Prologue: Crash Landing
Necromancy. That most taboo of topics, an art considered forbidden...
Necromancy. That most taboo of topics, an art considered forbidden...
The Keeper's Daughter: An Adventurous Dragon's Quest
- Thread starter Moronis
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Update 1: And It Begins
Moronis
Has-Too-Many-Fictional-Children
- Location
- NC
Prologue: Crash Landing
Necromancy. That most taboo of topics, an art considered forbidden for a multitude of reasons not least of which is the track record of its wielders going off the proverbial deep-end. From the ancient and hated Corpse-Lords to the vile and heartless murderers seeking to make a name for themselves it was easy for one to see why necromancy had such a bad reputation.
Yet Keeper pursued it all the same in his abode, the 'keep' as some of his associates insisted on referring to it. It was a bit of a running gag among the former adventurers turned makeshift saints. 'Look, Keeper's got a Keep everyone! Ain't that funny!'
Problem was that the tired old gag hadn't failed in getting a smile from the necromancer in all this time. Even fifteen years after helping dismantle the regime of the Corpse-Lords, even ten years after despoiling the graves of the Tyrant God's many servants to strike the maddened beast down, even five years into his reign over the Grey Wastes to keep the inhabitants of the world safe forevermore from the slumbering things that lay there… He still was a sucker for a poorly told joke when it was repeated enough. Yet right now thinking on the old joke didn't work at making him smile. It was melancholy that was reaching him, truth be told.
The old days were gone and there were no more great threats for them to face and so, like most do, the group had grown apart. Some of it was Keeper's own doing, he'd admit to that in a heartbeat. Always a loner at heart, always keeping to himself, always sticking to the sidelines when it came time to socialize… Hell, he'd volunteered for this job in the wastes both to keep people safe from the things within it but also simply to avoid having to deal with other people!
Yet some of the blame still fell on the shoulders of his old friends. Bardiche, roaming as they ever were, was impossible to get into contact with. Harris, that mad old fool of a wizard, was probably studying the stars in a very deep and intimate way at this moment and likely as not forgot to pack food in the process. Findley was… Okay, Findley was on fire. Findley was on fire, there was no way Findley wasn't on fire at this exact moment as alchemy is always a tricky subject at the best of times.
Name after name, reason after reason, there were so many to recount.
It wasn't all Keeper's fault for losing touch. Just… Partially. Sighing, he put the book on the deeper meaning of the soul in regards to necromancy away. Reviewing his old work always put him in a funk like this and just reminded him of things in general that were best left forgotten.
Grounds needed patrolling, staff needed checking up on, and work needed to be done. So it was time to get to it. He stepped out into the open air, cooling as the moon rose high over the Keeper's Keep and it's denizens of the dead going about their business. Skeletal butlers and maids waved a jaunty hello to their master who'd rescued them from death at their own requests. A ghoul gardener swore angrily at the tulips which refused to grow right.
And a star fell from the heavens, Keeper's eyes alighting to it as he felt the quickly dimming blaze of life. Heart racing and melancholy mood forgotten, he ignored the walls with a spell and shot across the wastes. There came a sound of fire and tormented earth as the star slammed into the ground at speeds lethal to all but the most resilient of creatures. Keeper slowed as he felt the spark of life… Cease entirely.
He slowed further as he reached the deep crater and felt his breath catch as he beheld the silver-scaled dragon cradled in the unforgiving sands. Blood seeped from wounds so hideous that he nearly flinched before the man tempered himself and began inspections. Damage to the body was… Severe, to say the least.
Gouges that went all the way to the organs on a creature easily the size of his keep. Charring from the rapid descent as the air turned to flame from their passage, only the chemical make-up and biology of the scales allowing enough heat to disperse preventing further harm. Poisons built up in these muscles here, here, and here. Overexertion, severe, not enough oxygen getting into the blood so the body compensated and it went on for too long.
Keeper paused and began re-assessment as he noticed this detail.
Dried blood on the wounds. The gouges were old, not old enough to scar but old enough to begin something like scabbing over. Charring along the scales was too dense, over too long a period of time for it to have simply been the descent that did it. Thinking, he remembered some bits of correspondence he'd had with the few messengers that had wandered along in previous weeks.
Strange noises across townships, miles apart, like thunder on a clear day. Glass shattering on mountaintop monasteries and no cause being found. Reports of a streak of silver that moved faster than the eye could truly perceive.
Tales of a war underground between demon and dragon… One the dragons had apparently lost as sightings of the single strongest species in all the world increased alongside word of their injuries. Prideful as they were they'd refused to answer any direct questions, simply retreating to lick their wounds and prepare for more conflict. Yet here one was, dead in the ground, having fled so hard from whatever was in pursuit that their injuries caught up with them.
Things clicked together for the necromancer as he gazed at the dead body. The soul had departed already and he'd be getting no answers that way so everything he had was simply guesswork. But it was guesswork others would listen to, particularly his friends. Seemed the old adage about an adventurer's work never being done was going to be proven true once more.
