A/N: No spoilers here. This part of the plot I made myself. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Just so everyone knows Keryl and Mirror aren't mine.
Chapter 2 The Cursed Daughter
Over the next several hours Ryan related her story to Mirror, of how she had been cursed. During the War of Chaos, Takhisis had begun to muse over her past. Wondering if she had forgotten to do anything, reek revenge on anyone. Not only was she thinking about this but already she was in a foul mood, with the war threatening her place of power. Her attention had been drawn to the one man who had ever truly attacked her or tired to do her harm, to take her place among the Gods. Raistlin Majere had entered the abyss many years ago to fight the Dark Queen for her place. Raistlin had made a terrible mistake and sacrificed himself to prevent the Queen from passing through the abyss into Krynn. The only problem with the Queen wanting to seeking revenge on him was the fact that he was already dead. It was then she had recalled the story of "Raistlin's Daughter" and so wondered if it was true or not. After several months of searching she found Ryan and sent a few of her minions to get her. This way the Queen hoped to hurt Raistlin, at least, indirectly.
Takhisis had underestimated Ryan's abilities for she had easily defeated the small group of her minions. So for the second time she sent more.. 'able' people after her with the promise of reward. In this fight Ryan won as well but was seriously injured. Crippled with a broken leg Ryan could travel neither far nor fast so the Queen easily kept an eye on her until she was ready to deal her blow.
Keryl who had been traveling with her help her all he could, but was of little help to heal the magically inflicted wound. Then one day there was a terrible storm. The storm had taken the both Ryan and Keryl be surprise and were soon lost. Ryan was knocked from her steed and rendered unconscious. When she woke she was a dragon, feeble and weak.
Over the several hours of her story Keryl was restoring Mirror's sight, but only to one eye. Keryl was no God so therefor could not heal Mirror completely. All the same Mirror was thrilled to be able to see through his right eye, and said he was forever in Keryl's debt.
With her story done and Mirror able to see through one eye, he could see her crouched near the back of the cave as if about to pounce. Mirror walked up to her to get a better look at her.
Through Mirror's one eye that Keryl had restored he saw Ryan. He now truly understood the meaning of "cursed". He would have thought becoming a dragon to have been a blessing to the half human half Irda woman. But now he saw and understood.
The creature that had now stood up before him was not a dragon but a shadow, an imitation of one. Her body was somewhat sleek but very, very thin even though it appeared Keryl fed her well. Her head was a symbol of a Golds beauty and elegance, but that was the only real likeness that she had compared to the regal Golds. The horns upon her head were short and blunt, utterly useless in battle, and as she gave a small yawn he saw healthy but incredibly small teeth. The teeth looked as if she was to bite him that they would crack and break on his scales. He began to circle around her, examining her from top to bottom.
He stopped so he looked at her from the side. He started at her small elegant paws (which were very small compared to the Golds) and her uneven claws. It was obvious that she had tried to take care of them but they were too brittle and broke when too much pressure was applied. The only real painful thing he saw her claws being able to do would have been to leave splinters of her nails in a cut. His eyes slowly drifted up to her legs where the skin was pulled over the little muscle she had. The other thing about her legs was that the were incredibly long for dragon legs, and seemed build like a horses legs, for speed (her broken leg had healed nicely so you couldn't even tell which had broken). He then looked at the shoulders, mid-section and hips. The shoulders were well formed but with no muscles for flying or running (which dragons did little of to begin with). Her mid-section was truly a sight. Looking at her profile he could see that her stomach curve up sharply to meet her abdomen between her hips. This gave her the appearance of a starved creature that hadn't eaten in weeks, for she even had a few ribs showing. Her hips like her shoulders were well formed but with no strength to speak of. He then glanced back at her tail which was long but useless. His eye quickly went back to her neck and wings. Her neck, he would admit, looked very much like the regal and elegant neck of the Gold dragons, but like the rest of her body possessed no real power. And finally were her wings, which turned out to be a real disappointment for him. Her wings were plenty big enough to carry her but since they had never been used they just hung there limply with little purpose. In his opinion she would probably be better if she tore them off.
