This chapter was a long time in the making. Basically because I hit
kind of a slump in terms of getting Ryu to the Island, I just couldn't find
a way to do it to my liking, that and I just sort of lost interest for a
while. One of you commented on the voice in Ryu's head was like that of
Odjn. I suppose that's true but I was actually thinking more along the
lines of Lews Therin's voice in Rand's head in the Wheel of Time Books.
Also, you might notice that I frequently changed whether or not Dragon was
capitalized. Dragon is a member of the clan, dragon is the creature.
Chapter Ten: Stranger in a Strange Land
Ryu stood before the Great Northern Sea as it splashed against the rock cliffs he now perched upon. The gray wall of clouds he had grown used to for the past couple of days ended almost directly above the cliffs and a bright blue sky greeted Ryu's eyes as he looked upon the rollicking waves. "Just as I had gotten used to that never ending panorama of gray." Ryu commented as he stared out into the expanse of ocean and sky. "Hey, Voice. Where exactly is this ferryman I'm supposed to meet?" Ryu asked of the autonomous voice residing inside his body. Ever since the Voice had taken form after he had killed that corpse composite everything had been really quiet. The wastelands themselves really had no sound except the occasional wail of one of the Grimlocks.
"He should be arriving any minute now." The Voice answered from just outside of his right ear. Ryu scowled at the very existence of that incorporeal voice just floating around inside his body. Ryu shrugged off his irritation and scanned the horizon for signs of a boat or whatever it was this ferryman was piloting. "You'll have to look a bit higher if you want to see him." The Voice advised just outside of his left ear this time. Ryu looked up in surprise and was knocked off his feet by the battering winds and the beast that owned them.
Just as Ryu hit the ground he was pinned their by a pendactyl claw, steel colored claws pierced through the rock beneath him and the silver scales crushed his body against the ground. Never before had Ryu encountered anything that dwarfed him so much, something so powerful that it could have done that without any notice and without any time for a reaction. Ryu's breath had been knocked out of him and now with the dragon's claw crushing his body he couldn't draw another breath. Ryu's eyes searched around in vain for something to help him but all he could see was the dragon bringing its head around to view him better. The giant slitted eyes peered down at him, the black slits looking more menacing against a pure white background.
Ryu squirmed uncomfortably underneath the weight and tried to push the claw off of him with the strength his death had brought him. No dice. Whatever power he had received from his death it was infinitesimal when compared to the strength the dragon was exerting right now. "Quit squirming little man." The dragon said, its voice rumbling from within his chest. "I just needed to see your eyes." It added, letting Ryu out of the scaly prison and stepped back onto the ledge.
Ryu scrambled to his feet and glared up at the dragon, hatred flaring up within him. Nothing makes a fool out of Ryu! Nothing! He thought as he dusted himself off. The dragon peered down at him imperiously before shaking its head slightly, seemingly casting something. Ryu was momentarily blinded by a bright flash of light that erupted from the dragon and by the time Ryu regained his eyesight a tall man with strange robes and long blue hair brought back into a ponytail. The eyes had remained the same however, proportional though.
Ryu immediately sized up the Dragon and considered paying him back for the wound that had been dealt to his pride. "That wouldn't be the wisest course of action." The Voice advised him from within the confines of his skull. Ryu's scowl deepened as he measured up the man standing before him.
"My apologies for the violent encounter, I simply wanted to be sure that you were indeed a Dragon. Very few Dragons actually come to this point and most that do are younger than you." The Ferryman, for that is what Ryu assumed, stated. Ryu eased up a little but still nurtured that little ball of chaos residing in his heart, readying himself to lash out at this Dragon.
"Really?" Ryu queried, his eyebrows sneaking up his forehead as his curiosity was piqued. His muscles began to relax and he took a more sedentary position watching the Ferryman as well as paying attention for any information that might be heading his way.
"Have you yet to experience the transformation?" The Ferryman asked looking intently at Ryu, sizing him up just as Ryu had done to him.
"I've transformed, but I've not yet "embraced" the dragon part of my lineage." Ryu explained, picking his words carefully so as not to reveal too much. He didn't know enough about Dragons to want to go and explain all of his circumstance in just a chance meeting. Not to mention that this Ferryman seemed a little too untrustworthy.
"Interesting, when you say transformed, what exactly do you mean?" The Ferryman went further, pressing the matter. "What circumstances caused this 'transformation'?" The Socratic Method was employed to full effect, much to the confusion and irritation of Ryu.
Ryu wanted to remain neutral in his responses but he could not fully comprehend what this man wanted from him and what the correct answer would be. Well, hopefully anything I say now won't be too damning. "I was burned alive, seemed like I died and then came back different. I was certainly more violent and stronger it seemed. But I did not turn into a dragon, at least not in the traditional sense." Ryu said, his eyes focused upon the Ferryman, trying to gauge the effect of his words.
