{"sf1_id":744483,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Five Dragons: TLoP: Chapter 5: The Agony of Choice","author":"Lorddaventry","words":12900,"posted_at":"2014-08-15T09:16:00.000Z","tags":["Clean","Dragon","Dragoness","Fantasy","Feral","Five Dragons Storyline","Friendship","Human","Magic","Romance","Story Series"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/744483-five-dragons-tlop-chapter-5-the-agony-of-choice","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/744483","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=744483\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Five Dragons: TLoP:\nChapter 5: The Agony of Choice\n   Five years\nhave passed since the night of his arrival in Parem. The day dawned with\na cloudless blue sky. The warm rays of the morning\nsun cast its glow on the roof of the\nhouse. The golden light fell\nthrough the wide window into the room and woke the\ntired man on the mattress.\nRoland lay sleepily\nin his bed and\nrolled extensively under the\nblanket. Drowsy he swung his head back and\nforth and tried to hold the Daydreamed. The\ncheerful chirping of the birds\ncame through the open window into the room and helped with the wake-up call of the\nsun. In his mind he made an attempt to hide the bird singing what\nseemed to him even to succeed. But a strong jolt turned\nhim aside, and he fell off the bed knew\nto the ground. A muffled \"Peng\" filled the air in the room. Roland was lying, face on\nthe big carpet and felt the red fibers on\nhis cheek. With a\ngrimace he lazily opened his\neyes. Something he\nlaboriously straightened up and looked slightly annoyed at the mattress. Two deep blue eyes\nsparkled at him, accompanied by a\nslight turquoise glitter. An orange red female\ndragon lying on the bed and looked at the young\nman with a wet look. A soft cooing was heard\nfrom the dragoness. \"Is that the polite\nway to wake me up?\" he asked\nplaintively easily. Kyndle nodded once with\nclosed eyes and answered\nhis question with an affirmative\n\"Churr\". He smiled at her, shaking his head. Roland stood up and\nwalked closer to the open window.\nA cool gust of wind came to meet him as\nhe inhaled the fresh\nair deeply. With\nrelish, he stretched out on a long yawn. His gaze remained in\nthe large mirror\ncabinet are to\nhis left. He walked a little\ncloser and looked at his\nreflection in it. \"All\ngrown nice.\" he said to the mirror image\nand set its affirmative\nthumbs up. Grinning, he looked in the mirrored glass.\nEasy thoughtful attention\nfell to his right lower leg. The leg slightly turned\nto the side, he looked at the scar\non it. He once\nbreathed out heavily. \"Five years now.\"\nhe murmured softly.He noticed how Kyndle\nmoved in the mirror. She climbed down from the mattress and also\nbegan to stretch properly.\nRoland turned to her.\n\"Unbelievable how quickly she's\ngrown up.\" he thought with arms folded in\nfront of him as he looked at her.The growth is also not passed idly at her. Her body size was now comparable to that\nof a pony. The black horns had gained something at\nlength, as well as her dark wings.\nThe color scales\nshimmered strong for\nsome time, particularly in the\ntransition to the gray areas on the chest and belly.\nAt the tail end\na bony tip had\nbeen formed in recent\nyears. A sharp, pointed mandrel,\ncan also share\nas a pair of scissors and a comb weakly pronounced retired\nfrom her head down on her back, to the tail head. The female had turned\nher back to Roland and continued\nher morning stretching. Wings apart and head\nforward. The tail as far up as she was able. Roland's gaze fell inevitably to the area between her hind legs, which she showed all too well in her\nmorning exercise on display. He grabbed a quick breath and lowered his face to\nthe side slightly embarrassed. Kyndle\nthen again took\na more relaxed attitude,\nturned sideways to\nhim and looked at him with an awakened view. With a soft purr,\nshe sent a short turquoise sparkle to him. Shy\nsmiling, he looked at her. An odd smell rose to\nhis nose, but only weakly.The golden rays of the sun left the orange\nred shed light\nshimmer, like a warm aura that hovered around\nher. Easy tense he looked at the elegant body of the female dragon. \"Very\nattractive.\" he thought to himself\nspontaneously and felt his pulse was increased\nslightly, followed by a brief shock.\n\"Why have I right\nnow such a thought!?\" it\nwent through his skull. Unsure he shook his head again and touched\nhis forehead. Roland walked a\nlittle confused back to the bed and\nsat down thoughtfully at the edge. The young man\nlistened his thoughts. \"Does she make that on purpose?\"\nhe asked himself. Remembering the past talk with\nClara came back to him also in mind. He had asked for\nadvice as Kyndle daze something\nstrange toward him for the first time.\nThis was first noticed\nhim two years ago when she came into her first heat. But something in\nher behavior was\ndifferent now, in spite of this\nfact. Kyndle had seated herself on the ground before him. Held\nher head slightly inclined watched him silently.His mind drifted back\nto the conversation....... \"I do not know what is\ngoing on with her lately.\" he was complaining\nof and pointed to Kyndle which had lain\ndown beside him on the ground.\nThe female looked at him a bit puzzled, which was accompanied by\na soft cooing. Clara\nlooked at the dragoness exactly, she breathed it\na few times through her nose and then turned back to him. \"Oh Roland. Tell\nmerely you do not know that?\" she asked with a wide grin on her face. Roland looked at Clara with a rather confused look. \"Can`t you feel it?\" she began obliquely down\nthe head. \"It is\nspring. The nature shows its beauty and\nfor many animals begins the mating season.\"\nShe giggled softly. \"This\nalso applies to dragons.\" she added\nwith a smile. \"With them we then speak of the\nheat.\" she explained. \"Mating season?\" he hacked at something thoughtfully\nand looked at her a little overwhelmed.\n\"Do not worry because of that, it`s\ntotally normal.\" she reassured him. \"That`s\njust a part of the rhythm of life.\"\nShe held out a hand\non his shoulder and looked\nat him with her green eyes. \"Think about it. Is with us humans as well.\" She winked at him once. \"The\nlittle desire for a partner, for warmth and affection.\" Roland dodged Clara's\ngaze and looked to\nKyndle. The dragoness\nlooked at him from below with moist eyes and cooed softly. A small spark of turquoise could be seen. Barnabas assistant walked beside Roland and\ncrossed her arms, while also looking at the dragoness.\n\"But still, you should have a\nlittle attention for\nher.\" Thoughtfully, she lowered\nher head slightly forward. \"During\nthe heat phase many dragons create a more aggressive\nbehavior on the day.\" She raised\na hand-explanatory. \"Mostly the male counterparts.\"\nShe winked at Roland\nonce. \"But there are also spirited females.\" she added smiling.Roland saw Clara something\nignorant. \"Do I have some expect now that an\nentire herd of male recruiters are standing\noutside the front door?\" he\nasked with a raised eyebrow and a very weak smile. She looked at him\nfor a moment in silence and\nholding her head slightly inclined.\n\"In that fact I can reassure you.\" she began calmly. \"When it comes to choosing a partner they are extremely picky.\" She took a quick breath. \"Let's say: Every female\nhas as their own claims.\" Clara laughed\nto herself at her\nlast words. Roland looked at her slightly puzzled.\n\"Do not panic. You'll certainly\nnever a find whole pack of male dragons at home.\" she said amused and\npatted him once on\nthe shoulder.\" Dragons are a\nfaithful species. Should read:.\nOnce they have found a suitable partner, they remain usually together.\"\nShe smiled at him as she finished her sentence. \"But interpret now not too much into it.\"\nshe began again, looking gravely at him. \"Dragons\nwant sometimes just\na bit fun. So do not think\nshe had found\nher partner for\nlife when you successfully catch\nher with a male.\" \"Aha.\" Roland was\nnodding his head in response, an eyebrow skeptically pulled\nup. \"When she has\nfound her life\npartner you will realize it.\"\nClara held her head\ndreaming with closed eyes tilted\nto the side. \"The way she looks\nat her chosen one, approaching him, looking\nfor his company.\" she added softly. \"Picky, then?\" chopped Roland grin after\nand ended her brief\ndaydream. \"Now do not be ridiculous.\" said Clara determinative\nand hit him once with\nher fist lightly in the shoulder. \"You\nunderstand me all right.\" she added with a serious look. She turned determining to Kyndle. \"You'll see\nit soon enough if she will reject the\nfirst recruiter, or\napproaching to another dragon.\"\nAnother laugh escaped\nher mouth. \"Approaching herself to another dragon?\"\nhe repeated questioningly in thought as he watched\nthe dragoness. ...... Roland came from the reminders to\nhimself as he was\ntouched by Kyndles tongue on the hand. A\ngentle cooing of her was in the air. He\nlooked into the widened blue eyes of the dragoness,\nwho had directed her\ncaptivating look at him. \"What is?\" he\nasked softly as he looked back\nto the slight hint\nof turquoise. Again invaded this weak\nweird smell in\nhis nose. The female was getting a bit closer\nto him. She snorted softly\nin his face and\na soft purr escaped\nher body. Roland looked\nsmiling at the blue sapphires, the touch of\nturquoise is reflected\nin his eyes. He felt her warm breath on his skin and approached her also.