[$] The Dragon (Knux33 <3)

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

General plot:
A great dragon had taken hold of a elvin city for many years, knocking the king from his throne and pushing the people from their home, the elves are ever a Nobel race and have since moved on but still tell the story of the city they lost due to their own greed an misfortune. The king, who still sits upon the throne in his new home with much less splendor, has since had a son that he care for greatly but had blinded him with tales of the great city and the kingdom that once stood. He has told him only of the greatness of the halls and walls, of what had once been, and very little of the beast that still resides inside the bowels. Of course this means what better a thing for a foolish prince to do then run off to reclaim the home his father lost? The home the elves do not really want?

The kingdom that lay within the forest is nothing more than a bad memory of what the elves had done wrong, where they had let petty greed overcome them, they do not want the kingdom back the prince is a young fool and he will do as he see fit. The many perils in the forest are nothing compared to what lay inside the gnarled roots of the once great kingdom, the dragon no longer choosing to sleep as the prince dive into his territory and disturbs his slumber.

Name: Aerion

Age: 347

Personality: Smart and cunning but overly confident at times. Tends to think he can win the world when he can't and does not know his own limits. Has a generally kind nature but can also be hard and uncaring if he does not care for the person hi is speaking with.

Brief Bio: He is the Elvin prince so his life has not been overly hard. He was trained his whole life to fight so he is a skilled warrior and tactician but he craves the ability to rule. He believe that the throne has made his father's mind sick from being on it for too long.

Race: Elf

Picture:Aerion

Human Appearance
Name: Balrak
Scale Color: Green
Age: Older than most dirt, probably
Species: Dragon (aka, a flaming, winged wyrm with a hothead)
History: Hatched in the frigged mountainous of the North, this drake went by no name for many decades; as is the tradition for most drakes until they've grown large and smart enough to bestow a name upon themselves. As he managed to survive year by year, greater knowledge slowly trickled into his reptilian skull and the green wyrm pronounced himself Balrak the Great. It was this name he laughed out to the skies as he rained down fire and hell upon the once-great elven kingdom when the noble race was still young. Centuries have passed since his great triumph, the name of the city and whispers of its fortune faded into legend … that is, for all but the long-lived elves and the most stupid of treasure hunters. Though slowly the arrival of intruders and thieves dwindled as tales of riches shifted to warnings of death and doom for all who entered his forest. Bored, sluggish with a stomach of meat that got to rest atop a pile of white elven gold, Balrak eventually fell into a long nearly-unbroken slumber for nearly an age. And during all that time .. he only grew larger.
Personality: As is common for his kind, this dragon is greedy, prideful, and slothful. Balrak is a vain creature who loves no one, save himself. Dragons have little need for the company of their own kind, but Balrak does enjoy 'playing with his food', especially cunning and well-spoken food. Very possessive; beware if you even think of taking a single tarnish coin from his 'well earned' collection, for he will fry you. And if not you, every settlement within a dragon's flight away. He does enjoy his things, and is always willing to expand his collection ... and in his dreams of death and flame, he wants but one thing more: someone to bedazzle with his greatness; one to sing songs to him of himself. Perhaps a being just as golden as his nest; pity he'd already scared all the elves away ...  

[knux33]

The forest surrounding the abandoned city was wild, overgrown, dim, and above all ... deathly silent. If one was far enough away from the city, you would find birds, deer, and the occasional marauding warg pack. Orcs, for sure, and goblins if you looked hard enough. But in the very heart of the woods ... there was silence and stillness benefiting of a grave. Human and dwarf traders steered clear of the woods with good reason; it was full of rotten evil things that love the shadows casting long from the deeper darkness that was the abandoned elvish city. They told no tales of it's riches, nor splendor; just of the quiet death that was certain to await any who dared entered the wood.

Nowadays, that death was more likely from orc arrows or warg fangs than dragon; the long-forgotten dragon, who's fire's ashes were gone: turned into overgrown woodlands that had sprouted up and encroached upon the city's quiet ruins. Those ruins of half-crumbled walls and buildings, most of the inside decor long-since turned to dust, except for a few well-made items here-and-there. But any item with sparkle or gleam of metal or jewel-like wealth would be nowhere to be found, except for below.

Below the city, down below a roof of treeroots there lies the ruler of this city populated only by ghosts and sad memories. Balrak dreamed pleasing dark dreams in the silence his presence caused, body immersed in his hoard. White jewels that shined with magic-made lights sprinkled his dark den with little lights akin to fallen stars, making his golden coins and ornaments twinkle. LArge mirrors made of silver reflected the light, and confused where walls began and hoard piles ended in the darkness. But Balrak knew where every item was placed, and the exact size of his lair. Felt the air from ever open staircase from the ruins above, and knew the wet scent of the wider river exit down below, letting out a river that flowed down to a waterfall from the city's hill. The underground river had once been a means of secure water during times of siege, but now it was Balrak's grand exit; most other passages too small for a being as great as he.

His dreams, however, were interrupted. Mind half-waking, Balrak heard the flutter and chirp of birds. Birds. How dare they; he was sleeping. Now what, praytell, was foolish enough to come close enough to stir the older crows into flight; the black birds instinctually knowing the sight of prey heading towards predator when they saw it. Or perhaps these birds were clever, and had passed on the tail of fire and burned nests when the dragon was awaken, and were making ready to leave post-haste?

