Friday, January 25, 2013

Chapter 27: An Act of Kindness

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Seirian wakens from a deep sleep. It's some hours before first light, and he has no idea what woke him. Arienh stirs beside, and Seirian finds he needs no other reason to be awake as this unlikely hour.

"Father!" the call that woke him comes again, "I need you!"

"It's Morvyyn," Arienh says, "What does he want at this hour?"

Seirian groans, reluctant to leave the warmth of his bed and his mate. "I'll find out."


"What happened to you?" Seirian gasps, finding his son struggling beneath an inert Talfryn's weight, both of them covered in blood.

"Talfryn is wounded. Bad," Morvyn groans as he lifts, carrying his friend last few steps to the couch.


"Are you wounded?" Seirian asks, glancing at his son while kneeling to tend to the unconscious Talfryn.

Morvyn shakes his head, "Most of this blood isn't mine. Talfryn took the brunt of the attack."

"Who attacked you? What were you two doing?"

"We were just out, enjoying the night, walking by the old mortal tomb, the one with the stone circle. A small group of humans set on us. They had the advantage of surprise, and their weapons. But we took them."

"You killed them all?" Seirian asks, "You left none alive to report seeing you to their kind?"

Morvyn nods, not meeting his father's eyes. "Father, they had something, magic, perhaps, that hampered my ability to heal. I would have tended Talfryn's wounds myself, but I was unable."

Seirian's mouth hardens into a grim line, "Aymeri's not going to like this."


"Talfryn?" Evenfall shrieks, coming out to see what the fuss is, "Oh, Talfryn!"

"He'll be fine," Seirian assures the fairy, "And if your noises hadn't woken Aymeri up, she certainly just did," he says to his son, "Go, get yourself cleaned up. And be prepared to answer for this."


"Why would you stray so close to the human settlement?" Aymeri demands once he's been told the story, "You have a whole forest to roam in. The human held lands are forbidden, to all of us."

"At that hour, the humans are all locked in their houses. Even in daylight, they stay away from the old stone circle," Morvyn protests, "We hadn't expected on encountering warriors."

"That's why all human places are forbidden," Aymeri says sternly, "Even the ones they don't often use."


While Evenfall frets over his wounds, Talfryn listens in silence to the argument between his father and Morvyn.


Unable to sit quiet for long, Talfryn rises to join the argument, before Morvyn caves and tells the elder dragons what they were really doing out there tonight.

"Why do we let the humans choose what lands to keep?" Talfryn demands, "We could destroy them all and roam as freely as we did the in early times."

"This again," Seirian groans under his breath. How many thousands of years has he had to listen to, and participate, in this argument?

"We're not going to destroy the mortals," Aymeri says, his voice just below a shout as he reins in his anger and exasperation. "They avoid our forests, and we, in turn, avoid their village. That's the way it's been these many ages. That's how we survive."


"Survival? Is that all we should expect? We're dragons, father! We should rule here, not those mortals."

"Rule them?" Aymeri asks, "You speak like the mortals, yourself, son. When have dragons ever been interested in ruling anything? We govern ourselves, and keep to ourselves."

"And where has that gotten us?" Talfryn demands, "We dwindle while they prosper, claiming more of this land for themselves. What happens when they overcome their fear of the forest and take even this from us?"


"I am done arguing this with you!" Aymeri can no longer hold his shout down, "We have yet to fully recover from the last war we fought, and yet speak so casually of entering another."

"We fought our kind in the last war," Talfryn points out, "But, united against the mortals..."

"I said this discussion is over!" Aymeri says, "You will stay away from the humans, do you understand?"


Morvyn kept his peace through the argument, allowing Talfryn to take the blame. As much as he wanted to step in and defend his friend, if Aymeri knew the truth of why they were out there, it would go that much worse for both of them.


"This is my fault," Morvyn says to Talfryn when they are at last alone, "I shouldn't have asked you to come with me."

"They took me by surprise, and I was standing watch," Talfryn says, "If they'd come on you alone with your girl..."

Morvyn has to admit the truth of Talfryn's words. Engaged as he was in lovemaking when Talfryn shouted for his help, it had taken Morvyn a few moments just to gather his wits enough to join the fray, By then, Talfryn had killed two of his attackers with his bare hands, and had already taken the wounds that Seirian had bandaged, and all that was left for Morvyn ws to finish off the last of them and carry his friend home. If it weren't for whatever force or magic that had dulled his own healing abilities, Morvyn could have taken care of Talfryn right there, and they'd have gotten away without telling their fathers about this event at all, blaming their black eyes on a squabble between each other.