\nHe put a hand on\nher shoulder and stroked her slowly\nover the scales the\nneck up. Kyndle\nput in his\npleasant touch her head slightly to the side and began enjoy sending to\nclose her eyes, while she continued toward\nhim. Few millimeters parted her\nlips still apart.Just at that moment there was a knock several times. Roland pulled his hand back slightly startled\nwhen he turned to the source of the noise. Kyndle swung her head frantically\nto the door.\nShe moved away a little of her companion, her face slightly downcast lowered\navoided her gaze to the floor. She huffed out strong\nand a silent, rather plaintive \"Chirp\" accompanied her gesture. Head down, she left a\npaw in a circular\nmotion glide over the carpet,\nwithout paying Roland`s attention.This gave all his\nattention to the knock on the\ndoor. Surprised, he\nwent to the entrance and unlocked the lock. He\npulled the door open and a tired face looking up\nat him. \"Good morning Sasha.\" greeted him Roland. The older man\nmade a gesture stooped. \"Likewise, my lord.\" he said. He looked\nat the young man checking, with raised eyebrows, he looked at him. \"Your presence is necessary in the study of Lady Catherine.\"\nadded the butler. Roland looked at him with wide eyes. \"Why?\" he asked curiously. \"This morning a letter\nfrom the king arrived, addressed\nto you.\" Roland went up in surprise both\neyebrows. \"But first I would advise you to adjust the\nwardrobe a bit.\" added Sasha sober, pointing to the simple clothing of\nRoland. He looked puzzled down at himself and noticed with a smile, that he\nwas only in\nunderwear in front of the Butler.\n\"All right. I'm done shortly.\" Roland said, and closed the door again. He\nwalked quickly approached the mirror cabinet and\nopened one of the doors. \"A letter from the king for me?\" he asked himself in thought as he pulled\non a fresh shirt.Kyndle turned her head\nto him and gave him a questioning \"Meep\" in front of the feet. Roland\nlooked slightly smirking.\n\"It's nothing. I can do that\nalone.\" he told her as he slipped into a pair of pants. Then he walked up to\nher. He put a hand on her forehead and placed a small kiss on her nose.\nThe dragoness closed\nboth eyes and purred\nsoftly. \"You can quietly nap a bit longer.\" he added me a wink.Kyndle let herself not to be asked twice and\nwas lying on the mattress before he arrived at\nthe door. Roland\nlooked back at her. Light a smile he\nwatched her as she curled up\nand purred softly\nto herself. Then he walked through the door. Sasha was still waiting in the hallway for him. He looked at the young man and took the outstretched hand making a gesture to the stairs. \"This way,\nplease.\" he spoke calmly and proceeded\nwith held on his\nback arms. Roland knew where the room was,\nbut does not wanted decrease Sasha his job and\nfollowed him silently, inclined his head slowly forward. \"What the\nking probably wants from me?\"\nhe asked himself. Arrived at the office the door, Sasha opened it for Roland. After he had entered the room, he closed it again without having to follow him. Roland looked around the\nroom. Daniel stood beside Catherine, who had sat\ndown on one of the large armchairs.\nOn the table before her lay a rolled-up letter,\nthe seal of the King on it. The woman did not say a word. Still, she took the\nrole in her hand and handed it to Roland. Somewhat\nhesitantly, he reached for the paper. He looked at the\nmessage briefly, but his gaze fall again asking\nto Catherine. She\nlooked at him with a warm smile. \"Go\nahead.\" she said calmly. Roland broke the\nwax seal and unrolled the message. Curious, he began to read it. ...... Be greeted Roland.You will hereby officially\ninvited to a hearing in the castle.The king has granted your questions by his popularity\nand looks to be\nauthorized to communicate it to you\npersonally. Your appearance will\ntherefore be required at court.Presented this writing to the guards at the gate and they will let you\npass freely. This invitation is especially for your dragon....... \nRoland left reluctantly\nlowered the letter from his field of vision. His eyes were wide with surprise behind\nthe paper to light. He took a deep breath. Catherine\nand Daniel looked\nat him tense. \"I am invited\nto the castle, and I should take Kyndle with me.\" he said slowly. Daniel widened\nhis eyes. \"Is descripted why?\" he asked determinative. Roland looked\nagain on the\ndocument. \"No.\" he\nadded. \"Good.\" said\nCatherine left and\nclapped her hands together once. \"Then\nwe will not have to wait the king.\"\nshe added, as she stood up and walked to the door. \"You will go to Drakensang\nsame today. Daniel\nwill take you there.\" she added and walked\nthrough the door. Daniel made a nodding movement\nof the head and followed his mistress.\n\"Of course.\" he said. In passing he knocked Roland\nonce on the shoulder. \"Pick together what\nyou need, I'll take care of the\ntransportation.\" he added. The\nyoung man remained silent.\nIt remained for him to answer any opportunity, because everyone was already\ngone before he could catch his breath. \"Ok.\" he thought something unsafe\nto himself and looked slightly perplexed in\nthe now empty office,\nthen he made\nhis way back to his room....... \"What do you mean with that? She is no longer here!?\" asked vigorously a well-armed woman the barman.\nShe wore a finely\ntailored leather armor.\nThis was designed\nnot to hind her in\nany movement or disturbing.\nThe hardened leather pieces were also seen\non the legs and\nforearms. Her gloves were equipped with gray plates in the melee\ncertainly could feel\npainful itself. Strapped\nto her back she carried a massive war hammer with\nher, who already had many battle scars. Her rather\npetite stature effectively\nhid the enormous strength, which would be necessary for carrying out such weapons.The gaze of her\nred eyes pierced the bartender literally. The\nalso red tattoo\non her left cheek reinforced this\neffect even further. She placed\nboth hands noisily\non the counter and even shook off her\nshoulder-length red hair. The bartender looked\nat the stranger\nleft. \"As I said.\" he began. \"Lizbeth\nis no longer here.\nShe arrived in Parem\na few days ago.\"\"Nice that I found out that so early.\" she\nbleated with angry\nvoice. The bartender looked at the woman quizzically.\n\"Should I get a message to her?\" The lady held\nup a hand repellent. \"No need.\" she started, looking at him while demanding.\n\"I'll tell her myself.\"\nShe turned away from the counter and walked to\nthe entrance. At the door she\nstopped and turned back to the bartender to.\n\"And Johan?\" she began, pointing with one hand on the keeper. This\nlooked at her with\nraised eyebrows. \"Yes Patricia?\" he asked\ncalmly. \"No word on that\nI was here.\"\nshe added determinative. Johan nodded silently,\nbefore she went out of the inn. ...... Before the entrance to the property\nIronwing, Roland and\nhis companion got ready to leave.Roland stood before his dragoness and pulled\nher way around the selected\ncloth. \"And pull\nhere and ready.\" he said as he looked at\nher with a smile. Kyndle looked at him with half-closed eyes and cooed softly. She nudged\nher companion with the muzzle to the\nnose, adding a cheerful short \"Meep\". Then she moved slightly to\nhis cape and tried\nhim to pull the hood\nover the head, what she did not succeed so right. Roland smiled at the\ndragoness and held it to her nose, looking into\nher eyes. The light turquoise shimmer of\nher pupils lights at him. The quiet purr of\nher he could feel\nin his hand. \"We\nare again playful\ntoday?\" he asked with a wink. Kyndle\nsomething came closer to him and stroked Roland purring\nlightly with her tongue down his cheek, then she\nrubbed her head against his.\nHe felt her scales on his skin and heard\nsympathetically the slight vibrations of her purr. He brushed a hand\nover her head and placed it\non her cheek. She took eye contact and threw him against a bright\nturquoise glitter. Roland looked up with a\nwarm smile in the blue gems. The dragoness approached her face, her head held\nslightly inclined, she began to\npurr with half-closed eyes.\nRoland held the eye\ncontact maintained. This low odor, which he had in the nose in the morning\nwas now again\navailable. Kyndle now closed her eyes completely and snorted her\ncompanion once gentle face. Roland felt\nher warm breath on his skin. As if on cue returned his body her gesture. A\nbrief moment both still separated from\neach other. Kyndles heart began\nto pound nervously. But before it came\nto the by her hoped for kiss,\ndrove a car around\nthe corner. The noisy sound of the two\nhorses pulled Roland\nback from his little\ndream. With a slight shake of his\nhead he came to himself and looked at an\norange-red female dragon, which gave\nhim a slightly sad look. He took a quick\nbreath to speak to her.\"Are\nyou two ready?\" interrupted Daniel's question, which had\nstopped the car\nin front of them. Roland exhaled once strong and had to swallow his\nwords. Kyndle looked at him questioningly, but he kept his eyes closed. He moved again to\nKyndles scarf and\nthen turned to the driver. \"Yes, we're ready.