Lightly, with just a slight shifting of his wings, he settled down on an outcropping overlooking a military base. Claws digging into the rock and soil, his wings folded silently, and he stilled, appearing to be no more than a statue made of dark, ebony colored rock. Slightly glowing golden eyes took in the happenings of the base, while his tail slid slowly from one side to the other.
That is, he was perfectly still until a green anthro dragon slammed into his back and they tumbled over the edge, fighting. The green one's pale mane whipped in the wind that whistled past them, and his black one flared out around his head, as they fought to see who would land on top of the other when they hit the ground.
Together they spun, both kicking and punching to achieve their goal, their claws carefully sheathed so as to not harm the other. Finally, with a crash, they landed on the flat, hard ground, the green one on the bottom.
"Gotcha, Star," he remarked, grinning, as he picked himself up and stepped away cautiously.
Star grinned, pulling herself up and shaking her head to clear it, apparently suffering no other consequences from the fall other than that, "You act as if you don't trust me, Ebon! Your own sister!"
"Trust? You?" smirking, Ebon ducked behind a tree, as his sister tried to tackle him again, "The only time those two words are together is when someone says that they trust that you'll get into trouble."
"Not true! I can be trusted!" she shot back as she ducked away from his attack, grabbing and throwing him into a tree as she did so.
A quick flare of his wings and a lunge at a tree branch kept him from slamming into the tree trunk, and only Star's quick reflexes saved her from getting knocked down as he swung back and launched himself at her.
Both smiling, they wrested on the ground, neither having a clear advantage over the other. Leaves swirled around them, kicked up by their fighting and carried by the breeze to twirl in lazy arcs through the air. Twigs and branches snapped as the weight of both anthro dragons landed on top of them, and animals watched from the safety of the trees as the two crazy creatures fought playfully.
Time slowly passed, the sunlight filtering down through the trees like liquid gold as various animals went about their business, gathering food, eating, defending their territory, building nests, and all manner of other tasks. In the midst of it all, the two anthro dragons were finally settled down, talking calmly.
"Ebonfyre, why do you insist on not joining us?" she asked him, her head tilted up slightly to look at her brother, who was taller even when they were sitting down.
He shook his head, ebony mane flying around his head, then grinned, "I don't feel like becoming a true part of the family, not yet anyway. Besides," he remarked, grinning even more, "I doubt they could handle you and me there."
She burst out laughing, a full, joyous sound that echoed slightly, rolling off the trees and making the animals pause once again, "Not when they can barely survive me, but that's beside the point!"
Ebonfyre rose, his ebony wings spreading in the growing darkness, "Be well, then, StarFyre, and don't let them drive you sane like our brother."
She grinned, "Never. Seeya next time then."
"Yeah, seeya," he called over his shoulder, as he leaped up into a tree and climbed swiftly to the top, spreading his wings and springing from the branch he was perched on, clearing the tops of the trees by barely a foot, his wings stretching out to feel the wind, as instinctively he used the thermals and currents of air to lift him higher.
On the ground, his sister watched him for a time, then turned and raced back off to the base, to return once more to pestering and driving the entire population of the base insane.
His mind shifted to other matters as he flew, his body instinctively keeping him aloft with a gracefulness that was only gained from many years of life on the wing. Muscles moved under his thick, ebony hide that stood out against the sunset, then gradually blended into the sky as the light faded.
He was part of a family, and he had even taken care of his sister for a time, before he had found Kitara, but yet... he had no desire to join them anymore. His life was on the wing, as a wanderer and thrill seeker. He had fought the mightiest of men and beast in the arena, had tracked a band of rogues down by himself and taken them on, even though they had outnumbered him twenty to one, he had sailed the most vicious of rivers and currents and survived without flight. Midair battles were a thrill, fights to the death were common there, but he had always made sure that he had come out on top.
There was little left, but the arenas were ever changing, the cities ever enchanting, and the mighty rivers and currents enticing as always.
Settling down just wasn't for him, not as a member of the LightDreamer family, or as a wanderlust-filled man, or anything else the humans wanted to call him.
Turning on a wingtip, he abruptly changed his course to the site of the massive arena, there was always a way to find thrills there. Fights were almost never to the death, but yet... to pit oneself against a massive human from some distant planet, or an equally massive and dangerous beast from some strange world, that was a true way to pass the time.
Eventually it came into site, its massive stone walls and arches soaring into the sky, seating a hoard of people of all races. Pulling his wings closed, he dived down into the center, where a man and a beastman faced off, both bloody and sweaty from combat. Challengers were accepted... occasionally.
