Is it easy to be a dragon? Especially if you have recently been born, and around you there are so many new things or forgotten old ones ... And the world around you can seem wonderful and fascinating, until arriving at the threshold of your castle. People call you a raid boss and wait for you to grow up and get stronger in order to try and kill you with the maximum benefit for themselves.
Born In Scales
Chapter 1
Closely. The dim light barely breaks through something solid. It's in the way, it's holding me. I want to go outside ... Outside? Am I inside? Where I am? Inside what? ..
Movement was too limited, however, it turned out to unclench fingers and scratch the claws with a furrow on something that made it difficult to move and breathe ... Breathe? Yes, we need to take a deeper breath and try to straighten out.
It does not work.
Just scratch this shell. More more. Deep scratches became brighter. Outside, the light is breaking ... Outside? Shine?
Memory woke up as slowly as the body, but the more bright the light, the more images arose in the mind. Completely new, but well-known, well-known and understandable.
Finally the shell cracked and fell apart. I fell out and closed my eyes. Too bright was a new day and too juicy colors after a dull imprisonment. It was not immediately possible to get used to the new space. The lungs were straightened, I breathed easily, the eyes adjusted to the light that spilled around, the nose caught smells, paws poured with strength to lean on and get up. And there was also a strange feeling that settled in the stomach. It suggested that we should not just stand, we must go, move, run, track down, catch ... I wanted to eat.
I looked around. The walls, which go far up to the vaulted ceiling, are made up of large hewn stones. Narrow high windows, covered with transparent pictures of pieces of colored glass. The floor, also stone, and on it scattered yellow circles and colored stones, as bright as the glass in the windows, then and there, flashing sparkles, if you start moving. Watching sparks was fun, but hunger was growing and louder all the time prompted me to hunt. Hunt? I did not remember what it was like to hunt, but it's definitely not to sit and do not drive the roundwigs with your tail from side to side. It is necessary to escape ... And then to catch ... And then there is!
Know where to run, but then a rustling sounded at the wall. I peered. A small gray beast with black eye beads and a long tail, just like me, only without scales. Over the animal in the air hung some signs, completely incomprehensible, only one of them turned out to be remembered. This sign, like a wand, was called "one." Yes exactly. I got up on all four paws, pressed my wings to my back and began to move quietly towards the rat, trying not to make noise. Here! Remembered! This is a rat "one". A couple more steps and you can jump. That's exactly what I did. The rat did not even have time to turn its head, as it turned out in my claws, and then in the mouth.
In the air, I emerged and melted some more signs that had not yet been remembered, and all the scales that covered my body, seemed to be slightly larger and parted. I grew up a little. I tried to look at myself and noticed that not all the signs had melted, some were still hanging over their heads, but what that meant was a mystery. Okay, it does not matter, we have to hunt now. Hunger was not as strong as at first, but still reminded of itself. We must run around the house ... House? This is my house? Well, of course, I was born here, somewhere in the corner is still lying around my old shell, I live here, I'm hunted and growing here. And yet - I remember!
Running along long corridors and halls with the same high ceilings, I was able to catch a few more such animals: the rat "one", a couple of rats with some other sign, grew up a little and got stronger. Only the inscription above my head still did not want to be remembered. So I ran, hunted and grew until the rats "one" became quite small, and interest in them disappeared. Too many of them had to be caught and eaten, to once again grow up. Yes, and there is not really wanted. It was necessary to think up a lesson for yourself. And then I remembered that I have wings that do not help to run, on the contrary, so as not to interfere, they had to be pressed to the back, but for some reason they are needed. It was worth finding out.
