Twisted Fates
Makaidos faces a difficult decision. Rayik struggles with his addiction. The trial is upon them, and the two friends are more divided than ever. Do they have what it takes to escape the Spire's Wrath, or be judged for their transgressions?
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_ Imprisoned under the earth, Makaidos reflects on his future. A lioness comes to his jail, bearing ointments and words of advice regarding Rayik's constant punishment. The prospect of having his fertility stolen angers Makaidos enough to strike an uncertain bargain with a group of unknown rogues. _
Meanwhile, Rayik is offered the same deal. The two former friends clash before the halls of judgment to solve their dispute, yet their conflict pales in comparison to the trial that looms ahead of them. Divided by distaste and spiteful of each other, can the two companions reforge their bond and go through the trial as a team, or will they fall divided? Read and find out!
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They walked into the heart of the mountain, where the roars of dragons and the desperate shrieks of gryphons mingled with the other snarls and yips and growls. Makaidos suddenly realized why he saw armored dragons posted before every tunnel. If the din was not obvious enough, the caverns were. Bound with enhanced steel, each sheltered an unfortunate prisoner inside their bosom.
"Follow me, and ignore everything you hear or see."
Makaidos looked towards Rayik. He was taken by the other dragon and led through a different tunnel.
His dragoness leaped into the air. She let Makaidos through a winding tunnel, and into another section of the mountains. The growls were more intense here, as was the scent of dragon. He quickly realized the spire had its own system, and Rayik was most likely taken to the gryphon wing of this fine establishment.
The dragoness stopped in front of an empty cavern. She lifted a paw, slid her claws along the onyx gate, and watched puff into nothingness.
"Inside," she pointed with her snout.
Makaidos dipped his head in acknowledgement. The room only had an Embari lantern glowing inside a corner. There was nothing else. Just bare stone, and a small hole in the ground to excrete onto.
"One of my wing guards will visit you before the sun sets. I will have them bring ointments and oils along with your meat."
"Thank you, brightscale," Makaidos bowed his head.
"For stealing your freedom? No. I don't believe I should be thanked for that."
She breathed a gust of flames around the edges, and the onyx gate reformed in the blink of an eye. Makaidos waited until the clicks of her claws became distant. Then, he slid his claws along the smooth surface of the stone.
Nothing happened. It looked and felt like any rock. He took a step back and breathed his flames. The heat rebounded. Makaidos flapped his wings with a growl, trying to disperse the sizzling heat around the cold cavern. It vanished quickly, leaving behind the murmur of an underground river and the distant cries of the captive dragons.
"This is perfect. I have my own personal nest and nobody to share it with," Makaidos slowly settled on his belly. Cold grime latched onto his scales. He growled at that, snout scrunching with disgust. "Not that any dragon or gryphon worth their hide would appreciate getting their bellies wet. The seed of this rock reeks!"
And it continued to do so despite his complaints. Makaidos waited for a bit, then got up and walked around his cavern, poking his snout at the walls and inside every hole he could find. There were many scents trapped inside the stone. He could even tell their genders if the sample was fresh enough. Makaidos sniffed inside a crevice, inhaling the faint fragrance of a fertile female. His tongue snuck out without his accord, poking into a muddy mess of fungi and slime.
Makaidos snorted small flames that incinerated the sludge. After his inspection yielded less than he expected, he lowered onto his side and casually licked around his tailhole. It still throbbed, albeit with a calmer sting. Makaidos clenched, wincing. He could almost feel Rayik's cock ripping into his muscles. He thrust so hard, that bastard, and came even harder.
"Where will you bury your cock now, little bird? Will you find a hole big enough to fit into, or shall your own paw bring you the release you tormented me with?"
It was a thought that kept the mind busy for hours. Makaidos flinched when the gate puffed with an angry hiss. His wings spread, neck extending towards the tawny furred feline that replaced the onyx door.
"Food," she tugged on the sack she dragged behind her, then looked towards the small pouch she carried in her other hand. "And herbs for your wounds."
"You may enter," Makaidos said.
The feline was from the plains. He could tell as much from the grassy scent impregnated into her fur. She wore only straps of cloth, one to shelter her chest and another to protect her crevice against intruding snouts. Makaidos didn't need to see what she hid down there. He could smell her sweet fragrance with every breath.
The feline pushed the heavy sack inside and looked around, suddenly undecided.
"Do you want to eat first, or..."
"My meal can wait. Let us see how good these herbs of yours are at stripping the pain from my scales."
