The Syzygy The Dance of the Moon Dragons

[Karn]

Karn looked down at his little charge, he held respect for her. It was uncommon for him to give that out freely, but she was strong, independent, and far from foolish. These were all things he could appreciate, even if she went against his judgement.

He shifted slightly as she pointed to her cousin, his lips in a grim line beneath his helm. He watched the receding backs and narrowed his eyes. Something about this eclipse, it hung heavy like a shroud around them all. "Maybe I'm overly suspicious, this eclipse is making me particularly uncomfortable." He wouldn't have admitted it to anyone else, but there was an unspoken trust between him and his charge. She knew better usually anyways, could read him with his helm and all.

Eira

 

[Melisandre]

She flinched at his touch, winced at his words, and just when Melisandre had the courage to lean into Raimond— a friend before he was her fiancé— he left. Heat bloomed across her bare, pale chest. She was glad that the dress she had chosen could hide this shame, that this feeling stayed in her torso instead of her face. Melisandre stood still, watching the back of Raimond’s head slowly move through the crowd, slowly getting smaller and smaller until she couldn’t make it out any longer no matter how much she stared.

It was immature to feel so neglected and lonely when a person had reached out a hand towards her, had made the effort to understand her, had tried to help. Just like the others before him, she had pushed him away.

“You’re so cold, Meli. Your heart is just so… cold.” Freddy had been such a sweetheart, a childhood friend that always took the blame whenever Melisandre had gotten them into trouble. He remembered her favorite flower, two-tone roses, and had a good eye for jewelry. He had saved up his allowance for two years to get her a pair of diamond earrings before they had even begun dating. He may have had clammy hands and was a bad kisser, but he loved her more than she could ever love him. The engravings on the necklace he made to propose to her was proof of this, his love was limitless and without conditions. He would’ve been the safe option, if she had pretended to be more interested in him, would she have grown to love him and save herself from this mess?

“Why can’t you just tell me what’s wrong? I know you’re hurting, if you’d just tell me we could work through it together!” But she couldn’t tell Zakary what was hurting, much less what she was feeling. When they were both in the military, it was easy. Emotions had to be pushed aside, it was comfortable to do so. Then they were out of the military, engaged and celebrated by their friends and family they had made. By the heavens, even Kace and Oxa had loved Zakary, welcoming him like a brother (they often bullied Freddy, he was so timid after all.) Yet, Zakary talked too much about his feelings, and while Melisandre knew it was wrong, she began to despise him for it. She despised him even more when he went to her as she withdrew. The more emotionally unavailable she became, the harder he pushed to make her available. In the end, he also left. Zakary knew she was stubborn, like everyone around her did, but he had forgotten about it while she wore his necklace.

She knew it was immature to feel as though everyone left her. Some part of her knew this, but it was a small part and easily overshadowed by immense turmoil. See? Her best friend told her, the voice that had been at her side since she was young. They always end up leaving you. They never really loved you in the first place. Everyone leaves you in the end.

Melisandre searched for her bond with Eryx, a reminder that she was not alone, but she could feel nothing solid, nothing significant— perhaps a hazy whisper here or there, but indecipherable. Was it really the eclipse or was she just being shut out? Eryx had been irritable while Melisandre rotted in her pit of despair. The breed was known for eating it’s own children if it was starving, not for it’s empathy.

“Oh.” She ducked her head, turning and walking away, fingers dabbing at her eyes. “How unfortunate,” she mumbled, looking at her black stained finger tips. “Now my make up is ruined.” Not heeding where her feet took her, it was not a surprise that she slammed into Karn, and might have mistaken him for a wall if a dear friend’s face didn’t help orient her. “Eira. How lovely to see you. It’s been too long.”

Raimond Thesius Karn Eira

 

[Karn]

Karn still had his head turned towards Eira as he finished speaking, so he did not see who or what had suddenly rammed into him. He did instinctively grab the perceived threat, firmly locking them in place with his arms, prepared to fight rather than the sight he finally landed on.

Karn peered through his helm at the crying mess of a woman that had unfortunately found herself entrapped. He released her quickly, though he was not ashamed of his reaction. "My apologies Lady Melisandre, I hope I did not cause you and injury." At her recognition of Eira, he stepped back to give them space. It seemed she needed some support, and his responsibilities lay in physical protection, not emotional. He kept his eyes searching the crowd, checking in in Eira just as often to stay directly with her. "If you need me for anything Eira.." He trailed off, she knew the drill anyways.

Eira Melisandre

 

[Eira]

"Meli," she said softly, surprised to see her friend upset. Eira shooed away the other lady's hands and wiped under her eyes, successfully giving them a fashionable shadowed look that look sultry on the young woman. "There. Perfection once more."

