Dark Mirror: Clans

[Nohiki]

Something was amiss. This enemy was acting irrationally to say the least. Her questions were answered when the dark dragon shown the ability to control fire. What the? She thought for herself. A giant hand suddenly blocked her line of sight. With a massive flap of her wings, she went over and aimed at the dragon's eyes. Another flap and she stopped in mid air, tips of her claws only inches from his eyes. "Who are you, freak of nature? And what do you want here?" She said and landed. "And who's side are you on really. Haven't you heard that our two kinds are almost at war?" She inured, reasonably certain her opponent was retarded, at least as far as history knowledge went.

[Zetherus]

The dark dragon was about to strike again until he heard the voice of attacker. He stopped and stood his ground while giving a deathly stare at the fire dragon. "You are a dragon! What a coincidence and I've never heard of your damned wars!" Thoron spoke angrily as he turned his armored arm back and fell to all fours. "I have allegiance to no one but I'm not looking for a fight either, especially with our kind. If you continue to fight me though your going to regret it!" He growled as he turned his gaze from the fire dragon to calm himself of the excitement. He looked back at the dragon and sat down folding his right arm near his chest with a defensive look to his form. "My name is Thoron and that is as much information your getting out of me for now." He inquired as his right eye began to die down the red glowing emitting from it.

[Nohiki]

"Tara." she simply noticed, "Never heard of your kind going over our borders and, heh, mysteriously disappearing? Where have you been the last year?" she said. "How many of you are here and what did you do to the rest that they left you alone here. If a full patrol met you you'd have been toast."

[Zetherus]

"I am pleased meet you Tara and I was brought here on short notice after fighting a very powerful and merciless being with his six followers, if you want to know what I was fighting over here then go look." He looked over to the scattered bodies and remains that laid motionless in the nearby destroyed valley. "No one else is here except me and my godfather Scourge and believe me he is heading toward your city right now to go look for something to seal this!" Thoron stretched his massive wings out as far as he could revealing a huge slit in his right wing's membrane giving a reasonable excuse why he hasn't left the area yet. "I can't fly right now so that's why I'm resting here until Scourge arrives, unless of course you, your people, need help with something?" He asked as calmly as he could when he refolded his wings back feeling more comfortable talking to this dragoness.

[Nohiki]

It took Tara few seconds to process what she heard. Meanwhile she was looking at the remains of the other one's enemies. "There's not much to see. Literally." she said, looking over the scattered and not numerous remains. "Though, i am not aware of anything like that living on this island, or this world to be hones. Is that what you meant by being transported here? Are you from another world? Because that would sure explain a lot." She said, giving a thought to the second person he mentioned. "I am sure this scourge will be fine. My people are those of fiery temper, but a single dragon will not alarm them, especially if he only looks like a dark one. We do not wage war with halfbreeds, especially because of how scarce they are." she explained, having no way of knowing Scourge was actually a demon.

[Zetherus]

Thoron stood up and walked passed Tara to the corpse that injured his wing. "This thing has probably killed more then any creature on your world combined! That is why these things, these abominations, need to be extinct!" The dark dragon without warning unleashed his weapon and stabbed the six taloned gauntlet into the chest of the giant Vok and hurled it into the inferno pit behind him. "These things don't deserve to live, nor to exist! That is why Scourge is following me. That immortal soul is merciless when it comes to their kind and when we find their home world. They will all die by my hand!" Thoron clinched the Gauntlet of Armageddon's fist as he watched the giant Vok slowly sink into the lava pool and melt away. He formed his arm back to his original and looked over at Tara hoping he didn't alarm her. "I'm sorry if you got the intention that Scourge is a dragon. He is more of a fifteen foot tall demonic entity that was born from the Eternal Flame then what I am." He spoke as if something was going to go wrong but remained calm about it.

Scourge was very far from the castle in the distance but he kept running as he would soon get there. "Hmm I wonder what Thoron is doing right now? I hope he listened to stay because I'm almost sure I can smell the fiery scales of dragons living there!" The demon was about less then a thousand meters of the castle entrance.