Reflecting on the wings, I turned into some other room and looked around. Here all the halls are similar and, nevertheless, they are different. The stones are similar, of which the walls are built, but something hangs on the walls. What and how it is called, I did not know yet, and it did not smell of food. Although some items ... Items?Exactly! On the walls hung objects that were interesting to examine, especially if you bow your head to one side to the shoulder. On one of the walls hung a large and flat object, colored like the pictures on the windows, only not transparent. And on this subject was me. Or rather I, and someone like me, with wings, a long tail and scales all over the body. And he flew ... Flied? That's why we need wings! I can fly. And at the one that looked like me, something was pouring from the mouth and twisting something ... Something ... Something beautiful and ... Dangerous? Yes, it's a beautiful and dangerous breath - a flame. I can fly and breathe flame! The memory has already returned to me images of flight and fiery breathing and I wanted to try it faster. Without delay, I went out onto the balcony, climbed onto the tall massive railings and waved my wings.
I'm flying! It's great to fly. You can fly around your house and see what it is outside. You can climb higher and see everything that surrounds it. And all this is mine. I live here, I hunt, grow, fly. I wonder how high you can fly? Really above those spiers? Memory all told me more diligently that this is only the beginning, that I can and I know much more that the world around is huge and diverse. Rising ever higher in a spiral around your house, castle ... Castle? Well, of course, my house is Castle, and nothing else! So, behold, rising higher and higher, I flew to the highest spire, on which was strengthened a weather vane, also similar to me, like that picture on the wall. And above the weather vane hung an inscription of letters and numbers ... Letters? The number? Well, of course, in the inscriptions there are always letters and numbers. Only there were a lot of them. But I, I think, remembered, the letters that fold the first word, just mean "Castle." The second word I could not read yet, but there were already familiar letters, as in the first word: "o" and two times I got "a". And at the end there were a lot of figures, two, like over rats, further one, as above my head now, it seems, it is called "five" and at the end "zero". It was very similar to the letter "o", but I knew for sure that it was not a letter. Castle ... 1150 level? Here it is! My castle is one hundred and one hundred and fiftieth level! And I, therefore, the fifth, and the rats were the first level and yet ... some. Gradually, everything fell into place. Hunting, eating, growing, increasing the level, which means strength, skills and opportunities. By the way, while I was flying, I noticed that my eyesight became sharper, that from the height I can distinguish literally every blade of grass on the ground, especially if you look a little narrow and peer.
Having lowered a little lower, I tried to inhale deeply, warm the air inside myself and exhale the flame. I managed! The chest became very warm, and in the nose a little tickling. And then I remembered ... the smell of baked meat, and the taste. I once again wanted to eat, but the crude first-rate rats no longer seemed desirable food. Laying a sharp turn, I rushed to the ground and began to look at the bushes and grass. A little circling over the clearing, the edge of the glance, I caught some stirring, peered and, screwing up in a special way, slightly brought the image closer to him. In the bushes, someone was hiding. Looking more closely, I was able to disassemble a little animal with long ears several already familiar letters and a figure of "five". Here it is a suitable prey. But the mining noticed my approach and tried to escape. It was not there! I flew much faster, and my fiery breath overtook almost instantly. Yes, this food
was much tastier, and allowed to grow faster. In addition, it was much more interesting to hunt in flight. The rest of the day I spent it, soaring above the spiers, peering at everything that moves, sharply diving at the prey and exhaling the flame on it. Then I ate with pleasure, with pleasure remembering the tastes and names of game. Rabbits and pheasants of the fifth and sixth level, raccoons and black grouses of the seventh and eighth, roes of the ninth and tenth, once a big deer of the fifteenth level even fell. The deer at first tried to escape, but then turned around and tried to hit me with horns, but I dodged, again flew over it and, sharply dropping from above, knocked and pressed his large carcass to the ground with all his paws. And then just cut his neck. I tasted raw venison, but decided that fire makes everything much more appetizing.
