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• The House of Voivode •
part three: the clutch of the undead
by Neishai
Ring of Fire • Flight of the Dead • Frenzy • Clutch • Hatching
It was about three in the morning, five hours before the nearly winter sunrise that the dragons started 'singing', if it could be called that. Luckily none of the dams were rotting, though some had harsher voices than others. The little wraiths sounded like the crying winds, while the great skeletal Vesosatheth sounded much more like some sort of outrageous xylophone, however she did that! Since it was early morning no one was there to actually hear their summons except the watch dragons who remained vigilant through the night. It was left up to them, and the Firelancer's poor dragon, to actually wake the humanoids.
~ Exerpt from the Undead '04 Hatching, written by Silver Midnight
There were those denizens of the night however, who were indeed awake, and a very few still who sensed, somehow, a disturbance among the undead. Voivode was among those. In the rooms where he and his companions were housed, he sat pensively, tired as the night began its upward spiral into the day, yet feeling somewhere in the back of his conscious that something was happening.
Had Kamali been awake, he might have noticed his master's distraction and inquired. Sandra was otherwise ... unnoccupied.
And so the vampire frowned slightly, debating whether to investigate or to shrug off his feeling. Thankfully, it would turn out to be something good, or rather, at least not bad. For their party anyway.
The awakening for the candidates was less than polite, pleasant, or probably even needed. Meeko wasn't too quiet about it, simply storming down the hallway and making as much noise as possible, banging on doors and yelling,"HATCHING! GET OUT OF YOUR BEDS YOU LAZY BUMS!" at the top of his lungs. A few doors he even opened and slammed, adding to the effect. Belithrandith, his bonded, bellowed loudly now and then to make sure no one could sleep through it if they dared to try!
~ Exerpt from Sil's Undead '04 Hatching
"Ah," the vampire sighed softly, altogether too calmly to be anything but undead. Rising to his feet, he called out to the young anthro curled up on the bed. "Kamali," he said in a similarly quiet tone, giving him a little push with his mind that was not entirely telepathic. As the boy moaned groggily and stumbled around on the bed, the vampire strode off toward the door, using that same pull to bring their zombie roommate along with him.
Sandra shuffled along behind Voivode, eyes rolling around sightlessly as if she were in the midst of a dream. Caught between two worlds, she had the sensation of being tugged along, as if that same dream were dictating where she was to go, and she had no control. Her eyesight shifted and she had the distinct feeling as if she would fall up and backward at any moment. But Voivode was always there, with a blood-colored rope connecting the two of them, propelling her where they needed to go. That was that propulsion within the dream; she was both repulsed by (and frightened of!) and grateful for that stability. After all, she had absolutely no control...
Kamali caught her elbow as they passed through the halls, which began to fill with all manner of candidates for this strangest of hatchings. The motion jolted her back into her body and she turned to the anthro-boy with a grateful smile. "Thanks," she said, feeling her words gush up from within, unbidden. You have no idea, Kamali, how grateful...
"No problem, Sandra," Kamali replied with a smile. His maroon-and-black streaked hair was mussed from the pillow but his deep-blue eyes were bright with excitement. "Do you know what's going to happen today?"
Her dreamlike state has made concentration difficult. Had it been her dreams that had mentioned a hatching? "Are the eggs hatching?"
"Indeed," Voivode interrupted, voice cutting through the din of other voices around them. "You do not have to do anything today, Sandra. If you bond, we'll help you out; if you do not, don't worry."
The former archaeologist nodded, feeling as if she would soon become part of some arcane ritual, and that her master had just reminded her that the gods would have to go through him first... She shook her head and frowned, trying to dispel the strange sensation.
Archmage Darreon, a sleep-touseled, grouchy-looking man with glasses and wrinkled green robes, began calling out names. Each of the trio were called, and they among the rest were checked off on his list. Then he addressed the group as a whole.
"There are a few rules," Darreon called loudly, making certain everyone could hear even as he looked at most of the candidates with obvious distaste. "There will be no threatening each other, no attempting to kill anyone in the stands, and you will control your bonds as best you can. Anyone who shows any signs of hostility will be transported home immediately after the hatching, if they are not disentigrated with magic first."
