Dragon of Blood and Fire, Part 7
Saturday, April 7th, 2012 03:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tsaikoJust in case you all need a reminder of what happened before this.
Part 1|Part 2|Part 3|Part 4|Part 5|Part 6
In the far eastern reaches of the lands – where the rising rivers deposited fertile silt, the marshes teemed with birds, and the trees provided more fruit than could be eaten – the crops were failing. There was no drought. No floods. No disease. Yet in the black fields carved out of the forest and supposed by the rivers, nothing grew.
The children grew weak and the old perished. The villagers prayed to the gods, growing more desperate each day. One day the Sun God took notice. This was a problem with the land itself, which was not his domain, so he called upon his brother the Earth God to investigate.
So the Earth God traveled to the province in disguise to find out what was going on. He came in the form of a simple traveler, his back bent from the weight of the pack he carried and his skin brown from the sun. The Earth God spoke with the villagers, but could find no reason for the crops to fail from them. His next stop was the land itself.
It didn't take long for the Earth God to realize what the problem was. Every mountain had a spirit in the form of a giant dragon-lizard without wings. The villagers had carved their fields from the side of the mountain itself, formed terrace after terrace on which they planted corn and squash, beans and tomatoes. This arrangement was nothing special. As long as they honored and flattered the spirit of the mountain, the mountain spirits were all too happy to provide.
Something had happened to this mountain spirit though. Instead of the normally cheerful and talkative spirit the Earth God had come to expect, the mountain spirit was morose and silent. His scales were dull and his eyes were filmy.
"Mountain spirit, have the people in the village done this to you? Did they not honor you? Did they not provide you with the proper sacrifices?" the Earth God asked. The spirit tilted his head and flicked his forked tongue out.
"No, they have done nothing. They honor me every day and the shrines on my mountain overflow with offerings," the spirit said. His voice hissed in soft, sad sibilants.
"Did a witch to this to you? Were you cursed? Were you defiled?" the Earth God asked. The spirit closed his eyes and sighed.
"No witch has done this to me. I am not cursed and have not been defiled," the spirit replied. "I am tired and weary. I wish only to sleep."
"What has done this to you then?" the Earth God asked.
"Love. Love has done this to me. I fell in love a warrior of the village, but he has been called away by the Sun God to serve. Where he has gone, so has my heart gone. No crops will grow on me as long as I lack a heart. When he returns, my heart will return, and my slopes will prosper." The spirit curled away from the Earth God, coiling around himself until only his scales faced the outside world. "Now please, leave me be. I wish to be alone."
***
Tlazi wasn't sure he had ever flown before. He had memories half buried in the back of his mind, waiting to roar to the front of his thoughts at the first hint of inattention, but he was pretty sure none of them involved flying. So the wings were new.
It certainly explained the trouble he was having controlling them. After giving the spear and armor he'd found to the first person he'd seen, Tlazi had taken to flight. Or at least, attempted to take to flight. All he'd managed to do was strain a muscle and flap awkwardly to the volcano rim.
It was unfair. Birds made it seem so easy. Eztilinhuica had taken to the skies like he was born to them. Why couldn't he even get off the ground?
The rim of the volcano crumbled under his claws and Tlazi hissed. Some great help he was. He couldn't even fly.
A scream ripped the air, much louder than any human could make, and Tlazi's head jerked up. Maybe he wouldn't need to fly. Maybe Eztilinhuica hadn't gotten that far. Tlazi launched himself down the flanks of the volcano, sliding on loose rock and rough dirt. He used his wings as counterweights to maintain his balance. At least they were good for something.
Nothing really grew on the volcano that held the Dragon of Blood and Fire. There was some scrub bushes here and there, but that was it. Tlazi knew that it was because everywhere Eztilinhuica went, fire and pestilence followed. It was just the other dragon’s nature. That didn't stop him from cursing Eztilinhuica to the eighth level of hell as he half slid and half ran down the mountain side.
