, regardless of how I met them. I guess it's because I never could understand how any creature could be considered to be pure evil. I think the things we consider to be evil are just misunderstood, or maybe they're just misguided or lost. Either way, even if you might have startled me, I can't really think anyone would mean me harm, because I haven't done anything." She sighed, "People think I trust others too easily, and that I'll get hurt because I'll put faith in the wrong dragons. At the same time, though, I don't think there could be any monster worse than a lack of compassion."

"You do make a good point, Abora." Thundrus admitted.

Abora did convince him, but he still believed that there were exceptions. Some dragons were just sadistic; they enjoyed seeing other dragons in pain, or destroying their property. However, there was vary rarely a case of one doing this unprovoked. Thundrus believed that dragons like this existed.

"For a while, I have been wondering whether or not a dragon could even attack unprovoked. I do think that they exist, but their... Rare." Right as he finished his sentence, He lurched forward, extending his neck over the water. In a flash, he was back in his original position, except with a ladyfish in his mouth. He dropped it into the pile.

Amora looked at the fish, "Nice catch." She said. She was about to stab her tail into another fish, but stopped herself when she saw what it was, "Don't want to mess with that one." She said. It was a saltwater catfish. Although freshwater species were edible, both kinds had barbs, and the meat of the salt variety was only eaten out of desperation, its taste disgusting, and taking days to prepare to acceptable standards. She waited for it to swim past, before continuing, "Well, there are definitely some cruel dragons out there, but I don't think an attack is ever unprovoked. Everything has some sort of reason, after all. We're killing fish right now, and it's not provoked, but chances are that we're going to eat them later, so that's a reason for it." After tossing one last fish onto the pile, she examined it. "I think there's enough here, besides, the catfish are coming in, and there's not really much sense in catching those. Did you want me to take you to where everyone is?" She asked.

Thundrus considered it. He certainly seemed to be making himself at home, which was odd, since he originally only planned staying for the night. His scales flickered white, which signaled deep thought. Finally, he responded, "...That will be fine, but I planned to return to the mainland tomorrow. I'm not sure when I should start resting, so let's make this visit quick, not to be rude."

Thundrus thought nothing of staying at this island for longer then a day. Perhaps he'd visit, but he believed that his home was the mainland. Although, he thought, this island may even be a better place to live. It seems to suit my needs better, ignoring the Fire dragon problem. I suppose that this is a thing to speculate later, though.

Arbora shrugged, "Suit yourself, then. Come on, it's this way." Gathering up the fish and placing them on the husk of a hollowed-out log, she began dragging it into the jungle, along a thin path of white sand. The jungle, despite the sun barely rising, was filled with strange animals, that were clearly audible, if not visible. Somewhere in the distance, there was a terrifying screech, "Just one of the birds." She said, as though to explain what it was. Indeed, at night, the jungle was still very much alive, far from the quiet of the beach. Eventually, she reached the clearing, where towering walls of greyish-brown rock rose up into the sky, caves carved into the cliffs. "Okay, we're here. My cave is in that cliff over there, and a lot of these caves already have residents. Try to be quiet, a lot of them are still asleep." She said, keeping her voice low. Shifting the log with the fish onto her back, she flew up to a crevice and stepped inside. The cave was rather plain, just a nest of leaves and twigs in one corner, and a small pile of cinders where there had been a fire. She set down the fish, and proceeded to call Thundrus over.

Thundrus either had to get up to the cave by flying, or by climbing. He chose Climbing as his method; if he flew up, he feared that he would wake up the other dragons with the noise. His wings weren't exactly like an owl's. Cautiously, he crabbed a hold of the stone wall between two of the caves, and from what he could tell at least one of them had a resident. He pushed himself up until he reached a true stone wall, which meant that he had to change his stance. Much like a human rock climber, He moved one foot at a time, slipping in between caves like a serpent. In less than a minute, he reached Abora's den.

Thundrus walked inside, then sat down near the entrance. He noticed the pile of twigs and cinders in the corner of the cave and figured that a fire must have been recently lit. He thought nothing of it afterwords. The cave was much like his own, with the exception of the different color and size, and the fact that it wasn't partially filled with water.

"For some reason, I've never thought about what an island's native wildlife would be like. Apparently loud," He joked, referring to the forest.

Arbora waved one of her wings a little, similar to what a dragon would do if it had front claws, "Oh, that's nothing, you should see the other side of the island. I don't know how my friend Chris stands it, but apparently, the guy can sleep through anything. One morning everyone was all tired because of this thunderstorm that came in during the middle of the night, and we were asking him if it kept him up. He just blinked and said, 'There was a storm?' Like he couldn't believe it. Everyone was just staring at him, because the thunder was so loud, I'm surprised anyone at all could ignore it. I guess that's why he's the only dragon that lives over there, but you can't blame him for trying. He's the largest dragon here, so he has to have room, otherwise people would complain every time he took flight, since he would cast a huge shadow." Arbora stopped talking and shook her head, "Well, anyway, all that craziness set aside, I'll make up a bed for you to sleep on." With this, she started gathering leaves from a tree hanging off of the cliff outside the cave, and arranging them in a pile a distance from her own.

Naloma snarled at Sal's comment and slashed him in the side of the face, then turning and walking back calmly to her guards. "When I give you a compliment, I suggest you take it. It's very rare for me to give praise to someone other than Shadow"

The Desecrates nodded looking at Sal and then stood motionless. She smiled again. "Now, if we can get this sorted out," she began, quickly losing the smile at this point. "Are you working for Tharan?! DID HE SEND YOU OR NOT!?"

