Exposition... Interesting. (Chapter Four)
Chapter Four
Exposition... Interesting.
The carved columns and grand walls of the Hall gives the building a certain look of majestic utility. I can tell that it was designed not only to last the ages but also to show to any looking at it that whoever was inside was pretty damn important. Normally, that might intimidate me just a little bit, I've always had a little bit of trouble meeting people in positions of power, not really sure why, I just am.
However, it was just a little hard to feel intimidated when the street behind me was filled with Kobolds of all sizes and colors gawking my direction and the murmur of an excited crowd coming from them. Despite their obvious excitement at my arrival, the reason was they were so excited about that I'm still not too sure, they all kept a respectful distance.
I still haven't seen Virnuln since he ran off to tell the "Knower of old things" Kurltmak about my pressence here but Nirkul was still here waiting outside and the way he's hopping from one foot to the other combined with his size make him seem kind of like an excited child. I can only assume the reason I'm waiting is because Virnuln was still doing whatever he was sent off to do, he got a few minutes head start on us and he had gone at almost a full sprint so he should have had more than enough time to tell Kurltmak I was here so there had to be something else.
Getting a little impatient and feeling uncomfortable with the large number of Kobolds staring at me I flex my wings a bit almost without thinking. Despite having them for only around a day now they already feel so natural to me. Accompanying the flex of my wings I hear another murmur go up within the crowd.
Oh come on, I didn't even really do anything. How is me flexing my wings impressive.
Well, considering humans don't normally have wings I'd say moderately so.
With that thought on my mind I begin to hear the large stone doors of the Hall of the Dagenem oppening and my attention is drawn back towards them. I see five Kobolds come into my view one of then is Virnuln and he is standing next a Kobold with grey scales and two differently colored. Two in the back of the room seem to be working with some kind of mechanism which I assume is what's opening to door and considering the size of these doors two of these little guys opening it is pretty impressive. The one that catches my attention the most however is a Kobold standing in front of Virnuln and Mr.Mismatched eyes, the old Kobold has dull worn golden scales walking with a hunch and using a cane.
Well, I think I just met Kurltmak.
The three of them start walking down the steps, Virnuln still having his earlier excitement still showing in his walk. Kurltmak takes his time walking down the steps using his cane and the third hovering protectively around him, and fromt he way he's looking at him he probobly thinks Kurltmak is about to fall to pieces on the spot.
Reaching the bottom of the steps and looking up at me with his amber eyes Kurltmak says, "I apologize for keeping you waiting Half-Dragon. These old bones don't work as well as they used to I'm afraid." Finally, someone who can talk straight.
Half-Dragon?
"What do you mean by Half-Dragon?" I ask, one eyebrow rising inquisitively.
Kurltmak looks mildly surprised by the question and says, "You don't know? I had assumed that was why you are here."
"Well, the original reason for my being down here involved an angry dragon lady and fire."
"Forgive me for presuming to know your intentions. Now then, perhaps we should address the crowd before they pass out." He says looking past me at the now silent crowd watching our exchange.
He steps forward a few paces and looks out into the crowd before saying, "My fellow Kobolds of Crimson Waters, as you know the time has come for a Half-Dragon to stand before us once again." The crowd's resulting cheer forcing him to pause as he waits for them to calm back down. "It has been time beyond counting since such has been the case, and I understand your excitement, I feel it as well. The Half-Dragon has only just arrived however, and he knows very little of himself and as we who serve the Half-Dragon it is our honor to aid him."
Wait, serve the Half-Dragon? Kurltmak definitely has some explaining to do and... well... I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that.
Don't worry, I'll be here to poke a hole in your fat head if it starts getting too big.
While the crowd still buzzed with excitement they evidently respect Kurltmak's opinion enough to begin clearing out and heading back to whatever it was they had been doing before the great Half-Dragon had shown up in their city. Kurltmak looks back to me, looking me in the eye just as the last of the crowd starts walking off.
"You look somewhat confused Half-Dragon, and from what you said earlier I can understand the reason as to why. IF you will follow me into the hall I can explain."
Slowly nodding at him I respond, "Yeah, I think I need a bit of an explanation after the way you all reacted to me."
