FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Author's note: Okay it's finally here. It took way too long, and isn't as long as I would like, but hey chapter three is here! Well this series started off as just a side story to take a break from Bioshock (which has been cancelled due to horrible plot holes, flawed character/plot development etc.), but it's evolved so far that it may become quite a long tale.

As always comments, and criticism are welcome. I am an amateur so any ideas on how to improve are always appreciated.

Shadows... blood... death... screams... fire...

Valax stood in a wood watching as the buildings of a nearby city burned, and citizens fled for the keep. Soldiers were fighting a valiant but futile last stand near the gates, swords flashed as they were swung, arrows flew straight and true puncturing their targets and causing dark blood to fall in torrents until the ground was soaked, torrents of boiling oil were dumped over the ramparts, but there were too many monstrosities on the other side.

_ Valax opened her wings and flew over the walls into the city. The archers on the walls paid her no mind, which was strange: Valax was sure that they would signal her or at least try to shoot her down out of panic. As she landed inside the citadel the dragoness stopped in horror at what she saw._

_ Bodies were strewn across the ground. Young and old, man and woman, child and parent; none were spared. Groups of soldiers were being forced back down various streets and alleys by the horde of wraith-like monsters butchering anything that moved. A horn call sounded from the keep, signaling a desperate call for aid. The city was falling._

_ Blood-curdling screams sounded from the top of the city's wall. Several of the monstrous attackers had appeared on the wall behind the defenders and had begun to viciously slaughter the surprised soldiers. In seconds the screams had ended, and nothing was left of the defenders but a smear of blood, and scattered limbs. The shadowy beings then turned and jumped lithely to the ground below. The air distorted around the beings and they all had a black aura which masked many of their features. However one thing was always visible. Their eyes still gleamed through the haze. There were many - most were red, though some bore black, others gold - but all had a sinister quality to them which made the vibrant colors hollow and disheartening._

_ Valax saw a group of soldiers being forced down a street while citizens fled behind them. She drew her sword and rushed to their aid. The group was doing their best to form a shield wall, but the advancing horde was relentless. As she made it to them, a tendril of shadow reached out and smashed into the defenders' shields, knocking them off balance and sending many to the ground. Several more tendrils reached out from the black haze that obscured the attackers. These had spines all along them, but the worst was at the heads. The tendrils had mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth, and golden glowing eyes that bespoke hate and loathing for everything they saw. The tendrils lunged forward faster than anything Valax had ever seen, and when they receded they were swallowing bloody lumps of flesh, and the soldiers on the ground were no longer moving._

_ Valax took a quick glance at the downed soldiers and fought the urge to puke. There were holes torn through their armor, and into their chests. The chest cavity, however, was vacant. The tendrils had eaten the soldiers' hearts. Morale broke from the survivors and they desperately attempted to flee, but none escaped. The shadows lunged forward with the black tendrils at their head, and began mercilessly butchering anything that moved. Valax stood in paralyzed horror as soldiers were devoured by the tendrils, ripped in half, or decapitated._

A figure detached itself from the group of shadows and stared at Valax. The shadow's eyes spoke volumes. Especially when she saw the colors: Red, black, and white.

Valax woke up from the horrific dream, curled up in her sheets and began shuddering violently.

"These dreams have to mean something," she thought to herself. "I've had nightmares for years, but this is something different." Ever since Valax had escaped from the Arena in Balkath she had suffered frequent nightmares about her time in the ring of death. Allen and Darren were sympathetic and did all they could to help her deal with her troubled past, but there was little they could do as she refused to talk about her ordeals, and there was nothing they could do the help her recurring nightmares short of jumping into her mind as she slept. The twin wolves had suggested this numerous times, but Valax adamantly refused to even consider the idea. Her mind was her own, and the dragoness was revolted by the idea of having anyone or anything meddle with it; even if they were a friend.

