ElFewja
2nd Level Red Feather
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2007
- Messages
- 1,296
- Points
- 38
Power of the Thuum – */f feet
Ghastly tendrils of fallen fog slithered down the steely mountainside, its face glinting majestically in the sun. The beadlets fell together then fanned out as though the cloud breathed while tumbling through the air. Tumbling over a cliff, the cloud slowly splashed against the pointed thatch roof of a building, spilling down the sides like a fresh sheet of rain before vanishing altogether. With a click the door opened and a woman stepped out before leaning her shoulder against the door and pushing it shut with a heavy clasp.
Her long, mahogany curls bounced up and down her shoulders as she hefted a stick across the back of her neck while two empty buckets heaved about, their boards clacking against the metal frame that held them together. With a quick shuffle of her shoulders, she raised her rounded chin and pointed her smoothed nose and chiseled, oaken eyes to the valley. Quietly galloping down the steps of the porch that ran to the edges of the wooden house, she bounded onto the old road that ran past the building, her heels clicking against the disheveled stones that manifested the dirt path into a spiraling street that lead down into the valley of tall, yellowing grass and into the horizon.
The door clacked open again, this time spewing out a woman whose head reached above the frame. Bending over, she quickly hopped under the frame and thrust her arm onto the door, slamming it shut behind her. Quickly dropping her hands to her belt, she steadied it from the sword that drug it downwards, its ragged and chipped appearance besmirching the otherwise nondescript brown dress that hid her boots from the world. Lifting the hems of her dress, she jumped down the steps, landing heavily on the road.
Spreading her legs, she raised her arms and crossed them underneath her breasts, her long, wildly curving mahogany curls gallantly galloping over top of her shoulders. The sun bumbled down her hooked nose then sparkled a private, fierce light within her sapphire eyes. Her lips, reaching far to the sides of her face and above her pointed chin, rippled into a snarl as she called out towards the other woman. “I will challenge him!”
Shaking her head, the shorter woman continued down the road without turning back. As she continued, she passed a young man as he raised a shaft and struck at the earth with wild fervor, tilling it into submission. Smiling and nodding, the shorter woman continued onward then turned around the house, slopping down a steep hill littered with large, gray boulders. Wild waters spewed from an opening in the mountain, spiraling down and over top of a puddle of grass that writhed in the frothy sea. Gingerly stepping over the muddied grass, the heels of her boots sank within the sooty ground as she lowered the buckets into the depths, sucking away at their life energies. Gritting her lips together, she swayed back and forth as she shakily stood upward.
Clomping down the road, the raised heels of her fur-lined boots squabbling with the masonry beneath her, the tall woman strode past the farmer and stood over the hill as the shorter woman huffed her way upward. “I can defeat him!”
Without drawing her face from the hill, the shorter woman glanced upward, her nose twitching. Nodding her rounded face towards the blade at the woman's hip, she spoke simply, her voice pawing at the air. “With that?”
Thrusting her arms downward, the tall woman bent her fingers at the knuckles, forming flat, half fists as she shook furiously. “I'd rather die than let that dragon tax us any longer!” Her curls shook as she spoke, and her eyes glittered with an unrequited desire for justice.
The ends of the smaller woman's lips curved upward as she looked away and snorted out a scoff. As she strode up the hill and back onto the road, the buckets kicked and whinnied, spilling water onto the thirsty soil. Walking past the taller woman, she continued hobbling onward, scuffing her shoes against the stones as she passed. She slowed to a stop, the buckets cowing her shoulders to alternate with them. Looking up into the ocean-blue sky, she uttered “You will die, just like your fool of a Nord father.”
The upper left side of the tall woman's wide lips twitched. With a great huff she stuck her nose to the air and stomped down the road, kicking up a plethora of dirt that clung to her like the morning fog. Sloping downward, she followed the road around a large boulder that jutted outward and pointed towards a small, gnarled tree with vine-like branches and short cropped, fern-like leaves. Just ahead of her the path split off, the stone work heading down a steep incline, towards a thin stream that hissed and foamed, spewing a great amount of mist as it worked over the head sized boulders that formed its basin. To the left, a meager dirt path partially overgrown by spike like barbs of grass lead up the side of their bitter mountain. Placing a hand on her sword, she shook it against her hip and began striding across the musty road.
The dirt almost immediately turned to a coat of gravel that crunched beneath her as she hiked upwards. Her legs began to burn as she cycled her knees up to her stomach in order to continue up the steep incline. Within moments she stood fifty feet or more above the road she had wandered down, her own path slipping at a sharp angle before turning on a flat and heading upwards in the opposite direction. Planting her right boot on top of a spire of a rock, she placed her hands on her knee and gazed down the road, towards the valley obscured by mist. She carefully watched the road stretch ever onward, spiraling around the rim of the valley and narrowly avoiding the decaying siege armaments that rested in that graveyard. Cycling over a hill, the road quickly sped out of sight, curving along a distant forest that barred her from her people. Sighing, she sharply turned her chin and strode off and up the path.
Her boots slid beneath her as she stepped, the gravel turning into knuckle sized rocks that threatened to send her back from whence she came. Rising slowly, she carefully set her boot against the rocks before shifting her weight onto it while her other boot struck the ground it set away from her like a blacksmith's sharpening wheel. Just ahead, through the coyly dancing fog, she could see the summit. As she neared, she spied a carved half circle of a wall that rested just beneath a flat, sharply rising slab of mountain, as though the monument were carved directly from it. Runes seemed to glow upon it.
Stepping onto flat land, she pushed her leg as though she were still climbing, forcing her to tumble forward into a half jog as she caught her bearings. A clatter resounded beneath, then behind her as she stumbled forward. Looking back over her shoulder, she watched as a skull toppled down the side of the mountain, clattering and splintering as it struck against the rocks that stabbed out from the sides. With a grimace she shook her head and turned forward, striding towards the monument.
Gazing over the fence of rocks that brokered along the edge, she stared off into the distance towards a faraway settlement on the edge of the forest. It rose above the trees as though shaking a fist at the gods above. Placing her hands upon her hips, she spun her head back towards the monument, her eyes bouncing off of a small, clearly man-made throne of wood off on the far side of the monument. Raising an eyebrow, she shrugged and looked up towards the peak of the mountain, its pointed needle piercing the clouds above. Quickly cupping her hands around her lips, she yelled out as loud as she could, “Dragon! I've come to challenge you!”
All in the valley she heard her words echo again and again, their varied tones and depths sticking into the back of her neck like cold needles. Goosebumps formed along her arms as she shifted her eyes about, watching for any shadow of movement. Gripping her sword, she bent her knees and spread her legs apart, lowering her shoulders and extending her left elbow. Her entire body felt like an archer's bowstring, primed and ready.
A great roar tore through the sky, splitting it in two. The cloud that circled around the mountaintop blushed and quivered as it grew blacker than the void of death. The air rumbled around her, and small rocks tumbled against the ground as the sky shook and spilled lightning against a tree far in the valley, sparking it into a raging fire. Her breathing grew fast and shallow as she looked around, her shoulders rising to her ears as she stepped backward. A rush of air blew by her as though the rage of the gods manifested itself before her, blowing her dress tightly against her and forcing her backward. The air sharply slapped forward and she tumbled ahead, catching herself as a great crackacarack resounded followed by a world ending thud. The sound of leather quickly slapping at the air brushed against her and she looked up, a large scaly beast with blazing scarlet eyes staring down at her from the top of the monument.
Toppling backwards, her eyes grew wide as she bounced upon the ground. With gusto she pushed herself backward, her spine shriveling and her jaw hanging downward as she locked eyes with the beast. A groan roared through the air and words surrounded her, rising up around her like a tornado. “What brings you here without tribute, mortal?!” They slammed at her like stone mallets, beating up her sides and striking at her back. Her left arm shook violently then lashed around in front of her, her fingers wrapping around the loose leather hilt of her blade. Drawing it with a slicing clink, she pointed the shaking tip towards the dragon's snout, the metal blade basking in the sun's golden light, blinding her momentarily. Snapping her eyes shut, she dashed her head to the side and grit her teeth.
The sizzling sound of a hundred blades slashing through the air ripped around her, bandying together into a slow, tumultuous cackle. Peering through a small crevice between her eyelids, she took in the fanged grin of the dragon, its scaly lips curving upward. “Fool,” the word serrated her, sawing through her while slapping at her with enough force that a handful of fist sized rocks tumbled past her. Thunder crackled and lightning sparked in the clouds above as words crackled around the summit, bouncing off the walls and echoing within her skull. “My kind are not as brutish as you lot.”