"I see. That's quite perplexing. Well, regardless of whether or not you became a full dragon you did indeed transform. Just not in any usual manner. Perhaps the scholars back at Sirracat can tell you more. Hurry now, I'll ferry you across the sea." The Ferryman explained before being surrounded in another flash of light. The dragon form stood before him now and beckoned for him to climb onto his back.
Ryu grabbed onto one of the horns on the shoulder of the dragon and began to hoist himself up, thinking dark thoughts as he did it. He was very distasteful of the idea of trusting something that had humiliated him so singularly. The last person to actually have done that was when he was a green mercenary and that man had been dealt with when Ryu met him a second time. He wasn't sure if the second time he met with the Ferrymen would be the last, Ryu was no longer a God among ants but an ant among Gods in this land of Dragons.
"Not quite the experience you expected eh Ryu?" The Voice chortled inside his head, amused with Ryu's current thoughts. Ryu's thoughts however were jarred along with his body as the Ferryman took to the sky, the two powerful wings beating up and down bringing them further and further away from the wastelands and closer towards the homeland of his Race, towards the apparent end of his adventures.
The sun looked balefully at Ryu and the dragon, its red magnificence staring at them with un-winking anger as they soared over the ocean and towards the Dragon Isles. Night entered and the moon began to rise in prominence. The Ferryman flew onward, disregarding the night and the sudden chill descending over them. Ryu tried to ignore the chill as well but it seemed much more biting than the cold he faced in the Wastelands. Ryu sighed in resignation and tried to ignore the cold wind hurling itself into his face and waited for the flight to be over.
"We should reach the Isles by dawn, and then you'll meet your brethren." The Voice whispered to Ryu, it's voice stronger now than ever before. Ryu scowled forward, focusing upon a point on the dragon's neck. If his "brothers" were as friendly in greeting as the Ferryman then Ryu was going to have a problem maintaining his composure.
The night passed on, Ryu and the Ferryman were both silent as they traveled while the Voice sniped at Ryu with a few comments about the Dragon Isles. It wouldn't actually tell him anything useful about the place but it did manage to rile him up a little as the comments became increasingly louder in his ears. At last dawn broke and the rising sun began to illuminate the islands below them. They formed a rather large archipelago that from this angle could be mistaken for a dragon spreading its wings. It was eerily fitting but considering the considerable power that both Ladon and the Dragon Clan wielded, it wasn't out of place.
The Ferryman tilted his wings and began an arced decent towards the islands. The wind whipped even harder at Ryu and his grip tightened on the ridges he had been holding since he first got on the creature. The ridges were serrated which in turn meant blood welling up on Ryu's hands which led to a looser grip and then a tighter hold on the ridges which cut him in the first place. I've got half a mind to just dive off and swim to shore. Ryu thought acidly.
"I wouldn't advise that, we're still quite a distance from the sea and the islands. I guess you'll just have to suffer." The Voice admonished with false solicitude.
"I hate you so much right now." Ryu said with clenched teeth and sore hands. The Ferryman drew closer by the second to the main island, or the "torso" of the dragon with each breath, his wings brought close in on the sides to increase his speed. The ground began to rush up to meet them and Ryu felt a small piece of concern grow inside him. The Ferryman was moving fast enough at this point to splatter the both of them from one side of the field beneath them to the other. This really sucks. Ryu thought as the ground seemed to be smiling at him, waiting for him to crash.
The Ferryman's wings snapped outward, almost completely halting their descent just before hitting the ground. Ryu, who had been leaning back from the force of the winds, was thrown forward into the iron hard scales on the Ferryman's back. The ridges cut deeply into his face, breaking bone with the force. Ryu's world went black and he felt himself hit the ground with a thud, his senses reeling from the blow. Ryu opened his eyes gingerly and was greeted with azure skies and wispy cirrus clouds. Ryu could feel blood trickling down his face but made no move to halt its flow. The Ferryman stepped into view, concern painting his features. Ryu could feel a slight tingling sensation of his forehead and the bleeding stopped. The Ferryman's eyes flashed first to the now closed wound and then back to Ryu's eyes.
Ryu got to his feet, shaking his head and sending droplets of blood flying off. "That's interesting, you healed that wound faster than I would have thought." The Ferryman commented, looking speculatively at the still pink skin on Ryu's forehead. Ryu's eyes hardened and his teeth clenched as anger welled up inside of him.
