Dragon Riders

*Manarian on slow-down duty!*

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Manarian and Reitsprea

Manarian got to his feet in protest. Things were progressing too quickly.

“Sir!” he called over the hubbub Bree had created. “I don’t believe that sending one Rider against the Shadows will do any good.”

The Elder, who had had his attention fixed on Nukpano’s retreating form, switched his gaze to Manarian. Bree and her dragon, who had been speaking, paused just outside the door.

“It is a simple scouting mission,” said one Elder. “She will go in, gather information, and return.” Manarian sighed inwardly. Why did everyone have to be so hasty?

“And that sounds simple, Master,” Manarian said coolly. “But it is my belief that plans that sound simple often prove to be the hardest ones to carry out.” He stared unblinkingly up at the Elder, who crossed his arms, waiting for him to continue.

“Sending Bree out in a rush is not wise. And although I agree that haste is necessary, this situation should be handled with due caution – In other words, some form of a plan.” Reitsprea nodded in agreement.

The Elder glared, and Manarian knew why. The Elders were supposed to be wise and knowledgeable, and therefore did not like to be criticized by a Rider barely out of apprenticeship. However, one Elder, to the back of the crowd, rose to his feet.

“I agree.” He said, his voice level. “This should be discussed.”

((thanks))

**Sure Dreamy. She'll just stay put. But she wasn't going to get in the way or anything. xD The reason for Bree going on scout duty was only to tell them that Eigth was preparing to attack soon just to stimulate some of more people to post for the good guys. We haven't had a lot of people post on that side. xD But it's fine. I see your point. **

BRYTIANNE and NUKPANO

She glared at Manarian. "Who're you to decide anything!" She shouted furiously. "What I do or don't do isn't your concern!"

Adaer looked at her from the corner of his eye and shook his head. Sometimes Bree let her temper get the best of her and sometimes that made for trouble.

"I'm only looking out for your best interest," he said calmly though obviously shocked at her. He hadn't seen her lose her temper like some of the Elders had.

"Well my 'best interest' is none of your business! Because I'm going! I can be very useful!" She said defiantly, begging the other to see.

Except she had only managed to make things worse for herself.

"No. If anything I've seen how much of a child you can be," said one Elder, looking down at her angrily. "Parading about and yelling like a toddler. You're not fit to scout anyone right now."

"But I can do it!" Bree yelled, looking at them with wide eyes. "Nuk's really fast and-"

"We have no doubt that Nukpano is a capable dragon. What we're discussing is if you're a capable rider. You're not acting like a rider should," spoke the same Elder who had said she was acting like a toddler.

Bree's heart stopped. Were they saying that...she wasn't good enough for Nuk? She looked at her dragon and the look on his face was one that made her feel better. He looked shocked and outraged and...furious. He looked almost human.

Bree bowed her head, defeated for now. "I understand," she muttered. "I'll just be leaving then."

Before they could utter another word Bree hopped on Nuk's back and left. But not before giving Manarian a look of deep loathing. This was his fault. She needed someone to blame and she would blame him.

"Let's go for a nice ride in the storm clouds," she whispered to Nuk who was already flying higher.

**She just needs to cool off Kelcia. xD She won't hate Manarian...that much. ^_^**

((Is no one going to see to Zara or should I just post for her?))

Adaer

Even as Bree jumped onto Nuk's back, the storm dragon was already turning and moving out the doors. Soon, the two were disappearing towards the clouds. Adaer sighed to himself, shaking his head again. Bree had let her temper get the best of her once again, and that had meant losing what she no doubt saw as an opportunity to put her skills to their best use. But he believed that the elders, too, were in error. They had allowed her temper to blind them to what she could offer the riders as a whole.

He stood up from the table, trying to remain as measured as possible, though he would have liked nothing more than to abuse the foolishness of these washed up old men. One of the elders scowled at him. "Not you too, Adaer." Clearly, they were expecting an outburst from him as well. Lupria gave him a concerned look, silently warning him not to do anything rash.

It seemed to Adaer that the eyes of everyone gathered there were upon him, evaluating what he was about to do, judging him. He forced himself to calm down, not wanting to wound his reputation. "I simply believe you've misjudged her. As Manarian just demonstrated, the ability to question is an important quality in a rider. But you thought otherwise when the questioning came from Brystianne, simply because she was more passionate than him."

Leaving things as they stood, Adaer climbed on to Lupria, and she launched herself into the sky, pursuing Nukpano. For the time being, at least, she refrained from any acrobatics, able to tell that her rider was not in the mood for them. He needed to try to get Bree to cool off, and that meant catching up to them first - something that was far from possible if Lupria indulged in her aerial maneuvers.

((you can just post for Zara, that's what i meant to happen))

BREE and NUKPANO

She was angry. Nuk could tell too because he was flying fast through the clouds, knowing it would please Bree.

"Why can't they see I could have helped!" She yelled as a bolt of lightening caressed itself around Nuk's neck. Lightining seemed drawn to the dragon, as it was to most strom dragons.

Nuk didn't answer, sensing that she didn't really want or need an answer. Insead he flew slower and stopped in mid air, beating his wings to keep them held up.

