The Dragon Corner

The Original NS Post:

The pat on the back did seem to comfort the red Dragon, though Ezron did patiently and silently wait for her to say the verse, even if he was skeptical. But understanding dawned on his face as she mentioned the fact that the Katak'sars  lacked a male heir. That had a similar meaning on Heord, as clan lineage was typically traced through patrilineal means with only a few exceptions, and those few exceptions were generally due to Grand Drakes being involved. So already he could tell this was leading somewhere, but when Sar'ksasa finally made the offer, he was still rather surprised.
After a few moments of stunned silence, Ezron glanced around to make sure nobody over heard that. But it seemed they were safe, so he leaned in, "Are you entirely sure about that? Such an offer is a great honor, especially to somebody like me, but that's also the point. You haven't known me very long all things considered, and I just told you the story of how I lack that sort of clan bond you value so much. Not for lack of wanting on my part, but the Shadtai have always operated differently. So I have always expressed my need for that through Tyfrondor and his clan, but that's still different from a true blood bond. Consider it for a moment."

Ezron went quiet to let Sar'ksasa give it some additional thought, but then he did quietly glance around. His eyes aimed in the direction of where his mother had gone. When he looked back to Sar'ksasa, he spoke quietly, "Now with that chance given... If you are still extending that offer; I would accept. For multiple reasons. One being that I do not wish to see such a legacy fade so ingloriously, not before Heord can learn all that our lost cousins have to offer. And secondly, it will allow me to repay my dues to Tyfrondor far better than I could as a mere stray Shadtai. Those are my practical reasons, I won't lie about their existence. But, the final reason..." He went quiet and looked down, "I'll admit, I have always been a bit jealous of those who can call upon their family legacy with pride. Even Tyfrondor can do that, as the Granions have a long history of being distinguished warriors. But while I am bonded to them in spirit, I am not so in blood. And by rejecting the Shadtai, I cannot call on that history either. So instead I can only take pride in myself. Which I do, happily so, but in a society of clans and clan bonds... It is tiring to be apart from it all. I would like to leave a bit more in terms of legacy."

"So, what would this blood oath entail? Can't be as easy as just standing before the elders and declaring it! Nothing is ever that simple in clan rules."

- - - - -

Uzkiramos beamed with approval from his podium as Myrsa showed her enthusiasm, regardless of the errors in her speech, and let her complete her suggestion. Tarral meanwhile just sighed, but she did not comment as it simply appeared all judicially-inclined Dragons seemed to have a flair for the dramatic. Uzkiramos clapped his paws together in approval, "Bravo! I greatly enjoy the sentiment! It is pleasing to see such vigor for the law and justice among the youth. Now, as for your suggestion, it is not bad at all, and I might borrow it for later. I may decide not to apply that final part, but my choice on that matter shall be done after the appropriate interviews and investigation. Remember, young Miraak'sana, lawspeakers are the pinnacles of justice. We are warriors, investigators, and judges all in one! Determining cases as according to tradition, honor, and purest justice! It's not easy work, that's for sure."

"All the same, you have proven yourself to me as having the right sort of mind for this work! And so, youngling, I extend to you the offer of an apprenticeship if you would like it! I would happily induct you into the Honorhorn School-Clan, with me as your mentor, so I may teach you the ways properly! It would make me very happy, as neither of my own daughters were very interested in it." Uzkiramos gave a pointed look at Tarral at that one.

The young Dragoness rolled her eyes, "We both know I am not your caliber of warrior or investigator, father. I succeeded on my own anyways. Besides, Myrsa... I mean, Miraak'sana, just got here. You should let her explore the planet more first! She hasn't even met old Grumpy yet!"

Sar'ksasa chuckled and a sardonic smirk formed in her face, terrifying to behold "Hah, no, you're right in that it will not be an easy task, so I can afford to not know you well before giving you my offer." She stood back contemplating how to explain herself more eloquently given the actual harsh terms of a blood oath, finally leaning forward to get some more privacy as she was about to explain "First of all it will require lots of tutoring on how our clan stands and who we are, then actual blood. Traditionally the blood oath requires the death of one of the previous clan, though as it only speaks of 'blood' and the last such blood oath took part in ancient times, I'm going to 'assume' it just means a body part; When the time comes, you'll have to take possession of a Shadtai's fangs and offer them to your new clan ...whether the Shadtai dies or not is of no care to me. You'll have to de-fang an adult Shadtai as punishment for their treatment and proof of being able to up the score for clan Katak'sar." Her eyes shined with fervor as she grabbed Ezron by his shoulders, which appeared rather pathetic as she barely could reach them "We are not a clan that accepts slights ...this most certainly will lead to a clan feud, but I'm willing to take the risks if you are."

