Private Tales Flint to the Fire

[Nadya]

Daylight burned especially brighter this time of the year, which made Nadya that much more grateful that she wasn't out here scouting beyond the Wall into the Wildlands in the dark of dawn. There was an outpost a few miles to the right, the clearing visible from their altitude. Kalyss could easily get them there in seconds, but the large brute found solace in the clouds. They were an hour's flight from the Wall, the distance always seen as a challenge to the rare Storm Dragon.

Through their bond, she could feel Kalyss become disgruntled, and before she could question her godlike dragon, a smell invaded her nose and make her breath sharply to be rid of it. Gods, Kalyss. What is that? Nadya's protest was quick through their bond, and in response, she could feel her bonded be pleased with himself.

A true answer to her question did not take long until imagery flickered, showing Nadya the sight her large dragon could see off in the distance. There, on the summit of a mountain, she could see a rider... on a strange creature. At first, she thought Jarlax, but Nadya had seen enough shirtless men brawling and training at the Wall to recognise the form of one's muscled back.

Human.

Kalyss confirmed with a strong flick of his tail, his eyes still concentrated on the creature that the man rode with caution.

Recognition suddenly came to the rider, and she snorted, blinking away the imagery her dragon so kindly shared through their bond. "That's Talorgan and Biersys. Might as well check in with him and see if he knows if anything has been happening."

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan felt Biersys react to the shadow looming behind them. As a dreq-wyrm, she was much smaller than dragons. She also could not achieve true flight, only being able to glide. Unlike a smaller dragon that could rely on maneuverability in the air to avoid one, her instinct was to find cover.

"Easy now," he said.

He reached down to pat her flank before sliding from her saddle. She could glide, climb run and swim. They were a well matched pair for scouting the lands beyond the wall from close to the ground.

Shielding his eyes against the sun, he looked up to see who was coming down to try and order him around or belittle them both. He had ostracised himself from most of high society. A man who spent his time dressing like natives and learning languages.

"That's Kalyss," he grunted, as the silhoutte became clear. Even he felt a flutter of trepidation at the sight of the storm dragon.

"Nadya's not a terrible person," he added. From Talorgan, it was high praise.

 

[Nadya]

Moments later, she slipped down the foreleg of her bonded, walking forward to a clearing she had no doubt Talorgan would find her in. It was hard not to miss Kalyss and his directed path, but Nadya did not need to be sat atop a dragon to have a conversation with the other rider. In addition, dragons were oft sceptical of other creatures that were not directly draconic, but the Ascendant waited patiently for Tal and his dreq-wyrm to come into view before smiling in greeting.

"You know, it must be nice to have all this nature to yourself than cowering atop the Wall and waiting to be told what to do." She started, grin growing wider. "I tried to live at home, but then I too was cowering in my room, afraid my family would start forcing me in fancy dresses and marrying me off like sheep bred for the dragons to hunt and eat." She snorted, leaning on one leg and crossing her arms. Nadya was dressed in light leathers, hair braided neatly down her back. It meant so much to her to serve as an Ascendant that she always kept to the uniform expected of them.

Nadya nodded to him, grin simmering to a small smile. "Supposed to be scouting, but for the last few hours, found nothing of note to report back. What have you observed on land?"

Talorgan

 

[Talorgan]

"Ah would be," Talorgan said as he approached, "If I really did have it to myself."

He grinned in turn as he approached Nadya. Tall and broad, bare-armed and barefooted, he was something of a contrast to the rider stood before him.

He pointed to several dark brown lines across his shoulder. The pattern still revealed where he had stitched himself. There were a few on Biersys' flank as well.

"Unfortunately I have to share the nature with nature. Rip vines. They ensnare small animals but we accidentally ran under some."

"There is a tribe of kobolds north. Tried to make contact to practise the language but they shot some warning arrows. A small group of jarlax were east. Guess Kalyss will only spot a whole army of jarlax coming, but will fly towards a tasty looking sheep three miles away. "

 

[Nadya]

Nadya threw him an odd but amused look, one that was her own and not the type of look other Thanasites would regard him with hearing him speak of languages other than the High Thanasian they all spoke in.

"Great, isn't it? That a dragon as old as Kalyss is still so simple." She grinned, even as the god towering behind her growled at her words. He understood her, he always had since choosing this descendant to bond with. Foolish, it was always the feeling she felt in their bond, always directed at her. There was so much power he could give her, but not until she earned it.

Nadya shrugged, approaching a few more steps and looking out east. "Well, don't want to end up pissing off the jarlax. Might steer clear until I am to report back to the Wall."

A raised brow now appraised the wild looking male before her. "Even if this isn't all your own, you certainly know the terrain better than anyone."

Talorgan

 

[Talorgan]

"Er...yes...I do..."

Talorgan smiled back awkwardly. His upbringing as a child had been fairly typical. At any public event it would be expected that a man of his position could give and receive compliments as easily as breathing.

He had become accustomed to travelling alone. As well as that, he has used to people telling them that crawling across the ground was beneath his station.

"Beyond the Borderlands is... Well it is dangerous but it's also hard to tell what's going on from up in the air."

