Initium Novum: Dracones #1

Arrival

The vast blue sky stretched on above never ending. Daen in the mist of it, it looked gorgeous and reflected brightly off tan skin,but not the pale. Zarmeideus was still covered in the black cloths, not liking but not caring about the heat either.

The flight was deeply enjoyed, the air cool against snippets of pale skin showing, however it wasn't the freezing cold he was used to.

Partly, Zar was tempted to drag down his hood, wanting the little feel of familiarity against his face for his Northern wind to play gently with his hair. And then he remembered he wasn't home anymore and the feeling washed away with the gale that passed his side.

He looked over the green scales and underneath the body of it to find what was below. Trees, trees and more trees all so green and beautiful all he would have wanted to see and yet so different from his own white ones. They passed households big, small, common villages and small town like cities. They passed on in a blur barely could be seen with the naked eye at the speed the dragon, Vadar was travelling.

All to soon they had arrived, Zar notice when Vadar gradually started to move slower the extended wings flaps getting louder the slower they moved.

Next it was the circling around the area, looking for a landing area at the front of the buildings. Looking down at it, Zar noticed the high building that took up the frontal area, it was made of red bricks with spots of white quartz between them, very well made.  Its dorsal looked cemented in two, slanted so as to meet in the middle, then boarded with dark colour wood.

Vadar came down gently, though the beats of wings blew everything from his path and those at his side. Unlucky crawlies and plants.

The lawn spread out around them it was green and large, large enough for about twenty five more dragons of Vadar's size to fit. Disembarking from between the dragons spikes were a hassle and uncomfortable in away but it barely bothered Zar. Nefèrro went down first doing couple stretches to get the blood flowing to some of his appendages afterwards taking the sack of cublings from Zar as he too came down.

The Lord had went to talk to Vadar giving him orders then rubbing the green scales gently, the dragon huffed out puffs of smoke in return. Zar next went to the dragon holding Vadar's large head in his palms then rubbed his own head to the spot in between Vadar's horns. Again a puff of smoke was huffed out.

The dragon then rose in his mighty steed turned his back on the small humans and jumped into flight. Now the two turned towards the thirty something feet building. What Zar could only guess was the main office.

The Lord in front of him led the way, walking as if the place was his and everyone should bow before his presence, it was just sudden the man had drawn together his usual all over the place composure to strut his way just to the office.

About a yard off, the two saw the grand wooded double doors before them that seemed to open on automatic the closer they got.

Inside was neat, with cream coloured bricks lining at the side and wooden floor beneath them. It was very spacious and mostly empty except for the few intriguing plants. Then they met a man, broad and ripped with muscles, way larger than Zarmeideus and Nefèrro's combined. From a far he looked like a solemn man, one that wouldn't and couldn't take a joke, face hard looking to be set in stone. Scars lining his neck, arms and one at the side of his face enough to scare off the little children thieves that have seen enough that would have scarred them before hand.

As the two progressed closer, Zar realized that wasn't the case. The man eyes brightened significantly the closer Nefèrro came. His carefree attitude told of the different story, with long legs placed on the wooden counter that immediately came off to make the giant rise to his feet.

The two men embraced, in a manly sort of way. If that made sense. And Zarmeideus remained quiet not wanting to disturb the two men ramblings. In that moment the large man had glanced around and saw the covered from head to toe teen. With  the pack squeezed to his chest.

"O' hadn't seen him there, is he your personal servant or something. Huh? Knowing you for so long you wouldn't want anyone at a constant your tail."

He wasn't rude, at least that would be what the commoners of this planet would think. But to Zarmeideus, it was a different story. Zar was deeply baffled and offended at the man for even turning his thoughts in the direction that he was a servant and even worse Nefèrro's servant.

Perhaps, it was because the rags that covered his body were a bit worn, thin and tattered. And maybe it was even the way he carried himself steering clear of people and the conversation. But he was no servant.

Zar glared at the big man.

Nefèrro, he scratched at his nape before saying. "Uhm. Nuh, the lad's my jadiette."

A what?

Slowly but surely the man's eyes widened to saucers. As if the man ears were defective he questioned what Zar was thinking.

"Wharrtt!!?

" Yeah, the reason I'm here.?

"Erm,First of all! have you no sense!! Secondly have you no sense of time either. AND AGAIN, HAVE YOU NO SENSE-" The big man look ready to wack the skinner one in the head for stupidity Zar has yet to see. Well he already did see but this is a new stupidity... or not.

"- he will murder you, ye'r so late. He hates tardiness, we expect you to know this Ferfer since ye'r always late. What are you like nine risen moons late. Oh my. Dear friend, yeh will be castrated soon."

The two shivered, maybe remembering some past memories.

The man held his head, the headache could have been shown through his facial expressions.

"Welp, I've been hoping that yeh could just, squeeze him in, yeh know a little unnoticed."

