Private Tales Don't Shy From the Light

[Aster Sayre]

"An expedition?" The incredulity used was a loud and solid no without being said. Aster's mother quirked a brow at her daughter from across the long table set for a formal morning meal to break their fasts.

In turn, Aster lifted her chin and met her mother's gaze unwaveringly. "For only two days and a night. There is a migration of saltsea dragons that would pass, and visiting the Scaled Cliffs is the best spot to watch them all." It was going to be an effort to let her mother realise that Aster was simply telling her mother and not seeking permission. "I will be back before dinner tomorrow." She added with finality.

Her mother drew breath to speak, but Aster's father, the Duke, chuckled. "Let her go. She has a dragon now. Cerys will not let harm come to our daughter."

A truth that could not be spoken with more surety. Aster regarded her father with aumsement. "I will not be going alone either." A lie to keep the truth some conpany.

Preparations were being made, and for the next couple of hours, Aster finally found her way to the dragon's den in the Palace grounds. Although Cerys was not housed here, deemed too wild and spirited to make peaceful rest here, Aster had to transport all her gear kept here to take with her. The saddle, the bags, even the leather riding gear she decided she would change into once she met with her dragon.

"Just... one moment, my lady." An attendant gave her a half smile. Aster crossed her arms, trying to look complacent but all she wanted to do was to leave the city already. "There's... we are trying to locate a draft dragon to help you get across the city."

She frowned. "Is there not a carriage I can take?"

"Afraid not, my lady..."

She sighed, and made it known sje was beginning to grow unhappy. A carriage meant she could take some rest without being seen by the people. Although not royal by blood, being cousins allowed her to live at the Palace. She was known to the people of Thanasis, for she often travelled with the Princess of Thanasis.

 

[Torec]

Old One-Eye had seen better days. Probably days when he had two eyes instead of just the one. Now the enormous cockatrice hobbled along on two feet, resembling the oddest cross between a gamecock and a dragon. Atop the enormous saddle and saddlebags sat a dark haired and bearded man, grizzled, whose skin spoke of hard days under the sun and weather.

Torec, Dragon Tamer, slid spryly down the One-Eye's side as the beast of burden came to a halt near the dragon's den in the Palace grounds. He grunted as his boots hit the ground and he stretched his back, patting the cockatrice's feathered leg.

"Gettin' too old for this, I think."

The cockatrice let out a crow of agreement. Torec grunted, squinting under the light of the sun until he spotted the little grouping and pile of gear. Leading One-Eye by the reins, he approached a woman with hair of palest silver. Spelled royal if he knew it. Funny, how he'd been taming dragons for the royals for the better part of his life and still had yet to meet but one or two of them. Tamers came and went. In fact, the life expectancy was pretty short. A miracle he'd been around this long.

Torec nodded in greeting. Not sure the protocol for a royal who was more of a cousin than a princess. Bow maybe? He didn't.

"Lady Aster? Torec, house dragon tamer. Got your draft 'trice here. I can start loading up your gear, if you're ready to go."

Aster Sayre

 

[Aster Sayre]

Her head turned, enough that she could catch the one talking with a side glance. Her lips parted, as if to say something, but her expression spoke for her. "Cockatrice? I am not being carted like goods, Tamer."
And a cockatrice was not going to keep up with where she planned to go. It would be slower, when she needed to move quickly. Aster took a moment, and sighed. "Apologies. No, a cockatrice would not do. My dragon has made a habit of feasting on every cockatrice that has moved my gear around. I have lost perfect pairs of boots and three cockatrices."
"Again, we are sorry for the wait, my lady. The Princes have..."
She held up a hand. "Oh, believe me, that tells me plenty. I know which of my cousins you speak of."
"We have a carriage, if you would like us to begi—"

"Yes, please. The moment the draft dragons become available..."

"We will have you on your way shortly." Smiled the attendant.

Aster turned to Torec. "Perhaps you could be of assistance then. Dragon tamer, correct? If I am traveling north along the coast, do you know where the wild goats are being herded? My dragon... likes to stay in the wilds. I would like to see to it that she is getting enough food out there." Although it would be no different than it would be if she resided in the city. "Or do you suggest hunting in the sea?"

