Post by Lone Dancer on Jul 19, 2022 18:49:50 GMT
Calling the black particles sand would be a bit of a misnomer. They were so minuscule, fine; it was like waddling through inky dust. Shard’s own icy white scales looked blinding in comparison and his eyes hurt at the light-leeching nature of the sand. The sky contained similar darkness, nary a single star twinkled among the void.
Only one structure stood here, nestled within a valley of the pitch sand. Everywhere else was merely formless dunes, ripples of sand, and then a sudden end where only the starless void lie.
Only one light existed here, a ghostly prismatic orb shining out like a beacon above a quaint gazebo cobbled from black bricks made the sand around. Wavering wisps of light would stretch out and then retract back in; a mesmerizing sight.
Oddly enough, Shard felt a strange peace here. The contrast of the darkness and the ethereal light had a comfort to it, somehow. It was quiet here, undisturbed. But Shard wasn’t alone here.
A figure sat in the gazebo, simply waiting. Their posture seemed somber, but their face, or rather lack of one was familiar. Crimson red with sparkling sapphire, and an ever-present grin.
Nur.
Shard’s mentor, and only friend.
He didn’t feel a need to speak, the silence was too muffling to allow for words. Despite his much larger, draconic frame compared to Teach, there was still room in the gazebo for him.
He couldn’t help but wonder, was he dead? Was this the afterlife? Questions he kept to his own rummagings.
Flashbacks to his time with Nur flooded his mind, unlocked by their presence. Their first meeting, the lessons, the magic, the battles and the pain.
“This is one of the remaining fragments of a long forgotten and shattered moon, once orbiting a dying star, before it collided with its own planet. Over the course of billions of years, it has cruised through the darkest corners of space. Many of my refuges have been found, but never this one.” Nur’s voice finally cut through the silence, seemingly lost in thought. He didn’t directly look at Shard, merely staring downwards.
“This used to be home to terrible things, thing that have long since died out. Their echoes remain, but they dare not enter here. This little fragment is mine, and mine alone.”
It was one of the first things Shard noticed here, when he first arrived. Every little speck of sand was entirely infused with Nur’s presence, the entire fragment bespoken of his influence.
“I was left in this place, to rot away and die and have my very soul consumed by monsters. So very long ago. I don’t have any pleasant memories of this place, yet I come back here every so often. Perhaps one of my greatest symbols of triumph over those who wished me dead.”
There was a pause from Nur, as he seemed ever so lost in old memories. This was a very odd experience for Shard, as he has never seen Teach act this way. It was alien behavior of the normally boisterous mask.
“Why are you here, I can feel you asking. Both a simple and complicated answer. Quite the monologue I have going, eh?” Nur let out a short dry laugh.
“Simple answer, to talk with you. More complicated answer, to help you with something.”
Finally, Shard croaked out his first words here.
“I… see…”
“The quiet is quite muting, isn’t it. I would say you should have been around when the constant shrieks and screams of evil made manifest was the ambiance here, but that would be a lie. It was quite terrible, and I wish it on no one, and I have done rather grisly things to people.”
Shard stayed quiet until one nagging question that was bothering him for some reason finally broke free.
“What is the light?” It wasn’t the normal lights Shard had seen Teach conjure, nor anything else he has seen.
“To put it bluntly, a portion of my soul that remains trapped here. An anchor, if you will. It acts as both a beacon, and a ward. Nothing can get it here, its far too hidden away in a realm none dare tread. Not even those who call themselves the gods.”
Shard couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward that he was getting a glimpse of someone’s soul, now that he was aware.
“Before you go do something like this for whatever reason, I don’t recommend it, it is wounding to the soul, and not something easily healed. And the pesky issue of you don’t die properly.”
Shard picked up on the bitter tone at the end of that statement. He shook his reptilian head.
“I don’t plan too.”
“Wise.”
And once more, they both sat in silence, the ghostly light of Nur’s soul providing the gentle illumination of this dreary place. Nur patted his forearm, and everything began to shimmer as the waking world took its hold.
Shard didn’t really want to go, he was enjoying the peace, but the clamoring world demanded his attention, and so up he went, the black dunes fading beneath him. He could’ve sworn Nur waved, but he couldn’t fully tell.