"Someone wants to talk to you," he spoke softly. "Adaer and Lupria followed us.

Bree frowned. She should have known. Then, sure enough, Lupria's great head emerged from one of the clouds and headed towards the two of them.

"What is it?" Bree demanded. Adaer, knowning Bree was angry only shook his head.

"They were wrong to tell you not to go, but storming off, no pun intended, didn't help matters either," he replied.

She could sense Nuk's approval and she glared down at her dragon. "Traitor," she murmered, not entirely joking. He was supposed to take her side!

"Well what does it matter?" She asked. "We're going to be sitting ducks when the others attack us with no idea of what's coming!"

Zara:

The man lifted up my cut wrist and said something under his breath. I pulled my hand away. He sighed and grabbed my wrist again.

"Come on," he snapped and yanked me onto my feet. "Let's go."

He marched me out of the room, down a flight of stairs and out into the open. Roshan's voice was a dull roar in my mind as we entered what appeared to be the main part of the castle and then he pushed me into a room and followed me in.

Half an hour later my wounds were cleaned and my wrist bandaged and I was being lead back out into the sunlight and over to a large stable-the dragon stables. Before we were even half way across the court yard, I could heard my dragon calling to me.

I broke into a run, pushed the huge, heavy doors open and stopped short. My dragon was chained to the floor at the far end of the stables.

"Roshan," I breathed. Her eyes swiveled round to me and I rushed over to her. I rubbed my hand over her head and then rested my head against hers.

Manarian

Manarian mulled over Adaer’s words in his head.

Stated quite well, Reitsprea thought to him. And honest, as far as I can tell. He turned and fixed his icy stare upon his dragon.

I never intended for her to become so irrational.

I know you didn’t. But, still the Elders took your words to mean that Bree was unfit. Reitsprea said, frowning.

I never said anything of the sort. I merely stated –

Yes, that we needed more preparation. The dragon flicked her tail in a resigned manner. She too believed that being hasty led to mistakes, it was true, but she also disliked the idea of the Shadow Riders invading the home of the Riders.

Reitsprea, thought Manarian, the barest hint of annoyance in his tone, look at it logically. She was about to set off – with what? Her dragon and herself. No supplies, no maps, and only the weapons she has on her. Even an hour of preparation would have been better than what they were planning.

Yes. But you might have communicated that better. There was no rebuke in the dragon’s voice. Only disappointment.

Manarian turned back to the Elders.

“I agree. Bree is capable, if she doesn’t lose her temper. But –“ Reitsprea, afraid that her rider would say something that she, even more than he, would regret, cut in at this point.

“We should send her away with companions, and a basic strategy.” She said in a calm, polite voice. “After all, this is no random rabble we are dealing with.”

Alice:

I headed to the dragon stable where I had seen the girl Zara go. I knew I should probably leave her alone but I couldn't resist the temptation. I was stopped by a great force pulling me backwards when I tried to move forwards. As I turned to see Ash's clear gray eyes she grumbled "Alice, you know how you get." I sighed "Ash, I know. I'll be fine. I just want to see." I pushed her mouth away from me gently and proceeded forward.

Pushing the grand doors open I entered with Ash following me. "Ash, I'll be fine." I said annoyed. Ash looked at me knowingly and didn't move. With a sigh I turned to Zara. I looked her over. Blood was already coming through her bandages and she had an eight on her forehead. I licked my lips at the sight and smell of the blood. Zara looked at me frightened and hovered protectively over her dragon.

I felt a smile coming but I pushed it away "Do you know who I am?" she nodded slowly "You're Alice. You help protect your friend Natas. And you-" she didn't say the last part but I knew she knew. I took a step closer and when she held her breath I rolled my eyes "I'm not going to hurt you. At least not physically. Not now anyway." She glanced from me to Ash. With a sigh I held my hand up to Ash and she lied down. I could feel her hot breath on me as I took another step closer to Zara.

When I touched her forehead she flinched. Tracing the eight on her forehead I said "I wonder what it would be like." reluctantly she asked "What?" A sly grin crept across my face "Changing sides of course." She flinched at my words. Her dragon rose its head when I said this but when Ash stood up defensively it put her head back down. I lifted Zara's chin up with the fingertip I traced the eight with "What's the matter Zara? You're not afraid of me are you?" I taunted

Zara and Roshan:

I pulled away from her and put a hand out behind me, reaching for Roshan. My dragon growled softly, warning Alice to stop taunting me. We knew what she was doing.

"No," I said through gritted teeth. "I'm not afraid of you."

Alice stared at my forehead. I knew she was tracing the eight with her eyes. Roshan growled again but didn't move.

"You want to know what changing sides is like?" I asked in a whispered. Alice perked up, watching me intently. I stepped forward and put my mouth by her ear. "It's like being gutted alive," I whispered. "It's like ripping your heart out. You can hear your mind breaking and your heart being shattered into a million pieces. It kills you inside, and then you realise how right they are. How everything you thought you knew was false. That's when you know you can hurt those you once called your friends and that you would do anything to see their blood seeping from their wounds and into the ground. This is the sight, sound, smell, taste and feel of betrayal."

