The Last Arylkian

In a world where Dragons are hunted like aggressive beasts, their kind is near extinction. In fact, there is only one dragon left in the world. A very rare Arylkian dragon, who has lived longer than all the others. Many brave and foolish warriors attempt to kill him as they try to bring peace to the human race.

What will happen? Will the last dragon be destroyed? Or will the war be ended by the seeking of knowledge?

Roleplay Type: Private
Current Status: Open to viewers

This is a Private Roleplay between Daemora and Imoto-chan_Always. Please do not post here. If you like the rp and have any ideas to add, PM either of us and we will discuss your idea and it may be added to the plot.
Thank you.
- Daemora

Picture:

Name: Izak
Age: 23,000 (therefore he looks 23)
Race: Dragon
Weapon(s): Masamune (a holy blade/katana), Murasame/Muramasa (a bloodthirsty blade)
Power(s): can control fire, shapshifting (into a black dragon or a black wolf), and he can always tell if someone if lying to him or not.
Personality: cold, distant, cruel, though he is kind to those who return the favor, he can be caring and decent, though he often finds himself in the presence of people who annoy him. He has a bit of a temper, especially when someone lies to him and tests his patience.
History: In a world that hates and hunts down Dragons like they're useless, aggressive beasts, Izak lives in hiding, watching the humans. He is often there, trying to teach the humans about history, about the dragons, but usually no one listens to him. Over years, he was discovered and now he is currently being hunted. Being the last of your kind can be a burden, but he is strong enough to care for himself. Many brave and foolish warriors, adventurers, and mercenaries have met their end by his hand. It has gotten to the point where he now hates humans and all of humanity.

Name: Botan Mochizuki
Age: 23
Occupation: Traveling research scholar
Personality: inquisitive, friendly, welcoming, warm, curious, sensitive, easily frightened
History: Adopted at a young age by a wealthy family because of his skills in learning, Botan has struggled all his life to live up to his parents expectations of him. Although he was adopted to serve as the family heir, a son was born when he was six, making him obsolete. However, his parents still cared for him well, and, because he no longer carried the future of the family on his shoulders, they allowed him to choose his own career path. Jumping on the chance to finally travel and to see the world, he became a traveling scholar in order to feed his thirst for knowledge. Currently he is writing a book requested by one of the emperor's advisors, on the history of dragons. Intrigued by rumors of an actual dragon, he has travelled far and wide to try and find the man people whisper of.
Appearance: Botan (please to be excusing his terrible grammars. :D )

((Would you like to start, or should I? And how do you think they should meet?))

Izak stared out through the large jagged crystal deep within the cavern of his home. He had destroyed and rebuilt an old town on his own. Transforming the place into a virtual fortress. No man could enter, save unless he brought them here himself, for food of course. There was a forest nearby the foot of the mountain that he'd built the town into.

He would often go into those lost woods and feast on the unfortunate animals within. And whenever a human came to challenge him, he would go out and bring them into his home. He would fight them first, give them a fair chance to try and destroy him, but he would always win. He was far too old to lose to amateur warriors.

Deep within the mines into the mountain, there was a large cavernous room that possessed many crystals. The largest one of which possessed magic within its core. He could look at the crystal and view the outside world. He watched one of the human towns, busy and at work, and he turned away from the crystal. These humans aren't worth watching. One day they will all perish, and I will take much enjoyment in watching them destroy themselves. He walked out into the city of his creation.

"For once, I want to do something other than the norm. Perhaps a run around the mountain will help." He could feel the wings on his back spread out as his form shifted into a large black dragon. He took to flight and landed near the edge of the forest, shifting his form to that of a large black wolf. The humans would call it a dire wolf, but it was still the same type of creature. He took off running through the brush, keeping close to the foot of the mountain.

(As to how they meet, it really doesn't matter too much)

After an entire night of asking around the town, Botan had come up with no new information with which to track down the dragon he'd heard of. It seemed that no one ever wanted to find the dragon, unless they were warriors trying to kill it, and Botan didn't want to get into the middle of a fight like that, even if it turned out to be his only way to find the dragon. Although it wasn't necessary for the completion of the book, Botan thought of all the wonderful new things he could learn from such an ancient beast. From what he had read, dragons weren't any more evil than humans; however, they were more powerful, which was what the humans feared most. Under claims that they were protecting humanity, warriors and troupes would seek them out and slaughter them, just to be labelled heroes and prove their might.

