The Book of Fiction

[SilverNova]

{A 1x1 roleplay between Lucinde and SilverNova}


To most of us the world is normal. It's plain and linear with no deviation from what we know to be reality. But somewhere out there exists a book that connects our plain world to another world. A world of magic, fantasy, and danger. This is the story of that book, the one who found it, and the dragon girl who lives within it.
​

 

[SilverNova]

No day at the beach could've been more ruined than this one. Rather than your picture perfect blue skies, shinning white sands, and luke warm waters, today was cast in grey. The clouds above only parted every once in awhile to let loose their reservoir of rain. Naturally nearly everyone sane was inside. For Logan, who had opted to stay at a old inn whilst he took time off of work, he felt cramped and annoyed at the current situation. He wasn't the only person to have booked a stay at Hotel Jayner. Not by a long shot.


So sitting in the lobby he found himself surround by reckless children and ignorant adults. The noise level of the place on a scale from 1-10 had to at least be a 11...and that was with headphones on. Finally fed up with his current situation, Logan stood up in a huff, making his way over to the receptionist's desk.


"Mam?," he asked the girl behind the counter, "You don't suppose that there would be any places left in this whole damned hotel where a man could find some peace and quiet do you?"


To Logan the girl at the desk seemed to be a total klutz for even as she turned to talk to him she knocked over an entire stack of papers, got her foot stuck on the computer cord (ultimately pulling it free and shutting off the computer in the process), and spilling a entire jar of pens across the floor. "Oh! Oh I'm sorry!" She stuttered, blushing as she looked into Logan's eyes. Laughing, Logan ran a hand through his short hair and leaned onto the counter, "So about that quiet place?". "Ah! Uhm of course!" The receptionist started to stand then thought better of it as she bumped against the oriental fish tank on the edge of her desk. Lowering her voice and putting a hand to the side of her mouth, she whispered to him, "There's a library in the back. No one's touched it in like a year, but it's pretty quiet and the novels in there are...captivating". Logan nodded and smiled back at the clumsy receptionist before making his way over to the back of the lobby.


He found the door labeled 'Library' in a dark corner of the last hallway leading away from the building's entrance, past the 'out of order' elevator and the smashed in 'broken' vending machine. Turning the handle, Logan found himself shrouded in further darkness. He took a few minutes to fumble around for the light before closing the library door. Just as he had hoped, the room appeared to be slightly soundproof, luckily keeping out the screams of the playful toddlers at the front of the inn.


Sighing contently now, the man walked over to one of the book shelves and began trailing his finger along the books' ancient spines. He stopped when his finger caught upon a particularly strange novel. It was a large book bound in black leather and had bizarre golden threads woven around it in an unrecognizable pattern. Logan grunted as he pulled it free then dusted it off. "Weird...It has no title..." He mumbled, taking a seat on one of the old luxurious couches in the room.


Then he opened it. The first few pages read: "In the mystical land of Atraria there lives many kinds of extraordinary creatures one could only dream about. From elves to unicorns, and even ferocious beasts, like dragons; each day is a new adventure. While there are so many stories to be told, one especially interesting one is about to take place". Suddenly, Logan realized that his body felt very heavy and sluggish. "A young dragonling named Tanis is in need of a young heroic individual to aid in her task". It was almost as if some sort of spell had been cast on him. "Will you be the one to see her through, or will you join the countless others who have dared try?". He attempted to move his hand away from the words on the page, where it had trailed along as he read, but found himself immobile. Yelling for help had no effect either as again he couldn't move. Logan then began to panic as the strange golden threads, that had once covered the book's binding, lifted up and began to wrap about his arms. In a flash of blinding light and fantastical magic it pulled him inside the pages of the story.


Logan landed with a thud in the middle of an enchanted forest. All around him the aura of life and magic flowed. The leaves shifted in unpredictable fashions, changing in colors from radiating green to sunny orange to lavishing turquoise then to some shade inbetween the three. The sounds of bird calls were eccentric and unlike any avian creature he had ever heard before. With ragged breaths, Logan clambered to his feet. "Where am I?!" He yelled, looking around him in vain for any sign of something 'normal' and relatable to the hotel. Above him he noticed the skies were a crystal clear blue. Well at least it wasn't grey and raining now.

