Disclaimer: Me not own anything. yet *crazy giggle*
~#~ Prologue ~#~ Seek No Exit
Colorful mists twisted itself in endless dance of Wild Time Stream. Green, yellow and blue mixed in vortex of light and darkness, and on them, almost lovingly, soared a pair of light pale wings. Young girl lazily followed the old path occasionally evading wild storms that, though were harmless to her, could still toss her in undesirable dimension and that would make this trip even longer than she already wanted.
These Wild Time Streams were similar to Time Streaming Chambers, the only deference was that Wild Time Stream could be opened anywhere, if one knew how. This worked perfectly for her for she wanted to enter Nosgoth unnoticed.
She worked her wings to the left evading so one of many storms. The move caused some of her raven black hair to fall on her face. She tossed her head back freeing her face and revealing her deep-forest green eyes with no pupils. They were as well underlined with two black curves at the beginning and the end. Those at the end of each eye were longer going down her cheek, while those at the beginning passed just below her eye. Her skin was pale as white light and soft as silk.
She narrowed her eyes intensively trying to find the right exit, and then suddenly she noticed something. Several wingspans from her colorful mists were curving into a black hole. She stopped and floated above the hole for a moment, before placing her hand on its surface, causing it to stir. Through this contact she could fell the energy of the world on the other side and easily find out which one was it.
Pulling her hand back she took a sigh. Why did you have to do this to me, Mother? It was the wrong one, again. How many did she try by now? 15? 20? She didn't know any more.
At least she could have leaved me a map. I mean, how hard could it be for her to mark a simple X on peace of paper or above the gate. Turning around she continued down the path soaring on winds of change.
She crossed her arms across her chest thinking. As the last of the Draiic'Run she had great obligation, one not easily fulfilled. One duty that meant burying many feelings her heart harbored. And in this case it meant burying deep down the revulsion she felt towards the land of Nosgoth. The land where the beginning of the Ancient Vampires meant the end of the Draiic'Run.
And the most ironical thing was that the poor vampires didn't even know of the existence of the race that stood in the way of their creator. Divine Queen Layla.
But she had no choice. The knowledge she required was there and she had to go there to get it. Again something caught her attention. There was another door right in front of her, and she went through the same procedure as with the last one.
"Finally!" It was about time to find them. "Now, let's open this thing." She placed her hands on the sides of the door. Mist vibrated slightly and strange runes appeared, covering the entire edge of the door. A puzzle lock.
"Let me see now. this one, this. ah. that one, first on the left. fifth on the right. move this here, that one there. blah, blah, blah. hey, what's this triangle doing here? Oh, yeah, now I remember. Ok, that should do it." Runes started to move around shuffling itself until a new word appeared. She stared at it for a moment, than shouted, opening her wings to their fullest extent.
"Identification?! Identification?! Hey, how many people do you think can open, no, not even open, travel through this thing?" The word just blinked slightly. "Wonderful! This is just wonderful! First I need an eternity to find the right door and now the safe mechanism must toy with me!" She placed her hands on her hips and took a sigh, than she detached an oval green jewel. It was convex on one, main side, and the size of her hand. She placed it below the glowing word.
"Fine! This better work or else I might just do something you won't like." Even though safe mechanism was a simple magical program for protection it was still partly a leaving creature with intensively twisted mind. She knew better than to underestimate it.
"Access granted. YES!" Water like membrane started to open, but stopped after few inches. "Now what?" She looked at the membrane only to find out it was stuck. She tried to move it but without success. Girl started to lose her patience.
"God damnit! This is what happens when nobody uses Time Portals for 7000 years." Her race, Draiic'Run, used to travel through the Empire using Wild Time Stream, but now she and two of her friends were the only one that could do it. "I'll have to remind myself to create a maintenance team. AAARRRGGGHHHHH. To Hell with the manners."
