Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on Feb 9, 2015 22:01:02 GMT -6
Marcus shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sure I can’t be that much older than you,” he admitted. “In fact, I left Arcadia when I was very young. I couldn’t have been much older than twenty. I had such a hard time keeping up with Eryk, what with all the running we had to do. What else were we gonna do? We had to get away from... from...” Anger boiled up in Marcus. It had been years since he had thought about that day, let alone spoken of it. Images of his father’s ominous draconic form looming over his mother flashed before him. He heard his mother’s scream, followed by his brother’s panicked shouts for him to run. The screaming. Oh gods, the screaming. It chilled him to the core, and yet a fire burned inside him. He would find that man, that monster. He would-
A shrill squeal from the stove broke Marcus from his thoughts. As reality came flooding back to him, he looked down at his hands and realized that his skin had begun to turn a dark, scaly black and that his fingernails had sharpened into points. Blood rushed to his face as he was overcome with embarrassment. He let out a long, tired breath and his hands returned to their usual human form. “Tea’s ready,” he muttered quietly, not ready to meet Nayru’s gaze. “I hope you like blueberry. It’s the best of the teas that I made.” Rising from the table, he grabbed a cloth from the table and wrapped it around the handle of the kettle, to shield his fingers from the heat. Carrying it back to the table, he placed it in the center, then went over to one of the shelves near the door. He retrieved the only two cups he owned, which were in remarkable shape considering where he lived, and brought them back to the table as well. Returning back to his seat, he poured each of them a cup of tea and pushed one towards his companion. “Careful. ‘s hot,” he mumbled, staring at the murky colored water in his cup.
A long, tense silence hung in the air for several moments, before Marcus finally brought his cup up to his lips, blew some air in to his tea in an attempt to cool it down, and took a sip. It was still very hot and so he tasted little, but the heat of the drink gave him the courage to speak up. He looked up from his drink and met Nayru’s eyes. “I’m sorry you had to see that. You see, I didn’t exactly leave Aracadia on good circumstances. In fact, you could say the events leading up to my flight into the desert were, in fact, very hostile. It just... makes me angry to even think about and... I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how dangerous it is for dragons to get that angry.”
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Feb 11, 2015 22:41:38 GMT -6
"No, you do not."
Nayru kept her voice and visage alike carefully neutral, watching events without reacting to them. Her mind was less passive, of course, calculating and cautious - and cautiously optimistic. Dragons were great and terrible in their rage, but she had met very few who would admit to emotional instability, and fewer still who actually had trouble controlling their emotions - the flaw was in their ability to conceal their true desires, not in any actual disconnect from absolute control over their power.
Needless to say, given that she had struggled for nigh on three centuries with exactly that problem, there was a certain degree of vested interest in learning more of it. But who had ever heard of a dragon who could not control their own power? It was ridiculous. They were their power, as much a part of it as it defined them.
Marcus's display - perhaps she was over-thinking things, looking too far into it, but in a way she could empathize, almost see herself in it in some strange way that defied explanation. She did not have nearly as much experience with dragons as with mortals, otherwise she might have been able to put the last few years of reading people to better use, but something in her gut warred against Nayru's unending terror of opening up to others, and she was not sure which side to take.
Taking advantage of the act of taking up her tea to give herself a further moment to think, Nayru considered her options, trying to think of the best way to approach the situation. She looked down to the tea, silently inclining the cup to one side, watching swirls and eddies form in the steaming liquid, attempting to gauge the danger.
Hm. She could try, if nothing else. It would take a long time for her to be able to... truly open up to anyone else, but this opportunity was too unique to throw it away entirely. The dragon looked up to her counterpart, swallowing as she tried to decide her words. "Something else we have in common, then." Fleeing Arcadia? Anger issues? Age? She didn't specify, curious to see how Marcus would interpret it. He seemed slightly more open to talking about himself than she typically was, which might be the road she needed into finding a way to open up in return.