 

[Lucinde]

Indeed, the leaves of the trees shifted its colors through a variety of shades, some hardly even seen before. There were large 4-winged birds that flew through the sky, purple in color with razor sharp talons. A tiny creature skittered by Logan's foot and made a chirping sound. It had an odd coloring to it: yellow with black markings around its eyes, tail and paws. It's big eyes, three of them, were a bright purple color. It then skittered away into the bushes.


The crystal blue skies above were pretty. Logan could see the sun clear as day, however it was joined by another ball of light in the sky. Where ever he was, this place had two suns. There was a distinct smell in the air: smoke and fire. It had come from behind Logan, beyond the forest he was in. Turning around, he could see billowing smoke rising above the trees.


There was a sudden rush of noises as the bushes rustled violently around. A gasp was heard and then a figure emerged from the bushes coming from where the smoke was coming from. Whoever it was, was moving fast and didn't see Logan standing there. They both collided and fell, rolling onto the grass.


With the bright light of the suns, the figures red and golden streaked hair seemed to glisten. So did the scales on their tail and wings. Tail and wings? That didn't look right on a person. Logan saw the figure in a blur of movement as they stood up and rushed away into the bushes. Not even once apologizing for knocking him over.


Behind the figure, a blood trail followed. On the spot in the grass where they fell, there was a small pool of it. The sound of screaming behind him seemed to get closer. It wasn't screaming like someone was in agony, more like cheering screaming. If one paid close attention, they could make out the words through the garbled noise: Praise....King.....Dragons....Victory

 

[SilverNova]

The man scuttled back in surprise as a extraordinarily peculiar looking person burst out from the shrubbery. Yet in spite of him backing away she still managed to ended up colliding head on with him. Logan pushed himself up and away from her, trying to apologize even though the impact was not actually his fault. However, it seemed as if this exotic young lady was not keen to hear his apology for as soon as she got back up on her feet she was gone. It looked to Logan like she was clearly concentrating on some other endeavor, one that was much too important to hear his amends.


Then he noticed the blood pooled along the ground and trailing after the bizarre woman. Instantly this set off alarms in Logan's head that cried out that this girl needed help and fast if she was bleeding that much. Recklessly, without thinking to much more about it, Logan started after her. It was only when he heard the excited roar of the mob behind him that he began to worry about what he had just gotten himself into. Faintly he could make out words from their garbled clamor. They were shouting something about Kings and dragons and victory? He had no idea what the hell was going on, but he did grasp that these people must've all been insane. Dragons didn't exist and Kings were all but nonexistent in today's day and age. It was no wonder the wounded woman was trying so desperately to get away from them.


Logan was, in most all aspects of life, fairly fit and healthy. Still, he found catching up to the girl to be amazingly strenuous. It was like this woman wasn't even human at the speed she was going. Then he caught a better glimpse of her. Before, when she had practically trampled him during their collision, it had been hard to make out her features. Although he had seen the wings and tail, Logan managed to convince himself it was just a trick of the mind, but now with the human - no, she wasn't human she was some other creature - just feet away it was undeniable what he saw. This woman with hair of red and gold looked to be something out of a fairy tale. The two suns above and the weird animal that skittered past him earlier only helped to cement this idea. Logan groaned silently to himself, either this whole day was just one really odd dream or magic actually existed. He preferred to assume that the former was the precise answer, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew better. This felt too real to be a mere illusion.


At last, when Logan had miraculously managed to reclaim the space that this 'dragon girl' had previously put between them, he yelled over to her, "Hey! Do you need help?...You seem to be bleeding quite a bit. Maybe I can be of assistance?" Whilst he talked Logan found himself tumbling over the various rocks and hindrances that transpired to be underfoot. Silently he cursed whatever god it was that had fun placing such obstacles and watching those who toppled over them.


Closer up to this unusual being than before, Logan could now make out just how her crimson scales flashed in the light and the twisted horns adorning her head. Her hair, soft and fine, just about matched the scales in color, with the exception of the aurous streaks intertwined throughout. Logan nearly choked out of awe once he could see her so clearly for the first time.


And though Logan didn't know it, the hollow feeling that had haunted him his entire life had faded since entering into the book. Since witnessing the dragon girl in all her splendor.

 

[Lucinde]

The girl was leaning against a tree clutching her sides. There was a distinct wound at her side, and her wings also looked torn up. She was panting hard as she heard Logan come running up behind her. In her free hand a fireball was formed as she turned around. Her amber colored eyes glaring his way, she looked like she meant business.


