Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Exotic Solos =&gt; Topic started by: graverunner on 22-08-2015, 19:57:53</h2>
		<dl id="posts">
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>graverunner</strong> on <strong>22-08-2015, 19:57:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				“This plan is liable to get you killed,” his former mentor would have warned him, “mortally wounded, limbs gruesomely removed or burnt to a tidy crisp.”<br><br>His former mentor would also have added in a beat later with a knife-sharp smile,<br><br>“It's <em>brilliant</em>. Try to make it back in one piece, hm?”<br><br>It was how Marcel (http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e70/graverunner/Izumi.no.Kami.Kanesada.full.1866684_zpsknavbin9.jpg) Harrowgate (http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e70/graverunner/Touken.Ranbu.full.1889509_zps06ucde49.jpg) proceeded with all of his capers. Of course, he considered other aspects as well ranging from how expensive and/or shiny his current object of interest was to how many people could he possibly piss off with his latest steal, but the one that always carried the most importance with him was,<br><br>“What would Madame Jacquin have thought?”<br><br>The more dangerous, the likelier it was that the plan would have received approval.<br><br>Marcel strode about the mess that was his room, piled as it was with any number of items that his fingers had snatched, stolen and spirited away in varying degrees, only adding more to the mess as he shed his clothes in order to replace it with what was needed.<br><br><em>"O, but nay sir dragon, what ever could I hope to offer, said she<br>"My sweet pretty maid, have no worry, it's a fair trade you see<br>"I'll give you a jade and even some jasper, if only you'd lie with me,"</em><br><br>he hummed under his breath, a dirty ditty that had been the perversion of a local more sedate fable, ending off with the last few verses just as he placed the finishing touch to his costume --- the black mask that was the trademark of the <em>fantome</em>.<br><br>While some of his predecessors had gone with more flamboyant clothing choices, Marcel had stuck with black for his costume just as his mentor did. Boring, yes, but always a flattering choice against his pale skin. Marcel hoisted up the window, peering out into the landscape of rooftops, arches and gables before him ready to be traversed. Far below on the streets, the sounds of revelry and merry-making drifted up.<br><br>"And off into the dark night we go," he muttered to himself, a line from a play that was recently gaining popularity. <br><br>His form, a mere slip of a shadow, teetered on the ledge for a moment before it leapt down onto the overhang of a nearby roof and disappeared into the surrounding darkness.<br><br><br>+++<br><br><br>Trevalion Covert, that sprawling institution which housed the famed riders, their dragons, trainers, handlers and any other number of people needed to keep such a huge place running efficiently, was only ever open to the general public three times a year:<br><br>During the summer solstice, spring and yuletide festivals.<br><br>Luckily for him, the first happened to be underway right now and all around him were people too busy engaging in feasting and merrymaking to pay much attention to a lone thief slipping his way ever closer to the inner chambers of the covert. Doors and gateways sighed and parted way for him easily as he coaxed them to open to him, eyes that happened to chance across the brief, shadowed flicker of his form only sliding past like water, and Marcel found himself steadily gaining deeper and deeper into the heart of the covert.<br><br>When a faint tinge of brimstone in the air finally hit his nose, he knew he was in the dragon’s quarters.&nbsp; He dared himself to go ahead as far as he could before he eventually slipped into one of the rooms. It looked like any other room that would accommodate a living person, save for its sparseness and the mouth of a cavern that gaped at the very end of the chamber, a cold, whistling air emanating from it.<br><br>It branched off then into a twisting, complex path that went on forever. At least , it seemed that way to Marcel, who had been walking for a while now and still not the smallest glimpse of anything of value to greet him. He was beginning to think that he was mistaken (dragons and gold, bah, mere stories after all) only to step through the turn of an arch and find that the stories had been true after all.