literature

Vladimir 2

Deviation Actions

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Seeing the small cat sized creatures rustling through the grass, God sighs and smiles at them, taking a look over in Lucifer's general direction. He can feel the strength of their being and he can tell by it that the dark Lord has done a little more than simply bring back what had previously been there before. However, he can't really see exactly what has been done and won't know until the beings reveal it to him. Their scaly skin glistens in the dappled light that is shining down between the leaves of the trees above them, each dragon seemingly the same kind, apart from the general colour. Reds, greens, blues and yellows, their eyes just as piercing and clear as emeralds. Tiny horns on their heads and sharp little teeth, this does look very dinosaur like and does make the Lord think of the Velociraptors. The huge leathery wings on their backs however...

One of the little creatures jumps up onto a twisted tree root and looks down at it's sibling, playing with a seed pod below it, knocking it from side to side with a clawed hand. Letting out a purring rumble from its throat the dragon opens its wings and stretches the muscles, giving them a gentle flap and trying to lift off. They've learned to use them to glide and can lengthen a jump with a solid pump of their wings, but they haven't yet built themselves up to an actual flight, or had a reason to do so. One of the things that God can see has been granted to the beings, rather than naturally developed. Anyone outside would see the same thing and wonder why they would have grown so large, the wings seem very delicate and precision made, far too advanced for simple branch hopping. Obviously a vanity for Lucifer and little else. In time the wings would shrink and become far less cumbersome for the little ones. Perhaps even disappear altogether if they truly don't require them? Distracted and pulled from his musings when he sees the little dragon follow the path of an insect with his eyes. God chuckles to himself when the baby dragon hops up to snap at it with its jaws and topples from the tree root, down onto the little dragon below. They chirp and growl at each other, tumbling over and over as they play fight together. This makes the Lord of light forget about the little creatures wings and the fact that Lucifer has created his own creatures, rather than bring the dinosaurs back from extinction.

Sensing the stealthy approach of a predator, God watches the smallest dragon playing with a pebble. Picking it up in its jaws and tossing it, then chasing it again as if it was a prey animal trying to escape. So far he knows they haven't really been tested in this way and it will show what the little beings are capable of. The slight build up of power in his companion tells the Lord that his darker companion has sensed the danger as well. So grunting a warning they watch the creature creep closer and closer to the babies, but God can still feel the whirl of Lucifer's energy and knows that he is finding it difficult not to protect them.

“If you do, then any progress that they make from here on in will be invalid,” he warns him again firmly. The dark Lord's eyes sparkle brilliantly at him and the power continues to swirl, not lessening powering down to show that Lucifer understands what helping his dragons will cost them. “Let life be life. The lessons learned here will either strengthen or weaken them. You have to let them show you what they can do.” Finally the dark Lord eases back and they watch again, but God finds it almost amusing that his dark companion is showing such concern for a living being.

Moments later, the smallest dragon suddenly seems to snap to attention, its eyes slitting and focusing on the shrubbery that is hiding the cave lion, while letting out a low rumbling purr that makes the other five dragons stop and look as well. Slowly moving towards each other, five of the dragons bunch together, leaving the smaller one directly in front of them, standing on its own. Almost as if they are offering it up to the beast and preparing to run away themselves, when the brush suddenly explodes and the cat pounces, a flurry of movement shocks both of the Lords, making it hard for them to know which creature to focus on. A howl of pain and a screech of terror follows, when the dust settles they see that the cat is dead and the little creatures are triumphantly tearing the beast apart. Lucifer sits up straighter and lets out a rumbling purr of satisfaction. Glad that God had stopped him from interfering and instead letting his creations show him that they are quite capable of taking care of themselves and each other.

“That's my babies.”

