Ollanius Pius
Saint of the Guard
"So is man's heart. The desire to perform a work which will endure, which will survive him, is the origin of his superiority over all other living creatures here below. It is this which has established his dominion, and this it is which justifies it, over all the world."
-Jules Verne
Dinosaur. The word comes from that of the Ancient Greeks, from the two words "deinos" (terrible) and "saurus" (lizard). And indeed, these creatures could be quite terrible; just looking upon the skeletons of the ancient thunder lizards could invoke wild fascinations of how they lived and what they ate. The Triceratops, with its mighty horns and tank-like body, could easily destroy a building if it wanted to, bulldozing into brick and mortar. The Velociraptor, though smaller than how the movies portray, could easily bring down many modern-day creatures in their packs, their claws flicking out to rip at the intestines. The Pterenadon, master of the skys, could easily swoop down and snatch prey, or spear smaller animals with its enormous beak. And need it be said about the imposing feature of the Tyrannosaurus Rex?
Yet...what if there was a realm where both man and Dinosaur co-existed?
In the realm of Archonia, away from the rest of the realms of the elves, the dwarves, and of the other fantastical elements, there exists such a place. A place where Homo Sapien and Dinosauria live together side-by-side in the mountainous ranges, the carved out river-valleys, and arid plains of the land. Man, an industrious race not given to be put off by the fragility when compared to that of the Thunder Lizards, had worked hard to build their place in this world, their higher brains enabling them to advance forward into the future of technology and architecture. Gleaming cities of marble and limestone stood out in the valleys, towers of stone on the mountains, and hundreds of hide yurts dotted throughout the plains as Man spread out far and wide.
Yet instead of hunting the Dinosaur to extinction...they instead bonded with these creatures. Like the wolf in another world, Man bonded with the Dinosaur in a union of co-dependence, each species benefiting the other in their union. Each species had their uses with Man; mounts, cargo carriers, companions, scouts, hunting partners, the list wore on. While not domesticated fully, it was not uncommon to see a man regarding an Iguanadon with the same amount of caution as he did respect...yet it was also not uncommon for a child to be seen walking alone with that of a Dilophosaurus, with complete trust in the creature when it could have easily ripped the poor thing to shreds...and it would not lay a tooth on the child, instead defending her and her family with the ferocity of a loyal hound.
And there existed one such bond between Man and Dinosaur that exemplified this trust; the bond between Titan, a hulking yet agile Allosaurus, and Pytheas, a young explorer and bonded human to Titan. It isn't wrong to say that these two had been close as kin since they were young. Pytheas had raised Titan since he was a hatchling, training him and feeding him in his parents Astrology Tower. He would go out with his scaly companion into the wilds outside, getting familiar to the outside world as much as possible. In Pytheas, there was a fire to explore the outside world, and to travel around Archonia, learn its lands and its passages, its languages and its peoples. He just had to! There was so much out there for him to see!
Yet even this society, like so many others, were not immune to the plague of war and conquest. More often than naught city-states in Archonia, be it over small politics or for conquests of new land and resources, or just because a Tyrannosaur accidentally ate a noble's son...the list goes on. And just as how duels between mighty carnivores and herbivores happened, there would always be the small scavengers awaiting to pick from the remains on the sidelines. Bandits, marauders, roving nomadic thieves with dinosaurs in their own herds and packs moved about the land, ready to prey on those who were unwary enough to stray into their territories...or weren't armed enough to frighten them off.
Which is why, despite little money he had on his own, Pytheas had armored himself and Titan up. Giving the dinosaur a barding of steel, a saddle made of cured Brontosaur leather, and an ankylosaur-like club on the tail, that alone cost a pretty penny for the young man, using what was left of his family treasury for this purchase. He had inherited his father's rifle and leather armor, along with the pendant of his mother containing a picture of the three, so that he may never forget them on his travels. Even at the age of twenty-five, he still felt too young to be inheriting the family tower.
Regardless...he had to make something of himself. He and Titan were essentially nobility, had a good amount of wealth still...yet they had no political affiliations. What could they do? Join the war between the clan Taurus and clan Leonhart? The pay would be nice...but he was certainly not a soldier! Quite the coward when it came to rank-and-file battle formations, and he did not fancy riding into battle against Tyrannosaurade armed with cannons and clubs. Take up bounty-hunting, perhaps? It would be pretty nice...maybe live life on the road, but what if he were to be killed in the night? Titan was still learning himself, and if the two were seperated...hmm. Then perhaps they could become caravan guards? That would be something for sure...maybe protect trade between city states and carry them out through the land? That could work...
"Whaddya say, boy? You want to apply to become a guard?" Pythelas asked in a cocky youthful voice, sounding suave yet intelligent
The Allosaurus let out a short roar in response, to which Pythelas laughed aloud as he patted the dino.
