The Future of Mystria (Closed)

There was a great shuffling of papers as two men sat behind a rather large desk, the first wore long red robes and the second what looked like leather armor with an apron thrown over top. The robed man looked in his early forties, with a beard circling his mouth and flowing down his chin to hang off in a goatee, though his head was bald his beard was dark black with a few streaks of early grey. He was Bob, or at least that's what he claimed, the robed man never gave a last name and he was very careful to make sure most folk didn't see his face, this however was a special occasion. Bob was a powerful magic, though not as destructive as some of his brothers and sisters, Bobs magic specialized in changing or warping one creature into something else, creating a host of different affects as subtle as gaining muscle mass to changing someone's species completely. Next to him was a young man, decked out in the slightly burnt leather clothing and an apron covered in discolorations and more bun marks, this man looked closer to twenty-five, still quite young but showing many traits of older men. He had wild bold hair that stuck up at odd angles, it looked like he never saw a comb in his entire life, wearing a pair of thick glasses his face was rounded and rather handsome. This man was Joe, the head alchemist of this little program, known for his radical ideas and blatant disregard for the safety of others.

With another shuffling of papers Bob cleared his throat before shooting a critical eye at the woman sitting in the chair opposite of him and Joe. "Miss...Quinn? Can you read and write?" In these times not all those living in any kingdom could bother themselves with higher learning, but there were always a few surprises lurking around. "Does that really matter?" Joe asked the mage with a raised eyebrow "More importantly, are you healthy? We know you have gone through some rather harsh times. We need a healthy woman. Any history of internal pain or bleeding?" at that Bob glared at the young man before sighing. "Joe, we must cover the basis before preying into this poor woman's medical history!" So the war of practicality verses order continued until the two men realized that Quinn was still sitting across from them. Coughing into his hand Bob continued "Well, we do have many questions for you, most medical issues can be cured with the right healer but first we must know a bit about your history and that of your body. The more information we have the better we can work and the less chance of something unforeseen happening." with that ominous tone the man leaned back i his rather comfortable looking hair an decided to give the woman a chance since he and Joe sort of dominated the conversation.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

The young woman looked at the odd pair across the table quizzically. Her mouth opened in reply but was cut off by them bickering about which questions to ask first. She let out a soft sigh and rolled her eyes. At this rate she would never get paid!

"Gentlemen!" She interjected, "I assure you I am very healthy. Yes I have fallen on hard times but I grow my own food so I do have something to eat." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I have no health issues that would cause concern. My cycle is on point, I have no internal discomfort and I have never had to undergo any medical procedure in my twenty one years of life."

Her chin lifted a bit defiantly. "I can read and write. I was a scribe for the town doctor for some time before I got enough money to send myself to school before my father could blow it. I have worked since I was eleven, doing odd jobs here and there to make ends meet. Now do forgive me, but I would like to start this job so I can be paid and keep from losing my home!"

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

Nodding along Bob glanced up at the woman, the small hint of a smile played across his lips, Quinn seemed to have a lot of spirit, she was going to need that. "Alright then. Per the agreement you will be offered full room and board for the duration of the project, the entry position is for three months, at any time you can opt out or ask for a longer stint, you could even ask to make this your determinant job if you enjoy it enough or are just that dedicated." Bob then glanced up at her "If you want we can hold your paycheck or send it to someone if you wish to put it to use." he then slid a paper forwards and then offered an ink-pot along with a quill. "There are a number of terms here, basically if at any time you use drugs not sanctioned by us you are kicked out of the program. If you tell anyone about it or it's nature, you are also kicked out. There are half a dozen similar terms there." On the paper there was listen several different parts of their agreement as well as what she was to expect, such as giving the mage and alchemist complete and total use of her body for the sake of the project and furthering it.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

She listened attentively as Bob spoke. Three months wouldn't be so bad, plus she had room and board. At the mention of her paycheck, she spoke up. "I would like to have it sent to someone until the amount is paid in full. Then I would like you to hold it to keep my father from spending it all." She reached for the quill as she read over the agreement. She did not use any drugs so she would not have to worry about that and she had no one to tell about the program. She was set either way. "Complete and total use of my body? In what way?" She asked warily, fearing they would try and rape her or something.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

