Saturday, July 7, 2012

Chapter 6: Your Enemy


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Aymeri and his brothers rise warily and take up a defensive position as a male from another nest enters theirs.


"Riain hasn't returned," Aymeri notes under his breath.

"The three of us are enough to defend our territory," Seirian notes.

"I'm not worried about that," Aymeri answers. Riain would often be away from the nest for days at at time, enjoying the solitude of his explorations in the world at large, and normally Aymeri would not be concerned about his brother's absence. But in these times, with other nests set against theirs...


"Aymeri, First of Tearhne, I am Emrys, First of Radhari," the outsider says,  his arms kept down at his sides in a non-threatening posture.

Aymeri knows full well who he is, dragon society is small enough that they all know each other by face and name. But the formal introduction is required in this situation. For an adult male dragon to enter another's nest is almost always an act of aggression, and Emrys' words show that he is not here to engage in hostilities. 

"First of Radhari?" Aymeri asks. The last he'd heard, Emrys was second of his nest. "Hayder?"

"Dead," Emrys confirms his suspicion.


"How?" Aymeri asks. Radhari's nest was known for its brutality, its males often killing each in other in challenges against the First. But Emrys always stood apart from his brothers, was known as the calmest and least violent of his nest, and Aymeri would be surprised to learn he'd challenged and killed Hayder himself.

"We found his body this morning. He was bitten by a venomous snake," Emrys explains. If he mourned his lost brother, he kept it to himself, for his face betrayed no emotion as he delivered the news. "But I am not here to talk of Hayder. Near his body, we found blood. Riain's blood." With his last words, a hoarseness creeps into his voice.


"Riain's blood, but not Riain?" Aymeri asks.

Emrys nods. "I called for him, but he was nowhere to be found. I don't know what to make of it, Aymeri. Hayder, dead of a snake's venom, and no other mark on him. And Riain's blood on a rock by the water. A lot of his blood, too much, I fear," he says, his voice wavering again, "He should not have been able to go far with such an injury, but he was nowhere near the area. And he left no trail for us to follow."

"We must find him," Aymri says.

"I will help you search," Emrys says, somewhere between a question and a demand. Aymeri nods his assent.


"I will help as well," Ico declares, approaching the group of dragons.


Aymeri makes a warning growl in his throat as Emrys turns to Ico. "You are the fairy that's been causing so much trouble?" Emrys asks, "I would welcome your aid."


"You'll accept help from a fairy?" Aymeri asks, more than a little surprised.

"My son is out there, lost, injured," Emrys says, his voice breaking in sorrow, "If your fairy's magic can help find him...No law will get in my way."


The blood in the water had long dispersed, and only dried traces of it were left on the rock. Ico enters the pond, searching the water's memory for clues.


"This is where we found Hayder," Emrys tells them.

"Someone lay with a fairy here, very recently,"Aymeri says.

"How do you know this?" Emrys asks in surprise.

"The smell," Seirian says.

"All I smell is flowers," Emrys says.

"When she's...aroused," Aymeri says, keeping his voice low, "She puts off a powerful scent. It will linger for hours. It's like flowers, but once you know the source, you'll never mistake it for anything else."

"Hayder was furious at you, your whole nest, over this fairy. I can't imagine he'd lie with one," Emrys says.

"But if he found Riain with one..." Seirian speculates.

"He would have attacked," Emrys says with a growl, "If he harmed my son..." he starts, but there is no threat he can make against his dead brother.

"Hayder attacked Riain, threw him against that rock," Aymeri says, "Hayder is then bitten by a snake, and the fairy must  have taken Riain."

"Shayeleigh," Ico says, looking up from the water.


"Shayeleigh," Riain moans, regaining consciousness. "What is this place?" 

"Ssh, my love," she sighs, pushing him back down, "You must eat."

"No," he whispers, his throat dry. This place is wrong, unnatural, and she is wrong as well, not Shayeleigh at all.


With great concentration, he sees through her glamour, and he gathers all his strength to shove her off him.


With a gasp, she falls to the floor. 

"You cannot hold me here, fairy," Riain growls as he makes for what looks to be an exit from this unnatural cave.


"But I can," she says, her voice quiet with rage. Riain is grasped in her magic, unable to move.


With a sweep of her hand, he falls to the floor, doubled over in pain, until he loses consciousness again.


