Forest Keep – Copyright Peter Ping 2005-12 all rights Reserved, all characters are fictional and bear no relation to anyone living, dead or undead, do not fold, spindle or mutilate. No dragons or humans were harmed in the making of this story and activities were monitored by the RSPCD. All dragons are over 18 and registered with appropriate draconic authorities. Other Characters that may appear do so with the express permission of their creators and no infringement is implied. No responsibility taken by the author for mental anguish incurred neither for late updates or lack thereof nor for loss of employment caused by reading at your place of employment. No warranty implied or given. Batteries not included. In reading this story, you agree to submit sexual favors requested by any dragons you may encounter.
Character profiles (more to come)
Duncan - 40 years old and a veteran of many battles, he stands a good 6 ft and has sandy brown hair, he is still fit though he no longer fights unless needed. Losing his wife to illness when he was 30 affected him deeply and he never remarried. Determined and honorable he administers the keep and is responsible for the humans within. Being fairly hirsute hides a lot of the scars and injuries he has suffered. The keep was awarded his demesne by King Harold the elder
A devout Christian he nevertheless has doubts and sometimes feels guilty for his lack of faith.
Katreen - At 8 (gryphon years) old Kat is a young and adventurous gryphon – she is slowly learning diplomacy and politics. Never mated, she has flirted with many males in the pack though none have pursued it due to her brother Meron’s rank. She stands upright about 5’5 with red-tinged wings that shade to solid black at the neck and then taper off down to the tawny lioness lower half. Her front paws are more birdlike and used for holding and clasping while her hindpaws are more leonine.
Her head has a small crest of red-tipped feathers and as her beak is eagle-like her expression is difficult to read though she is able to draw up the corners of her mouth when she smiles while the nares of her beak flush pinkly when embarrassed. Very strong and light due to hollow bones she is powerful and an expert fighter and hunter. Gryphons mate for life. Recorded in antiquity as being ‘protector of man and beasts and the enemy of ignorance”
James – 20 years old and the youngest son of Daniel, earl of Cheltenham, two older brothers (William 23 and Terence 24) mean he is lowest on the totem pole when it comes to inheritance so it is necessary for him to become useful. Cheeky and somewhat spoilt he is sent for training to one of the main keeps in England where it hoped some sense will be beaten into him.
6ft and blonde, he is well muscled and prone to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Gambling and drinking appear to have been a problem in his youth but his training as a squire seems to have knocked some sense into him.
Cidiliana (Cill) - though 50 years old (18 in human years) Cill still has an innocent view of the world and since leaving the home lair is finding exposure to the real world something of a trial. Considered adolescent by dragon standards she is still virgin when encountering James and though aware of humans low standing in dragon society is sufficiently intrigued to make contact thereby laying the groundwork for the problems she encounters. Her father is the mighty Nokala, a feared and respected dragon who has close ties with the elders and their aims. It has been speculated that young male dragons were too terrified to go near Cill due to her father’s reputation.
Flora – An elder unicorn mare well known to Dougal. Due to her innate power manifesting through her horn she has the ability to spread it through water. The resulting unicorn pool contains enough power to cure disease, remove poisons and override desires and physical differences though it does not compel them.
She is able to remain still and evade detection from any being so long as she does not move or give herself away.
She is haughty and proud, her coat a pure white when groomed properly and the spiral horn over a foot long and seemingly delicate yet powerful enough for self defense if required.
Being immortal has given her a jaded view of life and only her pregnancy seems to have inspired her to return home. She watches the chaos that her wild magic causes with humor as those affected by the pool will protect it also.
Chapter 1 - Beginnings
Water is an amazing element. In its pure form, it has no taste, no smell, and is in fact very unpleasant to work with. What makes water enjoyable, is the minor impurities introduced though various sources.
Bits of plants, soil, minerals and myriad organisms too small for the eye to see. Some sources of water are more sought after than others, those typically being the ones less influenced by anything other then raw nature itself.
Cill had just such a source, in fact it was one of her prized possessions, if one could possess a lake. It was fed by rainwater and melting snow from the nearby hills, filtered through the valleys and small streams to end up at this one shallow depression.
This natural cycle that saw the water end up at this very lake, the very spot she called her own, this incredible lake, which was now being intruded upon by a very bad smelling and disrespectful animal.
