Okay, this is chapter two, the last chapter. I wrote this peice on Wednesday, several months after I wrote the first chapter. A few minor details may not quite line up with the first chapter, because I am adding in a new character. The only point of this second chapter was to portray an oc owned by a guest reviewer. It is not necessarily'canon' to the first chapter, although I think that they flow pretty well with each other.
At the end of the chapter I will have a description of what I have done with the character. This is what I call a reactionary peice, where I have a character show a little of their personality by showing how they react and interact with their settings and the people around them.
-queenglorythefirst: I totally forgot about the walls around the scorpion den. Too late to change that now. I left the meaning of agulars name in my reply over at the darkest hours. It's kinda funny that you like agular, because technically he is the bad guy. (Maybe)Disclaimer: wof doesn't belong to me. (Duh)
claimer: agular does belong to me
disclaimer: shadowWalker belongs to guest reviewer alpaca.
It was high noon. The desert sun beat down relentlessly from the clear blue sky, heating the streets of the scorpion den like an oven. In the dry heat, you could go from sweltering to shivering by stepping into the shadow of a shop's awning. But on the outskirts of the scorpion den, there were few shops, and little activity.
A lone figure walked the empty, blistering street. A nightwing, male, well built, maybe around twenty years old. He would have looked very out of place here, if there had been anyone around to notice. His dark scales seemed to absorb the light in his bright, pale surroundings.
The nightwing strode at an easy pace, until he came to the end of the street. He stopped briefly, to look over the building before him. Then he crossed the junction, and opened the door.
A bell sounded in a low tone to announce his arrival. He stood in the doorway for several seconds, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim interior. The shop was just as he remembered it, stocked with enough weapons to outfit a small army.
At the far end of the shop, behind the counter, stood the owner of the shop. Agular the sandwing, wearing his canvas apron, was tightening the trigger group on one of his crossbows. But he wasn't looking at his project, he was watching the new arrival at his door. They stared at each other for a few minutes, neither moving or saying anything. Finally, the nightwing spoke.
"Well, don't be so welcoming." he said, "I might actually decide to come in."
Agular raised an eyebrow.
"Who said I wanted you to?" heasked, "maybe I'd rather you didn't."
The nightwing shook his head and stepped inside. He let the door shut behind him, and grinned.
"It's been a long time, ain't it?" he asked.
Agulars face split into a smile.
"That's an understatement if I ever heard one. When was the last time your presence disgraced my shop?"
The nightwing walked to the counter and leaned on it.
"Seems like it was sometime around the end of the war, that wasn't the brightest night, was it?"
"It was." Said Agular, "as I recall, you were in desperate need of poison or something. So ShadowWalker, how has life been treatin' ya?"
ShadowWalker shook his head.
"Business has slowed. You'd almost think that with all the political nonsense after a war, there would be more work for an honest assassin."
"Yeah, but not this time." said Agular, putting aside his tools, "after twenty years of fighting, I think everyones a little hesitant to throw their weight around. Nobodys ready for another war yet."
"Right, and I understand where they're coming from," said ShadowWalker, "but ever since peace broke out, I've barely been able to scrape by."
"At least you don't have mouths to feed," said Agular, but ShadowWalker was shaking his head.
"I do have a mouth to feed," he said, pointing at himself, "this one. And it's very important to me to keep it well fed. And you wouldn't believe what kind of work I've had to take on in order to provide for myself."
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
"Take a guess."
Agular leaned back and scratched his chin.
"Well, lets see. As an assassin, nobody would approach you unless you were marketing some other skill. Blacksmith?"
Shadowwalker shook his head.
"No, you taught me a lot, but I never got that good."
Agular grunted.
"I can't help it that you didn't pay attention. Hmm, what else did I teach you? You never got the notion to be a farmer, did you?"
Shadowwalker snorted.
"Yeah, right. As if I could actually grow things besides weeds."
Agular shrugged.
"Well then I give up. What is it?"
"Medicine." said shadowwalker, in a voice that suggested even he couldn't believe it, "I have become something of a doctor, if you would believe it."
"Nooo," said Agular, "you're serious?"
ShadowWalker nodded vigorously.
"I couldn't believe it either, but here I am. I guess when you learn all that stuff on anatomy to be a better killer, it kind of carries over."
Agular shook his head, looking skyward.
"Jeez, if somebody else would have stood here and told me that you, of all dragons, would go from killing dragons to saving them, I'da told them to get out of my shop for fear they'd gone mad."