Valax shuddered as wisps of memories passed through her already troubled mind. Images of death and blood from the arena along with recollections of her recent nightmare tortured her thoughts for several minutes. Valax shifted and allowed her wings to spread before closing them around herself in a small cocoon in an attempt to comfort herself. With some deep breathing she was able to slow her mind to the point where relaxation and calm slowly crept over her body. In a moment the sapphire colored dragon was unconscious in a dreamless sleep.

A few hours later the sun's first beams poked through the windows of The Four Horsemen, and its tenants began to stir from their sleep. Valax met Allen and Darren at a table in the common room where the two wolves were enjoying breakfast. She joined them and soon was munching quietly on a piece of turkey, while contemplating the bacon on the side.

"Hey Valax," inquired Allen, "are you alright? You haven't said a word to us. Not even an insult to me. That's not like you.

She looked up from her plate and made contact with the concerned eyes of the wolves.

"I've been better." She responded. "Just more nightmares."

"Shadows?" Darren asked with concern, "Or more of the arena?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" She snapped back with unusual venom in her voice. Allen and Darren looked even more concerned, but backed off. Valax was a sight to behold when she was angry, and the wolves both knew that if they didn't want their fur burned off then it was best not to push such sensitive subjects with the dragoness.

The two wolves returned to their food, but couldn't stop themselves from shooting a concerned look towards Valax every so often. They were very worried about her, especially Darren. He had accumulated much knowledge about how people's minds worked over the years with his mastery of mental communication, which was something, Allen, still struggled with. He knew, and had seen, what kind of damage a troubled past could inflict on those who refused to face and solve their problems.

Valax noticed their concerned looks, and suddenly felt suffocated. She needed to get out of there.

"I'll get an early start on today's trading." She suddenly snapped in an unnecessarily angry tone. "I'll meet you two in the market. Make sure you payDrammen." With that she picked up her bag, stormed out of the inn, and made her way towards the marketplace, unsure of why she was so angry.

"They're just concerned," she told herself, "no reason to be mad." Yet she was angry. Valax felt weak deep down. The fact she had nightmares about the arena made her feel weak. That she still had trouble finishing off bandits who wanted her blood made her feel weak. That she had to worry her friends with her troubles made her feel weak. That she relied on them to deal with her past made her feel weak. She was a fearsome warrior, who had left countless enemies dead at her feet with wounds from her blade or burns from her breath. Yet Valax still felt weak.

Eventually she found herself at the entrance to the market square and saw Maxwell sitting in a rocking chair outside of his small office enjoying the nice morning. He gave the dragoness a friendly wave as she walked past the bear into the market. She sat down behind the stall and opened her bag. Reaching in she pulled out a few goods to put on display for potential customers. The small amount of items that she had on display reminded her of something and made her feel rather stupid, adding to the mountain of negative feelings she already had today.

"Most of our goods are still at the inn. I can't believe I forgot." Allen and Darren had taken the horses' saddlebags, which contained most of their goods, back to the Four Horsemen the previous night, and Valax had forgotten to grab them as she stormed out of the inn. Her clawed paw hit her snout in frustration.

She was in the middle of cursing her forgetfulness and frustration when she felt a paw on her shoulder. Valax recoiled in pure reflex and had a grip on her sword before she saw that it was Darren's paw and the grip was light. Allen was beside him with the saddlebags. Both wolves gave her a comforting look, and Valax felt herself calm down and much of the tension leave her limbs. Her paw dropped from her sword she stood up and helped Allen and Darren unpack and display some of their goods on the stall.

"We're here if you ever need us Valax." Allen told her in a caring tone. Valax whispered a thank you to the wolves, but her frustration and anger remained. The sun continued its course through the sky as customers came and went, buying and selling, with Valax hardly noticing. Her mind had been dwelling on her feelings of weakness for the better part of the day, and she would have continued her dark thoughts until Darren spoke.

"You're not." Valax gave him a venomous look, instantly knowing what he had done.

"Stay out of my head," She replied with acid in her voice.

"Normally I would, but not when you're this angry," the black wolf replied, "but you are not weak. Anyone that could go through what you have and not lose themselves completely is a very strong person." Darren gave her a knowing look, but he had stepped too far with this comment and Valax gave him a glare that could shatter glass.