<br><br>It was like an illustrated scene out of the picture books he had coveted when he was younger; gold and precious jewels and a mish-mash of other shiny objects peeking through (the jade-encrusted hilt of a sword, the gold-edged curve of a shield) stretched out as far as the eyes could see.<br><br>"My god," Marcel breathed out, brushing his hands reverently across the precious metal piled up around him as he strolled past. He stopped in his tracks when his fingers snagged on something. A fine silvered chainlink. Pulling on it gently, what looked like a ruby&nbsp; fashioned into stylised narrow wings swung before his eyes.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Theta Sigma</strong> on <strong>22-08-2015, 21:59:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Celebrations used to be a happy, wonderful time. In a time long ago, which probably wasn't <em>that</em> long ago (time passed very, very slowly when you spent it alone), they were things that were looked forward to. Enjoyed. Bustling crowds, food aplenty, stories and companionship and good old songs. Tales of old. New tales that would become tales of old.<br>He'd been around for plenty of those to happen.<br>Stories of riders and their beasts reaching the stars, complete fabrications but believed to be legend. It was funny how stories changed with time, with different storytellers adding their own influence.<br><br>Celebrations now were not happy times. Nor were they wonderful. They served to only anger him. It was hard to block out the echoing laughter, the music and merriment. <br>Nobody minds that he is rarely in the public view during these events. It was probably a good thing, he was volatile. Incredibly so, being prone to outbursts both with and without provocation. Neither dragons nor riders, or even patrons were safe. His size and stature made him a fearsome foe. He was double the size of a regular dragon, with a colossal wingspan to boot. Nothing nor nobody could control him, and so they left him to wander as he wished, so long as it was out of view.<br>It suited the pair of them fine.<br><br>Marcel's little intrusion had not gone unnoticed. Xalanth (http://i.imgur.com/pTqVw9P.jpg) could smell him. His stench was easily noticeable. It was not recognisable, nor was he linked to anything in the vicinity. Not that bonds were easy to tell between beast and rider, but he could pick it up... <br>Maybe he was a little bitter about that bond, these days.<br>(Maybe? Almost <em>certainly)</em><br>Even so, a stranger was in his domain. A stranger was in his domain with intent to look through the hoard he was protecting, the one thing he was useful for these days. Xalanth stayed firmly still in the belly of his domain, a plan forming in his mind. It had been a while since he had played any games, and this was a good way to to distract his mind from the blur of outside. Let the stranger think he was safe for a little while... Let him think he was going to get away with this...<br><br>And then <em>bite.</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>graverunner</strong> on <strong>23-08-2015, 09:50:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It was the sort of mistake a fumbling, clumsy, wet-behind-the-ears beginner would have made.&nbsp; Never, <em>ever</em> make assumptions. His mentor would have said that what happened next was entirely his own fault. It was not that he wasn't on his guard. He still kept himself within running distance of the entrance, eyes and ears primed for the slightest hint of any sound or movement. Dragons were huge creatures, anyone could attest to that. No matter how quietly or sneakily they could move, Marcel was sure it would be near impossible to miss one should they finally be alerted to him. <br><br>What he forgot, however, was that dragons were also <em>very</em> patient creatures when they wanted to be. Settlements and cities could come and go, civilisations crashing down only to rebuild themselves again, and all of these could pass by in the mere blink of an eye to them. Time meant nothing to one who could live ages upon ages. This meant that they could lie still, undetected from any sort of prying eyes, for a long, long time if they wanted to. There were stories of dragons in the wild who had lain down so long in the distant towering hills and mountains that they were almost one with the surroundings.