Ryu pulled his fist back and let it fly into the face of the Ferryman. The Dragon was knocked backwards and slid slightly on the ground. A large bruise was even now beginning to form underneath his eye as it swelled up. "That's interesting, you took less effort on my part to knock out." Ryu commented dusting his hands off. He kneeled down besides the unconscious figure and began to wipe the blood off his face. "I should probably avoid doing that from now on." Ryu said to the unconscious Dragon before standing up and surveying the area around him. He was in a field that was more of a hill that jutted outwards into a cliff that overlooked the ocean. To his left the hill tapered down and reached a nicely cobbled road. Where it led was anyone's guess but it probably led to at least two places, that being inherit in roads and lines in general.
Ryu walked haltingly down the hill until he reached the road and scanned either direction for an immediate destination. To his right was a straightaway with the occasional tree sprouting up on the side, to the left it twisted around another hill and presumably led to a village by the sea or just the sea in general. "I'd suggest going to the right." The Voice advised, appearing in it's physical form behind Ryu. It had a smug expression on Ryu's face as it stood before him. Ryu swore under his breath and started walking down the cobbled road, remembering full well the results of listening to The Voice.
The countryside surrounding the road could best be described as farmland, vast stretches of wheat greeted Ryu with the occasional orchard of some type or the other standing out amongst the golden waves. It was probably an hour before he actually saw signs of buildings and the like. Coming up on his left was a rather stately manor with four ionic columns supporting the jutting terracotta roof. Ryu stopped for a moment to look at the building, now that he was right in front of it he better began to understand its purpose. It was lower to the ground, probably a single story though higher than fifteen feet. Large windows were placed in between the columns on the left and right with a door placed in the center of the wall. Above the door a standard hung with an outline of a gold dragon head looking straight forward on a red backdrop. At the bottom of the standard a strange symbol was scrawled beneath a sword. Must be a military headquarters of some kind. Ryu thought considering what swords typically meant in the world of standards.
As he was standing there taking in the details of the building a young man with blue hair, presumably another Dragon, opened the doors and looked out at him. "You there, what are you standing about for? If you're interested in enlisting then come in already!" He shouted before closing the door again afterwards.
"That was rather odd." Ryu mumbled, slowly moving towards the building. It was at this point that Ryu lamented his decision to strike the Ferryman. He probably would have proved useful at this point. Oh well. Ryu thought picking up his pace as he strode more confidently towards the door.
Once he opened the doors, they were of a heavier make than those on the mainland presumably because the Dragons were stronger or perhaps because it was the type of wood. Regardless of what the door told about this building, the main hall said much more. All along the wall more standards like the one above the roof were hung with the only difference between them another symbol at the top right corner. Ten standards in all hung from the wall and underneath resided tower shields with the same design as the standards except without the symbols at the bottom or right corner. Right in front of the main door a hallway divided the left and right wings of the building and led further into the recesses of the complex before ending in another set of double doors. Two guards flanked the hall and stood stock still, gazing at him with unblinking eyes varying shades of green.
They were armed in what to Ryu seemed modern variants of an archaic design. The helms gleamed in the morning sun with steel flaps that protruded down to the jaw line and a nose guard that flared out after curving in; Ryu remembered having seen one in Murnab's office at the time Murnab had called it a Praetorian Italic, dating from over two thousand years ago. The breastplate they wore was of a fairly utilitarian design but it soon changed to a series of curved steel plates attached to a leather cuirass underneath. The armor tapered off in a leather kilt with steel plates sown into it in a similar fashion to that of the abdomen armor. The forearms and shins were covered by steel bracers and greaves. Each carried a tower shield on their left arm, a pylum held upright in their right and on their left hip a sheathed sword of an unable type. Ryu felt a little out of place in this present company but walked forward between the two guards his eyes shooting quizzical glances at either.
At last he reached the end of the hall and pushed both doors open to see a truly odd sight. The area before him was a great training field that spanned what must have been a mile. Immediately before him was the same man who had originally invited him in who stood next to a tall figure resplendent in the same armor the guards had up front except with a gold embossing of the armor. The leader of this group of soldiers, as Ryu assumed he was, was surveying a group of soldiers in the similarly armed to the guards marching around in what appeared to be a phalanx. Ryu was a bit surprised by this turn of events, but considering the other antiquated aspects of what he had seen, it fit. The commander signaled something and a trumpeter blew three staccato notes and the phalanx shifted the tower shields until is formed a box like defense, with shields covering all the sides and the top. It was a textbook maneuver from long before the advent on siege weaponry.
The man who had invited him caught sight of Ryu again and nudged the Commander. The Dragon stiffened slightly and turned around to look at Ryu. They both stood stock still for a moment as each sized the other up. Finally the Commander broke the silence, "You look new." He said bluntly as he moved closer up to Ryu, looking up intensely into his eyes.