As the sun of his world cheerfully greeted him, he groaned as the tiny bodies of dragonets impacted against his scales.
“Come on Uncle Shard, its lunchtime, you sleepyscales!”
Shard felt more awake at the display of exuberance from his nephew, and grudgingly got up. Moving out of the forest where he slept, he entered the rocky cave den of his brother, cooked fish aromas meeting his nose.
“Well well well- huh, you don’t look grumpy. Well thats odd” Shard’s younger and creatively named brother, Snow, greeted him.
“Good dream.” Shard answered.
“Oh, do tell then, you look off without a frown.”
“I got to spend time with an old friend.”
Snow paused, putting the fish onto thin wooden stakes.
“That’s good. It’s nice to see you look at peace.”
Shard didn’t really know how to respond with anything other than an awkward;
“Thank you.”
“What did you two do in your dream?”
“Talk, mostly, and enjoy the peace”
“Must’ve of been real peaceful for you to sleep through mornin and Glaze using you as an impromptu landing pad. Normally you’re the first awake out of all us.”
“Mmm…” Shard grumbled good naturedly. He was understanding what Teach meant by “Help you” now. And he had an idea he wanted to try out later.
“-ard, Shard you there?” He found himself blinking rapidly as he was brought back to his surroundings.
“You should probably see one of the healers with how much you zone out. I dunno what happened while you were gone, but you’re much different than how you were before. You mention nonsensical things, so I’m just watching out for ya.”
Here we go again, Shard thought, but Snow decided to hold off on his whole “I’m here for you” bit this time. He wouldn’t understand, he couldn’t understand. What cliché thinking, Shard mused.
“Well, there is cooked fish if you want it”
Without hesitation Shard helped himself to three, and they were all gone before Snow could blink.
Shard kindly refrained from eating the rest, despite not feeling full in any capacity. He really needed to go properly hunting, but Snow got very fussy if Shard was gone for more than a few hours.
Turns out leaving your younger brother and family and being gone for a decade and so, really leaves a mark. After their parents’ death, Shard was all Snow had left. It was why Shard stayed, out of a sense of guilt, of not being there.
“Oh yah, I did some searching around, I may have found a job for you to do, so you can be ‘productive’ as you put it.”
And so Snow launched into the details.
Only one structure stood here, nestled within a valley of the pitch sand. Everywhere else was merely formless dunes, ripples of sand, and then a sudden end where only the starless void lie.
Only one light existed here, a ghostly prismatic orb shining out like a beacon above a quaint gazebo cobbled from black bricks made the sand around. Wavering wisps of light would stretch out and then retract back in; a mesmerizing sight.
Oddly enough, Shard felt a strange peace here. The contrast of the darkness and the ethereal light had a comfort to it, somehow. It was quiet here, undisturbed. But Shard wasn’t alone here.
A figure sat in the gazebo, simply waiting. Their posture seemed somber, but their face, or rather lack of one was familiar. Crimson red with sparkling sapphire, and an ever-present grin.
Nur.
Shard’s mentor, and only friend.
He didn’t feel a need to speak, the silence was too muffling to allow for words. Despite his much larger, draconic frame compared to Teach, there was still room in the gazebo for him.
He couldn’t help but wonder, was he dead? Was this the afterlife? Questions he kept to his own rummagings.
Flashbacks to his time with Nur flooded his mind, unlocked by their presence. Their first meeting, the lessons, the magic, the battles and the pain.
“This is one of the remaining fragments of a long forgotten and shattered moon, once orbiting a dying star, before it collided with its own planet. Over the course of billions of years, it has cruised through the darkest corners of space. Many of my refuges have been found, but never this one.” Nur’s voice finally cut through the silence, seemingly lost in thought. He didn’t directly look at Shard, merely staring downwards.
“This used to be home to terrible things, thing that have long since died out. Their echoes remain, but they dare not enter here. This little fragment is mine, and mine alone.”
It was one of the first things Shard noticed here, when he first arrived. Every little speck of sand was entirely infused with Nur’s presence, the entire fragment bespoken of his influence.
“I was left in this place, to rot away and die and have my very soul consumed by monsters. So very long ago. I don’t have any pleasant memories of this place, yet I come back here every so often. Perhaps one of my greatest symbols of triumph over those who wished me dead.”