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Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on Apr 9, 2015 9:39:55 GMT -6
While a slight sense of unease still hung over the cottage, the calm steady tone of Nayru’s voice did wonders to ease the tension. Marcus let out another long breath and took a drag of his tea. It had cooled just a little, but it was enough for him to taste the hint of mint that lingered on the edge of the flavor. It soothed him ever so slightly. His companion broke the silence once again. He scrunched his face at her response. She was still being mysterious, dragging him through some game of riddles he didn’t quite know the rules to. Perhaps this was how most dragons conversed, dropping hints and clues as to their true meaning while remaining vague to cover their tracks. Or maybe Nayru was just being careful to protect herself. Whatever the case, it was a manner of speech entirely foreign to Marcus. He had no patience for subtlety. He preferred to speak plainly and hide nothing. But what did he know? He lived in a cottage in the woods with no company save for a talking wolf.
Slowly, Marcus began to chuckle to himself. The chuckle grew into a laugh and a cheerful grin replace the somber expression on his face. “You certainly love your vague hints and clues, don’t you?” he teased in between laughs. “Is that something all dragons do or is it just you?” Laughing felt good. It had been a long time since he had laughed. Hassan wasn’t much for humor and it was hard to get scared villagers to laugh with him. “Sorry,” he continued, as the laugh died down, “That was rude of me. I’m not used to conversing, is all. I take it you’ve had your fair share of...” Marcus trailed off, unsure of how to phrase this properly. “Outbursts,” he finally decided on, “Or at least you’ve seen a few. Others might have ran when they saw me changing, but you? You seemed pretty unfazed.”
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Apr 11, 2015 6:37:04 GMT -6
"...I apologize," Nayru responded quietly, almost meekly, her eyes not quite meeting Marcus's own as she struggled to retain control of her emotions. It was so - alien - to be casually conversing about the horrible fate she brought to those around her that it was nearly overwhelming, but the desperate loneliness that had come to possess her after so many decades and centuries alone was indomitable in its fight against the cowardice that had come to define her in the meantime. She didn't know Marcus, but she wanted to trust him.
The truth? It had been so long she barely remembered what it was. "Habit born of necessity... and weakness." A part of her already knew there was nothing Marcus could do to help, but his words had implied he knew all too well what her own struggles were like, and it had been so long since she had been able to truly empathize with another. "Keeping people at a distance helps me keep my emotions-" her voice cracked for a moment, then resumed "-under control." More was conveyed by what she did not say than by what was spoken, but Marcus knew as well as she that dragons having emotional problems was not exactly normal for their race, and if she had gauged his own reactions correctly, he knew intimately what that entailed.
She finally managed to meet his gaze, almost pleading - vulnerable far beyond what she had allowed herself to evince moments before, a glimpse into the lost and terrified teenager hiding within her alabaster skin. "I haven't seen a dragon in - so long. I don't even know how I'm supposed to act."
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Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on Apr 27, 2015 10:52:20 GMT -6
“It seems to be a common thread among dragons,” Marcus mused between sips of tea. “Most of the dragons I’ve encountered have had some serious problems controlling their emotions. Of course, I haven’t actually met a great many dragons. And I haven’t seen any in centuries,” he added, hoping to comfort his companion, “so I wouldn’t know the appropriate way to act either.” He sighed and sat back in his chair. “Dragons, am I right?” he joked, letting out a tired chuckle. “Ruled the world for thousands of years, but can’t figure out the easy way to say things. Maybe that’s why humans won the war. Us dragons were too busy debating and they caught us off guard or something.” He polished off his cup of tea and went to pour himself another. The warm beverage was certainly working it’s magic. Marcus was feeling much calmer and his outburst was little more than a bad memory now. “I suppose it doesn’t matter much anymore. Not many dragons left to enforce dragon behavior. We’re free to act however we want, really. Not that I was acting differently before, what with the whole living alone in a forest and hunting animals thing.”