"Stay...back you human!" She raised her voice at him. Taking a staggering step forward as if to defend herself, she fell to one knee instead. She glanced up once more towards him, checking him out. He didn't have any armor, nor weapons to fight her with. He didn't look like the humans who attacked her village. But he was still a human, and still her enemy.


There was a slight gust of wind and fuzzy white creatures fluttered past. A few of them giggled as if they didn't have a care in the world. One floated towards Logan's face and started speaking in it's squeaky voice. "Silver leaves are what you seek. To heal the one in need." Another slight gust of wind came and they floated on away, giggling like crazy.


Upon further inspection, there was an odd looking tree that seemed out of place. It was all colored in silver, and blended in for being silver. One could only find it if they were really searching for it.

 

[SilverNova]

Astonishment lit up Logan's face as the unconventional girl spun around to face him, fireball in hand. He could definitely tell that she wasn't bluffing either as her gaze held him at a sort of gunpoint. A more rational man might have turned and walked away at this, but Logan was more aptly described as resilient. As such, he promptly went to the woman's side as he saw her fall to her knees.


Just as the man began to offer her his empty hands, both as a gesture to show her he meant no harm and also to help her back to her feet, wolly blob-like animals floated past his face. Logan pulled back to avoid getting smacked in the face by one such creature. Then stared open-mouthed at the rest of them. He honestly had no clue what was going on any more and to add to his confusion, which he had thought couldn't get any worse, one of the white furry blobs began talking to him! At first he believed it was speaking in some sort of new gibberish language that he wasn't familiar with. However, once the little beasts started to drift away he realized what they had said.


Peering about, Logan noted the pearly iridescence radiating off from one of the trees nearby. It was odd that he hadn't noticed it before, but then again it did seem to intermix and practically disappear to the naked eye when he wasn't concentrating on it. Glancing back down at the mysterious dragon girl he told her, "Don't worry, I can help".


He started towards the tree when he remembered the mob he had heard from earlier. They were quieter now, but he was going to have to hurry if he hoped to evade them for long. Once he used the leaves, assuming he could figure out how to use them, they would be able to get out of here.


Hastily Logan began his ascent. After slipping down the dusty beige trunk several times (as he never really had been the best of treeclimbers when he was younger), he at last managed to reach the spire of silvered leaves. Taking a handful, Logan yanked them free and scaled back down the tree, landing with a thud next to the wounded woman. He offered them up tentatively, unsure if this was actually the right leaves or if the white blobs had lied to him in any way. "I'm not quite sure how to use these. You see I'm not actually from around here...at all...So you'll have to excuse me when I say that you'll probably have to apply these yourself," he informed her. During the time that he waited for her response, Logan tried to recite the text from the book that had done this to him in his head. There had been something about a dragonling in the opening passage, but, looking back, Logan felt like all his experiences from the real world were blurred now. It was almost as if his genuine home was the fantasy world and this new world was what he perceived to be reality. Oh how fast everything was now changing!

 

[Lucinde]

She didn't hesitate as she took the silver leaves from his hands. She knew what they did and what to do with them. She gave him once cautious glance before applying the silver leaves, wincing a bit. It took only a few seconds before they started to glow. Logan watched as the leaves seemed to seal the wound and stop the bleeding.


"It's easy to tell you're not from around here." She looked over to Logan, seeing his weird clothes. Well, it wasn't too weird, but not seen around here. She still held up a cautious stance towards him, as if expecting this to be a trap. "Normally your kind would have killed me right here and there. No mercy."


It was true: for as long as she remembered, humans hunted her kind. Dragons used to be the most feared creatures in the land, and nowadays they were a laughing stock. Ever since the humans figured out how to kill them and use their bones and scales as armor and weapons. Her village had been the last one to stand for a couple of years, mainly because they tried to stay hidden. That was... until now.

 

[SilverNova]

When the dragonling made note of Logan's differing appearance, the man instantly looked down at his attire. He didn't find it all that strange. It consisted of a plain black tshirt, dark blue jeans, and the trekking shoes he'd used to traverse the beach which he had been on not twenty minutes prior. His hair was short and similar in fashion to a militarized buzz cut, if one didn't include his subdued goatee. All in all Logan's appearance wasn't anything too out of the norm for the humans on Earth, but this wasn't Earth. He understood that now and was willing to accept that he probably did appear of out place here. Though the dragon girl had mentioned that there were other humans in this world too. So he figured they couldn't be too big a contrast from how he looked.