There was a pause from Nur, as he seemed ever so lost in old memories. This was a very odd experience for Shard, as he has never seen Teach act this way. It was alien behavior of the normally boisterous mask.
“Why are you here, I can feel you asking. Both a simple and complicated answer. Quite the monologue I have going, eh?” Nur let out a short dry laugh.
“Simple answer, to talk with you. More complicated answer, to help you with something.”
Finally, Shard croaked out his first words here.
“I… see…”
“The quiet is quite muting, isn’t it. I would say you should have been around when the constant shrieks and screams of evil made manifest was the ambiance here, but that would be a lie. It was quite terrible, and I wish it on no one, and I have done rather grisly things to people.”
Shard stayed quiet until one nagging question that was bothering him for some reason finally broke free.
“What is the light?” It wasn’t the normal lights Shard had seen Teach conjure, nor anything else he has seen.
“To put it bluntly, a portion of my soul that remains trapped here. An anchor, if you will. It acts as both a beacon, and a ward. Nothing can get it here, its far too hidden away in a realm none dare tread. Not even those who call themselves the gods.”
Shard couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward that he was getting a glimpse of someone’s soul, now that he was aware.
“Before you go do something like this for whatever reason, I don’t recommend it, it is wounding to the soul, and not something easily healed. And the pesky issue of you don’t die properly.”
Shard picked up on the bitter tone at the end of that statement. He shook his reptilian head.
“I don’t plan too.”
“Wise.”
And once more, they both sat in silence, the ghostly light of Nur’s soul providing the gentle illumination of this dreary place. Nur patted his forearm, and everything began to shimmer as the waking world took its hold.
Shard didn’t really want to go, he was enjoying the peace, but the clamoring world demanded his attention, and so up he went, the black dunes fading beneath him. He could’ve sworn Nur waved, but he couldn’t fully tell.
As the sun of his world cheerfully greeted him, he groaned as the tiny bodies of dragonets impacted against his scales.
“Come on Uncle Shard, its lunchtime, you sleepyscales!”
Shard felt more awake at the display of exuberance from his nephew, and grudgingly got up. Moving out of the forest where he slept, he entered the rocky cave den of his brother, cooked fish aromas meeting his nose.
“Well well well- huh, you don’t look grumpy. Well thats odd” Shard’s younger and creatively named brother, Snow, greeted him.
“Good dream.” Shard answered.
“Oh, do tell then, you look off without a frown.”
“I got to spend time with an old friend.”
Snow paused, putting the fish onto thin wooden stakes.
“That’s good. It’s nice to see you look at peace.”
Shard didn’t really know how to respond with anything other than an awkward;
“Thank you.”
“What did you two do in your dream?”
“Talk, mostly, and enjoy the peace”
“Must’ve of been real peaceful for you to sleep through mornin and Glaze using you as an impromptu landing pad. Normally you’re the first awake out of all us.”
“Mmm…” Shard grumbled good naturedly. He was understanding what Teach meant by “Help you” now. And he had an idea he wanted to try out later.
“-ard, Shard you there?” He found himself blinking rapidly as he was brought back to his surroundings.
“You should probably see one of the healers with how much you zone out. I dunno what happened while you were gone, but you’re much different than how you were before. You mention nonsensical things, so I’m just watching out for ya.”
Here we go again, Shard thought, but Snow decided to hold off on his whole “I’m here for you” bit this time. He wouldn’t understand, he couldn’t understand. What cliché thinking, Shard mused.
“Well, there is cooked fish if you want it”
Without hesitation Shard helped himself to three, and they were all gone before Snow could blink.
Shard kindly refrained from eating the rest, despite not feeling full in any capacity. He really needed to go properly hunting, but Snow got very fussy if Shard was gone for more than a few hours.
Turns out leaving your younger brother and family and being gone for a decade and so, really leaves a mark. After their parents’ death, Shard was all Snow had left. It was why Shard stayed, out of a sense of guilt, of not being there.
“Oh yah, I did some searching around, I may have found a job for you to do, so you can be ‘productive’ as you put it.”
And so Snow launched into the details.