Fantasy The Great Dragon Plague (Teh Stenwelf n' Teh Dergon ;3)

[DergTheDergon]

Neyr'Aya's dreams that night were unpleasant. In fact, one would be more accurate to refer to them as nightmares, recollections of past pain and dark premonitions of future pain. Pain of loss, of sorrow, of despair. A pain only the majestic green dragon lying in fitful slumber here deep in the woods had ever felt. The pain of knowing that all of one's kin had been turned into bloodthirsty monsters, and that the only hope for them was to be... disposed of.

Such dreams came with her current goal, unfortunately. Along with a very helpful, though much smaller companion of one of the many humanoid races currently being decimated by Neyr'Aya's kind, she hoped to find and destroy all the other dragons causing havoc. Said companion was currently lying near the slumbering, beautiful lizard, hopefully having a better time of sleeping. If allowed, Neyr'Aya would've liked to sleep next to her, however the last time she had tried that Neyr'Aya ended up accidentally hitting the woman with her tail in her sleep and causing a (thankfully minor) injury. So, she contented herself with knowing she was nearby. One couldn't blame her for desiring physical closeness, however: this woman was the only person she had left, that hadn't gone mad anyway.

Thankfully, morning finally graced the piar with its presence as they camped out in the forest. To prevent any possible disturbances in the night, Neyr had blocked off a wide circle around their camp with thick, strong, close-growing vines that upon waking she began to dispel, the roots slowly sinking back into the ground and returning the natural balance of the surrounding forest.

Neyr yawned a loud yawn, stretching out her massive body while ensuring that she didn't accidentally hit her companion with any part of herself. That had also happened before, embarrassingly.

"If you are awake, let us leave posthaste. You've supplies for a while, yes? Food, water? If it rains we shall stop and you can simply use one of my wings for a tent again." Neyr liked the rain, as her fellow dragon hunter would most certainly know by now. It was soothing, and was about the only way for her to bathe without disrupting the ecosystem of lakes and such.

Once her companion had confirmed that she was ready, or they had stocked up on what she needed, Nerya sat down and allowed the woman to climb her back for the day's journey as was routine for the two by now.

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

Valoire was the least likely person to be a dragon slayer, and it was clearly noted. She was a small thing being all of 5’ 4” and underweight due to a fast metabolism. As a child and even into her adulthood she was easily frightened, a bit squeamish, and less threatening than a newborn kitten. If the plague hadn’t taken over then her and her beautiful dragon, Neyr'Aya, would’ve been overseeing a large farm. Herding cattle and cultivating crops, most definitely not on the front lines of the military. But… seeing as that military was now reduced to nothing but insane dragon and their humans turned half-dragon thrall along with any creature their flame touched… it wasn’t looking all that good.

Her and Neyr were resting before departing again, having left their home deep within a guarded forest to hunt yet another lost reptile. It was sad, really. Affecting both of them dearly, but if this were to ever end… they were to be eradicated. And if not by them, one of the few remaining sane, bonded, dragon-human pairs. Then who would?

She was sleeping nearby as her dragon awoke, she stretching similarly to a cat upon waking. Val too was soon roused, standing reluctantly with a sigh before glancing upwards, dark clouds on the horizon. “It does seem that rain is a possibility.. Although we are surely extremely close to the draemon’s lair… if you fly fast we could make it ahead of the storm.” Dreamon is the name they had given to the infected as the last of the clean dragons were prone to getting offended when they were lumped into the same category as the mindless beasts.

Soon she would climb onto Neyr’s back, sitting in the crevasse of the base of her neck as she would haul her massive body off of the ground and take flight. Although, seeing as the two were mentally connected, it was clear something was troubling her. “Did… you dream again?” She asked gently, knowing this wasn’t the first time this had come up, especially recently.

DergTheDergon

 

[DergTheDergon]

Watching over the sleeping Val, Neyr regarded the woman with a nod and a gentle look in her eyes as she woke. Valorie would have noticed by now that every time since they had left their home, Neyr was hovering over her like this as she woke. Some mornings, the mornings after she had those awful nightmares, in particular, she was more worried for her human companion, hovering closer. In all honesty, she was afraid that Valorie would just not wake up one morning, despite her ability to feel the woman's life force and it always being stable while she slept. She was disappointed in herself due to this paranoia, as she felt that her long lifespan of several hundred years would've given her the insight to see that such worries were only harmful and, beyond that, entirely illogical. However, considering that, for all intents and purposes, all of her kin were gone now, Valorie was all she had left.

Thier bond, of Dragon and Rider, a sacred bond as old as time, was the only bond of its kind left intact now as well. The pair's dreams of a peaceful farm life, cultivating the fruits of nature and living comfortably, were stripped away. In all likelihood, they'd either die at the hands of on of the dragons they were hunting, or they would spend thier entire lives fighting them due to the sheer amount of dragons plaguing the lands. This outlook was dire, but so far, the pair had kept their resolve strong. What had kept Neyr going, in particular, was the dream of someday finally being able to settle down and live that peaceful life she dreamed of alongside Val, even for just one day.

