Kestrad » Lair » Sacred

Sacred

(#2436387)

Level 25 Coatl

Familiar

Tradewinds Gull

Energy: 0/50

Personal Style

Apparel

Skin

Scene

Physical Attributes

Battle Stats

Measurements

Length

8.03 m

Wingspan

9.37 m

Weight

776.36 kg

Genetics

White
Basic

Crimson
Shimmer

Crimson
Circuit

Hatchday

Feb 23, 2014
(10 years)

Breed

Adult
Coatl

Eye Type

Plague
Common

Level 25 Coatl

Max Level

STR

129

AGI

DEF

QCK

INT

VIT

MND

Lineage

Parents

Offspring

Biography

SACRED

Title | Gender/ID | Sexuality

xxx
Arcane hunger games, plague edition:

day one wrote:

Sacred searches for a water source.

night one wrote:

Sacred, Flynn, and Norovis cheerfully sing songs together.

This is right after all three just survived the plague arena event, and are still weak and hungry from disease.

the feast wrote:

Sacred decides not to go to The Feast.

Flynn decides not to go to The Feast.

Norovis decides not to go to The Feast.

Hefina gathers as much food into a bag as she can before fleeing.

day two wrote:

Hefina forces Sacred to kill Norovis or Flynn. She decides to kill Norovis.

night two wrote:

Hefina severely injures Sacred and leaves her to die.
Flynn dies from thirst.

Sacred shivered and fluffed out her feathers in a miserable attempt to trap some more warmth as she slowly staggered through the arena. On top of the cold she was hungry and she could barely move from weakness, but she was grateful, too. At least she was alive. The ache in her bones, the ugly fog in her head, both of those had passed, and the cold now was a real one, not a result of the fierce fever boiling under her skin. More than could be said of the multitude of dragons she passed, huddled and miserable, most already dead, the rest most of the way there, staring at her with glassy fever-bright eyes.

She wasn't sure what she was looking for. Food, yes, and water - ideally the pond she'd filled her flask at yesterday, which would provide both - but for the moment she simply moved just because she could, without purpose. It was exhausting, a waste of what little strength she had left, but it was better than staying still, like a microgoat waiting for slaughter.

Finally, she stumbled upon a small stream. Thanking the Arcanist and Plaguebringer both, she drank deeply, then searched among the pebbles, snatching up the craylets that darted out and wolfing them down. Arcanist, she was hungry - the fever had taken much out of her. The craylets ran out well before she was satisfied, but it was better than nothing.

As she paused by the stream, considering what to do next, some noise caught her attention. Something raspy, coming from her left. It took her several moments to realize it was a dragon's voice.

"Please," the dragon whispered. "Please..."

Sacred turned her head, wondering if she should find the dragon. In the back of her mind, she remembered her mother's voice as she turned her children out of the nest. "The weak die so the strong can survive." The games embodied this, didn't they? Every dragon that died meant a greater chance she would survive.

"Please," Sacred heard again, more faintly this time. She shook her head. There was a reason she no longer lived in Plague territory. She'd sworn no hatchling of hers would suffer as she had. Wasn't this the same? At the very least, she could provide the mercy of a quicker death.

It took some searching, but she finally found the source of the pleading. Hidden behind a particularly thick tangle of brush, a strange dragon had taken shelter, weak and shivering but clearly no longer feverish. Sacred blinked - were her eyes tricking her? The dragon, a female pearlcatcher, was covered in frost - not the designs that dragons sometimes liked to paint on themselves, or sparkling shards of the enchanted stuff used as jewelry, but actual frost, that melted and dripped and reformed in an instant.

Not important for now, Sacred decided, and carefully tipped some water into the other dragon's mouth. Some of the plants nearby looked like the bulrushes the guardians in her clan liked munching on so much, and she carefully dug up a few, bringing them over to the pearlcatcher. The other dragon grabbed the food, stuffing it eagerly into her mouth, likely every bit as ravenous as Sacred herself had been only a few moments ago.

"Thank you," the pearlcatcher whispered, and closed her eyes, falling asleep.

