forum “What do you mean, war?” (very low fantasy/historical O/O, closed.)

Started September 28, 2020 by @Mojack group

tune

“Mm..well. Yes. We do. Only two though.” Vasuki has probably been talking a bit quickly before, not taking into mind of what she was saying. She had to remember - this was a human, someone that had never been on the island, thus had no knowledge of what went on around here.

Nokae walked forwards. “It would be preferred, yes. The Queen would be interested in any arrivals to the land, especially a human one.”
Vasuki nodded in agreement, then turned her focus back to Max. “Apologies for not checking in on you sooner, but are you alright? Can you walk fine?”

Max nodded slowly, focusing on getting up as best he could. "I'll be fine, at least for the time being I'm fine." He huffed when he finally stood, legs noticeably shakey but holding him upright. "Let's get going," He said once he was sure he could walk, or at least stay standing for more than a minute. Hopefully the city wouldn't be horribly far away, but he couldn't be sure, and if it was, he would more than likely need to take a break along the way.

Already he could feel the edge of his vision bluring out from the sudden standing, but he ignored it, just like he was currently and actively ignoring the pounding headache that had become a constant. It would go away he figured, or at least hoped. If it didn't…he would have to find something to make it die down.

Vasuki held her gaze for a few moments, but said nothing as she lifted her neck and began to walk. There was still a metallic aftertaste in her mouth - the heat had mostly left her senses by now. Not that it was much of a bother to begin with.

“So..this war. You came from it, yes? In that..contraption?” Her eyes flicked back slightly. “What is that thing called? The thing that was on fire, I mean.” She clarified. She’d never seen such a thing, and she was guessing Nokae didn’t either, given the latter had just arrived to the scene. Nokae was silent as she trailed along.
The forests around them were noticeably untouched - of course they were, without much human interaction. But there wasn’t much visible wildlife either. Any animals had probably scurried off at the first sight of the strange object that came crashing down to the land.

"I came from the war, yes, in my plane," He replied, rubbing dried blood his forehead as he nodded, caught off guard by the need to multitask while focusing on staying upright, "The engine failed, I was lucky it didn't blow up in the air…and I'm here now." There was still a fair amount of not dried blood pouring out of the gash on his forehead, sticking his hair to his skin, but he didn't touch it. All he did was try to brush off the dried flakes that were far away enough that he wasn't in pain while doing so.

Max sighed, faltering in his steps for just a moment before speaking, "Can we…wait to talk until we get to whatever city you mentioned? I don't feel the best." He didn't look up from the ground, just put one foot in front of the other as he battled with the excrusiating headache that wasn't going away.

Plane. That was what it was called, then. Vasuki had no clue how such a thing could have once soared the open skies, but then she realized, it had crashed. So it must’ve looked far more different when it..well, wasn’t crashing.

“Oh,” Vasuki glanced back. “Yes, we can wait.” She had slowed her pace slightly, in order to match the human’s. “I’m sure it isn’t much farther.”
Speak of the devil - as the trail began to get clearer, as though it had been used often, the hints of neat, stone walls came into view beyond the trees. And then there was the rest of it.
The city that Vasuki mentioned was a grand, ancient looking place - one could see the structures within it from just outside the city. An open archway was ahead of them, quite a tall and wide arch at that. It made sense, though. Given it was a city of dragons and all.
Except..there were humans. At the archway. One could view the humanoid figures standing and speaking, only stopping when they’d noticed the group approaching. Among them were dragons, though, and upon getting closer to the city, you could easily realize it was bustling, full of life.

Max was more focused on his steps than the sights before them as the city first appeared in his view, but after he caught a glimpse of it, he was in awe. Nothing at home could rival the sight before him, besides maybe the confusion he felt at seeing humans and dragons together at the gate.

"This is your home?" He asked slowly once he got his bearings on reality again and his same aching headache made itself ever present, "I've never seen anything like it."

He was sure his mouth was open in amazement, even as his steps faltered. A part of him wanted to ask limitless questions about the city, but the others clouded his questions, reminding him that he was simply here for medical help….and maybe to learn more about the terrifying creatures he thought were myth.

Max found himself sticking closer to Vasuki as they neared the gates, eyeing up both the dragons and others with the same wary look that he had given Nokae.

Although the inhabitants did not approach, one could assume interest was on their minds, maybe even worry or fear. The looks that they had seemed that way, but not everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the arrivals to the city.
What seemed to be a genuine smile appeared on her scaly lips. “It’s a beauty, isn’t it? It’s been our home for..centuries.” At the very least, Vasuki knew that her mother had witnessed its foundation, which meant the city was quite old.