Nodding along Joe took the stage from Bob "Of course, we shall enforce that by royal knights if we have to, this project is far too important for such minor concerns. You will get the money owed you and it shall be used as you deem right." at that he moved on to the next little problem, knowing very well that this would be the sticking point for many people. "Well, we are developing many new spells and potions for queen and country." Joe explained before bringing his hands together, clasping them as he spoke "These experiments will help every field, from medical research to see how to better heal and take care of our people, to adapting and changing out warriors to protect their homeland. For example, we could figure out a potion that allows a man or woman to breath fire, an invaluable tool. Or we could grow wings, find ways to decrease the number of still-births and mutations. The applications are endless and as such our experiments must be just as endless. There are also several fields in creating better dragons for our knights to ride into battle, though unlikely this research could even aid those efforts." Bob glanced over at his partner, they both knew that this grand speech was in part smoke and mirrors. While creating a new race of warriors would indeed fulfill many of these problems, context of how they would go about this was the important thing.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

Blue eyes looked at the blonde skeptically as he explianed everything. Quinn hesitated to sign her name to the contract but once she thought about the money, she nodded. "Alright. I'll do it." She dipped the quill into the ink and elegantly signed her name onto the paper. Besides, anything was better than becoming a barmaid or servant.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

"Well...we do have more questions but-" Bob was interuoted by Joe who stood up and leaned across the table and offered the woman his hand as he smiled at her. "Welcome to Project Future of Mystria." he said as he waited for her to shake his hand. Bob however was not to be denied the proper questions "We still have a few things to ask but we can go over them on the way." with a low sigh the mage stood up as well, but unlike Joe he was not going to offer her a hand or be friendly in any shape or form. In fact Bob was already turning about, waking to the back of the office where a door was hidden. With a short word of power the wall folded open to Bob and he walked right in, only pausing to wait for Joe and Quinn to catch up.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

The woman looked between the two men foe a moment before she shook Joe's hand. "Thank you for accepting me. It helps so much!" She held out a hand to Bob, but pulled it back as he turned. Already, she didn't like him very much. Following them, she stepped through the wall as it collapsed and looked about her new surroundings in wonder.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

Behind the wall was a very large lab, no doubt belonging to Joe it also boasted three other apprentice alchemists all buzzing around to check different beakers and solutions. Unlike Joe himself who was a bit of a mess, his lab was about as clean and orderly as it could ever be, everything neatly kept to it's own space and filed away. "Come one." Bob called as he stomped right on through the room and opened the door near the back, this in turn lead to a room that was stuffed full of books and several objects that were glowing, no doubt bob's domain. There were several very heavy chairs inside where the man no doubt spent many hours reading and studying the vast arts of magic. There were two other mages inside with him, one a young woman and the second a young man, each wore robes but no where near as elegant as those Bob himself wore. "Shoo!" The elder mage snapped, clearing the room of his pupils before moving on to the door in the back of this room. This lead to another room as Joe explained "We were sort of founded on a budget, we bought a very cheep building to be our base of operations, it doesn't exactly have the best floor-plan for our uses but we get by." as he spoke they led the young woman to the fourth room which resembled the wing of a hospital, full of beds and medical herbs, supplies and a host of different magical tools. Here stood a clean-cut young man with green eyes a well defined chin and slightly too long hair. "Hello miss, I am Nathan. I will be your doctor, my job is to observe your progress and make sure no complications arise. If they do, I have faith in my own abilities." He seemed very friendly, much like Joe but also clean and well groomed like Bob, striking a balance between the two extremes. Bob and Joe stood by as Nathan walked up to the woman and quickly looked her up and down "If you mind, would you please disrobe. I need to preform a quick check up, afterwards we will speak to the chef to get you something to eat." Nathan then pointed to two doors on either side of the room "The one on the right is where we will carrying out the experiments, the one on the left leads to a room we have set up for you." once he explained that the healing quickly headed over to his desk and picked up what looked like a wand "Now...if you please." he said slowly as he waited for Quinn to comply.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

The young woman looked around in amazement as she was led through the rooms and into the medical room. A faint blush covered her face as Nathan greeted her. He certainly was handsome!

At his request that she disrobe, she looked back to the other two males in the room and gulped. Remembering the contract, she nodded and began to remove her tattered dress and underclothes. Letting the ratty garment fall to the floor, she covered her full breasts with one thin arm and covered the apex of her thighs with a trembling hand.

Eyeing the wand warily, she looked to the healer. "W-what all will this exam include?"

