The bait

[tainyr]

Tainyr stirred as conciseness slowly returned to him. For the first few minutes, he just laid there, trembling, on the ice cold ground, trying to remember what just happened. He could remember, while drifting in and out of conciseness, being carried a great distance then being held down on a cold slab of rock while someone forced a foul tasting liquid down his throat. He tried to stand up only to collapse when nausea over come him. After the third try, he was finally able to stand, panting from the effort. Blinking his eyes, all he could see was a dull blur of moonlight, which meant that, he has been here for, at least, one day and, from the emptiness in his stomach, possibly longer. As his eyes began to focus, he looked around to see that he was in a large metal box, but only large enough for him to move around with his tail wrapped around his paws.

The box, a cube twenty feet on a side, was made of heavy iron bands woven together. The gaps in the bands were just large enough to stick his font paws through. At one end there was a large metal door. Examining the dings, scratches and chard marks, reveled that he was not it's first occupant. Upon further examination, he determined that the door was made from a single piece of iron with a small slot near the bottom, a smaller peephole near the middle, hinged at one end and locked by a huge metal bar through a series of loops. Every attempt to reach the locking bar by claw, tail and even tongue failed.

In frustration, he turned, banging his tail into one wall, slamming his fore claws into another, glaring up at the moon with his yellow eyes, and yelled, "You have me, what more do you want!?" He could almost hear Hycroun laughing.

Curling up on the floor, he became aware that the moon was setting in the east. Popping his head up, he confirmed his suspicions, but that could not be true unless, his eyes widened, he was not at the southern edge of the Pyrin Ash Forest, but the northern. But, why would Hycroun drag me clear up here? that thought puzzled him as he fell into a fitful sleep.

Soon the dawn light shone on his dark orange back, warming him. He yawned and stretched, as well as, he could in his cramped cage. Turning to face the sun, he said a desperate prayer, "Pyral, I need your help."

[Pyral]

///A post of ungodly length. Enjoy! *grin*///

Pyral was bored. Very much so bored.

The days had worn on uneventful, her occasional checks on the growing Wypharet, whose progress was going as expected, being nothing more than a drab routine. Considering her position as the great goddess, one might have expected more patience of her...but no. Fire did not wait for the animals to leap to safety before it consumed the forest, and neither did she. She was falling into a stupor for the inactivity. Looking for something of greater interest than the slowly revolving planet she looked upon, she turned her attention to the worthless, empty prayers of fortune and happiness that whispered incessantly in (what was commonly called) her skull. For lack on anything better to do, she listened.

'Please, Pyral, let him be perfect and-'
Reject.

'And we send our blessings to Pyral that the food we now share may be-'
Reject.

'For the love of Pyral, you can't be serious about-'
Watch your tone, boy. Reject.

'Pyral, I need your help.'

Now, that was interesting. There was more behind that than mere begging, or a rote prayer, or using her name vain. A certain, true, very much real need existed there. Meaning, significance, and honest hope...

Well, now, I can't ignore that. If it's something rediculous I'll be sure to ignore them in the future, but for now...Now, where on Pyrallis did it come from...? She leaned down over the desert planet as it spun, listening for the tone of the mind she had heard. The mind-voice seemed somehow cold, but a forced coldness, as though it would rather not be. Woven beneath was hope, fear, loneliness...And it was located in the Pyrin Ash Forest, to the North, hidden amongst the grey trees. In an iron cage...

Well.
That was interesting.

A Pyrahyc, somewhat unorthodox in marking and with an ungodly amount of scarring on its hide, had somehow become trapped behind bars. Oddly woven bars, She noted, seeing them clearly. It was easily something a dragon could have made, were it not for something...else in the metal. It was frozen at its core, regardless of the warmth of the outside – a perpetual cold.

Damn you, Hycroun. You meddle all you want in the affairs of your dead, but you were fated by the great goddess to leave my living well alone...

She would have to fix this.

Turning away to the empty desert, Pyral took a small pawful of the land, lifting it up to the alternate realm in which she dwelt and leaving it to float, aimlessly, amongst the pebbles of the stars. A twitch and twist of her thoughts, and her golden claws closed over the dust and grit. And they remained closed, even as beneath them the shape of life took form. The rocks became bones, the soil muscle and flesh, the sands scales, teeth, claws...When she pulled away, it was the empty body of a massive bronze dragon that had taken the place of that small portion of Pyrallis. A massive male, no less than seventy feet from muzzle to tail, with a wingspan twice that number. Blunt in tooth and claw, but strong enough to impale dragons regardless of the sharpness of its weapons. Its hide was rich and coppery in hue, but thick and hard, as well. From a chiseled skull, oddly soft brown eyes stared ahead, blank.

Oh, it doesn’t have nearly enough imperfections.

A shimmering golden claw traced gently down the side of the left wing. The bones shattered, the membrane tore, and the limb dislocated itself from the dragons shoulder. A soft breath, and severe burns welded themselves into the more delicate areas of its flesh. A puff of sparks, and the brown eyes were dimmed, the closer left one blinded entirely.