The clan matriarch then calmed her voice and smiled, ready to explain the more refined parts of her offer "After that is done, you'll choose an ancestor to connect to, as we all have; to be the scion of one of our eternal souls that live within us. You'll connect yourself to the clan by embracing a Katak'sar and exchanging firebreaths and blood by the clan's fire-kiss, to be one with your incarnation ...as depicted in our sigil. And no, the dragons in the sigil are not fucking, my family has heard that mountainish joke a million times, it grows tiring. Hmph" she let out a little smoke from her snout at the thought of that rather annoying jest, and primarily because Ymira seemed to withhold a very inappropriate chuckle.
Trying to ignore the insolent child she continued..
"Of course, before all that is accomplished, you will have to first get truly acquainted with your new clan ...the entire family need to approve of you, this is my rule, not the clan's. As all that concludes you will be a Katak'sar by fire, blood, bond and ancestry. To start the ordeal you will have to aid the clan in reclaiming some of its lost splendor ..perhaps a trip to our ancestral cave might be in order." As she gave a rather hard pat on Ymira's dumb head for finally giving up and whispering "heh, fucking sigil"
Sar'ksasa then continued with a more calm and loving tone, having administered justice on the hatchling..
"I know this all sounds too overbearing, but family tends to have that effect and it's not something you randomly find in a meat market. And by the Saints my drake! If you're going to aspire to become a Katak'sar, learn to be more proud of yourself and your achievements ...you're right-paw of the Sharesh, not some cave guard! In front of others, such a weak demeanor might be a blessing as our enemies need to think us weak at times. But at cave, inside your skull and when the flames demand it you need to be the proudest drake to ever brave the universe. My soul tells me you have what it takes to be that, Ezron."
Ymira raised her eyebrow in disbelief looking at Ezron from claws to horns "Hmm, I don't know ..If you're going to be my brother, you will have to bring me the full collection of Home of the Ponies ..and I have to be addressed as 'Princess Pinkfire' ..and you will have to bow before me!"
Sar'ksasa sighed and gave Ymira's head a light bonk "Damn it child..."

=================================

Miraak'sana's eyes beamed with glorious delight at the acceptance of her performance and the offer at paw, her mouth remaining open for long enough for her to get a quick snack as a fly flew inside. Gulping it and rather ashamed she quickly regained her proud posture, bowing with her wings extended "I wholeheartedly accept your most exquisite and generous offer to enroll in Honorhorn; I vow to be an unshaken warrior of justice and not fail you, lord Uzkiramos!" Her dumb smile full of glee was somewhat even more gleeful than the one she had while staring at Tarral's tail ..of course she was soon landed back into the realm of reality when Tarral spoke
"Ehm, yes, I am new to Heord after all, I do want to see more of it and your daughter ..'s friendship cannot be taken for granted, It would be rude and foolish to let her and Heord wait as I beseech to learn of your ways and lands"
She turned to Tarral with her discreet yet ever-lustful look "So, this Grumpy character ..let's go meet him and then I need to lay in some beach ..you do have those don't you? ..with your father's permission of course!" She turned to Uzkiramos awaiting for his approval to go explore Heord, though she clearly did want to explore more ...regardless of what he would say.

Ezron blinked about seven times after hearing the qualification. Then, after letting it settle in, he frowned, "Defanging an adult Dragon will indeed lead to a clan feud, especially if it it's with the Shadtai. I am not sure if that's a wise course of action. My mother's clan may not be a mighty force of Mountain Combat Drakes, but the Shadtai earned their place by being ruthless. Not to mention gaining the fealty and subservience of many smaller clans with which to do their dirty business." He paused for a moment, looking up at the sky, before quietly admitting, "I can't say I haven't thought about doing something like it. Especially to a few of my older brothers... But the Shadtai are just as unwilling to accept that sort of slight. If they get hit, they'll claw back twice as hard. I am not sure a clan so diminished and recently introduced might survive a feud with those so well entrenched and prepared."

