Knights and Dragons(Closed)

[Iliad]

Twilight slowly settled over the forest, the sun was long past to point of splendid shades of gold and red, though if he had his way, Ser Rhys would tell the tale of a battle fought with the suns last breath, but details didnt matter, not now anyway as he held his sword aloft, squinting in the under growth as he approached the cavern of the beast. He wished his armor was the polished steel of the royal guard, and his sword castle forged steel of the highest make, all of which his gear and even himself had once been, but now his armor had seen too many battles and too little polish, and his sword had been sharpened too many times to gleam in the light. But it was sharp and a dragon would earn him his merit back, or atleast so Rhys hoped.
He had been a knight once, a fine and proud knight, but now, one mistake of the field of battle had seen him deposed of all but what he wore on his back the day of his rebuke and and his bravery, all of which the tall man of 28 gathered as he stepped in to the cool and darkened mouth of the cavern, striking the lantern he carried at his hip untill then in to light and fastening it to his glove. He couldnt afford to drop this and be lost in a dark dragons cave.
At 28 Rhys was tall and had lived so far a privileged life, but hunger and constant work for what little he had made the man lean and a rougher around the edges then he had once been, with scruff at his cheeks, and his hair grown on in to a wild tail of auburn and oak colored hair at the nape of his neck held back with leather, but his eyes were sharp and more educated then the common mercenary he often looked now a days. Green orbs scanning the darkness for any sign of the creature he hoped would restore his honor.
"Dragon! beast of this wood, infernal one! Show yourself!" he called in to the darkness, once the light of the entrance was long behind him.

[star478]

Kvaloth glided on the jet stream high above the clouds with the moon glistening off his scales headed back to his cave to sleep after a good night's hunt. Black eyes scanned the sky for any...errant arrows from the humans below him. Granted, he was way out of their range, but one cannot be too cautious when you're kind has been hunted to near extinction...with him being the last dragon.

The moon glistened off his silver scales turning them and even brighter silver as he gently banked to the right to stay on course. He knew the way home by heart as he always traveled this route on his nightly hunts.

Water droplets clung to his scales, talons, and horns as he broke through the clouds in order to better locate his landing area that's located right in front of his cave. Finally locating it after a few passes, he began to descend in a circular motion beginning with wide circles and narrowing to narrower and narrower circles as he got closer to the Earth.

About 50 feet from the ground, he flapped his wings in order to slow his descent. His hind paws touched down first before he skipped a little ways and touching his front paws down. He then folded his silver wings in close to his body. And then he smelled it coming from his cave: a human was in his territory. but instead of growling a warning to the human and rushing in to startled the pathetic being, he yawned showing his fangs and terridly made his way into the cave with his tail dragging in the Earth. His meal had worn him out too much for him to even care that there was a human in his territory. If the human killed him in his sleep, he didn't care. It's not like he had any eggs he was waiting to hatch and would need care in the future. All the other dragons were killed before he could find a mate to have a clutch of eggs with.

[Iliad]

Rhys heard the flap of wings, and the rushing of wind even from the depths of the cavern, echoing down the halls with a cold blast of fresh night air in the maze of the cave system, giving the knight the first hope he had had in hours now. The knight had no idea how long the warren went on, but he seemed only to find circles and no enemy, only traces there of as he looked, but the low thump of heavy taloned paws, the scent of some unknown creature all made him too aware of the fact the caverns owner was home, the grip on his sword hilt tightening as he licked his lips in anticipation. He was weary from his fruitless searches in heavy mail and armor, yet as the sound of approach drew nearer the exile found his heart hammering in his chest, giving him stamina he hadn't known he possessed as he climbed ever high on to some natural rock ledge over looking what he could only hope was the dragons path, lantern a blaze with the last of his candle, and sword held on the ready, he could only hope to catch the dragon enough off guard to strike the beast down, though he refused to lower himself to hiding in the shadows to stab an unwitting creature. Monster or no, a dragon was still a creature of the earth.
Rhys would swear he his heart was beating as loud as the thudding of the dragons paws as he waited, forcing himself to breath steady as his eyes focused in on the pathway ahead and the sounds growing ever nearer, he needed this, this battle would prove him a knight and the dragons head would win him back his honour, no knight had slain a dragon in a hundred years, and even when dragons roamed every forest, it had been to easy feat to slay one.

