To Kill A King

(Note: This is a rather different roleplay to the usual dragon-based ones, this is set in 14th Century London when England was under the rule of Edward II. It will be mostly fictional, so feel free to be an anthro/dragon/whatever you want. This roleplay will also get quite violent, you have been warned.)

Asmoral swept along the cobbled street, his cloak billowing behind him. The air reeked with the smell of smoke and burnt human flesh as he past the site of a witch burning ceremony.
It was near midnight and the streets were empty; Asmoral's pale red eyes glinted in the moonlight, his black hair hung long and unkempt and his face was gaunt.
A cat hissed at him and he bared his teeth at it, showing that both his upper and lower canine teeth were elongated which was unusual for a regular vampire.
But Asmoral was a vampiric werewolf, the result of a forbidden love; his top hat hid his wolf-like ears and the cloak his tail.

Asmoral had a strong hatred for authority and had formed a group of trusted friends to hatch a plot to kill the King.

Gcdm was a medium build size dragon red dragon, your "standard" dragon, he was a work dragon, forced by the king to carry supplies around England, he also had a strong hatred for the kind, during his usual graveyard shift, he stopped and landed in the coble streets for rest and he put his load down. He froze has he realized he wasn't alone. "Err...hello?" he called out, hoping for a responce

Asmoral paused and looked up, his eyes scanning the streets; he quickly spotted the red dragon and sensed within it the same hatred for the King that he had.

"Hello, dragon." Asmoral replied, a harsh rasp to his voice.

On closer inspection he saw that the dragon had the defining body structure of a male and looked weary from carrying the load that now lay on the floor.

"Dragons should not be used for slavery." Asmoral hissed "The King has gone too far this time."

Demonicus was a traveler of sorts, but not the kind most would think of. He enjoyed killing more than any other. His demon blood boiled inside his human shell.
He held his hand near his hand near the gigantic black broadsword thatt he kept slung over his back. His eyes glowed for a brief moment as he shifted into a dark alley. Demonicus kept his brown cape and cloak overtop of his jet blak armor as if to hide his intentions from all. Letting his long, slick, black hair fall over his eyes he watched the dragon let his load down and speak to the other creature.
"Heh, it is quite pathetic when the king needs dragons for his own selfish desires." He whispered from the alley.

The crone sang loud, and she sang often.

Oh, Helbi was a lusty wench
And thirsty she was, too.
She'd get up on a pub house bench
And oh, the things she'd do!

She though it her song. After all, she had created it, and she was the only living being in the world who could bear listening to it. I couldn't take it either. And I knew perhaps the most effective way of quelling the noise. I leapt up onto her lap.
"Tell me about my hatching, mother!"
The crone heaved a gasp of air as I landed heavily upon her lap - I was no hatchling anymore - before laughing gently and patting me on my head. "You've heard it almost every night for this past week, and many times before!" she said. "Don't you ever get sick of the same story?"
I tapped my tail gently. "I like hearing about how you found me."
Moragh sighed, happily, and begun to tell her tale.

"It was quite a few years ago, now. I don't remember how many, exactly. I was out in my garden, as usual for that time of day, when..."
"A big egg landed right in your garden!" I finished enthusiastically.
She smiled. "That's right. I looked up to see a group of great dragons flying above my house - whter a whole family or just a bunch of friends, I could not yet tell. They didn't seem to notice that you were missing. I thought to myself maybe they dropped you by accident, or maybe it was purposeful. Either way, I could not return you, I could never catch up to the beasts. I took your egg into my home, and sat patiently by your side, until one day..."
I grinned. "Until one day, I hatched."
"Until you hatched. Oh, you were a horrible looking thing, all sticky and slimy. But I had already come to love you as my own, even before you were out of the shell. So..."
"You cared for me and fed me and..."
"Who's telling the story, Arix?" she said angrily.

I cringed slightly. I had made Moragh use that voice before, and although I knew she was never truly angry, it still frightened me a little. She smiled at me again, but it was a sad smile. I looked up at her.
"What's wrong, mother?" I said. "You're sad."
"You're coming of age, little one," she said. "Soon you'll be too big to stay in my home, too big for me to feed and keep you. And you'll be getting your desires on top of that."
"What...are you saying?"
"I'm saying..." she sighed again, though an unhappy one this time. "You'll have to leave soon. Find your own home and family."