"I told you... to stay out of my memories!" she rasped out; her anger forcing the words into a draconic rasp of pure rage. "My mind is my own, and you have no right to go through it like some book for you own pleasure! No one has that right but me!" She moved to push past him and head back to the inn, but Darren put both of his paws on her shoulders to stop her, but they both knew the enraged dragoness could easily overpower him if she wanted.

"Let go!"

"No!" Darren spoke both with words and in her mind, "You are not weak, and I have spent too long watching you dwell on your past that you still refuse to talk about! I was there the day you escaped that arena, Allen and I both helped you! I've seen snaps of it in your mind, and it's horrible... that anyone can go through what you have and stay sane is a miracle. And I have only seen bits and pieces of what happened." The tone in his voice was pure concern for a friend, and his mental words were coated in that same tone and laced with emotion.

Valax suddenly felt her anger dissipate, leaving shame in its place.

"You're right. You two deserve to know... about that." She had to force these words out, but Valax felt better once she did. "Not today though. When we leave Granis, I'll tell you." Darren started to protest, but Valax held up a claw to stop him, "Please, just wait. It's painful, but promise me you will stay out of my mind."

Darren gave her a nod, and they both returned to the stall. Allen looked confused, and Darren explained what happened.

"Why are you explaining?" queried a suddenly confused dragoness, "He was like two feet away, he heard everything."

"Well, I kind of put up a veil around us," Darren explained, "made us silent to everyone else."

"Oh, thanks." Allen gave Valax a concerned look, but didn't say anything.

The day progressed, and the three traders bought, sold, and bartered their way to a profit with the townsfolk. Hours passed without incident until sunset when a raccoon in ragged and smelly clothes approached their stand carrying a small wooden chest.

"How can we help you?" asked Allen in a friendly tone, while his muzzle wrinkled at the raccoon's smell.

"I think you three might be interested in these!" The raccoon replied as he opened the chest and showered them with the gleam of gemstones hidden within.

Valax reached out to examine the gems but paused and asked "May I?"

"Go ahead."

The blue dragoness eagerly grabbed the chest and began examining the gems stored within, her eyes filled with delight as she examined the valuable shiny objects. She picked up a sapphire and gave it a sniff, and a small nibble, before picking up another gem and repeating the process.

"What are you doing?" the raccoon asked in an angry tone, as he moved to swipe the chest back with a horrified expression at the treatment of his gems.

Allen grabbed his wrist and explained, "She's making sure that the gems are real. You do know that dragons love gems right?"

"Yes, but why is she nibbling on them?"

"Okay, so you don't know. Care to explain then Valax?"

"Of course," She replied between nibbles. "You see, my kind find gemstones to be a lovely, and rare snack. Pure gemstones are incredibly nutritious for us, and are very good for our scales, and these gems here would be perfect in giving my hide a nice gleam for months, if not years." She explained to the now dumbstruck raccoon. "Seriously, I thought that was common knowledge."

The eager dragoness continued her examination for several minutes, much to the frustration of the raccoon. However, as she progressed, her enthusiastic expression began to darken." So, how much do you want for these?"

"Two thousand Linds!"

Valax gave an angry snarl and asked "No seriously, how much?" The gems didn't smell right to her, and didn't feel right against her fangs.

"Two thousand Linds!" The raccoon repeated.

"Darren get the guards" Valax whispered quietly to the black wolf, before returning her attention to the raccoon, who hadn't heard. "Two thousand would be a good price for this small hoard here. IF IT WAS REAL!" Valax threw the chest at the raccoon, while Allen immobilized him with a spell while the he was recovering from the flying chest.

"I've seen these before," Valax snarled as she looked at the raccoon, whose expression was one of shock and pure terror. "Rocks transmuted by an amateur mage to look like real gems, in order to make some quick money. These would easily pass a quick glance as real, but not an experienced jeweler's glass, and especially not a dragon's tooth." As she explained this, Darren returned with three guards, and Valax explained to them the situation, and crushed a gem with her clawed foot as proof of their artificiality. The guards gave a look of distaste at the frozen raccoon, and asked Allen to unfreeze him with a wary look at the grey wolf. Mages were not always trusted in many parts of the kingdom. Allen complied and the raccoon was in chains before he even registered that he could move again.

