Enter The Dragon

[Chaos]

For centuries, time was spent mainly in the confines of countless caves, mountains, a valley or two, even in another plane. Never a forest. Occasionally, the dragon would find himself venturing outside of his small territory to hunt for food, and that was only during the darkest hours, when seeing him was nigh impossible. Very rarely, if ever, would he be seen during the daytime, but he was by no means adversely affected by sunlight. This dragon felt that it was time to once again attempt at interaction with other intelligent species. Interaction on a very basic level.

Emerging from a cave unknown, Chaos stepped out to greet the rising sun, looking out over the expanse of land that lay before him overlooking the cliff. A massive forest was to be his next home for a time, curious as to what creatures he would come across during these hours of light. Spreading his unnaturally large wings, Chaos leans forward and allows the draft to pull him over the edge of the cliff.

Gliding toward the forest at a casual pace, Chaos closely notes the wildlife in the area, the scents that waft through the air, and the sudden change in temperature. He folds his wings upon reaching the canopy, and allows gravity to do the rest. He was only allowed to fall around 20 or so feet before he was met by one of the larger tree's branches. He landed heavily, shifting his scales slightly to absorb the sound of the impact, and marveled at the fact that he had actually landed in a tree that could support his weight, which was a first for him.

Chaos quickly made himself comfortable on his new perch, silently monitoring the wildlife as it passed below him, oblivious to his presence. A few leaves were rattled loose by his landing, but otherwise, nothing would have ever noticed his arrival. Nothing would ever actually "hear" Chaos coming unless that was what he wanted. That's not to say his presence couldn't still be felt, or the fact that he stuck out like a sore thumb. He is black in a green area.

[Adrastos Morandir]

<-Adrastos Morandir->

Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness; I need to calculate what creates my own madness.
And I’m addicted to your punishment, and you’re the master,
and I am waiting for disaster.

«««»»»

Damned Surface, damned sunlight, damned Elves, damned birds, twittering brainlessly in the trees, not a care in the world...

So thought Adrastos Morandir as he weaved through the closely-growing trees, his cracked lips moving fervently in silent, irritated muttering. His hood was pulled far down over his sharp-featured, scowling face, shadowing most of it from view, and more importantly, dampening the God-awful light that somehow managed to filter in vague shafts through the thick canopy. Most would call the forest-floor dark, but it was far too bright for the Drow's tastes. He would have preferred to stay holed up in a cave until nightfall, but an Elven patrol had run him off several dozen leagues back. High-and-mighty, holier-than-thou bastards...

Snorting angrily as he squeezed his short, slight frame through a particularly tight space between two towering trees, he let one spindle-fingered, clawed hand drift to the haft of the long, slender sword at his belt; a katana-like blade called Flax. It looked to be Elven-made, but anyone who suggested such a thing to its owner would promptly have their head hewn from their shoulders. In fact, one of the patrolmen had asked what such a fell creature was doing with something of their own craft; he had fared just the same. It was, in fact, of Drow-craft. Just as lithe, but far more wicked, fell and void. A cut from a Drow-blade was sure to bring a black sickness, if its weilder did not finish the job.

Grunting in irritation, the sound being the only sign of his presence under the canopy as his feet moved soundlessly over the ground, Adrastos stopped for a moment to gather his bearings. His sense of direction was infallible, but these Elven woods were strange, and they felt hostile to him. Shutting his eyes, he fell easily into the trance of Awareness, scanning the various auras of the Taurë Menel. All seemed well, besides the angry crimson some of the more sentient trees were aiming at him. All except...

The Drow froze, long, pointed ears pricking in surprise as he was abruptly yanked from his trance. What on Ander had that been? Such a strange aura...so foreign...He instinctively both feared it, and hated it, aggression rising inside of him like a storm, and a feral snarl prised its way from between his clenched, fang-like teeth, azure tongue flicking across his lips frenetically. He was nervous, but his demeanor seemed reminiscent of a vicious animal, ready to strike anything that wandered too near.

[Chaos]

Chaos continued to passively watch wildlife move around him, not being hungry enough to hunt for anything at the moment. That would change in about an hour, but until then, everything that passed him was lucky. His tail snaked around the massive limb absently, the tip cutting a thin line into the bark. It was pleasantly dark, despite the sun still being high in the sky due to the thick, lush canopy.

Chaos heard several sets of footsteps, amond other things, but he was quickly thrown from his state of relaxation by the sound of a snarl. His head snapped up and around to face the direction of its origin, and spotted not an animal, but a......drow?! Chaos knew well about drow elves, and their absolute detest for sunlight. He had even encountered an underground drow city by the name of Menzoberranzan, those creatures giving him more trouble than any he had come across in his life. Chaos was allowed to leave only after earning their respect, which was won by the deaths of countless drow.

<c>

[Chaos]

They had told him that he was the only creature that has ever stumbled on their hidden city, and lived to again see the surface world. This particular drow, only the second he had ever come across on the surface outside of one Drizzt Do'Urden, seemed to be a bit animalistic. Chaos told himself that he would give humanoids a chance before completely dismissing them, and that's what he intended to do.

