This time we are trying something new. I would like to extend the offer to allow only one user grow one of their Rune Dragons into an Ancient. This page will be left blank till the user with the best bid wins. Once they do, and the desired Rune is chosen I will do a full grown Ancient version of their rune dragon here on this page.
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~Story~
Written By: Ashwyn
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It’s been said before that having the bond you possess with your Rune severed is worse than dying. I’d have to agree. Things weren’t meant to happen the way they did, that much is certain, but life doesn’t often flow the way we wish it would. It’s full of eddies and hidden currents, tugging you backwards when you wanted to go forwards, down when you wanted to go up, and for those who felt that they themselves were invincible….well, life chose to tear away that little bit of naïveté too. My name is Katarina, though most everyone calls me Kat, and this is the story about how my rune dragon Vorren and I died.
As you may or may not be aware, Vorren and I were something of a dangerous duo. The two of us were constantly plaguing the government of Eldmore, though a thorn in their side would likely be a more apt description, and as such they often made half-hearted attempts to capture and subdue us. Yet we were both cocky, who in their right mind would stand a chance against a Toruk Rune? Bull-sized with a mean temperament, you had to almost be suicidal to even attempt to harm us, besides, we were a pair, a team! Completely in sync with each other, opposite sides of the same heart, and that kind of unity is formidable in anyone.
Yet I’m digressing, the fact of the matter was rather simple. We were cocky, feeling as though nothing in the world had a chance against us, and as I’m sure you can imagine this alone made us vulnerable. In the end it happened so quick that thinking on it now I can almost believe it never happened at all. How can life go from good to a nightmare in such a short span of time? It just seems….wrong somehow. A small militia group was surrounding us suddenly, subduing Vorren with a horrifying ease, as though he was nothing, just a frail dragon that could be held down with a finger. He was, of course, tranquilized, but to my suddenly sluggish mind in that moment, it just seemed as though both of us had suddenly gone from invincible to frail little children. The scientist appeared at that moment, flanked on either side by men with machine guns, he looked like something out of a horror film that I’d seen during my childhood. Stringy white hair seemed to spring from either side of his head, giving him a wild and quite frightening appearance. Even our small campfire seemed to conspire against us now, lighting up the man’s face with eerie shadows, emphasizing and exaggerating his features. I was certain this had to be just a nightmare, I’d wake up and laugh about it with Vorren, and then we’d fly away. Yet the logical part of my mind knew the truth. This was no dream.
The scientist studied the two of us for what seemed to be hours, but in reality must have only been a couple minutes. He had the look of a starving dog that was within reach of a steak on his face, the look that suggested implicitly that he meant us harm. My heart was thrumming frantically in my chest, fear constricting my lungs so that I felt I couldn’t breathe. Somehow though I managed to gather enough strength to lift my chin and ask him a question in the strongest voice I could manage. “What do you plan on doing with us?” To my credit my voice sounded somewhat level and even, but I could also hear the faint tremor in it, and clearly the man in front of us could as well. Sneering he let out a chuckle and leaned close to me. “Why it’s quite simple deary, I’m going to break the bond between the two of you.” I felt what little breath was left in me whoosh out of me, and I turned to stare into Vorren’s golden eyes. I could see the shock and horror in his eyes as well, and he pinned me with a firm and desperate gaze. Struggling I managed to open my mind enough to receive his last “words”. Kat…I-I… His mind whirled, and I could see image after image flit through his head. Me laughing, sharing food, sailing through the sky with cries of pure joy, the soft moments of simple companionship, the adrenaline filled times of fighting against the government, all of the things that had bonded us so tightly. And though I was well known for keeping my emotions bottled up, never showing any fear or grief, I felt silent tears begin to make a salty trail down my face. Something flickered in Vorren’s eyes then, but before he could “say” anything more to me…the scientist injected a needle into my side, and everything went black.
Pain. Pain was all I knew. It was everywhere, consuming me, a black and voracious fire, engulfing everything. Touching nerve endings until they themselves wailed from pain, only to focus again on my mind and howl some more into the black emptiness in my head, bringing my focus to the utter hollowness that filled me. Vorren was gone. And with a sudden burst of extra pain at this realization I let out a howl that was entirely inhuman and felt my strength ebb once more as I drifted back into the blackness.
I didn’t need to open my eyes to see, and I didn’t need to breathe either. Rather I found myself floating in an inky blackness. The pain was gone; in fact, all feeling seemed to be gone as well. Slowly I made myself sit up, still capable of recognizing the hollow emptiness within me, but not having to endure the anguish it created in me. Ahead of myself I could see a light, a curious tunnel that drew me instantly, and I rather felt like one of those witless bugs that is drawn towards a bug zapper. Yet this light seemed…warm, friendly, and safe. Though I hadn’t realized it I had pushed myself to my feet, and step by slow step began to walk towards the end of the tunnel. Suddenly there was a pain and anguish filled voice that echoed around me, “NO!” It was deep and masculine, smooth and melodic as well though, a voice you could listen to all day, and for a brief moment I paused. Letting the echo of sound float around me for a long moment until it faded away, and then I continued my slow walk.
