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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 2923092" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>It was precisely this first trip to Fingerdale that Charis learned part of her nature as Drakontos. Of course, Semeion had become her guide in intellectual development, but it was Ischarus who had much to teach her about the various types of Drakontos throughout the world. As Rhema, Ischarus, and Semeion led Charis into Fingerdale, Rhema decided that she would try to prepare Charis for the great variety of stores, experiences, and even people that she might encounter. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Basically, Charis, there are nearly every kind of surface dwelling people within the city of Fingerdale. You’ll find Dwarves, Gnomes, Elves, and all kinds of Humans like myself. You’ve no doubt noticed the differences in skin color, height, and even eye shape and size.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema wrinkled her eyes as she thought about the variety of people she had encountered since leaving her village in Quehalost. <span style="color: Orange">“Is the entire world this unique? I am accustomed to everyone being a Drakontos. How do you ever learn to tell the difference?”</span></p><p></p><p>Knowing Ischarus and his pride of heritage, Rhema began to chuckle. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Yes, Charis, the world is quite a large place filled with all varieties of people. The Drakontai that you know are born from beings coming from when a dragon has mated with a human being. A few generations after that particular mating and you end up with Drakontai. Humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and other races do not have a noticeable amount of dragon blood in them, although none of us really truly know of what exactly we are made up. We have our tendencies that give us clues, but we truly do not know exactly what we are completely. Take the elves for example. Anyone with sharply defined features and thin ears may well have Elf blood in them. But as to whether that blood is pure Elf or perhaps containing a bit of Human or even Drakontai blood nobody can be sure.”</span></p><p></p><p>Charis looked to Rhema as though she understood the words that Charis spoke but not the meaning behind them. <span style="color: Orange">“You mean to tell me that you do not have a father dragon?”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema laughed once more before replying, and this time her laughter was joined by Ischarus. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Much to Ischarus’ dismay, no. I do not have a father dragon. I am like Semeion. Our races – and most races – do not have draconic heritage. We are our own people guided by our own ways. That is not to say that somewhere along the way I don’t have a free Drakontos ancestor. But that is not a noticeable part of who I am.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema looked with a shocked expression toward Semeion. <span style="color: Orange">“You do not have a dragon father either?”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion smiled, although a bit concerned that this revelation might come at expense to their growing care for each other. <span style="color: Plum">“No, Charis. I am Human. Humans do not get their lineage from the heavens or the pits of despair or from dragons. We are simply our own race. Did you never notice that Rhema and I do not speak of our dragon fathers like Ischarus?”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema took Semeion’s words a bit harshly and cast her eyes first to the ground and then to the image of Fingerdale as they approached the outer walls on foot. <span style="color: Orange">“I merely assumed that you were not proud of your heritage or that your dragon father led you in evil much like my dragon father led me. It never occurred to me that people could exist without dragon fathers from whom they come.”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion read her body language and apologized. His hand reached around her shoulders and he drew Charis into his chest for a quick hug as they walked. <span style="color: Plum">“It’s alright, Charis. This is part of the training. There are many assumptions to life that you will make because all you knew was the reality your dragon father taught you. That is our job with you now. It is our job with you and with the rest of the refugees from your village. And when you have learned, it will be your job to help the next round of refugees. You’ll probably have an advantage over the rest of us because you know what the retraining process is like and we do not.”</span></p><p></p><p>Charis received Semeion’s hug well and welcomed the embrace. The contact was enough to shake away any of the embarrassment that she had felt. <span style="color: Orange">“So the rest of the races you have told me about. The Dwarves, the Elves, the Gnomes, the Orcs, and even the Goblins do not have dragon fathers?”