The news hit me like an arrow to the neck. "You want me to leave?"
No!" she said quickly. "Arix, if it were up to me you'd stay here forever. But you know that can't happen. Although I've used every magic and natural process I know to prolong my life, you as a dragon will always outlive me anyway. At least this way it won't be so sudden - and you'll always be able to come back and visit. But you're a dragon, Arix. You belong out in nature, with your kind. You won't be able to overcome your instincts soon. You know it as well as I, dear."
I could only stare at her, speechless.
"I'm sorry. I knew I shoiuldn't have hit you with the news like this at this hour. Be off to bed - and try not to let it worry you too much."
"But...I don't...I mean, how..."
"Would you like me to sing you to sleep?"
"NO!"

(Time for a twist on my part!)

A man in a black coat rushed about, carrying a white bag. Inside this bag was an egg the size of a watermelon. It was white with a blue tinge.

Inside that egg was me, of course! This is me, not born yet. I wanted out, but I was not strong enough, so I waited until I was. The man ran to an empty street, and put me down by a shop, and left. He wanted to get rid of me as he was kidnapping me for fun.

I remained in the bag, and tried to break free, but couldn't.. I heard a man talking to a dragon, but it seemed like jibberish to me. They were close-ish. I just hope they picked me up and took me in.. I couldn't survive on my own..

Asmoral picked up the white bag the man had left and looked inside, he considered leaving the egg but then thought "I need all the comrades I can get..."
He slung the bag over his shoulder and tucked it under his cloak to keep it warm; Asmoral walked back over to the red dragon.

"I can tell by the look on your face that you despise working for that King of ours." he paused, as if thinking over ways to continue "Come with me, dragon; I'll take you to a place we can talk freely because I have a proposition for you." he finished.

Asmoral froze as he heard a whisper from the alleyway across the street; he whipped around and saw a cloaked, armour-clad man watching them. He fixed the stranger with a cold, questioning stare, waiting for him to speak.

"i don't, he might send people out to kill me....but i can't go on another day, living in these conditions....alright...forget the king." rambled the dragon, walking towards the figure, "free me and help me escape from my enslavement."

Avelore was happy that I was picked up, because his future would be safe. He could feel and sense likeness from this being that picked him up.

The stranger looked at the group for another moment, then smiled, and turned away, disappearing into the shadows. Whether he was just another knight or a spy was unknown to us.

I was awoken by a sound outside, though in my half-asleep state I couldn't tell what exactly had made it. It could have been a snapping twig, it could have been a roaring monster.
"Hello?" I said, careful as to not wake Moragh. When no answer came, I stood from my bed, stretched my limbs, and padded outside. I caught a flash of blue, a burst of white, and then nothing.
"Hello?" I asked again, walking further outside. A rustling bush caught my attention, and I turned to face it. I search the bush for any sign of who might be there, when I caught a glimpse of something through the leaves. I leaned closer to see...

...an eye, staring back at me. I walked closer, gently and quietly. The eye blinked, but otherwise made no movement. I stopped and sat just before the bush.
"Who are you?" I asked softly. The owner of the eye made no response other than to turn around and flee again.
"Hey!" I poked my head through the bush, and saw the creature, seconds before it disappeared again. A blue and white dragon - a female dragon! I turn around quickly, thinking of returning to my mother. Then I thought otherwise. She was the one who said I needed to go back out into the wild, where I belonged. Once I found the female, she'd lead me to her home, and I could return to Moragh tomorrow and explain what had happened. She knew I was tough, she wouldn't be too worried.

I leapt through the bushes and followed her as fast as I could. She would not stop leaping and bounding, I couldn't catch up...until she suddenly stopped. I stopped behind her.
"Hello?" I asked once again. "Who are you?"
I started to pad gently towards her...when a sudden overwhelming pain drove through my body, forcing me to my knees. I howled in pain and, when I looked up, the dragon was gone. Only a man stood in her place.

