[Rosalie] Chapter 7: The Wind Priests of Velothia

Throndir · April 11, 2019, 09:08:29 AM

《Chapter 7: The Wind Priests of Velothia》

"Amie is your name? Fear not child, a dragonknight scout had been sent to your village to check on it. Both the location of your village for the rest of the riders, and to also confirm how many demons there are."

She looked upwards.

"The Wind Temple Priests may be able to help as well." The elder then looked back towards Amie. "Sit here with me, Amie." The Elder said as she herself took a seat on an outcropping, then patted a spot next to her.

That action took Amie by surprise. She likely never expected to be offered a seat next to a dragon, much less an elder one.

"This isn't some weird way to get my guard down is it?" Amie said hesitantly.

The elder frowned, but she continued to pat the spot, and Amie eventually decided to sit beside her. Her cheeks had a slight tinge of pink to them, and you can tell that the little girl was uncomfortable as she sat stiffly next to the woman, staring at the ground nervously.

Soon enough the temple above lowered even further, and now that it was up this close, you realized then that it wasn't just a single island. It was multiple islands kept together by giant ropes and bridges. Each island floated on its own. The closest island to the peak also happened to be the one that hovered the lowest, and this one had an array of people clothed in brown and white robes waiting eagerly for the landing.

Once the island was close enough, a long bridge that acted both as stairs that came down was lowered. The group nearest to you looked to be clothed differently than the rest. There were two of them however who caught your attention the most. One was a purple-skinned woman who seemed to be a cross between an octopus and a human. The upper half was definitely human, but the lower half consisted of tentacles. The other one had long white hair where everyone else on the island seemed to sport green hair. He had a different look about him as well, and the robes he wore seemed to be much more ornate than everyone else's.

Soon enough that group approached, and a young girl with green hair who seemed to be the one leading them spoke up as she raised one of her hands, palm open, towards the Elder.

"Here again as scheduled... Jean, meet the Velothian Dragons." She said.

In response, the white-haired man spoke.

"Hello, oh ancient and mighty dragons of Velothia! I am Jean Valois: hero extraordinaire! And this..." He made a grand gesture towards his companions descending the stairs. "Is my Enticingly Enviable Entourage! A pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said as he approached the taller woman in the regal dress, taking her hand, and bowing before her. "You must be the elder dragon which I have heard so much about. If I should be so bold?" He raised her hand up, pausing just before his mouth.

"The hero of the wind priests?" The Elder said as she nodded in approval. "I'm glad our human companions in the skies have summoned there's. I am the Elder of the dragons here on Mount Velothia." She then gestured towards you.

"This one is the hero summoned here on Mount Velothia just a week ago." The Elder continued, her eyes flashing towards you.

Before you could respond however, the white-haired man spoke.

"Please, call me Jean. I don't suppose you have a name I could call you by? I do not mean to offend or come off as overly familiar but Elder is so formal and reminds me too much of the stuffy old folks that summoned me to the island, hardly fitting for someone as ravishingly beautiful and youthful as yourself." He said as he raised form his bow.

The Elder blinked a few times, while Valeriya and Alyona beside her both dropped their mouths. Eventually the Elder laughed. A gentle and warm laugh as she gave into her moment of mirth. This only seemed to confuse the other two dragons around her.

"Words I haven't heard in centuries." The Elder finally said. "Very well, you have earned that much, hero Jean. Before I was the Elder, I was called Vasillisa."

"Vasillisa... A beautiful name for a beautiful creature. Thank you for the honor."

Jean then turned to the other hero and bowed again, hand over his breast. "Hail noble hero and well met. Tell me, what is that strange device on your back? Is it some kind of exotic maul from your homeland?"

Oath · April 12, 2019, 09:37:54 AM

Rosalie watched on, surprised at how charismatic the hero of the wind priests seemed to be. He had an entire entourage, She wasn't sure how long he had been a hero, but if it was as recent as her, he wasted no time in collecting a group of companions. She hadn't thought to ask for the elder's name herself, but it was nice to know.

