There are 2 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. [DL-D] On the Hatching Sands
From: "Edward L Murray" <elm.murray@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
2. [DL-J] Taking The First Step
From: John Pepper <trissana@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 17:53:41 -0700
From: "Edward L Murray" <elm.murray@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-D] On the Hatching Sands
(Day 130)
(Last hour before hatching)
{On the Hatching Sands}
A cold wind was coming she could feel it in her scales, gently she
breathed into the sands to warm them. The fire from her breath lit up
the hatchery, the hard eggs glistening in the fire light. Her mouth
twisted into a smile that was full of razor sharp teeth flanked with
golden scales. Any moment now they would begin to hatch and the little
lives with in would bond with their human counter parts.
It seemed so long ago that she hatched and bonded with her sister the
humans called Thea or the Duchess. A woman filled with grace and
strength one that a queen dragon could call sister and friend. Even now
before the sun was up she could feel the bond with her rider already up
and looking through her papers and checking the strategic map.
In this last month the Wyverns, 'may they burn in the waste' have
stepped up their war with the dragons and the humans. The death list
was so long that Thea had to stop funerals and demanded that one hour
of each day be put aside to remember those fallen.
Her son had arrived with his soldiers which meant that she was now
taking part in human developments of politics. The dragon rider's
orders were always to stay out of the battles unless the Wyverns
engaged. Each camp had at least two dragons with them at all times,
Thea would have added more if not for the kings' writ to stay out of
the combat as much as possible. Galendriel remember how furious her
rider was when she received that order, how she suspected there was
someone working with the wyverns that had the
Kings ear.
An opening in the cave darkened a moment she looked up to see Samson
and his rider arrive back to the warren. Samson was a large red dragon
and the father of the clutch of eggs. He had won the right and proven
himself to be worthy. However the undertows of such feelings could not
totally leave the two riders, and this Lexi fella had to bare the brunt
of many of Theas' tongue lashings as she screamed for one reason or
another.
Tingling in her mind told her that the Red was talking to her, *Hello
Beautiful, so how goes the mistress of war, or more specific should my
rider meet her with his armor on?* the thought was teasing and
Galendriel was glad to have Samson back to cuddle with once more.
*Oh I think he would do far batter with no clothing or armor on. It
seems to stop her dead in her tracks more so then any other thing I can
think on. Besides how can she think of war when looking at his body?*
for that matter she thought to herself how could she think straight
when the dark red scales lay next to her. She loved tickling that
orange underbelly of his.
Something shifted in the sands however and she looked desperately
around even with her dragon sense's she couldn't see or smell anything.
But then the sand would cover much of anything. But a nausea feeling
did seem to creep into her mind and she felt the hatchlings begin to
panic. Galendriel rose up frantic now. What could. The thought dropped
off as the ground broke beneath the sand two eggs disappearing into the
holes left by what ever was
coming up.
{Warren Lady's office}
She studied the maps retracing in her mind all the reports of the
troops and where they should be from the reports she sifted through.
Lifting a her cup to take a sip she realized her coffee had grown cold
and it had been hours since someone had brought her a fresh batch.
How many nights now had she forgone sleep her body was num from fatigue
and she knew her mind must be getting sluggish. She could still feel
T'rell's heated words that she needed to sleep that there were others
that could run the warren while she slept. Yet, sleeping was almost
worse then being awake.
They had rooted out several Wyverns hiding in the Caves below them. But
it was obvious that the labyrinth of caverns would take months to sort
out and the best they could do is set guards on obvious exits. From
below the creatures were close enough to haunt their dreams, those with
a stronger telepath could shield it with there dragon bond. Those less
fortunate could only mask a portion.
Thea wasn't about to let on that she had a weakness and when she slept
it was a sleep of someone at war with a tempest. The other was the
simple fact that the Wyverns learned of their plans through sleep and
her mind was ripe for plucking.
It never occurred to Thea being a warren lady would be easy but this
was much tougher then she expected. Her son had arrived with a goodly
force helping the land bound recover much of their losses. With careful
aid of the dragons they managed to push back the Green bands by keeping
the Wyverns out of the fight. But it was a heavy cost with many dragons
and riders crippled in the after effect.
