Prologue
Paarthunax flew over the dark western skies, troubled. One of his recent delves into the minds of mortals left him with more questions to their nature than answers. It was a trivial matter, sure, but Paarthunax hated being stumped. Recently, he found one of his servants weeping. Recently she had gained a lot of mass in her stomach, but now it was all gone. When he asked her why, she told him that she had a baby, but it died before it was born. He then asked her what it meant to her. His kind, the Dovah, did not breed, they were immortals and thus did not have to, much less were able to. The servant explained to him what having a baby was like, or at least what it was supposed to be like. She explained that raising a child should be the most fulfilling part of any mortal's life, aside from serving their overlords of course.
Yet again Paarthunax did not understand, how could such an interaction be held akin to interactions with the Dov? So he asked again why she wept. Clearing her throat, the servant explained that the way that the healer took out her stillborn child left her unable to make another. She could never have a child, never raise one and watch it grow into the magnificent being she knew it could be. Paarthunax could not even comprehend this feeling of loss, how it would affect the servant, so he left. As he flew away, he began to wonder on what she had told him. Now he found himself in need of a stress reliever, and a heathen village was not far away.
He landed in the center of the small gathering of buildings, there were maybe four or five houses. Paarthunax decided on destroying all of it. He crashed his tail through one of the buildings and burned the family as they tried to flee the wreckage. Now the heathens knew he was there, they would either attempt to flee or attempt to fight. They were dead either way. Paarthunax set the remaining houses alight as the residents fled. He pounced on one unlucky fellow and tore him in half. Paarthunax set his sights on a trio of mer running from the village. With a quick dash, he was in front of them and he set them all alight.
It was then that he noticed the fires raging in the village began to go out. Investigating this anomaly led Paarthunax to a lone hooded figure, throwing a chilled wind at the fires smothering them in ice and snow. Golden eyes examined the Dovah as the hooded figure turned and lightning crackled in his fingertips. He shot a bolt of lightning at Paarthunax. The tingling sensation barely even slowed the rampaging Dovah down as it walked towards the man who stood against it. Paarthunax laughed as it shouted something in its native tongue, then another figure shot out behind the first, racing through the darkness.
Paarthunax scowled as he shouted an inferno at the hooded man who replied with a barrier of magic. The barrier shattered just before Paarthunax's shout ended and the hooded man was slightly burned, but he stood his ground. Paarthunax dashed towards him and bit into his arm, crippling it, but got another shock of lightning running through his mouth. The man jumped back, holding his injured arm. The remaining fires had spread and set rest of the houses alight by now. The man muttered something as he collapsed to the ground. Paarthunax approached the body and shouted fire at it, to ensure the mage's passing, then he searched for the other one.
The Dovah flew into the air, scouring the ground for signs of life. He saw it, a mass of heat fleeing through some trees. He flew over, making it seem like he was leaving, then circled back. He found her in a clearing, just big enough for him to land. She was terrified and Atmoran, holding an axe in one hand and a bundle clutched to her chest in the other. As Paarthunax approached, she threw the axe at him, nicking one of his horns. He growled as he drew closer. A growl, that always seemed to terrify the mortals into stillness. The woman collapsed to the ground, holding the bundle tighter as Paarthunax drew in. Fear lined her face before Paarthunax bit off her head.
The body slumped, dropping the bundle. It was then that Paarthunax heard the crying. Looking around he saw no one else, yet the crying persisted. Annoyed Paarthunax drew on his ability to see life as it moved. There was a deer far off, but they did not make those sounds. He looked down and saw the glow of life coming from the bundle. He moved some of the cloth that covered it and found what appeared to be a small, bald mortal. He had never seen one this small. It opened its eyes, seeing the bloody Dovah for the first time and laughed, reaching out and touching its snout. Paarthunax leaned down and closed his jaws around it.
Paarthunax landed outside of the servants' quarters and knocked against the stone with his tail. A man ran out of the hut, startled to find a baby, wrapped in cloth in front of him. He was even more startled when he noticed the silhouette of a dragon flying away as the sun rose in the sky.
And we're back. Howdy folks, sorry for the wait. This story will also be undergoing maintenance, but Fanboy and the Companions will have it's first new chapter next Monday and will be updated weekly. This will be updated Thursdays or Fridays, I'm still deciding which.
If you've read the other story, not Fanboy, then I'm sure you know who this is about. If not, then read the other story. You know what? Read the other story again anyway.