A part of him was excited, the thrill of the old job coming back to him. Yet above all else he was worried for what might come next. Would this war spill over to the surface? If so where and how many would be injured as a result? Thoughts whirled in his head as the future began to unfold before him, complicated in so many ways.
And as he raised his staff to begin burying the dead body with a spell, to grant this dragon something like a respectful burial, Keeper saw something else that simply made matters even more complicated. An egg, hatching, the ugly-in-a-cute-way silver scaled newborn within flopping to the sands and mewling pathetically. Eyes opening, it looked up at him and chirped happily, ignorant of the dead body next to it.
Reaching down he gently took hold of the child and cradled them in his arms before looking back at the body. Magic coursing through him, he checked and double checked and triple checked to be absolutely sure there'd be no means of bringing the deceased dragon back only to find that it was impossible after all.
The soul had departed before the descent had even begun, the body curling unconsciously to shield the egg from the impact. No spell, no magic, no divine artifact could bring this one back. All he could do would be to puppet the body about, not bind the soul back to it.
Eyes closing in grief, he began his ascent from the crater as the sands piled back in around the body, burying it from sight. A shriek resounded and he turned to behold a squadron of thin-limbed horrors moving towards the crash site, fanged mouths open and spilling toxic blood to the ground around them. Demons and terribly injured ones, likely the ones pursuing the parent he'd just buried.
In no mood for this the Keeper raised his staff and turned the baby around to avoid seeing the carnage that would unfold. Three words left his lips…
And the demons bodies inverted into geysers of blood and bone as the decaying matter within and without ripped them apart in mere seconds. The sands reclaimed them as the spell finished its course and the necromancer sighed, looking at the now slumbering baby in his arms. He'd have to put out feelers tomorrow, see if it was possible to find the child's family and reunite them. In the meantime he needed to go and have words with his servants to see about finding the kid a place to sleep and securing supplies for child care.
As the dawning sun rose the lone figure walked across the sands, staff at side, baby in the crook of one arm, robes dragging along loosely behind. And as he made it through the door of his keep the thought came to him of what he'd have to do if he couldn't find the child's family or, worse, if they didn't want to take the kid in. What would need to be done then?
His eyes looked down and he decided. He'd take the kid in himself if it came to it. It was only appropriate as the lord of this wasteland that he do all he could to care for those who found themselves in it after all.
==
Chapter 1: Ten Years Later
"OH MY DEAREST NIECE?! THIS HAS BEEN A FUN GAME BUT YOU NEED TO COME OUT NOW, IT'S LUNCH TIME!" Uncle Ichabod cries out below you, eyes crinkling in that way they do when he starts to get particularly worried. Any second now and he's gonna start using Vs and Zs at random and mispronouncing words again. It's all you can do to not giggle as your relative looks under furniture and in closets trying to find you.
Pretty soon he'll draft Aunt Molly and Aunt Yash to help find you. From there they'll either manage it or they'll have to get Uncle Wilt on it too and then it'll be even funnier watching the four of them stumble about trying to guess your hiding spot. It'll probably take them a while too considering you finally figured it out.
Oh it was painful hiding this little secret from your father and the rest of your family and it was even more difficult getting the others in the keep to not spill the beans about it. But you managed for this, for exactly this as your Uncle Ichabod finally breaks and calls for the others, as Aunt Molly lifts an entire stone edifice in an attempt to find you, as Aunt Yash darts down towards the dungeons, slipping immaterially through the floor…
As Uncle Wilt looks straight up and sees you, bony finger going to skeletal teeth. You wink back, a finger going to your own lips as your wings flap idly behind you and the proud thumbs up he shoots you just makes you smile wide. You'll leave them all to bumble about searching for a bit longer. After all, if there's just one thing you've learned from your family both living and dead it's a sense of theatrics.
The sun glares out over the grey sands outside the tower and you smile at the sight of them, breathing heavily as you revel in the simple beauty of sun on sand. You've lived your whole life in this keep and today, today you get to go outside and really start seeing the world!
Your dad's busy with work but he's finally agreed to bring you along with on some of his business. You'll get to meet so many new people, see so many new things, eat so many new foods… It's gonna be great!
Smiling wide you swing down from the rafters and hover lightly, without a sound, in front of the now-sobbing mess your Uncle Ichabod is in. Arms sweeping wide, you bend down and give him a peck on the head, startling him into looking up. "Heya Uncle! Whatcha cryin' about?"
The hug you get from two very concerned undead, one very concerned but immaterial undead, and your Uncle Wilt who wasn't concerned at all because he knew exactly where you were is best described as 'bone crushing.' You don't mind though. It's all fine and it's a great reminder of just how much you're loved and cared for.
Chastising and congratulating in equal measures, your aunts and uncles take you down to the dining hall where you'll be able to get your fill of food, your empty stomach growling along the way. Life is good. Your father looks at you and beams wide as he sees you, smile growing wider when he sees you flying along, and as he runs along the messenger behind him looks on in confusion as his arms wrap around you and lift you higher, spinning all the while.
