Icer1978: ::Wings unfurled in a stretch as she grinned, feeling the breeze:: Braxeus: Braxeus' figure seems to ripple, though after a few seconds, he is clearly visible again.... to Icer. He slides onto her back. "To the valley." Icer1978: ::Nods, rearing onto her hindlegs, her wings giving a downward thrust as she pushed off the ground, finding a nearby updraft:: Icer1978: ::Wings beat as she flew over the tangled forest, then banking to her right, around the mountain, eyes found the stream as she followed it, remembering every little detail of the directions:: Braxeus: At first they glide away from the city and over the forest slowly....but the entire time, Braxeus' eyes are shut, and she can hear him whispering words to himself. Soon the winds pick up, and with great speed they are carried over the countryside, over the forests, and past the three peaks into the valley. From their vantage point they can see three small villages and scattered farms and pastures, and nestled close to the three peaks, a simple, dark stone castle, an old keep. Braxeus: There appears to be a group assembled near it....Braxeus points them out and shouts, "Let us land by them....carefully!" Icer1978: ::Nods to Braxeus, as she came in slowly, her wings slowing her descent as hind legs stretched to grasp the ground before her forelegs followed:: Braxeus: As they descend, the horses among the group panic and scatter. Before them are four longbowmen, a dozen halberdiers, and three knights....and one man dressed in a fine velvet cloak, departing rapidly with wide-eyed looks over his shoulder up a gravel path into the keep. At first, the men only stare. Icer1978: ::Nostrils quivered as she took in their scent..as she folded her wings against her sides, blue eyes scanning the men, for any possible sigh of danger to herself:: Braxeus: Try as Braxeus may to allow Icer to see him, his figure appears to ripple to her eyes as he slides off of her, pacing before her and in front of the assembled group. "I understand that an arrow was fired at this dragon..." He eyes the longbowmen, who shift nervously. "And now you are assembled with what arms you can muster. And for what purpose?" He opens his arms. Braxeus: One of the knights steps forward, and with the hiss of steel, brandishes his blade. "You are a conjurer and a fiend, a friend to a creature of the devil, this ice dragon....a being we thought the world of men was finally rid of. Something we shall soon remedy." Icer1978: ::She blinked as Braxeus rippled, arching an eyeridge, before turning her attention back to the men:: Icer1978: ::Nostrils flared as she gave a snort, glaring at the knight, the tip of her tail twitching as she remained calm:: Braxeus: "This is not the world of men!" he replies. "It is full of other creatures, many of which starve, the way you prevent them from hunting....the ruthless way in which you hunt them." He takes a step forward, and the knight makes a subtle signal to one of the longbowmen, who notches an arrow, letting the bowstring groan quietly. "Let her hunt! We will only take the sick, the weak of your livestock! We want nothing to do with any of you!" Braxeus: The knight gives him a tight, grim smile. "Go to hell." He makes a motion, and an arrow is loosed at the mage with a shrill whistle. : SilentDeath has entered at 10:49 am : Lucy_Ren has left at 10:49 am Icer1978: ::That made her angry, though she restrained herself, giving a growl at the man;: Icer1978: ::Roaring, she darted towards Braxeus, pushing him out of the way:: : Lucy_Ren has entered at 10:51 am Braxeus: The arrow finds its home in one of her hindlegs, not going deep, thanks to her scales, but drawing blood all the same. The longbowman stares with wide eyes....then he nocks an arrow, and so do the other archers. Braxeus picks himself up slowly, dusting himself off, and the air around him is tense with magical energy. Icer1978: ::She roared as the arrow hit, more in irritation than in pain, serpentine neck, swivelling as she send a cold glare at the bowman:: : Talos Iceshard has entered at 10:53 am Braxeus: More arrows are loosed, but these land near her feet, thanks to a manipulation of the wind by Braxeus, and the assembled men let out bellows and shouts and charge their way. Icer1978: ::Grinning as she looked towards Braxeus, ignoring the pain from the arrow in her hind leg:: shall we" Braxeus: He nods. "Take out those archers! I'll cover you!" Red electricity crackles from the palms of his hands, and he can feel his blood pumping. Icer1978: ::Roaring, she lunged forewards, meeting the archers head on, her jaws parting as she sank her jaws deep into one archer's leg:: Icer1978: ::Make