Mystara: Dirge of Tomorrow The Flight Narrative

In the evening after Aramil’s trial, a short exerpt by Erela Ravyn.

(Katie wrote this for her NPC that is not her NPC. It was a surprise to me.)

Erela’s breath caught in her throat as the dragon dropped towards them like a bolt of lightning from the sky, and a surge of doubt filled her with sudden dread.

“What have I agreed to? She asked herself and glanced up at Aramil standing calmly beside her.

Sensing her unease, Aramil turned to her and smiled reassuringly. Erela smiled weakly in return, but her lips quickly pressed themselves into a grim line as the large dragon alighted nearby, sending a small cloud of snow up into the evening air.

“Come,” Aramil said, gently taking Erela’s arm. “I have no doubt you will enjoy this, and it really is much faster than taking a carriage back to the city.”

Erela forced her feet forward, and mustering her courage, allowed herself to be lifted onto the dragon’s back. She tensed as she felt the beast’s muscles shift slightly beneath her weight.

“Just think of it as a horse,” she told herself. “A big scaly horse – You like horses.”

Aramil joined her on the dragon’s back, slipping his arms around her waist to grasp the reigns that lay draped over the saddle horn. He had barely uttered the words “Hold on,” when they were suddenly in the air, spiraling upward at a dizzying speed. An exclamation of surprise escaped Erela’s lips only to be ripped away by the rushing wind. And then she was laughing, laughing from the sheer exhilaration of it all. Her hair whipped around her face as the snowy tree-tops rushed by below. She had never felt so alive. Erela’s laughter proved infectious, and soon Aramil was laughing as well, as they soared through the crimson evening sky.

After a time, the two quieted and Erela sank back against Aramil’s chest, listening as he pointed out distant landmarks far below. Erela sighed inwardly and smiled. It had certainly not been an easy day, especially for Aramil, but here in the sky the worries of the day’s court battle seemed as distant as the morning star.

“Perfect,” Erela thought to herself, “Everything seems perfect up here in his arms…

Erela caught herself on the brink of a familiar but unwanted daydream.

“We’re just friends,” she chided herself. “He could have any woman he wants; he certainly has enough of them throwing themselves at him. I am just a friend, an advisor… someone who asks the right questions.”

Erela straightened and forced herself to focus on the rapidly approaching city lights, pushing away the sliver of hope that maybe someday…