She pulled back a little and stretched her arms in front of her. In her hands a great ball of light was formed. It grew until it was the size of the door and only then did she release it. Blinding explosion spread across the side and she covered herself with her wings, shielding so from light and strong wind. Moments later did she move to see the result. Instead of a stubborn door, there was a great gap. Noticing that it started to regenerate she flew quickly through it.
Letting out a sigh she thought, Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
/*\~+~\+/~+~/*\ \*/~+~/+\~+~\*/
Silver Dragon entered through large portal in the sky and landed on the ground. After such a long time spent in Wild Time Stream, it felt quite strange for her to feel hard ground under her feet again. After composing herself she looked around studying the surrounding. The first thing that she noticed was the smell and she shuddered on thought that only she could feel this foul odor. It was the smell of death, hard, heavy and undeniable.
Sky was covered with toxic clouds and not a single ray of light could penetrate this shell. The land was ash-colored and dry. Not even the simplest weed wanted to grow here, let alone some trees.
Wait a second. No Sun? How the hell do I suppose to feed? She could very well sustain herself form normal human food, but it would feel much better if she could from time to time have a portion of warm Sun rays. But that was a minor problem in compare to what was coming.
This was her first time in Nosgoth and she knew very little about its geography. Her plan was to travel through Nosgoth and see what she could do to help humans, seeking the lost relic along the way. But in 7000 years it was most certain that many, if not all, old human cities are destroyed and new been built.
To the north she could see great mountains that surrounded this wasteland where she landed. This was probably one of many battles fields, now long deserted.
That would explain the stench.
She closed her eyes and concentrated her mental energy on humans. If sensations were stronger than that would mean that a human village or city was in the near. Light spots started to appear behind darkness of her eyes. They moved in vortex until they gathered on five places, one larger and four smaller.
She had luck there were several villages and one city, but they were many miles away. She couldn't risk to be seen with wings so flying was out of the question. On the other hand she would need days before she could reach it if she went on foot. There was a simple solution for this problem, but she was afraid that this could draw an unwanted attention. Than again she didn't have much of a choice. Concentrating she looked at one spot several miles in front of her.
"Orion!" Her voice echoed through the valley. Earth started to tremble and running towards her great black mass started to shape itself into a form of a horse. And not just any kind of horse but a giant black unicorn, his long black horn embraced with gold, shone with dark light.
He stopped in front of her, his icy green eyes watching her softly.
::Did you have a nice trip?:: He asked through their mental bond.
"I'll ignore that question." She looked at him, her features darkened. The trip was quite unpleasant and he didn't have to remind her on that. She could hear him laughing. It was the sound of pure darkness and only years she has spent in his presence kept her calm and without fear, "I presume that yours went well."
::Quite well if I may say so. All I had to do was to fallow demolished peaces of time.:: He paused for a second, than continued. ::You know, your grandfather will be very displeased or for the lack of better word, he will kill you, if he finds out what kind of mess you made.::
"What was I supposed to do? The doors stuck. Besides, damage isn't that great."
He took a sigh. There was no point in arguing with her. ::I suppose that you would like me to join you on this little 'picnic'.::
"I hoped so. That is if you don't have anything else in plan. I." She looked in ground "I wouldn't mind if one of my friends was here. If you're busy I'll simply call Sirius." He gently touched her shoulder with his nose. She raised her hand and stroked his long neck.
::And risk drawing even more attention.:: He laughed softly, ::No, I'm not busy and I'll be glad to join you.:: She looked at him, her green eyes glowing with gratitude.
"Thank you." She went toward him.
::Ahem. Princess.::
"What is it?"
::If I understood your intentions correctly you want to travel around in human form.::
"Yes, that's true. Why?"
::Your wings. You might consider of hiding them before we move along.::
She almost forgot. Her wings lay close to her back, reaching her ankles. She extended them to their full beauty. They were pale as her skin and had a very peculiar look. They were similar to those of a dragon but with no wing-claws and no typical wing-bones, that were common for bats or dragons. Some may say that they were something between feathered and bat-like. They were as well soft as silk, literally, and their edges were even sharper than the sharpest razor.
