Underwater Ventures

[Lin]

Lin stood at the edge of the lake staring down at the water in the lake. She was trying to empty her mind so she could start refining some of her elemental skills. Thoughts about the rebels attacking Ammon's smaller villages kept floating to the top of her mind. After staring at the water for a few more minutes Lin decided that she should just try to practice already. She held her right hand and imagined an orb of water forming underneath the palm of her hand. Within seconds a stream of water shot up and formed the orb underneath her palm. Lin cut off the stream and flipped her hand over keeping her attention of the water in her hand. The water was cool, clear, and free of any sediment. Lin smiled to herself and tossed the ball of water into the air. Still concentrating on its form, Lin had the water float in the air. Tilting her head a little to the left Lin changed the shape of the water into various shapes. After shaping the water into a ring Lin froze the water and it dropped into her outstretched palm. Lin then made the ice revert back into water and let it slip through her fingers. The sun was shining down making the day increasingly hotter. Lin sighed and changed into her dragon form; tucking in her wings she dove down into water. Under the surface she began to twirl around, feeling the water against her scales. Then she noticed a cave near the bottom of the lake. It was concealed fairly well so that one couldn't see it from the surface. Lin swam down to check it out. She hovered at the entrance wondering if she should enter. It was dark inside the cave and she couldn't see anything past a few feet.

[Draetrialis]

Draetrialis was in his cave, his head in the air pocket he forcibly carved. He paused when he felt vibrations in the water and he slid under the surface and saw a dragoness outside his cave. Stiffling a growl, he crawled forward, the darkness of the caves hiding him, and he stopped when he knew only his eyes would be visible. He let out a growl and made the water throughout the cave vibrate with the intense low sound and he clattered the spikes on his tail against the stone walls of his cave, hoping to scare the dragoness away, since he really didn't want to fight right now. His wings were tucked close to his body, folded carefully at the joints, and he quickly dug in the mud and obtained a small ruby, roughly 4 inches. Holding it carefully in between his claws, he stared out of the dark and began to summon a shadow. He summoned a large serpent and made it snap at te intruder's face. Finding more gems, he summoned more serpent-shadows and made them snap at various parts of the other's body, each returning to the dark before they faded.

[Lin]

OCC -- (This is a note from Ninjaness, Valerie's other account) Please wait in replying until I make my bio for a Griffin and post, it won't be too long, thank you

IC -- Lin was still debating about whether or not to go in when she saw movement inside of the cave. Two glowing red eyes stared at her from the darkness. A growling rumbled through the water along with some sort of clattering sound. "It's okay, I'm not going hurt you." She said in a gentle tone. She didn't like hurting others unnecessarily. All of a sudden a large shadowy serpent emerged from the cave and snapped at her. Lin pulled her head back and froze the water around the serpent before shattering it with her claws. Soon more serpents rushed out of the cave and started to snap at her. Using the surrounding water Lin formed small ice daggers and launched them at the snakes. They retreated back into the cave and the ice daggers shattered on the cave floor. Lin mentally sighed before lifting a claw and freezing the water around the being in the cave. Exerting more energy, she froze all of the water inside of the cave to be sure she trapped the unknown resident of the cave. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I must." She said and paused when she saw a shadow move over the lake. Looking upward, Lin saw the form of a griffin and held perfectly still. Her eyes followed the griffin as it landed on the edge of the lake. Although she was neutral about the war, she learned that she could easily be mistaken as an enemy after her mother was killed by accident.

[Ceana]

OCC -- You can post now, sorry for the wait. Thank you for waiting though

IC -- Ceana was perched on a high branch in a tree, scanning the ground for intruders while taking bites out of a doe she had just caught Oh I do love fresh meat as opposed to that dried stuff that our camp sometimes feeds us. I'm even starting to enjoy scouting missions, they give me a chance to feed. She finished off the carcass and lifted up her foot, letting it drop below. It'll turn into dust eventually. Hmm, maybe I should start making a necklace out of the bones. Nah, I already have this beautiful necklace. She looked down at her intricate opal and gold necklace she had bought a few months ago. And I haven't taken it off since I bought it. Well it is gorgeous. She looked back up, deciding to get back to scouting. She looked around, her face expressing her boredom. I don't even know why they send us on these so often, we know that Ammon wouldn't dare send troops past the line, fearing that we'd ambush them. Ah, well, I guess being safe is better than dead. But it is so boring! All I ever see are trees and the occasional to-be meal running around. She took off, determined to work off her meal to stay fit. I may occasionally be lazy but I do like being fit, less strain and pain. And that way, I can actually dodge arrows! She started exercising a lot more since she lost that primary last week. She flew in a lazy wave pattern, catching the thermals and yet still working a little when she dropped altitude. Her keen eyes soon spotted a lake. Huh, that wasn't there last time. Or any other time for that matter. Oh well, best not to let a lake go to waste, and I am kind of thirsty now that I think of it. She banked left, heading to the mysterious lake. She was oddly fascinated with water, though she had no idea why. With a bit of extra flapping, she soon arrived at the body of water in question and landed on the grassy bank. Huh, this lake is oddly clear. She thought as she bent down to take a drink. And COLD! This lake is freezing! She brought her head up in shock at the temperature of the water. Oh well, water does seem to taste better cold, even though the Commanders say it makes flying harder, due to slowing down muscles. She finished her drink and started to stare into the water, curious of what was down there. Wait! There are caves down there! She laid down, staring into the depths, trying to discover something else.

