Peace and Reservation

High Tiarmat was a place of refuge. Situated on the highlands and overshadowed by jagged plateaus, It is situated near the Seraphane and Cyrumu border, but its location provides highly unfavorable defense for Seraphane to attack. It did not help that the plateaus were inhabited by wyverns that, for some strange reason, used this area as a  a meeting location for finding mates, friends and new generations.

 On the lower, more leveled regions was a series of buildings and gardens, arranged in a half circle. It was here where various youth were brought here from all walks of life and placed under the residents' care. Most of the caretakers were previous orphans, but a couple of former Seraphine clergy decided to have an open mind to the dragons. They were even unfazed by the fact that some of the children were also young dragonbloods. Some of them were sent to learn how to rein their powers, and one particular individual was skilled in such lessons.


With a blanket laid along the rough grass, a dark haired woman sat under a suka blossom tree. Her hair sway in front of her face as a strong breeze blew though the lands. She had defensively held the deck of cards until the winds had calmed down then picked them up. As shuffling the deck required no attention, Nasrin observed the children laughing around the flower fields. One of them spout his wings to catch the ball, while the other children yelled "No fair" but laughed at the same time. It was almost easy to forget what troubled her and her peaceful life watching such a scene.

Another sound turned her over to the higher plateau that surrounded the orphanage. The wyverns were enjoying this day as well. One of the blues male flew closer to a bronze female, rubbing its muzzle along her tail. The screech could easily be recognized as the female had threw a fit and tried to snap at the offender in response to the outrage, who flew away flirting.

Letting the scenery dull and comfort her senses, the mankute realized that she was shuffling her deck for almost an hour now. She set the cards down, cut them, then shuffled both parts briefly before combining the deck once again.  When she did a Pillars reading, it was mostly a funny prediction, like the librarian having a romance with the knight or a rare plant being found on the cliff. She had no reason to do it seriously, so she didn't used anything outside the cards to clarify the prediction.

"Hmm?" Nasrin looked around, towards the sky. I wasn't expecting visitors today...

King Isaac Dragonis was flying upon the back of his wyvern, Keebo, floating over the mountainous plateau that marked a gathering spot for Wyverns and dragonkin. He visited here sometimes to check if all was well with his subjects so close to the border, and today was another such day. As he flew, he noticed a dark figure sitting beneath a tree, though this person was someone he'd been aware of most of his life, an ancient, powerful dragon named Nasrin.

He landed Keebo nearby and dismounted his black-striped red-scaled friend, giving him a light pat on the snout before turning his attention to the divine dragon. He bowed to her in respect. "So glad to see you, Great Dragon Andraste." he smiled at her, his scarred face looked a little wind-burnt from the journey here. "What brings you here? Rest and relaxation?" He asked her, before sitting down in front of her in the grass.

"Ah, my liege! Always a pleasure." Nasrin returned the smile with her own. Not many knew her real name, so his visit was as genuine as his wind chapped face. "It was a nice day to resided in one of my own homes, and days like this make for good surroundings for teaching the young ones."

The king knew that this place was built before his father was crawling in his diapers. It was originally a boarding school to help upstart dragon-blooded kin who had problems controlling their power. As Cyrumu became more established, the need for a single school had diminished and soon became a orphanage. It helped humans and dragon-kin communicate and befriend each other. Nasrin oversaw to that purpose over the years, making efforts into every building that was added since then.

As she spoke, the assonant of distant roars could be heard in the distant. The youngsters among wyverns were getting rowdy enough for even some of the children to pause and point upward as they were spotting fireflies.

Her wings shook slightly, then relaxed against her back. She greeted Keebo in a manner than Issac could not hear, even with his dragonblood. "Greetings to you as well, Keebo. I won't be surprised if that's your brood causing such a ruckus." Nasrin finally said with a chuckle, turning back to the king, "He was quite troublemaker back then and the ladies loved it"

She still held on to the Pillars Cards in her hand, not thinking much of it in the presence of company. There was a large picnic basket was one the blanket she sat on. "You're still wind-lag from your rounds, and neglected your body for a little longer than one should.  Would my Majesty relax for a bit as well? It appears that Angela and I had made too much." She inquired, nudging the picnic basket with her tail as if to emphasize the hint further.