"Yes, yes I believe you do." He says as he stars to ascend back up the steps, occasionally being assisted by Missmatch, seeing as he hasn't given me a name it'll have to suffice for now, when it looks like he's having difficulty with it.
Following at my sides as I walk up are Nirkul and Virnuln follow behind me on opposite sides. Both of them seem to have calmed down quite a bit after Kurltmak's little speech earlier. Walking up the stone steps it took us a few minutes but we do eventually make it up and start walking through the doors.
---
Holy murals Batman.
Windows let in light from the river of Magma outside but even with that I can't see the walls of the hall because from the floor all the way up to the ceiling were images painted on the walls. These must have taken an unbelievable amount of time to paint, especially considering the ceiling went up at least a good fifty feet and the hall seemed to lead down several hundred feet before ending at a door. Looking at the pictures I saw as I was walking past them I began to realize they weren't just there for decoration, they seemed to tell a story.
On the right side of the hall the first picture I see was one of three dragons each of a different color resting upon separate mountains looking downward, and in the valleys formed by the mountains there were Kobolds fighting one another in what looked to be some sort of pitched battle.
The picture merged with the next as the scene shifted showing Kobolds fighting what looked to be what I could only call Griffins, some sort of humanoid dog creatures, and the three different kinds of ponies I had seen on the surface and the Kobolds were very clearly losing.
The scene shifted once again melding with the previous one as it showed a battlefield filled with slain and injured Kobolds with the sun setting behind them as a red dragon looked down on them atop a pile of gems.
The final scene on this wall was what looked to be a griffin with red tipped wings similar to the others from earlier standing atop a ledge looking down at tired and weary looking Kobolds while holding out a claw towards them. However, where all of the other Griffins had feathery wings, this one had the wings of a red dragon.
Looking to the other side of the Hall I saw the story continue as the Griffin shown earlier was standing atop the body of the same red dragon who had appeared in one of the earlier pictures with the Kobolds surrounding them looking up in aparent to be awe.
The next picture showed The Griffin atop the battlements of a fortress letting out a gout of fire as the surrounding battlements were filled with Kobold defenders as all of the other races I had seen previously depicted in the pictures were arrayed out before them.
The colors swirled between this picture and the next and it seemed as though time had passed between the two as the next scene showed a group of world-weary Kobolds looking up at what appeared to be one of the dog creatures from earlier but this one had a stark white coat and a set of bronze dragon wings coming out of it's back and I saw what looked to be a light of hope in the eyes of the Kobolds.
The final picture showed the same Dog creature standing before a large number of Kobolds as he looked out into a vast cavern with a river of Magma flowing through it, and a ghostly silhouette of a familiar looking city.
"Yes, it is quite the tale if you know it. It is the tale of the Kobolds that many have forgotten." Kurltmak says startling me slightly as I realize I had stopped in the middle of the hall to look at the pictures.
"The Griffin and the Dog... They had dragon wings..."
"Well, the official texts say that they had a great deal more than just that, but yes that is how the artists who made these murals depicted them. Like you, they were Half-Dragons and the only two we had ever known to have existed." His gaze shifts from the mural of the Griffin holding a claw out to the Kobolds and looks me in the eye, "Until now that is."
"What happened exactly, I mean the murals give an idea but... what happened exactly?"
"I apologize again Half-Dragon but if you would do me the great kindness of coming to the listening room where I can rest my old bones I will be more than happy to tell you all that I can."
Nodding my head, I can feel the curiosity building in me as I wonder what all of this really meant. The reason why the Kobolds were treating me the way there were was starting to get clearer but there's still a lot of details that I'm missing here. Kurltmak begins his walk down the hall again as I hear the tapping of his cane echoing off of the stone floor rhythmically. When we reach the end of the hallway Nirkul and Virnuln move ahead of us to pull open the double doors for us as we begin to walk into a warmly lit circular room with ten seats arrayed in a half-circle facing a larger one atop a raised platform.
Virnuln and Nirkul stay by the doors as Missmatch and Kurtlmak sit in two of the chairs in the half-circle as they look expectantly to me and then towards the throne-like chair. I feel a bit uneasy about sitting in the throne looking down at the Kobolds... Well, looking down at the Kobolds more than I normally do. I shake the feeling off, my curiosity pushing me to find out what all of this was about.