Vasuki tilted her head to Nokae. “I believe we should get him medical attention before we see my mother. He’s been injured for a while.” To Vasuki’s surprise, Nokae had nodded.

“We’ll see to it at the medical centre in the citadel,” Nokae said. “That way, it shouldn’t take much time for the audience to come along.”

Max couldn't have cared less about the conversation between the two dragons, caught in the wonder of studying the strange city. If he wasn't sure he was awake, this certainly would be a believable dream. Still, as much as he tried to take in the sights, he eventually had to focus on his dragon guides…as well as not falling over.

He couldn't quite comprehend the idea that this city was centuries old. Yes, Europe had old buildings, but no cities that seemed this old. There was all the possibility that he was wrong though.

Blinking, he finally looked back to Vasuki, barely hiding his nervous look at being around so many other dragons. And those were only the ones he could see. The fact that there seemed to be other humans around with the dragons calmed most of his worries though.

Vasuki lifted her head again, taking a look at their surroundings. Indeed, some were curious at the newcomer, but most went on with their day. She turned to Max. “I wouldn’t be worried. The island is a very peaceful place, and folks are simply curious about a visitor to the island.” She assured him.

“We’re heading to the citadel. We’ll treat your wounds first, and then we’ll hopefully get an audience with my mother.” Vasuki paused, then lifted a claw, pointing in direction of a tall building in the distance, that stood above all other buildings in the town. From a distance, it looked grand, even ancient, but one could only imagine what it would look like up close. “That’s the citadel.” She explained.

He simply nodded at her words, looking fairly wary at her assurance. Then again, she hadn't yet hurt him, so a bit of his trust returned. Max looked up as she pointed out the building, nodding once more while he tried to form the questions settled in his mind.

"How far of a walk to the..citadel, is it?" He asked first, tipping his head up so he could see Vasuki as she talked, "You never mentioned that there are other humans here."

Pointing to the city, he gestured to some of the human figures with the dragons, sure that they could only be humans. The thought that they could be another species of animal or even dragons never crossed his mind, only the self assurance that he wasn't the only human here.

“Not long.” She replied. “It looks farther than it actually is, we should be there within the next few minutes should we start moving now.”

Vasuki looked up, her jaw momentarily parting in a silent ‘oh.’ “Those are..” she drifted off, looking at the ‘humans.’ “I’ll explain the humans to you when we get to the Citadel,” she responded. They weren’t really humans, of course. Max, as far as she knew, was the only human on this island.

Max seemed relieved, or at least satisfied with her answer, looking back to the Citadel. He didn't want to go anywhere near the dragons he could spot around the city, but if passing by them was his only way to get home…he could manage.

"Will meeting you mother take long? Will she know how to get me home?" He asked, his hand drifting to his wounds as he picked at some of the flaking blood. The area was still sensitive, but he did it anyway, it left his hands with something to do rather than wish he had a better weapon with him.

“Mother’s pretty good with meetings,” Vasuki said, as she began to walk forwards. “They usually don’t take long. Especially since she’ll be alerted in advance.”

“Most likely, yes. We haven’t left our island in many years, but we do have maps. And when it comes to taking you home, we do have many ways to do that.” Adding on, in silence, she subtly flicked her wings up, as if to point out the possibility that he’d go home with a dragon. Even if that was unlikely, given Vasuki and her people’s reclusive and secretive nature.

Max followed a step behind his new acquaintance, keeping close to Vasuki's side, but only close enough that he had a bit of room between him and the other dragons he didn't trust as much. Faintly he nodded as well, in response to her. There was no way in hell he was going to ride a dragon anytime soon, but he wasn't going to say that to her face at the moment.

"Well then…we should go meet her soon, I don't think we should keep her waiting." He finally added, looking up at Vasuki for a moment.

“Alright, but let’s get your injuries treated first,” Vasuki said.

The walk towards the Citadel wasn’t as long as it seemed, though the closer one got to it, the more details you could notice. The Citadel itself seemed to be highly decorated from the outside, almost a display of art with all the pillars and how the building itself was structured. The doors were big - there wasn’t even much of a door, just a curtain in an open arch. Vasuki ducked down as the curtain brushed against the tips of her horns.
If you were to think the outside was embellished, the inside was even grander. There seemed to be many floors to the Citadel, many hallways, and all sorts of citizens within the main area of the Citadel was well. It was by no means a quiet place.