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus, in the lead and looking forward to arriving in Fingerdale, replied to the honest question. <span style="color: LightBlue">“That is correct. Actually, it is only the Drakontos who can claim a draconic heritage. Sure, it is true that the Aasimar can claim some form of heritage from the great heavens and the Tiefling can claim some sort of parentage from the pits of despair. But the rest of the races on this land can claim parentage to some natural life here independent of dragons, beings from the heavens, or beings from despair.”</span></p><p></p><p>The party traveled in relative silence for the next minute or so while Charis pondered the new information. They quickly approached the outer gate of the city of Fingerdale. The walls were imposing to anyone approaching on foot to say the least. Their stone structure had been built to withstand two immediate threats. In desperate times long past, great sailing ships of large beings were known to raid towns and villages along the edges of the continent of Enigmatica. There were those in the land who still claimed to remember and they merely referred to these large people as giants. The walls of Fingerdale were constructed so as to be too tall for even these giant men to scale over without the use of ladders. </p><p></p><p>The second threat to the city was much more real. The river Sesquanitoos passed by the edge of the city before flowing into the great ocean not far away to the north. These tall stone walls had been magically sealed by the local wizards and their apprentices so as to keep the water from swelling into the city should the river surge over its banks. The walls enabled the city to become a dry haven in the case of a swelling of the river.</p><p></p><p>As Charis looked at the imposing walls and remembered the lesson that Semeion had taught her about the reason for their height, she noticed a strange rune in one of the massive stones. When she drew closer to the rune she recognized that it was not a single rune but a series of tightly inscribed runes wrapping around each other. This new discover caused her to study the wall further and she noticed that each and every one of the stones used in the wall that had a diameter of more than a foot had the same set of runes etched within the rock face. Charis looked intrigued at the wall; and none of her companions desired to interrupt her curiosity. After all, it was for Charis’ sake that they had come to Fingerdale.</p><p></p><p>Charis stretch out her hand and traced the runes. As she did, her companions drew nearer to her in support of her action. When they drew closer to the wall they saw that it was the runes that had captivated Charis’ attention. They found within themselves a new sense of appreciation for the etchings that they had taken for granted so many times. As Charis traced the runes with her finger, her mind began to spin as though being overcome with a slight dizziness. Her eyes blurred for a single moment and as her fingers finished tracing the rune she came out of the dizziness spell. Rhema took note that Charis’ eyes glowed with a faint blue aura for just a second.</p><p></p><p>Charis spoke confidently; she was quite proud of her newest discovery. <span style="color: Orange">“The runes say something that is loosely translated as ‘May the element of fire shield these walls from the destructive surges of water.’ But I don’t know how I know that.”</span> Although she was a bit confused at exactly how she could read the magical runes she was incredibly proud that she had made this discovery without the help of the others.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus and Rhema looked to Semeion for confirmation. Semeion paused for a moment and spoke softly. <span style="color: Plum">“Thizzle-sooth”</span> Like Charis, Semeion’s eyes began to glow with a similar faint blue magical aura. Once his eyes had finished scanning the runes a smile passed across his face. <span style="color: Plum">“She is correct. The runes call upon the power of the element of fire to strengthen these walls in the event of a flood of the river Sesquanitoos.”</span></p><p></p><p>His eyes returned to a normal coloration as he spoke to his friends. <span style="color: Plum">“But, the language is magical in nature. It is not draconic and it is certainly not the common tongue. Charis, have you always been able to read magical writings?”</span></p><p></p><p>As the eyes of her companions turned to her, Charis suddenly felt as though a weight struck her from behind. She fell forward into the wall and immediately doubled over as if to vomit. She collapsed to rest her knees upon the ground. Her left elbow shot out to keep her forehead from smashing into the solid earth below. Her right arm had been tucked up into her abdomen as her body began to offer up violent dry heaves. Several times she tried to call upon her healing powers, but the sickness had overcome her with too much force. The words would not come.