She thought how much she would miss flying. This better be worth it, she thought grumbling. Then suddenly her pinions started to fade until they completely disappeared. Only tiny flickers of light remained and they flew directly into her back. She would have to adjust to the dulled sensation of no flesh brushing against her back.
"Anything else?" she asked her friend.
::Hmmmmm.. You're too pale for human.::
"Sorry but, sunny days have long since past in Nosgoth." She tied her long black hair in high tail, leaving only two long strands of hair on both sides of her face free. She climbed on his back. "Let's go. There is a great city in southwest. We should try there first." Orion began to trot in showed direction. They were both silence for several minutes, but than Orion asked her.
::So, could you explain me your plan?::
"It's easier to do than to say. To make it simple, I came for the Chrono Jewel."
::Chrono Jewel? You do know that it had been lost for eons.::
"Yes I do know, but I recently learned that my 'dear' mother had it hidden somewhere in Nosgoth."
::Nosgoth is much greater than it looks. Where do you intend to search?::
"You forget that Draiic'Run kept records about almost everything."
::I don't like to be the one to remind you, my dear, that they are extinct. Even if they did write something about the Chrono Jewel, it's most likely that those books are now ether lost-::
"Don't be such a pessimist Orion. I'm sure if we check the ruins that litter the land closely enough we'll find a hint of the whereabouts of the Jewel. What do you say? You and me and the secrets of the land. Just like old times."
::Oh, goody.:: Silver Dragon chuckled and hugged his muscular neck, nuzzling her face in his feathery soft mane. For a moment he was taken aback with this express of emotions. She was the only person to have made a place in his cold heart. And suddenly he felt great fear for her well- being. She did not know how savage and ruthless Nosgoth had become in the past millennium. She didn't, but he did.
::Princess.::
"Huh?"
::Promice me just one thing, will you?::
"Sure. What is it?"
::Don't get yourself into troubles.::
"I'll do my best Orion. I'll do my best. I mean, what could possible happen?"
~#~ Prologue ~#~ Seek No Exit
Colorful mists twisted itself in endless dance of Wild Time Stream. Green, yellow and blue mixed in vortex of light and darkness, and on them, almost lovingly, soared a pair of light pale wings. Young girl lazily followed the old path occasionally evading wild storms that, though were harmless to her, could still toss her in undesirable dimension and that would make this trip even longer than she already wanted.
These Wild Time Streams were similar to Time Streaming Chambers, the only deference was that Wild Time Stream could be opened anywhere, if one knew how. This worked perfectly for her for she wanted to enter Nosgoth unnoticed.
She worked her wings to the left evading so one of many storms. The move caused some of her raven black hair to fall on her face. She tossed her head back freeing her face and revealing her deep-forest green eyes with no pupils. They were as well underlined with two black curves at the beginning and the end. Those at the end of each eye were longer going down her cheek, while those at the beginning passed just below her eye. Her skin was pale as white light and soft as silk.
She narrowed her eyes intensively trying to find the right exit, and then suddenly she noticed something. Several wingspans from her colorful mists were curving into a black hole. She stopped and floated above the hole for a moment, before placing her hand on its surface, causing it to stir. Through this contact she could fell the energy of the world on the other side and easily find out which one was it.
Pulling her hand back she took a sigh. Why did you have to do this to me, Mother? It was the wrong one, again. How many did she try by now? 15? 20? She didn't know any more.
At least she could have leaved me a map. I mean, how hard could it be for her to mark a simple X on peace of paper or above the gate. Turning around she continued down the path soaring on winds of change.
She crossed her arms across her chest thinking. As the last of the Draiic'Run she had great obligation, one not easily fulfilled. One duty that meant burying many feelings her heart harbored. And in this case it meant burying deep down the revulsion she felt towards the land of Nosgoth. The land where the beginning of the Ancient Vampires meant the end of the Draiic'Run.