"You felt it, didn't you? The magic they had?" Morvyn asks.

Talfryn nods. "In the moment I was attacked, my instinct was to transform. But I couldn't. And the fact that they could come onto me like that...I didn't hear them, didn't smell them. No human has that kind of stealth." Talfryn hesitates a moment before continuing, knowing his friend won't like what he has to say,  "Do you think it was a trap?"

"A trap? You mean, you think Gaelle set me up?" Morvyn asks, "No, she wouldn't..."



"She's a human," Talfryn replies, as though that says everything.

"And she believes I am a human, as well," Morvyn points out, "These men who attacked us, it's like they knew what we were...They weren't from her village, I know that much."

"How do you know that? They all smell the same," Talfryn asks.

"Their voices," Morvyn says, "They speak differently."

"You're far too acquainted with our mortal neighbors," Talfryn laughs, "You should find a pretty fairy girl, and leave the humans alone."

"I've had fairies, remember?" Morvyn laughs in return, "I prefer the human girls. They're more like us."


The heavy rain at dawn was a good sign. Sterren rose early and made for the Lady's tomb, knowing the rains would bring out the red toadstools and other mushrooms she needed for her potions. The mushrooms were out in plenty, as she expected, but what she didn't expect to see was the carnage of battle, dead men lying among the stones that marked the ancient tomb.

"Help me," a voice rasps from the ground, as one warrior, still alive despite his wounds, reaches out to her.


"What happened here?" she asks as she kneels, turning him over to inspect his wounds.

"Battle," the fallen warrior rasps, as though it weren't obvious enough. A quick inspection of the field proves that he is the only survivor here, and Sterren struggles to lift him, helping him walk back to her village, to her house, where she can tend his injuries.


"You've cracked a rib, but it should mend well," Sterren informs her patient as she wraps the last bandage over his hand. Lucky for him, it's his left hand; his sword hand remains free of injury. "Who were you fighting? We don't have much trouble with bandits out here..."

"Wild men," the man says, his voice accented like the northern traders who were becoming a more and more common visitor to these shores.  "They came out of the forest."

"Truly?" Sterren asks in surprise. Their forests did hold many secrets, home to the fair folk, protected by the great wolf, Ametair the Hunter, a dark place no man dared to enter, except for the wild tribe of savages who lived in harmony with the forest's dangers, and were part of it. But this is the first she'd heard of them leaving the forest to attack anyone, and Sterren can scarce believe it.

"They were not from your village, surely?" the man asks, and Sterren grows quiet. The last thing she'd want is to point a finger at her own people in this crime. These northmen were not known for their mercy or peaceful ways.


"And if I may ask, what were you doing out there alone, so early in the day? Not that I am ungrateful for your timely rescue..." the man continues.

"Gathering mushrooms. The rains bring them out." Sterren answers.

"You should be careful; those old places, the stone circles, they attract...dark magic."

"You mean the fair folk?" Sterren asks with a smile, "I don't fear them. They can be dangerous, but they aren't as fearsome as all that. Some might even be friendly."

"You've spoken with them?" he asks, his voice growing harsh.

Sterren presses her lips together, realizing she's said too much, little though it was. "No, of course not," she says, "I just believe it's foolish to fear something you've never seen. Tell me, what is your name, sir?" she asks, changing the subject.

"Reinier," he answers, "Reinier Landgraab."

Sterren gasps, realizing she's tending the wounds of a legend. "Reinier the Dragon Slayer?"


"That is me," he says, rising up from the bed to stand in front of her.

"And you have truly slain dragons?" she asks, hardly able to believe it.

"You don't believe the stories?" he asks, "I could show you my trophies, if I had them with me. But a dragon's tooth is too large and cumbersome to travel with."

"I believe the stories, sir. But that you're standing, here, in my home..."

"And that I, the great warrior who has slain such mighty beasts should have fallen to mere men must take some of the shine off my glory..."

"Oh, no," Sterren says with a blush, "I wasn't thinking that at all."