"Well, it's not like I've completely changed my ways or anything. I still pick up an assassination job here or there, but otherwise it's the healing business for me."
Agular looked at him questioningly.
"Doesn't that kind of, I don't know, bother you? To one day be helping dragons, and the next day to be killing them?"
ShadowWalker looked at the ceiling for a moment, chewing his lip as he thought about it. He gave it a good minute, then shook his head.
"Nope, doesn't bother me at all. Money is money, and assasssination is what I am good at. You know how that is, you're an assassin yourself."
Agular shrugged.
"I don't know about that. It seems, recently, that I don't really do that much killing for hire anymore. I'm more content to build these fine weapons now, not to go track somebody down and kill them."
"It comes with age." said shadowwalker, "you're slowing down, mellowing out."
"Hey, I aint that old. You speak like I'm an ancient old fogey."
Shadowwalker grinned.
"You're like, twice as old as me. At my age you were assassinating left and right, you barely had time to teach me anything when I showed up."
"Well, you gotta remember, the war was really ramping up then too. Everybody wanted somebody in the ground, and they wanted them dead immediately. It was a booming market in those days."
ShadowWalker playfully imitated Agulars voice.
"Well, back in those days little one," he said, then chuckled, "you even talk like an old guy."
"Hey now, careful what you say there, I bet I could still beat you in a sparring match. But back to the topic, why do you need money so badly? You have no need for a home, you don't have a family, don't you just live out in the wilderness or on the streets?"
"Yeah, I've been living on the streets," said shadowwalker, "that's where I get all my work. But maybe I do need the money. Food is expensive, you know?"
"Can't you just hunt?" asked agular. Shadowwalker shrugged.
"I could. But there's already a lot of other dragons living in the wilderness, hunting all the wildlife. The war has displaced a lot of dragons, you know, I can barely go a day walking through the woods before I run into somebody who's out looking for food."
Agular shook his head.
"Yeah, I've heard about that. You'd think that a year or so later we would be back on our feet, but the world is still a mess."
"Well, you don't just go from a world war to normal life in a year. I imagine that we will see the aftershocks of that conflict for the rest of our lives."
Agular nodded.
"Yeah, you're right."
They stood quietly a second, each with their own thoughts on that. After a moment, agular shook his head, and said,
"So, what can I help you with? I assume you didn't slouch in here to chat."
"Well, you're right about that," said shadowwalker, "although it's nice to catch up with old friends, or friend, since I'm a little short in the friend department."
"It would help if you weren't always trying to kill other dragons." said Agular.
Shadowwalker grinned.
"Yeah, you're right. But I'm afraid I can't change who I am. Anyway, I need to replace some equipment."
"Sure thing, what you need?"
Shadowwalker unhooked a black canvas bag from his shoulder, and overturned it on the counter. Out fell some broken jars and what appeared to be several smashed sticks. Agular picked up what used to be a blowgun, looking it over with a raised eyebrow.
"What in the world happened to this?" he asked, "did you step on it?"
"No," said shadowwalker, "I landed on it when I got thrown off a cliff the other day. Long story, I got a job to track down some sandwing who was hiding out in the mountains. I found him alright, and he was a big sucker, he picked me up like I was a toy. It's a good thing I had that high powered crossbow you built, or I might not have lived to tell you this."
"Wow," said Agular, "so much for sneaking up on your targets with lethal stealth."
"Like I said," ShadowWalker shrugged, "long story. In short, he got the drop on me."
Agular nodded.
"I see. So where's the crossbow?"
"That's another thing I wanted to ask you," said shadowwalker, "what are your prices on those high powered crossbows?"
Agular raised an eyebrow.
"That broke too?"
"Smashed to pieces."
Agular nodded.
"Well, you can have this one here for twenty gold pieces. I need to finish up the trigger group, but otherwise it's ready to go."
"Sounds good to me." said shadowwalker. He pushed off from the counter and made his way to the rack of polished blowguns. He picked out two, a small concealable one, and a much longer, heavier one that could be taken apart to conceal in his bag.
"I've got a deal running on those," called Agular, from where he was finishing with the crossbow, "the small ones are half off, the take-downs come with thirty darts."
Shadowwalker gave a low whistle of appreciation.
"Feeling a little generous?" he asked. Agular shrugged.
"I need to clear out some old stock. You know, I had a couple of young nightwings in here earlier today, I offered the same deal to them."
Shadowalker raised an eyebrow.
"Nightwings huh? What are they doing out here, away from the rainforest?"
