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Description
The journey to the Arctic Wastes had been comparatively uneventful, if anything could be called such when one had just been turned into a dragon. If they could be seen from the ground, Orothan would have appeared no more then a speck in the sky, but as it was they were well hidden by a sea of clouds. The sun was already setting, heralding the end of another day of flying. The golden rays of the evening sun gleamed vibrantly on the shiny deep blue scales of the large reptile. Orothan had grown more accustomed to his new body over the last few days, though the use of muscles he never had before proofed profoundly draining. At the end of this third day of their flight north, fatigue was setting in quickly, his wings aching for some rest. Apparently Ageaus had sensed as much from his position on the dragon’s back,, as his telepathic voice reached Orothan even over the whistling winds.

*I can see a ledge over to the west. We can settle there for the night.* he alerted Orothan.

The dragon obliged eagerly and set in a wide turn for the new destination. Spotting the wind sheltered ledge, he descended rapidly, breaking his fall with a few powerful strokes of his wings before landing clumsily, nigh on rolling over.

“Careful!” Ageaus shouted from his back, the sorcerer holding on for dear life as the lumbering beast nearly hit the dirt.

“Shut it, wizard!” Orothan spat the word like an insult, his new voice giving it all the tremor of grinding stone. Regaining his posture he sat up straight, shaking of the rubble as Ageaus dropped himself from his back. “I’m not exactly used to making landings, let alone with wings of my own.” The dragon continued, giving his companion a glaring look.

Ageaus didn’t look back, instead casually inspecting the ledge as he replied. “Well you better get used to it. I poured a vast amount of power in the enchantment I placed on you, and it’s not something I can or desire to undo any time soon.”

Orothan let out a deep rumble in dismay. If at all Ageaus took note of it, he didn’t show, and walked up to the edge of the rocky formation to stare out over the clouds. Already they had travelled far north, faster then Orothan had ever thought possible. Then again, he had never imagined to one day become a dragon. This high up north, the air was a lot colder, especially on the altitude the two currently found themselves. Orothan had sensed the drop in temperature over the course of the last couple of days, but his body didn’t seem to respond to it in any uncomfortable way. If anything, it felt invigorating. Ageaus had felt the cold as well, but was soundly protected by his own magics, and even without anything to cover his upper body he seemed perfectly at ease, even during the long flights as freezing winds scraped past them.
Even if Orothan felt a great distaste for the man, Ageaus’ power did amaze him. The wizard shifted forms and shapes with the ease of breath, and held a profound control over the elements. To facilitate travelling on the dragon’s back, Ageaus had assumed a humanoid form, though plenty of his merman features still showed themselves. For a moment Orothan wondered whether this was intentional, or that the merman was in fact draining too much of his energy.

“Don’t get any ideas, dragon. I’m powerful enough to permanently alter body and mind; a few days of warding myself against the elements won’t exactly render me powerless.” Ageaus interrupted his line of thought. When Orothan gave him the dragon equivalent of a surprised look, Ageaus continued. “I’m a telepath. You’d do well to remember that.”

The dragon snorted, causing a puff of smoke to trail from his nostrils. “You have no business nosing around in my thoughts.” He returned defensively.

“You should be glad I do. That way I can keep you from doing stupid things.”

Orothan didn’t reply, keeping his thoughts to himself, though very aware they didn’t go unregistered by the merman. Eventually his thoughts slipped from the subject and he found some rest in the setting sun. Slowly it descended beyond the endless plains of clouds as the minutes crawled by. Eventually a deep rumbling noise alerted the big lizard to another problem he had failed to deal with the last couple of days. It amazed him it had taken him so long for hunger to strike in the first place.

“Great.” The dragon muttered moodily. “I don’t suppose you could conjure up something to eat?” he mockingly addressed his companion.

“Quit complaining; I’ve been using my magic to keep our bodies free of hunger for the last three days, which I might add takes a lot of effort in your case.” He pointed an accusing finger at Orothan’s stomach. “We’ll be passing over the Veiled Tundra tomorrow. Maybe you can catch some Bighorns or something.”

Orothan pulled up his nose and frowned. “Thanks, but I prefer my meat cooked.”

“You really are bad at handling yourself, aren’t you?” Ageaus looked up at the dragon for the first time, giving him a somewhat degenerative look.