He was in such a hurry to get to where Eztilinhuica was, that it didn't occur to Tlazi what he'd do when he got there. Tlazi crested a ridge and Eztilinhuica in all his red and gold glory was right there. His claws were ineffectual, no matter how much he tried to dig them into rock. Tlazi slammed into Eztilinhuica. Hard.
"Who are you?" snarled Eztilinhuica. The other dragon swiped at him, but his claws did not damage to Tlazi's scales. "Do you think you can stop me?"
"How do you even move in this damn form?" Tlazi snarled back. He was trying to get his feet up under him and failing. When Eztilinhuica tried to bite him, Tlazi snapped right back. His tail slapped against Eztilinhuica’s scales, "Get a hold of yourself."
"They killed him! They killed him!" The words were almost a wail. "I'll raze the world. Destroy it in fire if it will bring him back. Nothing will stop me. Nothing."
"I will stop you," Tlazi said. His words seemed to enrage Eztilinhuica even more. The dragon let loose a piercing scream and attacked.
***
Ilhuiti was dead.
Eztilinhuica didn't really care about anything else. Ilhuiti was dead. They had killed him. Again. He'd been powerless to stop it. Again. It was his worst nightmare brought back to life and replayed in front of his eyes.
He hated the world and everything in it. Let it burn until the very air tasted of ash. Let the blood run until it filled the oceans and turned them red. Then the bones of the Sun God's people crunch beneath his claw and their screams play like lullabies in his ears. Eztilinhuica would destroy them all.
Just as soon as the other dragon stopped kicking his ass.
It was the most frustrating thing Eztilinhuica had ever had to deal with. He swiped his claws, but they didn't make a dent into midnight black scales. He tried to bite, but the other dragon twisted out of the way or his teeth couldn't penetrate. He tried to burn, and fire had always been his strongest ally, but it did nothing. For the first time, Eztilinhuica felt incapable of inflicting his rage on another.
Even worse, the other dragon kept pinning him. Coils of black were wrapped around his own making it hard to move and almost impossible to fight. Rock dug painfully into his back and side. Try as he might, Eztilinhuica could not get away.
"I don't want to hurt you," the other dragon rumbled. As tangled up as they were, Eztilinhuica could both feel and hear every word.
"Lies," Eztilinhuica hissed. The other dragon had to be a god. It was the only explanation for why his attacks failed to work. Eztilinhuica had never met a god who had good intentions towards him.
"Stubborn idiot." Eztilinhuica growled, twisting sharply to bite. This god had no idea what had been taken from him. The only person who had ever listened - the only person who had ever cared to listen - was dead by the hands of the very people who should have protected him. And this dragon called Eztilinhuica an idiot? How dare he!
Eztilinhuica twisted his head, bringing it up under the other dragon’s jaw and ramming it upwards. The other dragon’s jaw snapped shut. His teeth nicked his tongue. Eztilinhuica could smell blood.
"Stop fighting me. This won’t bring him back. He's dead," the other dragon roared. Then his voice dropped in volume and he repeated the words. "He's dead. Ilhuiti is dead."
All at once, Eztilinhuica shuddered. The sound that ripped from his throat was pure grief. This was always the worst part. Realizing once again that Ilhuiti was dead and he was alone. It was like having his heart ripped from his chest again and again, every time Ilhuiti died. Even more so when it was a sudden, violent death.
Instead of taking advantage of Eztilinhuica’s grief, the other dragon gently nudged him. Eztilinhuica would have thought he was being comforted, but that was impossible. No one but Ilhuiti cared whether he lived or died.
“Who are you?” Eztilinhuica asked again. His voice sounded tired. “Who has accomplished what the mightiest warriors of the Sun God could not? Who has defeated me?”
The other dragon sighed, a cool puff of breath against Eztilinhuica’s scales. “It’s me. Tlazi.”
One nice thing about being stuck at the airport: it gives me time to write. I have already done some mild editing on the earlier parts in my word document. Man, I need to beat this thing with an editing stick something awful. I also am going to need a big ol' can of plot hole spackle. None of the holes are too bad, but I can definitely tell I started writing this with no idea of where it was going or any plan on how to make things make sense.