His wings rose and fell heavily, a fierce wind knocking what little grass grew onto its sides. Flapping again and again, he reared upwards, lumbering above the monument and floating in front of it. Slowly, he drifted to the ground, a small puff of dust rising and falling in a circle around him as he landed with a gentle thud. “Come,” he beckoned as he clawed across the ground, facing the wooden throne, “Challenge me with your voice.”
Nodding quickly and shallowly, her fingers loosed around the hilt, letting the chipped weapon clatter against the ground. Her arms quivered and trembled as she pushed herself up, shivers tearing over her as she lowered her head and sped to the throne with fast, short steps that rifled the gravel beneath her as the stones whispered amongst themselves about her. Shoving her arms in front of her, she wrapped the fingers of her left hand around her right wrist as she stood, meekly cowering in front of the throne and the barricade standing guard in front of it. Two boards clasped together with holes carved into them rose such that the holes stood at the same level as the seat of the throne. A single, metal hook rose from the top board, and lengths of rope and tiny strands of strings lay limply around the raised pedestal.
“Sit!” The voice beckoned all around her. At once her arms detached themselves and she spun about, setting herself against the high backing of the seat. Pressing her shoulders into it, she felt the warmth of smugness ripple at the edges of her mind even as she bowed her head, staring at the ground. Shifting within the seat, she felt the warmth of the sun blossom within her. Basking within it momentarily, she let a sly smile creep upon her lips.
A thunderous growl rippled through the air around her, shaking the throne beneath her. The glint of blue flames rolled within the dragon's burning eyes as his voice shook within her skull. “Prepare yourself,” he commanded. Dropping her hands into her lap, she pushed her wrists straight along her legs, curling her fingers at their knuckles. Closing her eyes, her lips spun away from her teeth as she bit down and looked away. A wheeze of exasperation spun around her, and she felt his voice chisel against her. “Remove your footwear.”
Pressing the tip of her tongue over her upper lip, she swiftly nodded and reached downward, stripping away her right boot and letting it fall aside. Spinning her fingers around her left boot, she formally discarded it, letting it tumble on top of its fallen comrade. A scent of blueberries hung in the air, her nose perking at the unusual scent. In front of her, the boards shook, the top one lifting away. Nodding quickly, she lifted her legs and pointed her toes, shoving her bare feet through the holes. As soon as her ankles touched against the well-smoothed wood the board fell again, bundling her tightly to it.
The scent grew stronger, and then the lengths of string and rope shot into the air. Two pieces of rope rolled beneath her wrists, tugging them to the armrests before quickly lapping around them tightly, pinching at her skin. Balling her hands into fists, she tugged, her wrists refusing to move. Her fingers collapsed, then wrapped around the rounded ends of the rests as she felt a distant sensation slither between her toes.
Gasping, she sat up, her shoulder blades striking at the wood behind her while her ribs riled themselves up with remorseful eccentricity. Her toes flickered and pouted downward momentarily, but were soon swept up and backward by the strings as they wriggled around her toes. At the head of the board, she watched as the strings came together and looped through the metal hook. In a single breath she felt her strength sap away and again she shifted her shoulders, tugging at her arms while she pushed her toes downward to no avail, a mirror memory of a wrinkle cackling across her exposed arches. For a moment she felt a moth-like sensation trickle inside of her chest as her heart wept upward as she imagined how she must look. Color rushed above her rounded cheeks as she envisioned her smooth soles, so tightly bound before the dragon that she could barely wiggle a toenail. Lifting her chin, she looked out across the valley as she brushed away the image of her own pathetic helplessness while a gust of wind rampaged up her arch. Crinkling within her chair, she snorted a quick, girlish giggle unbecoming of her proud Nordic heritage.
The dragon's massive frame rippled as he reared back, the fire in his eyes radiating chilling sparks into the air. Flames fanned his nostrils as he inhaled, the rocks around her tumbling forward while her top boot rolled forward. Suddenly whipping his neck forward, he opened his mouth, his great white fangs sparkling in the sunlight as his booming voice surrounded her. Rolling her nose upward, she winced and turned away as foul air pushed her into the back of her throne. Foreign, guttural words reverberated around and within her. Feeling characters carve themselves into her soles, she suddenly shuddered, understanding his tongue with her soul. “(Show me the power of your Mortal Voice).”
A whirlwind whipped by her. More rocks tumbled past, and her boots slowly tugged away at the ground before ripping into the air and sailing down the mountainside, their personal pilgrimage pushing her towards her own private journey. Gritting her teeth, her lips spread outward as her soul seemed to reach through her and outward, as though a deeper knowledge was just out of her reach. The fibers of her muscles twanged as they stretched out too far, a tightness tugging at her. The dragon closed his mouth and the shiny edges of his lips drew upward into a toothy grin, his incisors jutting on either edge of his face. Another round of thunder roared around her and she felt her back slam into the throne again. “(Foolish Mortal. Know your place as a mere toy.)”
He cackled quietly as lightning flourished along the pointed top of the mountain. “(Entertain me, toy!)” the sharp, endlessly curving words crackled around, and the sensation of runes sizzling against her flesh crackled within her mind. A ball of icy dread bubbled within her, searing at her insides as she looked into his sinister eyes. Unable to look away, she felt his words hammer against her. “(A single, delicate feather will undo your fragile foot.)” The air around him crackled and split.
A lilting sensation grazed up the arch of her right foot, sparking like flint as it spun and wavered. With a squeal she rolled her right shoulder behind her as she pushed herself upward, thrusting her left shoulder out as she spied over the board. Pinching her eyelids, she focused, trying to see the phantom that left its tingling imprint upon her skin. The touch was warm and light, like the gentle caress of a spring breeze. Sniffing, her head shivered and her toes pushed against their bonds, desperate to protect her arch. A swift, high pitched giggle escaped her before she clamped down her teeth, chaining the bubbling emotions within her as the touch slowly fanned up her foot. “(Down).” He boomed. Spinning around the ball of her foot, it swept back downward. Her shoulders shook and she extended her chin, barring the response her body desperately sought to give.
A hundred thoughts stampeded across one another, overwhelming her. She could feel her thoughts solidify within her, taking shape. 'What is this?' Again the dragon's voice boomed around her, archaic words slapping at her shoulders. “(Roll up.)” Her eyebrows furrowed down and she glared at him as the touch draped across her heel before coyly sweeping up. 'Don't look away', she thought to herself, feeling her thoughts reflected within his eyes. The light pressure kissed up the very edge of her arch. Her foot wiggled, and her toes flapped at the strings. Gritting her teeth, she took on a regal look at she sat back. 'Don't give him any response!' “(Dance, then strike down!)” The touch cantered upward, nuzzling around the flat ball of her foot again before swiping around it several times then dashing down the line that ran down the middle of her foot. 'Oh goddess.' Lifting her chin, she grit her teeth tighter as her mouth puffed in and out air, smuggling her giggles out under the guise of swift exhales.
The wind soared around her as a heated tornado spun around her, searing into her more and more runes as he spoke. “(Your body is frail and succumbs to such a light touch!),” he bellowed out at her, his roar echoing inside of her. “(To think you would bare such weakness before me! Laugh at your folly, mortal!)” The sensation on her sole pulsed and flared, buzzing as it sped across her foot, slashing wild, sharp lines against her. Inhaling deeply, she pulled in her lips and thrust her face towards the bulbous black clouds above her. A budding light peaked in her abdomen and she quickly doused it as she sat, twitching and flinching. The lines that stroked her foot appeared before her eyes as flashes, and a squeal wedged itself within her throat as she began to shake.
Leaning forward, he roared, spittle flying past her as her throne shook and creaked against the ground. “(Laugh, Mortal!)” Her stomach churned as it tugged at the words, clinging to them in a vain attempt to ride along them. The clouds above grew splotchy as water pooled within her eyes, her throat aching to vocalize the suffering of her foot. Pushing her tongue against her upper lip, she tilted her head back further and shook her legs, striking at the boards with her ankles. The line fluttered around her foot like a bird, striking smoothly against her skin. The hook clicked as her toes wavered wildly, the velvety touch of the strings rubbing up and down her toes as she kicked against them. Closing her eyes, she felt herself quickly hammer up a makeshift dam of driftwood between herself and her foot. The distant light blossomed again, burning at the backs of her shoulders as she worked.
