Private Tales Read between the lines

[Zana]

Zana wound her arms around his waist and smiled up at him. After all these years and trials, such simple comments still made her toes curl and butterflies flutter in her stomach.

"You are too good to me, husband," she murmured and pressed a kiss to his lips. The thankful feeling that she could and that they had lived another day still had not left her. She wondered if it ever would and prayed that, in a way, it did not. She never wanted there to be a day she did not appreciate Talus and love him more fiercely for knowing it might only be a short time they had together.

Giving him one last lingering smile she finally let go and made her way to the ornate baths the dwarvish ancestors had built within the manor and sunk herself into the hot foamy water once full. The aches and trials began to ebb away and she sighed, eyes closing.

 

[Talus]

It wasn't by chance that Talus found the cuboards stocked and the kitchen ready.

Though this was their home, the dwarves kept a watch over it, as they did almost everything else. A family that had bonded through his adventures, but family nonetheless. It was likely that one of them had been through here lately, ensuring nothing spoiled and everything was clean of dust and dirt.

Such things brought a smile to his face.

Growing up he, like every Dreadlord, had no family.

To think that he had found one so loving, had managed to hang onto them and even grow their ranks...it was more than he could have dreamed for. The smile on his face broadened, the darker thoughts of the fight to come disappearing as he began to cook.

There was nothing fancy to it, no flourish or mystique, but it would taste of home.

 

[Zana]

Zana allowed herself to take her time in the luxurious baths, washing the grime from her skin and the aches from her muscles. Only when she was worried she might fall asleep in the tub and drown herself did she eventually get out and wrap herself in a snug dressing robe before padding downstairs where the smells of cooking made her stomach growl.

Stepping up behind Talus she wound her arms about his waist and pressed a kiss to his shoulder.

"Pasta?" she asked in a husky, sleepy murmur.

 

[Talus]

"The only recipe I need to know." Talus remarked, having just finished kneading the dough.

Ordinarily it would need to rest for some time, but Dwarven flour was a bit different than what they got in the mountain. A lesson they had learned while staying here only a month after their departure from Vel Anir itself. Before the foundations of their house had been built.

"Plus." He said gently twisting, planting a kiss on her forehead. "It's quick."

Which right now mattered most.

Both of them were about ready to drop from exhaustion, and it did not seem any less likely that tomorrow would provide more of the same. ”Grab a pan?”

Talus asked with a gesture.

 

[Zana]

Zana laughed but there was no malice to it, no hint of mockery that it was the only thing her husband could cook. She was quite content to be the chef of the two for feeding him and their growing family was a task that brought her a sense of accomplishment and pride the likes of which nothing in the academy had ever brought her. No, she laughed because of the shared joke and that she knew, if she let him, he would eat this dish every day for the rest of his life.

Grabbing the plates Zana set in to help him finish off.

"Do you remember this was the first meal I cooked you? After you sat and watched me sleep..." she reminded him with a twist of her lips as they sat down, dinner complete.

 

[Talus]

"I remember." Talus said with a soft smile. It seemed like a lifetime ago, some shadowed and shaded past. Though in reality only a few short years had passed.

Odd, how time seemed to shift in that way.

"Looking back." He mused. "I'm still fairly certain it wasn't just the food."

Talus said pushing himself away as he finished off their meal. Quickly wandering over to the table and dishing out their meal. "Actually, I'm positive."

He offered, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek.

 

[Zana]

Zana laughed and watched him with a fond smile as he filled her plate then his own with almost twice the serving.

"I know it was Grey, the first came of fetch and that was it," she shook her head and picked up her fork, swirling the food around to mix it how she liked, before putting a forkful in her mouth and giving a satisfied noise of approval. "Your sauce is definitely improving," she commented and took another mouthful. "Did you use paprika?" her head tilted curiously as she tried to place the different spice.

 

[Talus]

"No, fire pepper from Tyr." That was one advantage of Dwarves, they seemed to trade with everyone.

Though the stout folk had a reputation for being rather...ornery, that had never stood in the way of commerce. Even in their down years the flow of trade was near constant. Everyone worth their salt wanted to sell goods in Belgrath, it was after all one of the few easy ways through the Spine.