</p><p></p><p>Semeion and Ischarus immediately turned around to try and locate what had caused her to collapse into the wall. Although there was no lack of people headed into and out of the gates of Fingerdale, none of them looked with any interest onto the happenings of Charis. Rhema knelt beside Charis and tried to console her. </p><p></p><p>After a few moments of feeling the desire to vomit upon the ground but being unable to bring anything up, Charis began to calm down with Rhema’s help. As she calmed down, Charis spoke with a tone of frustration, <span style="color: Orange">“I don’t know what overcame me. One minute I was reading the magical runes like I had never done before and the next minute I had lost my balance and became sick to my stomach.”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion and Ischarus continued to look for interested parties, but they could find none. If the source of the sickness was external, that very source evaded them. If the sickness was internal, there had been no indication that she was growing ill.</p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color Free Speech Section]</p><p>It was precisely this first trip to Fingerdale that Charis learned part of her nature as Drakontos. Of course, Semeion had become her guide in intellectual development, but it was Ischarus who had much to teach her about the various types of Drakontos throughout the world. As Rhema, Ischarus, and Semeion led Charis into Fingerdale, Rhema decided that she would try to prepare Charis for the great variety of stores, experiences, and even people that she might encounter. “Basically, Charis, there are nearly every kind of surface dwelling people within the city of Fingerdale. You’ll find Dwarves, Gnomes, Elves, and all kinds of Humans like myself. You’ve no doubt noticed the differences in skin color, height, and even eye shape and size.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema wrinkled her eyes as she thought about the variety of people she had encountered since leaving her village in Quehalost. “Is the entire world this unique? I am accustomed to everyone being a Drakontos. How do you ever learn to tell the difference?”</p><p></p><p>Knowing Ischarus and his pride of heritage, Rhema began to chuckle. “Yes, Charis, the world is quite a large place filled with all varieties of people. The Drakontai that you know are born from beings coming from when a dragon has mated with a human being. A few generations after that particular mating and you end up with Drakontai. Humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and other races do not have a noticeable amount of dragon blood in them, although none of us really truly know of what exactly we are made up. We have our tendencies that give us clues, but we truly do not know exactly what we are completely. Take the elves for example. Anyone with sharply defined features and thin ears may well have Elf blood in them. But as to whether that blood is pure Elf or perhaps containing a bit of Human or even Drakontai blood nobody can be sure.”</p><p></p><p>Charis looked to Rhema as though she understood the words that Charis spoke but not the meaning behind them. “You mean to tell me that you do not have a father dragon?”</p><p></p><p>Rhema laughed once more before replying, and this time her laughter was joined by Ischarus. “Much to Ischarus’ dismay, no. I do not have a father dragon. I am like Semeion. Our races – and most races – do not have draconic heritage. We are our own people guided by our own ways. That is not to say that somewhere along the way I don’t have a free Drakontos ancestor. But that is not a noticeable part of who I am.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema looked with a shocked expression toward Semeion. “You do not have a dragon father either?”</p><p></p><p>Semeion smiled, although a bit concerned that this revelation might come at expense to their growing care for each other. “No, Charis. I am Human. Humans do not get their lineage from the heavens or the pits of despair or from dragons. We are simply our own race. Did you never notice that Rhema and I do not speak of our dragon fathers like Ischarus?”</p><p></p><p>Rhema took Semeion’s words a bit harshly and cast her eyes first to the ground and then to the image of Fingerdale as they approached the outer walls on foot. “I merely assumed that you were not proud of your heritage or that your dragon father led you in evil much like my dragon father led me. It never occurred to me that people could exist without dragon fathers from whom they come.”</p><p></p><p>Semeion read her body language and apologized. His hand reached around her shoulders and he drew Charis into his chest for a quick hug as they walked. “It’s alright, Charis. This is part of the training. There are many assumptions to life that you will make because all you knew was the reality your dragon father taught you. That is our job with you now. It is our job with you and with the rest of the refugees from your village. And when you have learned, it will be your job to help the next round of refugees. You’ll probably have an advantage over the rest of us because you know what the retraining process is like and we do not.”</p><p></p><p>Charis received Semeion’s hug well and welcomed the embrace. The contact was enough to shake away any of the embarrassment that she had felt. “So the rest of the races you have told me about. The Dwarves, the Elves, the Gnomes, the Orcs, and even the Goblins do not have dragon fathers?”