"It's not a story I would hear sung of me in the taverns," he says with a smile.

"I...I won't tell anyone," Sterren promises, blushing again.


"I've taken countless injuries, but never have they been tended to by such gentle hands," he says, taking her hands in his, "What is your name?"

"I am Sterren. Sterren Avendale," she tells him, nearly quaking at his touch. Even with his bruises, he's the handsomest man she's ever laid eyes on, and for such a renowned warrior, his manner with her is so gentle, so tender...

"Sterren," he says her name, like he means to remember it forever, "I haven't the gold with me to pay you for your service. I must go now, see to my men who are fallen, and return to my father, who will be worried. But I will return in a few days time, to see you paid, this I promise."

"Oh, that's not necessary," Sterren says, her voice grown fluttery as he continues to hold her hands in his, "I would never leave a wounded man to die from his injuries. You don't need to pay me for an act of kindness."

"I must have some excuse to visit you again, lovely Sterren," Reinier says with a laugh, letting go of her hands to dress himself before taking his leave.


"Morvyn! My love!" Gaelle gasps in surprise as her lover appears suddenly from behind the trees, "I was so afraid for you, after those men came..." Gaelle had fled at his insistence, and had spent the morning in fear for his life, too terrified to even return to the Lady's tomb to see for herself whether he lived or died.

"And you are well? Unhurt?" Morvyn asks.

"I am fine," Gaelle assures him, "But look at you, your eye..."

"It's nothing. I came to see you were well. Now I must go."


"Wait!" she pleads.

Morvyn caresses her cheeks, "Just being here with you now, in broad daylight, is a risk," he says, "Your father would not be pleased to see you with a savage, would he?" Never mind what his own family would have to say if they knew he'd taken a mortal girl for a lover. "We'll have to find another place to meet at night. When I find somewhere safe, I'll find you," he promises, and runs off before he can be seen.


"I was just delivering a potion to the Brannon farm," Sterren says, coming on Gaelle as she returns to the village, "Treveur asked me about you." Her smile is teasing, as it's well known in the village that young Treveur Brannon had being paying her court these past months, and all were in anticipation of a great wedding feast.

Gaelle does her best to respond to the teasing as she would have just a month ago, before her wildling lover had changed her mind about her future prospects, when the idea of marriage to Treveur was the only thing on her mind. For Sterren's part, the playful teasing is her way of expressing her own romantic giddiness without revealing her secret visitor and they way he held her hands and called her lovely, promising to return to see her again.

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Credits:
The house my dragons are living in is made from the Outskirts of Wyzima Tavern by VeraJ. Her lot is originally a community lot dive bar, so I made many changes to make it a residential lot for my dragons.
I wanted the dragons to develop alongside human culture, but to also be visually different from the human style, and her lot, based on a location in the Witcher, a medieval-esque rpg game, did that perfectly.
Of course, I didn't include any exterior shots of the dragon lodge in this chapter, but, sooner or later, I will.

The human village is Candletown, by candlelight82. Again, I've made many changes, adding more medieval CC and stuff from SN.

The world I'm using is Rownshire, and empty world suitable for any medieval/ancient setting, by Macthecat. I'm still using the v.2 version, I only just noticed v.3 now. It looks awesome.

Also, a shout out to my friend Aeon, for the poses. I use lots of poses by lots of creators in all my stories, but this chapter is particularly dependent on Aeon's poses, so I thought it would be nice to credit him especially and give the link. And a plug for his story, the Annals of Simopia, which I think readers of Summerdream would enjoy.

23 comments:

  1. I don't like being the first to comment :| I read this about 20 minutes after you posted it but i was scared...

    Anyway, Aymeri is angry! I'm assuming he's the leader of their unusual group now? I can't imagine he'll be very happy if/when he finds out what they were really doing!

    Argh! I recognise so many names here, I don't know where to start!
    Reiner Landgraab: I actually laughed at how the Landgraabs appear so long ago, and how they clearly weren't very nice people then either. He seems like he could be the main, or one of the main villians in this time period.
    Treveur Brannon: We've not seen him yet, but I'm interested to see how much he looks like the 'modern day' Brannons in your legacy. (If we've met him in some crazy time-loop somewhere, sorry, I've forgotton, though the name seems very familiar)
    Sterren Avendale: Now, I don't want to spoil things for people who don't read your legacy, but I -think- she may be the reason Aouregan was living alone, having been cast out, though, I'm not sure how different this time is to hers, so we may possibly see her pre-time-jump? Or as a child or something (or I could have this backwards and she is long gone by the time all this happens)
    Ametair: At the risk of more spoilers, him and Treveur will be... lets say 'connected' incase, but I can't work out whether he'll be good or bad news for dragons/fairies/humans.