[star478]

Wearily, Kvaloth entered his cave and made his way to his favorite spot in his cave to sleep: deep within. His path just so happened to take him right by where the human was hiding. He snorted. Hiding. Yeah. Sure. The human's scent gave it away long before Kvaloth even reached the human.

"Go ahead and kill me," Kvaloth said as he passed by the human's hiding spot. "I don't care. Would save you humans a lot of grief seeing as I'm the last dragon your kind will ever see alive."

He continued walking to his sleeping spot, not even caring if the human followed or not.

[Iliad]

Rhys froze when he heard the beast voice, unable to do more then let his sword lower when no attack came, only the dejected speech of some lonely creature, no text had ever told him of dragons ability to speak, still, the words he heard were far from he expected as the creature walked by him. It was like a bucket of water had been emptied over the flame of battle that had been kindling in the knight, leaving only a sense of bafflement as to what his option was next. Did the dragon really not care if he lived or died?
"Halt! Dragon!" Rhys finally called, his voice trying to hold all the noble command it could as he picked up his blade and hurried after the creature. "If you even are a dragon!" He called, climbing down from his rock ledge and moving to hurry after the beast, eyes going wide as he became aware of the creatures shier size now that they stood on the same ground.
Turning the corner after the heavy tail of the dragon, sword still held ready to defend and fight he looked in to the gloom of the cavern and wondered what sort of creature this beast even was now.

[star478]

Kvaloth sighed as he finally reached his resting place and laid down, curling into a scaly ball with his head facing the arrival of the now utterly confused human.

'Typical,' Kvaloth thought to himself. 'Humans are so full of themselves. They think they're the only creatures capable of speech. Bah! How ignorant!'

"I am very much a dragon, human," Kvaloth said tiredly and yawned, showing the inside of his mouth and the throat that so many other humans (and cattle) had traveled down on their way to his stomach to be digested. His eyelids drooped a little as he tried to remain awake. It wouldn't work, so he had to say something that would make the human stay until he woke up...and wouldn't kill him even though Kvaloth wouldn't care either way. "Us dragons are not the dumb animals you humans think we are. Stick around until I wake up and I shall explain for I am very tired right now."

Without waiting for any form of reply by the human, Kvaloth's eyes slid shut and his breathing quickly evened out, signalling that he was fast asleep.

[Iliad]

Rhys could only sigh as his foe fell in to sleep, of all the fates and out comes he could have pictured for this, a dragon ignoring him then falling alseep was hardly what had expected, let alone hoped for.
"Infernal lizard..." He remarked once it was obvious there would be no epic duel, no great battle, nothing of the sort would happen, leaving him alone in a cave with a sleeping dragon and the offer to sleep there untill morning. Kicking a rock out of his way and grumbling darkly the knight finally began taking off the most useless of his armor, leaving only what he would need should he be attacked in the night before looking around to try and find some decent place to sleep.
Settling for a rock ledge, Rhys settled himself down to sleep untill the dragon woke, having no intention of leaving with nothing to show for it, but this dragon was not what he expected, and all the human could do was gaze down at the dragon as he tried to find sleep.

[star478]

Kvaloth's flanks rose and fell with his breathing as he slept soundly throughout the night. That is, until a dream came to him just before noon--his typical time to wake up after a night's sleep from hunting.

He was drifting among the blackness that he typically sees when he sleeps. He almost never sees his dreams. There was only one time that he did, but it never came to be (he believed--as all magical creatures do--that dreams can predict/foretell the future). This time though, he had no idea that this dream, specifically, will come to be.

