Registered Member #1763
Joined: 2:09:42 am GMT 10/24/11
Posts: 101
[ image disabled ]
Of different times, memories called, Times where family still lived, Where every waking moment never scald, Silver dulled.
The last of the tribe took to new lands, Nothing more left to lose, While his conscience always making demands, Silver rusted.
They told once him. “Warmblooded you’ll trust not, For once you do, Dishonor, and weakness your life will be brought.” Silver bent.
Yet came to the lands he did. Accepted their words, Accepted a mantle of warmblooded tribe, Betrayal of the lost family the lies he told himself, hid.
Despite the betrayal of newest allies Warmblooded they will always be. The mantle was cast aside. Dawned was the title of old. To be truly noble-blooded.
The Pacts of New held a chance. A chance to be sharpened. A chance to be polished. A chance to be straightened. A chance to restore that which was broken.
Honor that which is noble. Honor that which is cold blooded.
Registered Member #1763
Joined: 2:09:42 am GMT 10/24/11
Posts: 101
Imagine, warmblood, for one moment what it meanssss to be cold-blooded. To be noble blooded and be higher than mossst rasssesss.
Then imagine your entire life hasss been nothing but e’cksssactly what it ssshould be.
Pure content. I believe your kind may call the feeling ‘happinesss.’ The closssessst thing I have encountered to thisss feeling hasss happened only twisssse or thrisssse sssinssse I came to “Thain”.
Imagine in one night, your family, home, and honor were taken from you. Where you ssshould have died and joined your tribe, you inssstead lived.
Later you board a wooden island, a boat to essscape the gnawing hunger of lossssss. Weeksss later the boat carriesss you to an island.
Now, monthsss after your arrival you’ve worked with everything you hate. Elvesss, humansss, half-orcsss, orcsss, halflingsss, gnomesss, drow. It didn’t matter; They were all warmbloods. All of them disgusted you. Even the onesss that feigned friendssship. Their falsssified relationssship only made to weaken your resssolve.
Then after everything, a chanssse isss given to you. Ressstore your honor. Prove you are of noble blood.
You would be ssstupid to not take that chanssse . . .
. . .
Orn stalked the halls of the Yaun-ti with a human of The Iron City (Onssse, I teasssed it with the notion of feasssting on it’sss flesssh, he mused. To thisss day, I can’t remember the warmblood’sss name. It didn’t matter). The two had met up out of coincidence when they both had their eyes set upon ransacking the caves. While neither held fond thoughts of the other, the promise of treasures was enough to rally their efforts together.
The more shallow parts of the caves did not yield a particularly difficult endeavor for the two. When one lashed out at a creature with dual blades, the other performed a quick execution of the monster unfortunate enough to be wedged between the two.
However it came to a point where the two came to another part of the cave, a curious point in which Orn was not expecting. Advancing with blades in hand, he thought to himself. When had thessse cavesss played hossst to othersss? My kind no lessss-
His thoughts were severed off by a divine implosion that cut their progress short. Or at least Orn’s.
I have no idea what happened to the warmblood. It more than likely got away asss my desssert kin ogled my body. A sigh. I never wassss a warrior. I am not sssuprisssed ssshe sssurvived and I did not.
How much later, he was unsure, but Orn “awoke” on the cavern floor, held in place by the other lizardfolk’s foot on Orn’s chest.
“Why do you come here? Attack your own kind, with a warmblood no lesssss?”
The lizardfolk stuttered on the ground, “I am . . . alive?” There was a pointless struggle, stuck between another lizard and stone.
“Ssspeak!” The foot tightened.
“Gh!” He stuttered out an answer. “All lizardfolk have attacked me sssinsse my arrival! I assumed-”
“And the warmblood? Are you a warmblood? Is that why you attack cold blooded with one?”
“N-No, I am cold blooded! I-I didn’t know you were he-”
“You sssay are cold blooded! Prove yourself,” the lizardfolk priest motioned behind Orn to where Xulinn Rasdovian sat in wait. “Show yourself.”
Orn was released and he rose with blades in hand. With malice and rage built up over these long months, he grinned viciously. Orn approached slowly while ripping off the mantle of Hellshire, it falling to the ground with a dull thud.
“It’s like that then?” Xulinn readied herself.
“SSSILENSSSE! NO LONGER MUSSSST I WORK WITH YOUR KIND!” Orn threw one of his shortswords haphazardly to initiate the battle. The battle raged on for a time before Orn won through not combat prowess but months-worth of rage released.
“Good. Move the corpssse and await our word. We will contact when we need.”
Orn bowed and did as he was told.
The lizardfolk walked away, adorned with a new scar, a second chance, and free of a mantle of enslavement,
[ The Island of Thain ]
To Be Cold-Blooded