Young Writers Society

Plot: Aethos is a world ruled by darkness. According to legend there were once many gods in Aethos. They wandered the world and the heavens, and in the world flourished in turn. All was right. Until one young god spoke out against the others. He believed that as the gods ruled over men they should be ruled by him. The other gods were rightly horrified and so they spoke with one voice when they cried "No." And that is how the God-Wars began.

After a battle that lasted a thousand years, the Lone God, who was called Xelios, defeated his siblings. Not through greater power, but through cunning and treachery. In his triumph he chose not to end the lives of his siblings and so he cast them out into the Great Void, never to return. Then he turned his attention to our world. Aethos was a shining gem among the worlds created by the gods, it was the pinnacle of their achievements. And now it belonged to Xelios alone.

But the people of Aethos still worshipped his siblings. This Xelios could not abide. And so the dark god bent his great intellect to the task of creation. He created the Dragonsouls. Human and dragon twins born from the same egg. But the scales of the dragons were black, as were the eyes of their human halves. For they were born without souls.

The Dragonsouls were Xelios' masterpiece. They grew up cruel and heartless, without conscience or a shred of morality. They are his priests and his servants. And they have ruled our world with an iron fist since the moment of their creation.

But at last hope has begun to shed it's light over the land. Nineteen years ago the gods of light returned to the world for a single second. It was just one moment in time but it was enough for them to act. One by one, each in turn, the gods chose an unborn Dragonsoul and entrusted each one with a task. And in return, these Dragonsouls were born with their souls intact, their scales and eyes shining like the most brilliant jewels.
Now, nineteen years later the chosen are grown. Each in their own way has set to their task. We are on the brink of a second God-War.
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Rules: The usual rules apply no god-moding, no killing off characters without permission. Etc, etc...
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Character: Please follow this character profile.

Name-
Age-
Gender-
Partner- (the name of your dragon)
Human Appearance- (description and or photo)
Dragon Appearance- (see above, also if you can find a good combo photo that will work too)
Personality-
Background-
Gift- (The power or 'duty' that your god/goddess gave to you)
Other-

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Character List:

sylverdawn- Archer, Essix| White Dragon
skyguy- Layla Valkyrie, Venatrix| Russet Dragon
Shadowlight- Oriskany, Tam|Black Dragon (subtle differences from the souless)
ReisePiecey- "Fin" Finley, Kit| Green Dragon
Dante- Kain, Malchior| Black Dragon (for all appearances soulless)
Jonathan- Triathlon, Adonis | (pictures out, can't see what the dragon looks like)
Ranger51- Kaili, Ariga | (gold/red/black dragon)

Name- Archer
Age- 19
Gender- male
Partner- Essix

Appearance- http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs22/f/2007/ ... thexis.jpg

Personality- Proud and independent, Archer is possessed of a boundless curiosity and a reckless taste for adventure. Brash and wild he has little respect for authority. He's the type of person that will charge into a situation without a seconds hesitation. Overly dramatic with a sardonic wit, he enjoys being smarter then most and pulling the wool over everyone's eyes. Over time his more reckless nature has been tempered by the position he has found himself in. He cares deeply for people and is fiercely loyal of those he considers his. He thinks of himself as a protector and guardian, not a warrior.

Surprisingly Essix is the more cool headed of the duo. When they were younger he was forever having to drag his human half out of some kind of mess. As brothers the two are almost inseperable. Essix is more wary then Archer and tends to mistrust people on first meeting them. The voice of reason, Essix thinks with his head, in comparison to Archer's more emotionally driven responses.

Background- Archer and Essix are a Dragonsoul and like all Dragonsouls they were born in one of the Dragonsoul Forts. Like all Dragonsouls, ritual magic was used to tear Archer from his mother's womb and place him within Essix' egg. Of course it was obvoius that something was different from the moment they hatched, what with Archer's blue eyes and Essix white scales. The Fort Commander took the pair up on his black dragon and dropped the newborns from a height over the open ocean.

It's a mystery how the pair survived, but they washed ashore and Archer was adopted by an old couple that had never been able to have children. They were afraid of Essix but didn't try to kill him, as slaying any dragon is a death sentence. Since they lived outside of town Archer and Essix flourished, playing in the forests and hidden coves. But as the years passed Essix grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger. By the time they were seven years old he was larger then a horse. It was only a matter of time before someone saw him, and someone did.

