I DO NOT OWN ESCANFLOWNE
However Thank you for the feed back! And the correct spelling! I thought I was spelling it right !
If I misspell someone elses name let me know
Hitomi was quickly recovering. Her body felt stronger in some way – maybe because she was regaining her strength quickly and she had felt like a new born child recently that the difference was noticeable. But she felt as if she could run the 100 meters in a record breaking time and her body was urging her to use this new found energy she never had.
Dilandau had granted her access to the rest of the palace – it was the best description for it. However she was shadowed constantly by a tall lean man by the name of Grato. He never spoke but she could feel his gaze under his massive cloak that covered his features entirely. He was surely watching her to avoid her from escaping Dilandau had a purpose for her – and she didn't know what it was. He always referred to her with amazing power – and their interaction a few nights ago was peculiar she wasn't sure it was her doing.
She walked slowly down the long corridors – the halls were a dark stone with tall tapestries hanging every few feet. The tapestries' showed beautiful women lying with majestic dragons and powerful men leading battles. It was all the same over and over just portrayed in a different manner. The palace had an old unused feeling to it; dust seemed to cloud the color on all of the tapestries' and furniture everywhere. This place wasn't used very much – if at all for a very long time.
She turned the corner of the long hallways leading from her quarters opening into a brightly lit room. A long sturdy table ran the length of the room in the center; it could have easily sat 50 guests. Each chair seemed to be carved in detail but the dust covered the dark wood thickly. The wall to her left hung more tapestries; these ones portraying feasts with kings, lords, and ladies in the finest. And the wall to her right was a series of large gridded windows, cascading in the light. She walked further into the room making her way across to the large arched opening which she could only assume was a common room for sitting or a ball room for dancing once large feasts ended. She had seen enough movies of medieval times and read enough books to know the interworking of castles. They were all built fundamentally for the royalty, and had purposes of entertaining large amounts of guests.
"So you seem to be exploring, wonderful your body is adjusting fine to its rebirth." Dilandau voice was poison – she could feel his corruption seeping into every word. It was enough to break her peaceful state of mind.
"I still don't know what you are talking about, and if you mean me to be followed by your men – I suggest you double your guard." A caution, why was she being so daring? She never had this much confidence it seem to just appear when she was around him.
"I doubt you can Elude Grato, he is the finest Ispano, trained in the art of reading minds – he can know your every move before you do." He was defiantly enjoying their every interaction.
She turned and looked at him with unease, Ispano, she remembered the term – They constructed Escanflowne, they were a hidden race – not much interaction with any of Gaea and kept to themselves, so much everyone thought they were extinct. She learned some on her last journey here – enough to know they did retain remarkable powers.
"What do you plan to do with me Dilandau?" She had pondered this – she tried to see visions – so she didn't have to ask and would know her fate but her mind seemed to have a mental block – she could feel her mind racing there and when there she was shoved back out.
"That's a loaded question, I plan to do a lot to you, but I plan to use you to win my war." He emphasized his words with much satisfaction.
"Over my dead body." Anger started to seep into her – she wanted to jump on him and tear into him. Thinking of ways to hinder him useless, the thought of him touching her sent waves of fury through her body. She had slowly become unable to control her temper when around him over the last couple days – and when that happen the unnatural things occurred that were hard to come back out of. It was hard to let her anger go, to find peace and make her calm again. It was like she was being lost in a black void and she couldn't regain her composure.
"You know – you being unable to control your powers – might be to my advantage – if you can't control yourself you might lose yourself. Which I wouldn't mind." He looked thoughtlessly at his hand eyeing the large gold band resting on his index finger.
He was right, sometimes she couldn't control herself – she just became over whelmed. What was happening to her?
"What powers, I'm tired of you playing games with me. What powers do I contain that you need, and what war do you plan to wage!" She wanted answers, he kept throwing these accusations at her of power and he was her tool. She did feel different but not powerful enough to destroy everyone in an imagined war he kept brining up.
"Come." He said simply spinning and making his way to the far exit of the common room. Hitomi glanced back at her suspicious follower and continued behind him. They made their way to the farthest back side of the castles, slowly just becoming more long corridors and series of rooms eventually leading to a lower appearing part of the castle. The doors were made of rotted wood and there was nothing special about any part of this castle.
He opened a door that seemed bigger and thicker than the rest and proceeded to head down a spiraling case of concrete stairs. He paused and grabbed one of the longer torches that provided little illumination for the passage making their way below. The smell was foul she couldn't establish if it was an unclean stable or the smell of rotting flesh.
It was terribly dark – she couldn't see anything past the torches radius. But she could hear, shuffling against the concrete floor – massive. The sound of dripping water echoed in the hollowed of the dungeon. A low rumbling vibrated the still dank air, Hitomi couldn't be sure if it was coming above her or below her.