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

"You can just stand there if you wish as mist are just basic scans. However, we do have to take your sizes so we can order some new clothes." Nathan paused and then shot a glare at the rags "Also burn those." at this Bob extended a singer and a small beam of light shot forth and in short order Quinn's old clothes vanished in a puff of smoke. Nathan didn't seem to even skip a beat as he began to wave the wand slowly over the woman's body, first up and down her front before moving to her back. After a few sweeps me muttered something under his breath and then walked back around to the woman's front "Miss Quinn? I must ask, have yo ever had sex? If you have how long ago was it and also I must ask if you are now, going to be or have been a mother." looking her right in the eye with a deadpan expression it was clear that Nathan was not fooling around in the least.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

She watched in dismay as her dress disappeared in a puff of smoke. It had been her best dress and she had worked hard in order to scrape up the money for it. Oh well, certainly they would give her new clothes to wear while she was here.

Her entire body trembled as the wand was passed over her entire form, not from the cold but from nerves. As she heard Nathan mutter, her heart lept to her throat. Had he found something wrong with her?! She gulped and looked to him as he moved back in front of her.

His next question caused her mouth to drop open as creamy complexion turned a brilliant shade of red. "I-I fail to see why that matters but if you must know I am still a maiden. I have never had sex, nor am I expecting!" She glared at the blonde in front of her in indignation.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

"Because many of these potions are experimental, the spells as well. They would have rather odd affects on human children or children nursing from a mother who had talen them. I ask only because I happen to be a human being and a healer who cares about life." Shooting the woman a short glance Nathan then pointed t the door on the left "There is your room. Unless you wish to start work right away i suggest you go there and look through the dresses and other assorted clothes to make sure they match." with that Nathan turned away from the woman and stalked back off to his desk.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

Her eyes turned a stormy blue as a sort of rage filled her, directed at Nathan. As he stalked off, she glared in his general direction. "Excuse me for asking! But everything was not explained to me at the beginning!" She commented, crossing her arms across her chest. "So did I pass? And you promised me food. "

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

"Perfectly healthy." The healer muttered as Bob and Hoe quickly began to move "Come on Quinn." Joe called out with a smile, quickly opening the door to her room. It looked like a bedroom fit for a princess, complete with a bathroom that boasted a massive shower and bathtub, a walk-in closet stuffed to the gilled and a full course meal set out on the bed just waiting for the young woman. Beside the meal were two potions, a red one and a blue one which Bob quickly got to. "After you eat please take these. The red one first and then the blue. In that order. They will keep you safe and neutralize any negative affects from future potions." with that the two men stepped back "We will be out here with Nathan, once you have settled, eaten and dosed yourself please come out to talk to use and we will get started." with that they left her to explore her new room.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

She wanted to retort so badly but sighed and trudged along with the two men to take a look at where she would be living for three months. Deciding not to care that she was naked, she dropped her arms and walked with them with her head held high.

Her jaw once again dropped as she looked over the room she had been given. It had to be as big as her house! Before she could stop herself, she flung herself at the two men, hugging them tightly. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Nodding along as Joe spoke, she quickly ushered them out. "I will be out in but a moment!"

Quinn looked around the massive bathroom before doing a little dance of glee. This was all hers! Deciding to take a quick shower, she washed her hair and scrubbed her skin until it was red. From there, she dried off on one of the softest towels she had ever used and went digging through the closet.

Twenty minutes later, she was dressed in black suede breeches, a white linen blouse and riding boots, perched on the bed and finishing up what was with no doubt, the best meal of her life. She patted her full belly and reached for the potions. "Now which was I to take first?"

Shrugging, she popped open the red and tipped it into her mouth. The taste wasn't the most pleasant but it wasn't unbearable either. Quickly, she took the remaining blue one and hurried out to meet up with the men once more.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

When Quinn joined them Joe and Bob seemed to be fighting over something, the two hissed and spat like old fishmongers. "I am quite certain without a shadow of a doubt! You have seen my calculations!" At that Bob just crossed his arms and huffed "Squiggles on a chalk board." to which Joe angrily shot back "All magic is squiggles you asshat." but before things could go much further Nathan coughed politely from his desk, alerting the pair that their new test subject had come out of her room. Quickly the two men straightened themselves out, not wanting to be seen fighting like a pair of school children. "Ah, welcome back." Joe said with a smile "I was wondering if you would ever leave your room." at that Bob chimed in "Which reminds me, in the future please refrain from hugging my person. I do not like being touched." with a loud sigh Nathan stood up and rolled his eyes at the two of them. The healer then quickly walked over to the woman "You took the potions, yes? You should be feeling a sort of warming sensation in your chest. Do not worry, that is perfectly normal." he then glanced at the co-founders of the project and raised an eyebrow. "Oh quite that! We are getting to the details, let her have her fun." Joe said before wincing ever so slightly, glancing at the door on the right for just a moment.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

She sighed as she heard the two arguing once more. Did they ever stop?! Shaking her head and steeling herself, she approached the trio. "I'm sorry. I figured I should clean up before we began the tests. Forgive my tardiness and do forgive me for hugging you. I was only showing appreciation for what you had done for me."

