Glowing Tree

Lahras listened intently to the music Rovan had begun to play, clearly enjoying the music despite the warrior/bard's unskilled fingers. When John came along and interrupted the song, Lahras blinked and lightly shook his head before staring up at the imposing warrior and then back to Rovan as he accepted the invitation to practice his skill at arms. He got up to his feet, clearly unsure as to what to do when the friendly bard put an arm around him and guided him along. The boy simple let himself be dragged along and pretty quickly stood near the two warriors and was handed a staff.

Catching the staff clumsily, Lahras gripped it tight and planted the staff in the earth near his feet. He leaned into the staff and let his thoughts wander, his eyes catching sight of a lonely bird suddenly flying up from the forest nearby and following it along the sky. With a sigh he thought of how it would be if he could fly, just like that bird, completely ignoring the talk of the two men near him. He was jolted out of his idle thinking when John addressed him, and showed a big apologetic smile in return as he straightened himself out and wildly swung the staff.

His first swing would've hit Rovan in the face, had he not had the present of mind to dodge it. His second swing had so much force that the light boy's entire body turned with it, and missed Johns shoulder only because the warrior had the foresight to take a step back. Out of balance, the boy tried another swing, tripped over his feet and landed on his side in the grass. His eyes remained clear of tears though, as only a frown appeared on Lahras' face. Sitting up he looked first at John and then at Rovan, he then looked at the staff again.

"It doesn't speak." He said, and fondled the stick that was stuck between his belt and his body.
 
Arothi smiled at the dragon and nodded her head, taking the newly grown herbs and setting them to the side for later use.

"Thank you Rethil, I can use this later after dinner when I will make my tonics. Your magic will help me out very much on this journey so I will also make sure no harm comes to you." She said kindly, joining Darius in comforting the frightened dragon.

She then went back to skinning the rabbits and gutting them for use in the meal. When she was done she set them aside and grabbed one of the pots. She then let out a small sigh as a loong of realization came upon her face.

"I forgot to get water for dinner..." She grumbled softly, the centaur slightly ashamed that she had done something so silly. She stood up once against and looked to then two males quietly. "Pardon me I shall return shortly."
 
"You're t-t-too kind, Darius..." The dragon glances from side to side. He whispers, mostly to himself, "But when you're not around, who will save me then?" He offers a happy look to Arothi, watching as she moves about. He looked shyly down at the ground whenever he suspected she would turn in his direction, but he eventually turned and looked to Darius.

"You're... uhhh... You're a warrior, right?" He glances around, "Everyone else here knows how to fight. How to use weapons, natural or created... or combat magic. Everyone else can stealth, or jump very high, or... have some power, deep within them." He shakes his head, "I don't. All I've got is my plant magic. That's no use in combat. If anything, I'm just like one of the horses being used... I can carry things and people, but that's about it... I'd be of no use in combat."

He sighs sadly, running his hand through the created flowers. "You've never had that sort of problem... to be useless." He looks at the man from a lowered viewpoint, his humanlike eyes clear. "I wonder if I'll even be of any help to you... but... I guess it's better that I... d-d... die... doing something this important... r-right?"
 
Hmm ... So the wolf-girl didn't flinch. She wasn't nervous, either. Naive? That was possible. She was young. Eh, then again, there were many far younger than she roaming about. Lirin's ears were the only things that moved when Jair slipped into human form. She didn't appear to be paying attention but looks could be deceiving, especially where a cat was concerned.

"I suppose. But does it matter if others consider your sacrifice in vain? Or your life something to be extinguished on a whim? People are fickle when it comes to the heroes they will worship or the fallen they crush under their feet. Even gods rise and fall on the whims of mortals. Does it pain you to be so different and you so far from others of your kind? A cat would not know such things." Another soft chuckle as she finished grooming her paw and set it down. She cocked her head to one side. "Mm ... But perhaps the only way to be certain of one's merit is a battle."
 
Zahra was in the same spot Annalaey had left her. Not because Zahra was waiting for the girl to return, but because the woman was very deep on thought. She didn't respond to Annalaey at first, in fact it almost seemed as if Zahra had no idea the rabbit-girl spoke to her.