Sacred wasn't sure why she stayed, why she didn't go on her way to look for better shelter or more plentiful food, why she remained to look after the pearlcatcher. As if she would have been able to do much, in her own weakened state. Her only defense was to recover faster than the other surviving dragons, and here she was, throwing that chance away.

She herself must have also fallen into a doze, because the next thing she was aware of was being roused by the heavy footsteps of an approaching guardian. Sacred drew herself up, teeth and claws bared, but the guardian flattened himself before her in a gesture of nonaggression.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice hoarse. "I didn't mean to alarm you. I divined there was water here. Would you mind terribly if I rested here with you for a while?"

Sacred eyed the guardian warily before nodding reluctantly. He could have attempted to overwhelm them with his size if he'd wanted. While she was capable of fending off much larger dragons, it wasn't easy to tell at a glance.

The guardian slowly shuffled forward and curled up next to the pearlcatcher. "My name is Flynn," he rumbled. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sacred."

Flynn nodded. "Nice to meet you. What's the pearlcatcher's name?"

"I'm No...Nomia," she said, rousing herself slightly, before sagging back down.

"Shhh," Flynn soothed Nomia. "Go back to sleep." And to Sacred's astonishment, he began humming a lullaby, and then singing it.

Nomia nodded off again, and Flynn finished singing. "You go to sleep too," Sacred offered.

"Can you sing for me?" Flynn asked.

Sacred flicked her tongue about self-consciously, before nodding. The way things were going, all of them could well be dead by tomorrow. What harm could there be in bringing each other comfort while they still could?

She half-whistled, half-hummed, a song that didn't mean anything to non-coatl dragons, but Flynn seemed to find it soothing anyway. Or perhaps he was just tired. Either way, the guardian nodded off immediately.

So it came to pass that only Sacred was awake when the Feast was announced for the next day. When Flynn and Nomia woke, Sacred informed them.

"We could use the food," she commented as she searched for more craylets. The pickings were slimmer than before.

Nomia glanced up from grazing among the bulrushes, a haunted look in her eye. "Other dragons will be there," she whispered.

Flynn rumbled in agreement. "Besides, you haven't rested properly yet."

Sacred considered leaving them and going to the feast herself. They could easily graze, but she could only eat seafood, and that was harder to come by. On the other hand, sleep sounded lovely, especially with other dragons around to keep watch.

Finally, she nodded. "I'm going to nap now," she informed the other two.

"I'll keep watch," Flynn offered immediately. Sacred nodded and found a warm, somewhat hidden spot, and went to sleep.

She woke much later, to a prickling feeling that she knew from experience meant she was being watched. Jumping up, she whirled around, trying to figure out what was wrong, only to come face to face with a loaded bow.

"About time you came to," the skydancer holding it said, as Sacred froze. "You're lucky I don't find killing sleeping dragons entertaining."

Sacred barely paid attention to the words, her eyes darting around furiously as she looked for Nomia and Flynn, and what her options were for escaping without taking an arrow to the face.

"Stop twitching," the skydancer said. "I'm offering you a way to live." She nodded towards two bundles on the ground, which Sacred realized with dawning horror was actually two well-trussed up dragons. "Kill one of them, and I'll let the other two of you go."

"How do I know you won't shoot me anyway?" Sacred asked. The skydancer laughed.

"You don't. But if you refuse to pick, I'll shoot you for sure." She gestured towards the two bound dragons. "Well?"

Sacred swallowed. Here, at close range, she could maybe disarm the other dragon with a burst of speed. But she was tired and hungry and still slow from lack of sleep, while the other dragon seemed comparatively well-rested and definitely better-fed.

Her best chance of survival definitely seemed to be going along with the skydancer, at least for now. Sacred backed towards her two companions, never taking her eyes off the bow, until she stood between the two bound dragons. Arcanist, what was she supposed to do? Even if she managed to dodge an arrow fired at her now, there was nothing stopping the skydancer from shooting her companions. It seemed a terrible waste to take two lives when there was an option that only took one. Besides, if took the opportunity to escape, the skydancer might well set the two dragons free to take revenge on her for abandoning them.