Pressing her lips into a great line, she turned away from the great beast without breaking eye contact, his voracious eyes hungrily lapping at her in mockery. A snarl of a scoff sliced through his teeth, its heavy wind wrapping around her, sapping at her defenses. Latching her tongue to the roof of her mouth, she contained a sizzling giggle that singed her lips, though it seeped out the left edge, rolling down her jawline. She continued to hammer at the weathered boards as the floor grew damp beneath her and water began to slowly drizzle over-top of the lowest board.
A growl rumbled around her, the teeth of its callous winds chipping away at her as the dragon bellowed, “(I said Laugh, Mortal!)” The line that streaked across her foot sparked against her anew, its touch wavering into a nail-like scratch as it crissed across her arch. Her lower lip spread away and together with her upper, curved downward, exposing her lower teeth. Snapping her nose against her shoulder, she wrestled an eeehp of a shriek down, smuggling it back within her before it had a chance to alert her foe. Fidgeting back and forth within the chair, she shifted her arms, the grains of the rope biting into her wrists as she balled her fingers into fists. The dragon let out a deep, throaty chuckle and the left side of his mouth twitched. “(Her toes.)” he beckoned.
The ghostly feather snapped up, then vanished for a moment. Instinct grasped her lungs and she exhaled briefly as her muscles loosened. Within a heartbeat, the vibrating sensation rippled across the bottom of her largest toe, then slipped across each pad before slashing backwards. Its touch scratched at her the whole way across like a hundred bony fingers digging against her flesh. Thrusting her chest forward at the first provocation, she rattled her hips within her throat and choked down a yelp of laughter, turning it into a steaming hiss. Her toes fought against their bonds, rifling against them, yet the demonic strings held firm, forcing her flesh to endure the dragon's mystifying touch.
Thrusting her chin against her chest, she clamped her eyes shut and sat, huffing quickly. The edges of her mind began to crack and water began to drip in from the ceiling. 'How long can I last', she wondered as the touch eviscerated her toe-pads. Distantly she felt her hands flailing against the arm rests, rapidly clenching into fists before spraying her fingers against it, then clawing into it, her nails wavering against like a frolicking wave riding to a distant shore. His eyes furrowed through hers, searing imprints into her mind and soul as her tender toes were titillated. The lower lids of his eyes curved upwards and his grin grew wide, clearly pleased by the effects of his daedric magics. Anger surged through her, chomping at the front of her shoulders and burning in her chest. Bellowing out a fiery, “Do your worst!” she sat back in her chair, spreading her quivering shoulders flat as she raised her chin at him. The distant echoes upon her toes screamed at her, yet she commanded them to silence, freezing her toes in place to endure their tragic fate.
As he let out a slow chuckle that quaked the ground beneath her she held her breath, pressing her ribs tightly against her body in order to keep out the infectious sound. “(I will completely break your will, mortal.)” The words rattled against her bones, but she drew in a deep breath, brushing them off. Slowly, his neck extended and he pressed his face to eye level with her, his bright crimson eyes sparkling with a twisted pride and vindictive malice. “(Your other foot is plagued by a nefarious feather),” he slowly uttered. The glacier of dread reared up within her again. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply and gulped. A fiery insignia spun into existence on her unharassed foot, zipping around her sole merrily.
A shock zapped through her legs then rumbled up her torso, shaking her to the rhythm of the tumbling clouds above. Inhaling a sharp gasp that punctuated the winds that tore around her, her eyes bulged as hot words fluttered across her mind. 'No,' she thought as her jaw fell, 'no, no!' The image of her boots whispering along the ground then tumbling down the mountain regaled her as she expelled a tumultuous fit of berserk and untamed laughter. Thrusting her head back, she grit her teeth and spread her lips apart as she shrieked out a “Yeeehehehe!” while her mind continued to pummel at her body with 'no, no!' 'Stop,' she thought to herself as she wrangled at her insides while pushing away at the thought of the sensations that tormented her. Her arms banged at the rests that they were so tightly bound to, and she felt the rope rip into her wrists with a tight hotness. Thrashing her hips against the sides of her throne, she flit her eyes open, expelling her glorious, ringing voice at the blackened heavens that were hidden away from her. She felt herself falling, sinking into the wood that left up, deftly holding her afloat in the unimaginable sea of sensation as she floundered to keep her head above water.
The dragon's jaw drifted downward and he carefully exhaled a soft breath while his eyelids flitted over his eyes as he soaked in her voice. Slow, meticulously crafted oaken words slithered from the bottom of his throat, seeping around the throne like a fog. “(I see,)” rumbled around her, nipping at the legs of her throne before crawling up the throne and seeping into her, an elated sense of satisfaction biting into her rump. The light pulsed at her shoulders, spilling heat down her backside.
Through the depths of miasma that palpated her for an opportunity at further misery, she bent her head down, facing towards the source of her suffering while bending her neck backward. Clamping her abdomen muscles down, she desperately sought to contain the spinning, swindling feelings within her. Clicking her teeth together, she closed her eyes and snorted, slowing her breath and calming the frenzy within her. As she exhaled she pursed her quivering lips together, her breath shaking, sounding like the leaves of a trembling tree as it vacated her.
Within the pale darkness of her mind she stared at an image of her wide, tall soles, smooth and taut, her flat skin shining before her. A firefly manifested itself across the toes of her left foot and she shook her head, reaching out, begging, pleading. It spun through the air, flicking across her toes, and she became aware of her body past this realm, of the tickling sensations that burned against her. Another firefly lit up, sparking and zigging through the air. Pressing her hands against her cheeks, she smiled sheepishly as her heart leapt within her chest. The bug began nuzzling against her other, immobile sole, attacking her with its wings. Smiling, laughing, she turned away, shrinking and shriveling, falling to her knees before her proper masters.
Sucking a wavering wind through her teeth, her eyes bulged open and she looked upward. Her lips curved upward, and she let her chin fall into her right shoulder as she giggled precariously through her wide grin. Pain snipped through her abdomen in silver veins. Relinquishing her hold over her abdomen, she laughed lightly, freely and relaxed her shoulder muscles, slipping back against the chair. 'No matter,' she thought to herself as she let out a whimsical “eeeehehe,” before inhaling and allowing another to escape her, 'I can endure.' 'I may have given him what he wants, but I will yield no more.'
The dragon's eyes sagged open, a tornado of flames spinning along his glassy eyes. His lids hung beneath him, bagging together into a bunch. Lifting his head, he spewed out a low grumble of his arcane language. “(This is not enough! Shower me with your Voice!)” Stamping his forward right paw, then his left, he clawed into the ground and extended his neck, roaring loudly. The throne scraped backward a few inches and she bowed her head, shutting her eyes and turning away as foul winds flapped through her clothes and compressed her. “(Laugh!)”
As though soaked in a diabolic drought of evil, tickle inducing fluids, the sensations that slipped along her flesh flared, momentarily blinding both of her feet in a sparkling wave of sensation. Slumping forward, she slapped her arms against the throne, screeching a throaty “eee!” that pinched her ears. The entirety of her feet were slathered again and again by a blinding white light that gobbled her up, chewing against her flesh and marring her with agony. She stepped back, watching with a disguised eagerness as the boards of her makeshift dam creaked loudly, then split apart in a rain of splinters, flooding her mind with a deluge of emotion.
The great light sparked again and subsided into two twin points. Drooping within her chair, her hair spun over sweaty face like a pair of curtains, obscuring the dragon's great frame from her. Weakness sapped her of her strength and she sat back, letting out a “ee-eeee-yaaaa,” before descending into maniacal cackling as the spikes clawed against her tender flesh. Their touch was sharp, prickling at her, yet it evoked even more feeling against her than the blinding wave moments ago. Worse, it zipped along each of her soles in sweeping, wide arcs, leaping unexpectedly around. Unable to ward herself against the new attacks, she embraced them, welcoming them to her flesh. Clutching her eyes shut, she inhaled sharply, then puffed out a strained “eeh!” A meager thought slapped wetly at the thought of her resignation but she found herself unable to move the bulky block of a thought from her consciousness.
“(Yes,)” the dragon spilled out, his voice swelling around. Rearing back, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth, twisting his neck as her voice spiked against him. “(Yes. Relish in your penance.)” Her jaw dropped and she closed her eyes as wild torrents of untamed laughter spilled all around her. Ripping his eyes open, he extended his neck towards the sky and called out, “(Knead and Nurture!)”
