Rediscovery [Private Tenebris]

It had been a long, and uneventful flight. Other than that brief excitement with the SeaWing, it had soon been beat down by the harsh punishments brought upon by Royetta, who had been furious at Virsha's disobedience. There hadn't been any physical contact, thank Shardas, but she had still said some not so nice things to the young NightWings, and maybe she had made her shed a tear or not. After that turn of events, Royetta had forced Virsha to keep flying for another hour before she would give her food, as her punishment for directly defying her orders. And once Virsha had been given food, she decided to stop bothering Royetta, just to be safe. You could never be too safe around an insane dragon like that.

Meanwhile, Royetta was enjoying the peace and quiet. Now that Virsha had dropped back behind her, flying at a nice distance, the dragoness could finally be free to think. Out of all the libraries, why did her superior make her come to this one? It was so far away compared to all the others, and they had to cross the sea in order to get to it. It just seemed like a hassle for just a couple of books. But Royetta wouldn't question her superior's wishes. And who knows. Maybe this trip wouldn't bore her. She had heard interesting things about the Shadow's Refuge. And with all great things come imbecilic theories. She had even heard one once that there was a dark cult on the island, and that the great lord Tenebris was the leader. How stupid could one person get to believe that crap?

While Royetta was left to her own thoughts, having become a lot more quiet, and less grumpy, Virsha soon ruined the peace by suddenly flying up to Royetta, shocking her a bit, and exclaiming, "Look, I see land! See-..?" it soon dawned on Virsha what she had just done, and she quickly slunk back behind Royetta, before the dragoness had a chance to punish her. While this sudden outburst did agitate the dragoness, she, too, had to admit, she was glad to see land as well. Though, with all the thoughts running through her head, she was slightly nervous to see the library.

"Indeed.... now, Virsha," Royetta would say, causing Virsha to become immediately quiet, expecting a punishment from her outburst, but being pleasantly surprised when instead she got a lecture, "This is the Shadow Refuge. It is a place of enlightenment and mystery. We will not be adventuring, since I have never been to this place, and you'd probably end up lost forever. We will go to the library, get the books you need, and head back home, understood? We can get food back on the mainland." while this was mostly a threat to make sure Virsha didn't wander off, it was very sincere.

Virsha nodded vigorously, and with a careful glance behind her back, Royetta would lead them across the land, reaching for a map. She would pull it out, and with a bit of difficulty, and lots of excitement from the young NightWing behind her, the duo finally arrived at the large library. Virsha was visibly excited, but she tried to keep a level head, as the two approached a guard on the outside of the library.

"Good afternoon. My name is Royetta, police from the capital. I have been sent here by (Insert important police chief here) to ensure this trainee here receives an adequate training. And for that I need to enter your library to achieve a few books," she would say, holding her head high. The guard looked at her, then nodded, allowing them access. Virsha thanked the guard as Royetta went in without saying another word.

Once inside, Royetta would go search for the two books that the superior of hers had ordered her to get for Virsha. When she left, she told Virsha that she could look around, but not to get herself lost, or else she wouldn't come looking for her. Taken by the threat, the young dragoness decided to start by heading over to a large wall, covered in books. Curiously, she pulled one from the shelf, reading the title. It was one of those fancy novels, written by Tenebris.

Virsha had heard of him. He was the high lord of the Shadow Refuge, she had heard, but other than that she didn't know that much about him. She barely even knew what he looked like. Curiosity gnawing at her, she decided to flip to the first page.

Tenebris paused on the top step leading to the athenaeum of Shadow’s Refuge. The building was dark and silent as a graveyard at this hour, and given the ongoing war the Library along with the rest of the Citadel of Shadow’s Refuge and its institutes as a whole were seen more as rare oddities under Oculus Regime rather than its purpose of serving as a centre of academic learning for all. There were Guardsmen stationed at intervals upon the foot and then height of the steps, their silver cuirass chest plates were all too recognisable, bearing Tenebris’s heraldry of two Dragons rampart to one another, one holding a scepter and the other a sword.

Many of the Guardians knew him by sight, even when he wasn’t dressed in his full attire, none the less his current garb of silver adorning his horns and coiling earrings were enough for even the newest of the recruits to bow their head in a mutual show of respect. Tenebris returned the gesture with the humble incline of his to each of them, their continued loyalty granting him a vibrant and animated feeling before he finally entered the the Library. The guardsman's eyes regarded him once more as the doors slowly closed behind him, then Tenebris released a faint sigh from under his breath as he found himself in the sanctum he had spent the majority of his life, the archives and tomes what littered the hallways of the vast Library were as much a part of him as his talons and wings.

