Fable - Ask Lost and Found

[Kaelan]

Kaelan sat crouched behind a rocky outcrop and exhaled, watching the steam of his breath pour out into the cold, morning air. He had been tracking an ungulate creature - an elk, he had assumed - for some time now and was eager to catch and cook breakfast.

Tracking in the frigid tundra that was the Spine was a strange new experience. Beasts left far different tracks in snow and gravel than the forestlands he had grown accustomed to. Scents did not carry on the wind the same way here. It was unfamiliar and yet... refreshing.

The elf man was far from home. It had been several months since he journeyed out from the Falwood and the way the landscape shifted as he traveled never ceased to fill him with a sense of wonder. It was the Spine, however, that had been Kaelan's ultimate goal. The ancestral home of dragons, if legends were to be believed.

Kaelan breathed again. The puff of steam served to remind him of the many stories he had heard in his youth. He favored himself a fire breathing beast for a moment, only to have his focus return to reality when he heard a distant *snap!*

The elf leaned silently over the rocks he hid behind to be greeted with the sight of his quarry. An elk it was (though not any kind that Kaelan had seen before), and a large buck at that. The game beast appeared to be padding at the ground with its hoof, searching a dry bush for signs of anything edible.

Kaelan quietly thanked nature for its blessing and gift. He notched an arrow in his bow and drew it back, then took careful aim and loosed it. The elk never even saw him. It only had a moment to cry out before it fell to the ground, still and silent.

The hunter smiled. Rising from his perch, he walked calmly to where the beast had fallen and placed his hand upon its chest.

"Thank you. I will not let any of you go to waste."

 

[Ashieron]

Ash had been tracking this new... person around for a while. He knew the way elves hunted and how they chased their prey. Particularly if they were from the Falwood. The elk was going to meet its end before Ash was able to catch up but that did nit matter to him, animals died all the time around the Spine and all over the known world. Weather it be from diseases or whatever the gods had brought upon them.

The elf knew he was close when he heard the beast’s cry as it fell. Approaching quietly on the ground he point his glaive towards the back of the platinum haired elf. “As much as I do not mind hunting, what are you doing here?” He asks in elvish.

Ash’s job was to protect his keep, his dragons and his fellow keepers from unknown threats. And he is going to treat this just like any other threat until he himself believes there is none. He would run this elf through, even thiugh he senses some magic coming from him. What kind of magic did he use? The elf’s eyes squinted at he thought.

 

[Kaelan]

Kaelan jumped and perked upright at the sudden voice emanating from behind him. He must've been so absorbed in his hunt that he hadn't noticed the presence of another person! Kaelan smiled and began to turn around.

"Ah! Hello! As you said, I was just--"The elven hunter stopped short and changed his tone to a much more cautious one when he saw the glint of metal being pointed in his face."...hunting. Oh dear. I haven't gone and trespassed again, have I? I swear I didn't see a fence!"

Kaelan realized he was still holding the hand-crafted knife he was about to use to gut and clean the elk-thing. He quickly dropped it hharmlessly on the ground and raised his hands to eye level, palms open.

 

[Ashieron]

Ash laughs, “There are no fences in The Spine, why would there be when no bloody king or emperor has no laws here?” He asks the other elf who dropped his hunting knife, he’d smile, “Smart thinking.” The knife then has a thick layer of ice form over it.

Lowering his weapon Ash gives him a nod, “If you weren’t after an elk then I would’ve thought what you were hunting was different. What are you doing so far from Falwood?” He asks with a tilt of his head. Not many people dare come to The Spine. Often times there were hunting dragons or one of the sky elves returning from whatever they did on their giant Rocs.

“What is your name also, my name is Ashieron.”

 

[Kaelan]

"No...laws? Hmm." Kaelan scratched his head. Most lands he'd been to had some form of measure in place to keep people from reverting to their most base instincts, but the Spine seemed to be truly wild. A haven of sorts. The hunter watched as Ash froze his knife over, presumably with magic.

"Oh! That's a neat trick. I'm going to have to call one of my friends to get that back out." Kaelan smiled and leaned down to scratch at the ice. Quite solid! It was admittedly nice to speak to someone again, even if the first thing this stranger did was point a spear at him.

"My name is Kaelan. How did you know I was from?...Never mind, not important." Kaelan shook his head, then looked at the horizon longingly. "I'm looking for dragons. Not to hunt, mind you, just...following stories. A pleasure to meet you, Ashieron!"

Kaelan didn't bother to return the question. He was just happy to not be being speared. The knife being stuck under a layer of ice was going to be problematic for cleaning this kill, however. He raised a thoughtful finger to his chin.

 

[Ashieron]

“You’ll get your knife back. Its my magic after all.” Ash smiles, “Pleasure to meet you too Kaelan.” He says with a bow. “Falwood elves have a sort of way they hunt, which I know too well from back then. Elves who were raised around humans and other kin they’re way of hunting is more... sit and wait with traps or with horses.” He comments.