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus, in the lead and looking forward to arriving in Fingerdale, replied to the honest question. “That is correct. Actually, it is only the Drakontos who can claim a draconic heritage. Sure, it is true that the Aasimar can claim some form of heritage from the great heavens and the Tiefling can claim some sort of parentage from the pits of despair. But the rest of the races on this land can claim parentage to some natural life here independent of dragons, beings from the heavens, or beings from despair.”</p><p></p><p>The party traveled in relative silence for the next minute or so while Charis pondered the new information. They quickly approached the outer gate of the city of Fingerdale. The walls were imposing to anyone approaching on foot to say the least. Their stone structure had been built to withstand two immediate threats. In desperate times long past, great sailing ships of large beings were known to raid towns and villages along the edges of the continent of Enigmatica. There were those in the land who still claimed to remember and they merely referred to these large people as giants. The walls of Fingerdale were constructed so as to be too tall for even these giant men to scale over without the use of ladders. </p><p></p><p>The second threat to the city was much more real. The river Sesquanitoos passed by the edge of the city before flowing into the great ocean not far away to the north. These tall stone walls had been magically sealed by the local wizards and their apprentices so as to keep the water from swelling into the city should the river surge over its banks. The walls enabled the city to become a dry haven in the case of a swelling of the river.</p><p></p><p>As Charis looked at the imposing walls and remembered the lesson that Semeion had taught her about the reason for their height, she noticed a strange rune in one of the massive stones. When she drew closer to the rune she recognized that it was not a single rune but a series of tightly inscribed runes wrapping around each other. This new discover caused her to study the wall further and she noticed that each and every one of the stones used in the wall that had a diameter of more than a foot had the same set of runes etched within the rock face. Charis looked intrigued at the wall; and none of her companions desired to interrupt her curiosity. After all, it was for Charis’ sake that they had come to Fingerdale.</p><p></p><p>Charis stretch out her hand and traced the runes. As she did, her companions drew nearer to her in support of her action. When they drew closer to the wall they saw that it was the runes that had captivated Charis’ attention. They found within themselves a new sense of appreciation for the etchings that they had taken for granted so many times. As Charis traced the runes with her finger, her mind began to spin as though being overcome with a slight dizziness. Her eyes blurred for a single moment and as her fingers finished tracing the rune she came out of the dizziness spell. Rhema took note that Charis’ eyes glowed with a faint blue aura for just a second.</p><p></p><p>Charis spoke confidently; she was quite proud of her newest discovery. “The runes say something that is loosely translated as ‘May the element of fire shield these walls from the destructive surges of water.’ But I don’t know how I know that.” Although she was a bit confused at exactly how she could read the magical runes she was incredibly proud that she had made this discovery without the help of the others.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus and Rhema looked to Semeion for confirmation. Semeion paused for a moment and spoke softly. “Thizzle-sooth” Like Charis, Semeion’s eyes began to glow with a similar faint blue magical aura. Once his eyes had finished scanning the runes a smile passed across his face. “She is correct. The runes call upon the power of the element of fire to strengthen these walls in the event of a flood of the river Sesquanitoos.”</p><p></p><p>His eyes returned to a normal coloration as he spoke to his friends. “But, the language is magical in nature. It is not draconic and it is certainly not the common tongue. Charis, have you always been able to read magical writings?”</p><p></p><p>As the eyes of her companions turned to her, Charis suddenly felt as though a weight struck her from behind. She fell forward into the wall and immediately doubled over as if to vomit. She collapsed to rest her knees upon the ground. Her left elbow shot out to keep her forehead from smashing into the solid earth below. Her right arm had been tucked up into her abdomen as her body began to offer up violent dry heaves. Several times she tried to call upon her healing powers, but the sickness had overcome her with too much force. The words would not come.</p><p></p><p>Semeion and Ischarus immediately turned around to try and locate what had caused her to collapse into the wall. Although there was no lack of people headed into and out of the gates of Fingerdale, none of them looked with any interest onto the happenings of Charis. Rhema knelt beside Charis and tried to console her. </p><p></p><p>After a few moments of feeling the desire to vomit upon the ground but being unable to bring anything up, Charis began to calm down with Rhema’s help. As she calmed down, Charis spoke with a tone of frustration, “I don’t know what overcame me. One minute I was reading the magical runes like I had never done before and the next minute I had lost my balance and became sick to my stomach.”