“Things are different out here. Out here it’s just me and the animals. No one to judge me. But it is rather dull. I would love to get out and see the world again. It’s actually what I was planning to do when I returned here. I felt your presence and was concerned that something dangerous was coming for me, but I see now that’s not the case. Still, I think it’s time to get out again. Any recommendations on where I should go first?” he asked with a smile.
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Apr 27, 2015 17:32:58 GMT -6
"Really?" It wasn't really so much a sarcastic jibe as an honest question; Nayru had been legitimately unprepared for him to voice that opinion. "Everyone seemed so peaceful in Arcadia. Certainly it was an imperfect utopia, but if there were similar issues, they hid theirs better than I can mine." Nayru shrugged, not really sure what to make of the subject. It was clear that neither she nor Marcus were exactly qualified to speak on the subject and neither had minced words in admitting as much - they could do little but quibble over minor details, and honestly, it didn't matter much either way. Even if every other dragon in the world had issues with emotional control, that didn't do much to help her.
She didn't really know how to answer the Scouring joke, either. Not that she was offended by it or anything, but not having been there for it, Nayru didn't really care to dwell on it, nor did she have the personal frame of reference to really be qualified to have a strong opinion of her own. "There are many theories for the start of the Scouring, and as many more for how it ended. Who knows? Perhaps yours is more accurate than you realize." Nayru smiled at the thought - would that be ironic or fitting? Certainly the world could use a bit more levity, even if she was ill suited to provide it.
Marcus's comment was interesting, though, in perhaps a way he hadn't meant. Dragon behavior... "I wonder if the Scouring was not, in some ways, a mixed blessing." Yeah THAT wasn't borderline blasphemous or anything. 'Hey dragon bro, I think the humans were right to kill all of us!' Yeah that would go over really well in Arcadia. "A tragedy, yes, but it forced the survivors to make difficult choices about who they wanted to be and what they wanted to represent. Were we meant to be guardians, or gods? I cannot condone the genocide of our kind, nor do the humans necessarily do a better job than our forefathers, but hubris is blinding."
That was probably enough depressing talk for now, though depending on Marcus's reaction they might stay on the subject a bit longer. She didn't mind or anything, but Nayru was aware of her own bad habit of tunnel visioning on specific parts of people's speech and forgetting to respond to others, and was trying to avoid that. "Etruria is a truly impressive place... perhaps the center of learning in all Elibe. Moderately religious, but the chapels and cathedrals they have erected are impressive, and their culture as a whole is among the most refined I have ever seen. And their libraries!"
The lady dragon was getting a little animated in her excitement. "Only Arcadia's libraries could even hope to rival those of Etruria, and certainly no other human civilization comes within a mile. It's human-centric, of course," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand - she and Marcus both knew quite well there would be few dragon historians represented there, "-but otherwise quite impressive, and an excellent chronicle of the last eight hundred years or so... the horrors of the Ending Winter and the temporary fall of human civilization obliterated most records of the world, but Etruria holds records of almost everything since then."
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Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on May 11, 2015 21:16:10 GMT -6
“Perhaps it simply runs in my family, then,” Marcus mused bitterly. “I’ve been told my great-grandfather was something of a fatalistic lunatic, and my grandfather was a racially superior extremist. And, of course, there’s...” he trailed off again, having nearly brought up his father a second time. He felt the warmth of rage burn at the edge of his mind and rushed to subside it with another sip of tea. The rush of mint and blueberry was followed with another sigh, this one of relief. He really should have known better than to have come so close to openly discussing him. “There’s me,” he amended, “I’ve got the whole anger thing going on. Poke me the wrong way and I might burn down a village or something,” he rambled on, punctuating the sentence with an awkward chuckle. “Not that I’ve burned down any villages or anything. At least, as far as I’m aware. That village nearby is still standing, right?” he asked, only partially serious.