It took him sever moments after looking at all her 'normal' details to notice one thing that was never seen on dragons, hair. Instead of spikes lining her back, from the base of her head to the tip of her tail, she had silver white hair. He approached her and touched the hair with his nose. It was as soft as silk and was a little over two feet in length. He had never seen such a thing in all his life, he assumed it was because of the fact that she was not an actual dragon.
Feeling the his physical inspection was done, he decided to test her abilities. 'For some reason I feel hope for our world when I look at her' he thought.
"Follow me." he said out loud. Not questioning him, Ryan followed. She followed him into the sunlight which seemed to blind her. Apparently she was not use to leaving her cave home. He walked beside her and again noticed something strange about her. Both male and female Golds where huge compared to Silvers, the largest of Paladine's dragons, yet she was barley an inch taller then him. Deciding that size didn't matter, he lead her a short ways from the lone mountain.
One reason she was not use to the light was because Keryl discouraged her going out. He had said while he was healing Mirror's eye that he feared that the other dragons, the dragons of Takhisis, would attack and kill her thinking she was a real dragon. Mirror had also discovered that Keryl was Ryan's uncle and he was a full blooded Irda. This had fascinated Mirror for he had never met one. This also explained Keryl's frequent absence, for he came and left often (as the story goes the Irda prefer to be loners rather then staying in groups).
With some of his questions answered Mirror had begun to think about Ryan as a possible savior. He needed help to find his cousins who were missing, and he may need someone to watch his back. Ryan seemed perfect. She might even assist him in the finding of the Gods.
"Alright." he said taking a deep breath of fresh air, "Show me what you can do!" he said looking at her expectantly.
"Apparently you overestimate my handicap." she hissed coldly.
"How so?" he asked no sure he understood. What he was asking her to do was what every dragon in Krynn could do.
"Does cursed mean anything to you, Silver?!" she spat, "That I'll posses great powers! Ha!" she mocked, "Look at me! Do I look like I have powers? Do I even look like a dragon to you?!" she raged at him, with a hungry, longing fire that burned in her eyes.
"Well you have..potential.." he said glancing at her, not wanting to look her in the eyes. "Show me!" he said a bit more confidently.
"I will not embarrass myself." she said darkly, "I'll just tell you. When I try to breath fire like the great Golds, I and those around me gag on smoke and my throat burns raw so I can hardly breath. I choke on my own fumes and eventually render myself unconscious with my own breath. When I try to fly my joints creek in refusal and I plunge to the ground only getting gashes and bruises for my effort. Not to mention I posses the magical mass that of a grain of sand!" she said disgusted with herself, "The worst I could do to my foe is sit on him!" she said scornfully.
Mirror was taken aback. He glanced at her with sorrow and pity in his eyes, now seeing how helpless she was.
"Don't pity me!" she yelled at him, her words burning him like fire.
"I will help you. May be you need to just learn these things.."
She snorted doubtfully.
"Seriously, if you.." he stopped. For the first time since they had left the cave he looked at her directly and found himself nearly blinded in his one eye. Her scales were the most glorious shade of gold he had ever seen. Her scales were smooth and shined brilliantly in the sun. He looked at her with mild awe.
"Turn around in a circle.." he commanded still staring at her. She obeyed, and with her every movement her scales rippled like the waves in the sea, glittering, shining.
"What is it?" she asked as she turned back to face him.
"Your scales...are such a wonderful color..I have never seen scales shine like that.." He still stared and then finally blinked. She gave him a crooked smile.
"How is that good?" she asked skeptically.
"Such beauty would stop your foes dead." he said seriously, "But I think we should go back to the cave and start your training later tonight..for you shine like a beacon that could be seen for miles."
"Training? For what?" she asked not having listen to him earlier.
"I told you. May be you just need to learn these things like I did when I was young. Like how I had to learn how to fly and breath frost." "Really?"
"Yes, really. Or so I believe." Mirror said kindly.
Ryan was quiet as they walked back to the cave and before then went back into the darkness she said, "I've always dreamed of flying..." she said wistfully glancing at the sky.
review responses:
Dalamar Nightson: Here ya go. The explanation for the term "cursed". I was planning to explain it later, but decided that the sooner I explained it the less confused people would be.