Apparently no one told the poor messenger that the legendary Keeper Of Graves has a daughter. And that daughter is you.
As your dad sets you down he looks to your now calmed uncles and aunts, an eyebrow quirked. Years of experience with your antics and with his own 'creations' as some of the more uncouth sorts insist on referring to them has given him an intimate understanding of just how stressed they were up until a moment ago. His eyes meet yours and you just beam and beam at him, the smile on his on face twitching wider in response.
"So you learned to fly and the first thing you did was scare your poor, poor aunts and uncles near to death?" Dad folds his arms and tries, but fails, to glare at you. "I do hope you have a good explanation for this young lady."
"Sure I do!" You thump your chest, back arching in pride. "It was funny." You grin from ear to ear as your dad lets out a loving, exasperated sigh and sets you back down. He stopped giving you piggy back rides a few years ago when, quote, 'you got so heavy it would buckle steel plates' unquote.
"Well I do hope you'll behave yourself when we reach the capital at least." Your dad chastises, smile still on his face. His tone, though, lets you know that you absolutely need to be on your best behavior. Nothing that would get you in serious trouble with any important people.
Or at least nothing you'd get caught at.
Nodding your head and fingers thoroughly crossed behind your back, you turn to the dining table and pull up a chair as the messenger does the same. There's some talk about trade routes and banditry in distant kingdoms, reports of things that just fly over your head. You tried paying attention to that stuff once but you got bored and wound up spraining your wing muscles trying to whap a fly that was bothering you. Never again.
The plate piles up steadily with food as you grab bowl after bowl and heap mound after mound to construct veritable valleys of vitals and mountains of morsels. The messenger, bless them, looks astounded as you put the finishing touch of an entire shank of ham on top of the whole pile and begin chowing down. Apparently whoever was in charge of them had also failed to inform them of the infamous dragonic appetite shared by anything with big scaly wings.
As you chow down thoughts race through your head. Dad's talks with the messengers usually last a few hours or so and you're not gonna be able to sit still the whole time he's chatting with this one. Which leaves you plenty of time and energy to go do a few other things around the keep before it's time to go. Clapping your hands, you swallow down the last bit of gristle and bone before licking the plate clean.
Time to go… Spend some time doing other stuff!
What Is Your Name?
[]___________
And What Are You Doing?
[] Uncle Wirt said he had something to show you before you left.
[] Aunt Molly's training with the guards. By which you mean mercilessly trouncing them.
[] Aunt Yash is screaming at the well again which means there's probably a Drowned bathing down there again.
[] Uncle Ichabod's carefully repairing all the damage he and the rest of your family did in their search for you.
[] You should visit your other parent before you go. Let them know that you can finally go see the world.
Hello and welcome to a 100% narrative quest told by your buddy Moronis! I needed something upbeat and ultimately light-hearted to write as a breakaway from WNFTT cause while that's mostly not like… Crazy level dark, it's still dark enough that I need a break from it for a hot minute.
At any rate this is basically going to be a story about a young dragon girl as she journeys across the world, makes friends, forms up an adventuring party, and ultimately stops a big bad because duh. The big twist, if you can call it that I guess, is that her adoptive family is all either undead or they are still-living middle-aged adventurers.
So strap in folks and get ready for an upbeat and friendly dragon as she looks at the world and goes 'Oh thank god, new pranking targets.'
Also, side note, in the process of trying to figure out what tags might apply to this thread I found out that there is apparently a 'we put our faith in blast hardcheese' tag and you have zero idea how tempting that was to slap on here
At any rate this is basically going to be a story about a young dragon girl as she journeys across the world, makes friends, forms up an adventuring party, and ultimately stops a big bad because duh. The big twist, if you can call it that I guess, is that her adoptive family is all either undead or they are still-living middle-aged adventurers.
So strap in folks and get ready for an upbeat and friendly dragon as she looks at the world and goes 'Oh thank god, new pranking targets.'
Also, side note, in the process of trying to figure out what tags might apply to this thread I found out that there is apparently a 'we put our faith in blast hardcheese' tag and you have zero idea how tempting that was to slap on here
We're a silver dragon, which probably means we're ice element, so for name...
[X] Frosta
(Subject to change if we're not ice-related.)
As for family: Uncle Wirt is the cool one, so we should go talk to him.
[X] Uncle Wirt said he had something to show you before you left.
[X] Frosta
(Subject to change if we're not ice-related.)
As for family: Uncle Wirt is the cool one, so we should go talk to him.
[X] Uncle Wirt said he had something to show you before you left.
- Location
- Rapidly approaching your location.
- Pronouns
- Any/Morb
According to experience in Nethack, silver dragons are cold resistant and can reflect spells.
[X] Mira
[X] Uncle Wirt said he had something to show you before you left.
Mira cuz it sounds like mirror
[X] Mira
[X] Uncle Wirt said he had something to show you before you left.