Marcus slumped back in his chair, a heavy sigh escaping as he did. He had been sighing a lot today. That probably wasn’t a good sign. Normally, he was a very upbeat person, but something about today had brought up a lot of painful memories. It probably had something to do with Nayru, but he didn’t want to place the blame squarely on her. It had been a joy to see one of his own kind again, but it had dragged some dark secrets out of their shadows. He would need to spend a lot of time away from this place to forget those things. Perhaps he would go see this Etruria place she had mentioned. Marcus wasn’t an avid reader, but there was never a bad time to pick up a new hobby, especially when you were a dragon and could live indefinitely. He took one final sip of his tea and rose from the table. He didn’t need to pack anything, but he did have to grab he spare few possessions he did bring traveling with him: the pouch that held a handful of coins, a separate pouch full of healing herbs, and the small wooden flute he played to accompany his dances. He wasn’t much of a musician, but he was a very good dancer. It was a skill he had picked up over the years and he would often take to entertaining in inns and pubs when he began to run low on coin. As he dashed around the room, gathering up his possessions, he almost forgot about Nayru sitting in the room with him. “Sorry, I...” he wasn’t quite sure what to say. It felt like they had only just begun their conversation and yet, at the same time, it felt like they had been here for ages. There was something burning inside him. An urge to leave this place behind and see the world again and it would not be denied. Still, this would probably be his last chance to see another dragon for quite some time. Blushing, he again took his seat at the table. “Sorry, that was rude of me.”
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on May 21, 2015 2:20:00 GMT -6
"Y-yeah," was Nayru's eloquent and reasoned reaction to Marcus's comment about village burning - which totally did not in any way sound at all suspicious, no sirree, no way no how. She wasn't exactly blind to such an unsubtle reaction, but there wasn't a whole lot she could do about it... the embers of a decade ago still smoldered within her, the memories of the horrors - wrought by her hand - that she had woken to still fresh in her mind. Whenever she wondered why she had to keep moving, keep running, the answer was never far from mind.
Not that she deserved any better, admittedly. Mass murderers weren't the kind of people that priests tried too hard to save these days.
Marcus was a proper little bundle of energy though, almost like a teenager prepping to meet with their friends, she thought. Truthfully she didn't mind the distraction of watching him momentarily trapped in his own little world, having apparently forgotten her existence. It could have been taken as an insult, she supposed, but it certainly didn't feel like he had intended it as one, more that something had overtaken him and pulled him into action. Erim knew she wasn't going to get all huffy and offended about something that minor.
"It's nothing," she responded gracefully, a small wave of her hand as if to shoo away the thought that his actions had in any way discomfited or annoyed her. She wasn't entirely sure if his actions were specifically due to their conversation or if he had just remembered some appointment, but suspected it was more the former given the packing he was doing... and he didn't strike her as the type to do appointments in the first place. Lone forest dweller and all. "There is nothing wrong with just... living. Trying to find your own answers." Nayru smiled, but it was a thin, sad little look, not especially joyous. "I hope it goes better for you. I have yet to find my own, but we have all the time in the world to do it in."
Did they? Did she? Immortality meant little if you could still be hunted down and killed, and her past would catch up to her eventually. "I should not take up more of your time. Thank you for the chat. It's been a long time since I could talk... somewhat freely with anyone."
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Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on May 30, 2015 15:52:16 GMT -6
Marcus smiled. It was a deep sincere smile, one that he hadn’t felt in a long time. It had been nice talking to someone again, but now it was time to move on again. He had everything he needed and he had a destination in mind. Or at least, he had the name of a place he wanted to go. Finding his way there would be half the fun of the journey. He wold have to remember to ask Nayru for a general direction before he left, though. He would need somewhere to start, at the very least. Rising from the table once more, Marcus addressed his companion. “Me too. I...” he started, unsure of what he wanted to say, “I don’t know what I’ll find out there, but who knows? Maybe it’ll change my life, for better or for worse. This,” he added, gesturing at the space between them, “this has been nice. I’ve never really had anyone to talk to out here. I should invite people to my cottage more often,” he joked, fading into a bitter chuckle. Something deep inside told him that this would probably be the last time he would see another dragon for a very long time. After all, Nayru had been the first one he had stumbled into since Arcadia and their kind weren’t exactly plentiful these days. Despite that, it was time for him to go. He felt trapped in the cottage and needed to get out.