"Your instincts need refinement." Zahra finally said, her tone soft but with a hint of amusement. She turned away from the section of forest she was staring at, to cast her gaze at Annalaey. Her arms crossed as she peered at the girl. An eyebrow raising in question while her fingers tapped gently at her elbow.

"You have no need to be concerned over it tonight. ...You laid the stones awfully quick, Annalaey. It makes one wonder if you took care in doing so."

Without waiting for the girl to reply Zahra walked away. She only paused long enough to cast a grin over her shoulder. "Wards of protection should not be lain in haste when a 'storm of evil' is coming. But I am sure you took great care."

On that final word, she left the girl to consider her meaning and resumed walking back to her tent.
 

Annalaey didn't know how to respond to Zahra, was she doubting her abilities or had she never known what she was capable of. No one could have truly cast the stones that quickly unless they were quick like her and knew their way around the forest as if they lived there. Annalaey did not reply she seemed as if she was being underestimated and Zahra didn't seem to want her offended. Once Zahra left Annalaey spoke to herself like she usually did. "She doubts my abilities but I can swear on mother nature I have done my duty well." Speaking so she knelt to the ground and took some dirt in her hands and then let it slip. Her ear turned again and she felt it time and time again but she had to take Zahra's word for it. Those stones were very strong, Annalaey had only heard of them, she believed they would be of protection. Annalaey then stood by the tree leaning on it observing her surroundings.
 
Zahra is stern with us... even harsh, it may be said. Perhaps that is the part of a leader, but in her manner there is amusement, as one who has grown impatient with successive followings. This is not her first command - of that I am sure. What happened, I wonder, to those who served before us? What fate befell them, and what precedent is set for the days ahead?​
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From the Diary of Darius Castablane​


With a slight grimace, Darius lowered himself against a rock near to Rethil's tent. The sun had slipped now behind the mountains and the canopy of night was fretted with stars. The twin moons, far on their orbits, gave a little light for the allies to speak.

"We are not going to war, Rethil," the paladin answered softly, hands clasped before him. "We are looking for a tree. And who better than a master of plant-lore to undertake such a task?" He smiled at the dragon, a scar creasing the flesh between his jaw and eye-socket. "Value the one who does not have to fight - the one who spends his days beyond the reach of violence."

His hand came back to caress the holy symbol hanging from his neck - perhaps the same symbol worn by the holy man who raised this dragon. "You have done better than any of us, Rethil, in escaping those who wish you harm. We will need that talent more than any blade or magic spell on our journey."

His eyes lowered, his gaze rolling back into misspent youth, into memory and regret. "If there is one lesson I will teach before my life is spent, it is this:" Those eyes lifted again. "Whatever scorns you have suffered or have brought upon yourself - turn them into your weapons. Use your fear to keep alert, your sorrow to lend you kindness, your pain to teach of peace. It is for creatures like you that we seek the Glowing Tree... so that all who have been wronged may find salvation."

The words passed like campfire smoke, slipping between the tents and folding into shadow, as if some witching spell had been uttered. For a long time there was silence, and then Darius smiled again, his old humility returning. He rose once more, placing a hand on the dragon's paw as he lifted. "I will speak with the Hunter."

He turned and strolled across the camp, his shadow passing Zahra's in the night.
 
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Jair regarded Lirin with a stoic look for a few seconds after the latter spoke, thinking of the words spoken and, in particular, their tone. Finally she answered, "It has been many centuries since any of my kind lived close to one another, so there is no such community to feel pain from the lack of. You seem more interested in provoking such thoughts than in thinking them, and yet still you do not seem to have perceived my motive. Whatever must be done to restore this world's balance, I shall do all in my power to see it done.

"...If the question does not intrude, why are you with us?"
 
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Alla took her chance, when it seemed the mere dragon was close to being alone, and she slinked over near him, dark eyes watching intently. He seemed to be having some sort of existential crisis if his words were a good judge. Alla did not say anything at first, merely sat at a distance and watched him carefully.