Part 1|Part 2|Part 3|Part 4|Part 5|Part 6
In the far eastern reaches of the lands – where the rising rivers deposited fertile silt, the marshes teemed with birds, and the trees provided more fruit than could be eaten – the crops were failing. There was no drought. No floods. No disease. Yet in the black fields carved out of the forest and supposed by the rivers, nothing grew.
The children grew weak and the old perished. The villagers prayed to the gods, growing more desperate each day. One day the Sun God took notice. This was a problem with the land itself, which was not his domain, so he called upon his brother the Earth God to investigate.
So the Earth God traveled to the province in disguise to find out what was going on. He came in the form of a simple traveler, his back bent from the weight of the pack he carried and his skin brown from the sun. The Earth God spoke with the villagers, but could find no reason for the crops to fail from them. His next stop was the land itself.
It didn't take long for the Earth God to realize what the problem was. Every mountain had a spirit in the form of a giant dragon-lizard without wings. The villagers had carved their fields from the side of the mountain itself, formed terrace after terrace on which they planted corn and squash, beans and tomatoes. This arrangement was nothing special. As long as they honored and flattered the spirit of the mountain, the mountain spirits were all too happy to provide.
Something had happened to this mountain spirit though. Instead of the normally cheerful and talkative spirit the Earth God had come to expect, the mountain spirit was morose and silent. His scales were dull and his eyes were filmy.
"Mountain spirit, have the people in the village done this to you? Did they not honor you? Did they not provide you with the proper sacrifices?" the Earth God asked. The spirit tilted his head and flicked his forked tongue out.
"No, they have done nothing. They honor me every day and the shrines on my mountain overflow with offerings," the spirit said. His voice hissed in soft, sad sibilants.
"Did a witch to this to you? Were you cursed? Were you defiled?" the Earth God asked. The spirit closed his eyes and sighed.
"No witch has done this to me. I am not cursed and have not been defiled," the spirit replied. "I am tired and weary. I wish only to sleep."
"What has done this to you then?" the Earth God asked.
"Love. Love has done this to me. I fell in love a warrior of the village, but he has been called away by the Sun God to serve. Where he has gone, so has my heart gone. No crops will grow on me as long as I lack a heart. When he returns, my heart will return, and my slopes will prosper." The spirit curled away from the Earth God, coiling around himself until only his scales faced the outside world. "Now please, leave me be. I wish to be alone."
***
Tlazi wasn't sure he had ever flown before. He had memories half buried in the back of his mind, waiting to roar to the front of his thoughts at the first hint of inattention, but he was pretty sure none of them involved flying. So the wings were new.
It certainly explained the trouble he was having controlling them. After giving the spear and armor he'd found to the first person he'd seen, Tlazi had taken to flight. Or at least, attempted to take to flight. All he'd managed to do was strain a muscle and flap awkwardly to the volcano rim.
It was unfair. Birds made it seem so easy. Eztilinhuica had taken to the skies like he was born to them. Why couldn't he even get off the ground?
The rim of the volcano crumbled under his claws and Tlazi hissed. Some great help he was. He couldn't even fly.
A scream ripped the air, much louder than any human could make, and Tlazi's head jerked up. Maybe he wouldn't need to fly. Maybe Eztilinhuica hadn't gotten that far. Tlazi launched himself down the flanks of the volcano, sliding on loose rock and rough dirt. He used his wings as counterweights to maintain his balance. At least they were good for something.
Nothing really grew on the volcano that held the Dragon of Blood and Fire. There was some scrub bushes here and there, but that was it. Tlazi knew that it was because everywhere Eztilinhuica went, fire and pestilence followed. It was just the other dragon’s nature. That didn't stop him from cursing Eztilinhuica to the eighth level of hell as he half slid and half ran down the mountain side.