Isaac couldnt help but smile and nod, while observing the playing children and the other dragonkin residents of the plateau. It warmed his heart to see his subjects happy and safe. His attenton shifted back over to Nasrin and he nodded. "Keebo has been such a good friend and partner for all the time I've known him. His brood will make great warriors themselves someday." He said before sitting down at the picnic area with the Divine Dragon. "Yes, some food would be lovely, thank you milady." he smiled before tucking in to some smoked meat.

Keebo was lying down while his grandchildren hatchlings crawled over his scarred body, and he was contented, his red and black scales glistened in the afternoon sunlight. Isaac smiled as he watched before turning his attention back again to Nasrin, his smile slipping. "I can feel it talking to my mind, Andraste. I pray I am strong enough to resist losing my sanity, to hold on to the man I am somehow." he sighed, closing his eyes. "I could use your council, Andraste. You've known more generations of my family than anyone, surely there must have been some of my ancestors who resisted Deathscream's effects."

During their brief conversation with Keebo, Nasrin had set down contents on the blanket in a vast spread.  A daedal arrangement of fruits were set before the king, along with bread with blue-tinted jam, and smoked meats that he loved so much, which one seasoned with a hint of sweetness along with its smoke and seasoning. She poured the king some tea as he asked about Deathscream, but didn't make a hint that she was just as distraught by his question.


"Outside of throwing that foul sword down the darkside of a cliff and forget it was ever existed?" The dragon chuckled weakly at her joke, failing to lighten the mood. Her face went from joyful to an aged look. "Somehow I knew this conversation would come some day..." Her voice seems sorrowful. Issac was more of the pleasant of the Dragonis family. She enjoyed his company even since he was a lad taking hard lessons from her. Those wonderful times made her hate the blood and weapon that he was condemned to bare.


"Deathscream tends to thrive on one's desire for its power. I noticed that more often one believes that it needs it, the more potent it becomes to break that one's will and hold on reality. Your grandfather had kept his mind for a quite a long time to help support this theory, comparing your own father who had half that time on his own mind." The dragon explained some of the facts she knew about the sword. "Your ancestor White Tarantula... Oh, I hate to bring that up, had the worst time as you know. He craved power so much that he crafted the blasted thing which destroyed his mind entirely, using that accursed rock."

"Sadly, it's hard not to carve such power, especially to protect one's subjects." Nasrin sighed, "Though I do find some of your line had less problems on that reason, especially with selfless actions" A sigh showed how hard this subject was on her, emotionally.

His jaw clenched from the mention of his grandfather and father. King Isaac's father Torque Dragonis II was a bloodthirsty sellsword for most of his life, leaving the leadership of the kingdom to his twin brother, Gai II. Gai had used Deathscream for a time, but it was stolen from him by Torque who slew his brother with it, thus ascending to the throne. Isaac was fortunately raised by his mother, so he did not suffer the intrigues and insanity of his father much, but he had read the reports and heard the rumors. His father was a mad dog and Isaac put him down himself when he was old and strong enough. Possibly the hardest battle of his life, and the ragged scar on his cheek was a souvenir of that fight. He traced his fingers along the jagged line in thought.

Andraste was right, of course, that using Deathscream was like feeding an addiction. The more you used the sword, the harder it was to part with it. Isaac had not brought it with him here, and it took all of his willpower to let it out of his sight. He knew he would not have long before he too became the mad dog his father was. He frowned deeper, his future prospects did not look promising and he was getting on in years, and had not yet produced an heir.

"I try to do my best for my people. I wish I was stronger, but no one can really match my ancestor Khal in fortitude in resisting Deathscream. You've met him, and I recall you told me stories about him back from those savage uncivilized days of yore." he mused, stroking his chinstrap beard. "Alas, there is a war coming, I can feel it in my bones. I know I will have to use the cursed thing sooner or later." he could still hear the whispers of the blade in his mind, though very very faint, as background noise. The lack of proximity to it was helping somewhat, to drown out its constant voice begging him to kill with it.

