Legends of Dræsyl

M

Mysfortuna

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Original poster
In the lands of Dræsyl, myths, magicks, and creatures are very much real. This realm is filled with many a beast and many a people. From the smallest faerie to the largest giant, most manage to get along. There are forces of both light and dark, and of course the in between. Though as of late, the Lord of the Darklands, Lokhe, has been thirsting for power. The Lord of Dræsyl, Odenthall, wishes to keep the free people in Dræsyl out of Lokhe's control. The stragglers living in the Hinterlands are thieves and outcasts, unaffiliated with either side. Who are you? And what
fate will you choose?

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Finally, the shift was over! Keila wiped her brow of sweat, moving aside locks of curly brown hair. She cleaned up what she could, removing her apron and leaving it hung up.

She went out and watched people pass by for a moment before heading towards home. Her curls bounced with each step as she was eager to return home, but she first had to stop by the bakery to get her mother a cake for her birthday.
 
The sun was starting to set. Neil Saldar was running out of time. Walking back through the damp autumn leaves of the forest, Neil dropped a pile of wood near the makeshift hut that was his home. He'd have to get away from here before nightfall. Although not too far away. He could only remember fractions of last night, when he had last... turned. At first, it had been pretty regular. At times near the full moon, when people were prepared. They had been hard times, fighting with people who treated him like a monster. But he did feel like one. Recently, he'd been turning too early in the day, or turning at strange times, like midday. Turning his back to the home he'd come to know, Neil Saldar walked into the thick trees of the forest, ready for the night.
 
Vera studied inside his chambers at the temple as the day went on. He had a few visitors throughout the day which he enjoyed for the most part. Although he enjoyed his alone time just as much. "Must be getting late. People are showing up less and less. Perhaps now might be a good time to go out for a hunt before it gets too late." He said as he stretched his muscles before leaving the temple to head towards the forest to find some meat.
 
Just sixteen minutes ago Neil had been a man. It had taken sixteen minutes for the world to decide that his time had come. Staring at the setting sun with a mixture of fear and hatred, he felt his blood pump faster around his body. Suddenly, a flash of pain burst into his head and he knew that would be his last memory until sunrise. His form started to change to half man and half wolf, patches of black fur sprouting from his skin. His head had changed into the shape of a wolf's, with his legs extending and his frame becoming bolder, stronger, broader. The moonlight illuminated forest animals scampering away in fear of the beast that had taken control of the man. He was no longer Neil Saldar, he was something more primal, brutal and would soon begin hunting with unmatched ferocity. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, a tiny voice told Neil this wasn't his true self, that he wasn't a werewolf. And then, after a howl towards the moon, he took off on all fours into the night.
 
Just sixteen minutes ago Neil had been a man. It had taken sixteen minutes for the world to decide that his time had come. Staring at the setting sun with a mixture of fear and hatred, he felt his blood pump faster around his body. Suddenly, a flash of pain burst into his head and he knew that would be his last memory until sunrise. His form started to change to half man and half wolf, patches of black fur sprouting from his skin. His head had changed into the shape of a wolf's, with his legs extending and his frame becoming bolder, stronger, broader. The moonlight illuminated forest animals scampering away in fear of the beast that had taken control of the man. He was no longer Neil Saldar, he was something more primal, brutal and would soon begin hunting with unmatched ferocity. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, a tiny voice told Neil this wasn't his true self, that he wasn't a werewolf. And then, after a howl towards the moon, he took off on all fours into the night.
 
Keila went down the path to home, her house a bit away from the rest of the town. She cradled the fresh cake under her arms, the smell of chocolate and strawberries wafting up from the box. The sun was nearly down, making her pace quicken. She heard a howl in the distance and she wanted to hurry and get home.

Her mom was waiting in the kitchen, making dinner as Keila walked in. She sat the cake on the table and gave her mother a warm embrace. "Happy birthday, mother!"
 
