The newborn drake chattered nervously in its owners hands, arms raking across the finely woven fabric pf his ensemble.
It's claws failed to tear at the fabric as its crawled from his open hands, lone sharp fingers on its wings allowing it to hook its talon and drag itself up to his shoulder where it began to chatter into his ear.
" It's okay ... you're alright" A single finger creased between the drakes brow, it's chittering stopping momentarily as it seemed to preen under his touch, it's rose coloured eyes soothing, growing lul.
The flames behind the alter slowly began to flutter out, the risen stage being bathed in dark as the torch light provided by the guards surrounding the room became the sole sources of light within this abandoned chapel.
Whimpers echoed from before Malak's feet, from the sister of the magister who had lied, who had stolen and coveted what didn't belong to her. And fussing over her, was her own dear brother, attempting to stop the bleeding of her stumped left arm, her crys and pleas echoing as her brothers panicked words fell from his mouth.
' Pathetic ... ' He sneered at Alek's back, finger stroking the drakes head as he stared, contemplating, deliberating. And in his eyes, silent anger burned like a thousand furnaces.
" Yes ... what to do now" His voice echoed once more, and the two siblings froze at the tone, Alek's turning to face Malak like the reaper was coming to collect.
" Whatever do you mean, we have to leave ... we have to get her help" Alek's plead, his sisters whimper behind him making the drakes eyes open and stare.
" Do we ... I'm not so sure..." A cold wind erupted between the trio, as Uhar loomed behind, heads taller than guard and man alike, her hand caressing the hilt of her sword, ready to lay low these two and everyone around at the slightest word.
Alek seemed to come to this understanding too, that he was alone, under Sathar without having informed anyone on the surface. With a man who had been wronged by his sister and himself, whom currently had strange powers, a drake and a woman who he wasn't entirely sure was human in her daunting stature.
" Please ... did you not give a blessing to ensure the prosperity of myself and my kin" The torchlight bathed the man entirely in white in a sinister light, as fingers of shadow crawled up the sheet that covered his face, across his body as his own shadow seemed to stretch over them.
Alek's shook under the silence that levelled itself over them, the guards seemingly attempting to bolster themselves, getting ready to throw themselves into the blender that was Uhar so there might be the chance their magister and his sister nay escape to the surface.
" Indeed ... there is that" He was caught between a rock and a hard place.
' What was the blessing again. Of yes ... prosperity for kin and self... ' His dark eyes narrowed as he read the panels listing, the listing that showed wish he had gifted and who they were attached to.
[ Alek Aethis- Gifted Blessings : Luck ( minor- Blood bound) goldbound ( minor - bloodbound) Charisma ( minor- bloodbound ) ]
This ... was a caveat of the system. Wishes were always granted, more often than not in roundabout ways, with hidden curses. But with the granting of the blessing luck, the parties involved were ... difficult to deal with.
Someone with the strength blessing could be dealt with easily by poisoning or killed by someone with superior strength granted.
But a person with luck was significantly harder to deal with even for someone such as Uhar.
' I'll need to rectify that ... ' A person eith the luck blessing not only found themselves lucky in terms of monetary value. But in terms of survival, more often than not surviving dangers they should otherwise not be able to overcome.
He shivered in thought of a blessed taking on a dragon, only surviving because their foot snagged on a branch as a dragon spewed liquid flame over them and failing to kill them.
Infact as of yet, not a single person to be gifted with the blessing of luck, even minor, had died. The three that survived the village of the roses had been given the luck blessing long ago, as if fate twisted itself over in strange ways to make sure they cane out with the favourable outcome.
' Fuck sake ... ' He contemplated cursing, throwing a fit or having Uhar attack them relentlessly until she prevailed. But he wasn't brave enough to test the boundaries the luck blessing could go to to ensure someone's survival.' I'll have to make do '
Even now, as he debated ordering the base drake to scorch the two before him with liquid flame.
A strange premonition seemed to well, whether from the system itself or from his very soul. A warning, a whisper from fate that the blessing of luck would persist... and may produce an unfortunate outcome for even himself.
" I shall not make a liar out of myself" The danger he felt alleviated almost immediately after thoughts of harming those with the blessing of luck faded away, and cursed in his own mind. " But there is still the matter ... of punishment "
" But my sister is in danger, her wound " Alek made to protest, soothed now that the lord of roses promised their safety, a man of his word it seemed.