A few reports showed signs of wraiths out and about, but when her
scouts went looking they often encounter trouble with wyverns so were
unable to confirm or deny the report. Her fear was that a large gather
was happening. She had no proof just a hunch and seldom where her
hunches wrong.
A strong foreboding creped into her bones and for a moment she felt
light headed then panic. Horrible panic that clutched at her mind her
lips started to part in a scream. She realized it was from Galendriel.
Grabbing her crossbow she hurried out of the warren office heading to
the Hatching sands.
"Oh gods no please not now and not here," she pleaded on the wind.
{Leaia's apartments in Triylar)
The small woman with half her face hidden by a mask was up early. The
masters' plans were in place, and she waited for things to unfold. She
wanted to be on the front line to kill the dragons and their riders.
She had lost many of the faithful in the last several weeks' their
body's left for the earth to reclaim them. Her dreams have become
shattered at times she found her self laughing uncontrollable to stop.
She knew that the dragons
and their riders where attacking her mind personally and she intended
to fight back.
Her dreams were filled with her once flying on a dragon; in her dream
she loved the dragon though they were often at odds with one another.
She had been in several mating flights and enjoyed them. This she
could not understand how you could enjoy something that was so much
like rape in her mind.
No the Dragons and their riders were evil and needed to be cleaned from
the land. Only then would the Wraith disappear. The ghostly forms that
eat any living creature and only stone could bar their entrance into a
home. Since her coming out and openly attacking dragons there had not
been a reliable recording of any such attack.
Her eyes moved to the stack reports on her desk as she spoke out loud,
"Nope not one reliable report," as though the reports would disappear
with her words. Turning she went to look for clothing to celebrate the
return and the prizes the Wyverns were to return with.
The master would not tell her what was happening, but she trusted. As
her mind thought of trust the vision of the dragon in her dreams
breathing fire into her face caught her off guard and she jumped in
panic. But she saw felt something different in this recall as though
something sinister was behind her and she was not where she was suppose
to be. She shook her head and shrugged it off. "You're just not
getting enough sleep, "she told herself.
She grabbed a simple green dress along with cloak and hood and slipped
out of a similar green dress and hood. One side of her body was lean
like a dancer the other side was twisted and scared from dragon fire. A
necklace with a dragon tooth hung between her good and bad breast. As
though reminder of something she could never remember.
With dress on she slipped out of her apartments. Today was going to be
very special she could feel it though her whole being. The master would
be proud and the Dragon riders will be dealt a blow. But her smile
quickly faded when a blood curdling scream rose from the streets
followed by more.
She rushed to the window and was dumb struck at the sight before her.
The streets where filled with white ghostly shapes and as they came in
contact with the people on the streets it was as though they burned
right through them. It took her a moment to collect her thoughts and
then she tried to send a mental calling. There was no answer. She
shook herself then started running down the corridor calling the guards
and runners to wake up the
flamers. It was going to be a long day she decided.
(Tag-Open, ok this tag is opened for all of you to jump in where ever
you feel like jumping in. You can ad-lib to your hearts content but the
hatching starts an hour after this. Which mean you can post the
hatching during a battle if you like. You can also be working
undercover in town if you like. Or out on patrol sky's the limit toss
in that imagination and let's have fun. I will write again in 10 days,
sorry for my absences)
Submitted by
Edward L Murray
Summary
Day 130 an hour before hatching Galendriel's thoughts are interrupted
by something digging in the sand.
Thea is thanking about the last few weeks very tiered from lack of
sleep when she gets a warning from Galendriel.
Leaia's gets ready for the masters surprise and wonders if she is
losing her mind or is getting mentally attacked by the dragons and the
riders. When suddenly Triylar is attack by wraiths.
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 21:11:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Pepper <trissana@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-J] Taking The First Step
Tanami
Late Evening, Day 1
Things were, as her human friends here were wont to say, going to hell
in a handbasket. And it seemed, to Tanami's dismay, that she was now
in charge of keeping hold of the handbasket and setting things to
rights.