As they approached a wall Grato head before them into the darkness and she heard a metal clank that seemed to echo throughout the room, and a grind of metal against concrete as the wall before them opening cascading light slowly into the room. The breeze from outside filled her senses – and she was relieved because she was sure she was going to be sick.
The shifting sound became louder and she turned away from the light to where she was walking from – it was bright and her eyes couldn't adjust so quickly. And she blinked for focus the steel cages on either side of the room from the floor to the ceiling of the concrete dungeon that was the foundation to the large castle.
Inside the cages dragon paced, different sizes, appearance, and color. They paced in their cells with anger that emanated from the shivering muscles. Their claws flexed as they glared suspiciously at the three of them. To her right a green land dragon flicked it tongue in a manner that seemed as if he was warning them to stay back. She had seen this type of dragon – it was like the one that had been slain by Van. Around his short thick neck was a blue collar – she couldn't tell if it was glowing or reflecting the sun's light that had been filling the room.
"Be at ease creatures, for your handler it here." Dilandau shoved her forward as if offering her to the cages beasts.
She hadn't been scared since her waking up but now she could feel the fear gripping her. She didn't want to move – she wasn't sure if she should move. The dragons snapped at the bars with their mouths dripping with saliva. Thirsty for blood is what they seemed – if they could get to her she was sure she wouldn't be able to turn before she was done.
She stared at each dragon – terrified – not sure if even breathing was a good idea – maybe if she stayed still they would calm down – but then again this wasn't her living nightmare of Jurassic Park – these weren't dinosaurs. They clearly could see her; she could see her reflection in the eyes – their large eyes.
Moments past and slowly the dragon calmed their roaring to an unnerving pace back and forth in their cages – their sight not leaving her. She stared at each one – accessing them. Slowly her fear subsided – they were in cages with each having a collar around their neck. She could feel her body starting to want to move as her mind commanded. She walked so very slowly back the way she came looking over each dragon with now an appreciation. She had never seen them this close – with the exception of the one trying to kill Van.
If dragons had breeds, which she assumed at this point they did, they varied in size, color, features, wings, and faces. Some of them reminded her of typical dragons she had seen pictured on Earth and others could just be a form of dragon by the similarities they held to the reptilians all together.
She ended at the door she had started from – this cage closest being the largest of all of them. The light was dimmer deep back here but the cage was slightly illuminated. A long white tail snaked along the floor in the cage and seemed to disappear into the back of the cage where the light didn't reach. There was a form there – but she couldn't see it. The thick massive tail proved it. She glanced again around her – Dilandau and Grato were at the far end of the dungeon of dragons he was conversing with Grato. The sounds of the massive shifting and low rumbling growls couldn't allow her to hear anything coming from him.
"Why does he keep you all caged." She said to herself – she didn't like the idea that they were all wild and wanting to tear into her like dinner, but they weren't meant to be in cages.
"Because of you…" The sounded startled her – the voice was low and soft.
She glanced around trying to find the source but there was no one around – and there was far too much other noise to pin point where exactly it had come from.
"Me?" she asked confused still glancing around this time listening to try and find the source.
"Yes Tsuni, you." The massive white tail seemed to recoil into the darkness as the shifting sound came from the cage in from of her.
A head appeared from the darkness, white like the tail, and massive in size. She had judged that from the appearance of the tail this dragon had to be bigger than Escanflowne – but it had been so long her portions could be off. She wasn't though, his head was sleek in appearance, and his scales appeared smooth and silken. Two long horn protruded from the back of his head forming with a frill along his jaw line. He was defiantly as white as a new snow on a December morning – his horns were a milky ivory, next to his scales.
"You talk?" Obvious question to an obvious answer, the other dragons weren't talking, if anything it seemed they were dreaming of tearing into her – so one minded.
"You're surprised? This must be new, you must be new." He was a she, her voice was soft, and had a feminine ring to it. It made her appear gentle to Hitomi and a warm feeling of security passed over her.
Her head turned and looked toward the back end of the dungeon to Dilandau and Grato, her eyes were of the bluest sapphire she had ever seen. Her reflection was clear in them, features seemed the same, she recognized the woman in the eyes of the dragon, but there was something off, something not right. She moved her hair covering her forehead and a fainted grey symbol rested above her eyes.
"Ah, very new." The dragons large tongue flicked as she seen what Hitomi realized a symbol was on her forehead.
"I, uh – "She hadn't seen a mirror since she was here, how would she know what happen?
"It's your Symbol Tsuni. It's how people know what you are, if they haven't forgotten." Her head neared the bars where Hitomi stood.
