Out to take your revenge for the crime;
filled with fire and finally mine.
It was an unusually quiet day. The d'Vantes had found a temporary home in Elticama, where they traded gossip and goods with strangers. Avallach left the haggling and chatter to the women and stayed busy by searching for a place to set up a more permanent camp. His Kashiel and the other wyverns were too excitable to live so close to civilization.

He spent the better part of the morning and afternoon flying sweeps over the Berylmaw River. After he returned and had gotten Kashiel settled in the sparse woodlands outside of the village, Avallach was more than ready to relax. But alone, without the interference of well meaning strangers and worried clanmates.

With his guitar in hand, Avallach wandered away from the camp his people had set up on the fringes of Elticama. He strummed his fingers over the strings while walking, picking out a simple tune that put an extra bounce of rhythm in his step. He made his way out of the trees and wandered further down the coastline, letting his fingers choose the music. Avallach often turned to music when he needed to think; solutions came to him more easily after a little coaxing from his guitar.

And a solution was exactly what he needed. Avallach had yet to find a place that he was comfortable leading his clan to, and his time was running short. The political leader had warned him just yesterday that if he didn't choose soon, she would. Swallowing a sigh, Avallach sat down on a large rock situated on the beach and started to play his guitar in earnest.

The music flowed from his fingers, seeming to energize the world around him with every trembling string. Avallach closed his eyes, imagining the crash of the waves was a traditional drum. It was easy to pretend the glow behind his eyelids came from the campfire, and he could almost hear his people stomping, thrusting, and dancing to the music.

His fingers picked up the pace, playing something lively and excited, but his eyes remained closed. For the moment, Avallach was content living in the past.

Had it only been a week since he first landed on the shores of Eltica, exhausted from a seemingly endless flight across the ocean, Contrun had lost track of the days as easily as he lost track of directions, which was what had gotten him lost out on the ocean in the first place and almost spelled disaster for the relatively young dragon. Fortunately that was behind him now, and for the past few days, Contrun had been getting himself acclimated to this new land and the unusual creatures, plants, and landscapes featured here.

Now and then he did find himself looking wistfully to upwards, quietly yearning to see the red wings of one of his Brood fanning out against the skyway. He missed the seasonal gatherings that his Patriarch hosted, and the general comradery between the Reds that Savas strove to keep united during the turmoil of the plague. Thinking of such things often led to Contrun daydreaming and losing track of time, and that's precisely what the dragon was doing now... until the most unusual noise hit his reptilian ears...

Contrun had been resting further down the coast, hiding his forty-some feet of scaly hide behind a massive pillar of worn rock, and clusters of native vegetation. He'd recently discovered this was a great place to hide and observe the humans of Elticama without getting too close to their encampment further up the beach. Of course he yearned to get closer, but experience with other animals told him that they'd likely run at the sight of him approaching, and he didn't want to disturb the beasts.

'What in the name of Savas is that?' Snapped out of his reminiscent thoughts, Contrun slowly peeked his bullet-shaped head from around the edge of the rock, to let his eyes dart along the beach until they spotted Avallach. His curiosity doubled when he realized that this wondrous, alien music was coming from something the human had in its hands. Contrun momentarily forgot himself as he cocked his head to the side to catch the notes just right, and watched in awe as Avallach's fingers picked at the strings to produce the sounds.

The guitar continued, and Avallach's imagination went with it. His fingers picked out a complicated tune, flying over the strings with the same nimbleness he applied to hunting. Same function, different result; he sometimes fretted over how circular and repetitive life could be.

He didn't know what made him open his eyes mid-song. Avallach could almost hear the dramatic addition of other instruments to his guitar, and his body almost seemed to be vibrating with the memories of their feasts and celebrations. He missed his family and home more than anything. His eyes traveled down the unfamiliar beach and he had just allowed the tempo of the music to slow when he saw a peculiarly shaped rock.

It had a weird, red and blocky extension sticking out of it, and...Avallach's heart jumped into his throat. His fingers went still on the strings. For a moment, he forgot to breathe. A head that big could only belong to one thing. Dragon. The word became a mantra in his head, and it eventually traveled to his lips.

"Dragon," he mouthed while getting to his feet. Avallach drew in a breath, cleared his throat, and tried again. "Dragon." The word had more substance, more life, but it sounded hoarse. His heart was beating painfully fast. "W-wait right there! I." For once in his life, Avallach didn't know what to do.