And the most ironical thing was that the poor vampires didn't even know of the existence of the race that stood in the way of their creator. Divine Queen Layla.
But she had no choice. The knowledge she required was there and she had to go there to get it. Again something caught her attention. There was another door right in front of her, and she went through the same procedure as with the last one.
"Finally!" It was about time to find them. "Now, let's open this thing." She placed her hands on the sides of the door. Mist vibrated slightly and strange runes appeared, covering the entire edge of the door. A puzzle lock.
"Let me see now. this one, this. ah. that one, first on the left. fifth on the right. move this here, that one there. blah, blah, blah. hey, what's this triangle doing here? Oh, yeah, now I remember. Ok, that should do it." Runes started to move around shuffling itself until a new word appeared. She stared at it for a moment, than shouted, opening her wings to their fullest extent.
"Identification?! Identification?! Hey, how many people do you think can open, no, not even open, travel through this thing?" The word just blinked slightly. "Wonderful! This is just wonderful! First I need an eternity to find the right door and now the safe mechanism must toy with me!" She placed her hands on her hips and took a sigh, than she detached an oval green jewel. It was convex on one, main side, and the size of her hand. She placed it below the glowing word.
"Fine! This better work or else I might just do something you won't like." Even though safe mechanism was a simple magical program for protection it was still partly a leaving creature with intensively twisted mind. She knew better than to underestimate it.
"Access granted. YES!" Water like membrane started to open, but stopped after few inches. "Now what?" She looked at the membrane only to find out it was stuck. She tried to move it but without success. Girl started to lose her patience.
"God damnit! This is what happens when nobody uses Time Portals for 7000 years." Her race, Draiic'Run, used to travel through the Empire using Wild Time Stream, but now she and two of her friends were the only one that could do it. "I'll have to remind myself to create a maintenance team. AAARRRGGGHHHHH. To Hell with the manners."
She pulled back a little and stretched her arms in front of her. In her hands a great ball of light was formed. It grew until it was the size of the door and only then did she release it. Blinding explosion spread across the side and she covered herself with her wings, shielding so from light and strong wind. Moments later did she move to see the result. Instead of a stubborn door, there was a great gap. Noticing that it started to regenerate she flew quickly through it.
Letting out a sigh she thought, Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
/*\~+~\+/~+~/*\ \*/~+~/+\~+~\*/
Silver Dragon entered through large portal in the sky and landed on the ground. After such a long time spent in Wild Time Stream, it felt quite strange for her to feel hard ground under her feet again. After composing herself she looked around studying the surrounding. The first thing that she noticed was the smell and she shuddered on thought that only she could feel this foul odor. It was the smell of death, hard, heavy and undeniable.
Sky was covered with toxic clouds and not a single ray of light could penetrate this shell. The land was ash-colored and dry. Not even the simplest weed wanted to grow here, let alone some trees.
Wait a second. No Sun? How the hell do I suppose to feed? She could very well sustain herself form normal human food, but it would feel much better if she could from time to time have a portion of warm Sun rays. But that was a minor problem in compare to what was coming.
This was her first time in Nosgoth and she knew very little about its geography. Her plan was to travel through Nosgoth and see what she could do to help humans, seeking the lost relic along the way. But in 7000 years it was most certain that many, if not all, old human cities are destroyed and new been built.
To the north she could see great mountains that surrounded this wasteland where she landed. This was probably one of many battles fields, now long deserted.
That would explain the stench.
She closed her eyes and concentrated her mental energy on humans. If sensations were stronger than that would mean that a human village or city was in the near. Light spots started to appear behind darkness of her eyes. They moved in vortex until they gathered on five places, one larger and four smaller.
She had luck there were several villages and one city, but they were many miles away. She couldn't risk to be seen with wings so flying was out of the question. On the other hand she would need days before she could reach it if she went on foot. There was a simple solution for this problem, but she was afraid that this could draw an unwanted attention. Than again she didn't have much of a choice. Concentrating she looked at one spot several miles in front of her.
