video

[deepstar]

Type: Video
Sender ID: deepstar ( Khalid )
To: General
Subject: Just Wyvern Problems
Warnings: NA

[ The feed starts out a little dark, honestly. But one can definitely hear the heavy breathing of some sort of creature. ]

Come on, girl, you have to let me out sometime.

[ Light suddenly shines through and one can see Claude's hand pushing up a large wing and exposing the vast expanse of white scale. ]

Apparently she thinks that I also need to stay in her nest. You'd think we've gone back in time where she had just been a baby and me a kid spending nights in the aery together. That's not what this is about though.

[ The camera pans to Khalid, who gives a little wave before pointing back to his wyvern. A white wyvern in a nest, wrapped around two eggs. Claude is still holding a wing up so that he can catch sight of his best friend. The wyvern just releases a little groan and a huff. ]

She had them just the other day. Chances are if you don't see me for a while it's because of these little guys. I'd hunt down anyone who cursed me with this luck, but how can I be upset seeing at how pleased she is? What a proud mother.

Comments

[deepstar]

I'm guessing those are novels with pictures in them.

Now. These poisonous bites... How is it administered? A gland in the saliva? Slightly hollow teeth through which the poison seeps in?

[refantasma]

I think so? I haven't really had the time to play them.

[Nico's face screws up at the questions.]

I dunno. Magic probably. I was busy leading my army against other monsters.

[deepstar]

Ah. Magic is such an unfulfilling answer. Also likely completely worthless for making anything useful from the remains.

[refantasma]

That's not true. If you plant their teeth right, you can make some nice zombies without having to ask their souls for permission. They're pretty powerful, too. I haven't done it because Clarise uses the teeth from the one she slayed as war trophies.

[deepstar]

I'm sorry, but what? Plant their teeth? Zombies?

[refantasma]

Exactly that. You plant a dragon's teeth, and you get zombies. You don't need to be a necromancer for that.

[deepstar]

How do teeth make zombies? That's like planting onions and getting an apple tree.

[refantasma]

The gods made it that way, ever since Cadmus, one of our first mortal heroes. They married him off to the goddess Harmonia, and it was one of their wedding gifts.

So it's been that way for three thousand years. Granted, getting the teeth from the dragon is the tough part.

[deepstar]

Gods. The gods made it that way...

[ Do you hear the skepticism? ]

[refantasma]

[Nico rolls his eyes]

The gods are weird—they have all the weirdness of humans, a boundless imagination, and are empowered to do anything because of human belief.

So yeah, the gods made it that way because. The goddess Athena instructed him to do it, and the zombies rose up to serve Cadmus. One for each tooth. Souless and if given a target they will chase them unto the ends of the earth. Father doesn't like them, but the other gods, especially Ares don't mind them and often give them as temporary gifts to their demigod children.

[deepstar]

Sorry, I don't make a habit of putting faith in anything like gods or goddesses. Especially when they're just as capricious as humanss.

[ That's not to say that he doesn't acknowledge their existence. He does. Just not belief in. ]

[refantasma]

They exist whether you believe in them or not—not that I worship either. It's weird to worship your cousin or some other relative, and you know they flirted with a particularly good-looking statue. If you get technical, I'm probably Father's high priest, but that feels weird. I did claim to be his ambassador for a bit. That doesn't feel as weird.

[deepstar]

Excuse me, but I think I'm missing some context here.

Cousin?

[refantasma]

Huh? Oh yeah, one of my cousins, Apollo is the god of the sun and music and light and other stuff, and he flirts with statues sometimes. My father's the god of the underworld.

I'm only half-god because my mother was mortal.

[deepstar]

How's that working out for you? Being... I guess what? A demigod or...

Honestly I'm not sure what it's called.

[refantasma]

Demigod, yeah, and kind of awful. You have one foot in the mortal world, another in the world of monsters and gods. Monsters want to eat you; immortals want to kill you to get revenge on your divine parent; and everything that can kill a mortal can kill you, too. I've just turned fifteen and I've already fought in two wars.

Lots of power, but the life expectancy of not making it to adulthood. At least I know where I'm going when I die. And it's not so bad, I already have a room in Father's palace.