"No one can be trusted! Kill them mistress!" one of the undead creatures growled. Naloma waved them down. "I'm not doing that just yet. We don't need to kill anyone unless provoked" she said.

Thundrus raised his claws and waved them dismissively, "Don't bother, Abora. I could do it myself later." Thundrus didn't want to sleep yet, anyway. He was suspicious of Kehrett; he was afraid that he would have new night horrors for him in store.

It would seem rather childish of a large, possibly intimidating dragon being terrified by nightmares. However, Kehrett knew all of Thundrus' weak points. Although the nightmares only came about once a month, they never failed to catch him by surprise. Usually they involved torture of either him or Daris, but Thundrus knew that Abora would be next for him to dream being killed by Kehrett. His scales began to flash between the colors orange and grey.

You've been wondering why I was so silent, eh? Kehrett's voice rang out like nails on a chalkboard. I have my suspicions, Thundrus thought. Just stay away, alright? You've become nothing but a pest now. Kehrett's laugh rang out, like a crazed dragon, Oh, you are desperate! Hilarious, if I do say so myself! Nevermind that, though, prepare to be amazed!

A wave of fatigue washed over Thundrus for a brief second, then disappeared. I'm working on it, Kehrett continued. You'll be nothing but a sack of shaking bones when I'm finished.

Thundrus pushed the entity away from his thoughts, silencing his rambling. "I'm sorry, I was thinking about something else," He said to Amora after a long silence. He wasn't scared, like Kehrett wanted him to be. But he figured that would only last until he fell asleep.

Arbora frowned, "Well, okay, then. I'm gonna go start the fires in the inner rooms, but before I do, I should probably let you know ahead of time. Around here with have this thing where this really tiny little monkey keeps wandering into the caves to sit by the fires. He doesn't cause any harm, but I don't want you to panic if he happens to show up here. Usually it's the neighbor's place, because it's easier to get in, so I doubt we have to worry, but if he does come in, just give him a piece of fruit from that pile over there," She nodded at a small pile of tropical fruits, "-And he'll leave. I know we probably encourage the little guy to sneak in, but it makes things interesting, wondering who he's going to visit next." With this, Arbora walked deeper into her cave and disappeared around a bend.

Thundrus had nearly missed what Abora had said; Kehrett had been trying to talk to him again. He shut his eyes, bringing an image of Kehrett in front of him. Kehrett was an eastern dragon, with platinum-colored scales and a white underbelly. He had blood red feathers lined up on the ridge of his back, and to top it all off, he was giving Thundrus a smirk that said, 'I know where you live and I'm going to kill you.' Thundrus cringed, but not seconds later he imagined himself leaping at Kehrett and pinning him down onto the ground.

Kehrett's smirk stayed plastered to his face. Finally, he asked, Are you mad, Thundrus?

Quite! Thundrus thought as he imagined himself raising a claw and stabbing Kehrett's neck. Even with blood pouring out, Kehrett didn't even seem aware that he was just stabbed. Kehrett giggled hysterically, removing himself from Thundrus' grip and vanishing. A light patter came from behind him. Kehrett was going to attack!

Oh no you don't! Thundrus turned backwards, opened his eyes, and swing his claws for a blow against his attacker. Suddenly, he froze. The footsteps he thought had belonged to Kehrett had belonged to the monkey that Abora had mentioned earlier, who was covering his face in fear. Thundrus lowered his claw, sighing.

The monkey opened its eyes to find an orange fruit at its feet, with a seemingly frustrated dragon behind it. The monkey grabbed its prize, and left the cave.

"Hey! Was that the monkey?" Arbora called from where she was stoking the fire in one of the rooms. She thought she had heard some scuffling. She was completely oblivious to the issues Thundrus was having, and did not know that she may have put herself in danger by allowing him to stay in her cave. Really, she was too busy thinking about what she should do next. The island didn't get a lot of visitors, so everyone would want to meet her guest. It could be a little overwhelming, but the community was relatively friendly, so there shouldn't be a problem. Of course, with the fire dragon rebellion, you could never be too sure anymore. Hehkahnah was a pretty nice island, but just because they were peaceful, did not mean the locals would fight viciously to protect their home.

"Yes. I gave it a fruit and it left..." There was nothing else to say. He hadn't been doing anything during Abora's absence except fighting Kehrett, mentally, of course.

But now, the entity was being quiet once more, which brought comfort to Thundrus. He could not put together the puzzle of why Kehrett agitated him so much. Nowadays he was just getting annoying, but he was still afraid to dream, when Kehrett was able to harm him, and at the very best, fight. Thundrus ignored those thoughts; he could deal with Kehrett during his dreams.

"Well, then, I guess now we know he won't visit tomorrow, he'll go look for someone else. I'm thinking of calling the little guy 'Kiwi', but at the same time, for all we know, he's got multiple names, since he visits about fifteen different dragons." Arbora finished stoking the fire and walked back out into view. She looked out of the cave at the sky, which was beginning to turn slightly pink in color. "Well, if you want to rest, you should do it now. We don't get a lot of visitors on Hehkahnah, and when everyone finds out you're staying at my cave, they'll all want to come over and meet you. Everyone's pretty nice, but being swarmed by locals typically scares anyone, you practically get mobbed by people asking for news from the mainland."

"I'm not sure what news I can give you," Thundrus admitted, not knowing about the collapse of Tharan's temple. "Conditions have been fairly stable recently." Except for Kehrett, as usual.

Truthfully, Thundrus did not want to rest for many reasons, although he wondered if the cost of sleeping outweighed the benefits. He glanced outside as well, examining the clouds. Finally, it struck him. "Wait, I'm on Hehkahnah? Funny, I've always wanted to visit the southern islands, but I never got around to getting this far into the ocean."