Sick of all the bad stories about dragons, Botan was determined to make a new one, one which showed a different side of them. If this dragon he heard of truly was not evil, then it would surely hear him out before trying to kill or eat him, and if he could find a sympathetic ear, he hoped he could convince the dragon to teach him about itself. However, so far the only thing he knew was that it was male, it was old, it killed all who challenged it, and that it lived somewhere in the forested mountain area just a little farther east. With so little to go on, he could only pray that he didn't die on his quest. If he died from hunger or accident, he knew his soul would never rest. However, if he was killed by the dragon, he would at least know that his plan had been doomed from the start.

Picking up his bag of possessions, the young man started off in the direction of the forest, hoping that he would be lucky enough to find some kind of clue. As he passed through the streets, trying to make his way to the outskirts of the town, he considered buying a horse, but remembering how dangerous his journey would be, he decided not to put the lives of such pure creatures at risk. As he finally made it into the thick of the trees, Botan could hear all around him the sounds of the wild: a hawk diving through the air, wind rushing through the branches, a twig snapping under the foot of a wolf. He was not frightened, however, for he knew he has purpose. He had to find the dragon and see it with his own eyes.

It felt extremely good to run through the forest. The wind rushed through the thick coat of his fur, and the feel of the earth beneath his paws was cool and soothing. He stopped momentarily as he could hear someone walking through the forest. Izak gazed out of the golden wolf eyes to watch a young man walking in the thick of the woods. His eyes narrowed, but he could see that this human was not a warrior. What were they doing around here?

No human ever dared approach these woods and his mountain home lest they sought to challenge him. So seeing this one was strangely unusual, but he was a little hungry. This human might make a good snack. He thought to himself as he watched intently. He stepped carefully on, his large black paws snapping the twigs under his feet. Humans could always be counted on to be afraid of what they didn't know, and his wolf form was most certainly unknown.

A low growl rumbled deep in his chest, and he longed to just let it out. Yet he still couldn't help but feel there was something different about this human. He jumped out onto the path, standing in the way of the human and growling at him. A large black wolf, nearly as tall as any man, it would scare any normal human, even some of the warriors had been freaked by it. Izak watched the human for any reaction, narrowed eyes, teeth exposed, and growling like a half-starved animal, he waited.

Taking by complete surprise by a large, growling, black wolf, Botan cried out and stumbled backwards, ultimately falling on his butt and dropping his bag at his side. With his hands both up in front of his face for protection, the young man waited for a bite, a scratch, anything to let him know that the horror had begun. However, when the wolf didn't attack right away, Botan grew curious, and lowered his hands just a bit to peek over at it. This beast was much larger than any other wolf he had ever seen. ONly once or twice had he read about dire wolves - large beasts that lived in the thick of woods and stood taller than any of their cousins, who were all normal wolves. Botan had always just assumed they were fantasy but he was happy to have been proved wrong. Natural diversity was what drove the cycle of nature.

"Oh my," he said, still a bit nervous, but slightly more comfortable since the wolf wasn't hurting him yet. "You're a terrifying beast, aren't you? You're the largest wolf I've ever seen. Your coat tells me you've got a healthy diet, too," he observed, unable to help putting what he'd learned into practice. The seen and texture of any animal's coat spoke to how nutritious a diet they had, and by the glow of this wolf's fur, Botan could tell he was well-fed. "I guess that means you're a really good hunter. If you were something smaller I would think a human was feeding you, but...I don't think there are many humans that kind and that brave."

Reaching over to his bag careful and slowly, so that the animal knew he was not making a move to attach or escape, Botan pulled out a strip of dried meat he had bought in town. It was part of the few food provisions he had packed, just in case something happened to him in the woods and he couldn't return to the town right away. For the most part he ate at inns, using the money he had earned from his last job, which had been tutoring the young son of a wealthy family. Holding it out to the wolf, Botan quickly thought better and dropped it on the ground between them, not wanting to accidentally lose a finger, should one of the wolf's teeth stray too far from its aim.

Izak was completely impressed that the man had not run away on the sight of him. He listened to the man talk, tilting his head lightly to the side, as if in confusion, even though he understood every word the man spoke. He was only slightly interested in this strange human, but he was still wary. He watched as the human slowly reached into a bag and pulled out a strip of dried meat. He looked at the meat and then looked at the man, with a look on his face that clearly said You-expect-me-to-eat-this?