There were the dragons of lore? she thought with some malcontent I have seen more intimidating tom cats. This is the creature that stemmed my family line and that we revere for being pure and unadulterated dragon? I have seen more intimidating specimens in the race that you deem half-breeds.

Finally, after her examination, she spoke at last, directed towards Rethil. "You. You are a full dragon, then?" the tone of her voice betrayed little emotion and she tried to seem merely curious. She had expected something fiercer than this man to come from her ancestors. Where was the place of the brutal warrior dragonkin? Were they truly more aligned with humans in nature? This would come as a surprise and perhaps not a welcome one.
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Lirin gave another soft chuckle. She didn't appear offended. Why would she be ...? Even if the wolf child was trying to vex her, she would have heard more serious insults by a piece of shredded fruit. "I am a cat. I like the sound of my voice. It pleases me." And it did. She loved the way she sounded when she purred, hissed, spoke, whispered. Yelled ... Mm. Well, she had not yelled in quite sometime. She doubted that would change anytime soon.

Talking also put prey people at ease. As if it made them feel safe, secure. Silly mortals. Noise, sound. That wasn't natural ... Silence was. Ah, to have blissful silence again ...

Yet another chuckle. "Is it so bad to humor a cat? Especially when I'm so very bored." She grew silent for a moment or two. "Mm ... But if I just tell you why I'm here, well ... that's no fun at all. And few have the patience to play games with me. I don't know why, really. I make it well worth their time. Would you like to give it a try?"

 
Knut was taking a walk amongst the tents, letting the scenery sink in as he kept his hands deep into his pant-pockets. He was keeping his notebook on the inside of his jacket as he wanted his companions to forget why he was here by any means. Some people tend to get real quiet around skalds. It made it only more important for him to get on good terms with the....unusual cast, he would have to say, that had chosen to follow Zahra on her quest.

He'd spent most of his day writing in his tent. From earlier experience he had found it best to keep his main writing in a location where nobody could see him. It was amazing how warriors would change into bragging-machines once they saw a skald.

If you want your place in an epic saga, you better be the one walking the walk, not talking the talk.

So far he had found it only easy to get the little info he wanted to scribble down about each character before they started their journey from John, the slayer. Darius seemed like another character who wasn't too shy to talk about himself, but choose not to, probably from experience. Rethil was another character he thought he could get something on without pushing too many buttons. The bard - well, it should be a given that he'll be open to talk, it's his profession. As for the boy, Lahras, all he had on him now was that he was a shy kid and seemed clumsy. At first Knut would think someone his age would only be accepted into the group because he was some sort of prodigy. Why had Zahra allowed him to come along?

"It's all too early to be throwing judgment on anyone already now." Knut said to himself.

As for the non-humans, yes, that was the term he used for the rest, simply because they were all so different from each other and at the same time he had little first-hand knowledge working with transformative wolves, hybrid-dragons and what have you. All the more interesting for Knut. He had to learn all that he could about each one of them before the journey ended and he had to turn in his papers. Didn't seem like most of them was up for storytelling and chatter tonight.

Zahra's secrecy about herself was what irritated him the most. She wasn't playing her role as the saga's main heroine well.

For now, all he saw fitting him best was to take a seat with Darius and Rethil, passing Arothi with a welcoming smile as she walked away.

"Not the most lively crowd here tonight..." Knut said as he sat down next to them, smiling again. "I hope I'm not joining you as a disturbance." He turned his attention to Rethil. "Are you...not feeling well?"
 
"From when I was a boy, I was trained to sleep, eat, and travel everywhere with my weapon. It became a part of me. Another arm", Rovan said as he rolled his shoulders, loosening them up. "But let's see what he's made of first and we'll go from there", he nodded towards Lahras.

The boy didn't seem too familiar with the stave, gripping it oddly and too tightly. Nor did he seem totally attentive to the task at hand, instead looking up and off somewhere. Ah, a stargazer, this one, He thought. When he did finally get to trying out his weapon, he fared no better, nearly striking Rovan in the face had the Warrior Bard not seen the attack coming long before it ever drew near. John was equally met with a similar surprise, easily stepping outside the arc of a rogue swing. Lahras' final test swing brought him to the ground, his body hitting roughly.