It helped that their own second home was so close to he ancient Dwarven capital. "I'm guessing Vorak stocked up."

Talus mused.

"Probably something he picked up before coming down to ours." He journeyed out often now, from what Talus understood.

 

[Zana]

"I hope he didn't take any for the twins..." Zana grimaced slightly. The babes were beginning to get to an age now where they wanted to try the foods they saw their parents eating, but as the new parents were discovering, certain foods seemed to lead to certain disastrous bouts of magic. Despite both of their best efforts, neither she nor Talus had been able to figure out what their magic actually was yet and as such it was a hard job stopping it from happening.

Once they had finished, Zana washed the dishes and then joined him on the large sofas, snuggling into his side in front of the roaring fire whilst stifling a yawn.

"Do you want another child?" she asked softly. It was not a question they had visited since before the twins.

 

[Talus]

"Oh I'm sure we'll have to build a new house when we arrive." Talus lamented half-heartedly.

They had never been away from the twins this long, and although his dwarven family was more than trusted to care for them, their magic...made things difficult to say the least. Both their son and daughter were powerful, stronger than Zana and Talus combined.

Mostly due to their ever cycling magic. "I'm not fooling myself."

Talus jested with a smile, pulling together the last bits of the dish. Turning around to face Zana just in time to answer her question.

"Yes." He said softly, quickly.

The answer had been with him all along, and he would not change it now. "Yes I do."

He wanted a family, a big one. He wanted to love them. To raise them properly. To give them everything that he could never have. It had always been that way, and it would always be.

Talus wouldn't lie about that, or deny it for even a second.

 

[Zana]

Zana smiled in relief then leaned up to press a kiss to the corner of Talus' mouth. It had been a dream since their first shared vision, of children running and playing in the rolling hills outside their home.

"After this mission," she murmured. There would no doubt be another mission, another problem that would arise that needed their help, but their dreams would come first now. They had fought hard enough for that. Excitement bubbled inside of her and she peppered more kisses over his face. "Though... if you could try not to get me with twins again I would be grateful. My poor back can't deal with being that big again."

 

[Talus]

He smiled, his fingers slowly drawing over her skin. "I'll do my best."

In some way it still amazed him that he had been allowed the blessing of his family. That he had escaped, and broken the system in which he had been brought up in. Some part of him, some deep recess of his mind, still believed it was all a dream.

A flight of fancy that he was telling himself while sitting on the box.

Yet there was no denying the reality of his wife in his arms. The feel of her skin. The quiet scent of her breath. This was real, he knew, and Talus would never allow anything to take it away from him. Slowly he leaned forward, pressing a kiss against her forehead.

"Let's eat." He said quietly, giving her one last soft squeeze.

 

[Zana]

After the hardships of the last week, Zana and Talus' evening alone in their dwarven home was like a second honeymoon. For those short hours they could forget the stresses of the outside world and simply be themselves without the titles of mum, dad, general, traitor, or Dreadlord. The next morning when it came was therefore bittersweet. Bitter for it made the previous night more of a dream, but sweet for they knew after this day they could go home whilst they waited for the army of Vel Anir to be raised.

Zana fingered the woven torque she never removed as she stood in front of the caved in wall. Nothing had changed since she had last been there for which she was glad to see. She had promised the dragons peace, and peace they had been given. Now Zana had to disrupt it.

"Are you ready?" she asked her husband.

 

[Talus]

Talus looked up at the wall in front of them, his eyes flicking over the it as he tried to remember just how thick the stone beyond was.

Phase walking himself through anything was never all that difficult. He had been trained at the Academy for just such a skill-set early on. It was always taking someone with him that was the problem. The veil was not always easy to pierce with someone tagging along.

He was confident he could do it, but the side-effects simply worried him.

Particularly because he knew Zana did not enjoy even the shortest jaunt.

"I am." He said softly, slowly glancing at her and slipping his fingers inbetween hers. He gave her palm a soft squeeze, pressing for just a moment before he continued to speak. "Remember, take a deep breath."