Cradling the abused model in her paws, Pyral gave another mental tug at the hollow body – and injuries she had done it healed imperfectly but as much as they would, giving the impression of old wounds that hadn’t been given the chance to repair themselves.

Perfect...And you shall be...Pondering the name for a moment, a slow smile traced itself across a jaw that shimmered with fire. Slaghammer. It’s a perfect name for you. For me. She set the empty form down at the outskirts of the forest, coordinating herself with the location of the iron cage before she followed it down to Pyrallis. In the downwards plummet towards the planet, she couldn’t help the flurry of excitement that invaded her mind.

Something to do, at long last...

Her spirits dampened slightly when she entered the body, cramming herself into a form that – though huge – was small in her sense. She had the stiffness of a newborn, and the eyesight of an elderly...But luckily her design was, in other ways, in a good state; she was physically strong, with good defense and an infinitely higher intelligence. She knew Pyrallis better than anything else that existed on the world, and could put that knowledge to use. Strategy, skill, a resounding lack of fear...

She was in good shape.

Working the stiffness out of her joints and feeling the prickle of flowing blood, Pyral – Slaghammer. – started towards the location of the cage. The map of her mind lead her towards it regardless of what path she took, and she recognized the patterns of the trees as she made her way amongst them. Thick tail held aloof just above the ground, she felt the longer fingers of the branched tug at the scars of her left wing. Poor eyesight twice led to a small stumble, and eventually she knocked over a tree that made a particularly large sound when it hit the bedding of ash, sending up a thick black-grey cloud.

Her mortal lungs rejecting the ash in a thick cough, Pyral was of the impression that the mortal she had heard earlier would have detected her presence by now. The clumsy, rough body she inhabited had certainly made enough noise.

I don’t know how the mortals stand it, honestly...

[tainyr]

(( I hope you find this satisfactory, I was not expecting Pyral. ))

Hycroun lay on her dais as she watched the world spin underneath her with cold disinterest. There had been a few deaths, but nothing interesting. She sighed and began to wonder how her sister was doing.

Being ice, she had greater patients then Pyral, but, the way things were going, even her patients were growing thin. At one time, she had thought about dropping her moon onto the Pyrallis just to liven things up. Lately, to break the monotony, she as been studying some of the ancient artifacts the humans had left on her moon. The most interesting was a base they had built at the northern pole. From what she could determine, it was the last desperate attempt of the human race to survive. Of course, it failed, just like everything else they attempted, but, what intrigued her, was their technology. She had incorporated some of their technology with her magic, and created a toy she was using to control a hapless pyrahyc. This trinket was just alien enough that, Pyral might not recognize it for what it was.

Thinking about her latest toy, she rolled her eyes and chuckled, Pyral, I do not know how you put up with these pathetic mortals. If you push them too hard, they shatter like ice; if you do not push hard enough, they just sit there, content to do nothing.

She had learned, the hard way, about the frailties of mortals; she would keep her dead; they were much easier to control. Her plan for Tainyr was simple; he would keep a low profile and mingle with the others, until she had a use for him. He was not cooperating; evidently, she had put in him too strong a fear of Pyral, because, for most of the last century, he hid under a rock. She finally had to draw him out and cage him.

She took one last look at her property, when something caught her eye. A vary large bronze with an aura she has not seen in a while, Pyral.

"Why, sis," she said, laughing, "you must be even more board than I am, although, that is one of your better avatars." She crouched on her dais watching the unfolding events with a flick of her tail and a mischievous glint in her eye. This would, also, give her a chance to see how well she had hid the nature of her toy.

This just might be interesting.

She reached up and gently stroked down the back of a crystal pendant in the shaped of a dragon hanging around her neck on a silver chain, with one of her claws, knowing what it would do to him. A wicked smile curled at the corners of her muzzle. The trap has been sprung; the hunt has begun.

--------

Tainyr heard a crashing of something large coming through the dead forest towards him. Stretching to see out of the highest part of the cage, he tried to get a glimpse of what it was. He had shifted to several different holes in the cage, but all he could see was a glint of the coppery scales of a large bronze dragon. He could feel a panic taking hold as looked for an escape that was not there. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm himself.

Now is not the time this!

He racked his brain trying to remember anything about the night he was captured, especially, about that dragon. He remembered it was about twice his size, it flew with ease and had a menacing laugh. Which made him wonder, why this one was walking instead of flying.

His tactical mind finally kicked in. Last night, he had tested the cage for weaknesses and determined that the only in or out was though the door. The door looked heavy and he doubted that the hinges were that well lubricated. If he timed his 'help', he could affect an escape. There was also that, it was sent to check up on him or to feed him.

He positioned himself as to not raise suspicion, but to be able to strike at the right time. While he waited and listened, a cold shimmer raced down his spine causing him to shudder. He knew it was Hycroun just reminding him that she was still in control.

[tainyr]

(( *Sigh* Pyral where are you ... I guess this tread is dead *sigh* and it had so much potential ))