Archives of Draonia: Nyeth

The Archives of Draonia: Nyeth



Iladar’s morning was no different than any other. He rose early and dressed quickly, cooked his food over his campfire and packed up his tent. It was still early and dawn was just breaking over the trees. Iladar thought himself lucky he had found a clearing in the forest, and, now in the light, could see smoke rising far to the west. He was hoping he could find a village so he could spend some time in a place to rest. He had gone a few weeks without seeing a woman, also.

Iladar had been on his journey for ten years. He started in his small village in the far east of the kingdom and spent the ten long years going to every point on the continent he could. He was intent on finding his match, the one creature he would spend the rest of his life with. Draonia was a massive kingdom which spread across the continent. The current king had recently united the separate city-states after a bitter struggle for power. Iladar didn’t much care for those politics. He was only focused on finding his match.

He moved into the brightening forest, moving forever toward the plume of smoke billowing in the west. If it didn’t indicate a village, it at least indicated some sort of human activity. Any company was welcome. He spoke to any animal on his way, but none replied. After all the time spent with animals and trying to speak to them, he knew exactly how to not scare them away. He could go up to the most fearful of animals and they would ignore him.

It didn’t seem fair to him. Most people in the kingdom found their animal match before they reached sixteen. Some of the boys in his village had theirs when they started to talk. He remembered watching the boys of his village happily playing with a dog, cat, horse, bird, or even a mouse. There was no greater desire in his soul than to share that with something.

Every person had an animal match, which was purely based on personality, and some of the Wizard’s Guild even claim it is intertwined with destiny. It was believed that the personality a person is meant to have reflects their match, and not the personality they did have. This idea was disputed, however, because many children’s matches change. The argument was that children’s personalities change so quickly and frequently and that explained the change. Destiny doesn’t change.

Iladar knew only one thing: his destiny was to search for his match. Every fortune teller, gypsy, wise man, soothsayer and High Wizard he met all said the same thing. “Your match is a beast of great and terrible power.” They all said it the same way, with the same face. These prophecies just made him want to find his match more. What kind of beast could be so powerful and elusive that not even magic can find it?





The smoke plume was an indication of exactly what Iladar hoped for. A rather large village surrounded the building that the smoke rose from. Iladar knew he was drawing near as he found roads that seemed well traveled. He had been going cross country for a few weeks now. He knew what a well traveled road looked like.

This village seemed to be an early rising village also. He ensured that his first order of business was to see how he could make spending money among the town. Usually his hunting skills allowed him to catch and sell meat to a local butcher. After a few minutes of searching, he found the slaughterhouse. The butcher was an average sized, muscular, bearded man with a bird on his shoulder. He was more focused on a paper in his hand then the customer that had just walked in.

“Fenzon, I don’t believe this. They’re demanding an even higher tax? Where do they think the town is getting this gold from? That Ixenil sure is abusing the power he’s been given,” the butcher mumbled.

“What’s that?” Iladar asked. Both the butcher and his bird were startled.

“Well, you’re a new face. I thought for certain I knew everyone in this village by name,” The butcher said after seeing Iladar.

“I’m just a traveler. I’ve been going cross country for the past few weeks and I just spent the night in the fields to the east. I was wondering if I could sell you some meat?”

“Do you have any on you?”

“I wanted to be sure I could sell it to you before I hunted it.”

“Well, you certainly look like a capable woodsman. Bring me in a nice deer. We’re low on meat.”

“I’ll be back with a stag.”





Iladar headed into the forest again, which was now filled with a thin fog. Fog would interfere with any hunter, but not Iladar. Iladar could see a few feet around him, and that was all he needed. He had been tracking animals so often for such a long time that he could walk up to one and pet it before it knew he was there, and sometimes it didn’t even care that he was.

He moved through the fog, his bow ready and an arrow knocked. On the ground he saw tracks of a lone deer. They were fresh, disturbing the dew that had formed on the leaves of the wild foliage around them. He followed silently and skillfully. His senses were fully alert for any sound the deer might make, for any scent the deer might let off, and for any threat to his kill.

While Iladar hunted, the world was totally shut off. He seemed to see the whole world, and zoom in on his intended target. He was drawn to it almost unconsciously, moving monotonously, always the same exact movement at the same exact pace. He could feel the presence of the deer. He was so close now that he thought he could hear it breathing, hear its heart beating, hear its muscles moving. His senses told him it was just ahead of him, through the brush. He shot the arrow through the leaves, piecing a hole though them. He was snapped back into reality. He heard a fountain just before him.