She gave a glance to Karn, nodding at his awareness to give space to the ladies.

Turning back to Melisandre, Eira looked up with a frown. "Where is your betrothed, Meli? Not that I am upset the one training us Recruits is not here to play noble games, but I at least thought we all were good with holding up pretenses." She sighed, catching sight of her father's gaze roaming the crowd, no doubt hoping his daughter was on the dance floor.

"Walk with me." She insisted, taking Melisandre's arm into her own. "My father is being insufferable for me to find someone to dance with. The only person I would like to dance with is not in attendance... at least here in the Main Plaza." Where all the nobles came to congregate to show off their wealth and dresses, but dressed in homage to the Malennis' for their special night celebrating their dragons.

Only until they were clear of some guests did Eira lower her voice, "Are you alright? Do you want to bully my brother to make you feel better?"

Melisandre Karn

 

[Melisandre]

Leave it to a man to further disrupt her night and for a woman to make it all better. Melisandre gave a nod for the apology, and even though bumping into him was her fault, she wouldn’t apologize. In her mind, only one person was ever in the wrong, and they tended to be whoever apologized first. As she was led from the shadows and prying eyes, Melisandre considered Eira’s words and questions.

She had no idea where Raimond had walked off to and she refused to even pinpoint the direction he walked off in by turning her head to where she had come from. As for the other two, no, she wasn’t alright, so much so that teasing a brother wouldn’t make her feel better. She pursed her lips. That left her only one option when it came to continuing conversation.

“Raimond is off saying hi to friends, and I was a silly fool who chose heels too small.” Melisandre said quickly, rushing past anything that made her feel like crying. “They’re cute but I can feel that three blisters have just popped. They’re raw and bloody— don’t look, it’s not a befitting sight.” With her lies out of the way, she sighed, doing her best not to lean too much towards Eira, trying not to hope for a hug.

The last Evreux was not touchy-feely, unless she was doing all the touching. It was rare for her to yearn for something so intimate, something so far from sin.

“Who is it that you wanted to dance with?” A perfectly arched brow raised, a pointed look found Eira. “And how long have you hidden a new prospect from me. Your father, I understand, but me?” Meli smiled, suddenly feeling much better. “I must know everything that you know, and then some. Is he handsome? Funny? Does he have nice teeth?”

Eira Karn

 

[Eira]

Raimond. It almost made her chuckle hearing the name so plainly when she had to refer to him by his rank in their squad. Yet it was the how quickly her friend snatched onto the secretive tidbit she teased, and the Malennis heir knew it was enough to draw attention away from the blisters Meli would be feeling.

Casting a look behind them both to Karn, she made sure to lean in close to her much taller friend and speak so lowly so that her guard for the night would not overhear the delicate contents. "Handsome, yes. Even after what happened to him... and yes, nice teeth." She stifled a snort, but the smile was alive on her lips, just happy she could finally tell someone about her interest in a boy. Suitable or not, it was rare for the Malennis woman to hold someone in such affectionate upholding.

"Promise me you are not to judge me. I am simply enjoying my freedoms right now, and Cullen Morvane has surprised me so." She hoped Meli heard her quietest of whispers of his name. "You can imagine why he is not here in attendance, can you not Meli?"

Not only would many of the noble and high society folk would look down on him, they would most certainly protest the chosen heir of House Malennis to dance with the likes of him. If only they knew just how fondly she thought of him...

"Alright now, give me grief." She rolled her eyes, but there was relief in confiding Melisandre. "And if Karn heard anything, he is under oath to not speak ill of his Malennis charge." Eira shot him a challenging look.

 

[Karn]

Karn cared little for the interaction between the two, as long as Eira was safe, he could care less. He opted out of politics, he'd much prefer a life of duty and purpose serving others. Lady Melisandre gave him little acknowledgement, and that was just fine, he was naught but a guard dog to those around him. He kept his focus on the crowd and on Eira.

As Eira spoke his name, he arched an unseen brow with a matching invisible grin. He would never admit it, but he did enjoy his time as her guard, she was a spitfire and always spoke her mind. He tilted his head at her, the amusement in his voice could be heard as he responded. "With all due respect Lady Eira, I could care less. I'm just here to do my job, you know me well enough by now." He turned his head forward once more, letting the ladies continue. He did care to an extent, but it was all related to keeping her safe. He owed that to her father, the man had done more for him than most knew, and he would keep it that way.

Eira Melisandre

 

[Trask]

It took him a few long minutes to reach the shore again. A small crowd of folk were idling there looking up at the display in the skies.
"Hey!"
He called.
"It's starting to look bad put there, maybe we should get inside."
A few laughed him off until they saw the darkness.