So many possible answers to the riddle, I'll just have to wait and see what's coming myself. The great green wyrm did not leave his bed, but instead half-opened one of his eyes. Coins and one golden cup clattered as he shifted for the first time in centuries, his yellow eye casting it's own bright light into the gloom. The yellow beamed spotlight glanced around his treasure piles with pride, before the lid slowly closed once more, nostrils snorting a small puff or steamed breath. If there is a thief, they will come to me; they always do. All I have to do is wait, and they will come to gaze upon my treasure. Then, my magnificence. Then, my innards. I wonder, I wonder what morsel has lost its way today.  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

Foolish was never a general word for elves, not one that was associated with them, but it seemed that it was the only word that Aerion had been hearing on his adventures. Sure it was accompanied by many others, often just as insulting, but to hear so many people call him something so… ill intended. He was not foolish, he was no fool, he knew very well what he was doing and where he was going . He was a well enough fighter and could defend himself against any of the bests that now haunted the woods, in fact he had already defeated many a enemy on his way to the forest. Though many seemed to forget that the paths between the Elvin kingdom of Minhard'ril and the old kingdom was fraught with dangers.

Aerion cared not about the branches that pulled at the deep green cloak he had to cover his blond hair, only those of his father's line had the blond hair in their kingdom, but the beast were a eventful challenge that excited him. Spiders were easy to deal with, there many legs making far to much noise not to be caught by his sharp hearing, the goblins where nothing but a toys and when he grew bored he often found a few to trick into traps he set but the orcs… the orcs were smart. They were fun to toy with but on many occasions had fought well against him… of course they had never won. They would not win, there was no chance, because Aerion was the prince of his kingdom and had trained to many years to be taken out by the likes of an orc.

When Aerion made it to the kingdom, not nearing the large underbelly, and he was surprised to see it still wholly intact. He had expected to see ruins mostly, the place having been left years before his birth, but instead he found spiraling towers and gold filigree. White gold embellished the walls and it seemed as if whatever battle had been fought had been fought to preserve the buildings. It was almost disconcerting to think that the people, his people, had stood up and just left instead of fighting for their home. Dwarves had done more to keep theirs and they were just half men, strong but not near what elves were, it made Aerion angry and more determined to defeat whatever beast it was that laid in the belly of this place.

Of course for all Aerion knew the beast could have died long ago, amongst the treasures it had stolen, but then again Aerion didn't even care about the treasures. He has never taken pleasure in gold, in glitter, he preferred a blade in his hand and the glory of a battle of the extravagance of a garden then the glittering gold his father and others seemed to enjoy at times. Whether it be white as snow or yellow and shining, dug up from the dwarves or pulled from the very sky it seemed, Aerion never cared much for it.

Aerion began a decent, slow and steady, after finding a simple way into the largest area of the kingdom. He headed down, and down, and down some more to the roots of what seemed to be the very world. He was silent as he could be as he headed down, barely a breath leaving him as he tried not to breath the stale air, he could hear the tapping of a bird just outside and he stilled, eyes following the moss that was encroaching over the entire stair way, he stayed still for a moment but did not draw his bow before he continued his path. He was not even sure what he would see when he descended into the depths but as he rounded a gnarled root he was met with a large open room filled to the very brim with glittering gold and jewels, even the very pillars seemed to shine the ugly yellow color, and he could see now how such a place could attract a beast possessed by greed.

This was not to say that Aerion faulted the dragon, it was how the creatures were born, instead he faulted his people and his father for this strange possession they had come up with. He found no appeal in, perhaps because he did not grow up with it, but he still descended the steps to see if anything lurked in the depths. As he stared though, the gold shining, he began to wonder if maybe he had been to fool he had been told he was. He had made it here alright but should he bring this back into possession of his family? If he was to find the dragon slain already, it's bones the only thing among the gold, would it be wise to bring what had brought them to ruin back. The kingdom maybe, heal the forest and return it to it's splendor, but the gold? Aerion had honestly hoped that all the riches would have been gone. He stepped onto a platform, bow in hand, and stared down at the pile of gold.

What was even the use of all this gold if one was only to horde it away? Aerion pushed his hood back, green eyes taking in the full sights, he could see no Dragon so maybe the beast had died? His father had told him it was still alive, that Dragons never died just like elves, that they horded their gold because they had no reason for material things to be bought with it and the cool metal was pleasant to sleep under for hundreds of years, but when melted stayed at just right temperature to keep their eggs incubated, Aerion was sure it was just his father trying to rationalize why dragons did what they did.  

[knux33]

The long-dead air stirred with life that had not entered his lair in more than several centuries; fresh with a new but familiar scent. Nostrils flaring once more Balrak disturbed the silence of his treasure chamber, coins flying and scattering as he snorted.

"Elf," he breathed, maw opening as his whispered word echoed throughout the deep cavernous space. Oh, how long had it been since he'd last scented an elf here in their once-great city? A long, long time. And this smell ... Familiar, but unfamiliar. Balrak slowly came fully awake, the tip of his tail curling as he stretched beneath his pile of gold. His tail, of course, was a very, very long way from his head. The smell ... ah, now he remembered. What a grand memory it was; the very king of the Elves, crowned and golden haired glaring at him from far below. But not quite the same smell ... but close enough to be ...

"It's been so long since I've had royal company," Balrak drawled, glowing yellow eyes half-lidded as he stilled in his nest and turned his gaze towards where he smelled the intruder to be. Elves were known for their arrows, and the dragon did not fancy the pain of having little sharpened twigs stabbed into his soft eyes, so the half-lidded look let the little elf know just how unimpressive he was, along with making it easy to quickly blink should any shots come his way. "Not much can be said of a royal line that's lost it's Kingdom. Have you come to pay your respects to the one who now rules in these woods? Or have you come as all others have, son of the dethroned King; as a thief?"