"Did you hear about the prisoners that escaped from queen thorn?" asked Agular, "that was them."
Shadowwalker picked up two bags of darts and paused to study the steel knuckles.
"Escaped prisoners of thorn? What were they doing here of all places? Wanted to arm themselves I assume?"
Agular shook his head.
"No. They wanted to hire an assassin."
"Oh?" asked ShadowWalker. His ears perked in interest, "who did they want you to kill?"
"That's the crazy part," said Agular. He set aside the crossbow, and began to sort through a bucket of bolts, pulling out the straitest and sharpest he could find. Unlike normal crossbow bolts, these were made from steel. "They wanted me to kill the dragonets of destiny."
Shadowwalker looked up, surprise stamped on his face.
"Are you serious?" he asked. Agular nodded. Shadowwalker let that information process, then he burst out laughing. "Oh snakes, that's a good one. What was the matter with those two, they didn't look mentally ill, did they?"
Agular shrugged.
"They seemed normal to me. Well, the big one may have been a little slow, but he obviously wasn't the brains of the duo."
ShadowWalker shook his head, and grabbed a pair of the steel knuckles. He made his way back to the counter and dropped the merchandise beside his bag.
"I swear, that's the craziest thing I have heard in a while." he said, "those dragonets are some of the most famous on the continent. If anything happens to them, there will be a huge uproar."
Agular nodded.
"That's what I said. But those two were determined. At least, the younger one was. She was willing to compromise."
"How so?" asked shadowwalker.
"Well, she said I didn't have to kill all of them. She only wants the rainwing, her bodyguard, and the seawing gone. And if what she said was true, she was willing to pay pretty handsomely."
"How much?"
"Two large rubies, part of the nightwing treasure. One cut, one uncut."
ShadowWalker nodded.
"That's an impressive treasure for two dragonets to have. So did you take the job?"
Agular shook his head.
"No. I thought about it, but that's a little too much danger. The only reason I considered it was because of what they offered to pay."
Shadowwalker nodded.
"That's about as dangerous of a job I ever heard of. I can see why you turned it down."
Agular shrugged.
"It's not just that. I also feel that it would be morally wrong. I know, whoever heard of an assassin with standards? But that's who I am, I've always tried to take on jobs that I felt were more or less for the right reasons. If there is a good reason to kill someone."
Shadowwalker shrugged.
"I've never had that problem. Good pay is the only reason I need, I don't necessarily care who the target is."
Agular gave him a sharp look, a glare.
"What if it was me? What if I was the target? Would you care then?"
Shadowwalker faltered, mouth ajar. He was caught off guard by this question. This was one area where he and agular disagreed, and they had tried to avoid the subject whenever they talked.
"No, I wouldn't kill you." said shadowwalker, "I'm not that much of a greedy cactus-licker."
Agular snorted, disapprovingly.
"It took you a few seconds to respond. I was a little worried there."
"Hey now, hang on there a minute." said ShadowWalker, "don't you accuse me of anything. I care about other dragons, I care about my friends."
Agular raised his eyebrow. Shadowwalker sighed and rolled his eyes. "Although I do admit that I'm a little low on friends."
Agular shook his head.
"Never mind. Anyway, I told those two that I would think about it. They're hiding in the city somewhere. I told them if I decided to do it, I would hang a black piece of cloth on the signpost at the end of the street come dusk."
Shadowwalker nodded.
"You know, you could just turn them into Thorn."
Agular shrugged.
"Nah, I don't need a reward from thorn. In truth, when thinking about it, I don't need any money. I've got all I need right here." he gestured to the shop. Shadowwalker looked around, then wrinkled his eyebrow in a mischievous grin.
"Does that mean I get a friendship discount? Maybe ninty or a hundred percent off all purchases?"
"Oh get out of here, nothings free." said Agular, "but I don't need a fortune to be happy."
Shadowwalker nodded.
"I don't need a fortune for happiness either. Although, I certainly wouldn't mind one."
Agular shrugged.
"I know what you mean. Now listen to me shadowwalker, I can see what you are thinking about. I know you are considering taking that job. I won't stop you, but I'm warning you, that this is the riskiest job I've ever heard of. And I don't want you to die because you decided to charge off on a ludicrous mission that I had the sense to turn down. Understand?"
Shadowwalker saluted him.
"Yes sir, I understand completely." Lowering his arm, he said, "you don't have to worry about me. Im not dumb enough to take on a job like that."