She nodded and crouched, running the warm pads of her hand along his neck. "What part of you is wounded, dragon?"
Makaidos wanted to enjoy her caress a bit more, but he couldn't help himself from shamelessly exposing his balls to the lioness. He splayed on his side, pointing towards the sack dangling above his slit.
"That part."
"Your stones?" She asked, surprised.
"And my hole. Both of them," Makaidos said.
"How?" she asked while she took out two flasks, a small jar and a poultice.
"A randy bird got the best of me, dear purring feline."
"I can see that," she gently moved around the dragon's slit. "These are talon marks, extending here, and here, even here."
Makaidos hissed when his sack found itself surrounded by warm, padded fingers.
"I won't hurt you more than that gryphon, so please mind those teeth."
Makaidos licked his snout instead. "Do dragons frighten you?"
"They do. Now please allow me to work."
She didn't share many words, this one. She probably hailed from one of the free tribes. The half-beasts there -as many dragons named the animals that walked upright- held a certain spite to anything that had wings. Dragons conscripted them to build their cities and mend the wounded, while gryphons constantly killed their animals or bred with the feral felines.
Still, this cat had an alluring touch. Her fingers slid like oil, never unsheathing a sliver of a claw. Makaidos figured she knew a thing or two about dragons. No initiate maneuvered around a dragon's slit with such expertise. The female gently took out his cock, embalmed it with scented oils, then pushed it back behind the protective muscles. His balls followed shortly after. She used the brown mush from the jar, covering the sack with a thick paste that stunk of grounded seeds. His tailhole was the last. The feline massaged softly around the entrance. She snuck one finger at a time, probing for pain or discomfort.
"You can venture inside. I had much bigger things shoved with ruthless negligence."
"How deep?" the feline asked.
"The deepest," Makaidos smiled toothily. "Try to see if that slender arm of yours fits."
The feline shook her fuzzy head. She kept to the rim, lubricating the flesh thoroughly before she applied a sprinkle of herbs and a dash of brown paste.
"I'm done," she stood up on her feet. "Avoid licking yourself or spending your seed."
"That last part is quite inconvenient."
"Trust me, dragon," she rubbed a slippery paw under his jaw. "I healed others. You were by far the most wounded of the lot. I am surprised your stones are still healthy."
That was cause for concern. Makaidos wrapped his tail around himself as a spike of fear rushed along his spine. "Why are you saying that?"
"The shape. The softness," she kneaded her paws for emphasis. "Whoever hit you there did it hard. I'd stay away from them if I were you."
"Point taken," Makaidos dipped his head in respect. "Gratitude for your assistance."
"Stay healthy," the female licked between his nostrils and left.
Makaidos figured that had to be one of her customs, but in the end he didn't really care. He was just pleased to watch her swishing tail before the onyx block sealed his vision. A soft growl left his throat. Loneliness was drab, calming as it might have seemed.
Makaidos dug inside the sack. He pulled out the chunks with his paw until he felt something hard beneath his claws. He grabbed the cloth with his teeth and turned it upside down. An azurium tablet fell on the ground. Makaidos sniffed around it, trying to smell its origin. The stench of blood was overpowering, pushing back any other lingering scent.
"You received my shard, then?" a silky voice burst from nothingness.
Makaidos snarled. He looked around hastily until he realized the voice came from the tablet itself.
"There are no assassins hidden inside that rock, dragon."
"How do you know?"
"Because I am one of them," the figure said. "Lick the blood off so I can see what I am dealing with."
He spoke as if dragons were some sort of beasts. Makaidos polished the metal to perfection, but he didn't catch his own reflection. Another figure stood on the other side, surrounded by two blazing torches. Their light cast any shadow away, except the shadow veiling the figure's face. Its hood was darker than night, offering no glimpse of who or what hid inside it.
"Cleaned," Makaidos settled on his belly, holding the tablet between his forepaws.
"Good. I can see you are one of the few dragons that value reason."
"Depends on how reasonable whatever you want might be. Who are you?"
"Does that matter?" the figure asked.
"Considering I am about to be judged by the Are'lans, it quite does."
"Such a bothersome affair, these trials. Makes you wish to can skip them altogether."
"That is what you do? Flee from a trial before it takes place?"
The figure chuckled. "No, dragon. I flee from the rule. And I can arrange so you can do the same."
Makaidos growled with surprise. "You can free me?"
The hood nodded in acknowledgement. "Both you and the gryphon."