Male and female elves smelled quite similar, and looked hardly different to the cold reptilian eyes. But after having eaten quite a few elves fried and raw, Balrak liked to think himself something of an expert when it came to their smells, and their blood. Ah, and what a rare aroma this heartbeat drummed out: royal blood. So similar to the last royal hint he'd sniffed in his rampage that it could only be directly tied in family lines. All of this was not knowledge, but simple deduction from what clues and scents the elf brought with him, but it was more than enough for Balrak to connect the dots into a readable picture.

"Ah, but little royals do not leave home all by their lonesome; not unless they don't want to get in trouble," the great wyrm snickered, laughter bouncing off of the walls as he slowly began unearthing some of his great bulk from his rich bed. His great maw grinned, revealing the off-white fangs curved like scimitars lined up and ready to rend flesh. "Too bad for you, little royal. Looks like you found trouble yourself."

Balrak did not want to roast or rend this new arrival, however. He had slept a long, long time. Feeling well-rested, and quite ... hungry, the massive monster nevertheless was too old to bite fist and ask questions later. Because if one was alone, what good was empty questions? No, no, no. He wanted to play with this morsel a while ... a long while. Awakened, Balrak was done with sleeping. He wanted speech to fill the dead silence that had reigned for so long, and what better creature to speak with than an elf? A royal at that; sure to have a decent amount of intelligence and information ... and an appealing look as well.  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

Aerion was standing still, debating with himself on what he was going to do, when just as he decided the dragon huffed and sent gold scattering along the pile. The beast shifted, muttered, shifted some more and Aerion realized he had made a horrible mistake by coming to the kingdom alone. A fool he was indeed, he should have taken the offer of his closest friend to come along or at the very least have not gone, either way it seemed that it was all for not. He had no time to truly think about what he had planned to do, his intention to just leaved the ruined goods and head back to his home with a lie on his tongue to set his people at ease, the dragons eyes opened only half lidded and Aerion did not even bother to draw his bow toward the creature.

He tried not to let fear hit him as the other mentioned his royal blood, his hackles raising at the thoughts, but he had a feeling the other knew from his long ago battle with his father. It was rumor that Dragons had a great sense of smell, that they could sniff out gold from hundreds of miles away, so he was not overly surprised by the information the other seemed to know. Aerion took a step back, then another, but he knew not to run as the dragon rose from his place of slumber and caused a great racket to rise up from the gold that littered the ground. The other mocked him though, said he was looking for trouble, and though he was Aerion did not need to be told by a DRAGON what he had been searching for.

"Maybe what I came looking for was the trouble you speak of." The words left him before he could stop them and he wanted to curse his tongue because he knew better then to speak so roughly right now. Aerion watched the dragon rise only his head from the gold of his bed and he dropped his bow where he stood. He was no fool enough to think he could fight the beast with it, not like this, there was no way he would win this battle and not die himself. Aerion stepped over his bow, clear into the sight of the beast, and looked around at the gold that shimmered. "In truth I had hoped that all this would be gone… that nothing but the structure would be left. I do not care for what you lay in… but I care about the kingdom… and the forest that was tainted." Aerion looked around some more and his nose scrunched up slightly, green eyes sharp "Unfortunately I believe I cannot blame you entirely for what has been done to the forest…"

Aerion crossed his arms, unable to do much more. He wouldn’t run because that would mean certain death, he was sure he was dead already, either way he was not escaping alive because he was just one elf in the layer of a massive beast. A lair that glittered sickening gold and tinkled like broken glass in a pitcher… Aerion hated it. He would hate to be stuck in a place like this for more than mere hours, he would rather be out with the spiders.  

[knux33]

Killer_Kiwi_XD

Behind his great curved horns that framed his reptilian face, the dragon's small and almost unnoticeable frill shifted slightly upward, and his head tilted in such a way to almost seem as if the great beast was raising a brow in amusement at the elf's last reply. Unlike most reptiles, dragons were quite expressive when not completely set on destroying everything in sight. And also unlike small, puny reptiles ... dragons were quite warm-blooded. Balrak felt his own body rising in temperature as his metabolism shifted from hibernation and back into an active state, warmth growing in the jewel-lit darkness. His twin yellow eyes shined down on the blond-haired elf, pleased at the unique shade of gold presented to him. It was unique, rare, and unlike any had had in his current collection; good thing the prince was wise enough not to draw arms. Balrak had rather not liked the thought of having to go through all the effort of chasing down and eating the elf when conversation was a much preferred game to play.

With breath that smelled hot and arid, the dragon chuckled before breathing in more of the pretty little thing before himself. Aerion had the smell of different blood lingering on him, blood that--to a dragon--stank loudly enough of its origins. "Orcs, goblins, and other things that love the shadows do tend to inhabit holes closer to darker, more dangerous things. And what is darker than Death and Calamity such as I?"

A rhetorical question, though the dragon was still quite amused the elf would assume taint was not his doing. Of course his great presence affected the world around him, even as he slept. What else was great and grand enough to do such a thing to what had once been a pure unsullied Elven woodland? Balrak could think of nothing as imposing and dark as himself; let alone greater. The massive wyrm took in the sight of the elf hungrily; not just the gold ... but the eyes were also an attractive green; almost a worthy complement to his own scale color. Green and gold; yes, Balrak did feel a familiar hunger fill him at such a fortuitous combination. A hunger of possession.

"Now ... not caring for gold, that is a line I've heard before. Tell me, elf, what is the name of such a rare creature as to not want wealth that once belonged to their own line? What prince does not want greater wealth for his own people?" Balrak lowered his head, staring closer at Aerion, but still far above the other's eye level ... and height, for that matter. The dragon's yellow orbs were cut neatly by pitch-black pupils; eyes some would say were dangerous to gaze upon directly.