"I promised myself when I took this throne I would not be a second White Tarantula. Not a mass murdering psychopath. I refuse. But it is my duty as king to do what I must to keep my kingdom safe and secure. The Yanni are moving against the Thaninites, Seraphane is looking to Krev to expand its borders and be able to have more access to the Crack, and Weischel are starting to set their sights on the coast of Cymru for booty. Seems they're getting bored of raiding Seraphane and Krev." he rolled his eyes. "I suppose I can count on your counsel during the days to come, Great Dragon Andraste?" he asked her beneath steely blue eyes.

"You don't need to even ask me that. I would always had the interests my home and your wellbeing as a king."Nasrin smiled, then snorted suddenly in retort. "But my my, you have been listening to the babble from those gossips of yours." Nasrin sighed, putting a hand on her face . The old dragon had issues with some of the advisers in Issac's council. They were good for carrying out the normal orders of the city, but when they want to push a certain ideas, they do so in the form of embellishments to push the king into action and annoyed her greatly. She took great efforts of unraveling their orchestrated rumors with truth she learned from actual experts, people that she keep contact with from all parts of Illyrium.

"The only true thing I heard was that Weischel might try something for Cymru . As you know their attempts and efforts were foiled by one of my close friends, Balmung."  Balmung was a sea dragon dwelling close to Cymru sea borders. Years of coxing and friendly persuasion had convinced the prideful sea drake that the waters around Cymru was his domain, and any ship can only pass though with his blessing. Sailors often pay homage mostly to humor him and to prevent the dragon from sinking their ships out of amusement than smite.  This arrangement start to show even more fruition when one of the pirate kings made advances towards a traveling songstress who hid her wings and her identity as Balmung's daughter...Oops.

Since that one incident that followed, Balmung was adamant on killing any pirate he sees going near his waters (which is in a sense...near his daughter). It took a act of counsel among the other dragons to stop Balmung from trying to sink Weischel's Isles.

"I don't think we have to worry about that situation just yet." Nasrin concluded with a chuckle taking a swallow of her tea, " As for Seraphane and Krev, the truth is much more elaborate than fiction that they told you. Seraphane wants to stop or filter the research on the crack, as any discovery of a new godly realm and pantheons would endanger one of the very few safely grips the city-state has on this land.  The Thanin's religion, as you know, was heavily influenced by Seraphane's religious pursuits. Yes, they don't exactly worship all of the same gods, but some of Seraphane's god were adopted but renamed to suit Thanin's cultural norms. The fact that both nations have mutual religious belief is one of the very safeguards that spared Seraphane, a major trade hub in Illyrium, from being annexed by its substantially large neighbor.  Seraphane would find Krev's interest in that disruption in the sky rather frightening, or threatening to the more zealous of the religious sector. I'll leave at that for you to mull over."


Nasrin grabbed a bit of sweet amuro jerky, tearing the strip away. "Now as far as Yanni, they have been quiet for the most part. The Great Khan became milder over the past few months with the birth of his eleventh son and ninth daughter and lacks interest in invading Cyrumu. He provokes Thanin for sport as usual, but seems restrained compare to what he has done five years ago. I'm wondering if something is influencing such change of pace. It could not have been any of his siblings. I heard discussions among Yanni siblings tend to be very violent." Nasrin went silent as she ate another piece of sweet meat, "If a war happens among nations...then something would have to push or give away for it to happen." She concluded.

The real question is...what is 'he' planning to invoke such a push. The thought disturbed the great dragon, feeling the tingling in her head.  She looked such an event with pending dread, as it would be the beginning of the age that she wanted to forget.


"Sorry, I'm over here babbling about foreign intrigue when you asked about Khal."

Isaac tugged on his beard briefly, and nodded. "As ever, you are probably the wisest of my counsellors. Even so, dragons tend to distance themselves from outside affairs so I have naught but my foreign advisor's word on what's going on out of Cymru's borders." He listened to her summary of the other nations and sighed.