"I just arrived from the mainland, the Ferryman flew me across." Ryu elaborated to the man, his voice emotionless. The Commander swayed back on his feet slightly taken aback by that knowledge.
"You look a bit old for one brought over by the Ferryman." The Commander said, displaying the same level of surprise as the Ferryman had a day ago. He looked like he was going to add more but Ryu quickly cut him off.
"I already went through this, just tell me where I'm supposed to go as a new arrival." Ryu said, almost demanded of the man who apparently held a rather high rank. The Commander looked ready to tear Ryu a new one but thought better of it and gestured to the road with his head.
"Just keep going down the road in the same direction and you'll arrive at Sirracat." He said brusquely before turning back to the troops and watched as they trained some more. Ryu brought his arms back stretching them as he walked away, the sounds of instruction and trumpet horns echoing among the sloping landscape. Ryu got back to the main road and continued walking along, noticing how the landscape began to level out and more buildings like the one which housed the one legion he had stopped at. Ryu had figured that out while he was walking and thinking about the standards. It made sense once you put the facts together, the group marching in a phalanx was composed of roughly five hundred soldiers, and with the ten different standards to represent the ten cohorts which in turn made up the one legion. Parts of it were Ryu jumping to conclusions but it still wasn't a bad hypothesis.
That makes ten right there. Ryu noticed as he counted the tenth building bearing the military standard. That made for at least fifty thousand troops just on this island alone. That's enough to make some of the Kingdoms take a step back. Ryu thought appreciatively. If any of the mainlanders knew about the forces active on these islands they might rethink their neutrality.
After what was about another hour Ryu finally reached the sign of a non-martial institution. It wasn't anything to lose your head over but it was reassuring to know that this entire island wasn't devoted to the military. The building was tall and made out of stone but instead of military standards it had a large banner that was scrawled with more symbols that apparently passed for writing among the Dragons. The banner wasn't much help but the fact that about a dozen wagons had pulled up filled with grain and other assorted crops tipped Ryu off to the nature of the building. A granary, how quaint. He thought, marveling at the warp back in time. Ryu continued walking noting how a number of blue haired individuals were milling about the place speaking in an altered form of common.
The granary was a sure sign that a city or at least a town was close by and sure enough, the rolling hills covered in fields of grain and grass became a series of rolling hills covered in various stone buildings, each with columns and terracotta roofs. The buildings were a beautiful sight and the technique to craft them was untouched in the two thousand years since the Dragons had left the world of the Followers. Many more Dragons flooded the streets in the early morning, many shooting curious glances in Ryu's direction. Most wore robes of varying colors ranging from simple white to a variety of purples.
Well, I'm at a city, presumably it's Sirracat, now what? Ryu thought looking around at the Dragons starting to gather around him. Ryu wasn't sure what he should do or say, the Dragons were so antiquated in nature that a simple 'Hello' might offend them. Granted, I'm new here so they might not tear out my eyes for being informal. He thought, hoping he was right, he had no desire to confront a large group of people that could transform into dragons. "Good morning, I was wondering if any of you could tell me where I should go having just recently arrived." Ryu explained looking inquiringly at the group around him. For a moment no one said anything until a group of legionnaires could be heard jogging towards them. Their steel armor reflected light right into Ryu's eyes causing him to wince slightly.
The crowd around him quickly moved away, going about their business as if Ryu hadn't arrived. Ryu grunted with a hint of anger at this current turn of events. With the arrival or the perfectly aligned troops Ryu noticed a standard that was not a military one hovering above the heads of the soldiers as they stood at stock still readiness. "Next time I'll refrain from commenting on the status of the morning." Ryu said dryly as he examined the guards arrayed before him. From behind the guards he could discern a slight chuckle and then was greeted with the sight of another Dragon, this one in bright green robes with a clasp that matched the symbol on the standard, one of a feather or what could be a feather pen.
"You'll have to forgive the brusqueness of this reception, I had received word from Commander Turgon about the arrival of a Dragon." The robed individual said in a deep, raspy sort of voice. "I am Senator Gerczek, these troops and I will escort you to the acropolis for your reception." He said in a rather amiable fashion. Ryu eyed him askance but decided that following was probably a better option than some of the others.
"Lead on." Ryu said gesturing for Gerczek to take the lead. Gerczek smiled and whistled signaling the guards to form two lines next to himself and Ryu, essentially creating a box. I hope I don't regret this.
That ends this chapter, the longest one I've had without fighting. Perhaps it'll explain things but I doubt it, this was somewhat of filler before we get to more action and explanation. I pictured the Dragons as Romanesque in general. It made sense at the time and when you think about it, when a bunch of stories on this sight have Dragons wielding katanas I figured mine should have them wielding pylum (spears) and gladius (short swords), maybe I'm wrong though. If you do review, I would deeply appreciate an e-mail address so I may address anything you may bring up that needs addressing.