Walking up the small set of steps leading up to the throne I lower myself into it, allowing my wings to wrap around the back and the tattered remains of my clothing laying limply on the stone armrests. Kurltmak looks up towards me and a smile comes to his face as he lets out a deep chuckle I didn't think his small form could make.
"Ah, of all the keepers I had never thought I would ever be the one to welcome the next Half-Dragon, only a few years from my grave and here you are. Fate just has a funny way of doing things at times." He bows his head towards me and says, "Allow me to formally introduce myself to you, I am Kurltmak keeper of the city of Crimson Waters. Now then, forgive an old lizard if you would Half-Dragon, we may begin now if you would like."
"Yes Kurltmak... thank you for giving me such a warm welcome. I'm called Coal, and the first thing I would like to know is what exactly is a Half-Dragon?"
"You are a Half-Dragon, as I have called you several times already and the Kobolds of Crimson Waters owe everything to the Half-Dragons of the past. The telling of the Half-Dragon's story is one of telling the story of the Kobolds. The first Half-Dragon came to us at a dark time, the dragons who our ancestors served had endless greed in their hearts and commanded the Kobolds who served them to fight the forces of other dragons and steal what they could from the hoards of their rivals. In turn, the defending dragon would send his forces to protect his gems and the cycle continued without end, the dragons sitting atop their gems caring nothing for the Kobolds they sent to war."
"When the dragons began to fight to a stalemate time and again with one another some began to look toward the other races of the world and sent their armies to claim the riches they held. More and more dragons began doing so, and soon it escalated to the point where it appeared as if we had made an enemy of the entire world, but we did not care. The dragons commanded it and so we were compelled to fight."
"We were losing, and many knew it but ever onward the dragons pushed us to fight to protect their riches and claim that which belonged to others for their horde. It was at the point where it seemed as though our entire race would be claimed by the conflict a griffin appeared, one who had a pair of dragon wings. She called herself Crimson Tide and she boasted of ending the war the Kobolds had with the other races, and she claimed she would do so by stopping the dragons who caused it."
"In the beginning of the war, we might have been compelled to defend our masters but with the threat of extinction looming over our heads we listened to her words with hope in our hearts, even if we believed she would fall beneath the might of our masters. She began to fight the dragons and despite how impossible it seemed, she defeated them time and time again, freeing the Kobolds who once served them as she fought them at near equal terms living up to her title of Half-Dragon."
"Eventually she became fearsome enough that even the dragons began to reconsider continuing to force the Kobolds to fight for them and more and more of our kin were released from their service. When the last dragon stopped claiming dominion over the Kobolds it was a time of joy, to be free of the taskmasters who caused so much suffering upon us. Unfortunately however, we still had enemies to fight."
"The other races were not quick to forgive the Kobolds they had fought for so long, and felt it best to do what they could to vanquish the threat they saw in our kind then and there. We fought them again, but this time it was by our own will, following one who had earned the right to lead us. Then came a day when it seemed that all hung in the balance for us, the last force of our kind held the fortress of Irontail while the forces of our enemies marched against us."
"The Half-Dragon lived up to her name that day as we fought to hold the fortress, and countless fell on both sides before the day was done. In the end we held our victory, costly as it was. Crimson Tide had died in the fighting and we were left lost, but our enemies at long last left us alone and for a time we were able to distance ourselves from war."
"Despite all of the efforts of Crimson Tide however the Kobolds walked an unforgiving path for many, many years. We were no longer the instrument of dragons, but neither was there a Half-Dragon to lead us. So in the end we were subjected to the whims of the other races. Mainly, it was the Diamond Dogs who used Kobolds as slaves in their mines and we were once again forced to serve for the greed of another. The Ponies and Griffins had respected Crimson Tide, even if they had feared her, so they did not treat us with cruelty, but neither did they treat us well."
"But again we saw a Half-Dragon appear before us, this time it was one of the Dogs who used us as slaves, but the sight of the bronze wings on his back made us pause, the legend of the Half-Dragon was the only thing that had kept many of us going down in the Dogs' mines. He called himself Starclaw and he felt deep regret for what his kind had subjected the Kobolds to for so long and he swore he would lead us to a place of our own, to allow us to live without the chain of slavery around our necks."