“You turned me into a dragon! I would think I’m holding myself together pretty well!” The dragon shouted, this time genuinely angry at the man.

“Don’t give yourself too much credit, Orothan! If it hadn’t been for my powers you’d probably gone insane or mad with rage when I transformed you!” Ageaus retorted just as aggressively, though he maintained his casual posture, as if not fazed in the slightest.

“You shouldn’t have turned me in a dragon in the first place!” Orothan snapped back, getting up to his feet like a giant cat ready to jump his prey, a deep rumbling underlining his words.

Ageaus wheeled on the spot and raised an angry fist at the dragon, his voice seeming to boom as shouted at the dragon. “Then you shouldn’t have tried to murder me, invade our lands and decimate my people!”

A sudden silence fell over the both of them as mutual aggression hung heavily in the air. Brief instances, Orothan contemplated striking out at the man in front of him, measuring no more then the length of his lower arm, but the realization of Ageaus’ might restrained him. Furthermore, the man’s words had struck home, and he had been right to blame Orothan of bloody and warlike ambitions. Ageaus controlled his anger as well, regaining the aura of cool he had maintained up until that moment. He prided himself in being a kind person, and it was understandable that Orothan would take his fate hard. But compared to the conquering plans of the former warlord, Ageaus had been very mild and forgiving.

Moments passed, and the murderous intent faded. Eventually Orothan backed down, his entire body revealing a frustrated mix of powerlessness, rage and guilt, before he turned away and found himself a spot at the other end of the ledge. Ageaus turned back to the setting sun and watched as the last rays of lights dissipated.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My next part in the Arctic Waste Saga! It’s a story, alternatively told by Ageasus ([link] ) and myself and accompanied with drawings. The story is only just picking up, so I haven’t got much other stuff to link to.

This is the first drawing where I’m actually proud of the line art. I really like how the dragon came out. His design already changed three times since his first appearance, admitted, but I like him a lot the way he is now. It just goes to show I can’t for the life of me repeat a character drawing. That and I wasn’t exactly pleased with my previous rendering of him anyway. The rocks came out nice as well. Background is just a picture, obviously, as I’m just not that good at drawing clouds and I’ve yet to practice them in any serious way.

Enjoy!

Description
The journey to the Arctic Wastes had been comparatively uneventful, if anything could be called such when one had just been turned into a dragon. If they could be seen from the ground, Orothan would have appeared no more then a speck in the sky, but as it was they were well hidden by a sea of clouds. The sun was already setting, heralding the end of another day of flying. The golden rays of the evening sun gleamed vibrantly on the shiny deep blue scales of the large reptile. Orothan had grown more accustomed to his new body over the last few days, though the use of muscles he never had before proofed profoundly draining. At the end of this third day of their flight north, fatigue was setting in quickly, his wings aching for some rest. Apparently Ageaus had sensed as much from his position on the dragon’s back,, as his telepathic voice reached Orothan even over the whistling winds.

*I can see a ledge over to the west. We can settle there for the night.* he alerted Orothan.

The dragon obliged eagerly and set in a wide turn for the new destination. Spotting the wind sheltered ledge, he descended rapidly, breaking his fall with a few powerful strokes of his wings before landing clumsily, nigh on rolling over.

“Careful!” Ageaus shouted from his back, the sorcerer holding on for dear life as the lumbering beast nearly hit the dirt.

“Shut it, wizard!” Orothan spat the word like an insult, his new voice giving it all the tremor of grinding stone. Regaining his posture he sat up straight, shaking of the rubble as Ageaus dropped himself from his back. “I’m not exactly used to making landings, let alone with wings of my own.” The dragon continued, giving his companion a glaring look.

Ageaus didn’t look back, instead casually inspecting the ledge as he replied. “Well you better get used to it. I poured a vast amount of power in the enchantment I placed on you, and it’s not something I can or desire to undo any time soon.”