Mira cuz it sounds like mirror
chrisleech
The Finder of Things Left Behind
- Location
- Jacksonville, Florida
[X] Silver
[X] Uncle Wirt said he had something to show you before you left.
[X] Uncle Wirt said he had something to show you before you left.
KleverKil'Vanya
Ortillery Operator
[X] Siderite
Kkutlord
Prince of Breath
- Location
- Indianapolis, Indiana
[X] Luna
[X] You should visit your other parent before you go. Let them know that you can finally go see the world.
So what kind of dragon is she? Be cool if she had Lunacy powers, something similarly "bad" looking like her dad's Necromancy.
[X] You should visit your other parent before you go. Let them know that you can finally go see the world.
So what kind of dragon is she? Be cool if she had Lunacy powers, something similarly "bad" looking like her dad's Necromancy.
Moronis
Has-Too-Many-Fictional-Children
- Location
- NC
Vote Tally : The Keeper's Daughter: An Adventurous Dragon's Quest - Original - Fantasy | Sufficient Velocity [Posts: 2-14]
##### NetTally 1.9.10
[X] You should visit your other parent before you go. Let them know that you can finally go see the world.
No. of Votes: 7
[X] Uncle Wirt said he had something to show you before you left.
No. of Votes: 5
[X] Luna
No. of Votes: 5
[X] Mira
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Frosta
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Silver
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Siderite
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 13
##### NetTally 1.9.10
[X] You should visit your other parent before you go. Let them know that you can finally go see the world.
No. of Votes: 7
[X] Uncle Wirt said he had something to show you before you left.
No. of Votes: 5
[X] Luna
No. of Votes: 5
[X] Mira
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Frosta
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Silver
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Siderite
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 13
Okay then our protagonist is Luna and she's off to visit her other parent.
As for what kind of dragon our dear Luna is, she's a Star Dragon, she can make lights with her fingers, she can see perfectly in the dark, and her scales are super cool looking and keep her nice and cozy all year round no matter the conditions aaaaaaaaand that's all she's really aware of about Star Dragons frankly.
Update 2: The Small Dragon And The (Not All That Big) Village
Moronis
Has-Too-Many-Fictional-Children
- Location
- NC
Waving to dad before you go and smiling happily at the increasingly baffled messenger, who is looking at you with something approaching horror on their face you realize, you race out the door and across the sands to go and speak with your other parent. It's been a few weeks since the two of you last spoke but it's always good for you to do so. Dad says it's important, helps you get connected and remember things.
One of the guards halts you, Hart, that's her yeah, and bars the door with a spear. "Young mistress Luna, apologies but I have my orders. You need to inform me as to where you intend to go in such a rush before you and your father depart for the capital." The lanky undead intones, her hollow eyes staring at you with stoic resolve.
Shrugging, you stare back up at her. "Off to go and visit my other parent out in the wastes." You respond honestly, seeing no reason whatsoever to lie. "It's a big day y'know and I just gotta go tell them!"
Hart flinches. That's the only word to describe it, she actively flinches. "A-ah. I see. Of course. Apologies for delaying you then. Please, take care out there then Luna." She unbars the door and lets you slip out, waving at you as you leave and remaining outside to keep watch for your return.
The Gray Wastes. So called for the seemingly endless expanse of gray sand that stretches in any direction, ending only when it meets the Halcyon Mountains in the east, the Orange Seas to the south, and a carefully patrolled set of borders of smaller keeps and greenery to the north and west. What life lies in these regions are far placed and either viciously territorial at best and outright malicious in their acts at worst. It is a desperately terrible region but you've always found it beautiful in its own way.
When the dawn breaks or dusk finally settles it's a breath taking sight to witness the gray sands turn resplendent with oranges and purples and pinks aplenty, the strange shrubs and wild trees that soar altogether too high casting intricate and wonderful shadows. Even the beasts that lumber within are glorious, from spiders with carapaces that reflect the light beautifully and cunningly to blind prey with all the way to the blisters, strange creatures that cultivate a faintly translucent fungus across their bodies that erupts with caustic juices when disturbed.
Not that any of the creatures in these wastes bother you. Pinpricks of starlight flicker into being over your fingers and you grin. You learned years ago how to handle each and every last one of the things that call the wastes home. The spiders, for all that they use light as a weapon, are unused to light being used against them. Blisters are simply 'territorial' and won't bother you if you won't bother them and you learned the signs for their territory ages ago. From bug to beast there's nothing out here you fear.
Well, almost. There's one monster out here you do fear. Okay, make that a lot more than one but there's only one monster that's awake that you fear. The Sleepers In The Sand don't count because everyone's afraid of them. Dad's never told you exactly who or what the Sleepers are apart from A) Scary, B) Bigger as a mountain, and C) Parasites on a far larger creature that has been long gone. He got really quiet around that last part and started sweating a lot and wouldn't explain any further.