He was walking along the streets of a human city, among humans who never once made a move to attack him let alone flee from his presence. (In the cave, he snorted causing a small stream of flame to bake the floor of the cave where it hit) He made his way past shops and animal stalls to an area of houses, looking at each doorway as if he was looking for a house among the dozens of identical homes. Eventually, he found the house he was looking for and entered it. He smiled at the human--a male--who was already in the building and was carrying a rather large belly. He quickly walked up to the human and gave him a kiss while caressing his belly, giving it light kisses as well. He looked into the human's eyes....

...and awoke with a start. He looked at the human, now asleep up on a rock ledge, in awe mixed with fear. The pregnant human was most definitely the male who had come to kill him. But why? Why would he, Kvaloth the silver dragon, take a human male as his mate? The answer elluded him.

He laid his head back down and tried to get back to sleep, but couldn't. Seeing as he couldn't get back to sleep, he laid there watching and waiting for the human to waken.

[Iliad]

Rhys slept fitfully through the night, each drop of water from stalagmites, each heavy breath or motion of the dragon causing him the stir, but some times around what he could only guess to be morning finally his body simply refused to give in to fear anymore, and the knight fell in to a heavy sleep, laden with strange meaningless dreams that almost all served to lull him further in to sleep, untill finally one coherent dream came to him. There he was, a proud and shining knight in his bright gilded armor, standing before the lord commander of the knights order, the hall was of white marble and sun light streamed through the windows, it was all as it ought to be as he walked down the long procession of saluting knights in their brilliant armor. Untill finally he stood before the knight commander, ready to accept whatever honor was to be placed on him, but the floor fell out from beneath him, and the roar of a dragon defened everything as he fell in to darkness and the sound of a dragons roar and beat of wings woke him from sleep with a cry of distress.
Heart pounding in his chest, and faced with the creature of his dream, Rhys held his sword in his hand before he even was aware he had reached for it and he was awake and not in a dream.
Slowly though he began to realize as he held the silver beast gaze that no harm had yet befallen him and the nights memories returned to him, he slowly lowered his sword and turned aside his gaze.
"I would say good morning, but in this darkness I couldnt say the hour..." He remarked, feeling sore from his night of tossing and turning and truely unsure of the time.

[star478]

Kvaloth smiled a draconic smile at the knight's words.

"It's almost noon," Kvaloth said and stood up. He stretched to get any kinks out of his joints, his talons gouging into the rock underneath. "I only know that because that's the time I typically wake up after hunting."

He then moved closer to the human with a sparkle in his eyes. He moved slowly so the knight wouldn't be frightened off, but still with the grace of his kind; a gracefulness only cats can compare to.

"Say human, I never really caught your name last night," Kvaloth said with a hint of amusement in his voice as he slowly neared the human. "Humans have names, don't they? I was too tired last night from my meal that we never got to exchange any pleasantries."

[Iliad]

Rhys watched the dragon guardedly, but he didnt move and held his poise, even if his sword remained firmly in one hand. He didnt understand this creature, everything from the grace and civil words went against what he had been taught about dragons. "Ser Rhys, knight of the first regiment of the empire." He replied with a stiff formality despite the small fudge of a lie it was, he had once held that title, and he would again, so he saw little harm in declairing himself before the dragon as such. "I suppose must dragons have names if they have the decency to ask them?" He added after a moment, unsure why he would ask the name of a creature he had every intent to slay.

[star478]

"Ser Rhys, nice to meet you," Kvaloth said with his draconic smile and sat in front of Rhys. "My name is Kvaloth."

The twinkle in his eyes as well as his smile faded at the thought of Rhys' reason for being in his cave.

"You're here to slay me, aren't you?" Kvaloth asked sadly. "To send me to the spirit realm where the rest of my kind--my family--now reside."

[Iliad]

Rhys suddenly felt a pang of guilt as the dragon called him out on his intent, the knight feeling less and less keen to raise his sword against the beast- no, against Kvaloth. He felt some sense of guilt over desire to slay a creature who bore a name but had done him no wrong.
"Yes, that had been in my intent." He began, unsure where this would lead. "...You have yet to attack me however.... and the knights code prohibits me from harming creatures of god without just cause... Which leaves us at a cross roads. I cannot leave this place without you dead, but I cannot attack you, and you have yet to attack me...." Rhys began, frowning in irritation at the revelation of this all, he wished it were simple black and white man vs savage beast, but this had been far fromt he quest he had sought.