Another boy from the village who had often bullied Archer caught the two together. He brought a mob to the farm. The adults were planning to chain the pair up until "proper" Dragonsouls could come for the "little monsters". About this time the bully grabbed his father's knife and threw it at Archer. By chance it buried itself hilt deep in Archer's gut.

Essix went berserk, torching the entire farm and village. He scooped up the injured Archer and flew away toward the mountains. The pair refuses to comment on the intervening years, but eventually they did set about their purpose.

Gift- Archer and Essix are the Chosen of Nahla, Goddess of life and healing. As such they were given mastery over the element of Spirit. They are telepathic, and empathic, they can also heal wounds, both physical and mental. And those are only the powers they have discovered so far. But their greatest power is the ability to safeguard souls. Which they use to fullfill their duty of freeing the Dragonsouls from bondage. Ensureing that more pairings are born with souls, without the interference of the Light Gods.

Other- Archer and Essix have set up a small community, hidden on a peninsula that is completely blocked off by mountains. There are about forty humans in the small village. Thirty of them young Dragonsouls ranging in age from eight to newborn. The remaining adults are the few parents who chose not to abondon their children.

Name: Layla Valkyrie
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Partner: Venatrix
Human: Layla has brown hair and green eyes.

Dragon appearanece.

Personality. Layla is very calm in stressful encounters. She is very protective of Venatrix, and the same is likewise. Both are proven warriors.

Background: Layla and Venatrix were actually stolen from a fort, meant to be killed, but when the rebels found out she was different, she became a member of the resistance. The man who found her, Andrew Valkyrie, became her father in all but blood. He raised her and loved her. She was taught the ways of war. Whenever the rebels would attack a group of soldiers, there were never survivors, , because Venatrix took care of them. They both loyal to each other. Layla killed her first enemy dragonsoul at age 14, being vixtorius as this was a junior dragonsoul. Layla hopes for the day when she is not alone, when she and Venateix wont need to fight, and they can find peace. Wen Andrew became leader of the resistance, he ordered Layla away, fearing a betrayel among the resistance. She had barely left when a turnxoat turned over the location of the resistance. All were killed. Now, Layla searches for somewhere to be.. safe and at peace. She still carries her weapons and armour, knowing she cannot stay away from war for too long.
Gift- the goddess of war, Heyna, is Laylas patron goddess. Heyna fights for justice. Layla is a brilliant strategist. No matter what, the perfect strategy will appear in her head. Also, her sword is god forged. It will never be broken, and its powers let it cut through anything, no matter what. Also, she can summon the spirits of dead soldiers to her side, not to fight, but as advisers. Sometimes, she talks to andrew this way. Howver, only she can see the spirits.

Other- Layla is always reading, hungry for knowledge. Sometimes, you can find Layla and Venatrix reading together in a forset, on a peaceful day.

Hope that wasnt to much.

Nngh... I try to restrain myself from storybooks this time of year, but I really, really want to join this. I mean REALLY.

If I try this there's a fifty/fifty chance I won't be able to post very frequently, and I MIGHT have to drop out altogether because of crazy schedules. With that disclaimer, is it all right if I join anyways? If so, I'll have a character up here as soon as possible!

Name- Oriskany
Age-18
Gender-Female
Partner- Tam
Human Appearance- Oriskany is a small young woman with waves of dark Hair reaching her waist, her figure is womanly and curvy. Her eyes are a violet blue, like still water at sunrise. Her complexion is pale, and coupled with her dark hair make her appearance rather striking.

Dragon Appearance- Tam is a black dragon, his scales glitter with an iridescence that mirror back all the colors of the night, of moon shadow and starlight. He is a relatively small dragon, but streamline and all muscle. his most striking feature aside from his rather small stature are his large green cat's eyes, they can look both savage and endearing in the blink of an eye.

Personality- Oriskany is best described as a gentle spit fire with a motherly streak a mile wide. Her personality is naturally optimistic, she always looks on the good side of life. she is surprisingly innocent for her age and still believes in happy endings and every prince should have a princess- even now, considering what hell she has so recently been through. She tries to see the good in people and refuses to let her own sorrows taint the world around her- she desperately wants to believe the world can be a good and happy place.