So apart from them there's only one monster out here you fear. The hungering maw eel, a sort of eel adapted for life on land and with a truly massive triangular shaped mouth capable of swallowing some alarmingly large prey whole. Still, the hungering maws only ever wake up at night time when it's cool enough for them to hunt and they're another of the 'territorial, not hostile' sorts so as long as you stick to the paths you'll be fine.
Speaking of the devils now, here's some signs of one of them passing through an area. Migration season's here and so there's ripples all along the sands where their webbed fins passed under the dunes. During this time of year they're especially docile as all their focus is on getting to wherever it is they go to mate and then die.
Your dad once remarked to you that the existence of these creatures drove one of his friends up a wall and into obsessive research on seemingly impossible things and that they're probably even now studying the insides of stars in a desperate attempt to find out how they work. After which he showed you a massive wall-to-wall set of shelves filled with books said friend had apparently written, helped to write, provided documentation for, or had done significant research for the production of.
You no longer have many questions about the biological aspects of things and kind of sort of desperately want to punch the All-Time-Best-Wizard-Who-Ever-Lived-And-Anyone-Who-Wants-To-Debate-This-Can-Come-Fight-Me-In-The-Roaring-Heart-Of-The-Cosmos-Let's-Go Harris in the throat for accidentally cursing you with such knowledge in the process of researching all these things. The only tome that you didn't hate was the one labeled "Star Dragons: A Theory" and that was only because it wasn't really even a tome so much as it was a pamphlet.
Helped explain why dad sometimes pats you on the head and calls you Starlight or his 'little star' sometimes though.
A loud cry shakes you from your idle thoughts and meandering pace as you look up and see the watch tower in the distance. Smiling wide, you wave back to the guards you know are there guarding your other parent, and sure enough you see two of them waving back now. Welp, you're here. Time to have a chat.
Your pace slows as you approach the massive glass statue, warding spirals carved into its base, truly gigantic heart hovering within the sculpture. It's a stylized thing, carved from a pink gemstone and enchanted to glow softly. Blinking, you look down and see that you've touched where your own heart is in your chest. Something you always do when you come and visit the person who hatched you, who kept you safe from monsters most foul, who shielded you with their own body.
Nameless, at least as far as anyone knows, you've always just known them as your parent. Massive regal form, head held high to behold the stars, wings spread wide to shelter all below, and a soft smile with soft eyes. The sands for the sculpture didn't come from this spot they came from elsewhere. To avoid disturbing their grave your dad had explained to you.
You walk up and place a hand on the claws at the base of the statue and smile up at it. "Heya again. Sorry it's been a little while since I talked with you last." You say, eyes lighting up. "But I've got some really big news to tell you! Dad's given me the go-ahead to come with him to the capital!" It's hard to keep your voice from squeaking in excitement.
"I can go and see all the sights, go swimming in the lakes they've got, finally get to see what a 'dog' is… There's so many things I'm gonna get to do and it's gonna be great!" Beaming now, you can't stop the burst of magic that spreads from your fingertips. The insides of the statue light up in a massive array of false stars, thin lines connecting them together. "And it's all thanks to you that I can do so." You say, smile settling back down.
"So thank you for keeping me safe when I needed it most. Thanks for giving me the chance to see the world and know my dad a-a-and..." You stop and take a moment to catch your breath. "Thank you for being the person you were that let me be here now." The light show stops and you take your hand off the monument. You smile one last time. "Sorry to cut this short but I gotta go get ready. See ya later when I get back okay bye I love you!"
You shout that last as you run back and away across the sands, waving. There's no tears in your eyes.
It's just that thing that happens where water pools up on something cooler than the air around it.
==
By the time you get back the condensation, because you finally remembered the word for it, has dried up and it seems dad's conversation with the messenger's finishing up right about now. He waves you over, a smile on his face. The messenger finishes up writing something down and nods to your father before departing to retrieve their horse and leave.
Speaking of, dad's hands land on your head and start patting as the two of you walk towards the carriage you'll be taking for the capital. Some might expect a necromancer's carriage to be some terrifying thing, eldritch and macabre all at once, a thing driven by a skeleton and led by monstrous things that once were living.
In point of fact dad's carriage is some of those things but it's certainly not overly fancy, not to you at least. It's driven by a skeleton, true, but Jangles has always been the odd-job guy of the house ever since dad had raised him in the wake of a terrible circus accident. Apparently he'd been a clown before the cannon had turned him into a skeleton, not that you know what either of those first two things is.
As for the rest of the carriage, well… The horses are very much alive just… Not horses. They're actually two twin spiders that are the size of the carriage itself. They're tamed and it apparently took some doing for your Aunt Yasha to manage that small miracle. As for the make of the vehicle it's just a simple black box that's been sleeked down a bit and varnished. There's a small skull and bones motif but your dad frowns when he sees that and just side-eyes Uncle Wirt.
"Wirt, I know you like pulling jokes on me-" Your dad begins, pointing a thumb to the macabre themes of your ticket to the capital. "But I'm fairly certain this is going to cause more than a bit of a stir on our way to the capital."
