The Age of Dragons.(Action Thread)

Föstólfr

The great keep of "High Dragon Hold" was a magnificent sight to behold, strong dark walls, amazing stone carvings and menacing statues, it was a sight to behold. As Föstólfr entered the keep he and Modeus were greeted by many dwarfs, they were from the Steelhammer clan as Modeus explained on the way, except the dwarfs there were 5 people who stood out from the crowd. A sturdy battle hardened dwarf, as all of them he was short but he looked more tough then the stone carved walls of this keep. There were also three elfs, a wood elf, a dark elf, and a high elf. The wood elf was tall, taller then Föstólfr but on the other hand all elfs were pretty tall, he was not very muscular but he looked capable. The dark elf was tall, he could be considered even very tall among the elfs, he had many scars on him and looked very well in shape. The high elf was short for an elf, he was not scarred and he wasnt very muscular either, but yet Föstólfr sensed danger from him, he got the feeling that this elfs powers didn't revolve around the sword and the shield. Last but not least was a Human, he looked like a nice and kind fellow, yet he was scarred and burnt all across his hands, it didnt look like he takes pride in his scars but Föstólfr could not guess. Föstólfr approached those people, he guessed that this are the other apprentices that Modeus spoke of. "Föstólfr is my name, and I hail from the lands of the kingdom of men, near the mountains." he introduced himself.

After the formal Introduction Modeus spoke to them, spreading them to groups of two. He was paired with the dwarf, the dark elf and the other human were paired, and the wood elf and the high elf were also a pair now. After he finished assembling this groups he gave each of them a task. Föstólfr did not listen to what he said to the other groups, it did not concern him, and thus he dont have to take any interest in what they will do, his only concern was to do his task, in the best way possible. Modeus approached Föstólfr and the dwarf and said, "I present this three books to you, each of them contains fighting stances, you must learn and memorize as much as possible from them, then in two hours you shall go to the courtyard where you will feed and clean the young dragons. Once you finish this return to the books and then repeat the feeding and cleaning every two hours.". Föstólfr was overjoyed, he never thought that he will be able to touch young dragons so soon, he actually never thought he will have the chance to touch a dragon in his life. At first the task looked easy until he saw the size of this books, actually this were not books but more of tomes as each of them contained more then five hundred pages. "By the beard of the gods! This task will take years to complete." Föstólfr said after he saw the size of the books. "Well I guess we should get practicing", said Föstólfr, opening the first book in a random page and starting to read.

Those two hours slowly crawled, as Föstólfr did not like reading so much, he preferred fighting and learning through fighting then through reading. After two hours have passed Föstólfr slammed the book close, "Lets go! I had enough of this reading crap. We have dragons to feed.", Föstólfr said smiling. Föstólfr did not really knew how to get to the courtyard, and it seemed like the dwarf did not know either. While stumbling through the halls of the great keep Föstólfr ran across a Steelhammer clansman who told him how to get to the courtyard.

Approaching the courtyard Föstólfr saw about 10 big barrels full of meat and lots of tools, he guessed that the tools are there to help them clean the dragons. He waited for the dwarf to arrive and then asked him, "What would you like to carry out of this stuff?", once the dwarf answered Föstólfr took the rest of the things and headed to the courtyard, while walking he thought to himself, "This barrels are huge, I can hardly believe that they will be able to eat all of the meat.", this barrels are to big to be possibly carried all at once and they will have to carry them one by one. As they approached the huge doors of the courtyard, sound of screeching and roaring could be heard from the courtyard. As he was about to kick the door open a thought penetrated Föstólfr thoughts, "Food?!", Föstólfr jumped up, nearly dropping everything on the floor, he looked around, no one was there except the dwarf and he did not say a thing. Dismissing the weird thought Föstólfr kicked open the doors.

An amazing sight was revealed to him, scaly little monsters, the sun reflected from them like they were a giant mirror, they had little horns growing from many places, they were in a size of a big hound, looked vicious and snake like. For some reason Föstólfr got the feeling that this creatures are much more dangerous then any beast he ever encountered. Before having a chance to capture the scene a wave of thoughts penetrated his head, "Food!? Food?! Food!!", before getting a hold of himself he was charged by creatures of many colors as they took his barrel and smashed it, tearing through it, finding the meat and devouring eat quickly. Apperantly he underestimated their appetite as he clearly say that he will have to bring the rest of the barrels as well.

