Cadfael

CADFAEL

---

Fierce - Passionate - Strong-Willed
Cassius' Slave - Kohana'S Brother - Namid's Lover

Theme

The Warrior. Survivor. Slave.

Cadfael was a proud warrior of the clan Auroral Dissonance, and one determined to take the warlord Cassius down before the latter's influence could get too widespread. Because of his ambition, he was the first to volunteer when the clan decided that a warrior group should set off on a journey to conquer Cassius. With his teammates at his side and a heart crafted from conviction, he left the clan lair, not knowing how briefly he would grow to miss it.

The team of dragons wandered across the Scarred Wasteland, making straight for the household of Cassius. The journey spanned leagues of tough terrain, wearing down the warriors greatly. It took a long time, but at last their destination was clear upon the horizons. The warriors took a break, wanting to discuss strategy and rest, but before they could settle down, a hot, dry wind whipped up, and two dragons from Legion appeared.

One of them was Cassius, eyes cruel and hard for someone of Nature descent, while the other was a mysterious mage with an ominous aura. Cassius bade the warriors to stay where they were, and challenged them to a duel.

"You would not ask to parley, you treacherous warlord?" Cadfael demanded. "You are outmatched. Pray that we have mercy on you."

"Mercy in a fight," the mage murmured, "is something that only the person in a position of overwhelmingly superior power can grant. And you, Cadfael of Auroral Dissonance, are not at a position where you can grant me mercy."

Cadfael hesitated. "How is it that you know my name?"

"And how is it that you do not know mine?" The mage returned, lowering his hood. A shock rippled through the ranks of the fighters behind Cadfael as they realized who the mage was -- Azir, the Dark Mage, the most powerful and influential warlock known in Sornieth.

Seeing their surprise, the warlord Cassius smiled.

"Pray," he said, "that we have mercy on you."

While the warriors of Auroral Dissonance were not considered weak, nor were they unfamiliar to fights involving mages, the combination of Cassius and Azir was simply too much for them. Azir's magic made their physical attacks weak, and their magical ones oblivion. And even as Cadfael fought with all his might, even as the heat of the battle rose and the atmosphere became intense, it was clear that despite their superior numbers, Cadfael's team would lose.

Cadfael knew that Cassius would not want to slay them all, for a hostage was almost certainly what the warlord wanted in order to prove his dominance over Auroral Dissonance. Taking grim determination in the fact, he commanded his teammates to leave.

"Go," he said. "I will hold them."

His teammates were reluctant to leave him, but they knew the importance of sacrifice in a fight. There was nothing to gain from all of them being captured, so under the battle-smoke and behind the ferocious front Cadfael put up, his teammates began slipping away, one by one.

It did not take Cassius long to realize what was happening, and with a furious back swipe he sent Cadfael flying. Leaving the broken warrior upon the ground to roll about in agonizing pain, the warlord chased after the escaping dragons, shouting at Azir to hold them. Cadfael's foggy mind raced to grasp the situation, and he fell upon a single solution: to stop Azir from aiding Cassius. Stumbling to his feet, ignoring the pain, he ran at Azir and slammed into the mage at terminal velocity, sending both of them crashing into the slimy turf. Azir was momentarily caught off guard, and his magic faltered ever so slightly -- enough so that his captive spells missed their targets. Then the mage's eyes flared with anger and a terrible spell slashed through Cadfael's body.

The last thing Cadfael remembered were the shouts of Cassius, the dim images of his teammates' silhouettes, and then darkness.





When Cadfael woke up, he was in a dark cave, his body aching from his various wounds. His mind cleared slowly, and he got to his feet, shaking ever so slightly. The ground was slick from his own blood, but somehow, he was alive.

The first thing that Cadfael noticed about his surrounding was that there was only one exit, which wasn't too bad, until he noticed the heavy bars planted across it -- which is generally a bad thing. The bars glowed subtly when he touched them, and he backed away, understanding that they were ensorcelled. There was no getting out of here by force alone.

He looked around, and that was when he saw them.

Dragons, young and old, some chained, some not. The majority of them were slumped on the ground, either unconscious or dead. A few of them were staring at Cadfael.