Your uncle, shameless as ever, merely shrugs. "Oh aye because the most powerful necromancer who's ever existed and his daughter aren't already gonna cause a stir." Wirt looks your dad dead in the eyes and crosses his arms. "After all, I still remember a certain upstart teenager telling the entire high council of magic that they were a bunch of stuck up pieces of s-"
"OKAY WELL WE'D BEST BE GOING!" Your father quickly interrupts, hands slamming down firmly over your ears. You've never had the heart to tell him you already know all the swears because of the books in the library so you just let him usher you into the carriage, your Uncle Wirt waving at you and holding up a sign saying, simply, 'give 'em hell kiddo.'
You wave back with a grin, settling down in your seat and watch as the wasteland rolls by. You're so excited! You're so excited! YOU'RE GONNA GET TO SEE THE CAPITAL! IT'S GONNA BE GREAT!
NOTHING CAN BRING YOU DOWN RIGHT NOW!
==
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh." You lean back, groaning. It's been three whole hours you've been stuck in the cart. This is the longest you've been stuck in one place outside of classes and it's not helped by the absolute lack of anything interesting to see.
The problem with the wasteland is that while it is wide and beautiful in its own way is that that beauty is stretched out over a very, very large distance. Which means that once you've seen that beauty you've got to go a very long way to find a good spot to appreciate the beauty anew. It's been three hours and it's apparently going to be another three hours before you reach the border and can finally see what grass looks like outside of your Uncle Ichabod's small greenhouses.
The only comfort in this trying time is that your father is just as exasperated and bored as you are as he started groaning before you did. The two of you have been passing your time for the past five minutes seeing who can let out the most bored groan.
That he's got years of experience dealing with undead groaning at him just gives him an unfair advantage you have to overcome.
And so it goes for another three hours as father and daughter groan in boredom and exasperation across the seemingly endless wastes.
==
It seems like ages before the carriage finally grinds to a halt and it's only thanks to your dad's quick reflexes and long reach that you don't immediately vault out of the window. "Luna, no! We're not at the capital yet, we're just stopping at waypoint between there and home so the ho- spiders, the spiders can rest." He slips, almost forgetting that it's giant spiders pulling the carriage. You barely hear him mutter something about getting back at your uncle for that before he shakes his head. "Still, we are going to be here for a while and I do need to stretch my legs. Which means you definitely need to."
You beam at him and start to jump out the window again only to get dragged back to your seat. "Apapapapapapah! Hold on one moment there young lady." He says, finger held up to forestall any argument. "First of all I want you to promise me that you'll not wander off too far and just to keep you from loopholing your way out of it I want you to understand that 'too far' means 'Can't see the town from where you are on the ground' are we clear?"
You nod and sta-
"NO! Second, best behavior! I know I already made you promise me that before we left but I want you to promise me again you won't do anything to get yourself into trouble, are we clear Luna?" He wags a finger at you, worry in every feature on his face. You nod again, impatient to finally get out and see this place.
Finally your dad lets go and you vault out of the window and into the sun and the wide expanse of grass marred only by the buildings and trees around you. You take a deep breath and marvel at the fact that you're finally out of the keep truly and properly.
It's all you can do to not immediately jump for joy. After all, best to conserve your energy for exploring!
Speaking of, what are you exploring first?
[] You've heard of that most mythical of entities, the dog, and you wish to behold it. Find one.
[] There's another carriage here in a heraldry of wings and feathers with gold trim. There's a kid on top of the cart fanning her large mottled wings and staring angrily at a harp.
[] THEWOODSTHEWOODSTHEWOODSTHEWOODSTHEWOODS! You know you promised dad but you've literally never seen a full proper forest before and you REALLY WANT TO!
One of the guards halts you, Hart, that's her yeah, and bars the door with a spear. "Young mistress Luna, apologies but I have my orders. You need to inform me as to where you intend to go in such a rush before you and your father depart for the capital." The lanky undead intones, her hollow eyes staring at you with stoic resolve.
Shrugging, you stare back up at her. "Off to go and visit my other parent out in the wastes." You respond honestly, seeing no reason whatsoever to lie. "It's a big day y'know and I just gotta go tell them!"
Hart flinches. That's the only word to describe it, she actively flinches. "A-ah. I see. Of course. Apologies for delaying you then. Please, take care out there then Luna." She unbars the door and lets you slip out, waving at you as you leave and remaining outside to keep watch for your return.
The Gray Wastes. So called for the seemingly endless expanse of gray sand that stretches in any direction, ending only when it meets the Halcyon Mountains in the east, the Orange Seas to the south, and a carefully patrolled set of borders of smaller keeps and greenery to the north and west. What life lies in these regions are far placed and either viciously territorial at best and outright malicious in their acts at worst. It is a desperately terrible region but you've always found it beautiful in its own way.