 

[Torec]

Torec scowled. What did the lady have against cockatrices?

He patted One-Eye's beak reassuringly when she mentioned that her dragon ate cockatrices for breakfast.

Don't worry, old fellow.

What she said, if true, said more about her lack of control and trust with the dragon than anything else. That made his frown deepen. He looked at the ground for a moment, his mop of dark hair falling forward to curtain his face. Royals did hate it when he scowled. Took it personal.

She spoke to him again, asking about the wild goat paths.

Bloody royals.

Saddle care. Claw care. Tooth care. Scale care. He knew all these. But goats?

"Not a goat herder," he scratched at the beard thistles covering his jaw, "Sea is safer if you stick closer to the coast." Safer for people and cockatrices, apparently. "We travel inland, then it can't be helped... there should be goats near this time of year."

Aster Sayre

 

[Aster Sayre]

Aster frowned mildly, staring at the man that claimed not to be a goat herder. Well, the audacity on that one...

"We travel in land? Are you offering to come along? Offer up your cockatrice to my dragon?" Her amusement was not out of humour. There was something there that resembled power, an awakening from the moment her dragon had bonded to her.

Dragon traits showing up in the bonded human was not uncommon, but Aster was glad to not have inherited dragon's ire, much like her cousin, Kaveh.

Cerys had given Aster an impish side, one she could not hold back. But she was impressed, and she would loathe to inform the not goat herder, that he had the sense to talk back at her. She was not a Princess, but a lady of her family's dukedom.

"Or would you like to watch saltsea dragons migrate from the Scaled Cliffs up north? That is where I am headed." She could claim someone did accompany her, but she knew the sort of person going along would only stricken her poor mother. Aster liked to see her squirm, as that was her own right and power. "I will even let you ride in the carriage if you are a good boy."

 

[Torec]

This time Torec didn't bother hiding his scowl, fingers on One-Eye's reins tightening reflexively.

A good boy? Feed his cockatrice to her dragon would she?

The tamer wondered at the state of her dragon. Didn't their last tamer die not too long ago? Ate in some accident. Usually how it went, being a tamer. Ate or roasted or kicked so hard you were just a red smear.

"Couldn't soil your carriage with my boots, ladyship," He grunted, "Better suited in the saddle, horse or lesser drake, but I'll ride along with you. Can check on your dragon 'swell. Diet o' just cockatrices ain't exactly ideal."

The tamer squinted up into the skies. "Wouldn't mind seeing the migration anyhow."

Aster Sayre

 

[Aster Sayre]

Aster sized him up with her eyes before a light scoff of air left her lips.

"Very well..." She turned away and strode towards where her gear was left waiting for the carriage, which she could hear the sounds of one traveling this way. "Do you know why my dragon is not permitted in Thanasis?" She asked.

Several other dragon pit attendants looked their way, some looked sick at the idea of Aster's dragon coming close to the city.

When she turned to face him again, a small satchel in hand where she pulled out a large dragon scale. "It is because she is far too large, one of the oldest dragons here. The mountains up north is her domain." The Watcher, claimed many folk tales. Cerys had a longer name, one forgotten through history, but the dragon wished to go by a shorter name. The dragon had bonded to many riders throughout centuries, and Aster being the newest bonded had it's challenges.

The distance from her dragon, for one, made her irritable. Aster needed to constantly travel out to see her, to connect.

"This is her smallest scale by her tail." The scale itself was many times larger than the dragons of today. "I will not stop you from seeing to her needs, but I must warn you she is quite old and impatient. Much like a cat in terms of getting her to do things you want."

 

[Torec]

“Seen bigger,” Torec grunted, looking away from the scale to squint up at the sky.

He scratched at his beard.

Couldn’t say he did well with subtle threats and grandstanding from royals. Didn’t matter if he had or hadn’t actually seen a bigger scale. Truth was, her dragon definitely ranked on the larger side. Maybe one of the biggest ever. Whether or not she could handle that much dragon remained to be seen. Based on what he’d witnessed so far, the Tamer held a healthy dose of skepticism.

“And I’m used to dealing with the old and impatient,” his gaze came back down and he stared at her. “Anyhow, daylight’s burning. You want me to wait here for your draft dragon, or meet you up the road some?”

