The Saga of Terashan and the Crystal Empires – Chp3, Pt1: Wyvern

Word spread across Terashan. The Fyre Peaks, demesne of the Wyvern – or dragonkind – was free of the shadows that touched every kingdom of the Crystal Empires. Dream mages across the realms reported that the shrinking dome of protection that had held back the assault of the writhing, tentacled mass battering at its borders now pulsed in magnificent iridescence in the dreamscape, and had expanded to the edges of every neighboring Terashan kingdom. Since the investiture of SkyfyreAumia, every shadow of Razrushtel had been dispelled from the borders of the Fyre Peaks. And, the nonaligned villages along the border now rested within that expanded dome and were also cleared of shadows.

Dragons, winged Wyvern, had rarely been seen beyond Fyre Peaks before the joining of Skyfyre with Aumia. Sæchèrí and J’Ramzœ stood on the ramparts of his castle as the sun rose over the peak of the new kingdom of Wyvernskye. As the sunlight flared over the peak, dragons across the Fyre Peaks took wing in dancing flight. Sæchèrí grasped J’Ramzœ’s hand delightedly, “A sky filled with dragons in flight… tis wondrous.”

“Surely, it is a common sight to all who live on the borders of the Fyre Peaks?” J’Ramzœ reasoned.

“My father told stories of it from olden times. The old stories tell of several kinds of Wyvern-folk – even in olden times, Wyvern-folk were almost never seen beyond the Fyre Peaks. We have rarely seen a solitary dragon in my lifetime, even at a distance. Such as sight as this,” she gestured sweepingly at the scene, “has not been seen in living memory.”

“It is truly an amazing sight. I wish you could see it with the Dreamer’s Eye.” J’Ramzœ said, drawing her close to him in one arm. “They do not fly as birds. They soar on Crystal magick like rivers of pearl.”

The crowds that had gathered below, murmured appreciatively, watching the pageantry of the dragons’ dancing flight. A sudden commotion in their ranks wrenched J’Ramzœ’s focus back to the waking realm as Sæchèrí’s breath caught in surprise. No sooner had his eyes refocused than a cluster of small dragons banked past the parapet. He fell back a step instinctively, pulling Sæchèrí’s behind him. The little band of dragons wheeled about and circled the tower with tuneful chittering noises before landing along the parapet. Each “little” dragon was about the size of a K’Zel’s huge wardogs.

A panicked commotion from below preceded two wrym heads rising above the parapet. From the high in the tower to their right, Sha’Do’s song could be heard as her sorcery wove a wall of light before the king and Sæchèrí. The castle guardsmen charged onto the ramparts from both flanking towers, halberds at the ready, and placed themselves between the king and princess consort. K’Zel and J’Ordon burst in behind their king and consort, from the royal chambers, which opened onto the ramparts. J’Ramzœ spun his wife into K’Zel’s arms and pushed them both back toward the castle interior. As K’Zel bustled the princess consort into the castle, J’Ramzœ dove into the dreamscape, already gathering his spells.

One of the Wyrm

I lost my Photoshop when my OS upgraded and couldn't wait for the Adobe patch. So, I created this wyrm in a new piece of software called "Affinity." It's not as elegant as Photoshop. I find the user interface too PC-ish. It's like trying to work Photoshop in Windows on a PC back in the 1990s. Then again, this is the first time I've ever laid eyes on Affinity and the very first thing I've ever tried to create in the software.

Find the preceding story here: https://steemit.com/writing/@momzillanc/the-saga-of-terashan-and-the-crystal-empires-chp2-pt3-skyfyre

Story © 25 October 2019, by D. Denise Dianaty