Fact of the Chapter: The term "Out of left field" originates from a point in baseball history in which all left fields were larger than the right, thus making for more lost balls.
Chapter Ten: Stranger in a Strange Land
Ryu stood before the Great Northern Sea as it splashed against the rock cliffs he now perched upon. The gray wall of clouds he had grown used to for the past couple of days ended almost directly above the cliffs and a bright blue sky greeted Ryu's eyes as he looked upon the rollicking waves. "Just as I had gotten used to that never ending panorama of gray." Ryu commented as he stared out into the expanse of ocean and sky. "Hey, Voice. Where exactly is this ferryman I'm supposed to meet?" Ryu asked of the autonomous voice residing inside his body. Ever since the Voice had taken form after he had killed that corpse composite everything had been really quiet. The wastelands themselves really had no sound except the occasional wail of one of the Grimlocks.
"He should be arriving any minute now." The Voice answered from just outside of his right ear. Ryu scowled at the very existence of that incorporeal voice just floating around inside his body. Ryu shrugged off his irritation and scanned the horizon for signs of a boat or whatever it was this ferryman was piloting. "You'll have to look a bit higher if you want to see him." The Voice advised just outside of his left ear this time. Ryu looked up in surprise and was knocked off his feet by the battering winds and the beast that owned them.
Just as Ryu hit the ground he was pinned their by a pendactyl claw, steel colored claws pierced through the rock beneath him and the silver scales crushed his body against the ground. Never before had Ryu encountered anything that dwarfed him so much, something so powerful that it could have done that without any notice and without any time for a reaction. Ryu's breath had been knocked out of him and now with the dragon's claw crushing his body he couldn't draw another breath. Ryu's eyes searched around in vain for something to help him but all he could see was the dragon bringing its head around to view him better. The giant slitted eyes peered down at him, the black slits looking more menacing against a pure white background.
Ryu squirmed uncomfortably underneath the weight and tried to push the claw off of him with the strength his death had brought him. No dice. Whatever power he had received from his death it was infinitesimal when compared to the strength the dragon was exerting right now. "Quit squirming little man." The dragon said, its voice rumbling from within his chest. "I just needed to see your eyes." It added, letting Ryu out of the scaly prison and stepped back onto the ledge.
Ryu scrambled to his feet and glared up at the dragon, hatred flaring up within him. Nothing makes a fool out of Ryu! Nothing! He thought as he dusted himself off. The dragon peered down at him imperiously before shaking its head slightly, seemingly casting something. Ryu was momentarily blinded by a bright flash of light that erupted from the dragon and by the time Ryu regained his eyesight a tall man with strange robes and long blue hair brought back into a ponytail. The eyes had remained the same however, proportional though.
Ryu immediately sized up the Dragon and considered paying him back for the wound that had been dealt to his pride. "That wouldn't be the wisest course of action." The Voice advised him from within the confines of his skull. Ryu's scowl deepened as he measured up the man standing before him.
"My apologies for the violent encounter, I simply wanted to be sure that you were indeed a Dragon. Very few Dragons actually come to this point and most that do are younger than you." The Ferryman, for that is what Ryu assumed, stated. Ryu eased up a little but still nurtured that little ball of chaos residing in his heart, readying himself to lash out at this Dragon.
"Really?" Ryu queried, his eyebrows sneaking up his forehead as his curiosity was piqued. His muscles began to relax and he took a more sedentary position watching the Ferryman as well as paying attention for any information that might be heading his way.
"Have you yet to experience the transformation?" The Ferryman asked looking intently at Ryu, sizing him up just as Ryu had done to him.
"I've transformed, but I've not yet "embraced" the dragon part of my lineage." Ryu explained, picking his words carefully so as not to reveal too much. He didn't know enough about Dragons to want to go and explain all of his circumstance in just a chance meeting. Not to mention that this Ferryman seemed a little too untrustworthy.
"Interesting, when you say transformed, what exactly do you mean?" The Ferryman went further, pressing the matter. "What circumstances caused this 'transformation'?" The Socratic Method was employed to full effect, much to the confusion and irritation of Ryu.
Ryu wanted to remain neutral in his responses but he could not fully comprehend what this man wanted from him and what the correct answer would be. Well, hopefully anything I say now won't be too damning. "I was burned alive, seemed like I died and then came back different. I was certainly more violent and stronger it seemed. But I did not turn into a dragon, at least not in the traditional sense." Ryu said, his eyes focused upon the Ferryman, trying to gauge the effect of his words.