One-Eye stamped a taloned foot in annoyance, crest wobbling as his head darted side to side. Torec sighed. Would probably have to leave the cockatrice behind if her dragon really did eat them.

Aster Sayre

 

[Aster Sayre]

Aster rolled her eyes.

"Best you meet me somewhere. Perhaps at the sky rocks." The natural formation of the dark and brittle stones that lined up the hills leading up north often lead those lost forward. At the summit, a small village would be found. "We can make our stop their before continuing on foot."

The carriage rolled around, and with it the drakes pulling it. Specially trained to cart around large things, the drakes were the most sought after amongst tradespeople and markets.

She got in the moment the door was held open for her. In a swish, she had turned and found herself a comfortable seat.

The carriage would wait only a few minutes before her things were secured to the luggage compartment. From her seat, she still had vision out the window to see the scruffy dragon tamer. Something about him irked her, something about him made her not like him. He would not last long, she thought, if any of the Princes came across this barbarian. The Princess, however, was more lenient. More likable amongst the citizens for she always advocated to hear and help those in need.

Aster did not have that goal in life. She wished to be an adventurer, to have solitude and freedom from crowds and parties. A part of her wanted to tell the dragon tamer to stay behind, but Aster did not move. Did not call from the carriage either.

Torec

 

[Torec]

He rode fast and hard on a running wyvern to outpace the dragon-pulled carriage. The two-legged drake couldn’t soar the same as a much larger dragon, but this breed’s legs were built for running just as much as flying. Torec covered good ground and reached the village well ahead of the lady’s carriage

Stupid silver haired royal and her damn lilac eyes.

By the time @Aster Sayre’s carriage made its way up the sky rocks to the village at the summit, she’d find Torec waiting. He’d a saddle bag of equipment and supplies slung over a shoulder and leaned against the side of a general store facing the main road through the village. Chewing on a stalk of wheat, the dragon tamer looked up from under the wide brim of his straw hat as her carriage approached.

“You made it.”

 

[Aster Sayre]

The ride had not been smooth once the roads made for travel and trade were now abandoned. The carriage was taken on worn paths, not saved from the bumps and rocks strewn all over.

By the time she reached the village, she was greeted by the dragon tamer.

Her face showed her displeasure in seeing him, not at all fond of him and yet was relieved to see he had made it in time. "Oh, so that wyvern is yours then." All dragon riders, and majority of Thanasis, saw wyverns as lesser. It seemed to make her judge him as a person, first a cockatrice, and now a wyvern.

Could a dragon not warm to him enough to bond? What a life the dragon tamer must live...

Aster had changed sometime during her travel. No longer was she dressed in a dress that was the fashion found in the royal residences, but in something more suitable for a dragon rider. Her hair cascaded in silver braids down her back, a tight style that would become loose after a day or two. "We have a couple of hours on foot from here."

 

[Torec]

No reply came to her statement about the wyvern, as it were a statement and no question demanding an answer. Royals hated silence. Loved to fill it with talking. Torec were not much for talking hisself, but if they asked a question he’d give them an answer.

Trouble was, Miss Silverhair didn’t ask none.

Torec eyed her up and down. She wore leathers now, like a proper dragon rider. It showed off her figure which, annoyingly, did seem fit enough to ride. Not a plump royal who had no idea what she was doing trying to trundle onto the back of a mountain. Disappointing. But for the dragon’s best, Torec supposed.

He wasn’t quite sure exactly what about Lady Aster stuck in his craw. Probably her generally unpleasant attitude. Accompanying her on a walk sounded like some form of cruel and unusual torture, but Torec had said he would accompany her and he wouldn’t go back on his word now - for the dragon’s sake.

Securing his saddlebag to him with a strap, Torec gave her a nod. He couldn’t help but think he was serving as partly a mule for this trip. But he was used to that.

“After you, Ladyship.”

They set off, boots crunching through the dirt on the first moments of what would apparently be a multi hour hike.

A pace behind her, Torec felt a spike of annoyance when every time he looked up he saw an assful of leather. He kept his eyes on the ground, and occasionally the sky, instead.

Aster Sayre

 

[Aster Sayre]

She was glad to be the one in front.

