Seaside Musings

[Angus Ogille]

Angus had never been so far from his home. He headed overland to Fellsguard knowing the legend of the evil wizard that was defeated there almost three centuries ago. He was sad to say he was disappointed. Distrust was rampant and many didn’t believe the Eidolons ever existed. He wanted to prove them wrong desperately. Unfortunately, the criminal nature of magic made him stay his power.

However, he was never one to shirk a challenge. His city wandering eventually led him to the western district. He sat on a small empty dock that seemed to support smaller vessels such as fishing boats. The druid sat there for hours enjoying the ships coming and going. He got many strange looks, but no one cared to speak to him. He might have stayed there all day if not for the scream he heard.

Angus' head snapped up and he looked towards the sound. A small boy of perhaps six years had fallen into the sea. Ogille dove in without a moments hesitation. He was a well trained swimmer, as a representative of Pheriss he could be nothing less. He grabbed the child and carried him to the shore while instructing him to stay calm.

The strangest thing was no adults were around. Instead a small group of children were clapping for Angus as he stepped onto land. No one was older than twelve in the area. A girl about ten whom seemed bolder than the others stepped foward. "Thank you mister." She suddenly got an angry look on her face and yelled. "Mark give that back you know our rules!"

From behind an eight year old boy walked up beside Angus and handed him his purse. "Sorry," then the kid hid back among the crowd of children. The druid hadn't even noticed his purse being lifted the boy had skill.

"Thank you young ones for the consideration. Remember Pheriss may seem gone, but as you can see nothing is hopeless. I think I shall leave now since the dock guards have taken an interest in us. Scatter children now." The kids got the message and bolted as guards came running shouting about theives.

Angus smiled as the urchins took off and made a decision. He couldn't let them get caught today because of him. It looked like his time in Fellsguard had to end for awhile. The druid summoned his power and manifested it. Onlookers would see a massive wall of water rise up from the sea blocking the guards progress in capturing the children. Once he was sure the kids escaped he dove into the sea and swam away with unatural speed releasing his wall as he did.

Sometime later he surfaced on a eastern beach, it was thankfully empty. As he sat on the shore he sent out a small pulse of power. After sometime a badger walked up to him. "Hey Dren hope your hunt went well." Together again, Angus decided to take a nap while his companion watched over him.

[Itzcohuatl]

One wind was like another to a creature doomed to walk the earth,
it might herald coolness or a storm but its nature was obscured beyond these generalisations to them. Such was not the case for Itzcohuatl, each wind was like a single, solitary being, it moved like a soul in motion and could be as much a friend or foe as any living thing. Some winds were electric with possibility, with a whisper of magic, they danced a rhythm which carried your spirit along with it; while others were slow and languid, heavy with memories of pains and scenes so old that there are no names for them. As it flew across his feathers and whisked along his scales it was like a friend helping along or a foe which you must wrestle with to pass on. It was a wonderous thing and were it possible he might never come down, but of course necessity took him to ground to rest and to eat and his wish to know sights and lives not his own drove his gaze and body similarly earthward.

Nevertheless today the wind seemed to have a pensive tone, it was careful and tender as it fluttered about him and the world below, and Itzcohuatl found his own sentiments turning equally reflective and introspective. He felt himself called to return to the cave which he called home for now, its stones would be warm from the sunlight, and he could rest with his thoughts in a way this wind which could never cease its motion might. And he very well may have when like a beam of light in the night he sensed a burst of power from below, he wasn’t too far from populated places so finding a being with magic shouldn’t be unusual. However, he rarely felt any magic on this part of the coast though he didn’t know why. His curiosity piqued Itzcohuatl turned and dove downwards moving through the clouds with an impossible and natural grace.

It did not take Itzcohuatl long to find someone, a keen sense for finding food had other uses though he had never used it in the aggressive and deadly manner some of his kind did, and so he circled watching. A figure, human maybe, seemed to be sleeping on the shore and nearby a badger - he knew that scent well, they had been more than a few meals of his over the centuries - which struck him as particularly strange. He had never known badgers to be kept like cattle or a dog, but this one did seem to be sitting there like a guard. Itzcohuatl did his best to keep to the clouds so his shadow wouldn’t be cast downward, but the wind today had other ideas and as he risked a dive to get a better look it blew his cloud cover away. Revealing for anyone below a brilliantly coloured flying serpent with the rainbow of feathered wings outstretched to their full length as he glided expertly. The sunlight speckled across his scales and the wind flicked up his feathers such that he looked like a blur of all his colours at once.