"Right, sure you aren't," said Agular, "your mind is stuck on rubies, I can tell. And I'm sure all of this new equipment is for your new found healing skills."
"I never like to travel unarmed." said shadowwalker, "but I'm serious, don't worry about me. I know danger when I see it."
Agular nodded.
"I should hope so. Anyway, is there anything else you needed?"
Shadowwalker looked at the merchandise he had accumulated on the counter.
"I need poison, smoke bombs, and shrapnel bombs." he said. Agular nodded and headed towards the open doorway to the workshop.
"I'll go get some." he said. ShadowWalker opened a small leather pouch and began to dig out the correct number of gold pieces.
Shadowwalker stepped out into the street. The door to Agulars shop banged shut behind him, the only sound on the empty street. Shadowwalker looked left, then right, then up the street before him, a habit of seeing if he was truly alone. Then he checked his gear, readjusting how his black canvas bag sat on his back. The crossbow was strapped underneath the bag, mostly concealed.
He ran through his mental checklist, and found everything to be in order. ShadowWalker nodded to himself, satisfied. Then, he headed up the street, towards the shops closer to the center of the scorpion den. He needed to find a piece of black cloth.
So there we have it. Now to highlight what I did, and why I did it.
I had a very limited description of shadowWalker to work with. I was told that he was in his late teens, and that he was supposed to be kinda good, but kinda bad. Alpaca also requested that if I had him kill someone, to make it gory because he is a little creepy. I was told that he didn't really have a back story, and I could make it up if I wanted. In short, I had a lot of freedom in making this character. In fact, looking back through our conversation, I think it was my idea to have him be an assassin.
So, here's what I did. ShadowWalker is roughly twenty years old. I did this because it makes him older than the average character in this fandom. (for crying out loud the dragonets of destiny are only what? Six?). At twenty years old, shadowWalker already stands out as he is no longer an adolescent, making him more unique.
ShadowWalker has no backstory, so I took the liberty of giving him some history. He has known agular for a long time, making him one of, if not ShadowWalkers only friend. In my portrayal, agular taught ShadowWalker much of what he knows. Agular is around forty six years old, so when ShadowWalker first met him and began to train with him, agular was already an adult with experience in his trade.
I was not going to make up a whole story of shadowWalker killing someone. That's a lot of work, and if you want to make a character creepy, violence is not, in my opinion, the way to do it. To me, it feels cheap. This is one reason I don't like horror movies, not because they are scary, it rather because they aren't. They are just gore-fests, in my opinion, with little to no plot, just absurd amounts of violence. I don't have a problem with violence and blood, heck, my favorite genre to write is war stories. But violence, at least to me, dosent make something creepy.
Here's what I did instead. And this also carry's over to be ShadowWalkers biggest character flaw. ShadowWalker has very little regard for the lives of others. You may not find this disturbing, unless you really think about it. ShadowWalker isn't an unhinged killer, but he has the skills to kill/hurt everyone around him. He also has the ability to help them. And ShadowWalker is willing to do either, to whoever, so long as he gets something out of it. That is, in my opinion, what can make him unnerving.
ShadowWalker, despite this, is not a sinister, malicious character. He has no plans to take over the world, he dosent have an evil agenda, or an evil laugh. He is merely looking out for himself, no matter who he helps or hurts along the way. This doesn't mean he is ill tempered, rather, he is very perky, and may even be described as pleasant company. But despite his apparent charisma, he has no real friends, to speak of, outside of agular, because he is very intimidating to everyone around him. Ultimately, while he can be pleasant to talk with, he is dangerous to anyone around him, because of the ability he has to hurt them, coupled with his flippant willingness to use said abilities to get what he wants.
In conclusion, ShadowWalker isn't necessarily a bad character, but he isn't really a good one either. He is only out to take care of himself, and is willing to do whatever he deems nescessary to accomplish that.
I ended this chapter on somewhat of a cliffhanger, but one thing that you can decide, alpaca, is this: is ShadowWalker the type who would take on the job, despite the danger? Or would he be the type to catch fierceteeth and strongwings, force them to take him to their treasure, and then hand them over to thorn?
I had a lot of fun designing ShadowWalker, and it was fun to write this chapter. I hope this helped you in some way. If you want to have agular be a part of ShadowWalkers backstory, go ahead. In fact, if you want to use agular, then go for it. I would be interested to read what you write with him if you do use him.
Like I said, I have no interest in finishing this story. This is the last part to agulars arms and antiques. Thank you all for reading, please leave a review and tell me what you think. I can't wait to hear from you.