For quite some time after that, the dragons remained on the menu. Slowly they proved this to be a mistake and the predators began to see that it would more likely be them that would be eaten, if they dared try to tackle the little things. Small perhaps, but it was obvious they had intelligence. Tactfully using the smallest of them to lure the beasts closer, then attacking from the sides and taking them down. Their wings had grown stronger as well, now used to put on a massive burst of speed or swoop around to change direction at the last second. Out in the open they'd hover or soar high over head, looking down at the ground below as they sought out their prey and studied the landscape. Travelling long distances, they moved from the forests and began to spend more of their time up in the mountains, or hills. Sometimes swooping down and knocking elk off rocky ledges, then swooping back to finish the creature off and sharing it with their siblings. As they got older they separated into pairs, travelling into the four corners of the world and becoming the top predator on the food chain.

Growing larger and now the size of a large thoroughbred, they were still very young and not able to breed just yet. Slowly they began to blend into their chosen place, so that when they did finally breed, having clutches of between four to six eggs at a time, it was obvious that they were becoming distinct subspecies' of each other. Forest dragons are as green as leaves, with brown stripes and blotches on their skin, that make them hard to see in the under-brush and branches. Oddly enough their children had become smaller and smaller, their wings used to glide from tree to tree and preying predominantly on insects and small mammals. Rock dragons spend much of their time either on the rocky shores of beaches or in cave systems. Blending perfectly with the boulders and sharp rocks around them, they sit perfectly still and wait for the food to come to them. Their wings are still quite large, because they like to  fly up and down the coastlines searching the ground below, for the best place to sit and surprise their prey. Sea dragons had taken to the water. Over time they lost their grand aerofoil shaped wings and adopted something more akin to enlarged fins; A little like the kinds that flying fish have. Still quite large, a little larger than the largest great white shark that you could find. They sometimes burst up out of the water and chase the seagulls, or fly over the surface, looking down into the shallows as they hunt large schools of fish. Which have become the staple of their diet. The last is the Fire dragon, adopting the hot smoky environment of the volcanic regions. Their scales have become perfectly conditioned to absorb heat and protect them from burning. They have even developed the ability to regurgitate their combustive stomach acid and building a static charge in the roof of their mouth, set fire to it and in essence seem to be breathing fire; In truth they are actually spitting it, either way it does come in handy. Flying over the grasslands, they set fires that chase animals out into the open, which they then dive onto. Carrying them away in their claws to eat somewhere else; Often returning to the lava fields or volcanic cave that they have made their home.

The one thing that is similar in all of them, is that they have slow digestive systems. This means that they don't have to hunt every day and can go weeks without eating if they have to. Over the passing years it becomes obvious to God that the creatures have quite long lifespans. With each generation that passes they seem to be getting longer and longer, until they finally end up with one about five to six hundred years. Then the lengthening slows down and seems to settle for a while, but by then God has turned his attention back to Lucifer, who is showing signs of wishing to head back into the depths of the universe to continue his study of black holes. Warning him not to be complacent in regards to his dragons, because often when things change, it happens quite quickly. He isn't that surprised by the beings reaction. The way Lucifer waves him off and points out that they're thriving so well that he doesn't believe that they're in any kind of danger. Unlike God, the dark Lord hasn't been watching the humans though. Unable to convince him to remain, the Lord of light watches him leave and returns himself to watching all the living beings. Seeing the interest the humans have begun to show the large flying lizards, he sighs and wonders who will win at the end of the day.

Returning to check on his dragons, Lucifer arrived in Europe during the Medieval period. Seeing that the harsh winter had reduced the humans harvests and the technological innovations of the plough and crop rotation, had not been as effective as they had been elsewhere in the world. Possibly because the north had poorer and much more clay bound soil. Food shortages and rapidly inflating prices hadn't helped them much either. Wheat, oats, hay and livestock were all in short supply and had brought about malnutrition, which in turn increased the humans susceptibility to infections. This seemed to have set the stage for what followed and had already reduced the population. So it wasn't as if the beings needed the Black Death, but it seemed that the Earth was testing the ground to shake things up a bit.

Religious  fanaticism flourished in the wake of the Black Death. Some of the humans targeting others such as Jews, foreigners, beggars, lepers and such, thinking that they were to blame for what was happening to them. Their paranoia escalated to extremes, going so far as to have them seeing individuals with skin diseases such as acne or psoriasis as being afflicted, thus exterminating them in an effort to protect themselves. Because the healers at the time were unable to explain the cause, they began turning to astrological forces or earthquakes, even considering that it could be due to the poisoning of wells by Jews, as possible reasons for the plague that had taken them over. Still not able to comprehend it, many people then turned to the belief that God's anger could have been riled, so turned their attention to the church for help. Panic stricken and willing to do anything to anyone to save themselves.