It didn't really help that much, there was no breath beyond the veil, no oxygen, but the ritual was often enough. "And just follow after me."

The words came, and then the world around them suddenly shifted. Their figures turned a bright sparking blue, and the the stone and rock seemed close to translucent. Quickly Talus stepped forward, moving through the pile of rubble as though it were not even there.

 

[Zana]

No matter how much Talus prepared or attempted to train Zana in the art of phase-walking, her reaction was always the same.

"Urgh," she wiped the remnants of vomit from her lips. The trip through the wall had in reality not taken more than a few seconds but her body felt as though it had been wrung out to dry. Eventually she collected herself enough to push off from the rough wall she had been braced against. Her first step was wobbly but the second was more sure. "You are definitely on your own with phase-walking lessons with Lyra and Alec," she gave him a rueful smile.

 

[Talus]

The world snapped back into focus around them, and Talus gently let go of Zana so that she could collected herself. Hovering at her side in case she fell down. After a few moments he smiled, shaking his head and letting out a slight chuckle.

"Provided they get that particular magic." As far as he and Zana had been able to tell there was no real pattern as to just what the twins were able to do.

It seemed sometimes as though they could choose and others as though they would up the next day with a completely random power. He knew that Proctors back home would have practically salivated over the fact, and it was one of the key reasons he would never allow his children near Vel Anir.

Even now after the Revolution.

It was far too dangerous.

Slowly Talus looked around the dark chamber, his hand coming up. It flickered, and then a ghostly blue flame appeared within his palm. The walls around them illuminating, showing the patch ahead back towards the central chamber where they'd first met the Great Dragon beneath the mountain. "Okay to continue?"

He asked softly.

 

[Zana]

Zana took a deeper breath and then nodded. The residual effects of Talus' magic were melting away but her nerves about the mission ahead did not. She just clung to the hope the dragon would remember she had not meant harm before and that she would only come here under dire circumstances.

As they moved through the tunnel from which Zana had once watched the dragon appear many moons ago, darkness engulfed them aside from the small circle kept at bay by Talus' blue light. The darkness for many was a thing to be feared but Zana felt at ease in its presence; the benefit of being raised to believe she was the worst predator in any space at any time. The tunnel wound and weaved like a river and at times she wondered if they were now lost. But every now and then the sign of dragons appeared; a scale wedged between rocks, the scrape of claws on the walls, and piles of aged dung.

"We must be getting closer," Zana murmured after an hour of walking and stood up from what remained of a Seklen - a large species of rodent that could grow to the size of a horse and relied entirely on its sense of smell to see. "It's fresh. A few hours old at most."

 

[Talus]

Talus walked alongside Zana with his eyes flickering slowly back and forth, studying the entrance to the cavern was a wave of memories flooded back into his mind.

Things had been so different then. Vel Anir had been different, their lives had been different. It seemed almost comical how much things had changed in such a short time, and Talus couldn't help but wonder what had changed with the Dragons.

Staring down at the Seklen Talus dipped his head in a nod.

The ghostly flame within his palm burst a little brighter, light casting further around them. "I'd rather not surprise them."

Talus explained with a smile.

"I've only met a few Dragons, but the startled kind I think would be the most dangerous." He chuckled at his own joke, shaking his head with a small smirk.

 

[Zana]

Talus' jokes had certainly gotten worse since they had had children. She could only pity the twins the type of humour they would be suffering as soon as they could understand.

"They might think a flame is another dragon," Zana said on a more serious note. If they did that, they might not pause to check and merely act. Unlike a rival dragon neither of them would survive a blast of dragon flame. "Maybe, making noise, talking loudly might be better," at least then the dragons would know they were human. Perhaps they might even remember their voices if they ran into the same one she had once sung to.

 

[Talus]

A deep frown settled on Talus' lips. "I hadn't thought of that."

He admitted quietly.

Dragons were hardly his area of expertise after all, but once again his loving wife had the right of it. It would have been wrong to say that dragons were skittish, but those beneath the mountain had been wronged before, and If they were right they had been wronged recently.

The creature that Nassau and his companion had twisted had to come from somewhere, and the Spine was the most likely option.

