Hello loves! While I haven't been writing, I have been working on updating some issues that have been hanging around on the layout! The Character change box is now at the bottom of the page, beside the up/down arrows! Green and Gold dragon flight dates have been shifted to the bottom of the page, where the (useless!) discord widget was located. Where the dragon flights were in the header, is now replaced by a Monthly Event box! This will be updated at the start of each month, with a fun mini-event you can take part in, if you want to! Thistle!
29.Mar.21, 12:35 PM
Everything was dark. Cold. Quiet. Too quiet. Was he alone? He stood in the middle of... nothingness. Where was he? Was this between? It made sense with all they had been told and what he experienced himself, though he was never there long enough to explore. Honestly, he didn't think he ever even had his eyes open on the trips. He always closed his eyes when visualizing where they were going and they opened again after the change in air. He took a moment to look around now but it was either pitch black or--no, he could see his hand when he looked--so there was just nothing.
Cazan would be so disappointed--relieved?--to learn there weren't any ghosts hanging out between. He was a bit disappointed as well after slowly starting to think maybe his mate was right. Dragons went there when they died and often took their rider with them. If a rider was left behind, there were some others that were nice enough to 'reunite' rider and dragon.
So why was he there? Why wasn't anyone else there?
T'ryn grabbed his head as a pain shot through it, both hands cradling at the temples. He grunted as he fell to his knees. It hurt so badly! Why? He'd had headaches before but nothing compared to the throbbing and the extra stabs that randomly struck. Breathing became difficult and his hands fell to his chest as if holding it would help ease the burning of his lungs. What was going on?
He didn't have a chance to find out as he tilted forward and hit the ground where the darkness took over.
When his eyes slowly blinked open, T'ryn groaned as he pushed himself to sit up. His head still hurt but his breathing seemed normal. A glance around showed he was still alone in the quiet nothingness that he was convinced was between. Why he thought that was something he didn't want to examine too closely given what he knew about the place and how they were told to never linger more than the handful of seconds it took to make a trip across the land.
He tried to stand but a stab in his chest had him going back to his knees with a hand pressing over his... heart? He gasped as another stab hit him. It felt like actual daggers were constantly being thrust into his heart but there was no blood, no wound.
And why was it so damned quiet?!
Quiet... oddly so... and the unnatural feeling of being alone... it wasn't just the place making him feel such things. Where was Syrendryth? He was never this quiet and even when he slept, his presence was always felt. Now...
T'ryn shut his eyes, doing his best to ignore the pain in his heart and head and listened. Reached out... but there was nothing. "Sy? Where are you? I can't feel you, Sy... you're scaring me..." Syrendryth wasn't one to play pranks and despite his surly nature when it came to most everyone else, he never did anything to scare his rider.
The headache and the heartache made sense now. The emptiness, the hole he could feel in both now so clear. His dragon was missing and he couldn't remember how or why. What happened? What did he do? He had to find Syrendryth!
T'ryn got to his feet but fell again after three steps. He hit the ground with both fists in frustration. He was useless! How could he find and help his dragon... his friend... if he couldn't even walk? Another wave of pain racked his body and T'ryn froze, even his gasp hanging on his tongue and unable to come out until he fell unconscious once more.
Again he woke but now he remembered he had to find Syrendryth. Had to save his dragon if it was the last thing he did. He was sweating and short of breath as he rose to stand yet again but T'ryn forced himself to walk. He didn't know which direction he walked or where it would take him but he had to try. He was shivering in a cold sweat after a while and his head kept pounding with the loss of Syrendryth's presence but still he walked.
Time had no meaning when the nothingness was all-consuming. T'ryn had recalled Kor'is was obsessed with what he called the void. So many pieces of art ended up in a black mass and how the bluerider said sometimes he was simply compelled as if drawn in by the thing he couldn't escape. T'ryn understood now. Between or an empty black void... they seemed the same and had consumed him and there wasn't a way out.
With a sob, he was on the ground again. Everything hurt but it was still his heart that his hands tried to protect and piece together. "I'm sorry, Sy. I failed you. I failed everyone. Please come back, Syrendryth." He tried to stand but he had no strength left. He wasn't too proud to crawl and he tried that for a while but even that was draining and he broke down in tears as he laid on the cold ground.
"Syrendryth!" T'ryn woke with a shout, sitting up right, clawing at his bare chest and breathing heavily. He vaguely noticed a blur of gold moving away from his side as his gaze scanned around the dark space, eyes wide and wild.
I am here, T'ryn.
"Lies," T'ryn shook his head. It couldn't be true. He'd been alone so long and now his mind had created a version of Syrendryth. His dragon was always confident, cocky, snarky. This one sounded relieved and he felt worry coming through the bond. Wait, he could feel something?
I am real, T'ryn. You have finally come back to me.