"I see. That's quite perplexing. Well, regardless of whether or not you became a full dragon you did indeed transform. Just not in any usual manner. Perhaps the scholars back at Sirracat can tell you more. Hurry now, I'll ferry you across the sea." The Ferryman explained before being surrounded in another flash of light. The dragon form stood before him now and beckoned for him to climb onto his back.
Ryu grabbed onto one of the horns on the shoulder of the dragon and began to hoist himself up, thinking dark thoughts as he did it. He was very distasteful of the idea of trusting something that had humiliated him so singularly. The last person to actually have done that was when he was a green mercenary and that man had been dealt with when Ryu met him a second time. He wasn't sure if the second time he met with the Ferrymen would be the last, Ryu was no longer a God among ants but an ant among Gods in this land of Dragons.
"Not quite the experience you expected eh Ryu?" The Voice chortled inside his head, amused with Ryu's current thoughts. Ryu's thoughts however were jarred along with his body as the Ferryman took to the sky, the two powerful wings beating up and down bringing them further and further away from the wastelands and closer towards the homeland of his Race, towards the apparent end of his adventures.
The sun looked balefully at Ryu and the dragon, its red magnificence staring at them with un-winking anger as they soared over the ocean and towards the Dragon Isles. Night entered and the moon began to rise in prominence. The Ferryman flew onward, disregarding the night and the sudden chill descending over them. Ryu tried to ignore the chill as well but it seemed much more biting than the cold he faced in the Wastelands. Ryu sighed in resignation and tried to ignore the cold wind hurling itself into his face and waited for the flight to be over.
"We should reach the Isles by dawn, and then you'll meet your brethren." The Voice whispered to Ryu, it's voice stronger now than ever before. Ryu scowled forward, focusing upon a point on the dragon's neck. If his "brothers" were as friendly in greeting as the Ferryman then Ryu was going to have a problem maintaining his composure.
The night passed on, Ryu and the Ferryman were both silent as they traveled while the Voice sniped at Ryu with a few comments about the Dragon Isles. It wouldn't actually tell him anything useful about the place but it did manage to rile him up a little as the comments became increasingly louder in his ears. At last dawn broke and the rising sun began to illuminate the islands below them. They formed a rather large archipelago that from this angle could be mistaken for a dragon spreading its wings. It was eerily fitting but considering the considerable power that both Ladon and the Dragon Clan wielded, it wasn't out of place.
The Ferryman tilted his wings and began an arced decent towards the islands. The wind whipped even harder at Ryu and his grip tightened on the ridges he had been holding since he first got on the creature. The ridges were serrated which in turn meant blood welling up on Ryu's hands which led to a looser grip and then a tighter hold on the ridges which cut him in the first place. I've got half a mind to just dive off and swim to shore. Ryu thought acidly.
"I wouldn't advise that, we're still quite a distance from the sea and the islands. I guess you'll just have to suffer." The Voice admonished with false solicitude.
"I hate you so much right now." Ryu said with clenched teeth and sore hands. The Ferryman drew closer by the second to the main island, or the "torso" of the dragon with each breath, his wings brought close in on the sides to increase his speed. The ground began to rush up to meet them and Ryu felt a small piece of concern grow inside him. The Ferryman was moving fast enough at this point to splatter the both of them from one side of the field beneath them to the other. This really sucks. Ryu thought as the ground seemed to be smiling at him, waiting for him to crash.
The Ferryman's wings snapped outward, almost completely halting their descent just before hitting the ground. Ryu, who had been leaning back from the force of the winds, was thrown forward into the iron hard scales on the Ferryman's back. The ridges cut deeply into his face, breaking bone with the force. Ryu's world went black and he felt himself hit the ground with a thud, his senses reeling from the blow. Ryu opened his eyes gingerly and was greeted with azure skies and wispy cirrus clouds. Ryu could feel blood trickling down his face but made no move to halt its flow. The Ferryman stepped into view, concern painting his features. Ryu could feel a slight tingling sensation of his forehead and the bleeding stopped. The Ferryman's eyes flashed first to the now closed wound and then back to Ryu's eyes.
Ryu got to his feet, shaking his head and sending droplets of blood flying off. "That's interesting, you healed that wound faster than I would have thought." The Ferryman commented, looking speculatively at the still pink skin on Ryu's forehead. Ryu's eyes hardened and his teeth clenched as anger welled up inside of him.
Ryu pulled his fist back and let it fly into the face of the Ferryman. The Dragon was knocked backwards and slid slightly on the ground. A large bruise was even now beginning to form underneath his eye as it swelled up. "That's interesting, you took less effort on my part to knock out." Ryu commented dusting his hands off. He kneeled down besides the unconscious figure and began to wipe the blood off his face. "I should probably avoid doing that from now on." Ryu said to the unconscious Dragon before standing up and surveying the area around him. He was in a field that was more of a hill that jutted outwards into a cliff that overlooked the ocean. To his left the hill tapered down and reached a nicely cobbled road. Where it led was anyone's guess but it probably led to at least two places, that being inherit in roads and lines in general.