Listening to Val's plan with her neck craned downwards to speak with the short woman face to face, Neyr then nodded. "True, though it comes with its risks. Once again you remind me of the urgency of this matter however, so, climb on and hold on tightly." Neyr was a very cautious and careful sort, especially when it came to Valorie's health and safety, to a fault at times. She was clearly very worried about her safety, and the reason why seemed to become evident to Valorie as she readied herself for departure.

Neyr was silent for a moment as Valorie asked the question she knew was coming before the dragon hesitantly spoke up again, her tone soft, a hint of shame seeping through it. "Yes... astute as always, Val. Fret not, feeling your presence upon my back pushes the thoughts of nightmares away. So worry not for me. I am fine."

Without so much as waiting for an answer from Valorie, Neyr then took off with a mighty flap of her wings, her leaf-like tail helping to propel her through the loose canopy of this forest. Neyr wished that the draemon they were hunting was somewhere in that forest, at the same time relieved that he had taken up a lair in a part of the world essentially devoid of plant life. She was happy for the ecosystem being spared his destruction, however having such life nearby would certainly make it easier to fight him.

Neyr barreled on through the skies, full speed ahead. "You know the drill by now," she said just loud enough for her rider to hear over the wind. What she was referring to, as Valorie would be aware, was that once she sensed the presence of a draemon she would land nearby, somewhere that the draemon likely would not be able to see them yet, adn then they would advance towards him on foot, only taking to the skies as necessary once the fight began. This was in order to get the drop on him. If Valorie felt that such tactics were uneeded this time, however, all she needed do was speak up and Neyr would consider her wisdom.

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

Valoire was smart enough to let the dreams topic drop, seeing as it wouldn't do any good to distract Neyr before a fight. However she did offer a couple reassuring strokes to the side of her massive neck instead. A gesture that she did rather often.

After awhile and she finally spoke up about their normal routine, she would sigh and nod. "Of course...' She responded with quietly, trying to push the grim realization that they were going to be slaying yet another former dragon. This wasn't their first hunt, nor was it anywhere close to that number as they had been doing this for a long while yet. However, each time, it still wasn't an easy thing to overcome. Ever so slowly the dragon population was falling, and sooner or later she feared that Nyers would be the final sane one to remain... and if it kept up, she would join her as the last of the few free humans as well.

They soon landed, Valoire sliding off of her back as they would then move slowly in the direction of the beast's den. The stench of rotting and smoldering flesh and bone met their noses before he came into sight, leaving them to believe that it was a fire dragon. That being said, they had to be extremely careful to avoid it's flames or risk infection. Once he came into view, it was clear that this wasn't going to be simple. The draemon was huge, just a bit under double Nyer's size. He was busy feasting on a pile of rotting deer, human, and other various meats (that the origin was most likely better left unknown) while its infected half-dragon thralls were sitting beside it reduced to nothing but a feral state of mind akin to their master. Looking up at her companion, she awaited for her to make the first move, wondering how she wanted to approach this.

DergTheDergon

 

[DergTheDergon]

Neyr felt herself calming slightly as her faithful rider stroked her neck just the way she liked, the Dragon closing her large, emerald, draconic eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath to center herself. Remaining centered and calm was the key here, as they were going to be fighting a very dangerous opponent. If it was the Dragon Neyr remembered living in the area they were heading to, a rather large and powerful fire Dragon, it was just that much more imperative to keep her green, scaly head on straight.

As the pair rode on and the stench of burning corpses became quite prominent, Neyr spotted a secluded place to land among some scorched but still-standing trees. Swooping down slowly, discreetly, she then carefully planted her feet upon the ground, confident that the Dragon hadn't noticed them yet. Straining her keen Draconic eyes, she saw the Dragon burning the forest, and tears began to near-instantly down her scaly face before she willed herself to stop crying, shutting her eyes tightly for a short moment before opening them, a look of saddened, regretful determination replacing the pure sadness that was there merely a moment ago.

"Val... it's Magnus... this is what I feared." Her voice was pained as she whispered this. Val had met Magnus before the calamity began. He was the wisest and least violent of the fire dragons, so much so that he got along rather well with Neyr, despite the pair's elements being at odds. The two were great friends that had been such for centuries.

Without another word, Neyr surveyed the scene. "The thralls look as if my vines could retrain them easily. I will make them fireproof, though it will take a large amount of magic. with them restrained, I take flight again, and attack from above. I would rather you stay upon my back for safety, however I am aware you will likely not be able to do much damage to him from there. Thankfully, he is weak to my breath..." she paused, clearly afraid, knowing that Val would be aware that the susceptibility went both ways.... not only that, but if she was so much as touched by the flame.... she couldn't bring herself to think about it. Another boon to her favor was in place though, thankfully. Magnus was a lot slower-moving than she, due to his massive size.

"I will allow you to decide where best you would be positioned during this battle, but for myself flying above would certainly be advantageous." She turned and looked Val in the eyes with her massive emerald orbs, worry, determination and fear evident in them in equal measure. Neyr was rather emotional compared to most other dragons, that trait coming with being of Earth and so in touch with mother nature. The dead animals and charred vegetation littering this place only added to her current state of mind. However, Val would know that once in combat, Neyr was able to focus very well. The will to survive, as well as her goal of bringing peace back to the world, ensured great focus and persistence in battle, a state of mind that had ensured the felling of many Draemon thus far.

StoneWolf18