\" he said, and climbed into\nthe passenger seat. The dragoness took on the\nrear seat area.\nLowered her head thoughtfully\nand gave, over the fact that already have something came between them, a\nsad, barely audible \"Chirp\"\nof herself. Roland briefly turned\nhis head back. He looked at\nhis companion in her\ndejected attitude. This sight let him\ngo through the body a slight discomfort. He\ncould never bear well to see\nher in such an\nattitude. He was not entirely clear why she\nbehaved so at the moment. Thoughtfully, he turned his face to the front again. \"How long will my visit\nto the castle takes about?\"\nhe asked Daniel. The\ndriver looked at him briefly\na little skeptical. \"I do not\nknow. An hour or two maybe.\" he replied as he\nraised an eyebrow. \"Why do\nyou ask?\" he hacked at. \"Can we yet go before\nto Barnabas farm?\" Roland asked. Daniel\ntook a one left.\n\"Yes, we can.\" he uttered. The driver\nsaw Roland slightly\nsuspicious. \"Something I should know?\" he said soberly. Roland kept\nhis gaze thoughtfully directed\nforward. \"No.\" he\nreplied hesitantly. \"Nothing important at the moment.\"\nhe added as he\nlooked back to the\nfemale.Daniel saw his passenger\nbriefly silent, then\nhe nodded once.\n\"All right.\" he began. \"Let's visit before the meeting at court nor the farm of Barnabas.\"\nhe added, relied on\na slight smile. Roland nodded wordlessly as he\ncontinued to regard Kyndle. The female noticed his gaze and turned her\nmoist eyes on him.\nThe blue color of the iris covered the otherwise clearly\nidentifiable turquoise shimmer.\nShe snorted once in\nhis direction and\nthen lowered, with\na soft cooing her head. With her eyes closed she pulled her face under one\nof her dark wings. Roland felt that something was wrong with her, but still could not determine what that might be. Knowing that she would not react in the\nmoment to his words, he turned back to the street\nin front of the car. \"What\nis going on with her?\" he asked himself, tilted his head slowly forward.\"Don`t break your head because of her.\" Daniel started and looked at\nhim encouragingly. \"All dragons behave\na little strange in heat.\" A slight\nsmile accompanied his last words.\nRoland saw at the\ndriver with a skeptical face.\n\"A little strange? Yes.\" he said as his eyes wandered to the female.\n\"But this time\nit's different.\" He added, turning back to Daniel. \"Oh,\nbecause of that you want to go first to Barnabas!\" came easily amazed\nby the driver. The passenger nodded once silent.\n\"Why don`t you say that straight away.\" lamented Daniel smile.\n\"I'll remember that for next time.\"\nsaid Roland, and had\nhimself also a smile....... \nA man in a gray robe\nknelt in front of five big dragon statues. The\nhands held together in prayer,\nhe meditated with sloping forehead before the stone dragon. \nA second figure approached\nhim, also dressed in the same clothes. \"The times are darkened increasingly, since the first companion\nhad revealed.\" said the first\ninto space. \"Disturbing events occur.\" he\nsaid. \"The dead rise from their graves. An outbreak on Shared Mountain.\nParts of the floating city are plunged\ninto the crater.\" The second person walked\npast the glowing emblems. \"It was\nnot only the\nfirst one.\" He began,\nwaving his hand to the other glowing symbols. \"Not\nonly Kyleth, Arkas, Sorathis and also\nGalvatros have chosen\na companion.\" In front of the last\nstone figure he stopped. \"Only Wyverex remains\npending.\" Silently looked the man in\nthe empty stone eyes\nof the shown dragon. The meditating\npriest turned his tired look on his\ncolleagues. \"Trust in the\nFive, brother. He\nwill reach when the time is right.\"\"The prophecy will be fulfilled\nbefore the impending\ndarkness engulfs this\nworld.\" ...... Daniel drove the car through\nthe stone gate and turned shortly thereafter on a\ndirt road, which led to Barnabas farm. \"Wait.\nStop Daniel! \"Roland\nsaid aloud. With a strong jolt the car stopped\nand the driver threw his fellow passengers a\nquestioning look. The female on the rear pulled easily\nfrightened out her head under her\nwing. \"What's going\non?\" Daniel asked, slightly nervous and raised both eyebrows. Roland shook\nhis head slowly. \"Nothing serious.\" he began calmly.\n\"You can wait for us here. The rest we go\non foot.\" Daniel scratched his head. \"Well,\nif you mean so.\" he said, and nodded\nat him once. Roland rose from\nthe front passenger seat and\nwaved once at the\ndriver. \"See you later,\nhe said, and\nturned to the female dragon on\nthe back place. Kyndle looked\nat her companion a\nlittle skeptical and looked at\nhim with her deep blue eyes. With a soft cooing\nshe moved her head in his direction.\nRoland saw the\nfemale with a warm smile. \"Come on little one. The rest we go alone.\" he said to her and made with the hand a waving to him\ngesture. In Kyndles\neyes briefly flashed\na light turquoise shimmer by his last\nwords. With a quick movement, the dragoness sat up and\njumped from the\ncar elegantly down. Joyfully she strutted a\nfew steps ahead and threw her companion then an\nencouragingly \"Meep\" counter. Roland smiled\nat her and went after\nher. \"So I know my Kyndle.\" he thought to himself. To see her happy\nagain took him a big load of the soul. Roland walked with\na leisurely pace on the dirt road, while he\nlet his gaze thoughtfully glide over the wide enclosure.\nBut he turned his attention a little surprised to Kyndle.\nShe was walking right\nbeside him and leaned her head softly purring\non his shoulder.\nHe drove with his arm under her jaw through\nand kept his hand on her cheek. With slight pressure\nhe pressed her to him. The female closed her\neyes and purred happily excited on. Again\nthis strange smell\nrose to his nostrils. He thought no more about\nit. Together they crossed a long bridge that led\nacross a brown pen. After the transfer, the landscape changed to an open green area. Individual trees and shrubs found\nits way into the wide enclosure. They walked along\nthe fence when suddenly a strange\ndragon appeared behind\nand stuck his head over the edge of the boundary.\nCurious about, the animal sniffed the air and turned his attention to the orange-red female.Roland stand remained\nwith Kyndle and let her go easily\nfrightened when he saw the\nbrown scaly face.\nTense he looked into the emerald green eyes of\nthe head. The dragon had dark brown scales,\neven to the nostrils\nthe color changed more of a matte black. Two single gray horns crowned the\nforehead of the animal. The lighter breast shed\nhe turned to\nacting skillfully as he stood in a proud attitude. Raised\nhis head, he spread his lowered\nwings and gave a loud \"Chirp\" of himself. A subsequent deep\ncooing was yet\nto hear from him. At that moment, another dragon hissed between.\nRoland turned frightened\nto the new one. There\nwere hardly detect\ndifferences between the two. He\ntherefore assumed that they belong to the same species. The second dragon had the\nsame appearance, he was only slightly larger than\nhis colleague and from his head lit\nsmall rubies. The second dragon hissed at the first\nagain and demonstrated with a threatening growl his razor-sharp teeth.\nThe first is\nthe left not just\nlike and also\nmoved into an aggressive stance against the counterparty. Both dragon fought\nbare an embittered\nlook duel, accompanied\nby alternating growl and bared teeth. Roland\nwatched this tense\ndrama. After no one left\nintimidated by both, they changed their strategy.\nBoth raised their heads and stood upright\nin front of the fence down.\nThe wings slightly raised they unfolded\ntheir bright brown\nwing membranes, stretched the tail straight back.\nA deep and booming\ncooing was heard by\nthe two dragons, which looked encouragingly at Kyndle. The young man realized now\nthat both campaigned fiercely for the favor of his companion. He nudged\nhis dragoness slightly.\n\"Hey. I think they talk to you.\" he said\nto her. But Kyndle gave no heed to their\nefforts. She held her head with closed eyes curled on Roland and\npurred softly to\nherself. After some time, both males slowly lowered\ntheir heads because\nthey got no attention\nfrom the female. Roland saw the two skeptical\nafter as they\nretreated, their faces downcast inclined.\n\"She has\ngranted them not even a quick look.\" he thought to himself as he looked at Kyndle. \"What is\nmerely wrong with her?\" he said to himself, as\nhe sat down again on the move.\nThe dragoness leaned\nfurther against his\nshoulder as they walked to the farm. Once on the large forecourt in front of the central building Kyndle\nsparked something of her companion and\nwalked a little way ahead. \"Hello Roland,\" cried Clara aloud from the entrance\nof the main house, when she noticed\nthe two on the far\nplace. A broad smile adorn\nher face. Kyndle lifted\nher head and sent a welcoming treatment \"Meep\" back. Roland smiled\nand waved to her. The female ran toward Clara\nand stopped directly in front of her. Barnabas assistant\nheld an open hand against the dragoness for\ngreeting, accompanied by a warm smile. Kyndle leaned\nher muzzle with a joyful snort short against the\noffered hand and\nadded a cheerful \"Chirp\"\nto. \"Well if that is not my little friend?\" Clara said to the female\nand smiled at her. \"How big you have almost grown?