Eiyuu Kishi Den

Z wrote:To save all our history for posterity, and boost members' post counts, I'm reposting old threads from the yahoo group and old forum. It may be a long and tedious task, but hopefully it'll be done and we can find all our history in one place!

The well-trained knight led his elven companion from the tavern that caused him so much frustration minutes before. Already, some of the discomforts of the night were alieviated by exiting the place. The sunset was complete and the moon was rising around them, but attention to such things were not paid quite yet. Their eyes were drawn to more familiar things, like the streets and buildings around them.

In truth, Nightfire was not a close distance from them, but he would change that quickly enough. He was searching for a place they passed on their way to the inn. There was a small green area with plenty of room for what he planned.

As they approached the small park, he slid one hand gently into his pocket. Moments later, he found himself standing in the center. There was no wyvern to see, yet he continued no farther than that. "Miss Leaf, have you ever flown before?"

"Well, with Slyph, but never too high," Leaf replied, eagerly searching the skies for the wyvern. Asking for Slyph to carry one's self required strong focus, and Leaf could never do it as long as Deedlit. Riding a wyvern had to be completely different, and it could fly higher than Slyph had carried her. "Thanks for asking me, I've wanted to try riding a wyvern ever since I saw Queen Shiris on Marmo," the half-elf said, grinning.

"It is not a problem. I am glad to have company for once..." Jeren said, looking through his pocket. "The reason I ask is that... Well, I do not know the Elven disposition towards such things. Nightfire and I speed along quite well enough. When I first rode her, it turned my stomach upside down. I know not your fortitude for such things. I have a rather bitter root that is used for first-time riders, which quells such problems with your stomach. If you wish some of it, you are welcome to have a bit.

"Also, I know not your hearing. Normal humans can't hear this, but I know not of elves in this regard. If you hear it, it might be a bit painful..." the knight said as his whistle came to his lips. He took in a big breath and blew as hard as he could. His face, so smooth and well-tanned normally, was bright pink from the exertion. His tool of summoning fell from his lips as he gasped for air.

As the silhouette of a dragon pierced the moon's glow, Jeren held the root out for her to take, should she choose to take it. It took moments before the trademark roar of the dark-scaled flyer to be heard in warning of her coming. Jeren took a small piece of metal and let the moonlight flicker over it. The shine on the metal was striking. The wyvern called out again before slowing itself over them. The powerful, leathery wings of the creature flapped slowly, letting herself drop to the ground and settle. Wind from her powerful limbs threw fallen leaves about and tossed the two's hair abour this way and that. The snaking head of Nightfire swerved two and fro, glancing around cautiously before letting her lizardy eyes hang over her companions and his newly found travelling mate.

"Come, for a sea of stars awaits us, and I am eager to dive in!" he said, waving the elf to the side of the solid mini-dragon. "If you will allow me to be forward with you," Jeren said, swiftly tying a strange knot around the elf's waist. The knight made a point about making sure his hands never touched her body. The rope, she quickly discovered, was attached to his saddle. "We wouldn't want you to accidentally fall off, now would we?" he said, winking.

Without a rope of his own, the dragon knight swiftly mounted Nightfire, who breathed deeply, as if to sigh relief that they were together again. Jeren Octavian Aldurer let his hand fall to her side. "Are you ready?"


OOC: Aladdin style, baby! lol.

OOC: A whole new worrrlllllddd.... Hmm...putting so much in one post that would involve me is hard to reply to...I'll just work in some responses I guess....

IC: Leaf refused the medicine, she didn't feel she'd need it. She had never been sea-sick, and hopefully air-sickness was the same for her.

With the warning of his whistle, Leaf knew she'd be able to hear it, so she covered her ears. Even with her hands muffling it, she could hear the high pitched whistle. It definately would have been painful for her if she hadn't protected her ears.

The half-elf took note of his care while buckling her in. She knew plenty of men who would take that chance to brush her waist, but never the kind of guys she liked. Once she was settled into the saddle, Leaf nodded, and replied with an enthusiastic "Yeah!"

