A Long Road Both Ways, History and Present

[Sota]

PAST: ON THE MAINLAND

There once was a time when there was peace all throughout Netal'sh, the mainland. Not only was there peace and no worries, but a grand Empire held fast to much of the land. Here, the Weyrwoman and rider of the first Golden dragon of the region reigned supreme. Her name was Aldrea of Gold Sarith, and she was a very strong willed woman. Her ideas were able to carry on through the generations and she was able to keep the peace between her Empire, Sah'nik and the other tribes close by. Everyone looked up to her. All but one, that is. Her Weyrleader, Joesph of Silver Gre'th. He pretended to be her ally in her presence, but behind her back, he was plotting against her.

It took Joesph three years to conjure up a scheme that would get rid of Aldrea and make it look like a simple accident or make it look like she just walked out on Sah'nik. On the night he had chosen to execute his plan, he gathered his small group of riders and led them to her Chambers. Alone, he entered and confronted her, threatening her life as well as her dragon's life. Aldrea didn't fall for it, thinking he did not have the courage to murder her or the Gold that she rode. However, Aldrea made a false assumption. Joesph called in his riders and they all attacked her, leaving her maimed. They did not know that she was still alive, and disposed of her body, never once thinking about the dragon that should have been dead as well.

Aldrea was left in the forest of Nei'shi where she was soon found by her dragon. The Gold kept her alive and sheltered her from the elements. Sarith hummed all the while she took care of her rider, trying to get the attention of another dragon passing by. It was three days later when they were found with the help of a Blue Rider named Carell of Blue Saik'th, and when he did find them, Aldrea was in critical condition. He brought her back to the castle and left her in the hospital. She never fully recovered, but when everyone in the Empire caught wind that she was still alive, the other riders grew angry. Those that were always loyal Aldrea stood up against the 'Rebels'; those allied with Joesph of Silver Gre'th, and became known as the Sarithians, named after Aldrea's Gold Dragon. Aldrea put the man who saved her in charge of leading her army since she was in no condition to do it herself. By the day, she was getting worse, and Carell wanted to win the war before she passed away.

However, Carell's dream never came true. Aldrea passed a week into the war, and the battles were far from over. He led the riders of Sarith for twenty years when he was wounded in battle and died on the field. His dragon followed him shortly. Carell was replaced with another, a Red rider and the battle continued. Those that were a part of Sarith never knew that Joesph's army was so strong and that he had so many followers; but they believed in Aldrea and Carell and fought on. The war waged for 207 years and finally, Sarith won, but Joesph's life had not been taken since no one was able find him. While the Sarithians were able, they packed up and left the land of Netal'sh. There were not many 'riders of Sarith left, but what was left of them had to get away before their people and ideas were destroyed forever by the forces of Joesph of Silver Gre'th.

this template was made by \BEE at CAUTION 2.0?

[Sota]

PAST: ON THE MOVE

The Sarithians traveled for what seemed like years before they reached another village. These villagers allowed them to stay for a couple nights and rest up before they had to leave again. They bounced around from village to village, none of them willing to take them in. A descendent of Carell of Blue Saik'th, Aldora of Brass Tri'th now leads the Sarithians from place to place. He pleaded with each Village Head to let them stay, but they knew of the war and did not want Joesph's army of riders to come and attack them for harboring the fugitives. Finally, after a year of traveling, Aldora almost gave up hope until he had caught wind of an island that was supposedly out in the middle of the sea. He listened in closer to the conversation a fisherman was having with one of the fish salesmen that he was selling his fish to.

"I saw it, I did! A great island, larger than this here town! It was shaped like the moon, though; it was a crescent instead of a full one. Oh, you should have seen the mountains on that one! They rose so high up into the clouds that you couldn't even see the peaks! I wanted to stop in to check it out, you know? But I looked away for a split second because one of the men thought they saw something tangled up in the nets and poof! It was gone! Nothing but mist left."