</p><p></p><p>Semeion and Ischarus continued to look for interested parties, but they could find none. If the source of the sickness was external, that very source evaded them. If the sickness was internal, there had been no indication that she was growing ill.</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 2923092, member: 35788"] It was precisely this first trip to Fingerdale that Charis learned part of her nature as Drakontos. Of course, Semeion had become her guide in intellectual development, but it was Ischarus who had much to teach her about the various types of Drakontos throughout the world. As Rhema, Ischarus, and Semeion led Charis into Fingerdale, Rhema decided that she would try to prepare Charis for the great variety of stores, experiences, and even people that she might encounter. [Color=PaleGreen]“Basically, Charis, there are nearly every kind of surface dwelling people within the city of Fingerdale. You’ll find Dwarves, Gnomes, Elves, and all kinds of Humans like myself. You’ve no doubt noticed the differences in skin color, height, and even eye shape and size.”[/Color] Rhema wrinkled her eyes as she thought about the variety of people she had encountered since leaving her village in Quehalost. [Color=Orange]“Is the entire world this unique? I am accustomed to everyone being a Drakontos. How do you ever learn to tell the difference?”[/Color] Knowing Ischarus and his pride of heritage, Rhema began to chuckle. [Color=PaleGreen]“Yes, Charis, the world is quite a large place filled with all varieties of people. The Drakontai that you know are born from beings coming from when a dragon has mated with a human being. A few generations after that particular mating and you end up with Drakontai. Humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and other races do not have a noticeable amount of dragon blood in them, although none of us really truly know of what exactly we are made up. We have our tendencies that give us clues, but we truly do not know exactly what we are completely. Take the elves for example. Anyone with sharply defined features and thin ears may well have Elf blood in them. But as to whether that blood is pure Elf or perhaps containing a bit of Human or even Drakontai blood nobody can be sure.”[/Color] Charis looked to Rhema as though she understood the words that Charis spoke but not the meaning behind them. [Color=Orange]“You mean to tell me that you do not have a father dragon?”[/Color] Rhema laughed once more before replying, and this time her laughter was joined by Ischarus. [Color=PaleGreen]“Much to Ischarus’ dismay, no. I do not have a father dragon. I am like Semeion. Our races – and most races – do not have draconic heritage. We are our own people guided by our own ways. That is not to say that somewhere along the way I don’t have a free Drakontos ancestor. But that is not a noticeable part of who I am.”[/Color] Rhema looked with a shocked expression toward Semeion. [Color=Orange]“You do not have a dragon father either?”[/Color] Semeion smiled, although a bit concerned that this revelation might come at expense to their growing care for each other. [Color=Plum]“No, Charis. I am Human. Humans do not get their lineage from the heavens or the pits of despair or from dragons. We are simply our own race. Did you never notice that Rhema and I do not speak of our dragon fathers like Ischarus?”[/Color] Rhema took Semeion’s words a bit harshly and cast her eyes first to the ground and then to the image of Fingerdale as they approached the outer walls on foot. [Color=Orange]“I merely assumed that you were not proud of your heritage or that your dragon father led you in evil much like my dragon father led me. It never occurred to me that people could exist without dragon fathers from whom they come.”[/Color] Semeion read her body language and apologized. His hand reached around her shoulders and he drew Charis into his chest for a quick hug as they walked. [Color=Plum]“It’s alright, Charis. This is part of the training. There are many assumptions to life that you will make because all you knew was the reality your dragon father taught you. That is our job with you now. It is our job with you and with the rest of the refugees from your village. And when you have learned, it will be your job to help the next round of refugees. You’ll probably have an advantage over the rest of us because you know what the retraining process is like and we do not.”[/Color] Charis received Semeion’s hug well and welcomed the embrace. The contact was enough to shake away any of the embarrassment that she had felt. [Color=Orange]“So the rest of the races you have told me about. The Dwarves, the Elves, the Gnomes, the Orcs, and even the Goblins do not have dragon fathers?”