Post by erosaf on Feb 6, 2010 15:42:08 GMT 8
Authors Note - This idea came to me once about 3 years ago. I wrote it and scrapped it. There was not a chance of potential in it at the time, therefore I destroyed everthing I had done on in.
Now three years later its back. And this time its back to STAY
Chapter 1
The forest was still showing the first signs of dawn as I slipped out of the house. It was not really much of a house, it only had four rooms. One was mine, one was my cousin Thaola's, the third was her parents room and the fourth was a family room, that had everything else we needed in it. Well except bathing things, we went to the river for that, individually.
I was not going to the river now. Instead I was heading into the forest to search for wild berries for the family to eat. Black berries, blue berries and wild raspberries grew plentiful in parts of the forest. Nor would I return empty handed, I was sure of that. Aunt Tamara had told me to go out into the woods and find the berries, but to take my time.
Winter was yet some weeks off, and I knew that animals would be foraging now for food to last them the winter. Every creature in the whole land was preparing for winter, humans, elves, dwarves and the animals. All of them had their own unique things to do in preparation for the winter snows arrival.
Humans hunted animals to get meat stored away from the winter. So did the dwarves. Elves like me though never did. There was no point in that to be honest. Why hurt the animal's when the forest provided so much that we could eat of its own accord. Because of this, I had never tasted meat, and I planned on never doing so.
While I was away from the farm I knew that my family would be harvesting the crops, getting in what they could. I only planned on staying out her for three days at the most. I often came out here, I knew the places the berries grew locally.
My uncle, Ryfon had seen a great many things in his days and I knew that. He'd once been amongst the greatest people of our land, the Dragon Riders. But sadly, in a fight amongst a few of the Dragon Riders, his own dragon had been killed. He often told us tales of his dragon Vander, and always, there seemed to be a big purple stone sitting next to him when he did. I did not know what the stone was, but it was important to him, what ever it was.
My cousin enjoyed the tales, and often dreamed of being like her father. So did I. It must have been grand to be bonded to a dragon, but we could only speculate about it. The dragons were gone, all but one.
Aurae, the great purple dragon who was bonded to our king. King Zaos was once a good man, we all knew that. People still spread the word that he was, but only from the fear that if they did not, he would strike them down.
Secretly, we all knew that he had gone bad. The king did not care for those who lived in his lands, instead he was too interested in ensuring that no dragon ever rose with a rider to be like him. If one did, he had them eliminated immediately. So for some, though a dragon hatching for you was a good thing, it had turned to bad luck. No one knew why he was doing that.
The Dragon Riders of old had been really good leaders. A lot of people wanted to see them return to power, but never was it going to happen. We wanted to be free of the king so much. It was no secret that a group of elves, humans and dwarves were joining together in retaliation against him. Hiding themselves across the desert where he would not go after them.
It was a good idea hiding where he would not give chase to. As far as we knew as well, he was not interested in fighting them either. Though many of us were willing to fight with them against him. Everyone was eager to see him fall and someone else take his place as our ruler. Though to some, it was sad to see an elf go bad.
There was no chance that we would see him overthrown though, unless someone hatched a dragon and was able to get to the rebels before King Zaos found out about the dragon. This was something that was getting very difficult to do. He had guards on the look out for any one walking from one town to another. There were settlements though between here and the refugees though that he did not know about. Just getting to them was the hard thing.
The settlements were not on any maps, nor were people seen coming and going from them into the main towns. We would have to travel as a family if someone was chosen. One person alone could not do this by themselves. To try would be suicide. Of course, people would try and be of some help to who ever was trying to outrun the king and that was useful.
I sighed, thinking about the dragons. Imagine being the person who brought the new dragon to the rebels. They would be so pleased with whoever it was destined to be.
On I walked, I was getting very close to where the bushes were. It was easy to get to them, I knew the route so well now. Then as the sun was finally almost up in the sky, my gazed touched two big rocks that seemed out of place from their very colours. One was a shiny silver, the other looked like a huge lump of gold.