At first, Aldora thought it was nothing but a fisherman's tale; however, it weighed on his mind and he was unable to forget what the old man had said. Finally, he consulted the Sarithians that followed him and they all agreed to search for the island. The next day, everyone packed up and left in search of this island. Since they were going to be flying over open seas, they would not be able to just land and rest, so they had to conserve energy and took breaks on little islands between the island the old fisherman had been talking about and the mainland. It really was an adventure no one had ever dreamed of; mostly because no one ever thought that Joesph would have tried to take Sarith over the way he had and no one had ever predicted the war.

Aldora led them many miles before they finally found the island, and it was just as the old man had said. It was a crescent-shaped island with mountains taller than any on the mainland. They brought the dragons down on the sandy shores of the island for a much needed rest and a celebration of sorts since they actually found the island. However, their celebrating did not last long for something was hiding within the bushes. This something was not used to seeing beings with beasts that could take to the skies. It would not be long before the Sarithians were going to meet the natives.

this template was made by \BEE at CAUTION 2.0?

[Sota]

PAST: MEETING THE NATIVES

The night that the Sarithians arrived on the island, they were ambushed; however, this was not hostile attack yet. The natives surrounded the Dragonriders, their elegant weapons all pointed at them, and though they were natives, they wore elegant clothing, as though they were already an advanced race. These were the Elves, The A'terian Elves to be exact. They lived off the land and gave it the utmost respect for it gave them life. The leader stepped forward and waited for the Dragonrider's leader to do the same. Aldora moved to meet his confrontation. He studied the Elf just as the Elf did him, waiting for what he had to say; though he doubted he would be able to understand the Elf's language.

"Why are you here?" He asked in a rather sloppy form of the Sarithian's language. Aldora was shocked and wondered how he was able to produce their language, but the elves were not as they seemed. They were able to get inside the heads of others and learn their language in seconds and were able to produce comprehendible speech. Aldora cleared his throat to get his mind back in place. "We are from the mainland of Netal'sh and are of the Sarithian heritage. We were forced from our home by a horrible war." The Warlord examined him with critical eyes, circling him and looking to the scaled beast that stood on the defense for his companion. "And what is this monster that you ride on?" He asked while examining the dragons from afar. Aldora nodded for Tri'th to move forward and the Warlord almost sprang to attack but noticed that the creature was not hostile. "This is Tri'th, and he is my Dragon and companion. We are bonded for life." He explained as the Elf went about examining the creature, finding it most interesting.

When he was finished, he moved back to Aldora and nodded slightly. "If you are to live here, must respect the land as we do." He said simply. Aldora, wanting nothing more than a place his people could call home agreed, not really planning on abiding by his rules. The Weyrleader knew that they were stronger then the natives and figured they were nothing to be feared. "Those mountains, are there caverns there?" He asked the Warlord who nodded, looking to the mountains before back at Aldora. "Yes. Large enough for three Elven clans. Many of them too." He answered the rider. Aldora nodded and led his people to the mountain, and after finding the entrance, led them in to their new home. It took them some time to get everything sorted out, but once they did, the Sarithian's were able to easily make themselves at home.

- - - - - - - - - -

The next day, they were awoken by the sound of a horn. Aldora and Tri'th were the first to burst from the cavern to see what was making the noise. They were greeted by many of the natives at the highest part of the mountain that could be reached on foot. Aldora made his way over and was greeted by one of the Spellweavers who introduced herself. "My name is Rael'te. Welcome to A'ter, Residers of Hallelujah Range." She said before offering him some of the native wild rice that grew on the island. It was rather odd for it was purple in color on both the husk and the grain. Aldora thanked them and when they left, brought it to his people, feeling a slight attraction to the Elven woman who had given them the food.