When the dawn breaks or dusk finally settles it's a breath taking sight to witness the gray sands turn resplendent with oranges and purples and pinks aplenty, the strange shrubs and wild trees that soar altogether too high casting intricate and wonderful shadows. Even the beasts that lumber within are glorious, from spiders with carapaces that reflect the light beautifully and cunningly to blind prey with all the way to the blisters, strange creatures that cultivate a faintly translucent fungus across their bodies that erupts with caustic juices when disturbed.
Not that any of the creatures in these wastes bother you. Pinpricks of starlight flicker into being over your fingers and you grin. You learned years ago how to handle each and every last one of the things that call the wastes home. The spiders, for all that they use light as a weapon, are unused to light being used against them. Blisters are simply 'territorial' and won't bother you if you won't bother them and you learned the signs for their territory ages ago. From bug to beast there's nothing out here you fear.
Well, almost. There's one monster out here you do fear. Okay, make that a lot more than one but there's only one monster that's awake that you fear. The Sleepers In The Sand don't count because everyone's afraid of them. Dad's never told you exactly who or what the Sleepers are apart from A) Scary, B) Bigger as a mountain, and C) Parasites on a far larger creature that has been long gone. He got really quiet around that last part and started sweating a lot and wouldn't explain any further.
So apart from them there's only one monster out here you fear. The hungering maw eel, a sort of eel adapted for life on land and with a truly massive triangular shaped mouth capable of swallowing some alarmingly large prey whole. Still, the hungering maws only ever wake up at night time when it's cool enough for them to hunt and they're another of the 'territorial, not hostile' sorts so as long as you stick to the paths you'll be fine.
Speaking of the devils now, here's some signs of one of them passing through an area. Migration season's here and so there's ripples all along the sands where their webbed fins passed under the dunes. During this time of year they're especially docile as all their focus is on getting to wherever it is they go to mate and then die.
Your dad once remarked to you that the existence of these creatures drove one of his friends up a wall and into obsessive research on seemingly impossible things and that they're probably even now studying the insides of stars in a desperate attempt to find out how they work. After which he showed you a massive wall-to-wall set of shelves filled with books said friend had apparently written, helped to write, provided documentation for, or had done significant research for the production of.
You no longer have many questions about the biological aspects of things and kind of sort of desperately want to punch the All-Time-Best-Wizard-Who-Ever-Lived-And-Anyone-Who-Wants-To-Debate-This-Can-Come-Fight-Me-In-The-Roaring-Heart-Of-The-Cosmos-Let's-Go Harris in the throat for accidentally cursing you with such knowledge in the process of researching all these things. The only tome that you didn't hate was the one labeled "Star Dragons: A Theory" and that was only because it wasn't really even a tome so much as it was a pamphlet.
Helped explain why dad sometimes pats you on the head and calls you Starlight or his 'little star' sometimes though.
A loud cry shakes you from your idle thoughts and meandering pace as you look up and see the watch tower in the distance. Smiling wide, you wave back to the guards you know are there guarding your other parent, and sure enough you see two of them waving back now. Welp, you're here. Time to have a chat.
Your pace slows as you approach the massive glass statue, warding spirals carved into its base, truly gigantic heart hovering within the sculpture. It's a stylized thing, carved from a pink gemstone and enchanted to glow softly. Blinking, you look down and see that you've touched where your own heart is in your chest. Something you always do when you come and visit the person who hatched you, who kept you safe from monsters most foul, who shielded you with their own body.
Nameless, at least as far as anyone knows, you've always just known them as your parent. Massive regal form, head held high to behold the stars, wings spread wide to shelter all below, and a soft smile with soft eyes. The sands for the sculpture didn't come from this spot they came from elsewhere. To avoid disturbing their grave your dad had explained to you.
You walk up and place a hand on the claws at the base of the statue and smile up at it. "Heya again. Sorry it's been a little while since I talked with you last." You say, eyes lighting up. "But I've got some really big news to tell you! Dad's given me the go-ahead to come with him to the capital!" It's hard to keep your voice from squeaking in excitement.
"I can go and see all the sights, go swimming in the lakes they've got, finally get to see what a 'dog' is… There's so many things I'm gonna get to do and it's gonna be great!" Beaming now, you can't stop the burst of magic that spreads from your fingertips. The insides of the statue light up in a massive array of false stars, thin lines connecting them together. "And it's all thanks to you that I can do so." You say, smile settling back down.
"So thank you for keeping me safe when I needed it most. Thanks for giving me the chance to see the world and know my dad a-a-and..." You stop and take a moment to catch your breath. "Thank you for being the person you were that let me be here now." The light show stops and you take your hand off the monument. You smile one last time. "Sorry to cut this short but I gotta go get ready. See ya later when I get back okay bye I love you!"
You shout that last as you run back and away across the sands, waving. There's no tears in your eyes.
It's just that thing that happens where water pools up on something cooler than the air around it.
==
By the time you get back the condensation, because you finally remembered the word for it, has dried up and it seems dad's conversation with the messenger's finishing up right about now. He waves you over, a smile on his face. The messenger finishes up writing something down and nods to your father before departing to retrieve their horse and leave.
