Rise of the Dawnbearer - Part 7: Introductions

The scent of lavender and jasmine gently wafted across Raxogar’s nose. As he breathed it in he felt all of his muscles relax into the soft warm bedding on which he lay. Without opening his eyes he reflected on the dream he was just having.

He was walking through a forest of trees that were taller than the highest mountains. He turned back and forth but could not tell from which direction he had come, nor in which direction he was headed.

The sun was high in the sky, but because of the thickness off the canopy Raxogar could not pinpoint its exact location or bearing. He furled his brow in frustration and started walking in a random direction.

After a few minutes of travel Raxogar found that he was walking along a well-trodden path. Looking to the left and the right he could see identical paths a few meters away running in parallel heading in the same direction. After a few more minutes of walking he found his path came to an abrupt end. Seeing as the two paths on either side of him continued forward he stepped from his own path and onto the path on his left.

After a few more minutes of walking Raxogar’s path again abruptly ended, whilst a path on either side continued onwards as before. Choosing a new path he stubbornly pushed forwards until his chosen path again disappeared whilst identical paths continued onwards on either side. This episode repeated again and again no matter how often it occurred or which path was chosen.

After switching paths over a dozen times, Raxogar let out a roar in frustration and dropped to his knees. Throwing his head back in defeat he looked again at the mottled canopy high above him. He turned and looked over his shoulder at the direction from which he came.

It was at that moment that Raxogar thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking perpendicular to his path he strained his eyes to try to catch sight of whatever it was he had seen. For just a moment he caught it – a dark shadow moving away through the trees. Jumping to his feet, Raxogar chased after it.

He had not gone far when he caught up with the mysterious shadow. Expecting to find some form to accompany it he was disappointed and confused to find that the shadow was on its own, seemingly cast by nothing. More frustrated than he had been on the path he scratched his head with both hands. Somewhere high above him a sound of canaries twittering sang through the forest, but in his frustration Raxogar paid no heed to them. As he put his hands down the shadow unexpectedly started to take on form.

The shadow grew and grew until it was almost as tall as the trees. As Raxogar watched a giant horned head formed above him, blotting out the light from the sun that made it through the thick canopy. The body of the beast widened, pushing the stout trees out of the way. Enormous wings sprouted from the creatures’ body, each as wide as the creature was tall. Two bright blue eyes formed in the beasts’ head, peering down at the relatively tiny Dragonborn.

Staring into the eyes of the beast, Raxogar strangely felt no fear. Rather he felt a majestic awe, as though he was standing at the feet of great king. The creature looked down at Raxogar and spoke to him. Raxogar strained his ears but the words seemed to be muffled, even though the beast was only a few feet from him.

It was these incomprehensible words that Raxogar was trying to hang on to when he felt his body start to awaken from its long slumber. As his eyes opened and they took in the sunlight reflecting off the stone walls, the fragments of the dream he was trying to hang on to flitted away.

It took Raxogar a while to realise his surrounds. As he tried to recall his last memories before entering that now forgotten dream he could only remember two things: his brother’s face as he stabbed him through the chest, and the face of a young human girl with long blonde hair. Looking around the room his vision rested upon the later of the two. Lying curled in an armchair next to his bed slept the young girl he had saved. Looking over her he saw that her hands were wrapped in bandages, and with a pang he remembered their first encounter.

Further examination of the room they were in yielded no useful information. The stone construction of this building was completely foreign to him. Around the room there was one other chair, currently unoccupied, and a table with a bowl and a pitcher of water sitting atop it. Through a high window he could see the bright blue sky outside though he could not tell what time of day it was.

As he shifted his weight slightly on the bed he heard the wooden frame creak softly. He paused and looked over at the occupied chair. The young girl shifted slightly and briefly opened her eyes before closing them again.

Raxogar held his breath, not wishing to make another sound in case he roused her, but it was too late. After taking a few seconds to comprehend what she had seen, Ellana’s eye flicked open and she jumped out of her chair with a look of elation upon her face. With open arms she dive forwards towards the injured Dragonborn.