Quickly springing to his feet, Chaos turns to face this unknown drow, then crouches slightly and vaults himself off of the branch. With an impact forceful enough to throw up a cloud of foliage, Chaos landed, a few meters away from the drow. When thw foliage finally cleared, Chaos was seen staring almost through the drow. He remained deathly silent as they stood there, as though they were in deep thought. Upon getting a good look, Chaos marveled at how the entire race of drow elves were almost unnaturally attractive creatures, and this one was no exception. Regardless, Chaos never dwelled on the physical.

[Adrastos Morandir]

<-Adrastos Morandir->

Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness; I need to calculate what creates my own madness.
And I’m addicted to your punishment, and you’re the master,
and I am waiting for disaster.

«««»»»

The snarl morphed into a shriek when the brush suddenly seemed to explode around him, and Adrastos leapt backwards with startling agility, face contorted in instinctive fury as Flax rasped from its sheath, dark blade glinting strangely in the light, fell and almost replusive in its sheen, though its well-worn handle rested snugly in the Drow's palm. Squinted eyes flashing brightly from under his hood, strained against the God-damned light, he bristled dangerously, showing no sign of his shock at the sudden appearance of a...

What was that thing anyway?

Racking his brain, he could not help but cock his head in curiosity, despite the aggressive behavior his fear inspired in him. In all his time on the Surface, and even in the Deeps, he had never seen something quite like this. It was quite large, and serpentine, reminiscent of a Cave-crawler, though it was winged, and its eyes held a cunning intelligence; Adrastos didn't like that at all. Finding a mind to match his own in a beast was not exactly on his to-do list for the day.

He clicked his teeth in anxiety, though the action could be percieved as threatening to an outside source. The creature was not making to attack him...that was odd. Why make such an entrance, only to strike such a non-threatening stance? It made not the slightest inkling of sense, at least to him.

Then his musing was cut off as a memory struck him, pulled from the depths of his expansive mind. Had he not seen a mural somewhat like this, in one of the human religious establishments? Or perhaps it was a stained-glass window? Yes...he seemed to recall breaking it, actually. A beast such as this, although it was brightly colored, and wreathed in flame, rearing up and roaring, massive wings spread. Dragon? He rolled the word through his mind, finding its Drow translation to be roughly something similar to Loki. Hm.

All of these thoughts completed in mere moments, he maintained his aggressive, yet defensive stance, his eyes aching. And not just because of the sunlight; the heat radiating from this 'dragon's core was unbelievable; like one of the massive furnaces of the Deeps. Its body appeared a searing white to his eyes, with a pale blue pulsing gently at its center.

{{Just to let you know, since this site is not in the D&D realm, I'm not applying Adrastos's geneaology/cultural history/etc. completely to that of D&D. His House, the city he comes from, all of that is made up.}}

[Chaos]

{{Oh, I fully understand that your character is completely original, and I was using the reference to Drizzt and his heritage simply to link past experiences with my character to that of your character's race through someone that fantasy rpers are bound to recognize. That and I really like Drizzt. ^.^}}

Chaos patiently waited for this drow to make a move, intent on quickly learning of his motives through his actions. The defensive stance that he saw was only natural given his abrupt and downright startling entrance. Chaos was slightly defensive himself, although how he was standing would have said otherwise. He was naturally tense, given the amount of strength required to simply move, and his black scales were slightly glowing from the electricity coursing between his scales. That was causing him to give off a considerable amount of heat, and he knew from past experiences that drow had sensitive heat vision. Chaos took a few steps back and lowered his head to be lever with the drow, remaining silent.

[Adrastos Morandir]

<-Adrastos Morandir->

Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness; I need to calculate what creates my own madness.
And I’m addicted to your punishment, and you’re the master,
and I am waiting for disaster.

«««»»»

Adrastos's silver brow quirked slightly, and he sheathed his teeth with his lips once more, watching the dragon closely, his face still drawn in anger. The creature lowered its head, causing him to jerk backwards slightly, only to stop once more when the creature's prevously neutral pose became vaguely submissive. A peace gesture?

His obsidian knuckles flushed ash-gray as his hand tightened around Flax's hilt, the clawed nails of his other hand carving furrows into the dirt where he crouched. A long moment of silence prevailed, in which he glared directly into the creature's eyes, his own saffron orbs flashing dangerously. When he finally spoke, it was in the common tongue, though his accent was heavy; it contorted his voice so that it was somehow grating and terrible, yet enchanting at the same time, like orc-speech and Elf-tongue combined.

"What is it you want with me, beast? Speak quickly! I am not for this ambling, this meaningless play of stares, and would just as quickly vanish into yon woods before pandering to it further."

[Chaos]

Chaos continued to silently regard the drow before him, soaking in his features like clothing style, weapons, etc. During his life, he had witnessed countless styles of clothing, none of which would ever make sense to him. What would a dragon do with clothes of any kind unless he had a human form? Chaos was one of those that chose not to have one, for he had also witnessed the slaughter of countless dragons while they were in human bodies.

