Illian: Heart of a Human, Shell of a Dragon

Story by Markus Snow on SoFurry

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#6 of Illian: A world born anew


Hey guys, i lied a little when i said it was going to be this weekend, sorry bout that. Anyway, this is a first for the Illian series: this tale will contain more story and then some yiff at the end. This is a major step for me, so please be supportive and tell me what you think about it. Also, if you haven't guessed (or didn't see my other work) the main character of the Illian series is Markus Snow (I based my name off of him, not the other way around), and unfortunately, I have only been able to get one tale with him in it so far, but after the next tale, that will be changing. This tale and the next tale are introductions and the stories behind two main characters in the series and they will be seen more often later on, so please hang with me and enjoy!

After forty years of back-breaking work, Izil Dienar was finally going to be free. For years now he has been the High Priest of Rez, the highest position one can have in the Holy Order of Rez, possibly the most common religion in Illian. But now, Izil was going to make his final commitment to the Order: he was going to leave and never come back. Before that however, as a final token of appreciation, the Order was going to give him back his youth with the powers of the Blood of Rez, a very potent alchemical drink that regenerates every cell inside of the body, causing it to reverse the effects of aging.

The proceeding where this was going to take place was located in the city's church, the very place where Izil had spent the past forty years of his life aiding the Holy Order. As Izil expected, the whole thing comprised of his old work buddies retelling old tales of how he helped the Order, a huge feast, and then finally, the part he had been waiting for all day, his retirement ceremony. The whole thing was nothing much to Izil, just him giving a final farewell speech to everyone he knew, and then drinking the Blood of Rez to regain the years he lost working for Rez.

The rejuvenation was the one part of the day he never expected. At first, there was a slight tingle as the drink hit the back of his throat, but this was soon followed by a sharp pain in his chest, followed by every other part of his body. With basic instinct, Izil panicked, thinking that the priests poisoned him so he would never tell their secrets, but soon he rationalized that this was just his body working into overdrive with the help of the magic of the Blood. Within an hour, the pain ceased, and Izil felt the way he did forty years ago.

With urgency, Izil thanked all of his comrades one final time, and rushed back to his house to inspect the changes. At first, he found it quiet hard to use to running again, but he quickly overcame this trouble, and sprinted down the street back to the Housing District. When he finally reached his house, Izil immediately gazed at the wall mirror near the entrance of his house. Not to his surprise, his looks had changed drastically. His hair regained its sleek black look, his skin was toned to look like he had been tanning all day, his body had recovered its chiseled look, causing Izil to remember the hard labor he performed on the farm he grew up on, and he noticed that his eyes had once again gained their sharp green tone. No longer did he look like an old, dusty man, and he vowed to himself he would not let himself waste away like ever again. As he finished inspecting the drink's effects, Izil began recalling a certain vow he made with his long time friend, Markus Frostbane.

Izil had first noticed Markus when he entered the Church of Rez for his weekly blessing. The boy had blue eyes that made ice shiver with envy, a kind glow that Izil knew came from his mother, yet also had a steadfastness like no other person Izil had known. Izil personally saw to the boy's blessing, which not only stunned the church gatherers, but surprised the boy as well. Once the ceremony was over, Izil asked the young boy to stay a while to discuss his magics training. By way of the rumor mill, Izil had learned Markus had become the best student in the magic studies since Jerico, the founder of the Golden City. Impressed by this rumor, Izil personally wanted to see how far the boy's magic capabilities went.

After the final sermon for the day was over, Markus returned like he said he would, and met Izil in the church courtyard to display his powers to the old man. Izil asked the first question any teacher of the magics asks their students: "What magic do you use, Markus Frostbane?"

"The magics I use are twin magics, the magic of Light and the magic of Dark" the boy said with a hint of a smile. At this Izil almost gasped, no one, especially a child, would be foolish enough to combine those polar magics, would they?

"Alright child," Izil said with a tone of denial, "show me how you use these magics in unity by lighting these nearby lanterns with Black Fire, a simple Dark magic skill, am I right?"