<br><br>Now, with no sign of any discernible danger and one expensive trinket after another blinking and winking seductively at him, Marcel found himself unsuspectingly drawn a <em>little</em> deeper into the cavern than he had initially planned to. In his defense, it was hard not to be. He was a thief and a hoarder at heart; it was in his nature to be distracted by precious objects of worth.<br><br>When the dragon finally struck, it was only instinct honed by years of exprience along with a good heaping measure of luck that allowed Marcel to escape with his head and limbs still intact. He was running his hands along an elaborately scrolled wooden clock half sticking out of a pile, the object drawing his attention due to the curious symbols drawn onto its face rather than the usual numbers. There was a slight shift of air around him then, followed by a prickling all along the back of his neck and Marcel had flung himself to the side before he could even half fathom what was going on.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Theta Sigma</strong> on <strong>23-08-2015, 20:31:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Still and silent, but with his bright, glowing eyes watching the would be thief slip further into domain, Xalanth stood his ground. He waited, watching for the right moment. It had been a long, <em>long</em> time since he had staked anybody out, but it was a dragon's prerogative to do so. It made them exceptional hunters and spies.<br>He waited until the little thief was preoccupied, and then he moved. it was instantaneous, and more of a lunge than anything else<br><br>From his viewpoint in the shadows, he moved swiftly between the man and the doorway, knocking treasures as he moved into the path of the hoard, sending them tumbling down the built up piles. He raised himself to full height, giving the man a good look at just <em>what</em> he had decided to prey upon. The following snarl of anger echoed around the chambers, and he swung his head around, watching his pitiful attempt at getting out of the way.<br>It was a little too late for that.<br><br>Psychosis shone through the glowing luminous green eyes as he stared hard at the little thief. Perhaps there would be cause to celebrate, after all.<br>'You're hardly a banquet, but you'll do for a snack, I suppose.' His voice rumbled, the inners of his mouth also that curious green colour. <br>'<em>Thief.'</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>graverunner</strong> on <strong>24-08-2015, 21:45:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He had gotten into a few tight scrapes during some of his capers, but Marcel had to admit that having a dragon block his only path of escape was a situation that <em>might</em> be a little harder to get out of than he'd anticipated. He backed away slowly, muscles still coiled tight in a posture that could easily spring into a run at the slightest fanged lunge, eyes desperately darting round every corner of the subterrenean cavern for a way past the scaled body that was now radiating a keen intent to kill.<br><br>He’d caught a glimpse of a few flying through the sky, mostly when they were being sent out to fight against the ongoing skirmish in the northern borders, but this dragon was <em>nothing</em> like the ones Marcel had seen before. This one, with its skeletal-like crest and dark cruelly curved barbs all up and down the length of its body, looked like it was plucked straight out of the old stories. Not the ones that they liked to spread now. Of dragons and riders working in tandem to stave off their barbaric enemies in tales inevitably concluding in glorious victory. No, this one looked like one of the ancient ones, the type that razed cities to the ground and toppled buildings and battlements over with a mere flick of the tail.<br><br>“I was merely admiring your—“ He felt his tongue click against his suddenly-dry throat and he gulped, trying to keep his voice even while the one necklace and ring that he’d pocketed sat heavy within the folds of his clothing,&nbsp; “—your varied and extensive collection.&nbsp; And may I say that you certainly have a fine eye for detail.”<br><br>“I only wanted a look. Nothing more,” he continued, injecting a false cheer into his voice that he did not quite feel. “I would have to advise you against eating me though. Too much skin and bones on me, really. I’d hardly make do even for a snack. I’m sure someone as illustrious as yourself would rather avoid any indigestion problems.”