The spikes that lit her alive into a medley of ticklish wonderment spun about, their touch shifting. She felt her flesh become awash with a nigh unfathomable radiance as they ran along her skin so fast she could barely register the sensation, their touch vibrating and buzzing as they zigged and zagged across her flesh. All at once, the sharp, pinpoint touch of the phantom feathers slathered against her, massaging up and down her arches as though a proud peacock stood before her, flourishing his beautiful feathers against her helpless feet. Her toes balked, bartering with the strings for a mere second of reprieve, to curl together against her soles and weep, yet the dastardly things scoffed at her, forcing them to remain on duty. They stood, pelted by the tips of the feathers as they slashed up and downward, her toes feeling like petals held open against their will, soaking in an endless amount of sun until they began to smoke and burn, overcome by an abundance of satiation. Thrashing her head from side to side, she felt her hair flail through the air as a rumbling “Tseehehehe!” painted across her lips.
The light spun away, sparkling against the outer rims of her feet before one spiraled around the ball of her foot and the other her heel. Again, they shifted, carrying a new, wet and soft feeling. Rolling her head back, she gasped at the new, light sensations that nurtured a divine wonder against her soles. Even as they left slimy trails of radiance that glittered against her with a star-fire of sensation, their touch morphed again, turning into a smattering of lips against her. The touches appeared suddenly, popping and disappearing all over, one after another. A shiver ran up her spine, shaking her within her throne as rolled her shoulders and tightened her neck muscles.
Yet the touches transformed again, this time back to the feathers. They danced upon and in-between her toes, vigorously nipping at those most private and defenseless sectors of her feet. Squealing, she spun her torso in the chair, spiraling her side into the back of her throne as the rope tugged at her, calling for her to stay. Turning her head at an angle, her lips clawed into her face as she cried out with resplendent laughter that tumbled down the mountain like rainwater. As she closed her eyes, she felt those burning rubies drill through her eyelids, his gaze impeding itself within her as his voice washed around her and his runes chiseled into her soles. “(Admit the truth you hide from yourself.)”
The pleasure within her pulsed menacingly but she quickly beat it down, shuffling it away, hiding it deep within a drawer in the back of her mind. Through the mask of her hair, she watched as the dragon smiled and rolled his head, writhing with delirium as her laughter rolled along his scales, assailing him with noise. She saw herself, an endless amount of time before, standing before him, her head held high and the tip of her sword pointed towards him. The image slowly fell away as she watched herself, laughing helplessly, endlessly, within a monument before him, her soles bare and bound before him. Closing his lips, his throat rolled down a gulp and his eyes spun back towards her. Looking directly into his eyes, she glared fiercely while icy dread shuddered through her, melting against the burning radiance that she so desperately sought to snuff out. Throwing his head towards her, he bellowed out, “(Feathers rain upon your toes and swamp your soles!)”
Immediately she stopped laughing, freezing in place as a wellspring of sensations prickled against her. Her smile crept upward as they dripped against her, covering her in a sheet of budding familiarity. Yelling, screaming, she laughed, her voice tearing the air asunder as a hundred feathers drizzled across her. Thrashing her head back and forth, she wailed at the amazing touches that singed and sizzled against her skin. Luminescence beamed through her, and she felt her aches melt away as she put the stars to shame with her brilliance.
Each touch lasted but a second, yet they lapped over one another and caressed every part of her feet, her soul blisteringly aware of each and every touch. Time fell away as she counted them, focusing on every single one as it happened, lapping in its radiance. Though they carried the touch of the feathers, they also simultaneously carried all of the properties he had regaled against her, prickling at her with a sharp, agonizing point, passionately kissing her with soft lips and slathering against her with a wicked tongue, leaving a sinister trail of sparkling, bubbling sensations against her. Her delicate, feeble feet embraced the sensations, drawing them in like dry land welcomes rainwater, soaking it in, relishing in it. A voracious hunger gnawed at her stomach as the radiance grew around her, blinding her from the stormy world around her, and she felt herself vanish into a laughing, crying puddle. Thrashing about within the chair, she desperately grabbed at the blissful sensation within her abdomen, clawing at it and hugging onto it, yet at the same time she felt herself thinking 'don't give in to him'. Still, her feet remained, acting as a conduit for her true self, her new form carved out from the mountainside by the dragon's voice. All she knew, all she was aware of, were his ravenous eyes watching her, mocking her, devouring her suffering. One last, booming call resounded around her as conscious thought melted away. “(The Rising Tide Consumes You!)”
In another world she sank within a river of flames that rolled around her, licking at her endlessly with an infinite number of feathers. They groped and kneaded up her legs, biting at the tops of her feet, then slowly nipping up her hips and sides before engulfing her breasts. Pleasure racked her, and it felt as though she fell into the sun, blinding her and overcoming her. Even though it tickled more and more, all she could do was laugh as loud as she had when her feet were brushed by two individual feathers. Her body desperately tried to howl loud enough to rip the world asunder, to let it know of the horrid sensations that plagued her.
As he continued to let the ghostly visages torture her, she felt a wellspring of heat churn within her, rising through her chest. The laughing sensation continued to plague her feet, yet she felt herself smiling broadly, not from the tickling but from the intense euphoria that frothed within her. A scrawling moan burned at her lips, but she choked it down, groaning as the pent up emotions roiled with frustration inside of her lungs. Falling forward limply, she hung her head, her eyes fluttering as she sought to contain herself from him, but in her heart she could feel his curious knowledge at the conflict that he brewed within her.
Then she felt his voice, unable to comprehend the words, yet at the same time she felt her internal voice rise, matching his tongue but drowning out his words, making them appear paltry things compared to her will. 'It's not enough.' The runes charred her skin and her flesh lit alive with a a spiderweb-like netting that shrouded her feet, gripping snugly into her. Trembling, she felt heated lightning course against her skin, blasting her with a perfect tickling. She shrieked, thrashing wildly in the chair as the sensations plucked away at her very being, striking all at once and in exactly the right way to purify her. Lush, leafy desired sprouted within her body, and she felt herself convulse with joy as she sank into a shadowy place within herself. Again she dove into the river of fire, desperately scouring it for the secrets of herself to reveal to the dragon and the world around her, yet at the same time she felt her body refuse to yield despite the awful things he did to her. For eons she drifted through the river, letting its searing heat burn her away time and again as she fell into a blissful slumber. As she drifted from this world she felt his heart pulsing alongside her own. A warm tightness gripped her chest and a heavenly smile stole away upon her lips.
An awareness of the world, cold and unnatural, seeped into her, crawling against her skin. Her neck twitched and she felt her muscles tighten then contract, failing to lift her sagging head. Exhaustion blew through her like the stormy winds brought on by the dragon. Inhaling a dark, cold breath, she let her eyes flutter open. Around her, the summit was awash in steely moonlight, her sight barely crawling past the pitch. Lifting her gaze, she came upon a great shadow holding two glowing rubies. For a moment they vanished, then they appeared again as white spikes appeared floating in the air before her. “Welcome back to the world, Mortal.” A gasp slow as molasses filled her lungs and she began to sit up, her arms slowly rising away from the throne before slapping back down. “Rest, rest.” He called gently, his voice sweeping over her like a warm blanket. Her eyes sagged down and her head landed against her shoulder. “Your voice was mighty, indeed, mortal. I am satiated. Tell me, why did you challenge me?”
In a moment the thoughts began to bubble within her mind and she saw his eyelids flicker. Opening her mouth to speak, she closed it with a tap as she briefly considered whether to voice what he already gleaned from her. Her jaw fell open and a raspy voice belonging to someone else scraping out the words etched in her mind. “To make you stop taxing my village.” The beast snorted, his gaze unwavering though a mild flame tingled in his eye. A sensation like a damp tongue slobbered up her right foot. With a gasp she shivered, pulling her foot back and setting it on the throne as she turned her shoulder to the beast. He smirked.
With a low, rumbling chuckle, the shadow shifted about. Claws scraped against stone, and the dark form stood tall, blocking out the moon above her, bathing the summit into pitch. “Very well,” he said, a smidgen of bemusement painting his breath. “But,” he began, his words slipping around her arms and legs like rope, “Only on the condition that you serve as my dragon priestess, and that we have more discussions in the future.”
Pushing herself up with her elbows, she felt a wicked smile pierce through her lips. Through the darkness, she could see her legs resting against the lower half of the board that had bound her, the upper half missing. She watched as her toes wiggled defiantly, welcoming the challenge. Shaking her head, she raised her hands and slid her hair back behind her ears as she let out words sharper than a knife, “I welcome the challenge, dragon.”