    Do the fairies live with the dragons? I mean all of them, not just the ones who are mated to dragons, or are the rest just nearby? Or completely gone, but I'd miss seeing Auberon if he was gone :(

    Please delete if you feel I've made this spoilery. Hopefully I haven't, and I've just encouraged people to read your legacy who don't already ;)

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    1. Aw, don't be scared to go first!
      Aymeri is angry, yes! And not as angry as he would be if he knew what Talfryn and Morvyn were up to.

      Landgraabs are never nice people in my stories. Well, there was this one Landgraab that was a good guy in one of my legacies, and he had to escape his evil family.
      We have seen Treveur Brannon briefly in my Brannon legacy. He won't look like the current Brannons because the guy they get their looks from hasn't contributed his genes to the family yet. This here is set just a generation before Aouregan's time, and we will see her pre-time-jump (and it will get weird for me during the time where she does time jump, because I don't want to repeat the same scenes here. But we'll get to see some of what was going on elsewhere while Aouregan was doing what she was doing.)
      The only fairies that live with the dragons are Shayeleigh, Ico and Evie, the ones who have taken dragon mates.
      Auberon and the rest are still around, and will have big parts to play, they just aren't in this chapter.

      The whole spoiler issue is just so difficult, lol. Anyone who has read the Brannon legacy will have more info on some of these characters than anyone who hasn't. And people that have read my Roman legacy also have some knowledge of things that might happen based on stuff Aymeri said there. I guess it's kind of like reading a book based on real historical events, if you know the history, you'll have a good idea of what happens, while for others it's all a big surprise.

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    2. I wasn't -that- scared. I just like to see what other people thought before I air my views. It's different with the legacies than it is with stories. I think because people put a lot more time and effort into writing their stories, and I always think I'll say the wrong thing and make the author feel bad.

      Ever since I saw the name 'Landgraab' I always steered clear of them. I think because the name implies they grab land, and that reminds me of rich walking all over the poor and slavery.
      I'm glad we get to see Aouregan. I like her, and she didn't really have a huge part in the legacy after she and Farrell got home, too many children stealing the limelight.

      Yeah, I can see how it would be annoying to write this after you've used bits in legacies. You kind of have to explain things that have been explained elsewhere because not everyone has read everything, and then you feel as though you're repeating yourself. I suppose that's what copy/paste is for though ;)

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  2. Squee. *borrows time machine in order to read closer to the end of the story*

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    1. Just don' borrow a MorcuCorp time machine. They're EVIL.

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  3. Haha, it looks like the humans have really become a problem now! I'm not surprised and Talfryn has a point, they need to fight aggression with aggression against those humans or else they will just conquer everything they can. That is the only way to deal with humans, I should know!

    I feel bad for Morvyn though, his attachment to Gaelle could be the death of him I bet. Any ways I'm excited about the medieval period now!

    Also thanks for the shout out, I did notice some of those poses did look familiar. You reminded me that I probably should work on some more poses!

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    1. The growing human population has become a problem for the dragons. Morvyn's fling with the human girl could very well lead to trouble for him, and for everyone else to.

      And, yay for more poses!
      Thanks for reading!

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  4. Gasp! I just Knew a Landgraab had to be involved. Ugh 'the dragon slayer'. You have affected me so much that, as I watch "Once Upon ATime'' on Netflix, I actually felt sorry for the dragon the 'hero' had to kill.

    That poor woman doesn't know her lover is a dragon.

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    1. Yeah, the middle ages (for me) is where the Landgraabs really get their start on the path to world domination.
      Gaelle has no idea what her lover is. I'll be getting more into this as the story goes on, but the dragons have maintained the secret of who they really are so much so that humans only know dragons as the giant flying lizards they'll see every so often, and thus fear them as they do any giant predator. The dragons in human form who live in the same forests aren't seen by the humans as being related to the the dragons at all, but as being some kind of savage tribes of wildmen that are to be avoided. It's possible that if somewhere in their history the dragons had chosen to come out, the human population wouldn't be so hostile to them, but as it is, a dragon slayer like Reinier Landgraab would be revered as a brave and mighty hero.
      And Gaelle, who is having an affair with a man she believes to be from one of the wild forest tribes, has some idea that's she's involved in something potentially dangerous, or at least scandalous, has no idea at all what's she's getting into.

