Monsters roam the Outlands of Aurum, and the people of Oaken Keep need heroes to protect them. So, the Knights of the Crown are enlisted to slay monsters and keep the kingdom safe from any sort of danger that might cross them.
But when your character, a knight, meets a shapeshifting dragon, there is something strange about this monster. Whatever it is, it causes the knight to spare the beast, and in return the monster shows the knight mercy in turn.
But what happens when the knight keeps returning to the dragon’s den up on Mount Phobos? Well, romance, obviously.
Rules:
I’m okay with gore, strong language, NSFW, violence, and dark themes.
However, I am NOT okay with bigotry.
Also, don’t be a dick.
I’d prefer a more experienced writer for this.
No one liners!
Don’t be overpowered or overly edgy.
Have fun!
Template to be posted if/when someone joins.
(This sounds super awesome. Mind if I join? I can grab a writing sample, if you’d like)
(No need, and of course you can join!)
(Yay, thanks! Do we want to do character temps or just jump right in?)
(We can use templates! I’ll keep them short though, to keep stuff from getting too complicated.)
(Alrighty! I have a pretty hefty template I normally use, but I can simplify it if you’d like. Or we can use one you’ve made?)
(I’ll just post a very short one and we can begin!)
Name:
Age:
Gender/Pronouns:
Appearance:
Basic Personality: (like, one or two basic traits at least.)
Fatal Flaw:
Other:
(So I’m the knight character, right? Any preferences on gender or age?)
(Nope! Well, preferably your character would be like, 20 or older but otherwise no limits.)
Name: Flynn Scotts
Age: 23
Gender/Pronouns: Male h/h
Appearance: Flynn stands at about 6’0” and is quite lanky. He has a crooked yet charming smile, a dimple on only one side of his face. His eyes are a deep brown and his hair is a rusted dirty blonde. His skin is much tanner and his hands are extremely worn. He has scars around his body but wears them proudly, one of the most prominent ones being a cut down the left side of his mouth. It spans from his bottom lip down to his chin. Flynn’s body is more lithe, holding a leaner structure.
Basic Personality: A very tricky guy, usually speaking more with his actions than his words. He likes to play with people, and loves seeing them off their guard. Very flirtatious and speaks in fluent slang and sarcasm. He has a very defensive outside demeanor, but underneath, he is essentially a glass cannon. He cares deeply about his “brothers and sisters,” seeing all of his allies as family and someone to protect. Although he can seem really lax and careless, he will absolutely risk his life for anyone that needs saving. He is a soldier through and through, trying his best to keep his people safe. Although, if you’re the one causing the trouble, he can switch in an instant and take. you. down. He can fulfill every single threat he dishes out, and many people know it.
Fatal Flaw: Short temper and willingness to break important promises
Other: N/A
Name: Maker Crow (Maker is a formality, and Crow is their name.)
Age: 103, in human form tends to take the appearance of a person in their 20s.
Gender/Pronouns: They are however they present as. If they take the appearance of a woman, they are a woman. If they take the appearance of a man, they are a man. However, dragons have a more complex view on gender and gender roles and don’t tend to take those on except around humans, whether for purposes of deception or otherwise. As for pronouns, they will use the pronouns that correspond to whatever they are at the time.
Appearance: In draconic form, they are fifty feet high and have six golden eyes like molten lava. They have pitch black scales that would shine in the light and show hints of fire underneath but are always covered in thick ash from their volcanic home. Their claws, attached to eight long, muscled limbs are long and sharp, and they have minor chips and cracks on their scales from knights always trying (and failing) to kill them. They never like to go fully human, taking the form of a two eyed, masculine-presenting mostly human being with brown skin dark as the sea and eyes like melted gold, smoky black scales running down their neck and back and forearms and thighs, with hints of gold beneath the surface. Their human form has a flat, wide nose and prominent cheekbones you could cut yourself touching, along with retractable claws on their six strong arms. Their human state stands at about 6’4”, with a broad muscular body that could give a warm embrace and slice your throat in the same moment.
Basic Personality: They are calm, and calculating, a very tricky individual who will do whatever it takes to get what they want. They don’t much care for other people, preferring to live in solitude with their inventions and make deals with people to create things for them in order to add more treasure to their hoard.
Fatal Flaw: Their possessiveness, their callousness.
Other: Has some major parental issues that they generally leave unaddressed.
(OOOOoOOH they sound so cool :D)
(Thanks! Want me to post a quick starter?)
(Sure! I’m excited to get this started :)
(Fantastic! I’ll pull something up in just a minute!)
Crow paced around their sleeping cavern, hollowed out in the side of the volcanic mountain. They were in their more humanoid form now, tinkering with their newest bio-form. It was a small mushroom, one that could spread quickly if given some soil, and it could decompose anything within just a few hours of eating away. Well, living beings were generally tougher, and maybe not anything strictly speaking, but that wasn’t the point. The monsters wanted to use this to their advantage in the war, and since the only way to defeat this thing was to cut it off at the root, and with how it could spread so quickly, it was a force to be reckoned with that, if all went to plan, the Knights of the Crown would not be able to reckon.
They put away the mycelium and went to the entrance of their cave. Knights always came around this time of day, and so it was good to just get things over with. They shifted into their dragon form, with its impenetrable scales and broad wings that could knock you into next week.
With a furrowed brow, Flynn crept through the tall grass coating the mountainside. His troops were already dead-beat, considering it had been a long day of defense around the kingdom’s borders. They were in no shape to fight a dragon, let alone take the trip to get there.
Still, they pushed on. It was for the good of the crown, they believed. For the good of the people. Words Flynn had repeated too many times, to the point where he sounded like a scratched record.
