~The Hatching Journey~ [PR]

~The Hatching Journey~



- This is a private RP between Nordanhym & Aphrodite, meaning only we can type here.
But feel free to read and give thumbs if you want, but no commens in this thread please! -
- We took our start from LotR but we are playing our own characters,
also adding our own things to the story outside the lore. -


Prologue:
10 years had passed since Frodo had destroyed The Ring in Mount Doom and the world, well the world finally seemed to begin to right itself back. Lush forests grew once more, the heaven smiled with sunshine and laughter filled the air. Man, Elf, Dwarf and many other species had worked hard for the survival of the world and to restore its glory and health. But there would come a new adventure, a new journey that might tip the balance between good and evil once more - depending on two generals, a specialist archer and a dragonmaster, who would sooner rather than later head out on an epic journey to deliver the last Ildrodragon egg to Mount Doom for it to hatch...

Information:


Notes:




Character Template for Penelope Lovegood:


Character Template for Aphrodite:

The scream woke her up. Rhaenys sat up in her bed, panting and sweating. The scream had emerged from her own lungs. Again. She sat in her position for quite some time, and her breaths went from short and fast to long and deep. When she had her breathing under control, Rhaenys let her bare feet touch the wooden floor of the room she was in. Her long, blonde hair was in a tangled braid down her back. She stood up, and the white nightgown moved and swung around her calves. The bedroom was a bit cold, and dark. Rhaenys eyes adjusted, and she could see the contours of her room. The room had a four-poster bed, a few bookshelves, two armchairs and an enormous wardrobe.

Rhaenys moved silently across her bedroom, opening the glass door which led to the balcony. She sat got up on the stone balcony rail and leaned her back towards the outside wall. She looked towards the sky, where the full moon was present, reflecting its light on the lake and the ground which spread underneath the balcony. Her head was filled with thoughts and feelings. It had been two years since she had arrived in Harlond, although it felt like it had only been two days ago. Rhaenys had come running through the gates, badly injured and with a big, red egg in her arms. The elves of Harlond had taken care of her, even though she had refused to tell them what had happened to her. It was something she had kept to herself, even now. The only thing they had gotten out of her was that the egg she had carried was indeed the last Ildrodragon egg, which was very important. The dragon inside the egg had chosen her as its master, and therefore rider, which meant that it could only hatch in the fires of Mount Doom and with Rhaenys present.

Rhaenys family came from a line of dragonmasters, and she had listened to stories about the dragons and their riders her whole life, and how they had been killed off long before she was even born. They had been regarded a threat, since the Ildrodragons were the only kind of dragon able to tame, with the right person. In the wrong hands, the result could be horrifying disastrous. Rhaenys had always dreamt about the day she would mount a dragon and fly across the world on its back. She hadn’t thought it was ever going to happen, until the day she had put her hands on the egg that now was in her possession.

When Rhaenys had recovered from her injuries, she had started to prepare for a hatching journey. She had gotten in contact with the army of Harlond, who offered protection for her, which she had accepted.

She felt a true connection with the creature inside of the egg, even though it hadn’t hatched yet. During the two years she had spent in Harlond, she had picked up skills which would help her in her quest of hatching her egg. She had also gotten to know an elf in the Army, Thélowên. She had watched Thélowên climb the ladder and she was now a General in the Army. Rhaenys enjoyed it, since it meant that Thëlowên would help her take the egg safely to Mount Doom.

Rhaenys looked into the bedroom through the glass door in the direction in which the egg was kept. She was excited to travel the dangerous road which lead to Mount Doom. Not only would the egg she had protected for the last two years hatch, she would finally meet the creature that felt like her soulmate.

She was strolling along the edges of the forest. Moonlight dancing over her skin as it glistened down from the dark sky in rays of white light. She had woken p about an hour earlier, not able to sleep she had decided to leave the comfort of her bed and head outside for a walk in the moonlight. It was something she did quite often, when the mood struck her - or if she just couldn't sleep. She wouldn't necessarily say it was a bad habit, more good than anything. She had marvelled at many wonders of the night during her roaming walks. The blue chirps laid quite in nightly rest but the forest was very much awake. The trees whispered and sang as the moonlight danced and the wind flowed between it's stems and ruffled the lush green leafs.