\" she added in amusement. The dragoness saw\nClara with open eyes and gave a playful \"Churr\"\nby herself, there she stuck the tip of her tongue out of the mouth.Roland had now caught up and stood next\nto the two in front of the entrance.\nClara turned to him. \"Master Barnabas is\nnot in the house.\" she began.\n\"If you want to talk to him,\nyou have to come back in three days.\"\nshe explained with obliquely down the head\nand held out three\nfingers outstretched. The young man held up a hand repellent. \"It's\nok. I actually wanted to talk with you.\" he\nsaid, tossing the assistant a questioning\nlook. Clara smiled at him,\nholding her green eyes fixed on him.\n\"With me?\" she asked, slightly hesitant. Roland nodded again,\nsmiling. ...... In a lonely and\ndark cave, not far from the border to Parem, two figures\nhad gathered. Which sat around a small flickering\nfire. One of them poked with a stick wildly in\nthe embers. \"Only an order!\" cursed the man to his\ncronies. \"ONE SHITTY ORDER! This were his\nwords!\" he added with anger\nand threw angry\nthe short wooden\nstick into the fire. The flames\nstartled easily and\ngave the dark cave a short\nbright shimmer. The\nshadow of darkness withdrew\nbriefly from the\nfaces of the men. \"Calm\ndown, Torben.\" soothed him his colleague, directed\nhis weary pale eyes on him. Torben twitched angrily back\nand forth. \"Larzarus has\nsaid. Only an order and we are finished!\"\nvigorously he held a finger over the flames, held out to his colleagues. \"And where has that brought us?\" he\nadded sarcastically, as he stood\nup with outstretched arms slightly away of\nthe fire. \"We're sitting here at the ass of the world!\" Frantically\nhe turned and went\nwith his upscale fist to his cronies. \"On\nthe run after nearly five years in captivity\nby a sadistic fat\nman!\" With a menacing look he\nsaw him breathing\nheavily deep into the pale eyes.\n\"AND I SHOULD CALM DOWN!?\" he\nasked with anger after. His colleague slowly raised\nhis head and looked at him\nseriously. \"Yes.\" he said calmly. Torben sat down again\nby the fire, his head resting on his hand, breathing heavily. \"He has not\nmade a single attempt.\" He lifted his face and\nlooked over the flames to his colleagues. \"Not\none! Aaros.\"\nhe added, raising thereby a\nforefinger.Aaros turned his gaze to\nTorben. \"That is because he is no\nlonger the Larzarus that he once was.\" With raised eyebrows he\nlooked at his colleague skeptically.\n\"What do you mean?\" Aaros saw his cronies thoughtfully.\n\"Have you not noticed it?\"\nhe asked. \"What\nnoticed?\" hacked Torben by. \"Something about him was different than we\nlast saw him, somehow\nstrange.\" Tense he held his clenched\nhand to his mouth. \"I could not see it clearly, but it seemed like he was not himself. This Kargesh certainly\nhas something to do with it.\"\"And what do\nyou think we should do now?\" Torben asked\ndeterminative. Aaros saw to his colleague with\na smile. \"Well, my friend, it`s very simple. We will add us to the\ncourse of destiny and ask for a king's forgiveness.\" he said calmly. Torben\nleft slightly shocked\nnoticed open his mouth. ...... \"I\ndon`t get the point.\" Roland began a little\nperplexed. \"She had not even\nconsidered this dragons\nwith her tail\nend.\" He stopped and turned to Kyndle. \"I\nwould have expected that she somehow\nagreed with them, even if she rejects\nthem.\" Thoughtfully, he looked at the orange-red\nfemale. Kyndle looked\nat her companion with\nan awakened glance and sent him a happy cooing,\naccompanied by a slight turquoise\nglitter. Clara closed thoughtful her eyes. After a short deliberation,\nshe turned to Roland. \"The way you describe it, it could be that she still\nhas no interest in a partner.\" she began. \"Or she have\nalready chosen one.\" she added thoughtfully and\nkept thereby a finger to her chin. \"The only\nquestion is for whom?\" she\nadded. \"That would interest me\ntoo.\" said Roland and turned to Clara. \"Because\nuntil now she has\nnot allow another dragon to herself.\"The young man walked up to his female dragon, holding a hand to her cheek, gazing deeply into her blue eyes\ndirected. A thin ring\nof turquoise retired to the dilated pupils.\nKyndle began to\npurr softly as she felt his hand on her head.\n\"And what do\nyou say?\" Roland asked with\na broad smile. Kyndle looked at him with a wet look, her heart was\nbeating fast. But how paralyzed she could give him no answer. The nervousness\nwas just too big at\nthe moment. The female dragon\ncrouched on the floor, her head tilted to one side slightly embarrassed, but always keeping eye\ncontact with her companion.\nOnly their light purr\ncame from her throat. After a short time Roland pulled his hand back and\nturned his gaze to Clara. \"She probably\nhas no interest now.\"\nhe said, slightly disappointed at her. \"Whatever.\"\nhe said as he turned and walked toward a\nlittle on Clara. \"We\nshould now slowly back to Daniel. An\nappointment in the castle is\nstill on the list.\" he\nadded. \"Thank you for your time.\nWe certainly see\nyou again soon.\" he said to\nBarnabas assistant and shown a goodbye with a wave at her. \"Come\nKyndle.\" He said to the female and began to go\nahead. Clara waved smiling\nback at Roland, but then turned\nto Kyndle. She had the dragoness closely\nwatched and began to smile\nwith closed eyes.Kyndle rose slightly\nhesitant, lowered her head a little sad as she went behind Roland.\nShe paused a bit shocked when she suddenly noticed Clara's hand on her\nshoulder. Interrogative she\nlooked into the green eyes of the blond person.\nThis smiled warmly\nat the dragoness and stroked her\ngently on the\nhead. \"A good choice you made there.\" she\nspoke softly to the female.\nKyndle briefly closed her eyes and cooed\nsoftly, followed by a weak \"Chirp\". \"Do not be discouraged now.\" she began confidently. \"Your\ntime will come. Just have a little patience.\" she added with a wink and smiled\nat the female. With a cheery \"Meep\" the dragoness turned\nand stalked behind her companion. Clara looked\nafter her with crossed\narms and held her head while a slight angle. \"Good\nluck Kyndle.\" she spoke softly and waved\nafter them. After a short walk they arrived back at\nDaniel. This easy\nwaited impatiently beside the car and had\nhis foot nervously rattle on the ground. He\nsat up quickly when he noticed\nthe two. \"There you are again.\" He climbed into the driver's seat and\ngave the young man\na questioning look. \"Did\nyou get your questions answered?\"\nhe asked with a\nslight smile on his face. Roland\nnodded once in\nagreement. \"Yes, all right so\nfar.\" he replied and sat down beside him. Kyndle made it herself comfortable on the back. \"Now then, on to the castle.\" Daniel said, and put the car in motion. ......Torben walked nervously\nin the cave up and\ndown. \"Of course! Just like\nthat through the gates to the throne!\" he groused\nto himself and waved\nit with his hands. \"Then a cheerful obeisance\nbefore the crown.\nAnd at the same time we say: Sorry for your dad!\" he\nadded sarcastically and knelt with outstretched hands to the front, slightly\ngrimaced. He straightened\nup again walked with a pointing\nfinger at his comrade. \"And just so\non the edge.\" he began angrily. \"We're\nbroken out of his prison, only just a few days\nago.\" he grumbled on. Aaros looked at him\npuzzled, shaking his head with his hand held to his forehead. Torben turned his back\non him again and held one forefinger\nstretched upward. \"Oh, but we can apologize us for\nthat, too. He will cut us heads only once and\nnot twice.\" he\nsaid angrily and stretched his colleagues against\ntwo fingers. The man at the fire remained still shaking\nhis head, held his hand to his forehead.\n\"Come sit down and get some air.\nIn your current state of your mind\nyou make me just nervous.\" he said calmly and\nlooked into the flickering flames.\nSomewhat hesitantly Torben took next to the\nfire place again and exhaled heavily. Slowly\nhis breathing calmed and it came back\na little silence in\nthe cave. Some\nmoments both sat\nsilently at the fire. \"Was actually a good train of you.\" Torben began.\n\"What?\" replied Aaros surprised and looked\nat him questioningly. \"Well,\nthat with the cell\ndoor and the guard. I did not expect that\nyou can do something like that, and then even without your\nrod.\" he added praise\nand grinned at\nhim through the flames. His\ncolleague shook his head with closed eyes. \"That\nwas not my work.\" he explained.\n\"What do you mean?\" hooked Torben curiously\nafter. \"Did you forgotten it? The arkansulfate had\nblocked my access. Inside the prison I\ncouldn`t act magic, even if I had had my staff.\"\nhe replied. \"Who, or what was it then?\" Torben asked again.\"Before our escape, I had a spiritual appearance in\nmy dreams.\" began Aaros. \"The figure was wearing an orange-red robe and walked out of\na ring of flames to\nme. He spoke of a companion\nand that we should go to the king.\" Thoughtfully\nhe gazed into the flickering glow of the fire. \"Companion?\"\nTorben interrupted him with a grin. \"Do you\nspeak merely of this stupid prophecy?\"\nAaros looked at him seriously. \"This is not a silly fairy tale.\" he hissed over the\nflames. \"This stranger has\nopened my eyes, and he was the one who allowed\nus to escape.\" he added,\nglancing at his comrades demanding. Torben held both hands\nopened upward. \"Ok let's go on the assumption that everything is true.