Speaking of, dad's hands land on your head and start patting as the two of you walk towards the carriage you'll be taking for the capital. Some might expect a necromancer's carriage to be some terrifying thing, eldritch and macabre all at once, a thing driven by a skeleton and led by monstrous things that once were living.
In point of fact dad's carriage is some of those things but it's certainly not overly fancy, not to you at least. It's driven by a skeleton, true, but Jangles has always been the odd-job guy of the house ever since dad had raised him in the wake of a terrible circus accident. Apparently he'd been a clown before the cannon had turned him into a skeleton, not that you know what either of those first two things is.
As for the rest of the carriage, well… The horses are very much alive just… Not horses. They're actually two twin spiders that are the size of the carriage itself. They're tamed and it apparently took some doing for your Aunt Yasha to manage that small miracle. As for the make of the vehicle it's just a simple black box that's been sleeked down a bit and varnished. There's a small skull and bones motif but your dad frowns when he sees that and just side-eyes Uncle Wirt.
"Wirt, I know you like pulling jokes on me-" Your dad begins, pointing a thumb to the macabre themes of your ticket to the capital. "But I'm fairly certain this is going to cause more than a bit of a stir on our way to the capital."
Your uncle, shameless as ever, merely shrugs. "Oh aye because the most powerful necromancer who's ever existed and his daughter aren't already gonna cause a stir." Wirt looks your dad dead in the eyes and crosses his arms. "After all, I still remember a certain upstart teenager telling the entire high council of magic that they were a bunch of stuck up pieces of s-"
"OKAY WELL WE'D BEST BE GOING!" Your father quickly interrupts, hands slamming down firmly over your ears. You've never had the heart to tell him you already know all the swears because of the books in the library so you just let him usher you into the carriage, your Uncle Wirt waving at you and holding up a sign saying, simply, 'give 'em hell kiddo.'
You wave back with a grin, settling down in your seat and watch as the wasteland rolls by. You're so excited! You're so excited! YOU'RE GONNA GET TO SEE THE CAPITAL! IT'S GONNA BE GREAT!
NOTHING CAN BRING YOU DOWN RIGHT NOW!
==
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh." You lean back, groaning. It's been three whole hours you've been stuck in the cart. This is the longest you've been stuck in one place outside of classes and it's not helped by the absolute lack of anything interesting to see.
The problem with the wasteland is that while it is wide and beautiful in its own way is that that beauty is stretched out over a very, very large distance. Which means that once you've seen that beauty you've got to go a very long way to find a good spot to appreciate the beauty anew. It's been three hours and it's apparently going to be another three hours before you reach the border and can finally see what grass looks like outside of your Uncle Ichabod's small greenhouses.
The only comfort in this trying time is that your father is just as exasperated and bored as you are as he started groaning before you did. The two of you have been passing your time for the past five minutes seeing who can let out the most bored groan.
That he's got years of experience dealing with undead groaning at him just gives him an unfair advantage you have to overcome.
And so it goes for another three hours as father and daughter groan in boredom and exasperation across the seemingly endless wastes.
==
It seems like ages before the carriage finally grinds to a halt and it's only thanks to your dad's quick reflexes and long reach that you don't immediately vault out of the window. "Luna, no! We're not at the capital yet, we're just stopping at waypoint between there and home so the ho- spiders, the spiders can rest." He slips, almost forgetting that it's giant spiders pulling the carriage. You barely hear him mutter something about getting back at your uncle for that before he shakes his head. "Still, we are going to be here for a while and I do need to stretch my legs. Which means you definitely need to."
You beam at him and start to jump out the window again only to get dragged back to your seat. "Apapapapapapah! Hold on one moment there young lady." He says, finger held up to forestall any argument. "First of all I want you to promise me that you'll not wander off too far and just to keep you from loopholing your way out of it I want you to understand that 'too far' means 'Can't see the town from where you are on the ground' are we clear?"
You nod and sta-
"NO! Second, best behavior! I know I already made you promise me that before we left but I want you to promise me again you won't do anything to get yourself into trouble, are we clear Luna?" He wags a finger at you, worry in every feature on his face. You nod again, impatient to finally get out and see this place.
Finally your dad lets go and you vault out of the window and into the sun and the wide expanse of grass marred only by the buildings and trees around you. You take a deep breath and marvel at the fact that you're finally out of the keep truly and properly.
It's all you can do to not immediately jump for joy. After all, best to conserve your energy for exploring!
Speaking of, what are you exploring first?
[] You've heard of that most mythical of entities, the dog, and you wish to behold it. Find one.
[] There's another carriage here in a heraldry of wings and feathers with gold trim. There's a kid on top of the cart fanning her large mottled wings and staring angrily at a harp.
[] THEWOODSTHEWOODSTHEWOODSTHEWOODSTHEWOODS! You know you promised dad but you've literally never seen a full proper forest before and you REALLY WANT TO!
Sorry this took me a while! Kept meaning to write it and then I just kinda kept putting it off and procrastinating for no real reason.
It's out now though!
It's out now though!
