The land of Mists (Open to All)

Many a story is told about the Night Wing homeland, even more so about the tribe that called it home. That it is a dangerous and ancient land were spirits of the old world move through the mists. That the Night Wings themselves could read minds and foretell prophecy's. What is fact and what is just superstition is left for others to decide themselves.

But one thing was truth, it was a land of mists. It was night in the swamplands. The pockets of land and water completely coated in mist. Every once in awhile a wind would shift and the skeletal remains of a dead tree covered in moss would appear. A lonely sentinel on a patch of earth. But it was not a quiet place. In fact it was a place full of life.

Crickets sang there songs with frogs and other things that called this place home. A chorus that came to a stop as a night wing moved slowly through the mist and water. Maliki stopped and darted his head up to scan the area and test the air with a flick of a forked tongue. The clouds once concealing the moon passed and beams of pale moonlight came out to bath the swamplands. The Night Wing made even more foreboding, a shadow in the mists. Truly there tribe was meant for this place.

As much as Maliki wanted to take off his goggles and enjoy the cool dark of the night he forced himself to remember that his eyes glowed. A strange trait by higher design or mutation, that would not serve him at the moment. Monsters were roaming the land and there was chaos everywhere.

Maliki had been doing some work assisting a full ranked healer in a small colony in the nearby marshlands when monsters attacked. Once he had found humans were the only thing dominating his nightmares. But as of late that no longer was the case. Soldiers were able to fight off the monstrosity's and Maliki was given leave to return to the capital.

For some reason he saw the swamplands and a coast with a ocean as far as the eye could see, and islands off in the distance. What it meant he could not even begin to imagine. But Maliki felt he had to be at the coastline. It was probably the only way to make the visions of the place stop. "Stupid visions", Maliki grumbled lowly as he freed a satchel that had got snagged on the thick branch of a dead tree. "Stupid swamp, what I would not give to be back in Amaranthine right now."

His demeanor went from sour to happy in the split of a second though as he spotted a small bush growing out a shallow part of water. It was a rare plant that had very powerful healing properties according to Maliki's books. He got lost in the task of carefully harvesting the adult leaves and avoiding the highly poisonous young buds completely oblivious to everything else.

(Just a note to myself to post on this tonight)

A Skeir lurked in the darkness behind the NightWing. Two more were off to either side; all were waiting to see if the Dragon might hunt, so they might feed on the remains. All three were 30ft tall and had black fur to make them blend in. The one directly behind the NIghtWing moved forward a bit, restless and tempted to move on. The other two mistook this as a sign to attack the Dragon--quite a dangerous thing considering this one had scales and was ten feet taller. But they did have numbers on their side... and who were they to ignore an order from their temporary leader? So one took to the air with a single, powerful flap of its wings. The other ran. The third just stood there, as if trying to figure out what was going on.

The Skeir that went to the sky never got the chance to gain the height it needed for a proper sneak attack. Tulvir could just make out the Skeir; there was enough moonlight to partially illuminate the dark landscape. The hybrid could see the bat-like monster as its takeoff left a hole in the mist. The Skeir could fly as fast as a LightWing, but had not reached that speed by the time Tulvir met it in the sky. He went into a nosedive then swung his tail down as he suddenly slowed and opened his wings to level himself. The end of his spear-tip-like tail was covered in ice, shaped like a bludgeon. The weight of the ice propelled Tulvir's tail with enough force to crack the Skeir's skull when it collided with it.

As the beast fell, Tulvir shot a fireball at the Skeir running toward what he assumed--he couldn't see from where he was--was a Dragon. The third Skeir, which had been standing still until the fireball impacted and thus hidden to the Fire/IceWing, ran away some distance before taking off and flying away at top speed. Tulvir landed where his fireball had and brought his tail down on the monster to make sure it was dead. Then he looked in the direction of the NightWing. His own landing had cleared the mist away so the moon shone on the smaller Dragon. "You know these ones can see just as good as you can at night?"

