Alucard Fraiser | 20 | Male | Mentions: Valencia, Alaric, Max, Rhyhor Dir, Lorcan, Kaihuna, Illinto Indir.

When his guard did not immediately jump to his beck and call, Alucard felt his throat tighten up as panic rose in his chest. As much as he was trying to pretend that he was growing increasingly frazzled over his loss of authority, the man could feel the terrifying panic rising in him like a wave about to crash down. He needed to slap some sense back into himself, make sure he didn’t let his fear peek through the cracks in his persona. Absolutely not, he would not be perceived as some fear-stricken royal with the heart of a chicken.

He parted his lips to re-issue the command when Alaric brushed past him, Alucard’s head snapped down to look at the other man and blinked in surprise. Mouth bobbing back shut as he watched him walk over towards Valencia, issuing his quick quip back towards Alucard. He wasn’t an imbecile, he knew they were on equal footing now, but nevertheless she still had served him before so why not now? It was in her training to do so. In all honesty, the only reason he had recognised her as one of his own guards was because of that ghastly scar that marred her appearance, it was an absolute eye sore. He refrained from looking at it for longer than half a heart beat.

“I know this, Alaric.” He huffed out, moving to cross his arms over his chest, the flowing linen falling into place soon after. Reminding him of just how muddy he had become and it brought another shiver of disgust down his spine. Dreadful.

He kept his eyes locked onto the pair, particularly watching his ex-guard with a scrutinising glower that she most definitely saw. He wasn’t sure if any ill words that were spoken about him now were treason or not, likely not, much to his dismay. Then came the loud call that made him drop his arms from his chest and look around, furrowing his brow as he did so.

“About time they welcomed us.” He couldn’t help the comment from leaving his lips as he spotted this Rostami woman. She didn’t look very impressive, short and old. What could she teach him that he couldn’t learn from some dusty old book?

As she began to list the rules, he listened. At first. Then as the second rule came he let out a soft gasp and brought a hand up to his collarbone in horror. No illicit substances and no romance? Cruelty. True unadulterated cruelty. He could not summon his concubines from the royal grounds? No dallying with the people gathered here or the visiting dragon riders. Horrible, truly. He had much love to give.

“Surely they do not mean to check our beds in the middle of the night for a stowaway lover?” Alucard questions under his breath, not exactly directing the comment at anyone in particular, more to himself in disbelief.

Still in his state of shock, Alucard had followed the procession towards the stables where the dragons were being kept. He walked steadily behind a familiar mop of hair that made his brain come out of its stupor. Ah, that was delightful. The Cantacuzene boy. Perhaps there was a god that looked upon him in good favour. Not only did he have a personal guard nearby but his top finery dispenser.

“Maximillian.” He spoke, keeping his head high but angling his eyes down towards the man walking in front of him. “I did not notice you before, I apologise for the rudeness.” He wasn’t sorry in the slightest, he had not seen him before because he was unimportant until now. “What a pleasure to see you here, I am glad to have a prestigious man amongst us. You must have brought some delightful wares with you, no? Perhaps I shall look at them tonight, as you can see those ruffians down the trail made to get upon the most awful steed.” He gestured to the smears of dust and grime on his white clothing.

With that, they were inside the stables and their names being read out in assigned positions. To obtain a dragon was quite the honour, even if it meant being stripped of his title, perhaps this was another way to gain power. Rhyhor was his dragon, whatever that meant. He began to walk along the stable, eyeballing each dragon as he passed by.

Lorcan was a tiny thing backed up into the corner as he walked past, boring and weak. A few others were larger and caught his eye but none were Rhyhor. Then came Illinto, a wafer of a thing that was coiled up in the rafters of her stable. And Kaihuna, a scrap of nothing. Good gods, was his dragon as small and pitiful as these dreadful creatures. How were they supposed to reign powerful protectors if their dragons were such weaklings? There were perhaps two he would deem worthy of his steed.

He came to the end of the stable and finally found the placard with Rhyhor’s name on it. Alucard stopped and peered into the cell, gazing at the creature before him he felt comforted that his beast wasn’t like the skinny creatures it was housed next to. He looked like he imagined a dragon would, an all powerful creature perfect for someone of his caliber. Sure he would prefer the largest and strongest one, but there was a chance this one would grow even more.