[Awesomoman]

The hunt was successful, three snow beasts and four ice walkers, it was a good day. As the Ice dragon hunting party was returning home, however, one of the dragons, Frostskader, saw something, a small glint of black in the snowy white distance. "H-h-hey guys. Do you s-s-s-see that?" Frostskader asked. They all turned to look, but shook their heads. "I don't see anything Frost. Maybe those eagle eyes of yours are playing tricks." Said one of the hunters. They all gave a slight laugh. Frost laughed too, they had been out for quite sometime, maybe he was just seeing things. But he looked back and still saw it. "It's n-n-no trick. Theres defiantly something out there. It looks like it might be a d-d-dark dragon." Frost persisted. The pack leader shook his head. "Nonsense, they were sent back this morning remember?" Frost kept his gaze on the black figure. "They m-m-must be up to something." The leader gave in with a sigh. "Look, we have to get this meat back to the village. If you want to go take a look and make sure the dark clan isn't doing anything be my guest." Frost nodded to him and headed off towards the black figure. "Be careful, keep your distance til you know what it is." With a smile Frost replied, "I always do."

(OOC: For the record. Vorun is who he is seeing.)

[Kauria]

"What in the name of Desperanus happened to you?"
"Skirmish with some Ashers." Metrus' cousin limped into the shelter of the cave, skin hanging from her bony shoulders like ragged curtains. Three deep gashes sliced their way across her throat. "Just tell me if I need healing."
If she weren't already dead, Metrus suspected she would have been bleeding a great mess onto his nice clean cave. As it was, she was still reaching for one of his favorite crystal goblets with her filthy charred claws. He caught her arm in one hand and steered her away from his belongings.
"These seem to be only flesh wounds, so you technically don't need healing, but there might be some additional stiffness in the burnt areas. Whoever did this to you was going for the kill— "
"—as if I were alive," she snorted. "It is a war. If you could fix up some of the scratches, I could probably continue to be so convincingly alive."
Metrus nudged her into a sitting position and laid a hand on a clump of phosphorescent fungus sprouting from the wall. He lowered himself to look into his cousin's white eyes. "Whoever did this to you was going for the kill," he repeated. "Whoever did this to you," Metrus continued, "is going to pay." The fungus shriveled and the light under his palm winked out, the blackened flecks whisked away by the desert wind. He suppressed a giggle of delight. He'd wanted to say that for so long.
"Ordinarily, I'd tell you to cut that out already, but . . . this time they actually took something valuable."
Metrus passed his hand over the deepest of the wounds, and dead scales crept across the gouges, sealing them shut. "What?"
"It was a trap. They feigned retreat, made it look like they left one of their own to die. When we tried to pick her off, she caught us off guard."
"No, what did you lose?"
"Aside from almost all of the team? I'm not allowed to tell you what it does, but Aunt Hectel's gonna have a fit when she finds out it's gone. It was going to be her donation to the war effort."
Metrus' expression became pained. "My own mother won't let me know what she's doing?"
His cousin climbed to her feet again. "I'm sure it's just a security measure. Look, if it bothers you that much, I could just tell—"
"Shh."
Metrus snapped his head up to peer out into the desert evening. His eyes narrowed, and his body tensed.
A glimpse of movement—there—and his claws flashed into the air, palm skywards. "You there!" His lips peeled open into a snarl, and he slammed the foreign mind with is own. Its defenses crumbled almost instantly – a youngling, probably – and he was in power "Come here."
A small bronze dragon stumbled out from behind a jagged rock and approached the mouth of the cave, his eyes rolled back in his head with wild fear.
Beside Metrus, his cousin bristled. "Fire clan," she spat. "What's he doing here?"
"Probably lost, but he followed you further than he should have. Hold still," he commanded, and the youngling straightened to uncomfortable attention.
"What should we do with 'im?"
The wisps of a plan were curling into substance in Metrus' mind. "Take him home, of course."
It dawned on his cousin, a gleam seeping into her dead eyes. "I only have enough strength left for one good portal out of here. It should spit you out not far from the hot springs, which are still technically public grounds."
"Better than I could have wished." His claws curled over the fire hatchling's shoulder. "Don't touch anything while I'm gone, please." She would anyway.
The portal yawned open before them, and Metrus pushed his companion in. The spaded tip of his own tail had just disappeared through it when the portal winked shut behind them.