OOC: Sorry about the bunch up, but I am not exactly sure how much time we have until the group moves on, so I didn't want to spend forever getting through the preperation stuff...

IC:

"Very well, then, Miss Leaf." Jeren looked back and smiled before leaning forward in his saddle, placing the side of his face on the neck of Nightfire. Underneath the scale, he could feel her blood racing, preparing for her favorite past-time. "Alright, my love, let us take to the skies," the dragon knight said quietly to the creature. The snaking head of the wyvern slung up in a definitive roar. Jeren leaned back to Leaf. "Roughly translated, that means 'Yee hah'," he explained.

With that, the leathery wings of the small dragon stretched out to their full mast, spreading first flat across, then raising as high as they would go. Nightfire shifted her feet a bit, then pushed up into the air with her legs and flapped her wings furiously downward, pushing them several feet into the air. Just as it seemed like they would hit the ground, Nightfire gave a second, powerful swing of her wings. Soon, she had worked them above the trees and most buildings with this. The lift was less than comforting. Once most buildings were below them, they began to move forward. With every lurch forward from then on, the ride became smoother and smoother. With every passing movement, they were excellerating.

As soon as they left the city limits, the ride became smooth and, while they were still climbing, it felt so much different. Nightfire didn't have to flap her wings constantly. They glided on breezes, carressing the night air. The darkness of the clear evening surrounded them. Wind threw their hair behind them, keeping their eyes clear enough to see everything perfectly.

Up and up they went. A field of sparkles lay just out of reach for the dragon knight and his elven companion. The moon, just a cresent then, seemed to be like a lighthouse, welcoming them into a harbor of a different sort. The world below whipped by. What once seemed like a gigantic, endless terrain, now seemed small, as if they were looking at a map.

Their speed was faster than any horse could run, though it felt slow when looking down to watch their progress. Nightfire was relatively silent. She seemed intent on her flight, not caring so much for triumphant roars. Jeren was much the same way. His face, tense and brooding before in the tavern, was now relaxed and genuinely happy.

Perhaps even more striking about this new world was the silence that lived there. No birds made calls. No noise from streets. Just the movement of the air. It was serene, like the painting of a master artisan. It would speak no words to you, since no words could truly describe it.

As Nightfire took off, Leaf threw her arms around Jeren's waist, feeling that her seatbelt wasn't enough to keep her secure. She held on as they climbed into the sky, feeling the pit of her stomach flutter upwards with the lift.

Once the wyvern leveled and began to soar, Leaf let go of Jeren hesitantly and sat up in the saddle. The wind screamed across her long ears, the only sign of their speed at such a high altitude. Leaf reached for her head kerchief and unrolled it so it would cover her ears, which helped a bit. Breathing in the thin air required a bit of effort.

She was curious as to just how high they were and braved a glance over Nightfire's side while clinging tightly to the saddle. She gave a little squeak of shock when she saw how far away the ground was. Lights from Hilt were pin pricks below them, and the people and creatures on the dunes were ants.

"I never get bored of the scenery!" Jeren called back as Nightfire banked suddenly to the right, sweeping them down and back up again. The creature let out a mighty roar, moving her head two and fro slightly. "Looks like someone is getting bored. Hold on tight!"

With that, Jeren tugged on the lines, signalling to his mount that it was time for the true fun to begin. A few strong flaps lifted them even higher before she began to drop. Very slowly, they began to curve upwards. And they didn't stop. "Clench your feet to the saddle!" Jeren called. The wind began to whip past them at different angles as Leaf's world turned, quite literally, upside down. The wyvern had her back arched, as they found themselves upside down. The turn continued, the creature finishing a perfect, graceful circle in the air. She settled back into soaring.

Jeren smiled brightly against the dark night sky. Once again, the ride became calm. He leaned back to extend that smile to her. He turned back to the endless expanse before him. First his right, then his left, fell away from the lines that commanded his wyvern. He let them hang free, as if he too was flying on his own. His eyes closed, reveling in the feeling of the wind against his skin. Nightfire took control on her own, dipping and soaring at will. Soon, the city was almost out of sight. Jeren sighed, realizing that this had to end soon. He had to leave the world he wished he could live in.

