exsiliumlogs | There’s nothing you can say, nothing you can do, nothing in between; you know the truth

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There’s nothing you can say, nothing you can do, nothing in between; you know the truth

Date & Time: January 14; probably in the afternoon
Location: A little ways into the Northern Highlands
Characters: Crucible, Aurican, and Kang
Summary: The inevitable revelation of family, loyalty, and what happens when Aurican utterly and completely lose his shit.
Warnings: family drama? also: violence toward yetis

Aurican is used to the sounds of construction by now. Down in the little charming town they now call home, all Transports are working their blessed hearts out to make extra accommodations. Originally, Aurican wasn't one of them, but eventually Kang and Crucible roped him into a project that needs desperate help, for this little ruin of a castle is to be another station for all the non-humans who need refuge from the glares of the natives.

Aurican doesn't mind. He figures he and Crucible can tear down trees in the privacy of the secluded wild for supplies with greater ease in their natural forms than a human can with an ax.

The winter snow starts to ease off, thankfully, and by the time Aurican was in Crucible and Kang's company, it became almost bearable again - indeed, it started to feel like the chilly winters that take hold of the Valley of Paladine back home. It made Aurican almost nostalgic for home. Almost, until a blizzard just came out of nowhere (Aurican suspects the Abyss) and literally pinning the three shape shifted dragons and draconian. It is enough for Aurican to almost lose his charitable mood, despite the cave nearby that saves them from the blasted cold.

When enough firewood was gathered, the gold dragon in human form let loose a stream of fire from his human mouth, warming up the damp cave. "I hope this blizzard won't last as long as the previous one did," Aurican remarks, prodding a stubborn stick into being lighted by fire. "I don't think the natives will enjoy the sight of a dragon crashing into their village in an attempt to escape the cold."

The blizzard screeches in its whisper-howls in response.

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With an exasperated roll of his eyes (of course there were more, and they wouldn't catch a goddamn break), Kang quickly stood up and dropped his spell again. Battle-axe in hand, he waited for the handful of yetis that managed to get past the two dragons, wary of being crushed by accident in the fighting.

Their weapons were reminiscent of goblins', but he knew from experience that a pitted, rust-covered blade could do more than enough damage. He hissed, and ducked a spear, slicing open the gut of a large male so that its intestines began spilling out. One of its companions snarled and swung at him with its claws, and promptly lost its entire hand.

Crucible stalked around the fire with deliberate intent, even as Aurican leaped passed the large bronze moved to watch his flank. His growl echoing through the cavern.

Even as one Yeti attempted to get past the Gold they found themselves swatted hard against the stone wall with a sickening crunch, the large bronze's head rearing back as he drew in breath drawing on his breath. A glow at the back of his throat the only warning the yetis had before a beam of searing light burst from his maw, cutting the foremost down in an instant.

More yet continued to spill from the rear of the cavern, the group clearly larger and more intent than the first group that had stumbled upon them.

A great plume of flame erupted from Aurican's maw, ensnaring one Yeti in a terrible cloak of fire; its brethren immediately backing away from the fire. Untouched by fire, Aurican snaps his jaws against the throat of the dying Yeti's throat and snuffed its life out.

But in his merciful killing one Yeti manages to slip past Aurican and Crucible and hit the old gold mightily with a heavy fist. Aurican stumbled, dazed, taking a step back but is struck again, blood and spittle flying from his heated gums.

Another punch and Aurican fell, his head barely missing Kang as it bounced against the hard stone floor. Two more Yetis rose up, crude bronze weapons raised to give the killing blow on Aurican's neck.

For one bewildering moment, Kang tried to process the fact that a yeti had just taken a full-grown gold dragon down by punching him. It was short-lived, though, as he barely managed to behead his last yeti and realized that he wouldn't be able to kill both yetis in time with blade or magic to save Aurican.

He had one other option, though, and he had a sinking feeling what it would lead to.

The scent of ozone filled the air as sparks formed around his mouth, and he aimed a blast of lightning at the yetis. It wasn't quite as powerful as a dragon's, but it was more than enough to do the trick.

Crucible's eyes narrow with anger, the fire within his eyes flaring. That the yeti's such a potent foe as Aurican down with but bare fists was a shock, but one that turned to a burning rage. The two currently facing him suddenly crushed beneath his paws as he readied to push past them to get to the Yetis that were poised above Aurican's neck.

