Chapter 3: Ryuu, Son of Mysaphar
Ryuu sighed disparagingly as he was lifted up the main city elevator to the second level of the city of Crescent reach, where the council of the Scions of Six resided. He had just received an earful from Hemfar, the city librarian, for once again taking his beloved tomes of history. Ryuu didn't see the harm done, they were in one piece.
He had just barely escaped further punishment by his older sister, Tanis, a warrior Drakkin of the bloodline of Atathus the Red Lord, before deciding to get his work over with Mystrana, his council aide 'boss'.
Ryuu kept his focus on the clanking of the elevator's gears as he was elevated further and further up, banners representing the six dragons of the Circle were hung everywhere-it was the Drakkin's way of claiming the old city of Nokk as their own.
Ryuu briskly stepped off the elevator as it halted on the second level and quickly made his way into the council chambers.
"And just where in the name of Veeshan have you been Ryuu?" A loud and shrill, yet demanding and intimidating voice pierced the air, causing Ryuu to jump up in surprise. Out of the council chambers walked out Mystrana.
She wore the standard Crescent reach-grade armor on her person, with the spaces between her armor showing off her intricate green tattoo design, designating her as a daughter of Venesh, the Greenblood. Her hair was similarly green-a dark evergreen color-and spiked up slightly in the front. But it was her glaring green eyes that forced Ryuu to look down sheepishly and chuckle.
"Don't chuckle," Mystrana reprimanded Ryuu and shook a finger down at him. "And for Veeshan's sake Ryuu, you like terrible! What would the Scions say if they saw you like this!?"
"Um..." Ryuu quickly scanned his hazy purple eyes up and down his own person. His equally, if not more so, purple simple defiant cloth robe looked fine in his eyes-he had just washed it the other day. His crude defiant pantaloons and matching undergarments, hidden from view by his flowing robe, were also clean. His boots were unscuffed and might as well have been sparkling! The only parts of his body that were visible were his hands and face, and if it weren't for that, it wouldn't be possible to tell which lineage he derived from. Luckily, a few milky white tattoos were inked on his face and palms, showing that he was a son of Mysaphar, the Seeker of All, the wisest dragon of the Circle.
"Are you kidding me?" Ryuu gawked at Mystrana. "What could possibly be wrong with me?" Mystrana huffed and pointed just above his head. Ryuu grumbled and raised his hand to see if he had anything stuck in his hair-and then he felt a wad sticking up and to the left...and then another wad sticking down and to the right...
He had a severe case of bed hair. And he hadn't even noticed.
Ryuu quickly circumscribed around the problem by ruffling up his pure white hair so it was equally spiky in all directions. he grinned at Mystrana for approval but she was quick to lick her hand and straighten his horrendous hair down the side of his head and his bangs down his forehead, earning her more grumbling from Ryuu.
"There, now you look like a representable council aide of the Scions," she beamed with pride at her motherly handiwork. Ryuu had an opposing train of thought. He strode passed his mentor in a quick gait and entered the chamber as quietly as he could.
And there before him, sitting around a crescent-shaped table on an elevated platform off of the floor, sat the Scions-the first-borns of each dragon of the Circle of the Crystalwing.
Councilmember Heshyrr, firstborn of Mysaphar and older sister of Ryuu: her flowing white hair was almost indistinguishable from her equally flowing white robe. She has the greatest mastery of the arcane out of all the other Scions.
Councilmember Lizzrel, firstborn of Venesh: her green hair was partially folded back and within her grasp, a long, mystic staff that held the power of nature and poison granted unto her by her father.
Councilmember Myjinn, firstborn son of Keikolin: his hair was rusty golden and partially spiked upwards-he couldn't see for sure, but Ryuu was certain he had books smuggled nice and tightly under his golden robe of enlightenment; he knew he loved to read above all things.
Councilmember Reakash, firstborn daughter of Osh'vir: her mystically blue hair was tied back in a knot and she wore her usual blue and golden robe of mist, which represented her bond with her mother as well as her magical affinity of water.
Councilmember Vakk'dra: while not necessarily evil, he was certainly a dark and somewhat twisted individual in his own right. His menacing black and red robe of the Void seemed to demand respect and instill an aura of authority. His jet black hair was curled upwards in the back of his head.
