Private Tales The Mountains Ahead

[Aviana Sabel]

Her head canted a little to the side after his last statement, brow furrowing slightly. That didn't sound like the jester she had first met all those weeks ago. The one that had insisted she change her clothes for fear of her standing out, that had wanted to avoid conflict as best he could.

"So, what does that mean then?" She asked him gently, pulling her hair over her shoulder as she turned slightly on the bed to face him more directly.

If he had suddenly found some deep-seated purpose, she didn't want to be the one to pull him away from that. Whatever it was he had been running from, whatever had transpired between him and his family, she didn't want to stop him if he had decided to face them.

 

[Kasim Areth]

”For the last five years I was a bard.” Something that he was rather proud of. He had enjoyed his time, loved it in fact, but he had made his decisions back in that village. Perhaps it hadn’t been exact yet, but he’d known.

”But before that I was brought up to be a Swordsman, a Mage.” Of Blood and Runes. Though the latter had come after his departure. ”The leader of the strongest House in Vel Anir.”

The words were not necessarily the truth. House Varik was incredibly powerful, yes, but only militarily. There were other Houses with more political, economic, and general influence throughout the city. Still, his family had the most soldiers at their disposal, and more importantly the most Dreadlord’s loyal to them.

Something his father had always boasted of even back then.

His lips thinned as he looked at Aviana. ”It’s time I acted like it.”

Golden eyes wandered over to the sword in the corner of the room.

”Let my father send whoever he wants. Let whoever is coming after you come.” His shoulders rolled. ”I’ll deal with them.”

All of them.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana paused at Kasim's bold revelation and his declaration to take a stand. It had been both unexpected and... some how not a surprise at the same time. Her thoughts turned back to the village, when he'd put his fingers over her lips and vowed to protect her. He could have saved himself and left her to die. He could have chosen to not take that risk.

But he didn't.

The jester was far more than he had ever claimed to be, and it filled Aviana's heart with joy to know that he was finally embracing the fact. She didn't want him to be some dashing prince to sweep her off her feet and save the day, she just wanted him to realize that he was a good man; that he could make a difference.

"We both will." She corrected him with a slight smile. The attack had been brutal and it had left Aviana shaken; but through it, she had also proven to herself that she could defend herself, that she didn't always need to be rescued. That knowledge had filled her with a strange new confidence.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Had she once again brought up him being a good man he might have disputed it.

Kasim would never think of himself as one, not with what he had done, not with what he knew that he would have to do before the end. There was no obstacle for him to overcome in that regard, it was a simple fact that he knew to his core.

Yet in that moment it hardly seemed to matter.

They had made their decisions, both of them. Whether they would stand within a field of flowers or ashes by the end of it all Kasim could not say, nor would he dare to hope for one or the other.

Not now.

Instead he simply leaned forward, his hand brushing over her face, his fingers sliding into her hair as he gently grasped her and pulled Aviana against his lips.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana placed a hand against Kasim's chest, fingers resting over his collar bone as he pulled her into that kiss. She smiled briefly against his lips before she eased herself into it, tilting her head into his hand to allow for a better angle. It seemed a fitting response to the sentiment that they had both shared.

She wasn't quite sure when things between them had gotten so entangled. There wasn't an exact moment where she could put her finger to and say that was when it became about them, when I had shifted to we. Nevertheless, that change had occurred and now they were on this journey together. Wherever it may lead.

The road back to MInaris would be a long one, and they had both earned a good rest before they set off in the new direction. Before, there had not been much of an actual destination in mind. Aviana had wondered when the jester would stop in some little town and tell her that he'd had enough of their little venture, that it was time for him to go his own way... but that yet to happen. And now, he'd made the decision to travel back to her home.

There were emotions that threatened to tumble past her lips when he kissed her, but she kept them in check. Best to let this take its natural course and to not say something stupid that would put the man off. So far, that strategy had worked out pretty well.

She broke away from the kiss and delicately brushed her lips along his stubble-covered jawline. "I hate to be the voice of reason but... we should get some rest."

