The Legend of Sol, Titan, and Morgan: Dragon's Blood

The cult was well-prepared for them: too well prepared, Sol thought. The foe had both numbers and strength, and the captured Blood Seer was helpless to assist them, caged by both iron bars and magic. Sol would have been impressed, were they not providing so much frustration and distraction when their circumstances were already dire.

They fought, but the enemies were prepared for them: they dispelled Sol's magic and tried to keep her from pressing past the antimagic-secured hall of their home, to keep her from wreaking devastation upon them. Titan they kept back with deadly, barbed spears and weapons wreathed in cruel flames of necromantic magic, trying to pin him and keep him helpless. And the chargers attacked Morgan with all their strength and fury: her Paladin had already cut the battle, leaving her trying to fend off cultists, raging and empowered by dragon's blood, as the master of the cult shouted threats and recriminations at them.

The cult had been well-prepared for them, and seemed to be interested in them and them alone: even when the Paladin cut and run, he drew little attention, as the Blood Seer left hanging above the hall in his iron cage was of no interest to the cultists as anything but bait, now forgotten in the chaos of battle.

No, something, or someone, had betrayed them, knowing the rumors of a cult that worshiped the Wyrms would draw in Sol's attention. And now, this cult was throwing everything they had into savaging and destroying them, into taking their lives and bringing them low. Sol's first thought was Veliuona... but she had no time to figure out why, or how, at this juncture, with the enemy pressing ever harder on them.

Titan was cornered. Her magic was being negated. They were both wounded and there was no retreat, no exit, with the enemies so close on them, so eager for their blood. Hacking and slashing, drunk on the battle and dragon's blood, they were forcing them steadily further and further into a corner.

But as the tides began to crash down upon them, Sol saw Morgan, in desperation, attack one of the cultists, driving him down and snatching away a vial from him. She guzzled its contents, and with a roar, leapt into the fray with a rage and violence Sol had rarely seen.

Morgan tore through the cultists, fueled by the dragon's blood she had sipped: strong enough to make a normal pony into a fearless warrior, it turned Morgan into a true force of devastation. With fury and violence, she ripped and tore  her way through the masses of foes, roaring and uncontrollable. In her rage, she tore through the enemy, devastating their forces with such a show of strength that it terrified those who had not also been driven berserk by the dragon's blood.

And with the cultists suddenly scattered and distracted, the berserks broken and bloodied, and Morgan wounded grievously yet unfeeling, unflinching in blood-burning rage, Titan and Sol were able to press the advantage, destroying the foes trying to hold them back, and sending the leader fleeing with his few remaining disciples.

Morgan wanted to give chase: perhaps it was better to say that she tried to pursue them like a blood-maddened huntbeast. But even her rage and fury could not overcome the wounds of her body, and it was only moments before she fell into unconsciousness.

And to Sol, this did not feel like a victory.

The Legend of Sol, Titan, and Morgan: Wyrmsbane

As with all things great and powerful, it was not long before Sol heard rumors of a cult that worshiped the Tyrant Wyrms. This drew her attention: not because of the fact that they worshiped a great and terrible evil that would undoubtedly devour them instead of granting their wishes, but because the cult's master claimed to be able to speak with the Wyrms, and his claim was backed up by the fact that he had thralls of the Wyrms at his beck and call.

So Sol led the way onward to find this cult: Titan was unsure, and Morgan was ready to do battle, while her paladin loitered along with them and the Blood Seer who had joined them on their quest followed at a distance. Morgan did not like the Seer, and Sol was even less fond of him, but Titan saw much good in the stallion and often praised how he worked to turn his powers, powers that were capable of such great evil, into a weapon in the service of good.

And it was by the Blood Seer that Sol devised a way to meet with the cult, for she knew they would want more who would be able to commune with the Wyrm, and she knew that they would take an interest in a mage with powers such as their companion's. Titan frowned upon Sol using the Blood Seer as bait, but the mage himself seemed pleased only to be included, and to be given the chance to show the other ponies - and in particular, the grating Paladin - that he was here to help, not hinder their journey.

When they found the town frequented by the cult, Sol, Titan, and Morgan found their lodgings, and Sol made the Blood Seer forge a charm for her. Through it, he would be able to call for help once he had been taken to the cult's temple: a simple enough plan, and one that Sol hoped would work, as she sent the Seer out to search the markets and the taverns for any sign of the cult.

The Seer did not return that night, and nor was the charm activated. Yet Sol was not surprised: neither that the Blood Seer had failed, nor when assassins attacked them in their own rooms. They failed miserably in the assault: only the paladin suffered a wound, and even that was but a minor scratch. They were all surprised, however, by the ferocity of the attackers, but as soon as Sol saw the corpses of the ponies when they pulled back their tattered robes, she understood: they had taken dragon's blood, in order to strengthen themselves. And this was the first clue for Sol that perhaps this cult leader was speaking to a wyrm, but not the kind of wyrm it thought.

Titan was eager to move: he hungered for the battle and was anxious to save his friend. Morgan looked to her sister for advice, but she too wanted to protect the Seer, out of obligation more than friendship, for she felt that they had let him fall into this trap and thus they were responsible for his life, whether she liked him or not. She too, longed to fight... and Sol agreed there. The Paladin was cautious and worried, but Sol knew that even empowered, their foes would be no match for them with the strength of dragon's blood alone.

Yet she knew too, in her heart, that it was unlikely this was all that waited for them... but still, she was determined to press onward, to pierce the heart of this cult, and get the answers she so sought, no matter what the cost.

Brief Break

I've only experienced writer's block once or twice, where I couldn't write at all, no matter how hard I tried. Other times, I've much more precisely experienced that feeling that I don't want to write at all, because there are other things distracting me, or I've lost interest in a project, or I just "don't feel like it." These things aren't actually writer's block but I think people call it that because, you know. It's easier. And it's more "acceptable" to say "I can't write" instead of "I don't want to write" when you're supposed to be a writer, whether as a hobby or professionally.

But sometimes we do need or deserve a break, for whatever reason, so I'm going to take a few days for a short break and I'll get back to this next week. Been crazy here with Luna, after all, and even I only have so much energy to give.

~Scrivener Blooms