As the blonde healer approached, Quinn gave a small nod. "I took them exactly as instructed. Red then blue." At the mention of the warmth, she again nodded. "I felt that but thought it to be my imagination. It's good to know that that is normal." A perfectly arched eyebrow peaked as the man quickly glanced at the door in a somewhat nervous manner.

"So.....what is it that I am to do? And....what can I expect once I go through that door there?" She pointed to the one opposite her room.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

The healer gave a low grunt "Good. I shall be here when you need my council." and with that Nathan returned to his desk, more or less ignoring the three now that they were no longer his concern. Joe rolled his eyes before stepping forwards and lightly wrapping an arm around the woman's shoulder "No worries at all! It's nice to have such a kind and friendly person as yourself here. Certainly a change a pace from grumpypants and the librarian." if Bob or Nathan cared about their new nicknames they didn't react. Joe slowly led Quinn over to the second door "Here is where things start for real." he said with a smile before pushing the door open. Inside were several very large stalls, they vaguely resembled a horse stall but built out of solid stone and iron. The beasts within were massive and covered in scales, dragons. Though there were around ten stalls in all only the closest three were occupied, each by a different kind of dragon and none of them looked too happy.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

Steeling herself, she waited until the door swung open to meet her fate. Quinn's already pale complexion turned ashen as she beheld the beasts, fear and wonder flickering in her pale eyes. These beasts were truely magnificent, their scales glittering in the low light of the stalls. "W-w-what is it that I am to do? I know next to nothing about dragons." She gulped audibly as she looked over the terrifyingly beautiful trio.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

The three dragons were prized specimens of their breeds, each male and each so very mighty in their own ways. Joe and Bob closed the door before then, the wizard mumbled something under his breath, no doubt some sort of spell but the purpose he never gave away. Joe took the lead, gently placing a hand on the woman's shoulder as he pulled her forwards, completely ignoring her question as to how the dragons were involved. "Come now! You should really meet the boys!" Starting on the far left pen Joe pulled her in front of the stall to show off the beast within. Often called wyverns this sort of dragon were more primitive, lacking a true breath weapon they often breathed smoke and were less impressive than their cousins. This dragon had a very low posture, using his wings as a second pair of legs he crawled around on the ground like a giant bat, in general he was more lean than powerful, with a huge pair of wings that were so long the wyvern was unable to completely unfurl them in the pen. His scales were old and yellow in color, though dark enough that they didn't shine in direct sunlight. From his wings were long supportive fine that trailed down the dragon's back and tail, ended in a large fin like pad, all of which would be extremely useful in flight. When he did extend his wings they were painted in a mix of black and grey with a bit of redish outlines near the center, looking very much like a living oil-painting of fire and smoke. "This here is Smudge. One of the dragons bred from the kingdom's stockyards. He comes from extremely good lines, is very intelligent but easy going and most importantly he can outfly any other dragon in the sky!" Smudge himself seemed happily curled up on a mass of hay, largely ignoring the humans as he napped.

Then Joe took the woman to the center stall where a far more intimidating figure was standing. He was much larger and taller than Smudge, standing on four pillar like legs attached to feline claws was a great dragon. His scales were mostly black on top, though his chest, stomach and the underside of his tail were all bright red. Curved horns like those of a demented ram arched forwards as this beast shot a short gout of fire at Joe. Known as high-dragon, beasts like this one were favored for their breath weapons and their frightful magical power which were far more than any legend can paint. With a short horn on his known and a tight club at the end of his tail, this beast was clearly designed for combat, either fighting other apex predators or other dragons to defend his territory. When his wings spread they were a mix of bright oranges, blues and reds, looking like a swirling tornado of flames. "Just ignore him. This is Vollic and unlike our other two he is a wild-caught dragon. Got himself a taste for cattle which did him in, took five mages and six knights to wrangle him. Vollic's got a bit of a temper on him like any high-dragon, but don't worry. Each dragon wears a collar which restrains them, they could no more hurt you or me than they could fly into the sun."