Talus glanced at Zana, and then cleared his throat.

"Hello?!" The former Dreadlords called out into the abyss, the blue light within his palm still flickering as he spoke. "Are you out there?!"

He bellowed. "We've come to talk!"

It was forward, simplistic, and better than walking around in the abyss for the next day and a half.

 

[Zana]

Up ahead the sound of rocks dislodging from their ancient home echoed around the large cavern their tunnel opened up into. Then came the sound of a low growl.

Once the two stepped fully into the cavern the sight before them would have made any dragon hunter weak with excitement. There were at least a dozen in obvious view. Some were curled on perched high above their heads whilst others stood watching the entrance with fire dancing in their reptilian eyes. Some were small, barely larger than a horse, whilst others' long bodies snaked away into different offshoot tunnels to accommodate their mass. Zana got the impression there were more hidden out of sight and possibly already moving to block any escape attempt they made.

"I thought, we made a deal little human..."

 

[Talus]

While a Dragon hunter might have been giddy with excitement, Talus most certainly was not. There was something to be said for the sight of it of course, this many creatures of legend all in the same place, yet the danger of it was not lost on him.

He and Zana could kill one, maybe two, if the Dragons decided to have them for a meal, but all of them?

No. "We did!"

Talus shouted, his voice somehow remaining firm even in the face of the great beasts. The massive Dragon who had spoken slowly climbing down the face of one of the cliffs. It's every step digging into the rock, shaking the very foundations of the earth where Talus and Zana stood.

"But we found something in our travels!" Not exactly a lie. "We thought it important to speak with you."

His eyes flickered to Zana, to some of the others, and then to the creature slowly crawling towards them. It's size becoming more and more apparent the closer it came. "For it concerns all of you, and if it does not, it should."

 

[Zana]

He was a king amongst the dragons here under the mountain. Rocks when scurrying down ahead of him and occasionally his large claws slid in the flurry but that only hastened his descent. It was only once he had reached the ground that his size really became apparent and Zana swallowed; had she really stood toe to toe with this thing before and believed a mere song would save her hide? It really was true what they said, children made you value your life a lot more.

"What could possibly be of concern to the both of us?" he boomed.

"The death of one of your own," Zana said softly knowing full well the dragons had good enough hearing they would pick out every word. Several of those on the perches hissed. "We came across it fighting an Archon... it was... he had done something to it, sapped its energy and twisted its soul some how."

 

[Talus]

"AN ARCHON!?"​

The Dragon demanded in an instant, it's voice booming out. Talus could feel his very bones shake when the creature spoke, as if the air was being torn apart and put together simply by the facet of the Dragon's speech. Fingers tightened almost involuntarily into fists.

He readied his own magic, reaching out to gently touch Zana on the small of her back just in case they had to phase-walk out.

"One of the ancient ones? From the days before your kind and beyond this world?"​

Confusion flickered over Talus' features, and he looked to Zana questioningly. "N-No. An Archon, a Dreadlord and mage of Vel Anir of great power."

The Dragon's head turned for a moment, his eyes settling on the two humans. It was as though the great beast were trying to puzzle out whether or not they were lying. After a moment it continued, now standing almost directly before Zana and Talus.

"A man did this? Twisted the soul of our Kin?​

 

[Zana]

Zana glanced at Talus; what were the ancient ones the dragons spoke of? Even though they had a mission her natural curiosity couldn't help but want to pursue that new line of information. Where had the ancient ones gone? Who were they that the dragons seemed to afraid of them?

"Yes," Zana replied with a firm shake of her head. "Or perhaps two of them. What we had known about this man's magic doesn't quite explain what we saw him do to your kin. We've had reports too that this is not the first dragon he had tried to bend to his will, which is why we're here... we wanted to warn you... and to see if you had heard anything of this from your kin beyond the mountains."

There was an uneasy silence in the cave as the dragon seemed to mull all this information over then he spread his wings.

"I must discuss this with my brothers," he boomed and lunched himself upwards to leap onto a ledge that had been behind them, and then to another where the majority of dragons had gathered.