[Morty]

Vorun was getting impatient. It was late afternoon of the second day and they still hadn't shown up. He hadn't slept; it was far too cold for that, and running in circles was all he could do to keep the frost from his veins. The ground hurt to walk on, it was so blisteringly cold, and he had to walk on his claws to keep his feet from sticking to it. At least it was sunny, and the wind appeared to be lulled for now. He shook himself awake for the fourth time that morning, his shaggy head having managed to nestle into the crook of his paws while he wasn't looking. No one should have to be awake at this time of day. He dragged himself to his feet and doggedly surveyed the area again, the tall rim of the crater affording an unmatched view of the surrounding wasteland. There wasn't much to see. Just the bowl of the crater, the bone-white eaves of the forest, and the blank, flat void beyond. He could have picked a better rendez-vous point, only he knew that attaining this place would be difficult without a more unconventional form of travel. He'd made good and sure those three would not be arriving before him.
And, lo and behold, there were the three black specks hoving in on the crater. They were moving quite fast, there being no wind to slow them down, and their shapes grew larger and more distinct even as he watched. He wagered they would be there in about twenty minutes, tops. It was a shame that the flash-frozen wood was too icelocked to burn, he could have had a fire going, make it look like he'd been there for as long as he had. He quickly scrambled to a more visible position on the frozen waterfall, his hook-like claws allowing for easy grip on the ice-slick slope of the crater. He got into position and waited for the three dark dragons to arrive.

[Nohiki]

"Meh, if he's alone, he'll probably be hailed first instead of being instantly obliterated. Not that we could do much to a demon of flame but make him stronger. Those take bath in lava to make them feel better, right?" Tara shrugged the situation off with the tiny bit of knowledge about demons she retained from her school days. "Anyway if you need patching up, you're gonna have to go to the fortress anyway. Might as well get going, and if i'm at your side, you might not even get shot on sight. Let's go." Tara suggested, ready to leave.

[Zetherus]

Thoron was relieved to hear what Tara had said so he walked up beside her and shook his head "yes" as he waited for her to take the lead. "I'm sure when we get there Scourge might be on the way as we travel, so lets go!" He spoke gladly as he readied himself for the run across the fiery plain.

OCC: Anywhere that Tara will run Thoron will follow so lets go.

Scourge ran up and stopped about a hundred feet of the massive city gate looking for an audience until he saw one of the city gate guards come down from the top. He thought about reaching for his mace until he saw the fire dragon come into visible view so he decided not to. "I seek help for one of my fellow comrades, may I enter?" He growled as the dragon set foot on the grey, dry, and graveled ground in front of him.

[Awesomoman]

Frost ran until he felt too much movement would give him away, he crouched low almost prone and walked slowly towards the black dragon. Frost started wishing he had at least some sort of back up when he caught three more headed that way, these dark dragons were up to something but what? If only one of them were talking right now he would know how close to get to hear and not be seen. At this distance he would have the advantage but he still needed to know what they were up to. He stopped in the snow and waited until he saw their lips start moving, only then he would move closer if needed.

[Kauria]

Tendrils of shadow clung to the dragons' scales for several seconds as they pulled free of the portal. Metrus shook himself off, then immediately dropped into a crouch, pushing the hatchling's shoulders down with one large hand.Too close to the springs. Distantly, he'd thought he'd heard voices. He flickered out his snakelike tongue, tasting the acrid air. He couldn't smell anything over the steam and the smoke. He'd have to hope they didn't find him first. Public grounds or no, the Ashed Ones would never appreciate a dark dragon so close to home.
Metrus looked down at the hatchling beside him. Look at me, he thought, and it obediently lifted its head to face him.
Good. The domination had mostly settled in. He couldn't let an unstable control give him away this deep in fire clan territory. It was fortunate young dragons were easy to command.
Great elementals, what am I doing? he thought miserably as the weight of his hasty thinking settled in. This'll never work.
"This'll never work," the hatchling echoed mournfully, with the soft-edged words of a child.
Metrus looked down at him in surprise. He'd have to be more careful about what he thought. Younglings could be a little too receptive.
The wind shifted suddenly, and with it came the scent of dragons. He all but leapt to the nearest hiding place he could find, a very low rocky overhang stained black with ash. With some difficulty, he wedged himself under it. The shade beneath the stone darkened slightly as he created a personal shadow to shield himself from a stray glance. The lip of the rock almost touched the volcanic sand, but he couldn't take many chances when he had already spent most of his energy.
The hatchling sat back on his haunches and called, "Hello?"