\" he started skeptical. \"If this\nguy was talking about both of us,\nwhy is he only appeared to you in\na dream?\" he asked his\ncronies. Aaros grinned\nat him. \"In your bulb is\nprobably going to\nbe little.\" he said, amused and laughed\nsoftly to himself. Torben contorted his face sullenly\nand silently looked into the flames. Aaros looked at his colleague confident. \"Trust\nme, my friend.\" he said. Torben hesitantly lifted\nhis gaze from the fire. \"I trust you, but\nof this prophecy box\nI'm not convinced.\" he said uncertainly, looking Aaros here in the dull eyes. This\ngave him a smile. \"Will go right.\" he added encouragingly. \"Oh! One more thing.\" came questioning by Torben. \"How do\nyou intend to bring us actually\nafter Drakensang?\" he hacked at. Aaros\nraised his arm over the flames and showed his colleague a white chessman.\nHe saw the little tower in his hand and\nlooked at his companion. \"Just like last time.\" he said with a wink, and\nturned the figure on the fire. ...... Blue flags moving\nin the wind playfully, which easily took\nover the tower\nspiers. A guard walked on the battlements along and noticed a lonely\ncar on the road. The\nsighting of the bridge watch was quickly reported that\npulled a big lever\nimmediately. The metallic rattle of large gears\ncould be heard, while slowly lowered the heavy\ndrawbridge. With a thud the moat was now passable.\"We will already expected.\" Daniel said\nto his co-driver, pointing forward to the up -rising portcullis.\nRoland looked tense\nup on the walls. Between\nthe battlements are curious faces showed. The\nsoldiers behind the entrance took\na close skeptical look on the\ngroup. Daniel pulled the car over the small\ncourtyard to the main building.\nHe brought the vehicle\nnext to the fountain in the center of the square to stop. Roland rose\nhesitant from the car and looked around in surprise. Kyndle did the same and\nstood behind her companion. Both\nwere clearly uncomfortable, quite in the center of attention. \"The entrance to the throne room\nis over there.\" Daniel began, pointing with his outstretched index finger a lower stairs\nup to a larger input. Roland looked up at the\ngate, two guards were\nposted before. He glanced at Daniel and\nnodded silently. \"I'll\nwait here for you.\" added this\nand smiled at him confidently. With small steps, the young man and his dragoness\nwent up the short\nflight of stairs. He looked up at\nthe entrance and swallowed\nhard again. The\ntwo guards before talking allowed. Roland walked\nup to them. One of the guards\nhad directed his\ngaze to his colleagues. \"And then I said\nto her, baby! If\nyou want even\nhave it right ...\"\nHe broke off as his buddy pointed with his head\nto the young man. Both stood up straight\nand looked at him in silence. They were armed with magnificent halberds. The dark matte armor\nwere provided with numerous battle scars. Blue coats\nwere hanging down from the shoulders. The closed visors of the horned\nhelmets let them look like statues.Once inhaled deeply,\nhe made a bold step approach to the open gate. Quick\nas a flash, the sharp edges of\nthe halberds crossed in front of his face and\nblocked his passage. Startled, he stepped back, Kyndle then took an\naggressive stance against the\nguards and gave a menacing\ngrowl. Without a\nreaction to show the\nsoldiers kept their\nweapons rod further\ncrossed. \"What do you think where you going?\" asked a guard determinative. Roland\nlooked nervous in\nthe shaded slits\nof the helmet. Reluctantly, he took out the letter\nof the king from his coat pocket and held it out to him.The unblinking eyes of the guard scrutinized the document carefully. He nodded his colleagues on it once\nand at the same time they withdrew their weapons.\n\"You will already expected Roland.\" he\nsaid then. The young man turned to his companion, this looked\nthe guards still very suspiciously. He held her\nnose and looked deeply into her eyes. \"Calm\ndown.\" he spoke as he had eye contact. The black slots\nof the pupil resumed a rounded shape and\na small turquoise shimmer appeared. \"Everything's\nfine. They let us pass now.\" he whispered\nto her and stroking her gently over the head.\nThe dragoness closed\ncooing her eyes and let out a\nsmall \"Churr\" of\nherself. He turned to the entrance and walked\nslowly round. His companion\nfollowed him slightly hesitant. She looked both\nguards still short\nand snorted at\nthem before she went through the\ndoor. One of the guards looked the dragoness after\na moment and then turned to his colleagues. \"I used to have a dragon as a companion like him. Then one of these\nbeasts had bite me in the knee...\"The sumptuous furnishings\nof the entrance area left Roland breathe amazed.\nA small marble fountain\ndecorated centers. On the walls of the room\nhung round the\npainted faces of the former kings. It seemed almost as followed\nthe gaze of painting the young man and his companion. Surprised, he swung\nhis head back and forth, his eyes always sliding\nfrom one image to the next. Before\na work of art, he remained standing\nthoughtfully. Kyndle also responded and\nsniffed curiously at the portrait. Then an\nelderly man was seen. He wore a crown on his\nhead drawn with\ngray hair and looked proud with his yellow-green eyes out of\nthe wooden frame on the wall. Behind him was a white\ndragon to see, the green eyes stood out literally\nfrom the image. On the golden shield including curved letters were\nengraved. \"Hector the\nFourth and partner\nKatara.\" was written. \"Partner?\" Roland repeated the words easily\nconfused in his mind. He glanced at Kyndle,\nthis also looked\nat him and sent him purring softly a light turquoise\nshimmer contrary. He raised his hand and\nso approached her\nhead. The female slowly began to close her eyes\nand purred softly\non. When he touched\nher velvet shed she leaned slightly against his hand. She opened her\neyes dreamily and took with her\ncompanion eye contact. Roland\nsaw the small turquoise\nrings around her pupils flashed and slowly\napproached her head. Kyndles\nheart was pounding like crazy. The eyes happily closed\nand face tilted slightly to the side, she also came up to him. A brief moment\nstood still between\nher lips. A loud hawking let\nboth wince slightly.\nStartled Roland shook\nhis head again and looked again at the\npainting in front of him, before\nhe turned to the new voice. Kyndle exhaled\nhard and let her\nthroat while a\nlow, rather plaintive \"Meep\" escape. \"Do the gentlemen have an appointment?\" asked the person upright. His clothes quickly\nrevealed that he\nbelonged to the service personnel. The arms held\nbehind his back and\nlifted his nose, he stood quietly, waiting for\na response. Roland took a moment\nto organize his\nthoughts back to. \"Um, yes.\" he\nbegan hesitantly, pulling the King's letter from his coat pocket.\n\"That should explain everything.\"\nhe said, holding out the paper roll. The butler nodded\nonce. \"Good. This way please.\" he spoke and turned his arm\nforward pointing to, without looking at the letter. Kyndle and Roland\nfollowed his hasty steps and looked through\nagainst each other once questioningly. The butler led both to a large door. With a\nslight effort he braced himself\nagainst the gate halves and pressed it on the\ninside. A faint creaking could be heard as they\npushed to the side and freely\ngave way to the\nthrone room. Before long carpet that led to the\nbase of the large marble chair stood a man in armor\nflaked and a blue\ncloak. With a faint smile he greeted the\nyoung man and his female dragon with a long head nod.It was Mardon. He held\nan open hand and glancing\nat the butler. \"It's\nalright. I'll take it from here.\" he spoke calmly\nto him and then\nturned back to Roland and Kyndle. The staff\nmade a stooped gesture\nwith the upper body and withdrew\nquietly. \"Is long ago? What?\" he greeted the\nyoung man and smiled at him.\n\"Mardon? Is that you?\" Roland\nasked a little uncertain. The demand nodded\nonce in agreement. \"Have just shot up\nproperly.\" added Mardon amusement. \"What you\ncan claim your dragon\ntoo.\" he said. Kyndle looked at him\nwith a sprightly look and gave a welcoming\ntreatment \"Chirp\" by herself,\nfollowed by a contented cooing. Mardon kept inviting\none arm stretched\nout and turned it around to the throne. \"Come,\nit is time.\" he said, and made\nthe first steps\nforward. Roland went\ndown beside him. Kyndle closely followed him to\nthe side. Slightly nervous she\nlooked around in the\nlarge and long\nhall. \"Why should I come?\" asked the young man. \"In the letter\nI read some of my concerns,\nbut such I have not.\" he said confused. \"Listen to me good now Roland.\" Mardon began\nseriously as they continue approached the throne. \"The letter\nis from me. You should come here so that we determine\nhow to proceed.\" He paused,\nholding out a hand on his shoulder. \"King\nHarkin knows about\nyou.\" he said calmly.\nRoland's eyes widened slightly scared. \"Three\nother companions have been rise, so I informed him of it.\" he explained. \"I hope you're not angry,\ntherefore to me.\" he added\nand walked on again. Roland stopped shortly.\n\"Other companions?\" he thought to himself. Kyndle\nnudged him on the shoulder and turned her blue\neyes on him. He smiled warmly at the\ndragoness. \"It's all\nright.