an example of her would he...::eyes flashed as she snarled, ripping her jaws from his leg, taking out a large chuck of him as well:: Icer1978: *chunk Braxeus: The archers are bowled over, weapons scattering, and the one she bites begins to scream as he bleeds profusely. A knight goes to lunge onto her, but finds himself surrounded by the red "electricity." He is caught in mid-air, twitching and convulsing, and collapses in a fit, mouth foaming. The next to lunge gets a punch in the chest and a release of the energy. His blood boils, and he too collapses, though dead much more swiftly. Icer1978: ::Jaws parted, as she growled, sending a blast of icefire towards a knight that was nearing Braxeus, before turning back to "finish off" the archer, her jaws clamping around his throat:: Icer1978: ::No use in just letting the man bleed to death;: Icer1978: ::She'd make him feel pain, just as she had:: Braxeus: The archer's screams die, and Braxeus whirls around, whipping a wicked dagger into the frozen knight, who shatters. The men have formed a loose circle around them now, on the verge of surrendering....and Braxeus looks cruelly up at them. "Abandon your weapons, and never be south of here again....or die like your comrades." His chest is heaving, his clothes spattered with blood from the fight. Braxeus: For a long moment, there is naught but the sound of men breathing heavily....until one by one, they abandon their arms, backing away slowly, and then breaking into a run. The mage appears content to let them do so, crimson eyes glittering as they abandon their battlefield....and the keep. Icer1978: ::Nostrils flared as she eyed the circle, her own hide bloodstained, from their comrads, the muscles in her leg, twitching as she still ignored the arrow:: Icer1978: ::And then a toothy grin was flashed as she eyed them retreating:: Braxeus: Finally Braxeus turns to look at Icer with a grin. "...You may hunt here now. But first, I must take a look at that leg....then I have some brief business to attend to in the keep." Icer1978: ::Nods:: thank you...::she stood still, keeping most of her weight on her other three legs, the arrow, still more an aggrivation:: Braxeus: He kneels by her hind leg, sheathing his dagger, and the red electricity still arcing from his hands begins to change in nature....turning into what appears to be a bright white mist. He tightens his hands around the arrow, and then extracts it slowly....her muscles moving around it to permit it to leave, and healing together in its wake, until at last it is out. Icer1978: ::She didn't even seem to flinch as it was extracted:: I think they've learned a lesson.. : SilentDeath has left at 11:09 am : Talos Iceshard has left at 11:09 am Icer1978: ::Blue eyes scanned the carnage before them, knights and archers laying dead where they fell:: Braxeus: "Not yet....but soon, this will be a place friendly to dragons." This he says as he stalks towards the keep, the illusion at last removed from his figure. He wants this noble to be able to see him and fear him completely. The side door is barred shut, but it is old and weak, like the stones of the castle itself. He puts out both his hands to it....and then the door is blasted open. He enters through the cloud of dust rising from the impact, and then vanishes into the building. Icer1978: ::She then took wing, soaring over to a familiar pasture, landing amongst, now starled sheep, as she hunted, her eyes scanning over the animals, till she found one that seemed weaker than the rest:: Braxeus: The thaumaturge remains in the keep for several minutes, presumably struggling to find the noble, until at last he emerges from the open side doorway. No sooner does he step out than one of the few windows high up in the castle shatters, and the old noble lets out a panicked, crazed yell as he plummets, velvet cape whipping about him, hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Braxeus flinches slightly, looking over at him, then back out into the fields to catch sight of Icer. Icer1978: ::Jaws, parted as she sank her jaws, deep into the sheep's neck, the sounds of bone crunching could be heard as hse, then snapped it's neck, her snout lowering to rip chunks of the flesh from the animal, then her neck arching as she threw it back to swallow the flesh in large chunks;: : Talos Iceshard has entered at 11:17 am Braxeus: He smiles slowly as he watches Icer, arms folded casually over his chest - the blood spattering now gone from his clothes. So this valley is now a safe haven. He could make it his domain....but no. He wishes to remain as unknown as possible to the villagers....it is better that way. They will stay out of his