[/Color] Ischarus, in the lead and looking forward to arriving in Fingerdale, replied to the honest question. [Color=LightBlue]“That is correct. Actually, it is only the Drakontos who can claim a draconic heritage. Sure, it is true that the Aasimar can claim some form of heritage from the great heavens and the Tiefling can claim some sort of parentage from the pits of despair. But the rest of the races on this land can claim parentage to some natural life here independent of dragons, beings from the heavens, or beings from despair.”[/Color] The party traveled in relative silence for the next minute or so while Charis pondered the new information. They quickly approached the outer gate of the city of Fingerdale. The walls were imposing to anyone approaching on foot to say the least. Their stone structure had been built to withstand two immediate threats. In desperate times long past, great sailing ships of large beings were known to raid towns and villages along the edges of the continent of Enigmatica. There were those in the land who still claimed to remember and they merely referred to these large people as giants. The walls of Fingerdale were constructed so as to be too tall for even these giant men to scale over without the use of ladders. The second threat to the city was much more real. The river Sesquanitoos passed by the edge of the city before flowing into the great ocean not far away to the north. These tall stone walls had been magically sealed by the local wizards and their apprentices so as to keep the water from swelling into the city should the river surge over its banks. The walls enabled the city to become a dry haven in the case of a swelling of the river. As Charis looked at the imposing walls and remembered the lesson that Semeion had taught her about the reason for their height, she noticed a strange rune in one of the massive stones. When she drew closer to the rune she recognized that it was not a single rune but a series of tightly inscribed runes wrapping around each other. This new discover caused her to study the wall further and she noticed that each and every one of the stones used in the wall that had a diameter of more than a foot had the same set of runes etched within the rock face. Charis looked intrigued at the wall; and none of her companions desired to interrupt her curiosity. After all, it was for Charis’ sake that they had come to Fingerdale. Charis stretch out her hand and traced the runes. As she did, her companions drew nearer to her in support of her action. When they drew closer to the wall they saw that it was the runes that had captivated Charis’ attention. They found within themselves a new sense of appreciation for the etchings that they had taken for granted so many times. As Charis traced the runes with her finger, her mind began to spin as though being overcome with a slight dizziness. Her eyes blurred for a single moment and as her fingers finished tracing the rune she came out of the dizziness spell. Rhema took note that Charis’ eyes glowed with a faint blue aura for just a second. Charis spoke confidently; she was quite proud of her newest discovery. [Color=Orange]“The runes say something that is loosely translated as ‘May the element of fire shield these walls from the destructive surges of water.’ But I don’t know how I know that.”[/Color] Although she was a bit confused at exactly how she could read the magical runes she was incredibly proud that she had made this discovery without the help of the others. Ischarus and Rhema looked to Semeion for confirmation. Semeion paused for a moment and spoke softly. [Color=Plum]“Thizzle-sooth”[/Color] Like Charis, Semeion’s eyes began to glow with a similar faint blue magical aura. Once his eyes had finished scanning the runes a smile passed across his face. [Color=Plum]“She is correct. The runes call upon the power of the element of fire to strengthen these walls in the event of a flood of the river Sesquanitoos.”[/Color] His eyes returned to a normal coloration as he spoke to his friends. [Color=Plum]“But, the language is magical in nature. It is not draconic and it is certainly not the common tongue. Charis, have you always been able to read magical writings?”[/Color] As the eyes of her companions turned to her, Charis suddenly felt as though a weight struck her from behind. She fell forward into the wall and immediately doubled over as if to vomit. She collapsed to rest her knees upon the ground. Her left elbow shot out to keep her forehead from smashing into the solid earth below. Her right arm had been tucked up into her abdomen as her body began to offer up violent dry heaves. Several times she tried to call upon her healing powers, but the sickness had overcome her with too much force. The words would not come. Semeion and Ischarus immediately turned around to try and locate what had caused her to collapse into the wall. Although there was no lack of people headed into and out of the gates of Fingerdale, none of them looked with any interest onto the happenings of Charis. Rhema knelt beside Charis and tried to console her. After a few moments of feeling the desire to vomit upon the ground but being unable to bring anything up, Charis began to calm down with Rhema’s help. As she calmed down, Charis spoke with a tone of frustration, [Color=Orange]“I don’t know what overcame me. One minute I was reading the magical runes like I had never done before and the next minute I had lost my balance and became sick to my stomach.”