"That you are, old man" Markus shot back with a noticeable tone of disgust in his voice, and Izil knew full well he deserved it for judging the boy so quickly. With almost no strain at all, the boy held his two arms out, brought them back, placed one hand upside down, while keeping the other right side up, and connected his arms by bringing both of his hands together, forming the seal for all class 2 spells. Now Izil did let out a breath of surprise because he knew that the task he asked used simple cantrips (basic spells), not spells that advanced for an initiate mage. Immediately Izil began to worry, for he knew that if the boy did not have a magic pool great enough for this kind of spell, it could utterly destroy him in the process.

Instantly, two auras began flowing from the boy: one as black as the shadows of Rea, and the other as bright as the sun itself, a signal that the spell was going to work. When the two auras met, the connection point looked like a battle between two great gods fighting for dominance over the spell. Soon, Markus pulled his hands back, revealing a massive black flame in the space where his hands had once been united. Even more surprising, instead of releasing this flame toward every lantern in the courtyard, the boy just smiled, and threw the flame at the ground, causing it to explode the moment it hit the ground.

The moment it exploded, the flame rose and create huge waves that distanced themselves from the point of origin. Now Izil understood what Markus had done: he create a single flame, then caused it to surge to every lantern in the nearby area by manipulating simple properties of the flame; very ingenious for a boy so young, Izil thought to himself with a smirk. Looking at the boy, Izil noticed that the spell did take a lot out of him, but that couldn't be helped considering the magnitude of the spell he cast. Izil just stood there, finally gathered the rest of his bravado, and clapped.

"Very well done there, Markus Frostbane, I see I found a worthy student" Izil said with all honesty.

At this the boy was shocked, but then gave a light bow and said "Thank you, High Father Izil Dienar."

From that day on, Markus spent his school days with Izil, learning the fundamentals of magic, swordsmanship, math, strategy, and much more. Within four years, Markus had grown so much, and finally one day, on the boy's sixteenth birthday, he asked for a favor that has been bound to Izil for over two years.

On Markus's birthday, the day seemed like a normal day until around 8:00 P.M., a loud scream was heard from a nearby alley, followed by the howl of a wolf and a series of footsteps, coming closer to the church. Growing cautious, Izil grabbed a nearby torch, preparing to attack the invader the moment they opened the door. The main church door opened, and soon the footsteps were drawing nearer to Izil's quarters. When the footsteps reached his door, they stopped. Clenching onto the torch even harder, Izil waited for the invader to slowly open the door. Soon, a sound Izil had never heard before came from beyond the door, almost as if bones were snapping, but then fixing themselves back into place moments afterwards. Once the noise ended, the invader knocked on the door and muttered "Izil, please open the door, I need to talk to you, Now!"

Izil recognized Markus's voice, placed the torch back on its holder, and opened the door. Izil almost gasped at Markus's ragged look. The young teenager was soaked in blood, his clothing was ripped in multiple spots, and his left arm was hanging limp. "By the High Father*, what happened to you boy?" Izil said with a mixed tone of concern and frustration.

"Look, that doesn't matter right now, what does matter is that I have one final favor to ask of you, Izil" Markus let out in between breaths. "I need you to hang on to this, I found it shy a year ago in your old library" He said, handing Izil an old tattered scroll.

Izil unrolled it and asked in total confusion "A Shadowform Weapon Spell? Why don't you just memorize the spell now and get rid of the scroll?"

"If you read it....you'll see you need....the weapon that....will be used to christen the spell" Markus muttered in between feverish gasps.

"Markus, get to the hospital ward now, I'll keep the scroll with me until you get better-"

"NO, look Izil, I'm leaving, and I don't plan on coming back to the Golden City, so I need you to promise me that you'll hold on to the thing until you retire."

"Markus, what do you mean, where are you going?"

"I can't tell you, just promise me, please, this is my last favor from you."

"Alright, Alright, but before I do, tell me where you're going."

Markus let out a deep sigh and said "Through blood-stained leaves we follow you, knowing you're our prey, return with us to Scycrain, our wounded little prey."

"Verse 5 from the Midnight Bale" Izil said with a puzzled expression. Markus shoved the scroll into Izil's hands and dashed out of the door.

For two years Izil held onto that scroll, and now he knew he could finally fulfill his promise. Packing everything needed, Izil left the Golden City and headed towards the city of Crysal, a small trading village where he knew he could find work. Within two weeks of being in Crysal, Izil found a job as an Adventurer, someone who is deployed on random tasks given by folk of ever race, class, and sex, as long as the payment was right.