"I was afraid of that. It seems war will be inevitable. Someone will crack first, and then everyone will be fighting everyone else. Damn that crack in the sky." he combed his fingers through his hair in frustration. "It's alright, Nasrin. I enjoy our little talks." he said while his gaze fell back to his wyvern Keebo. He smiled over at the dragon lady sitting by him as he listened to her speak.

"I don't blame them for their desire to stay out of human affairs. You humans tend to make the simplest of problems complicated. I guess that's the whole point of politics." Nasrin sighed, as she leaned back against the tree. Her wings twitched in protest to the constriction.

"Aren't you going help yourself to some more food? Just because you feel old doesn't mean you haven't stopped growing, especially with some dragon blood in your veins." She chided Issac with a smile. After all, dragonblood in humans are unpredictable effect that varied from person to person. She took a moment to let Issac settle down a bit, insisting him to try to eat and drink and not worrying about the problems around them for a moment.

"...Khal was son of Fedha...and White Tarantula"  Nasrin stated at last, with a sudden bitterness on the last part. The dragon realized that maybe because a part of her has never forgiven the bandit for raping one of her best friends.

Isaac sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Indeed, but I need to give at least the illusion of choice. If I put my foot down every time something needed doing, I'd be no better than my ancestors." he chewed on some sandwiches for a time, collecting his thoughts while he filled his stomach.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when she brought up Khal. "I am aware of that at least. He was the first to take the Dragonis name." He noticed she was getting moody though. "Touchy subject, I know. We can speak about something else if you like, Andraste." His icy blue eyes regarded her again quietly while he sipped at some wine.

Nasrin looked embarrassed, as some of her own anger towards the past actually slipped. She took a moment to calm down
and several generations of Dragonis to accept what happened and the result turned out slightly for the better.

"Though the circumstances were unpleasant, Khal might have been a miracle in the past. As you know he was able to do away with his crazy bandit of a father and commune us dragons to stabilize the residents of the land into what you now rule."

Khal listened to the story she told, something he had heard from her and his teachers as a boy. He always admired the first king of Cymru, Khal was the beacon of light and justice in the world in a time of chaos and war. It was telling that none of old Khal's descendants could avoid corruption in some way as time passed. Cymru grew larger and more stable. "Indeed... though his children and grandchildren were the ones to unify the dragons of the world into a cohesive society, from what I read. Other nations and tribes were attacking and killing dragons in the other parts of the continent till they found refuge here." He looked over at the mountains of Cymru, and heaved a sigh. "It falls to me to be protector of the realm. I think I've done well this past decade, though." he mused, a small smile traced across his lips.

"Yes, the purge...Some nations hunted the dragons out of fear. Some for sport, considering them with as much rights as a common beast. Thanin was highly guilty of the latter, though they won't openly admit it. I think only the shadow dragons of Krev and the native sea dragons have kept in their original home though the present time. Her voice trailed off as she put the tea to her lips. Dragons were part of a disaster from a long past empire, though it wasn't their fault...not our fault."

 She lowered the cup, staring that the amber liquid like a unsettling mirror. Red Ceylon Tea was good this time of year and it was her rare stock from Yanni. However, she wasn't looking at her good drink with admiration.  Her previous words reminded her of something dreadful.

After a time of quiet contemplation, the flame-haired king stood up and stretched. His blue eyes glanced over the horizon. "Milady Nasrin, would you fancy going for a flight?" he smiled beneath his scarred face. "Keebo looks like he's about ready to fly about again." He said and gave a sharp whistle to call his trusty friend and mount, who came when beckoned and Khal stroked the wyvern's red and black scales gently. "Feeling better old friend?" he asked Keebo, who rumbled a response.

Nasrin broke out of her reverie towards Issac's question. The dark events that played in her mind were broken and faded as Keebo landed next to Issac. "Maybe. I guess I could use the fresh air." She stood up, dusting dress off. Her wings twitched slightly with anticipation. Her dragon-stone rested against her arm in gauntlet form. Part of her wanted to just transform and fly without a care in the world. Another part spoke that A ride with the king wasn't a awful idea either.