With fear and hysteria spreading rife through many villages and towns across Europe. People fled the cities in panic, abandoning their families. Noble acts by doctors and priests were overshadowed by those who refused to treat their patients or give last rites to plague victims. With some convinced that the end was near, sinking into wild debauchery while others prayed for salvation. Flagellants went from town to town, parading through the streets and whipping themselves to demonstrate their penitence. In a series of events they encouraged the belief that Jews were to blame, with one community being burned alive in a structure that had been built specifically for the purpose. Others were then taken to the burial ground and given a chance to convert; Those who refused were tied to stakes and burned as well and that was even before the plague had reached the city.

It was clear to Lucifer that the humans had gone quite mad with fear, but the clear affect that it had also had on his beloved dragons was just as astonishing. Believed to been brought to earth from Hell to unleash the death upon them, many of his dragons had been slaughtered, some doing so to prove to God that they were faithful to him and not in league with the dark Lord. The forest dragons were now extinct, some saying that the scales could be crushed and placed in water to make a drink, that would actually bestow good health and protect against the plague. Rock dragons too had been driven into non existence. Hunted mercilessly because their blood was said to promote strength and courage, not even their eggs survived, smashed and crushed into all manner of weird concoctions. With few survivors, sea dragon scales were crushed and made into a salve that fishermen spread on their skin to protect them from drowning and the heart and blood of fire dragons were said to strengthen the heart and bring about eternal life. Now the dark Lord understood why God had suggested that he stay and watch over the creatures. It was clear to the Lord of light that added to that, was Lucifer's irritation that the humans used God as an excuse for the large scale destruction. Although his dark companion seemed unwilling to admit this at the time, he could see in his eyes that Lucifer blamed him.

Not about to allow the humans to finish them off, he quickly rounded up the last of the beasts, taking them and the dragon eggs that he could find from the planet. He then took them to Hell and set them free in the lower reaches. The eggs were placed into a kind of stasis chamber, a glacial room that froze them and set the tiny creatures into a semi permanent state of hibernation. God said nothing about this, believing that all it would accomplish is to anger the dark being further and set him directly against the humans in a bid for revenge. As much as he may have understood that life was a matter of survival and adaptation to such things was paramount. He'd placed so much of his faith behind them being successful, that on seeing them floundering under the weight of human fear and prejudice would have pressed this understanding back and flooded his mind with nothing but pure hatred and loathing. Best not give him a reason to let that out. He does however make the tiniest suggestion, that once the humans calm down and become far more aware of the preciousness of life, that the dragons could return and continue on. The utter rage in the dark Lord's eyes that follows this, tells God that the answer to that is an unequivocal no.

Settling back in his hammock Ray smiles and begins plotting a way to get his hands on one of those eggs. Knowing that it would have to be one of those, rather than attempting to tackle one of the wild ones. Not just because they would be easier, but because they attach themselves to the first thing they see when they hatch. Lucifer would have to accept it then, because trying to separate them after that would cause the baby dragon to pine and stop eating and drinking until it becomes sick and dies. Zapping up the Grimoire he once again reads the passage relating to waking a dragon egg from hibernation. Deciding that he'll leave in the morning, once he's memorised a map that has the location of the chamber, and hoping not to meet the dark Lord or his personal guards along the way.
Ray (c) Me.
God and Lucifer (c) Themselves.
© 2013 - 2024 ItheRook
Comments4
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NiccalsNightstalker's avatar
Man, so much research into this and it's all stuff I've also seen but put into a lovely explanation.  Just like here, human beings are an ignorant and easily-led bunch when their superstitions are roused and egged on by those who are just as ignorant, so I'm glad the remaining dragons were removed and tucked safely away in Hell. 

I found myself wishing they would come back in my lifetime....

Marvellous stuff! Off to the next chapter!  :love: