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Post by Stage on Apr 28, 2018 4:32:10 GMT
Alex navigated the thick jungles south of Mival far better than any conversation. More impressive yet, he only had his eyes on the overgrown trail he was following half of the time. The other half they lay on his pocket book. On one page, he had jotted down the instructions given to him by Heather. On the opposite, there was a rough map where he noted landmarks as he passed them, as well as the position of the sun along with the time of day. If what he found was interesting enough to warrant a second trip or if he somehow missed the, 'blind dragon' described to him, he wanted to be able to quickly retrace his steps another day.
Every so often, the fear of being found by hungry predators willing to take human prey set in, likely fueled by his unexpected encounter with a despot just this morning, but he continually reassured himself that he was fine. On his hip swung a whistle that he knew Pless would hear and quickly close in on. In his picket, a vial of robber musk jostled. Nothing this far south would dare intrude on a territory marked by the scent of robbers, so a burst of it would frighten anything off. Well, anything but other robbers, but in that case they would prioritize finding the intruding mob over food.
After comparing the directions to what he saw around him several times, Alex decided: he was close.
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 28, 2018 4:56:47 GMT
Before the explorer, the jungle opened up into the basin of a large ravine. Towering white cliff walls rose far above the ground, and waterfalls flowed over them into a rushing river below, which seemed to head off toward the coast. Small white pterosaur like creatures, the exact same creamy hue as the cliffs themselves, soared above the falls.
Heading into the ravine, from the river were a large pair of tracks, five toed claw marks that dug into the earth and made their way deep into the ravine. Just one claw from each of the footprint was triple Alex's size, and the footfalls were elongated...
And the tracks, very fresh as well.
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Post by Stage on Apr 29, 2018 1:53:11 GMT
Alex gazed in wonder at the footprints. No matter how many times he saw giants and what they left behind, he was ceaselessly amazed. He imagined this was what people who said their significant others were always just as a breathtaking meant.
He could not let his fascination override his common sense though. Moving the whistle from his pocket to his neck, Alex continued moving, not into the ravine, but along one of its sides. It was rare for monsters to be interested in individual humans, but that was a not an assumption he was willing to bet his life on. Binocular at the ready, the young biologist scanned the gorge for further signs of the monster...
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 29, 2018 1:59:18 GMT
The white pterosaurs that were roosting on the side of the ravine, no larger than a goose each, took one look at Alex, and ignored him. They preferred to instead snap at each other for nesting space and breeding rights.
That was, until a low rumble, more like thunder than that of a living being, shook the gorge walls. That silenced the creatures, and all eyes shifted down toward the middle section of the ravine. From where Alex was, he could see, sticking out just behind a few trees and a cavern wall, the tip of a large scaly tail. The top was a slightly darker shade of white, almost grey, than the ravine, yet the bottom of the tail, which flicked upward and uprooted a tree, was a deep scarlet red. The rumbling ceased, then a few seconds later picked back up again, before ceasing yet again, in a slow rythmic fashion....
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Post by Stage on Apr 29, 2018 22:08:45 GMT
Alex, who had stopped and dropped to his knees, fingertips touching the ground, afraid the commotion would somehow crumble the cliffside, slowly stood and began taking small, quiet steps forward.
Was that... snoring?
Glancing between his footpath and into the gorge below- and deciding he would either take some time this trip or come back again to sketch the handsome little pterosaurs- he continued, eager to see the what was in the bleached ravine...
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 29, 2018 22:27:53 GMT
As the kaijuologist crept further along the top of the cliffside, he could see across the ravine, into a cave in the side of the wall...
And that was where the source of the noise was coming from.
The tail, actually part of a long and tampering limb of its own that reached toward the cavern's opening, lead into the frame of a large monster, a four legged dragon that had its head resting against the ground. The body of the creature was a mixture of whites and reds, especially across the six seraphimic crystalline wings that lay flat across the ground. A single horned crest, obsidian black with white stripes racing up its sides, protuded from the back of the dragon's head, and its mouth opened and closed with each rumbling from its chest. Down the length of the tail ran plates like those of a Stegosaur, almost identical in appearance to the actual wings on the back.
But most interestingly, there were no eyes to be seen on its head, nor any indication of eye lids or eye sockets of any kind..
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Post by Stage on Apr 30, 2018 1:00:54 GMT
Marveling at the beast, which was unlike any he had seen, here or otherwise, Alex scrambled for his pocket notebook and flipped to a fresh page. Excitedly, he began to sketch its bizarre body, as well as jot down questions as they occurred to him.
How does it see?
Echolocation? Electroreception?
Purpose of crystalline structures? Used like magnetite in proposed model of magnetoreception?
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 30, 2018 1:11:31 GMT
For what seemed to be several minutes, the great beast lay there in rest, all while Alex sketched out its form and littered the notebook page with notes and questions. However, one reverberating snort was cut short, and the dragon's head tilted, before it slowly began to rise up into the air. This revealed the vibrant orange chest region. The crystalline wings as well slowly raised up, then flapped down, sending powerful gusts of wind through the ravine and up its walls.