\" he said softly to her and also went on\nto the throne. The\nfemale nodded with closed eyes\nand followed him with\na satisfied coo. On the magnificent marble chair sat an elderly\nman. The golden crown concealed most of his hair,\nbut individual already streaked with\ngray crept out from under.\nHe wore a blue drapery,\nwith numerous ornaments.\nThe small embellishments\nwere incorporated with golden fibers into\nclothing. Many of the patterns exhibited\ndraconic features. Around his neck he wore\na visibly thicker\nsilver chain on which there was a white dragon\nclaw.The king was talking with a\nperson in a gray frock. This stood with his back to them. As they grew walked closer to the base,\nthe two turned to the guests. The stranger pulled the hood back and looked at\nRoland tired. A\nfaint smile graced the wrinkled face of the man. Roland looked at him slightly confused. \"Take\nit easy.\" said Mardon and patted him once\nencouragingly on the shoulder, then he walked beside\nthe throne. The young man had to swallow once empty.\nA little nervousness began to rise in\nhim. Kyndle stood\nbeside him and nudged him with her nose briefly to\nthe source. Slightly\nsurprised he looked at her.\nWith a soft cooing met him her eyes and\npulled his little panic back down. A warm\nsmile graced his face as he looked gratefully in the brilliant touch of turquoise in her eyes\nand held a hand to\nher cheek. \"May I introduce.\" Mardon\nbegan, his eyes fixed on the king. \"Roland from\nthe house of Daventry and his\ndraconic companion Kyndle.\" He\ngestured with his hand to the two\nguests and threw a\nquick smile to Roland. The young\nman bowed saluting in front of the ruler. His\ndragoness did the same and lowered her head also.\nThe king nodded affirmatively\nto both. \"Companion?\" was given surprised by the person in the gray cowl. \"Then a\nimprinting took place?\" he asked. \"According to the\ninformation from Barnabas? Yes.\" said Mardon. \"And\nwhere will this dwarf\nknow what it has\non an imprint?\" continued the older\nman in between. \"In\nmy opinion, he is just a better doctor\nthan a magician.\" he added, looking at the female. The dragoness read\nher slightly askance between the new people swing\nback and forth. Kyndle briefly looked slightly nervous to Roland.\nEncouragingly, he nods to the female\nand smiled slightly. With a barely audible cooing\nshe sent him a short\nturquoise shimmer before she turned back\nto the strangers.The king was sitting quietly\nin his marble\nchair and watched\nthe dragoness exactly. Thoughtfully, he held the white dragon claw\naround his neck between\nforefinger and thumb\nand turned it slowly in his hand. The man in the\ngray cowl raised\nhis voice again. \"Only the Sorati and the priests of the Five known the imprint\nritual.\" he spoke\nloudly in the hall. He raised his hand towards Roland and Kyndle.\n\"Where do you want to know therefore whether\nthere is a relation between these two really?\" he asked in the room.\"Without a doubt.\" said the\nking, rising from his throne.\nThe plaintive words\nof the cowl support silent on it. \"Do\nyou believe them?\" asked\nthe older man the ruler. Harkin accused\nthe priest to a tired look. \"Can`t\nyou see it Janosh?\" he asked, slightly\nskeptical. \"What should I see you highness?\"\nadded Janosh somewhat at a loss. \"Great Priest of the Five! This guy\nknows just as much from imprinting as I from planting flowers!\" Mardon thought to\nhimself as he once shook his head and\nrolled his eyes. The king now turned\nhis attention to the female. \"There\nis this certain\nspark.\" he began.\n\"Usually very difficult to detect.\nJust when their\neyes meet.\"Roland was speechless at the moment. It was never\neven occurred to him that this glitter in Kyndles eyes was\nvisible in his as well. But\nat the moment he wondered more, where the king\nhad this knowledge. \"What gives you the assurance that\nit has to do with the imprint?\" asked the priest again between.\n\"As we have already learned, is Roland\nalso susceptible to magic. The origin of\nthis glitter could also arise therefrom.\" Harkin\nsat back down, closed his hand tightly around the white claw. \"I\ndo not see this for the first time\nJanosh.\" said the king. \"This spark was\nalso shared by Hector and Katara.\" He opened\nhis hand and looked at the\nclaw as he\nspoke the name of the dragoness. Mardon breathed\nheavily.Roland and Kyndle\nlooked at each other confused. When he heard both names he saw again the image\nfrom the hall in thought. The man in the\ngray cowl was\ncurt, but then took\na step toward the king. \"Your\nfather has done\nwith his binding on this dragon no favors, Harkin.\"\nhe spoke aloud and\npointed a finger outstretched toward him. A slight anger could be\nheard in his voice. \"We\nhave advised him against it, but he could not be\nmoved to senses.\" Abruptly\nhe turned his back to the ruler and\nwalked away a few paces from him. \"After we\ndid not want to implement the\nritual he went to the Sorati, which granted\nhim his wish.\" The head thoughtfully lowered\nhe turned back to the throne. \"And what\nhas become of it? When the hunters\nkilled Katara, also your father died. After\nwhich this house has been called to battle against the Order.\nWhich in turn Daracoss plunged into a bloody war, which is why ... \".\"ENOUGHT! NOW!\" Harkin cried loudly\nas he abruptly rose from the marble chair.\nThe eyebrows contracted angry he looked at the man with clenched fists. Roland and\nKyndle jumped startled,\nwhile the echo of\nthe King echoed in the main hall.\"A really bad time to poke around in\nold wounds! Janosh!\" Harkin said, with\na determining wording. Directed the gaze\nto the priest, he breathed cumbersome out\nand held his hand tightly around the white claw. Roland saw the ruler\nof tense. Janosh fell silent in shock and saw his\nking a moment in\nsilence. Shortly after, he\nlowered submissively his forehead.\n\"Forgive me Harkin.\" he began calmly.\n\"It was not my intention ...\". \"All right.\" interrupted the king. Held\nup a hand, he sat on the throne. \"I thought it would be a good idea\ntoday to have a\npriest of the five there.\" Easy thoughtful\nhe saw the man in\nthe gray cowl\non. \"This has\nprobably turned out more than a bad idea.\" \"You can now remove Janosh.\" said the ruler and waved a\nhand to the side. The priest made with\nfolded arms a forward-leaning\nmovement. \"As you\nwish.\" he said a little\ndisappointed at his gesture and turned\naround then. On the way to the entrance he looked\nat Roland quite\ndecisive. \"We'll meet\nagain.\" he whispered and disappeared without\nfurther words behind the gate.\nThe young man looked confused by Janosh, whose words\nhe repeated in his mind. \"What he probably\nwanted to suggest?\" he asked himself.\"What do she mean to you?\" echoed the voice of the\nking again through the hall.\nRoland turned his attention back to the front surprised. Harkin was sitting in\nhis marble chair,\nlowered his head, he looked at the claw in\nhis hand. Slightly nervous he looked at his companion. This looked at him also\nand closed half the\neyes, which was accompanied\nby a short turquoise shimmer.\n\"What she means\nto me?\" he asked himself mentally\nas he looked at the female. He put a hand on\nher neck and immediately\nfelt a gentle vibration, which came from her\nquiet purr. The king lifted his\ngaze from the white claw high on the young man. \"What\njustifies your imprint?\"\nhacked by Harkin,\nas he stood up and walked toward both. Roland\nlooked at the ruler slightly confused. Kyndle\nwaved her head to\nher companion and gave with\nclosed eyes, a faint cooing from herself.Mardon out a hand to the king held. \"Wait sir,\nye have misunderstood something.\" he began.\nHarkin saw his fighter\nsuspiciously. \"And what would that be?\" he asked. \"Roland\nhas not chosen an\nimprint like your father did. This\nconnection exists since he\nhas found the\nfemale.\" said Mardon.The ruler remained thoughtful a hand over\nhis mouth as he walked back to his throne. \"Now.\"\nhe began quietly,\nas he sat down again. \"The fate has probably\nsomething with you two before, as may be deemed an imprint as necessary.\"\nhe looked at the young man and his dragoness apologetically.\n\"Forgive me my little direct question earlier,\nI thought you decided\nso easily.\" \"There is nothing to forgive\nmy lord.\" Roland began slowly and\nsaw the king while smiling at. \"It was surprising for me too, when I heard about these imprint the first\ntime. As I realized, it was until now a\nvery unusual experience.\" he explained. \"It brings such a binding with\nit.\" drove Harkin at.\nThoughtfully, he turned his white claw between the\nfingers. \"It affects mainly to\nshare wanted things, but also just as often uncomfortable\nwith each other.\" Lost in deep thoughts, he closed his hand around the claw and looked slightly sad\nat the ceiling. \"However,\nthe effects are dependent on the\nintensity of this binding.\"\"Changing the subject.\" came from Mardon\nbetween. \"Now for the reason for your being here.\" he said to Roland and\nlooked at him while confident of. \"Right.\"\nthe king said, nodding to his fighter once. \"As\nyou may have already heard of Mardon, have with you already appeared four companions. And my\ngut tells me that the last one not wait\nlong in coming.\" Harkin said, pointing briefly to Roland. \"I therefore consider it appropriate to you a little prepare for the upcoming.