Malaki was completely unaware of the figures in the mist. He was far to focused on the task at hand of harvesting the rare plant and any seeds he could bring back to the capital. The last he had heard before leaving was that the herb gardens had been ravaged by a form of plant plague. But that was a long time ago. Still, he figured bringing some back could not hurt.

The Night Wing stopped what he was doing suddenly. 'Something does not feel right', he thought. Malaki was not able to put a claw on how. It was a strange feeling, like as if the air had grown more heavy, more foreboding. His vision blurred, then flashed white. The image of a grotesque creature appeared for a split second. As quickly as it came the vision was gone. It had happened so fast he did not have enough time to take in all the details but the one that stood out most. Its hideous bat like face.

His brain screamed danger and Malaki reacted accordingly by spinning around. To his horror Malaki saw a creature running towards him upright with alarming speed. Again he did not have enough time to take in all the details other then its grotesque bat like head. His brain was running a hundred miles an hour on what to do. In the end he fell back to instinctive reaction.

Standing up on his hind legs while using his tail to help him keep upright, Malaki fully extended his wings in an attempt to make himself look far bigger then he really was. Taking in a deep breath, he fell forward and slammed his fore claws as hard as he could into the water causing a big splash to go up into the air. To finish it all off Malaki let out the most fearsome roar he could manage at the charging beast.

It seemed as if the creature called his bluff as it was not slowing down. "Be brave", Malaki told himself as he tensed up and got ready for a fight. Out of nowhere a fireball came raining down like a comet from the heavens to hit the Skeir. It exploded causing a shockwave of heat to wash over Malaki along with the horrid smell of burnt hair and flesh.

"What in the name of.....". Malaki did not even get to finish that sentence as a body of another monster came falling out the sky to land a few feet away with a splash in the swamp water. If there was any life left in the monster struck by the fire ball it was put to a end as a dragon landed to finish it off.

The first thing Malaki noticed was his hero and savior was no Night Wing. No, this dragon was not like his kind with there darker colored scales. His were different shades of red and orange, a wave of color. Malaki was frozen in place as if a statue. Without the cover and concealment of the mist he suddenly felt naked and vulnerable for all to see. He did not even seem to notice the dragons words to him.

After a few moments Malaki pulled the tinted goggles off his glowing eyes and looked at the dragon with awe. "That.....was.....AWSOME!" Malaki barked in clear excitement. "I mean WOW! You really showed those creatures! You really saved my tail there. Those things came right out of nowhere." At that statement Malaki added. " I'm pretty sure there is a tribal law somewhere about me having to be all mysterious and creepy when talking to dragons from other tribes." With that said Malaki pulled his wings over to shield all his head but the glowing eyes. Letting out a laugh he pulled the wings away.

"But you saved me so I guess I can overlook those laws. Are you a emissary? If so I was going back to the capital anyway. With all these weird things coming out of nowhere I think there is safety in numbers."

The NightWing reacted to Tulvir much like a Hatchling would... Or at least like someone who didn't get out much. But it was kinda nice to be treated like a hero for a second. The comment about NightWings being mysterious suggested this one didn't care what the other tribes thought. "An emissary? No,
I am a Guardian, one of the three remaining. The King has tasked us with patrolling the native territories and bringing anyone we find to the safety of the Ebonwing Isles...or at least offer them that choice. So here I am. Did you say you're going to the captial?
The Spire has been destroyed... Unless you mean the NightWing capital? That, too, is no more I'm afraid." The hybrid looked around. The swamps were eerie enough without monsters plaguing them. "I'm sure you know the way to the isles. I will follow you to keep watch and continue my assignment. As for tribal laws... I wouldn't know anything about the NightWings'. Perhaps the King would. After all, one couldn't rule three tribes without learning the ways of the other two." Tulvir was certain the NightWing had been joking, but he decided to say something just in case. After all, he certainly didn't seem aware of the dangers of wandering around alone. "I'm Tulvir, by the way."