"Why make it sounds like he won't find out soon. If anything he'll wonder why you picked a jadiette. Since yeh never did, always thinking it to be absolute rubbish-"

"Ssshhh. Just can you squeeze him in."

"Yeah, sure. He'll be on your case when he finds out, but just remember I didn't help with anything. Don't want to get in trouble its someone else's turn. So I'll fit him in for yeh."

The big man relented but grinned. Just then.

"Who are you trying to squeeze in exactly, I am indeed very curious." A familiar voice sounded from behind them, and immediately they tensed and turned.

Immediately the giant pointed fingers.

"It was his idea."

Nefèrro rolled his eyes.

"Knox, no one asked for your reply." The strange man replied.

Before them, a shorter toned man stood, hair red in colour, as fierce as he looked in the face. His features showed clearly, hair kept neat compared to the two men in front of him. His face was thin with sharp jaws and smooth skin. His lashes were long with a slightly large forehead.

His features fitted him, made him attractive but they were drawn into a scowl,as usual.

"So, who is it?"

"Ehm, my.... jadiette."

Neférro turned around to point at the boy, but all that met him was an empty spot with the basket of cublings.

"....Then where is he?" The red head man asked.

~

Outside, Daen had continued to shine brightly alighting the body underneath layers of black clothing of all things. The air was warm, too warm and very unfamiliar compared to what he was used to but he let it not bother him.

The young boy had just escaped from the endless torment of boredom, by not so discretely walking out of the office where he was supposed to apply for the academy, though another wave of boredom hit when his tour turned out to be on the same level as the office.

Silently, he walked around and then into a castle-ish like building at the far back of the school it was grand like all other buildings on the compound, its colour that of white where there was a large expanse of wall and blue rimming the edges and vertices.

Inside the building students roamed the halls, them busy enough chatting away with friends whom they saw after a long time others guffawing out loud until it seized when they saw the intruder. Who was no longer at the front doors but in the midst of them quietly walking. The black haired boy walked oblivious to the people around him  not giving any attention but surely they were of more importance than him based upon the clothing on his back, well more like rags.

He is nothing.

Even so why would the school allow such a peasant to walk amongst them, the students chose to ignore. But one student could not bear the sight of someone so lowly to walk freely as if they both were on the same level.

A mere servant. Hmph!

Zarmeideus felt the presence before he saw the person, a sixth sense one would say.

The boy stopped right in front of him, the person only slightly taller with blonde hair and features that showed he was older. The blonde looked down with an amused yet disgusted face only for it to crumble when the peasant opted to side step him.

That resulting in a goon at the side blocking his path. Zarmeideus finally look at the blonde boy, the one who had initially blocked his path.

Sigh

Zar felt as if he had no time for this, he always tried to avoid fights or trouble over all but it seemed to tag along wherever he went.

Zar stared at the other who may have ill intentions. Then the blonde spoke in a sneering tone.

"Who even allowed you to walk amongst us, the Lords and Ladies , has the academy lost it , look at yourself peasant."

"People like you are only as good as servants, just look at it what is  a person like you doing in a place like this," he raised his arms above his head showcasing the grandeur of the academy building. Then he continued with his nasally voice, on and on again.

"I really and truly pity you-"

Zar raised his palm cutting the boy mid sentence.

"Don't pity me, I don't want it or need it. Matter a fact you seem to need it more than I do since your specialty is downgrading people you're not worth my attention."

Now he was standing right next to the boy, no one knew when he took his first steps but he was there now next to the the other boy's ear. And he said what no one else heard except for the one he was aiming for.

"You're really and very pathetic caisel."

Zar walked past the other boy, a light smirk on his lips and a glimmer in his eyes. Then he disappeared.

The boy's eyes were widened, the silence from other students witnessing his shame of face. And he breathed hard then the anger came after the shock.

How dare he! A mere peasant, a servant who should be wiping my boots speak to me in that manner.

He was livid.

The boy fists clenched at his sides and the thought of ripping his foe apart came to mind and a lust for blood he has never felt started to to rise along with the rising of his anger.

Just outside a loud roar rang through the yard reaching as far as inside the hallway where everyone stood, the other students shook in fear and could only imagine the level of anger he was feeling and then felt sorry for his foe. But by the time he was to declare war turning around to face the end of the hallway the boy was already gone.

~

Zarmeideus walked around, indeed he did not know where he was going and only took random turns where one was due, but he knew how to get back if he needed to.

He walked down endless halls and was now thinking that he should turn back but then he saw a door leading down to god knows where. The door wooden was open,not expected, and led down to a dark and dank stairwell. What seems like endless stairs continued on and on, an endless pit. Finally, he reached the bottom. Now on the flat he realized inside was dimly lit, as if the person who stayed here hated the light.