She was, following the battle, virtually in a state of shock as were so
many of Jasra Warren's inhabitants. But hers, right now, was a special
situation. Tara was gravely injured, perhaps dying. Her next in
command, Lecia, was - from what Kethriss had been able to glean from
Sadennetta - not handling things well and at least for the moment could
not be expected to do take over. Hsina, who would definitely have
provided a strong hand, was also wounded and in the med center.
Alpha's Wingleader, Gus, was...dead. Tanami shook her head, still
barely able to believe it. She would have refused to believe it at
all, but the sight of a grieving Jerram slumped against a wall with a
broken sword at his side made it impossible to deny. Alpha's
Wingsecond, Ce'lot was missing; no one knew for sure, but it was
possible that he and his dragon Britche had been among the many lost in
the the pyrrhic battle that Gus and Jerram had fought against Kataani
soldiers north of the warren. Her own Wingleader, Corwin, had promised
to join her as soon as possible. But his own mission was urgent,
making sure that Hsina was all right and in good hands. Even
discounting his personal feelings for her, Tanami knew that as the
world's only rider of a seadragon queen Hsina was probably the single
most valuable person in the warren. So, in the interim, Tanami was
left to deal with the problem of the Emperor Toru and his retinue. It
was, she feared, a problem that Corwin, even had
he been here, would not have known how to handle. These were *her*
people, for better or worse; she understood them in a way that few
humans could.
Emperor Toru had taken over the thronelike seat that Tara had occupied
only an hour or so before, the ever-present Baron Kiriisha whispering
in his ear. The Emperor nodded, and turned his gaze on Tanami.
"Cousin, I would speak with you," he said.
Tanami turned and walked up to where he sat, stopping the prescribed
distance from the throne, and began to go down on one knee.
<Stop!> Kethriss warned her. <This is not Neaopi, he does not rule
here! For right now, YOU do!>
*Thank you...you're right,* Tanami told her dragon, and stopped herself
from making obeisance. This fact was not lost on Emperor Toru, or on
Baron Kiriisha. It was the Baron who quickly spoke up.
"Insolent girl, have you forgotten whose presence you *stand* in??" he
demanded, emphasizing that one word to remind her that she was supposed
to be on bended knee awaiting the Emperor's command.
"Your Majesty," Tanami said with a slight bow of her head, "I am no
longer a subject of the Empire. And, though I do not wish it, I seem
to be in command of things here until one of my superiors is able to
relieve me."
"That will be a relief for all of us!" Baron Kiriisha snapped in his
nasal voice. This earned him a stern look from the Emperor and caused
him to withdraw from the throne a few paces. Toru then looked at
Tanami.
"I grieve for your losses, cousin," he told her. "Many of us - the
people of your blood, if no longer of your choice - have also suffered
and died. All needlessly, I think."
He stopped, as two bearers came out of the inner chamber carrying a
stretcher with a bloodstained sheet draped over it. "Well, perhaps not
entirely needlessly," he said, with a humorless half-smile. "Farewell,
Counselor Oga." Then he turned to look out the window, at the darkened
sea beyond. "And farewell to the Scepter of Ythfaru. It will take
much thought for me to decide if this is a misfortune or a blessing."
"The people of the warren would consider it a blessing, Majesty,"
Tanami told him. "I am only sorry that it was I who first carried the
news of its discovery back to Neaopi." More than anyone else, she and
Dolfis had been unwittingly responsible for unleashing Counselor Oga's
malice against Jasra. Dolfis had now paid with the loss of his
daughter. What would be Tanami's price?
"In any case, cousin, you will be happy to know I have sent General
Nakamo off with orders to begin moving the army back away from your
warren. By dawn, they will be far out to sea."
Tanami nodded. "Majesty, my dragon tells me that General Nakamo has
given his kind permission for one of his brigade commanders to lend its
staff of healers to the warren's medical center. Our casualties were
heavy, and our healers are overburdened."
Baron Kiriisha seemed about to speak, but the Emperor silenced him with
a glance. "I applaud General Nakamo's action. Very well, the brigade
he designated will remain in place until the healers have done their
work here. In the meantime, as soon as my daughter has been brought
back here, we will take our leave of you and return to Neaopi with the
main body of the army."