"As true to his word as Crimson was to hers he fought against the Diamond Dogs who kept us chained, showing again the strength of the Half-Dragon. He freed as many as he could, but after the impact the war had on our people and the period of slavery afterward our numbers were frighteningly few. We would not last long with the world on edge about the Kobolds rebelling and Starclaw looked for a new home for the Kobolds, and he gave us Crimson Waters. He helped us build the city you are currently in, and had sat in the same throne that you do now. However, he did not stay with us long, after the city was on it's way to prospering he told us he would not be able to stay. He was a kind soul, and the war against his own people, even if their own actions had caused it, he was riddled with wounds of sorrow that could be ignored in times of war, but would fester and rot in times of peace."
Kurltmak takes a deep breath and pauses for a moment before continuing, "That was all centuries upon centuries ago, and we Kobolds have lived in Crimson Waters for all of this time. The races above, who once fought a war against us that left cities in ruin now believe us to be nothing more than legend, stories to scare their children with when they won't listen. We have waited for a Half-Dragon to come, and now you are here. In time you will discover your strength, and we will be there to help you in any way that we can."
"We are the last of the Kobold, and you are our Half-Dragon. We will aid you in peace, and follow you into war, but before all of that I need a drink."
---
On the surface far above Coal and the Kobolds Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria, The emperor of the Griffin Republic, all the Alphas of the Diamond Dogs, and the leaders of the other races knew nothing of what transpired below them in the city of Crimson Waters. All they knew was the status quo that they had become oh so familiar with these many years.
Prometheus had told him to break them of their complacency, and without even intending to do so he was well on his way. The Titan watching on the sidelines could not have done better even if he had made it all so himself, but that wasn't his way. He would give the spark, but he would do nothing about the fire that began. It was up to the ones who lived the world themselves to decide if that fire was to be one of progress, or one that would burn down all in it's path.
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The question remains...Peace?...Or War?
NEXT TIME ON HALF DRAGON BALL ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
...2.bp.blogspot.com/-z9D2ojLQDn0/T2DGJ8PTetI/AAAAAAAAAUI/o4WLKrpEtRM/s1600/I+approve.jpg
other than a couple typos this is great. Now I wonder what Celestia is going to do about this new creature.
3-4k words each, but they seem so short. I think I'm starting to read faster after reading fics that are over 10k per chapter.
1966451 ... I got 1 better
i547.photobucket.com/albums/hh476/SiaFel/Avatars/coolstory.gif
1967182
Truth be told when I give it a quick read over myself I feel the same way but unfortunately I'd like to keep in the habit of getting a chapter done daily and 10k words would tend to eat up time that I don't have a lot of the time.
Oh boy I so hope thet wiht Coal the half dragon the kobolds will emerge from there city and become the most technological advanced race in the word and wiht the lead of coal finaly start the cogs of progress in this world.
I vote for it to be a fire of progress because there is far too much destruction in the past.
Now... Write my minion
*slaps red* Nay bad red do not demand, plead sure but do not demand!
Sorry about that red escaped his cage.
Bye~
~Jay and Co.
1964817
It does, thanks!
1967271
When people write out those big chapters they tend to do those weekly updates like every Saturday or Sunday. While others (including you) will do daily updates with lower word counts. I think either is fine, the kind I don't like is those that will do irregular updates without any notification on why. Main reason why I haven't put up anything yet is because I don't think I would be able to keep up the updates.
1971109
thanks for the critique, I've been noticing a lot of what you said about the grammar as well, and unfortunately when I give it a quick once over after writing it I tend to miss quite a few things. Hopefully, I can find an editor at some point who can help me out with that a bit.
Once again thank you for the input and while I'm about to start cooking dinner I will read your story as well and give my input once I am done.
Gout: A painful inflammation of the big toe and foot caused by defects in uric acid metabolism resulting in deposits of the acid and its salts in the blood and joints
it seems the dot is missing.
i believe the correct term is "hoard"
it just doesn't feel like a correct word here.
gut feeling shit will hit the fan
I keep imagining kobolds in tanks...
I like this story
Well, isn't that just convenient.