Hildur
A new morning dawned, slowly raising the great sun came. Hildur woke up feeling the rays of the sun upon her. After a while all dragons awoke, the bright sun shined all over them, making their scales look shiny and beautiful. Her blue scales were shining bright in the sun, she did not like the heat, she preferred the cold of winter, the snow, or the deep blue sea. Time passed and people came and led them towards the halls of the great stone building. The people carefully led them through the many halls of the keep into a courtyard. It was quite and cool inside, as the stone structure did not catch the heat of the sun, but as fast as they came in they got out straight back to the heat of the sun. They arrived at the courtyard, it was nice and had many fun places. There was a mound full of water where they could swim, it was pretty big and attracted Hildur's eye straight away. Apart from that there was a tree which the could climb on and some tables and chairs scattered across the courtyard and a large earthen mound. After scouring the place and waiting for a bit the people informed them that in two hours they will be fed and cleaned. Hildur was hungry yet she patiently waited for the time to arrive. She wanted to get into the cool water but she had an even better idea. She quickly ran to one of the many chairs and pushed it towards the mound of water. Once it was close enough Hildur jumped on the chair and prepared. When she was ready, she jumped flapping her wings, yet as quickly as she jumped she fell into the water. She dived deeper, as much as possible, looking around there was blue nothings, an empty space full of water. The water was cold and pure, just like Hildur wanted. Hildur spent most of her time in the water but after awhile she felt a new mind, which meant a new person around, she did not know this one, but as soon as the person arrived she smelled it, the great smell of meat. She generated her thoughts towards the mind, and after a while two people entered. they were carrying the barrels. Hildur knew that the barrels were filled with food and as soon as the people were inside the courtyard she and the other dragons rushed towards the barrels, snatching them from the people with ease and breaking them open, discovering food inside and feasting on it with great pleasure.

Föstólfr

Föstólfr watched with pleasure as the small and young dragons swarm the meat barrels and devour the meat in whole pieces like a bunch of hungry rabid wolfs. They used everything the had to rip apart the meat and eat it, even when eating they where very brutal. Out of them all Föstólfr eyed a blue dragon, he could easily tell that that dragon was a female, it could be seen in the way she walked and moved, full of grace and yet dangerous at once. As he watched her, her deep blue scales reminded him of the seas and winter, of the icy lakes near his village, and he was struck with memories of the happy and sad times experienced there, but as he watched the dragon he calmed, and let his thoughts float away in the wind. After a while a new dwarf came, not surprisingly from the Steelhammer clan, he approached them soon after another of the new riders joined them. "High lord Modeus has prepared a feast for us all, and he asked you to come with me to the main hall." the dwarf said, only when the dwarf talked about food Föstólfr realized how hungry he was, as he did not eat the whole trip from his home to here. So Föstólfr smiled happily and stood up, "Lead the way oh savior of the hungry!". Föstólfr followed the dwarf to the main hall, the hall itself was full with dwarfs of the Steelhammer clan, they all ate and drank in huge amounts. As they enter the main hall Modeus noticed them and signaled them to come to his table to sit and eat. Föstólfr gladly listened, sitting down he took huge amounts of meat and mead to satisfy his great hunger and thirst. After he was satisfied with the food and the huge amounts of bear and mead he drank he asked Modeus "When do we get to meat the dragons? Also please could you tell me about the blue dragon? And my last question is could you share some stories from what you've seen and done with us?".

Hildur

Hildur satisfied her hunger with many pieces of meat, she noticed that the tall human was looking at her for long. She listened to his thoughts, happiness, sadness, and then he was calm, she looked back at him and saw that he was staring at her. She enjoyed the attention, and felt good towards the human. After a dwarf came and called the feeders back, he said something about a feast and the feeders closed the door and gone with the dwarf. After they were gone she rested for a bit, digesting the food, and then she gone to the tree and sharpened her claws and teeth, also cleaning them from dirt and pieces of food which got stuck. Finishing her sharpening she again swam in the pool and after a while she got out and went to sleep. Hildur wanted to save energy to the rest of the day.