Malaki listened to Tulvir and his words, but as it went on the night wings demeanor changed. A blank expression now existed where a friendly toothy smile had been only moments before. His glowing eyes once full of awe at the hero had lost a great deal of its life.

It was wet now with moisture but no tears came. Malaki had fought the tears back out of shame of having another from a different tribe see him cry. 'This guardian would think me weak', Malaki thought to himself. To assist in hiding his wet eyes he slid the tinted goggles back over them.

"Offer me a choice?" Malaki replied with only the tiniest tone of irritation. "What choice do I have? I stay, I die, I'm no warrior." Standing upright Malaki moved his tail to pull it between his legs and started to fidget with the end of it in his fore claws. His mother was always telling him not to do that. It was unbecoming to act like a nervous hatchling.

But at the moment he was very much nervous and started to pace in the swamp water. "I don't understand", Malaki said lowly as he was lost in thought. "I did not see", he muttered. Malaki stopped pacing with his back to the guardian and looked off into the mist and swayed a bit left and right. After a moment the swaying stopped and the night wing let out a sigh. "Tulvir is it?" Malaki asked his voice seeming more cheerful but forced.

Turning back around to face the guardian with his tail still in claw he added, "Thank you for saving my life. I am Malaki, its short for malachite. Funny right? A night wing with a earth wing name." The night wing forced a smile just as he forced the cheer in his voice. "I will go to the Ebonwing Isles right away, as in right now. The tip of my tail always tingles when danger is nearby and right now my tail is going crazy".

It was a lie of course. But a funny lie that always earned him quite a few looks in the past. This Guardian seemed the serious sort though. Malaki did not think Tulvir would crack a smile at the tingling tail thing. But he did not wait around long enough to really see. He did see a vision of danger nearby a few moments ago. Letting go of his tail Malaki spread his wings and beat them, the force of the air causing ripples to cross the surface of the swamp water.

Feeling enough force and speed the night wing rose off the ground and took to the blackness of the star filled sky.

Upon seeing how the NightWing tucked his tail between his legs, Tulvir didn't have the heart to tell him that he actually didn't have a choice in whether he would stay or go to the Isles.

The hybrid didn't say much of Malaki's joke. He didn't really believe that names could be unique to a species. So what if his name was short for mineral and minerals are associated with the earth, and thus would be considered a name that an EarthWing would have? But Tulvir supposed Malaki was just trying to lighten the mood. He could tell the smaller Dragon was nervous.

The NightWing made another joke, this time regarding his tail. Again the Guardian didn't seem amused or displeased. A tail that tingled when danger was near. It didn't sound all that farfetched. Tulvir had once known a Dragon who could tell you whether it would rain that day based on how many of his scales he shed.

Once Malaki took to the air, the Guardian looked around. Smelling no creatures nearby, he took flight himself. The moon still offered enough light for the NightWing to be visible as he flew. The stars, too, made it easier. But Tulvir was focused on the ground. He needed to keep an eye out for Rogues and lost Tribals.

The night wing only flapped his wings on occasion to adjust himself in riding the air currents like one would ride a ocean one. For the moment he had found some respite. Up here high above the world he could almost forget all the worlds problems. To forget about the monsters, his lost home and friends, and of course his mother whom he hoped had fled the isles as well.

It was a thought that caused his chest to tighten. Even more so now that he surrounded by the darkness of the night with none other then Tulvir, the stars, and the moon in her pale glory to keep him company. "Mother always believed in you", he grumbled up at the stars and moon.

Malaki did not believe as fervently as his mother did in Astralogy, but that never stopped her from dragging him along to religious gatherings and raising him up in it. His mind was in a dark place now and his voice practically dripped with venom as he spoke while looking at the moon "Where were you when she needed you? You turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the suffering of the world. If you are real it is clear it is not in you we will find salvation, but in ourselves."