This way she wouldn't be forced to strike up conversation with him. Now that they were here, what was there to say? He was not the type to get along with small talk, and Aster began to wonder if he even had the social skills to keep up a running conversation.

They hiked for the better part of an hour, before coming to a rest stop above a cliff. She set her things down, grateful for the reprieve, but edged closer to the precipice in order to get a look. There, the valley, and the river that ran through it and towards the coast. The lake was west from where they were, another few hours hike, but one she knew waited with crystalline waters.

"How are you faring?" She asked, turning back towards Torec and approaching her pack. From it, she pulled out one of the waterskeins and began to drink.

 

[Torec]

A question laced with the hope that he’d be suffering under the weight of his bags. Torec paused next to her and took off his straw hat for a moment to run a hand through his dark hair, pushing back sweaty locks from his forehead. He wore a loose, light colored tunic, trousers, and sensible boots - so he figured that - apart from his pack, he fared a bit better than her in her leathers. Still, he had to admit she was no slouch.

“Nice day,” he lied.

The heat was sweltering, the sun’s rays beating down. The only reprieve came from their altitude and the breeze sweeping through the rocks. Torec adjusted his saddle bag and looked out on the sight of the valley and river below.

A view like this made her company on the climb almost worth it.

Almost.

“You need to catch your breath more, or are we good to keep moving… ladyship.”

Aster Sayre

 

[Aster Sayre]

She quirked a brow and shrugged at him. The gesture seemed too relaxed and casual for someone that grew up in the royal court. Her eyes turned back to the valley, but angled her face so that her voice could be heard over the whip of wind.

"A moment longer, only so that I could call to her. This is the start of her domain, and if she resides here..." From her pack, she removed a small instrument. A small whistle of sorts, and when she took a breath before placing her lips on the mouthpiece, she loosed the air into it. A shrill sound came from it, and Aster let out a few short quips before following with a elongated note.

She stashed it away into a pocket on her person, holding a hand up at Torec to keep him quiet.

A moment passed. Her eyes scanned the valley below.

"I can feel you..." She whispered into the wind. Her eyes narrowed, fighting against the sunlight casting a bright glare onto the world. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes, and that is when she saw disturbance into the horizon. A flock of birds took to the sky, and there in the river where it swelled from it's narrow stream, the dragon began to rise.

"There she is." Her lips surpassed a smile and turned into a proud grin. "The God of the Skies."

 

[Torec]

Torec's eyes widened as the behemoth rose from the river, as if a mountain crested up from the depths. Water streamed from her horns and scales, dripping from her wings, glistening in the sunlight. Birds burst away in flight. Small game fled as she stirred.

The tamer grunted and stood his ground.

He'd heard of this one.

"Big dragon," he remarked, placidly. Refusing to show his awe, though his eyes told a different story - watching the dragon with rapt attention.

Not sure his tools would be big enough to trim her claws and such after all... Practically wild dragons once they reached this size.

Aster Sayre

 

[Aster Sayre]

The dragon bellowed, and it's echo reached them there on the ridge line.

Aster grinned, entirely in awe of the dragon bonded to her. "Yes, she is." Not many would come with her to see Cerys, only from a distance like this. She was about to offer Torec the chance to get closer, but when she turned to look at him, she could see how his eyes evaluated her size.

"She makes me climb along her tail if I want to ride with her. You can seat nearly a dozen people on her back, you know? In the early texts in our histories, Cerys had saved a small village by letting them hold onto her spikes down her spine. Nowadays, I doubt many would like the brave that."

Lady Sayre lifted her chin at him, seeing if he was up to the challenge.

 

[Torec]

Makes her. More like the Lady cannot think up a better way to mount her dragon.

Torec grunted in response to her unspoken question.

“Aye. You do what you have to to survive. Good on Cerys for letting them ride.”

He cracked his neck and adjusted his straw hat.

“Well. If you’ve no experiencing mounting her any other way, then let’s get to it. Best way to look for saddle sores is to check the saddle.”

Annoyingly, an image of a very particular and very recently seen leather wrapped saddle flashed in his mind. He grit his teeth, muscles in his jaw rippling.

“Ready when you are, Ladyship.”

Aster Sayre