Auberon's magic sets him apart from even the others of his kind, for he alone holds the power of creation. Anything he can imagine, he can make manifest in the world. When Shayeleigh brought them the injured dragon, Auberon created a beautiful prison to hold him hostage, constructed of durable magic that would keep his dragon brothers away and protect the fairies who held him there.


"This is wrong, Auberon," Shayeleigh complains. She brought Riain to her kind to heal his injury, and Auberon took him from her.

"He is a dragon, Shayeleigh," Aubero says, "His kind plan to make war against us. They've seduced Ico and made her their prisoner, as this one no doubt intended to do with you."

"That's not true! He saved me from the hunters, he--" she stops herself, too late. She had told Auberon that she didn't know what happened to her that day she was shot by the strange creatures' arrows.

"So, you lied to me," Auberon says, "You knew your rescuer and kept him hidden from us. What have you told the dragons about us, Shayeleigh?"



"The dragon is uncooperative," Tania says, joining them by the pool. "He attacked me. I had to use my magic to prevent his escape."


"No, he wouldn't," Shayeleigh gasps in horror.

"He dared lay hands on you?" Aubeon says, his voice even. Only those closest to him would be able to see the rage that seethes beneath his calm demeanor.


The dragon lies unconscious on the bed Auberon created for him. 


The fairy reaches out with his mind, and wakes the dragon.

"Shayeleigh," Riain sighs, "Where is she?"

"Shayeleigh is none of your concern, dragon," Auberon says, "Where is Icovellauna? What have you done with her?"

"Ico? She was well, last I saw her..."


Auberon doesn't move, does not so much as gesture. He delivers pain with just a thought.

"Where is Ico?" he asks again.


Riain keeps silent, despite the pain. He will not reveal the location of his nest to this fairy.


"You think this is pain?" Auberon asks, "This is only a taste of what I can do to you, dragon. Tell me, where is Ico?"


The pain is near unbearable. Riain struggles to rise, to escape.


"There is no scape from me, dragon," Auberon says, intensifying his mental attack, immobilizing the dragon, "You will answer my questions."

"Never," Riain growls, falling back into he bed.


Shayeleigh cringes at the sound of Riain's screams.

"Don't waste your pity on that dragon," Tania says, "He lied to you and seduced you. He didn't tell you that they held Ico captive, did he? Or of the plans they were making to war against us. He never loved you, he is your enemy."

"No, it can't be," Shayeleigh says, but  her protestations grow weaker. It is true, he didn't tell her about Ico, about the war. And if he kept that from her, what other lies did he tell?

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The house/prison Auberon built is Joselly by Pet'ka. 

23 comments:

  1. I... I can't even... I mean... WHAT THE HELL AUBERON? I actually -liked- you! Emphasis on the past tense.

    I kinda hope for war now. And I want Auberon to go bye bye and leave Tania alone forever. Cause they deserve it... bastards.

    Told ya Riain shoulda died. : ( No one can hurt you then.

    (Ignore this request if you have everything planned out already... but can I PLEASE see someone punch Auberon in the face? Or slap Tania... either way would be awesome. : D And I would love you forever... again.)

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    1. Killing off Auberon would be a pretty tall order. I mean, I know I'm free to do what I want, but Auberon's historical presence as king of the fairies kind of makes it difficult for me to kill him off this early in the story, lol.
      And I'd worry about what would happen to anyone I sent in to punch Auberon or slap Tania. Look at Auberon's response to Tania accusing Riain of attacking her...

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    2. Tania may deserve it, but I don't think she'd ever let a slap to face slide, no matter who it came from.

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  2. This update makes me so sad. So very sad. I kept hoping for Ico to show up and put an end to all the madness. I really hope Shayeleigh doesn't lose all her faith in him. He has honor as a dragon, which I admire, but a heart to want to be with her, even now. I am hoping for better news in the next chapter!

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    1. It is a sad chapter, heaven. Tania is doing hr best to turn Shayeleigh away from Riain, we'll have to see how successful she is.

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  3. Pretty.

    I like Auberon even more now. =P Classic fey/elven/ish archtypes would like very much to be peaceful, but also believe themselves kind of above everything else (usually the "we alone can judge everything" race), and will go to any length to preserve their ways, if they feel they're threatened. I don't know why these vain jerks were always my favorites. Nor do I know how much Melissa's story will go with that tradition; hopefully I don't sound like I'm putting words in her mouth.

    I dunno if I'd want to punch a being with such powers over reality, Cece. xD It might, I dunno, start breaking.

    I like Emrys too. Hopefully his position as first won't have him constantly attacked...