A human, monkey, which ever you wished to call it was irrelevant at this point, what was very important was how it was splashing about in her water.
The Dragon word for 'human' is more a combination of thoughts sounding vaguely along the lines of, disgusting, untrustworthy, irritable, crass, and most of all, dangerous.
These definitions now flashed through Cill's memory flushing away previous thoughts of her beautiful lake and how this creature was rapidly defiling it.
Carefully her pace slowed, body lowering further to hug the ground. Silently her form crept though the low hanging brush until right at the edge of cover. She must remove this appalling creature some way, but how?
“It’ll take days to clear that stink out” she grumbled to herself quietly, not taking her eyes off the intruding human as he swam about cheerfully in her placid lake, his horse tethered nearby cropping the grass and occasionally taking a drink itself.
James relaxed in the warm water, floating on his back and enjoying himself after three hot days in the saddle, his clothes lay at the side of the pool drying in the warm sun. It would make a favorable impression to ride into the keep looking clean and refreshed rather than covered in travel dust and grime.
He couldn’t shake a sudden instinctive sense of warning, the feeling that eyes were upon him, and none too friendly eyes at that. Whilstfloating on his back he let his gaze roam slowly over the woods surrounding the lake while he floated slowly back towards the edge, closer to his sword should he need it.
After a few minutes, he realized there was nothing there or at least nothing he could see. Climbing out of the pool he stripped the water off his limbs slowly and dried off in the sun, he stayed alert, though still not seeing the lambent slitted green eyes watching him steadily from the close-packed rushes.
Cill’s gaze roamed slowly over the human’s naked form, resting on the well-muscled chest and flat stomach. She had never seen a human up close before and naturally was curious about them. Sparse blonde hair traveled down his chest and belly to a small indentation she did not recognize then down further to his groin, the flaccid penis seeming rather puny to her eyes.
Humans didn’t even have a sheath to protect and hide the delicate thing she snorted to herself, however do they get that into a female? She wiggled a bit as the thought of mating sending a sudden, secret thrill through her body, her tail twitching as her innards seemed to grow warm.
James pulled his slightly damp clothes on and whistled his horse over. He’d have to remember this lake. It was close to the keep and was private enough to clean and relax in without worrying about unexpected visitors.
Climbing into the saddle, he trotted off thoughtfully towards his new home, One of the best keeps for training, his father had said as he handed his youngest son the precious packet resting in his pocket.
He did not hear the quiet hiss of frustration coming from the pool behind him as the dragoness sniffed the water, swirling it about before slithering in with a sigh of relief.
Cill soaked quietly in the lake and pondered, her parents were a silent call away and could perhaps answer some of the questions burning in her mind. This was her private place though. How should she scare off the human so he would not come back with armed soldiers and ruin it all?
She sucked idly on a talon, a habit she had had since she was a hatchling and one her parents had been unable to break, her agile tongue curling over it as she pondered the problem.
Turning the final corner James saw the massive Keep from the road. He paused gaping, impressed at its size and construction. It would take a major battering to reduce those massive stone walls. The spire of the main Donjon rose in the centre of the compound like a square monolith, allowing the Lord to survey the whole area.
Slowing his horse to a walk, he approached openly so as not to alarm the guards and give the wrong impression, his letter of introduction still dry in its sealed packet.
The guards at the gates seemed friendly and unsuspicious, ‘a good start’, he thought to himself, turning his horse in the direction indicated by the guard who had searched his bags and asked him his business.
A glance at the seal on the letter had gotten him inside with a minimum of delay and he grinned to himself as he headed into the bailey and towards the main donjon
Fidgeting in her pool Cill was unsure as to what was unsettling her. She sniffed the air and swam over to the area where the human had spread out his clothing during his swim.
Her questing snout sniffed over the area until she found a small square of cloth giving off a peculiar and powerful odor that made her nostrils twitch.
A squiggle embroidered upon the hanky did not mean anything to the dragoness but she sniffed it again... Musty yet flowery, not knowing what perfume was and the importance of a lady’s favor she wadded up the cloth into a ball and tossed it into some bushes away from the pool.
Nostrils flared again as they caught a hint of the human’s scent from the grass.
It sent a confusing ripple through her body and she shook her head in bafflement.
It was definitely time to talk with her mother.
James made a nervous yet experienced bow as he stood before Sir Tarrant, “Squire James Laurence at your service Sir’ he said, reaching into his jerkin he pulled out the message packet with its precious contents.