The bolt of lightning that struck both of them caught Crucible somewhat off guard at that moment, that was no spell, that was a breath weapon. One that he had not been aware that Kang had possessed. A thought that would have to wait however.

Any hope of mercy that the yetis might have received was gone the moment they had moved to kill Aurican. A deafening roar driving the yetis back a few steps before drawing himself up to his full height. Fuelling his magic burning rage he reached into the foundations of the rock in the caverns beyond. The ground rumbling as chanted draconic syllables echoed through the chamber, the very roof above the yetis' heads falling in upon them, crushing them even as they tried to flee, leaving them no hope of escape. The rock and cavern around the three of them however held steady, unaffected by the bronze's geomancy.

Aurican turns his head in time to see Kang's lightning breath, and for a moment, he couldn't take his eyes off Kang. Despite having Burll's descendant fighting right beside him, it is Kang that forces Aurican to be reminded the most of Burll.

Burll, the ever steady, the stoic, the ever concerned and always needed to have his lessons repeated in order to truly understand them. Burll, who was nothing like Kang, except the color of bronze, and the lightning breath that erupts from not just from the mouth, but from the power that makes dragons dragons. Burll, a dragon of water who had died in a tornado of fire, slain with a wordless cry as his final goodbye.

The secret words that came with unbidden thoughts that haunt Aurican's mind reveal themselves in full force. His suspicions, his denial, his loss: they all hail dark waters that is Aurican's sea of sorrow and guilt and emerged as a terrible dark creature, far more sinuous and treacherous than Crematia can ever aspire to be.

The sudden shaking of the ground rips Aurican from his thoughts, and he lifts his head to see Crucible to do some kind of spell, something that involves the earth, he's not sure what it is. However, whatever it is, it dealt with the Yetis very neatly, if you can call crushing them to death with giant boulders as neat.

(Even so, it was a very unpleasant sight even for Aurican.)

The strikes the Yetis had given to Aurican were great, despite their smaller size, which took him by total surprise. In some ways he would rather be bitten than punched, but he will keep that to himself until the end of time. Aurican manages to get to his feet, head hung low as a terrible pain started to lance into his skull. A tooth might have been knocked loose as well.

This is possibly the worst night Aurican has ever had.

Aurican lets out a mighty sigh as he sits on his haunches, watching blood from his jaws dripping down into a small puddle, a mixture of both his and his Yeti victims. "Well, that was just awful."

"That's a much more polite way of putting it than I would," Kang's wings rustled a bit as he looked at Aurican. He'd seen the expression on the gold's face. "How the hell did you let yetis take you down?"

He didn't want to be the one to bring up the inevitable. He hoped Aurican would breach the subject.

Crucible lowered himself down with an almost weary look, it was no unpleasant sight for anyone but it was efficient in its results. "As far from a pleasant encounter as one can get here," He shook his head with a snort. His gaze resting on Aurican for a moment, offering after that moment, "I have a measure of healing should you require it, dull the pain at least," Whether or not Aurican would accept as much was another matter, a dragon's pride after all.

It is then that Crucible's gaze comes to rest on Kang, the barest hint of curiosity and confusion in his expression as he worked over what he had seen. He had yet to encounter a Draconian that had openly exhibited the ability to utilize a breath weapon. He dare not bring it up immediately however knowing well the link it would draw, that was a matter for Kang himself to broach.

"Their punches took me by surprise," Aurican replied, half drolly and half annoyed. "They are smaller than me but their fists are like boulders, which I wasn't expecting."

Aurican's face aches greatly and he is greatly tempted to take up on Crucible's offer, but he also wants to refuse. (Pride is its own pain as well.) Besides, something else is nagging Aurican's attention.

"I never knew you had a breath weapon, Kang. Is it magic?"

Kang glanced at Crucible for a long moment before drawing himself up and facing Aurican again. It was time.

"You must have noticed by now how similar Crucible's and I's scales are. It's not a coincidence. Neither is my ability to breathe lightning like a bronze dragon." He paused. "My kind were created from the eggs of metallic dragons by dark magic, under the orders of Takhisis."