They looked very valuable, so I picked them up, first the silver one and then the gold. I was eager to show these to my family, they would be worth a pretty amount of money if we sold them at the market.
Putting them in my pack I hurried back the way I had come, careful not to jolt my pack too much. There was no way I could let them be damaged, else they would be worthless. Soon I exited the forest, to see my uncle out in the field, watching the cattle.
I ran the rest of the way, too eager to show him these strange stones. No point in walking when I had these things on me. They had to be valuable. I was sure of this. Else why would I have even noticed these?
He looked up as I came to a stop next to him. “What is it, Saida?”
“I found some thing while I was out in the forest. I don't know what exactly they are, but I think they might have some value to them,” I replied, putting my pack down on the ground.
“Show me then,” Uncle Ryfon said. He was eager to see exactly what I had brought home, he always was. It was rare that there was something I found on my way out to the berry bushes in the forest.
Then again, it seemed that I was always busy in the forest when I went in there. I walked inside with him. Tamara and Thaola were still asleep which was a surprise. I put my pack on the bench and opened it. Then I quickly lifted out the two stones. Once I had put them on the bench, Uncle Ryfon instantly had his attention on them.
“You found these in the woods?” he asked, sounding quite surprised.
“Yes, not far from the bushes I was originally heading to. Why are you so surprised?” I asked. What was the trouble? “Aren't they just two valuable stones?”
“No. They're dragon eggs, Saida. Though the fact they were in the forest, left for anyone or anything to find, puzzles me. These should never be abandoned like that in the woods or anywhere for that matter,” he replied. “Especially with the king hunting down all the eggs that are left in the world.”
My eyes widened. They were dragon eggs, and I had found them both. What my luck. But if this was true then it meant that if they hatched we would have to run for it as fast as we could. No doubt my uncle knew of ways to avoid Aurae and Zaos. He knew so much about our world.
“It will get interesting if these hatch.” Just then,Thaola entered the room.
“What are they?” she asked, looking at the two eggs in obvious longing.
“Dragon eggs, Thaola,” Ryfon replied. “Saida found them and brought them straight to me. Which was the right thing to do. I know how to look after these.”
“Do you think they will hatch?” I asked.
“Depends on whether or not their Riders are present. Seeing as you touched both of them to get them here safely, Thaola, why don't you touch them?”
Thaola nodded and touched both of them tentatively. She was more nervous than I had been. Yet this was her dream to have a chance to be like her father. “How long do we have to wait?” she asked.
I looked at my uncle as well. I was interested in hearing just how long we would have to wait. At least he knew everything there was to this sort of thing. A rider in the family was obviously the best thing that could possibly happen for us.
“Two days maximum. If not hatched by then, well, neither of you were destined for them and I guess we take the unhatched egg or eggs to the rebels.”
I could see from Thaola's face that she had no intention of letting that happen. Niether of us wanted to give the eggs away. Then again, I had found them. We should sell them at the market. No one would know what they were.
“Can you tell me anything about my parents?” I asked. I really wanted to know what my mother and father were like. I had never heard much of them.
My uncle looked at me. “Of course I can, you're old enough now to know more about them.” He smiled. “You know that your mother, Talila, was my sister and that you're her daughter.” He paused to think a little bit more. “What is not known by many alive now is that her husband, Onvyr, was a Rider, like me. Sadly his dragon, Sheedra, was killed at the same time as him. There is not a day that goes by when I do not miss your father. He was a good friend to me. Talila died of a broken heart when she heard of his death.”
I groaned. My family was dead. All except my mother's brother and his family. They were the ones who cared for me now, and had raised me since I was three years old. The loss of them was, truth be told, a shock that I never saw coming. Both died because of the wretched king we had now.
He looked at the ground. “You two always wondered what this was, did you not?” He reached up onto the shelf above me and picked up the purple stone that was such a common sight when he told us stories. We nodded. “This is all that is left of Vander. He lives inside this.”