[Morty]

The black dragons gained the crater and swooped downwards, flaring then folding their wings as they lit one by one. Vorun approached them, expression neutral.
"Well, well." said the first of the black dragons, shuffling his wings shut. The two others settled themselves on the rutted ice and flanked him. "Look who made it. And in one piece, too." he simpered, teeth flashing.
"What kept you?" asked Vorun bitingly, bitter from the cold. The other dragon grimaced.
"Ice storms aren't exactly perfect conditions for flying, not that you'd know."
At that, Vorun's stance stiffened slightly.
"So, I suppose this means you three'll be doing the hunting, shouldn't be much trouble for such swift-winged hunters as you." he said, changing tact. He could feel something was not right about these three. Being bested was probably not something they took kindly to.
"Oh yeah, we'll be doing the hunting allright." the other male dragon laughed insinuatingly. The wiry female caught him a glare. Vorun peered at them levelly.
"Whatever you might be planning, I wouldn't advise it. You don't know how I managed to get here so fast. Do you really want to find out the hard way?" he reasoned calmly, his composure absolute.
"I don't know, I'd say I'm pretty damn curious." said the larger dragon, looking at his comrades craftily, who all grinned in accordance.
"I would really rather not." sighed Vorun wearily, turning away.
The dark dragons seemed hesitant, until the female growled in exhasperation and rolled her eyes, "Oh, for pity's sake."
The blow she swung Vorun with her spike-embedded tail would hardly have caught anyone by surprise, least of all the small wingless dragon. He sidestepped neatly, allowing the improvised mace to follow its invariable trajectory and smash into the ground beside him, lodging itself deeply in the solid ice. The other two exchanged a look of aggravation and advanced on Vorun, one on each flank, while the female struggled to free her weapon. The sleek dark dragon retreated at the same pace at which his two assailants were advancing, all the while angling their course so that soon the sun would be shining completely behind them. Their shadows, cast by the late-afternoon sun, fell over him, and he ceased his retreat, waiting. The two dragons, suspicious but impatient, lunged, skillfully avoiding charging from opposite directions, though this insight proved useless in the end. One managed to let out a cry of surprised as the smaller dragon gripped both their arms with surprising force and dragged them into the ground, sinking into their own shadows as if they were quicksand. As soon as they felt him release them he emerged on the other side, leaving them stranded, armpit-deep in the hard-packed ice as if they'd somehow been frozen there when the waterfall had first congealed. They could only stare in alarm as their attempted prey made his way to freedom.
"Don't worry, you two, you should be able to free your arms once the sun starts to set..." Vorun laughed and began to run away, only to be caught a sudden blow across the ribs by the newly-freed female's tail, mercifully encased in ice so as to blunt the sting of the rusty spikes. The smaller dragon was thrown off his feet, arching through the air and skidding to a halt a few meters away, coughing wretchedly. "Fair.. enough.." he coughed, staggering to his feet. The pain flared in his side, unbearable. The blow had send him flying far away from any source of shadow, and the dragoness was coming up fast. He was stranded on the rough, gleaming surface of the ice, with the sun hours from setting. If only he could muster the energy to run-

[Awesomoman]

With almost no wind in sight, Frost could easily hear what was going on, and saw everything that happened. He wanted to help this wingless dragon but his options were limited, he couldn’t just randomly get involved in dark dragon affairs without some sort of excuse. Wait, they were on Ice territory, an unprovoked attack like what the 3 dragons did was against their laws, and none of these dragons looked like an ambassador. He didn’t have time to think of a better plan, he formed an ice shot in his hand and shot it right past the female dragon’s eyes to make sure she saw it. Abandoning his camouflage he stood, revealing his position. He formed another ice shot and aimed it before she could even breathe. “Move and the next one g-g-goes through your skull.” He yelled. “Attacking a dragon that hasn’t th-th-threatened or challenged you is against Ice Clan l-l-l-law, which you are currently under. But I don’t feel like b-b-bringing in a bunch of dark clan prisoners, especially d-d-d-during these times. So I sugg-g-g-gest you back away from wingless until I can’t see anymore, and trust me, that’s going to be a long walk.”