Rise, boy. Always rise, Rovan thought.

He did rise and it brought a smile to Rovan's face. Though he seemed to persevere, Lahras had a look on his face, one he couldn't quite describe. "It doesn't talk.", the youth said simply, his hand fiddling with a stick strapped to his waist.

Rovan's face pinched together in thought, contemplating exactly what was being said. Finally he asked the most obvious question that occurred to him, "What do you mean it doesn't talk?"
 
Lahras planted the staff in the ground and pulled himself up to his feet. He didn't understand at all why Rovan didn't understand what he had said, and it clearly showed on his face. Lahras sighed deeply and theatrically, the action exaggerated in such a way that it was almost comical. "It doesn't talk in my head." He said, as if that explained everything to the two men in front of him. When he saw their confused faces he looked down to the ground again. He didn't know what to say or do to make those two stupid-heads understand him.

As he stroked the staff in his belt he closed his eyes and sighed again. In his mind a humming started, heavy yet ethereal, like the sounding of a gong. It was as if the world around him disappeared for a bit, the droning sound reverberating around the young lad's body until it was the only thing that occupied his mind. His knees wobbled a bit, but his mouth widened in a daft looking grin. Then, after mere seconds, the humming started to die down again. Lahras being left sharply aware of his surroundings and the people near to him.

"My friend says you wouldn't understand." He said while he opened his eyes. He scratches the back of his head and started to giggle lightly. An odd sound from a boy passing through puberty, but not unpleasant to hear. "You guys must be real dummies" He added and giggled some more, until he noticed the old paladin nearing them behind John's back.

"Darius is coming." He mentioned and nodded in his direction, his mirth dying down and his face getting more serious. Old people were always complaining about how foolish he looked when he smiled.
 
Arothi smiled at Knut as he passed her, returning his kind gesture quietly as she went about her task with preparing dinner. She wandered into the forest once more for a moment but did not stray to far from the camp. They had set up their resting area near a nice river which she quickly used to fill the pot with. She heaved the pot back toward the camp and wandered back over to the fire once more, setting things up so that the pot would hang above the bright flames. She then rested once more and while she started to roast the rabbits on sticks near the flames.

She listened quietly as she worked, not having much to say to Rethil or Knut as she focused on the groups meal. She also didn't care that much about having the story written out as an epic journey and planned to leave all the tale telling to the other group members. She was here to feed and watch over the other members, not become and centaur heroine.
 
I stare at Lahras for a moment, somewhat confused by his statement that the training staff 'does not sing'. It seems like an... odd statement for the boy to be making, but after a moment I think I understand what he's trying to say.
"It's only a training staff, Lahras," I say brightly once the boy has finished giggling, "Such a tool doesn't sing very often, I would have thought. Take a true weapon of war, however..." I spin my spear quickly before launching an attack at a patch of grass nearby, slicing the green strands from the earth as the blade audibly whistles through the air, "...such implements sing. If you practice with the staff for now, won't be long before you're ready to wield such a weapon." I grin at him. "Then the real work starts. Monster slaying, defending our friends, that sort of thing."

Motioning for Rovan to spread out around the training area, I step back a bit as well to give everyone some space, looking around for Darius as Lahras had mentioned he was coming. I smile at the paladin brightly and give him a nod before turning back to my two training partners. "Alright, then. Shall we teach him how to block with that staff then, Rovan?"





 
"Well...I have nothing better to do. What sort of game do you mean?"
 
I have known the ways of warriors, and have seen how tightly they bind themselves, both within and out. For each muscle hardened on their flesh a knot is pulled within their heart, to force away the softer things. I might have feared for young Lahras, for how cold they would have turned him, were it not that I saw a kindness redeeming both those men. Rovan with his gentle music, and John with his grace of teaching. These little things they each preserved, beneath the savagery and ruthlessness of their upbringing. The greatest warrior fights for the part of him that is not a warrior... and in John and Rovan I saw the good fight.​
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From the Diary of Darius Castablane​


The night had settled in. By the blaze of the campfire Lahras did his best to take in what the older men were teaching, a basic trio of blocks learned at the cost of bruised fingers and an occasional clonked forehead. The fighters were patient, in spite of the possibility that the boy may well have forgotten everything by morning. But in training him they trained themselves, and so no practice was truly in vain.