After she was directly addressed, she stood up, surrounded by the pile of swords. She dusted herself off. I am Rosalie, hero of the Velothian Dragons." She took her guitar off of her back. "This is no weapon, Jean. As you are a hero, perhaps you are familiar with it. It's an instrument. A bass guitar to be exact. I don't know if all heroes come from the same world or what, but out of anyone that I've seen here, you're the most likely to know it." She played a short bass line, for all to hear, and stowed the guitar on her back once more. "May I ask how long you have been a hero?"

Throndir · April 12, 2019, 02:07:23 PM

"Interesting... A base guitar you say? Does that mean there are more advanced guitars to be acquired back in your world? I have been told that there are many worlds from which heroes are drawn. Tell me, what was your world like? As for how long I have been a hero? Somewhere between a week and a decade. Time flows so strangely it's really hard to get much of a grasp on it but I have certainly been around long enough to go white with age..." Replied Jean as he swept his hand through his colorless hair.

"And hopefully not senile with it. Ha! Ha? But enough about us heroic folk! We must go on a grand tour of your mountain! A place so beautiful from above must be even more spectacular from the ground and so far the inhabitants have not disappointed. If we might take our leave? Lady Vasillisa, once again a pleasure to meet you." With that Jean bowed once again to the Elder dragon before sweeping off to walk down the mountain path.

"I will return tonight so that we can finish our preparations!" He hollered back to the island's inhabitants over his shoulder.

"Very well then Jean." The Elder, Vasillisa, said. She then turned towards you.

"This is as good of a time for you to get to know him." Vasillisa said in a quieter voice, whispering towards you. But it was at that moment, when the rest of Jean's companions started to follow after him, that Amie loudly yelled out.

"You just wait a moment mister!" Amie said as Jean turned around, her face in a glare.

"I waited an extra hour just for that island to show up..." She then glanced towards Vasillisa and you, her eyes challenging. She then deliberately turned back towards Jean.

"Help my village, please!"

"I don't see why not as long as it is within our means." Said jean turning to get a better look at the girl. "What kind of aid does your village require?"

"Demons were found at the outskirts of our village. Some of the men had started to form up a defense, but I chose to go out to get help... I found out soon enough that the roads were all different, like... they just ended abruptly. A demon had found me, and I was trying to escape when I met Rosalie and her friends." Amie explained quickly.

"I wanted to go out to my village then, but it was getting late..."

"I see... Well my companions need to see the enemy we are up against. How far is your village? Do you have horses we could take? For that matter, how many can be spared? If possible, we need to bring some of the villagers from the island as well."

Oath · April 12, 2019, 08:40:19 PM

"Bass, as in the lowest sound. My world was simple. I lived in a place called the United States and traveled around playing music for crowds with my friends." She paused a moment to think. "Yes, the mountain and the camp below are among the most beautiful landscapes I've ever laid my eyes on, and in my world my home was in a fairly picturesque location."

She whispered back to the elder "I suppose you're right. If our goals align, having another hero to work with would be a boon.

Rosalie watched on as Amie spoke to Jean. It seemed like herself, he wanted to help but the information available was quite vague. On the side, she spoke to the elder. "Where should I put all of these swords? If i'm going on a tour of the mountain I should try to get them in order." She wasn't sure what else to do, so for now Rosalie planned to just go with the flow.

Throndir · April 12, 2019, 09:24:17 PM

"I think we can put the tour on hold for now to help this young girl. Perhaps the stable? Unless we plan on walking." Jean looked up the stairs and yelled out to Vitaliya. "Vitaliya! Bring your strongest students, there is a village in need and it is time you saw the enemy you will eventually need to battle!"

Throndir · April 12, 2019, 10:06:45 PM

The Elder turned to answer you.

"Rosalie... Perhaps we distribute these swords to the rest of the dragonknights, or even our allies here." She said looking towards Jean.

"My village is a day's journey northwards... But with these dragons we could get there much faster!" Amie said.

"I don't mind Rosalie riding me, but I'm not going to let any others do so, and I doubt any of the other dragons here would be so willing either..." Valeriya responded almost immediately.