Zarmeideus looked around, finding nothing worth his time everything in his way boring. Just as he turned to go back up the dark stairwell he heard rustling, it msde him pause not quite sure if something was actually there. The second time he heard the soft rustling he was certain, he and something was in the room.

He then walked around, his footsteps silent in the still air, the he heard soft crooning Zar's sharp ears picking it up almost immediately, the crooning the director of his steps. Following the sound it led him to......

A grypheus in standard Arallion gryphon.

Zar should'nt have been the least bit suprised of its appearance, this kind was very common but not usually seen in an area as cool as this, mostly in dunes or near the hottest of volcanoes. What came as suprising was that this being was here, in a cage. It was a known fact that grypheus's were a very aggrassive breed, non tameable it was clear that this animal was not tamed with how rumbustious it acted and how she thrashed inside the cage.

Zar's suddenly felt pity for her, he was an animal lover at heart and greatly testified at the fact that this one was locked in a cage. But then he noticed loose bandages around the baby female grypheus's wing and stale meat lying about inside the cage none even touched by the little baby.

Zar snickered, it seems the person keeping her was having hard time as it is, trying to badage up her wing much less thinking of feeding her. This baby's instincts were working in full not trustimg any non grypheus to give her food of any kind or to touch her in general. The cage now was understandable since if she was let loose she may cause more damage to her body or even wreck this...... lab.

Sighing softly Zar walked from out of the shadows, to the grypheus whose attention he just caught,she growled her body moving in a defensive stance. The grumbling from her throat continued, now he stood before her, stooping down to her level and the growling intensified. She sniffed him taking in thearound him, then his scent washed over her she drew it in. Her body cant get enough of it, he smelt like the air, the air outside in which the wind carried the smell of sweet bearing fruit, flowers,grass and lakes. The smell of the wild moved and surrounded him his scent called then calmed the grypgeus from her previous frantic state.

Zarmeideus with no idea of his effect on the animal cooed at her softly and opened her cage. Quite willingly she stepped outside amd into his awaiting arms crooning upwards at him softly. She shaked her body, gold feathers going about probably to show off.

When Zarmeideus reached out to rub her head he felt a hardness one very different from what feathers and fur should feel like, on her head diamond shaped gold  formed in two swining arcs like a flat crown, they were like scales but hers were spaced apart and continued along to the back of her head though these diamond crusted gold grew thin the more it went down and ended swiftly with only one gold diamond out of place in the middle.

To say the least it was weird for a grypheus to have gold diamond scales on them, he has never heard of such a case.

Zar took her up gently inspecting the quivering right wing. It wasnt really serious, only a small fracture and out of place joint. He pulled of the loosely tied bandage, then digged up a chest at the side, fonding all sorts of bizzare looking cans with numbers, scrolls, ointments,  maybe even poisons but he did find what he was looking for bandages.

Zarmeideus tied the bandage on her wing firmly but not too firmly that would make it hurt and thickly so she did'nt try to use the fracture wing and cause even more damage. Now said wing drooped heavily on the floor, it drawing on the groud while the other stayed upright. Zar now caressed her fur knowing she like to be pet due to her purring noises....... out of a beak.

Looking at it now Zar realized that she was as big as his own cublings (not very large). He continue to pet her time passing by, what seemed like moments after he felt a tingling sensation similar to an insect crawling up his neck it made him tense and once the female grypheus felt him stop rubbing her she also tensed and growled lowly.

He then felt the tingling intensify and ducked, grypheus still in hand. An arm swung over his head a block clenched in the person's fist. Zarmeideus gave the man no time to turn properly before he head butted him in the stomach causing the man to lose his breath and that made it easier for Zar to sweep his foot at the man's heel tripping him.

A thud insinuated in the room, clear sign the man had fallen on his back. And he looked up to the gray ceiling, the man's breath came laboured though that was barely anything to breathe hard about.

Zar glared, instinct realizing the man was of no big threat, and continued to pet the grypheus. The man slowly stood, a man with pepper and salt coloured hair that looked rugged and a body with drooping skin that maybe had muscles in its earlier days. His skin was pink and he flustered from the extremely short exercise finally he calmed down.

"Why are you here little boy, don't you know that you should'nt touch other people belongings." He gestured to the grypheus as he held her rhen his fingers came to a pause when he realized that the grypheus was.not his.

He set down the female, she didn't want to be let go of.

"Sorry elder, for prying." The female grypheus scratched against the wool trousers causimg thin tears when she realized he was going to leave.

She crooned and Zar hesitated bedore rubbing her one last time. "Continue to feed her, don't worry she will eat."

When Zar left the man was still wondering, how had he managed to tame the un-tamaeble to even touch it? Well her. To do in hours what the old man couldn't even dream of achieving in a month.

The female grypheus screeched, and it got louder the farther Zarmeideus got.

Who was he? And why was he so intriguing.? The man thought as the grypheus suddenly beacame hostile towards him