"Better turn back towards home!" he called, grabbing the lines and giving them gentle tugs. One large wing, rose above the other as they turned back towards civilization.

Jeren was certain that this was what it was like for fish in the sea. Moving freely in any direction, without any care. Beautiful tinted worlds with so much to see. And endless expanse with no beginning and no end. No cities, wars, good or evil... Just freedom.

At first, Leaf was frightened as Nightfire dove and swooped through the sky, but it didn't take the half-elf long to start enjoying the flight. Even if she fell, she could always call on Slyph to catch her, but her belt seemed secure enough. Soon, she was giggling at the sensations Nightfire's dips and dives caused in her stomach.

She was actually a little disappointed when Jeren decided it was time to go back down. Maybe they could go on other flights together.

The brisk, night air left the two all too soon as Nightfire steadied them over the small park where they took off a half an hour ago. With a surprisingly graceful touch-down, the obsidian-colored dragonite folded her wings. Her neck snaked around to look towards her most recent companions. If a dragon could smile, the expression she gave would have had to of been one.

"It seems that we are not the only ones aware of our most recent adventure, Miss Leaf," Jeren said as he hopped of his "love"'s back. Four armed guards were running their way, surprised that a small dragon had landed inside their town. With halberds at the ready, they stopped, looking upon a creature that had seen her fair share of battles before. Very calmly, the dragon knight held out his hand to Leaf, giving her a bit of help concerning the dismount before approaching the disturbed gendarmes.

"Hold good sirs! My name is Sir Aldener, Knight of the Dragon Scale! We are allies!"

The guards looked at each other. "What kinda title is that?"

"I don't suppose you have heard of the Dragon Riders of Moss? I am of their order."

"Prove it!"

"Prove it? Hmm... Normally, I thought taming a dragon was good enough. Guess not... Well, I do have this here... uhh..." he began, rummaging through his pockets,"medallion... somewhere. Ah! Here it is. Catch!" he said, tossing a rather large medal with a pattern of scales and claws on it. On the other side, it had honors bestowed and the king it originated from. The guards looked it over. They really didn't know what to do about that, but they tossed it back.

"Well... Uhh... I guess its alright then. What's ya business here? We got no notice of your coming..."

"Just passing through, good sirs. That's all." Jeren smiled an award-winning grin.

"Oh... Well, uhh... You can't leave... that... there. It'll scare the townsfolk and all. Tis not a place for... dragon creatures."

"That's fine. She will be back in the air in a jiffy. Just give me a moment..." Jeren strolled back to Leaf and Nightfire. "Well, looks like its time to head in. Apparently, the King designated this area a no-landing zone. I didn't know they had those around here. Ha... Well, better clear away from my sweet, or else you'll get a whallop from her wing, Miss Leaf."

With that, they strolled away casually to the side of a tree. Jeren popped the whistle back between his lips and gave three strong blows. Immediately, Nightfire gave a roar and a mighty blast of wind from her wings, pushing her body from the ground and back into the air. After hovering for a moment, she took off low from the park and back into the night. Her body seemed to blend in perfectly with the pitch sky.

"Shall we return to your companions, Miss Leaf?"

Leaf watched Nightfire fly away until she faded into the sky, even to Leaf's sharp vision. She returned her gaze to Jeren and grinned, "Yeah," she replied, and wrapped her arm around his. "Thanks for letting me ride with you," she added, before she let lose a large yawn of exhaustion.

"The pleasure was all mine, Miss," Jeren said, flashing his trademark smile that could do nothing but warm a heart. "It is rare that I have company on my flights and, very often, I long to share my treasure with someone."

Idly, the two chattered as the left the part, waving a final good-bye to the sea of stars that swallowed them and the craft that took them there...

NRP: We can move on to the regular thread now, I guess...

OOC: Yep. You don't have to worry about posting for Jeren going to be unless you want to include some introspection on his behalf. I'm just going to have Leaf walk in and interrupt Zira and Edwin.