Legends long left to mold would tell of an ancient lizard that was wingless, but had eyes so great and charming that it could have men, dwarves, and even elves walk smiling right into his waiting maw, or fog their minds with his charming eyes and silver tongue. This drake's blood was what fathered many of the first true dragons, leaving his legacy in what old dusty ghosts would call a 'dragon's charm'. And the charm, of course, was all in the eyes; orbs of illuminating light and deep, endless dark pupils for the unweary to fall right into, if unwise enough to look too long.

"Tell me," Balrak repeated in a whisper that warmly rumbled through the cavern, his tail sneakily curving around behind the elf, to cut off any hope of escape.  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

Aerion was startled still by the pure size of the great beast, the way his very voice made the gold around him shiver, it was not so much the creature himself but the way his chest rumbled. Aerion found it fantastic and terrifying as the other shifted around and the fact that he was not yet dead was purely a coincidence of magic or the dragons will. Aerion felt his heart sink a bit when the other asked of his name, of who he was, just after saying that darkness would follow a beast as large and deadly as him. Aerion would not doubt that, never, but he felt the forest was ill with greed long before the dragon decided to settle in and only the elves careful care had kept it alive for the time that it had stayed as such.

Yellow eyes shifted down and stared at him, as if the other was trying to stay eye level with him, and Aerion though it wise not to look into the yellow depths that were so close and distracting. He had heard whispers, barely there on the wind in his home, of elves having been drawn in to be devoured by dragon in a war far off and he knew that he should cast his gaze elsewhere. Aerion tilted his head slightly to the side, some of the few bobbles he had in his hair showing, they were what he wore instead of the crown his father wanted for him and they were made from a fine thin wood wound with wire.

The shone quicksilver where they were, hidden in the lengths and wrapped around pieces to keeps his hair from his face without being too notice, and then Aerion heard the others rumble as he contemplated refusing. "You are more likely to get answers from someone if you say a simple please." It was arrogant, damn his tongue was going to get him killed faster, but it was not something that Aerion could rightly control. Aerion cleared his throat a bit, trying not to seem to much like he was worried, then he bowed.

His blond hair slid from the cloak to reveal the full length and as custom he gave his name "My name is Aerion, first son to Sand'ril." Aerion stood straight and looked around the gold around them again. "And I find no interest because I was never born in this kingdom, it was never mine to have, and I have never been fond of gold. It is a weak metal, gems are to small to craft into anything useful, treasure does not hold grandeur for me like everyone else." Aerion shifted on his feet, a hand coming up to pull at his abnormally long hair, he was one of very few who wore it past their shoulders. His father had often said it was like someone had taken the golden sun and just spun it down into silken strands for his hair and that it would be to much of a shame to cut it.

Aerion didn't agree with that much, his hair was slightly lighter than that, but he did not want to upset his father. Aerion heard the tapping of a bird and looked up, glaring a bit at the sound, because he did not know why the bird felt the need to act as such. If it angered the dragon it could get him killed and while he knew he wasn't leaving alive he would like to live a bit longer.

((Aerions thought process "s**t shouldnt have said that... quick say something else! Don't ******** it up!"))  

[knux33]

Killer_Kiwi_XD

Eyes narrowing into bright burning slits, Balrak flattened his frill and smiled with a few too many of his fangs showing to be truly a friendly look of any sort. The little elf was not entirely uneducated in the ways of dragons, but was making quite the poor show. Neither flattering or riddling, not being particularly interesting at all. If not for the prince's colors, blood, and fair looks, Balrak would've eaten Aerion by now. Not to mention the fact the dragon himself did not want to admit; company was not so unpleasant a thing when the elf was not making any move upon the treasure lying at fair feet.

"You come into my domain, son of Sand'ril, and speak of 'please's? Clearly I robbed your kind not only of their wealth and great city, but of their manners as well," Balrak huffed, breath a bit too hot to be pleasant in this exhale. But no searing dragonfire came from the large wyrm, the elf showing just enough politeness in bowing and such for Balrak to let it slide. He did pause at the tapping as well, neck arching and turning his large head upwards towards the rooted cieling high above.

Beneath Balrak's jaw and along his neck's underside coins and smaller gems lined his once-softer bits with visible layers upon layers of plating made of the wealth he'd slept upon, lining the area in between large scales. His neck expanded as Balrak took a deep breath, the piled hoard shifting as he completely filled his massive lungs, opened his cavernous mouth, and roared. The sound shook the cavern, small bits of loose dirt falling from the roots above and the noise startling any nearby birds into flight ... along with echoing far enough to cause any living things within a several-mile radius to pause in terror, and wonder. The deep bellowing noise was the call of something, something big ... though not all could name what it was just by hearing, all knew it was nothing good.

Sure he'd gotten rid of any annoyances, Balrak finished his call of triumphant return before glancing back down towards where he'd left Aerion with one spotlighting eye. "Aerion. Hmph; and young enough to have no titles other than 'first son of Sand'ril?' What a green bud you are. I am Forestfire, Elf-Feasted, Sand'ril's Bane," Balrak listed easily, the entire hoard shifting as he lifted himself further free of his golden bed, revealing a pair of massive wing that were also arms; akin to a bat. Eyes glowing and maw grinning, he went on. "I am the Great Woe to the Wise, I am the Emerald Spring that brings Death, I am King of the Roots of the Earth. And you? Nothing more than the son of a King without a Kingdom." A smug air was nearly thick enough to drip off of Balrak's words, never one to forget just how much greater he was than every other creature in existence.  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

Aerion watched the other shift, the comment the other made rolling off his skin, because he knew of those things but he did not care for them much. He was careful to cover his ears as he saw the other raise his head and breath in, knowing what was to come, and then suddenly a loud roar shook the cavern and even Aerion down to the core. Gold shifted and shook before it settled again and the dragon with it. The blond elf watched him carefully his green eyes looking over the scales jammed with gems and golds, before Aerion just chuckled a little at the others words. The titles were impressive, but he found them for not, because he could call himself many things and he would still never reach the dragons grandeur.