Ryu walked haltingly down the hill until he reached the road and scanned either direction for an immediate destination. To his right was a straightaway with the occasional tree sprouting up on the side, to the left it twisted around another hill and presumably led to a village by the sea or just the sea in general. "I'd suggest going to the right." The Voice advised, appearing in it's physical form behind Ryu. It had a smug expression on Ryu's face as it stood before him. Ryu swore under his breath and started walking down the cobbled road, remembering full well the results of listening to The Voice.
The countryside surrounding the road could best be described as farmland, vast stretches of wheat greeted Ryu with the occasional orchard of some type or the other standing out amongst the golden waves. It was probably an hour before he actually saw signs of buildings and the like. Coming up on his left was a rather stately manor with four ionic columns supporting the jutting terracotta roof. Ryu stopped for a moment to look at the building, now that he was right in front of it he better began to understand its purpose. It was lower to the ground, probably a single story though higher than fifteen feet. Large windows were placed in between the columns on the left and right with a door placed in the center of the wall. Above the door a standard hung with an outline of a gold dragon head looking straight forward on a red backdrop. At the bottom of the standard a strange symbol was scrawled beneath a sword. Must be a military headquarters of some kind. Ryu thought considering what swords typically meant in the world of standards.
As he was standing there taking in the details of the building a young man with blue hair, presumably another Dragon, opened the doors and looked out at him. "You there, what are you standing about for? If you're interested in enlisting then come in already!" He shouted before closing the door again afterwards.
"That was rather odd." Ryu mumbled, slowly moving towards the building. It was at this point that Ryu lamented his decision to strike the Ferryman. He probably would have proved useful at this point. Oh well. Ryu thought picking up his pace as he strode more confidently towards the door.
Once he opened the doors, they were of a heavier make than those on the mainland presumably because the Dragons were stronger or perhaps because it was the type of wood. Regardless of what the door told about this building, the main hall said much more. All along the wall more standards like the one above the roof were hung with the only difference between them another symbol at the top right corner. Ten standards in all hung from the wall and underneath resided tower shields with the same design as the standards except without the symbols at the bottom or right corner. Right in front of the main door a hallway divided the left and right wings of the building and led further into the recesses of the complex before ending in another set of double doors. Two guards flanked the hall and stood stock still, gazing at him with unblinking eyes varying shades of green.
They were armed in what to Ryu seemed modern variants of an archaic design. The helms gleamed in the morning sun with steel flaps that protruded down to the jaw line and a nose guard that flared out after curving in; Ryu remembered having seen one in Murnab's office at the time Murnab had called it a Praetorian Italic, dating from over two thousand years ago. The breastplate they wore was of a fairly utilitarian design but it soon changed to a series of curved steel plates attached to a leather cuirass underneath. The armor tapered off in a leather kilt with steel plates sown into it in a similar fashion to that of the abdomen armor. The forearms and shins were covered by steel bracers and greaves. Each carried a tower shield on their left arm, a pylum held upright in their right and on their left hip a sheathed sword of an unable type. Ryu felt a little out of place in this present company but walked forward between the two guards his eyes shooting quizzical glances at either.
At last he reached the end of the hall and pushed both doors open to see a truly odd sight. The area before him was a great training field that spanned what must have been a mile. Immediately before him was the same man who had originally invited him in who stood next to a tall figure resplendent in the same armor the guards had up front except with a gold embossing of the armor. The leader of this group of soldiers, as Ryu assumed he was, was surveying a group of soldiers in the similarly armed to the guards marching around in what appeared to be a phalanx. Ryu was a bit surprised by this turn of events, but considering the other antiquated aspects of what he had seen, it fit. The commander signaled something and a trumpeter blew three staccato notes and the phalanx shifted the tower shields until is formed a box like defense, with shields covering all the sides and the top. It was a textbook maneuver from long before the advent on siege weaponry.
The man who had invited him caught sight of Ryu again and nudged the Commander. The Dragon stiffened slightly and turned around to look at Ryu. They both stood stock still for a moment as each sized the other up. Finally the Commander broke the silence, "You look new." He said bluntly as he moved closer up to Ryu, looking up intensely into his eyes.
"I just arrived from the mainland, the Ferryman flew me across." Ryu elaborated to the man, his voice emotionless. The Commander swayed back on his feet slightly taken aback by that knowledge.
"You look a bit old for one brought over by the Ferryman." The Commander said, displaying the same level of surprise as the Ferryman had a day ago. He looked like he was going to add more but Ryu quickly cut him off.