He sniffed the meat, but backed away from it. It didn't smell nearly as good as the fresh meat off the bones of the animals in the forest. And the smell of animals was even less desirable than the smell of human flesh, especially for a dragon. Even in his wolf form, Izak still craved human flesh, but he turned away from the human and began walking through the forest. He stopped to look back at the human, as if telling the human to follow him, and then he walked further on into the thick of the woods.

Watching as the wolf inspected the meat, Botan felt as sinking feeling in heart, believing that its refusal to eat meant that it was going to eat him instead. However, when the wolf turned away, Botan realized that it wasn't going to hurt him; at least not yet. Picking up the piece of meat he'd put on the ground, Botan stuffed it back into his pack and looked back over at the wolf. It was staring at him, with those yellow, slitted eyes, as if it wanted him to follow. Deciding that it was better than wandering the forest for hours without a lead, Botan reluctantly followed after it, wondering where it could be planning to lead him, or if it even had a plan at all.

The farther they went into the trees, the more worried Botan became. At that point there would be no humans around for li on end, and no way for him to escape or fight back, should the wolf prove hostile after all. Still, as a scholar he had dedicated his life to the pursuit of knowledge, so if he ran now he would be throwing away everything he had pledged to live for. So, against his better judgement, he followed behind the wolf wherever it went, praying for luck or protection; whichever was most likely to keep him alive. "You aren't a normal wolf, are you?" he asked, although he still wasn't sure if it could actually understand him. If it was smart enough to lead him somewhere, however, he knew he shouldn't underestimate its intelligence.

Izak led the man further into the forest, though he knew exactly where he was going, he was leading the human to the walls around his city. With his exceptional sight, he could see further into the woods than the human could, so he could already tell that the city was close, and the forest would end soon. He was hardly surprised that the human really was following him, though for someone who wasn't even a warrior, it was certainly different. It had been a long time since Izak had actually seen a normal human.

He turned his head to look back at the human as he asked a question. Izak bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement of the question, proving that he wasn't an ordinary wolf. In fact, he was so much more than that, and this human would learn that soon enough. He walked through the thick brush and cringed lightly as the sun glinted in his eyes. It was high overhead and he looked back at the human as he stepped aside to show the way to the city.

It was a very natural formation, built of rock and earth with no way in aside from flying over the high walls. Though, in wolf form he could jump the wall easily enough, but it was always better to fly over the wall. The city itself was built along the foot of the mountain, with a large palace built directly into the side of the mountain. The highest part of the palace was where the throne room sat. The level below the highest rampart was a regular hall that led to the cavern entrance. The one that used to be a mine entrance.

He looked at the human momentarily as he walked on towards the city wall. He stopped and sat down right by the wall, watching the human to see if he would come closer. If he did, Izak was going to transform into his dragon form and take this human over the wall. If the human decided to walk away and leave, he would let him go. Seeing as he wasn't a warrior foolish enough to think he could challenge the dragon that lived within the city walls, Izak might just leave this human be. But he was curious to see this human's reaction to the fabled city.

After a bit of walking, Botan finally saw the walls of a huge city, and wondered where in the world they could be. When they were completely out of the trees, he was stunned to see a city so grand and well protected, that it could not have been built by any human. "This must be the dragon's work..." he gasped in awe, staring at the marvelous stone that stretched over everything within sight. "This place...I've only heard of such things in legend...how could it exist?" he thought aloud, wondering why the wolf had led him there of all places. Whether it lived there or it had a more powerful master pulling the strings from within he wall, Botan knew for certain now that this wolf had some kind of mystical quality to it, and he was just as intrigued with the wolf as he was with the city.

When the beast stopped at the wall an stared back at him, Botan had to decide whether or not it would be safe to continue forth. Taking small, hesitant steps, he made his way closer and closer to the beast, until he was practically standing beside it. Staring up at the walls, they look completely impenetrable. While that would would have been a good thing for any nation at war, how a city was to survive with no commerce was puzzling. Perhaps the city had been abandoned long ago and the walls built by whoever or whatever took over afterwards. It clearly was no home of man, at least not human. Pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and sweeping some of his white hair from his face, Botan asked the sky, "Is this where I shall find the end of my journey?" For as he looked on with wonder, he thought that only the most magnificent being in existence could deserve to live in such a place; the final dragon.