 

[Kasim Areth]

”Probably.” Kasim admitted quietly. It was more than truthful to say that he was in no shape to do...well much of anything. The two cuts he’d received from the knife were shallow enough to mean he wouldn’t bleed out, and in fact they’d already stopped their bleeding, but there was no doubt that...vigorous activity would open them up again.

He smiled slightly with a thought popping into his mind.

They had only spent a single night together, but...well the words began to tumble from his mouth before he could really stop himself. ”Unless you do all the work.”

It was meant in jest of course. Aviana was no better off them himself. She had no open wounds to speak of, but both of them had been through quite a bit over the last hour or so. Getting rest was as important as getting a good meal.

Particlarly with their journey ahead of them.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

The half-elf blushed at the suggestion that Kasim had offered up, chuckling softly in his ear before she pulled back from him to meet his golden gaze. His eyes were still tinged with red.

"How about we put a pin in that thought?" She said, affectionately trailing her fingers through his short hair.

Tempting as the notion was, she knew that she simply lacked the energy for such things. The fight with the assassin had left her weaker than it should have, and she wondered if perhaps there was a way to counter the magic in case they ran into it again. It was a potent enchantment.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Good plan." Truthfully, Kasim was rather glad Aviana hadn't taken the suggestion.

He was fairly sure that the act would have broken him in some new, yet undiscovered way. Though he was holding himself together quite well at the moment, the fact of the matter was that he still needed a hospital.

The injuries would heal on their own, and they could take it easy on their Journey, but any doctor would have screamed at him.

If he'd have Leviathan blood or even Hydra Venom he might have been able to heal himself with the runes, but he'd used the last of it some time ago. In the back of his mind he knew that he would just have to suffer through it and hope to make it. If something happened...there were always other methods.

Though he would shy away from them until absolutely necessary. No need to allow his father another glimpse into where he was.

Without another moment of hesitation Kasim leaned back, slowly laying himself down on the bed roll.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Once Kasim had laid back down on the bedroll, Aviana gathered the egg in her arms and she limped over to the fireplace. She cursed herself silently for the mistep, but she was lucky that it hadn't resulted in a broken neck, or hell, a broken leg for that matter. If she'd broken a limb, she wasn't sure what they would have done.

Still, at least she wasn't as on edge of Kasim. In a few days, she would be well enough to fend for herself again; but it wasn't clear for how long Kasim would be in his weakened state. Even if he wanted to take on the world, she knew that doing so would kill him. She glanced over her shoulder towards him once she'd gotten herself settled on the stone floor. Saying the words aloud was out of the question; but she knew in her heart just how much she cared for him.

She sighed softly, leaning a shoulder against the stone wall next to the hearth. The warmth of the fire bathing her and the egg in red-golden light.

Her gaze drifted away from the resting jester, down to the scaled egg that she was cradling. It was strange how something so small, could be so dangerous, and so coveted. Men would likely go to war over such a precious thing... just as they were doing in her homeland.

She hummed softly, her melodic voice echoing through the stone chamber.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim watched Aviana for a time, but as he laid down the weight of things crashed down on him.

His previous injuries from the Blood Magic, the exertion of the Runes, and of course the two cuts from the knife. All of it had settled in on him, and it was simply too much.

The Jester closed his eyes, and then almost instantly drifted off to sleep.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Not long after the jester had fallen to sleep, Aviana had wrapped herself in a blanket and drifted off by the fire, as well. She had intended to crawl back into the bedroll with Kasim, but found that she didn't have the energy to even muster that small effort. So instead, she had curled up on the hearth with the egg.

While they both slept, however, something else awoke.

The precious egg that Aviana had carried with her for weeks moved. At first, it was a subtle nudge, a slight wriggle. When it rocked a bit more insistently against her stomach, the half-elf blearily opened her eyes. "Wha-?"

When the egg moved again, she nearly jumped out of her skin and she tossed the blanket away from herself. The streaks of light on the surface of the egg were pulsating in a steady rhythm. For several seconds, all Aviana could do was stare at it in shock, until it moved once more.