"I already went through this, just tell me where I'm supposed to go as a new arrival." Ryu said, almost demanded of the man who apparently held a rather high rank. The Commander looked ready to tear Ryu a new one but thought better of it and gestured to the road with his head.
"Just keep going down the road in the same direction and you'll arrive at Sirracat." He said brusquely before turning back to the troops and watched as they trained some more. Ryu brought his arms back stretching them as he walked away, the sounds of instruction and trumpet horns echoing among the sloping landscape. Ryu got back to the main road and continued walking along, noticing how the landscape began to level out and more buildings like the one which housed the one legion he had stopped at. Ryu had figured that out while he was walking and thinking about the standards. It made sense once you put the facts together, the group marching in a phalanx was composed of roughly five hundred soldiers, and with the ten different standards to represent the ten cohorts which in turn made up the one legion. Parts of it were Ryu jumping to conclusions but it still wasn't a bad hypothesis.
That makes ten right there. Ryu noticed as he counted the tenth building bearing the military standard. That made for at least fifty thousand troops just on this island alone. That's enough to make some of the Kingdoms take a step back. Ryu thought appreciatively. If any of the mainlanders knew about the forces active on these islands they might rethink their neutrality.
After what was about another hour Ryu finally reached the sign of a non-martial institution. It wasn't anything to lose your head over but it was reassuring to know that this entire island wasn't devoted to the military. The building was tall and made out of stone but instead of military standards it had a large banner that was scrawled with more symbols that apparently passed for writing among the Dragons. The banner wasn't much help but the fact that about a dozen wagons had pulled up filled with grain and other assorted crops tipped Ryu off to the nature of the building. A granary, how quaint. He thought, marveling at the warp back in time. Ryu continued walking noting how a number of blue haired individuals were milling about the place speaking in an altered form of common.
The granary was a sure sign that a city or at least a town was close by and sure enough, the rolling hills covered in fields of grain and grass became a series of rolling hills covered in various stone buildings, each with columns and terracotta roofs. The buildings were a beautiful sight and the technique to craft them was untouched in the two thousand years since the Dragons had left the world of the Followers. Many more Dragons flooded the streets in the early morning, many shooting curious glances in Ryu's direction. Most wore robes of varying colors ranging from simple white to a variety of purples.
Well, I'm at a city, presumably it's Sirracat, now what? Ryu thought looking around at the Dragons starting to gather around him. Ryu wasn't sure what he should do or say, the Dragons were so antiquated in nature that a simple 'Hello' might offend them. Granted, I'm new here so they might not tear out my eyes for being informal. He thought, hoping he was right, he had no desire to confront a large group of people that could transform into dragons. "Good morning, I was wondering if any of you could tell me where I should go having just recently arrived." Ryu explained looking inquiringly at the group around him. For a moment no one said anything until a group of legionnaires could be heard jogging towards them. Their steel armor reflected light right into Ryu's eyes causing him to wince slightly.
The crowd around him quickly moved away, going about their business as if Ryu hadn't arrived. Ryu grunted with a hint of anger at this current turn of events. With the arrival or the perfectly aligned troops Ryu noticed a standard that was not a military one hovering above the heads of the soldiers as they stood at stock still readiness. "Next time I'll refrain from commenting on the status of the morning." Ryu said dryly as he examined the guards arrayed before him. From behind the guards he could discern a slight chuckle and then was greeted with the sight of another Dragon, this one in bright green robes with a clasp that matched the symbol on the standard, one of a feather or what could be a feather pen.
"You'll have to forgive the brusqueness of this reception, I had received word from Commander Turgon about the arrival of a Dragon." The robed individual said in a deep, raspy sort of voice. "I am Senator Gerczek, these troops and I will escort you to the acropolis for your reception." He said in a rather amiable fashion. Ryu eyed him askance but decided that following was probably a better option than some of the others.
"Lead on." Ryu said gesturing for Gerczek to take the lead. Gerczek smiled and whistled signaling the guards to form two lines next to himself and Ryu, essentially creating a box. I hope I don't regret this.
That ends this chapter, the longest one I've had without fighting. Perhaps it'll explain things but I doubt it, this was somewhat of filler before we get to more action and explanation. I pictured the Dragons as Romanesque in general. It made sense at the time and when you think about it, when a bunch of stories on this sight have Dragons wielding katanas I figured mine should have them wielding pylum (spears) and gladius (short swords), maybe I'm wrong though. If you do review, I would deeply appreciate an e-mail address so I may address anything you may bring up that needs addressing.
Fact of the Chapter: The term "Out of left field" originates from a point in baseball history in which all left fields were larger than the right, thus making for more lost balls.