He later found out through several meetings with the Elves that Rael'te was the Warlord's daughter. Aldora could not believe that the Warlord could have such offspring, but then again, anything was possible. He grew closer to her with each meeting, even teaching her about the war that lasted for 200 years - the cause for the Sarithian's reason for coming to A'ter. And finally, before anything could be done to stop it, the two fell in love. However, all good things have to come to an end. The Warlord found out about this affair and forbade his daughter from meeting the rider and kept her close so that she could not meet with the outsider. Aldora was heartbroken, Rael'te as well, yet, there was no way for the two to be together. Aldora fell into a depression and hardly ever left the cave.

With this opening, Altisha of Copper Cadal'th took over Weyrwoman. It was not long after that, that her dragon Rose and was mated to Brass Tri'th. The pair had a clutch of seven eggs, one of them being a Gold egg, two Coppers, one Red, one Green, and two Whites. Each of these dragons found their Candidate within the Sarithian's, and it was then that Aldora emerged from his cavern.

He had grown thin and now held the appearance of a lunatic. He was no longer the strong-minded man that had brought them to A'ter. Now he was just an average man that somehow managed to keep Brass Tri'th. However, he would not keep the dragon for much longer. He decided to attack the native camp to get Rael'te from the Warlord; however, he never even made it past the first line of Wardancers. With his fall, so did Brass Tri'th and Copper Cadal'th was left without a Weyrleader. Now, the Natives did not trust the Dragonriders at all for fear that they will attack just like Aldora had. But this was only the beginning of the problems.

this template was made by \BEE at CAUTION 2.0?

[Sota]

PAST: ELVEN IMPRESSION AND HALLELUJAH DOGS

Many years had passed and the tension between the Elves and the Sarithians had not faded. By now, Alexandria of Gold Resh'th had taken over the position of Weyrwoman. She was a proud leader, just as Aldrea of Gold Sarith had been. She followed many of the ideals of Aldrea as well; however, the Elves would not help her make peace. After Aldora's attack, they no longer trusted the riders as much as they had when they first arrived, not to mention, some of the Sarithians had moved down from the mountains and started to tear up the land. Many craftsmen had come about in the last few years that it had taken Alexandria to claim the position of Weyrwoman, and many of them either minded and tore large holes in the sides of the mountains to get the precious ore within or ripped up the plains to make farm fields. The Elves did not like how they used such large scale tactics that left the earth scarred and therefore, became more bitter towards the Dragonriders.

Finally, after the riders thought that nothing could bring the Elves and Dragonriders together until Alexandria's Gold had her first clutch, the male belonging to one of the senior riders; Gale of Silver Nord'th. Twenty-four eggs were produced. There were no Golds in this clutch, just a plethora of all of the other colors minus the Blues. These dragons chose from the available Candidates and when there were not any left, they chose Elves that matched up to them. At first, the Elves were confused, but as the dragons were able to speak in their minds and explain everything, they started to like the idea of being 'riders as well. This made them more powerful since the Sarithians were not the only ones to have dragons anymore.

Seventeen elves had been chosen by the dragonettes and went to the Sarithians for their guidance on how to raise them. This brought the two groups together for a short amount of time, and since it was a great opportunity for the Sarithians and A'terian Elves to make peace, Alexandria taught the Elves their ways. In return, the Elves of A'ter gave the riders a gift. They took them to the oasis within the mountain to where a small valley was, in the center, an oasis surrounded by tropical trees and grasses. But, what the Elves were really showing them were the wolf-like creatures that lived in the large basin. These creatures were nothing like what the riders had ever seen before. They were large, wolf-like creatures that stood about seven feet tall, some larger, some smaller, but not by much. They were well muscled and well adapted to mountain life. The Warlord explained that they called them Hallelujah Dogs and that they could be bonded with almost like with the dragons, however, there were a few differences.

It was not very long before the Hallelujah Dogs whelped, and those who wanted to find out exactly what these Hallelujah Dogs were like went with the Elves to the birthing of the first litter of the year. Many walked away with pups no bigger than the average sized cat. As they grew, the Sarithians worked with the Elves, training both creatures and helping each other along. It almost seemed as if they could live in peace, and they did for several years. However, some thought that the Elves should not be able to Impress to the dragons since the Sarithians were the ones that had brought them to Hallelujah Range and the land of A'ter. They thought nothing of the fact that they had given them access to the Hallelujah Dogs in return. Really, they were just taking advantage of the Elves, and some of the Elves seemed to catch on to this. After they had learned all they needed to about the dragons and gave up all of the information on taming Hallelujah Dogs, the Elves secluded themselves in their village, letting the dragonettes come to them when they were to impress them.