We both looked at him in disbelief. How was it possible for such a huge creature to live inside there? That would be the impossble.
Now three years later its back. And this time its back to STAY
Chapter 1
The forest was still showing the first signs of dawn as I slipped out of the house. It was not really much of a house, it only had four rooms. One was mine, one was my cousin Thaola's, the third was her parents room and the fourth was a family room, that had everything else we needed in it. Well except bathing things, we went to the river for that, individually.
I was not going to the river now. Instead I was heading into the forest to search for wild berries for the family to eat. Black berries, blue berries and wild raspberries grew plentiful in parts of the forest. Nor would I return empty handed, I was sure of that. Aunt Tamara had told me to go out into the woods and find the berries, but to take my time.
Winter was yet some weeks off, and I knew that animals would be foraging now for food to last them the winter. Every creature in the whole land was preparing for winter, humans, elves, dwarves and the animals. All of them had their own unique things to do in preparation for the winter snows arrival.
Humans hunted animals to get meat stored away from the winter. So did the dwarves. Elves like me though never did. There was no point in that to be honest. Why hurt the animal's when the forest provided so much that we could eat of its own accord. Because of this, I had never tasted meat, and I planned on never doing so.
While I was away from the farm I knew that my family would be harvesting the crops, getting in what they could. I only planned on staying out her for three days at the most. I often came out here, I knew the places the berries grew locally.
My uncle, Ryfon had seen a great many things in his days and I knew that. He'd once been amongst the greatest people of our land, the Dragon Riders. But sadly, in a fight amongst a few of the Dragon Riders, his own dragon had been killed. He often told us tales of his dragon Vander, and always, there seemed to be a big purple stone sitting next to him when he did. I did not know what the stone was, but it was important to him, what ever it was.
My cousin enjoyed the tales, and often dreamed of being like her father. So did I. It must have been grand to be bonded to a dragon, but we could only speculate about it. The dragons were gone, all but one.
Aurae, the great purple dragon who was bonded to our king. King Zaos was once a good man, we all knew that. People still spread the word that he was, but only from the fear that if they did not, he would strike them down.
Secretly, we all knew that he had gone bad. The king did not care for those who lived in his lands, instead he was too interested in ensuring that no dragon ever rose with a rider to be like him. If one did, he had them eliminated immediately. So for some, though a dragon hatching for you was a good thing, it had turned to bad luck. No one knew why he was doing that.
The Dragon Riders of old had been really good leaders. A lot of people wanted to see them return to power, but never was it going to happen. We wanted to be free of the king so much. It was no secret that a group of elves, humans and dwarves were joining together in retaliation against him. Hiding themselves across the desert where he would not go after them.
It was a good idea hiding where he would not give chase to. As far as we knew as well, he was not interested in fighting them either. Though many of us were willing to fight with them against him. Everyone was eager to see him fall and someone else take his place as our ruler. Though to some, it was sad to see an elf go bad.
There was no chance that we would see him overthrown though, unless someone hatched a dragon and was able to get to the rebels before King Zaos found out about the dragon. This was something that was getting very difficult to do. He had guards on the look out for any one walking from one town to another. There were settlements though between here and the refugees though that he did not know about. Just getting to them was the hard thing.
The settlements were not on any maps, nor were people seen coming and going from them into the main towns. We would have to travel as a family if someone was chosen. One person alone could not do this by themselves. To try would be suicide. Of course, people would try and be of some help to who ever was trying to outrun the king and that was useful.
I sighed, thinking about the dragons. Imagine being the person who brought the new dragon to the rebels. They would be so pleased with whoever it was destined to be.
On I walked, I was getting very close to where the bushes were. It was easy to get to them, I knew the route so well now. Then as the sun was finally almost up in the sky, my gazed touched two big rocks that seemed out of place from their very colours. One was a shiny silver, the other looked like a huge lump of gold.