"I'm getting bored," the skydancer called. Sacred whistled agitatedly, eyes darting between Flynn and Nomia. The pearlcatcher was still weak; better to kill her now as a mercy, rather than let the arena find more painful ways to finish her off. On the other hand, Flynn was a far greater threat if only because of his size and relative health. Better to eliminate the greater threat now when she had the chance. She moved towards him. The image of Flynn singing Nomia to sleep flashed in her mind, and she froze.

"Five seconds, or I shoot all of you." Arcanist, the skydancer was definitely enjoying this. Sacred could hear the suppressed laughter in her voice. Sacred briefly wondered if she'd started this way, or if the disease had broken her mind instead of her body. At that moment Nomia somehow managed to slip out of her muzzle. Sacred blinked - something shadowy seemed to be retreating into her mane. She had no time to dwell on that, though, as the skydancer began counting down.

"Me," Nomia screamed. "Kill me!"

Sacred had run out of time to think. If Nomia was volunteering, then that was that. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and swiped her claws over the pearlcatcher's throat. Nomia gurgled briefly, then died.

"Very good," the skydancer said, and to Sacred's surprise, kept her word and left. Sacred wasted no time in running over to Flynn, clawing apart the ropes binding him.

"We need to go," Sacred said, before Flynn could say anything. "This place isn't safe anymore. I found a lake on the first day. If we can find it again, that might be a good place to set up camp."

Flynn nodded, seemingly at a loss for words. They spent the rest of the day looking for the lake. Neither of them spoke, even when the ground shook with an explosion, followed by four cannon shots in quick succession.

As evening fell, Sacred thought she caught sight of a shadow among the trees. Flynn must have noticed the change in her expression. "What-"

Sacred held up a claw, silencing him. "Go look for the lake," she whispered.

Flynn gave Sacred an unhappy look. "What about you?"

"I'll catch up. Go!"

The guardian slinked away, clearly disgruntled, but without further argument. For that, Sacred was glad. She stood still, not allowing herself to think about why she was doing this, or what would come if she survived. For now, she focused on pinning down the out-of-place shadow.

And there. Sacred pinpointed where the other dragon had to be and exploded forth, claws and teeth bared. The other dragon just barely twisted out of the way in time, so that her claws raked their side instead of the throat. It was the skydancer again. Sacred growled and leapt onto her, sending them both crashing through the underbrush in a deadly tangle, each struggling to come out on top.

Sacred struggled blindly, all her training abandoned as they tumbled, her only thought to inflict as much damage as possible. She had only gotten more hungry since their last encounter whereas the skydancer clearly had been eating well. Desperation and rage could only get her so far, and soon enough she found herself overpowered. The skydancer raked a deep gash across her belly and, while Sacred doubled over, struck her a blow that sent her flying backwards. Then she ran, disappearing into the forest.

Sacred writhed where she'd fallen, winded, barely able to see for the white hot pain ripping through her body. Her opponent couldn't even give her the courtesy of a swift death. Well, no matter - that was something she could still provide for herself.

As she weakly lifted her claw to her throat, she prayed. Arcanist, let Flynn win, she thought. Show the Plaguebringer that kindness is good for something. Then it'll all be worth it.

She slashed.

*

Sacred came awake to the sharp smell of medicinal plants and the acrid tang of magic, in the warmth of her clan's healing cave. The clan's herb witch and the necromancer were hovering over her, while her mate dozed in one corner. As if sensing something, he blinked his eyes open and flew to her side in an instant.

"You're awake," he said, the relief evident in his voice. Gently, he traced the new scars on her body, despite the disapproving glances thrown his way by the healer dragons.

Sacred knew from experience not to move too much yet. "Who won?" she asked. Her voice apparently was still healing - the words came out as a whisper.

"Hefina," her mate replied. "The skydancer. You came in third."

"Oh," Sacred said, and that was all. She closed her eyes, pretending to go back to sleep, but in her mind, she was thinking. Tasting the name of the skydancer over and over again. Plotting. The victors' game would be soon, if her her clan had counted correctly. Perhaps they could meet again then. And this time, Sacred would be ready.

- Insert Art Here -

Gjinka by Nilah!

- Insert Anything Else Here -

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Exalting Sacred to the service of the Arcanist will remove them from your lair forever. They will leave behind a small sum of riches that they have accumulated. This action is irreversible.

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