He was in such a hurry to get to where Eztilinhuica was, that it didn't occur to Tlazi what he'd do when he got there. Tlazi crested a ridge and Eztilinhuica in all his red and gold glory was right there. His claws were ineffectual, no matter how much he tried to dig them into rock. Tlazi slammed into Eztilinhuica. Hard.
"Who are you?" snarled Eztilinhuica. The other dragon swiped at him, but his claws did not damage to Tlazi's scales. "Do you think you can stop me?"
"How do you even move in this damn form?" Tlazi snarled back. He was trying to get his feet up under him and failing. When Eztilinhuica tried to bite him, Tlazi snapped right back. His tail slapped against Eztilinhuica’s scales, "Get a hold of yourself."
"They killed him! They killed him!" The words were almost a wail. "I'll raze the world. Destroy it in fire if it will bring him back. Nothing will stop me. Nothing."
"I will stop you," Tlazi said. His words seemed to enrage Eztilinhuica even more. The dragon let loose a piercing scream and attacked.
***
Ilhuiti was dead.
Eztilinhuica didn't really care about anything else. Ilhuiti was dead. They had killed him. Again. He'd been powerless to stop it. Again. It was his worst nightmare brought back to life and replayed in front of his eyes.
He hated the world and everything in it. Let it burn until the very air tasted of ash. Let the blood run until it filled the oceans and turned them red. Then the bones of the Sun God's people crunch beneath his claw and their screams play like lullabies in his ears. Eztilinhuica would destroy them all.
Just as soon as the other dragon stopped kicking his ass.
It was the most frustrating thing Eztilinhuica had ever had to deal with. He swiped his claws, but they didn't make a dent into midnight black scales. He tried to bite, but the other dragon twisted out of the way or his teeth couldn't penetrate. He tried to burn, and fire had always been his strongest ally, but it did nothing. For the first time, Eztilinhuica felt incapable of inflicting his rage on another.
Even worse, the other dragon kept pinning him. Coils of black were wrapped around his own making it hard to move and almost impossible to fight. Rock dug painfully into his back and side. Try as he might, Eztilinhuica could not get away.
"I don't want to hurt you," the other dragon rumbled. As tangled up as they were, Eztilinhuica could both feel and hear every word.
"Lies," Eztilinhuica hissed. The other dragon had to be a god. It was the only explanation for why his attacks failed to work. Eztilinhuica had never met a god who had good intentions towards him.
"Stubborn idiot." Eztilinhuica growled, twisting sharply to bite. This god had no idea what had been taken from him. The only person who had ever listened - the only person who had ever cared to listen - was dead by the hands of the very people who should have protected him. And this dragon called Eztilinhuica an idiot? How dare he!
Eztilinhuica twisted his head, bringing it up under the other dragon’s jaw and ramming it upwards. The other dragon’s jaw snapped shut. His teeth nicked his tongue. Eztilinhuica could smell blood.
"Stop fighting me. This won’t bring him back. He's dead," the other dragon roared. Then his voice dropped in volume and he repeated the words. "He's dead. Ilhuiti is dead."
All at once, Eztilinhuica shuddered. The sound that ripped from his throat was pure grief. This was always the worst part. Realizing once again that Ilhuiti was dead and he was alone. It was like having his heart ripped from his chest again and again, every time Ilhuiti died. Even more so when it was a sudden, violent death.
Instead of taking advantage of Eztilinhuica’s grief, the other dragon gently nudged him. Eztilinhuica would have thought he was being comforted, but that was impossible. No one but Ilhuiti cared whether he lived or died.
“Who are you?” Eztilinhuica asked again. His voice sounded tired. “Who has accomplished what the mightiest warriors of the Sun God could not? Who has defeated me?”
The other dragon sighed, a cool puff of breath against Eztilinhuica’s scales. “It’s me. Tlazi.”
One nice thing about being stuck at the airport: it gives me time to write. I have already done some mild editing on the earlier parts in my word document. Man, I need to beat this thing with an editing stick something awful. I also am going to need a big ol' can of plot hole spackle. None of the holes are too bad, but I can definitely tell I started writing this with no idea of where it was going or any plan on how to make things make sense.
