{"sf1_id":1752956,"sf2_id":"3egQV5Ln","title":"Dragonpet-Dragonriders: 6-1 Beroan's Confession","author":"akeroh","words":9227,"posted_at":"2021-08-16T04:17:56.000Z","tags":["Collar","Dragon","Dragon Riders","Dragonpet","Fantasy","Flying","Human","Love","Male","No-Yiff","Non-Anthro","Novel","Plot Development","Relationships","Riding","Romance","SFW","Story","Story Progression","Story Series"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1752956-dragonpet-dragonriders-6-1-beroan-s-confession","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/3egQV5Ln","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/96/09/96097004-4eca-4dd6-ae22-973ba8f59470","description":"A day-long flight allows for Ailmer to do some scouting, but ends up trapping him with his thoughts for an extended period. There's plenty to look at as the pair of dragonriders journey into Astal and many moments for the mage to ruminate on. However, it seems that Beroan has been trapped in his own thoughts, and after they settle into camp for the night, he decides to share his history, and one of his deepest feelings, with Ailmer.\n\n  \n\nI'll be at Denfur 2021, and the next chapter, a very long nsfw one inspired by the emotions in this chapter, will drop either on that thursday or friday before or during the convention. Feel free to say hi if you're there, and I've got a silly idea to sign business cards with links to dragonpet's first chapter when I hand them out there, so if that seems neat, make sure to find me and nab one!","content":"They took wing in the cold, familiar air above Mossly. The soldiers quickly shrank below them into small black dots scurrying over the almost alien city below them. The military men had barely given them any notice as they left. They were dragonriders and the soldiers were used to groups heading off on their own missions. Ailmer supposed that they hadn't gone out of their way to announce their departure, either. Even Sebastian had been caught up inside of Ailmer's mill, stuck planning with the other captains and lieutenants. Ailmer had been surprised how quickly he had fallen back into the role that he so obstinately hated. Ailmer sighed, supposing that they had both gotten it into their heads that they could save Mossly and it might, eventually, return the town and their lives to normal.  \n  \n The pair of riders flew a few slow circles above the town to warm up their dragons. Ailmer could tell that the deforestation they'd caused had already expanded the town and completely changed its look, even though he'd never quite seen it from this angle before. Every tree had been cut down for a few hundred yards around the inside of the town, and small structures and shields were being constructed with an efficiency that only the nervousness of impending attack could provide.  \n  \n Mossly would never be the same. Ailmer sighed, looking down at Beroan. The dragon's neck flexed underneath him with each beat of his powerful wings. Though the brushing of thick muscle under his saddle was familiar, it was not like it had been before. Ailmer, too, would never be the same. But, Ailmer thought, perhaps it would simply be different, not worse.  \n  \n He tightened his thighs against the saddles and straps, settling into his thoughts. The chill air and the constant whoosh of wind drove away any thoughts of a long, private conversation with Beroan.  \n  \n Ailmer sighed again, though the noise was stolen by the wind. He tugged lightly on the reins attached to the Beroan's collar, and directed him to start their journey. Turning on a wing, he led the other rider towards Halix. They centered themselves to the big gash between the two peaks that would let them pass into Astal. As Beroan's wings flattened parallel to the craggly horizon, Ailmer watched the forest. The tress were now mostly bare of leaves, leaving branches of evergreens as splotches of green between the naked boughs of deciduous trees.  \n  \n Ailmer had spent so much time thinking about the past. He'd regretted not making impossible decisions and not stepping up to do more than he physically could. His portrait of himself was framed with his thoughts, his regrets, and he had told himself that the best times in his life and his entire identity, had existed with and died alongside Marlin. He had been so blinded by a past that was fading into feeling, rather than distinct memories, and had failed to even consider the thought that life might eventually improve.  \n  \n Of course, it wasn't perfect yet. Beroan, standing by his side, had certainly changed him, hopefully for the better. He was an anchor, someone to be responsible for other than himself, and someone who showed him that not all good things had died with Marlin.  \n  \n Making very good time, the riders passed over the roofs of the still town of Halix by the time that Ailmer blinked himself out of his thoughts. Where Mossly had been bustling with activity, the homes and structures that still stood were eerily quiet. Nothing moved except for a scattering of wildlife creatures and the swaying trees. Structures stood shoulder to shoulder with the blackened bones of their razed neighbors.  \n  \n As high in the air as they were, the effect of the dead town was was somewhat muted. They saw structures, but not people, and it would be somewhat easy to imagine that all the residents of the sleepy town where indoors and hidden. However, Halix was a stark reminder of what could have been Mossly's fate. As they passed the town, Ailmer noticed a few bright glints through the trees. There were still Ikthil in the area, but they seemed to be focused more towards the north and east of the town, and had not yet passed Halix towards Mossly.  \n  \n It was curious. The more that Ailmer stared the more of them he noticed. It was no army, but small groups seemed to be working their way up the mountains. He realized that he had been staring down at the forest at the lower altitudes, expecting the Ikthil to be marching west, in order to invade Galast. However, many of the groups seemed to be working their way towards the peaks. Ailmer even noticed some past the treeline on the tallest peaks. He had to strain and he only noticed them when the sun reflected in the right way off their carapaces.  \n  \n Ailmer filed this bit of information away. He certainly couldn't act on it now and they didn't have time to investigate. It seemed to be, tentatively, good news. If they weren't assembling or charging towards Mossly, it would give the army enough time to fortify and reinforce the town for their assault.  \n  \n The image of the archer's copper-laced arrow flashed through Ailmer's head again. They were infinitely better equipped to fight this war than the previous one. Perhaps, there would even be a dragonrider, or even a few of them, that could rival the pair that Ailmer and Marlin had made.  \n  \n Ailmer sighed. Whether it was arrogance or truth, he didn't think that was likely. However, he was still capable, even if he wasn't the force that he had been in the previous war. Perhaps, if the Ikthil weren't assembling, he would be able to get back from his mission in time to assist the defense of Mossly.  \n  \n Ailmer glanced down at Beroan again, turning his thoughts to things closer. There was so much that he didn't know about this dragon. His automatic assumption had been that Beroan would follow him and help Ailmer go back to war. Ailmer wasn't sure why he'd assumed that Beroan would stick around after he'd healed. The thought that the dragon would simply agree with him could have been a remnant of his previous relationship's instinctual, automatic collaboration on their decisions through their magical link.   \n  \n It also could have been that their relationship had developed so quickly in those first few weeks when Beroan was stuck in his care. It was somewhat strange to Ailmer to have to learn about this drake the same way he would another person. Swapping stories, outside of social relaxation, had been unnecessary as both Ailmer and Marlin's emotions would have been indelibly affected by each other's past. They could think back and remember each other's lives just as well as the one who had lived it, so they'd always focused on making new, shared memories than thinking back on their lives.  \n  \n Ailmer physically winced with that thought. It touched on the gaping hole he still felt inside of his mind. So much of his identity, his strength, and his resilience had been ripped away from him. Trying to spot it was like trying to prove a negative. It was difficult to see unless something lined up behind it and backlit the deep gulf of nothingness that used to be occupied. He still made decisions based on memories that he no longer had access to. He still felt alien emotions, now even more alien due to his inability to see or understand where they welled up from. His previous experiences still affected his body and mind, but their source was disappeared. He was like an amnesiac with one arm that had forgotten so much he hardly remembered that he was supposed to have two.  \n  \n Ailmer crouched closer to Beroan's neck, tightening his grip on the saddle and reins. He took deep breaths, trying to center himself, coming back from his introspective blindness to the world around them. The world faded back into his awareness, and he continued dedicating his attention to the scouting job at hand and the dragon below him. They had entered the mountain pass now, and the mighty walls of the peaks on either side of them raised high above their heads. The path below, a wide swatch of hard-packed gravel and dirt, slowly rose up to meet them as they kept their altitude steady. Red and gray stone walls raised high on either side of them, the rock speckled with courageous trees taking root in the gaps between tremendous stone blocks.   \n  \n The path wound below them, forcing the fliers to bank and turn as they worked their way through the gap between mountains. The roadway bucked below them, the earth below it pitching up until they were hardly a few hundred feet from the pathway below. At some point, Ailmer realized, they passed from Galast into Astal. He spotted a few creatures in the pass, but many of them were just the goats and small predators that lived this high in the mountains. A few small flocks of birds scattered as the dragons sailed above them and Ailmer sighed with relief.  \n  \n Any huge group of Ikthil would have to move through the pass or spend a tremendous amount of time scaling the mountains and wandering back down to give scouts ample opportunity to spot the waves of glittering biomass. Given their voracious proclivities, there would be little wildlife left inside of the sheer walls of the pass. The fact that there was still unslaughtered wildlife along the walls of the pass was a great relief. Perhaps they did still have some time left. Eventually, the path began to drop back down below them. More twists and turns accompanied their flight through the canyon walls, following the flowing river downward. It was flowing to the east now, in a slightly weaker river than the one that passed back to the west.  \n  \n It wasn't too much longer before the mountains pulled away from them on either side. They began to drift over the ridges and foothills that stretched out below as the mountain pass slowly opened into a trail. They could see all the way to the last line of foothills. A deep, rocky blue formed a faux horizon before it spilled out onto the plains below. Ailmer looked around as they passed a smaller peak that butted up against the feet of the largest mountain range. It was adorned with an obvious wooden watchtower on the peak.  \n  \n Ailmer frowned slightly. The Astalian standard whipped in the wind above the tower. Its swallowtail shape was distinctive and as they got closer, Ailmer could make out a red stripe. From their angle, the pine-green fesses that sandwiched the red were difficult to make out against the forest behind the tower. He supposed that it wasn't a flag for looking down at, since it was designed to contrast against the sky.  \n  \n The flag solidified into sharper relief as they approached, but Ailmer frowned as a brighter, larger splotch of red developed in his eyes. The simpler flag flapped in the wind off a short flagpole, jutting back towards the town. A square of red fabric hung from it, large enough to be visible from the town below. As the riders began to turn and wing around the tower, the point of the warning was clear.  \n  \n The riders weaved around to the other side as the border town came into view. It would be the first stop for someone traveling from Halix into Astal, besides a few waystations in the foothills. As they came around to the east side of the pygmy peak, it was obvious that this town had suffered a similar fate to Halix. Many of the buildings had been broken and razed, though it looked like few fires had broken out in the town, unlike those that had consumed Halix. The larger structures lining the central road were simply crushed into slant-top hovels, with structural walls laid out as rubble around collapsed rooms. Ailmer guided Beroan with his reins and they dipped down to take a closer look.  \n  \n No one had been by to clean up any of the damage. Ailmer spotted several bodies laying in the street, and his stomach turned as he saw that many had been mutilated or partially consumed. None of them were fresh, and Ailmer was very thankful for the fresh wind blowing across his face and their height above the town.  \n  \n Ailmer spotted some wildlife picking their way through the ruined buildings or along the town, using the abandoned cobblestone to cut from one side of the forest clearing to the other. Horses and cattle lay dead near the south side of the town. They were scattered like pebbles across the relatively flat grazing fields where the forest gave way to grass. Like the other corpses, these were scattered and left where they had been cut down as they ran. Most had been partially consumed or visibly damaged, even from their eagle-eye view.  \n  \n Ailmer's fingers tightened on the saddle. He had faced crimson Ikthil before. Those screeching, unhinged creatures, grown strong and insane off a diet of meat and blood, still invaded his dreams.  \n  \n He had no idea how otherwise unexposed Ikthil could be so quickly affected by their diet. Like many others, he had seen mineral crystals before and to describe it as growing, the same one would consider grass or trees, was not a descriptor that he would leap to use. However, he had seen Ikthil turned red and their crystals laced with crimson veins a few short months after their emergence.  \n  \n The mage's fingers tightened further as he recalled a particular creature he'd fought. The thing had been a blue one when he'd first encountered it near the start of the gem wars before he'd acquired Mizkithar. When he'd shoved his sword into its shoulder, the hulking brute had been a deep ocean blue. He'd lost his blade that day as the beast had ripped it from his hand as it had roared back in pain, the thing down to the hilt in a gap in the crystals. It had given them enough time to escape, and Ailmer assumed that the wound and the blade inside would eventually kill the creature.  \n  \n A year or so later, he'd been skirmishing with a force of Ikthil attacking a town. It had seemingly been led, as much as the creatures could be said to be led, by a brute with a black crystal carapace with thumb-sized veins of red crisscrossing the minerals. He had to seek it out after it had torn through one of the defensive positions alone. When he faced it, it had been dripping ichor out of dozens of wounds with a field of bodies behind it.  \n  \n The thing had attacked like a storm. The way it had charged headlong into them, completely uncaring of the damage it would take, was like nothing he had seen before, at least at the time. He ended up hacking at one of the creature's arms enough that it had gone limp, but he'd nearly been killed when it swung the damaged limb at him hard enough to tear it off. Ailmer felt his stomach turn and the back of his mouth burn with bile as he could still very clearly remember the noise, somewhere between the crunch of a tree falling and the noise of a wet steak getting hurled against a cobblestone.  \n  \n The blood-shell hadn't even seemed to care about the wound. It had kept charging, and Ailmer had nearly died again when he went in for a cut on the shoulder and Mizkithar had stopped against an old sword embedded in the creature's side.  \n  \n Marlin had been the only thing that had saved him. He'd nearly been trampled by the thing, but his drake had managed to cast a bolt of lightning into the thing, close enough that Ailmer's arm had been blistered from the heat and his ears had rung for weeks. Maybe the sword inside of it had helped the electricity do more damage, but they'd finally ended the monster. By his count, that thing had killed dozens of humans, a dragon, and more than a few Ikthil by itself in that fight and he'd caught rumors that described a blue and red Ikthil that had killed a great many more.  \n  \n Judging by that, Ailmer assumed it took a long time, on the scale of seasons or years, and a steady diet of blood and bone to cause that particular coloration change. He had assumed, as well, that those Ikthil would not have had the opportunity to slaughter and eat so many living creatures before they began to invade from the dead lands. He wasn't sure it was much of a grace--He wouldn't expect many armies to be able to hold against a significant number of crimson-shelled Ikthil, though if they killed each other in their berserker rage, perhaps they would slaughter themselves to extinction in the deadlands.  \n  \n Ailmer also supposed that he didn't know exactly why copper was so effective against them. Perhaps, it reacted with the strange makeup of the crystals, but Ailmer had plenty of practical experience striking the crystals with all manner of tools and energies. He'd held the crystals. They were certainly mineral and completely unlike an insect's brittle chitin exoskeleton. Perhaps Hal knew more. He had much more patience for chemistry than Ailmer ever had; as long as copper turned their armor brittle, that was enough for the scout-soldier.  \n  \n Ailmer sighed. If only iron or steel could be as effective against them. Soft copper made fragile weapons and the lack of practical effectiveness of alloy meant that they would have to deal with copper's impracticality. There were ways to make it effective; copper welded to mace heads and hammers were repairable and effective, and he assumed that the copper-wired arrows would have enough of an effect that archers might be viable in this new war. Anything to keep them out of claw-reach was welcome.  \n  \n Mizkithar was another wonder, but he had doubts that any human would be able to replicate it. The blade was some silvery metal, like steel, but lighter, harder, and stronger. The copper inlays had never tarnished in their intricate pattern, and the color of the inlays was more golden than any copper he had ever seen. Makith's forge, neither he nor Hal had ever been able to place the type of hardwood that made up the shaft--never chipped, even after years of battle.  \n  \n Part of him wished that he had listened to Hal and left it at the college for him to study when he'd left his title and life behind in the funeral. Something had stopped him, however--perhaps it had been the knowledge that the weapon was so advanced, so alien, that they would not have been able to learn anything about it. Ailmer had made that excuse, and however much he wanted to believe that was the case, he had known, deep inside, that Mizkithar was not done with him.  \n  \n Ailmer led the other dragon and rider on another loop of the town, searching for any hints of survivors scavenging through the ruins, or anyone that might be able to provide them with more intelligence on what had happened. However, there were no obvious domesticated animals, active smokestacks, or humans walking around.  \n  \n He supposed that he had seen all he needed of the town and its butchered inhabitants. After another lazy circle around the town, he took the reins, winging Beroan off to the northeast. Kerian followed, and the scenery transformed back into rolling hills, rocky outcroppings, and groves of trees. Ailmer's stomach started to knot with anxiety. The town had been wrecked, and Ailmer doubted that it was the same group that had pushed through Halix. Mossly and Halix had proved that it didn't take a large group to destroy an unprepared town, but this border town was larger than either of the mountain ones. So, where was the Ikthil force?  \n  \n The sun was lowering in the sky, and by Ailmer's estimation, they had already made more progress than he had expected. However, he knew not to push them too hard. Staying well-rested would move them faster over the coming days of travel than pushing hard and exhausting themselves. So, he worked his way over the ridges and the smaller hills, following some of the rusty red veins that marked roads below. He spotted several wrecks, overturned carts, dead horses, and equipment scattered over them. Discarded clothing caught in the boughs of trees near the roads, distinguished by their colors flapping in the wind. He tried to keep the image of the map of his head, picking up one of the larger roads to follow. He eventually spotted a place where it cut between a small hill and a cliffside.  \n  \n The cliff faced east and had a view from the top all the way to the furthest line of foothills on the horizon ahead of them. They'd be able to watch most of the road, and the pine trees crusting the top of the plateau would give them plenty of cover. He did a few more circles around the top of the cliff, carefully examining the western side where the hills flattened and expanded out, back to the level of the valleys in the foothills. It was the only way up to the top of the three-walled plateau, barring dedicated climbing up the sheer rock faces. Satisfied that there were no threats already inhabiting the top of the lookout, he gestured to Beroan and the dragonriders slipped down, towards the place where they would camp for the night.   \n  \n \\*\\*\\*  \n  \n By the time that all four of them were settled around the dug-in fire, sipping stew crafted from foraged plants and well-boiled salt pork, the sun was brushing the top of the horizon. Ailmer groaned, stretching out against Beroan's side. He crossed one arm across his chest, his spoon dangling from his fingers as he lifted his other arm to stretch his shoulder. \"I'm going to end up quite stiff in the morning. It's been a long time since I've ridden that far.\" Ailmer groaned.  \n  \n \"Oh, good. I thought it was just me. I've ridden horses before, but it seems like it takes whole different set of muscles to hang onto a dragon. I was worried that I'd be the only one complaining.\" Kerian said.  \n  \n Cymris eyed Kerian, raising an eyeridge. Beroan rumbled, swallowing a mouthful of the dried meat he had been chewing. \"Don't see why you should complain. We were the ones doing all the work.\" Beroan stated.  \n  \n \"And good work it was! Just because your lazy riders are sore and bellyaching doesn't mean that you aren't exhausted. We flew for quite a long time today.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n \"I'm not tired. I'm just saying.\" Beroan protested, \"All you guys had to do was sit.\"  \n  \n Ailmer laughed and nodded. He settled back against Beroan's side. The warmth of the dragon's flank was a comforting contrast to the chill breeze that ran across the top of the plateau. Kerian set his bowl down on the stone, mirroring the motion. Cymris adjusted, gently curving herself tighter around her younger rider.  \n  \n Kerian glanced around the camp with excited eyes. The novelty of their particular clandestine camp was a much different experience to the canvas tents and tromping marches of his army experiences. \"This is kind of crazy.\" Kerian said slowly, searching for words. \"We've traveled days worth of a horse's journey and a week or two, at least, at walking speed.\"  \n  \n \"Not nearly a week on foot. We've probably only gone sixty or so miles.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n \"Kerian is correct, though. Dragons truly are amazing.\" Cymris stated, smirking.  \n  \n Beroan chuckled in reply as he stretched. His form shifted against Ailmer's back as he let his legs spread momentarily before lazily draping them along his side. Ailmer was forced to reach up and adjust the final rib of the dragon's wing, gently pushing it back so that the splayed folds of the dragon's wing membrane wouldn't blind him. He pushed the wingfinger back behind his head, but Beroan kept slipping it forward. Finally, Ailmer managed to balance it on the crown of his head, rolling his eyes. A slight smile tipped up the corners of Beroan's mouth.  \n  \n \"Yes. Altogether, the flight went very well. I didn't notice any large concentrations of Ikthil. It seemed like the ones I was able to catch were headed up towards the peaks of the mountains or near the tree lines.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n Kerian nodded. Perhaps, Ailmer thought, that was why he wasn't in such a good mood. He had been worried about impending doom resting just over the pass; something that would raze the rest of Galast. Without finding an army, they still had time to prepare for the war that Ailmer felt was inevitable. That thought assuaged his worry slightly but he still found himself glancing across the edge of the plateau for moonlight reflecting off a rolling ocean of carapace. He saw nothing but the static forests of trees across the foothills.  \n  \n He turned his thoughts back to things closer to him. The flight had gone excellently. Both dragons had no trouble with their gear or with their extensive loads. Cymris and Kerian were picking up some of the finer points of scouting and navigation already. \"Yeah, I saw the Ikthil. There were some scattered groups in the forest that I could pick out, but they don't seem organized.\" Kerian said, hesitating before he continued, \"I've only heard stories of the gem wars. Sergeant Pawlin was fond of telling them, and it sounded like there was some sort of organization to them. He talked about tremendous groups of Ikthil that moved like an army, rather than a horde of wild animals. Do you think they might be scouting?\" Kerian said.  \n  \n Ailmer paused for a moment. It was something he hadn't considered, but it seemed obvious the moment the Kerian said it. \"What would they be scouting? They seem to be wandering through the hills and peaks. I can't imagine that there's anything of tactical value on those peaks.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n Kerian nodded, shrugging. \"Unless they're just wandering blindly, I don't see what else they could be doing. I mean if I were looking for something in the mountains, it seems like you'd send up a bunch of small teams. You could communicate pretty far with visual signals, depending on where you were at, and it would be difficult to find anything without a bunch of people looking.\" Kerian said.  \n  \n Ailmer nodded, though his brow furrowed as he looked at Kerian. Had he talked about tactics or taught him that, or was Kerian more experienced with tactics than he's assumed? However, he'd had to teach Kerian how to read a map. With a start, Ailmer realized that he'd been so self absorbed that he'd never thought to ask about Kerian's past. He'd just seen the uniform, categorized it as 'military', and tucked that descriptor of his new squire away, satisfied.  \n  \n Ailmer continued, making a note to have that conversation later. \"I suppose there's not much to hunt there. I just don't know what they would be looking for. If they're interested in a war, there'd be no use wandering the tops of mountains. It's not like they'd find another pass that we couldn't see to sneak an army through.\"  \n  \n \"What if they're not interested in humans?\" Cymris said.  \n  \n Ailmer blinked, his next words dying in his open mouth. He settled back against Beroan, and the feeling of the drake's hide against his back kept his brow from furrowing too deeply.  \n  \n Beroan's wing dropped over his face again and the sudden darkness made him jump. He adjusted his chin forward to rebalance the lazy dragon's wing back onto his head. He certainly felt silly with such a jaunty, oversized hat. It was terribly distracting to his thoughts. The dragon seemed too comfortable behind him to make Ailmer want to move him, so Ailmer adjusted his posture and tolerated his hat. \"What else would they be interested in up there?\" Kerian asked, vocalizing the question before Ailmer could.  \n  \n \"Are there dragons that live in those mountains? Perhaps it is just an assumption from knowing the way that Stonepeaks live, but if there were dragons up there, the Ikthil could be searching for those for some reason.\" Cymris said.  \n  \n \"Possibly. I know there's some small population of dragons in the mountains, but there's no large clans like there are on the western mountains. In fact, it's something that's always bothered me.\" Ailmer mused.  \n  \n \"Bothered you?\" Beroan rumbled.  \n  \n Ailmer nodded. \"There's always caves and habitats for dragons, with no lack of wildlife, however sparse, to hunt and water to drink, but from what I can tell there's never been a substantial population of dragons in the east mountains. In fact, Hal mentioned that he's talked to almost all of the bound dragons, and the ones that lived on these eastern slopes said that most dragons tend to wander away from them. Even those that lived on the mountains also tended to mention that they weren't roosting there long-term. I'm not sure that Hal has ever gotten to the bottom of why, but I suppose I haven't asked him directly.\"  \n  \n \"What else is out there? Kerian asked.  \n  \n \"Minerals, maybe? They're made of rock and gemstone, right? Do they eat iron or gems?\" Beroan said.  \n  \n \"Not that I'm aware of, at least not in any substantial amount. From what I could tell they subsist on organic matter, but can go for extremely long periods without it. They just don't seem to grow while they're fasting.\" Ailmer said, thinking and pausing for a few moments, \"At least that seems to be our observations. Perhaps, we should've brought these questions up while we were still in the Academy. I believe Hal has the reports of several writers that went to investigate the dead lands to Astal's south, where the Ikthil are found among the canyons and desert sands.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n They fell quiet for a moment as Ailmer racked his brain. Finally, Beroan spoke up. \"Didn't we go looking for something in the mountains, when we found that golden astrolabe in one of the caves, before we left for Damsk?\" Beroan asked Ailmer.  \n  \n Ailmer frowned, his brow furrowing. His heart beat a bit faster, however and his eyes eventually widened. \"No, they couldn't be looking for Drav Nikon, could they?\" He said.  \n  \n \"Drav Nikon?\" Kerian asked.  \n  \n \"Yes, it's a place that I dream about.\" Ailmer said, watching Kerian's eyebrows raise skeptically.  \n  \n \"Other bound dragon pairs have dreamed of it, too. Hal claims that both himself and his drake have been having similar dreams as of late.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n \"It's a network of mountain caves that just keeps going until it opens into massive, strange cavern. I've been looking for it for, well… I've had the dream since I had been bound. I've heard reports from a smattering of other dragon riders of similar dreams. I've been trying to puzzle out whether it even exists or not. I've drawn star maps from the dreams, and they mostly have our constellations, but they're distorted. Beroan and I found an astrolabe in a cave near Mossly. Like the dreams, it doesn't line up with our current stars, but it might be a hint or some way to translate between them. That device is still with Hal at the University… I'm still not even sure if it's real, or just some ancient piece of art. However, if the Ikthil were looking for…\" Ailmer said, trailing off.  \n  \n He suddenly thought to the conclusion of the recurring dream. The exploration of the tremendous cavern often concluded with the dark shadowy form of some massive, howling beast. The nightmarish colossus had made Ailmer wake in a cold sweat many times, and this line of thought chilled him. Were the Ikthil thinking to find the cavern and release whatever terrible monster was contained inside? There would be no way for them to fight it, but Ailmer didn't think there was any way for it to get out. Any cavern large enough to admit the monster in his dreams would've been much, much easier to find than the many small caverns that he had been hiking to and documenting during his life in Mossly. However, it was large enough that it might be able to bulldoze whatever ancient entrance that had admitted it.  \n  \n Ailmer felt excitement raise inside of him, combating the anxiety the thoughts triggered inside of him. If the Ikthil really were searching for Drav Nikon, it would mean that the place actually existed. His years-long hunt had not been in vain and his dreams had meant something.  \n  \n Ailmer shook his head, looking back up. \"Honestly, I'm still not sure if it's just a dream or hallucination. Even still, I'm not exactly sure what it is. Should they be looking for it, I'm not certain we'll be able to search out anything of value without going back to the University and seeing what Hal has found out. Even still, it's entirely possible they may have some other motive, or they're just acting irrationally and wandering randomly. It certainly bears further observation, but I don't think we have time for an extended scouting mission before we finish this mission.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n Kerian and Cymris nodded, relaxing around the fire. After a few quiet moments, Kerian spoke up, his expression falling. \"That town was in a terrible state.\"  \n  \n \"It was, but it seems like it had been destroyed well before Halix.