[/Color] Semeion and Ischarus continued to look for interested parties, but they could find none. If the source of the sickness was external, that very source evaded them. If the sickness was internal, there had been no indication that she was growing ill. [Sblock=Color Free Speech Section] It was precisely this first trip to Fingerdale that Charis learned part of her nature as Drakontos. Of course, Semeion had become her guide in intellectual development, but it was Ischarus who had much to teach her about the various types of Drakontos throughout the world. As Rhema, Ischarus, and Semeion led Charis into Fingerdale, Rhema decided that she would try to prepare Charis for the great variety of stores, experiences, and even people that she might encounter. “Basically, Charis, there are nearly every kind of surface dwelling people within the city of Fingerdale. You’ll find Dwarves, Gnomes, Elves, and all kinds of Humans like myself. You’ve no doubt noticed the differences in skin color, height, and even eye shape and size.” Rhema wrinkled her eyes as she thought about the variety of people she had encountered since leaving her village in Quehalost. “Is the entire world this unique? I am accustomed to everyone being a Drakontos. How do you ever learn to tell the difference?” Knowing Ischarus and his pride of heritage, Rhema began to chuckle. “Yes, Charis, the world is quite a large place filled with all varieties of people. The Drakontai that you know are born from beings coming from when a dragon has mated with a human being. A few generations after that particular mating and you end up with Drakontai. Humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and other races do not have a noticeable amount of dragon blood in them, although none of us really truly know of what exactly we are made up. We have our tendencies that give us clues, but we truly do not know exactly what we are completely. Take the elves for example. Anyone with sharply defined features and thin ears may well have Elf blood in them. But as to whether that blood is pure Elf or perhaps containing a bit of Human or even Drakontai blood nobody can be sure.” Charis looked to Rhema as though she understood the words that Charis spoke but not the meaning behind them. “You mean to tell me that you do not have a father dragon?” Rhema laughed once more before replying, and this time her laughter was joined by Ischarus. “Much to Ischarus’ dismay, no. I do not have a father dragon. I am like Semeion. Our races – and most races – do not have draconic heritage. We are our own people guided by our own ways. That is not to say that somewhere along the way I don’t have a free Drakontos ancestor. But that is not a noticeable part of who I am.” Rhema looked with a shocked expression toward Semeion. “You do not have a dragon father either?” Semeion smiled, although a bit concerned that this revelation might come at expense to their growing care for each other. “No, Charis. I am Human. Humans do not get their lineage from the heavens or the pits of despair or from dragons. We are simply our own race. Did you never notice that Rhema and I do not speak of our dragon fathers like Ischarus?” Rhema took Semeion’s words a bit harshly and cast her eyes first to the ground and then to the image of Fingerdale as they approached the outer walls on foot. “I merely assumed that you were not proud of your heritage or that your dragon father led you in evil much like my dragon father led me. It never occurred to me that people could exist without dragon fathers from whom they come.” Semeion read her body language and apologized. His hand reached around her shoulders and he drew Charis into his chest for a quick hug as they walked. “It’s alright, Charis. This is part of the training. There are many assumptions to life that you will make because all you knew was the reality your dragon father taught you. That is our job with you now. It is our job with you and with the rest of the refugees from your village. And when you have learned, it will be your job to help the next round of refugees. You’ll probably have an advantage over the rest of us because you know what the retraining process is like and we do not.” Charis received Semeion’s hug well and welcomed the embrace. The contact was enough to shake away any of the embarrassment that she had felt. “So the rest of the races you have told me about. The Dwarves, the Elves, the Gnomes, the Orcs, and even the Goblins do not have dragon fathers?” Ischarus, in the lead and looking forward to arriving in Fingerdale, replied to the honest question. “That is correct. Actually, it is only the Drakontos who can claim a draconic heritage. Sure, it is true that the Aasimar can claim some form of heritage from the great heavens and the Tiefling can claim some sort of parentage from the pits of despair. But the rest of the races on this land can claim parentage to some natural life here independent of dragons, beings from the heavens, or beings from despair.” The