"I have many other titles great dragon, Forestfire, but I am sure none of them would reach your grandeur. Perhaps it would be more fun if you were to guess them? You know of elves, of my father, so I am sure with all your knowledge you can guess my titles with ease." Aerion carefully removed his cloak and set it to the side so that he could stand before the other unobstructed. The easiest on would be the most obvious 'Aerion sunborn' his father had started that one. He was also known as the fleetest of foot in all the elvin kingdoms, his smaller size and lighter weight adding to that, he had almost been beat out by another elf but thankfully he was just a bit faster.

He was known for his songs, though that was a whispered one hardly anyone knew about and he doubted the dragon would know, he was called 'The songbird' by a few. He was never related to the dead kingdom though, because he had not been born when it was taken, so it mattered not to him. Now he guessed he could add 'Aerion the foolish' to his list. His titles were few, he admitted, but there was little one so young could do in a time of peace. So he was 'The Songbird', 'Aerion sunborn', 'Fleet Foot', and 'The fool' though many would debate the last one had been a title of his for many a year.

Aerion wondered which ones the great dragon would catch, and how many times he would relate him to the kingdom, he did not match the dragons grandeur but he had lived and easy life as a prince and had not decided to destroy kingdoms for riches. Had he done so he was sure that he would have titles of a destroyer as well but he quite liked the ones he had so it mattered not to him. As Aerion stared on though he couldn’t help but wonder if the gems in the others scales were hurting him… it would take time to shake it all out.  

[knux33]

Killer_Kiwi_XD

Balrak hummed lowly, moving his head to better inspect Aerion as the cloak was taken off and put to the side. Such a small elf, thin and limber even for such a species that was known for its grace and agility. With eyes that could weigh and measure the contents of his hoard of gold with just a glance to ensure everything was in it's place, the wyrm weighed and measured the elf with long golden hair ... and found a few answers to the riddle as to who exactly Aerion was.

"Son of the Sun, that's an obvious title," Balrak murmured. With golden hair long and uncut even on such a long journey to a forgotten kingdom, it had to be a prized possession ... if not necessarily by Aerion himself, who through words proclaimed to be a more practical type of elf. And it was only a possession of the royals, something high beyond most elves' reach in their endless lifetimes, like the sun. "Wind Runner. Idealistic Seeker of what was Lost. Foolish Tongue," the dragon chuckled, Aerion's little comments far from unnoticed.

Raising one claw to scratch at his underjaw a few coins fell off with metallic clanks to rest once more in the pile beneath the beast. The less smoothly-cut jewels did tend to be bothersome from time to time, sticking unpleasantly into his soft bits between his scales. Gold, of course, was the most preferred layering for such places, being a soft and light metal. And once it had melted a bit, would stick very well to an underbelly, acting as an extra layer of protection for any exposed bits without weighting one down too heavily. But as his hoard had gems as well ... it was rather too bothersome to sort the gold from the jewels.

"Hmmm ... And, Sand'ril's Regret," Balrak added. Surely a prince so far from home, alone, had no permission or blessing to go on his journey. What would a father think of a son who disappeared, never to return? Because the dragon wasn't about to ever let this new treasure leave his collection. Leading to one last title the dragon decided to bestow upon the lucky little prince himself. "Balrak's Gold. There; what do you think, Lost Adventurer? Orc Slayer; ha. Oh, I have a better title for that one: Cousin Killer." Orcs were vile, disgusting things without much taste to them besides rot, but deep within that rot down the lines of blackened blood the dragon could still scent the hint of Elf Blood. Most vile things of the earth were originally born from the pure, as the wyrm knew from tales hissed to him while he'd still been in his shell, tales all young were told. Orcs were one of his favorites: back to a time before time when elves were younger than mankind was now and the first evils were being created by the great evil, elves were taken captive and tortured into mating with all sorts of things ... a project that eventually gave birth to orcs, a race as poisoned as the elves liked to be pure. Balrak wondered if Aerion, too, had heard the tale, though the dragon would not be surprised if the elf had not. In the wyrm's experience, elves did like to pretend the were the Best Thing to ever happen to the earth; ha. Clearly he in all his glittering magnificence was the true heir of that title.  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

Aerion stood back and watched, waited, as the great large beast looked him over and began to guess. He was good, smart, clever but also far too cocky for his own good. It was a common thing among dragons so he had heard, they tend to believe that they are right about everything. Aerion croushed down as the other spoke, his arms resting on his elbows, and he just nodded in time with some of the words. "You truly are brilliant… but I think a better title would be Sand'rils Remorse. Though there are many hearts I am breaking by having come here." Aerion rocked back on his heels a bit, watching the dragon carefully, and then he sat down fully. "They actually called me Fleetfoot… I earned that title with a great deal of practice. Your missing one though I like cousin killer… I detest orcs."

Aerion whistled much like A bird then smiled "That's your hint. It's not an obvious one… but those who know me and know of me are fond to call me it." Aerion watched the other as he thought about the last one. He liked the scales, they were lovely, a different shade than what he had thought that they would be. He was imagining a black beast made from coal and nothing more, with eyes made of embers, or perhaps just bones picked clean by time and eroding away. It was interesting and fascinating and Aerion was finding himself distracted because it looked like the gold was melting on the others chest.