" Your sister is in no danger. Infact with the terms of your blessing, she's going to be... just fine " As if to prove the validity of his words, a scream escaped his sisters mouth, where he turned with panicked eyes to see she had laid the lump of flesh that was her arm into the burnt grounds, cauterusing her wound on sheer accident, saving her the death of blood loss, even scrubbing the wound of bacteria under the intense heat.
" Your blessing imposed luck ... yet I see none" Alek cried back, cradling the crying Leah in his arms as he beheld the melted stump.
" The fact your sister survived the explosion of flame that consumed everything else in this room yet remained unscathed says otherwise" He gestured to the great blackened grounds and searing walls, indeed, without the blessing of luck, she would have died to her own ritual instantly. " The fact my drake ate her arm, and not her head, says otherwise"
" And the fact ... you stand here to protect her, as her wound no longer festers and her fate grows more stable .... says otherwise" He finished a final approach to loom over the two siblings, and even though the veil covered his face. They could feel his piercing gaze through the veil, the fact his blessings worked in their favour even now, proved the validity of his word... of his blessings. " I would request a levy of retribution... in your own good name ... for the scheming levied apon you by yourself and your family ... I am a fair man ... but I will not stand to be wronged"
" w...what is it I can do for you, whatever you want... I can give you " He whispered, the whisper crashing across the room, over the scorched grounds and into the ears of the guards around.
" You will have your king ... recognise my name and station as a lord ... and have Uhar knighted under my house. That ... is what I request of you. Official ... recognition in sarnori and beyond " He knelt down, his demeanour shifting from something holy to something entirely the opposite, as the drake on his shoudler glared at the two siblings with its rubbed eyes and hateful glare. " Pray... that it happens. Otherwise not even your blessings of good fortune will still my retribution "
" I...I'll make it happen ... you have my word" Alek's nodded a single time, with Leah finally passing out in his arms from the shock of the pain.
" I do hope so... now then... I leave the rest to your hand to guide" Malak rose, turned away and slowly slunk into the reach darkness, even though he had no light guiding his step. Even though he wore white, the robes he wore remained undirtied by the soot under foot, even his feet were pure, as if the very soot feared touching his flesh and garments.
The shadows sucked him in like the embrace of a lover, as Uhar followed behind, her armoured feet raking across the stone, their footfalls reseeding deeper and deeper into the pitch black until they faded away as dark as the starless night.
Alek sat, heart hammering in his chest, cradling his sister to his chest, the guards standing scared, unsure, they had feared fighting the titan of a woman, and now they relaxed now that she had gone with her lord.
" Help me get her up, we return to the surface at one" And when there, he intended to make good of his word .
....
" What exactly should I name you" He held the drake up, hand gently resting on the base of its neck and between its legs to ensure its safety amd stability. It snarled playfully at his face, nipping the air between them as he marvelled at its beauty.
He layed on his bed, as Uhar sat in a chair, resting her eyes as she sat sleeping, like a machine. He wanted her to lay in the bed to allow her mind rest,but she desired to be ready to act at a moments notice, and so he allowed her to rest, to rest at the ready to swing if the door so much as creaked slightly.
And so he lay on his gargantuan bed, drake held in the air as it nibbled at his fingers.
" Your name will be Tyr ... " The systems chime alerted him, his eyes staring at the panel that appeared between his vision of the drake.
[ Name given. True follower detected.
Tyr - Drake.
Age- 0
- Blessed by earthen flame and touched by the skies fury. This drake is blessed by the hands of magic incomprehensible.
Blessing gifted : Blessing of the sky. Blessing of the crag. Blessing of tempests. Blessing of heat. Gift of intelligence. Gift of growth]
[ New blessing detected- Art of the arcane ]
' Now that's... new' His eyes darted to the new prompt, a blessing not given by his own hand, now settled itself amidst the others already given to the drake.
Strange, he wasn't aware the system could give blessings of its own. Not that he would complain, but there was a light there, a comprehension in those eyes as the drake stared at him.
" You don't yet know what I look like do you" He gently placed the fascinating creature on his chest, and lifted the veil for the drake to gaze apon with its rose eyes.
It's desire to play died as it beheld his eyes, lowering itself in silence, staring unblinkingly. A deep rumbling hummed from its chest, as if purring white gazing into his dark eyes. Blinking slowly in a sign of trust, in a sign of submission. It slowly allowed itself sleep under the strange eyes of its father, it's purr persisting even as it finally slept for the first day of its life.
