From Here to Eternity (3/3)

Writers: Draconafin, Estelle, Halyonix, Heather, Iluva, Shawna, Sia, Steel
Date Posted: 11th October 2026

Characters: Agyta, H'kami, I'serin, H'stre, Ki'ben, M'kall, E'kirim, E'kavas, A'brevan, V'karel, S'lahr, X'yior
Description: Valbath rises!
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 4, day 25 of Turn 13
Notes: Mentor Approved (Draconafin parts)

I'serin

Aluneth screamed in frustration as she dove quickly. It put him in a terrible spot to recover his place in the chase but he was not going to surrender! Calling on some of his reserves, he dove recklessly after her.

Teyrabth hadn't been at the very front of the chasers, some of them apparently having overshot the cliff entirely, but close enough to see what she'd done. }:So clever!:{ he called.

In a risky move, he folded his wings in tight and simply _dropped_ into as steep a dive as the brown could manage after her. The glorious golden queen was _so close_! }:Astounding!!:{ Teyrabth called. }:Truly, you are worthy of the finest!:{

_Closer_ he had to get closer. Still unable to get the forward lead due to his size Mezanth had been watching each of the Queens dives. This one was certainly sudden and he almost didn’t have time to correct his own flight path. Reaching out past the cliff like many of his lust driven fellows. So he corrected on the fly. Twisting over himself in a flip he plummeted; seemingly without wings. Rather in that second they were folded close to his spine. A spine which ended up nearly pressed against the cliff. In his haste he had positioned himself the wrong way. Belly exposed to the havoc of the flight, to the _glory_ of the Queen. If only he was close enough to win favour.

Sanderveth barely took notice as a couple browns and one bronze peeled off from the flight, spent and unable to continue. **Weaklings,** he determined, stretching his neck to its limit as he arrowed after Valbath. She would need his strength, his wings, soon. She had flown beautifully, mightily, and he would be there to catch her when her strength began to falter.

A flash of hide on his right turned out to be Setoth, who was barreling after Valbath, snowflakes whipping past from the tips of the landscape around them.

}:Let’s fly together!:{ Setoth called enticingly to the lovely Valbath.

For the first time, Riakerth made a noise, roaring not defiance, but encouragement as the gold dove over the cliff. He knew well just how close to the cliff face he could fly, how deep the snow would be here as he let his tail knock against a drift and send a tiny avalanche down behind him. There might be a chaser close enough for the snow to blind them, a trick he’d learned from racing his clutchmate over the Turns for fun. Relsath had never hesitated to cheat in a race.

Novath's heart raced as the queen vanished before him and the few chasers now still ahead dived after her. He'd gained ground steadily, his mature size and strength serving him well in the teeth of the icy mountain wind, but now he had only a fraction of a moment to decide. Play safe and keep his height, or follow and risk losing her? For this queen, there was only one choice. His will tightly enmeshed with his rider's, he folded his wings and plunged into the depths beyond the edge.

Gravity took over for Valbath as her bulk fell down the white wall of the mountain and she didn’t spare a look back. She plummeted through glittering flakes, past crags and ridges lost beneath the soft skifts of snow that all but swallowed the tops of trees dotting the slopes. It was a trade of altitude for distance, and a calculated risk.

Halfway down her wings flared hard, the force of it shearing the heads clean from trees as she fought to overcome the inertia. Sheets of snow quaked and rolled toward the world below as Valbath flew horizontal, hugging the mountainside as she carried her momentum along its flank, putting miles of rock between herself and the peak she'd just dropped from. Wind hitting the slope forced the air upward, and she rode it, banking skyward at last, eager to see who remained-- who hadn't overshot, who hadn't flown themselves blind and exhausted. She could feel a few of them who'd been careful in their following, not flying brutal and blind. It pleased her as much as it did to enrage.

}:Very nice,:{ Valbath crooned in a low, satisfied echo of her rider. }:Don't stop now.:{

Mezanth scrambled, to say the least. When the Queen opened her wings and pulled away he was far too unprepared. His own risky move following her dive had undone him. With his spine closer to the cliff than most there was no way for him to open his wings _that_ quickly. Slowly they opened, pale sheets swallowed in the snow as the small bronze lost any closeness he might have gained. In one desperate bid he gave up following Valbath directly and cut his own path skywards. Trying as he might to gain favour where he had lost ground. }:I won’t stop:{ He called, pounding his wings as hard as he could. He _couldn’t stop_ not while he could still see her pulsing hide.

The gold was lost in a flurry of flying snow as she changed direction, but that same calm thought cut through the fury and heat of a flight. She would go left or she would go right, sight didn’t matter as much as it normally did. Riakerth veered right, massive dark wings beating fiercely at the air as he put the last of his energy into rising as steeply as he could. This was the time to exhaust himself- if he’d guessed wrong, it would all be over anyway.

On the ground, A’brevan couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips. Whether they won or lost, the sheer arrogant power of the bronze was intoxicating in a way he rarely got to indulge in.

Teyrabth bugled, spared no further thought for his erstwhile rivals as he flared his own wings and used what he could of the updraft to climb again, committing to rising again with all he had. }:Valbath, you are as powerful as you are beautiful!:{ he called. }:I will fly for as long as you wish it!:{

Daith echoed this cry as he followed quick suit after the large queen. }: Lovely one, choose me! We will show them a flight like no other! :{

Isaoth, however, was lost in the flurry of the flight, having clipped too closely to the cliff face. His self-preservation kicked in, which cost him the race as he veered away from the rocks that would have ripped his wings. Snarling, he watched the beautiful golden hide grow further away.

Setoth careened after the gold, barely taking heed for his own safety or course of flight as he did. His youth and exuberance made him fearless as he skimmed the tall trees with barely any clearance. }:I’ll _never_ stop, Valbath. Never!:{ He called lustily.

A glimmer of gold through the haze of ice and tearing winds warned Novath just in time and he strained every muscle to pull up, his pulse pounding, tail whipping, the tip of a wing barely missing a graze against the sheer rock. There she was! Exhilarated by the rush of the fall, Novath couldn't resist unleashing a roar of admiration and sheer glee that resounded from the cliffs around them. What a flight, what a queen! But rivals remained in the chase, and now it was time to use up the last of his strength. Novath took a deep breath of the freezing air and pushed forward and higher, his heart pounding, wings burning, neck outstretched as he followed Valbath to the limit of his endurance.

Sanderveth had flown so close to the treetops in his pursuit of Valbath that he’d come away with some evergreen branches in his hind talons. It was exhilarating! Never had he flown a gold who took so many risks, well, not that he had the capacity to remember anyway. None of these younger pups were worthy of her, he was certain. Dipping into his final reservoir of energy, the veteran bronze burst after her.

Across the sharp peaks, the midday sun fell blindingly now, coating everything in its gaze. It refracted off the burning gold and bronze hides, and the moment Valbath burst over the mountain's spine and into the clear expanse of cold and sun, she called to him. She was reluctant to relent. Her freedom, her fire. In this moment they were everything. But she knew he was behind her. She knew his power, and his pride. There were a number who were surprisingly worthy -- browns among them, closer than she'd expected -- but he was over the peak now, too, just as she knew he would be, as she suddenly hoped he would be, his hide dazzling, and she knew it by sight now. Out of all of them, if she had to choose, it would be him. Valbath flew right at him, for no male was going to pluck her from the sky. She was the one to do that, and they would fall -- together.

The moment Valbath's hide met Novath's, Agyta's hands were on V'karel, pulling him to her with low sound of approval.

Last updated on the October 28th 2026

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From Here to Eternity (3/3)