Best Of

A short log of Nisavi finally earning her dragon heart. It was short, but every interaction with Tanixalthas is a treat.

(Dragon-Kin): You say, "Shakra, Sun-Drinker."

(Dragon-Kin): You say, "I trust Your rest was well, yes?"

(Dragon-Kin): Tanixalthas says, "Kin, the Sky greets you."

(Dragon-Kin): Raynia says, "Hi Great Dragon!"

You are transported by the power of the Divine.

A broad, searing expanse of stone and sand.
The tenebrous cavern ceiling looms ominously high overhead. Two dragons have taken flight in the idol here. Tanixalthas, the Sun Drinker, broods here, filling the entire area with Her colossal,
star-gilded bulk. Dozens of huge, mottled eggs are scattered through the chamber, many half-buried in scorching sand.
You see exits leading north, east, south, and west.

Tanixalthas, the Sun Drinker says, "Rest is rest, My Talon."

A figure wrapped in darkness stares about herself and her new surroundings with quick, sudden guard. The grip on her shortsword grows taut and at the ready and shadow roils about her in a wrothful churn; however, at both sight and word of Tanixalthas, the Grecht-like woman settles down almost immediately. "Shakra, Sky Dreaming," she warmly says, offering a wide, toothy smile towards the Dragon Goddess.

You abandon the veil obscuring your form, becoming visible once more.

(Tells): From an unseen place, Ipz communicates to you, "You alright?"

(Tells): Your voice like the wind itself, you tell Ipz, "Yes. Summoned by Sky Dreaming. Thank you for your concern, however."

Tanixalthas bends Her long neck, raking Her gaze over the eggs buried within the roiling sand. Her bulk hardly shifting, She turns back to you. "Do you believe yourself worthy to be true Kin?"

Nisavi considers the question at length with no lack of reservation. It does not seem to be hesitation towards the question as she regards each of the sand-buried eggs, but there is a rather peculiar look upon her features that seems to also prevent her from initially offering an answer. "Yes," she finally says, before continuing: "but..." The woman stares up towards the Dragon Goddess' maw and sets her sole eye upon the Goddess' four. "I was once told by the Heir of the source of each of these hearts, Sky Dreaming, and I once felt the pain You felt when You spoke of the traitorous Talons of the Imperium and what they did to Your brood."

Continuing, you say, "Thus, I would only answer yes if You too deem me worthy of such an honour."

Those feelings were not ours, but the pain we felt was ours all the same. We have never been a mother, no, so we do not know the feeling of... loss in that way. Hnh. It is a difficult question for us, is it not, Nisavi? Yes, yes it is.

With a delicate grace, Tanixalthas reaches for a particularly healthy looking egg, its ovoid form giving slight tremors, the form within nearing ready to escape. Massive talons hold the egg close to Her eyes as She considers. "Herein lies the difference between stealing from My brood, and a quelling of the weak. Those stolen still grow into the Dragons of strength as they should, yet know not their roots. They do not learn their history. Their purpose. MY LAWS." The volume of the Immortal Dragon grows into a splitting snarl that creates pinpricks of blue lightning and, as they zip and dip between the shimmering of Her scales, She finishes with. "I gift strength unto Mine from those born too weak." She finishes on an icy hiss and with a hardening of Her silver gaze.

Nisavi considers Tanixalthas' response at length in silence, her sole eye drifting between the Goddess and the egg clutched within Tanixalthas' large talons. There is a slight flinch at the abrupt arrival of lightning at the Goddess' snarl, but it does not take long for Nisavi to return to her previous, perhaps unusually relaxed posture. "An offering of power was one of the conditions agreed in our pact, yes? I had to seek it out myself, by Your decree." The small woman's demeanour seems to turn into that of solemnity and seriousness. "If Your gift of strength would allow me to persist in living towards our pact, to allow me to know what it is to truly be Kin... then it is one that I would accept without reservation."

We have never been one to shy away from changes, have we? No, Nisavi, we have not. Change is potential, and it can be growth. It can be painful too, as Czjetija is all too often willing to remind us, but... We are used to that pain. How much... how much will this hurt us, though?

With obvious finality, Tanixalthas closes Her talons, shredding the egg. Painful screeches tear at your ears as the hatchling's life end in violence, a mix of blood and viscera dropping to the sands. With surgical precision She plucks from the mess a large heart, small in Her talons, huge in comparison to the heart of a mortal. She discards the shell, without a glance tossing them to join the other shells.

Tanixalthas presents a small Dragon hatchling's heart to you, forcing it upon you.

Tanixalthas, the Sun Drinker says, "Eat."

Nisavi's ears twitch at the screeching, the wailing, and here is where the woman seems to slightly buckle as her sole eye goes wide; yet, there is no time for reservation as the heart is thrust into her possession. Staring down upon at the heart, the woman looks up towards the Dragon Goddess once before offering a quiet, resolute nod. Opening her maw wide, the Azudim begins to tear at the heart's flesh with no shortage of difficulty, blood and viscera staining the fur around her mouth and dribbling down into the sands beneath her.

[Memories of Grecht children flash through your mind's eye, the sounds of whips, tears, and mothers torn from their children. Of pain, of solitude, of wicked laughter. Then there is dark, shadow, and blood.]

The weight of the heart is almost too daunting as you turn the still dripping organ over in your hands. As the almost burning heat of the heart begins to seep into your skin, you realize this is a step in the direction to obtaining transcendence and, with that conviction, you raise the organ to your mouth.

Chunk by slimy chunk, you tear the heart apart and consume it, the meaty muscle burning you from the inside out as it slides down into your chest where it seems to stop.

Blood drips from your chin as you fall to your knees and begin to claw at your chest. You just want - need - the pain to stop. The organ needs to come out. Out. Out. OUT. Again and again, you grab at your chest to try and relieve yourself of the pain. Instead, you momentarily lapse into unconsciousness.

It must have been only a few seconds that you were lost to the blackness, however, as you open your eyes, you realize the pain has stopped. Your trembling hands lower to hang limp at your sides and you whisper a fervent prayer to the Sun Drinker as the hatchling's heart claims its new home.

Desc with the Heart:


The heart's desc:


Tanixalthas nods sharply once in approval, then turns, Her bulk moving gracelessly as She moves to leave.

Nisavi rises to her feet, blood still caked upon her maw. She stares down at her chest, at the glowing and crackling that now resides where her heart would be. "I will live up to what You have given, Sky Dreaming," she manages, adjusting her posture upon the uneven sands.

Tanixalthas gives another nod, as if what you state was never a question.

With a final flick of Her immense tail, Tanixalthas departs.

You use Relic Translocator.
You hold forth the translocator, and the needle within spins rapidly before fixing on a single
point.
A murky fog arises from within the device, and you quickly walk into it.
Upon a small island.
You see exits leading north, south, southwest, and west.
You put a golden translocator into a wyrmskin pack.