Ghastly tendrils of fallen fog slithered down the steely mountainside, its face glinting majestically in the sun. The beadlets fell together then fanned out as though the cloud breathed while tumbling through the air. Tumbling over a cliff, the cloud slowly splashed against the pointed thatch roof of a building, spilling down the sides like a fresh sheet of rain before vanishing altogether. With a click the door opened and a woman stepped out before leaning her shoulder against the door and pushing it shut with a heavy clasp.
Her long, mahogany curls bounced up and down her shoulders as she hefted a stick across the back of her neck while two empty buckets heaved about, their boards clacking against the metal frame that held them together. With a quick shuffle of her shoulders, she raised her rounded chin and pointed her smoothed nose and chiseled, oaken eyes to the valley. Quietly galloping down the steps of the porch that ran to the edges of the wooden house, she bounded onto the old road that ran past the building, her heels clicking against the disheveled stones that manifested the dirt path into a spiraling street that lead down into the valley of tall, yellowing grass and into the horizon.
The door clacked open again, this time spewing out a woman whose head reached above the frame. Bending over, she quickly hopped under the frame and thrust her arm onto the door, slamming it shut behind her. Quickly dropping her hands to her belt, she steadied it from the sword that drug it downwards, its ragged and chipped appearance besmirching the otherwise nondescript brown dress that hid her boots from the world. Lifting the hems of her dress, she jumped down the steps, landing heavily on the road.
Spreading her legs, she raised her arms and crossed them underneath her breasts, her long, wildly curving mahogany curls gallantly galloping over top of her shoulders. The sun bumbled down her hooked nose then sparkled a private, fierce light within her sapphire eyes. Her lips, reaching far to the sides of her face and above her pointed chin, rippled into a snarl as she called out towards the other woman. “I will challenge him!”
Shaking her head, the shorter woman continued down the road without turning back. As she continued, she passed a young man as he raised a shaft and struck at the earth with wild fervor, tilling it into submission. Smiling and nodding, the shorter woman continued onward then turned around the house, slopping down a steep hill littered with large, gray boulders. Wild waters spewed from an opening in the mountain, spiraling down and over top of a puddle of grass that writhed in the frothy sea. Gingerly stepping over the muddied grass, the heels of her boots sank within the sooty ground as she lowered the buckets into the depths, sucking away at their life energies. Gritting her lips together, she swayed back and forth as she shakily stood upward.
Clomping down the road, the raised heels of her fur-lined boots squabbling with the masonry beneath her, the tall woman strode past the farmer and stood over the hill as the shorter woman huffed her way upward. “I can defeat him!”
Without drawing her face from the hill, the shorter woman glanced upward, her nose twitching. Nodding her rounded face towards the blade at the woman's hip, she spoke simply, her voice pawing at the air. “With that?”
Thrusting her arms downward, the tall woman bent her fingers at the knuckles, forming flat, half fists as she shook furiously. “I'd rather die than let that dragon tax us any longer!” Her curls shook as she spoke, and her eyes glittered with an unrequited desire for justice.
The ends of the smaller woman's lips curved upward as she looked away and snorted out a scoff. As she strode up the hill and back onto the road, the buckets kicked and whinnied, spilling water onto the thirsty soil. Walking past the taller woman, she continued hobbling onward, scuffing her shoes against the stones as she passed. She slowed to a stop, the buckets cowing her shoulders to alternate with them. Looking up into the ocean-blue sky, she uttered “You will die, just like your fool of a Nord father.”
The upper left side of the tall woman's wide lips twitched. With a great huff she stuck her nose to the air and stomped down the road, kicking up a plethora of dirt that clung to her like the morning fog. Sloping downward, she followed the road around a large boulder that jutted outward and pointed towards a small, gnarled tree with vine-like branches and short cropped, fern-like leaves. Just ahead of her the path split off, the stone work heading down a steep incline, towards a thin stream that hissed and foamed, spewing a great amount of mist as it worked over the head sized boulders that formed its basin. To the left, a meager dirt path partially overgrown by spike like barbs of grass lead up the side of their bitter mountain. Placing a hand on her sword, she shook it against her hip and began striding across the musty road.
The dirt almost immediately turned to a coat of gravel that crunched beneath her as she hiked upwards. Her legs began to burn as she cycled her knees up to her stomach in order to continue up the steep incline. Within moments she stood fifty feet or more above the road she had wandered down, her own path slipping at a sharp angle before turning on a flat and heading upwards in the opposite direction. Planting her right boot on top of a spire of a rock, she placed her hands on her knee and gazed down the road, towards the valley obscured by mist. She carefully watched the road stretch ever onward, spiraling around the rim of the valley and narrowly avoiding the decaying siege armaments that rested in that graveyard. Cycling over a hill, the road quickly sped out of sight, curving along a distant forest that barred her from her people. Sighing, she sharply turned her chin and strode off and up the path.
Her boots slid beneath her as she stepped, the gravel turning into knuckle sized rocks that threatened to send her back from whence she came. Rising slowly, she carefully set her boot against the rocks before shifting her weight onto it while her other boot struck the ground it set away from her like a blacksmith's sharpening wheel. Just ahead, through the coyly dancing fog, she could see the summit. As she neared, she spied a carved half circle of a wall that rested just beneath a flat, sharply rising slab of mountain, as though the monument were carved directly from it. Runes seemed to glow upon it.
Stepping onto flat land, she pushed her leg as though she were still climbing, forcing her to tumble forward into a half jog as she caught her bearings. A clatter resounded beneath, then behind her as she stumbled forward. Looking back over her shoulder, she watched as a skull toppled down the side of the mountain, clattering and splintering as it struck against the rocks that stabbed out from the sides. With a grimace she shook her head and turned forward, striding towards the monument.
Gazing over the fence of rocks that brokered along the edge, she stared off into the distance towards a faraway settlement on the edge of the forest. It rose above the trees as though shaking a fist at the gods above. Placing her hands upon her hips, she spun her head back towards the monument, her eyes bouncing off of a small, clearly man-made throne of wood off on the far side of the monument. Raising an eyebrow, she shrugged and looked up towards the peak of the mountain, its pointed needle piercing the clouds above. Quickly cupping her hands around her lips, she yelled out as loud as she could, “Dragon! I've come to challenge you!”
All in the valley she heard her words echo again and again, their varied tones and depths sticking into the back of her neck like cold needles. Goosebumps formed along her arms as she shifted her eyes about, watching for any shadow of movement. Gripping her sword, she bent her knees and spread her legs apart, lowering her shoulders and extending her left elbow. Her entire body felt like an archer's bowstring, primed and ready.
A great roar tore through the sky, splitting it in two. The cloud that circled around the mountaintop blushed and quivered as it grew blacker than the void of death. The air rumbled around her, and small rocks tumbled against the ground as the sky shook and spilled lightning against a tree far in the valley, sparking it into a raging fire. Her breathing grew fast and shallow as she looked around, her shoulders rising to her ears as she stepped backward. A rush of air blew by her as though the rage of the gods manifested itself before her, blowing her dress tightly against her and forcing her backward. The air sharply slapped forward and she tumbled ahead, catching herself as a great crackacarack resounded followed by a world ending thud. The sound of leather quickly slapping at the air brushed against her and she looked up, a large scaly beast with blazing scarlet eyes staring down at her from the top of the monument.
Toppling backwards, her eyes grew wide as she bounced upon the ground. With gusto she pushed herself backward, her spine shriveling and her jaw hanging downward as she locked eyes with the beast. A groan roared through the air and words surrounded her, rising up around her like a tornado. “What brings you here without tribute, mortal?!” They slammed at her like stone mallets, beating up her sides and striking at her back. Her left arm shook violently then lashed around in front of her, her fingers wrapping around the loose leather hilt of her blade. Drawing it with a slicing clink, she pointed the shaking tip towards the dragon's snout, the metal blade basking in the sun's golden light, blinding her momentarily. Snapping her eyes shut, she dashed her head to the side and grit her teeth.
The sizzling sound of a hundred blades slashing through the air ripped around her, bandying together into a slow, tumultuous cackle. Peering through a small crevice between her eyelids, she took in the fanged grin of the dragon, its scaly lips curving upward. “Fool,” the word serrated her, sawing through her while slapping at her with enough force that a handful of fist sized rocks tumbled past her. Thunder crackled and lightning sparked in the clouds above as words crackled around the summit, bouncing off the walls and echoing within her skull. “My kind are not as brutish as you lot.”