Four months later, Izil had become an expert of his craft. He now knew how to lay a perfect trap, smoke out hiding enemies, tell a liar from an honest person, and even how to persuade a few extra coins from the customer. During one if Izil's free weeks, a unique customer arrived, one of his old friends from the church.

"Izil, I heard you had found business here, good to see you're still...active...in the community" the priest said with a smile.

"Its good to see you're just as much as a comic relief as ever, old friend, but lets cut to the chase, I know you wouldn't have come here for a simple task."

"Still as bright as ever I see, well since you put it that way, we need help with a dragon problem."

"Two questions: We, and Dragon problem?"

"The We happens to be the collection of farming villages to the north, and the dragon problem is a bit....odd."

"Odd, there hasn't been a single dragon sighting since the recreation of Ill."

"She's searching for a mate, Izil."

Now Izil was furious with the man, not only was he insinuating that there was a dragon still out there, but that it was destroying villages searching for her life companion. But he kept his cool and said sarcastically "So you want me to bone a dragon? That'll cost you double my friend."

The priest became very serious and said "Izil, I want you to slay it."

"Slay a dragon, you know as well as I do that Rez holds the draconic race higher than any other in Illian, if I do this, how do you expect me to atone for this, just say I'm sorry for destroying the last of your precious dragons?"

Now the priest became very red in the face and said "Damn it, Izil, you have no idea how long it took me to even think of asking you to slay it, so are you going to or not?"

Izil just gave the man a smile and said "Fine, but when I die and Rez personally slaughters me, I'm using your soul as a human shield"

"Deal, old friend."

With that, Izil accepted his final mission, not knowing the full truth behind the priest's words. It took Izil a couple of days to reach the remains of the last settlement attacked by the dragon. The cattle had been slaughtered and fed upon, the horses were torn to shreds, only a few huts were not turned to ash, and all of the men had oddly vanished in the attack. Vanished my ass, more like raped, Izil thought to himself as he finished inspecting the damage. Izil quickly pulled out a map of the nearby area to locate which settlement would be struck next. As luck would have it, the nearest settlement was only an hour away, leaving Izil enough time to trap the place with everything he would need to bring down the giant beast.

As the sun gave way to the moon, the settlement was ready, and all Izil waited for was the sound of a dragon roar to signal the attack. Hours later, she came. The roar she let loose shook Izil's whole body, causing him to chip one of his teeth. The dragon was a bright red, one that reminded Izil of the Blood Moon that was approaching in the near months. Her spine was covered with spikes that could, and probably did, skewer foes with ease. The dragon's eyes were the same color as her scales, causing Izil to begin doubting if he could actually do this.

The dragon stared into Izil's green eyes and said "So you are the one who will end the race of dragons, tiny human?"

Izil quickly regained his bravado, remembering he had a promise to fulfill with Markus, and shouted to the dragon "I hope tonight I do not have to carry that title with me home tonight, but your actions are leaving me little choice, broodling."

Now the dragon was furious, clearly insulted by being called that and said "Human, you have no place to call me young when you are not but an inch past maturing."

"Looks can be deceiving, little one, now if you wish to prove you are no youngling, then advance, and twine your fate with mine!"

With this, the dragon roared once again and charged toward Izil, toward the center of the small settlement. Izil just smiled as he jumped backward and pulled the string that let loose the volley of traps. Arrows tipped with ice came flying from every window of every house, nests of bees fell from every tree in the nearby area, and explosive disks blew up with a single touch. The area was filled was smoke, and for a second, Izil thought he had actually killed the girl, but as the smoke wall dissipated, he examined the damage done.

A scratch here and a welt there was all that changed. Though mentally, the dragon girl was quiet take back by the detailed trap that was laid by the small mortal. Suddenly it occurred to her, this human may just be the one she was searching for, but only one way she could prove it.

"Human, what is your name?" The dragon girl asked with a heavy tone of authority. The man just smiled back at her and said "Izil Dienar, fierce broodling, now, what is your name?"

"Your kind has most often referred to me as Cyn, and stop calling me broodling you...Bastard" the dragon girl said trying to think of a good comeback to his rude broodling comment. The human known as Izil tried talking again, but by now Cyn was beyond pissed, and a little curious about this human's potential, so quickly she struck.