It needs the fire.

She wasn't sure how she knew that... she just did. It felt as though the flames were beckoning her towards them. A thrumming beat filled her ears. Unsure was to why she felt so compelled to do so, Aviana gently picked up the egg and carried it over to the fire. The flames were warm, but they weren't hot. They should have burned her arms as she reached into the fire to set the egg down onto the embers.

The moment the egg was placed onto the bed of the fire, the flames shifted to a brilliant shade of blue and grew tremendously. Something tugged inside Aviana. It was obvious that something was happening, but she didn't know what or why. If she had not been in such shock from the rapid change, she might have noticed that the color was the exact same hue as her eyes.

Unbeknownst to her, Aviana had just instigated a long forgotten magic ritual, lost to the sands of time; one that was came with a heavy cost.

Kneeling in front of the flames, she watched in silent fascination as the scales that covered the surface of the egg seemed to ripple and then splinter apart. As the shell came apart, the fire suddenly exploded. The tiny scales that had fallen off the shell embedded themselves into her flesh.

Brilliant blue flames lashed out, ensnaring Aviana and wrapping around her form. The strange tugging sensation from earlier shifted to something else entirely. It felt as though something integral to her very core was being severed and leeched from her every pore; it was vaguely similar to the magic the assassin had used to enchant his blade. The flames forced themselves into her body, through her mouth and through the cuts left by the scales that had buried beneath her skin. She could feel the searing heat scorching through her veins as it consumed her.

Just as suddenly as the agony began, it stopped. The flames retreated from her, slithering back into the hearth and shifting back to a normal orange and red. Aviana collapsed onto the floor, feeling physically weaker than she'd thought possible. Something as simple as taking a breath was exhausting. But there was something new within her. That heat had not left her veins, flowing through her like molten silver. There was power in it. She couldn't explain how, but she knew that it was something she had always carried with her. Now, she was simply aware of it.

Her eyes weakly fluttered opened. "Mngh..."

A rather large charred log in the fire shifted in place and then opened. Small, leathery wings unfurled; revealing a membrane the color of glowing embers. In the flames, it was difficult to tell whether or not that shimmered like embers too. Something the size of a particularly large cat stumbled out of the fire and onto the hearth in front of Aviana; its wings awkwardly skittering across the stone floor in a ungainly fashion. The body was a sleek obsidian black, that seemed to glitter from the flickering flames behind the creature.

Its reddish-orange eyes locked onto Aviana's blue gaze; and she felt that inexplicable heat surge within her.

The egg had hatched.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Throughout all of this, Kasim simply slept.

He might have awoken during a different time, in fact the slightest noise from Aviana would have been enough to rouse him in times past. For the last five years The Jester had roamed the world, sleeping on his own, even when surrounded by others. He had always been a light sleeper, always watched his own back.

Yet he was tired.

His body had been pushed to the very brink. The blood magic that had torn at his veins wounded him, the exertion of the Runes had pushed him, and the cut of the assassins knife had simply toppled him. It was a wonder that the Jester was still capable of thought, a wonder that he had been able to not only talk with Aviana, but reason with her.

Sleep came to him not as a gentle rest, but a deep abyss.

There were no dreams in his rest, no nightmares, nothing.

Not even the light from the whirling flames was enough to rouse him. Perhaps not even a scream would have done it. Kasim was simply worn out, pushed beyond what he should have been capable of. So as Aviana underwent her transformation, as she ascended to something else, Kasim could only sleep.

It was what his body demanded, what he would need if they were to survive the coming days.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Weakened to the point where she could not even lift her head, Aviana faded into unconsciousness. And that is where she stayed.

The little dragonling shuffled over to the collapsed half-elf, nuzzling into the palm of an outstretched hand. He licked at the lesions on her flesh, where the sharp scales had delved into her, and the wounds were closed without leaving a scar.

And so, the ritual was complete.