Aerion stood, going to the edge of the balcony, and looked closer. "Is that gold melting? You truly do produce that much heat? That's fantastic, I have never seen such a thing, I have heard of other dragon but none of them come close to producing enough heat to turn gold soft." Aerion felt the urge to touch the heated scales but he knew better than to play with that kind of fire, he would surely burn, Aerion looked up to the dragons large maw and gave a slightly unsure smile "Sorry was that to forward? It caught my interest… I do not know much about dragons and the largest one I have heard of was fool enough to take a dwarven kingdom and expect no retaliation. A tiny sad thing who called himself great but-" Aerion leaned back and looked along the others length and then back up to him. "Not near the grand size you are."

Aerion wasn't a fool, he knew to stroke the dragons ego, but at the same time he did not want to praise the other too directly. He didn't want to seem like he was trying to save his own life, he knew he was going to die sometime, but maybe he could learn something before he did. He had questions he wished he could ask, things he wanted to know about dragons, but he figured that he would just have to wait. If the dragon was not going to kill him now then maybe he would get to stay for a while and talk about some interesting things. But not Orcs, he didn't like orcs, and not for the reasons that most thought. Aerion didn't hate them in general, the ones that chose not to kill were not unpleasant to deal with, but it was those who attacked without reason.

The race was filled to the bleeding brim with those who wanted nothing more than to watch the world burn and Aerion hated it. He found it disgusting and cruel and so he attacked those he found doing wrong but he had found a few that were… kind. One that he had an experience with that his father should never know about… or the kingdom… maybe the dragon. Surely the other would find it interesting one day if he kept him alive.. someone known as the cousin killer sleeping with an Orc? A very interesting story.  

[knux33]

Killer_Kiwi_XD

Balrak turned his large head to better see the elf before him, watching the other move from standing all the way down to eventually siting, and pondered the 'hint', while remaining unsurprised at hearing an elf detested orcs; really, elves did love to detest many things. But onto the hint: a whistle of a bird, a bird. Very annoying little things, birds. And of course a title would not be an insult, who willingly called themselves Birdbrained? No, and elves did not fly, like so many poor, muddy, earth-bound species. So the only other trait worthy to be a grand title was the song aspect of birds, as the elf had demonstrated in is whistle. "Songbird," Balrak breathed, nodding to himself. Of course that was the answer; Aerion's voice was not unpleasant to the ear. In fact, it was quite nice, Balrak admitted to himself. Surely a voice that would be worth the hear, should Aerion be so inclined ... though if he was only know by this title by a few, it was likely the elf did not sing too often.

But of course, the great green dragon held his head a little higher at the complements, even if he hardly believed the elf prince was truthful in half of them. Balrak knew he was great, astonishing, and likely the grandest creature to ever fly above the earth, but sometimes the other little specks of life had trouble seeing that. Luckily, there seemed to have been quite enough genuine-sounding interest in the golden-haired prize for Balrak to humor Aerion. "Too forward? Oh no, little uninvited guest, not at all. I am a fire-breather; if my fire was not warm enough to soften the gold on my belly, it would be a very pitiful fire indeed for a great dragon such as I. Alas, I do not keep this temperature too often. Otherwise my riches would drip right off of me, wouldn't they? And wouldn't that be a foolish sight to behold, a dragon dripping his gold? No, no, I keep myself cooler than that, so it may harden and stick fast."

Balrak chuckled at this talk of dwarfen treasure, shaking his large head. "Stupid and stubborn as stones, that race is. Why bother with them when elves are so much ... easier?" he said, gesturing by opening his wings out wide to the horde all around him, the membrane of the wings a deep, shining green like thick leaves. "Dwarves never give anything up; Elves are far more persuadable when faced with widespread death and destruction. Dwarves, what do they care of such things, when they have their family honor, and 'entitlement' to what was theirs? Pah. At times, that race is even more foolish than man," Balrak dismissed them, closing his wings and sending a breeze stirring all the old air of the vast underground.

"As for other dragons ..." the old one growled, lips peeling back and eyes glowing an even more fiery yellow, "of course they are no where near as grand as I. I who watched young races grow old, and new races spring from mountain roots and riverbanks. I who fought any foolish gaudy drake who dared opposed me, only to rend them down to oblivion. I who have taken the greatest city the elves ever knew, and ever will know! I who make even the darkest shadows quake in fear of my wrath! I who am hell on earth, and a fear to those in hell!" The temperature had taken a noticeable spike upwards, the dark cavern feeling as warm as a summer day as the dragon seemed near-enraged at even the mention of another, lesser dragon. Deep down in this dark lair, he was the only dragon. Here, he was the Great One, not a Greatest of the Greats. And Balrak very much liked it that way; being One. Singular.

Well, no wonder dragons weren't ruling the earth right now in fiery glory: they truly were a species too full of egocentric instincts that it was a miracle a few of them even managed to breed from Age to Age.