Itzcohuatl waited and watched to see what the group below would do: would they run? Would he sense their panic and fear, their hatred maybe? Or would they stand there struck dumb and await a doom which would never come? Perhaps they would curse him, hurl things vainly towards him? Or maybe, just maybe, he’d find there someone curious, someone who looked intrigued more than afraid. Maybe. For now he had lived long enough to know it was wise to be careful and cautious, and he intended to live much longer yet. So, though he dipped lower he remained far out of reach of anything the lone group might hurl at him. Although, Itzcohuatl wasn’t sure what a badger could hurl at him in any event.

[Angus Ogille]

Hours passed as the sun rose higher in the sky. A pleasant breeze made it ideal weather for a nap. Druid Ogille was having a pleasant dream about discovering a pod of merfolk. The legendary creatures were often in his dreams. If not them it was the seal folk or selkies. Water horses or kelpies were a rarer occurrence in his resting hours. Such visions of the sea's more hidden residents had been in his minds eye since he sat on his grandfather's knee as a child. The old man was a retired sailor and spent hours spinning tales of his adventures. As he slept his dream self discovered a comb upon a beach. It was made of seashell and was beautiful. He picked it up intending to hold onto it. That is until multiple beings rose out of the crashing waves. They implored him to return the treasure, but before he could answer he woke up.

Suddenly, the air currents grew stronger. Perhaps a storm was brewing on the horizon. Dren noticed the wind shift and looked about noticing an unusual sight as he peered above. He had never seen such a big Lizard before. He thought it looked pretty and wondered if it was possible to eat. For most creatures such a sight would be terrifying, but as a badger he wondered if he could fight it.

Angus stirred as he sensed a mixture of awe and anticipation from his companion. As a result when his eyes popped open he saw a colorful flying serpent. He had never seen a dragon before, but he had heard some bardic songs about them. The druid suddenly felt great joy in seeing one in person. Sure he should probably be scared, however his Eidolon was literally at his back if things got out of hand.

So he spoke in his practiced voice for public speaking. "Hail sacred one are you in need of aid? As a representative of Pheriss I assure you many things are whithin my power." The human waited with a smile on his face for a response.

[Itzcohuatl]

The practiced voice carried its notes high into the air and Itzcohuatl smiled a little, a devout one this then and yet though whomever it was followed the Eidolons there did not seem to be any ill-will to him or his kind. Strange, most of the followers of the Eidolons had a poor opinion of his ilk he had found, still this meant that his curiosity was only raised further – why did this man not conform to the pattern? That combined with his odd company, the badger almost eyeing Itzcohuatl up even as he soared above them, settled the matter for the dragon: he glided down lower, careful not to dive as if he was attacking prey, not wishing to make this human afraid. “Not in need of aid, rather wanting…” He spoke common deliberately, but his voice nonetheless kept like in his native draconic that ephemeral and shifting tenor that floated gently through its syllables, “… Ah…” He searched for the word for just a moment, “… Conversation, yes, conversation.”

As if to punctuate his sentence Itzcohuatl landed as he finished speaking with only the briefest beat of his wings to slow him down so as to avoid kicking up too much sand. He lifted his head and upper body upright by propping himself up on his wings, and had learnt to keep his maw closed as much as possible – many found the sight of a jaw of massive razor sharp teeth unsettling, for some reason. He didn’t quickly approach the stranger and his badger, still a little ways away from him, both for his safety and conscious always of not wanting to startle anyone. “It is polite to offer aid to a stranger when you meet…” Itzcohuatl observed a little surprised, most humans hadn’t reacted to his arrival in this way, and while he understood why and did not begrudge them a natural reaction he nonetheless found himself appreciative to receive a little common courtesy, “… It does you credit.”

Itzcohuatl turned those shimmering golden eyes across to the badger, watching it carefully but more to try and comprehend its presence with this human than anything else, before turning his gaze back after a moment to the human. “I am Itzcohuatl it is good to meet you?” His tone rising at the end inviting a name from the human, his mouth formed his name easily and gracefully: his draconic sounding formless, constantly in motion, like smoke on a moonless night floating across water. “I have never seen a badger with a human before…” He commented to invite an explanation, allowing the smallest sliver of a gentle smile pull at the corner of his mouth. Itzcohuatl normally smiled quite a lot, but he tried to avoid amongst those not of his kind as they didn’t find it relaxing to have a dragon smiling at them.

[Angus Ogille]

"Hello Itzcohuatl, I am Angus Ogille good to meet you." The druid blushed slightly at the dragon's compliment. "I was raised to respect all of the Eidolon's works so I'm nothing special. Thank you though sacred one." Then he introduced his companion with a little more composure gesturing with his hand. "This is Dren, I saved him when he was very young. He's been my faithful companion ever since."

He didn’t mention that it was from some cruel humans from his village. They tossed poor Dren in the nearby river and laughed at his struggles. That day was when Angus first heard the whisper of Pheriss in his soul. He had trained for five years as a acolyte of the Eidolons. His village honored them all, but to become a priest you must feel the call to a specific one. It was like the river embraced him filling him up with love. In his village there were only ever five priest, one for each of the great spirits. So rather than take his aunt's place he set out into the larger world.