"Who are you?" Cadfael asked, fear creeping slowly into him.

"Kohana." A Skydancer hatchling, eye brave and body strangely marked, replied in a gentle, clear voice. "Welcome to Legion."

Cassius learned that he was now worse off than a prisoner -- he was a slave of Cassius, who found amusement in making the former Auroral Dissonance member an entertainer and a labourer. Initially, Cadfael tried to fight, but after a few rounds with the triplets Nolofinwe, Arafinwe and Lalwende, he learned that fighting would do no good. One rebel would not be able to overthrow Legion. Thus, Cadfael resigned to biding his time, waiting and watching for the right time to break free.

As time passed, Cadfael grew to know the slaves around him, and learned that many of them had been kidnapped by Cassius at birth, though they did not know the reason why. He grew attached to them, especially to Kohana, whom he deemed a brother, and whom he recognized as a Royal -- the Royal -- by the markings on the latter's body. Together, they persevered through the hardest tasks and cheered each other up when persistence alone could not drive away the misery of their plight.

But cheers and encouragements alone could not help one get through nightmarish day after nightmarish day, unless something more powerful fueled the determination needed. For Cadfael, he met the fuel for his perseverance while performing rather foolish juggling acts for the members of Legion. That day was one of his worst, for not only was he being laughed at, the dragons of Legion thought nothing of hurling food and insults at him. Hatred and despair nearly overwhelmed him, and in a whirl of desperation, he sprang at his tormentors, snarling and claws slashing.

Cadfael was weak, his body frail from days of malnourishment and abuse. He was defeated easily, yet his audience did not stop even when he fell. They sprang at him, quarreling with each other to get a bite of him, breaking bones and ripping through scales as they raged. Cadfael's vision was crisscrossed with red and black, and he closed his eyes, weeping bitterly, waiting for the end.

Then, a miracle.

"Stop it!" A clear command cut through the hubbub, and the dragons around Cadfael drew back with an irritated hissed. Cadfael half-opened his eyes to find a brilliantly coloured Skydancer standing before the crowd, icy eyes defiant and cold.

"Namid." One of Cadfael's tormentors muttered, but did nothing to talk back to the Skydancer. Namid strolled through the crowd, eyes analytical and bearing a dangerous beauty. He told the dragons about the fallen slave to leave, and leave they did. Then, to Cadfael's surprise. Namid leaned over him and murmured a healing spell. Cold seeped into Cadfael's body, repairing broken bones and torn tissues. When his vision stopped darkening and his head stopped spinning, Cadfael only had one word to say.

"Why?"

Namid looked at him, and Cadfael thought he saw a shadow of sorrow pass his pale eyes. Then like a cloud in a blue sky, it was gone. Answering nothing, Namid turned and left, shape rapidly swallowed by the narrow corridors of the lair.

Determination filled Cadfael, and slowly, he pulled himself back up.

I will live, he thought, gritting his teeth. I will live, and I will set us all free.






Darkness.

Cadfael's eyes searched the gloomy corridor before him. A shiver went through his body. Despite it being months after his capture, he still could not get used to the dimness of Legion's lair. He missed the radiance of Auroral Dissonance. He wanted to drop the laundry he was carry, bash through Mother's head, and get out of there.

But he couldn't. Or perhaps he could, but he was too afraid to try. There were the other slaves to think about -- especially Kohana. How in the world had Cassius, a lowly warlord of all ranks, been able to capture a Royal like him? Cadfael wasn't sure, but he knew he had prioritize Kohana's wellbeing before his own escape. A Royal was more important than a lost warrior like him.

Besides, there was someone else, too. Someone else he had to stay for....

Cadfael took a deep breath and started forward into the darkness. Before he could get too far, a sudden claw yanked him sideways into the tunnel. Cadfael smelled the familiar scent, and saw the familiar feathers of a very familiar dragon.

"Nam -- "

"Shhhh." A warm breath whispered beside his ear. Cadfael felt sharp points of teeth against the scruff of his neck. He scrambled to his feet, trying not to upset his workload as he was half-dragged, half-carried through a previously unnoticed tunnel. The dimness became even darker, the walls of the surroundings smoother. Finally, after what seemed like a hundred-year journey, the disgruntled Cadfael was deposited in the middle of a small cave.