Izak listened as the human talked. So he has heard about dragons and the legends surrounding my kind. He thought to himself lightly. He was watching the man with peculiar interest, though he hated humans, he was just a little curious to know more about this human. In wolf form, he sat there until the human began moving closer to him. Izak was once more impressed, though shocked that the human could be so trusting and willing to follow so closely to a beast like himself.

As the human stopped right next to him, Izak was ready to do what he wanted. He waited a moment or two before beginning the transformation. He heard the man speak of a journey and knew immediately that the human had been seeking him, though not for the same reason as the warriors. His eyes narrowed and he jumped up, standing in a crouched position. The wolf's muzzle began to grow longer and wider, losing fur and becoming scaly. His form grew larger, his enormous black wings sprouting out of his back, destroying the skin of his wolf form.

The large black dragon burst forth, leaving behind no trace of the black dire wolf as Izak stared down at the human. He lifted his wings high and brought them down in a powerful stroke. As he lifted into the air, his snatched the human with his front left claw and flew over the wall of the city. Izak looked at the human but payed him no regard as he flew up to the highest rampart of the palace within the city. The way this human had spoken of dragons made him curious. He dropped the man when he got close enough to the tower so that the human would land on the ground without dying. He then circled around a little before landing himself, his claws digging into the mountain so he could hold himself in place. He looked down on the human, once again awaiting his reaction.

Botan was so preoccupied marveling at the structure of the city that it took him a while to realize what was happening to the wolf that had led him to such a wonderful place. Turning in surprise, Botan watched as the dragon he'd been searching for burst from the skin of the wolf. Finally, he had found the dragon, but he was so shocked that he couldn't move. Suddenly, he was taken up into the air, screaming and holding onto his bag for dear life. That bag contained everything; his money, what little food he'd brought with him, his books, his ink, his paper, and his brush. If any of that was lost he would be crushed, knowing that every bit of it was an important piece to the puzzle of his journey. However, as he rushed through the air in the claws of the very beast he had sought out, he wondered if any of his worldly possessions mattered at all.

Being dropped onto the rocks knocked the wind out Botan, and he spent a minute coughing and gasping for breath. Once he had finally gotten a hold of himself, the young scholar looked up to see the dragon clinging to the side of the mountain, staring at him. Speechless and vulnerable, Botan sat, frozen in awe and fear, sitting on his knees. His bag at his side, he made no move to grab anything from, nor did he say anything to the dragon; he couldn't think of anything worth saying. Feeling a twitch in his nose, Botan inhaled awkwardly a few times before sneezing. "Sorry," was the first thing out of his mouth. Realizing how lame of a thing that was to say for the first time meeting a dragon, he quickly looked up into its eyes and said, "Oh great dragon! I came here seeking your knowledge! I am a scholar and I have dedicated my life to chronicling your history! Although I hear that you are the last of your kind..." he ended a bit more quietly, sad to realize that there were no more of this magnificent creature in the world.

A deep rumbling began in the dragon's chest. It was something that sounded similar to a laugh of some kind. Izak moved closer to the tower and leaped from the moutain. As the dragon came down to land on the top of the tower, Izak changed his form once more, taking on his human form again. He landed clean on his feet, standing before the large throne formed out of earth. He was still laughing. He looked at the human, though when he stopped laughing, he also stopped smiling.

"I am indeed the last of my kind." Izak said in a calm voice. "And it is because of humans that it is so." He looked at the so called scholar. "I can tell when people are lying to me, and I am so used to humans lying, that I am surprised to hear the truth for a change." He gazed at the human. "What is your name, boy?" He stood there, awaiting the human's response.

((I just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to be around tomorrow. But I'll still be on tonight for a while longer. Hmm...I think I'll have some tea after this post.))

At first Botan thought that the dragon was growling at him, surely not a good sign, but soon he realized it didn't sound quite as threatening as that. When the dragon leapt at him, Botan covered his head with both hands, letting out a high-pitched squeak as he did so. When he looked up through the space between his elbows, however, he saw what looked like a human, rather than a dragon, standing before him. However, the man's regal appearance, his voice, and the serious expression on his face all told Botan that he was far from human.

Scrambling to his feet to give a proper bow, the young scholar said, "My name is Botan Mochizuki. I have travelled far and done much research, all in order to make contact with you. I never thought it would be as easy as it was," he said, resting a hand on his chest as his heartbeat finally returned to normal. "When I saw you as a wolf, I knew you weren't an ordinary wolf, but I never imagined that you were the dragon I had been seeking. Please, allow to say that this is the greatest honour of my life," he proclaimed with sincerity, bowing once more as he thanked the gods for guiding him in the proper direction.