All those memories passed thru his minds eye in a second and he continued to speak. "What would you like to talk about Itzcohuatl?" The human waited patiently for great beast to answer. He admired the rainbow of feathers. No story he had heard ever mentioned dragons sharing such a trait with birds.

[Itzcohuatl]

Itzcohuatl had rarely seen humans blush, cheeks flushed with fear or exhaustion yes, but that peculiar colour of embarrassment at a compliment paid or some such he had seen only once or twice before now. So, his golden eyes roved over Angus’ face attentively so that he might remember exactly how it looked in the years to come. Why his compliment made the fellow blush was another thought which flashed into his mind, perhaps Angus rarely received them? At the address as ‘sacred one’ again Itzcohuatl shook his head gently, slowly, and spoke up “I am no more sacred then you are sacred, or the trees, or the air. Itzcohuatl is name and title enough for me.” He said it without rebuke or offence, after all Angus was trying to be respectful as per his own beliefs, but Itzcohuatl’s beliefs and nature would let him be called nothing else. Certainly not sacred. As the badger was introduced, he turned his gaze to the creature, and dipped his head slightly in a silent greeting to Agnus’ companion. “You are travelling together through this place?” He asked gesturing along the beach with a motion of the head and rolling of his shoulders.


“Of anything, of why you are here, of whence you have come, of what it is to soar on the winds…” Itzcohuatl said while holding back his smile, and gently moving a little closer – the pinions of his wings walking like limbs, while his serpentine body wove its way forward in the sand. “… To simply talk, to hear another’s voice, and see their thoughts coalesce into form and then into breath and sound.” It was a magical thing, as grand as any lofty spell which might conjure the might of the stars, speech. Speech was the way their solitariness was defeated, the incomprehensible was made comprehensible, it was the greatest magic. In his time Itzcohuatl had talked with hunters sent to slay him, refugees fleeing from one horror or another, to the mother searching for herbs in the forests and mountains; mundane or not they all offered him such unique stories and lives, so much to understand. He saw Angus’ eyes alighting across his feathers, and he could not help but smile, “Of my feathers if you wish?” The question rhetorical as Itzcohuatl began immediately after, “There are not many of my kind amongst dragons, but I am not the only one. When I was young my feathers were deep black, like stone turned to glass, an unusual thing as most of us do not change the colour of our feathers and scales. That which we are, we are, but in my case.” He rolled his shoulders, the feathers rustling as he did.


There, Itzcohuatl thought, a small thing shared, perhaps that might encourage Angus’ to elaborate more, to ask more, to simply share the pleasure of his company. He was not sure if Dren spoke, certainly he had never heard a badger speak… but then to be fair he usually ate them too quickly to bother to ask. Or maybe he spoke only to Angus? In that case should he ask after the badger as well from the human. Probably best, “Of course, I should enjoy hearing Dren’s conversation too…” A golden eye looked from the human to the badger, still curious about their company and what exactly had brought them together.

[Angus Ogille]

Angus blushed again with embarrassment. "Sorry I'll remember to drop the formality in your presence." The druid moved on to the question after nodding his head. "Well you see I'm here, because I used visible magic in Fellsguard to help some kids. So I can't go back there for awhile at least. Dren was out hunting so I called him here. The power I used to escape was very draining so a rest was needed to restore my power. It is my goal however to spread the teachings of the Eidolons to those interested in listening. My journey is a pilgrimage of a sort since I didn't wish to undergo the combat trial to become the head of Pheriss' teachings in my village." He wasn't sure why he said so much to Itzcohuatl, but theorized that the dragon's words about conversation put him at ease.

"To speak with animals is a gift that most druids like myself have learned from training so l am not sure how to share the talent. I've heard dragons carry innate magic unlike any other creatures in the world so if I knew the key perhaps it could be taught to you. I'm sorry that I don't know enough to be more helpful in that regard." Angus was a little sad that he was limited in that way.

"Wow you wings changed, that's amazing. Thanks for sharing that with me." The young human placed his hand under his chin and closed his eyes for a moment trying to gather his thoughts.

"Though I must say Dren is more than a normal badger. He is my bonded companion. We druids have a special ritual that shares a piece of our soul with a chosen creature. This does many things for both parties. Dren will grow in both physical and mental power as I do. He will also live much longer than normal for his kind. In addition ancient stories of my priesthood say that eventually when I pass into Phress' embrace my companion will become a ageless guardian of the wild. I can't prove that claim, but I consider it a lovely reward for a druids lifelong friend. I receive a spritual bond that allows me to sense his emotions creating a deeper understanding than with any other animal." Angus paused for a moment than asked the dragon something. "Itzcohuatl, in your long life have you ever heard of giant animals of great age that are highly intelligent?"