"I don't know what that is." She said blankly everyone else knew what she was but she didn't know how frustrating that was. She stole a quick glance to see where Dilandau and Grato were, still conversing among themselves.
"Tsuni are powerful people – they are connected to Gaea – Seers and controllers of her wishes. Gaea is connected by a chain of energy – you can bend that energy Tsuni – will it if you may." The dragon tilted her head slightly as if she were studying Hitomi's response.
"Control? As in control the planet?" Hitomi wasn't sure how one could control the planet.
"No, the energy that connects – races refer to them as Drag-Energists. Our hearts, the Dracnis race on Gaea is connected to her through the raw energy that was born into the planet from Atlantis so long ago. All creatures have them, but Dracnis has the strongest. We were created to protect Gaea – in a manner that Tsuni's will. It was a precaution the Atlantian's took, otherwise who couldn't say one would slaughter the Dracnis race to heed all of Gaea's power.
"They already mine our resting grounds for our unconnected energy – and occasionally slay us for our connected energy. Slowly Gaea will wane with power and have none to give to keep the creatures and life on her alive." The Dragon shifted around to disappear back into the darkness.
"Wait –" She wanted to know more.
"He's coming." She whispered.
Hitomi turned to see Dilandau approaching with Grato.
"Ah, Serantisan occupies that cage. She's a fighter she is, but reserved." Dilandau's smirk couldn't be more devious Hitomi thought.
"Did you name her that?" Hitomi never did learn her name.
Dilandau shifted his head at the question "Well I don't think she can snarl the phrasing – it's what the army called her when the captured her. It means reserved fighter. You see she's the only dragon here that was able to take out an entire platoon of men without a scratch." He talked as if she was a prized treasure.
"What are you building an army of uncontrollable dragons who when given the chance will slaughter you once set free!" She was getting angry again – it was building and she couldn't stop it – he was insane for caging such beauty. The dragons were meant to be free. Not tortured and living in dirty cages with starvation on their minds.
"Uncontrollable for me maybe." His eyes burned with passion as he glared at her the way he did Serantisan's cell.
She clenched her fists ready to strike him. She wanted to pounce on him and claw his eyes out. Bellows of roaring vibrated the dungeon and dust slowly fell on them from the above concrete ceiling. The dragons clawed at the steel bars with fury and anger, Hitomi couldn't help but cover her ears.
A force of wind knocked the three to their feet as Serantisan's threw her massive body against the bars clawing uncontrollably seeming to not be the calm dragon she witness minutes before. The bars bent to her and she pushed harder against the cages. Dilandau's eyes widen in what Hitomi could only perceive as pleasure.
Grato swept Hitomi up in his long thin green arms; the appearance startled her as his five long thin claws held her to him. They sped up the stairs and the bellowing dragons seemed to dull the further up the stairs they rose. The vibrations seem to ease and soon the sound calmed. Dilandau closed the heavy wooden door and faced her with such envy in his eyes she almost shivered with fear.
"You are going to be unstoppable." And with that he sped down the hall leaving Grato and Hitomi to stare at each other, Hitomi seeing his Dracnis features for the first time. His neck was long making up a significant difference in their height issue – his face long and rounded like a snake. His scales where bent and marred to reflect scars along his nose – turning a shake of blacken green. His eyes were white – a cloudy murky white like unclean water.
Grato peered around as if looking for someone then stared at her forehead; he reached out as if to touch the marking she realized was now imprinted on his forehead but recoiled inches from doing so.
"You must learn, control emotionsz, not abzsorb." His voice raspy and wording simple.
She blinked in surprise.
"You absorb hisz hate, make you hate." He rasped obviously trying to explain her reaction moments ago. He was trying to help her it seemed. The manner in which he emphasized hate made her think he was as despised by him as she was.
"I, Why do you care?" She was going to say she didn't understand, but she did, she could feel the hate build in her every time he was around – hate that extended past just him. She wanted to kill him – and more – she could feel it building and it made her mind blank – no reasoning just hate. She didn't like it.
"You, Tsuni, you help Grato." He nodded as if she was already in agreement.
"Grato prizsoner too, captured, I know what you szink. Make me prizsoner." He pointed to her head as if trying to show what he meant. She understood, he was saying think – however his pronouncing was different of the word.
"Grato, what is going on with me?" She shook her head – she couldn't help him anymore than he could help himself, she didn't understand a lot of things – what she did know is she was becoming lost in feeling she couldn't control and some way it was affecting the dragons. Serantisan's said she could control Gaea, maybe that's what she meant. The dragon could feel her emanating hate and desire to kill and went mad with it.
"I tell you." Grato offered his thin hand and took her down the corridors in another direction that she hadn't been. Hopefully now she could understand better what was going on.