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Theta Sigma</strong> on <strong>25-08-2015, 17:17:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The compliment didn't distract him. Nobody sneaked into a dragon's hoard for a mere look of admiration at what they had. No. He had come in here with the intention to steal.<br>Xalanth snorted, wisps of green smoke floating up from his nostrils, showing the thief just what he thought of his pathetic and fumbled excuses.<br><br>'You must think of me as a fool to believe such rubbish. Nor do I need you telling me how bad you are for a snack. I've eaten much smaller things than you, likely with far more bones. <em>I'm</em> telling <em>you</em> that you'd do for a snack, not the other way around.'<br>The dragon brought himself closer to the thief, and he lowered his head towards him as he stretched his wings out, a move of nothing more than intimidation to make the poor man aware of his size.<br>'You've ruined my peace and quiet, even more so than the noise outside. Nothing is in your favour, thief. Turn out your pockets. Perhaps you may surprise me, but I'm not holding my breath. You're all the same. Nothing but liars, cheats and thieves.'<br><br>He was bitter, and that fact was unable to be hidden. Each human he saw was another painful reminder of the hollow feeling in his chest, another reminder that he was alone in the universe. He had no patience for these things, which was why he lived alone and avoided even his own kind.<br>This thief had come at the worst time, as he found the celebrations a struggle to get through. Where once he had thoroughly enjoyed taking part, they were nothing more than another painful reminder that his rider was long since deceased.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>graverunner</strong> on <strong>26-08-2015, 08:38:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Marcel found himself taking a few hasty steps back unbidden when the dragon unfurled the full length of his wings, just that slight movement enough to produce a small gust of wind that ruffled his hair and clothes. As he stared at the teeth glimpsed through the strange green smoke that huffed out from time to time as the dragon spoke, Marcel knew, just <em>knew</em> with a bone-deep certainty that the moment he showed what was in his pockets, he would be as good as dead.<br><br>There had--- there had been rumours. Whispers of a once-legendary dragon that had wasted away, turned uncontrollable, ruthless, mad and hidden out of sight upon the death of his rider in the sprawling labyrinthine caverns that lay beneath the Trevalion Covert. No one knew the truth of course, but standing here before the dragon with a front-seat view of the rather less-than-sane gleam in his eyes, Marcel suspected that the rumours had not been too far off the mark. <br><br>A bonded dragon could still be reasoned with, perhaps, if they did not want to draw the ire of their rider by killing off a human. There was no such thing, however, to hold this one back and Marcel’s mind desperately scrabbled for some sort of way to avoid his rapidly approaching fate as a subpar meal. Somehow, he latched on to the words the dragon had said: <em>Perhaps you may surprise me</em>. The dragons in the stories that he had heard or read were only ever interested in gold or maidens. This one already had the former in abundance and the latter was likely nothing more than a fanciful embellishment. There had to be a third thing, it always came in threes, something else that---<br><br>“Riddle!” he blurted out, paused to draw in a shaky breath, and tried again in a steadier tone of voice. “A riddle. I am sure a short riddling contest could provide you with an amusing diversion that must be lacking all these long years in this cave of yours.” He put on a charming smile here for good measure.&nbsp; “What say you? Game ends in a loss for the first riddler not able to answer. If I win, I get safe passage out of this place with all my limbs intact, and if not… Well, my life is forfeit then.”
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Theta Sigma</strong> on <strong>27-08-2015, 23:34:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The tactic of intimidation worked as the thief stepped backwards. The fear on his face was delightful. It was entertaining for him. <br>He started to approach the thief with slow and gentle steps, getting ever closer to the poor man. But he stopped dead in his tracks at the suggestion of the thief.<br><br>A riddle. Or riddle, as he had so aptly put it.<br><br>Xalanth lingered, letting his words repeat on him. Somebody, once, a long time ago had suggested exactly the same thing. Not so much with the threat of being eaten, but it had still been a dangerous situation for the poor man.<br>That very same man had gone on to be the very reason he was currently here today, living under the Covert.<br>He tilted his head slowly, and the words that followed came with a stark and clear warning. He was not messing around.<br>'I will take great pleasure in eating you when you fail. You do not know what you are getting into, young fool. You may go first. I'd like to give you at least one attempt to try and fool me before you end up as my evening snack.