They looked very valuable, so I picked them up, first the silver one and then the gold. I was eager to show these to my family, they would be worth a pretty amount of money if we sold them at the market.
Putting them in my pack I hurried back the way I had come, careful not to jolt my pack too much. There was no way I could let them be damaged, else they would be worthless. Soon I exited the forest, to see my uncle out in the field, watching the cattle.
I ran the rest of the way, too eager to show him these strange stones. No point in walking when I had these things on me. They had to be valuable. I was sure of this. Else why would I have even noticed these?
He looked up as I came to a stop next to him. “What is it, Saida?”
“I found some thing while I was out in the forest. I don't know what exactly they are, but I think they might have some value to them,” I replied, putting my pack down on the ground.
“Show me then,” Uncle Ryfon said. He was eager to see exactly what I had brought home, he always was. It was rare that there was something I found on my way out to the berry bushes in the forest.
Then again, it seemed that I was always busy in the forest when I went in there. I walked inside with him. Tamara and Thaola were still asleep which was a surprise. I put my pack on the bench and opened it. Then I quickly lifted out the two stones. Once I had put them on the bench, Uncle Ryfon instantly had his attention on them.
“You found these in the woods?” he asked, sounding quite surprised.
“Yes, not far from the bushes I was originally heading to. Why are you so surprised?” I asked. What was the trouble? “Aren't they just two valuable stones?”
“No. They're dragon eggs, Saida. Though the fact they were in the forest, left for anyone or anything to find, puzzles me. These should never be abandoned like that in the woods or anywhere for that matter,” he replied. “Especially with the king hunting down all the eggs that are left in the world.”
My eyes widened. They were dragon eggs, and I had found them both. What my luck. But if this was true then it meant that if they hatched we would have to run for it as fast as we could. No doubt my uncle knew of ways to avoid Aurae and Zaos. He knew so much about our world.
“It will get interesting if these hatch.” Just then,Thaola entered the room.
“What are they?” she asked, looking at the two eggs in obvious longing.
“Dragon eggs, Thaola,” Ryfon replied. “Saida found them and brought them straight to me. Which was the right thing to do. I know how to look after these.”
“Do you think they will hatch?” I asked.
“Depends on whether or not their Riders are present. Seeing as you touched both of them to get them here safely, Thaola, why don't you touch them?”
Thaola nodded and touched both of them tentatively. She was more nervous than I had been. Yet this was her dream to have a chance to be like her father. “How long do we have to wait?” she asked.
I looked at my uncle as well. I was interested in hearing just how long we would have to wait. At least he knew everything there was to this sort of thing. A rider in the family was obviously the best thing that could possibly happen for us.
“Two days maximum. If not hatched by then, well, neither of you were destined for them and I guess we take the unhatched egg or eggs to the rebels.”
I could see from Thaola's face that she had no intention of letting that happen. Niether of us wanted to give the eggs away. Then again, I had found them. We should sell them at the market. No one would know what they were.
“Can you tell me anything about my parents?” I asked. I really wanted to know what my mother and father were like. I had never heard much of them.
My uncle looked at me. “Of course I can, you're old enough now to know more about them.” He smiled. “You know that your mother, Talila, was my sister and that you're her daughter.” He paused to think a little bit more. “What is not known by many alive now is that her husband, Onvyr, was a Rider, like me. Sadly his dragon, Sheedra, was killed at the same time as him. There is not a day that goes by when I do not miss your father. He was a good friend to me. Talila died of a broken heart when she heard of his death.”
I groaned. My family was dead. All except my mother's brother and his family. They were the ones who cared for me now, and had raised me since I was three years old. The loss of them was, truth be told, a shock that I never saw coming. Both died because of the wretched king we had now.
He looked at the ground. “You two always wondered what this was, did you not?” He reached up onto the shelf above me and picked up the purple stone that was such a common sight when he told us stories. We nodded. “This is all that is left of Vander. He lives inside this.”
We both looked at him in disbelief. How was it possible for such a huge creature to live inside there? That would be the impossble.