He peeked through the hole in the leaves. The deer had fallen just beside a small spring in a crag of stone. He was pleased with the kill. It was a stout male, very muscular. The butcher would be quite happy. The one arrow had felled it, striking it in the heart through the space between the ribs.

He moved to the massive animal, which easily weighed three hundred pounds, and grabbed the front legs in his left hand and the hind legs in his right hand. With a mighty heave, he flung the deer over his shoulders and held it up. He would be tired tonight.

“Here you go!” Iladar startled the butcher as he slammed the massive stag onto the counter. He stared at the kill in awe.

“This thing is huge! How many arrows did it take?” the butcher asked.

“One? Well that impossible!”

“Look for yourself,” Iladar pointed to the hole where he had removed the arrow from. The butcher examined it closely.

“Right through the ribs,” the butcher said, “and into the heart! What a divine shot! I didn’t even think you would return with a piece of a deer, let alone felling on with one arrow.” The butcher suddenly stopped short, like he realized something and found himself foolish. “Wait a minute! You’re a wizard, aren’t you? That’s how you found a deer in this fog and got a perfect strike on it? You would have to be a few feet from it hit it so perfectly.”

“I’m no wizard. Just a simple traveler. Now are you going to pay me, or what?” Iladar asked. People always asked him if he was a wizard after he told them of a hunt. He wasn’t a Wizard, he was a Hunter. A natural born one. He had the gift. Nobody realized the difference though. Magic was magic to them.

“Ah, yes!” the butcher replied, handing him a pouch of coins. Iladar found it a more than sufficient payment for the animal.




He went back out into the village. The sun was shining brightly into the village, clearing up most of the fog. It was a nice little village, with shacks made of logs, mostly. One shop looked to be carved from a massive felled tree. It sold herbs and other medicinal items. Instead of leaving the towm to look for more matches, he decided he would enjoy some of the local offerings. The marketplace down the road, surrounding the building with the smoke rising from it, was bustling with shoppers.

Iladar made it a point to look around marketplaces for any rare finds. Many times, the common folk in small villages found rare items and artifacts, but thought them worthless and sold them for close to nothing. That was how he got his sword. He passed a merchant selling swords and it caught his eye. It looked like the other iron swords it was being sold with, but he knew it wasn’t. It was a runeblade, created from magical stones that blocked magic. The merchant had no idea of its real worth, and sold it to him as an iron sword, which was like buying a bar of gold for a copper coin. Rune stone was worth more than gold in Draonia, though.

The villagers were now out and about, their animal counterparts on their shoulders or following loyally at their feet. This town was mostly populated by birds, like the one the butcher had, and cats. A few men had wolves; they were most likely the guardians of the town. Iladar even saw some women with horses. He wasn’t always sure if they were matches, but most women matched with horses didn’t ride their horses. The horses followed loyally behind with no rope or other incentive.

Then he realized how many women there were in this village. He loved variety. It was easy to tell who he would like more by their match. He had been with many different women before, most with different matches. He knew who he liked more. Women with horses were his favorite and he knew exactly how to get them.





The next morning he awoke fully refreshed and ready to continue his search. The woman he had met the day before was long gone; his favorite characteristic of women with horses. He dressed himself quickly and left the inn. He continued west out of the village and off the road.

He moved west for the next few days, taking it slowly to look for various animals. None ever spoke back to him. His traveling led him through the forest and finally into a large plain. Near the forests edge he could see a village on a hilltop. It was rather large, with multiple plumes of smoke rising from it. There was a stone road leading to the north from it, and a stone-lined dirt road heading to the south. It was Ardisia, a major city of the old city-state where the capitol stood.

As he drew closer he saw the walls surrounding the city. He wandered around to the south road so he could enter the gate. The guards didn’t even acknowledge him. He figured there was a lot of traffic in and out of the village. They were probably close enough to the capitol to see it on a clear day.

This city was not as humble as most of the villages he had been to. Even the capitols of the city-states were more welcoming and attractive than this. Rival shops shouted at each other in the streets and thieves were striking at every moment. The guards constantly had to calm everyone down; because it seemed that at every moment a patron of the market was outraged by a price, which set all the other patrons off. And he noticed that not many people had their matches with them. Only people with animals that would sit on their shoulders or fit in their hand baskets were with their matches. There were only a few people with animals at their feet, mainly the shopkeepers and guards.