[Draetrialis]

There was another low growl, vibrating the water again. The eyes closed for a moment, all before ice could be heard cracking. There was a sound, akin to breaking glass, and a dark voice growled, "Then why do you trespass where it is clear that somebody went through great trouble to hide their home?" Crawling forward, the black dragon emerged from the cave, ice still on his scales, and a faint cloud of blood from a small tear in his wing. "He, or she, who is curious, often gets hurt... and you are no exception, dragoness." Draetrialis said, raising his head and flexing his spikes that ran down his back. He looked up and saw the shadow of a griffin, but he paid it no need as he turned back to look at Lin. Flexing a claw, the dragon raised one of his massive paws and swung at the water dragon in front of him. Foolish... you should flee while you can! the Shadow thought, fading as he bent the light around him to become invisible. Only the swish of his tail in the water told any sign that he was circling his opponent, like a shark does a dying fish...

[Lin]

"Then why do you trespass where it is clear that somebody went through great trouble to hide their home?" She heard a voice and the cracking of ice. "I didn't know someone was living there." Lin replied quietly keeping her eyes on the griffin. "He, or she, who is curious, often gets hurt... and you are no exception, dragoness." Before Lin could react, a claw hit her and sent her crashing to the lake's bottom. When she looked around she didn't see the other dragon. However she could hear the swishing water could be heard. Upon closer inspection, Lin realized she could see a small cloud of blood forming in the water. "If you don't want more intruders then I suggest you attacking me so we don't attract the attention of the griffin." Lin said quietly while gathering up energy to make the water shoot her up to the surface so she could escape in case things got really dicey. A hostile dragon and a griffin did not make for good company at the time. Now that she thought of it, Lin didn't know how big the other dragon was. Using her tail, Lin began to stir up the silt on the bottom of the lake. The silt billowed and gathered around the large form of the invisible dragon. This was not good, he was at least a good twenty feet of so bigger than her. Perhaps though he wasn't as agile though, but Lin didn't want to risk attracting more attention than necessary from the griffin. She mentally sighed, the best option right now was to get out and away from the other dragon.

[Ceana]

Ceana was deep in her thoughts, mesmerized by the water when movement at the bottom brought her back to the present. She squinted her large eagle-like eyes to account for the glare off the surface and noticed a dragon at the bottom. A Dragon! Here?! Well, I guess no place is safe from those gluttonous bats. She was just about to jump in and attack the Dragon at the bottom when she noticed that two things were off. The Dragon wasn't paying attention to her and had her gaze looking forward and around her but not up. And secondly, she seemed to be struggling. And if not struggling, fighting at the least. Now that doesn't seem right...why would a Dragon have to fight at the bottom of a pristine lake such as this? She had to squint her eyes even more to be able to see anything past the silt and gunk the Dragon had brought up. But then she noticed it, a huge murky Dragon was down there, fighting with the slighter one! An invisible Dragon! As much as I hate Dragons and their ilk, I feel that I should help the smaller one, maybe I'll find out why later...but there is something else off with this Dragon besides that it can turn invisible. Are those shadows in the back? Shadows shaped like animals? Oh great, a Shadow Dragon, I've heard of these but only in fables in which no one believes. But from the stories I've heard, you don't want to mess with them, they can be deadly! Oh no! That means the slighter Dragon might die! And I can't let a Shadow ilk like him kill her, I'd rather die than watch that happen! Hmm, he kind of resembles an overly-large Fruit Bat. I know, I'll call him Giant Fruit Bat! Before she had anytime to prepare herself for the cold of the lake she dove in, pressing her wings tightly against her back to give her more speed. She rocketed toward the bottom, right toward the dusty outline of the large Dragon. I'm going to teach this thing a lesson, never get on a Griffin's bad side! She slammed into the invisible shape and was flung backwards, slowed down by the water. "Get away from this other Dragon, you Giant Fruit Bat! You and your kind don't belong here!" But that was when she noticed, for the first time, the sheer size of the murky shape. Oh no! What have I gotten myself into now? I do hope I make it back alive and in one piece from this...