Slowly cooling down after his outburst, the dragon shifted a bit. He pulled himself completely free of his gold, circling a few moments as he properly moved his body and eyed his hoard to ensure all as in its proper piles. Then Balrak looked towards the elf once more, letting out a smoky huff. "After so long asleep, my stomach is feeling quite ... empty," the massive dragon stated, letting the elf ponder all the cons of that single word before moving on. "While eating you will hardly solve that problem, it would make me feel better. Unlesssss," Balrak grinned, "you prove you are not just a holder of titles, young prince. Tell me ... between the fall of this city to now, what has changed in the world? Or, better yet, simply describe to me the world as it is now. We can go through the history of it all later ... should your answer prove satisfactory."  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

Aerion sat on the balcony now, watching the dragon carefully, he wasn't expecting the angry outburst from the other though. Fist he was speaking of dwarves and elves then he was almost breathing fire at the thought of dragons. It was different, a strange reaction, but then again it wasn’t too much of a surprise. The jump in heat though, that was a surprise, but it felt nice in the cold and dreary place they were currently residing in. Aerion tilted his head to the side a little as the other calmed himself down, as if he had seen the outburst as mildly distasteful, but then the dragon was standing fully and looking down at his gold as if someone could have come in and moved it without him known.

Balrak was suddenly speaking of being hungry, of eating him, and to be honest Aerion had no idea why the other had not already. He felt no threat it it, he had already come to terms with that when he saw the beastly head rise from the gold, so the threats were nothing but promises yet unkept. Aerion ran his palms along his legs as he thought on the others question, his heart beating only slightly faster, before he could answer. "It depends on what you wish to know. Most of the dwarves have lost their kingdoms, the riches tainting their minds, and have moved on to new land. All the elves are leaving in the forests though quite a few are starting to sail away. The humans have spread to touch every corner, they breed fast and move faster, and now there hobbits as well." Aerion kicked his legs.

"Hobbits are little men, smaller than dwarves, well little people and they are peaceful. They live in burrows in the hills, they don't think anything on riches, they live about the same length as men. They are good folk, love to sing songs and such, they drink a lot." Aerion kicked his legs a bit. "The orcs are spread out, some of them have chosen peaceful lives, and the goblins stay to their mountains. The races are starting to mix… Halflings are being born all over these lands. Less elves are being born these days, my kingdom is the only one that still has regular births, and the forests have grown quite." Aerion tried to think of something to say.

"There are not any villages near here if your looking to eat, they find this place to cursed, there are goblin and orc camps as well as spiders but those are distasteful." Aerion shrugged a bit because there was not much about the lands he could tell the other without specifics. He was sure that the other would care about the peace that been going on or the unsteady ground that it was on, how the elves and the humans were starting to fight and the humans were saying that their race needed to be in control. He guessed he could mention it but that would be more history than anything else…  

[knux33]

Killer_Kiwi_XD

Fascinating; the grubby little creatures living in dirty huts known as men have come to cover the continent? It wasn't surprising elves would give up and sail away, but stubborn dwarves as well? Huh. What strange times Balrak felt he'd woken to. "Hobbits?" the hoarder asked, listening closely to the description given. They sounded like a little rabbity race, for sure: living a short burrowy life until old age or a hawk swooped down to eat them. Peaceful orcs? Not as farfetched; for the dragon had seen elves in love with fight and fire; why not let there be orcs who take after the kinder side of their ancestry? Not that was another sight the dragon would love to see. The world had changed, and some old races did not like change; but to one such as the dragon, it all sounded quite fascinating. If only he were a young drake again, free to travel without fear of some wandering thief stumbling upon his gold.

But those days were behind him now ... even so, Aerion sat there and said all that were near were small shadows. It was a slight disappointment to know there would be no nearby food to feast on, but at the same time a whole village would likely be too much trouble for too little meat. No, Balrak wanted a true feast for himself, full of fat and skin and bone and thick meat ... and he knew where to find that. The dragon gave a thoughtful hum, the noise echoing almost musically off of the far root walls. "I will return shortly. Judging from your behavior I'd say you know better than to do anything ... foolish, again. But just in case you are under the mistaken impression you're free to leave once I've gone ... you're not. Once you stepped foot into my kingdom you became mine, first son of Sand'ril. You are my possession. And should I return to find you or anything else ... misplaced, or having stolen yourself away, I will find you. I will catch you. And all around you when I do will be reduced to ash and death."

It was with those parting words the dragon turned and made his way further back into the dark depths of his cavernous home, 'walking' as a bat would, wings and legs moving seamlessly. When he came to the river the dragon slipped into the deep water like a crocodile, easily letting the current help him along until it opened into the wide mouth of the exiting waterfall. With an explosion water droplets, steam, and wings Balrak took off into the clear blue skies, opening his maw and roaring out into the fresh new day. The sensation of flight and the feeling of the sun on his gleaming dark-jade scales got the massive wyrm feeling like a newly hatched drake again. Though thoughts of his home and hoard did not leave, it was easy to climb high into the clouds and turn towards the sea, where a rising instinct and his nose told him the best chance at a full meal for him was waiting.

Balrag glided lazily along, glancing down from time to time as he watched the tiny world go by. He let his nostrils flair and take in scents both known and unknown, while holding back chuckles at the thought of what the tiny being below must make of his magnificence. The great green dragon Balrag risen out of forgotten lore and legend, spread his wings to terrorize the world with his presence once more. But no; the dragon was not too obvious yet: he flew high enough to let the little bugs lie to themselves and pretend he was some bird or eagle. Eagle ... Ha! They would learn soon enough, whenever the fancy tickled him for some fire and death.

No, for now, he let himself slide to the coast, though Aerion had been right; the country stank of mankind above all else. Balrak pondered this change in the world while slowly turning to circle a specific patch of sea, waiting and watching the large shadows below the waves. Instinct had not failed him; these fish would surely do to fill his great stomach. The green dragon folded his wings and slipped into a dive, eyes set upon the long, slick backs and bursts of water that blew of from the sea like great sneeze. Balrak slambed his entire weight claws-first onto one of these massive backs, opening his mouth and breathing the fire he'd risen to the surface of his chest just to melt the singular breathing hole this meal seemed to have. Once that was done Balrak pushed off of the very same burned-and-bleeding back, using the screaming and dying whale-like beast as a launching pad before flapping and circling.