The Elves got their fair share of dragons impressing to them, and this angered many Sarithians for those were their dragons that were supposed to impress to their children who had finally become of age. Tension sprung up between the Elves and Sarithians as more Candidates were left without dragons each time Alexandria's Gold dragon clutched. Then, those open candidates went and bonded with Hallelujah Dogs instead, and then an idea came to the Sarithian minds. What if there was an overall use for these 'Dogs? Well, it did not take them long to figure out a use, and in under a year, they had created ranks for 'Dog Tamers who would work with the Weyr to make it stronger. When the Elves found out about this, they grew angry and things returned to the way they had before the Elven Impression.

this template was made by \BEE at CAUTION 2.0?

[Sota]

PRESENT: TRAGEDY

Three years since the tension has returned, Alexandria has entered her 40th year of age. She has aged tremendously and awaits her dragon to give her another clutch containing the succeeding Queen. Her Gold gave Alexandria the gift she had been waiting for, producing a clutch of about 20 eggs. One of them was the Gold that Alexandria had been waiting for, now, it was only a matter of time until all of the eggs hatched and Impressed. The Sarithians and the Elves had not met face-to-face in quite some time, and this worried Alexandria. Had the Elves of A'ter been plotting against them for these past three years? With their seemingly peaceful ways, Alexandria did not believe this theory. She simply believed that they did not need any more information from the Sarithians and therefore did not come in any contact with them.

Everything else besides the situation with the Elves seemed to be working well. The craftsmen were at their jobs, working to keep the Weyr clothed, fed, and necessitated. No one would have expected the tragic even that would follow all of this pseudo-peace. Alexandria had been out of the caverns with her Weyrleader, checking in on the trainings and what not. It was a nice day and everything seemed to be going right, everyone was doing the right job and they did it almost perfectly. However, luck was not on the Sarithians' side. One of the Hallelujah Dogs in training had gone feral, infected with a rare disease that does not show any symptoms until the Dog's body is riddled with it. It took down three riders and when it laid its eyes on Alexandria, it chose her as its next target. With a mighty leap, the 'Dog was on top of her and had bitten a deep gash into her neck and shoulder. It took three men along with the Weyrleader to finally slay the feral 'Dog. When they got it away from Alexandria, there was not much left of their mighty leader. She had been dead almost instantly, so they could thank the gods that she did not suffer as much as some did when they passed on.

This even lead to more bitterness towards the Elves since they never warned them about the diseases the Hallelujah Dogs could contract. They sent White riders over to tell them of the news as well as send them messages of hate and scorn. There was no such thing as peace between these two groups, especially since the Elves seemed to be doing nothing but taking; in the eyes of the Sarithians that is. From the view point of the Elves, the Sarithians are the ones doing the taking. They took the information about the Hallelujah Dogs, took the land and mountains, and did not even thank them. They took advantage of the A'terian Elves' good nature and had the audacity to do such things to them, even blaming them for something they knew nothing about.

Now, there are 20 eggs, one of them the next Queen that still have yet to hatch. What will become of the eggs? What will happen when more of them Impress to Elves than to the Humans? Some believe that an all out war is growing between them and that either party will snap to the attack at a moment's notice even if the other party treads too loudly. Many fear another war and want to keep it from happening for they remember the stories passed down the generations that hardly escaped the war with their lives. But, with the tensions rising as the wait for the eggs to hatch and the Gold to Impress, everyone is on edge, both Sarithian and Elven await the final result, the result that could be the factor that starts a war between the two groups.

this template was made by \BEE at CAUTION 2.0?