He knew about Rayik? How? Judging by the way he moved and the slightly hissy voice, he must have been a feline or another half-beast. And definitely a wanted rogue, probably part of the FreeFang guild. Makaidos himself was sent to cleanse their taint several times, but the half-beasts were shrewd. For every one the Spire killed, several more took its place.
Makaidos was sorely tempted to just incinerate the tablet and forget this discussion ever took place. Consorting with rogues was one of the primary offenses, just below killing one's kin. The Spire would be merciless if they found out.
IF they ever found out... that possibility was as far removed as the sky was from this dark, empty cell. Makaidos shifted and twitched, tail swishing restlessly behind him.
"What is your price?" he finally asked.
"Dragon eggs," the figure said. "Name me three sources. Expecting females, family nests, anything."
"What else?" Makaidos asked, sensing there was more to this request.
"The location of a gryphon aviary," the hood said.
Makaidos growled. "What do you need that for?"
"Does it matter?" the figure tilted upwards. "I can grant you freedom. A location and a few eggs are all I need."
It didn't seem fair, to trade unborn hatchlings and an entire colony of gryphons for the freedom of two individuals. But then again, when was life ever fair? Makaidos watched his parents die before his eyes. He was rejected by his own kin, and forced to kill for the Spire's selfish purposes. Rayik was the only partner he ever had. A smart, cunning gryphon, with a jagged, ruthless side that cut deeper than any fang or claw. Makaidos remembered the pain he was put through. The sandy feline's words returned, ushering that terrible warning.
"I am surprised you are still healthy," she kept saying. "Surprised that you are.... Surprised that....surprised..." she kept repeating, an echo of painful truths that Makaidos was too blind to ignore. Rayik never cared about him. All he needed was a hole to shelter his cock inside. He wounded Makaidos inside the meadow, subdued him inside his own aviary, and drew blood before the eyes of a hundred screeching gryphons. The pain and humiliation crashed into Makaidos like a rock fall. He threw his head up and roared, unleashing all the spite he held towards Rayik. Rayik! That miserable, selfish, ungrateful traitor!
"Are you done yet?"
"Everstill forest," Makaidos said between breaths. "Two days away from Are'lan. Fly towards sunset and you will find the gryphons."
"Good. Expect one of my messengers to arrive with my final answer."
Final answer?
"Your what?"
The figure laughed. "You didn't expect I will trust the word of a single dragon, did you? I will submit your bird through the same request. If he confirms the location, I will set you free."
"And if he wavers?"
"I am afraid you will be judged," a regretful voice crackled from the depths of the hood.
Makaidos flung the tablet away and unleashed his flames upon it. The fire sizzled hungrily, feasting on any drop of moisture. The dragon collapsed on his side, scratching at the wall. Rayik. Of all the creatures trapped inside this mountain, he had to place his hopes in Rayik.
"If you turn against me, I will make you suffer," Makaidos slammed his paw into the ground and roared.
The permeating silence allowed Makaidos room to reflect after he vented out his anger. Thoughts of Trys entered his mind. She was still back in the aviary, treating wounds in her hollow or gathering herbs from the undergrowth below.
Makaidos suddenly felt selfish and miserable for selling her home to the hooded figure. He had no idea what was about to transpire, yet the more he thought about Trys, the more he regretted his choice. Would she have done the same in his place? Makaidos whimpered softly. He knew the answer. He was just too afraid to say it out loud.
So he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. Time passed strangely inside this cavern, with no sun to measure a day's length. Makaidos forced his thoughts back onto the aviary. He was flying with Trys, enjoying her verdant home, the warmth of the sun upon his scales, and the whistling winds caressing the membrane of his wings.
Then blackness took him. Makaidos failed to remember his dream when he opened his eyes to the soft hissing of dispersing smoke. He expected the same feline from before, but in her place stood two armored dragons.
"No supplies? I am most displeased," Makaidos scrambled onto his fours.
The dragons retreated on each side, looking intently. Makaidos felt their warm breath upon his scales and wings. One even sniffed his privates, inquiring about the mixture staining his balls. Makaidos raised his leg, encouraging the curious dragon to take a lick for himself.
He earned a wing in the head for that, along with a very hissy snarl.
"Follow, and do not speak a single word."
Makaidos did as he was bid. He shuffled forward, surrounded by his retinue. The dragon in front of him had quite a sack. Smooth as blackstone it was, and looser than a female's cunt. Makaidos glanced behind. The blue one cocked his head. He probably expected a question or a reaction. Makaidos offered none of those. He focused his mind on the click clack of their claws and the beautiful black tail swishing ahead of him. It made the walk less painful. The three passed through another corridor, then flared their wings to take flight. They found purchase on a slanted platform, where the shrieks of gryphons drowned every other noise.