It had been 167 years since she had come to Harlond, the journey had been long but somewhat adventurous from her home in Gondolin. But she found herself thinking about home and here family over there while taking those strolls in the moonlight, just as she had done at home - ever since she was a young elf of mere a hundred years. She was now 998, 2 years from 1000 and never and she felt more alive. Life seemed to blossom once more and the many years of dark times and evil power threatening the whole world seemed as though they had barely happened. It was a wondrous time to be alive.

A twig snapped behind her. Her body listening in to her surroundings and feeling the energy emitting close by.
"I can hear you..." she whispered to the darkness of the woods where moonlight couldn't penetrate the thick leaves despite its efforts. A growl was heard and a second later a warg pounced - but missed.
"Voron, I could hear you." Thélowên said with a smile as the warg strolled up to her with a small whimper of dissatisfaction. She rubbed his head and scratched him behind the ear. Voron had been with Thélowên for almost seven years at that time. She had found him, abandoned, in the forest and he had been tiny. So she had nursed him and taken care of him as if the beast was just like any other puppy. A puppy that now stood 2.3 meters tall and weighing in at almost 600 kilos of muscles. Quite the puppy he was.
"You need to learn how to sneak around better Voron." the warg gave a small howl, "yeah I know. Let's head back to our home, we have training in a few hours." she said and jumped up on the beast. He happily walked back the way they had come earlier and the sky was almost at its darkest now. Soon the sun would come up and yet another day would begin. Thélowên was excited for it, it was archer training in the morning and she was excited to see Rhaenys and possibly be able to discuss their future adventure a bit more. But it would have to wait until the morning training - or perhaps after it - as Thélowên still had a chance of catching two more hours of sleep. Which she planned on doing as soon as they were back home in a few minutes.

Rhaenys sat at the rail for a while, watching the break of dawn. The rays of the sun stretched over the horizon, trying to cover as much land as possible. It was going to be a beautiful day, Rhaenys was sure of it. She jumped smoothly down from the balcony rail and went into the bedroom again. As she walked across the room, she pulled off her night gown, and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Even though the body didn’t show any sign of it, she had almost lived for a millennium. However, her body showed signs of living. Rhaenys had multiple scars across her body, the biggest one on the back of her neck. It was a scar from a burn, stretching from her neck and down between her shoulder blades. She also had a thin line across her stomach, and some small scars from cuts and burns here and there throughout the rest of the body. They were signs of survival, something she was proud of.

Rhaenys turned away from the mirror and pulled out some clothes from the wardrobe. She put on a red tunic and a pair of pants, since it was very easy to move around in. She enjoyed wearing dresses, too, but it wasn’t ideal for the journey she was about to go on. She kneeled down next to the wardrobe. There, she opened the aperture in the floor. There lied the red egg, which she had almost given her life for. She placed her hands on it and felt the warm atmosphere which surrounded it. Even though she knew it was burning hot, it didn’t hurt Rhaenys nor leave any physical mark. It was the biggest sign that the egg did in fact belong to her. Any other who would touch the egg with their bare hands would get badly burnt. Dragon fire never hurt its rider, but everyone else.

She picked the egg up and placed it carefully on her bed.
“It’s time soon” she told the egg while brushing her hair. She had read that the rider could create a bond with the dragon even before it was hatched, by speaking with it while still in the egg. It was said that the dragon was able to both hear, smell and feel even though it was sealed in the egg. Rhaenys put her hair up in a braid, keeping it from falling down in her face and bothering her. She took a bag from her wardrobe, carefully placing the egg inside. She always carried the egg with her, never leaving it too far away from her. She was so used to it, that it was going to feel quite peculiar the day she didn’t have to protect it anymore.