After a moment of silence, Ezron then chuckled to himself, "But I guess that sort of risk is the best way to prove such a clan's worth, isn't it? Guess that's the ploy, usurp the Shadtais under the auspices of the Grand Drake's will, and secure a place for the Katak'sars. And you can't do that successfully without retrieving more of your clan's hoard and equipment. I can see where all of this is going. Contrary to how I sound, I know how these things go. But you're right about family, and about me. Alright then, seems I am going back to Shyr far sooner than expected. I do want a family to be proud of! So this is your chance to show me just how great the Katak'Sars are."
Ezron tapped the underside of his muzzle, "I'll have to inform Tyfrondor about the trip, but something tells me he will be quite fine with it. And even the part about the Shadtai and fangs. He was the one who argued for revenge in the early days after all, and he's never been the type to forget. Something you should remember too in case you're just pulling my tail," Ezron added with a small smirk. Then he looked over at Ymira and smiled, "I am afraid it's up to your mother whether you get the ponies, and the only one I can bow to is the Grand Drake. But I'd be happy to address you properly, Princess Pinkfire."

"Are ponies a type of Bison?" came as a sudden question from an unknown voice, right to the side of Ezron and Sa'ksasa. Ezron even jumped at the surprise before looking over at the source. It was a relaxed looking Golden Dragon who's only apparel was a small necklace of seashells around his neck. Next to this Dragon was a floating cup formed from what looked to be a plastic coconut. His approach had been entirely quiet and stealthy despite the somewhat glazed look in his eyes.
The Dragon then looked over Ymira and Sar'ksasa, and recognition flashed in his eyes, "Oh, I think I remember you two. Foreign scalefriends! Right on. Welcome to Heord. You two are a bit small though, guess the Softskins stole all the Vitamins. You should go to the Vudsi Islands, get some sun. Your scales really look like you need it." Then his coconut drink floated over to his mouth and he began to slurp at it, while his eyes remained locked squarely upon Sar'ksasa.

Now calming down, Ezron sighed, "Ah, seems we have another newcomer. Sar'ksasa, meet Rikorix Sarvakis, head of Clan Sarvakis and chief of Sarvak Island. He is an ally of the Grand Drake and represents the finest warriors and... and brewmasters of the Vudsi Islands," he added after some hesitation. Rikorix merely nodded in agreement while continuing to slurp his drink loudly.

- - - -

Completely failing to recognize the looks that Miraak'sana was giving his daughter, Uzkiramos smiled and nodded his head in approval, "It is only right that you see what the Cradle of Dragons has to offer before you spend some years of your life in study! It will make you appreciate Heord more, and in turn that appreciation will fuel your desire to be the best protector of its laws and justice that you can be! You have my approval to meet the wise ancient, and do as you please after. If you desire beaches, I recommend the Vudsi Islands! Specifically, the island of Rexis. It has very good beaches! You may return to me once you are ready to inducted and begin your studies with the Honorhorns!"

Tarral rolled her eyes, "He says that because he met my mom on Rexis. But I guess it is nice." She then got more serious, "But onto the important matter of Grumpy. He's the oldest Dragon on Heord, and the biggest. His actual name is Rekthorn Ci'vost, I think. But everyone just calls him Grumpy, you'll find out why. As the eldest, he knows the most about Heord. Fortunately, he's not very far, it's a quick flight west. Let's go." She looked back over at her dad, "Bye dad, I'll see you soon again probably!"

Uzkiramos gave a happy wave with his front paw, "Goodbye, Tarral! And goodbye to you as well, Miraak'sana. I shall look forward to mentoring you upon your return."

With goodbyes exchanged, Tarral marched back out of the draconic courtroom. Back in the outside of the village, she looked around at the ongoing antics of the Village Dragons. One Dragon was filling up a very large container filled with animal food, preparing to fly it off towards the nearby large field. In the distance, a few Dragons were flying over that very field, carefully watching over the massive herd of Heordal Bison below and acting as skyborne shepherds. A number of hatchlings were playing with a ball, batting it between themselves using their tails, sometimes knocking it into the air so that they had to fly to catch it.

Tarral however looked to her west, looking to the mountains for guidance before nodding, "Right. Grumpy's cave should be right that way. Just have to follow that path there, if you see it. His cave is within the mountain circle, but there's fortunately an easy way in. We could just walk there, frankly." She pointed to a path that led out of the village, a very rough dirt road. It seemed to have been made less for the purposes of a real road, and more like a giant line in the ground for a flying creature to follow.

Remaining judgemental and silent as Ezron was processing the offer, Sar'ksasa finally nodded in approval of his mind working in a way a Katak'sar's should "Precisely, besides, no one said you would have to hog all the fun of defanging weaker dragons yourself. I'll gladly aid..." her evil smirk and gleam of fire in her eyes gave out a different dragoness, one not as weak as Ezron might have thought   ..though perhaps one to be contained at times.
Ymira in the meanwhile had the exact opposite expression, one of total bliss and appreciation for being addressed with her majestic and genius title she came up with "Eeek! ...I mean, yes! I Princess Pinkfire thank you for your gallant services!" She gave a little regal bow and begun trotting around Ezron in full acceptance, only being stopped by the question regarding ponies. As she frowned angrily and was about to answer that -no, ponies are not Bison!- Her mother quickly held her snout shut with her paw.