[Itzcohuatl]

Itzcohuatl dipped his head a little in thanks as Angus said he would avoid the appellation of 'sacred', the blush appearing again on the man's cheeks made Itzcohuatl smile a little (still doing his best to avoid revealing too many sharp teeth) and he surpressed a small chuckle. It was an endearing trait he thought to himself. As the Angus recounted in detail what had brought him to this spot Itzcohuatl looked from him to the body of water which stretched out towards the city beyond it. He had found people often seemed to quickly answer things, there was no languidness to their interactions - or at least not with him. Itzcohuatl enjoyed the meandering and languid manner of conversation, like a lazy stream rolling through a green field, humans around him always seemed to be in such a rush. Maybe it was as their lives ran by so quickly? A question for another time. "Magic is not welcome there?" He asked puzzled a little, "And young... children they needed help? How come?" He had never seen humans in large groups, never been to their cities, he had no way to know if this was common or not.

"Combat trial... you needed to prove your worth through feat of arms for the Eidolon, your village?" Itzcohuatl asked, moving a little closer again, those golden eyes studying the face of Angus carefully. His soft and lyrical voice betrayed no disapproval, though his searching gaze clearly showed he didn't understand why it would or should be necessary. "But you choose instead to walk this pilgrimage?" The approval did alight upon the words here, his tongue flicking gently over the syllables. "We have magic..." He answered in affirmation as Angus mentioned it, "... It is part of us as much as our breath." He said without pride or vanity, it was a simple fact and not something to be indulged in pridefully. Certainly Itzcohuatl had never understood some of the vain pride his fellows felt for it.

There was a rumbling chuckle from Itzcohuatl as Angus mentioned his thanks for sharing the simple tale of his changing feathers. There was an earnest enthusiasm in Angus that Itzcohuatl had to admire, it was like a constant light which lit up the man's eyes. "You're most welcome." As Angus paused a moment Itzcohuatl wondered what thoughts passed behind those eyes - for all the magic of words there was a secret world hidden in there denied to all beyond. But such private thoughts of his own were interrupted as Angus began to speak of Dren, and Itzcohuatl turned his attention to the badger. Listening carefully as Angus spoke of a sliver of his soul transferred and all the wonders it offered, and he couldn't help but ask, "Did it hurt? To shear a part of your soul..." He elaborated and turned his attention back to Angus for a moment.

"I am not that old..." Itzcohuatl said instinctively, not sounding offended and he wasn't but still why did humans always think he was some ancient creature? He was only two-hundred and ninety years old after all, prime of life, hardly some wizened ancient. He supposed to humans it must seem different, it made him wonder just how much a difference the sense of time that they each had impacted them. The thought set aside though as he didn't wish to offend Angus, "... But even so, I have seen beasts beyond all proportion - some were base, no different to any others like them except in size... others though seemed..." Itzcohuatl searched for the words to describe his recollection, "... Different, they never spoke to me - or at least in no way I knew - but they weren't like others, there was something more in the sense of them." He looked between Angus and Dren gently and kindly.

Angus Ogille

[Angus Ogille]

"Oh yes, magic is legally banned in Fellsguard. They even have a trained group of soldiers called inquisitors to deal with it. They use alchemy to subdue any magic users." He knew people still practiced the mystic arts in secret. However, it was an extremely high risk path to chose so for Itzcohuatl's sake he left it unsaid. "The children were a large group of street orphans that had formed a family. All to common in Fellsguard I'm afraid. The gap between rich and poor is often large there. The dock ward guards wanted to arrest them for suspicion of theivery. So I helped them escape using magic." Angus' face darkened with quiet anger before continuing. "I just couldn't stand the thought of such young kids in chains! I'm sorry for my outburst Itzcohuatl it may not have been my place to defy the law, but I couldn't help myself." Like a storm cloud passing in the night he regained his composure.

"The exact details of the trial are a village secret. However, my aunt is the head priest of Pheriss. So if I wanted to reach the next level, we would have been set against each other. Some called me a coward for choosing this path, but the five priest approved of my decision." The young human's eyes lit up with interest as the dragon elaborated on their innate magic.

"The pain was brief then I felt the suttle current of life between Dren and I. It's hard to describe, but to me it felt like a river bursting thru a blockage I didn’t know was there. Then we were joined for life." The memories joy made him smile without realizing he had.

"I apologize for assuming. I had heard dragons reached your size no earlier then a century." The druid bowed his head in respect as red creeped onto his cheeks again. He raised his eyes before continuing to respond. "Thank you for your insight Itzcohuatl. I can't describe the joy it brings me to hear of such great beast. "Please tell me more about yourself I've found our conversation very rewarding." Angus waited for the dragon to continue their talk.