Dragon Burn
By Amanda Wardropper.
The Atlantians Plea.
Chapter 8 - Castle of New Fanialia
On thier return to the castle, Jason dropped his passengers off and took the two Escaflownes back to the hangar to begin repairs on Van's white dragon.
When they were dropped off, Merle and Hitomi steadied Van as they walked into the hall and were taken aback by what they saw infront of them. Hundreds of fighters and guymeluf pilots, some with serious injuries but most had minor ones, laid out on tables the length and breadth of the hall.
They found a spare table, near to the exit of the vast hall, and laid Van on it, then they went to find a spare healer. They couldn't find one so they had to tend to his wounds themselves with bandages and a numbing solution. They tendered to his side first, numbing it then bandaging the whole of his torso.
Van sat up from his daze at the sound of ear piercing screams echoeing through the corridors leading to the main hall. Merle and Hitomi turned to see what had startled him and saw a young cat boy being brought in, his face and arms badly cut.
"Tirone!" Merle cried, in anguish. She stood up and reluctantly left Van and Hitomi to be at her own loves side.
Van relaxed, "You'll have to sit back up." She turned her attention back to him.
"Why?"
"Because I have to get to your arm." He sat back up slowly and she applied the numbing salve.
He took a deep breath and asked, "So, does this mean you're half Atlantian too?"
"I guess, but ..." She trailed off and started a new sentence, "They felt real and they really hurt, I don't think I'm the real deal, I mean it dosen't hurt you at all."
He smiled, knowingly, "Oh, but it does. It hurts me just as much as it hurts you, even more so, I've just learned to ignore the pain until it goes away and, besides, I've been a Draconian all my life, I've lived with it."
"Exactly, I can't be a Draconian, I'm from Earth!"
He shrugged and changed the subject, sensing her apprehension. "Will I still be able to fight while I'm recovering?"
She put her hands on her hips and answered, in agitation, "Most certainly not!"
"But..." He was surprised at her reacton. She jabbed him fiercly on the arm she had just bandaged, he winced at the dull pain it caused. "Hey!" He cried, with a snigger, she was only proving her point and smiled to take the sting out of her actions. He
swotted her away playfully.
"I don't think it could do him that much harm practicing, Hitomi." Jason had been watching them fighting and had decided to step in. They stopped and looked round to him. Hitomi gave a mock scowl, but Van had a worried frown, he wanted to know what would happen to Escaflowne. "Don't worry, Van, I've had a team set up to take care of Escaflowne, but," He pointed a finger at him, "you're going to take longer to recover and you won't be fighting in a battle until you are!"
Van smiled, lazily, "Comes to something when your wingsecond is giving you orders."
Over the next few days, Van was allowed to practice his swordfighting techniques and duelling. Jason was always there for the duelling and Hitomi always sat to one side watching, refusing to leave in the fear he might injure himself again, "Because I won't bandage it for you! I still don't think you're well enough to hold your sword straight!" She said.
Hitomi walked down from her room to Van's. She knocked on the door, "Who is it?" the voice called, from within.
"Hitomi," She answered, "Can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure."She opened the door and walked in. He was sat at his desk, going through old records. "I'm trying to find something to explain what happened the night that dragon thing attacked." He said, as way of explanaition. "And why we were left unscathed by the flames and why it was scared away all of a sudden."
"You mean, like this?" She handed him a scroll which he opened and read. "They were left in my room and I couldn't help but notice the ruby and other diagrams on it. I guess that was what my grandmother meant."
He didn't hear the last part of her statement. "Hmmm, this looks familiar. Wait a minute!" He stood up and grabbed her arm, "C'mon, I got an idea." He started to race out of the room.
"Wait, Van! Where are you taking us? You seem to have allot of ideas in that head of yours!" She pulled her arm away from his grasp, but willingly folowed him. By the way he said it, it sounded important.