Tam on the other hand is the Ying to Oriskany's Yang. He is cunning and street smart. he can read others and can smell deception as clearly as another could smell a week old dead rat in their shoe. He is monstrously protective of his "sister" Even more so now she is in her frail condition. He is sarcastic and witty and can be sarky if he is grumpy- like if Oriskany woke him up to early, or he had to miss breakfast.

Background- Oriskany and Tam had a surprisingly uneventful childhood. Her parents lived on a very rural mountain farm- her father raising sheep and her mother spinning the wool to sell in the lower step villages. Her parents were always worried about the Black dragon so they tried their best to teach Oriskany all that was good and wholesome in the world- trying to keep at bay any darkness inside their daughter and her Dragon. So Oriskany grew up a happy child until just six months ago- someone in one of the villages had seen Tam flying about the mountain and had contacted the soldiers- they came to the small cottage and carried Oriskany off, bound Tam wing to paw and through him over a cliff, hoping to end his life there while they took Orkiskany to the village to bring her to justice. And it was in that village that Oriskany tasted the first bitterness of life, how cruel people could be, it was here she lost her innocence. The Soldiers carousing on too much wine Decided they needed to punish this evil girl and they took turns violating her.

Tam was not killed by his fall, only knocked unconscious and when he came to he was not just furious at the men who took HIS sister, he was wild with rage and out for a bloody revenge- he descended on the town and laid it to the ground, he spared none and killed everyone who stood in his path- he did not care age or gender he slew them all, then carried Oriskany far away from that place- to a lonely place in the mountains where he tried his best to heal her wounds and her spirit, but the damage had been done. Oriskany was pregnant, and to make matters worse the soldiers and black Dragonsouls were closing in. So the two fled from one lonely spot to another- just trying to find a little corner of the world to be at peace.

Gift- The Being that gave Oriskany and Tam their powers is the Benevolent Spirit Lune, the lady of the night, and of dreams- but unfortunatly Lady Lune did not think of colors when creating her Dragonsouls- thinking Obsidian was a sufficient Gemstone she accidentally made Tam and Oriskany to be a Black Dragonsoul- but of pure hearts, but most don't get close enough to see- so the two run from both the rebels and the government. Both Tam and Oriskany can "Dream walk" Go into anther persons mind when sleeping- or in a sleep like state and find out secrets and everything to know, for in sleep our souls are laid bare. They both can see in the dark and both have calming auras.
Other- Tam an Oriskany have beautiful singing voices in their own way. Tam's song sounds like the call of a lone wolf, long low and sad- while Oriskany has a bright soprano voice. Tam is Left pawed while Oriskany is ambidextrous.. Tam hates waking up early while Oriskany hates staying up late. Both have a love of sweets.

*as if nothing were ever here* o.O

I wanted to make sure the storybook took off before I made a DT. For now it is first come first serve, for space. If I feel like there are too many characters I'll close the SB. Once you have reserved a space please post your profile within 2-3 days.

DT has been made, here's the link.

Dragon Wars

Also, if no one else joins by sunday night we can start with these characters. The two who haven't posted profiles please hurry and do so.

Name- Finley "Fin"

Age- 19

Gender- Male

Partner- Kit

Human Appearance-

His whole body is covered in tattoos of runes and symbols. It is not all the time when a rune needs to be drawn out in order to conjure it, but when his powers weaken or he's tired, it's easier to either place his hand over the spot where the rune tattooed, or check his arm for reference and draw it out on the ground. Also, if there is ever a situation where he can't speak, he'll need to focus on the tattooed rune in order to conjure it without vocals.

His eyes are also emerald green like Kit's scales.

Dragon Appearance- Kit

Personality- Both Fin and Kit are playful and mischievous. They're often playing tricks on others, horsing around, or relaxing off somewhere. Finley has the power to be great, and he knows it, his rune manipulation allows him control over an endless possibility of things, but he doesn't study nearly as much as he should, and therefor he's not as great as he can be. Fin's hardly ever serious. He prefers to laugh and will do so at pretty much anything. He's even been in serious fights before with a smile on his face. He's only ever serious when it's Kit's life or his loved ones life in danger. He's a bit too careless with himself and really doesn't care what happens to his life personally as long as those he loves are safe.

He likes joking around and this can often get him into trouble with others. If you're not in the mood for play, Fin would be the worst to be around. He often jokes too much and can't exactly pick up on emotions and tell when others don't want to joke around. Kit, however, gets serious far quicker than Fin does. He knows when play and when to be serious. It's often him pushing Fin to study and train.