His ears with twitch at the mention of dragons, and looking for them. That reminded him of himself when he was younger. He was an elf, and a young one at that. Ash notices when he was looking at Kaelan up and down. “If you are looking for dragons...” He’d approach the kill and unfreeze the knife, “Let me help you skin this deer and follow me.” He says taking out one of his bone knives and cuts into it’s stomach.

 

[Kaelan]

Kaelan cocked his head as Ashieron spoke. It never occured to him that people hunt differently. In his travels he hadn't really stopped to observe anyone else doing so.
"How strange. I always assumed everyone would hunt this way. I'll have to learn this sitting and waiting technique at some point..."

Before Kaelan had really figured out what was going on, his knife was unfrozen again and his new acquaintance was carving into the his prey's carcass. He breathed, suddenly realizing that he had been restraining his own lungs in nervous anticipation this whole time. The offer to help was a relieving sign, though the condition was admittedly strange.

"Are you interested in them as well? I've been captivated with them since I was very young. You know, some people say that they may still live among these very mountains!"
Kaelan retrieved his knife and began cheerily cutting away at the elk-thing, child-like wonder in his voice as he spoke.

 

[Ashieron]

Pondering for a moment Ash nods, "I have always been ever since I was a little child over ten centuries ago." He smiles, "There were more of them back then and now sadly... well you see the state they're own species are in now. Not as many and still being hunted even in the egg." He shrugs, "Survival of the fittest though."

Starting to cut and toss away some of the organs, like the elk's bladder etc. Ash starts to cut off the elk's skin. "There are still dragons in these mountains, I raised many of them." He admits, "I help to protect them and if I deem someone trying to hunt them. Then they are dealt with as quickly as possible." Ash comments turning over the deer so he can pick it up by the hooves and start to degloove the elk's skin from its muscles. Cutting off the antlers in the process.

Placing the elk back on the snow Ash cleans off his blade. "How hungry are you?" He asks tossing it away and it vanishes into the air. "Since we have food where we are going and I am sure the dragons will love this free meal." The elf looks up at the sky seeing a slight stir in the color and shape of the clouds. Followed by an increase in wind speed.

 

[Kaelan]

Kaelan's brows went up and his jaw went slightly slack.
"Ten centur--my, you look spry! I must know your regimen!" The elf laughed at his own joke, ever jovial. His smile quickly vanished as Ashieron continued, replaced by wide-eyed amazement. Now this stranger was speaking as though he had seen dragons himself. Regularly, even! That couldn't be right...could it?

"Still dragons? Today? Not like...a few centuries ago or something?" He was so shell shocked by what his new acquaintance was saying that he could hardly concentrate on cleaning the elk. Here Kaelan had spent the last several months travelling to the Spine just in the hopes of finding clues about dragons, and now this man was saying that he raised them?

"How hungry are you?"

As if on queue, Kaelan's stomach growled. He slapped a hand over it.
"Well, breakfast was the idea behind this particular hunt, but I'm sure I can't eat the entire...wait, where are we going?" The hunter asked. And then the wind started to blow. Hard. Kaelan's hair whipped about in the gale and many leaves blew off the branches that decorated his head. Stunned, he stared upwards to see what Ashieron had turned his attention towards. What in the names of the Gods was happening?

 

[Ashieron]

Looking at Kaelan Ash couldn't help but to chuckle. "You must know what to look for young elf." He says pointing towards his eyes.

"They're still recovering but hopefully one day they will be as they used to be." Ash says picking up the elf and draping it over his shoulders, "Carry the pelt, will you? A storm is brewing and I'd rather not wait here much longer." He tells Kaelan.

"Come." He says, "Don't need you to freeze out here, you'll last thirty minutes at most even with magic giving you a bit longer time." He says, walking behind a stone outcropping. "There should be a warm meal back in the Keep. Speak nothing of it outside the Keep, even within the Spine. Promise me that."

He wished that he had more time to meet the new elf, but the storm was not something he wanted to be stuck in. After all, winter was the harshest time in The Spine. Temperatures could drop below freezing in storms if the conditions were right. And he was not about to leave someone to battle it, even if he had been there for months. One slip in a storm could be the last.

 

[Kaelan]

Ashieron's words elicited more confused blinks from Kaelan. Dumbfounded, he took the pelt from his apparently ancient acquaintance and rolled it under his arm. Could this fellow even be trusted? Kaelan had gotten by in his travels thus far with minimal trouble, but he also tended to avoid civilization. What if this stranger was leading him to his doom?

Perhaps it was the approaching cold or the promise of warm food, perhaps it was something else entirely, but Kaelan's gut told him this was meant to be. That the universe had led him here for a reason. Compelled, he followed.
"I won't tell a soul, I swear..." He promised. He blinked again and considered the statement. "Well, I might tell my elemental friends, but they can't really spoil secrets."

 

[Ashieron]

"Then make sure they don't spill their beans." Ash tell Kaelan, “You never know after all.” He admits heading into a sort of a mini tunnel before he starts to walks up the broken path. Climbing up the stones and boulders as he went. After tossing up the elk as he went.

