"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
03-26-2020, 08:05 PM (This post was last modified: 03-26-2020, 08:08 PM by Dracarys.)
DRACARYS
I have never been nothing. I am the blood of a dragon.
The nausea swirled without restrain in her stomach. Her head swarm with feelings of melancholy, the double-edge sword of regret piercing her every thought. Every bone, muscle, and organ in her body felt heavy. Her lungs felt stiff as they took in the air, her heart struggled to keep a steady beat, and her vision became blurry. The uncertainty hung over her like a black cloud, her personal rain cloud as she flew all the way home.
Regret washed over her like the long slow waves on a beach. Each wave was icy cold and sent shivers down her spine. How she longed to go back and do something instead of looking the other way, as if she had not witnessed her grandfather’s madness.
There was no turning back now.
No way to make it right.
Dracarys knew this moment would eat at her every day of her life. She envied the emotionless, the heartless monsters, unable to feel the torments of life in this very moment. Perhaps it was easier to be lifeless as all monsters were.
The first warm colored rays of the sunrise kissed the still dust rocky hills on the horizon. The soft rays, the same ones she woke up every morning to see, to witness their love and care, did not bring her the same feeling. The new day only solidify the reality of what she had witnessed. In the dark there had only been the smell of fire and the destruction, but under the radiating glow of the sun there was no hiding what had already been done.
For a moment, the dragon mare wished that it would sink back down below the horizon. She wished in her heart that there might have been more time, more time to change what had happened, but she knew she couldn’t argue with the sun. A new day had come, and she knew she had to face it head on despite it all.
Descending from the pastel colored sky, her body sliced through the morning clouds. With natural grace, she landed in the center of the hilly terrain near the ever-sparkling fresh water spring, and folded her dragon wings at her side. Her silver-blue eyes glanced around, a sparkle of sadness and determination filled them. More than ever, she wanted answers to what had happened on the frozen island.
@[Lepis] or anyone else that feels like dealing with Dracarys right now haha
The path ahead of her is littered with obstacles. Some are simple things, dealt with by simply allowing enough time to pass. Others are more difficult: her people being held by Pangea, the potential blowback of Castile’s actions in the north, the difficulty of restoring to Loess the might and glory that has been allowed to fall away. These issues rank in importance, and the dun monarch means to address them in a set order.
That order is disrupted by the sight of a familiar blue figure. Not a detrimental disruption though; if anything Lepis feels a faint flutter of relief when she recognizes. The woman had been on Icicle Isle at Lepis’ request, seeing how the isolated place faired in the absence of their leader (and if it faired at all). When she had not returned by the time that Castile had flown north, the pegasus had worried for her safety. Yet she stands now in the heart of Loess, looking unharmed.
Unharmed, but unhappy, Lepis sees as she draws closer. What had happened in the North? When Castile had returned the day before, arriving at the kingdom meeting smelling of ash and fire she had not demanded answers of him. There were priorities that came before inquiring into the activities of the dragon, such as insuring that the Loessian lady is safe despite her capture. That responsibility is the cause of the weariness that lines Lepis’ golden face; she had not gotten much sleep this night after returning late from Pangea.
"Dracarys," she says by way of greeting when near enough the spotted roan. "I’m glad to see you’ve returned."
03-31-2020, 07:15 PM (This post was last modified: 03-31-2020, 07:23 PM by Dracarys.)
DRACARYS
I have never been nothing. I am the blood of a dragon.
A burning rage hissed inside of her like a deathly poison. Screeching, demanding to be released in the form of violence. It was like a volcano erupting inside of her; fury sweeping off her like ferocious waves. The wrath consumed her, engulfing every principle she ever held and destroying the boundaries of loyalties she built.
Dracarys holds herself together though, as much as she can hold off the volcano erupting inside of her. Her expression is stoic, but the sadness and determination in her bright silver-blue eyes only turn to rage as they scan the alpine horizon. Shadows consume her thoughts, tangling everything that would seem sensible to explain what she had witnessed, but she can only focus on the horror and the madness.
It isn’t until she spots the familiar winged perlino dun mare that she finds herself reeling back into reality. Her expression changes to anger, wearing a hard scowl on her dark blue lips. Lepis must know, she decides.
“Your grandfather desires a bit of chaos,” she remembers Lepis telling her now. Dracarys had been eager to hear, eager to finally step up and make something of herself in Loess. His goals he wanted to achieve only seemed ordinary—to expand Loess. But the events she just witnessed changed everything. If this was the way her grandfather wanted to expand Loess, then she would make damn well sure her opinion was heard.
