NRPG:  Les please send this out.  For some reason I can't post to
norwall@makelist.com.


>    As Darrkon showered he realized he hadn't successfully removed all of
>    the blood from the previous nights battle.  This time he took extreme
>    care to remove all signs of the conflict.  Not that it bothered him, in
>    fact he had often slept soundly while covered in his enemies blood.  But
>    he knew the warren could not begin to heal until all signs of last
>    night's disaster had gone.  Ad that started with the warren's
>    inhabitants.
>    
>    Darrkon knew there would be plenty of assignments throughout the day to
>    keep him busy.  He took to any task he could find.  Moving the dead,
>    cleaning up the dried pools of blood, repairing damaged structures.  He
>    did anything to keep him busy, because he knew once he stopped working
>    he'd have to deal with Lacey's death.  And that was something he simply
>    wasn't ready to do.
>    
>    As he worked he felt the wounds he had acquired from his skirmishes
>    reopen.  None of them were life threatening, in fact a few of them would
>    make nice trophy scars, but he knew he had better avoid Lilliana for a
>    while.  Even with the med center filled, that woman would expect a nurse
>    to treat his injuries.  Darrkon continued his work through the entire
>    morning and part of the afternoon.
>    
>    <..>
>    
>    Darrkon looked around him.  All of the corpses has been removed, and
>    most of the blood had been washed away, but the warren was far from its
>    old self.  Damage from fires and vandalism still needed repair.  But now
>    was not the time for such things.  He had been working all day and
>    needed a break.
>    
>    As he walked to the warren green he asked Calideth to meet him, but
>    received the answer that his dragon was already there.  It struck Darrkon
>    as strange that his big gray was spending time on the green.  After all,
>    his favorite resting spot is on the southern cliffs looking away from
>    the warren.  When Darrkon thought of the destruction that must be lying
>    outside, he understood his dragon's choice.
>    
>    When he arrived at the green he found error in his reasoning and a
>    surprise.  Calindeth was not lying about.  Instead, he was teaching
>    ground fighting tactics to Sentinel.  He watched as his dragon
>    demonstrated the basic maneuvers they had developed, and grimaced as
>    Sentinel clumsily tried to copy them.  He saw L'kor standing a short
>    distance away and moved to greet him.
>    
>    "It seems our dragon's have formed a bond." L'kor's remark held no
>    emotion, he was simply stating fact.
>    
>    "Why shouldn't they?" Darrkon asked with a hint of bewildered amusement,
>    "Dragon's are a social kind.  And now that their riders no longer have
>    any quarrels, why should they avoid each other?  Besides," he said
>    smiling, "It'll give Calindeth someone to parent besides me."
>    
>    L'kor was taken aback by Darrkon's friendliness, but thought it best to
>    play along in case this was genuine, "He couldn't have chosen better.
>    Sentinel still hasn't learned what it means to be responsible.  One of
>    these days one of the larger dragons will land on him while he's playing
>    his hiding game."  The brown spotted dragon turned to L'kor and snorted
>    before returning to his training.
>    
>    Darrkon took a seat on the edge of the green, "Calindeth was rather wild
>    when he was young.  And I didn't have the help of other dragon's to keep
>    him in line.  They all grow out of it eventually."
>    
>    "Here's hoping." L'kor replied, lowering himself next to the masked man,
>    "Here's hoping."
>    
>    The two men talked for some time, each a bit surprised at how easily the
>    other opened up.  Finally L'kor was called to guard the tunnel to the
>    hatching grounds.  Darrkon was not posted at the time and volunteered to
>    be an extra man on guard.  The assault on the warren had left them
>    shorthanded, so Darrkon's request was quickly accepted.
>    
>    Calindeth and Sentinel were posted on the cliffs overlooking the
>    hatching grounds.  Darrkon spotted his gray intently watching the skies
>    and the grounds outside of the warren.  No one would sneak past his
>    watchful eyes to pose a threat to his queens.  Try as he might he
>    couldn't find Sentinel.  Upon reaching the hatching grounds entrance, he
>    turned his mind to his duty.  He would die before letting anyone harm
>    his warrenlady of his queens.
>    
>    <..>
>    
>    Guarding the entrance to the hatching grounds proved to be a haggering
>    experience.  There was far less traffic now than would have been normal
>    when a queen first lays her eggs.  Especially when one was another queen.
>    Of course Darrkon understood why people were avoiding the area.  But the
>    lack of activity left his find free to wander.  The first image to
>    assault his mind was that of Lacey, her throat cut, falling to the
>    ground.  Although he wasn't present when she died the details of her
>    death were common knowledge.  And the picture of her life's blood
>    flowing from the graceful neck he had desired to kiss so many times, was
>    burned into his skull.
>    
>      Other scenes of destruction flooded his mind.  The flight of Garnet,
>    Talesin and Foamfollower crashing to the earth, and Fairlight being
>    buried under tons of rock.  He hadn't witnessed any of these
>    catastrophies either, but he had imagined them.  Each occurrence was
>    captured in explicit detail.  Which was an even worse curse.  His mind
>    presented details that his eyes were sure to miss.  Ad he would have to
>    live the rest of his life knowing he was powerless, knowing he had once
>    again failed to save the life of a woman he loved.
>    
>    These and other thoughts ran through his mind.  Smashing into and
>    building on top of each other, leading the way for the darkness hiding
>    deep inside of him.  He felt it creeping upon him, and made several
>    futile attempts to push it back.  It desperately reached out to grasp
>    his conscious mind, and almost took hold when he heard his name...
>    
>    ...And turned to see Naomi.  Quickly the darkness retreated back to the
>    safety of his subconscious, just as quickly Darrkon forgot it was there.
>    Noticing the concern on his warrenlady's face he spoke.
>    
>    "I'm fine Naomi." Then to clarify things he added, "Well, as good as can
>    be expected.  How are you holding up?"
>    
>    "I'm well." she replied.
>    
>    Darrkon knew that was far from the truth.  But he didn't expect Naomi to
>    share her feelings with him.  There had been a time when they could have
>    been friends, but then rumors began floating about.  Rumors which made
>    him out to be a gigolo of sorts, and a foolish one at that.  What man
>    would try to keep three women in the same general area?  Especially when
>    one had a dragon that could spot you in the darkness of night.  But
>    rumor repeated enough will be thought of as fact.  So ended his
>    relationship with Lacey, and any chance of friendship with Naomi.
>    
>    "It's good that you have family and friends to help you through this
>    tragedy." he hoped that was the right thing to say, "But if you need
>    anything from me to help ease the load that has fallen on your
>    shoulders, I will be there to help."
>    
>    After a short silence Naomi asked, "And you?"  When she saw he didn't
>    understand the question she added, "Who will help you deal with your
>    loss?"
>    
>    "I've been dealing with losses for most of my life.  It's something I've
>    grown accustomed to, and deal with on my own."
>    
>    "In a warren this size there no need for anyone to be alone." she
>    replied.
>    
>    "I said nothing about being alone." Darrkon answered, taking his posted
>    position again, "I still have the friends I've made here.  But this I
>    can't share.  It's not in me to do so.  I'm sure Lacey would
>    Understand."
>    
>    Naomi's composure slipped just a bit at the mention of her sister's
>    name, and Darrkon knew he had misspoken.  He turned his eyes back to the
>    skies and the terrain before him.  He waited for Naomi to leave before
>    looking in her direction again.  This would definitely her most
>    difficult trial as warrenlady of Norwall.
>    
>Calindeth found it a bit difficult to concentrate with Darrkon acting
the way he was.  The previous night, his rider was all but consumed by
anger and hatred.  Today, he was conversing with one of his greatest
enemies.  Calindeth could detect none of the edginess, none of the
suspicion that always tugged at the corners of his rider's mind.