"Orion!" Her voice echoed through the valley. Earth started to tremble and running towards her great black mass started to shape itself into a form of a horse. And not just any kind of horse but a giant black unicorn, his long black horn embraced with gold, shone with dark light.
He stopped in front of her, his icy green eyes watching her softly.
::Did you have a nice trip?:: He asked through their mental bond.
"I'll ignore that question." She looked at him, her features darkened. The trip was quite unpleasant and he didn't have to remind her on that. She could hear him laughing. It was the sound of pure darkness and only years she has spent in his presence kept her calm and without fear, "I presume that yours went well."
::Quite well if I may say so. All I had to do was to fallow demolished peaces of time.:: He paused for a second, than continued. ::You know, your grandfather will be very displeased or for the lack of better word, he will kill you, if he finds out what kind of mess you made.::
"What was I supposed to do? The doors stuck. Besides, damage isn't that great."
He took a sigh. There was no point in arguing with her. ::I suppose that you would like me to join you on this little 'picnic'.::
"I hoped so. That is if you don't have anything else in plan. I." She looked in ground "I wouldn't mind if one of my friends was here. If you're busy I'll simply call Sirius." He gently touched her shoulder with his nose. She raised her hand and stroked his long neck.
::And risk drawing even more attention.:: He laughed softly, ::No, I'm not busy and I'll be glad to join you.:: She looked at him, her green eyes glowing with gratitude.
"Thank you." She went toward him.
::Ahem. Princess.::
"What is it?"
::If I understood your intentions correctly you want to travel around in human form.::
"Yes, that's true. Why?"
::Your wings. You might consider of hiding them before we move along.::
She almost forgot. Her wings lay close to her back, reaching her ankles. She extended them to their full beauty. They were pale as her skin and had a very peculiar look. They were similar to those of a dragon but with no wing-claws and no typical wing-bones, that were common for bats or dragons. Some may say that they were something between feathered and bat-like. They were as well soft as silk, literally, and their edges were even sharper than the sharpest razor.
She thought how much she would miss flying. This better be worth it, she thought grumbling. Then suddenly her pinions started to fade until they completely disappeared. Only tiny flickers of light remained and they flew directly into her back. She would have to adjust to the dulled sensation of no flesh brushing against her back.
"Anything else?" she asked her friend.
::Hmmmmm.. You're too pale for human.::
"Sorry but, sunny days have long since past in Nosgoth." She tied her long black hair in high tail, leaving only two long strands of hair on both sides of her face free. She climbed on his back. "Let's go. There is a great city in southwest. We should try there first." Orion began to trot in showed direction. They were both silence for several minutes, but than Orion asked her.
::So, could you explain me your plan?::
"It's easier to do than to say. To make it simple, I came for the Chrono Jewel."
::Chrono Jewel? You do know that it had been lost for eons.::
"Yes I do know, but I recently learned that my 'dear' mother had it hidden somewhere in Nosgoth."
::Nosgoth is much greater than it looks. Where do you intend to search?::
"You forget that Draiic'Run kept records about almost everything."
::I don't like to be the one to remind you, my dear, that they are extinct. Even if they did write something about the Chrono Jewel, it's most likely that those books are now ether lost-::
"Don't be such a pessimist Orion. I'm sure if we check the ruins that litter the land closely enough we'll find a hint of the whereabouts of the Jewel. What do you say? You and me and the secrets of the land. Just like old times."
::Oh, goody.:: Silver Dragon chuckled and hugged his muscular neck, nuzzling her face in his feathery soft mane. For a moment he was taken aback with this express of emotions. She was the only person to have made a place in his cold heart. And suddenly he felt great fear for her well- being. She did not know how savage and ruthless Nosgoth had become in the past millennium. She didn't, but he did.
::Princess.::
"Huh?"
::Promice me just one thing, will you?::
"Sure. What is it?"
::Don't get yourself into troubles.::
"I'll do my best Orion. I'll do my best. I mean, what could possible happen?"