The dragonling curled up against his warden's chest and torso. With the length of his tail included, the creature was nearly as along as Aviana was tall. His long next raised up enough that he could nestled his head against the side of Aviana's neck, which allowed him to stare over her shoulder at the slumbering jester. He was keeping a watchful eye out, while the young half-elf recovered.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim had no idea for how long he slept. It could have just been a few hours, an entire day, it was impossible to tell. Eventually though the nagging pain of his wounds woke him.

The two cuts, one on his shoulder and the other across his ribs seemed to sting with pain, and with an almost gasping breath The Jester threw himself back into the waking world. Bright golden eyes surged open, hand immediately shooting to the wound across his ribs.

A curse escaped him as he sat up, cringing from the effort in pain.

Then he saw it, Aviana on the floor and besides a very large lizard...dragon. He frowned, glanced across the room, and felt and odd sort of...calm strike him. "Well."

He should have been shocked, he should have jumped up, he should have done something. Yet with everything that had happened in the past few days, with the werewolves, the assassins, seeing the egg.

Kasim had no choice but to take it in stride.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

The dragon lifted his head as Kasim sat up, hissing quietly. Behind it, the long tail wriggled back and forth across the stone floor.

Aviana stirred awake as the little dragonling hissed in her ear. She woke with a splitting headache and a parched throat, as if she had the worst hangover of her life. Everything ached, and yet, felt rejuvenated at the same time. Though the crown of her head felt as though she'd been clobbered with a large stone repeatedly in her sleep. When she reached up to run her fingers through her hair, she felt a surprisingly large knot beneath the scalp. She didn't rule out the head clobbering theory.

She sensed that the dragonling was staring down Kasim, and she rolled slightly to look over her shoulder at him. There was a weak smile on her lips.

"Well..."

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim had seen Dragon's before, at a distance.

They were creatures of power, even the small ones. His father would have given anything to be within this room, and Kasim knew exactly why. The thought of what he could do with that creature rang throughout his mind. It was such a terrible prospect, the woe that he could bring to this world.

There were the runes, which Dragon blood enhanced to a degree seen only with one or two substances. He had a vial in his bag already, but well...here was a living dragon.

Then of course, there was the whole reason his father would want to be here; blood magic. Most thought it could only be used on other humans, but the notion was a false one. Dragon Blood was power in it's rawest form, and if Kasim, or his father, drew upon it's strength they could very likely sunder a fortress all on their own.

Oddly enough though, Kasim felt no temptation.

"This will make traveling more difficult." The Jester commented dryly.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Carefully, Aviana gathered the dragon into her arms as she rolled over. She sat up and the creature curled up into her lap, its tail lazily hanging over her thigh to drape across the floor.

"Yeah... Not sure if we try to say it's a cat if anyone will believe us." She murmured, delicately trailing her fingers along the its spine.

Her eyes raised to meet Kasim's, and she frowned slightly. "Something... Strange happened when it hatched." She said softly.

While she may not have known what caused it, she thought perhaps Kasim had heard of a myth or a legend that would explain the phenomena. Minaris had no such myth, she knew that much.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"What?" Had it been his families magic?

There were stories of the Blood Pool acting of it's own accord. The magic was old, and those that had been sacrificed to it often held a certain amount of sway over the power itself. The events were rare of course, and he was almost sure he would have noticed it but...

A Dragon was a Dragon.

There was no telling what would happen with those things around. Particularly when it came to the power they could create. He shivered slightly, another thought of just what could be done with that amount of strength.

It terrified him.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

She frowned and glanced over her shoulder towards the fire, then back to Kasim. If it wasn't for the literal dragon curled up in her lap at the moment, and the thrumming of the fire in her veins, she might have brushed it off as a dream.

"The flames they uh... They changed color, to a really bright blue." She paused, then realized that she should probably explain what had happened before that particular event.

"But that was after I put the egg in the fire. I did that, the flames changed color, and there was some sort of uh... Explosion? I guess?" She looked down at the newly hatched dragon as it started to nibble at her fingertips.

"No, don't do that." She murmured, pulling her hand away.

Shaking her head, she raised her gaze to meet the jester's. "They enveloped me, but didn't burn my flesh. And there was this... It felt like the assassin's magic only... Stronger."