The man smiled. "I wasn't too happy with my illusion," he said. "I couldn't give it the female dragon scent. But it did its job, guess I shouldn't complain."
I looked up at the towering man meekly. "Who are you?"
"Your new master," he said. "You will do as I say or be punished."
Blinded by the pain, confused, I blinked weakly. "Punished?"
"Like this." The man stuck out his hand, and a fresh burst of pain pulsed through my body. I screamed and fell to my side, writhing before the torment finished. "Understood?"
"Y-yes!" I panted. "What do you want?"
"You are to come with me to His Majesty's palace. His Majesty will decide what to do with you there."

Slowly, painfully, I rose to my paws. "But why does he need..."
"Don't question me!" The man stuck his hand out again, and I flinched.

Asmoral watched the stranger turn away, he gripped the hilt of his longsword; he knew that like him, human blood did not run through the stranger's veins but this was no vampiric werewolf.

He stood still, his jaw set and his eyes narrowed; a low growl escaped his throat but his curiosity was quickly waning, if this stranger was a spy then so be it, if he followed them then Asmoral would be able to sense it. He turned back to the red dragon.

"Come, Crimson One." he said.

He led the way down the cobbled street to the very outskirts of the city, the buildings rapidly decreasing in grandeur as they walked further out. A few drunkards and prostitutes still wandered around but other than that the shabby streets were virtually empty.

Finally, a lone farm came into view; Asmoral led the way into the large barn which would be big enough for the red dragon to fit in with ease; once they were both inside, Asmoral shut the large doors again. There was a great number of things scattered about inside; piles of books, alchemical equipment and what appeared to be bottles of blood. A fireplace lined with rocks lay in the middle of the floor, Asmoral whispered a spell to get the fire going.

He set the bag down carefully, near enough to the fire for the egg to stay warm but not get burnt. He sat down on the floor and gestured for the dragon to do the same.

"Before I offer my proposition it would help if I knew your name, I am Asmoral Lupine." he said quietly.

"my name is Gcdm, other otherwise known by the king 'that flying lizard'. Now what did you have in mind for killing the king" said gc, wandering around the barn, sniffing the various objects

Asmoral's gaunt features twisted into a smirk.

"I never said anything about killing the King, but you are indeed correct with that guess; I did have killing him in mind." he said, his eyes flashing malevolently.

He paused to collect his thoughts before continuing.

"Now Gcdm, here is my proposition: Help me get inside the castle to kill the King and I promise you'll never have to be a slave to anyone ever again; be wary though, it will be a dangerous task and the King is sure to have many defenses lining the walls."

"Well, that won't be much of a problem, i can get you the castle scmatics, plus i know where every trap is." gloated gc, swishing tail side to side for his freedom

Mmmmmm.... That warm sensation.... It felt like I was under my mother once again. The warmth gave me strength and confidence. I was ready to be free..

I wriggled. I pushed. I kicked. I clawed. The shell drew a white line from the inside. Light!

I wriggled, pushed, kicked and clawed once more. The line grew longer! Then it all gave way. I fell out onto whiteness that made an odd noise. It was cold, but warm too.

Where was my mother? I could not see, so I could only rely on the love of her touch. I called out for her. For anyone.

"Mammy? Mammy?" I cried, somehow speaking a different language than my normal. My shell was touched by a human before my mother touched it. I took the knowledge of human speech through magic, and now human english was my spoken language..

"Mammy?"

I decided rather early that I didn't like this man.

But worse than being forced to pull his cart along, worse than his painful "lessons", worse even than the tether and cage he used to contain me on my rare breaks from the work, was the stabbing feeling I felt when I thought of Moragh. Would she know where I had gone? What if she thought I had run away from home, in fear? What if she thought - no, knew - that I had been kidnapped? How could I get her help? Worse still, what if she needed my help? What had this man done to prevent her...interference?

I had lost track of time and direction by the time the man told me to stop.
"You can rest now, beast," he said. He reached into his cart and tossed some meat my way. "And eat. You've done well, most of the other dragons died before they made it this far."
I didn't say anything. He had told me of the other "beasts" he had commanded. Of them all, only a few ever made it to this palace he kept talking about. Many of them died before their first night, and most of the others were dead by their second.