It was getting dark. It did not hurt to look and see, even one more peculiarity of my vision was revealed, I saw the warmth ... All the animals and birds that inhabited the forests and meadows around were glowing from inside, not too brightly, but enough to be able to distinguish them well in the twilight And determine the level.Impressions for the day were many, hunger no longer bothered, but there was a very different feeling, I wanted ... I wanted ... to sleep .... Memory again prompted that this feeling is called: want to sleep. And I went to the house. Of course, you can quickly fly, but there was nowhere to hurry, and in a leisurely walk there is always a charm. To admire the sunset from the hill on which stood my Castle, surrounded by a high wall with turrets, it was pleasant. A huge orange sun slowly sat over the horizon, reflecting in the ripples of the sea with a lot of glare. It looks like my kruglyashki, scattered on the floor in the halls, but these shone more cheerfully. By the way, tomorrow we'll have to fly to the sea, see what it is and remember ... I'm sure I'll remember a lot there.
A little wandering along the corridors, I finally chose one of the halls with a bunch of yellow roundworms, climbed up, lay down and fiddled a bit, settling down. And it was true that it was very convenient to lie here. Once again looking around, I yawned, put my head under the wing and fell asleep.
I do not know how much I slept, but I was awakened by a silent screech and made me wary. It's not a rat, for sure. Then what or who? Trying not to make noise, I cautiously rose and slowly and silently went to the sound. It seems that it is in the next room ... So it was, some noise was barely heard from behind the window. A minute later the window opened and through it two men climbed into the hall. Their thermal spots were not like those I had seen in the forest before. Peering closely, I was able to disassemble the inscriptions above the heads: "thief of the 12th level" and "thief of the 14th level". Hmm ... what's that? And why did they get into my house?
Deciding to observe, I moved away from the doorway, hid in the shadows and froze. Creepy? Yes, it seems, they are called that way ... The old ones, having appeared in the hall, stood for a moment without moving, probably listening attentively. Then one of them lit a light, small and very dim, but its light was enough to see not only thermal vision, but also ordinary. One was tall, thin with pointed ears and bright eyes. The second is stumpy and lower than the first, his ears on top were round, and his eyes are dark. The two looked around, walked slowly along the wall, lighting the tiny space around them and constantly looking around. Then they stopped and began to whisper. I almost did not hear anything, no matter how hard I tried, I whispered too quietly and stood far away, but I did not need to approach closer. Then the elder, who was lean and level fourteen, pointed to something with his hand and moved in that direction. The second slowly followed on tiptoe. So they reached the corner of the hall and stopped again. Dim flicker lighted a small pile of round-shaped stones with pebbles and still some objects from the same as the round metal. Looking again, the elder put his light on the very top of the pile, crouched down and opened the bag. The second also sat down next to him and opened his bag. In the dim light it was clearly visible that both thieves began to choose from the pile colored pebbles, small shiny objects and the biggest rounds and shovel themselves into bags. How so?! It is mine! These are my kruglyashki, my pebbles! They are so comfortable to sleep on! I screamed in resentment and jumped out of the shadows just to meet the newcomers. It seems they got scared ... Scared? Yes, I can scream so that the enemy gets scared ... Opponent? Are those who want to take mine? I'm not giving it! Again screaming loudly, so that my cry echoed from the walls, I jumped forward and knocked down one who was younger. The second, the elder, managed to come to himself, bounce off and snatch from under the cloak something subtle, flashing pale light. I had not yet had to hunt, when the spoils were just two, while I thought for a moment what to do, the younger one tried to get up, but slipped and just started to crawl away, and the elder, on the contrary, tried to get around me and approach me. Probably, the senior is more dangerous, so he will be the first prey. I quickly turned around and took a step forward. But the strangers, as I understood later, expected this. One distracted me, while the second crawled away and took out his weapons ... Weapons? This is what is needed by an outsider instead of claws, a tail and a fiery breath? I did not see that I did the second, but I felt something hard hit one of the scales, and, scratching, jumped away. It was a little painful, just a little bit, but it was more insulting that strangers at night climbed into my house, they wanted to take my pebbles and kruglyashi, and now they are also fighting ... Are they fighting? Memory in a flash, a flash showed a few pictures where aliens fought each other or with people like me, or others, not like me, but big ... very big. And in the hands of each of the newcomers was weapons, miscellaneous. Swords, bows, axes, daggers, crossbows, slingers, spears, wands, staffs ... A lot of weapons. And they also had armor, armor, chain mail, cuirass, shields in their hands. And my armor is my scales. And just that she protected me from weapons.