The guards dragged the now babbling creature out of the marketplace, and were followed by the disgusted and outraged gazes of onlookers. Swindlers and counterfeits were not treated particularly well when they were caught.

"Well that was fun," stated Allen with a lupine smile.

"That it was," agreed Valax, while Darren smiled silently behind them as he began to store their goods back into the saddlebags. The three then made their way back to the inn. On the way back, they saw the town jail off to the side where a rare, but expected, event was taking place. The counterfeiting raccoon was locked in the stocks outside the jail and was being pelted with rotten vegetables, squirming the whole time in a futile effort of escape. Valax and the wolf twins enjoyed a laugh at his torment before resuming their trek back to theInnfor the night.

As the sun rose the next morning, so did the three companions. Valax took the horses to Granis's north gate, and waited for the wolves to appear as they had gone to pay Maxwell the money the three owed for using the market stall. As she stood by the gate, strong emotions swirled through her mind, and the dragoness felt suddenly sick to her stomach. She had promised Darren that she would tell the story of her past and, while she intended to keep that promise, it would be difficult and painful to talk about.

Memories began to pop into her mind, and she had to make a conscious effort not to puke as the disgruntled dragoness was hit with a sudden feeling of nausea. Images, of her past forced their way to the forefront of her mind. All filled with pain, blood, and fear.

Eventually she calmed herself down, just in time for Allen and Darren to appear. The three mounted their horses and rode out of the northern part of the town, onward to their next destination.

As they day wore on Valax expected questions to begin pouring out of her companions' muzzles, and her expectations were rewarded at mid-day when they stopped for lunch.

"So Valax..." queried Allen nervously, "What exactly happened?"

Darren looked over expectantly at the dragoness, with a gleam of curiosity in his eyes.

"Well," Valax began with a feeling of nervousness and a stammer in her usually strong voice, "It... started a long time ago... umm. I was twelve... and I... well..." she stammered in this manner for several minutes, with her voice becoming ever quieter and increasingly nervous, before she finally lost her nerve and fell silent.

"Well? What happened?" Asked Allen in a gentle tone.

Valax cringed, and made an effort to continue, but Darren stopped her.

"You don't have to explain now; maybe tonight or tomorrow night around a fire?" Valax nodded in relieved agreement of postponing her story. It amazed her how hard it was to begin her tale. Silently she returned to her meal and did her best to swallow the now unappetizing food.

The companions returned to their mounts, and began their traveling once more. The region they traveled in was heavily forested, and became more so as they neared the foothills of the northern mountains. It would take them several days to reach their destination. Zoak was inexplicably large for being so close the mountains and its many dangers. It was one of the largest cities in the kingdom, only the sprawling mess of Balkath and the capital city ofLidnonwere larger.

The sun began to set as the day drew on, and Valax felt ever more nervous. Not just because the moment of her tale was drawing near, but something didn't feel right. She had no idea what it was, but as the shadows lengthened and the stars began to appear, she became unreasonably tense.

"Stop," Growled Darren suddenly. "Bandits are waiting up ahead. Twelve of them, hiding on the sides of the road. They know we're coming."

Valax suddenly felt sick, and Allen gave a curse under his breath. She loosened her sword in its scabbard, and Darren made sure that his crossbow was loaded, while Allen did the same.

"The usual plan then?" queried Darren, and he received two nods in return.

The companions continued their trek down the path. With every clop of the horses' hooves, they became tenser. Valax held her sword tight in her claws, Darren continually checked his crossbow, and Allen's muzzle was forming silent words. All the while, Valax and Darren had their eyes clamped shut.

With a loud chorus of shouts, hollers, and growls, twelve figures burst from the side of the road holding weapons and torches and surrounded the dragoness and two canines. The bandits' eyes shined with bloodlust and greed, and showed no intent to let the travelers live.