He came back to Syrendryth? "No. You've come back to me. I couldn't find you," T'ryn started crying again as relief and fear warred in him. It had to be true, he could feel the bond again and his heart was full and his head... still had an ache but Syrendryth was there. Everything was right and when he looked up again, dashing away tears, he saw that flash of gold once more, now in the shape of a concerned Lady and then his gaze drifted to where he could just make out Cazan as his eyes continued to adjust to the dark of a room—not of between.
"Zanny?" His voice cracked as he cautiously said her nickname. Had he truly broken free after all that time searching?
Cazan would be so disappointed--relieved?--to learn there weren't any ghosts hanging out between. He was a bit disappointed as well after slowly starting to think maybe his mate was right. Dragons went there when they died and often took their rider with them. If a rider was left behind, there were some others that were nice enough to 'reunite' rider and dragon.
So why was he there? Why wasn't anyone else there?
T'ryn grabbed his head as a pain shot through it, both hands cradling at the temples. He grunted as he fell to his knees. It hurt so badly! Why? He'd had headaches before but nothing compared to the throbbing and the extra stabs that randomly struck. Breathing became difficult and his hands fell to his chest as if holding it would help ease the burning of his lungs. What was going on?
He didn't have a chance to find out as he tilted forward and hit the ground where the darkness took over.
When his eyes slowly blinked open, T'ryn groaned as he pushed himself to sit up. His head still hurt but his breathing seemed normal. A glance around showed he was still alone in the quiet nothingness that he was convinced was between. Why he thought that was something he didn't want to examine too closely given what he knew about the place and how they were told to never linger more than the handful of seconds it took to make a trip across the land.
He tried to stand but a stab in his chest had him going back to his knees with a hand pressing over his... heart? He gasped as another stab hit him. It felt like actual daggers were constantly being thrust into his heart but there was no blood, no wound.
And why was it so damned quiet?!
Quiet... oddly so... and the unnatural feeling of being alone... it wasn't just the place making him feel such things. Where was Syrendryth? He was never this quiet and even when he slept, his presence was always felt. Now...
T'ryn shut his eyes, doing his best to ignore the pain in his heart and head and listened. Reached out... but there was nothing. "Sy? Where are you? I can't feel you, Sy... you're scaring me..." Syrendryth wasn't one to play pranks and despite his surly nature when it came to most everyone else, he never did anything to scare his rider.
The headache and the heartache made sense now. The emptiness, the hole he could feel in both now so clear. His dragon was missing and he couldn't remember how or why. What happened? What did he do? He had to find Syrendryth!
T'ryn got to his feet but fell again after three steps. He hit the ground with both fists in frustration. He was useless! How could he find and help his dragon... his friend... if he couldn't even walk? Another wave of pain racked his body and T'ryn froze, even his gasp hanging on his tongue and unable to come out until he fell unconscious once more.
Again he woke but now he remembered he had to find Syrendryth. Had to save his dragon if it was the last thing he did. He was sweating and short of breath as he rose to stand yet again but T'ryn forced himself to walk. He didn't know which direction he walked or where it would take him but he had to try. He was shivering in a cold sweat after a while and his head kept pounding with the loss of Syrendryth's presence but still he walked.
Time had no meaning when the nothingness was all-consuming. T'ryn had recalled Kor'is was obsessed with what he called the void. So many pieces of art ended up in a black mass and how the bluerider said sometimes he was simply compelled as if drawn in by the thing he couldn't escape. T'ryn understood now. Between or an empty black void... they seemed the same and had consumed him and there wasn't a way out.
With a sob, he was on the ground again. Everything hurt but it was still his heart that his hands tried to protect and piece together. "I'm sorry, Sy. I failed you. I failed everyone. Please come back, Syrendryth." He tried to stand but he had no strength left. He wasn't too proud to crawl and he tried that for a while but even that was draining and he broke down in tears as he laid on the cold ground.
"Syrendryth!" T'ryn woke with a shout, sitting up right, clawing at his bare chest and breathing heavily. He vaguely noticed a blur of gold moving away from his side as his gaze scanned around the dark space, eyes wide and wild.
"Lies," T'ryn shook his head. It couldn't be true. He'd been alone so long and now his mind had created a version of Syrendryth. His dragon was always confident, cocky, snarky. This one sounded relieved and he felt worry coming through the bond. Wait, he could feel something?
He came back to Syrendryth? "No. You've come back to me. I couldn't find you," T'ryn started crying again as relief and fear warred in him. It had to be true, he could feel the bond again and his heart was full and his head... still had an ache but Syrendryth was there. Everything was right and when he looked up again, dashing away tears, he saw that flash of gold once more, now in the shape of a concerned Lady and then his gaze drifted to where he could just make out Cazan as his eyes continued to adjust to the dark of a room—not of between.
"Zanny?" His voice cracked as he cautiously said her nickname. Had he truly broken free after all that time searching?