Immediately the entire group's attention turned to the peculiar intruder, Sar'ksasa walking up to him with an investigative look after shoving Ymira behind her wings. As the newcomer kept talking, the young matriarch's fake smile quickly turned into an expression of repressed anger and disgust at the audacity and coconut slurping of this foolish goldscale. While Ezron managed to de-escalate the situation, Sar'ksasa would have none of this dragon's insolence and dangerous intrusion into their rather shady talk of usurping clans. After thinking a bit she smiled widely and approached him "Hahaha, yes we are indeed small  ..unlike our fangs of course as you may notice by our name, Katak'sar, and by looking at them" her smile quickly dropped turning into an annoyed frown and her voice colder than ice "Regardless, your welcome is appreciated Sarvakis, even if your sneaking was not. It is a bad habit that can lead to unfortunate events, though there may be use for it" She winked at Ezron to approach "and Vudsi you said? Curious... As you eavesdropped, a watrike came up with information that there is an insurrection 'brewing' ...coincidentally in the Vudsi islands! Surely not your clan, but a strong clan near you is known to have ties to the Shadtai. It would help Great Tyfrondor a lot if you   ..took care of that problem and found out the traitors and eliminated them. It would certainly please the Grand Drake! sadly we do not know which clan is it precisely..."

=================================

As Miraak'sana thanked Uzkiramos for his suggestions and once more for his acceptance, she waved goodbye and begun walking alongside Tarral through the dragon village. Humming a short tune she caught coming from one of the radio-machines in the village; the young albino white-scale was quite in a jovial mood, almost not paying attention to Tarral's words. She pointed at the young dragons playing with the ball "Woah, that's a good tail hit! Village dragons sure are peculiar, but they know how to have a fun time" she then proceeded to keep bopping her head along the song's rythm "Mood! ...Let's meet Lord Revkorth  ...Rektost. Anyway, The Grumpy One!".
It was a long time since the second of the Katak'sars had such a good time and so much luck, it almost made her feel slightly uneasy, but with Tarral on her side and a bright new career infront of her all seemed achievable. Though perhaps a visit to the doctor would make things even better she thought as she turned her head to look at her wings and sighed.

As Tarral pointed at the path and suggested they could walk there, Miraak'sana raised her eyebrow slightly annoyed and extended her wing to show at Tarral "I don't think I get a choice Tzar'ral-veresh..." though quickly enough smiling again at her and patting her with said wing.

Rikorix's slurping slowed down momentarily as he visibly processed what Sar'ksasa was saying to him. His eyes were filled with thought and careful consideration. Then the plastic coconut flew away from his mouth, and the Island Dragon suddenly wore a huge grin, "Right, you're new! Guess you haven't heard then, little fang! Not sure what an 'Insur-ection' is, but that might be one of the drinks we brewed up at last year's Vudsi Fire Festival! We let all the little ones make their own mixes and tried it out! The hatchlings enjoy experimenting, but it doesn't all go down the gullet very well. That might be what you heard from the little-scale! A Shadtai showed up last year at the Festival but they couldn't hold their drink! Spent a whole hour puking! Gotta be careful with the experimental brews, you feel?"

He almost went back to his drink, but then a spark of inspiration flashed on his face. Rikorix looked to Sar'ksasa again, "Next festival ain't for a couple months, sadly, so can't send an invitation too early. But I can show you some of my clan's brews!" He looked over to the side, towards what looked to be a storage shed, and his eyes flashed with red energy. Soon after, there was a mighty crash as a barrel came flying through the wall of the shed, leaving a hole in its side, and flew straight towards the three Dragons. It almost hit another Dragon on the approach, but fortunately the attentive Cave managed to dodge before cursing Rikorix's name.

The barrel then landed calmly next to Rikorix, who then pushed it towards Sar'ksasa, "There we go! Take a look at this; genuine Sarvakis Sar'vak! Best drink in all Heord! Brewed this barrel myself last year, and it should be good and ripe by now! Come on, try it! You too little one, gotta grow the tolerance early and develop a strong stomach! Strong stomachs fear no poison!" He said while pointing at Ymira, still grinning widely.

Ezron felt the need to step in again before this went too far, now that Rikorix was trying to get Ymira to drink the very, very strong alcohol, "I am afraid, Chief Sarvakis, that we do not have much time. And good Sar’vak should never be opened if you can’t finish it! Perhaps another time.”