[star478]

Kvaloth snorted, which ejected a plume of smoke in Rhys' direction.

"You humans and you're codes," Kvaloth said bitterly. "If the humans that attacked my brethren had followed the code you're following, I wouldn't be the last dragon alive."

Kvaloth then tilted his head at something Rhys said and narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean you cannot leave here without me dead?" Kvaloth said low, but not quite threatening. "Granted, I don't mind dying, but for what? What exactly would I be dying for?"

[Iliad]

Rhys gave a gruff sound of agitation at Kvaloth's question and shifted uncomfortably, he supposed it was indeed his fault either way, and it wouldnt matter if he told the truth of continued to lie one way or another. "To give truth to a lie." He finally answered, giving not rue answer one way or another as he stood up to fully face the dragon.

[star478]

Kvaloth cocked his head in confusion and narrowed his eyes even more.

"You're being cryptic Rhys," Kvaloth said with a growl underlying his voice. "I'd prefer it if you would tell the truth rather than lie to me."

Kvaloth's eyes then brightened.

"Besides, I can tell when someone's lying," he said and leaned in closer to Rhys. "And if you lie to me, I'll burn you to a crisp."

[Iliad]

Letting out a dull groan Rhys knew the dragon had every advantage right then, and in truth lying would serve him no gain. "Funny, a dragon calling a knight cryptic... still, if you must know I ... sort of lied. Earlier, when I told you my name." He began, holding his chin high and adopting a stiff posture as he tried to think of ways to soften the blow, still unsure why he cared so much that he had lied to the dragon. "I am former knight of the knight of the first regiment of the empire. As it stands I am in exile. Were I to bring the head of the last dragon before the king, I prehaps could be forgiven and restored to my rank.

[star478]

Kvaloth stared at Rhys with narrowed eyes for what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes. He then snorted, which caused small streams of flame shoot from his nostrils and burned the ground very close to Rhys, before sitting back on his haunches.

"That was for lying to me earlier," Kvaloth said with his draconic smile. It didn't last long as it turned into a frown....well, as much of a frown as he could muster given his anatomy. "So, you need to slay me in order to restore your honor huh?"

Kvaloth sighed dejectedly and turned around to go back to the area he was sleeping at prior.

When he reached his "bed," he turned around and sat, waiting for Rhys to come.

"Well, are you going to come and fight me or not?" Kvaloth said unenthusiastically to Rhys. "It's going to be one of us that'll survive. And I'm tired of being the only one of my species alive."

Granted, this was all an act as he hoped that Rhys would not go through with it. The dream he had had right before he woke up was still at the forefront of his mind. Especially whenever he looked at Rhys because when he did, he saw Rhys with a belly heavy with their child.

[Iliad]

The former knight jumped back, his sword once more held aloft and ready at the small jet of flames, but his fear died down in to a sort of... He couldnt even place the emotion, after spending a life time so full of conviction even when he was cast out,a nd finally having his goal in sight only to find it wasnt what he sought.
Drawing nearer and nearer, sword held high Rhys tried his best to force himself to go through with the act, he knew this was his ticket back to the life of a knight, a life of nobility, valour, and... honor. That word kept sticking in his throat, ringing through his head like a mantra as he stopped a pace shy of the dragon, sword still held aloft. Only to slowly lower it, realizing this would make him a knight once more, but there would be no honor in it.
"Was this your plan all along Kvaloth? Take the honor from this act....?" Rhys question dejectedly as he looked at the beast, knowing he wouldnt be able to simply kill the dragon.

[star478]

Kvaloth smiled inwardly whe he saw/heard Rhys' response....but didn't want to show it to Rhys.

"Plan? I had no plan," Kvaloth said dejectedly. Kvaloth knew it was a lie, but Rhys didn't. Kvaloth then snorted. "You humans and your honor. There's never any honor in killing another living being. Especially one that is defenseless, such as I will be. Yes Rhys, you heard me. I won't defend myself if you do attack me"