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    1. I've always like fae types as tricksters and manipulators, so we'll be seeing a lot of that side of them. But they will also have a lot of that huge chip on their shoulder thing, though not with the kind of aloofness I normally associate with the more elven types.

      Emrys as first will have a lot of power to shape the culture of his nest. He might face a lot of challenges initially, but if he survives them and sort of lays down the law the way Aymeri has done, he can get his younger nest brothers to fall in line. It really depends on his personality, and the personalities of the others in the nest. He'd be wise to start looking for new recruits to join his nest, to find young males with temperament suited to the type of nest he wants to run, and who would be more inclined to be loyal to him.

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    2. I like how the different cultures are being developed. ^^

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    3. It's going to be a lot of fun for me to evolve these cultures over time, along with the evolution of human culture.

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  4. Your pictures are absolutely breathtaking. Like I have said before, this is not a story I would get into, but I am finding myself being sucked in. I find it sad that the Dragons are trying to stop the war and the Fae are trying to start it.

    Unfortunately the bond that the dragons have with "their" fairies is probably more than that of their nestmates. Would you agree or is that a spoiler.

    Thanks for a great story.

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    1. Thank you so much, PG! I try to make the pictures as nice as possible.

      The dragons in Aymeri's nest are trying to prevent war, but there are other nests that are looking forward to it. But with the way things are going, with Auberon taking Riain hostage and torturing him, the peace side will lose a lot of ground, unfortunately. Hope is not yet completely lost however, there still a chance for diplomacy.

      Aymeri and Riain do seem to have forged strong bonds to 'their' fairies. Aymeri was willing even to leave the nest with Ico, though that was mainly to protect his nest from being guilty along with him of breaking their laws. Your question is a good one, one I have to think about, and maybe test the bonds my dragons have to their fairies and to each other in future chapters.

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  5. Well this is sure to mean war! The dragons are now looking for Riain and if they find out what the fairies are doing to him...although I am sure that Auberon wants war at this point. It's crazy to think that most of this started because a faerie and a dragon frolicked in the flowers!

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    1. LOL, it's true, it all started with frolicking. Fairies do love a good frolic.

      Auberon is more powerful than the dragons probably realize. I don't think he's completely set on war, but he's very angry at them for taking Ico captive (as he sees it) and he knows the dragons are making war plans, and he's more than ready to go on the offensive himself rather than let them make the first move.

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  6. I'd wager the war has started, and the FAIRIES have started it. Stupid Tania and Auberon causing trouble. grrrrrrr This is how things get started. Neither side understands the other one so then hatred and fear develop. Then fear of the hatred, etc. Oh, this is going to explode everywhere and be really messy.

    Very nice special effects!

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    1. Yes, the fairies are making the first move. The female dragons are still arguing over they want war, and Auberon has taken an offensive stance.
      There's definitely a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation clouding the issue.

      I used photoshop for the effect where Tania is trying to glamour Riain into believing she's Shayeleigh. The rest are in game effects from the fog emitter. That thing is super handy.

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  7. Unlike Cece, I actually really like Auberon. He's not perfect, as he's shown with the whole torturing thing, but he cares deeply for those around him, and I admire that. He is just trying to protect his fellow fairies from a perceived threat, and although I don't think violence is exactly the right answer I'm glad that he's taking this all very seriously. He's a strong character, just misinformed.

    Great chapter! =)

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    1. Thanks, Colleen, I'm glad you like Auberon. It's hard to portray a character doing something truly monstrous without having them be seen as a monster.

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  8. I really enjoyed this update (yes, I'm slowly getting the time to read this!) and I think you've done really well with your portrayl of Auberon. As usual you've done a stunning job with your pictures!

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    1. Thanks for taking the time to read it, Kathleen!
      Auberon has long been a favorite and fascination of mine, so it's been interesting and fun for me to make him my own character.

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  9. Grr Tania. This is a random fact, but I knew someone by that name and she was a bitch too. *sniffs for Riain* He's only protecting his nest...

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    1. Tania does some pretty nasty things.
      And Riain is being unfairly punished and tortured. It made me sad too.

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  10. Ohnoes, this is not a good turn of events. Hayder dead, with the scent of fairy around, and now the fairies holding Riain prisoner. Poor Shay, starting to believe the worst. If only they could talk to each other, I'm sure he would reassure her. None of this can bode well.

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    1. Thanks, Misty! This is a sad turn of events.

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