The eyeless dragon slowly began to swerve its head, nostrils flared, as well as a secondary pair of holes just above the nose, before it swiftly locked upon Alex. At the same time, its crystalline wings slightly rotated to face in that direction...
Wings, that each had a single, large blood red eye in the middle of them, all locked on the scientist...
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Post by Stage on Apr 30, 2018 2:53:59 GMT
Alex, who had covered his eyes to protect them from the dust whipped up by the flapping, went still with shock when he looked back up and found himself in the center of six stares, and decided to remain still as his rational thinking clunked back to life. Some aberrations retained their predatory instincts, so he did not want to run and potentially trigger a reaction if this monster was the same. And if it was benign, it would leave him be anyway. So he would wait and see what it did...
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 30, 2018 3:25:36 GMT
"Hmph. Are you terrified of my visage, human? stilled by my awesome frame?"
The voice came from the dragon, but not from its mouth. Rather, the voice seemed to echo around Alex, as if the voice of Nature itself. It was deep, and commanding, yet full of arrogance and haughtyness.
"You are right to tremble before my majestic form, but I will not hurt you. You are what they call a scientist, an observer of nature and... creature." The dragon sat, all six of its wings spread out in full, all eyes on Alex. "Such harmless and fragile company is what I prefer, for that is the state of all mortal life."
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Post by Stage on Apr 30, 2018 4:17:27 GMT
"O... Oh, you're like Xipil!" Alex exclaimed, though privately he noted that he sounded like another dragon he knew. "H- He... communicates like you do. Do you mind if I ask you some questions? Starting with what I should call you?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 30, 2018 4:24:50 GMT
The face of the dragon stretched into a strangely human-like grin despite the reptilian features and sharpened fangs. " It's only natural for lower life forms to ask of how true life works. But, why not. I have all the time in the world."
The dragon's six eyes narrowed into slits. "My name... My true name is one human life cannot comprehend, but I am known as the Lord of the Elements and Tyrant of the Storm. The world I come from, I have no equal, nor in the world you draw from!Fire, Water, Wind, and Electricity are all sub-servant to me!"
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Post by Stage on Apr 30, 2018 4:32:31 GMT
Alex took a moment to jot down his... title? Then he asked, "U- Uh... would you mind if I called you, 'Lord' for short?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 30, 2018 4:36:38 GMT
The dragon's eyes shifted to an annoyed look. "Just call me Storm Lord for short. Seriously, you and you stupid humans..."
The dragon began to roll into into low grumbling even with the mind voice, before it regained its train of thought. "And what other questions might you hold, human?"
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Post by Stage on Apr 30, 2018 4:37:44 GMT
"How do you see?" Alex asked quickly. "W- Well... how do you perceive the world, rather..."
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 30, 2018 4:45:13 GMT
"My perception of the world is through a powerful sense of smell, my acute hearing, and my eye wings." The Storm Lord rumbled. "When I cannot see through them, I can still use my other two senses to pinpoint where something is, as well as through vibrations through the ground, especially if I rest my chin on the earth."
It paused for a moment, before continuing, "I can also sense the heat radiating from nearby lesser creatures like yourself. It is how I knew you were there while I was resting. Nothing escapes my notice."
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Post by Stage on Apr 30, 2018 4:53:50 GMT
As he jotted down the received answer, Alex desperately wanted to ask how his eye wings worked, if their optic nerves somehow stretched all the way to his brain, but he knew he would receive no answer. Perhaps they were actually highly modified heat pits like those in some snakes?
"Where do you come from? I'm... s- sure someone as wise as you is aware of how many arrive on Lemuria. Are you among them or did you originate here?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 30, 2018 5:03:44 GMT
"My world..." The Storm Lord rumbled. It raised a large claw to its chin, and scratched against it, as if trying to decide on a proper answer. "My world is a dark one, with fire and brimstone. I know not how exactly I arrived here. I was deep in a forced slumber, by one who sought me out of the way, who wanted to rule on their own. When I came to, I was in this world, in this rough location. How long I have been here has been lost to me. Decades, centuries, millenia? I have lost track of time in this world."
The dragon reared up onto its hind legs, all six of its wing eyes fully expanded and glazing over with crystalline ice. "The back-stabbing serpent who put me to sleep will pay dearly for their crimes! Mark my words, they will suffer, as will anyone associated with them, for the sins they have wrought!"
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Post by Stage on Apr 30, 2018 5:16:15 GMT
"I... I'm sorry to hear that," Alex said, feeling sorry for whoever was to blame. "U- Um... oh! How many other humans have you met? I got directions here from one."
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Post by Executus Gira on Apr 30, 2018 5:22:31 GMT
The dragon's eyes stopped freezing over, and immediately began to thaw out, now fully again on Alex. "A human? Whoever it was that told you I was here is either a fool, or wanted to see you die. I'm surprised anyone would know I was here..."
The dragon shook its head, and returned to all fours. " I know no humans in this world, none alive that is. In my world, mankind existed only to serve the gods and higher principalities like myself. Yet, from what little I know, most humans in this world are not like that. Their idols have become themselves, or their work, or their livelihoods instead of physical living beings or abstract notions."
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