Makaidos looked towards the only entrance. A tawny gryphon emerged, followed by a darker and duller shape.
It was Rayik. His amber eyes fixed on Makaidos for just a moment before he darted back towards the ground. The gryphon behind him walked towards the dragons. They all rubbed necks and licked each other, growling and chirping warm greetings.
"Which hall were we supposed to-"
"The chamber of Inquisition," the blue dragon spoke.
"That is right," a gryphon intervened. "Their claws must be quite muddy to be judged so swiftly."
"They killed kin. A swift punishment is what they deserve."
The whole group agreed. Makaidos found himself taken through a big, torch lit corridor. Pairs of dragons, gryphons, serpents and half-beasts passed by, each escorting their own prisoners. Makaidos wondered what sentence they received. They all looked as radiant at a dragon's droppings, so whatever the judgment was, it couldn't have been favorable.
"You are allowed a few moments to build your defense."
Makaidos felt a nudge against his shoulder. The sapphire male approached closer to his ear. "Though if you ask me, you should both admit your mistakes. Make it swift and painless for all of us."
"Gratitude," Makaidos pulled away. "I will take your advice into consideration after I settle things with my partner."
They were escorted into a side cavern. All four guards walked towards the mouth of the small cavern, leaving Rayik and Makaidos alone and shielded from prying eyes.
"Talk then," Rayik propped himself against the furthest wall. "Spill your words. You are quite skilled at it from what I heard."
So he knew...
"What did you hear, exactly?" Makaidos cautiously advanced.
"The same thing you did, partner," Rayik slapped his tail on the ground. "The rogue told me. He told me how you bargained the lives of hatchlings and my whole colony for your freedom!"
"You would have done the same!"
"Would I?" Rayik's wings fluttered with unease. "I bargained with dragons, gryphons, serpents and walking cats, but never with talking cloth."
"He was a rogue. You said It yourself!"
"And are you so sure of it? Just as you were completely convinced of his benevolent intentions?" Rayik scratched at the ground, barely restraining his irritation. "He fooled your stupid scale-head with his empty promises, and now my colony has to pay the price!"
"You don't know that."
"I do," Rayik muffled his angry screech. "The Spire are not the only recruiting force in Are'Lan. They will threaten or force my kin into working for them. Into dying and killing for nothing!"
"Rayik, I-"
A savage shriek interrupted. "I will rip your balls and leave you to bleed if you say another word."
Good. That saved Makaidos the trouble of putting this self righteous pest into his rightful place. He flared his wings and leaped, falling into Rayik in a storm of claws and wings. The gryphon was quick though. He slinked under Makaidos just at the right time, catching his balls with the fluffy end of his tail. The whipping slash blackened his vision. His paws crumbled upon themselves. Makaidos fell with a roar, just in time for Rayik's retribution. He shoved his flank away. Makaidos kicked hard. He caught Rayik on the shoulder, but his claws failed to find proper purchase.
In one swift grip, Rayik snatched the dragon's most prized possession. And he squeezed, hard. The tips of his claws dug through the skin, venturing dangerously close to the unprotected surface of the squishy spheres.
Roar and shrieks burst along with Makaidos' cry of pain. Two dragons fell upon Rayik, immobilizing him while the gryphons formed a feathery barrier around the fallen Makaidos.
"I can smell blood," the blue's snout approached. "How bad is it?"
"Just a scratch," Makaidos blinked the tears from his eyes. "It will-it will heal in a day or two."
"I certainly hope so. It is peculiar to see one of my own attempt such foul retribution."
"There is nothing good left in him," Makaidos forced himself up with a hissing snarl. "I too hope the council will see that."
"They will see a killer," Rayik intervened. "I will tell them, Makaidos. Tell them how many scales you shredded. Countless feathers you ripped apart. Countless!"
The armored dragons roared, silencing everyone.
"You will be judged together. Whatever differences you have outside the chamber are irrelevant."
"Fight together, or die separated. The choice is yours."
Makaidos didn't know what to think. His instincts urged him to extract vengeance, while pity for Trys and Rayik's gryphons advised him to show clemency. It was so hard to decide which one was the correct path! Makaidos analyzed every possibility over and over, until his mind went completely blank.
He barely noticed how the pearlescent gate vanished before his eyes. He barely felt the steps he took towards the circular middle of the stark chamber. And most of all, he ignored the many pairs of eyes bearing down upon him from the golden alcoves. They formed a crescent of justice around the pit. Serpents, gryphons, dragons, and other esteemed figures followed the guilty as they took the walk of shame.