They ran down some steps to a poorly lit corridor, one light to be exact, which Van took and lit. At the far end of the corridor, Hitomi could make out a door. When they got closer she could see that it had fallen into disuse as the lock was rusted. Van unsheathed his sword, "Stand back." He gave her the torch and sliced the lock in half with one stroke. He put his sword back in it's sheath and heaved at the door. He let out a frustrated grunt as he forced the door open. Hitomi looked down into the darkness. She took a couple of steps into it so the torch could light it. "Watch out for the steps!" He called. He shook his head and smiled as she slipped on a step. He caught her effortlessly. "I told you so." He said smuggly as he helped her back up.
They carried on until they came to another door. Oh great! I just washed this uniform and it's gonna get dirty again with all this dust! She thought. Van sliced the lock on this door and pushed it open, revealing a courtyard, illuminated by the morning sun and the sounds of birds and insects. In the centre of the courtyard stood a fountain in the shape of a dragons head. It had one red eye, the other was missing. She walked over to it and caressed it with her fingers. Van stood at the entrance, arms folded patiently.
"What is this place?" She asked.
"I don't know exactly, but, when I was little my brother and I used to fool around here." He walked up to her.
She noticed that the walls of the courtyard were covered in scriptures. She walked to where, what she thought, was the beginning of the scriptures. "Unfortunatly," He continued, "I don't know what the script means, before you ask. It's written in Atlantian, of which I never learned to read. I can tell you about the diagrams, they're the same ones as on the skins I've been looking at."
"Can I touch them?"
He motioned for her to proceed as he stood next to the fountain, a thoughtful frown on his face as he studied the diagrams on the walls.
She removed the pendant, from around her neck, and wrapped the chain around her fingers, leaving the pendant dangling.
She placed her hand on the first set of scriptures and, miraculously, began translating, much to Van's astonishment. Her eyes became glazed over and she was unable to see or hear anything but the scriptures and her own voice, melting into the visions.
"We, the Atlantians, have been exiled to this planet.
All those who survived the exile have been cursed for our sins.
Tne Gods have prophicied, that from now until the end of time, that 'all those born of feather, shalt forevermore be plagued by dragon wing.'
The creatures, known to us as Dargons, have scorched our fields and killed many of our remaining people."
Van came up behind her, listening carefully to what the walls said of his people. She took a deep breath and continued:
"We combat them using our technology.
But it is not enough, therefore we are running an experiment.
We wish to create two Atlantians who can control a dragon fire spirit.
Our first experiment brought forth a green dragon, whose master can no longer control.
Now, we must create another to destroy our terrible mistake."
"Thats why Fanialia is filled with dragons, it was the home of exiled Atlantians." He said in awe.
"It's a record of an experiment." She said, puzzling over the set of diagrams on the next wall. "Look!" She shouted.
Van ran over, "What?"
"Thats the ruby my grandmother gave me." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the jewel, examining it closely. She looked back at the wall. "That diagram, "Two to control the one true power." Is it possible that destiny has brought us back together for one last battle?"
"You mean, we are the Atlantians that are supposed to control this experiment?"
"It's quite possible, I mean we are both Atlantian High-breds and we work together as a team, we proved that the first time."
"But what if they never finished the experiment, this was thousands of years ago, Hitomi. Besides, we are Atlantian High-breds, not pure Atlantians, we don't have their power."
"We do have their power, you already proved that, only an Atlantian can make a true blood pack with an Espano gumeluf like Escaflowne."
"But the masters of this experiment are probably dead!"
"If Zaibech can control this green dragon, then someone has to be able to control it's sybling. Don't you see Van, this dragon could destroy the whole of Gaea, just like Donkirks Destiny machine." She whirled around to face him, tears welling up in her eyes, "I don't want that to happen."
He put his fists on his hips, "So you are suggesting that we bring forth our own dragon spirit." He paused, "How?"
She turned back to the diagram, " "Only conflicting emotions, felt by the two, can generate the power needed to be concerntrated in the winged waters eyes, the strongest of both sides ...." The last words are eroded out of view." She announced, "Isn't that always the way." She said to herself, in frustration.
"Only conflict felt by two?" there was a loud clatter outside of the walls, before he could finish his pondering. His wings burst out and before Hitomi could react he was pirched, crouching, on the top of the wall, hand on hilt of sword. He stood back up and it was then that Hitomi realized that his wings were slightly bigger and now glinted slightly in the sunlight. He glided back down to the ground, "It's just a farm wagon." He announced.