Under normal circumstances Calindeth would be happy that Darrkon had
finally found peace in his life.  But with the recent attack, and the
way the changes had come about, things were far from normal.  Calindeth
felt a need to talk to someone, but who could he turn to?  Amethyst and
her rider were the only ones he trusted to keep his concerns quiet, but
both had their own worried at the time.

Calindeth's thoughts were disturbed by a wave of emotion.  It was anger
in its purest form, surging to the forefrot of Darrkon's find.  Calindeth
couldn't find where it had hidden, but he could feel it pressing forward
to have its presence known.  He had felt Darrkon's anger before, but
never like this.  In other times, when a rage hit Darrkon, there were
other emotions present.  A thrill of combat, pride in his abilities,
even at times a satisfaction in watching his enemy die.

This however could bring nothing but malice.  There was no purpose, no
reason to this feeling, it would simply destroy.  And its first target
was the very mind it occupied.  Calindeth called out to his rider, but
was ignored.  A small part of his mind thought he may not have been
heard, but that thought was quickly dismissed, more out of fear of its
meaning, than any feeling that it was untrue.

Before Calindeth could ask Sentinel to have his rider help Darrkon the
wave crashed and retreated back to its hiding place.  The tragedy was
averted.  Calindeth was more confused now than before.  What was
happening inside his rider's mind?  He decided it best to keep quiet
until he knew a little more.

    
>    Submitted by
>    
>    Darrkon & Calindeth
>    aka
>    Ismail Abdur-Rahman
>    
>    NRPG:  Please excuse any typos. my KB is still fritzing.
>    
>    
>    
>
>


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