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>graverunner</strong> on <strong>30-08-2015, 10:05:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Marcel took in yet another deep breath, tried not to let the whole… <em>dragon</em>-ness of the dragon before him distract him and turned his mind to the matter of riddling at hand. He knew a fair number, as any would growing up since riddling contests were a constant in any Fair Day. While he had to admit that most of his Fair Days had been spent more with his attention turned towards relieving the goers of their money, he didn’t think it likely that there could be any tossed among the competitors that could stump a dragon.&nbsp; The various twists and turns of the riddle structure would be nothing but a well-trodden path for one so long-lived. No, what he had to do was… break out of the structure somehow. Veer away from the general path but not stray too far from it.<br><br>There was a lot of leeway as to what could be considered a ‘riddle’, he thought, frantically cobbling together more bits and pieces to shore up the desperate plan he had just alighted upon. Perhaps, just perhaps, he could take a more traditional riddle and mesh it with a silly joke from a farce that was currently in favor with the masses right now with a slight turn of phrasing… A farce that might not be all too familiar to a dragon that had been living underground all this while. For this though, he needed time to tweak it a little and to have more time he needed to at least survive long enough to have a chance at being the riddler again.<br><br><em>Each morning I appear<br>To lie at your feet,<br>All day I will follow<br>No matter how fast you run,<br>Yet I nearly perish<br>In the midday sun.</em><br><br>It was a common enough Fair Day riddle and Marcel had no doubt that the dragon would be able to answer, but it allowed him to divert most of his focus into tugging and re-arranging the words he was mulling over in his head.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Theta Sigma</strong> on <strong>06-09-2015, 17:45:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It had been a long time since Xalanth had done any riddling. He snorted, and pulled his head back as he thought through the words. Each morning he appeared to lie at your feet, wouldn't fade away and followed constantly... Almost disappearing in the midday sun.<br>And, obviously, going away to reappear again the next morning.<br>It took him a few minutes, but he answered with a short, wisps of smoke filtering out through his nostrils again.<br>'Your shadow. That's a child's riddle. I'd like one with a little more thought, <em>please.'</em><br><br>It took the dragon another few minutes to think of his riddle. It was one of old, one that had circulated when he had been a hatchling. Those days were long gone, but he knew the tales and riddles still remained. Xalanth spoke it in a voice of pride, booming and deep. A mark of respect to the elder who had first spoken of it.<br><br><em>No one can see me or catch me in their palms,<br>I spread the noisy sound of my voice quickly through the world;<br>I can break to pieces the oak with my loud, crashing strength, <br>As I beat against the high poles of the sky and traverse the fields.</em><br><br>The haunting green eyes of the dragon danced with a mirth, displaying his confidence that the thief would fail to give him an answer, and this game would be over before he began to see similarities between this, and the last game of riddling he had played.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Under a Wider Sky [[Theta Sigma]]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>graverunner</strong> on <strong>12-09-2015, 12:20:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It was only a fair bit of luck and memory that allowed Marcel to still remain in possession of his worldly body. The form of this riddle sounded <em>almost</em> familiar to a few that he had heard bandied about before and vague phrases trickled back into his memory now. <em>What is it that no one can see but goes all about the earth…&nbsp; I rage with a savage sound, I fell trees and stir waves.. I thunder mightily and again with havoc I sweep the land</em>…<br><br>All three riddles had shared the same answer and there were enough similar elements in them to encourage Marcel to use it for the one the dragon had set forth as well.<br><br>“The wind,” he finally said, with a pretend confidence that he had dredged up to conceal his worry, though he could not quite keep the relief from showing on his face once his answer was affirmed to be true. The shape of the riddle that he intended to win with was already settled in his mind and he knew that he had to stop this game before it rambled on into more complex&nbsp; arrangements that he would have no hope of deciphering.<br><br>“Hopefully the riddle I bring before you now is less offensive to your sensibilities,” he said before beginning.<br><br>"The big moron and the little moron were standing on the bridge over the River Sul. The big moron fell off. How come the little moron didn't fall off, too?"
			</dd>
		</dl>
		<div id="footer" class="smalltext">
			
			<span class="smalltext" style="display: inline; visibility: visible; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?action=credits" title="Simple Machines Forum" target="_blank" class="new_win">SMF 2.0.19</a> |
 <a href="https://www.simplemachines.org/about/smf/license.php" title="License" target="_blank" class="new_win">SMF © 2021</a>, <a href="https://www.simplemachines.org" title="Simple Machines" target="_blank" class="new_win">Simple Machines</a>
			</span>
		</div>