' Such a strange creature ... ' He allowed it to lay, studying its bone like chitinous plates on its neck, belly and back, the way it seemed to burrow itself into him seeking warmth.
' You must grow quickly... my child ' He could see the fluctuations in the air around Tyr, distortions in the air, whether they be from heat or magic he didn't quite know, as both seemed to bleed from its body like waves into the air around it.
A burp escaped its lips as it rubbed its chin against his chest, It's two metre wings folded tightly to him as if hugging him.
' hm ... ' He closed his eyes and joined the drake in sleep, as Uhar slept lightly, ears listening.
....
A knock on the door roused Tyr from its sleep, releasing angry chitters into the air, snapping angrily at the fabric of his robe as he raised himself from the sheets.
" Uhar ... let them in" Tyr complained as he rose, it's bedding moving against his will, biting at his finger in complaint.
" .... " She rose, making two steps across the carpeted floor and opening the wooden door to reveal the man standing on the other side.
Alek looked like he had aged ten years over twelve hours, shallow eyes with a purple haze circulating under his eyes, like bruising, large bags signifying he hadn't slept in ages.
" Uhar" He had to crane his neck to look at the veil that covered her head, only now comprehending just how tall this woman really was, where he came to standing just under her bosom.
' Truly a titan' He gulped, looking past her to the man he saught and the still complaining drake in his arms.
" .... " She regarded him for five seconds, her breathing disturbing the fabric covering her hidden face, her silence making him shuffle uncomfortably under the stare he could feel rather than see.
Only after those long five seconds did she step away, moving to the glass table the chair she had slept on sat.
" Uhm ... milord. I ... have spoken to the king in your name. He has agreed to your request... in exchange for your services... " In truth he had pleas to the king of Sathar, begged even just to make sure the king would grant his request.
" I see ... and what sort of request will I he fulfilling... has he informed you " Malak asked, hand rising to pet Tyr's neck as the baby angrily but at his thumb trying to teach him a lesson for getting rid of his bedding.
" I ... may have some idea. The Queen is ill. Her womb is dead, I believe the king wishes to have you rectify that" Alek whispered, watching Malak for any sign of disturbance from the man who had spared both he and his sisters life.
" Interesting ... most interesting. I suppose I could help with that... " Malak chuckled, the drake hissing as he gently lifted its mouth from his finger.
" And when does the king wish for my presence" Malak asked, treating the magister as if he was simply an escort party, which ... in this subject, he may have been.
" As soon as you are able i suppose... "
" Well then ... no time like the present I suppose" He raised Tyr to his shoulder, it's claws clinging to the fabric covering his shoulders, it's tail wrapping around his neck for support.
" Indeed ... " And so they departed, sparing a moment to look back at the room for what he thought may be one last time if all things went well, before grunting.
" you will have someone collect my things when I am ready to depart won't you " Malak asked, stepping into the balconies beyond.
" of course ser, i would be remiss to have you forced to do so yourself" It wasn't exactly grovelling, but it was close enough it might as well have been.
" Good ... how is Leah" He smirked as they moved across the courtyards, winding bridges and pathways towards the central palace at the very centre of Sathar.
" She is stable milord. When we brought her to the surface, she was rushed immediately to a healer, we made it intimate to begin aid, the healer believes she will pull through soon enough and that she is safe.... she is currently resting in my residence" Malak nodded at Alek's open words, listening, attempting not to be outright rude in dismissal.
" That is good to hear" Though he cursed in his head, but kept his tongue. They rounded a great garden expanding across the very centre of the cities middle level, the base for the towering palace that madd up the entire upper half of the city, where a singular palace as large as a village sat wedged amid the towering Spires reaching up to the very top of the cliff it was housed against. A grand entrance hoosted high by pillars of great architecture, guards longing the entrance a hundred strong.
" So this is where the king of Sathar resides " He puckered his lips, guagijg the architecture and the great care taken with every brick and every stone used in its creation. " I doubt there is a palace in all the lands as beautiful "
" You should say that to the king... he would be pleased... let us go, he is waiting" And so they stepped toward the towering entrance, one reprehensive, one chuckling to himself and one silent, and there was the one biting at his shoulder hungrily.
..CHAPTER COMPLETE ...
DUE TO SEVERAL THINGS I HAVE TO DO THIS WERK I WILL BE RELEASING 1 CHAPTER A DAY INSTEAD OF 2 BUT WILL BE PICKING BACK UP AT WEEKS END