Renatus the Zombie
Renatus was raised and named by a man who called himself Voivode. A voivode is a title, like lord or duke. Renatus did not know if he was some kind of lord but he was certain of one thing. He was a vampire and had the teeth and preference for blood to prove it.
What? No. Of course a child was not raised to adulthood by a vampire. Well, not this time at least. But that is another story for some other time.
In this case, an adult human was raised from the dead by a vampire. Makes more sense, now, doesn't it?
Renatus' body was dug up from an unmarked grave in the middle of what had once been a battlefield. That is all he knows to this day. Every other detail was for Renatus to discover. That's just how Voivode liked to gauge the progress of his subjects, to see how much they could remember, or discover for themselves.
Three of a Kind
"I am sorry... there simply was not enough left in your grave to restore any more of your body to you."
For what it's worth, it won't happen again. For all of his compassion and sincerity how could such a well-practiced necromancer, or whatever he was, have made such a grievous blunder? That was what Renatus would like to know. But there was no way for him to know. All he knew was that not all the bones in his grave were his own. In fact, there were three corpses there. And not all of them were human!
Would it be enough to say that Renatus was incensed?
Bring me Another
"You want me to bring you a what?"
"Yes, a dragon. That is what he needs."
How could a vampire possibly need a dragon? Where could one find a dragon? Did dragons even exist? Other than the stuffed kind, that is.
"You mean like a bearded dragon, right? Like the kind you can get at the pet store?"
"No, I'm afraid you need to bring a living, breathing (as the case may be) dragon."
"And how the hell am I supposed to find one of those?"
"That, my friend, is where we come in. Have no fear, we will send you where you need to go."
That was how Renatus found himself at the dragonry, looking for a ... bond. And no, not the kind that involved glue. Then again, the joining of minds would be similar to a mental glue that would fuse them together. A bond. And in Renatus' case, the voivode told him, this could only be beneficial. For when the right dragon found him everything that Renatus lacked would be compensated for and then some.
He was not so sure he wanted to be found by a dragon, but he did not know what other choices were left to him. If this dragon could help him find his missing memories, he could live without everything else he lacked. He was so certain of this fact that he did everything else instructed of him.
Kivuli
Unseen by the vampire and his charges, a ghostly shape took notice of them as they dug up the grave. It stood up from a supine position in the grass and watched them until their task was done and cleaned up. When they left, so did that ghostly shape, disappearing from view. But it was not gone; merely invisible, it followed them back to the old castle where the vampire resided.
Standing outside Voivode's castle, the shape was barely visible as it surveyed the area. The ghost was actually a demon who fed upon the dark thoughts of those who did evil, and upon those emotions felt by their victims. The grave they had dug up had been the final resting place of a soldier from some forgotten war. There were so many dead that the survivors had buried them where they had fallen. The visitation upon the grave had caused the demon to stir from a deep slumber after a particularly filling meal.
Voivode smelled of blood. They all did. Blood and death and chaos surrounded them like a perfume. To the demon, they were particularly pungent. Not bad, but strong. The demon felt compelled to follow, but when to make themself known?
Kivuli was their name. They took the shape of a human without gender and without breath. Shoulder-length hair fell in straight, silvery strands of platinum blonde. The skin was grey; not grey like death but grey like clay. And upon that skin were curious black tattoos; the demon would not explain them if someone would ask. They were for the demon alone to know. Tall and humanoid, the demon's features were long. And down the leg, about halfway, the form seemed to break apart as if into shadowy mistlike skirt. There were no feet to behold.
Immune to the ravages of time, Kivuli watched the castle impassively. But in time the castle's residents began to stir. In the air above the castle, shapes like birds but unlike them wheeled and dove back down into the courtyard. What could those shapes be? More demons? Roaring filled the air and echoed. What could that sound possibly mean?
Uninvited Guest
A twinge of nervousness and something far darker, like terror, filled Renatus' dead chest as he looked up at the roaring dragon. He had never seen one before and for a moment thought that it would be his last time as well.
"This is a safe way to travel." The lord of the castle himself stood with Renatus beside his dragon Caifeng. "The riding apparatus will also keep you dry, and the riding gear will keep you warm."
"I appreciate it, I do. I'm just afraid," the zombie admitted.
"Take a moment to gather your courage and do not feel apologetic. The first time flying can be terrifying." The vampire stepped away from the now moving and talking corpse.