"Namid, what in the world --" Cadfael broke off, eyes wide, nose twitching.

Fresh air. Cold, fresh air.

Cadfael stared with wide eyes. A small, narrow crevice scratched the flawlessness of the small cave, showing the sparkling night sky outside. It wasn't much to any other dragon, but to Cadfael, who'd been stuck in the labyrinth of Legion's lair for months without ever coming up to the surface, it was like discovering gold.

His captor, a brilliantly-coloured Skydancer, sat off to the side, washed in a moonlit gold. Namid smiled at Cadfael.

"It's a long ways from being used as an escape tunnel, but I thought you would like to see the sky again." Namid murmured. Cadfael took a step towards the crevice, desperately wanting to break through and fly away. But he restrained himself. He had a purpose here.

"Thank you." He snuggled closer to Namid, ruffling up his feathers. He wanted to stay like this, mindlessly, in the warmth of his lover, but he knew this was not what Namid had brought him here for. "I wish we could escape." He whispered.

Namid gazed at the faraway stars. "Me too," he sighed. "But Cassius is too powerful. Besides, we can't only think of ourselves."

"There are the other slaves." Cadfael agreed. "And one of them...well, I think --"

" -- he's a Royal? You're speaking of Kohana, are you not?"

"Yes."

"I thought so." Namid shifted, laying a wing across Cadfael's shoulders. "I don't know how Cassius kidnapped him, either. But I do know a lot of the dragons in Legion -- my clan-mates -- they suffered the same thing when they were younger. That's why they're here."

"Really." Cadfael hadn't thought of that. "So...are you saying we should convince them to escape, too?"

"Not escape." Namid touched Cadfael on the cheek. "Not just escape."

Cadfael tried to think. Namid's closeness and warmth was making him drowsy. "You mean...overthrow Cassius?"

"Yes." Namid fluffed up his feathers. It was getting cold, but the cold couldn't reach Cadfael as long as Namid was there. "Would you be okay with that? It won't be easy, especially since you're still a captive. I...I don't want you to do anything if it hurts you."

"Namid," Cadfael looked up at his lover's soft features. "I would do anything for you."

Namid laughed gently, but there was sadness in his eyes -- a sadness Cadfael couldn't quite put a claw on. But before he could think much about it, Namid was there cuddling against him, warm and alive and breathing. Cadfael closed his eyes and tried to remember his feel. They whispered together in the darkness, murmuring about Cassius, of plans and escape routes, a warm feeling of determination and love underscoring their words. Finally, a short silence spanned the moments as they sat together, gazing at the small fragment of the sky.

"I want to stay like this for forever." Cadfael mumbled into Namid's feathers. Namid leaned over and rested his head against his.

And they stayed together, until the sun crept up the horizon, and the darkness of the sky was driven away.






Cadfael's encounters with Namid did not simply end with the latter saving him, for it took only a matter of time for Cadfael to coincidentally see Namid every day while cleaning the lair and entertaining the dragons within it. It could be love, or it could just be by chance, but it is safe to assume that their meetings will not end any time soon.

Being a slave was bad enough, but being a member of Auroral Dissonance made it doubly worse, for Legion saw Auroral Dissonance as one of its greatest enemies. Because of this rivalry, the dragons of Legion are forever experimenting on Cadfael, trying to see what makes dragons like him tick. Mother is especially interested in Cadfael, for he is one of Plague descendant, yet immune to her calling. This has caused Mother to take liberty in using him as a specimen for her deadly tests, and while Cadfael can't die from the diseases she injects into him, he suffers enough.

Despite the hopelessness of his predicament, Cadfael remains a fighter for freedom from Cassius' hold. He is resolved to free his fellow slaves, as well as certain other dragons, from Cassius. His vow to do so is what gives him purpose, and it is his vow that keeps Cadfael going, day after day.

Though the darkness that surrounds his future is unclear, Cadfael is honour-bound, justified and determined to remain in the light until his very last breath.

---