"Is that a storm?"
"There's never bad weather during the Dance!"
"What is that?"
"Are those fish dead?"

The last thing Trask wanted was panic, especially in a group this big.
"Look I don't know what's happening but I think you should all try to get back inside the City!"
They stared at him, waist deep in water as he was in his fishing hat.
"MOVE!"
He bellowed and finally they began to motion slowly back to the dock entrance.

 

[Melisandre]

Cullen Morvane? Her brows furrowed, trying to place a face to the name. It surely sounded familiar, but as for why, Meli couldn't say. Perhaps she had heard it in passing, or maybe there had been a time she had come across this Cullen that had a hold on her friend's affections. At least Eira had confirmed that he was both easy on the eyes and had nice teeth.

He couldn't be too bad of a man if he had nice teeth.

"There's no grief to give, if you're happy and if he isn't a ass to you." The smile was small but genuine. "Besides, secrets make it steamy. Nothing like hiding your boyfriend from the world to make your heart flutter as much as between your--" she paused, glancing over to Eira's bodyguard. He might not have cared about Eira gushing about her crush, but he might not like the crass words she was about to use.

"Anyways, if he isn't here, are you going to ignore every possible suitor and every possible dance to be had tonight? Are the two of you that serious?"

Eira Karn

 

[Eira]

Eira found herself snorting and swatting at her taller friend. "Gods, Meli!"

And she was right. Was Eira going to ignore those that wished to dance and humour her the entire evening? "Well... perhaps I could find someone to keep my father from pestering me. I do not want him to start planning an arrage--- oh. Not to say an arranged marriage is awful... I mean, you could do worse than a Thesius..."

She turned to look at Karn, smirking. "I am sure Karn would happily cut down anyone that I do not agree to marry, my father's plans be damned."

Karn Melisandre

 

[Vhagor]

Many were too wrapped up in their celebrations to notice the blotting out of the sky.

First it ate the stars.

Then the moon.

Then it began to eat the dragons.​

 

[Danika]

The Inner City - Plaza

Danika felt the spike of fear from Sylvraxis before the Moon Dragon crashed down into the centre of the plaza. It's eyes stared lifelessly at the sky it had just called its domain, its throat was torn and not just by a beast that had been hungry. This beast had found joy in it. A hush fell over the royals and nobles gathered as they tried to comprehend what had happened.

Thud.

Another lifeless Moon dragon dropped onto the roof of a nearby mansion. Brick and wood flew in every direction as the beast reduced it to rubble in a matter of minutes. Sylvraxis launched herself at her rider as the whole plaza erupted into panic.

 

[Tuon]

Outer City, Harbour

It was her father who waded in to help the Wall Guard in his hollering. Izaiah Stryker was a known man in these parts, a friend to the poor despite the station his family had managed to obtain for themselves. Those who were not listening to Trask quickly listened to him.

"What in the Gods..." a man whispered and pointed to the sky. From between the impossibly dark clouds figures writhed over one another as though fighting over a scrap of meat.

"Are they... dragons?"

Then the first Moon dragon corpse fell from the sky. It didn't have a chance to crash into the waters below for from the depths a great, gaping maw suddenly broke the surface and launched itself upwards, swallowing the dragon whole.

The beach erupted into chaos.

 

[Trask]

Water crashed around those on the shore and peer as the great maw fiend gulped down what was left of the moon dragon and knocking various folk over.
If it was not dead before it certainly was now.
Shock took so many but Trask and Izaiah were among the first to shake it off.
"GET BACK, BACK TO THE CITY. MOVE, GO!"
He took Izaiah by the shoulder to get his attention.
"To your dragon Syr. The City is under attack!"
He knew not from whom nor why but he knew an assault when he saw it.

Tuon

 

[Karn]

If Karn had heard Melisandre, he made no move or noise otherwise. The mutterings of women and what happened between their thighs were the thoughts least on his mind. He was a professional, and such conversation was best left unheard, if even it was pretend. He shifted uncomfortably as the featherlight connection to Calypso rumbled. He could sense her anger, but nothing more.

"As you wish, Lady Eira. No one gets close to you that you do not want near." This was the last chance he would have to speak before the skies erupted in bloodshed. Shrieks of dragons, the harsh cries of people would be the only noise that could be heard as the first lifeless moon dragon fell to earth in front of them.