\" Roland looked at\nthe king a little confused and\nhad his eyes briefly sliding to Mardon.\nThis nodded once\nto mute. \"Preparing?\nOn what?\" he\nasked. Harkin smiled\nwith closed eyes in front of him.\n\"For your trip.\nWhat, so the\nprophecy it will does not want be\nquite safe.\" he explained. At this moment a servant entered the room and strode hastily approached the\nking. He handed him a slip of paper, which was\nviewed seriously by Harkin. The Emperor\nclosed his eyes thoughtfully.\n\"Good.\" He began seriously. \"I'm\nneeded to go somewhere else.\"\nhe continued, looking at Roland. \"Mardon will regulate everything else.\" he turned to the\nmessenger. \"Let's go.\" he spoke, and together they left the\nroom. \"Then we bring\nyou once in shape.\"\nMardon said aloud in front of him as he walked toward the entrance. Roland\nsaw his companion quizzically. This returned\nher gaze with a faint cooing\nand nudged him here\nwith closed eyes with the nose on. He smiled\nat her and gestured with his head the fighters\nafterwards, whereupon both followed suit. ...... \nOn a wide street\nwas a lonely traveler\nand looked seriously\nat the city lying before her. \"Finally!\"\nshe cleared her throat loudly while\nher gaze fell on the white\nwalls of the numerous build roofs .\n\"It's time to take some things\nclear.\" she muttered to herself and walked toward the city. ...... With a powerful jolt Mardon\ncame across the door into the courtyard. \"We do\nnot know much about the other companions.\"\nHe began. \"My\nresearch has promoted not really usable\ninformation to days. Only that Arkas has apparently chosen\na dwarf.\" Roland drew his eyebrows questioningly together. \"A dwarf?\" he asked. \"Yes.\nHe is hear on the\nname Kumasch Gor and came from the Shared\nMountain. Number Three is an elven woman\nthat should be available on some wanted list near the top. A right name or a location we have not been able to\nfind out. And the fourth is only known that this is a\nmagician.\" \"What a trip that will be\nactually?\" Roland asked impatiently. \"The trip to Sorlacom, the\ngreat cathedral of the Five.\"\nsaid Mardon. \"According\nto the legend, the companions will meet\nthere after all have\nreceived their consecration.\" In the yard, he stopped and turned around to\nRoland and Kyndle.\n\"So now, to you.\" With\na sly grin, he looked\nat both of them. The young man and his dragoness also stopped\nand looked at each other briefly confused. ...... \"Such\na damn shit!\"\ngrumbled Torben panting in front of him, as he\ncompletely exhausted leaning against a tree. \"Do not stop!\" called Aaros to him. \"How the heck\ndid they find us?\" Torben gasped as he caught up\nto his comrade. \"It\nwas just a matter of time.\" he\nreplied. Both ran on\nthrough the dense forest. The\nsounds of their pursuers far behind them.\nIn a clearing Aaros suddenly stopped. His colleague took a few steps past him and fell on his knees,\nbreathing deeply. He braced his hands on the ground and looked back. \"Why\ndo you stop?\" he asked. \"Shhh!\" hissed Aaros and\nheld out a hand. Held\nhis head slightly inclined, he listened to the trees.\nA hiss here,\na crack there and\nnext steps behind them. \"What is?\" Torben asked impatiently. His companion looked at him with his dull eyes\nseriously. \"We're\nsurrounded.\" he spoke softly.\nDejected left of\nthe kneeling man lowered his face to the\nfront. \"Then that's it\nprobably with our escape.\" came softly from Torben. Aaros\nmoved towards his colleagues and put a hand on his\nshoulder. \"Not quite my\nfriend.\" he said encouragingly\nto him and glancing\nat the little figure in his hand. \"Then Go!\" Torben spoke loudly and\nclosed both eyes and clenched his hands into\nfists. Aaros nodded once. He pushed the figure\ninto his hand until it broke together. The\nfragments then he threw on the ground. The\nsplitter turned into black smoke that completely\nenveloped the two men. \"Oh I hate that.\" muttered Torben angrily\nto himself. His colleague smiled slightly. \"Get\nready for a curtsy.\" he said, amused. The dark cloud began\nto rotate around\nboth. This movement has been steadily faster until a bright light broke\nthrough the mist and shot up into the sky.\"Here they are,\" cried a deep voice\nfrom the thicket. Shortly thereafter\nwere six armored\nmen around the black\ncloud. The blades pulled they waited for battle that\nthe veil lay down. The dark shadow broke up and remained but a few\nfootprints. \"By the Five! Not again such a ruse!\"\ngrumbled one of the soldiers. \"Go\nswarm out! No one goes home until these\nbastards are found!\" ordered\nthe leader. The group\nSplit up and disappeared\ninto the forest. ...... Mardon clapped his hands\nand rubbed then\nboth palms together, accompanied by a weak grin.\n\"Then the King has offered his full support.\" he began with a smile.\n\"I have made some thoughts by myself on how we can implement this best.\"\nRoland and his\ndragoness looked at each other confused. \"The legends are talking about a\nthreat.\" Mardon began and looked\nat both with a\nslight grin. \"And I thought to myself, some\npreparation for dangerous matters\ncould not hurt.\" He smirked slightly\nand crossed his arms. \"It is not supposed to be another similar scene as five years ago\nin this alley. Or?\"Roland lowered his forehead and those days\nimmediately called to mind. As a reflex, he grabbed his hand\nto the left shoulder. \"No.\" he murmured\nsoftly, slightly turned his head to the side. The\nnext moment he looked at Kyndle. His eyes fell on her left foreleg. Her\nwound was completely healed, only the lighter color\nof the scales in the affected area\nstill remembered it.\nThe female saw her\ncompanion questioningly, she\nadded with a soft cooing. Roland remembered reluctantly at this\nmoment she was gone. These thoughts also brought\nback this empty and desolate feeling\nwhich he felt at the time.\nThis oppressive fear\nof losing her and never see her again. Scary he came to\nhimself. Slightly confused, he looked\naround. He felt the nose of a\nfemale dragon on\nhis hand, which was clutching\nhis left shoulder. Relieved, he let out a breath as he looked back into\nthe luminous flash of her blue eyes. He loosened\nthe grip on his shoulder and put his hand on her\ncheek. A soft purr of her was the response\nto his touch.\"Or?\" Mardon ask\nagain. Slowly Roland\ntook his hand from her head and turned to the fighters. \"Yes.\" he was\nsober by himself\nand took a strong\nbreath before looking at his\ndragoness again. \"Never\nagain.\" he muttered softly to himself. Mardon held both hands\napart opened. \"Then it is my pleasure\nto inform you that you will be taught here\nin Drakensang immediately\nby the best\narmorer in Parem.\"\nRoland looked at\nhim skeptically. Kyndle gave\nalso a questioning \"Chirp\" of herself.Mardon looked at the two confused. \"Not a good proposal?\" he asked as he scratched the back\nof his head. \"Do not be so skeptical.\nHe really knows\nhis way around, and has given me much...\" He trailed off as\nhe thoughtfully looked\nup in the sky. A quick black cloud withdrew swiftly\nover the tiles and\nfell in the\ncourtyard. In the center it\ncircled briefly before\nbuild up itself. \"Stay\nwhere you are!\" Mardon said determining and\ncautiously approached the cloud. Shortly after joining a short flash of light in\nthe dark veil. Roland\nfollowed the curious\ngleam in his gaze.\nThe cloud began to\nrotate again until\nit expanded and eventually\ndisbanded. Leaving only two men in ragged clothes. This\nlooked just a\nlittle dazed back and forth.Roland and Kyndle\ncrossed her eyes briefly.\n\"Who are these two fellows?\" he asked himself in thought. The female once\nsnorted strong and gave finally a quick\n\"Chirp\" of herself. Roland\ncould not resist his smile as he looked at\nit himself. For\nhim it was still a little strange,\nsince they much paying\nattention due to the imprint\nout of his thoughts and memories. The fact that it worked in the opposite direction, he knew, but he could retrieve it never\naware of until now.Kyndle returned his questioning\ngaze and gave an affirmative\n\"Meep\" by herself, accompanied by a short turquoise shimmer of her deep blue eyes. Roland\ncame back from his thoughts and even shook it upside down. As two\nmen are finally\nemerged from the black cloud. Mardon saw the figures\nappeared suspiciously. All eyes on the stranger\nhe took a few steps toward her. One of them sank exhausted on his knees and coughed\nclumsy to himself. He turned his face to\nhis colleague. \"I\nguess I'll never get used to it.\" he said with\na smile and began to sit up. With eyes\nclosed, he exhaled in relief. \"Well at least we have\nthis guys finally.. Oh ...\" He broke off as\nhe opened his eyes and looked at\nMardon. He had placed\nhis hand on the grip of his weapon and looked\nready, made to\ntake these also. \"Who are you?\" Mardon asked quite decisive, kept\nhis fingers tightly around the handle of his blade. The\nfirst of the men looked a little perplexed his colleague,\nwho immediately lifted both hands. \"You will not need your weapon.\" started this. He turned\nhis dim eyes on the fighter. \"For this\ntime we do not count to your enemies.\" he\nsaid with a faint smile on his\nlips. Mardon looked at him\nslightly skeptical and let his eyes\nbetween the two back and forth restlessly. \"Who are you? And what do you mean with this time?