She woke up really quickly, Hildur guessed that only a meager hour has passed but she couldnt bring herself to sleep again. Then she noticed a bunch of books laying near. She looked at them, they were about the other races of this world. So she decided to start reading them, one by one, she read all of the books she could get her hands on with great interest. Soon afterwards she heard the flap of wings and a gust of wind carrying dust with it arose, so she closed her eyes to avoid it. Hildur knew that Zala'Drakhar flew out of his cave, she saw him spinning around the keep for a bit and then landing near the courtyard as the courtyard was to small for him to fit in. Zala'Drakhar greeted them and said "Hello there little ones, are you enjoying yourselves today? I have come to see if you need any questions answered about what happens when your a fully grown?", Hildur approached Zala'Drakhar and spoke, "Greetings father Zala'Drakhar.", she used the word father as he was the only mature dragon that she spoke with, she knew that he was not her father but at any rate she loved calling him that way. "Can you answer some question please?", Hildur said. "Of course Hildur, thats why I am here.", he said. "Can you tell me about the humans? Also how is it to be fully grown and be able to fly? Except this question I also wanted to ask if you like to swim father?".

Föstólfr

Asking his questions Föstólfr waited patiently as he saw others were asking questions also. Once Modeus finished listening to the volley of questions he started answering them, "You have already met the dragons that will be given to each of you in turn. The little blue female that you ask about is called Hildur and she will be your dragon once this day is finished. For now you have alot of work to do to prove you are ready of for your dragon. Each day your jobs shall be rotated with the others so you learn everything you need to know about dragons. And to your third question about sharing a tale of my Adventures with Zala'Drakhar i shall tell you all a tale this evening. for now i need to answer the other questions, now feel free to eat and drink as much as you like, and if you have more questions as me once i have answered the rest.". Föstólfr Nodded for now he was satisfied with those answers. Soon another human entered the hall and sat right next to Föstólfr, he was very loud but Föstólfr did not matter, he continued eating and drinking as the mead and beer where finely made until the new man turned to him and said, "my aren't you the handsome one..", Föstólfr looked at the man and then replied, "Yea, this are indeed beauty's, all are well earned and well fought for. On the other hand, you are so clean and unscarred, might say you are more clean then a babies arse, can you even fight?".

After a while, when Modeus answered all the questions he announced, "The evening meal is one which all of us gather for and can talk about the days goings on, You will have time to ask me or Zala'Drakhar, who will also be joining us along with your dragons, any questions about being a rider and we will also tell you tales each day of what we have done during the last 100 years and the adventures that we have been on. For now everyone feel free to talk among yourselves and eat and drink as much as you like. Though dont drink too much as you will still have jobs to do.", "Hmph...", Föstólfr said when he heard that no more drinking is allowed, although his head was a bit spinning he did not want to stop, but at any rate he stopped as he knew he would not be able to finish his job when he is drunk.

Hildur

As they ran towards Zala'Drakhar and start speaking, shouting and asking question he just laughed, his massive voice shaking the ground itself. Out of them all he looked on Hildur first answering her question. "Well little Hildur. Well the humans are the shortest lived of all the races of this world, their general life span is between 70-90 years old though in some cases they can live to be 100 years of age. Due to their short life spans they learn much faster than other races as they want to learn as much as they can before they die. To your second question, Im not actually fully grown little one. Dragons never stop growing as long as they live, getting bigger and bigger and bigger until they are either killed in battle or die of old age. To my knowledge no dragon has died of old age. We seem to be near enough immortal and only die due to wars and fighting each other. Also flying is one of the greatest things you can do, to be soaring so high above the ground you can see for miles and miles, picking out pray from high above and attacking without them even noticing you.", he did not answer all of her question but still she was satisfied, so she walked away back to the pool to hone her swimming skills. She just hoped her rider would like the cold as much as she did.

P.S sorry for the dull dragon post, didnt have much to write

"Now, cant we all just get along?", the new human named Kell said, and before Föstólfr could replay Theren also interfered, "Yes, you two are pathetic. Föstólfr, you have obviously never seen the great forests of Ela'Amnor. They are quite beautiful. And Corlandril, you can't judge humans until you've lived within their community, most of them are quite kind and caring. You two have no right to argue as you do."

Föstólfr knew that this will turn into a heated discussion about races, but he was not about to back down. "Ohhh, looky looky the high elf decided to put his opinion into the fray, I can assure you that all the things you read in your fancy books did not reflect reality. The only reason I insulted Corlandril was because he reffered to me as my whole race! I HAVE A NAME! If you dont like it then dont speak to me!" Föstólfr furiously said. "Yes scars prove our worth! If you have no scars, you did not fight a worthy fight! You want to know what scars makes us! THEY MAKES US WARRIORS!! THEY MAKES US THE BEASTS WE ARE!"