Ebonfyre flared his wings dramatically, as he landed lightly, the wind from his landing stirring up dust in a thick, brown cloud from which he strode like royalty. Two swords rested at his waist like always, one at each hip, their blades curved and slightly flaring in the tradition of an ancient group of dark skinned humans, while the hilts were designed for his hands alone, although others of his race could use them fairly easily.
The crowd stared at him, as he stood, bathed in the cold, unnatural light of magical fire that made his ebony hide seem darker, so dark that it almost refused to reflect light at all, making him seem nothing more than a tall shadow.
The two fighters stopped their battle, turning to face him with eyes as cold as the magical fire, full of hatred and unreasonable anger.
"I challenge," he remarked softly, but yet the sound rolled across the arena, silencing the booing crowd, silencing them so that a heavy, unnatural stillness settled upon the arena, and the world seemed to slow.
Casually, as if in a dream, Ebonfyre drew his swords, crossing them in front of him and bowing to his opponents, even though they had not accepted his challenge yet.
The stillness that had settled was broken only barely, as first the human, than the beastman accepted his challenge, then settled even more fully once more, as if claiming the ancient place as its own for all eternity.
Maybe it was a trick of the air, of the heat that filled the area, or some strange result of the magic light, but the fight seemed to start slowly, as if viewed in slow motion. Ebonfyre, though, was having none of the mystical strangeness that had settled in the arena, and the illusion of slowness, of heaviness, of tiredness, and of many other things was shattered with the first ringing crash of steel upon steel.
He slipped between them, his curved blades skillfully beating the other blades back, until, with a quick, smooth motion, he slid from between them easily, leaving them to parry each other's strikes before they do any harm. Roaring, the human wheeled and slammed into Ebon, trying to force him into a body-to-body confrontation.
Dropping and rolling away, to leap up with a slash at the beastman, Ebon avoided the confrontation, knowing that his swords weren't made for that type of battle, knowing, and heeding the knowledge. A good fighter went by his wits...
Which apparently these two didn't have. Insolently, he beat back their attacks, slipping out of the way of a knife that was seeking his heart with all of the concern that one gave to a blunt edge. A flick of his tail sent the knife spinning off into a corner of the arena, and, with quick, sure strokes, he disarmed and knocked them unconscious.
Disgusted at the lack of time it had taken, his head went back, and he roared out, "I challenge all those who wish to face me!"
Once more the crowd was silenced, but this time several tall, lithe warriors stood and made their way into the cent of the arena. Ten tall, gracefully elves armed with cruelly barbed spears and swords approached, fanning out into a circle with Ebonfyre in the center.
The crowd watched, entranced, as Ebonfyre and the ten elves wove a dance of injury and possible death. Swords and spears flickering in and out like snake tongues, the elves tried to tame him, beat him with their slightly superior speed and longer weapons.
He was having none of it.
Quick sword slashes bit into the shafts of the spears, the spearheads falling to the ground as they were severed from the shafts. Golden sparks flew where the swords of elven make and the swords of immortal make met, showering both sides with the hot fireflies of metal.
Across the arena floor they battled, filling the entire arena with the harsh sound of steel on steel, as the spectators watched wide-eyed. Elves were spectacular fighters, but this was an amazing fight, even considering that.
Full night crept up upon the arena, until it was only the bright, slightly blue glow of the mage lights that illuminated the floor, but still they battled. Ten against one... eight against one... seven against one... the odds kept getting better for the anthro dragon.
Finally it was decided, as the last stars showed themselves in the newly born night. Ebonfyre stood in the mage light, much as he had when he had entered and first challenged, he stood, appearing to be nothing more than a shadow, above the senseless bodies of the last of the elves who had fought him. Wounded and bleeding in many places, he stood in victory.
Behind him, one of the first elves he had knocked out rose to his feet, a dagger in his left hand. On silent, quick feet, the elf approached Ebonfyre's back, the dagger poised to strike, but as he did...
Ebonfyre turned slightly, grabbing the elf's collar as he lunged, and using the forward momentum to hurl the elf into the wall, ending the battle once and for all.
The crowd cheered, the sound bouncing off of the walls and filling the area with sound. With that to speed him on, he leaped into the air, wings beating strongly to lift him into the sky. Below him, the ground was obscured with brown dust for a few seconds, settling only reluctantly back upon the ground, as if it too wished to fly.
Morning came quickly, the sun rising over the horizon as if it couldn't dispel the darkness fast enough. And with the morning light, a dark, ebony shape took to the sky once more, rested and refreshed. Ignoring the pain of his wounds, he flew to one of the largest of cities.