Patting his robe down, he made one final check of all his possessions. Satisfied that everything was there, he made his way to the door, taking one last longing look back at the closest thing he had to a home these days. Then, he opened the door and stepped out into the clearing, waiting for Nayru to follow him out. Once she had, he closed it, not bothering to lock it. No one was crazy enough to enter the clearing, let alone his cottage. It would be plenty safe without him here. Marcus turned to face his companion. “It was nice meeting you,” he admitted, “I hope we can meet again some day. By the way,” he continued, “which way is Etruria?” Her vague gesture of direction was all he needed. He nodded in affirmation and shook loose his wings. Stretching them to their full length, he grasped the stone that dangled from his neck. The power of his ancestors washed over him and he entered into his natural form. With one powerful push of his legs, he was airborne and off into the sky, quickly fading towards Etruria.
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on May 30, 2015 17:39:37 GMT -6
He was very - headstrong. One moment they had been talking, the next he was already ready to leave, dead set on doing so the instant it would no long be overtly rude. She would have made a comment about the hastiness of youth, but, well, that would be just a touch hypocritical of her, so Nayru held her tongue as her new friend - were they friends? - departed, granting him a smile and the general direction he should be heading in.
-And then he was gone. Just like that. First dragon she'd met in centuries and they'd spent maybe half an hour together before he was off to parts unknown. Nayru continued staring out the door thoughtfully for a few moments, still sitting in her chair, taking sips of her tea. The thought occurred to her that she had no idea what the proper etiquette here was - should she clean up the place? Marcus was gone and apparently not coming back, and he had just been squatting here, and she was the guest and guests weren't usually expected to clean up that much... but with Marcus gone she was sort of the de facto temporary owner (kinda) for now which sorta made it her responsibility... but responsibility was so easy to shirk when no one was around to enforce it.
She really didn't know what to make of all this, honestly. Actually meeting a dragon for the first time in so long, much less one with which she shared so much - element, problems, even to some degree backstory similarities - had thrown the white-haired dragoness for a bit of a loop. She had developed practiced reactions to many scenarios by now, a sort of cheat sheet to help her get through situations without showcasing her awkwardness, but the events of today had been... well beyond her pay grade, to use a human term that... actually didn't work very well in retrospect, dammit, it was probably for the best that no one was actually listening.
Well - there wasn't much value in worrying about it too much for now. He was gone, so even if she had wanted to say something, that chance was long gone beneath his leathery wings. Perhaps they would meet again someday, perhaps not, but at least they could both remember this meeting, a reminder that dragons in Elibe were not totally extinct. Outside of Arcadia, anyways. One could only wonder when, or if, they might meet up again. Perhaps it would be in Arcadia, steeped in irony, in the... unlikely event she ever returned to her home. Perhaps it would be in Etruria fifty years hence, or Bern, or on a sailing ship headed for adventure.
It was probably kind of stupid, but even though little-to-nothing had actually changed, Nayru couldn't help but feel just a little less alone in Elibe. Even knowing that it was statistically... unlikely that she would ever see Marcus again, simply knowing that he was alive and well and sharing in the experience of Elibe - of life - like she was made the continent seem a little less imposing, overwhelming. Or perhaps she was overthinking this and they would both be dead within fifty years. Who knew! Still - even if she deserved it - and she couldn't very well argue that fact as much as she might like to - Marcus did not. She could only hope he escaped that fate.
"...Be safe, Marcus."
[Topic end]
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