"I know that humans were the ones who killed the other dragons," Botan admitted, hoping he wasn't making himself look bad, "but I'm nothing like them. They killed without thinking; my occupation is all about thinking. No other human I've met has ever even seen a dragon, let alone met one. I wanted to be able to learn about you first-hand," he said, blushing and feel a bit too much like a swooning teenage girl for his own liking. Trying to be more serious, he said, "I know it may be asking a lot, but I was wondering if I could ask you questions and write your answers. There are so many things about dragons that the history books don't even mention...I wanted to be able to fill in the gaps."

Izak stared at the human, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You talk too much. Though I must admit, you are a welcome relief compared to all those foolish warriors hoping to destroy me." He said as he looked at Botan. "I do not see why I should speak to you of my history. A mere human does not deserve the right to know the intimate details of the history of dragons."

"I tried for years to teach the humans about my kind, to show them that we were not simply aggressive, hostile beasts. But rather that we lived our lives very much like humans themselves live their own. But they refused to listen, and when they discovered my secret, they hunted me down." Izak said calmly, though there was still anger in his voice.

"I retreated to this small human town, and I destroyed it to make it my own. I will keep you here, until I see that you are worthy of learning more about dragons. Otherwise, you cannot return to the normal world." Izak said.

Flinching a bit when he was told he talked too much, Botan wondered if he was putting himself in danger by saying too much. He was naturally talkative, and in the presence of such a fascinating subject, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to control himself from asking more questions. However, out of respect for his host and fear for his life, he made a mental note to do his best not to aggravate the dragon. If he had truly killed so many fearsome warriors in the past single-handedly, then there was no telling what he would do to a weakling like Botan. If nothing else, however, he seemed to be a gentleman, which put the human more at ease.

Listening to the dragon speak with such hatred about humans, Botan was almost certain it would end with him being killed. However, he was surprised to hear that the dragon wasn't planning on killing him at all; at least not yet. "Umm..thank you?" he said uncertainly, trying to figure out if the dragon was doing him a kindness or holding him as a prisoner. Sitting on his knees in silence for a few moments as he thought about things, Botan finally looked up at his host and asked, "So what's your name?" Even though he was being kept there under the dragon's watch, Botan still thought that he should be polite and try to be civil as well. All he wanted at that point was for them to get along.

Izak looked at the human and took a deep breath. "My immortal name is not something that can be revealed to a human. But you can call me Izak." He said simply and turned away from the human. "There is a mine entrance on the level below this one. If you wish to keep your life, you will stay out of it, and keep far away." Izak said and turned his head enough to glare at Botan.

"Other than that, you are free to roam the city. There is no way out into the mortal world unless I bring you beyond the wall myself." He walked towards his throne and laid his hand on it for a moment. "If I see you trying to escape, or you go into the old mine entrance, I will destroy you." Izak said darkly. He walked to the edge of the tower rampart, and the large black wings sprouted from his back as he jumped over the edge.

He knew the human would find the stairwell that would lead him to the lower levels. He had allowed the human to explore, but he could not let that human into the crystal mine. Should any human enter that mine, the intense magic flowing through the crystals within would destroy him. Izak couldn't understand why he even cared to give the human that warning, but he had. And he was not going to take it back.

Izak flew down to the entrance, and his wings folded back, disappearing into thin air through his own magic. He walked into the cavern and stood before the massive room, looking into the crystals once more. Another human will come to challenge me. And I will destroy them like the last. He thought solemnly as he watched a new warrior being sent out by his people. It would take this human at least a few weeks to finally arrive at the mountain city, so he had plenty of time to prepare.

"Well, that's good enough for me," Botan said with a friendly smile, happy that the dragon had given him something to work with. It seemed as though this mythical creature was not completely averse to conversation, which gave the young scholar more hope that he would enjoy his stay, and even possibly survive. Even though the dragon continued by threatening him not to go anywhere near the entrance to the mine, Botan still felt welcome there. Being given a fair warning meant that the dragon didn't want any harm to come to him for the time being. "Of course. I'll be sure to keep my distance," he agreed, not wanting to do anything that might terminate his observation period.