party traveled in relative silence for the next minute or so while Charis pondered the new information. They quickly approached the outer gate of the city of Fingerdale. The walls were imposing to anyone approaching on foot to say the least. Their stone structure had been built to withstand two immediate threats. In desperate times long past, great sailing ships of large beings were known to raid towns and villages along the edges of the continent of Enigmatica. There were those in the land who still claimed to remember and they merely referred to these large people as giants. The walls of Fingerdale were constructed so as to be too tall for even these giant men to scale over without the use of ladders. The second threat to the city was much more real. The river Sesquanitoos passed by the edge of the city before flowing into the great ocean not far away to the north. These tall stone walls had been magically sealed by the local wizards and their apprentices so as to keep the water from swelling into the city should the river surge over its banks. The walls enabled the city to become a dry haven in the case of a swelling of the river. As Charis looked at the imposing walls and remembered the lesson that Semeion had taught her about the reason for their height, she noticed a strange rune in one of the massive stones. When she drew closer to the rune she recognized that it was not a single rune but a series of tightly inscribed runes wrapping around each other. This new discover caused her to study the wall further and she noticed that each and every one of the stones used in the wall that had a diameter of more than a foot had the same set of runes etched within the rock face. Charis looked intrigued at the wall; and none of her companions desired to interrupt her curiosity. After all, it was for Charis’ sake that they had come to Fingerdale. Charis stretch out her hand and traced the runes. As she did, her companions drew nearer to her in support of her action. When they drew closer to the wall they saw that it was the runes that had captivated Charis’ attention. They found within themselves a new sense of appreciation for the etchings that they had taken for granted so many times. As Charis traced the runes with her finger, her mind began to spin as though being overcome with a slight dizziness. Her eyes blurred for a single moment and as her fingers finished tracing the rune she came out of the dizziness spell. Rhema took note that Charis’ eyes glowed with a faint blue aura for just a second. Charis spoke confidently; she was quite proud of her newest discovery. “The runes say something that is loosely translated as ‘May the element of fire shield these walls from the destructive surges of water.’ But I don’t know how I know that.” Although she was a bit confused at exactly how she could read the magical runes she was incredibly proud that she had made this discovery without the help of the others. Ischarus and Rhema looked to Semeion for confirmation. Semeion paused for a moment and spoke softly. “Thizzle-sooth” Like Charis, Semeion’s eyes began to glow with a similar faint blue magical aura. Once his eyes had finished scanning the runes a smile passed across his face. “She is correct. The runes call upon the power of the element of fire to strengthen these walls in the event of a flood of the river Sesquanitoos.” His eyes returned to a normal coloration as he spoke to his friends. “But, the language is magical in nature. It is not draconic and it is certainly not the common tongue. Charis, have you always been able to read magical writings?” As the eyes of her companions turned to her, Charis suddenly felt as though a weight struck her from behind. She fell forward into the wall and immediately doubled over as if to vomit. She collapsed to rest her knees upon the ground. Her left elbow shot out to keep her forehead from smashing into the solid earth below. Her right arm had been tucked up into her abdomen as her body began to offer up violent dry heaves. Several times she tried to call upon her healing powers, but the sickness had overcome her with too much force. The words would not come. Semeion and Ischarus immediately turned around to try and locate what had caused her to collapse into the wall. Although there was no lack of people headed into and out of the gates of Fingerdale, none of them looked with any interest onto the happenings of Charis. Rhema knelt beside Charis and tried to console her. After a few moments of feeling the desire to vomit upon the ground but being unable to bring anything up, Charis began to calm down with Rhema’s help. As she calmed down, Charis spoke with a tone of frustration, “I don’t know what overcame me. One minute I was reading the magical runes like I had never done before and the next minute I had lost my balance and became sick to my stomach.” Semeion and Ischarus continued to look for interested parties, but they could find none. If the source of the sickness was external, that very source evaded them. If the sickness was internal, there had been no indication that she was growing ill. [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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