When the winged mare greets her and states she is happy she has returned Dracarys only scoffs at her. The blue dragon mare dismisses all antics of pleasantry. Such things were such a waste right now when rage filled every bit of her.
“Am I supposed to count myself lucky after my grandfather destroyed someone else’s home?” She spits out without care. “Are these his grand plans for expanding Loess? Destroying lives and tearing families apart? Is this the chaos he desires?” The same chaos that had destroyed another home. She could not forget about the Loess and Tephra war her father told her about. Every detail of it comes back—she is ashamed for being a dragon again and calling herself the granddaughter of Castile. “He couldn’t help himself again after Tephra, could he?” She blurts out not holding her raging thoughts anymore. “Are we just tyrants now?”
She can tell the moment Dracarys sees her, the moment that the searching look in the blue mare fades. The emotion that replaces it is unexpected, and Lepis does not disguise the brief flicker of her ears in uncertainty. There is no need to hide her perplexion, not from a fellow Loessian that she does not have reason to doubt. Still, Lepis does not return the hard scowl or anger that she sees flashing in Dracarys eye. Instead, when her ears flick back forward, there is nothing but a narrowing of her eyes and a puzzled purse of her lips.
Something had clearly happened, but what? Castile had returned smelling of smoke and fire, but alone that was not uncommon for a dragon. His delay in returning had been all the prompt she had needed following her conversation with a certain white mare. Seizing control of the kingdom was necessary; a place floundered when leaderless. Floundered more than they could have handled, the dun mare knows, especially in their already weakened state. She’d done what was needed, and had hoped that Dracarys would have news of what had happened in the far north when she returned.
Dracarys scoffs at Lepis’ gladness of her safety. Lepis does not reply. Instead, she waits, for she is certain there is much more the younger mare has to say. Lepis is correct, of course, and the blue shares a tale that finally wipes the mild confusion from Lepis’ face.
"He…what?" she begins, and then cuts herself off. "No, no. Of course he did." She mutters softly, profanity barely audible, and then shakes her head as Dracarys asks her fourth question. It’s not one that Lepis can answer – what the dragon king can and cannot control are not known to her. Are we just tyrants now, Dracarys asks, and Lepis shakes her head more firmly.
"Certainly not." She answers the younger woman. While she is more greatful than ever now for the quick actions she had taken following the piebald’s leave-taking (at least Loess is not responsible for the actions of a man that was not their king) that does nothing to mitigate the damage that was done. "Your grandfather was trapped as a dragon by the fairies," she tells the blue mare, but her tone is not one of apology or excuses. This is simply the truth as she knows it. "I can’t claim to know what it is like to be such a creature, but he had become progressively more unstable in the last few months. So much so that when he left, I assumed the worst."
Assumed that he would not return, she thinks, but at least if he’d had the courtesty to die in whatever fire he’d created Lepis would not be in this predicament. No, she thinks. No, she does not really want him dead. She wants the past to not have happened, but that is as fool a wish as it has always been.
"He said nothing of what happened when he returned yesterday." She continues, and though her grey eyes narrow it is in thought rather than consternation toward Dracarys. "What land did he set afire?" She asks. "Were there lives lost, do you know? Was anyone hurt?"
I have never been nothing. I am the blood of a dragon.
She dismissed the narrow of the other mare’s eyes and the puzzled expression that her lips curved into. Dracarys can only feel her rage boiling, waves of hot lava pushing against her insides, bursting with frustration with every passing minute. It is a charade, she decides without second thought. Certainly, Lepis had known all long what her monster-grandfather was capable of. He was the monster her father had warned her about.
Dracarys forgets, in this moment, he was the key to opening her future after her father’s failed attempt to take the Loessian crown too. Even though she is the daughter of his enemy, her grandfather valued family deeply, and that perhaps is why she feels so much anger. If family had meant anything to her grandfather, then why did he do what he did?
The blue mare shakes her head after her fourth question. Her silver eyes focus back onto Lepis, trying to make sense of everything. The confusion is wiped away from the other winged mare’s lips. Her reaction only seems surprised, as if she had not known about anything that she had just witnessed. Maybe she didn’t… Dracarys decides.
Maybe there was something she was missing.
