“Where are they?” Skade’s fist slammed into the table so hard it that the sturdy wood groaned.

“I-I’m sorry Skade,” the young scout stammered. “W-We’ve looked everywhere, but –”

“Don’t give me your feeble excuses!” Skade snapped at him, leaning over the desk with her teeth bared.

The scout quailed. With amusement, Skade noted that his legs were trembling like saplings in a gale. She smiled pleasantly and turned to his companion, an older man with greying hair, who was watching his companion with concern.

“Why have you not found them?” she asked sweetly.

“They are not in the castle, nor in the surrounding grounds,” the scout said. His voice was firm, but his eyes betrayed his inner fear. “We believe they may have left earlier, and the rider is still searching but ...”

“Then find them!” Skade snapped suddenly, making both scouts jump. “I don’t care if you have to overturn every rock from here to the goddam mountains, but if you don’t bring me their heads within a week I will take yours as a consolation. Do you understand?”

The older scout nodded, bowed, and took his companion – who now looked as if he might collapse in terror – out of the room. The youth’s legs were shaking so hard he almost fell over the doorstep on his way out, which made Skade smile darkly.

“Any luck?” Nanye’s voice reached her mind from somewhere outside.

“They’re gone alright,” Skade replied. “Little whelps have done a run for it.” She gnashed her teeth. The girls were no threat to her now, but they could be in future. And if there was one thing that Skade would not tolerate, it was potential threats.

“We could send more riders,” Nanye suggested. “It would be far easier to do that way.”

“True,” said Skade. “But I want this done properly, no half-jobs. If anyone screws this up, I will have them torn apart. Literally.”

“What of Arrin and Tabor? They should be back from the Uplands soon, and the others shouldn’t be long in returning. The lords are being more compliant than we thought.”

“They are being compliant because they know what we will do to them if they are not,” Skade said viciously, digging her nails into the table and baring her teeth at the empty air. “Gods know they don’t deserve this. Swine the lot of them.”

“We will have our vengeance,” said Nanye. “One way or another. After all,” – Skade felt a ripple of laughter run through his thoughts – “we may need a few demonstrations to prove how seriously we feel about ... misconduct.”

Skade laughed harshly, “I like your thinking. Arrin and Tabor it is, we can send others later if necessary. Doesn’t Tabor have something of an ugly history with Aryanna?”

“Very ugly,” said Nanye. “But it was very funny when she slapped him last, don’t you think?”

“Funny? I laughed so hard I nearly choked.”

“I don’t know about that ... but you were a very interesting shade of purple.”

“Oh shush,” Skade tried to suppress a smile. “Go and get them then, you great lump of dragonflesh. They can join Nikolai. I'm sure they will get along swimmingly.”

Nanye chuckled, “Oh yes. Swimmingly indeed.”

The link faded, and Skade was left staring across the room. She cracked her knuckles absent-mindedly, hissing as one of her nails chipped in the process.

“They will pay,” she whispered to herself. “They will pay in blood.”

RATE THIS CHAPTER!

Author guidance for This exercise

LINKS:
1st topic thread: http://www.protagonize.com/group/planning-brainstorming/topic/3779/12
New topic thread: http://www.protagonize.com/group/planning-brainstorming/topic/5753




So far the characters we have are as such-
Elorithryn- Rhagtan Chanu Gwynt (Ragta)
[Welsh = Singing Fire Wind]
Age: 100 winters (young for a dragon)
Appearance: At 126 feet long, she's considered small by her kind. A thick leathery hide covers her body and, when well groomed, shines deep orange, flecked with red. In contrast, her eyes are as blue as the clear summer sky.
Personality: Being known as the 'runt' has made Ragta feisty and eager to prove her worth. She'll be first into a fight, often diving in before orders are given. She hates to give ground and has to be forced to leave when a retreat has been called. Unfortunately her exuberance and inexperience have caused her to lose more riders than she should.
Silvereye- A man named Nikolai, SoulRider of Elo's dragon. Skilled with a blade, and quite rough around the edges. In his mid 30s.
Spookofnight - Name: Skade
Appearance: Tall and striking, dark russet-red hair cut short to keep it out of her face, angular features with a proud nose, high cheekbones and expressive black eyes. There's not an extra ounce of fat on her, she's all muscle and sinew from years of intensive training.
Personality: Fierce, quick-witted and cunning. Her temper is not explosive, but rather a slow, icy burning, and she is sneaky enough to know how to exploit her enemies' weakness for her own gain. She is a hard taskmaster, both to herself and her team, but fair and sometimes even compassionate in certain situations. She's always quick to smile at a joke, and she is good at winning over sceptics and bringing them to her side.
Skade is SoulRider to Nanye, her dragon.


dottylotti - Name: Aryanna
Age: 27
Appearance: Average height and build. Caramel blonde hair that falls just below her shoulder blades but usually has it in two french plaits to keep it out of the way. Dark brown eyes surrounded by thick, dark lashes and tanned skin from spending days outside. She doesn't look anything special and is very good at blending into the background when needed.
Personality: When she knows what she wants she won't give up until she's got it. Incredibly focused and hard working and believes that slacking off will get you nowhere. Quick to make friends when meeting new people but can also make rash judgements when it comes to first impressions.

Curasitayo- (dead) Name: Cadonus III (Cadonus the third)
Age: 57
Looks: Brown hair with a lot of grey mixed in, a short steal grey beard with a few darker specks of brown. He is of a medium height and stocky with a beergut (he likies his beer :3).

Public view: He is mainly well liked, or at least tolerated, the rules are strict as are sentences but his judgements are usually fair within that. He is not easily swayed by money but he has done things he regrets in the past for gold.

Personality: Whenever I write the characters choose themselves whatever I say but for now: He is tired of politics and stuff but likes drinking with his few closer acquaintances often. When drunk he is loud and jolly, when sober he often feels isolated, he was a very motivational figure in his youth but that power has mainly gone now.
Who: She is the granddaughter of Cadonus and is young but brave. She is not rebellious or strong but she likes to learn active things like archery and fighting skills. She loves her grandfather a lot and tries to keep him happy.


Curasitayo- Name: Vellery
Age: 19.

Looks: Black hair, brown eyes, small boobs (sorry but...), not lithe exactly but she isn't chubby or anything, a healthy kind of weight. Her cheeks get flushed when she gets out of breath which rather than looking stupid makes her look full of life.

Public view: She is mainly out of the public eye. She has many friends, mainly boys because she finds the girls boring, most people like her though perhaps she wouldn't get on with older people so well.

Personality: Cheerful, happy, loving to her family and friends. Active. Can get sulky and fight over petty things.

updated Mar 12 by SilverEye