Before I could turn my head to the youngest, the senior jumped and tried to hit me with the dagger in his hand ... Yes, that's what his weapon is called. I could not pierce my scales; my armor did not succeed, but I'm completely pissed off. Now I knew, I remembered what to do, how to defend myself, when several attacked simultaneously. I did not turn to the elder, I did not even turn my head, instead, I turned towards the fired from the bow, I inhaled sharply, warmed the air in my chest and exhaled directly into his face, and just behind me, I was hit by a tail. It seems that the thief of the twelfth level was enough for my fiery breath, he fell on a pile of rounds, dropped his bow and did not move any more. Then I waved my wings more forcefully and jumped. Having risen literally on two of his height above the floor, he turned over his back in the air and fell to an alien level fourteen. He only had time to cry out once, but he did not say a word more. When I got up to see if he was alive ... Alive? Yes, it was so called.He, or rather they were both alive when they climbed out the window, when they wanted to take my kruglyashi my gold ... Gold? Exactly! This is my gold and my gems, and yet there are my jewels everywhere! So, what am I talking about? Oh, yes, they were both alive when they fought me. And now I killed them ... But I defended my house, my Castle, my life!
I looked at the bodies, trying to figure out what to do next. Eating? Or alien do not eat? While this is not remembered ... The fire left by the elder thief, barely flickered and began to tremble. But it did not hurt to see well how the inscriptions on the bodies disappear, and then the bodies and weapons themselves began to flicker and melt until they completely disappeared. There were only bags full of my gold coins, jewels and gems. Without thinking twice, I picked at first one, and then a second bag and shook it all back. She tore the bags into small pieces and threw them into the open window. Then carefully closed it, tightly pressing the frame until the key click. Now you can go to sleep, the morning is not soon. Back in the hall chosen for sleep, I again lay on my golden bench, but it seems that it became a little less ... No, I became a little more! So, you can grow not only when you hunt and eat prey, but when you fight and defeat the enemy. Interesting!
The rest of the night passed without alarm. No one else climbed the windows
and tried to steal mine. In the morning I slowly woke up, stretched, yawned and decided that it was time to fly. Again I wanted to eat, and I also wanted to fly to the sea. Moreover, the night adventure slightly increased my level, and the game closest to the castle became shallow. It was worth to look for prey larger. Going out on the balcony, from which I was already accustomed to take off, I realized that I no longer needed to climb the railing. If for the first time I could barely reach the edge with my front paws, I got to the rear, now the handrail was just above the elbow, and when I stood on all four. It was enough just to wave my wings a little to jump, and I was already in flight. Flying a couple of times Castle, I noticed that the inscription above the weathercock had changed a little. The last "noose" has turned into a "one". This means that at night my house grew, too, became stronger? Probably, we are connected ... I fight and protect him, he helps me and, winning, we both get new levels. Exactly! He helps me as best he can, because it's no coincidence that the younger thief slipped when he tried to get up, and he had to crawl away. Reflecting on the night incident, I was already flying towards the sea. Interestingly, and if I have to fight not in the castle, and nearby, on the outside, if he can I also do something to help, or just inside? Check it is not wanted, although there was a feeling that sooner or later have to. And yet - to the sea.
We - the witnesses and participants in the events of cosmic proportions. In the eyes of a generation failed to explode, and possibly break Russia. Ten centuries this great civilization to connect and balance the two main blocks of the human world - the West and the East. After the first blow in the twentieth century Russia already in the guise of the Soviet Union, has revived its main features, has regained its face (though having washed the blood). But the virus remains in her body, the disease found new vulnerabilities, the crisis turned out to be much harder. I tottered and began to fall apart one of the pillars of the entire human community. The restructuring is drawn, with growing horror, the whole world.
Born In Scales Page 1