Then the bustling and wildness ceased. A massive lion slowly walked down the market street, behind him a bejeweled imperial officer. His match. As he drew closer to the imperial capitol, Iladar noticed that the higher ranking imperial officers had very large and powerful matches. Most had some sort of lion or tiger. Some had massive gorillas. This one was the perfect deterrent to the crime and mayhem.

“People of Ardisia,” the officer said, “Please remember that this weekend there will be the annual census. All shops and utilities other than healthcare will be shut down for the duration.”

“Census?” Iladar asked aloud.

“It’s how Ixenil decides the taxes,” a nearby man answered.

“Also, anyone who has any information on what has happened at the Silver Mine is expected to come forward immediately so the Imperial Army knows what they are up against,” the officer said.

“Silver mine?” Iladar asked himself aloud again. The same man answered him.

“Just the other day, the miners in the Ardisia Silver Mine accidentally opened up a cave with some nasty indigenous animals in it. They didn’t like the miners doing that and they rampaged all over the mine.”

“And they don’t have any information on them?”

“Everyone who survived didn’t see the animals. Which leads us to believe that everyone who had the misfortune of seeing the animals never made it out alive. Everyone who goes in to investigate either comes out with nothing, or doesn’t come out at all. Ixenil has ordered a battalion to clear out the mine.”

“I think I’ll check it out before they come,” Iladar said.

“If you want to dig your own grave, boy. Be my guest.”





The Silver Mine was about a mile out of the west gate. Iladar headed there immediately. The guards at the gate watched him, but didn’t stop him. Their dogs stood resolute. Iladar didn’t care for the politics of the mine; he only wanted a chance to talk to the animals in there. An animal that kills anything misfortunate enough to see it must be powerful. And then it occurred to him: what if he had already been to where his match was, but it was cut off from the world? He realized now there were two layers of the earth: above ground and under ground. He had only looked through one.

When he reached the mine, it looked deserted. Tools and equipment were left out, and tents and tables were left standing. There was no blood by the entrance to the mine. The animals hadn’t followed the miners out. They seemed to be protecting territory, and maybe even sending a message to the miners. The excitement grew as thoughts of intelligent animals filled his head.

Iladar found an extinguished torch on the ground and quickly lit it with a flint stone in his pack. He held it in his left hand and his sword in his right hand. As he moved into the mine, he found nothing out of the ordinary. But soon, he found pools of drying blood, and trails of blood leading from them. The animals had fatally wounded then dragged the kill away. It was like the animals wanted people to find where they were hiding. It was like they were setting a trap.

Fully aware these animals were smart enough to set a trap, and this most likely was one, Iladar continued forward. His adrenaline ran high, not because of the imminent doom ahead of him, but because he thought that, for once, these animals may actually match the prophecies. The animals seemed so powerful; more powerful than any other animal he had ever seen.

Then he saw one. It was like some sort of reptile, standing on two feet with a lizard-like head. It stood as tall as, perhaps even taller than, Iladar, with pebbled skin. Its forearms hung and looked powerful. Its legs were massive. In the dim light it seemed like the animal was smiling. It stood in the cave, just before him. He had seen this kind of behavior before. Pack hunting. He was being hunted. At any moment, and attack could come from the sides. The animal hissed, its mouth opening slightly. It revealed rows of small but sharp teeth. From the first impression, the claws on the feet and hands, especially the six inch claw on each foot, seemed more deadly than the teeth.

Its skin was brown, with darker brown stripes going down its back and long, thick tail. The animal made a barking sound, as well as a loud, high pitched breathing noise. Iladar knew the attack was imminent, so he did the only thing he really wanted to.

“Hello?” At that instant, two more of the animals charged at him from either side of his body. Before they could strike, however, the lead raptor barked again. The two others froze beside Iladar, the desire to kill still showing in their eyes.

“Did you just say something?” the lead animal said.

“Yes,” Iladar found tears were coming form his eyes. His legs trembled. “You understand me?”

“You understand me?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I didn’t know Raptors could be matched,” The animal said.

“You’re a raptor?”

“Yes, I am called Nyeth. What are you called?”

“Iladar. Nyeth, I’ve been searching for you for ten years.”

“What are these years, you speak of?”

“A very long time. Three thousand six hundred and fifty sunsets.”