"It's not only him you have to worry about, either," Meeko added in, the dragoness on the other side of the archmage smirked.
The archmage shot a slight scowl at Meeko, then continued. "After your dragonets are fed before any celebration of any sort, you will report to myself--Archmage Darreon Ay'Raiasha, head magic teacher--and Maekotek La'Saber, your basic training teacher. Some of you may be placed with Marie Yellot, but only if you get particularly out of hand!"
~Shut your yap and get them over here already,~ one of the mothers--a duowinged green--snapped crossly at the mage. The sunset-brown shot her a sympathetic look, while Darreon merely ignored her. Well, visibly.
"Remember what I said," the archmage stated, then turned and lead them onto the sands before pulling aside and allowing them to walk past. Meeko took the right side, standing nearby the candidates with his longsword in plain view while Marie took the other, making obnoxious faces at a few of the undeads as they walked past. Darreon himself walked across the sands along the wall and stood waiting, as though ready for something.
~ Another Undead '04 exerpt
As Kamali and Sandra tried to remember all that Darreon had said (with varying luck; Sandra's consciousness had begun to slip again), Voivode kept careful watch over their surroundings. He watched as the first bondings were made, greatly interested by the curious and widely-varied forms the hatchlings had taken.
The next few eggs either hatched in unison or in succession. Shards went flying as a silver and red xenohatchling burst from his shell, while a small duowinged wraith slipped out of Ainchisth's nest, and last but not least a platinum and cobalt hatchling with feathery wings, crest, and tail emerged from one of Serienth's eggs as though the act of hatching itself were a dance.
However, the cobalt-striped hatchling took one look at the xenodragon and shrieked, scurrying across the sands wildly towards the candidates while the poor twilight red xeno just tilted his eyeless head in confusion. She skittered behind Mirage, hiding from what she said was--Scary! Slimey thing! Keep him awaaaay! The girl laughed an stroked the platinum's head, soothing her bonded. "It's alright, Kalyanin--I don't think he's going to follow you."
![[ Blue-marked Wraith Eneleth; image © Sil of RoF ]](ain-kag-1_eneleth.gif)
The duowinged blue-marked wraith looked up at the xenodragon and squeeked before going into stalker mode, after the xeno's tail. The latter snorted in response and started towards the candidates, ignoring the wraith who was still quite adamantly 'hunting' him. He paused near a rotten-looking undead dwarf, head lifted to the air. Of all things to land on his nose, a fly! Where many of his kind might have snapped at it, the red just let the little insect sit there as though he were talking to it. Then he turned and made his way off the sands, fly still on his nose.
In front of the candidates the wraith sat and sulked, having lost his 'quarry'. Something else seemed to catch his attention, however, and he stalked around the candidates until he pounced a mouse-eared boy, tugging gently on the youth's tail. The anthro mouse gave a yelp and swatted at the wraith, scolding him but then laughing and taking his new bond off the sands. "Eneleth! Stop!" Kamali laughed, trying to pull his tail out of the wraith dragon's mouth.
~ More from the Undead '04 hatching
Voivode watched their retreat with a mixture of short-lived emotions. He mused at how great a team the new pair would be, and asset to their little 'family.' He was admittedly surprised that Kamali had been the first to bond, though why he was not sure. Some part of him felt as if the mouse-boy were being taken away...again. Again?
The vampire frowned inwardly and looked impassively at Sandra, who was having her own inward struggle, that with her own soul. He sighed and wondered not for the first time if he should just lay her to rest. For a zombie, despite her shortcomings, she had so many advantages. Her knowledge, her interests, her outlook. Not to mention her peculiar predicament, which had been entirely accidental. To keep her alive seemed cruel, yet at the same time he had to wonder, would 'killing' her be equally wrong? He continued to watch as she fought for her life, for her very soul -- independently of his blood-call, his 'spell.' It was fascinating on so many levels.