Orothan let out a deep rumble in dismay. If at all Ageaus took note of it, he didn’t show, and walked up to the edge of the rocky formation to stare out over the clouds. Already they had travelled far north, faster then Orothan had ever thought possible. Then again, he had never imagined to one day become a dragon. This high up north, the air was a lot colder, especially on the altitude the two currently found themselves. Orothan had sensed the drop in temperature over the course of the last couple of days, but his body didn’t seem to respond to it in any uncomfortable way. If anything, it felt invigorating. Ageaus had felt the cold as well, but was soundly protected by his own magics, and even without anything to cover his upper body he seemed perfectly at ease, even during the long flights as freezing winds scraped past them.
Even if Orothan felt a great distaste for the man, Ageaus’ power did amaze him. The wizard shifted forms and shapes with the ease of breath, and held a profound control over the elements. To facilitate travelling on the dragon’s back, Ageaus had assumed a humanoid form, though plenty of his merman features still showed themselves. For a moment Orothan wondered whether this was intentional, or that the merman was in fact draining too much of his energy.

“Don’t get any ideas, dragon. I’m powerful enough to permanently alter body and mind; a few days of warding myself against the elements won’t exactly render me powerless.” Ageaus interrupted his line of thought. When Orothan gave him the dragon equivalent of a surprised look, Ageaus continued. “I’m a telepath. You’d do well to remember that.”

The dragon snorted, causing a puff of smoke to trail from his nostrils. “You have no business nosing around in my thoughts.” He returned defensively.

“You should be glad I do. That way I can keep you from doing stupid things.”

Orothan didn’t reply, keeping his thoughts to himself, though very aware they didn’t go unregistered by the merman. Eventually his thoughts slipped from the subject and he found some rest in the setting sun. Slowly it descended beyond the endless plains of clouds as the minutes crawled by. Eventually a deep rumbling noise alerted the big lizard to another problem he had failed to deal with the last couple of days. It amazed him it had taken him so long for hunger to strike in the first place.

“Great.” The dragon muttered moodily. “I don’t suppose you could conjure up something to eat?” he mockingly addressed his companion.

“Quit complaining; I’ve been using my magic to keep our bodies free of hunger for the last three days, which I might add takes a lot of effort in your case.” He pointed an accusing finger at Orothan’s stomach. “We’ll be passing over the Veiled Tundra tomorrow. Maybe you can catch some Bighorns or something.”

Orothan pulled up his nose and frowned. “Thanks, but I prefer my meat cooked.”

“You really are bad at handling yourself, aren’t you?” Ageaus looked up at the dragon for the first time, giving him a somewhat degenerative look.

“You turned me into a dragon! I would think I’m holding myself together pretty well!” The dragon shouted, this time genuinely angry at the man.

“Don’t give yourself too much credit, Orothan! If it hadn’t been for my powers you’d probably gone insane or mad with rage when I transformed you!” Ageaus retorted just as aggressively, though he maintained his casual posture, as if not fazed in the slightest.

“You shouldn’t have turned me in a dragon in the first place!” Orothan snapped back, getting up to his feet like a giant cat ready to jump his prey, a deep rumbling underlining his words.

Ageaus wheeled on the spot and raised an angry fist at the dragon, his voice seeming to boom as shouted at the dragon. “Then you shouldn’t have tried to murder me, invade our lands and decimate my people!”

A sudden silence fell over the both of them as mutual aggression hung heavily in the air. Brief instances, Orothan contemplated striking out at the man in front of him, measuring no more then the length of his lower arm, but the realization of Ageaus’ might restrained him. Furthermore, the man’s words had struck home, and he had been right to blame Orothan of bloody and warlike ambitions. Ageaus controlled his anger as well, regaining the aura of cool he had maintained up until that moment. He prided himself in being a kind person, and it was understandable that Orothan would take his fate hard. But compared to the conquering plans of the former warlord, Ageaus had been very mild and forgiving.

Moments passed, and the murderous intent faded. Eventually Orothan backed down, his entire body revealing a frustrated mix of powerlessness, rage and guilt, before he turned away and found himself a spot at the other end of the ledge. Ageaus turned back to the setting sun and watched as the last rays of lights dissipated.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My next part in the Arctic Waste Saga! It’s a story, alternatively told by Ageasus ([link] ) and myself and accompanied with drawings. The story is only just picking up, so I haven’t got much other stuff to link to.

This is the first drawing where I’m actually proud of the line art. I really like how the dragon came out. His design already changed three times since his first appearance, admitted, but I like him a lot the way he is now. It just goes to show I can’t for the life of me repeat a character drawing. That and I wasn’t exactly pleased with my previous rendering of him anyway. The rocks came out nice as well. Background is just a picture, obviously, as I’m just not that good at drawing clouds and I’ve yet to practice them in any serious way.

Enjoy!