Izil barely saw the massive claw coming at him, and through shear luck he lifted the sword he was carrying at the right time to block most of the hit, but the force of the impact was strong enough to send him skidding back. Hmm.....going to have to watch for those claws, also, it would be good to realize that she isn't thinking anymore, maybe I can use her anger to my advantage, Izil thought before acting next.

Quickly he moved so he was facing Cyn's left side "Oh my, it seems my little broodling is getting mad, I hope you don't forget what your parents taught you." Again, the dragon nearly lost her mind, and blindly swiped at his feet, hoping to knock him over, but this time Izil was prepared, and jumped onto her arm. Now the battle was in his favor, all he needed to do is get near her and stab her in the neck, right near her spinal column connects with her skull. As he started to run up Cyn's arm, he saw something he wasn't counting on: the dragon smiled. Now, with fear in his heart, Izil stopped his advance, giving the dragon enough time to counter his strategy with a swipe from her other claw.

"Gotcha, my little Izil." the girl said as Izil was thrown off her arm, flying into a nearby stand of fruits. Izil knew he was done for, the blow Cyn dealt him probably paralyzed him from the neck down, but right now all he could tell was that the dragon was advancing on him, and he was losing consciousness fast.

"So this is where you kill me right, little broodling, Markus, please forgive me" Izil said as the dragon stood over him in all of her glory.

"Kill you, no my little Izil, you're coming with me, and you'd better stop that little broodling stuff or your life is going to be a living hell, that's a promise" Cyn said as she grabbed the collar of Izil's shirt with mouth. Before he finally lost all consciousness, he was playing that last part over and over again: You're coming with me.

Hours later, he realized what she meant. As he began regaining his senses, Izil noticed that his surrounding were entirely different. He began piecing together that he was in some cave, based on the rocky walls, damp feeling, and the scarce light found here. Yet the one thing that bugged Izil was the smell: blood, rotting meat, and surprisingly, sex. Now panicking, Izil began examining himself, making sure the dragon girl didn't rape him while he was asleep. When he saw no blood and made sure nothing ached, Izil concluded the girl held her composure for the time he was knocked out, which brought him a little relief.

Minutes later, Cyn flew in through the large mouth of the cave, simply smiling as she found her captive awake and alert. "Good, my little Izil finally woke up I see, did you enjoy your nap" the dragon girl said as she brought in their meal, a great buck.

Izil just smiled back and replied "Well, considering the circumstances, I'd have to say that was the best nap I've had in years."

"Good to hear that, but now, the question is what to do with you, my little Izil" Cyn said with a sly smile.

Izil just grunted and thought "She's trying to make me beg for my life, Now she's toying with me."

After a second of thinking, Izil just snapped back at her, "if you want me to beg, you'll have to wait a long time, and if you want me to apologize for what I did back there, you're going to have to wait longer."

Cyn just laughed and said "Oh, my little Izil, you will be an interesting mate, you know that, right?"

Now Izil was just stunned, after everything that happened, she wanted to sleep with him? But just then he remembered what the priest had said: "She's searching for a mate, Izil."

Not sure whether to be afraid or just angry, Izil just snapped back at her "You know, there is a HUGE difference between me, a small human, and you, a dragon the size of two houses, so how exactly do you suppose we mate without completely killing me?"

Cyn gave him a look he had never seen before in any woman, and replied "With this little trick," and with that, the dragon was no longer a dragon.

Izil nearly had a heart attack as he witnessed the dragon shrink and compress into her new form. She was a mixture of human and dragon, in short, she had actually turned herself into a broodling. Her body was the size and shape of a human, in order to accommodate for Izil's size and shape, but she still held her red scales and eyes, and even her claws, but those were smaller as well to agree with her body composition. During all this, she had been giving him that unique look and now Izil understood what it was; lust.

Faster than he could think, Cyn raced over to him and lightly kicked him onto the bed. "You ready, my little Izil?"

"Almost, just one question, how will you tell if I'm actually your mate?"

"Simple, the pheromones I will be producing will turn you into something relating to the form I have now." Naturally, Izil was now frightened, first because he was going to actually mate with the dragon, second because he would be giving up his human form in order to live. As he tried to get up, he found that Cyn had placed her foot on his chest, keeping him in place.

"So, am I on top, or are you?"

"I...uh....wait...by Rez you are actually serious!"