[Draetrialis]

Draetrialis roared and swung around. "Griffins don't swim!" He growled, wrapping his tail around the bird, pinning her legs and wings to her body. Turning his head back to the dragoness, he said, "Now... you may as well leave, since I have a slightly better target to take my anger out on..." He turned back to the griffin, the spikes on his tail close to the neck of this bird. "Now, you cannot escape..." he growled, flaring his hundred-foot wings and flapped, blasting himself out of the water and hovering above, holding the bird underwater still. He let out a roar and did a flip, smashing the griffin to the water again. Now, foolish griffin, you will suffer as I did, so long ago, with my first griffin fight! he thought, smashing the griffin into the water again. He brought the griffin to his face and he said, "Now... do you really want to try and fight, little pidgeon?" The dragon had a cruel smile etched onto his face, his eyes were burning, and smoke was billowing from the back of his mouth. "I will gladly kill you, if you want to fight..." he growled.

[Ceana]

Ceana had the breath knocked out of her as a crushing grip bound her. She struggled to no avail before the creature lifted her into the air where she managed to get a strangled breath into her lungs before being smashed back into the frigid water. She struggled underwater against the crushing power of the mysterious Dragon's tail. She managed to get one of her razor-sharp talons of one of her left foreleg out of the grip during her struggle and she did the only thing she could think of, slice at the crushing tail with her extra-long talons, hoping to distract him from slicing her neck off. I really shouldn't have acted so quickly, I'm probably going to die here, and for what? A thought that I could become a hero, or that I could rid this world of one more dragon? Pathetic, I should have just listened to my orders to patrol and never have come here in the first place! She glanced sideways at the slighter Dragon to her right. I wonder if she'll be so kind as to help such a pathetic, wimpy creature as me. Not likely, since she is probably of Ammon and views us as despicable. Well, I'm not far from it, she thought shamefully. I didn't even get a chance to say good bye to my friends...not even my close ones. And to think, just this morning I was talking to them, dreaming of adventure. Well I got it and I tell you, it aint' as glorious as we've heard of. She wallowed in self-pity, guilt and her regrets as she was slowly running out of breath, her gulp hadn't been much of one.

[Lin]

Lin watched as the griffin dove down into the water and knocked the larger dragon aside. Get away from this other Dragon, you Giant Fruit Bat! You and your kind don't belong here!" the griffin screamed. Lin watched in horror as the dragon's tail wrapped around the griffin. "Hey leave her alone!" She yelled at the dragon aiming a blow at the dragon's face with her claws. "Now... you may as well leave, since I have a slightly better target to take my anger out on..." the dragon said tightening his grip around the griffin's neck before spreading his wings and launching himself out of the water. She watched as the dragon slammed the griffin back into the water. Horror turned into rage, how dare he to try kill a creature that didn't even stand a chance at defending itself properly against a dragon like him. However Lin knew she had her limits and had to quickly think of a plan to save the griffin. Lin focused hard on her energy and shot water up and around the dragon's wings. When she knew she had most of the wings covered and part of the dragon's back she froze the water and immobilized the dragon's wings. Lin could hear her heartbeat in her ears, she could probably only do a few more big things before she was at her limit. "Listen up idiot drama queen," she said addressing the dragon, "Just because you got all pissed off just because I accidentally invaded your privacy doesn't mean you can take it out on a griffin that you know you can overpower. This is neutral ground for crying out loud! It's almost like you want the rebellion to believe rumors about the citizens of Ammon are snobs who think they're all that! You have no honor and I can't believe that a dragon could sink that low as you!" Lin was furious at this dragon. He absolutely disgusted her in how he treated others and acted all high and mighty.

[Draetrialis]

Draetrialis growled and let go of the griffin, blood spurting from his tail before he hung there, frozen in place by his wings. "I am Draetrialis, Shadow of Ammon, and you should know not to go where you shouldn't!" He roared. He looked down, his griffin-scar visible. "And I have a right to attack the griffin, for I suffered long ago because of them! This scar reminds me of the pain that they wrought upon me when even I couldn't defend myself!" He said, struggling and managing to break some of the ice, but not enough to free himself. Somehow, he had managed to avoid the dragoness' blow. He kept struggling and fired a blast of darkfire at the surface of the water, incinerating the patch of water there. He fired another blast at the griffin, knowing that he would at least burn her. "No dragoness will stop me from destroying this griffin! They will all suffer and will become as I... scarred for life!" He roared, cutting off the stream as the fire flew towards the griffin.