She walked out of the room, barefoot, and made her way down the many stairs. She went out the huge oak gates and found herself in a big garden. The house she was staying in belonged to the army, and she didn’t live there alone. They had granted her a room and protection, to keep her and her dragon egg safe. From there she walked down to the stables, where many of the army’s elves kept their horses. The smell of animals, hay and horse food hit her when she opened the red, wooden doors. Four boxes from where she was standing stood her black stallion, Aimon. She put her hand on his muzzle and felt his warm breath between her fingers.
“Are we finally ready?”. A low voice was heard in Rhaenys mind. It was the voice of Aimon, speaking to her. She nodded.
“Soon, I need to meet with Thélowên first” she said before moving her hands from his muzzle, and walking out of the stables.

Rhaenys came to the front of the house, which had a beautiful fountain in the middle with some flower arrangements around it. She sat down at the little stone ring which surrounded the fountain, watching the elves walking out of the house. Judging by their clothes, they were going to train. Rhaenys enjoyed watching them train, since she could pick up some tips. Especially when it came to archery, something she had taught herself during her stay in Harlon. She usually watched Thélowên, since she was considered something of an archery master.

Rhaenys looked at the people around her. Most of them were from the army, but here and there she saw other elves, on their way to the daily work. Most of them acknowledged Rhaenys in some way; either greeted her, nodded towards her or just gave her a quick glance. Most people in Harlond knew who she was and respected her because of her status as a Dragon Master. A lot of people, not just the people of Harlond, were excited by the fact that there was a dragon to be born. The last dragon had died even before Rhaenys was born, which meant the last dragon had lived over a millennium ago. This meant that not a lot of the people living today had seen a dragon, except for some really old elves.
“Mum, look! It’s the dragon girl!” she heard an excited child exclaim. She looked over and saw a mother with a child in her hand, and the little girl looked at Rhaenys with big eyes. Rhaenys waved and smiled before the two kept walking to wherever they were headed.

While Rhaenys looked for Thélowên among the busy square in front of the house, she noticed her friend Eonë. He was also a member of the army and was a skilled swordsman. He noticed Rhaenys, and went up to her with a smile on his lips.
“I’ve heard rumours that you’re about to start your journey soon” he said and nodded towards the bag next to Rhaenys. She nodded, and unwittingly put her hand on the bag, feeling the egg pulsate inside.
“I believe so, I need to speak with Thélowên first, however” she said and Eonë nodded. They conversed for a while until Eonë left with the other swordsmen for training. Rhaenys remained in her spot, waiting. At least the weather was great, blue sky with just a hint of clouds. A perfect day.

More and more of the army members assembled in the square, waiting for orders. Rhaenys didn’t fancy when people told her what to do, she would probably be a useless soldier. Luckily, she wasn’t one. Of course, she respected the army and its rules, especially since Thélowên was the General, but she enjoyed not having to answer to every order that was uttered. She was also enormously thankful for the protection they had provided her with, since there were people out in the world looking for her. She knew that the man responsible for her kidnapping, a man named Rydor, was especially impatient to find her, and consequently the egg, again.

After a while Rhaenys considered going to look for Thélowên since she got restless. Almost at the same time she decided to stand up, she heard a whistle. All the people in the square reacted to it, and Rhaenys turned her head. She saw the familiar face of Thélowên, who waved towards her, asking her to come over. Rhaenys stood up, took her bag and made her way through the square to the brown-haired elf.
“There you are! I had started to worry that you had forgotten me” she said with a smile. She hung the bag on her shoulder and met the brown eyes of her friend.

Thélowên smiled, showing of perfect with teeth in perfect rows and size. An elf trait.
"Forget you? Not possible." she laughed out with a shake of her head, "I just had to drop of Voron first, you know how excited he gets when it's practice time." she clarified. A wind rushed through the opening behind her in a swift dance making her lightly curled brown her swirl a tad before settling down again around her shoulders and down her back. It truly was a beautiful day.
"So, are you ready for some archer training?" she asked happily with a glint of a smile in her eyes, ready for one of her favourite training sessions. The fact that she excelled in archery, both from training and skills passed down by blood only made it that much more fun. After all, she was a master at it.