Makaidos climbed onto his circular perch. He coiled his tail around one of his legs and waited for Rayik to do the same. The gryphon climbed awkwardly. He shifted on his talons, curling his fingers whenever he lifted one of them. His hind paws fared no better. Protracted claws scratched at the ground, summoning a soft, annoying shrill.
A dragon's roar announced the start of the trial. The Talon of Inquisition, a white male with azure eyes and many spikes dashing towards the back of his neck poked his serpentine neck from his alcove and started detailing the offense of killing.
Makaidos caught only a few words. He was more focused on Rayik's restlessness than the Talon's repetitive preaching. The gryphon was restless and jittery, barely able to remain constrained in a single place. Makaidos thought it was a symptom of the caging sickness until his eyes darted underneath the gryphon's restless tail. A speck of pink pushed out from the plump sheath. Translucent fluid gathered around the glistening head, dripping onto the ground with a slow, steady drip.
"Rayik!" he hissed silently.
The gryphon's gaze never left the ground. He kept kneading onto something as his muscles tensed and relaxed. The rhythmic motion was more than enough to stir his cock. The organ pulsated harder within the sheath. Makaidos held his breath in shame when the barbed tip found its way out with a wet plop.
Rayik grinded his beak. He whipped his tail above his balls to stop their incessant shuddering, but that only made his predicament worse. More contractions meant more throbs, and Rayik could not hold himself back at all.
"Rayik!'
"Tight...too tight," he mumbled silently, then looked at Makaidos. His pupils were wider than blackstone beads from the intense arousal. "I need to, Makaidos. I need to..."
"Just hold yourself back. Scratch your feathers. Preen them. Inflict pain if you have to."
Rayik disposed of that advice with rapid shakes of his head. A dragon's growl reverberated from above, restoring the silence along with the Inquisitor's words. He was talking about righteous punishment. Not that anybody cared. Rayik continued growing, and Makaidos kept on watching until the gryphon's sheath became as bloated as his balls. His flesh was rock hard by now, acquiring the ruddy violet Makaidos became so used to.
Rayik grinded his beak. His clacks picked on, same as his tapping. His tail whipped back and forth, restless as the intense throbs wracking through his frame. Fertile scents rose around them. A veritable pool gathered underneath his damp cock, increasing with every throb. He was no longer dripping, but shooting short streams of warm, steamy precum.
Rayik's limbs bucked underneath him. He fell into half a crouch. The momentum stirred his instincts. With a quick push, he thrust himself forth. One throb was all it took for his knotted cock to break free from the oppressive sheath. The loose sheath wrapped around the base, applying just enough pressure to trigger the gryphon's bliss. He lifted his tail above his clenching tailhole, then slammed it down along with the first spurt of cloudy seed.
Makaidos was awestruck. Rayik released, on his own, in front of the entire high council. Most members hardly paid attention, yet some of them must have seen the wet display happening before their eyes.
Sure enough, a dragon's roar interrupted the Code of Punishment.
"On what grounds have you interfered, Zekiel?"
"The guilty, brightscale," Zekiel, a golden serpent, pointed a claw towards Rayik. "He is staining our halls with his wicked lust."
"Staining? What?"
"He...he's releasing his seed, brightscale."
Several other roars joined the commotion. Makaidos slapped his tail on Rayik's balls hard enough to hurt. The gryphon almost jumped from the unexpected blow.
"Control yourself!"
"I can't...just can't!" he said, helplessly thrusting into an invisible tailhole.
Two dragons quickly flew down from their perch. One wiped the fluid off the ground, while the other slammed dry cloth onto Rayik's visible erection.
"Hold it here," he said to Makaidos. "It's shameful enough to witness such desecration, least smell this filthy bird's seed."
Makaidos did as he was instructed, chiding Rayik for his lapse of control. He didn't fight back this time, cooing and shivering until his balls emptied themselves into the rapidly soaking cloth.
"Two extra years on top of the five."
"Two?!" Makaidos roared in dismay.
"Two, you insolent whelp," the white dragon growled his spite. "Not that you will survive that long. How do you plan on serving your sentence?"
"What options am I given?"
"Fight the Spire's enemies, or prove your worth in the arena. Make your choice...and that of your partner."
"The arena," Makaidos said. "We will prove our worth on the grounds of your city."
"You already did, by shamefully staining them." the white dragon rumbled. "Go then. Be gone from my chamber."