"You bet your sweet ass I am," and with that, she mounted him. Instinctively, Izil gasped as she quickly made herself whole, remembering that he had not had sex in over 60 years, not since the day he joined the Holy Order of Rez. After the first moment in which Cyn adjusted herself, Izil found the sex to be quiet enjoyable. He had to admit, her body was perfect for this; her hips were just wide enough, her body was built just right, her breasts were not large, in fact, they were very petite, and her pussy was tight enough to the point where neither of them were hurting.

For the first hour of their lovemaking, Izil pumped Cyn slow, yet soft, allowing both of them to enjoy the experience long enough, but soon Cyn became greedy, and forced him to speed up. As he did this, Izil found that he was enjoying this more and more. Each pump brought both of them pleasure that Izil had not felt in years, causing him to gasp every now and then. Cyn just smiled and bent towards him, allowing him to pump into her in the natural position his dick was use to. For minutes they continued like this, until when Izil finally felt the orgasm coming, he shoved Cyn to the base of his cock, causing her pleasure to magnify. Soon, they both knew the pressure was too great, and Izil released his seed, and Cyn spread her juices onto Izil and the bed.

Giving a slight laugh, Izil quickly flipped Cyn onto the bed, turned her over, and penetrated her ass. A bit surprised, he found that her ass was a lot hotter than her pussy was, but soon he adapted to the heat, and began pumping himself faster and harder. At the sudden power control and the pleasure of her ass being penetrated, Cyn moaned in pure ecstasy. Each pump brought waves of heat into Izil's body, but as far as he was concerned, the heat brought pleasure. He felt Cyn's body shudder, and so he let out a small laugh, pumped harder and faster, until finally, the dragon girl hit climax once again.

For now, being fully pleasured, Cyn allowed herself to rest on Izil's chest before she could be swooned. Slowly, she removed Izil's dick from her ass, sighed and said "Here comes the hard part." Izil suddenly realized what she meant, the pheromones were all over the room!!

Before he could struggle, Cyn cast a binding spell on his arms and legs, guaranteeing Izil would not be leaving. At first, he calmed himself down, but soon, the pain began. The pain was almost unbearable, it felt like every pore of his skin was burning, along with his innards. Through everything, he even heard the snapping of his bones readjusting themselves to the new shape they were forming. Finally, the pain became too great, and he fainted.

Hours afterwards, Izil finally woke up, noticing that he was suddenly very hot. Desperately he looked for a glass of water or even some ice, but then he remembered that he was in a cave, and one home to a dragon. With no other choice, he just sat up and waited for the feverish feeling to subside. Soon, Cyn returned, in her full dragon form, and said to him "Good to see that you're up again, my little Izil."

"Damn, every bone in my body aches.....does that mean I really am a broodling now?"

"See for yourself" and with that, Cyn handed him a nearby mirror that Izil had guessed was from one of the dead men she had tried to mate with before. He grabbed the mirror and sighed; he was, and forever will be, a broodling.

His body was now covered with deep green scales, his mouth and nose had turned into a muzzle, and every bit of hair was replaced by more scales. After inspecting the changes, he looked back at Cyn and said "I'll need a new name won't I?"

Cyn just smiled back at him and said "it would be appropriate, I believe."

So Izil thought long and hard, but finally he said "Alright, my new name is Oz, Oz Dienar."

"Oz, why that?"

"In the human language, Oz means a man of rebirth and mystery."

"I see, quiet fitting, my little Oz."

Oz just laughed, but suddenly long-held promise came back to him, causing him to ask "Cyn, would you mind if we searched for a certain someone?"

The dragon girl just smiled and said "Who is this "certain someone", your son?"

"He might as well have been, but when I last saw him, his name was Markus Frostbane, and I have a promise to keep with him."

"In that case, I have heard rumors about a new Lycanthrope prodigy by the name of Markus Snow, who has already become the Alpha Pack leader at the age of 18."

"Lycanthrope...hmm...I see now Markus, I'm sorry I didn't pick it up sooner" Oz said to himself.

Cyn just gave him a puzzled look and said "Pick up what, my little Oz?"

He just smiled and said "Through blood-stained leaves we follow you, knowing your our prey, return with us to Scycrain, our wounded little prey."

Cyn understood then and said "Ahh...Scycrain, the City of the Moon, capital of the Evizil."