They like relaxing and meditating too, it's an important part of their day.

Background- Fin and Kit "went missing" a day before their hatching. No one is completely sure of how they disappeared from the Fort, but they never returned and couldn't be found. It might have been the work of Amaguq, trickster that he is, but who knows? I do. Anyway, they ended up in a forest, nestled among the roots of some old tree, and, on their hatching day, were surrounded by a pack of wolves.

Young Fin and Kit didn't find it strange that they were surrounded by animals - being new to the world and having no sense of danger - but rather felt at home and safe. The wolves felt as if the two brothers were apart of their family, they felt connected to them, and so took them in.

As the years passed Fin and Kit became more in tune with nature and with their wolf brothers, but also came to realize they were different even though they could speak the language, hunt, and do all things wolf. Fin walked on two legs and was able to cast small, impulsive runes here and there, and Kit was obviously not of wolf orientation - as wolves didn't breathe small puffs of fire or fly. And, also, Fin could manipulate smaller animals into doing his will - which really came in handy during a hunt. This didn't break their connection to their wolf family, they were still, more or less, all animal, but this awakened a curiosity within them to figure out why they were different and what they were exactly.

One day a group of hunters were passing through the woodlands and stumbled across nine year old Fin and now cow-sized Kit nestled among a group of sleeping wolves. Most of the group wanted to kill the wolves and Kit and take Fin back home, but their leader warned them against that action and instead opted to wake Fin and try to spark conversation. Unfortunately, Fin understood zero English and could not understand anything, but was able to stop his wolf family and Kit from killing the hunters out of fear. After a long while, the hunters were able to convenience Fin to follow them back to their village a ways through the trees.

There Fin stayed, learning small bits and pieces of the language and human ways. Once he understood what he was through tales of the village folk, he was able to seek guidance from elders of both his village and wolf families. At the age of 13 he went back to the cities to gain more information on his origins and how to master his powers, but left after a few months because he felt lost and confused. He did manage to keep a set of books on runes and learned more about what he was.

Word got out quickly about "the lost Dragonsoul" and others set out to kill the duo. They fought back, of course, killing many, but was forced to flee their home village and forest in order to keep their loved ones out of the path of danger. They now travel from forest to forest, leaving when others figure out their position and come to kill them.

Gift- Fin and Kit are the chosen of Amaguq, trickster and wolf God. They have the ability to manipulate/control animals and can also conjure runes. Their connection to wolves, however, is stronger than their connection to most other animals. They consider the wolves family and can communicate with them.

The power of the runes and how often he can use them depends on the type of rune and the condition Fin is in. If he's exhausted and beaten, he can hardly conjure one, but if he's fit and ready he can conjure a lot. Some runes require more energy to cast so using Perthro, a rune he uses mainly to talk to his dead wolf ancestors, would leave him weakened for most of the day.

Other- He doesn't speak English very well at all and talks in broken, incomplete sentences. He gets frustrated when he can't communicate with people, but knows when he's being ridiculed and won't take it lightly. He can be very dangerous when angry.

Name- Kain (No last name)
Age- 19
Gender- Male
Partner- Malchior
Human Appearance-
Dragon Appearance-
Personality- Kain shows to be incredibly thoughtful of his actions and hesitant of taking life without reason. He practices with his weapon often, his preferred weapon is the Spear. He also shows to be the black sheep of the Dragonsouls, with the lowest amount of kills per battle. Not only this he prefers to bring up the rear in the battle is always the last one to enter the fight.

His dragon Malchior, has great natural wisdom and is very protective of Kain. Malchior like Kain is hesitant of taking life without reason, preferring to help the thrive of life rather than stopping it. Malchior has a telepathic connection with Kain that allows the two to talk to one another, also like Kain Malchior is a black sheep among dragons and is often teased about being unable to kill.

Background- Kain is confused, born with the armor and dragon of a Normal Dragonsoul. He has a conscience and morality, unable to shake either of these things. He grew up tortured of the evil deeds he has done, cannot shake the blood on his hands no matter how much he tries to. He has a problem hurting even the smallest of life in the world, and grew up a black sheep of his fort. Kain has only killed two people throughout his time serving Xeilos, those two torture him day and night being unable to give rid of his Conscience and Morality.