Valax and Darren forced their eyes shut as Allen shouted an incomprehensible word, and the path suddenly filled with a searing white light. The light went out just as quickly as it had appeared, but the damage was done and the brigands were stunned and temporarily blinded as they fell to the ground or stumbled around in pain.

With a THWAK Darren's crossbow fired a bolt into a cheetah's chest, and he fell silently to the ground while the black wolf's other paw suddenly burst into flames. The wolf made a motion with his arm as if to throw something, and a ball of fire flew from his paw incinerating another thief. While he screamed, Valax leaped off of her horse with a flare of her wings, and sent short burst of flames out of her maw, engulfing two others as they tried to stand, and stabbed another threw the chest as she landed. Allen fired his bolt at a bull that had regained his sight and was fumbling with his weapon. With a THUD he hit the ground, with a bolt lodged in his forehead.

The bandits regained their sight and began a savage counter-attack, not caring that half of them being dead. Two advanced upon Valax, and the rest upon the wolves.

The two advancing upon Valax, were a very large bull armed with a sword, and an equally large lion with a halberd. She kept her distance, hissing the whole while as they waited for someone to make the first move. Predictably the bull charged intent on running the dragoness through with either his sword or his horns, while the lion moved to the side to hem her in. Valax leaped upwards at the last moment, and kicked off the bulls head and used her momentum to land behind the bovine as he charged headfirst into a tree, knocking him to the ground in pain.

The lion however, was smarter and took a stab at her with his halberd, using its length to keep her at a distance. Valax sent a wave of flames in his direction, but he nimbly side stepped, and countered with a quick slash towards her head. She ducked, and sent another burst of fire at him, extinguishing the supply she had for the moment. Dragon-fire takes time to build up, and dragons can run out if they use it too quickly. This was apparent to Valax, as the wall of flames ended with a violent cough, allowing the lion go dodge the fire easily.

Another wild slash directed at her forced Valax to step backwards. If there was one thing that she was grateful for from the arena, it was fighting experience. To counter a longer blade, she had to get in close and use her opponents reach against them. The lion attempted another stab, but was met with a forceful parry that knocked his blade aside. Using the opening Valax stepped forward, deflected another slash, and stepped within stabbing distance. The halberd was too long to be effective at this short range, and the lion knew it as he tried to back step. The dragoness never gave him a chance as she leaped forward with a thrust of her sword and caught the lion in the chest, killing him instantly.

Valax took a look around as the sounds of combat had gone silent. Looking over at the wolves, she saw that Darren had a black-eye and Allen's left arm had a gash. Compared to their opponents however, they were perfectly fine, as all that was left of them was ash. Surveying the carnage, Valax felt suddenly sick. With a heave, her stomach disgorged her lunch, into a ditch by the road, and she began to shake.

There was a groan behind them, causing Valax to force herself up and turn around. The bull that had charged into the tree was trying to stand up. He raised his head and found himself staring at Valax's sword. She gave a hiss of distaste at the thieving murderous creature on his knees before her.

"Run." Growled Allen as his paw burst into flames again. That was all the encouragement the bull needed, as he rapidly turned and sprinted away as fast as his hooves would carry him. The wolves turned back to the battlefield and recovered their bolts, while Valax cleaned the blood off of her sword.

An hour later the three companions had put a few miles between them and the site of the battle, and had set up a campfire. Valax stared into the flames, and allowed her mind to go blank for a moment. She felt herself being lost in the swirling fire, as she tried to trace a pattern in the flames flickering movement.

"Such a simple thing, fire." Valax thought to herself. "It gives heat, comfort and life, but uncontrolled it can destroy everything in its path." Eventually she looked up and saw expectant, looks on the muzzles of her companions.

"If you don't want to talk about it tonight-" Valax silenced Allen with a look as he tried to speak.

"No I do." She quietly replied.

"Are you sure?" inquired the grey wolf. "We were just attacked."

Valax just nodded and took a breath, steeling herself for the upcoming ordeal.

"It all started when I was twelve...

To be continued...