Darius watched it all from the edge of the makeshift sparring circle, smiling to Arothi as she passed around bowls of broth and morsels of roasted rabbit. As supper was served and others settled down to sleep the night was left to the rustle of trees and the wooden snaps of the trainers' weapons. The paladin waited until a particularly effective parry sent the boy's staff flying away into the trees and Rovan, laughing, went off with Lahras to retrieve the weapon.

"You do well to prepare the boy," Darius said as he passed a bowl of broth to John. "The gods know this is no easy task before us." Fire played across the scar on Darius's face. "I am sorry to trouble you, John, but I gave my word that I would speak with you." He moved closer and glanced over his shoulder, nodding towards the silhouette of Rethil's tent. "The dragon knows you for a hunter and is beside itself with fear. We are at pains to comfort him. He is a kind creature with talents that will help us on our path, and so I must ask you, John, if you bear him ill-intent?"
 
Rethil turns, looking at the female dragon-creature. He shifts uneasily. The way she was looking at him made him nervous. His tail twitched slightly and he sat there looking her over for a good, long while before speaking. "..Y-Yes? At least, I think I am. I've been told I am. Th-though many just call me 'mere-dragon'. I'm n-n-not nearly as strong as full-bloodied dragons, but my f-father just told me it's because I haven't grown up yet."

He nods, turning his gaze away from her, running a large hand through the flowers before him. He radiated life into the surrounding area, which caused the plants to grow slightly. He smiled kindly upon them, temporarily forgetting the dragon-woman was there. He blinked, looking back to her. "Oh! S-sorry. Not..." He trails off, tilting his head. "...Not really that... good. At c-conversations." 'Especially not with you', he added mentally, shivering very visibly.
 
Laughing heartily after Rovan and Lahras as they move into the trees to retrieve the practice staff, I turn to face the camp again when Darius, the paladin, offers me a bowl of broth in the interim. Closer to the man now, I can see the scars that cover his hands and face; a veteran of many a battle, still standing to this day. Such a man is not to be taken lightly in any sense, for he is a powerful figure on the battlefield and a wise man with his words to have survived so long.

The paladin congratulates me on Rovan and I's training of Lahras, something that makes me somewhat proud, before moving onto more serious matters as he nods towards the tent of the dragon, Rethil.
"The dragon knows you for a hunter and is beside itself with fear. We are at pains to comfort him. He is a kind creature with talents that will help us on our path, and so I must ask you, John, if you bear him ill-intent?" I look from Darius to the dragon again with a contemplative look on my face.
"My family has hunted his kind before, many times in the past. They were a dangerous breed, back in the day..." I look at the dragon and chuckle. "That, however, is not a dangerous creature. I'll be keeping my eye on him, don't get me wrong. But if he bears no ill-will towards our party or our quest then he has nothing to fear from me, and you can tell him that if it will set his mind at rest." I laugh again. "A skittish dragon. If my grandfather could see this..."

 
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Alla's attention was glued to this little dragon. He was part of the reason that she'd agreed to accompany the band - her curiosity in him had been overwhelming when she had seen him passing with the group. The rest had no thus far caught her attention in any special way, save for the desire to eat some of the more animal-like members. The little rabbity thing was tempting but when she saw the wolfish creature, she could still recall the roil of hunger in her belly. Wolves were clever and vicious and could be so fun to hunt. She decided that to avoid any conflict early on, she'd have to stay away from his flesh that sung to her of a full belly.

Alla disguised her huff of indignation about the dragon's words with a cough but the trembling fear of the dragon could not be so easily disguised from her. The creature was absolutely timid. Get a little bit older, my tail, Alla thought with an angry flick of said tail. This creature was nothing like the of the warrior dragonkin that Alla had trained with in her home. Even the young male dragonkin learned swords and aerial dives instead of this ... flower stuff. A last glimmer of hope flickered in Alla's heart though at his words.

"Your father, then. What was your father like, little mere-dragon?"
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