“We do not see the sun too often. We were hunted down when we went out.”

“You won’t be hunted anymore. If you come with me. If you stay here, men will come and kill you, for what you have done.”

“They destroyed our nests.”

“They won’t care.”

“What if we agree not to come into the mine, and they stay away form our nests?”

“I don’t think they’ll care what you have to say. To them you’re just animals.”

“I am matched with a human, though! I should have a say like all other matches do!” Nyeth demanded, moving toward Iladar. His grip on the blade firmed, though he knew the animal couldn’t hurt him.

“You may if you come with me,” Iladar suggested. His heart sank. This was the moment of truth. If Nyeth agreed, it was really happening. He held out his hand to the raptor. If the raptor accepted, he would be eternally loyal to him.

“I cannot deny my match.”

“Tell them what you know.” Iladar ordered. Nyeth began barking at his raptor counterparts. They changed their stances from aggressive to submissive.



Iladar refused to spend any more time on niceties. He told Nyeth they needed to stop the imperial legion from destroying the nests and time was short. They left the mine in a hurry, Nyeth demanding that Iladar ride him to hasten their travel. It was awkward to climb onto the animal’s back, and it seemed impossible to ride the animal while it stood still.

“Just hold on tight while I stand. You’ll understand when I get moving,” Nyeth said. Iladar held on tightly, and Nyeth bolted off, down the road. Iladar immediately noticed what Nyeth was trying to say. Nyeth ran with his back and tail parallel to the ground, so the only work Iladar needed to do was balance. The movement of the two feet beneath him was strange at first, but Iladar quickly adjusted.

They were entering the west gate of Ardisia in about a minute and they moved through so quickly that the guards and people could barely tell what it was that had passed.

The road to the capitol was much longer than the road to the mine. It was at least ten miles, but Nyeth didn’t slow down. Iladar found the experience to be the most freeing he had ever had. He didn’t much like moving fast before. He almost always passed an animal that way. But now it was different. He wasn’t looking for animals anymore. He watched as the earth moved beneath his feet and the trees moved in blurs a few hundred yards form the road. Ahead, the imperial capitol Skardisia grew larger and larger.  It didn’t look like a city from the road, but everyone in the kingdom knew it was. The walls of the city stretched hundreds of feet in the air. The Wizard’s Guild had helped build the city around their headquarters when the separate city-states united. The wall was a boasting of that magical architecture.

When they reached the wall, Nyeth stopped to stare at the structure. His gaze was stuck on the wall, looking up and down, across and over. The guards at the gate spotted them. The raptor was an unwelcome sight. It would have been shot immediately if Iladar hadn’t been riding it. They knew it was at least tame.

“What business have you here?” a guard asked as they surrounded them.

“I’ve come with world of the Ardisia Silver Mine. It is safe again,” Iladar replied. Holding Nyeth tight as he went vertical. The guards looked at each other and then lowered their bows.

“If that is true, then hurry to Ixenil’s court and inform them of this news. They didn’t want to send the soldiers to begin with,” A guard said. They returned to their posts and Nyeth was sprinting again.

They hurried through the city, trying to stay in motion as much as possible. They figured Ixenil’s court was in the castle north of the Wizard’s tower. Their assumptions were strengthened when they saw more guards and more armor near the castle. The plant life diminished as they moved up the hill along the beautiful, clear water that streamed through the center of the city. It led him straight to the castle, which was void of plant life, but beautifully decorated with marble stone and massive statues honoring all the united kingdoms.

He moved quickly to the castle entrance and told the guards there the same thing he had told the guards in the entrance to the city. They allowed him to pass and directed him to Ixenil’s chambers. They counted the news as urgent.



As he slammed the massive knocker on the door, Iladar shouted, “Lord Ixenil!” The door opened momentarily, and a man with a short, brown beard and low hanging, thick hair opened the door. He looked old, but not very old. He was fifty at most.

“What is it, boy?” he asked abruptly.

“I have news of the Ardisia Silver Mine,” Iladar replied.

“Speak!” Ixenil shouted. He seemed busy.

“It’s safe. The mine is safe. The animals won’t harm anyone else.”

“And how do you know that? Come in,” Ixenil asked, opening the door fully. The door unveiled the king’s luxurious accommodations. There was a fireplace in the far end of the room, and a balcony on the right side. Several seats were placed around the room. He moved to a seat near the fireplace and drank his drink.