Disclaimer: Just so everyone knows Keryl and Mirror aren't mine.
Chapter 2 The Cursed Daughter
Over the next several hours Ryan related her story to Mirror, of how she had been cursed. During the War of Chaos, Takhisis had begun to muse over her past. Wondering if she had forgotten to do anything, reek revenge on anyone. Not only was she thinking about this but already she was in a foul mood, with the war threatening her place of power. Her attention had been drawn to the one man who had ever truly attacked her or tired to do her harm, to take her place among the Gods. Raistlin Majere had entered the abyss many years ago to fight the Dark Queen for her place. Raistlin had made a terrible mistake and sacrificed himself to prevent the Queen from passing through the abyss into Krynn. The only problem with the Queen wanting to seeking revenge on him was the fact that he was already dead. It was then she had recalled the story of "Raistlin's Daughter" and so wondered if it was true or not. After several months of searching she found Ryan and sent a few of her minions to get her. This way the Queen hoped to hurt Raistlin, at least, indirectly.
Takhisis had underestimated Ryan's abilities for she had easily defeated the small group of her minions. So for the second time she sent more.. 'able' people after her with the promise of reward. In this fight Ryan won as well but was seriously injured. Crippled with a broken leg Ryan could travel neither far nor fast so the Queen easily kept an eye on her until she was ready to deal her blow.
Keryl who had been traveling with her help her all he could, but was of little help to heal the magically inflicted wound. Then one day there was a terrible storm. The storm had taken the both Ryan and Keryl be surprise and were soon lost. Ryan was knocked from her steed and rendered unconscious. When she woke she was a dragon, feeble and weak.
Over the several hours of her story Keryl was restoring Mirror's sight, but only to one eye. Keryl was no God so therefor could not heal Mirror completely. All the same Mirror was thrilled to be able to see through his right eye, and said he was forever in Keryl's debt.
With her story done and Mirror able to see through one eye, he could see her crouched near the back of the cave as if about to pounce. Mirror walked up to her to get a better look at her.
Through Mirror's one eye that Keryl had restored he saw Ryan. He now truly understood the meaning of "cursed". He would have thought becoming a dragon to have been a blessing to the half human half Irda woman. But now he saw and understood.
The creature that had now stood up before him was not a dragon but a shadow, an imitation of one. Her body was somewhat sleek but very, very thin even though it appeared Keryl fed her well. Her head was a symbol of a Golds beauty and elegance, but that was the only real likeness that she had compared to the regal Golds. The horns upon her head were short and blunt, utterly useless in battle, and as she gave a small yawn he saw healthy but incredibly small teeth. The teeth looked as if she was to bite him that they would crack and break on his scales. He began to circle around her, examining her from top to bottom.
He stopped so he looked at her from the side. He started at her small elegant paws (which were very small compared to the Golds) and her uneven claws. It was obvious that she had tried to take care of them but they were too brittle and broke when too much pressure was applied. The only real painful thing he saw her claws being able to do would have been to leave splinters of her nails in a cut. His eyes slowly drifted up to her legs where the skin was pulled over the little muscle she had. The other thing about her legs was that the were incredibly long for dragon legs, and seemed build like a horses legs, for speed (her broken leg had healed nicely so you couldn't even tell which had broken). He then looked at the shoulders, mid-section and hips. The shoulders were well formed but with no muscles for flying or running (which dragons did little of to begin with). Her mid-section was truly a sight. Looking at her profile he could see that her stomach curve up sharply to meet her abdomen between her hips. This gave her the appearance of a starved creature that hadn't eaten in weeks, for she even had a few ribs showing. Her hips like her shoulders were well formed but with no strength to speak of. He then glanced back at her tail which was long but useless. His eye quickly went back to her neck and wings. Her neck, he would admit, looked very much like the regal and elegant neck of the Gold dragons, but like the rest of her body possessed no real power. And finally were her wings, which turned out to be a real disappointment for him. Her wings were plenty big enough to carry her but since they had never been used they just hung there limply with little purpose. In his opinion she would probably be better if she tore them off.