When it came into sight, he was once more in awe, but, with steady strokes of his wings, he kept flying towards it. The houses glittered in the morning light, their forms crafted by ancient Mages of Crystal, with opaque crystals, white opal mainly, forming the walls. Diamond formed the windows, diamond as pure and crystal clear as any glass ever made. Other crystals formed the domes and spires on the largest of houses, as well as the embellishments on others. Massive walls encircled the city, it was those that a ground walker first saw, their massive beauty shining radiantly even in the darkest night.
They were a construct that all of the mages had worked together on, and they showed that. The rainbow was trapped within those walls, ruby red fading to citrine, then to topaz, and on through the rest of the rainbow. The giant, main gate was a glittering swirl of all the colors, and it was this gate and the walls that had created the saying, "Follow the rainbow, for you'll find Kariatnea at the end of it."
Those walls were proof against all attack, despite how weak some of the crystals really were when they were found naturally. Thieves never survived in the city, something about its beauty drove them out, or changed them to decent people.
It was to one of the larger houses that Ebonfyre flew, and, as he landed in the large courtyard, a tall man stepped out from the house and approached him.
"Hail, Ebonfyre, been to the arena again?" the man asked. Citrine eyes were set into a graceful, kind face. The man's skin was colored a vibrant sapphire blue that was tinged with emerald in several places, while bright topaz colored hair fell down past his shoulders.
"Hail, Charit, you seem well today. And yes, I have been to the arena."
Charit laughed, "Come inside then, and my wife shall fix you up once more."
Laughing and talking, the two entered the house, leaving the courtyard empty once more.
Upon entering the house, a woman looked up, gave Ebonfyre one appraising look, then stepped up to him and dragged him over to a stool, forcing him to sit, "Injured again, eh? You seem to get injured every week, and always manage to find your way to us." She scolded him gently.
He held still, as her magic wove its way carefully through his body, fixing everything, "Of course, what better healer is there than you, the lovely Maki?"
"Shameless flatterer!" Maki remarked, smiling, as she finished her healing.
Ebonfyre grinned, as he rose and stretched, trying to see if there was any pain left, "Of course I am, Maki, I thought you had realized that long ago."
Charit returned to the room carrying a platter of food, which he set upon a small table at Maki's direction.
"Well," she said as she walked over to the table and took a seat, gesturing for the other two to sit as well, "I know you hate it, but you should stay here and rest for several days, Ebon."
Ebon stepped over to the table and took a seat, sighing as he did, "As the Lady commands."
Taking another seat, Charit sat down as well, remarking to Ebon as he snagged some food up and put it on his plate, "Don't worry, Ebon, you'll be up and out of here in no time."
He snorted, but didn't respond to Charit, as he took some food and began to eat, following Maki's example.
In silence the three ate, Maki and Charit wondering what they could do to keep Ebonfyre in place long enough to recover from the healing, and Ebonfyre wondering what he could do to get out of having to stay for as long as he knew they wanted him to.
The days past slowly, and it was all he could do not to just leave to continue his wanderings. Maki, though, was having none of it, and insisted that he stay for a while longer. And so, bored stiff, he found his way to the practice courts and began practicing with the Warriors.
They, at least, provided a way to ease his boredom a bit, as they taught him their manner of fighting, a way that had him feeling like a beginner all over again.
It was as he was practicing with one of the men that the blue dragon appeared over the city, as if appearing out of nowhere. The men, though, shrugged the appearance off and went back to practicing, confident that the dragon would be handled well by the tenders, those people who dedicated their lives to the different legendary animals that inhabited the world.
Ebonfyre, as well, returned to practicing, trying to adapt the Warrior's way of fighting to his own. After all, if he was going to be stuck here, he might as well learn something of worth.
Suddenly, though, a young child's voice approached, sounding like he was begging someone not to do something, begging, that slowly turned into commanding.
"Sir! Don't go back there, the Warriors don't like being disturbed during practice!"
"I must see something, though, just for a second," the reply came.
The Warriors looked at one another, then gathered in a group, swords bared, all in identical stances except for Ebon, who stood in front of the group, his swords casually at his side, but looking ready to fly up in a bare second.
A man, obviously not of the town, strode into the practice courts, dressed in leather with dragons on it. Obviously startled, he stopped in his tracks as he saw the group in the center. Behind him, a child about twelve slunk to one side, casting glances over at the man.
"Toldja so," the child remarked, as he took up a position in a corner.
One of the Warriors, a man at least six and a half feet tall stepped up beside Ebonfyre, weapons poised, "Why are you here, stranger?"
The man stared at the oddly colored humans who looked like they had been crafted out of living jewels, which they had, in a way. Finally, though, he found his tongue, "I'm here on Search."
"Searching for what, stranger?" the Warrior asked, not relaxing at all.
"Candidates, for a clutch of dragons," the man answered, his eyes shifting nervously to where other Warriors were approaching.