Karn hastily covered Eira as the crowd surged and trembled around them. He had no thoughts of protecting anyone but the progeny of the man he owed his livelihood to. "We need to get far from here Eira. Now." He knew she would be worried about her dragon, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

Eira Melisandre

 

[Melisandre]

Just as she was starting to feel better enough to let out a genuine laugh, even if she had to ignore the comment about arranged marriages, it all had to get worse. She felt something warm and sticky fall upon her like rain, but it carried a stench of copper and decay. She was drenched in it, and if she had been a few steps more forward or to the right, debris would have struck her and had her facing the same fate as the moon dragon.

Standing still in shock, screams surfacing from every section of the plaza, Melisandre stared in horror at the fallen dragon, fear slithering through her veins. She slowly turned, half in a daze at being covered in fresh, warm blood.

"Eryx." Melisandre whispered, the bond still fuzzy. At least she had some confirmation that her dragon was alive. "Raimond." Karn was taking Eira to safety, and as Melisandre began to get shoved and pushed, jostled from one place to the next, she realized then that doing nothing would only put her in more danger. She needed to get to Raimond, or her dragon, no, both. But neither were nowhere to be found and waves of people moved against and past her.

Eira Karn

 

[Eira]

Her vision was obscured by the sheer size of Karn, but it did not stop her from seeing the head of a Moon Dragon fall and splatter the finely dressed crow. Screams erupted all around, Asendants moving in swiftly to help evacuate the guests, but Eira's mind was burned with the image of a Moon Dragon's lifeless eyes.

Tyafainne!

Panic rose up in her when no response came, no presence down that sacred bond they shared. Her hands slipped out from Meli's as she was directed away, and due to her small stature, Karn was practically pulling her away. It felt heavy to move through the crowd in her special dress, made to glimmer in the lights directed up to the eclipsed sky as she rode her dragon earlier, her movements made of small twinkling sounds like bells gentle in the rain. Her feet slipped under slick blood, but she did not fall far before Karn had held her upright and directed them towards the Main Pavilion, where the other Malennis family members were gathered.

"Where is my father?" Eira could not see the man, only her uncle remained to shout orders.

Other dragons took to the sky now, all sizes and breeds, but blood still rained upon them all.

Catching sight of herself in a mirrored reflection, her golden chained dress had left her shoulders and arms bare, and on her browned skin, blood dripped down, also caught across the chains. "Gods..." She gasped, horrified by the imagery. Nothing seemed so strikingly out of place when in a gown that blood was at that moment.

"Eira!" Arms found her and pulled her in, squeezing her. Kleio Malennis held her youngest tight, a sigh of relief leaving her as dark eyes found Karn and mouthed a silent thank you. "Your father found Eirenthe. They are in the skies, going to the hatching grounds."

Protect the eggs. It was what Eira would have done.

"You need to leave, Mama. Go! I will find you at home, alright? You need to go!" Eira pulled herself from her mother's grasp, her hand crossing to the sword at her side. It was not a ceremonial sword, but something shorter that was capable of doing it's job in her hands.

She turned to Karn, setting her face with seriousness. "We need to protect the Moon Dragons." There was no room for argument, not when the very species was already on the brink of extinction due to their rare breeding habits and extended incubation periods.

But it was hard for her to take another step forward, to give Karn opportunity to pull her back when the tail of a writhing and headless white dragon fell from the sky and knocked the grand tent most noble guests stood under.

 

[Karn]

Blood soaked the stones, spilled from dragons, trailed by the feet of the crowd. Hi white armor was no longer just white, and yet his focus was still razor sharp. He was quick to keep Eira righted and moving, any wrong move and it could be their downfall in a frenzied crowd such as this. Their movement was slow, but the made steady progress through the screaming throng.

There was steady thump, it shook the ground beneath them as they reached Eira's family. A familiar roar greeted his ears as he watched his Calypso ascend into the darkened sky. There was an anger there, and he knew that any dragon that crossed her would meet its end this night. He watched her large white scaled body twist in the air, and then his focus was on the ground again.

He met the eyes of Eira's mother, and he nodded his head in acknowledgment. There was no time for him to get comfortable now though. "I agree that you all should head home, you included Eira. I know you won't listen, and I'm not about to throw you over my shoulder this time. I understand you want to protect them, but I insist on protecting you. If you do this, you have to listen to me if I call it quits. Do you understand?" He drew his sword and looked down at his charge. "I will not let you die here, even if it costs me mine."

Eira

 

[Nadya]

The sky lit up in quick flashes, a lightning storm answering the deafening roar of the offspring to the gods of clouds that helped shaped Thanasis. Kalyss' silhouette seemed to be darker than the eclipsed night, his large wingspan saving many down below in the Main Plaza from the spray of blood that came from one of the abominations after a Moon Dragon and rider put those famed teeth to use.