Finally, with the cave in sight, Flynn held up his hand. The commander to his side swiftly halted, turning to the man with a raised brow.
“I can take it from here. I’ll just do surveillance,” Flynn muttered, voice muffled by the echo of his metal helmet. “If I don’t return within ten clicks, send someone in. One at a time. If you lose more than three, including myself, take everyone back. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” the soldier replied, bowing without a second thought.
“Good.”
Flynn nodded to the rest of his troop, which was sadly small. He begrudgingly shed the majority of his heavier armor, trying to account for just a little bit of stealth. His helmet and chest pieces lied not far off, as he scaled his way to the cave entrance, picking his steps carefully.
Crow circled around, lying near the entrance of the volcanic cavern. It was just shy of the actual cave entrance, but close enough that Crow could smell….
“Come on out, human. You won’t win this fight.” they laughed, getting up and walking to the entrance of the cave. They knew where they stood, and they knew even better where the human stood, giving them the unfair advantage.
The cave was boiling, you could feel the heat from outside. Someone even in light armor would barely be able to stand it, with how the heat edged it’s way into every nook and cranny of your being. Crow could withstand it, they were a dragon of course, it was natural to them to seek warmth.
The way the place was designed was as a labyrinth. Twists and turns and giant halls running through the mountain and under the ground, it allowed them safe passage that no human would even be able to begin mapping. Their brains were too small to comprehend it, anyways.
Flynn couldn’t help the sweat rolling down his forehead— and whether it was from sheer nervousness of that rattling voice or the heat of the volcano, he didn’t know. Everything sort of blurred together, and he was just standing at the entrance.
With a futile attempt to scatter, Flynn ducked behind a few rocks, peeking out to see the massive figure stalking around. It was the dragon, no doubt, and every inch of it was as terrifying as the last. There was no way his team could fight this— not in the state they were now— and maybe not in their best shape either. Flynn could feel the ache permeating his body, creeping down to his bones and lingering there as he kept a hand at his sword hilt. He wouldn’t have to use it— if the dragon took notice of him and really wanted to kill him, there would be absolutely nothing in the realm of self-defense.
“It’s all worthless, you know. I’m quite large even by dragon standards, but my scales are small and closely spaced. You won’t penetrate my armor, you won’t find any weak points on me, really the only chance you have is getting me to shapeshift and you surely won’t get past this cave entrance to even attempt finding out how.” they said, crawling closer to the edge of the cave. If the human wanted to escape, they wouldn’t even get the chance before the beast pounced. Crow had excellent vision for even the smallest of ants, and they could certainly find a pitiful human if they wanted to.
There were a large array of cuss words recited in Flynn’s head as the dragon spoke, and he felt his heart race faster than before. He could almost feel their presence radiating off of each stone, and their voice held heavy in the air.
So he was right, Flynn thought to himself. Unless he had a literal army, there would be absolutely no taking this down.
But now his predicament lied elsewhere. If he were to leave, the dragon would see— if not just blatantly kill— him. He tried desperately to calm his breathing but it was too hot, and the rock against his back was nearly poking into his skin, and he felt the adrenaline keep rushing through his veins. The only thing here he saw he could do was either run out and risk death or try to smooth talk his way out. Either one was simply just asking to die.
The dragon circled around to the entrance, looking for the human. And then spotting him, and in a flash picking the man up with two huge talons as if he were a mere insect. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? You have two minutes to give me a reason as to why I shouldn’t just eat you now and spare myself the trouble.” Crow growled, their breath hot and heavy in Flynn’s ear. They didn’t like going through the trouble of doing this, but there was a sort-of hospitality code when it came to imposters, and Crow was a little old fashioned.
Flynn’s entire body screamed in pain as he was yanked from his “hiding” place, a few rocks scraping across his back, but otherwise it was just the ache of a day of fighting. His breathing quickened and he lulled himself to stop shaking at least. He would have been surprised if the dragon coun’t hear his heart beating as loud as it was— for, really, that’s all Flynn’s mind was filled with. It was so loud he almost missed the dragon’s words, reverberating throughout his bones.
“H-H— I.. I d—,” he stuttered, trying desperately to unsheathe his sword.
And suddenly, in a wave of sheer confidence and stubbornness, Flynn smiled. He was a knight— he had to remember that. He was a knight and it was his duty to die in battle and if that was today, so be it. So he smiled through the pain, tired eyes glinting on the verge of tears. He felt like a child, but his voice was steady and smooth as he spoke again.
“There’s no reason,” he said suddenly, words only cut short by hitched breaths. “Eat me. You’ll get skin and bone, and I’ll die my death by a dragon.”
Crow took a moment to consider this. They then carried the man to the far side of the cave, taking great care not to harm him in any way. They gently set the knight onto the ground, and then suddenly shifted down, down, down, into their more humanoid form. They still managed to be taller than the man, and they chuckled at this fact.
“Duel me, then, we’ll settle the terms and prepare for battle.” they said, smiling a wide, sharp-fanged grin at the man.
Flynn instantly pushed himself back to his feet, eyes locked like chains on the humanoid figure. His sword was still in his hands, and although he knew for a fact he was going to die, it stayed steady. He wasn’t sure why— well, possibly because this entire situation didn’t seem real— but he wasn’t as terrified as he thought he would be. And maybe that was the heat draining his energy as beads of sweat dripped down his face, or the way this dragon seemed to be… oddly merciful. Even though Flynn was almost positive they were just toying with him before they consumed him for good.
But also, Flynn found himself not wanting to kill this creature— not that he could, but he could try.
“So be it,” he replied, tossing his sword aside. He stepped back, fists raised before him. While the dragon easily had assets Flynn could never dream of, it was only “fair” to fight fist over claw.