He fretted at the distance between them. Started toward the dragon, stopped and almost turned back for someone better versed in politics, and then stopped doing that, too. When Avallach finally started walking again, it was toward the dragon, but he stopped before getting too close.

"Um. Honored and magnificent...being." It felt rude somehow, to call the dragon by the name has people had given him. "I am Avallach." A hand settled over his heart and he bowed. He couldn't think of what else to do; wyvern handlers weren't supposed to interact with gods.

Contrun couldn't begin to relate these noises to anything else he'd heard before. It wasn't like the melody of the birds, the lilting songs of his kin, or the chorus of frogs looking for mates in the dampness of the forests. It was something altogether unique and different, and Contrun let himself get lost in the dynamic chords and strumming tunes. He'd even closed his eyes for a moment to better devote his attention to listening, seemingly forgetting that he'd broken cover and the human could look in his direction in any moment.

And then the music stopped, and along with it, Contrun's enthusiasm. 'Contrun you fool!' The dragon mentally hissed in chastisement against himself when his fiery eyes snapped open to confirm that the human was now staring at him. The Red himself was almost holding his breath for a second or two, figuring this human would turn and run, but when it didn't... Contrun spied some home for the situation. 'Easy little fella, I'm not going to eat you. Go on, play your music maker some more.' These words weren't spoken out loud of course, it was just Contrun thinking to himself again. Besides, he figured if he opened his mouth and actually said something, it would certainly frighten Avallach into running away.

'Dragon'. Contrun tilted his head to the side, daring to make a movement. He'd heard it on the tongues of humans before, and now knew this must be the term given for his kind. Contrun didn't have long to muse over the word before Avallach said more and.. wait, was this little human walking towards him?! Contrun could scarcely contain his excitement, yet he restrained himself from moving, in continued fear that if he did so, the two-legged creature would flee. Instead he stayed planted where he was, waiting until Avallach came to him.

"Avallach." He spoke at length, parting his great jaws he did so, and sending forth a wash of hot breath that was so typical for his Brood. His heart was thumping quickly, simply tickled that he was having a conversation with one of these creatures! However, it couldn't compare to the feelings that must be running through Avallach right now, to be standing for the first time before one of his 'gods'. "I'm Contrun." Deep rasps aside, the Red spoke in a simple enough manner, not understanding the significance of the words the human used to greet him with. "You aren't afraid of me?" The bow and show of respect further baffled and intrigued the Red, who had to hold himself back from leaning his muzzle forward and giving the human a good sniffing over.

The wash of hot breath made him go tense and still all at once. Avallach regarded the dragon with wide eyes, poised on the balls of his feet with readiness. For what, he could only guess at, and none of his ideas ended well for him. As much as the holy people would tell him he should feel honored to be a god's lunch, Avallach was not ready to die. He felt naked without Kashiel, who was his armor and shield. Even his sword, at times.

When the god spoke, it reminded him of thunder and earthquakes and hurricanes. An apocalypse lived and died in the young man's heart with the dragon's every gusty syllable. "Please, my lord," the title came eagerly to his lips. Wyvern handlers were ranked above most of the other members of a clan, but not even they flew higher than the gods. In retrospect, Avallach realized he and his brothers were poor imitations of something far greater. Contrun's muscled majesty, paired with the heavy weight of his head and panic inducing jaws...oh no. He was very afraid of him.

"Forgive a simple handler, divine one." Avallach fell to his knees, holding his left arm against his chest with his fist held over his heart. He bowed low, until his forehead was inches from the sand. "I am afraid. I am very afraid. I do not...I have never spoken to a god before. We have - our people came in search of you. Please, my lord." He reached out with his right hand, palm up in supplication, keeping his body bowed and his eyes diverted. "I. I'm sorry. I did not believe..." Avallach had taken the assignment for the adventure and prestige, but he'd never thought the legends could be true.

Fear. Contrun could smell it on the human before the small creature admitted to it. Some dragons might find a perverse joy in lording over this fact, but not this Red. He almost felt badly even, and was about to assure Avallach that he wasn't going to be lunch when the human caught him off guard with a few particular words. ..my lord, devine one... The dragon's eyes narrowed in a thoughtful sort of way, though the look might wrongly be construed as one of anger to anyone not use to reading such a draconian face.