By Amanda Wardropper.
The Atlantians Plea.
Chapter 8 - Castle of New Fanialia
On thier return to the castle, Jason dropped his passengers off and took the two Escaflownes back to the hangar to begin repairs on Van's white dragon.
When they were dropped off, Merle and Hitomi steadied Van as they walked into the hall and were taken aback by what they saw infront of them. Hundreds of fighters and guymeluf pilots, some with serious injuries but most had minor ones, laid out on tables the length and breadth of the hall.
They found a spare table, near to the exit of the vast hall, and laid Van on it, then they went to find a spare healer. They couldn't find one so they had to tend to his wounds themselves with bandages and a numbing solution. They tendered to his side first, numbing it then bandaging the whole of his torso.
Van sat up from his daze at the sound of ear piercing screams echoeing through the corridors leading to the main hall. Merle and Hitomi turned to see what had startled him and saw a young cat boy being brought in, his face and arms badly cut.
"Tirone!" Merle cried, in anguish. She stood up and reluctantly left Van and Hitomi to be at her own loves side.
Van relaxed, "You'll have to sit back up." She turned her attention back to him.
"Why?"
"Because I have to get to your arm." He sat back up slowly and she applied the numbing salve.
He took a deep breath and asked, "So, does this mean you're half Atlantian too?"
"I guess, but ..." She trailed off and started a new sentence, "They felt real and they really hurt, I don't think I'm the real deal, I mean it dosen't hurt you at all."
He smiled, knowingly, "Oh, but it does. It hurts me just as much as it hurts you, even more so, I've just learned to ignore the pain until it goes away and, besides, I've been a Draconian all my life, I've lived with it."
"Exactly, I can't be a Draconian, I'm from Earth!"
He shrugged and changed the subject, sensing her apprehension. "Will I still be able to fight while I'm recovering?"
She put her hands on her hips and answered, in agitation, "Most certainly not!"
"But..." He was surprised at her reacton. She jabbed him fiercly on the arm she had just bandaged, he winced at the dull pain it caused. "Hey!" He cried, with a snigger, she was only proving her point and smiled to take the sting out of her actions. He
swotted her away playfully.
"I don't think it could do him that much harm practicing, Hitomi." Jason had been watching them fighting and had decided to step in. They stopped and looked round to him. Hitomi gave a mock scowl, but Van had a worried frown, he wanted to know what would happen to Escaflowne. "Don't worry, Van, I've had a team set up to take care of Escaflowne, but," He pointed a finger at him, "you're going to take longer to recover and you won't be fighting in a battle until you are!"
Van smiled, lazily, "Comes to something when your wingsecond is giving you orders."
Over the next few days, Van was allowed to practice his swordfighting techniques and duelling. Jason was always there for the duelling and Hitomi always sat to one side watching, refusing to leave in the fear he might injure himself again, "Because I won't bandage it for you! I still don't think you're well enough to hold your sword straight!" She said.
Hitomi walked down from her room to Van's. She knocked on the door, "Who is it?" the voice called, from within.
"Hitomi," She answered, "Can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure."She opened the door and walked in. He was sat at his desk, going through old records. "I'm trying to find something to explain what happened the night that dragon thing attacked." He said, as way of explanaition. "And why we were left unscathed by the flames and why it was scared away all of a sudden."
"You mean, like this?" She handed him a scroll which he opened and read. "They were left in my room and I couldn't help but notice the ruby and other diagrams on it. I guess that was what my grandmother meant."
He didn't hear the last part of her statement. "Hmmm, this looks familiar. Wait a minute!" He stood up and grabbed her arm, "C'mon, I got an idea." He started to race out of the room.
"Wait, Van! Where are you taking us? You seem to have allot of ideas in that head of yours!" She pulled her arm away from his grasp, but willingly folowed him. By the way he said it, it sounded important.
They ran down some steps to a poorly lit corridor, one light to be exact, which Van took and lit. At the far end of the corridor, Hitomi could make out a door. When they got closer she could see that it had fallen into disuse as the lock was rusted. Van unsheathed his sword, "Stand back." He gave her the torch and sliced the lock in half with one stroke. He put his sword back in it's sheath and heaved at the door. He let out a frustrated grunt as he forced the door open. Hitomi looked down into the darkness. She took a couple of steps into it so the torch could light it. "Watch out for the steps!" He called. He shook his head and smiled as she slipped on a step. He caught her effortlessly. "I told you so." He said smuggly as he helped her back up.