And at the same time, the vampire kept watch over this charge. Kamali was safe now, but he and Sandra were still on the sand, where all manner of monsters were hatching as the time slowly trickled away. Even as the moments crept their way inevitably towards the dawn, new incarnations of someone's bleak nightmares was born into the world. Some were undead certainly: rotting even as they crept their way across the sand and dripping as their entrails were held in by thin strips of sinew and flesh, or completely skeletal and held together with a spell. Others, others could only be described as alien, bug-like on some level. One was radioactive. All fascinated the vampire, all made him wary for his safety and that of his zombie servant.
Another bloody hatchling, this one crimson mottled with dark gold, appeared along with a second skeletal wraith, dark purple in color, and a duowinged wraith dragon. Unlike the previous wraith, this one was solid black with no markings on his hide shadowy hide; in addition, where his brother's eyes had been green his were orange-gold. "Wraith gold," the Firelancer commented, staring down at the dark dragon, his voice soft. "A True Dark Wraith."
The True Dark Wraith was the first to make his bond, choosing the strange necromancer Jasper out of the assembled candidates. Whatever words were exchanged between the two were private, but the rider who managed to record the pairing caught the wraith's name as Beriaphon.
With the True Dark having passed by the skeletal wraith strode forward, finding the strangely insectoid Khepris-Ra standing among all the others. We will return to Azeroth, and we will bring glory to the Scourge. For Ner'Zhul!
The Crypt Lady nodded her great horned head in agreement, staring down at her bond. "Indeed, we will Andrazi-Ka."
![[ Gold-marked Bloody Crimson undead wyvern Caifeng; image © Sil of RoF ]](hen-xio-2_caifeng.gif)
Finally, the second bloody hatchling made his way to the candidates. No one was surprised when he found the vampire Voivode, who looked rather amused at having bonded a blood-soaked dragon. "Welcome, Caifeng..."
~ Undead '04 hatching
The vampire and his new bond elected to stay with Sandra for a while, albeit a short distance back so the hatchlings had a chance to bond to her...if it was to be. Though Voivode was skeptical, Caifeng pointed out the strangeness of many of the pairings and that was that.
Sandra found herself sitting in the sand. As dizzy as she was, it seemed the safest and most comfortable position to be in. Toes pointed at 45-degree angles out behind her, those with knee problems would wince just to look at her. Children might want to join in, especially upon looking into her yellowed, slightly shriveled, but distinctly forlorn eyes.
"I...Voivode...?" The zombie looked around, head lolling slightly as she did so, head tipping back as she felt the tug of his presence somewhere behind her, near the spectator stands.
"We're just behind you Sandra."
The vampire's voice seemed to calm her and she simply waited, flimsy thoughts skittering through her vapid brain as her soul tugged kite-like on the strings that held it fast to the physical plane.
Several more eggs broke, revealing a silver-opal with tattered wings and an icy-winged child of Moriaiux; but the true dark-light wraith dragon had opted not to wait. He was already at the feet of a candidate, though no one knew quite how he'd gotten there. Jasien squinted and leaned forward in his seat, noting that it was a rather eccentric old elf, one of the candidate he trusted even less than several others. The teachers who were standing guard had their eyes on the ancient elf, too.
![[ Silver-Opal Esijala; image © Sil of RoF ]](tas-dva-2_esijala.gif)
A flicker swept through Sandra's mind briefly, whipping her soul about. Where Voivode tugged at her body with his blood-call, this seemed to affect her conscious. The zombie blinked, tilted her head, and looked around. Bondings took place and she took little notice, even as her two undead guardians did.
Meanwhile, the silver-opal had approached Sandra and sat in the sands, her head tilted at the zombie.
The silver seemed to be focusing on something, and for some reason the zombie's mind seemed to clear. She blinked at the hatchling--if she could blink!--"Thanks, Esijala."
No problem, love, the hatchling purred in response.
Esijala was not quite the last hatchling to grace the sands--well, if you wished you use the word 'grace' she was. The second to last of Ainchisth's eggs broke, the mother looking irritable at the zombified hatchling and the shaking egg that still remained. There were no more candidates...
~ Last exerpts from the Undead '04 hatching by Silver Midnight
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The Ring of Fire, the inhabitants residing therein and its adoptable dragon and flitter images © Silver Midnight.
Clan Taratus and its members and familiars are solely mine. Their unauthorized use risks my wrath.
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