His wings rose and fell heavily, a fierce wind knocking what little grass grew onto its sides. Flapping again and again, he reared upwards, lumbering above the monument and floating in front of it. Slowly, he drifted to the ground, a small puff of dust rising and falling in a circle around him as he landed with a gentle thud. “Come,” he beckoned as he clawed across the ground, facing the wooden throne, “Challenge me with your voice.”
Nodding quickly and shallowly, her fingers loosed around the hilt, letting the chipped weapon clatter against the ground. Her arms quivered and trembled as she pushed herself up, shivers tearing over her as she lowered her head and sped to the throne with fast, short steps that rifled the gravel beneath her as the stones whispered amongst themselves about her. Shoving her arms in front of her, she wrapped the fingers of her left hand around her right wrist as she stood, meekly cowering in front of the throne and the barricade standing guard in front of it. Two boards clasped together with holes carved into them rose such that the holes stood at the same level as the seat of the throne. A single, metal hook rose from the top board, and lengths of rope and tiny strands of strings lay limply around the raised pedestal.
“Sit!” The voice beckoned all around her. At once her arms detached themselves and she spun about, setting herself against the high backing of the seat. Pressing her shoulders into it, she felt the warmth of smugness ripple at the edges of her mind even as she bowed her head, staring at the ground. Shifting within the seat, she felt the warmth of the sun blossom within her. Basking within it momentarily, she let a sly smile creep upon her lips.
A thunderous growl rippled through the air around her, shaking the throne beneath her. The glint of blue flames rolled within the dragon's burning eyes as his voice shook within her skull. “Prepare yourself,” he commanded. Dropping her hands into her lap, she pushed her wrists straight along her legs, curling her fingers at their knuckles. Closing her eyes, her lips spun away from her teeth as she bit down and looked away. A wheeze of exasperation spun around her, and she felt his voice chisel against her. “Remove your footwear.”
Pressing the tip of her tongue over her upper lip, she swiftly nodded and reached downward, stripping away her right boot and letting it fall aside. Spinning her fingers around her left boot, she formally discarded it, letting it tumble on top of its fallen comrade. A scent of blueberries hung in the air, her nose perking at the unusual scent. In front of her, the boards shook, the top one lifting away. Nodding quickly, she lifted her legs and pointed her toes, shoving her bare feet through the holes. As soon as her ankles touched against the well-smoothed wood the board fell again, bundling her tightly to it.
The scent grew stronger, and then the lengths of string and rope shot into the air. Two pieces of rope rolled beneath her wrists, tugging them to the armrests before quickly lapping around them tightly, pinching at her skin. Balling her hands into fists, she tugged, her wrists refusing to move. Her fingers collapsed, then wrapped around the rounded ends of the rests as she felt a distant sensation slither between her toes.
Gasping, she sat up, her shoulder blades striking at the wood behind her while her ribs riled themselves up with remorseful eccentricity. Her toes flickered and pouted downward momentarily, but were soon swept up and backward by the strings as they wriggled around her toes. At the head of the board, she watched as the strings came together and looped through the metal hook. In a single breath she felt her strength sap away and again she shifted her shoulders, tugging at her arms while she pushed her toes downward to no avail, a mirror memory of a wrinkle cackling across her exposed arches. For a moment she felt a moth-like sensation trickle inside of her chest as her heart wept upward as she imagined how she must look. Color rushed above her rounded cheeks as she envisioned her smooth soles, so tightly bound before the dragon that she could barely wiggle a toenail. Lifting her chin, she looked out across the valley as she brushed away the image of her own pathetic helplessness while a gust of wind rampaged up her arch. Crinkling within her chair, she snorted a quick, girlish giggle unbecoming of her proud Nordic heritage.
The dragon's massive frame rippled as he reared back, the fire in his eyes radiating chilling sparks into the air. Flames fanned his nostrils as he inhaled, the rocks around her tumbling forward while her top boot rolled forward. Suddenly whipping his neck forward, he opened his mouth, his great white fangs sparkling in the sunlight as his booming voice surrounded her. Rolling her nose upward, she winced and turned away as foul air pushed her into the back of her throne. Foreign, guttural words reverberated around and within her. Feeling characters carve themselves into her soles, she suddenly shuddered, understanding his tongue with her soul. “(Show me the power of your Mortal Voice).”
A whirlwind whipped by her. More rocks tumbled past, and her boots slowly tugged away at the ground before ripping into the air and sailing down the mountainside, their personal pilgrimage pushing her towards her own private journey. Gritting her teeth, her lips spread outward as her soul seemed to reach through her and outward, as though a deeper knowledge was just out of her reach. The fibers of her muscles twanged as they stretched out too far, a tightness tugging at her. The dragon closed his mouth and the shiny edges of his lips drew upward into a toothy grin, his incisors jutting on either edge of his face. Another round of thunder roared around her and she felt her back slam into the throne again. “(Foolish Mortal. Know your place as a mere toy.)”
He cackled quietly as lightning flourished along the pointed top of the mountain. “(Entertain me, toy!)” the sharp, endlessly curving words crackled around, and the sensation of runes sizzling against her flesh crackled within her mind. A ball of icy dread bubbled within her, searing at her insides as she looked into his sinister eyes. Unable to look away, she felt his words hammer against her. “(A single, delicate feather will undo your fragile foot.)” The air around him crackled and split.
A lilting sensation grazed up the arch of her right foot, sparking like flint as it spun and wavered. With a squeal she rolled her right shoulder behind her as she pushed herself upward, thrusting her left shoulder out as she spied over the board. Pinching her eyelids, she focused, trying to see the phantom that left its tingling imprint upon her skin. The touch was warm and light, like the gentle caress of a spring breeze. Sniffing, her head shivered and her toes pushed against their bonds, desperate to protect her arch. A swift, high pitched giggle escaped her before she clamped down her teeth, chaining the bubbling emotions within her as the touch slowly fanned up her foot. “(Down).” He boomed. Spinning around the ball of her foot, it swept back downward. Her shoulders shook and she extended her chin, barring the response her body desperately sought to give.
A hundred thoughts stampeded across one another, overwhelming her. She could feel her thoughts solidify within her, taking shape. 'What is this?' Again the dragon's voice boomed around her, archaic words slapping at her shoulders. “(Roll up.)” Her eyebrows furrowed down and she glared at him as the touch draped across her heel before coyly sweeping up. 'Don't look away', she thought to herself, feeling her thoughts reflected within his eyes. The light pressure kissed up the very edge of her arch. Her foot wiggled, and her toes flapped at the strings. Gritting her teeth, she took on a regal look at she sat back. 'Don't give him any response!' “(Dance, then strike down!)” The touch cantered upward, nuzzling around the flat ball of her foot again before swiping around it several times then dashing down the line that ran down the middle of her foot. 'Oh goddess.' Lifting her chin, she grit her teeth tighter as her mouth puffed in and out air, smuggling her giggles out under the guise of swift exhales.
The wind soared around her as a heated tornado spun around her, searing into her more and more runes as he spoke. “(Your body is frail and succumbs to such a light touch!),” he bellowed out at her, his roar echoing inside of her. “(To think you would bare such weakness before me! Laugh at your folly, mortal!)” The sensation on her sole pulsed and flared, buzzing as it sped across her foot, slashing wild, sharp lines against her. Inhaling deeply, she pulled in her lips and thrust her face towards the bulbous black clouds above her. A budding light peaked in her abdomen and she quickly doused it as she sat, twitching and flinching. The lines that stroked her foot appeared before her eyes as flashes, and a squeal wedged itself within her throat as she began to shake.
Leaning forward, he roared, spittle flying past her as her throne shook and creaked against the ground. “(Laugh, Mortal!)” Her stomach churned as it tugged at the words, clinging to them in a vain attempt to ride along them. The clouds above grew splotchy as water pooled within her eyes, her throat aching to vocalize the suffering of her foot. Pushing her tongue against her upper lip, she tilted her head back further and shook her legs, striking at the boards with her ankles. The line fluttered around her foot like a bird, striking smoothly against her skin. The hook clicked as her toes wavered wildly, the velvety touch of the strings rubbing up and down her toes as she kicked against them. Closing her eyes, she felt herself quickly hammer up a makeshift dam of driftwood between herself and her foot. The distant light blossomed again, burning at the backs of her shoulders as she worked.