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  5. (Okay--third time of going to post a comment--I keep getting interrupted, lol---)

    A Landgraab! And a Dragon Slayer to boot! The plot thickens!

    It was great to see Aymeri, though I think if he stopped to think about it, he would realize that forbidding Talfryn to do anything won't work out very well. Aymeri himself, had a *forbidden* relationship, but that definitely didn't stop him!

    Great chapter---I'm looking forward to the next one! :)

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    1. Thanks, Nirar!
      The Landgraabs have entered the building, and they're dragon slayers.
      You are right, Aymeri forbidding Talfryn to do anything isn't really going to work. Talfryn is very much his father's son in that respect, he's going to do what he wants in the end.

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  6. If only Aymeri knew the whole story....ugh. He woulda probably taken it outta someones hind end! Morvyn, Morvyn, Morvyn..... meeting Gaelle could very well be the end of him if he doesn't watch it, he's stubborn like his dad tho=b

    I'm very concerned about Reinier. Known as the Dragon slayer...ugh. They just finished one war with their own kind and are now being hunted, this could get really bad....edenz~

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    1. Thanks, edenz. Aymeri would have flipped if he knew that Morvyn was out romancing a human girl, it's true.
      And with a dragon slayer around hunting them, this affair with Gaelle could be a lot of trouble for everyone.

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  7. I think it's funny that the original rule breaker is set against interacting with humans, although now that humans are actively hunting dragons and doing similar "heroic" deeds I guess I don't blame him.

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    1. Haha! I know...and I'm sure if Aymeri found a nice human girl he wanted to sleep with, he'd be all about breaking the rule again.
      But seriously, he is really just trying to protect his people, though it may not be the best way of doing that.

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  8. Past Supernatural Hunters, He he. Do they eventually give birth to the Winchester line. Just kidding. The Dragons seem to get in more trouble than any other species out there. Wow. And now they seem to be mingling in human "affairs", I guess they sort of deserved the beating.

    You are an amazing writer. I love this story.

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    1. The only Winchester line I know are the ones that made guns, but I'm guessing there's a show or something about supernatural hunters?

      I wouldn't say Talfryn and Morvyn deserved the beating. It may not be the smartest thing for Morvyn to get involved with a human girl, but still.

      Thanks, Paula!

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  9. Whoa... this is so cool. I have so much to say I don't know where to start. First, it's so weird to see Aymeri wearing so many clothes, I'm so used to seeing him shirtless or otherwise... But then I reminded myself hey it's medieval times people wear clothes now. LOL. Reinier... the dragon slayer. I feel weird knowing that I read about dragons first here because it's not like in those fairy tales when the handsome knight kills the evil dragon. It's like no, the dragon is so much more than an evil monster. It makes all the typical story lines go out the window. Awesome. I think it's funny that now the dragons are hanging out with everyone, including humans.

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    1. Yeah, there are a lot more clothes now, lol.
      I'm very much subverting the standard good knight slaying the evil dragon trope here. Here it's not goos versus evil, or a hero slayng a monster, but something more complicated. Of course, fom the human point of view, they still see it along the hero vs. monster lines, because they don't the dragons as anything else. And that is by the dragons' own choice, since they have refused to reveal themselves to the humans.

      Morvyn has a human lover, but she doesn't know he's a dragon. And Aymeri would be pissed if he knew what Morvyn was up to.

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  10. Ahh... what a mess this will become...
    Loved it. :)

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    1. Thaks, zhip! It will indeed become a mess. This ball of yarn is still in the process of untangling itself.

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  11. Loved Landgraab as the dragonslayer! Lol. "What you don't believe me?" Hehe.. I have to wonder if he really has killed any dragons!

    And what a twist - dragons with mortals now!

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    1. Morvyn's little dalliances with the human girls were very scandalous, Or would be if anyone knew about them.

      Landgraab has killed a few dragons in his time, sad to say.

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