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n \"Quite a while before, if the amount of rot on the bodies was any indication.\" Cymris said, grimacing, \"It looked like they'd been lying out for weeks.\"  \n  \n Ailmer nodded, frowning. \"Yes, that's more worrying than I had originally thought. Even without Ikthil close by to worry about, that means that Astal's army hasn't been out to clean it up. Also, that means no large groups of refugees had taken care of the dead, scavenged in the town, or settled in it, either. That means that the trickle of refugees coming through to Mossly in the past month or so had seen the destruction. If they can get through, scouts probably can as well, so Astal's military probably knows about it.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n \"And?\" Kerian asked.  \n  \n \"That means that Astal's army is too busy to investigate, reinforce, or clean up the destruction of one of its border towns. That means that Astal's military is entirely consumed elsewhere.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n The implications of this thought sank into them, and the group went quiet. That meant that, obviously, there was a war on, moving towards the inside of the country. That meant that they would probably run into it at some point, considering that the army would have withdrawn closer to the more valuable capital and farmland inside of the country. It implied that there was still an Ikthil army but it was just focused on Astal first.  \n  \n They contemplated this worry for a few more minutes, before Beroan stirred behind Ailmer. \"Ail?\" Beroan asked, his voice hesitant and quiet.  \n  \n \"Yes, Beroan?\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n \"Can I talk with you, by ourselves? We can go take a walk.\" Beroan asked.  \n  \n His voice was much more timid than he usually was, and the relatively sudden change put Ailmer on edge. Ailmer's brow creased, picking up on the anxiety in his voice. He nodded, dislodging the dragon's wing. Instead of falling forward, however, it folded back against Beroan's side as the dragon shifted to stand. \"Of course, Beroan.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n Ailmer stood as well, glancing at Kerian and Cymris who were looking at them with mild confusion. \"We'll be back in a while, I suppose.\" Ailmer said, dusting off his trousers.   \n  \n Beroan was already padding towards the edge of the camp by the time Ailmer straightened up. He glanced between Kerian and Cymris, and they nodded at him, almost in unison. Ailmer moved to follow Beroan, jogging for a few steps to catch up.  \n  \n \\*\\*\\*  \n  \n Beroan walked in silence for several long minutes. They picked their way along the edge of the ridge. The cliff stood to their side and the forest lined the other, forming a highway between what seemed to be two insurmountable walls--one clear and bright but displaying a dangerous drop, and the other was a solid wall of darkness, seamed by old-growth tree trunks that seemed to meld with the flat wall of shade. However, the smooth stone below them kept the trees from the cliff's edge, leaving a flat highway of white stone that they walked together.  \n  \n The moon was out and mostly full. There was plenty of light for a chilly walk. However, as Ailmer traveled along behind the dragon, he could sense the worry in Beroan's form. The dragon was wound up, his muscles tight and his steps distracted. After a while, they were well away from where they made camp and Beroan picked his way to the edge of the relatively steep cliffside. He sat down, looking past the edge, staring out at the moon with distance and deeper into Astal. Ailmer stepped up beside him, reaching up to pet along his neck. They both stayed quiet for a few minutes, looking out into the night while Ailmer's fingers trailed down the side of Beroan's neck.  \n  \n \"We're hardly on the other side of the mountains, Ail, but it's different here. It looks different and even the air smells different here.\" Beroan finally said.  \n  \n Ailmer nodded. He knew several of the technical reasons for the change; the different sorts of trees, the different weather patterns formed on the other side of the mountains, the different native plants, but he knew that the wasn't quite what Beroan meant. So, Ailmer nodded. \"Yes. It's a different land.\" He agreed.  \n  \n Beroan drifted off into silence again, but he shifted on his paws, nervously moving his weight. He tapped the ground with his tail, looking down his paws as they clenched at the stone below them, before he looked back up, staring deep into Astal's dark night. \"Ail?\" Beroan asked.  \n  \n Ailmer reached up, gently gripping and rubbing along the side of Beroan's neck. His fingers worked through the small scales into the pliable muscle underneath. He felt the dragon relax slightly and lean a very small portion of his weight towards Ailmer. \"Yes, Beroan?\" Ailmer asked.  \n  \n Beroan took a deep breath, \"Can I tell you about what happened?\"  \n  \n Ailmer opened his mouth and almost asked for clarification, but instead, he nodded. \"Of course, Beroan. You can tell me anything.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n Beroan let out his breath in a long, slow sigh, before he nodded. Still staring towards the east, he took a deep breath and began.  \n  \n  \n \"My clan, the Longtails, disintegrated. I, well, I was an adolescent at the time. It was still pretty much a hatchling. I mean, I was capable of being out on my own, but I had no idea the consequences of what was happening in the clan council. My father was an elder on the council, and my brother had been on the council for a few years. I was not really aware of what went on, but it was clear, even to a hatchling, but my brother and my father butted heads. After a while there was some more obvious tension when…  \n  \n Perhaps, the only thing that saved me was that I was too busy playing in the forest and spying on the human town near us to interfere in my brother's plans. I was out sneaking through one of the villages, sticking my snout into huts and getting chased out of the town by terrified people… I guess I didn't learn much from that. I didn't really know what had happened that night until later, when I got back and saw what had happened. By the time I got back, the canyon was mostly abandoned.  \n  \n There were bodies all over the floor of the canyon. Once I got to the clan's meeting rock, I figured out what had happened. In front of the clan, my brother struck several of the elders down, with the help of a large faction of the other dragons. There were my clanmates all over, and my father had bled out over the meeting rock. Achitul, my older hunt-partner, was mortally wounded and explained what had happened.  \n  \n I didn't understand. I knew that there was tension and anger between them, but I had no idea that it was so close to being so violent. I didn't understand why that faction had chosen to kill their clanmates, I didn't understand what had happened, I didn't understand how badly the deaths were affecting me… I just ran, and my brother found me trembling in the back of the empty cave once they had gotten back from driving off most of my father's friends.  \n  \n Many of the clan were driven out, I think. I was too, by my brother's claws. I don't… I assume my brother must've been the one to take over, but I never went back to see, not after that night, and not while bleeding from the cuts his claws gave me.\"  \n  \n Beroan paused for a while, thinking over the next part. Ailmer could see it he was glazing over much of what happened, but it was obvious that it wasn't the point of his discussion, nor was it an event so that he wanted to remember right now. Beroan shook his head, before continuing.  \n  \n \"Anyway, I flew west. I wound up near a small mountain, still well to the west of here. North too, I guess. Near a small town. There were few other dragons around me, and for the first few years I found that to be a good thing. Eventually, I started getting curious again. After a few winters, isolated in and around the mountain, I began to stick my nose into the town. There were a few farmers that were scared at first, but eventually they began to overcome their fear and talk to me. Due to my position the clan, my parents had begun teaching me some amount of human language and customs, so that, should I be eventually part of the Council and should it come to pass the we would need to make decisions with humans near our territory, we would at least be able to communicate on some level. My talking was rather rough, back then. But, I managed to have a few conversations with the farmers. Eventually, I started to get more curious and confident. I stuck around town, much like I did in Mossly, completely fascinated by all the strange inventions and the weird way that humans assembled themselves into towns, with all sorts of different clans so close together.\"  \n  \n Ailmer nodded, but he stayed quiet, gently scratching along Beroan's neck.  \n  \n \"Well, the humans eventually caught me. It was much like that night they caught me sneaking around Mossly, but I didn't have your mill to run back to. It didn't end as well.\" Beroan said, pausing as his eyes glanced around, his body tensing slightly. \"It was a different group of humans than the ones I had seen in the town, even though they led most of the townspeople that I hadn't talked to. They caged me and for the first day or two I was worried that they were going to kill me. However, they just kept me there until, eventually, the men I didn't recognize, with swords and armor met with another smaller group with a cart. They didn't look like the army. They didn't wear the any consistent colors or flags, or have the same equipment.  \n  \n They took me, and we began to travel. There was one of them that was different than the others. He was a lot younger, and seemed hesitant and unsure. He also seemed to take particular interest in me. The other men would always sit and drink by the fire when we stopped, but the young human would always sit near my cage. For the first few days, I thought that the others had ordered him to just watch over me, until I noticed that the other humans would always look at him strangely. Eventually, he started talking to me. He told me about dragons, and sometimes his greed, and he talked about whatever came to his mind. He told me all about how he grew up and the things that he liked and the foods that he enjoyed and the strange places that he'd been. Apparently, the men were mercenaries and slavers. They didn't catch human slaves, but he said that they were commonly paid to transport dragons and slaves to and from places. I had heard of these men when I grew up, tales of humans with swords snapping up naughty dragon hatchlings that wander too far from the clans, but they didn't seem eager to kill me. At least, they didn't seem as dedicated to the idea as my brother had been.\"  \n  \n Ailmer winced, and Beroan fell silent for a few minutes. A frown across his muzzle, and his eyes darkened. Ailmer continued rubbing his neck, leaning against his side. Beroan shook his head and closed his eyes, before his eyes turned forward again.  \n  \n \"Eventually, I started to talk back. I called him human, and he called me dragon. I didn't feel like I should give him, and the slavers, my clan name. He was shocked the first time I talked to him, and I think he nearly ran away. However after a while, we started to talk more and more. He was the one that taught me Galastian, and we started to talk in that language. He said he'd be able to talk more freely since the other ones didn't know it. We were traveling for a long time, and eventually he seemed to become the designated caretaker for me. The others let him give me all the food and water the provided and eventually, the one they trusted to go into the cage with me and…\"  \n  \n Beroan stopped again, but he didn't look quite sad. In fact, Ailmer could make out a very slight blush on his cheeks, mainly from the sudden, subtle warming of his neck rather than the dim light of the moon.  \n  \n \"That's what I figured out that I kind of like ropes and collars and things.\" He admitted, squirming against Ailmer. It was Ailmer's turn to blush and chuckle, and he slid his hand back to rub along the dragon's tack and the thick collar but they had found for him during the harvest festival. Ailmer gave it a gentle tug and he felt Beroan's neck warm slightly more.  \n  \n \"Well, I wasn't sure whether it was because he seemed to have a good relationship with with me or if the mercenaries thought that he was just the most expendable in their numbers. In fact, he mentioned that they seem surprised that I hadn't just eaten him the first time he entered the cage and that they'd usually forced the bindings on with spears and swords poised through the slats in the cage.  \n  \n Eventually, though, I asked him what they were going to do with me. He said he didn't know and that the other mercenaries wouldn't tell him. I believe him, I think.\"  \n  \n Beroan took a deep breath. \"Eventually, we got to Astal's capital city. I remember seeing it for the outskirts, on the way in. When you we stopped several miles from the town and I could see the big walls and the tremendous buildings the massive castle. I was suddenly starstruck, I remember that, and then the mercenaries, not Human, forced me to eat some handful of bitter herbs. I remember my head swimming and I think they took me into the town but I can't remember anything else. The next thing I know, we were exiting the town and the mercenaries were talking about how much coin they made. Human looked suddenly sad and I assume that he wasn't happy with the way that they done it, were probably, what they decided my fate was supposed to be.