The sun had set. The moon had risen about an eighth of its way into the sky. A werewolf with black fur, sharp glistening teeth and orange eyes that glowed slightly was stalking its prey through the woods. The werewolf, a mere shadow of a man, was named Saldar. Saldar's prey was a man, a lumberjack packing up his things after a days work. People seemed to assume that woodcutters had some kind of resistance to wolves. They were wrong. The man turned as he heard a noise from the tall bushes behind him, picking his axe up in anticipation. But a moment later he dropped it in fear. Stood before him was the eight foot silhouette of a werewolf, two orange eyes the only discernable feature in the darkness. He didn't even have the time to shout before his chest was crowned with three huge gashes from the claws of the beast. Collapsing onto the floor, the man was pounced upon by Saldar, who halted his breath with a bite to the neck before feasting on the corpse, reducing it to a shell of a man in minutes.
 
Vera heard the howl as he entered the forest, but continued his search. Sounds like I'm not the only hunter out here, no matter. Not a lot of creatures would fight me, probably due to my size. I'm okay with that, not looking much for a fight tonight. Just something to eat. He said as he continued on. He could feel himself letting out a thump with each step. He tried to soften his steps so he would have an easier chance to sneak up on prey rather than taking to the air and being forced to fight the low clearings of the forest.
 
Xeno was on a mission. He had been told that recently one of Lokhe's spies in Draesyl had been killed. A man by the name of Olfred. He had been ripped apart in a similar fashion to deer killed by an animal. It was unmistakable, Olfred was too strong to be bested by a normal animal, this was a monster. From what Xeno had seen ofthe body, only one thing came to mind. "Werewolves. Why is it that whenever they find some fool whos been torn to pieces by a monster of some kind I'M the one always assigned... Oh well, guess it can't be helped." Xeno was hiding in the trees near the area Olfred had died. Then, far off in the distance, he heard a howl. "Gotcha." Opening his wings Xeno flew toward where the howl came from. He landed in a tree, his eyes meeting the sight of a lumberjack being eaten by a werewolf. Slowly, Xeno pulled out his blow darts tipped in sleeping poison. Then, with a quick shot of air into the dart tube, the dart launched and hit the beast in the back.
 
The two women feasted on a hot stew and fresh bread, crowded beside the cozy fire. Keila was happy to know her mother was doing well on her birthday and that she enjoyed the cake she bought. She'd been saving half of her wages for that cake, and each decadent, sugary bite was worth it!

After they turned out the lights and her mother went off to bed, she grabbed her bow, strung it with the animal gut, and grabbed her arrows she takes the time to craft herself. She slung the quiver on her back and kept her bow in hand with a nocked arrow as she went outside. They were running low on meat and she had to hunt sometime...
 
Vera continued his search until he spotted a full grown deer in his path. He carefully walked up on his prey before he got into striking range. He made a leap towards the deer, but it jumped to the side to dodge him. Curses, can't let it get away. He thought as he straightened himself and pursued the deer. It took him a few moments, but he finally managed to catch it and strike it down clawing into its neck before dragging it to the ground leaving a small blood trail. Couldn't let a meal like that get away. At least now I won't be hungry for the night. He thought as he began to eat the dead deer.
 
Pain. Sharp. Poisonous. Saldar had been shot in his back whilst eating. Foul play. Whilst turning away from the corpse that was his meal, he sniffed the air and listened intently. Something nearby. Smelt like... An insect? No matter, it was a threat. His thick skin had barely saved Saldar from being killed in a few moments. Looking into the trees, he moved forwards hastily with a snarl. Food could wait, or the hunter could become the hunted. There was something else nearby. It was big, maybe a dragon. They usually left him alone. Saldar continued into the forest, snarling and listening as he went.
 
Xeno looked as the werewolf seemed unphased by the dart and quickly turned around. "Now now Xeno, calm down. Even if the poison doesn't kill him, the sleeping agent should put him to sleep relatively quickly.But in the meantime..." Xeno went for his pac, grabbing a sack filled with small metal objects. He opened the sack and dropped on of the metal objects below him. When it hit the ground, the object snapped open revealing a bear-trap like object with a small piece of scented meat in the middle. "Now that I've opened the sack, better lay all of these before I leave a noticeable trail." Flying out from the tree, he began dropping the traps in small clusters until his bag was empty. Finally, he dropped the sack, and flew into a tree nearby. He purposefully rubbed up next to a tree near the end of the trail to leave his sent on it, then flew to the nearby tree. Finally, he pulled out his next item, a bag of rope darts.
 