"B-but... It's the only way!" Amie shot back. "People got to ride dragons all the time back at the capital..!" Her eyes moved to the Elder pleadingly.

"Human child... Letting a human ride on our backs, is akin to... perhaps kissing for you humans. Do you understand this?" The Elder explained carefully. "It is not my place to command my children to do so, it's something you'd have to be willing to ask of them."

"We have enough horses for each of the trainees back in camp, plus a good number of extras in our stables. Wagons too... But the journey would take another day... I did send one of our dragonknights to scout up north, and he should be back in another hour." Captain Charles said, turning towards Jean.

When Jean called out to a 'Vitaliya', her booming voice called back down. It was a well-built woman who looked more akin to a body builder than a priest.

"Strongest students? Vell, some of zem are no longer my students and teach their own classes!" Vitaliya roared back. "How many do you need?"

"I don't know. How many do you think we could take without slowing us down? 10 or 15? Do we have enough horses for that? If the village was under attack yesterday then we have little time to act. Time is of the essence. It is too bad that others can't ride the dragons." Said Jean, his hand on his chin in a pondering gesture. "Can you at least send an advance force of dragons to soften the demonic forces and begin the engagement? The rest of us can catch up on horseback and reinforce as soon as we arrive"

Oath · April 12, 2019, 10:34:43 PM

Rosalie picked up one of the swords and gestured towards Jean. "Can you use a blade? These are enchanted to be more effective against demons. If we are gonna fight some demons in Amie's village they'll be handy. As far as an advance force is concerned, if we are doing this I can easily travel ahead with Valeriya. Other than us, Captain Charles is likely the best fighter among the dragon knights in camp and he also has been provided with enchanted weapons."

Throndir · April 12, 2019, 11:05:38 PM

"If ve're fighting demons, zen I'll pick out 15 of us to help." Vitaliya called out again from the island, then disappeared as she went to look for the others.

"I umm... I can carry the other hero... But umm..." Alyona looked down and avoided Jean's gaze. "Not ride my back... Like... carry him with my feet..."

"Most of the uncontracted dragons here are too young to be sent to battle... Even most of the dragons our trainee dragonknights are using are rather... young. But we have 25 dragonknights with their dragons here at our camp. If the heroes could guide us..."

Captain Charles eventually shook his head.

"How many are in your village Amie?" Captain Charles asked the little girl.

"There's not too many... ours is a small village... Umm... Maybe 200?"

"200 villagers..." Captain Charles echoed, his voice full of concern. The captain then turned towards you and Jean.

"Hero Jean, Hero Rosalie, what will it be?"

Oath · April 13, 2019, 01:07:47 AM

"As long as we have the people, and in helping we do not put Velothia in danger, I will gladly lend my aid to this cause. Where I'm from 200 people isn't many, but here it is an entire village that rely on each other to live. We can't just leave them to die." Hopefully with the addition of so many people, helping Amie would be a simple task.

Throndir · April 13, 2019, 11:54:12 AM

Jean walked up to the swords and reached out but stopped. He seemed to hesitate as he began to reach out for it. Eventually, he withdrew his hand.

"I am actually partial to my own weapon of choice, not much of a swordsman myself. Vitaliya perhaps you and the others are better skilled with something like a sword? I have a weapon I can create with magic. I believe it is more powerful than these, if temporary."

Jean knelt down to the level of the girl that offered to carry him. "If I can be carried into battle then I will take it. Thank you." He stood back up. "How defensible is the village? I'm sorry to say this but if it can't be easily defended then we will probably need to evacuate it. If we must evacuate then we should bring empty wagons to save as many villagers and their possessions as possible. If it can reasonably be fortified then we need to bring supplies. We can't do both." He looked to the girl that had requested the help. "I know this is a hard decision but you need to make this choice for your people. If they need to be evacuated, there might be room for them on the island. I cannot make any promises. The wind temple plans on returning to the skies so it would be up to the dragon knights to guarantee your safety. I do not know if that is possible."

Continue to Chapter 12: Rescue Operation