Nadya was on the ground, urging many of the visitors dressed for the celebration to evacuate. Those bonded to a Me'ei were present too, using specialised transport to help evacuate children and the elderly.

The Ascendant swore aloud as a severed head fell in front of her, but it was no Moon Dragon. It was something she had not seen before, but she did not stay to study it. She knew what it was, at least from the word that Kalyss seemed to have learned and recognised and now shared between their bond: Abomination.

She ran into someone dressed daringly, something she could have appreciated later if she was not on duty. She held the woman steadily turning Melisandre to face her. "Are you hurt?" There was a good splash of blood across her, too much for a human to bleed out without being dead, but it was her duty to ensure the citizens were safe and well.

Other Ascendants and members of the Thunder answering the call for defense swarmed the Main Pavilion, where most nobles had spent the evening shmoozing and gossiping. Arguments ensued as nobility refused to clear without information being told to them, and Nadya gritted her teeth. "Come with me." She supported the woman, who looked too shellshocked to register how to put one foot in front of the other.

The Main Plaza looked like a bloody graveyard. Her heart lurched each time she registered a Moon Dragon in the corner of her eyes, a very heartbreaking reality that the majestic drakes were attacked on one of the most sacred days of their mating rituals. The flashes above alerted her that her bonded fought ferociously, lightning executed with deadly precision to fight the bloodthirsty beasts.

One body fell, falling past the grips of several dragons. A Moon Dragon, lifeless and a full wing torn from body and dangling by a stretch of muscle. No one seemed fast enough to stop it, to redirect it from it's line of trajectory. The large body fell onto half of the Main Pavilion, tail sinking the tent and trapping many underneath.

 

[Cullen]

Eira..

Cullen was in the air seconds after the first dragon fell, and chaos erupted from above, and below. People screamed and ran in all directions, dragons fled, and dragons took off into battle. Tonight had not been a night for battle, and they had not been prepared for the carnage.. for such loss.

Nadya..

He spotted her first, yelling her name before the colossal body fell onto the plaza and fear twisted in his gut as he dove toward it. "Nadya!?" landing close by and slipping from Meala's back as he pushed through bodies rushing toward him. "Meala, stay close!"

Spotting her, the knot loosened and his dark eyes swept over her, assuring himself that the blood she wore was not her own. "You good?!" he called above the panic. "Eira. Have you seen Eira?!" he asked, his steps already carrying him toward the tent and those trapped within it.

 

[Eira]

The world became a drowning of deep blue and silver as the tent cover fell on the nobles collected beneath the Main Pavilion. Before Eira could fight Karn on his orders, a great weight fell upon her, sending her crashing to her knees. Her dress, entirely made out of light metal chains cut into her skin ever so lightly, but the panic was dampened with the weight of a great body crushing her.

The Malennis heir gasped for air, blind and alone despite the cries for help she could hear.

"Karn..." What air left her lips was hard to replace with an intake of breath.

 

[Nadya]

"Cull." She tried to hide the surprise from her voice, but her expression changed quickly as he inquired about a name not recognisable to her. And then it clicked, the young woman that rode her Moon Dragon earlier in the eve, dazzling the crowds with a display.

The Chosen Heir.

Her head swivelled to the tent of the Main Pavilion, where the source of many cries and screams could be heard.

Nadya's stomach dropped, but not a moment later, she opened her mouth to shout, to call her bonded in the tongue of High Thanasian.

She hurried to Cullen, pulling him along with her. "I don't know. Help me?" And her hand lifted to point to where Kalyss cold be seen swooping towards the Pavilion, talons open and clutching into the dead flesh of the drake that fell from the eclipsed heavens and slowly lifted it off the trapped highborns.

 

[Karn]

Before she could even respond to him, their world shifted once more. The collapse of the tent, the heavy white body that bled rivers that lay upon it..it was chaos. Screams echoed around him, the bodies of the stricken dead covering the floor in pools of red, eyes widened and staring at nothing. He stood for a moment before the collapsed tent, taking everything in before making his move. Eira had gotten caught beneath it, and he needed to steel himself for the recovery.

A dragon had flown in from above as he made his blade work through the heavy fabric. Carefully, he made his way through the sea of bloodied fabrics, undoing the weave with the sharpness of his steel. The body of the felled drake was lifted, and he silently thanked her aid.

Finally, his eyes lit upon his charge. He swooped in, hoisting her from the ground and tent with ease. He carried her through the muddle in a princess carry, eyes forward as he addressed her. "Are you injured? Can you move all your limbs?" He wouldn't stop here to assess her here, nor was he sure she'd allow him to.

Eira