“Hm, that is true, I wouldn’t want a good barrel to be opened and then wasted…” Rikorix thought to himself for a moment, before slamming his paw down as he made a revelation, “Then consider this my welcoming gift! Take the barrel! Open it when you like and drink it all right down! For now, I’ll find another scalefriend to drink with, and may I see you three another time! Farewell!” The Island Dragon then quickly turned and slinked off to find another group of Dragons to barge in on, his footsteps being surprisingly quiet for a Dragon of his size.

Ezron glanced over at the barrel, and then gave Sar’ksasa a small smile, “Well, despite your best attempts to be rude, you got to experience Vudsi hospitality firsthand. No small gift, either. I don’t really partake, nor does Tyfrondor or any other wise Dragon, but Sar’vak is actually pretty valuable. If you like getting drunk and playing the part of Ikoris, that is. A nice addition to the hoard otherwise.” Then, quietly, he got closer to Sar’ksasa to whisper, “And definitely don’t follow Rikorix’s advice with Ymira. Not good for hatchlings.”

With that however, Sar’ksasa now had a barrel of Heord’s strongest alcohol. It smelled like grapes, though surprisingly pleasant.

As things seemed to wind down, Ezron spoke up again, “Well, unless we want to get interrupted again, we should probably go. We have something to add to your hoard now, so that’s a good excuse to see this ancestral cave of yours. I can easily get permission from Tyf, he’ll trust me with getting your stuff back here safely. Plus, I’ve been to Shyr before. More than any other Heordal, I’d guess! He’ll probably insist on the usual Watrike escort, however, so be ready for that. But that does mean we won’t have to carry everything ourselves.” Then with a smirk and a teasing tone, “Besides, somebody needs to bring word to Saherod about its new Grand Drake.”

- - -

Tarral slightly chuckled, “Ah, yes, we will have to see to your wings soon enough. Better to get those healed early! That shall come next, I believe. Can’t avoid the doctor for much longer if we want to make the fixes permanent.”

With that, they were off down the path, and along the way Tarral decided to start talking, “You said Village Dragons are peculiar, so I must assume that you Valxes never had our type. You seem to have Caves and Mountains, but I guess you had competition for the flat plains with those little greyskins of yours. Not your fault then, softskins do always complicate matters.”

“So, to briefly explain, we Village Dragons are the proud builders of Heord. We can inhabit caves, sure, but we are civilized enough to create our own abodes, right next to our primary job. That being the livestock! Somebody needs to herd, manage, and slaughter the Bisons. Sky Shepherds handle that job, while the rest of us focus on other specialized tasks that no other Dragon deigns to perform. The doctor you’ll be visiting for your wings will most certainly be a Village Dragon. And we can definitely have fun! We got free time, so we can play various sports and whatnot, and we’re good at it. Of course, as we are infamously humble, our achievements get forgotten in comparison to loud Mountains and viscous Caves… No offense.”

As she was talking, they got close to their destination. They would hear it before they saw it, thanks to the incredibly loud snoring. The snoring was so loud that the ground trembled slightly with each mighty instance of it. Tarral commented, “And that is how we know we are getting close to Grumpeak, Grumpy’s home. We should be getting to see it… Now.”

As they rounded a corner, now Miraak’sana would see it. Grumpeak, as Tarral called it, was a large mountain with a huge cave in its side, the entrance easily being the size of any softskin skyscraper. Yet even that was not enough to contain its occupant. Slightly hanging out of the massive cave was the largest Dragon that Miraak’sana would have ever seen, and likely would ever see, given that he was the size of a small mountain. His scales were a very dark gold, on the verge of going black but not quite there yet, and marked with a variety of clawmarks, scorching, and a notable scar near his left eye. This monstrosity of a Dragon was comfortably sleeping, and that was the source of the ground-shaking snores. There was a slight bit of drool from his mouth, the droplets of which were creating a small river at the base of the mountain. That was Rekthorn Ci'vost, better known as Grumpy.

The path continued to lead straight up to a point right in front of Grumpy, where a very large mound of dirt happened to be. It looked almost like a speaking platform, purely for the purposes of smaller Dragons being able to speak up towards Grumpy.

Tarral paused for a moment, “And there he is. The oldest and biggest Dragon on Heord. Our link to the ancestors, for he is living history. And as usual, he is asleep.” She sighed, “Oh well, guess you get to experience the other part of Grumpy. If you want to talk to him, go up to the speaking mound, and just shout really loud. He’s used to it.”