Sweeping the young woman along Joe took Quinn over to the last beast he had to show her, in the far right was a monster that towered over even Vollic and all that dragon's impressive power. Build like the insane lovechild of a bulldog and a crocodile, this beast was a stout one, lacking wings all together he was clearly bound to life on the ground. However he also sported a third pair of legs, a bit smaller than the front pair which had long mole like claws for digging, these legs looked more geared for supporting the beasts's wight. His hide was made up of thick interlocking plates, the most armored and the least agile of the three dragons gathered here. Thee beasts were known as wyrms, they dug massive tunnels under the earth and lived off whatever they could find. They also lacked the magical power and true breath weapons of high-dragons, though many breeds could release a toxic blast of sulfur or pressurized steam. This dragon had a shiny metallic look to his hide, looking like polished iron. With two shorter horns growing form the beast's blocky skull were a darker color of steal which rust colored tips. Large spikes ran down his back which similarly had flakes of red running through them to offset the giant's largely darkened hide. This dragon seemed more curious than anything else, nosing up against the door to the stall before snorting a short puff of cool vapor and tilting his head at them "This fine steamer is Stanlee" Joe explained as he finally let go of his charge "He is the strongest wyrm we can find, also bred from the stock here in the castle he is a mighty beast with near unbreakable armor!. He's perhaps the most gentle beast we have around, very loyal as well." he then turned about to her and smiled "So miss Quinn, what do you think of our collections?"

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

Quinn was a bit hesitant to be led along and "introduced" to the beasts. She quickly forgot her question as she got her first glimpse of the first dragon. Her eyes traveled over his lithe body, taking in every detail. Smudge was truely magnificent but the dragon in the next pen over took her breath.

She looked over the massive black beast in awe and wonderment. The heat from his gout of flame warmed her skin and left behind the faint scent of char. She found herself unafraid as she looked into this beautiful creature's eye, seeing the wild spark he still carried.

The next was no less impressive though a bit....odd. She found herself smiling to him and holding out a hand in the cool vapor he let off. She didn't fear him as she should and approached the stall so he could sniff her. "They are all magnificent. But I must say, Vollic is by far the most beautiful. Something about the look in his eyes calls to me." She looked towards the massive black dragon with a smile.

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

Chuckling Joe slowly walked back over to the middle stall where Vollic snapped at the air, the alchemist ignored the dragon's threats as even without the wall between them the reptile was still helpless against a simple human. "I am thrilled to hear you say that." Joe said with a smile "I should also add that the collars on these beasts allow them to change their shape to become more human like, though they clearly prefer their normal bodies." wrapping up up the man crossed his arms. "This brings us to the nature of why we have these beasts here. You know our kingdom is unparalleled when it comes to magic, but there are threats even magic can't beat and the dragons can only aid us with. So we, the students you have seen, Nathan, Bob and myself, we charged to see if dragons can interbreed with humans. The goal is that in a couple generations our population should transfer from human to...er Dracians is what we have been calling this hypothetical race. In the future no kingdom would dare challenge us, not with our magic, dragons and the people themselves being more than human." Pausing to take a breath Joe slowly reached out and placed his hand on the handle of th3 stall, ready to open Vollic's door "But the problem is we need to know if it will work That is where you come in my dear Quinn. Are you ready to be the mother of a new race? The salvation of our kingdom?"

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

The poor girl's eyes widened and she took a step back, ramming into the door of Stanlee's stall. "E-excuse me!?! You mean, I was brought here to be....b-bred to beasts?" She felt as if she were going to faint. A gentle nudge from the wyrm behind her shifted her forward and brought her back into the present. She had signed on for this, she had asked for this. The picture of her poor father and their tiny home flashed through her head. Steeling herself, she straightened her spine and looked to him.

"Okay. I'll do it."

RE: The Future of Mystria (Korax and MiseryChord)

Reaching forwards he gave the woman a pat on the shoulder "That's a good lass!" his eyes shining with a manic light, soon all of Joe's theories and countless hours of testing would be put in place. "The two potions you took were to aid your body, the red one to increase your body's ability to heal. It has it's limitations but short of losing a major limb you can regenerate anything. Your body is also twice as tough as it used to be and slightly rubbery, hell I would almost field you as a weapon." Chuckling at that the alchemist rolled his eyes "Now, the second potion altered her womb, it made it more akin to that of a reptile's but still keeping your human essence. It will basically send your reproductive systems into overdrive, able to birth a child or clutch a week and be read to be filled seconds after being birthed. Of course this is a great strain on your body, you shall be allowed to rest and recuperate at any time you desire as well as have the best food made bythe best chefs in the kingdom to keep you in perfect health!"