Gift- Ceilos, one of the three main council and God of Light, has granted Kain the ability to jump inhumanly high into the air and launch his spear at a single target or launch his Spear into the heavens and cause a mighty spear fall that launches many smaller spears at Evil Dragonsouls around Kain.

Other- Kain and Malchior's Black Armor will be explained in the SB.

Name- Triathlon.

Age- 23.

Gender- Male.

Partner- Adonis.

Human Appearance-

Dragon Appearance-

Personality- A sense of humor, even though he is a very good fighter. He loves the feeling of jumping of his dragon and then having his dragon catch him, He is always trying to make jokes though sometime they don't turn out. He can be very hard hearted though if he has a mined to.

Background- Triathlon and Adonis hatched in the Cora forests, growing up in the forest learning to control nature and survive with his dragon and he learned how to fight and kill in the forest lands hiding from people and killing anything that threatened him. He was never noticed by anyone and still is in the Cora forest.

Gift- His gift is his strength and he can control nature and animals.

Other- His god is Acriosna.

Sorry it's so late, I've been super busy!

Name: Kaili (Kai as a pet name, but basically only her dragon calls her that (I assume the dragons can talk?))

Age: 19

Gender: Female

Partner: Ariga

Human Appearance: Kaili has a slim build and is of medium height, with light brown hair that she either ties up, braids or leaves waving around her shoulders, depending on her mood. She has sea-blue, stormy eyes and tends to wear low-key outfits.

Dragon Appearance: Ariga is slender and long, with scales that ripple from gold to red to black and blue eyes that match her human half's.

Personality: Kaili is normally a quiet girl. She's not exactly shy, just introverted and more introspective than talkative. She'll occasionally come out of her shell for close friends, mainly Ariga, and when that happens she can get quite hyper. She's a very passionate person and tends to get very strong opinions which won't be swayed by any outer influence, and very strong emotions that switch around at the drop of a hat. She's also sentimental, keeping almost everything anyone gives her. Ariga, on the other hand, is more outgoing, and a bit more sensible and logical than her human half.

Background: When Kaili and Ariga hatched, they were thrown out to a field to be fed to the dragons. However, when one of the dragons tried to eat the infant, Kaili burst into tears - and into flame. The hungry dragon fled with a scorched mouth, along with several others, and although nobody's sure how the infant dragon and girl escaped to the woods.
In the woods, they were found by a hermit named Ela, who took them under her care. The old woman understood that these two were obviously quite special and important, and taught both her ideals of love, passion and self-sacrifice. She also enjoyed painting and writing, and her love of the arts was passed down to Kaili, who would often be taken to visit towns and villages to see bits of the world on the condition that she kept her magic hidden. Ariga, of course, was taught to stay low-key and hidden all the time, since her discovery could lead to all manner of riots, especially this close to a Dragonsoul Fort.
When Kaili was fifteen, she and Ariga left Ela's tiny forest hut, at the hermit's urging that the two had many plans laid out for them by the Gods and their own feeling of destiny. They mainly wander the countryside now, making it their mission to grow the joys of passion and expression and thus usurp Dragonsoul influence.

Gift: Kaili's patron is Ardei, the Goddess of passion and magic. As such, Kaili is essentially an elemental mage, but she doesn't specialize in any one type of magic. However, the more powerful the magic has to be to do something, the more energy it takes out of her, and it's much harder for her to cast anything when she doesn't feel passionate or urgent about it. She's found that art forms - singing, dancing, reciting poetry, even painting - helps her cast magic more easily, as well as being with Ariga.

Other: Because she relies mainly on magic for conflict, Kaili has only rudimentary knowledge of how to use a bow, and isn't very physically fit.

And there it is, phew! Let me know if there's any issue with it!

*Alright we can start this evening, a couple of people need to tweak bits and pieces of their profiles and they have received a PM. But let's get this thing started already it's my birthday present to myself.*

Archer/Essix:

Finally, the storm had blown itself out. Archer shivered in the saddle as Essix flew on, he was soaked through, and the wind from flight drove into his body with a biting chill. Archer whispered a prayer of thanks that dragonsouls were so hardy, the human half less prone to sickness.

Archer cast his gaze down at the scaled hide of his brother. More worrying, was the fact that the storm had washed away the charcoal and tar dye they had used to pass Essix off as a normal dragon. Now his white scales shone in the moonlight, casting silvered rainbows of fractured light across the landscape below with every beat of his wings. And they were still in enemy territory.