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. What she had described was not blood magic thankfully. He still hadn't told her that was what he'd actually done, and if she'd found out at the same time as the Dragon came into being? Well she wouldn't have been so calm.

Not if she knew what it would have meant.

Still, it was definitely magic, any fool would have been able to see that. He considered for a moment, and then slowly shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure."

Kasim thought for a second more, then continued slowly.

"Dragon's are generally solitary creatures. At least when it comes to other species." There were story of Mothers protecting their young as with other species. "There's a few tales about Dragon Riders and the like, but most of them are just stories told to children."

Or foolish Nobles who dreamed too much. "Magic is always a piece of that, though it's never really described in any clear detail."

 

[Aviana Sabel]

"Mmm..." She mused thoughtfully, shaking her head.

The only magic Aviana had ever mustered was causing the piece of paper to crumple, instead of fold. As such, she wasn't entirely sure what to make of it.

"Heh...well, whatever it was, I feel like it left, I don't know how to explain it, it's like there's fire in my blood or something." She said quietly, then pushed herself onto her feet. The dragon scampered up her arms and curled itself around the back of her neck across her shoulders. Its long tail wrapped around the bicep of her arm for stability.

Surprisingly, she found that her ankle wasn't hurting her any more once she was standing. She looked to the dragon on her shoulder with a puzzled expression. The creature just chirped back at her.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim considered fora moment, but in the end he shrugged. Though he was educated, he was not a scholar. Understanding of the finer things escaped him. The mages at Elbion might have known more, hell even the Dwarves in Belgrath, but he was at a loss.

The Jester knew that Dragon's existed, knew that they were powerful magical creatures, and knew that they had a will of their own. Aside from that he knew next to nothing, though perhaps it was better that way.

He wondered briefly, oddly, if his father would have known more. The old man had always been obsessed with new ways to feed the Well. Dragons had been only one of a dozen different creatures and beings that he had researched, Leviathans, giants, even Elves had been on his fathers list.

Blood Magic could be weaker or stronger depending on where the blood came from, just like the runes.

For some reason the thought made him shiver. "Whatever it is...you seem fine now."

Better off than he was, that was for sure.

It was a good thing really, at least one of them needed to be in fighting shape. Especially now that they would have to avoid most major towns and cities. Walking into those places with a Dragon would not be...smart.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

If Kasim wasn't too concerned, Aviana decided that there was clearly nothing to be worried about. He was the one to fret about something if it wasn't right, or if he had a bad feeling. No paranoia from the jester? All must be well.

She stepped closer to him, reaching down to take his hand as she sat down next to him on the bed. "How are you feeling though? Is there anything I can do to help?"

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Not unless you can heal." Kasim answered honestly, though there was no bite to his tone. The words were just the simple truth. He was injured, and there wasn't much that either of them could do about it at the moment. He would undoubtedly heal in time, but right now?

Right now things wouldn't get instantly better. He needed rest, food, and preferably a more comfortable bed than just a stupid stone with a bedroll. "I'll live."

Kasim said with a smile.

"I've had worse injuries." Though that had been on his escape from Vel Anir, and he'd only managed to survive due to the help of another mage. "Just need new bandages."

The Jester said as he pointed out the blood on his tunic.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

"Let me change the bandages, at the very least then." She said softly, turning away from him to make her way over to the bags.

There hadn't even been a chance for her to take the bags out to the animals before the attack had happened. The assassin's must have followed them into the deep roads at some point while they slept, and waited for them to separate. She frowned at the thought, rummaging through the contents of the bag until she found her small alchemy kit and some fresh bandages. Her supplies were starting to run low, she would need to collect more specimens along the way South.

Still perched on her shoulder, the little dragonling purred softly in her ear. Even if it was only a few hours old, she could sense that the creature was incredibly intelligent.

She moved back to Kasim, holding up the alchemy kit in one hand, and the bandages in the other. "Can you take that tunic off? If not, I can work around it. I don't want you to strain yourself."