Tanami knew something was wrong...there was SOMETHING she needed to
do...before the Emperor left! Oh, what would Tara have done, what
would Hsina have done...?? And then she knew what price would be
called upon her to pay for her part in all of this. Emperor Toru could
not just leave without a further word, Tara would never have permitted
that. Something more was needed, and to obtain it she would have to
break the final bonds that tied her to her own people. She would have
to defy the Emperor openly.
"Your Majesty," she said, trying to sound firm and forceful while on
the inside she was quivering at her own temerity, "speaking on behalf
of the Warrenlady, I accept that neither you nor any of your senior
advisors - save Counselor Oga himself - took part in any conspiracy to
harm the people or dragons of this Warren. I believe the same to be
true of the Army high command, although having overheard your own
discussions with General Nakamo earlier, I believe that many junior
officers and at least some senior officers - such as Brigadier Sentari
- were involved. What is to be done with them?"
"That is a matter for His Majesty's government to decide, girl!" Baron
Kiriisha snapped. "What place is it of yours to demand explanations of
your betters...?"
"Peace," Toru said calmly, raising a hand. "She is my blood,
remember...and, when things sort themselves out at home, I believe we
will find that she is closer in line of succession to the throne -
perhaps much closer - than was the case before."
Tanami fixed her eyes on Baron Kiriisha, inwardly glad that he had
handed her such an opening. Openly arguing with the Emperor was a
violation of the laws and customs she had followed all her life - but
Baron Kiriisha *could* be argued with in his place. "The Warren
accepts that the Empire will deal with those needing to be brought to
justice." A twinge of guilt struck her just then. Would would Gus
think of allowing Brigadier Sentari to go unpunished, when his actions
had cost the riders of Alpha Wing so dearly?
<He will not go unpunished,> Kethriss reminded her. <From my
understanding of your peoples' laws on such things, he would have found
much kinder treatment from those living on the land here.>
"Very well, then," Baron Kiriisha huffed. "Since we all agree on
things, I see no need to delay our departure further."
"But there *is* more," Tanami insisted, her gaze fixed on the Baron
while the Emperor sat back on his borrowed throne, listening intently.
"Counselor Oga is dead, it is true. The Scepter of Ythfaru is
destroyed, or so we assume. On the surface, it seems as though there
should be no further need of further contact between the land-living
and the sea-living. And yet we know there will be. What is needed is
a...a treaty. A treaty that will govern the interaction of our
two...governments." She had been about to use the word 'peoples,' but
that would have sounded strange coming from the mouth of one who was
herself a Kataani. "The next time misunderstandings arise, there
should be a process in place to resolve it - a process that does not
involve waves of Kataani soldiers charging ashore and attacking this
warren or the coastal cities. Or....or a wing of seadragons
teleporting into the heart of the Empire to make strikes at Neaopi in
response."
"A treaty...with *landers?*" Baron Kiriisha sneered. "Unthinkable!"
"Baron, you may not like the land-dwellers or the dragons, but they are
here and are not going anywhere," she told him. "They have shown their
fighting resolve against the Empire's best, and deserve at least the
respect that one warrior gives another."
"Conceded," the Emperor said quietly, before Baron Kiriisha could belt
out yet another sarcastic reply.
"What I propose is that we work out at least the framework of a
treaty," she said. "Now, tonight. His Majesty need not be involved
directly, since neither Warrenlady Tara nor Dragonlady Vignette is
present. But a draft treaty could be reviewed by both sides, with the
agreement that a further meeting take place at a set time to negotiate
any final details. Is that acceptable?"
"Acceptable, cousin," said the Emperor. "And let it be known that I,
too, see the need for formalized agreements. Baron Kiriisha will take
part, and a messenger will be sent to bring General Nakamo back. But
who speaks for your side, Cousin?" He gave her a measuring look that
seemed to say, "surely not you!"