My captor leapt off the cart and begun to fasten the tether to my neck and lead me into my cage. "The palace is not far. A couple of days will see us there. Try not to get yourself killed before then."

Asmoral smiled at Gcdm's gloating.

"Good, that will come in useful." he said with a nod.

He stilled when he heard a noise from the bag, tilting his head he listened intently as the egg broke and a little voice squeaked out. Asmoral opened the bag with curiousity; normally, he would have no time for hatchlings and would have just killed it for its blood, but times had changed and he was on a mission of vengeance and the when the hatchling grew it would be a useful ally along with Gcdm.

Asmoral smiled with warmness that was alien to him at the small hatchling then turned to address Gcdm.

"Gcdm, did the King teach you in combat?"

Gcdm thought for a moment, going back through his miserable life, forced to carry heavy loads place to place, he remembered his training, he was highly skilled in dogfighting, to protect the load he carried, and ground combat, for if he would be drafted into a war. "Yeah, i know a few things, what do you need me to do?" he suddenly noticed the hatching "and what's with the whelp?"

Demonicius decided it was best not to follow the group but to keep a few eyes on them so to speak. Clasping both his gaunlets together, he began to chant in a strange, Latin-like voice.

Small shadows came from the earth. Their bodies were life humans except only a pair of red eyes distinguished them from being just a black shape.

"Follow them...Be careful. Report back to me I have some business to attend to." He whispered as the small shadows let out a quiet hiss and scampered away.

"I need you to teach the hatchling your combat skills for we will not be able to breach the castle defenses that easily." Asmoral said seriously "Survival is everything." he added.

He crossed the barn then turned and paced back, thinking; he suddenly paused, his eyes fixed on the door.

"Do you smell magic?" he asked Gcdm quietly.

He threw his fireproof cloak over the fire to block out the light and tossed his hat aside, he could sense some dark magic slowly floating towards the barn and had a suspicion that is was from that stranger that they had seen in the shadows.

gcdm sniffed the air and shuddered "i certainly can smell the effect of the diet i'm being fed" he then decided, what ever is going on, it's best to hide, he walks over a bail of hay and hides behind it

Demonicius reached the center of town quite quickly shoving through the ocassional person. He looked ahead as guards marched back and forth by a set of gates which looked to be the entrance to the castle.

He stepped up to one of the guards who immediately stopped and held his hand on his weapon.

"State your business..." The guard ordered.

"I wish to speak with the king." Demonicus replied.

"The king does not speak with low brow trash such as yourself." The man growled back.

Almost in a split second, the knight drew his longsword and put it to the guard's thoat.

"Stand down or I spill your blood." Demonicus mumbled.

Meanwhile, the shadows kept their distance as the trail seemed to dimmer from their prey. Their eyes noticed the barn as quickly as the creatures turned to leave.

Slowly, the monsters crept toward it, making sure not to be sensed.

If there was one good thing about being trapped with this man, at least he fed me well enough.
"You need your strength", he told me. Why I would need it, and why he worked me so hard if I needed it, I didn't ask. Most questions were answered by one of his painful "lessons".

We had rested for the second night when he looked over the horizon.
"You've made good progress," he said. "We should be there faster than I'd expected. Hopefully by midday tomorrow."

I silently curled up in my cage and slept.

I had no idea why the man and dragon were hiding, but what I did have an idea of, was getting fed.

I meeped repeatedly to the human who held me, wanting to be fed as I was hungry.

Asmoral placed a finger to the hatchling's muzzle to silence it, he moved quickly and quietly to a small shabby cupboard and pulled out a hunk of meat, he placed the hatchling in a secluded, hidden spot with the meat.

"Eat." he whispered softly "I will return soon." he returned to the centre of the barn.

As he did so, he got Gcdm a large chunk of meat then kept his eyes focused on the doors, waiting for whatever was outside to slither in. Their presence was much less faint, barely detectable and Asmoral had to struggle to estimate their position outside, then he lost the scent completely.

"Damn it..." he cursed quietly.