Sitting down next to the girl, Logan watched with piqued interest as her wound finished welding shut from the mystical properties of the silvered leaves. "Well," he finally spoke back up, "I guess I'm not like the others of my kind. Honestly I can't even see why they are after you in the first place. So what you're a little strange compared to them. That's no reason to go about killing now is it?" He shifted slightly closer towards her, almost protectively, before continuing. "Anyways, we should get going. I doubt it'll take that mob too much longer before they stumble upon us."


Just on cue, the nerve racking uproar that could only mean a mass of people hungry for the hunt rose into the air. They were much much closer than before and Logan doubted it would take them any more than two minutes till they surrounded the dragon girl and the lost car designer. Logan shivered, not from the cold, but from the thought of hundreds of people descending upon them demanding their blood be spilled. He wasn't accustomed to that thought, especially considering how he had been raised in wealth and comfort.


Glancing back at the woman by his side, Logan caught the look that flashed in her eyes. She was clearly uncomfortable with his presence and, if he had read her facial expression correctly, she was acting cautious of him like he was one of those killers. He understood why she might feel that way about him and given the situation would probably feel the same if he was in her spot, but it still stung to see such distrust. Logan sighed dejectedly, then slipped a hand into his back pocket, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. Silently he scribbled on it the words "Fortiter in re, suaviter in modo", then handed her the paper and told her, " It means I am resolute in action, yet gentle in manner. It's a promise that I mean you no harm. If you accept my help and we flee together then I swear by my soul that nothing bad will happen to you from my hands". Trying to hurry along her decision, either to come with him or go her own way, Logan started to step away.

 

[Lucinde]

Her eyes looked over to where the sounds of the crowd was coming from and stood up. She looked back over at Logan who showed her the paper with the strange words on it. It was hard for her to believe that this human wasn't going to try to hurt her. She didn't say much until he started walking away. She didn't know what came over her.


"This way. You'll be spotted going that way." She said, turning west and heading out through the forest. She didn't know if he would follow, and she didn't care really. The army that was after her and destroyed her village would show him no mercy if they found out he had helped her. She was repaying a kindness he showed her by saving his life.


She weaved through the tree knowing exactly where to go to get to safety. Living around this area, but never straying too far, she knew the forest like the back of her claw. She reached the outside of the forest and came face to face with a mountainous view. To her right was the mountains, and to her left was wide open fields. It almost contrasted and yet it went well together.

 

[SilverNova]

Logan smiled when the girl stopped him from leaving, instead showing him the right path out of the strange forest and away from the bloodlusting mob. He hoped it was a sign that she was starting to trust him a little more. In response he readily trailed after her as she serpentined about the forest. She seemed to know the land amazingly well. So well in fact that next to her Logan felt like a klutz. He stumbled over the branches strewn across their path and nearly ran into trees that looked like they appeared out of nowhere. In the end though he managed to make it out of the ever changing woods with the dragonling. Luckily both fully intact too.


Emerging out from the mystic forest, Logan saw the rolling fields, majestic mountains, and foreign horizon and quickly his jaw dropped. Truly this other world was one of magnificence, but it obviously had its flaws too. As Logan remembered the godawful gash that was on the dragon girl's side. More than likely that had been the fault of the swarm of humans in the woods. If so, then the rift between humans and other creatures might be bigger than he had first thought when he had crash landed into the pages of this storybook and heard the mob's shouts reverberating throughout the canopy. Logan glanced over at his companion then. Perhaps she would know more about what had happened to him...Then again, he didn't even know this woman's name...and those people had been hunting her for some reason. Plus, despite Logan swearing to never cause her harm, it is not like she did the same. Maybe this girl wasn't the innocent he imagined her to be.


Seeing her gaze out at the fields below, Logan shook his head to rid it of such thoughts. Right now none of that mattered. They were still close to the forest and who knew what other dangers were lurking all around them. Still, it would be helpful to have the woman's name..."Hey," Logan asked while he began descending into the luscious valley below, "You don't think I could get your name by any chance do you?...As for myself, I'm Logan".

 

[Lucinde]

"My name is Tanis." She introduced. She looked around again and could spot the army going down the road in the distance. They were safe for now. With no where to go, Tanis no longer felt safe. Not comfortable going anywhere. Everywhere she would go, people would try to hurt her.


"You don't know the way of this world." She turned towards Logan. She took in a deep breath so she could start explaining. "I am a Dragon. Probably... the last of my kind now thanks to those Humans." She saw a dirt road and started walking on it. "We have been hunted for the past century. Pushed into hiding."