"If Your Majesty will give me five minutes, I believe I can have the
necessary representatives here." She hurried from the hall, contacting
Kethriss as she did so. *Ask Lunath were her rider is!* she said
urgently. *I will go and talk to her. And talk as well to Syngnath
and Sadennetta - find out how soon their riders can meet us!" And she
hurried out into the night to look for Sarilyn.
/snip from Jeanette's post/
Sari sniffled, swiping at her face, and downed another large
swallow. (( Yes, I know. But if *I'm* not hard on me, who will be,
dearest? I have to set an example. I can't be weak. I'm supposed to
be a strong woman, a rider, daughter of a Holder. )) She looked up to
see
Lunath wandering towards her, locking her brilliant gaze with that of
her
rider, crooning sadly but softly. And the young woman moved to wrap
her arms
around Lunath's head, taking comfort from that warm breath in her hair
and on her face.
/end snip/
It was at that moment that Tanami found them. "Sarilyn!" she called
out in relief. "I am glad to see you! We have great need of you!"
Sarilyn looked up from embracing her dragon, and Tanami keep a
respectful distance to give the woman time to get herself ready to
talk. Everyone in the warren was distraught tonight, with good reason.
After a moment, Sarilyn approached Tanami. "What is it?" she asked.
"What do you need?"
"I need your experience, your social background," Tanami told her. "I
need someone accustomed to dealing with nobles on their own terms."
She quickly explained the conversation that had just taken place in the
high observation room. "This is our chance to work out a peace treaty
with the Kataani! Such a treaty, if one can be achieved, would give us
an ally instead of a great enemy always ready to attack us over each
new misunderstanding."
"But why me?" Sarilyn asked. "There must be others better able...?"
"Tara and Hsina are wounded and in the med center," Tanami told her.
"Kethriss is asking Sadennetta to have Lecia join us, but even though
her authority as a queenrider is sufficient to give legitimacy to a
draft treaty, she is not experienced in such things. Corwin will come
and support us too in the negotiations, but he was a sailor before he
came here, and though he is intelligent and resourceful he has not had
experience in such matters. And me...well, I am a distant cousin of
Emperor Toru but was never part of the court." She sighed. "What is
worked out tonight may affect our peoples for generations to come.
Will you help?"
(Tag Jeanette)
Kethriss, meanwhile was talking to Sadennetta. <My rider wants you to
come to the high observation room,> the seadragon told the junior
queen. <In the humans' hierarchy, your rider is now the leader of the
Warren until Varaenna's rider is able to act again.>
<My rider is...having a hard time coping with all of this,> Sadie said.
<Can it not wait?>
<I am afraid it cannot,> Kethriss replied. <My rider is working on
having others to actually deal with the Kataani, but your rider's
presence is necessary. You must convince her to come!>
(Tag Kris)
<Syngnath, could you please tell your rider that he is needed?>
Kethriss asked.
<I will, but he is needed here too,> the other seadragon answered.
<You know how important Keeza's rider is to us, and if his presence in
the med center may help her. What does your rider need?>
Kethriss explained, as best she was able, how her rider was trying to
arrange a treaty with the Kataani. This was a difficult process, since
"treaties" were things that humans and Kataani did, and dragons had no
real concept of them. But Syngnath promised he would relay the message
to his rider.
(Tag Arlene)
NRPG: I would see a certain amount of back-and-forth haggling over
terms, carrying over through several posts, with players coming in one
by one as things progress.
Kris: Do you want to play Toru or Princess Kiyomi for the negotiations?
(She hasn't yet been written as being found, but might well be included
in the negotiations due to her experience with humans.)
Submitted by:
John
Tanami & Kethriss
Maritime Wingsecond
Jasra Warren
Summary: Late night, Day 1: Tanami confronts Emperor Toru and his
retinue with a demand that they sit down to work out a peace treaty
with the warren to prevent misunderstandings from breaking out into
open warfare in the future. The Emperor cautiously agrees, and Tanami
asks Sarilyn to manage the negotiations for the warren due to her
experience with people of rank. Kethriss, meanwhile, contacts
Sadennetta and Syngnath to try and get Lecia and Corwin over to the
negotiations as quickly as possible.
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