They carried on until they came to another door. Oh great! I just washed this uniform and it's gonna get dirty again with all this dust! She thought. Van sliced the lock on this door and pushed it open, revealing a courtyard, illuminated by the morning sun and the sounds of birds and insects. In the centre of the courtyard stood a fountain in the shape of a dragons head. It had one red eye, the other was missing. She walked over to it and caressed it with her fingers. Van stood at the entrance, arms folded patiently.
"What is this place?" She asked.
"I don't know exactly, but, when I was little my brother and I used to fool around here." He walked up to her.
She noticed that the walls of the courtyard were covered in scriptures. She walked to where, what she thought, was the beginning of the scriptures. "Unfortunatly," He continued, "I don't know what the script means, before you ask. It's written in Atlantian, of which I never learned to read. I can tell you about the diagrams, they're the same ones as on the skins I've been looking at."
"Can I touch them?"
He motioned for her to proceed as he stood next to the fountain, a thoughtful frown on his face as he studied the diagrams on the walls.
She removed the pendant, from around her neck, and wrapped the chain around her fingers, leaving the pendant dangling.
She placed her hand on the first set of scriptures and, miraculously, began translating, much to Van's astonishment. Her eyes became glazed over and she was unable to see or hear anything but the scriptures and her own voice, melting into the visions.
"We, the Atlantians, have been exiled to this planet.
All those who survived the exile have been cursed for our sins.
Tne Gods have prophicied, that from now until the end of time, that 'all those born of feather, shalt forevermore be plagued by dragon wing.'
The creatures, known to us as Dargons, have scorched our fields and killed many of our remaining people."
Van came up behind her, listening carefully to what the walls said of his people. She took a deep breath and continued:
"We combat them using our technology.
But it is not enough, therefore we are running an experiment.
We wish to create two Atlantians who can control a dragon fire spirit.
Our first experiment brought forth a green dragon, whose master can no longer control.
Now, we must create another to destroy our terrible mistake."
"Thats why Fanialia is filled with dragons, it was the home of exiled Atlantians." He said in awe.
"It's a record of an experiment." She said, puzzling over the set of diagrams on the next wall. "Look!" She shouted.
Van ran over, "What?"
"Thats the ruby my grandmother gave me." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the jewel, examining it closely. She looked back at the wall. "That diagram, "Two to control the one true power." Is it possible that destiny has brought us back together for one last battle?"
"You mean, we are the Atlantians that are supposed to control this experiment?"
"It's quite possible, I mean we are both Atlantian High-breds and we work together as a team, we proved that the first time."
"But what if they never finished the experiment, this was thousands of years ago, Hitomi. Besides, we are Atlantian High-breds, not pure Atlantians, we don't have their power."
"We do have their power, you already proved that, only an Atlantian can make a true blood pack with an Espano gumeluf like Escaflowne."
"But the masters of this experiment are probably dead!"
"If Zaibech can control this green dragon, then someone has to be able to control it's sybling. Don't you see Van, this dragon could destroy the whole of Gaea, just like Donkirks Destiny machine." She whirled around to face him, tears welling up in her eyes, "I don't want that to happen."
He put his fists on his hips, "So you are suggesting that we bring forth our own dragon spirit." He paused, "How?"
She turned back to the diagram, " "Only conflicting emotions, felt by the two, can generate the power needed to be concerntrated in the winged waters eyes, the strongest of both sides ...." The last words are eroded out of view." She announced, "Isn't that always the way." She said to herself, in frustration.
"Only conflict felt by two?" there was a loud clatter outside of the walls, before he could finish his pondering. His wings burst out and before Hitomi could react he was pirched, crouching, on the top of the wall, hand on hilt of sword. He stood back up and it was then that Hitomi realized that his wings were slightly bigger and now glinted slightly in the sunlight. He glided back down to the ground, "It's just a farm wagon." He announced.