"It doesn't matter Archer. We are out of time." Essix mind-sent, interrupting Archer's worry.

The young man glanced back at their precious cargo and shouted over the wind. "Find some place to land. We need to be on the ground."

Snorting in agreement Essix banked to the right and began to descend towards a small lake, deep in the forest wilds. Shortly they had landed, Archer glanced around the sheltered grotto as he pulled the saddle bags off of Essix. Not the best hiding place but it would have to do.

Gently, almost reverently, Archer placed three of the packs under the shelter of Essix' wing then he took the fourth and settled down cross legged. He glanced up at Essix and smiled. "Watch over them my brasehr, and me."

With those words Archer turned his full attention to the task at hand. He pulled back the protective blankets to expose the smooth shell of a dragon egg. One of four that the pair had risked their lives to smuggle out of a lesser fort. No doubt the blackhearts stationed there, were in an uproar. These four eggs were their entire cache.

The egg shook slightly, indicating that it was beginning to hatch. Archer smoothed his hands gently over the black shell, so dark it appeared to absorb all light. If things had gone as planned Archer would have used his gift days ago, now the little ones were at risk. Once the shell cracked their souls would be gone. Archer took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sent his mind plunging into the Well of Souls. That place between worlds where the souls of the dead went, and the souls of the unborn waited.

*Feel free to come upon Essix and Archer at any time, just note that Archer is in a trance state and won't notice. Also an effect of the "restoration" as the boys call it is that the egg slowly changes color, from black to whatever color the dragon will be.*

Finley and Kit

A deep howl tore from Finley's throat as he jumped onto Kit's back. Hot tears ran a steady trail down his cheeks and it took everything he had to not break down. Kit launched into the air and torched the battleground below. The flames from Kit's breath warmed Fin's face and reminded him exactly where they were and what they were doing. This was no time to mourn the loss of another home. It was time to fight. With a whimper, Fin let out a bark, signaling for Kit to fly lower to the ground.

"Kenaz!"

All of Fin's strength moved to the focal points of his hands and feet. A small smile tugged at the edges of his mouth as he reveled in the surge of energy, and he jumped off Kit's back, straight into the middle of the fight. All around him he could hear wolves snarling and barking, men grunting, and metal clanging against each other. After the battle was over - if they won - Fin and Kit would have to leave yet another pack, would have to abandon another home to ensure the safety of their family. The pain of knowing they would be orphaned again tugged at both Fin and Kit's hearts, but for now they had to fight.

From deep within the woods, a sad distant howl echoed in the air. They would have to leave this place, that was inevitable, but they would not forget the love they found here.

---

A low growl rumbled from Fin's throat. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he dug his long, sharp nails into the soft ground below him. He was squatted down on the tips of his toes, bouncing slightly, ready to pounce. The bush he had in sight rustled and, with a cry of victory, Fin leaped. The wolf cub squealed and tried to scramble from out of Fin's clutches, but couldn't get away. Instead, it went limp in defeat. Fin laughed out loud and cradled the baby in his arms. He nuzzled his fury head before putting him back down on the ground. He was just about to go hide - it was the cub's turn this time to seek - when a series of clicks and growls directed his attention somewhere else.

The pack leader emerged from the brush, his eyes narrow and dark. Fin tightened his stance and Kit unrolled himself from his position relaxing under some trees.

"New scents in the air. Smells like dragon."

"Kit?"

"Like Kit, but not Kit."

"Hunters?"

The leader lowered his head and pawed at the ground. Fin's heart beat immediately sped up and Kit ruffled his wings. They knew what they had to do, but neither was keen on having to leave their new pack so soon. They'd practically just arrived. It had only been two months since the last battle. But if the hunters were back... Fin looked over to the wolf cub and growled. If the hunters were back, he'd have to deal with them.

"We will go."

"And come back."

Kit rose into the air and Fin ran to jump on his back.

"Maybe not," he growled in reply.

"Be safe."

--

Fin bit open the palm of his hand and let the blood pool there before smearing it on the rune located on his left shoulder. As soon as it was activated, he was camouflaged in the the barrier of trees surrounding a grotto that a dragon and his partner landed in. The duo didn't look as if they were looking for Fin and Kit, and hunters almost never traveled alone, so the brothers were confused as to what to do.

"Fight," Fin suggested.

"Not smart," Kit replied in as low of a click as he could.

