Long ago lived a family of Imperial drakes. They were a proud clan who took great pride in their fiery elemental heritage. While many would think of such a grand beast as being draconic in looks and size, the Arkanis easily dispelled such myths with their lush silky coats and rather small stature. Usually growing no larger than a borzoi in their born form, they resembled the body structure of a starved and muscular wolf.
As they grow from mere pups learning the control of small embers, a metamorphosis of change takes place. These small, aggressive creatures slowly take on their adult etherial form, the magnificant Arkanis Lauris...
The Elemental Arkanis Lauris is a true site to behold! Their long legs distinguish them from mere drakes and canids alike as they gracefully pad through the caverns of Noore. The pride and respect for these creatures was a right of passage for the pups to dream of. All Arkanis of past and present have had the honor of looking forward to this cherished future... that is... until now...
On a starlit night, years back, the shadowy figure of a wolf ran from the spiraling caverns of Noore. Heavily splashing through the lunar ponds that lit their lives, the figure pushed ever further away from their origin. Her heart pounded with excitement as every stride took her closer to the night sky she so longed to see. In the distance, she could hear the cries of her littermates calling her... But it wasn't enough to make her turn back. She had set her sights on something greater, something that a mere Arkanis pup was forbidden to behold... That which lies beyond the lunar spirals of Noore...
As she burst from the cavern walls, the veil of lunar light stroked her fur like nothing she had ever felt. The pale warmth filled her heart with endless energy as she pulled further and further from her so called cherished prison walls. Freedom... her heart pounded aginst her chest as the the thought merely grazed the edges of her imagination... Is this freedom?? There mere question sent shivers down her long spine.
She cherished the slick wet grass as she skimmed across its sparkling, moonlit surface... She never knew such an everlasting world existed beyond Noore... It was so much more than she ever could have hoped for. She went to leap forward when--
--Whooosh--
Before she could even imagine what the breeze could have been, she collapsed in agony... Her shoulder blade slowly turned from its sleek black to a hideous crimson... The pain quickly overtaking her mind, her pupils dialated and she began to heave... The world became a dream... a simple haze, lost between realms... Something was approaching...
The gentle eyes looked down at her with great sorrow... Its gentle stroke hardly felt... It licked the wound and lay beside her as she took her final few breaths from the cool crisp air. Her final thoughts... was freedom really worth dying for?...
--
Her eyes blinked and opened slowly, the light was so bright... She went to move, but her entire body had been bound by vines. She twisted and pulled, but could not budge. She went to struggle yet again, when she was pushed to the ground roughly.
"What were you thinking?" the voice boomed "No pup is to go beyond the boundaries before they attain Lauris..." He growled as he tore the vines from the young pup.
She wimpered in response, but was quickly hushed as the elder studied the wound on her shoulder, for around the protruding feathers were vines, vines that distinctly ran deep within the young pup's body. Her savior...
"You've been tainted by the Batalis..." He changed his tecnique, and slowly knawed away what vines protruded from the bloodsoaked wound, careful not to disturb what lie within, for doing so could possibly spell death for the young Arkanis.
In a small voice, she responded, "what's a Batalis?"... Her ears lowered in shame as she awaited his answer.
"Earth spirits..." he growled, his massive face wrinkling with disgust. "far below our kind, they are worthless creatures of the great forest." He put a paw on her back and held her down as he used his powerful jaw to crush the foreign object protruding from her. "It's a disgrace to have been reawoken by one, and you have been tainted by man's arrows as well..." He lifted her from the ground and placed her on his strong back. "You will have to face judgement for this... Arrow."
In time, the wound healed as if it never happened, but the mark remained. Where once there was beautiful silky black fur now grew hideous crimson hair. As her kin grew, she became an object of bad omens to her family.
When the choosing of distinction finally arrived, she looked to the elder to rid her of this cursed identity, to give her a name of good omens, anything to change the destiny she had brought down on herself. But when she stepped forward, her name was now set in stone... She would forever be known as Arrow... tainted by man's weapons, and given life by the lowest elemental forms... It was a sign of the inevitable judgement that was to come... her kin came forth to comfort their poor sister, but they knew the destiny that awaited such a distinction from the elders...
As she cower before the Imperial Arkanis Lauris, Prophecy, she awaited her Prophetic Destiny... Prophecy looked forth with no emotion as he began to recite her chosen path, "Arrow, Arkanis of the Imperial Lauris, you have been tainted by man..." He paused a moment, "Your namesake will always remind you of this, but great care has been taken to watch you grow despite such tragedy. We had hoped you may still join our ranks as you move into Lauris... But destiny is not so forgiving, young one." He sighed deeply, "You have shown no progression within the ember spiral, and have yet to produce or bend a single flame. Instead, you walk as a Batalis, smell of its floral nature, and owe your very life's flame to one. For this, no remedy exists... For these reasons as well as endless others, you are hereby banished from the caverns of Noore.
She shuddered at his words, the hot tears streaming from her glowing orange eyes... Her life had been erased from every single thing she ever knew. Her body became weak as she touched her family for the last time... Their love and warmth never to be known by her again... Her heart tore as if it had been hit by that arrow, and with that, her limp body was left at the forest's edge, her destiny, a mysterious unwritten trail ahead...
Keywords
female
1,004,861,
wolf
182,182,
canine
174,314,
dragon
139,142,
kitsune
16,890,
red
16,886,
black
13,160,
orange
4,566,
cave
3,289,
spirit
2,964,
sprite
1,654,
flame
1,358,
arrow
852,
shesta
22,
naphiro
18,
arkanis
1,
lauris
1
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Published:
13 years, 3 months ago
01 Jan 2011 07:13 CET
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