Lepis replies to her last question, saying they are not tyrants, but she cannot help but feel like that is what her home is right now. When Lepis mentions her grandfather was trapped in his dragon form, her ears flicker forward, the firm scowl on her lips turns into a frown. Trapped? How? Dracarys had knew about the fairies on the Mountain—she knew they could be fickle, but she doesn’t see them one to play tricks, only to teach a lesson. What lesson did her grandfather need to learn?
“I see,” she finally says after a moment of silence, contemplating what she had just heard. There was no apology or excuses in Lepis voice. Dracarys doesn’t doubt the words she hears from her either. It was the curse of being a dragon, just as it was the curse of being a hellhound. Was she doomed to be a monster like them? Dracarys had wanted nothing more than to be a dragon—something that was strong, but she mustn’t forget what she learned on the Mountain that day she became something close to a dragon.
Dragons were not creatures of destruction only.
They could be protectors too.
Her silver eyes disappear with all traces of anger and sadness, only a look of understanding and determination can be seen. Dracarys knows there is no excuse for her grandfather’s actions. Hearing Lepis next words, she knows this to be even more true. “He doesn’t care for what he did then,” she says in reply. “I know my grandfather is ambitious. He desires great things for his kingdom, even before that I knew what kind of a person like that can do. My father was the same way. His ambitions became selfish in the end and destroyed everything I ever loved.” Her father had taken her home and ripped her family apart. She knows in her heart this could happen again, and she will not stand to see it happen again—not as long as she calls Loess her home.
“If he is to remain a dragon, he will destroy everything.” Dracarys says firmly, staring into Lepis grey narrowing eyes. “He will become more unpredictable, dangerous and wild the longer he is within his dragon form. How can we trust my grandfather to lead us if he is like this?” She did not want to see another home of hers taken away, didn’t want to bear the pain that it came with it all before again. Dracarys wanted to protect her home, but she also wanted her grandfather to be safe. “What can we do to help him?” She asks softly because it isn’t like her to show her sensitive side to others—it was a weakness—but her grandfather was only one of the few left in her family.
“It was Icicle Isle,” she replies as she tries to push through the bits of anger and madness that remain within her. “I don’t know if anyone died or if any were hurt either.” Dracarys admits to herself now she had fled like a coward all the way back to her home. “I saw others fighting my grandfather, some fleeing over a bridge that someone made to help them escape, and then others staying to protect and save their Isle from any further damage.” Falling silent, Dracarys wonders what will happen now. Should they expect a war coming any day now?
There is fire in the dragon blood, Lepis knows, running deeper in them than just the flames that a handful of them exhale. The dun mare has not missed the signs of that in the blue creature in front of her. They are quick to emote, as swift to rage as to mourn, and but Dracarys has a solid grip on herself, one that Lepis with her specialized magics is easily able to identify and admire. The roan had been furious – and rightfully so – but she does not allow that fury to cloud her actions past the point of logic. Instead, she pulls it back, wrapping it in determination that shines in her silver-blue eyes just as brightly as the anger had.
If it would not have been terribly out of place, Lepis might have smiled. She likes the blue mare, and admires her restraint.
He dopesn’t care for what he did then, Dracarys muses aloud, and though Lepis does not argue that aloud she does purse her lips and tilt her head slightly to the left, a sign that she does not agree entirely. His actions certainly suggest that he does not care, but the dun pegauss cannot bring herself to believe that he doesn’t care at all. Simple that he didn’t care enough – or at least didn’t have enough control to care. It would be easier to blame him and let that be the end of it, but Lepis knows the man too well. Dracarys speaks of the downfalls of ambition to Lepis, an ambitous creature herself. Well, she thinks with a small shake of her head, at least she’s never set anything on fire.
"I don’t know how to help him," she admits. "But I have already done what I must to protect Loess, and took charge when he left. Left to burn the Icicle Isle, it seems." Her tone is almost wry, and would be so if Dracarys were able to be more certain about the outcome of the Isle. The residents had fought to save their home, it sounds like, though Lepis is surprised there were residents at all. She had released Jesper, their leader, less than a half-day earlier. He can’t have made it back to the Isle in that time, even running full speed.
Somehow she doubts the black stallion will feel grateful for the fact that his captivity might have saved him from being burnt alive. She can’t really blame him, though. It is only logical that Dracarys’ mind turns to ware and retribution. Given what she knows of the world, it is only expected that retaliation will soon follow. Lepis’ mind is elsewhere though, both because she doubts the Isle capable of war so soon after an attack, as well as doubts the likelihood of the north to give it to them. Still, better to act than react, and she is already nodding by the time Dracarys asks what will happen next.