“If you need help let me know!” He yells down disappearing behind a cliff.

 

[Kaelan]

Kaelan watched Ashieron ascend the sheer "path." It was treacherous terrain that even a mountain goat might have trouble navigating. Ash, however, climbed it nimbly, casually tossing the heavy meat of Kaelan's catch up flight by flight. What a strange and extraordinary person.

For most ordinary folk, even elves, climbing the cliff face might've been a difficult task. Thankfully, Kaelan didn't have to climb it himself. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, calling an image to mind. He let the windy chill rush over him, felt the cool breeze kiss his skin beneath the hides he wore. The visage of a white and grey steed with a mane like clouds and a single horn sprouting from its head began to appear in his thoughts. The wind billowed around the elf, a swirling vortex of loose dust and grass beginning to form before him.

Reality began to pull apart for a moment, a crack forming between this world and the next. Kaelan felt magic pulling from within him, like the exhaustion one might feel after marching for a day. Slowly but surely an old friend made his way to Arethil.

"Sora...I need you..."

With Kaelan's whisper came the steed. Sora arrived in a burst of light from within the vortex, a brilliant, otherworldly horse that seemed to emanate a constant gust from its form. The beast stood elegantly before his old friend, regarding him with a warmth that only Kaelan could detect.

"Hello again, my friend. I could use a ride up this mountain. Care to give me a lift?"
The kirin huffed softly, then knelt at Kaelan's request, allowing the elf to climb atop his broad back. Once he was sat and stable upon Sora, Kaelan stroked the elemental's neck.
"Thank you, Sora. Now...Let's go!"

Quick as lightning, Sora reared up and lunged up to the nearest crag, wind blasting out beneath his hooves. He touched down lightly, weightlessly, then lunged again taking the duo ever higher. Kaelan found himself cheering as he and his mount quickly caught up to, then overtook Ashieron.
"Try to keep up!" He called back, playfully. "I don't want to get lost!"

 

[Ashieron]

Ash looks up at the Kirin as it passed, "Then slow down!" Ash calls back jumping up the boulders. He did not want to summon a dragon, mostly because it would grumble about taking him up a trip he took so often.

After a few minutes, they would reach the top reveling a small little village with a huge stone keep looking over it. People were skinning some elk or whatever they had managed to hunt down whenever. Many of them worse winter clothing, as kids ran about chasing each other with wooden swords, or whatever stick they could find.

A few baby dragons flew among them along with maybe one or two adults watching over the little hatchlings.

"Welcome to the Keep." Ash says as a few people came up to him and took away the elk to start working on it. He would motion to Kaelan to follow him and they would go through the village. Some people would look at the new elf as he passed by while others would just go about their daily lives.

Sooner or later they would arrive at the stone keep, just in time for the snow to start falling. It was magnificent. Fiery hearth lined the wall, a few rugs decorated the stone floor, many paintings lined the walls from a long time ago. Some plants also decorated the ceiling adding contrast and life to the cold dead stone.

A dragon's head would poke out from a doorway and look at the new arrival, it would sniff the air followed by a hiss. Blinking its third eyelid.

"Don't panic Kaelan. He is just scooping you out." Ash says waving at the large dragon.

 

[Kaelan]

Still trotting upon Sora's back, Kaelan's eyes went wider than ever before upon reaching the edge of the village. It was like seeing something out of a children's tale. Kaelan had thought he would be lucky to see one dragon in his lifetime, but this? A whole brood of dragons were living in harmony here with people.

"I--this is, I mean...wow..." Was all he could stammer out, more than a little astounded at the village and Keep before him. It was everything he'd dreamed of and more. Like gazing at a chunk of ancient history.

The Keep proper was an impressive monolith to behold in its own right. A fortress it was, both cozy and imposing. Far more imposing, however, was being cut off by a large dragon and sniffed like a hound. Kaelan felt his heart skip a beat in his chest, felt the world around him fall away into total silence. He wasn't afraid--no, all he felt was a childlike wonder.

"Hello, friend..." He said softly, and carefully placed his hand on the dragon's snout. He shivered at the very touch, the cool scales running beneath his palm a sensation he never imagined he'd feel for himself.

 

[Ashieron]

Ash smiles as Kaelan met the dragon and petted it. "That one is just a juvenile still, not an adult by any means yet." He says moving on to the dining hall.

It had a huge hearth in the middle of it and surrounded by a few chairs and tables. Statues decorated the corners of the room and small candles dotted the tables. A few people walked about talking some while some practiced their draconic. A few servants set down a few bowls of food as some more people entered and sat down. "This is the dining hall." Ash introduces Kaelan to it sitting down at one of the tables as a nice delicious bowl of split pea and ham soup was placed in front of him.

"A lot of people come here to study some with a nice offering of food." He says taking a bite of the soup, "And just to eat. We don't really want people to take food out and about except for here or in their rooms. Since the little ones might get to it." He smiles dipping some bread into the soup.