As she hugged him around the torso, Raxogar came to realise the current extent of his injuries. He screamed out in agony causing Ellana to jump back in shock with an anxious look in her face. As Raxogar continued to grimace in pain the only door to the room burst open to reveal a human man who quickly looked from him to Ellana and back, followed by a thinly built black Dragonborn wearing pink robes. As Raxogar’s pain turned to fear the Dragonborn spoke.

“Easy my friend, you are safe here, no one is going to hurt you” he said softly in Draconic as he approached Raxogar.

Not soothed by the Dragonborn’s words Raxogar maintained his defensive posture.

“Where am I? Why am I here?” he said defensively.

The black Dragonborn responded. “You are in the Tymanther capital of Djerad Thymar. You were brought here three days ago with grave injuries by this man and his family.” The Dragonborn indicated to Baroghan who had now made his way over to where his daughter stood shaking with concern. “If you had not been brought here so quickly you would have surely perished.”

Raxogar looked confusingly towards Baroghan and Ellana before asking another question. “What happened to the others?”

The black Dragonborn thought ruefully for a moment before answering. “If you are referring to your kin, I’m sorry to say that they did not survive.” He carefully watched Raxogar’s reaction to his answer.

Raxogar sat confused, not knowing whether to mourn or be relieved by the response. After a few moments of thought he concluded that the later course was the right option, though he did harbor some feelings of guilt by that decision. He let out a low sigh as his fellow Dragonborn approached him and spoke once more.

“My young friend, I am sure you have many more questions, but first we have one or two of our own” he said. Raxogar looked up into his kind eyes. “Let’s start at the beginning shall we. Do you have a name?”

Raxogar thought for moment. Among all the questions he might have anticipated being asked, this was not one of them. He stumbled as he tried to answer.

“Rax… Raxogar” he said.

Horatio Storanojikan

“Raxogar?” replied the black Dragonborn. “Very well, Raxogar, my name Horatio Storanojikan. I am the chief physician to the ruling council of Djerad Thymar under the rule of Vanquisher Tarhun. He requested as a favour to his honoured guests…” he motioned towards Baroghan, “…that I personally see to your recovery. Whilst you are under my care I must insist that you remain in this room at all times unless you are in the company of myself” he said with his eyebrows slightly raised.

Though he spoke kindly, Raxogar couldn’t help but feel that Horatio had some misgivings about him. He knew this was understandable, given his clan had probably killed dozens of humans and Dragonborn alike.

Horatio turned and spoke towards Baroghan and Ellana. He spoke in common, rather than the Draconic with which he had been speaking to Raxogar with, and as such Raxogar understood none of what he said save his own name.

After he had finished speaking to the two humans, he turned once more and addressed Raxogar in the more familiar draconic language.

“I will leave you now to rest. Your new friend Baroghan (indicating towards the adult human) and his daughter Ellana, who I believe with whom you are already acquainted, have requested to remain with you for the time being. They speak little of our language so I will have one of my assistants remain with you also to aid in communications.”

Horatio bowed politely before saying “Good day” and leaving the room, only to be replaced by a younger Dragonborn wearing the same pink robes. This Dragonborn had vibrant red scales which clashed horribly with his uniform. He introduced himself to Raxogar as Virgil. It was also at this time that Ellana approached his bedside and gently took his hand between hers.

“Rax?” she asked nervously.

Raxogar looked her in the eyes. He had been called many names by his clan mates, but never had his name been said this way or with such heartfelt emotion. He opened his mouth, intending to correct her with his full name, before he paused to consider her question.

“Rax” he responded, softly nodding his head.

Smiling, the young girl understood him and responded with her own name. “Ellana” she said, placing one of her hands on her chest.

“El-ana” he responded. Ellana chucked softly at his attempt at her name.

At this, Baroghan placed his hand on Ellana’s shoulder and looked down at Rax. As Rax looked back at him, Baroghan gave a knowing nod and then turned towards the door. Leaving the room, he left Rax and Ellana to communicate with each other, with the able assistance of Virgil.

To be continued…