It took him sever moments after looking at all her 'normal' details to notice one thing that was never seen on dragons, hair. Instead of spikes lining her back, from the base of her head to the tip of her tail, she had silver white hair. He approached her and touched the hair with his nose. It was as soft as silk and was a little over two feet in length. He had never seen such a thing in all his life, he assumed it was because of the fact that she was not an actual dragon.
Feeling the his physical inspection was done, he decided to test her abilities. 'For some reason I feel hope for our world when I look at her' he thought.
"Follow me." he said out loud. Not questioning him, Ryan followed. She followed him into the sunlight which seemed to blind her. Apparently she was not use to leaving her cave home. He walked beside her and again noticed something strange about her. Both male and female Golds where huge compared to Silvers, the largest of Paladine's dragons, yet she was barley an inch taller then him. Deciding that size didn't matter, he lead her a short ways from the lone mountain.
One reason she was not use to the light was because Keryl discouraged her going out. He had said while he was healing Mirror's eye that he feared that the other dragons, the dragons of Takhisis, would attack and kill her thinking she was a real dragon. Mirror had also discovered that Keryl was Ryan's uncle and he was a full blooded Irda. This had fascinated Mirror for he had never met one. This also explained Keryl's frequent absence, for he came and left often (as the story goes the Irda prefer to be loners rather then staying in groups).
With some of his questions answered Mirror had begun to think about Ryan as a possible savior. He needed help to find his cousins who were missing, and he may need someone to watch his back. Ryan seemed perfect. She might even assist him in the finding of the Gods.
"Alright." he said taking a deep breath of fresh air, "Show me what you can do!" he said looking at her expectantly.
"Apparently you overestimate my handicap." she hissed coldly.
"How so?" he asked no sure he understood. What he was asking her to do was what every dragon in Krynn could do.
"Does cursed mean anything to you, Silver?!" she spat, "That I'll posses great powers! Ha!" she mocked, "Look at me! Do I look like I have powers? Do I even look like a dragon to you?!" she raged at him, with a hungry, longing fire that burned in her eyes.
"Well you have..potential.." he said glancing at her, not wanting to look her in the eyes. "Show me!" he said a bit more confidently.
"I will not embarrass myself." she said darkly, "I'll just tell you. When I try to breath fire like the great Golds, I and those around me gag on smoke and my throat burns raw so I can hardly breath. I choke on my own fumes and eventually render myself unconscious with my own breath. When I try to fly my joints creek in refusal and I plunge to the ground only getting gashes and bruises for my effort. Not to mention I posses the magical mass that of a grain of sand!" she said disgusted with herself, "The worst I could do to my foe is sit on him!" she said scornfully.
Mirror was taken aback. He glanced at her with sorrow and pity in his eyes, now seeing how helpless she was.
"Don't pity me!" she yelled at him, her words burning him like fire.
"I will help you. May be you need to just learn these things.."
She snorted doubtfully.
"Seriously, if you.." he stopped. For the first time since they had left the cave he looked at her directly and found himself nearly blinded in his one eye. Her scales were the most glorious shade of gold he had ever seen. Her scales were smooth and shined brilliantly in the sun. He looked at her with mild awe.
"Turn around in a circle.." he commanded still staring at her. She obeyed, and with her every movement her scales rippled like the waves in the sea, glittering, shining.
"What is it?" she asked as she turned back to face him.
"Your scales...are such a wonderful color..I have never seen scales shine like that.." He still stared and then finally blinked. She gave him a crooked smile.
"How is that good?" she asked skeptically.
"Such beauty would stop your foes dead." he said seriously, "But I think we should go back to the cave and start your training later tonight..for you shine like a beacon that could be seen for miles."
"Training? For what?" she asked not having listen to him earlier.
"I told you. May be you just need to learn these things like I did when I was young. Like how I had to learn how to fly and breath frost." "Really?"
"Yes, really. Or so I believe." Mirror said kindly.
Ryan was quiet as they walked back to the cave and before then went back into the darkness she said, "I've always dreamed of flying..." she said wistfully glancing at the sky.
review responses:
Dalamar Nightson: Here ya go. The explanation for the term "cursed". I was planning to explain it later, but decided that the sooner I explained it the less confused people would be.