Suddenly there was a dark shape that materialized in front of me, it had no colour and its form was very faded, but some small part in the back of my mind recognized Vorren. “Kat, Kat, come back to me…” His voice was broken and filled with pain, and for a moment I remembered just a flash of my former life. But…death had claimed me, I hadn’t been able to overcome the debilitating pain, and not even my love for Vorren, or his for me, could overcome that, and I felt him begin to fade away again. But then suddenly, as though I had been struck, a sudden overwhelming feeling came over me. It was as though the hollowness in my head and heart had valiantly come together to, with their dying breaths; create a last chance for me and Vorren. For his part he had suddenly appeared in front of me, clear and real, as though he truly was standing in front of me. I could see the bafflement and confusion in his eyes, along with a relief and…love? Shining there as well. A single word, a name, enough to summon my beloved dragon to me, but not re-create a bond that had once existed, flitted through my mind. Reaching with a single hand to touch his chin, I tilted my head and let the strange name flow off my tongue, confusion, question, and hope all rolled into a single three-syllable word. “Falanon?”
He shuddered, once, twice, a delicate rippling of the skin that seemed to shake him from tail tip to nose. Two golden eyes locked on me, confusion, knowledge, and a strange electricity pouring off of him suddenly. “My name. My true name…” His voice…his voice…I recognized it as the melodious sound from earlier, yet it was impossible! Rune dragons couldn’t speak, our mind bond alone was almost frighteningly strong, let alone the gift of speech! Yet it was undeniable, Vorren was speaking. Hesitantly I reached out with my hand and touched his cheek hesitantly, “Vorren?” It was a question laced with uncertainty, but my dragon didn’t answer it, instead he growled, a protective horror in his voice. “So cold. So very cold.” And though I myself was confused, he wrapped his tail around me, drawing me close. But I didn’t feel anything, even though he seemed to think I was cold, and when I looked up at him with confusion in my eyes I saw his grief grow. “Not enough, it’s not…enough.” He knew then that he was losing me to death, that I was slipping away, and despite this reunion…it just wasn’t enough to keep me here with him. Unbidden that name surfaced in my mind again, and I said it, softly, once more. “Falanon.” He looked at me then, and a sudden spark raced through me, bringing out the first feeling I’d had since awakening in this place. He must have seen it too, for the dragon growled and drooped his head. “So be it. For her, only for her.” And with that, Vorren gave up himself for me, dying to himself to save me. I didn’t understand it at the time, couldn’t really fathom what the change meant, as the rune dragon Vorren died, and the rune ancient Falanon was born. They were both the same in a way, and yet different as well.
Even as I watched through dead eyes all that was happening, Falanon dipped his head to me, pulling me tightly into an embrace. I could feel and hear it, sinews ripping, elongating, muscles and appendages shifting and changing until the Vorren I knew no longer existed. To his credit he made not a sound, even though the transformation must have caused him great pain. Yet suddenly I found that his embrace had, unsurprisingly, changed. Now his new and massive wings engulfed me. He was majestic and huge, his body dwarfing mine with ease, and I could literally feel the power thrumming through his new body. Instinctively I buried my head into the soft blue neck fur that went down his chest, still not feeling anything, still not alive, but somehow managing to hold onto this moment. At that moment though he angled his head to speak softly into my ear, “I can’t let you go, stay with me Kat.” And with that he touched his muzzle gently into the crook of my neck, and I felt a racing heat leap through me. There was a crackling of skin at the place he had touched, and I heard his grunt of surprise, but at that point everything else faded away as I felt life stir again within me.
I awoke, truly awoke, to the place where the scientist had killed me and broken my bond with Vorren. I was nestled against the soft and supple skin of Falanon, a crimson red that was altogether familiar and yet foreign. Sitting up I groaned and massaged my temple slowly before turning to look uncertainty at the gigantic dragon sitting quietly on the ground. “V-Vorren?” I asked, hesitant and unsure. The dragon shook his head though, a slightly sad look slipping into his eyes. “I was Vorren once, but no longer. Now I am Falanon.” He studied me warily, and a sudden clarity of thought made me realize that he feared I would reject him now, but instead I felt a tremor of emotion flit through me, and with a soft sob I threw myself at him and wrapped my arms around his neck, “I don’t care what your name is.” I whispered forcefully, “As long as we’re together names don’t matter.” And he himself let out a choked rumble and tucked his massive head over my shoulder.
And that is how Vorren the Toruk Rune became an ancient. Carefully I finger the mark on my neck that is Falanon’s symbol. I like to think of it as a sign of our devotion to each other, it looks exactly like the golden and black marking on his shoulder, and it often shimmers, particularly in Falanon’s presence. That day is engraved in my heart as much as it is in Falanon’s, for on that day both of us died in a sense; me physically, and Vorren to himself in order to save me. To say that we’ve been through rough times is an understatement, yet together we manage to forge ahead, and while both of us have been forced into hiding more than ever, one thing remains. Our loyalty and unbreakable bond to each other, one that not even death could beat.