Vasuki took a turn into one of the hallways, glancing back to ensure her human companion was following.

Max followed with a look of new wary curiosity, taking in everything he could, but also watching for any potential threats. It was an instinct he had grown into as he flew during the war, and crashing onto the island didn't mean any of his instincts left him. As much as he tried to stay on guard though, the sheer detail in all of the citadel was drawing his attention. He slipped around the curtain that he assumed acted as a door to the area, following Vasuki as they ventured further into the new space. The Citadel seemed to be a happy place, and as much as he wanted to think that the gorgeous place was empty and serene, the chatter and noise of life was making him realize different.

Eventually, the two would arrive at what seemed to be a wooden door. There were a lot of doors actually, in the hallway - but this door appeared to be decorated with paintings of plants. The door wasn’t completely shut, but Vasuki knocked anyway, lifting a hand and curling it before knocking twice. It wasn’t long before a new voice emerged.

“Come in.” The voice was calm, it wasn’t loud - just enough for them to hear the answer at this distance.

Vasuki pushed the door open with her head and walked inside. Inside was a room, clearly belonging to someone who liked plants, just judging by all the flowers in the room. Not a single one was wilted - they were all perfectly taken care of. The room had a pleasant sort of lighting to it - not extremely bright, mostly relying on natural light from the windows.
But in front of them was a set of three desks, messy - but also organized, in a way. Upon the desks were books and some sheets in which pictures had been drawn, but very detailed pictures. Upon further inspection they looked to be diagrams, some of plants, some of dragons, and some of..humans?
But there was also a chair at one of the desks, and that chair was occupied by a person. A human, in fact. Or, a dragon in human form- but her companion wouldn’t know that, Vasuki realized.

“Hi, Usael,” Vasuki greeted, once she got close enough. “Are you..busy?” Her tone had noticeably softened - became more quiet.
Usael had curly hair, noticeably white. She turned from her work to face the two of them, adjusting her glasses - but it would seem almost redundant for her to have them other than for show, because her eyes were a pale colour - almost immediately identifying the fact that she was..well, blind. “No. I already knew you two were coming.” Across her ebony skin, she appeared to have small faint scars on her lower face.

Vasuki nodded, then looked to Max. “This is Usael. She’s one of our doctors, but one of the best on the island.”

Max was extremely curious about everything as they walked down the hallway, and it took much effort not to ask about anything he was questioning. He was more focused on the throbbing headache that was accompanying every step they took further into the new strange space.

Watching Vasuki open the door, his attention was immediately drawn to the multitude of plants laid around the room. Max never had much of green thumb as a child, but even he could tell that these plants were well cared for, as none even seemed wilted or undercared for. His eyes wandered around further before he finally looked towards the center of the room, freezing almost instantly in his steps. Sitting behind a sprawling set of desks sat a human. A human that he had been told didn't exist on the island.

His mouth opened in slight surprise and he looked to Vasuki, starting a sentence before promptly closing, then opening, and closing his mouth once more. His headache seemed like a minor detail the longer he processed the situation, still confused by the fact that there was a human, named Usael, mere feet from him, seemingly calm around the dragon that towered over them.

"I…um…I..thought you said there were no other humans on this island?" Max finally asked slowly, prying his eyes from Usael as he looked towards Vasuki again, "Unless…I'm missing something?"

Usael chuckled, finding something amusing about the situation. “Oh, you didn’t tell him?”
“Not on purpose,” Vasuki quickly cleared up. “I just wasn’t so sure on how to explain it.”
Usael smiled. “I meant no harm, child. What better time to get an explanation out than now?”

“Well..” Vasuki mumbled. “You may have noticed that there were humans on the way to the Citadel. Humans among dragons, in your eyes.” She looked at the ceiling. “And you seem to think that Usael here is a dragon. Do you remember what I said earlier, about dragons having multiple forms?”

Max took a long moment to think as Vasuki explained. Yes, he had seen other humans outside of the citadel, and he had thought of them as just that, humans. But he hadn't expected a human to be a healer of dragons. He could feel the embarrassment shining through as he realized what the 'humans' really were. They were simply dragons..in a different form. While it didn't make sense to him, he could see the connection now.

"Dragons. The humans I've seen are dragons," He replied, a quieter edge to his tone as he looked to Vasuki. He knew it shouldn't have shocked him as much as it did, but he felt more alone now that he was back to being the only full human on the island.

He pressed his eyes shut as he sighed, both to alleviate his headache and to take a moment to think. "I would ask how it's possible…but I don't think I could handle an explanation at the moment."