05-26-2020, 02:25 PM
GHAUL
And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire
He hears Yadigar shrieking and his head snaps upward, ears strained forward for half a second before he takes flight. Initially, he assumes someone has attacked his brood, and his blood boils at the thought of it. His massive wings pump wildly until he’s hurtling across the sky and over the waves of green grasses. It takes only seconds for him to find them despite his son quieting. Ghaul lands with a reckless sliding and uses that momentum to hurry closer to the pair.
“Asphyxea, who did this?” he demands, his teeth clacking harshly together around the words as the boy looks up at him. Ghaul moves closer, examining the new shape of his child’s face and the heavy scent of blood coming from him. He lifts a talon and gently holds Yadigar by the chin as he turns him this way and that. “She.. she didn’t mean to..” he mumbles tearfully. The horned king nods slowly and, without warning, his grip tightens harshly around the boy’s face. He whimpers softly in confusion as Ghaul inhales deeply.
And then fire billows from him, scorching all the damaged tissue while the tiny drake begins to scream once more. He writhes and thrashes and pleads for him to stop. His little tail whips back and forth until Ghaul’s flames die down. Yadigar trembles and quivers while he is re-examined, crying and gasping in terror. The elder monster drops him at last before turning to Asphyxea. He considers her for a while with clicks and croons emanating from his throat.
Then, at long last, he steps closer and presses a kiss to her forehead.
“You are the first to shed another’s blood. You burn the brightest, my child,” he says with a grin full of crooked fangs. “Yadigar, you will have to do something much greater to reclaim your right as heir. I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”
And then he turns and begins the walk back to Pangea, leaving his only son weeping on the ground in a heap of blood and agony.
“Asphyxea, who did this?” he demands, his teeth clacking harshly together around the words as the boy looks up at him. Ghaul moves closer, examining the new shape of his child’s face and the heavy scent of blood coming from him. He lifts a talon and gently holds Yadigar by the chin as he turns him this way and that. “She.. she didn’t mean to..” he mumbles tearfully. The horned king nods slowly and, without warning, his grip tightens harshly around the boy’s face. He whimpers softly in confusion as Ghaul inhales deeply.
And then fire billows from him, scorching all the damaged tissue while the tiny drake begins to scream once more. He writhes and thrashes and pleads for him to stop. His little tail whips back and forth until Ghaul’s flames die down. Yadigar trembles and quivers while he is re-examined, crying and gasping in terror. The elder monster drops him at last before turning to Asphyxea. He considers her for a while with clicks and croons emanating from his throat.
Then, at long last, he steps closer and presses a kiss to her forehead.
“You are the first to shed another’s blood. You burn the brightest, my child,” he says with a grin full of crooked fangs. “Yadigar, you will have to do something much greater to reclaim your right as heir. I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”
And then he turns and begins the walk back to Pangea, leaving his only son weeping on the ground in a heap of blood and agony.