"Those are interesting words..." Contrun drew his head back a little, figuring its close proximity to the bowing human wasn't helping the fear factor any. Not that the human was looking at him any longer, with his eyes diverted away and his face held a few mere inches from the sandy earth. "Don't worry little Avallach, I'm not going to eat you." In the back of his mind, the Red was mulling over what the man had said, and made a note to himself to bring this information to Patriarch Savas if his leader had indeed made it to Eltica. "I was listening to the music you were making. I've never heard such sounds before, they were... very pleasant. It made me want to dance." With his focus on the music still, Contrun was missing the point behind why Avallach was acting as he was. A more devious dragon could very well use this human's believes to their advantage.

He chanced a glance at the god when he said he wasn't going to eat him. Avallach thought he sounded sincere enough, and he cautiously shifted his weight on the sand until he was kneeling upright before him. Contrun, he reminded himself dizzily. The dragon's name was Contrun.

"Dance?" He repeated dumbly. He looked up at the god, his eyes filled with his length and scales and claws and teeth. Avallach could not imagine what a dragon would consider dancing; did they fly when they danced, or would he stomp and prance upon the ground? "I...I left my instrument back that way." In his shock, he could barely remember letting the guitar fall out of his hands. Avallach licked his lips and swallowed hard, but that didn't help the dryness in his mouth.

"I could get it for you, if it would please you?" There was a hint of a bounce in his words, and the true desire to please. "I would very much like to see you dance, my lord." Avallach was uncertain if his desires meant anything, but until the god indicated otherwise... "Just give me a moment. Please, don't fly away! I won't be long." And with that, Avallach turned and ran, but he only went as far as his guitar. The moment the instrument was in his hands, he started running again.

Except this time, it was toward the dragon.

'I wonder what Savas would think of these music makers? Wouldn't it be great to take take a few humans back to play for him? The idea bounced through his head, but fortunately for Avallach, it didn't settle into a concrete objective, mostly because Contrun still hadn't the time to search the land and see if his Patriarch was even here. Later though... yes, he would have to share this wonder sound maker with the others! Surely they'd enjoy it too?

The Red bore his lovely row of sharp, slightly curved teeth in an amused grin, "It's been a while since I've danced." Being an optimistic fellow, Contrun didn't let his thoughts delve towards the plague and how that had brought him to avoiding the last few get-togethers hosted by his Leader. "Yes, I wouldn't mind dancing for you, if you'll play music. It sounds like a fair trade-off?" The light grin remained in place while he tilted his head in a very reptilian fashion to look past Avallach and peer at the fallen guitar further down the beach.

'It actually wants to see me dance? No, no - he. It's a male. And he has a name.' The dragon had to remind himself of these things after so long looking at his prey in the same fashion. 'If I'm not mistaken, he appears as curious of me as I am of him. Fascinating!' Avallach was running back towards him at this point, ending Contrun's insightful conversation with himself so that he could devote his full attention back on the human. Delight shone in his orange eyes, carrying the same sort of anticipation as a hatchling waiting to hear a good story. "Before you start, I'd like to know what you call that? Your music maker, that is?"

Avallach's fingers felt weak and trembly against the strings of his guitar. He gazed up at the god, careful to avoid his powerful eyes for fear of being sucked into them. Their priests had told stories of an ancient and powerful dragon whose very eyes could harvest the souls of men. They had many stories about the dragons, both good and bad, merciful and merciless. Avallach was still not sure which this Contrun would be, but in the end it wouldn't matter. His life - the lives of all of his people - belonged to him and his brethren.

Being close to such unbelievable power was dizzying. "Um. G-guitar, my lord." It was so difficult to read the expression on the reptilian face. Did the god feel emotions in the same way that he did? Had Contrun known joy and love, fear and dismay? A hard pit of foreboding formed in his stomach; it did not seem wise to interact with a god he knew so little about. But there was little Avallach had done in his life that a less cautious man would call wise.

He summoned a smile, striving to push aside the reverence and fear. More than anything, Avallach wanted to be helpful, so that Contrun might feel inclined to be helpful toward him and his people. "This is a celebration song my people often use for birthing days and marriages. We call it Heart of the Dragon."

The music that Avallach coaxed out of the strings of his guitar was beautiful. To him, at least. It twisted and wound around him, fast paced and lively. To say that he was showing off for the god would not have been untrue; he had chosen one of their more complex songs, even knowing Contrun might not recognize the difference. Avallach had gotten far in life by leading with his best foot, so to speak.