It was fascinating, really. The corpse was alive, somehow, once more. Though Kivuli would never admit it, they knew that that this human had had met a particularly gruesome end. Perhaps the excavators had recognized it, perhaps not. The demon could not really know. But knowing that the corpse of this human soldier somehow lived was shocking. Imagine a world of reborn humans. How much more carnage would there be?
"You are welcome to join us," the vampire offered, looking directly at Kivuli. "I do not know who you are but I have caught glimpses of you for some time now. You are not a threat, but you seem interested in Renatus."
"You could say that," Kivuli said. The demon finally spoke, and their voice was thick from disuse. "His death was discontinued. I wish to know more."
"An experiment. I do not know if it will last. Renatus is prepared to die again."
"Is he?" the demon asked thoughtfully.
"So, will you come?"
Kivuli considered their reply. On one hand many questions would be answered. But already more existed. "To where will you travel?"
"We are traveling off-world to a place called The Bower. My people have been there before, recruiting dragons to our cause. I would like to recruit you as well, whether you come or not."
"I see." Between the zombie and the strangely, constantly bleeding dragon, Kivuli was intrigued. "I will come. But do not leave me there."
"If you find a dragon who will be your partner, you will no longer need a ride from my Caifeng. But you are welcome in my home." Voivode swung up into the saddle and began to help Renatus up.
Kivuli approached and watched from the ground. When Renatus was strapped in, the vampire offered his hand down to the demon. Kivuli nodded and grasped Voivode's hand.
The Bower
The Bower was a toxic, inhospitable place. A spire marked its location but frozen peaks marked a mountain range in the distance. Surrounding this place were active lava floes. How could anything remain in place? "Stability" was not a word that could be used here.
"Beware, this region is not only volcanically active, but there are creatures that may draw one into battle."
Kivuli was shocked. Battle? In a place like this? The prospect did not scare the demon in the slightest, more the opposite as the thought of delicious hate and pain made their stomach gurgle. They noted the swords strapped to their companions' belts. They were dressed for battle too. The demon's eyes widened with anticipation.
Rock Steady
As they approached The Bower, a great rocklike beast peeked out from behind a large igneous formation. Someone must have given it a dirty look because in short order they had a fight on their hands.
The swords were almost useless against the creature's natural hardened armor. "Aim for weak parts, like under the arm or the seam along its belly. If you can get between the gaps in the armor we can harm it with the sword."
They weren't doing well. The reach that Voivode and Renatus could make were too short to be very effective. They over swung more times than not, and once, the beast grabbed the sword from Renatus and flung it back at him. With some effort, Renatus pulled his own sword from his undead chest. "Going to need to stitch that up," the zombie muttered.
Caifeng could have carried them and flown past the creature, but its fire breath weapon could reach them as they passed overhead. Burns would be particularly harmful to both undead, Caifeng and Renatus.
They began to tire; the creature did not seem winded in the slightest and made a swipe at the vampire, who caught the blow with his sword, and with an effort used the swing's force to cause the creature to hit itself in the chest. It was not very effective but it saved Voivode.
Kivuli, meanwhile, was weaponless and posssessed no powers to damage the beast. They did force upon it the feeling of terror, but this only seemed to infuriate it. So they wandered away from the battle to look for a safer path. They stayed within sight of their three companions so they would know Kivuli had not abandoned them.
Kivuli heard a roar like those they had heard at Voivode's castle. Caifeng's voice was eerie and and gave even Kivuli a thrill of fear. This cry was similar, and when the demon looked up, there was a dragon in the sky above The Bower. Its figure approached, and soon enough they could see that this was some strange beast indeed. With their exposed bones, surely they must be undead. One approached Kivuli and snatched the demon into the sky. Another went for Renatus, who seemed unsure if another battle would ensue. But they carried them right to where they wanted to go, and dropped them unceremoniously upon the ground.
"What about Voivode and Caifeng!?" Renatus shouted. The dragons disappeared from view and soon the bonded pair were also dropped into the courtyard.
"So this is The Bower," Kivuli commented, looking around.
There was a gathering of people in the courtyard. Among those people snaked around a group of dragons. Some approached Voivode's group and examined them as if they were livestock. Neither Voivode nor Caifeng would bond and they were regarded with some level of confusion, but Kivuli and Renatus were prone to it. Though the criteria for bonding was nebulous to Kivuli, they were told that these dragons were undead. Surely Renatus and Kivuli, who was very close with death, would be ideal candidates. Only time would tell if they would actually bond.