The great dragon was patient as he waited for the leviathan to suffocate, it's airhole now melted and burned beyond survival. He licked his fangs, turned his yellow eyes to distant fishing ships, and wondered what mankind would make of his presence. Such small things, men were. Likely they would tremble with fear as a dragon's very existence, because the race still seemed to make so much of their lives out of very-flammable wood. The curious desire to burn a few ships rose up in the wyrm, still feeling very eager to dish out fire and woe so soon after his awakening, but the leviathan died quickly. And right now food was more pleasurable than mayhem. Balrak flew down and grabbed the whale's soft, fleshy body with his clawed feet, and heaved and flapped until he had carried the dead thing to the shore. Once there, he began his feast, and continued feasting for the better part of the remaining day.

Sweet blubber and fatty tissue filled his stomach, though Balrak pondered whether or not he was up for seconds. Laying on the sand and gnawing on one long rib-bone, the dragon closed his third eyelid and pondered a few hours before standing, shaking himself off, and taking flight back to his rooted kingdom. Bestial needs satisfied, Balrak was now very eager to see what had become of his little elf in his absence. How foolish, truly, was the Fool Who Sought Dead Kingdoms? Well, he would soon see. Wings stretched wide, Balrak slowly spiraled down to the ghostly elven kingdom in the dead of night, landing outside instead of going straight back to his hoard. He wanted to admire this other 'treasure' that was his, the tall spiraling constructs and gilded decor that pleased his eyes.

"Well, Aerion," he said as he strolled down the largest pathway in the deserted city, voice sure to carry nearly everywhere and yellow eyes piercing the nightly shroud of darkness, "come out."  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

When Balrak stood and told him that he was going to leave Aerion saw that as opportunity, a chance to leave, but only for a few meaningless seconds. He knew better, he may have snuck around his father but the man would not kill an entire kingdom if he left, but that didn't mean he would stay in one place either. He planned to see the kingdom while Balrak was gone, it was large and interesting, and seeing as the other would most likely make a day of finding his meal than Aerion would make a day of his exploration. Aerion listened to the threat, not wanting to tell the other he was not that foolish, and almost ran away just to spite the beast for taking him as an idiot. Instead Aerion watched the other leave before he took off into the kingdom at a run. He would not sit idle while the other was gone, that was for sure, and if anything he had heard of some of the grand gardens.

Maybe if he was trapped he could do what his people did best and bring them back to life, it would not be too hard, he could clear the taint from there because the spiders did not venture into the kingdom. Aerion had just reached outside into the fresh air when he heard the screeching roar of Balrak and he looked up for a brief moment before continuing his adventure. While Balrak was searching for food, looking to eat a levithan, Aerion was searching the kingdom to see what he could find. To his wonder he found the gardens over grown but BRIGHT and he was more than happy with that. There were flowers that just refused to die and had vined themselves into a willow tree and up the walls.

Aerion was glad that gardens found a way to survive the darkness but even then… maybe they had been kept that way somehow. Some of the greatest things to elves were their gardens and their forests, they preferred them over anything, which was why they built their homes so fully into nature as they did. Aerion spent hours clearing out a path and plucking flowers, scaring away an animal or two that was trying to creep in, before he decided to run off somewhere else. He found many things left behind in the kingdom, paintings and art as well as clothes and jewelry, it was almost eerie as he walked the halls and found whole homes just abandoned without an damage to them.

The most disturbing part was finding the nursery, many children of elvish families stayed in places like this while they were young, there were toys sprawled all over but most disturbingly… a few of the cribs that were left were not empty. As if the parents had ran without thinking or those who were supposed to care for the children had been to worried with the gold to care. Aerion set some babies breath flowers in the not so empty cribs, wondering what these children would have grown into had they not been abandoned, before he left so as not to let the thoughts sink in.
He was not one for enjoying children, more often then not they irritated him, he had never been around elvish children per his fathers requests and the human children always stank of mud and muck. He was no fan of them but the painful deaths of starvation and dehydration that those children suffered was enough to make even his heart ache painfully. Aerion found a library some time after that, filled with dusty tomes and books, and he trotted in with a smile on his face. He loved books, he would love to read all the ones in the library, so the first thing he did was climb to the top shelves and grab a few that he would enjoy reading.

Though Aerion was not able to gather all the books he wanted before he heard a booming voice call for him. He left the library and started a straight path to the main hall, it took him a few minutes but he was able to reach the other, he held three dusty books in his arms and flower fell out of the plain satchel he had found. "There is a library, and a garden, and I went to the nursery. Did you know that caretakers just left children there to die? It's disgusting… I was taken care of by the nursery maid who was the head here… I can only imagine what she might have done to me had my mother not been present most of the time." Aerion held out the books. "I was not stealing these either, I will put them back where I found them, but reading is a good way to pass the time when one doesn’t sleep much… I tried to come fast when you called but I… got lost…" Aerion glared back at the halls as if they had shifted on him on purpose.

He seemed rather calm for a captive and for the moment he was because he was not letting it sink in. He was not letting the fact that he was trapped get into his head, he wasn't holding out hope but he was repressing it because if he did that then he would not panic. If he panicked he didn't know what he would do so he decided it was best not to panic.

((He's calm now... give him a bit and he won't be. He's repressing things like a bad a** right now so he's acting like everything is going to be fine but eventually it will all hit him and he'll just... well we know how that song and dance goes. Even more so for me. He may actually try to kill himself if Balrak won't do it XD))