As he watched Izak leap from the tower and fly away, Botan had to wonder if he even wanted to explore the city. From where he sat it looked rather empty and lonely, which wasn't terribly inviting. The architecture was beautiful, but he could see everything he needed to from where he sat. Writing or sketching was out of the question at the moment; he wanted to have Izak's permission before he went about making any records in such a sacred place. In the end, he decided it would just be better to stay where he was for the moment and perhaps explore later on.

Rummaging through his pack, Botan checked the position of the sun as it began to move farther down the side of the sky. It wasn't sunset yet, but Botan didn't know if he would have time to himself when sunset did come, so he went to work pulling out some herbs he'd brought with him. He also carried a small mortar and pestle for times when he didn't have a proper one at hand. Grinding up what he needed in the proper amounts from pure memory, he took out his water flask when he was done and poured a bit in as well. When everything was done and mixed, he looked around for something to make a fire, but there was nothing to burn and nothing to light with. So he drank his concoction cold, disliking the bitter flavour it had when it was raw.

Izak continued to watch the mortals from the crystal cavern, soon switching his view to watch the human he had brought into the city. The young man wasn't even moving around or exploring yet. Izak sighed and waved his hand, the image in the crystal faded away. He walked out of the old crystal mine and he walked into the palace. There wasn't really too much stuff to do, but he had to begin to prepare.

He walked into a large room that was still intact from the old city. It was mostly used as a function room, or as the humans would call it, the ball room. It was an exceptionally large room, with a high dome ceiling. Plenty of space, even if he was in his dragon form, the room would still be big enough to hold him. The palace had been grand once, before Izak had destroyed the city. He took a good long look around and he sighed.

He realized after a moment that he still had yet to go and feed on the animals in the forest, so he walked back out of the palace. He jumped over the edge and quickly transformed into his dragon form, taking to flight easily enough. He flew over the city walls and landed at the border of the forest, changing form to run through as a dire wolf again. He looked back at the city for a moment before running into the thick of the woods. He needed to eat first, lest he go and feed on the human.

After he'd finished drinking the bitter, raw tea, Botan cleaned his mortar and pestle. Packing all of this things back into his pack, he sighed as he realized that he would still have to wait a while before he could speak with Izak. Understandably, the dragon had been distrusting of him, and there was no telling how much time he might need to become comfortable talking with a human about dragons. Still Botan knew that if he wanted to know anything from this dragon, that he would have to be patient and wait until the time had come.

Looking at the city over his shoulder, Botan decided that it would be a good time to begin making a map. Just as he was reaching into his pack again, he saw Izak leap over the walls of the city and descend into the forest. Wondering with great interest where he was going, Botan grew depressed as he realized that there was no way for him to follow or to even know what was happening beyond those walls. Sighing tiredly, he pulled his notebook, ink, and brush out of his bag and began to make a map of the city from where he sat. It didn't have to be completely accurate or comprehensive; it was really only to give him something to do and to help him practice.

As he was drawing, Botan tried to wonder what it must be like to be the last of your kind. At the same time, however, he had to wonder why Izak had been the one to survive. Either he was the most powerful of all the dragons, or the humans had failed to send a large enough force after him. Perhaps he was just lucky and avoided most of the slaughter by hiding in this city. Whatever the reason, Botan had to admire and pity him for it. It was a sad thought that there would never be any other dragons in the world of course, if there were, they would probably be killed anyway, so Botan assumed it was for the best that there was only one. There wasn't any need for more killing.

Almost an hour later, Izak sailed over the walls of the city, carrying a rather large animal in his claws. It was already dead, freshly killed. He may have been cold and heartless, but he still had to feed his guest as well. So he dropped the dead creature on one of the ramparts before he changed in mid-flight and landed serenely next to the beast in human form. He had to take a moment to skin the animal and do all the necessary preparations in order to make it useful.

So Izak grabbed a skinning knife and began working. A few minutes later, he was grabbing a different knife out of the armory and gutting the dead creature. He took out only the parts that would be good and have the most nutrition in them. He knew very well which parts would, he'd been eating off the poor creatures for years. They bred fast, almost as fast as the human race seemed to breed. And sometimes, the beasts seemed to breed faster than rabbits.

It looked something like some kind of deer, but it was larger and it wasn't an herbivore. It was one of the ancient beasts that had been in existence for a long time. Nearly extinct in the eyes of humans, since the beasts never came out when a human was nearby. As for Izak, he could track them easily. So he prepared the meat and preserved it, dipping most of the meat in salt to keep it fresh longer. He'd done this ever so often, whenever he wanted to play with his enemies. It wasn't too often that he would come across a fairly decent warrior that could manage to escape from him.