\" he asked.Some more soldiers\njoined the Confederation. Mardon signified with his arm sophisticated, to be ready at some\ndistance. The first of the stranger\nlooked frantically at the guards. \"Great.\nFrom the eaves in\nthe shit.\" he bleated silently. The\nelder shook his head again\nat the remark\nof his companion and walked a few steps to\nMardon. He stopped\nwhen he took a young man with an orange red\ndragon on its side in inspection.Mardon withdrew his blade\nslightly from the scabbard. \"I only ask one more time! Who are you and what are you doing\nhere?\" was determinative\nof him, accompanied\nby a penetrating look into the\nclouded pupil of\nthe man. The stranger let out a\nbreath and looked calmly back into the\nrigid green eyes of\nthe fighter. \"My name is\nAaros.\" he began.\nWith one hand he pointed to his colleague, who still looked around wildly. \"And my little nervous friend\nhere is Torben.\" he continued. Mardon looked\nat the second man searchingly. He seemed distracted,\nbut mainly exhausted.\nHe widened his\neyes in astonishment as he looked\nat his face more closely. A reddish scar pulled\nacross his right eye and the nose. At the base of the neck he noticed darker patches,\nlike a tattoo. Mardon drew his eyebrows\ntogether seriously. \"You are the two hunters that I have collected in\nStronos.\" he said aloud. \"Then Korban\nwas right, and they\nare actually fled\nfrom his kingdom.\" he muttered to himself. Roland tore astonished\nhis eyes and glancing thoughtfully at the two men. Aaros noticed the look\nof the young man and waved with his eyes\nto him. \"And this must be the companion?\" Mardon quickly came back from\nhis thoughts when he heard him.\n\"How do you think to know that?\"\nhe asked him determinative.\n\"I do not need to know.\"\nhe began easily\ngrin. \"You have just confirmed my assumption.\" he pointed with a gesture on Roland's right hand back.\n\"And this charming emblem was also a little help.\" Roland held his\nleft hand in front of his rights and made a small step backwards.\nKyndle turned slightly\nside to him and threw\nAaros a menacing look,\naccompanied by a slightly audible growl. Somewhat\nsurprised Roland lifted his gaze to the older\nman. This seemed unimpressed by the gesture of the dragoness and looked\nbehind him. \"What\ndo you want from me?\" the young man\nasked hesitantly. Aaros took a breath\nwith closed eyes. \"It's not about what I want, or Torben.\"\nhe began quietly.\nHe smiled at him weakly.\n\"Still what you\nwant.\" he pointed to the companion\nand strode back to his colleague. Roland breathed\nout confused and looked inquiringly at his\ncompanion, who replied, surprised his view\nalso. Mardon took his hand from his weapon and glanced to Roland\nand his dragoness\nbefore turning on them again, the two men appeared.\n\"How do you mean that?\"\nhe prompted demanding. \"Just as I said.\"\nanswered Aaros quiet.\n\"We are here as we were told by.\nThe rest is up to the companion.\" He spoke and looked\nat Roland.\"How can that be up to me?\" Roland said.\nHe knew these two men not once, and they should be here because\nof him. \"That makes no sense.\"\nhe went on thinking. Kyndle gave a clearly\naudible \"Chirp\" of\nherself as she noticed the uncertainty of her companion. She went up to him and rested\nher forehead on his. Roland felt the gentle\nvibrations that emanated from her quiet purr and closed his eyes gratefully.His mind voice retreated\nslowly until he could\nonly hear her heartbeat. ...... A calming silence settled\nover the area. He heard only his breathing and this from his dragoness. Roland opened the eyes, and to his surprise, around him and Kyndle it was dark. The female\nlooked at him slightly confused and added a\nfaint \"Meep\" to it. He held out a hand to her forehead and\nlooked at her smiling. \"Calm\ndown.\" He spoke softly and looked into her eyes\nslightly anxious. A rather unpleasant, but him familiar\nfeeling rose in him. Which\nwas reinforced by a deep and slow breathing in\nthe dark distance.\nA not it strange rumbling sound made\nitself felt. Slowly this noise intensified.\nRoland could feel\nit in his body. The\nair around him seemed to pulsate. The symbol on Roland's hand back\nbegan to glow slightly. Kyndle gave a\nsurprised \"Meep\" of\nherself as she noticed the bright blue glow of\nher companion. This remained thoughtful his hand in front of his face. With eyes closed, he\nlowered his forehead. \"It's that time again.\" he thought\nto himself. Then he jumped when suddenly a mighty\nflame appeared in\nthe void and ordered in the shape of a\ncircle. The female snarled\nscared of the\nfire ring. Roland\nheld her confident\na hand on the back. \"Take it easy Kyndle.\" he reassured her. \"Your destiny! Your decision!\" the\ndeep voice echoed through the shadows,\nbefore a figure stepped\nthrough the flames in an orange-red robe.\nAgain decorated with\nthe symbols as he had also Roland on the\nback of the hand. The young man looked at the phenomenon skeptically. Something felt odd. He\nhad his final decisions always have to take alone. And now was his dragoness\nwith him here. The figure stepped\nforward and Roland aimed his faceless shadow\non him, both hands retracted into\nthe other sleeve. \"You\nknow what my appearance means?\" said the apparition. Roland looked at him soberly.\n\"Because I have again to come for a decision?\" he said slightly sarcastically. \"No.\" replied the figure. \"Because\nYOU TWO have come to a decision.\"\n\"We?\" hooked Roland after confused, while\nhis eyes wandered thoughtfully\nto his companion.\"That's\nwhy she is here too.\" he\nthought to himself. Kyndle looked at him with an awakened\nview, accompanied by a slight turquoise sparkle in\nher eyes. A confident \"Chirp\"\nshe added with a nod. He held his hand on her\nnose and crossed\nher intense gaze. A warm smile graced his\nface as he felt her breath slipped\nthrough his fingers. \"What is it\nthis time to decide?\" he asked, turning to\nthe person in the orange-red robe on.The apparition looked at him silently. Then lifted\none arm to the side high, where at some\ndistance opened a crack in the void. In it, he recognized\nthe faces of Mardon and King Harkin,\nwho stood in the center of the courtyard. The figure\nthrew his gaze to\nthe other side and raised his arm\nagain. A second crack\nwas created in the dark and revealed two more faces.\nHere Aaros and\nTorben had been seen,\nthe two escaped hunters, which were suddenly\nappeared in the yard. \"One way to go. Which, however?\" began the stranger, looking at Roland. \"Is up to\nyou.\" said the shape and\nlowered his gaze with his arms. Motionless he\nstood between the cracks. Thoughtful wandered Roland`s look back and\nforth. He was offered support,\nbut which way he should choose. Kyndle\nstood there next to him and sat down on\nthe floor. At the same time she nestled her head closer\nto her companion. Roland put an arm around her and looked into the sparkling blue of her sapphire eyes.\nHer gentle purr was\nthe answer to his warm smile. \"How\nare we merely decide? And then what will await\nus?\" he asked her. A long-drawn \"Chirp\"\nwas her expression to it. Roland stroked\nhis dragoness by\nhand between her black horns\nthrough, while he\nlooked confident. The female\nbriefly closed her eyes, the little caress of\nher companion alone enjoying she\npurred softly. \"A king promised his support.\" brought the deep voice\nof the phenomenon both from her eye contact. \"A\nfamiliar face with influence and numerous\npossibilities. But a person in endangered position with\nmany enemies.\"\nThe shadow in the hood gave way\nto the second column. \"Two refugees with\nthe certainty of death are not\nalways the target of all, but their support is even\nmore limited.\" Roland looked skeptically\nat the portrait of\nAaros and Torben.\n\"The certainty of death?\"\nHe began, turning to the stranger. \"What\ndoes that mean?\" \"A prisoner who is taken\nin his escape gets rarely a pardon.\" The\nfaceless shadow in\nrobe turned his gaze on the young man. \"Death is what he will get.\" With a dejected look he sat down next to Kyndle\non the ground. Roland's\neyes were open, as after a shock. \"Can I?\" he asked himself. \"So easy to decide whether someone lives or not?\"\nThoughtfully, he buried his face in his hands. He didn`t\nknew the two men and now he is to judge over their death.\nKyndle came softly cooing to him. She\nplaced herself beside him and laid her head on his\napproach. At the same time she put one of her\nwings protectively around him.\nRoland grabbed her head and held it with\nlight pressure. The female exhaled softly and\ncooed slightly on.\nHe lifted his head and looked deeply into\nher eyes. A bright turquoise shimmer moved\nout of his wet look\nin her, accompanied by a soft\n\"Thank you.\" The\ndragoness closed purring\nthe eyes and tightened her embrace. A\nsingle tear crept out of her closed eyelids.\"Now, companion!\" said the apparition again.\n\"Choose!\" Roland look stubborn on\nthe shape between\nthe cracks. \"What if I do\nnot want to decide?\" he\nthrew the stranger determining's feet as he stood up and walked towards him.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/743959-five-dragons-tlop-chapter-4-the-shadow-site-of-the-capital.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/745152-five-dragons-tlop-chapter-6-hard-training.json"}