Pressing her lips into a great line, she turned away from the great beast without breaking eye contact, his voracious eyes hungrily lapping at her in mockery. A snarl of a scoff sliced through his teeth, its heavy wind wrapping around her, sapping at her defenses. Latching her tongue to the roof of her mouth, she contained a sizzling giggle that singed her lips, though it seeped out the left edge, rolling down her jawline. She continued to hammer at the weathered boards as the floor grew damp beneath her and water began to slowly drizzle over-top of the lowest board.
A growl rumbled around her, the teeth of its callous winds chipping away at her as the dragon bellowed, “(I said Laugh, Mortal!)” The line that streaked across her foot sparked against her anew, its touch wavering into a nail-like scratch as it crissed across her arch. Her lower lip spread away and together with her upper, curved downward, exposing her lower teeth. Snapping her nose against her shoulder, she wrestled an eeehp of a shriek down, smuggling it back within her before it had a chance to alert her foe. Fidgeting back and forth within the chair, she shifted her arms, the grains of the rope biting into her wrists as she balled her fingers into fists. The dragon let out a deep, throaty chuckle and the left side of his mouth twitched. “(Her toes.)” he beckoned.
The ghostly feather snapped up, then vanished for a moment. Instinct grasped her lungs and she exhaled briefly as her muscles loosened. Within a heartbeat, the vibrating sensation rippled across the bottom of her largest toe, then slipped across each pad before slashing backwards. Its touch scratched at her the whole way across like a hundred bony fingers digging against her flesh. Thrusting her chest forward at the first provocation, she rattled her hips within her throat and choked down a yelp of laughter, turning it into a steaming hiss. Her toes fought against their bonds, rifling against them, yet the demonic strings held firm, forcing her flesh to endure the dragon's mystifying touch.
Thrusting her chin against her chest, she clamped her eyes shut and sat, huffing quickly. The edges of her mind began to crack and water began to drip in from the ceiling. 'How long can I last', she wondered as the touch eviscerated her toe-pads. Distantly she felt her hands flailing against the arm rests, rapidly clenching into fists before spraying her fingers against it, then clawing into it, her nails wavering against like a frolicking wave riding to a distant shore. His eyes furrowed through hers, searing imprints into her mind and soul as her tender toes were titillated. The lower lids of his eyes curved upwards and his grin grew wide, clearly pleased by the effects of his daedric magics. Anger surged through her, chomping at the front of her shoulders and burning in her chest. Bellowing out a fiery, “Do your worst!” she sat back in her chair, spreading her quivering shoulders flat as she raised her chin at him. The distant echoes upon her toes screamed at her, yet she commanded them to silence, freezing her toes in place to endure their tragic fate.
As he let out a slow chuckle that quaked the ground beneath her she held her breath, pressing her ribs tightly against her body in order to keep out the infectious sound. “(I will completely break your will, mortal.)” The words rattled against her bones, but she drew in a deep breath, brushing them off. Slowly, his neck extended and he pressed his face to eye level with her, his bright crimson eyes sparkling with a twisted pride and vindictive malice. “(Your other foot is plagued by a nefarious feather),” he slowly uttered. The glacier of dread reared up within her again. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply and gulped. A fiery insignia spun into existence on her unharassed foot, zipping around her sole merrily.
A shock zapped through her legs then rumbled up her torso, shaking her to the rhythm of the tumbling clouds above. Inhaling a sharp gasp that punctuated the winds that tore around her, her eyes bulged as hot words fluttered across her mind. 'No,' she thought as her jaw fell, 'no, no!' The image of her boots whispering along the ground then tumbling down the mountain regaled her as she expelled a tumultuous fit of berserk and untamed laughter. Thrusting her head back, she grit her teeth and spread her lips apart as she shrieked out a “Yeeehehehe!” while her mind continued to pummel at her body with 'no, no!' 'Stop,' she thought to herself as she wrangled at her insides while pushing away at the thought of the sensations that tormented her. Her arms banged at the rests that they were so tightly bound to, and she felt the rope rip into her wrists with a tight hotness. Thrashing her hips against the sides of her throne, she flit her eyes open, expelling her glorious, ringing voice at the blackened heavens that were hidden away from her. She felt herself falling, sinking into the wood that left up, deftly holding her afloat in the unimaginable sea of sensation as she floundered to keep her head above water.
The dragon's jaw drifted downward and he carefully exhaled a soft breath while his eyelids flitted over his eyes as he soaked in her voice. Slow, meticulously crafted oaken words slithered from the bottom of his throat, seeping around the throne like a fog. “(I see,)” rumbled around her, nipping at the legs of her throne before crawling up the throne and seeping into her, an elated sense of satisfaction biting into her rump. The light pulsed at her shoulders, spilling heat down her backside.
Through the depths of miasma that palpated her for an opportunity at further misery, she bent her head down, facing towards the source of her suffering while bending her neck backward. Clamping her abdomen muscles down, she desperately sought to contain the spinning, swindling feelings within her. Clicking her teeth together, she closed her eyes and snorted, slowing her breath and calming the frenzy within her. As she exhaled she pursed her quivering lips together, her breath shaking, sounding like the leaves of a trembling tree as it vacated her.
Within the pale darkness of her mind she stared at an image of her wide, tall soles, smooth and taut, her flat skin shining before her. A firefly manifested itself across the toes of her left foot and she shook her head, reaching out, begging, pleading. It spun through the air, flicking across her toes, and she became aware of her body past this realm, of the tickling sensations that burned against her. Another firefly lit up, sparking and zigging through the air. Pressing her hands against her cheeks, she smiled sheepishly as her heart leapt within her chest. The bug began nuzzling against her other, immobile sole, attacking her with its wings. Smiling, laughing, she turned away, shrinking and shriveling, falling to her knees before her proper masters.
Sucking a wavering wind through her teeth, her eyes bulged open and she looked upward. Her lips curved upward, and she let her chin fall into her right shoulder as she giggled precariously through her wide grin. Pain snipped through her abdomen in silver veins. Relinquishing her hold over her abdomen, she laughed lightly, freely and relaxed her shoulder muscles, slipping back against the chair. 'No matter,' she thought to herself as she let out a whimsical “eeeehehe,” before inhaling and allowing another to escape her, 'I can endure.' 'I may have given him what he wants, but I will yield no more.'
The dragon's eyes sagged open, a tornado of flames spinning along his glassy eyes. His lids hung beneath him, bagging together into a bunch. Lifting his head, he spewed out a low grumble of his arcane language. “(This is not enough! Shower me with your Voice!)” Stamping his forward right paw, then his left, he clawed into the ground and extended his neck, roaring loudly. The throne scraped backward a few inches and she bowed her head, shutting her eyes and turning away as foul winds flapped through her clothes and compressed her. “(Laugh!)”
As though soaked in a diabolic drought of evil, tickle inducing fluids, the sensations that slipped along her flesh flared, momentarily blinding both of her feet in a sparkling wave of sensation. Slumping forward, she slapped her arms against the throne, screeching a throaty “eee!” that pinched her ears. The entirety of her feet were slathered again and again by a blinding white light that gobbled her up, chewing against her flesh and marring her with agony. She stepped back, watching with a disguised eagerness as the boards of her makeshift dam creaked loudly, then split apart in a rain of splinters, flooding her mind with a deluge of emotion.
The great light sparked again and subsided into two twin points. Drooping within her chair, her hair spun over sweaty face like a pair of curtains, obscuring the dragon's great frame from her. Weakness sapped her of her strength and she sat back, letting out a “ee-eeee-yaaaa,” before descending into maniacal cackling as the spikes clawed against her tender flesh. Their touch was sharp, prickling at her, yet it evoked even more feeling against her than the blinding wave moments ago. Worse, it zipped along each of her soles in sweeping, wide arcs, leaping unexpectedly around. Unable to ward herself against the new attacks, she embraced them, welcoming them to her flesh. Clutching her eyes shut, she inhaled sharply, then puffed out a strained “eeh!” A meager thought slapped wetly at the thought of her resignation but she found herself unable to move the bulky block of a thought from her consciousness.
“(Yes,)” the dragon spilled out, his voice swelling around. Rearing back, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth, twisting his neck as her voice spiked against him. “(Yes. Relish in your penance.)” Her jaw dropped and she closed her eyes as wild torrents of untamed laughter spilled all around her. Ripping his eyes open, he extended his neck towards the sky and called out, “(Knead and Nurture!)”