Malaki was silent as he rode the air currents and listened to the wind rushing by for any sign. "As always you are silent." With that he pulled out a talisman with a silver chain his mother had given him before leaving for the border colonies. Her words still strong in his memory. 'You may not believe, but I do. May it protect you'.

He could see they were flying over the ocean now and without hesitation he let the talisman drop from his talons to disappear into the darkness below. It would be something he would come to regret doing not long after as it was his only connection to his mother. The shark isles could be seen now and Malaki started dropping his elevation to land on one of the limestone coastal bluffs.

The night wing had to pull out a map to make sure he was heading in the right direction. No sooner then he did Malaki went into a trance like state and dropped the map. He stood up on his hind legs and started to sway left and right as he did in the swamp and stared off into the distance. He was like a day dreamer staring off into space and nothing but touch would bring him out of it.

He stood in the aftermath of a battlefield. Tattered banners fluttering in the breeze among the bodies of countless dragons with cawing black ravens feeding on the dead. Then he was standing in a autumn like forest with its leaves painted in various colors all falling as if dying, then he stood in a shadow of trees in some clearing with many shadowed figures all surrounding another figure standing on a elevated rock. "Child of Night, what is your name?" The shadowed figure spoke.

"My name....." Malaki said lowly as he swayed and stared off into the distance of the sea. "This is not real, Its only a vision, it has not happened, it is not real". Normally it was enough to tell himself this and bring him out of the dream like state but it was not the case this time. His voice became more urgent and desperate. "Its not real, its not real."

(Is his vision referencing my post in the Call to Arms topic?)

Tulvir saw no Dragons as he scanned the ground. He did spot a few monsters, however. A number of them were considered dragon killers. He felt it best at that point to cease his search til morning. He caught up with Malaki, who had landed for some reason. Something seemed off about him as Tulvir neared. He was standing on his hind legs, swaying, and repeating a phrase frantically. "Malaki? Is something wrong?"

OCC Yes, the talking dragon part anyway asking his name. All the other things are just random with no planned future meaning. Been holding off from posting in call to arms until others post. Should I reply now?

ICC

There were so many nonsensical things he saw. A lonesome tree sitting on a small island with water as still and clear as glass. A solar and lunar eclipse. There was a faint voice that he heard and clung to. Like a life line for a sailor gone overboard and lost to the vast ocean in a storm, he gripped onto it and returned to reality with a gasp of air.

Malaki was confused and darted his head to look around like a sleepwalker being woken up. "I'm fine." He said blankly and devoid of emotion. "I'm just tired, we all are not as tough as you guardians." Picking back up the map from off the ground the night wing turned to point at a spot on shark island. "It looks like there is a fresh water spring here. I would like to rest and continue in the morning but its your call."

(Okay. Just ask me next time before you do that. And yes, you can post. You're actually the only one who needs to post. There's no real posting order.)


Tulvir was relieved when Malaki finally seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in. "Good." The Fire-IceWing gave a chuckle at the NightWing's remark. "We're not always tough. If you would like to rest, go ahead. I will be going on. I must report back to His Majesty soon or he'll think I've met my match in these monsters. I will return to escort you in the morning." With that, Tulvir II returned to the sky and flew in the direction of the Ebonwing Isles.

Malaki was a bit taken back at the guardians chuckle. So far Tulvir had seemed the typical sort for those who were guardians. Always serious, and lacking emotion. Not that the night wing held that against him. All the guardians he met in the past among his tribe always shared that same thing. The way he figured it, all of that must be because of there training. Emotion was probably not a thing encouraged in guardians, no matter the tribe.

He was indeed tired though and Malaki laid down and crossed his fore claws before resting his chin on the ground. "That sounds like a plan", he said sleepily, his brain not quite registering it all. "I'm not going anywhere....", Malaki trailed off. He was asleep rather quickly and slept a dreamless sleep.