"Yeah, I know...but we gotta eat too! And besides, how else are we going to get you that big Diplodocus steak that you love so much? Hmm? Glazed with honey and wood-grilled..." Pythelas teased softly as he mounted Titan, only to almost be shaken off by a rough jerking of its body.
"Easy you big scaled bastard!" The rider called out as it finished, and he swore he saw the dino's mouth curve in a bit of a grin. Pythelas returned the knowing grin as he adjusted himself on the saddle, and drew out his sword like a hero of old "High-ho, Titan! To the nearest city!"
And the Allosaurus was bounding off, roaring loudly as he started running...only to halt and raise its head in the air. Pytheas yelped as he almost was thrown from said saddle, looking at the Ceratosaur with a raised eyebrow. He was about to open his mouth, until he saw the big dino sniffing the air and looking around with narrowed eyes.
"What is it, boy? You smell danger?" He asked, deciding to sheath the sword on his back and instead opt for the lever-action rifle he had there.
As if to confirm what Pytheas thought, Titan turned quickly and began to bound ahead once more, following the new scent with intrigue as he did so. The rider held on tight as he felt his jacket flap in the wind, eyes narrowing as he slid on his goggles to stop his eyes from watering. Titan didn't get this curious usually...it couldn't be bandits, that's for sure. Soldiers? A new dino he hadn't eaten? Maybe...something new!? Pytheas felt himself getting excited at the thought of it. His wild imagination ran with many thoughts as the sun shone upon them. Many things could happen in a field...many things indeed.
By the time Titan came to a stop, he found the source of his excitement; a being walking through the fields looking absolutely lost and confused. Pytheas tilted his head a bit as he looked on, his goggles zooming in briefly as he looked upon the being. Definitely humanoid, though the clothes certainly weren't from around these parts. Man or woman? He'd have to get a bit closer for certain. However...he saw that the being spotted them, and he gulped a little. Were they hostile? Friendly? Well...only one way to find out.
"Hail to you, traveler! You look lost! Are you-" He had started to say, only to realize how menacing they must have looked. He cleared his throat a little and spurred Titan to close its mouth a bit so all of his teeth didn't show, and look a bit less imposing "Oh don't worry about Titan, he won't bite! He's very friendly, once you get to know him!"
Pytheas reassured, attempting a friendly smile as Titan moved closer to the foreigner, tilting his head a bit as his golden reptilian eyes inspected this new element. He sniffed the air near the foreigner, stopping a good few yards away, enough for Pytheas to see the traveler in full view, leaning back in the saddle to speak.
"So...who might you be?"
-Jules Verne
Dinosaur. The word comes from that of the Ancient Greeks, from the two words "deinos" (terrible) and "saurus" (lizard). And indeed, these creatures could be quite terrible; just looking upon the skeletons of the ancient thunder lizards could invoke wild fascinations of how they lived and what they ate. The Triceratops, with its mighty horns and tank-like body, could easily destroy a building if it wanted to, bulldozing into brick and mortar. The Velociraptor, though smaller than how the movies portray, could easily bring down many modern-day creatures in their packs, their claws flicking out to rip at the intestines. The Pterenadon, master of the skys, could easily swoop down and snatch prey, or spear smaller animals with its enormous beak. And need it be said about the imposing feature of the Tyrannosaurus Rex?
Yet...what if there was a realm where both man and Dinosaur co-existed?
In the realm of Archonia, away from the rest of the realms of the elves, the dwarves, and of the other fantastical elements, there exists such a place. A place where Homo Sapien and Dinosauria live together side-by-side in the mountainous ranges, the carved out river-valleys, and arid plains of the land. Man, an industrious race not given to be put off by the fragility when compared to that of the Thunder Lizards, had worked hard to build their place in this world, their higher brains enabling them to advance forward into the future of technology and architecture. Gleaming cities of marble and limestone stood out in the valleys, towers of stone on the mountains, and hundreds of hide yurts dotted throughout the plains as Man spread out far and wide.
Yet instead of hunting the Dinosaur to extinction...they instead bonded with these creatures. Like the wolf in another world, Man bonded with the Dinosaur in a union of co-dependence, each species benefiting the other in their union. Each species had their uses with Man; mounts, cargo carriers, companions, scouts, hunting partners, the list wore on. While not domesticated fully, it was not uncommon to see a man regarding an Iguanadon with the same amount of caution as he did respect...yet it was also not uncommon for a child to be seen walking alone with that of a Dilophosaurus, with complete trust in the creature when it could have easily ripped the poor thing to shreds...and it would not lay a tooth on the child, instead defending her and her family with the ferocity of a loyal hound.