The spikes that lit her alive into a medley of ticklish wonderment spun about, their touch shifting. She felt her flesh become awash with a nigh unfathomable radiance as they ran along her skin so fast she could barely register the sensation, their touch vibrating and buzzing as they zigged and zagged across her flesh. All at once, the sharp, pinpoint touch of the phantom feathers slathered against her, massaging up and down her arches as though a proud peacock stood before her, flourishing his beautiful feathers against her helpless feet. Her toes balked, bartering with the strings for a mere second of reprieve, to curl together against her soles and weep, yet the dastardly things scoffed at her, forcing them to remain on duty. They stood, pelted by the tips of the feathers as they slashed up and downward, her toes feeling like petals held open against their will, soaking in an endless amount of sun until they began to smoke and burn, overcome by an abundance of satiation. Thrashing her head from side to side, she felt her hair flail through the air as a rumbling “Tseehehehe!” painted across her lips.
The light spun away, sparkling against the outer rims of her feet before one spiraled around the ball of her foot and the other her heel. Again, they shifted, carrying a new, wet and soft feeling. Rolling her head back, she gasped at the new, light sensations that nurtured a divine wonder against her soles. Even as they left slimy trails of radiance that glittered against her with a star-fire of sensation, their touch morphed again, turning into a smattering of lips against her. The touches appeared suddenly, popping and disappearing all over, one after another. A shiver ran up her spine, shaking her within her throne as rolled her shoulders and tightened her neck muscles.
Yet the touches transformed again, this time back to the feathers. They danced upon and in-between her toes, vigorously nipping at those most private and defenseless sectors of her feet. Squealing, she spun her torso in the chair, spiraling her side into the back of her throne as the rope tugged at her, calling for her to stay. Turning her head at an angle, her lips clawed into her face as she cried out with resplendent laughter that tumbled down the mountain like rainwater. As she closed her eyes, she felt those burning rubies drill through her eyelids, his gaze impeding itself within her as his voice washed around her and his runes chiseled into her soles. “(Admit the truth you hide from yourself.)”
The pleasure within her pulsed menacingly but she quickly beat it down, shuffling it away, hiding it deep within a drawer in the back of her mind. Through the mask of her hair, she watched as the dragon smiled and rolled his head, writhing with delirium as her laughter rolled along his scales, assailing him with noise. She saw herself, an endless amount of time before, standing before him, her head held high and the tip of her sword pointed towards him. The image slowly fell away as she watched herself, laughing helplessly, endlessly, within a monument before him, her soles bare and bound before him. Closing his lips, his throat rolled down a gulp and his eyes spun back towards her. Looking directly into his eyes, she glared fiercely while icy dread shuddered through her, melting against the burning radiance that she so desperately sought to snuff out. Throwing his head towards her, he bellowed out, “(Feathers rain upon your toes and swamp your soles!)”
Immediately she stopped laughing, freezing in place as a wellspring of sensations prickled against her. Her smile crept upward as they dripped against her, covering her in a sheet of budding familiarity. Yelling, screaming, she laughed, her voice tearing the air asunder as a hundred feathers drizzled across her. Thrashing her head back and forth, she wailed at the amazing touches that singed and sizzled against her skin. Luminescence beamed through her, and she felt her aches melt away as she put the stars to shame with her brilliance.
Each touch lasted but a second, yet they lapped over one another and caressed every part of her feet, her soul blisteringly aware of each and every touch. Time fell away as she counted them, focusing on every single one as it happened, lapping in its radiance. Though they carried the touch of the feathers, they also simultaneously carried all of the properties he had regaled against her, prickling at her with a sharp, agonizing point, passionately kissing her with soft lips and slathering against her with a wicked tongue, leaving a sinister trail of sparkling, bubbling sensations against her. Her delicate, feeble feet embraced the sensations, drawing them in like dry land welcomes rainwater, soaking it in, relishing in it. A voracious hunger gnawed at her stomach as the radiance grew around her, blinding her from the stormy world around her, and she felt herself vanish into a laughing, crying puddle. Thrashing about within the chair, she desperately grabbed at the blissful sensation within her abdomen, clawing at it and hugging onto it, yet at the same time she felt herself thinking 'don't give in to him'. Still, her feet remained, acting as a conduit for her true self, her new form carved out from the mountainside by the dragon's voice. All she knew, all she was aware of, were his ravenous eyes watching her, mocking her, devouring her suffering. One last, booming call resounded around her as conscious thought melted away. “(The Rising Tide Consumes You!)”
In another world she sank within a river of flames that rolled around her, licking at her endlessly with an infinite number of feathers. They groped and kneaded up her legs, biting at the tops of her feet, then slowly nipping up her hips and sides before engulfing her breasts. Pleasure racked her, and it felt as though she fell into the sun, blinding her and overcoming her. Even though it tickled more and more, all she could do was laugh as loud as she had when her feet were brushed by two individual feathers. Her body desperately tried to howl loud enough to rip the world asunder, to let it know of the horrid sensations that plagued her.
As he continued to let the ghostly visages torture her, she felt a wellspring of heat churn within her, rising through her chest. The laughing sensation continued to plague her feet, yet she felt herself smiling broadly, not from the tickling but from the intense euphoria that frothed within her. A scrawling moan burned at her lips, but she choked it down, groaning as the pent up emotions roiled with frustration inside of her lungs. Falling forward limply, she hung her head, her eyes fluttering as she sought to contain herself from him, but in her heart she could feel his curious knowledge at the conflict that he brewed within her.
Then she felt his voice, unable to comprehend the words, yet at the same time she felt her internal voice rise, matching his tongue but drowning out his words, making them appear paltry things compared to her will. 'It's not enough.' The runes charred her skin and her flesh lit alive with a a spiderweb-like netting that shrouded her feet, gripping snugly into her. Trembling, she felt heated lightning course against her skin, blasting her with a perfect tickling. She shrieked, thrashing wildly in the chair as the sensations plucked away at her very being, striking all at once and in exactly the right way to purify her. Lush, leafy desired sprouted within her body, and she felt herself convulse with joy as she sank into a shadowy place within herself. Again she dove into the river of fire, desperately scouring it for the secrets of herself to reveal to the dragon and the world around her, yet at the same time she felt her body refuse to yield despite the awful things he did to her. For eons she drifted through the river, letting its searing heat burn her away time and again as she fell into a blissful slumber. As she drifted from this world she felt his heart pulsing alongside her own. A warm tightness gripped her chest and a heavenly smile stole away upon her lips.
An awareness of the world, cold and unnatural, seeped into her, crawling against her skin. Her neck twitched and she felt her muscles tighten then contract, failing to lift her sagging head. Exhaustion blew through her like the stormy winds brought on by the dragon. Inhaling a dark, cold breath, she let her eyes flutter open. Around her, the summit was awash in steely moonlight, her sight barely crawling past the pitch. Lifting her gaze, she came upon a great shadow holding two glowing rubies. For a moment they vanished, then they appeared again as white spikes appeared floating in the air before her. “Welcome back to the world, Mortal.” A gasp slow as molasses filled her lungs and she began to sit up, her arms slowly rising away from the throne before slapping back down. “Rest, rest.” He called gently, his voice sweeping over her like a warm blanket. Her eyes sagged down and her head landed against her shoulder. “Your voice was mighty, indeed, mortal. I am satiated. Tell me, why did you challenge me?”
In a moment the thoughts began to bubble within her mind and she saw his eyelids flicker. Opening her mouth to speak, she closed it with a tap as she briefly considered whether to voice what he already gleaned from her. Her jaw fell open and a raspy voice belonging to someone else scraping out the words etched in her mind. “To make you stop taxing my village.” The beast snorted, his gaze unwavering though a mild flame tingled in his eye. A sensation like a damp tongue slobbered up her right foot. With a gasp she shivered, pulling her foot back and setting it on the throne as she turned her shoulder to the beast. He smirked.
With a low, rumbling chuckle, the shadow shifted about. Claws scraped against stone, and the dark form stood tall, blocking out the moon above her, bathing the summit into pitch. “Very well,” he said, a smidgen of bemusement painting his breath. “But,” he began, his words slipping around her arms and legs like rope, “Only on the condition that you serve as my dragon priestess, and that we have more discussions in the future.”
Pushing herself up with her elbows, she felt a wicked smile pierce through her lips. Through the darkness, she could see her legs resting against the lower half of the board that had bound her, the upper half missing. She watched as her toes wiggled defiantly, welcoming the challenge. Shaking her head, she raised her hands and slid her hair back behind her ears as she let out words sharper than a knife, “I welcome the challenge, dragon.”