Föstólfr

Föstólfr as Theren was about to blow up with rage and was prepared for anything he would throw at him. He saw him concentrate as he was about to cast a spell but then a sound of cracking was heard and Föstólfr turned back and saw Modeus's hand on the table, he probably slammed it and even cracked it, Föstólfr was impressed. "You will all listen to me, you are to stop these petty arguments, you are going to become Dragon Riders, and to do such you will need to work together, is that all understood?", he said and waited for an answer. First to replay was Theren, "Yes, Lord Modeus, I shall keep my cool next time. And refrain from using magic in your halls.", he said. Föstólfr looked at him, and then at Modeus, "Hmph... Fine with me.", Föstólfr simply said.

After everyone answered Modeus looked at them and said, "Return to your tasks. In eight more hours return here for the evening meal in which you will all meet your dragons. Vilhelm, Föstólfr take Kell with you and do some battle stances training. Remember to feed the dragons every two hours but at the moment you wont need to as Zala'Drakhar is off hunting for them. Theren, Corlandril and Valdir, go back to the library and read up more about your dragons as i shall test you later." Again with the reading, it was endless, he decided to go with Vilhelm's suggestion and asked him if he want to test the stances with a friendly fight. After several hours of reading and practicing Föstólfr had enough, so he decided to go look at the dragons which at the time were supposed to be hunting. he asked, "Anyone wants to join me? I'm going to look at the dragons for a while."

While walking his mind got back to that elf, he wasn't a warrior, he was a coward, hiding behind spells and tricks. He thought to much of himself and so himself superior yet he could be a worthy opponent in battle. Who knew maybe fate will make them meet on a battlefield in different sides or even have a duel to settle a dispute. Only destiny knew the answers to that...

Hildur

Zala'Drakhar nodded to them, with a big push he was lifted from the ground, spreading his wings and flying away to an unknown place to bring them game to hunt. His great wings created a gust of wind which reached even to where Hildur was standing right now. As he was gone Hildur went back to the tree and saw Fennindier one of the fellow dragons. She started sharping her claws and teeth for the upcoming hunt. "This is exiting isn't it? Our first hunt, the chance to eat fresh meat.", it was Fennindier which talked, "Yes it is rather exiting, imagine the prey at your teeth every bone cracking under the immense pressure of your jaws, the taste of blood, the taste of meat.", as Hildur mentioned that she licked her lips as if tasting the meat already and then sprinted back to the pool, she just realized that she really liked the water...

P.S sorry if I forgot anyones color

Föstólfr

As Föstólfr offered anyone who wanted to come with him to see the dragons, Kell replied, "How could i resist the offer of your fine company?", "Apparently you cant resist it", Föstólfr said laughing. Vilhelm stayed silent so they left without him. As they were walking towards the dragons, Kell interrupted his thinking and said, "Handsome, friendly and quite the talkative one to boot! I have hit gold with this partnership, Care to share your thoughts? Though i already have an inkling as to what they might be, if i was to hazard a guess i would say it was about our elven company, no?". Föstólfr turned his head and looked at Kell, he then said with a sigh, "Sure, its not that interesting, just thinking what will it be to battle the elf, I'm holding no grudge to people I don't know...". They continued chatting until they finally returned to the study area. They continued studying for a while but soon three dwarves opened the door and told them, "High Lord Modeus requests your presence in the forge and says to bring the weapons that you use in battle so he may inspect them.". Quickly standing up, Föstólfr was ready to go in a mere moment. Once everyone were ready they followed the dwarves, they walked for about twenty minutes and then arrived, two mighty doors were whats standing between them and the next room...

Hildur

Hildur was in the middle of sharpening her claws and teeth when the mighty and huge shadow of Zala'Drakhar appeared. She looked up and saw two creatures squirming in between his great claws, they were uninjured yet helpless. Zala'Drakhar flew over the courtyard dropping the two creatures now recognizable as deers. The moment they were dropped they began running away, they could sense the danger around them. Hildur silently followed one of them, ignoring the others, not looking what they are doing. She got closer and closer to the deer, once in jumping range she leaped but apparently the deer was aware of her presence and just dashed away to a safer place. Deciding to go on an entirely different approach, Hildur jumped to the cool water and waited for a deer to pass by. She knew that once a deer while pass there he will be doomed as she will strike out of the water, closing her jaw around his legs and pulling him to the cold dark waters, where he will suffocate and die.