Crucible remained silent as Kang drew himself up, the truth of the matter was to be revealed, so be it. Aurican of all should know what had happened.

His expression taking on a grim, somber look as he inclined his head as Kang spoke of the origins of his kind, "What Kang says is truth, eggs stolen away by Takhisis's minions while many of our kind slept," he comfirms and expands, leaving it to Kang himself to explain what he would.

Aurican does not feel any anger or shock; not at first. Maybe it is the blows to the head that is the contributing factor, but all he can feel is the most terrible of calm; the false serenity, as he would later it call days after this horrible night.

It is the calm before the storm, or rather, the silence before the roar of a temper exploding.

"Are you telling me the metallics slept through the thievery of the eggs and the consequent transformation process until Kang's kind came walking up to their lairs under Takhisis' orders?"

He says this blandly, like it is the most stupid thing he has ever heard of, scorn dripping off of every word. Never in his life had he heard such stupidity that, Paladine grant him peace, that not even Burll would even think of considering. The fact that Kang came into being because of such neglect is inexcusable, even if it made him to be one of Aurican's closest friends.

"Not quite." Kang held up a hand to Crucible, to let him know that he had it under control for the moment. It was hard to get a good read on Aurican yet.

"When the metallics woke and found their eggs stolen, they were told that if they swore an oath to the Dark Queen that they would not interfere with her next war, they would get their eggs back safely. Most swore it.

"Eventually, they found out the truth and joined the war. We fought on opposite sides; my kind are not good in nature, and likely never will be."

Crucible inclined his head everso slightly to Kang's raised hand, respecting his judgement on the matter and leaving it for Kang to reply for now on the matter. Remaining quiet for that time as Kang explained the matters that had lead to and occurred after his kinds creation. The great bronze look was somber, darkening at the mention of the oath, regarding the legendary Gold and attempting read the other's reaction to what had happened.

Aurican couldn't believe it. Whatever scorn that's been crawling into his expression was completely wiped clean, his fierce golden face completely devoid of any expression. He had that look, once, when he saw Silvanos' majestic city wiped out, just before he nearly fell apart in his grief.

The gold dragon twitched his head toward Crucible, mutely asking for confirmation of what Kang was saying. The darkening expression said more than Kang's words.

How horrible Aurican must be for not thinking of Kang and the misery he had been forced to, but to rather the eggs Oro has laid, as well as the other females. The eggs that had been entrusted to Darlantan and Aurican to protect, after the other males fell to Crematia's trap. He wondered, What happened to those future wyrmlings to be fallen to the wayside?

"What had happened to me?" Aurican asked to Crucible, and Crucible alone. "What happened to Darlantan and the females and I? Did we die before the eggs - our eggs - hatched?"

Kang paid close attention to Aurican's expression, letting the bronze answer, resisting the sudden urge to take a step back.

Crucible inclined his head in confirmation with a grim look as Aurican twitched his gaze towards him, answering his silent question. He too paying close attention to the Gold's expression.

At the Gold's question to him he frowned, what had happened to Aurican? He knew the tales well, yet it was not for him to reveal the Gold's future in full unless he specifically wished it, his voice level as he replied, "No, it was you that brought back the magic to the wyrmlings within those eggs, you are the one who taught and protected them,"

"Then what is your excuse?!" Aurican roared, his bellow abrupt like thunder. His lowly posture snapped back into a stiff position, his head raised, yellow eyes nearly glowing. Blood from fallen enemies drop down from his bloody muzzle, dripping directly down to the cavern floor or streaking down his neck. His teeth flashed white with every angry word.

"If I had truly taught them anything," Aurican said, every syllable hot as his fire, "I would have taught them our kind's history. When Paladine created the first metallic dragons, Takhisis took them and turned them into her own image! Takhisis pitted sister and brother against each other, did you know that, Crucible? Did you and the rest of my future kin knew this?"

Rage filled Aurican's body, engulfed his soul. He welcomed it. He preferred anger over shame, over grief. He took a step forward until their nostrils were almost touching.

"The dwarves called Takhisis 'The False Metal' for a reason," he hissed. "This reason. Takhisis took away what would have been family to me and warped him into a killer that killed my aunts and my mother, and drove her own daughter to kill my nestmates, including your ancestor Burll. But you . . . you already knew this.

"And yet, you had the audacity to to swear an Oath to the Dark Queen?"

Aurican realized he was breathing deeply, heaving with every breath. Something terrible is crawling out of his heart and tearing into his throat, and oh, yes, that was fear he was feeling, and he didn't want fear, not yet, because with fear despair will come shortly after.

This time, Kang did take a step back, taken completely by surprise at Aurican's anger. Mostly, at the anger not being directed at him. It was one thing to hear from Crucible that a few of the metallics hadn't agreed with trusting Takhisis, and had felt less than happy to see their fellows swear the Oath; it was quite another to actually see the fury with his own eyes.

He hadn't finished telling everything about his kind, but that could wait. This needed to be worked out first.

Crucible's expression grew darker, yet even under the fury of Aurican's words, the Bronze stood his ground, taking every word, every syllable that Aurican threw at him. Anger he knew and understood all too well.

"Know this Aurican, I did not swear the oath," Cold fire in his own eyes as he spoke, emphasizing every syllable with utter conviction as he stood unbending. A measure of his own anger showing in his eyes, an anger he had worked long to cool.

"I know well your anger, for I share it. I and those who shared my convictions worked tirelessly against Takhisis and her plans. We searched for our stolen eggs while those who had betrayed our children sat safe on the dragon Isles, in the false hope that she would stand by her word"

Aurican can already feel his anger leaking away, drop by drop, and now all he can feel is an angered dismay and a wretched, illogical sense of guilt.

"And yet, your search ended in failure. " Otherwise Kang would not be what he is now. "And then parent and offspring wretched apart into dividing lines of war." The most terrible crime. "What have happened to those who refused to strike down those that were abandoned? What did those who swore that Oath did to the draconians?"

But he already knew the answer.

Betrayal doesn't take half steps.

Kang watched silently, waiting to see what Crucible would say. This was not how he'd imagined this talk happening.

Crucible inclined his head grimly at Aurican's assessment, "There was one who discovered the eggs, too late to prevent what had occurred, many that had yet to be turned were retrieved,"

"There was little we could do for draconian kind at large while they remained under the command and influence of the dragon armies. In ending the war there may have been hope for his kind, out from the shadow of the Dark Queen's will. Thus those of us who had not sworn the oath fought to bring a swift end to the war,"

"Those who had sworn the oath committed horrors against Kang's kind, so driven by guilt they were. Attempting to turn them back against their will and killing them when such attempts did not work all in the name of 'mercy'," His voice cold at the thought of what had been done.

Whatever remaining anger Aurican have been holding on to evaporated like steam on heated water. Now, more than ever, the urge to weep is surging within his chest, trying to break his will.

But weep for who? His descendants who have fallen from grace? The draconians who were betrayed by both sides before they were even hatched? Himself, for a failure he could not foreseen? For Patersmith, whose very teachings were betrayed by the offspring of the students he proudly taught?

Always show mercy, even to your enemies . . . for it creates loyalty and friendship.

How is it possible to believe in mercy now, when centuries warped the very meaning of benevolence and courage?

The tense muscles on his shoulders and haunches sagged under imaginary weight. He could no longer meet Crucible's stare any longer. He doesn't want to even look at Kang, fearing what he might see in Kang's eyes, fearing distrust or worst, maybe something that may hint of Burll. Instead, he looks out into this world's Darkness Beyond, in the cold winter that shows more mercy to the weak and the lame than his descendants had done to their own unborn children.

"How could they do this to me?" He asks quietly, staring at oblivion. "How can they turn their backs on Patersmith's teachings, on my mother's sacrifice?"

The moment those words escape him, he knows the answer immediately.

It is easier to betray the dead, the forgotten, and the future than it is to betray the current living.

At Crucible's words, Kang couldn't help wincing a bit. It brought back old memories, of the war and every past encounter with a metallic dragon; he saw the silver from when he was still only in charge of a bridging company carrying Cuomo off, with a look of disgust on her face. He saw the pity in the eyes of a pair of brass dragons as they swooped over another draconian unit on the battlefield, jaws agape with deadly gas. And, he remembered the story of the golds and silvers pretending to be elves to lure their children in.

"There is more you should know about us," Kang said quietly, glancing at Crucible. "But it can wait, if you need time."

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