“Rhyhor.” He spoke, keeping that smug air to his voice even in the face of a beast much larger than himself. “You are mine now. Come here so I may perform the bond.” His demands were spoken like he was getting a dog to obey a sit command, his nose high and his left hand extended ever so slightly to point delicately at the spot at the front of Rhyhor’s stable.

Illinto | 245 | Female | Mentions: Kaihuna, Tadashi Indir.

The space was large enough for her to fit comfortably enough, but the ground was cold so unlike the natural landscape of her home that the dragon had wound herself around the beams at the top of her stable. Her body contorted in all manner of sickening angled to be coiled around the various pieces. Her wings tucked in close to her body, her head was resting on a forepaw as she slept. There was little else to do the previous night as the others around her complained, shivered and mumbled to themselves. She hated the bond outright, it was a ridiculous concept to force a bond. A bond that is forced is no true connection in Illinto’s eyes, the mere act of forcing it put everyone involved in peril. What if her rider was as cruel as she had heard some of them were? Beat her into submission?

Her mind was running through these thoughts and questions as she watched the small water dragon next door fret over some colourful rock things, dragging them around, rearranging them. He almost looked excited to be getting a human master. Then another excited noise from further away, the note clearly that of a young dragon. These poor creatures didn’t know the cruelty of this bonding ceremony. Too young to think of the freedom, the bliss of being free to roam the world as they pleased. Her tail flicked irritably at the premise that these young dragons would never see that life, they would die with their rider in a few short years. As would she.

Illinto lifted her head from her paws as she heard the door open, she was unable to see the people enter but the light in the walkway made her narrow her eyes. The moment had arrived, the inevitable bonding that she so hated. Trapped in this iron infused prison she had little choice but to wait for the assigned human to make their way to her stall.

The female did not descend from the ceiling, instead she tucked her tail back up around a beam. When the man stood before her, she lowered her head and curled her lip in the darkness. The white portion of her body visible in the shadow, the purple blurred into the background. Her serpentine body was bent unnaturally, completely out of place from what would be normal to look at. Still, she did not move. She wanted to see what his human would do before she came down and accepted her fate. Illinto flattened her ears against the sides of her neck, making them almost invisible. Unlike some of the dragons who were grumbling and crying out, she was completely silent. The only indication of her annoyance was the tiniest curl of her upper lip that revealed no visible teeth.

Tadashi Akiyama | 21 | M | Mentions: Illinto {dir}, Other Chosen {Indir}, Prof. Rostami {Indir}, Other Dragons {Indir}

Hearing the voice from Professor something something stami...? Strange name. He'd definitely have to rehear that one later on... Tadashi was brought out of his thoughts as the group was led inside.

Now, being out on the farms, you didn't often get moments of excitement or thrills from near death experiences or what not. Hell, the most exciting thing Tadashi could think of from the top of his head was whenever the chickens hatched their eggs, or if the family managed to pull a particularly large crop.

Now this? This. Is what he'd classify as NEAR. DEATH. Because holy hell, these creatures were GINORMOUS, sporting huge fangs, and covered in scales like some kind of unholy demon bat lizard things. AND THIS STRUCTURE WAS THE ONLY THING SEPARATING THEM!? Dragons. People called them dragons. Sure! He'd heard plenty of passing stories about giant flying lizards that could... decimate kingdoms, and slaughter thousands with their attacks- But he'd thought they'd been joking!!

Geckos! He loves geckos. Small lizards. Big eyes. Long crazy tongues. In his mind, when he'd heard the stories, had only been able to imagine giant geckos, with their bright colour's and cute faces with little wings on their backs.

Oh how sorely mistaken he had been.

Each stable he passed, he swore he could feel more and more of his life fading away, along with any and all pigmentation in his skin. Sharp teeth. Giant claws. Glowy eyes-

This was a nightmare he was sure he wouldn't wake up from, but a boy could hope? ...right?

With a deep breath, he raised his hands to his face, slapping his face hard to refocus as he approached the stable where his dragon was waiting.

"...Eh...? Ill...in...to...?" Tadashi sounded out the name, sounding a little perplexed. His gaze flickered up to the stable, then to the sign, then back to the stable as they widened substantially. Where... the hell-?

Then... His entire body fell rigid. They wouldn't have given him an empty stable with a name. No no no. That was the kind of joke HE'D pull on someone. But to do that to him?

He could feel his heart beginning to pound faster as he shakily raised his head to the rafters, his gaze settling on the larger form of the dragon that lay curled there.

With her head lowered, it took everything in Tadashi to not scream bloody murder as he took in the sight of the dragon before him. The way her body contorted, each and every angle sickening to comprehend.

He could feel his hands getting clammy by the second. Sweat beading along his forehead as he audibly gulped, casting a quick glance towards the other Chosen Ones.

"...Ohhh... Y-You're... something... aren'tcha...?" He forced a smile, but it lost any and all drop of confidence as it trembled and quivered at the edges.

"Uhh... G...Good... girl...?" He stammered out, his voice rising in an octave. Tadashi cringed internally at his own voice.

'THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME!? THIS IS A LITERAL DRAGON, NOT A DAMN DOG-! UGH!!'

Not only was he here among what looked like many nobility, but he was surrounded by dragons that looked more than ready to run the rivers red in their blood.

And here he stood, hay sticking out of his curly black hair, his black and gold zig-zag patterned headband feeling tacky in comparison to the others higher quality clothing, mud sticking to his boots with what he could only imagine the others would describe as an unholy stench of manure and earth.

'...First impressions... Well done. You failed. Each. And. Every. Aspect.' Tadashi internally scolded himself. Not only did he not look or smell the part. He sure as hell didn't sound it either.

Face to face with this terrifying creature, he could never have felt more insignificant in his life.

He rocked back and forth awkwardly on the balls and heels of his feet, patting his hands against the sides of his thighs, before looking down at his hands as he hesitantly raised a hand out towards Illinto, wincing and flinching a little, as if fully expecting my hand to be torn and gone in the following few moments.

'Please dont eat me, please dont eat me, please dont eat me-'

Aalis Soile
Light Dragon | Female | Mentions: Max, Others Indir

Aalis blinked her large, glowing eyes, her pupils narrowing as sunlight burst in from the opened doors. It hit her scales, offering light and warmth where the shadows had been dull, dusty, and dim. For a brief moment, the humans were merely vague shapes, voices in the Beyond of her wood and iron cage, until she managed to refocus her eyes and let them adjust to the change in brightness.

There was a matching number of 'new' humans to the number of dragons. That was.. to be expected, she supposed. An older woman was talking, power seeping off of her despite the warm tone she had with the younger humans. The power was old, ancient. Older than herself, even. Hm.

Maximillian Cantacuzène. That was the name that had been called out with hers. The human this instituation had demanded be hers, forever. For good or for bad. It settled like a stone on her heart, the heaviest of pits in her stomach, acrid and sour. And yet, this was life. Death awaited her if she refused; death for herself, this poor boy, her home and the creatures within it.

The boy (man? Perhaps. She wasn't quite sure how humans aged, she'd not interacted with them enough throughout her life) spoke kindly to her, his words flowing like sweetened honey, like molten gold through cracks of the earth. Perhaps a partnership with him would not be so.. miserable. Though the way he spoke to the other boy, the one partnered with that volatile storm dragon, did have a small huff of amusement coming from her chest.

"Maximillion," she repeated, her voice soft, like silk whispering against itself. Her neck had to arch to let her head lower towards the boy-man (really, she'd have to ask about that) over the stall walls. "Some people learn only through pain." And pain the 'Alucard' boy would receive, surely. Aalis could hear the crackle of electricity between the fangs of the storm dragon, could hear the scrape of claws against stone, the whine of wood-metal walls being squeezed.

"Words," she continued. "Are a simple currency, when actions will more than suffice." And, with that, she lowered her head, just enough that her muzzle tapped, just for a moment, against the boys forehead.

Her head immediately reared back, a splitting pain fracturing its way through her scales, her skull, her very brain. Like a pulsing heartbeat, it was there for one beats, two beats, three beats, and then gone, like it was never there. Once the pain had receeded, she blinked open eyes she hadn't realized she'd closed, and looked down at the boy.

Rhyhor
Storm Dragon | Male | Mentions: Auranthia, Kaihanu, Akuryo, Alucard, Others Ind

Rhyhor was absolutely certain he'd never been more upset in his entire fucking life. Which, really, was an achievement, considering he had dumb and dumber following him around everywhere most of the time, chirping away in his ears and rummaging around the wreckage he left behind and blowing goddamn bubbles at him.

These.. humans. He'd level towns. He'd levelled cities. He'd turned castles into ruins when their rulers pissed him off. And now these humans, with their iron nets and their magic, had captured him. Him. Along with others, too. Akuryo, a dark dragon he'd known in passing, one he'd respected the territory bounds of. A light dragoness he'd seen only once and never returned to. Kaihanu, the slippery little water dragon (who was looking for coral gifts for his human. Gods above, Kaihanu). And, perhaps worst of all besides Rhyhor himself, Auranthia.

And that old crone, one with dragon magic practically flowing off of her, practically bleeding off of her, deemed that she would announce their bonds? It took everything in him not to gather his power and blast her out of existence for the slight. But Kaihanu and Auranthia were here, and Kaihanu seemed disgustingly excited about this ordeal, and if he was forced to be trapped here, at the very least he could ensure the safety of his.. pests.

Alucard Frasier. That was the name of his.. human. The one he was to be bonded to. The one who he would have to share his mind with, his day with, his powers with. The thought had another snarl escaping him, reverberating out of his chest. The sight of the human didn't quell it.

And the words of that human insect made it worse. This pitiful, fleshy, magicless creature wanted to command him? Treat him like something to own? To demean?

One of his wings braced against the iron-enforced wall, the wood creaking under his weight. The other was still on the floor, his forelimbs scraping through the soft bedding in the stable to gouge into the stone beneath. His maw parted slightly, both of his rows of teeth glistening as sparks of lightning crackled between them.

"Watch yourself, urchin," he growled, his voice rumbling like thunder through a cloud. "You unsightly, blundering, nitwitted jester. I would eat you whole, but I do not bother eating rot."

For a brief moment, his eyes seemed to glow brighter than usual, the crackling between his teeth growing more intense. His broad head lifted, his muscular neck arching, and he squeezed the wooden wall next to him so hard he was pretty sure he heard something crack.

And then he blasted this 'Alucard' with a bolt of lightning. Not enough to kill (he wasn't a fool), but certainly enough to feel.

Rhyhor ran his tongue over his fangs once the blast was done, snapping his jaws together once. "I will not be commanded, filth," he said, dropping his wing from the wall back onto the ground, and exhaling so sharply some of the bedding beneath him moved like they'd been brushed aside by wind.

Lorcan | Male | Mentions: Scriv Dir. Aalis, other humans and dragons Indir.

The harsh light from outside suddenly blasted into the stables, particularly into his and Aalis’s stalls. It blinded the young dragon for a moment and he recoiled, heading for the back of his pen, peering out from the bales of hay he had scampered up on top of. He lowered his head in apprehension as he watched the line of humans saunter into the hallway at the front, that woman was back and she was talking, he heard his own name.

Lorcan padded at the hay beneath his feet, now that the time had come to face his human he couldn’t control the worry that ran through his scales. What if his human didn’t like him? The other dragons were so much…well bigger than him and cooler and powerful. He just had fire, how boring by comparison to the pretty female beside him and the beast on the other side. He must look like a runt.

Well, if he looked like a runt he certainly wasn’t going to act like one. Call it compensating if you want, but he didn’t care.

The person standing in front of his stall was a woman with some sort of eye covering, she didn’t speak to him as she waited by the door. In fact, she looked a little annoyed to be there. Strange. He thought the humans would be even more excited than he was to be making this bond. On that note…why were none of the other dragons around him excited? It was all he wanted to do, ever since Dharial told him about the bond and her human, his nestmates and himself would talk for hours about their future humans.

The dark male lifted his head up and hopped down from his hay bale and fought the trembling nerves in his muscles to stride towards the front of the stall confidently. He glanced at Aalis who was approaching her human calmly, he could do that. He could copy her. She was nice, she must be doing the right thing.

Lorcan lost direct sight of Aalis as he stopped at the pen door, his curling horn blocking his view of the female. His eyes locked onto the woman in front of him, trying to hide the nauseating concoction of excitement and anxiety that was rolling over in his stomach. Right. Aalis introduced herself and touched her human, he must be supposed to do that.

He couldn’t help the hesitation as he opened his mouth to talk before a small strangled noise came out instead of words. Good first impression. In a panic to try and fix his fumbling, Lorcan dipped his head down through the bars as pest he could to touch his rider. It was struggle to get his horns through the gaps but he managed it and moved to nudge his nose against the woman’s upper arm. Expecting nothing to happen, the young dragon recoiled in a complete frenzy as the white hot pain shot through his body.

The second he had touched the human, it felt like he was being flayed alive, like his scales were burning off and scattering onto the floor. Lorcan let out a shrill sound as he attempted to yank his head back through the bars, but his rams horns caught in his panic and he couldn’t move backwards. Instead, he threw his paws up onto the bars, flexed to extend the true length of his golden talons as he tried to wrench himself free.

The pain was gone, but his fright had left him frazzled. Eventually, he yanked his head back through the bars and looked at the human with wide eyes, talons still extended and scraping against the floor of his pen. His nostrils huffing out scorching hot air from his lungs at a rapid rate, a soft fiery glow from within shining in the shadows. Had she done that to him? Did she not like him? Perhaps he wasn’t a good enough dragon so she hurt him.

Lorcan looked over to Aalis, eyes still wide with fright as he sought an answer to the source of his injury. Wanting her to point out what he had done wrong, what he did that meant his rider didn’t like him. Did that mean he was going to be sent back to the nest with his adoptive siblings?

Illinto | Female | Mentions: Tadashi Dir. Rhyhor, Alucard, Lorcan Indir.

Good…girl? Her ears lifted from the sides of her neck as this Tadashi spoke. What was he trying to accomplish? Soothing her into some kind of friendship with him? She pushed out a huff from her lungs at the idea. That being said, they weren’t aware of the exact predicament the dragons found themselves in.

In their mind, the dragons were here for some sort of alliance with the humans, they didn’t know that she had been ensnared. Plucked from the sky with her sister and kept in the damp, cramped pens alone. Dharial had been taken before her, vanished in the middle of the night. For years Illinto had hunted her down, trying to find her, refusing to believe she had been murdered by another dragon over some territory skirmish.

That was when she had flown just a tiny bit too close to these humans and they had taken her. But she could smell Dharial. She was in this wretched facility and it was the only reason she wasn’t going to bite this man’s head from his shoulders the moment the pen door was opened.

After staring the man down for much longer than necessary, Illinto began to unfurl herself from the support beams and land silently onto the hay covered floor. As she was doing so, a clattering of horns against metal erupted from near the door and she didn’t have to look over to figure out it was the young male discovering the unfortunate reality of this bonding event.

She took another minute to observe him as he tried to play off the anxiety that she could smell emitting from his entire body. Beneath that, he smelt of dirt, fresh air and vaguely of pines. Oddly, like home. She edged closer, her slitted pupils rounding as she took in the familiar scent, but the second her nose entered the soft light coming from the hallway her ears snapped back against her head and her pupils returned to threatening slits. Humans were the opposite of home, he just lived somewhere similar.

Her pointed nose entered the sunlight, soon followed by the rest of her stark white head and neck. The light catching on the iridescent scales and sparkling ever so slightly. She was taller than him, which was good. He looked petrified of her, even better.

“Tadashi.” Illinto spoke, her voice that ever present soft echoing cadence that sounded like a passing breeze. Even if they weren’t confined to this echo chamber, her voice would still emit the same aura. Her train of thought was interrupted as she heard the sparking of electricity and her head snapped to the side to watch Rhyhor.

Oh his human was far worse than her own. At least hers was scared of her, this pompous man was in for a rude wake up call. Her tail coiled continuously behind her as she watched with morbid curiosity. Her eyes twitching as the bright flash came from the male and hit the human. The zap was quick, but it left the blonde man staggering and gasping. She couldn’t help but think that she would like to have done the same thing if her human had been so rude, but she must behave. If she does not behave then she will not be able to find her sister.