Councilmember Ithakis, firstborn of Atathus, and leader of the Scions of the Six, and effectively the entire Drakkin race: he is short-tempered and easily angered in his own right, but the love he has for his people, as well the reasoning of the other Council members keep him in check-most of the time, that is. His robe was dotted with a variety of shades of red, purple, and gold, adorned with scales that Atathus plucked from his own backside and imbued into the robe, granting unto it another small portion of his magic. It certainly gave him the overpowering aura that the ruler of all Drakkin would most definitely require. His hair was plain and brown and combed back with a sense of etiquette, but his face was serious-it always was. The deeply stained red tattoos of Atathus added to his serious demeanor and visage.
Ryuu quickly stepped to the side of the elevated platform where the other council aides stood, silent and firm and tall-probably to save face in front of the eldest siblings. There was an aide for each Scion whose job was to deliver parchments or deliveries that their sibling Scions needed to be delivered.
In actuality, their job was to pretty much do whatever the Scions told them to do-typical aide stuff once you think about it.
The Scions were quietly deliberating amongst themselves as Ryuu joined the other aides, who didn't even pass him a fleeting glance. Not even the Scions registered his entry, although Heshyrr gave him a scolding look for a split second before jotting something down and returning to the conversation at hand.
Ryuu couldn't hear much of their conversation. One of the biggest advantages to being a council aide was that you heard news before anyone else in the city. Out of their mumbled conversation, he could only hear a few words, like 'Bixie' and 'Mucktail' and ' war supplies'.
Ryuu sighed at that point. For awhile now, the Drakkin have had a poor time establishing diplomatic ties with other races that inhabited their area in the Southern Serpent Spine Mountains. The Mucktail Gnolls and the Bixies-a half human and half bee race-constantly attacked travelers in the Moors to the east of the city, and to make matters worse, the Mucktail Gnolls had recently slain one of their ambassadors, further straining an already tenuous relationship.
It probably wouldn't take much more duress or problems for the Drakkins to go to war with either faction. it didn't help that the Mucktails had an encampment directly outside the city inside the Hollow, which was the wilderness that existed in the outside cavern-it teemed with wildlife, as well as the settlements the Drakkin dwelled in; it connected the city to the Moors further off to the east and was the only way for travelers to exit Crescent reach and go out into the outside world. Needless to say, the Drakkin were keeping a wary eye on the Gnolls in the Hollow.
The Gnolls were humanoid canine creatures, not too different in appearance to bipedal wolves. While vicious over territory and often seen in large numbers, the gnolls in the Hollow were generally placid in their lifestyles. But that didn't mean altercations never happened.
Ryuu had become lost in his thoughts and didn't even notice that the Council meeting had adjourned early for the day. One by one, the council members and their respective aides departed to go about their daily business around the bustling city. Only Ryuu and Heshyrr remained; Mystrana had departed also, confident that Heshyrr would be able to dish out more amusing punishment to Ryuu for his recent behavior.
"Ryuu," Heshyrr stated calmly. It was just enough to snap Ryuu out of his thoughts, and as soon as he saw his eldest sister standing before him, he immediately began babbling out apologies and excuses, only to be silenced by Heshyrr's finger to his lips; a worried expression was etched on her face.
"I'm concerned about you Ryuu," She stated, causing Ryuu to blink in surprise. "You should be a wizard of the Moonfire by now, a wielder of the arcane skills, directed by our mother, Mysaphar the white dragon. But you've been slacking off recently-you haven't attended your lessons nearly as much, and to top it all off, sometimes you disappear for days at a time..." She ended in a whisper.
Ryuu stepped back and sighed, feeling the pressure of guilt weighing down on his shoulders. "I have been practicing, but I don't like practicing my magic at the training academy. I prefer to train by myself; besides, I usually get grief from the other younger trainees."
Heshyrr opened her mouth to retort but closed it and shook her head. She stepped to the side, motioning for him to pass. Ryuu bowed to his sister in respect before making his way out of the chambers, passing Tanis on the way out. Tanis growled playfully at him and punched him in the arm, which Ryuu responded with by showering her with small sparks of flame from his hand. before running off into the bowels of the second level of the city.
"Well, he's certainly full of energy," Tanis spoke out loud as she approached Heshyrr, bowing as she neared her.
"Yes, but I always worry about him..." Heshyrr mused quietly, as memories of her first encounter with Ryuu began to flow through her heart. "Ever since he...'arrived', my mother Mysaphar told me that Ryuu was a special case among us Drakkin. "
Tanis remained silent as her superior spoke.
"But Ryuu has no parents...it would help if even we, the Scions, knew of his origins..."