Tenebris stalked the corridors of Books which seemed tall as the battlements of a fortress, he recognised a few of the usual Magistrates which were no doubt dotting back and forth from here to the Magisterium, replacing and obtaining their objects of work. Tenebris could only allow a satisfied coo to escape him as he began trailing his gaze across the rows upon rows of documentation, his search was in particular a matter in reference to the upcoming Midsummer Festival he intended to host for the Soldiers on their leave. It was then a bad precedent that Tenebris was actually surprised to find a new figure he didn’t entirely recognize stood ahead of him.

Maintaining his regal graceful composure, he gently moved across the wall way to the Dragoness who seemed to be reading. His ethereal posture ever without restriction as he lured up behind her, sparing only a moment to scrutinize her features through his eerie sapphire gaze before he turned his attention to the piece of scripture she seemed to be reading. “Certainly an interesting read. I do hope you’re enjoying that ecology. Sadly the series is still a work in progress as a whole”, Tenebris’s words emitted his usual confident well cultured raspy tone as he remained stood domineeringly now behind the visitor. His dark foreboding appearance remaining stern and apathetic as he awaited a reaction.

The world of this new book was simply marvelous. Virsha had never read a book of such literate magnificence. All the books she had read back home had been basic and transparent. Stories given to children to shut them up. Maybe once in a blue moon she would receive and old epic of the NightWings, filled with dramatic stories and awesome adventures. But most of the times the books she were given were not enough to quench her thirst for knowledge. However, she had to admit, being only ten, some of the words she didn't understand, and she had to squint at the page. However, she was determined, and the story was well written and entertaining, with interesting characters, so she wasn't bored, and it wasn't such a difficult read once she grasped the concept.

She had barely made it to chapter two, when a mysterious voice interrupted her thoughts. The voice was deep, masculine, and dominating, yet quite charismatic. Having been snapped out of her fictional world, she realized that, along side the voice, a mysterious shadow had appeared to loom above her. She froze, unsure of how to react to the stranger. Though, she supposed the first thing to do would be to greet them. It would be rude not to, right?

Cautiously, Virsha would turn her head. The dragon before her was a rather intimidating fellow, with a long, slender body, and a dark, forbodding aura. Not yet recognizing him as Tenebris, Virsha decided to smile politely at him, though on the inside she was nervous. She wasn't used to talking to big dragons by herself, especially ones like this. "Yeah. It's very well written. I just wish I could understand more of it. I didn't have very good books to read back where I was growing up," Virsha would chuckle nervously, hoping to lighten the tension. Another way to lighten the tension, introduce yourself! She thought with a mental frown. "My name's Virsha. I'm new around here. Um... what's your name?" she'd ask, trying to be nice, marking her page so she wouldn't lose it.

Tenebris was stalwart as the young Dragoness turned to face him, his macabre visage ever without falter as his cadaverous sapphire eyes only narrowed once more in silent scrutiny of her features. Noting the delicate fragile thin form of the other Drake only seemed as a harsh reminded of his own deterioration over time, a muse what only prompted him to slowly lower his rear in a sitting position as he inclined his head in a humble show of mutual respect and acknowledgement. It was evident that his ominus domineering appearance may of been unsettling, however, his demeanour didn’t adjust in the slightest.

The Dragoness he couldn’t put a physical name to mind at her appearance which made her all the more intriguing and only rose his desire for further conversation. As she spoke directly to him Tenebris was finally broken from his internal musings in examination of the specimen before him. Her statement regarding not having access to many scripts of literature in her youth was a personal slight which brought forth his own past cravings due to the lack of knowledge accessable, urging his response. “They say, a Dragon what doesn’t read lives only one life, while the one who does may live thousands” as the words left his maw a soft warming smile spread across his otherwise hard unforgiving features before he continued after her introductions.

“It’s a pleasure Virsha, formalities are a limited phenomenon apparently as of late. It’s good to know there are still a few who treasure etiquette. My name name is Tenebris”, he’d seem to bow his head once more as if a formal gesture to meeting the new acquaintance, all the while his glare never failing to give his full undivided attention upon the younger Dragon, his dark form standing as a silhouette of a shadow against the tomes which lined the bookcase behind him.

For a moment, Virsha would stand still. Then, she realized who she was talking to, and she would blush deeply at not recognizing him sooner. Surely she should have been able to get some grasp of what the Grand Vizier looked like. She would dip her head as a sign of respect, still smiling shyly. She definitely wasn't used to talking to someone of this rank before. Though, it was lucky her parents had at least taught her how to act if she were to ever run into royalty, or aristocracy. And not just to be an arrogant child.

"The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Tenebris," she would say, keeping that awkward smile of hers. "I apologize for not recognizing you sooner. I'd say I'm not well educated on points of royalty. You're book is very good, from what I've read, though." Virsha would say, looking away, embarrassed.

(Short post is short, lol)