"I will speak to Castile. In the meantime, we should send an emissary to Icicle Isle. Not to apologize – as Castile acted alone and this is no fault of ours – but to see how they fare, and to offer aid if they need it. Perhaps I should go myself." She muses this aloud, but does not verbalize the possibility of Dracarys coming with her. The woman has clearly been disturbed by what she witnessed, and Lepis would not ask this of her. If she volunteers though, that might be another matter.
"You are distressed." Lepis says, and though it seems at first abrupt, there is a stillness in her blue-grey gaze when she meets the other’s eyes directly. "And understandably so. I could help you with that, for a while at least. Give you time to process your emotions?" It is not often that Lepis offers to help others with her skills. She prefers to keep the knowledge of its existence at all to a minimum, but there are always exceptions. But perhaps allowing a fellow Loessian a brief time to regather her thoughts without also battling her emotions is enough of a reason to make one.
04-16-2020, 04:58 PM (This post was last modified: 04-17-2020, 12:11 PM by Dracarys.)
DRACARYS
I have never been nothing. I am the blood of a dragon.
She knows she shouldn’t be surprised by the dun mare’s words. The feeling had been in her gut the second after she asked the question. There was no certainty in what could possibly help her dragon grandfather. It wasn’t until now that Dracarys fully understood what it meant when her parents instilled into her that her dragon heritage was powerful. There was uncertainty when it came to their actions and fear when it came to their emotions.
Her dragon blood could make her reckless, an emotional hurricane ready to tear anything in her path apart. One simple thought, one simple decision, could change it all. She could destroy anything—like her grandfather. It only made more sense now why her hellhound father had been so determined to teach her, to make sure she understood why, self-discipline was important. Her restraint was important for situations like these, to be able to think with a clear head and make decisions that were necessary.
The blue roan mare peers at Lepis with a curious gleam in her eye. It already seemed apparent that Lepis knew the danger that would come if her grandfather remained their leader in his current state. Loess could potentially lose control and there could be chaos. She is surprised that her grandfather let go of his position so easily, but she does not doubt the skill that Lepis has to persuade others. Even Dracarys had felt the power that the dun mare had when first meeting her.
“Loess is in good hands then,” she says as a soft smirk curls on her blue stained lips.
Dracarys doesn’t think twice about the change of leadership. It only made sense to make such a vast change considering the recent events. Lepis taking over was still beneficially to her, and she would not dare speak against that. Despite the tragedy that she witnessed within the North, Dracarys cannot help but feel hopeful for her own future. It simply was an obstacle in her pathway, a circumstance she knows she must reflect and learn from.
The other mare mentions speaking to her grandfather. It was necessary to happen for Lepis to fully understand the situation that took place on the frozen island. Perhaps it was something Dracarys should do herself too, but that might be better later. Even with clearing her own head, she could still feel her bitterness boiling underneath her. Although, it was unlikely to come out again, there was no denying the dragon’s wrath that flowed through her.
Lepis then decides sending an emissary or going herself to Icicle Isle would be ideal. The dragon mare couldn’t agree more. It would be wise political move to make in order to flatten any rumors that it was an act directly from Loess.
Her gaze flickers away for a moment, towards the northern horizon. The thought of accompanying Lepis on the diplomatic visit crossed her mind now. Dracarys knew well enough that one day she would need to return to the frozen island and see the outcome herself. It seemed sensible to delay the visit and allow herself some time to heal, but Dracarys knew herself well enough that she could not wait. She needed to rid herself of distractions that would come if she did not face her uncertainty sooner, understand more of her dragon blood, and learn from what had happen.
Waiting was out of the question.
Her gaze flickers back to Lepis when she speaks again, meeting her gaze directly. Dracarys is intrigued by the hidden skill Lepis offers her, but she knows laying low to dwell on her thoughts and within her emotions will not help her one bit. “I would like to accompany you if you are to go,” she says firmly but with a tone of respect. “It will not be beneficially for me to stay here if I cannot see the aftermath of it all.” Dracarys needed closure—she needed to be able to turn the page and end the chapter of this story. She didn’t want to find herself drifting back to the past. Moving forward is all that she could do now. “I would like to accept your help.” A clear head is what Dracarys needed most now, her emotions were knotted together, and her mind battling against her heart.