Vera continued to eat the deer until a few strange sounds forced his head up to scan the area for any potential threats. He was a pretty good size considering he was two or three times the size of most creatures, but he knew he was still small compared to most other dragons and some quicker creatures know his size and bulkiness would make him an easy meal if they could outmaneuver or over power him with numbers. His lack of pure fighting skills was also a huge handicap that he had to worry about. While he has knowledge of magical tomes and knows his basic attacks. He never had to deal with life or death situations except when he was forced to escape from his home. He cautiously scanned the area again before going back to finish the rest of the deer. Just gonna finish this meal and head back to the temple. No need to start any trouble with anything else roaming these woods. With those thoughts he continued on to finish his the last portion of his meal.
 
After a wee bit of walking about, she was searching for a trail to follow. Deer would be preferable. She saw something shiny on the ground and saw it had meat on it. "Someone's trying to catch themselves a big beastie," she muttered to herself. "Looks like I ought to be cautious of where I'm walking." She could see a general area of where they were splayed out and decided she'd try and avoid this as much as possible. She began to walk around, eyes scanning the ground for traps and signs of animals when she found a large, unidentifiable print. She shivered at the thought of what it could be and made sure her arrow stayed nocked.
 
Saldar didn't like the feeling of being hunted. It made him feel small, weak. The forest was busier than usual, small animals were often seen fleeing from predators or hunting prey. They did not concern him though. The only thing that was a threat to him were the humans, along with the many similar races that had enough of a brain to try and hunt him down. Well, he wouldn't really call that intelligence. No matter though, he needed food. More wary than ever, Saldar continued on...
 
Vera finished what he could eat and scanned the area around him again still feeling a bit hungry. Not as fully satisfied as I was hoping, its dangerous, but if I can find another deer and kill it I can feast on the remains and bring what I don't eat back to my chambers as a snack. First it'd be better to burn the remains, lest any other hunters try to follow my trail and steal my meal for their own. With those thoughts he conjured a small ball of fire and set it on the mostly bony remains burning them into ash before letting the fire die out. He tried to use his claw to wipe some of the blood off to not look like a total savage. Being a dragon he was raised to a high standard for self respect and maintaining his scales even after hunting. To his kind the more pristine your scales were or how much they shined often showed a lot of how much they were truly respected. Growing up that's all Vera asked for was respect so he kept his scales as clean as he was able. Now that the moon shined off them it would make it harder for him to hide to surprise prey, but he continued on to find another deer. If he had to improvise with brute force then so be it, he would get his food one way or another.
 
Xeno sits in his tree. Then, with a sigh, he realizes the wolf probably didn't really pick up his scent. So, he flies up and goes near where the wolf was. Spotting it, he aims carefully and drop a makeshift stink bomb on him. It smelled of Corpse Flower, Eel guts, and Crushed Garlic. He landed right above the beast looking down from a high branch.
 
The air smelled. It smelled horrible. Saldar wrinkled his nose up. He was definitely being tracked. Turning his head to the trees, he looked for who was making the smell. Then, he saw it. Up in the trees, a revolting sight for a werewolf. A giant bug. He snarled up at the bug, pouncing up at the trees in a feeble attempt to climb the canopy. He couldn't see the thing anymore, not without looking hard anyway. He'd have to be smart with this one. Letting out a long howl, Saldar called his wolven brethren to his side.
 
She heard a distant howl that made her shiver. Hopefully whatever it was wouldn't come her way. But she finally found a deer trail and stuck close to it. Within about ten minutes, she got close to a group of sleeping deer. Instead of taking a doe, she preferred to take a buck. She found one with good antlers that could be used for something later.

She drew her bow with a steady hand, taking a slow breath before loosing the arrow into the deer. It didn't even get up, but certainly jumped in surprise at awakening to an arrow in his chest. It quickly went back down, though, as it died. Keila walked up, thanking the buck silently and retrieving her arrow. She'd have to fashion a sled of some sort to drag this back home.
 
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