Ebonfyre turned to the child, "Boy, get this man to Charit's house, and tell Charit to explain manners to him and what could have happened here."
The boy nodded, then raced over to the man and began dragging him back off, away from the practice courts. As they left, the Warriors returned to their spots, and their battles.
It was nearing noon when he was able to leave and return to his temporary room in Charit's home. The walk was a short one, since all of the Mages had houses near the Warriors, an old tradition that had roots back in the time when Kariatnea didn't exist, only a plain, stone city named Kivra and where the city wasn't proof against all attack.
Striding quickly, he entered the courtyard, glancing at the blue dragon that stood there and growled a greeting in the language of the dragon kin as he passed. Before the dragon could respond, though, he walked into the house and closed the door behind him.
Charit and his wife sat comfortably around a table, with the man sitting, a little less relaxed, near them.
"Ah, welcome back Ebonfyre, get changed and we can have lunch," Maki remarked.
He nodded, then, taking the steps two at a time, climbed up the second floor and entered his room. Once in there, he stripped off his slightly ripped, gray, sweat and dirt stained clothes and pulled on black ones, passing a belt around his waist and sliding his scimitars between the belt and his side so that they hung at an angle and were also easy to draw. These swords wouldn't tolerate sheathes, so he had never used them.
Finally, running his fingers through his mane, he exited his room and trotted down the steps, leaving his practice clothes in a pile on the floor, as always.
In the living room, Charit and Maki were talking with the man, who looked up the minute that Ebonfyre stepped into the room and headed towards the table.
"They tell me you're Ebonfyre?" he asked.
"Yeah, what's it to you," Ebon responded, as he sat down and looked at Maki for permission. When she inclined her head slightly, he snagged up a piece of food and started eating, watching the man guardedly.
"These two have... ah... told me of my lapse in good judgment for going to the Warriors' practice courts. But Senostrith told me that he had sensed a decent candidate around here somewhere," the man said, looking up into Ebonfyre's slightly glowing eyes.
"Senostrith?"
"The Blue outside, I'm his rider."
Ebonfyre snorted, "Listen, human, apparently you're not from around here, because dragons don't allow riders except in special cases, and usually only once."
"I... not from around here," the human answered.
"From where, then?" Maki asked, as she ate absently.
"Earth, and Senostrith is from Danach, Cathair Fionabhainn more specifically. I bonded him there."
"Your name?" Ebonfyre asked.
"Griffon," the human responded.
"So, Griffon, what's this about candidates? Hmm?"
"Well... you see, the dragons on other worlds lay a clutch after a flight, then bonders are gathered and are there at the hatching, to impress one of the dragonets," Griffon explained.
Ebonfyre didn't respond, he was thinking that over as he ate, personally glad that the dragons on this world didn't have that odd tradition, or else there would never be any able young men or women doing work of any kind, or learning a trade. Instead they'd be all climbing over the mountains searching for dragon nests, more than half of them getting slaughtered by angry dragon parents.
The human shifted in his chair, made uncomfortable by the silence that greeted his explanation, "Uhm... Senostrith thinks that you'd make a good candidate..."
Ebonfyre raised his head, looking at Griffon with slight interest, "Where?"
"Shinack Weyr, on another world, they need one more candidate to fill up the clutch," Griffon answered swiftly.
"Hmm..." he turned the idea over in his head, not so much interested in the impressing a dragon part as in getting a change of scenery. A quick glance at Maki and Charit told him that they, too, knew what he was thinking of, and only slightly approved. It had been several days, though, and he was all rested up...
Maki finally sighed, her eyes going up the ceiling, as if asking whatever god these Mages of Crystal looked to, to protect her from energy filled creatures that refused to stay in one spot for more than a week, "I know what you're thinking, Ebonfyre, so you might as well just give up pretending to be innocent. If you want to go, then go."
"I'm not even going to say don't get into trouble, because I know you will the moment you set foot on whatever world it is," Charit added, slightly amused.
Ebonfyre grinned, then turned to Griffon, "Alright then, I'll go."
Griffon finished his sandwich, then rose, "Shall we leave then?"
Nodding, Ebon rose as well, and followed as Griffon left the house. Looking on, he watched as Griffon mounted the Blue, then leaped into the air and flew up to settle behind Griffon.
Senostrith leapt into the air, his wings beating strongly as he gained height. When he was clear, he hovered for a second, then vanished between.
As they came out over the weyr, Ebonfyre glanced around, noting different areas of the place. There didn't seem to be any others like him around, so that would make it even more interesting.
He grinned, how many humans could he scare by pouncing on them out of seemingly nowhere?
It was time to find out.