"Run?"

"More not smart. Stay. Investigate."

Fin rolled his eyes and started cautiously forward. He got maybe two of three steps into the clearing before the dragon turned his way and let out a fierce screech. The camouflage rune had worn out. Fin whined and rose to full height, his hands already balled into fists. Kit flew out of the forest and curled protectively in front of Fin, his teeth bared a mouth already hot. But neither attacked.

Hunters would have already been trying to kill them, but this dragon made to move to hurt them, but seemed to be protecting something. And the human seemed deep in a trance.

"Talk to him," Kit growled.

Fin looked the strange dragon deep into the eyes, and relaxed his fists.

"Not enemy," he struggled out in broken English. "Friend?"

Essix:

The dragon was green. That wasn't much of a shock to Essix, after eight years spent raising young dragonsouls he had seen dragons every color of the rainbow. What was surprising was that he didn't know this pair. And they appeared to be the same age as him and Archer. Essix had always wondered if there were others, other Chosen. Still they were strangers, not to be trusted near the eggs.

He hissed warningly as the human stepped forward, smoke rising from his mouth as he gathered his fire. The green dragon crouched, ready to leap at Essix. But at the last moment he froze staring at Archer. The egg his brother cradled was almost as tall as Archer was sitting down. The black surface of the egg began to flake away, exposing an orange-gold color. Like all true dragon eggs, it shone with a soft inner light which lit the shadowed grotto.

The strange human took another step forward, staring in wonder and confusion. Startled the green's tail whipped out wrapping around his partner's waist and pulling him back as Essix' jaws snapped in the air a foot in front of the human's face. True dragons cared for their young, and it was suicidal to approach a nest during hatching. And as far as Essix was concerned, he and Archer were the only parents these children would ever know. The green sensed it instinctively, his own protective instincts roused.

"Keep back." He spoke to the pair. Once Archer was back in his body he would calm but right now Essix was to on edge to allow the pair close without attacking.

Archer:

The Well of Souls was something else, a place beyond human comprehension. So Archer didn't bother trying to understand, instead just accepting it for what it was. It was like falling into the night sky. A void filled with shining stars, and each point of light, was a life.

But something stirred in the darkness, something dark and malevolent. With a thought Archer was in a part of the Well where only a small handful of stars shone. Each of them growing slowly dimmer. It was cold, dark, and desolate.

Instinctively Archer found the light he was searching for, so small it was almost extinguished, a dying ember. As he moved towards it they struck, the formless shadows that lurked in the Well. Xelios' servants, tasked with the destruction of the souls of dragon pairs. Archer had named them the Devourer, long ago.

But was disturbing was that there were three of them, whereas there was normally only one. "Little healer, little healer, you've come back to play. Why don't you stay? We'd love to have you for dinner." They chanted in a childish sing-song. Archer's stomach turned and he had to force himself not to respond.

As he moved again towards the light they blocked him. "Not a chance Healer. You know the price you must pay for one so far gone as this.

Snarling Archer forced himself to materialize. In the Well he appeared as any other soul, only bigger and brighter. Taking physical form would exhaust him, leave him nearly defenseless. He appeared clad in armor forged of silver moonlight, vines twining around his arms and legs. His cloak was trail of endless light, a bright cord to lead him back to the world of the living. In his hand was a blazing spear of white light, so bright the Devourers shied away from it.

"So be it, but you will have to catch me first." Archer stepped forward and scooped up the small light, in his hand it brightened. With a feral grin Archer threw the spear so that it pierced the lead Devourer. Howling in shared pain, they pursued Archer, tearing at his armor as he fled to the door leading back to his body.

At the last second the Devourers broke away to circle in the darkness, like sharks scenting blood. "You have won this round Chosen of Nahla." They hissed in unison. "But the Well of Souls does not belong to you alone. It is as much our Lord's as it is your Lady's. They are, after all twins."

Their words echoed in Archer's mind as he returned to his own body, nudging the soul into the egg shell and the unborn within. The egg, now completely orange flecked with gold, shook violently as it split into two uneven halves, one containing the human, the other the dragon. An off beat patch of music whispered in his ear, the soul speaking it's name. Zem. Said it's human half, and then the dragon spoke. Ti'auren

Archer sat back with a sigh of relief as Essix spoke, and he turned to stare at the green dragon and his half wild rider. "Archer, we have company."