Turning slowly back to Tadashi, she lowered her head below his shoulder height, the very narrow tip of her nose pushing through the bars. Her purple eyes still bore up at him.

“Be grateful I am not as volatile.” She waited for the human to touch her, as demeaning as it was, she didn’t fancy sticking her whole head out to touch him and end up banging her skull on the bars. The knock could damage her teeth, something she wouldn’t have the time to heal in the coming days.

Alucard Fraiser | Male | 20 | Mentions: Rhyhor, Max Dir. Other riders Semi-dir.

He quirked an eyebrow as he heard his first name being spoken, the improperness of it all made his skin crawl. Alas, he turned his head to look down the line of people to where Max stood near the door. The look on Alucard’s face was vacant and unimpressed. He allowed the other man to continue his blabbering, all the while he was thinking about how silly it all was. Yes they were dragons, powerful and mighty, but they were a resource. Just as a knight’s horse, or an oxen were used to serve humans, the dragons fit into the same category. A glorified steed with shiny scales and fire.

Goodness this man was talking for a very long time, blathering on and on about how divine dragons were. It was a tremendous effort to keep his eyes from rolling, instead locking them onto the other man. Eventually, the torture was ended and Alucard found himself allowed to speak.

“He may be able to level a city on a whim, Maximillian.” He began, waving a hand around to enhance his words of wisdom. “Yet he is here to serve me- the kingdom.” His correction was poorly hidden. “A tool to protect our borders and ensure the safety of everyone within them. Do you propose that I allow the dragon to make all of the decisions? What if he turns around in a week and decides to slaughter every living thing in Kesotha?” He flicked his wrist towards the stall that Rhyhor was in, oblivious of the crackling that indicated the next minute of his existence would be very, very painful.

“If you wish to run the risk of that with your dragon, by all means, go ahead. I shall look forward to correcting that behaviour later. You may apologise at a later date when you discover your foolishness.” Alucard had closed his eyes and turned back towards his stall. He could hear his dragon talking, but again he paid it no mind just as he had semi-ignored Max’s intervention.

Alucard opened his eyes, prepared to give a lecture of similar caliber to the dragon when he met the bright flash of light that filled his vision entirely. There was no time to react as he was struck square in the chest with a bolt that sent him staggering backwards, half falling into the hay bales and wooden boxes behind him. He couldn’t even let out a sound of dismay, it felt like his lungs had been lit on fire.

The power that had just run its course through him had shot his brain to mush and made his muscles weak with tremors. His hair had been disheveled, pieces of the perfect white-blonde being tugged out of the updo, creating ringlets on his scalp and some long strands joining the bangs at the front. His white linen singed from the assault, still fizzling with heat around where a hole had been burnt through and revealed the porcelain white skin beneath that now looked angry and red. All in all, he looked a complete mess.

The dragon was speaking again, but it was hard to hear it through the ringing in his ears as he tried to pick himself up from the rubble of his pride. Already, one hand was moving to point aggressively at the dragon. The audacity of this creature to fire on him like that, to make him appear the fool in front of these people. He supposed no one outside of this academy would hear of it, but that didn’t stop the anger that rose in his throat along with the hot touch of that blast.

“H-How dare you!” Alucard began, voice ragged with dryness as the lightning blast had stripped the moisture from his airways. “You-!” He sputtered, clambering back upright and fighting against the pain that ran down his body, refusing to appear injured. “We! Are here to serve, and you attack me?” His voice was aghast, horrified by the idea that this dragon had committed treason. If not royal treason, but upon the humans it was supposed to be working with.

“As you wish, Rhyhor.” Alucard sneered out the name, his facade left behind in the rubble of splinters and hay, if only for that moment he was true to himself. “If you want to play it that way, I shall prove to you that I am not a blundering buffoon, but a man worth respecting if you took an iota of time to learn anything about me before blasting me into the trash like a rat.” There wasn’t any trace of fear towards the creature that had just threatened to kill him the moment he was let out of the stall, just complete and utter irritation as the insult.

Alucard moved and thrust his arm through the bars of the stall and looked frustratedly back and forth between his open hand and the dragon. His eyes flashing with annoyance and anger, forgetting about the other riders and he kept his voice raised and furious.

“Well? Go on then!” He waved his hand about dramatically.