And there existed one such bond between Man and Dinosaur that exemplified this trust; the bond between Titan, a hulking yet agile Allosaurus, and Pytheas, a young explorer and bonded human to Titan. It isn't wrong to say that these two had been close as kin since they were young. Pytheas had raised Titan since he was a hatchling, training him and feeding him in his parents Astrology Tower. He would go out with his scaly companion into the wilds outside, getting familiar to the outside world as much as possible. In Pytheas, there was a fire to explore the outside world, and to travel around Archonia, learn its lands and its passages, its languages and its peoples. He just had to! There was so much out there for him to see!
Yet even this society, like so many others, were not immune to the plague of war and conquest. More often than naught city-states in Archonia, be it over small politics or for conquests of new land and resources, or just because a Tyrannosaur accidentally ate a noble's son...the list goes on. And just as how duels between mighty carnivores and herbivores happened, there would always be the small scavengers awaiting to pick from the remains on the sidelines. Bandits, marauders, roving nomadic thieves with dinosaurs in their own herds and packs moved about the land, ready to prey on those who were unwary enough to stray into their territories...or weren't armed enough to frighten them off.
Which is why, despite little money he had on his own, Pytheas had armored himself and Titan up. Giving the dinosaur a barding of steel, a saddle made of cured Brontosaur leather, and an ankylosaur-like club on the tail, that alone cost a pretty penny for the young man, using what was left of his family treasury for this purchase. He had inherited his father's rifle and leather armor, along with the pendant of his mother containing a picture of the three, so that he may never forget them on his travels. Even at the age of twenty-five, he still felt too young to be inheriting the family tower.
Regardless...he had to make something of himself. He and Titan were essentially nobility, had a good amount of wealth still...yet they had no political affiliations. What could they do? Join the war between the clan Taurus and clan Leonhart? The pay would be nice...but he was certainly not a soldier! Quite the coward when it came to rank-and-file battle formations, and he did not fancy riding into battle against Tyrannosaurade armed with cannons and clubs. Take up bounty-hunting, perhaps? It would be pretty nice...maybe live life on the road, but what if he were to be killed in the night? Titan was still learning himself, and if the two were seperated...hmm. Then perhaps they could become caravan guards? That would be something for sure...maybe protect trade between city states and carry them out through the land? That could work...
"Whaddya say, boy? You want to apply to become a guard?" Pythelas asked in a cocky youthful voice, sounding suave yet intelligent
The Allosaurus let out a short roar in response, to which Pythelas laughed aloud as he patted the dino.
"Yeah, I know...but we gotta eat too! And besides, how else are we going to get you that big Diplodocus steak that you love so much? Hmm? Glazed with honey and wood-grilled..." Pythelas teased softly as he mounted Titan, only to almost be shaken off by a rough jerking of its body.
"Easy you big scaled bastard!" The rider called out as it finished, and he swore he saw the dino's mouth curve in a bit of a grin. Pythelas returned the knowing grin as he adjusted himself on the saddle, and drew out his sword like a hero of old "High-ho, Titan! To the nearest city!"
And the Allosaurus was bounding off, roaring loudly as he started running...only to halt and raise its head in the air. Pytheas yelped as he almost was thrown from said saddle, looking at the Ceratosaur with a raised eyebrow. He was about to open his mouth, until he saw the big dino sniffing the air and looking around with narrowed eyes.
"What is it, boy? You smell danger?" He asked, deciding to sheath the sword on his back and instead opt for the lever-action rifle he had there.
As if to confirm what Pytheas thought, Titan turned quickly and began to bound ahead once more, following the new scent with intrigue as he did so. The rider held on tight as he felt his jacket flap in the wind, eyes narrowing as he slid on his goggles to stop his eyes from watering. Titan didn't get this curious usually...it couldn't be bandits, that's for sure. Soldiers? A new dino he hadn't eaten? Maybe...something new!? Pytheas felt himself getting excited at the thought of it. His wild imagination ran with many thoughts as the sun shone upon them. Many things could happen in a field...many things indeed.
By the time Titan came to a stop, he found the source of his excitement; a being walking through the fields looking absolutely lost and confused. Pytheas tilted his head a bit as he looked on, his goggles zooming in briefly as he looked upon the being. Definitely humanoid, though the clothes certainly weren't from around these parts. Man or woman? He'd have to get a bit closer for certain. However...he saw that the being spotted them, and he gulped a little. Were they hostile? Friendly? Well...only one way to find out.
"Hail to you, traveler! You look lost! Are you-" He had started to say, only to realize how menacing they must have looked. He cleared his throat a little and spurred Titan to close its mouth a bit so all of his teeth didn't show, and look a bit less imposing "Oh don't worry about Titan, he won't bite! He's very friendly, once you get to know him!"
Pytheas reassured, attempting a friendly smile as Titan moved closer to the foreigner, tilting his head a bit as his golden reptilian eyes inspected this new element. He sniffed the air near the foreigner, stopping a good few yards away, enough for Pytheas to see the traveler in full view, leaning back in the saddle to speak.
"So...who might you be?"
