DD:ToM - Chapter I

Dragon's Dance: Tales of Manavalia
Chapter I: Always Bring Your Assassin's Sword

-A-

There's a full moon tonight.  I gotta remember there's a full moon tonight.

The sun was close to setting on the kingdom of Manavalia, but the sorcerer's tower had already come within sight.  The brave knight Aaaaaaaaaa the Determined (yes, his name literally was ten A's in a row) coasted towards the tower on his trusty griffin mount Claw.

Aaaaaaaaaa had gone through many trials during the previous quarter of a year.  A month ago he'd been bitten by a werewolf during a scouting mission.  Two weeks before that he'd successfully defended his hometown of Redstar from a demon attack.  And just three days prior to today he'd picked up groceries for his fiancé, Princess Daphne.

He estimated that he'd arrive at the tower within ten minutes, fifteen if there was resistance.  If Aaaaaaaaaa could defeat the sorcerer within that tower, the curse on the kingdom would be broken and he could finally marry his beloved.

Of course, chances were it would be easier said than done.

-C-

"My Lord!"

The figure sat in the corner contemplating what seemed to be an assortment of gleaming tablets with strange runes carved deeply into them and seemingly set with blood turned to the creature poking its head through the doorway.   It was at the tower's peak, the interior plush and luxurious.

It looked like a gigantic bat, like size of a large horse, but it had scales rather than fur and a crocodilian head.  It was no dragon, dragons were beautiful creatures, this one was a demon hybrid of some kind.

"He's coming now.  The knight Aaaaaaaaaa the Determined."

A small, derisive laugh came from over in the corner.

"It was inevitable.  Very well, let him come.  We must stop him.  He cannot be allowed to find the girl."

The grotesque batlike creature nodded, and padded away back down the corridor.

-A-

Aaaaaaaaaa grew closer and closer to the tower, having Claw dodge various natural obstacles like trees and rocks.  He screwed up once and got his arm scratched by a branch; it drew no blood, but a large number 2 flashed above his head before disappearing.

Drat.  Gotta be more careful, that HP could have been useful later.  "Claw, we're approaching the tower!  Begin ascent!"

Claw let out a screech of acknowledgment, then flapped its wings and gained height as the tower grew ever closer.

-C-

Suddenly he could see something approaching, huge wings beating through the night air with whooshing thumps, and a high-pitched shriek.

Claw jolted at the high-frequency noise, feathers puffing up.

-A-

"Claw!  Evasive to portside!"

Claw swerved a hard left as Aaaaaaaaaa equipped his Sure Crossbow, received from a hunter a week ago as a gift for helping him track monsters.  It was specially enchanted so it'd never run out of ammo, but then again most long-range weapons in Manavalia were.

Aaaaaaaaaa took careful aim at the approaching beast and pulled the trigger, while Claw quickly adjusted to compensate for the weapon's recoil.

-C-

It however dodged, roaring, "Your puny weaponry cannot harm me!"

Then it dove to attack, shrieking.

-A-

Heh.  Like I haven't heard THAT a hundred times.

Claw dove under the beast while Aaaaaaaaaa jumped off, landing on the creature's back.  He then swapped his Sure Crossbow out for his Assassin's Sword (bought from a merchant down south for a high price) and brought the blade down on the creature's right wing.

-C-

It shuddered, numbers appearing over it as he hacked.

-A-

"Look alive, Claw!  I don't know how much HP this guy has!"

Aaaaaaaaaa switched to the beast's left wing and continued to attack, not letting up for a second.  Claw circled below, ready to catch Aaaaaaaaaa should he fall off.

-C-

Finally it cawed pathetically and dropped like a stone, Aaaaaaaaaa leaping into midair to avoid being dragged down with it.

-A-

Claw intercepted Aaaaaaaaaa perfectly (maybe I'll shorten his name to Aaa from now on to make things a little easier for everyone).

"Nice catch, Claw!  That one'll net me a nice pocket of EXP.  Head downwards and let's loot it."

Claw glided downwards in a spiraling path towards the ground where the foe's body had landed.

-C-

It was fading already, and Aaaaaaaaaa didn't think it was powerful enough to be a Trickster.  Those were NASTY enemies, that faded and then leapt out at you when you weren't expecting it.

-A-

Eh.  Trickster or no Trickster, maybe I'd better be on the safe side and break out the Ring of Pure Sight.

The Ring of Pure Sight was a special gift Aaa had received as part of a difficult quest.  When he wore it, he could see invisible entities, but it also drained his mana slowly and constantly.  He equipped it on his left hand, and his vision instantly went blurry before adjusting again.  That was always a little disorienting, but he grew used to it.

-C-

That one wasn't, but he could see odd figures lurking around the treeline.

-A-

...! "Claw, level out!"

Claw switched to circling at a constant altitude.  Without removing the Ring of Pure Sight, Aaa re-equipped his Sure Crossbow and fired at the nearest hidden figure.

-C-

There was an echoing wail of eerie pain, akin to whalesong.

Then, sharply, in Aaaaaaaaaa's head-

No!  Leave them alone!  They're trapped here, they can do you no harm!

-A-

What?

Aaa held his fire.

Tell me more!  What are they?

-C-

They're faeries, and because they're trapped here they've lost their Light!  Please leave them be!

It was a girl's voice, a little younger than him.

-A-

Aaa put his crossbow away.

Is there any way I can help them?  And who are you?

-C-

You have to turn around and go back!  It's not safe!

-A-

I'm not turning back.  Aaaaaaaaaa the Determined never turns back until he's done.  I came this far for a reason.  I'm here to take on a certain sorcerer and lift the curse on the kingdom, and there's no way I'm abandoning this quest.

"Land, Claw.  I'm getting a little dizzy."

-C-

You have to!  GO BACK!

-A-

Give me two good reasons!

-C-

The curse is not so simple to lift for one!  Try to and everyone in the Kingdom dies!

-A-

Who are you?  I asked you before and you didn't answer me.

Aaa didn't dare reveal it to her, but he suspected that this voice was a fabrication, sent from the sorcerer in an attempt to trick him.  Still, he didn't want to jump to conclusions until he could be sure.

-C-

...My name is Carynnia.

It was pronounced 'kuh - rin - yuh'.

I am the sorcerer's prisoner, as is my dragon, Zu'nae.

It was pronounced 'sunny'.

He is kept locked by enchanted chains, as am I.  We have been here since he caught us many years ago.  I was only a child then, and Zu'nae barely a hatchling.

-A-

Claw landed on a sturdy branch.  Aaa didn't dismount.

How did you learn to perform long-range telepathy?

-C-

I've always been able to do it, its why I left my homeland.  I was part of the Mau'kuse Clan- 'more - goes' -the hunters.  But I was born with telepathy, and whilst I wasn't shunned by my people, I still felt the uncertainty, the unease.  They were unsure whether it was a blessing or a disease.  I was growing up to be a great hunter, one of the most promising they'd ever seen, but I didn't belong.  I left; and ended up here.

Ah, he'd heard of the Mau-kuse Clan.  They were a hunting people, totally at one with nature, and believed fervently in gaining with their own blood and bone, without the use of petty laws and money and debt.  They lived in the Ancient Mountains, right beside a huge dragon population.  When children were born, on their birthing day, they were left outside alone for some time, and whichever magical creature approached, they would be that sort of hunter.  Clearly this Carynnia was approached by a dragon and given an egg, the highest honour.  The hunters on dragonback were lethal, nigh unstoppable once they'd come of age.