Grand Palid

Path of the Dragoon (WIP/Incomplete/RoughDraft)

There is a tale from a time ago that was to be forgotten from the lands of Coerthas. A tale of corruption and surcoming to an evil power. If those secrets were to be revealed it would leave a stain of disgrace over the lands and all of it's people. These secrets are bound to Keorii as a curse and purely on a whim.Keorii grew up in the slums of Ishgard with her close family and friends. They struggled to get by but always looked out for one another no matter the odds. Keorii was always overprotective of the ones around her. It was in her nature to do so from her rough upbringing and when she came of age she became a knight and swore to protect the kingdom.Based on a knights nature and fighting style they were seperated and trained on those traits. Keorii was sent to train under the Dragoons to hone her abilities and make the most of her ambitions and after a time she rose in the ranks and was bestowed a Dragon's eye from her mentor.The eye was said to belong to a Dragon from ages passed that was born to a sickly mother. The mother was to have twins but did not have the strength to birth the other, so it died along with the mother. The sole survivor contained a powerful spirit and within lingered another. As the one to be born passed away from the world it's aether trickled into the other twin, leaving behind remnants of it's self. And as the surviving Dragon grew so did the other's spirit.After years passed the Dragon grew powerful and befriended a Paladin companion that wished she could be a Dragon. She wanted to sore freely in the open skies to watch over her homeland and to protect those in need. She would be a true hero that way she thought. The Dragon accomodated the Paladin. Though not able to grant her wish, he would sore with the Paladin on back fufilling her heroic desires. The two grew close and were practically inseperable in those few years of peace until something stirred within the Dragon. The aether within began to manifest a conscience and began to communicate with the Dragon. Eventually the Dragon figured out that the voice was their lost sibling that passed away at birth. The Dragon explained the events to the other half in good faith as they aided eachother with their melding aether.The Dragons aether eventually reached immeasurable levels as the two souls fought in perfect harmony, but there was a change in persona... The restraint the Dragon showed in battle began to fade and soon be eclipsed by hatred and spite. The Paladin wondered of this change and began to grow concerned for her Dragon companion. Little did she know that there had been an inner struggle for quite sometime. The other soul within began to become envious of the living sibling until that envy turned to jealousy and then loathing, wondering why they did not have a chance to live and be free.The Dragon sympathized with the one within and it made them vulnerable to corruption. The corruption spread like a disease until it was too late for the Paladin to even react. The Paladin and the Dragon were left to face off in combat. The battle lasted for hours until the Paladin fell with only their trusty sword remaining on the battlefield, piercing through a stone and remaining until present day. After the battle The Dragon roamed the lands in it's corrupted state destroying anything and everything in it's path until eventually being cut down and reaped of it's eyes as a reward.One of those Dragon's eyes was granted to Keorii. Her mentor saw her potential and instructed her to wield the eye while she was to focus and trickle her aether into it. He said that if her aether was pure then the Dragon's eye would be purified, but if her aether was cold and full of malice then the eye would awaken and consume her. If that were to be the case then he himself would be forced to cut her down. She was given that choice and she accepted without hesitation, wanting to cleanse the eye and empower her aether so that she could better protect her people.A time passed and Keorii assembled a team of her own consisting of herself and three close comrades that were handpicked by her.
They were strong and experienced adventurers that knew Keorii in their own way. There was one by the name of Lialyse, a quiet yet snobby Au'ra girl. Keorii occasionally butt heads with her over the morality of situations and over leadership, but also relied on her greatly. The two had even developed feelings for one another even though both Keorii and Lialyse would not admit it. They cared for each other in their own twisted way.As a team they would embark on many adventures, throwing them into life or death struggles against the Dravanian hordes of Coerthas. Many lives were taken with each leaving a scar on Keorii. Eventually she had begun to grow distant and cold, wanting nothing more than to seek revenge for her fallen friends and people. The eye she had obtained was beginning recognize Keorii's changing persona and with a glimmer of malice began to open little by little.As the flow of time continued, one of the team's expeditions led them to a lost civilization. The landscape was blanketed in rubble and ruin with little able to be deciphered. There was one thing that stood out amongst the dilapidation. Keorii took notice and gazed on a tattered sword pierced through some of the rubble. The team examined it, each giving their input before Keorii took it upon herself to draw the sword and sheath it along her waist. She didn't know why at the time, but something was tugging at her aether telling her to keep the sword close and so she did.(UPDATE BELOW - 1/27/2022)After completing their expedition Keorii and her team had returned to Ishgard to report of their findings only to find most of the city in absolute chaos as dragon and man clashed in the streets. The team then put their heads together and split up to aid the civilians to safety as they struck down the Dravanian dragon hordes, but with each and every victory they were met with another enemy to contend with. Keorii could sense something was amiss... The dragons seemed as if they were empowered by a familiar aether. A familiar aether that she could feel swelling from within herself as the dragon eye she contained began to pulsate and radiate with power.As Keorii fought against the eyes influence she continued to watch as the ones she loved fell to the dragon hordes, until she finally came across her mentor. Standing before him Keorii could sense that same familiar aether burning like a raging inferno... Keorii gazed upon her mentor in silence as she discovered that he had been carrying the second to her own dragon eye. And as the two eyes met each others gaze Keorii's will finally began to break... The walls were coming down while Keorii realized that her mentor was behind all the pains and losses of her journey as well as the attack on Ishgard... "But why?" she had thought before finally losing herself to the waking of her dragon eye...Each of Keorii's comrades were spread out around the city as a bright crimson explosion of aether caught their attention, causing them to shift their efforts and focus on the cause... only to find Keorii at the epicenter. They were frozen and hesitate, unsure what to make of the situation as Keorii suddenly lashed out in a rampant assault. Keorii was lost in a bloody haze as she struck down each of her beloved comrades one by one with her mentor watching from afar, leaving only Lialyse as her final prey. And It wasn't until Keorii drove her lance through Lialyse's heart that she had finally snapped out of her rampage...(To be continued...)
(Path of the Warrior coming soon)
(Path of the Paladin coming soon)

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