I stepped away and around her, leaving the stables without looking back. Roshan would be fine--for now. I rubbed my forward and headed back into the main part of the castle, wondering how she'd react. Alice had better not hurt Roshan.

Alice:

"You want to know what changing sides is like?" Zara whispered. I felt myself perk up. She stepped forward and put my mouth by my ear. "It's like being gutted alive," She whispered. "It's like ripping your heart out. You can hear your mind breaking and your heart being shattered into a million pieces. It kills you inside, and then you realize how right they are. How everything you thought you knew was false. That's when you know you can hurt those you once called your friends and that you would do anything to see their blood seeping from their wounds and into the ground. This is the sight, sound, smell, taste and feel of betrayal."

I licked my lips as she said these words and then she suddenly pushed by me and left. Turning to her dragon I smiled triumphantly "You and Ash shall get along swimmingly. But don't try to hurt her," I scolded "Because she won't hesitate to rip you to shreds if you try." With that I turned on my heel and sought out Eighth and Natas.
----
"Natas, where's Eighth?" I looked across the room and spotted her "Oh, there you are. Well I just had a little visit with Zara. I believe the transformation is complete. We have to do something about her dragon though."

Adaer

"We're going to be sitting ducks when the others attack us with no idea of what's coming!" Bree shouted across from her dragon.

Adaer had to force himself not to smile as electricity coiled about him like an affectioante viper, making him feel more alive than he ever could on the ground. He let out a deep breath, and spoke up.

"Who says we'll be completely unprepared?" He asked. "We have a good idea of what's coming, that's why we exist. Sharlohw would not have a dragon rider academy if we were all going to be incapable of fighting off the very people we're supposed to be protecting them from." He held his hands out wide, "What good would racing over there right now be, if you were just going to be killed before you could bring any useful information back. Why not spend a day preparing, to guarantee that the entire kingdom can be ready?"

Bree gave him a wary look. "Since when did you become so big on plans?"

Lupria looked back at him, her eyes asking the very same question. He was, after all, well known for being just as impulsive as she was. He himself faltered for a moment, hesitating before answering the question. "I know you and Nuk could probably outfly all of them, but if you were surprised somehow, you're not strong enough to fight them all on your own. I don't want you to die." He grinned, suddenly, breaking out of the uncharacteristic seriousness, "At least, I don't want you to die doing something as trivial as a suicidal spying mission."

Eighth-

"Oh, there you are. Well I just had a little visit with Zara. I believe the transformation is complete. We have to do something about her dragon though." Alice said. I looked at her, bored. "Yes, I know. I'm fairly sure her dragon isn't a threat. They're fiercely loyal to each other, and she is genuine now." I said, wiping my knife's blade on the grass. "Why don't you train her, Alice? Teach her to kill. This is my kingdom now, so you have my permission to go and find a few civilians for her to kill. Then... well, a red dragon amongst a sea of black and white would look conspicuous. Cloak her dragon in shadow, so he.. or she, I suppose, blends in." I ordered. She nodded and walked off. "Natas! I called. I've realized that two days is far too much time. Please get the Shadows and figure out a battle strategy. We'll attack as soon as you have one and we are readied." I waved him closer. "If I may suggest... those nice little riders would hate harming innocent civilians. Why don't you send out a wave of them first to weaken them up." I said. He nodded, grimacing slightly. "Call them to the castle's main study. I don't want to be overheard." I said. "What about you?" he asked. I smiled. "Me? I'll be getting my kingdom in order. I haven't even been officially crowned." I said. I walked away before he could ask any more questions. I wasn't in a talking mood. I would leave the plans to Toser, Natas, and, I supposed, Zara, when Alice was done with her. In the meantime, I headed towards the castle's Great Hall. I might as well be official.

I found a few guards and dukes and such milling around, whispering amongst them selves. I walked up to the throne where the crown sat. I picked it up, and turned around. "As your new ruler, I will make my first command. You are all banished from this court. Go to the village and live normal lives. You may be needed soon." I said to the court. One of the dukes stepped forward. "Your Majesty, please... this makes no sense. Con't we-" I stabbed him through the heart. "Anyone else have a complaint?" I asked, settling down comfortably in the throne. Nobody said a word. "Well, go, then." I said, annoyed and I twirled the crown on my now bloodied knife. I looked at a guard. "You there. Clear out this body." I said, nodding towards the dead duke of some sort.

Natas: I gathered all the Shadows outside the castle by the entrance of the forest. We had official business to discuss. I waited until everyone was settled and then, taking up residence on a tree stump, I started with the plan. "There have been a change of plans," I started," instead of leaving to attack the enemy two day from now, we leave tonight." A wave of protest and objections rose from the small group, I pushed fear into their minds, daring them to disagree. "Like I was saying," I growled," we leave tonight. First we hit the villiage again, news of out destruction will reach their camp, causing them to come and investigate. If that doesnt work, well, it's a good thing we have Alice. She can just lead us there. When we finially clnfront the enemy, well restrain them and bring them back to the castle, leaving them in the hands of Eighth. Now that we have the basics down, any questions?"