Chaos was brought back to the here and now upon hearing the drow speak in a fashion not like any drow he remembered hearing, although it did have remnants of their accent. Chaos opened his mouth to speak, but instead simply blew out a small cloud of sparks while he expanded and constricted sections of his voice box. The result always amused the rather passive dragon.

"Your sharp tongue suits your heritage well, drow. Know that I have no interest in what you do, so long as you take no hostile actions."

The result was Chaos sounding identical to the drow.

[Adrastos Morandir]

<-Adrastos Morandir->

Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness; I need to calculate what creates my own madness.
And I’m addicted to your punishment, and you’re the master,
and I am waiting for disaster.

«««»»»

As soon as he saw the trickle of blue coming up from the dragon's throat, Adrastos shut his eyes tightly, tilting his head down so that his hood fell further over his eyes. He heard the hiss of sparks, and instinctually skittered back a pace or two, clamping a hand over his eyes as an extra measure; light! How he hated the vile thing!

When he thought the wretched light had ceased, he slitted his saffron eyes open again, watching intently as the beast seemed to study him. The way it seemed to be sizing him up, examining him...he didn't like it! A rumbling growl rippled from his chest, warning the creature of his irritation.

"You are being obnoxiously evasive." He spat, eyes widening as his own voice was emitted from the dragon's mouth. He was surprised enough that it spoke the Common tongue, and also...

The growl soon became an incredulous snarl, and his eyes widened ever further, despite the ache it caused in the back of his head, his long ears twitching in a mix of amazement and anger.

"What do you know of my heritage, of my people, you disgusting snake?!" He spoke in low, deadly tones, heedless of the fact that this creature was more likely the deadlier thing in this equation, though his pride begged to differ. "Loki! Pah!" He ground out. "Lokirim I say, even your names are similar!" To tell the truth, he was vaguely frightened that the dragon seemed to know of his kind. True, he had not suddenly begun spouting an ancient Drow dialect, or begun to chant prayers to Lloth, but even to know what a Drow was, let alone that they were naturally violent was quite startling. This he did not like either.

[Chaos]

Chaos remained stationary as the drow seemed to jump into a defensive crouch, promptly shielding his eyes from what he apparently believed to be an impending attack. Chaos paid little attention to the first comment, but the second struck a nerve with the dragon, and he matched the drow's snarl with one of his own, sparks dancing on his scales.

"You dare compare me to a common lizard?"

Chaos quickly gained control over his temperament when he recalled that drow hated surface elves as much as they hated sunlight, if not more. He fully intended to use that to his advantage, knowing that it had a very good chance of pushing the drow over the edge.

"No matter. I am sure your brethren, the surface elves, would beg to differ on your comparison. How ironic. And how much could you possibly know from personal experience about that mischieveous fire wyrm to even so much as breathe our names in the same sentence? What do you know of my species, drow?"

[Adrastos Morandir]

<-Adrastos Morandir->

Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness; I need to calculate what creates my own madness.
And I’m addicted to your punishment, and you’re the master,
and I am waiting for disaster.

«««»»»

Adrastos's furious snarl morphed into a malicious smirk as the dragon lashed out, sadistically amused that he had struck a nerve. He rose to his full height, defiantly sheathing his blade, though his hands still clenched at his sides threateningly. He might have held his head higher, but the sparks dancing across the dragon's scales prevented him from doing so.

His entertainment did not last long, however. It took a moment for the comparison the beast implied to sink in, but when it did, the Drow felt a burning of ice and fire in his chest, and the corners of his vision turned a hazy red.

"How dare you?!" His voice rose to an almost painful level, and the birds in the nearby trees scattered in panic. Incredulous sputterings emmitted from his mouth as he tried to form a sentence sufficient enough to express his outrage, even going so far as to lapse into Drow-tongue for several moments.

"You compare my kind to those tree-hugging, vain, pacifistic, fool-hardy, high-and-mighty, yellow-bellied, fox-hearted, silver-tongued Surface-trash?!" His clenched fists were shaking with rage that felt almost inexpressible, and his azure tongue flicked across his teeth frantically, his pupils contracting to a miniscule size. Yet, he could bring himself to do little more than lurch forward, then abruptly stop, his chest on fire, with no way to cool it. His sense of survival was warring heavily with his ancestral tendency towards mindless fury, a trait which had earned him scorn in the Deeps. Earned it, but kept him alive.

If this creature could spout sparks, it could certainly spout fire. Fire, that most wretched of light-bringers. Oh, would that some other beast had set upon him this way, he would not have had cause to hesitate at all! As it was, he honestly had no idea what this dragon was capable of, had no knowledge of its weak points. He was fairly certain that Flax could cleave those scales with ease, but he had no idea what lay underneath but that incredible heat. He did not know where its organs were located, where its armor was most vulnerable. It was infuriating! He had every right to strike out viciously, and yet he could not attack!

"I..." He panted darkly, his voice shuddering with fury, fists clenched hard enough to make his bones ache. "-know nothing of your kind...But...my first impression hasn't been...exceedingly favorable..." It was amazing how hard it was to produce a coherent sentence under such circumstances. "I would have you tell me what it is you want..." He felt his teeth begin to creak from being clenched together so tightly. "-that we might end this most unpleasant encounter all the sooner..."