Information
Avira the Xentrilis
Punishment
Legacy Name: Punishment
The
Custom Nightmare EndeavorOwner:
WarAge: 15 years, 9 months, 2 weeks
Born: July 17th, 2008
Adopted: 11 years, 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Adopted: January 8th, 2013
Statistics
- Level: 8
- Strength: 26
- Defense: 17
- Speed: 15
- Health: 18
- HP: 18/18
- Intelligence: 0
- Books Read: 0
- Food Eaten: 0
- Job: Unemployed
To say the sorcerer was upset was an understatement. In his ire, he cursed the dragon, both figuratively and literally; he took out his anger upon the dragon, transforming his capturing spell into an imprisoning one, tendrils of magic wrapping round and round the dragon's form until it was bound tightly with no chance for escape. Yet the dragon did not roar with rage nor spit fire... she simply watched, defiance written across her maw.
"I ordain you my minion." The sorcerer demanded, jabbing a finger at the dragon's snout.
"No." Replied the dragon.
Thus the cycle began. Every morning, the sorcerer would venture down the forest path to where the dragon lay among berry bushes and demand their compliance. Every day, the dragon would refuse. Yet the sorcerer was stubborn; for every day of defiance, the sorcerer would brand the dragon’s flank, keeping a cruel tally over his charge. This, the sorcerer thought, would be the dragon’s punishment for its ignorance.
However, the dragon was equally as stubborn. She continued to refuse the sorcerer’s demands, knowing full well of the consequences – a wound to her hide… but not her pride. So long as her pride remained intact, the dragon would not bend. She would not yield. Ever unwavering, she simply laid there among the berries, letting their juices stain her ebony scales purple and sting her closing wounds.
As time went on, the Elf became increasingly irate at the dragon for her insubordination. His punishment became even more cruel; he twisted the dragon’s scales and seared the dragon's nose with fire magic. Yet still, the dragon did not budge, her ruby eyes fixated on the Elf with steady defiance. Once more did the Elf ordain the dragon his minion, and once again he would be denied.
At his wit's end, the Elf once more sought the help of his mentor, the Wizard. But upon seeing the dragon in such a tortured state, the Wizard became irate at his apprentice and threatened to rid the Elf of all his magic. In an act of fury and desperation, the Elf struck first; tendrils of magic wrapped round and round the Wizard until he was unable to move, bound to the dragon's side.
"I ordain you both my minions!" The Elf spat fanatically.
"No." Replied both the Wizard and the dragon.
Trapped side by side, the Wizard and the dragon got to know one another. He discovered that the dragon's name was Avira; she in turn was pleased to meet Alric, the Wizard. The two spent their days giving one another comfort, sometimes sharing stories from their youth, sometimes silent. Still everyday would the Elf come to ordain them his minions, and still they would deny him. Still the Elf would punish the pair for refusing him, but within one another's company, it wasn't so bad.
However, Alric was old, and did not take injury very well.
"I am sorry, dear Avira," the old man spoke one day, interrupting a serene silence, "I am sorry for what my pupil has wrought upon you."
"Quiet, Alric." The dragon's growl was soft, murmured from her throat. "You know I blame you not."
"Aye, but I blame myself." The Wizard replied, his dry voice cracking. "I always will."
"He punishes us enough, Alric." Avira spoke louder this time, straining her neck against the binds to peer upon the elderly Elf. "Do not make it worse."
The Wizard did not reply, allowing an uneasy silence to lapse between the two. Alric's breath was the only thing to break the air between them, raspy and wheezing. Avira shifted slightly to press her warm body against the Wizard, her once brilliant scales now a dull shade of burgundy, concocted from berries and blood.
"Avira..." Alric whispered, his voice faint. The dragon did not reply. "Are we friends?"
"A silly question for an old man to ask."
"Please, Avira." Alric pressed, his gnarled hand grasping one of the dragon's claws. It barely fit across his palm. Avira remained silent for a moment.
"Yes, Alric." She finally replied, folding her talons over the Wizard's hand, encompassing it whole. "We are friends."
"Ha..." Alric chuckled meekly, giving way to a coughing fit. Avira's grasp tightened. "I am glad. I've never had a friend before."
Avira snorted. "You lie."
"No, no, it's true." Alric sighed, casting his grey eyes upward. Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting his pale skin in an ethereal light. "Wizards are a seldom lot. We rarely congregate, lest to discuss a great evil. We may take apprentices and pupils, but we are told to never become attached to them. We are told they are expendable." The Wizard chuckled sadly. "How I wish I had paid more attention to mine."
"The fault of your student is not of your own." Avira pressed, but Alric shook his bearded head.
"It is solely my own." He replied, earning a growl from the dragon. Alric smiled. "I am his mentor. He is my charge. But instead of teaching him, I was the one who learned."
"Please, Alric. You strain yourself."
"Love, Avira. Compassion." The Wizard pressed on, his weathered face twisting into a smile. "Such emotions cannot be taught, only expressed. A great bitterness burned in that young man's heart, and I was too blind to see it. I did not mend it... and look at us now." He pulled gently on the ties that bound them together, the magical bonds glistening and flexing in response. They did not yield. They never did. The Wizard's hands fell back into his lap. tbc
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