[Ceana]

Between her talon slice and the smaller Dragon's distraction, Ceana was able to get free and she darted to the surface of the water, desperate to get some air in her burning lungs. She got up to the surface just in time to hear Draetrialis say, "I am Draetrialis, Shadow of Ammon, and you should know not to go where you shouldn't!" She took a big gulp of air and responded. "As she said, this is neutral ground, and if you belong to Ammon you don't exactly deserve to be here any more than I!" But she realized he wasn't done talking yet. "And I have a right to attack the griffin, for I suffered long ago because of them! This scar reminds me of the pain that they wrought upon me when even I couldn't defend myself!" She thought and replied to him as soon as she had prepared what she was going to say. "So all of this is because some Griffin scarred you a little long ago? What a selfish thing to do, going after me just because I remind you of a long gone ene-" But she saw a stream of dark fire moving toward her and she cut herself off mid-word in order to dive underwater and away from the sudden fire. But it was no use, the fire just cut through the water, heading right toward her. She couldn't dive out of the way fast enough and her right wing and flank were hit by the fire, burning her fur and some of her feathers off, causing extreme pain. If I manage to get back to my cave, I'm going to need serious medical attention. I may even have to walk back.

[Draetrialis]

Draetrialis smiled when he saw the steam rising from the water and knew he had hit his target. He struggled some more and large chunks of ice began falling from his prison as he began breaking free. He let out another roar and broke few of his prison and hung above the surface, his massive wings causing large waves on the water below. He started laughing and said, "You cannot hold me for long!" He rose higher above the surface and looked around, trying to find his opponents from above. He just hung there until he laughed again. "Are you going to keep fighting, or are you going to be cowards?" He roared, flapping harder, creating more waves from his wingbeats. He kept looking around, firing off blasts of darkfire at the surface, seemingly at random. Eventually, he began circling the lake, a single, massive stream of fire pouring from his maw as he began burning every inch of the lake's surface, or at least in the center, where he knew the other dragon and griffin was. He was moving fast, so there pretty much as no way to escape... unless you could control water, and lots of it.

[Lin]

To Lin's temporary relief, the dragon released the griffin. "I am Draetrialis, Shadow of Ammon, and you should know not to go where you shouldn't!" the dragon roared, "And I have a right to attack the griffin, for I suffered long ago because of them! This scar reminds me of the pain that they wrought upon me when even I couldn't defend myself!" Lin looked at him with utter disbelief, her mother was killed by the rebellion under false pretenses. She had more of a right than him to hold a grudge against the rebellion. "The griffin here is not the griffin that harmed you though. You're harming a griffin that had nothing to do with that incident." She said and then was nearly hit with blackfire. Although she had missed it, the griffin did not. After hearing a large crack, Draetrialis had freed himself from the ice. "You cannot hold me for long!" He said as he laughed and stirred up the water. This was not going well, at this rate the griffin would be dead and she would not be able to leave unscathed. She had to come with a plan and quickly, but what could she do? There was one thing she could try, but it would be something she could only do once. Lin sighed and focused on what remained of her energy. "Are you going to keep fighting, or are you going to be cowards?" Draetrialis taunted and Lin could feel the water stir as he spewed darkfire. The sky began to darken with large rainclouds and fat drops of water began to pour down. Wherever the drops fell on Draetrialis, ice froze. In the lake, multiple channels of water shot up and wrapped around the dragon freezing as soon as it made contact with him and created a very thick layer of ice that traveled towards his center. Once channel of ice wrapped itself like a muzzle around Draetrialis' snout. After a few minutes had passed, Lin froze the channels of water and the large dragon was frozen in the air. Only his head with the exception of the snout was left untouched. Lin surfaced at the top of the lake and began to breathe heavily. If this didn't stop Draetrialis, then she wouldn't be able to save the griffin.

[Draetrialis]

Draetrialis struggled and let out a furious, muffled roar. Fighting the ice, his wings bent inside the ice, but it caused him great pain. Coward! You cannot hold me! he thought, his mind reeling. He snorted, letting out a massive burst of fire from his nose, but it did nothing to melt the ice. He struggled furiously, rings of fire bursting forth from his nose as he let out another muffled roar. After a while, the dragon grew tired and stop struggling. The Shadow glanced down and growled, his lip trying to curl. How am I beaten by another dragon...? I can't be beaten... not again... the dragon moaned to himself. Sighing inwardly, he started to open his mouth. He cracked the ice and broke his muzzle. Stretching his neck, he shattered the ice encasing his massive neck and shoulders. "I... cannot be beaten!" He roared.