 

[Nadya]

Caliar snorted. "The skies have always been the domain of dragons and gods. We need more like you on the ground." An option not many High Ascendants would consider due to the preservation of their dragons. Being on the ground put them at a disadvantage, but there were types of dragons suited for such a task. Tsonyes would be favourable, but one day, Nadya would have a say to make things happen.

"We were going to check in with the outpost and I was going to have myself some lunch... want to join me? Unless you can think of a better spot to eat than a small fortress acting as outpost." Nadya grinned. She had packed a few sandwiches in case hunger took over, but she did better than she expected in the first few hours of scouting. "Come on, Tal. You know I wouldn't bite."

No matter her name and it's history in Thanasis, Nadya had always been respectful of anyone. Working on the Wall had allowed her to become her own person instead of the stuffy society people her sisters would most likely be expected to socialise with.

 

[Talorgan]

Caliar snorted. "The skies have always been the domain of dragons and gods. We need more like you on the ground."

He pulled an awkward smile. The kind of expression that seemed to drift between a gentle smile and a pained grimace.

Talorgan reached up behind his head to scratch the back of his neck. His thick arm was daubed in the kind of warpaint popular in the few human tribes that survived out in wild territory.

"We were going to check in with the outpost and I was going to have myself some lunch... want to join me?

"Yes," he replied plainly with a curt nod.

"Is the outpost manned right now?" he added. He canted his head to one side and glanced over his shoulder at Biersys.

They typically made for the outpost in late evening if they had to go. There were less questions and far less conversation as people were turning in.

Members of the army who ventured this far out without dragons were hardy folk. They didn't look down at him or judge him. Talorgan was just accustomed to being alone with his thoughts out here.

 

[Nadya]

Nadya nodded.

"A few High Ascendants are checking in. I am to report to them before making my way back to the Wall, but... I am in no rush to go back home either." Only the night before, she overheard some of the Recruits she was training talk about her dragon. Kalyss was a dragon that had many stories detailing his victories of the past few centuries, when the original line of the Calaerys were still in power. It had been some time since he brought down his might against foes at the borderlands, but Nadya herself knew the dragon that chose to bond with her was withholding his lightning abilities.

At least he trusted her enough to allow her to command him to create storms, something she liked to do in the summer months when the dry heat was too stifling to bear.

"Haven't seen you since that luncheon your family hosted. Again, thank you for showing me your hiding spot. I think hiding from my sisters and mother made the event that much more fun when they were not bickering with me." She grinned.

 

[Talorgan]

"A few High Ascendants are checking in. I am to report to them before making my way back to the Wall, but... I am in no rush to go back home either."

Talorgan made a sound at the back of his throat. Being bonded with a dragon was a high honour. He simply wished it came with more humility.

He rubbed at his temple.

Talorgan liked to imagine that he was easy to get on with. It was other people that were the problem. If they were less annoying, he would get along with more of them.

"I will come. Only because you are there. Because I will enjoy them all grovelling because Kalyss is there."

It was evident that he enjoyed that memory.

"Imagine living with my family. Hiding was necessary."

He glanced over his shoulder and Biersys approached. She stretched out her wings. Enough to glide a great distance if she could climb.

If the outpost wasn't up a hill, they might have been able to get there before Kalyss picked up altitude.

 

[Nadya]

Nadya let out a snicker, knowing how many Ascendants simply kissed her arse because of the legendary dragon that bonded with her. "Alright, outpost it is! Can't wait to see their faces when they see you stride in with me."

Nadya's mother had chastised her often for holding herself above anyone else for having a bond with Kalyss, but Nadya always answered with the same words: they were descended from the Great House that bred storm dragons. It was in their blood to be elitist.

But Nadya liked making friends with those other's wouldn't think about first. Talorgan was someone she could easily spend a day with than to go back to the Wall and hear people fawn over her 'bad ass' dragon. She wished she could tell them he refused to use his storming magicks, or even didn't trust his bonded rider that he chose to give war commands.

Her eyes brightened seeing Biersys, already knowing that they were gearing up for a race. "How about I give you both a head start. Kalyss is a monster and covers a lot of ground with one beat of his wings."

Talorgan

 

[Talorgan]

"Alright, outpost it is! Can't wait to see their faces when they see you stride in with me."

Talorgan canted his head to one side. He wasn't going to admit it out loud, but that image tickled him.

He didn't want to trade on anyone else's reputation, but playing their arrival down would irritate them all.

"How about I give you both a head start. Kalyss is a monster and covers a lot of ground with one beat of his wings."

Talorgan genuinely weighed up the options. Could the great dragon reach the outpost without gaining altitude first. It would only take Biersys a few minutes to cover the ground at a flat sprint with some glides, but it was the last rocky uphill that would take time.

"I'll only need as long as it takes you to get back and mounted," he boldly declared.

He whistled and Biersys charged forwards. Talorgan broke into a run. His wyrm tilted her long neck and he grasped reigns and threw himself into place. One bound and she launched herself up, bounced off a tree and opened her wings.

The pair were off at a glide towards the flats, where she would break into a run.