It had happened only once or twice before. The warrior would escape and go to hide in the city to try and regain their strength to fight him again. Then he would go out of the city and bring back meat for them. Let them regain their strength and try again. It made for a more interesting game, more fun when he finally made the kill. For the so called hero, it was more of a challenge. Instead, Izak was preparing meat for a human whom he was not going to kill, at least not any time soon. He stored the meat away, preserved and packed tightly so it wouldn't go bad, and if the human ever needed it, it was in an easy place to find.

Eventually, after a few hours had passed, Botan grew bored of sketching the city in the pages of his notebook. There was enough detail that he could point out the individual buildings from his vantage point based on what he'd drawn, but if anyone else ever saw it they probably wouldn't know what to make of it, considering that humans didn't have any city of the same sort as this one. Seeing a huge shadow pass over the wall, Botan spotted Izak flying back with a large creature in his claws and guessed that he had gone out for a little dinner. Turning his attention back to his notebook, Botan wondered what he should do next.

A true scholar at heart, he was never comfortable unless he was reading, gathering, or recording information. It was a natural impulse of his, almost like eating or sleeping, and he always had to busy his mind in order to be completely comfortable. Having grown bored of noting the architecture of the dragon's city, and not having had a chance to gather any real information about dragons from his host, Botan decided to turn his pen to one of his other favourite hobbies; writing poetry. He didn't profess to be any good at it, but writing short, cryptic poems always settled his mind, allowing for an abstract form of expression that helped calm the soul.

At first Botan struggled to even find a topic. Needless to say that it was an overabundance, rather than a lack, of material that gave him trouble. So many different things had happened to him in such a short time, that he wasn't sure where to begin or end. Finally, he chose the dragon himself, Izak, as a good subject. As be began writing, Botan could only imagine the man's outrage should he ever find such material written about him. It wasn't bad; on the contrary, it was quite flattering. However, it was from a human's point of view, and Botan had an odd feeling that would rub the dragon the wrong way no matter what.

Izak finished storing the meat in a safe but easy to find area and he walked away into one of the larger rooms within the mountain palace. It was lined with large bookcases throughout the room. And old library that he himself had managed to restore. The humans annoyed him beyond all reason, but he still found most of their literature to be fascinating. After all, he had never had any problems with learning more about others.

It was always interesting to read the history books written by the humans. There weren't many books about their history, seeing as they only began recording history so many hundreds of years ago. The dragons had a wider array of history books. Being highly intelligent beings had allowed them to establish a writting system many thousands of years before the humans had ever had the chance.

Izak pulled an old worn book off the nearby shelf and looked at the cover. It was an old history book, depicting an old war. The war in which the humans drove any other race away from the land in which they were settling. There was no mention of dragons. But Izak knew this war. It had happened only several thousand years ago. The humans had landed on the continent and discovered a new world to live in. They had driven out the strange creatures and destroyed many of the forests around the areas in which they settled and built their cities.

Then they had discovered the dragons, only hundreds of years after settling in this land. Izak had been one of the leaders of his kind at the time. There had been five leaders, one for each tribe of dragon. Izak had watched and helped to establish peace with the humans for a while. Until the humans saw the true forms of the dragons and began to fear their neighbors. It was that fear that had caused them to rise up and take down the dragons.

And to this day, the humans knew nothing about that first meeting. Izak remembered it well enough, but the humans did not live as long as dragons, nor did they have as good a memory as dragons. True it seemed the humans were weak beings and they could have been easily controlled or slaughtered, but the dragons were not a war-faring race. They had been peaceful, until the death of the first leader. After that, everything had changed.

Izak had stood on the sidelines, remaining in human form, always travelling and looking like an ordinary scholar. He tried to teach the humans, to show them that the dragons were not necessarily hostile. But they had refused to listen. And then they began to notice that he did not age, that there was something more to the scholar that was travelling around their towns and cities. So a hero rose up and tried to take him down. Izak had no choice but to strike the poor young warrior down, and he soon took off to be isolated from the world.

Izak shook away the memories, he could feel the anger rising within, and he didn't want to lose control of himself. He was the last of his kind, and the very last leader to survive the war. He wanted to prove to the humans that he was not as bad as he seemed. That he was not what they thought he was.