Rhaenys laughed and nodded.
“Yeah, I am. I’ve been practicing the new grip technique you taught me” she said with a smile. Rhaenys kept her bow and arrows in the practice area, mostly to make sure she didn’t forget them for practice. She started walking towards the training grounds.
“Too bad Valon gets too excited, I like having him around” she said and smiled. She liked every animal, no matter the size, age, looks or temperament. Rhaenys animal communication skill probably played a part there. She could communicate with every animal, as long as there were trust between both parts.

They arrived at the training grounds, which was huge, since the whole Army practiced there. There were different sections depending on what skill you trained, which meant that Rhaenys went to the archery section and picked up her bow and quiver. When she had started her training, she had gotten an old, used bow to start with. Now when she was much, much better, the army had provided her with a beautiful light brown bow with beautiful markings engraved on it. She turned to Thélowên.
“I’m ready” she said with a smile.

Thélowên returned Rhaenys smile as she said she was ready for the days practice. She had improved immensely the last few months and Thélowên couldn't help but feel a bit of pride over her progress. She grabbed her own bow that she carried with her almost everywhere she went. It was a beautiful bow made of oak - a tree considered to go well with knowledge and strength - with carving of intricate patterns to form it's very specific shape giving it its unique strengths and balance perfectly adapted to Thélowên.
"Today" she said as she readied her bow with a silver arrow, "we will be practising long distance precision hits." She took aim at a dummy hanging at the other end of the field, roughly 260 meters away. A tricky shoot that required high precision, finely tuned muscles to the bows strengths and the arrows trajectory. Also factoring in winds, the arrows weight an shape, the strength needed to fire the arrow just perfectly.

Thèlowên took a breathe, the world slowed down and she could feel everything. Slightest gust of wind, the vibrations in the ground from the practising soldiers a few meters away and the pounding of her own heart. She let go and it zoomed away, flipping over and sinking right on time, hitting the target perfectly in the heart. She relaxed and smiled towards Rhaenys,
"Your turn. Aim for the dummy 180 meters away." Thélowên didn't expect Rhaenys to hit it at the first try, long distance shooting took practice and patience.
"I want you to slow yourself down, feel everything and find your centre of gravity. Feel the bows strengths like we've practised and try to see if you can get it somewhere on the dummy. But aim for the heart." Thélowên steps aside to let her friend get in a better spot to fire at the brown dummy stuffed with wheat.

Rhaenys watched Thélowên work. It was almost as if she could feel her friend’s concentration vibrate through the ground. It was truly inspiring to watch her work. Rhaenys enjoyed archery, but not as much as close combat practice, which she was excellent at. However, it was now time for archery and not combat. She strung her bow, making sure the string was strained perfectly for today’s training. She picked up an arrow, and made herself ready to shoot. She did just as Thélowên had told her. With a deep breath, she concentrated at the dummy hanging in the tree. She tried to focus, and compared it with throwing her daggers, since she needed the same amount of concentration. She felt the grass with her bare feet, and tried to make a connection with every sound she heard around her.

She took a deep breath and blew out the air through her mouth. She aimed and focused on the dummy’s heart and let go of the string. The arrow went in a slightly bent trajectory and Rhaenys watched it slowly bury itself in the stomach of the dummy. She sighed and shook her head.
“At least I hit it” she said and looked at the arrow, sticking out of the brown dummy. She turned to Thélowên, with a little smile.
“Better than the time I broke the lantern” she said with a laugh. The first time she had tried archery, she had tried to aim for the dummy, but the arrow had went right through a lantern hanging in a completely different tree. Most of the other archers in the army had laughed when it had happened, and Rhaenys had laughed as well. However, she had been quite irritated because the archers had mocked her a great deal considering it had been her first try with a bow and arrow. Nevertheless, they had gotten fairly quiet when Rhaenys had beaten them during combat practice later that day.