“I have a letter of introduction from Prince Harold for you sir’.
Taking the packet with a grin, Duncan Tarrant broke the seal and unfolded the letter, reading it slowly from top to bottom while James tried to prevent his anxiety showing.
Resting his weight on the balls of his feet, he looked slowlyaround the room. Trophy shields and weapons were apparent on every wall, obviously this man had never refused a fight or duel in the past. A somewhat faded yet elegant tapestry depicting the keep’s interiorcovered the bare wall behind the lords’ desk.
Duncan folded the letter back up slowly and tucked it into his desk before leaning forward towards James.
“So’ he chuckled “You want to enter your novitiate here?” he looked seriously at James, knuckles on his desk while awaiting the answer.
“Yes Sir’, James replied enthusiastically, “I have only had limited training in arms as a squire but the Prince said I had a natural talent for fighting”.
Duncan nodded “and also a talent for getting into mischief as well it would seem” he chuckled good-naturedly.
James paled a little; he had not read the letter and dreaded what was in it.
“Er…There may have been a few incidents of over eagerness and error...” he stuttered, several of the ‘incidents’ running through his mind like dirty footprints.
“But I’m sure nothing like that will happen here” he finished apprehensively, feeling beads of nervous sweat suddenly pricking his forehead.
Duncan grinned, “I hope not, I expect discipline from my novices and if you are to be trained you will need to concentrate. No drunkenness, wenching or gambling are allowed during training” coming to a decision, he offered his hand.
“Welcome to Guildford Keep son. Now go and find Martin down in the bailey, He’s the seneschal of the keep and will find you a room, show you round and explain things”
Cill splashed out of the pool and shook herself dry, the water sliding easily off her silvery scales. She always felt better after bathing. Making her way back to her lair she spied the small piece of cloth she had rolled up and thrown out, spearing it on a talon she shrugged and wandered home with it.
Entering her lair, she stretched and wandered over to peer into the broken, speckled mirror she had found several weeks earlier. It showed an attractive young dragoness, delicately silver-scaled with a fine pair of horns that swept back from her brow and added an aristocratic look to her head.
A pair of fanlike ruffs adorned the space between her jaw line and perked ears and she wiggled them gently.
Checking herself over slowly sheswished her tail round and made sure no loose scales marred the smooth surface of her body, stretching slowly as she turned and admired herself in the mirror.
She was old enough to realize she was attractive to males and her thoughts kept returning to the swimming human for some reason. She lit a couple of globes with a soft puff and moved to her bed of soft ferns and mosses, feeling a shiver of emotion she didn’t quite understand she threw a thought out to her mother.
“Mama?” she murmured “Yes dear?” her mother replied. ”what is the matter? Not liking life on your own?”
The soothing purr of her mother’s voice settled Cill as she wriggled into her bed, “I don’t know mama… I felt a little strange today... Sort of hot and itchy...”
Back in her own lair, her mother ran a paw down her snout with a sigh, so... her daughter was beginning to feel urges... This could be difficult.
“What were you thinking about at the time dear?’ she asked cautiously as Cill idly traced a pattern in the sandy floor of her cave with a talon.
“I saw a male swimming in my pool today and all of a sudden I felt hot and my heart was thumping”.
Carlina bit a talon in shock; there was a male after her daughter so soon?
This would not do! She was still too young! In her confusion she did not think to ask the species of the male, assuming it was a drake who had visited her precious ones pool.
“Did you say anything to him dear?’ she asked, dancing around the subject delicately, “or did he say anything to you?”.
“No Mama... I was a little scared and hid so he couldn’t see me,”
Breathing a soft sigh of relief to herself Carlina relaxed on her own bed. Cill was her first hatchling with her current mate and she had felt a mothers worry when Cill had declared she wanted to find her own lair and make her way in the world.
It hadn’t been too long since she had left so Carlina still felt a twinge of worry now and then about her. “I think it’s time we had a chat about males and suchlike dear”, she murmured “You were so eager to move out I didn’t really think about explaining it at the time”
Taking a deep breath, she began to explain the fundamentals of dragon reproduction to an increasingly wide-eyed daughter
“I knew a little about that mama”, Cill replied, thinking of the human’s shaft. The first that she had seen other than fleeting glimpses of her fathers.