“I went into the mine. I was matched with one of the animals. He told the others that they couldn’t attack the miners as long as they stayed out of their nests.”

“Prove it.”

“Come here.” Iladar said. Immediately, Nyeth entered the room. Ixenil dropped his drink.

“What’s you name?” he asked, staring at Nyeth in awe.

“Iladar. And this is Nyeth.”

“How would you two like to join the imperial army?” Ixenil was writing something on a piece of parchment.

“What?” Iladar was confused.

“Join the imperial army? If you are matched with that creature, you must be incredible. You will surely rise in rank very quickly.”

Iladar turned to Nyeth. “Do you want to join the Imperial Army?”

“What does it mean?” Nyeth asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“It means we join other people and their matches and we use our physical strength to uphold justice, protect people and protect the law.”

“That sounds like fun,” Nyeth said, nodding. If Nyeth could smile, he most likely would have.

“We’ll do it. We’ll join,” Iladar told Ixenil.

“Excellent! How old are you, boy?”

“Twenty-six.”

“Ah, a nice ripe age to begin training. You look much younger, though. I think I’ll have you both be specialists. But first thing’s first,” Ixenil stamped the letter he was writing with his seal. “Bring this letter to the imperial army offices.”

“Yes, sir.” Iladar said. He took the sealed letter from Ixenil. He and Nyeth went to the west wing of the Castle, which was where the barracks were. When they delivered the letter, they found it cancelled the order to clear the mine. After they left the castle, Iladar stood at the crystal clear waters of the canal that flowed from beneath the castle. It was hard to believe that just a half hour before, he had been matchless. Nyeth moved to him, his head low.

“Is something wrong?” Iladar asked.

Nyeth responded, “I understood him.”





Ixenil left the castle in a rush. He was wearing a cloak and hood that made him indiscernible from anyone else. It was nighttime now, only a few hours since Iladar and the raptor had told him of the animals living in the Ardisia Mine. They would make fine additions to his collection, if they were anything like Nyeth. He covered a caged wagon with a thick and heavy cloth and secured it before he drove it out of the city.

He wasn’t stopped by any of the guards on his way out, and he was thankful. He didn’t want to explain himself to the lies of them. They didn’t deserve his time. He snapped the reigns, urging the horses onward. When they reached Ardisia, he turned toward the mine, where his prizes lie. A short time later, he pulled the wagon up before the entrance.

He removed his disguise now and attached his weapon; a gemmed runeblade with magic engravings on it. It was rare for a wizard to have the power to enchant a runeblade, but Ixenil was just any wizard. The tabard was a beautifully decorated leather, with gilded embroidery all along it.

He followed the blood paths on the floor and found the area where the miners had broken into the animal nests. He could hear voices inside, but they weren’t really saying much. He stepped in and panned the area with his torch. The two raptors stared angrily.

“This isn’t part of the deal!” one said.

“People were supposed to stay out!” the other growled.

“Maybe he doesn’t know about the rule yet.”

“Oh, I know about the rule, my friends,” Ixenil said gleefully.

“He just spoke to us. He understands us. How? He cannot be matched to both of us!” one of the raptors said.

“Don’t worry, my friends. I have the ability to speak with animals. I understand them and they understand me,” Ixenil said.

“Why are you here then, human?”

“I have a proposition.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I have an offer. If you come with me, you won’t need to hide in this rank cave anymore. I will feed you the finest of meats and you will have the finest of nesting places. I only ask that you do a service to me in return. Food and a healthy home and nest… for service to me,” Ixenil explained.

“Is it… warm there? Our eggs need warmth. I don’t even think these ones will survive.”

“Oh, it’s very warm. There are many other animals like your there, too. Forgotten, left over from the past. Most of them enjoy it there. The ones who don’t have no problem with the accommodations, just with me. So, what do you say?”

“We can lay eggs? And it’s warm?”

“Yes, and free food. You can hunt if you’d like or we can feed you.”

“Let’s do it. This guy seems alright.”

“We’ll do it. We’ll join you.”

“I have the feeling we are going to be close friends.” Ixenil turned, smirking, and led the raptors out of the mine and into the wagon, allowing them to bring their eggs along with them. He disguised himself again and hid the wagon with the sheet, and even with a spell. He couldn’t risk anyone seeing the animals, and especially not their eggs. As he went though Ardisia, he left a note with his seal saying that the mine was once again safe. He needed that silver.