way, and dragons will feast upon their livestock. Much better that way. Icer1978: ::Wings rustled as she looked back towards Braxeus, giving a grin,with her blood stained snout, before wrenching another piece of flesh from the animal, as the other sheep scattered, bleating loudly:: Braxeus: As far as the villagers know, their count and his knights have abandoned them, and a dragon picks off their livestock. He makes his way slowly across the field to Icer, content to walk the whole way. After all....it is a pleasant afternoon. Icer1978: ::She crouched down beside her kill, tearing a leg from the sheep, jaws snapping down as the sounds of bone splintering was heard, the leg, bones and all them sliding down her throat as she glanced towards a villager that froze when he saw her:: Braxeus: The villager is all too happy to turn and run screaming in terror in the opposite direction. Braxeus chuckles as he crests a hill, at last coming into view of Icer, some thirty feet from her. "Having fun, are we?" Icer1978: ::Nostrils quivered, yet the dragon ignored the man, to busy feeding herself, she then grinned to Braxeus, yes I am.. Icer1978: I take it you spoke with the Lord....::giving a slight smirk:: Braxeus: He sits down in the grass beside her, resting his head near her hindquarters. "Indeed..." He sighs, staring up at the cloudy sky. "I don't know why, but I think he lost his mind." Icer1978: ::Chuckles softly, abandoning the rest of her kill for now, content to just rest outside for a change:: : Talos Iceshard has left at 11:30 am Icer1978: ::She grinned, flashing a toothy smirk at two more villagers, which then ran off screaming to join the first:: Braxeus: He crosses his arms behind his head, resting against her, his body shifting with her breathing, and he shuts his eyes. "This is a nice place....difficult to get to from Rhy'Din with all the mountains. I do not think we will face any trouble in the city for what we do here." Icer1978: Yes...::lowering her head to her forelegs:: it is peaceful here...::chuckling softly, save for the few screams Braxeus: He also chuckles at that. "The screaming I could do without....but they will grow used to you and simply keep their distance after a while." Braxeus: "...It must be great, being a dragon, once you make yourself free like this." Icer1978: ::Smiles to Braxeus, as she tilted her head:: I've never been free before Braxeus: "Well, you are now." Braxeus: One eye opens, casting a sly look at her. Icer1978: ::Chuckles softly as hse caught the look:: Icer1978: *she Braxeus: "Seriously..." He shifts a little, getting comfortable. "Soaring through the skies, eating juicy livestock, scaring the heck out of anyone who gets in your way..." Icer1978: The last time I was free was the day I hatched....thats when the trouble all began ::laughing, though not quite so loud as to disturb anyone:: Braxeus: He grins, shaken a little against her hide as she rumbles out a laugh. And you're free again, and there's plenty of trouble now. Though the good kind of trouble." Icer1978: ::Nods:: I don't like the bad kind of trouble....I've had enough of that:: grinning:: I see you met my mother.. Icer1978: Well adopted mother.. Braxeus: He nods. "She may soon be bringing other dragons up here....However, I plan for them to stalk other lands as their hunting grounds. This is your territory." Icer1978: ::Tilts her head:: will there be other young" Braxeus: "You may be nesting together, but you will have your own hunting territories, so we will not deplete the lands." Braxeus: He looks over at her. "I'm not sure. It's possible." Icer1978: ::Smiles:: maybe I'll meet some friends Braxeus: "You've already got friends, it seems....but it would be nice to have other dragon friends your age, I imagine." Icer1978: Yes it would....::grinning as the cool wind blew against her hide, though Braxeus didn't get much of it, being shielded:: Braxeus: He chuckles softly, in very, very high spirits now. "In this valley....no matter what happens in Rhy'Din, we can weather it." Icer1978: ::Grins, yes we can weather it.....you seemed drawn to me .. Braxeus: "Howso?" He looks over at her. Icer1978: ::Head canted to the side as she reguarded the mage against her side:: your the first that has taken me anywhere Braxeus: "You hadn't been many places before. That is a crime, for a dragon to be cooped up in an inn. I know what it is like to be imprisoned....I can sympathize." Icer1978: ::blinking:: you...were imprisonend" Braxeus: He nods slowly. "For a time. In the world I long dwelled in....those in power would not stand for my radical ideas, and had me locked away in a realm inside the world for a long, long time."