Her eyes looked sad but she held strong. "I don't know where you came from, but this world is dangerous if you're not careful."

 

[SilverNova]

Logan nodded at her, "Well sure. I mean I kind of assumed that this place was dangerous the moment that army started after me...or you I guess, since they don't even know about me yet". He moved to follow her down the dirt pathway she had found. His eyes were trained on her, curiously examining her dragon features. "So how do dragons work in this world then? I mean I've read quite a few fairy tales in my time, but the way I remember dragons is that they're large serpent-like quadrupeds. Now don't get me wrong, but I'm not really seeing all of that in you. You look more like a human with added on dragon aspects". He hesitated, unsure whether he had just offended her or not, then apologized, "Sorry if that offended you. I just mean you don't seem fully dragon is all".


Making his way farther down the hill, Logan noticed several strange animals below them. Curiously he wondered whether or not this land had cows cause he was starting to get hungry for a burger. He knew if he had eaten lunch like he was supposed to back at the hotel this could have been avoided, but too late to change the past. He'd have to ask Tanis what there meal options were around here soon and hopefully it wouldn't consist of the raw mutton fairytale dragons ate. He didn't think he'd be able to stomach that.


(Sorry for not replying sooner...I got distracted with schoolwork these last few weeks)

 

[Lucinde]

Down the hill were some strange looking cows. they had the body of a cow, but the features of a cat. There were several farmer like people milking them, and also collecting snot. The thought of them collecting it was disgusting. Logan could see a faint village past the farmers and strange cows, which resembled a peasant village one would see in medieval movies.


"You are right, most of my kind is what you described. Big beasts that could strike fear into the hearts of man. I too am a Dragon, but known as a Dragonling. Dragonlings are rare among Dragons, at least 5 in every village." She explained. "I may not be as strong as a real Dragon, but I can certainly hold my own."


(its okay)

 

[SilverNova]

He acknowledged Tanis, but then frowned. Looking out at this strange new world he felt amazed and yet slightly disturbed. Maybe he could fix the problems in this land if he tried. After all, he knew how to fix cars and how different could it be. Now that may seem like a silly comparison, but, like a automobile, all places need a engine or government to run the system and once you have that in place you can begin to control all the rest of the pieces. Perhaps that's just what he needed to do, get to know the government and get them to change their minds on the nature of dragons like Tanis. Somehow though he doubted it would be as easy as he was making it out in his head to be.


Noticing the cow-things and the farmers, Logan was tempted to go to them and ask if they knew a good place to get some food or if they could spare any food/steak themselves. That was before he got a better look at what they were and what the farmers were doing. Repulsed, he turned away and instead towards the village. He figured that army that had been after the dragonling probably had come from down there. It wouldn't be safe to visit the town so soon after they called off the hunt. Logan sighed, resolving himself to the fact that he'd have to stay hungry awhile longer.


While he walked, his boots tramped on the ground. The wind had picked up now that the two of them were no longer under the cover of the trees, leaving Logan with a feeling of soft serenity as the breeze hustled through his and Tanis's hair. However, the peace did not last long. As soon as they stepped off from the dirt pathway and onto a larger paved road meant for carriages and horse-like creatures a cart pulled by a creature resembling a winged zebra-goat hybrid came barreling around the corner. The driver, a stout little woman, saw the two of them just in time to swerve tightly and avoid the collision. Not even bothering to say amends, she sped away in the cart, hitting a bump in the road on her way out. "Hey!," Logan yelled after her, "You nearly hit us!" But it was too late. She was already gone.


Logan grunted in annoyance, "I wonder what she was in such a hurry for". Glancing at Tanis, he asked, "Are you okay?" Then looked farther down the road towards the bump that the cart had rolled over. It looked like it was some animal, probably dead one too from what had just happened. Logan trotted over to it and kneeled down. He could make out a long slender body, fur that was black with neon green and blue stripes and dots, and short stubby legs with long silver claws at the ends. Clearly this was yet another one of Atraria's native beasts, but it still stood out compared to even the weird cows and Tanis. It didn't look friendly either. Those claws certainly weren't meant for soft and cuddly hugging and playtimes. Standing back up, Logan was about to walk back when he heard the furball squeak pitifully. So it was still alive. He couldn't just leave it there to die. Taking caution, Logan picked up the wounded animal into his arms and walked over to show the dragonling. "Do you know what animal this is? Looks strange. If it's safe enough though we might be able to save it right?"