Though Lepis has never doubted it to be true, she does smile at Dracarys’ acknowledgment that Loess is in good hands. It has been years since Lepis last held the title of Queen, but it fits as well as it always had. Better, perhaps. As a child it had always seemed slightly too large, like a girl playing. The second time, and the third, she bore it only by merit of her husbands. This time, though? This time it is hers alone.
Despite the somberness of their discussion, the smile remains.
She is quiet while the mare in front of her thinks. Lepis is in no rush, and the things they discuss are not to be hastily considered. When Dracarys finally speaks, Lepis suspects from the firmness of her tone and the mare’s posture what her decision will be before the words themselves emerge. "Yes," she agrees with a nod, "I would like to have you with me." Lepis has done her own thinking as the other took her time, and plans to visit Nerine. Nerine, and then the Isle, she thinks, taking Dracarys along on that second trip.
The other accepts Lepis’ offer, and Lepis nods a second time.
She takes a step back, and her head tilts just slightly to the side, causing a dark lock of navy hair to fall across her line of vision. She does not need to see to do this. This is something she’s known since childhood, though the amplification of it is a newer thing.
The dun mare projects calm at first, a gentle trickle that she waits to see make a mark in the younger pegasus before she adds to it. Peace follows it, the emotion stronger than the calm that came before. It is deeper too, her magic stretching beyond the emotion, sinking farther and soothing the peacelessness of a rapid heartrate, racing mind, and uneven breathing. Hours of meditation might bring this sort of peace, yet Lepis shares it in the space of a few breaths. She’s never done it on purpose before; its only broken out during her usual projections. She has accepted that this is the gift of the pied magician though, and knows that using it is the only way to earn it.
"How’s that?" she asks the frosted mare, shaking away the wayward bit of mane from her blue-grey eyes. "Feel a little better?"
04-18-2020, 05:42 PM (This post was last modified: 04-20-2020, 02:25 PM by Dracarys.)
DRACARYS
I have never been nothing. I am the blood of a dragon.
Her lips curl into a soft smile when she hears the dun mare’s reply. She gives the other mare a nod. It was reassuring knowing that Lepis wanted her to also come along on the emissary visit to the frozen island. Dracarys wasn’t certain what the visit would truly entail. She can only think about the reactions that Leilan and Jesla might give when they both arrive on the Isle. However, Dracarys will ensure to make sure it becomes a positive one for herself if she must.
When Lepis is ready to go, Dracarys would be ready for whatever came.
Dracarys remains still, keeping her silver-blue eyes carefully on the other mare. The blue roan didn’t know what to expect from the skill that Lepis offered her. It crossed her mind that it might hurt, but she dismissed the idea away. Perhaps it was something more pleasant, something that would make her feel more at peace within the war that raged inside of her.
The feeling of calm comes first. It is a gentle tickle against her skin, a soothing caress that she can only describe as a hug from her mother when she was a filly. Her lips curl into a soft smile, allowing the calm feeling to fill her. Dracarys doesn’t fight against the sensation that takes over her entire body as it slowly flows through her.
Then comes another feeling. A sense of peace, a feeling of wholeness. This feeling is stronger than the first one. It is more intense than she thought. Dracarys had felt this peace at one time. When her world had been whole. When her family had been together. When she had called Sylva her home. When everything had been right. She feels it stretch beyond where the feeling of calm could not go. It flows beyond the physical mind and heart, but deep within her soul.
She feels her rapid heartbeat slow down. Her racing thoughts stop suddenly. The air around her feels clean like she can finally breathe again. Her body relaxes instantly. Dracarys lets a soft breath escape her lips, letting the last bits of her anger leave her entire being. Her silver eyes, filled with peace and certainty, blink and then focus back onto Lepis.
Lepis asks her if she feels better, and Dracarys cannot hold back the grin that grows on her face. “I feel much better,” the dragon mare replies. It was much better than that though. She couldn’t help but wonder more about Lepis’ hidden skill, the magical power it might have, but she doesn’t push to ask such questions now. Her curiosity was for another time. “Thank you, Lepis. I appreciate your help very much.” Because without it, Dracarys wasn’t sure how much she could hold back her emotions even if she held them tightly before Lepis aided her.
@[Lepis]
I figure we can just end here and continue with the diplomat visits now!
![[Image: YJta8td.png]](https://i.imgur.com/YJta8td.png)