\"  \n  \n Beroan paused again, looking over at Ailmer. His face was conflicted and confused. Eventually, he dropped his head and pressed his forehead against Ailmer's chest. Ailmer reached down, hugging underneath the drake's chin and Beroan, supporting some of the dragon's head's weight.  \n  \n \"Well, whatever herbs they had suddenly were still affecting me. I can remember a few things, but I know that I couldn't make my mouth move to talk or really move my body. I stumbled around and I was constantly dizzy. We were traveling again, or at least a day or two, before something happened. I remember the mercenaries yelling, screaming about fire. I think they were attacked or something, but I don't know but what. It might've even been Ikthil, it didn't really seem like they were fighting other humans, but I can't really remember any of the details. My head was still swimming and clouded, and I'm surprised that I remember it all. However, I remember that Human ran over to me. He was bleeding and panting, and there was blood on his sword. All the mercenaries had run away or were fighting somewhere else. He said the most of them were dead and they were going to run. I don't know what attacked them, but he had the impression that whoever was or whatever it was, wasn't going to save me or even kill me. He said that if I got left there I would probably either starve or kill myself trying to break through the cage. He let me out and I remember him telling me to run. I did.  \n  \n \"I was confused by Human at the time. His friends had bound me and sold me to some lord and I think I would've eventually been killed once I got to the noble's land. Many of them thought I was a wild animal, something for pelts or displayed as a curiosity. He helped these men and he only let me go after they were attacked. I don't know whether or not he would've let me go if they were planning to eventually kill or deliver me to someone that would. I avoided humans after that, but it was easier than I expected.\"  \n  \n Beroan sighed and let his head fall, slipping it off of Elmer's hug. \"I flew towards the west. I found burning towns and I saw many Ikthil. I assume that's what attacked them. After a few days I started to recover my wits and I flew towards Galast's border.  \n  \n I found more and more of those creatures on Astal's side of the mountains. There weren't too many, but it seemed like the other people were running the same way. I saw people working their way east on the roads, in large groups. I didn't approach them but…\"  \n  \n Ailmer nodded. That must've been when the war started.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \n Beroan nodded. \"So I flew for another week or two. Eventually I ended up passing Halix and finding my way into the forest around Mossly where, I suppose, I was attacked by Ikthil. And then you found me, Ail.\"  \n  \n Ailmer's eyes widened. That was the point of the history, the culmination of the dragons past experiences. Beroan turned, looking back into Ailmer's eyes.  \n  \n \"I was scared of you when I woke up, Ail. But, I had never been treated the way vent you had treated me, and I think I was still under the tail end of the herb's effect. Between that and the blood loss… I think I was much friendlier than I felt.\"  \n  \n Beroan paused here for several long moments. His eyes were staring deep into the darkness, but eventually, he managed to turn them back to Ailmer. His mouth worked open and shut as he tried for words, discarding most of them well before he managed to find the right ones.  \n  \n \"I… I was so lonely, Ail. I had been so alone for so long but I didn't even realize it. I guess I didn't even understand that there might be another way…until I met you.\" Beroan said.  \n  \n Ailmer's heart pounded in his chest and his mouth started to drop open. His eyes went wide he watched as Beroan's bright blue eyes stared directly into his. The dragon hesitated for a moment, and his eyes twitched momentarily to the side, before his sapphire irises locked with Ailmer's again.  \n  \n \"I think I love you, Ail.\"  \n  \n Ailmer's heart pounded in his chest and he opened his mouth. He couldn't formulate a reply, however, and Beroan glanced to the side again. His whole head turned away and Ailmer could see the bright blush burning on his cheeks. Ailmer was stunned, both by the declaration and by his own powerful mix of emotions. He remembered what he felt with Marlin, but he thought through all the things he felt about Beroan. His heart raced and his mouth worked a little. He wasn't able to say anything, not with his emotions hitting him like a warhammer.  \n  \n Beroan's muzzle flicked back to him and he continued, thankfully stalling Ailmer's need to make the decision. \"I didn't think it could happen, not between a dragon and a human, until I saw the binding ceremony and after I learned about you and Marlin.\" Beroan said.  \n  \n He paused, letting that name hang between both of them for several moments before he continued. \"I know it's not quite the same, especially looking at Cymris and Kerian. It's like they've known each other all their lives and they seem almost like the same person, sometimes. I know that's not the same as what we have but, I guess, I don't know how it would be different than loving another dragon. It gave me the idea, it started when you told me about Marlin. When I saw you chasing him and how much he affected you, and, I mean, looking at Kerian, Cymris have only been only been together for a few weeks and we've only known each other for a few, what, months? I mean I understand if you don't… I might just be thinking of my experiences and I don't really know what that sort of relationship really means-\"  \n  \n Beroan suddenly shut his mouth, biting back his words. He realized that he was babbling, but Ailmer needed the time to sort through his own emotions. Ailmer reached up and stroked along the dragon's chin, gilding his muzzle towards him. It was Ailmer's turn to stare into Beroan's eyes until they stopped glancing around and focused on his eyes, nearly the color of Beroan's scales. Ailmer smiled and he saw tears forming in Beroan's eyes when the drake recognized the expression.  \n  \n \"I think I love you too, Beroan.\" Ailmer said.  \n  \nBeroan's eyes snapped shut, holding back most of his tears. One drop rolled down the side of his face. Ailmer felt wetness roll down his hot cheeks as his eyes closed. He let his fingers guide him.  \n  \n Ailmer kissed Beroan.","series":{"name":"Dragonpet","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1752533-dragonpet-dragonriders-5-3-towards-astal.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1754288-dragonpet-dragonriders-6-2.json"}}