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Sir Arceon -> A Dracopyre's Lament (7/31/2012 12:46:34)
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(The story of how I became a Dracopyre. Discussion here.)
A Dracopyre's Lament
You know the story of the Dracopyres as well as I do. How Balius was given the power of a Werepyre by Wolfwing, but his lust for power drove him to drink the blood of a thousand dragons, thus becoming Nightbane, the first Dracopyre. How, during the coming of The'Galin The Devourer, he was killed, and Vampireslayer E was forsaken as the Avatar of Death, thus, his sister, Cenara, took his place. How her half-brother, Donovan, sought the power of the Dracopyres for himself, and, in a ghastly ritual, drank his stepfather's blood, becoming the accursed Nightreign. How Cenara accidentally injured herself, and how her father's blood was taken into her body. How the healing magic of Dewlok, the moglin defender of Granemor, kept her from losing her humanity, and how she became the mighty Gracefang.
That was a long time ago. Now, I fight by milady's side, against the creatures of Darkovia who would dare harm innocent beings, as a Shadowslayer. I remember well the day she gave me her blessing... and her curse.
Many moons ago(the fact that the moon constantly hangs over Darkovia notwithstanding), she called me to her side, while the rest of the Shadowslayers were off fighting a gang of rogue Werepyres.
"Drakonnax," she said, "you have done extremely well among the Shadowslayers. In fact, you are by far the most powerful among them."
"Why, thank you, milady," I responded sheepishly, "that's very kind of you to say."
"You have earned my respect and my trust," she told me. "And, as such, I believe you can be trusted with something very powerful."
She looked around, so as to be sure that nobody was watching or listening to us. Then she transformed.
Her skin became green and scaled. Her hands and feet became claws. Her hair became long and rough, and lengthened down her back, from which grew two batlike wings and a long tail like that of a lion. Horns grew from her forehead, which became plated with gold scales. Her ears became pointed, and I knew they would be able to hear the breath of a mouse a yard away. Her eyes turned from a midnight blue to a bright orange, and were filled with a dangerous look. Her transformation was complete. She was no longer the Shadowslayer Cenara, but the beautiful and deadly dracopyre Gracefang.
Strange as it may seem, I was not frightened by this. I had fought alongside Gracefang before, during the time when Nightreign tried to unify Darkovia under his rule, and, as such, I had witnessed her transformation many times.
"I am about to give you a powerful gift," she told me. "One that you can use to further protect those who cannot protect themselves. But I warn you, this could also become a curse, as you could become too powerful for your own good. Do you still wish to gain my power? To become a Dracopyre?"
I was surprised by her offer. She was willing to trust me with such a power? I thought about it for a few moments, debating the pros and cons of the situation.
-Pro: I would have the power of a Vampire, Werewolf, and a Dragon all at once.
-Con: I would be feared and most likely shunned by all who knew about it.
-Pro: I would be able to protect the innocent, as she had said.
-Con: I might not be able to control it.
-Pro: I wanted to?
I eventually decided that I would just have to roll with the punches, hoping that it would be more than worth it.
"I do, milady!" I told her with confidence.
"Very well," she said. "Now hold out your arm."
Oh boy, I thought. Here comes the bad part. But little did I know that there would be many more "bad parts" in the future.
I held out my arm and braced myself. The bite was exactly as painful as I expected it to be. But what was even worse was what came next.
The changes were almost immediate. I groaned with pain as the dracopyric blood flowed through my veins. I felt my skin cover with scales, and my muscles became filled with inhuman strength. My face lengthened into a muzzle as my teeth sharpened theselves to a point, and my canines lengthened into fangs. Horns grew from my forehead, which becae plated with golden scales as hard as stainless steel. My hair turned to fur and lengthened down my back. A tail grew long from the base of my pelvis. My hands became claws, with the grip of a Skull Ape. My ears became pointed and more sensitive. My eyes turned a deep orange, and I could see into the darkest crevice. My sense of smell was also encanced, but with the foul stench of Darkovian death and decay all around me, that didn't seem to help much.
When the pain of the change was over, I took a good, long look at myself. There was only one word to describe the powerful creature I observed: incredible! I had become a mighty Dracopyre!!
Suddenly, my mind filled with primal urges. I had the overpowering urge to destroy, to feed. I struggled to keep my newfound id at bay. (For those that don't know, an "id" is the most primitive and primal urge of a living thing.)
I didn't want to risk hurting milady, so I ran. I ran as fast as my powerful legs would take me. I ran and ran until I could run no more. When that point came, I fell to my knees, breathing heavily. What am I becoming? I thought to myself. Maybe this really is too much for me to handle...
Suddenly, I smelled something. I somehow knew that smell. That was the smell of blood! I sniffed the air. Yes, it was blood... human blood! But, there was another... I couldn't tell if it was vampire or werewolf. Suddenly, I heard the sound of fighting from nearby. I peered through the long-dead trees, and bore witness to the epic battle of my fellow Shadowslayers against the rogue Werepyres!
The humans, to my horror, were losing fast. Many were hurt badly. Some were even worse. I couldn't very well sit there and let them be slaughtered! In my rage, a mixture of a roar and a howl burst from my throat.
"LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!!!"
Suddenly, my battle instincts took over. I felt energy piling up in my throat, and instinctively released it in a concentrated beam in the Werepyres' direction. One of them was hit hard, and fell to the ground, the energy coursing through him. I then burst into the clearing, claws ready to strike and rage fueling my every move. I blacked out for a few moments, leaving my instincts to do the fighting for me. When I regained awareness of what was going on, I looked around. It wasn't a pretty sight. I then noticed the Shadowslayers, staring at me agape.
"Who are you?" the squad leader managed.
I thought. What would be a good dracopyre name for me?
Suddenly, it hit me like Xerxes in a bad mood.
"My name is Bloodmane," I said. "You may choose to fear me or respect me, but know this: I am on your side."
With that, I raised my Shadowslayer shield, still on my arm, and walked off without a word. A few minutes on my journey back to the camp, milady Gracefang found me, worried for my safety. I explained the situation, and she was amazed at my story. She told me that she and I would have to do much training in the future to get used to my new abilities. I agreed, and we returned to camp, back in our human forms. The Shadowslayers had quite the story to tell us when they got back.
That was weeks ago. My training as a Dracopyre is going very smoothly thus far, and my new abilities impress even me. I have told no-one, save my most trusted friends. My dracopyric abilities are growing with each passing day. But this, dear friends, is only the beginning...
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