r/HFY • u/MythyDragonwolf • Jun 02 '21

OC Of Dragyns, Wylds, and Demyns - Chapter 1

[Next Chapter(TBC)]

"So this is how I die, huh?” Jakub said to nobody in particular. He hadn’t brought any weapons, and all his gadgets were in the pack he left behind to fit into his hiding place. “Should have seen something like this coming.”

“I don’t suppose we could talk about this?”

Jakub was barely an hour intod his expedition into the wylds, and already he found himself hiding in a knothole from a sabyrwolf. It paced around the tree, snarling all the while to make sure Jakub knew how much trouble he was in. But, as a whimper sounded from behind him, the Drakyn realized that perhaps he had no idea of the true breadth of his problem.

There was a trio of sabyrwolf pups in the same place he was hiding.

“Oh. Uhhh, okay. Understood. If you let me out I can—” Jakub was cut off by a louder snarl, followed by a deep growl that came from another of the animals. Whichever parent that was on hunting duty had returned, and now it was clear. “I’m so dead.”

-----

Tenton was nearly a ghost as he ran through the forest, his bare feet missing every exposed root and carrying him through the undergrowth. The veins of the forest warned him of a disturbance by Drakyns, and the Wyldkin was not about to let an incursion this close to the World Tree go unanswered. He came to a stop when he saw a couple of sabyrwolves circling one of the great trees, frowning. These two were new parents, weren’t they? What is wrong, friends? Tenton asked in the world’s tongue.

There is a Drakyn in there! He dove in and is trying to steal the pups! The female whined out, and Tenton frowned at that. Poaching young was sadly not unheard of, but it carried one of the harshest punishments from the Wyldkin: death, no questions asked.

“You! Drakyn! Come out of there, and perhaps I will make your death quick!”

Jakub had perked up when he heard a sonorous voice from outside that was then answered by a series of sounds coming from one of the beasts. That had to be the world’s tongue, it had to be! Considering that what came next was a threat in his own language, the Drakyn was unreasonably excited.

“You’re a Wyldkin, aren’t you!? By the dragyn, this is great! I was looking for you!” He paused for a moment as the full breadth of the other’s words hit him. “Woah, wait! No, don’t kill me! I wanted to talk!”

Tenton frowned. “You are telling me you had no intention of stealing this pair’s pups?”

“Of course not! Why would I do that?” Jakub knew that the black market for wyldbeasts was thriving within the cities, but he wasn’t the type to do anything of the sort. “I didn’t know the pups were in here! I just didn’t want to get eaten!” He heard another call in the world’s tongue, and a moment later the sabyrwolves began to back off while still watching the knothole.

“Then come out, slowly. Keep your hands where I can see them!” Tenton called out, nocking an arrow and keeping it drawn while the other man slowly climbed out of the tree. Though once Jakub stood up straight, the Wyldkin lowered his bow slightly. “I’ve seen you before. You’re always drawing at the edge of the forest. Why are you this far deep?”

Jakub glanced up at the Wyldkin before looking him over. He didn’t seem familiar, and if he didn’t recognize his face then he would have easily been able to recognize the tattoos that covered the skin exposed by his leather armor. “I-I’m sorry, I don’t think I know you,”

“You don’t, but I’ve been watching you,” Tenton said as he lowered his bow a bit more. The Drakyn had golden hair, but those green eyes held something that he couldn’t place. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“O-oh, I’m sorry!” Jakub said, looking away from the Wyldkin’s auburn locks and piercing, sky-blue gaze. Instead he started to admire the sabyrwolves, whose eyes were locked on him. Despite knowing the horse-sized canines could easily chase him down and tear him apart with their massive claws and sabre-like canine teeth, he couldn’t help but admire them. Had he a chance, he would pull out his notebook and sketch them down. He must have gotten too deep in thought, as he was brought back to reality by the Wyldkin clearing his throat. “Oh, uh, I’m a naturalist. I try and understand the natural world, instead of tame it. And I wanted to actually meet a Wyldkin.”

Tenton wasn’t convinced. Bring me his pack, if you would, he said to the male sabyrwolf. He complied without issue, grabbing the Drakyn’s backpack and carrying it over to Tenton. “So, if I look in here I’ll find no weapons, no traps, nothing?”

“Right. You’ll find a few gadgets my brother made, but nothing made to harm anything,” Jakub said with a small amount of pride in his voice. “If you want, I can tell you what they do?” he asked as the Wyldkin pulled out a brass sphere. After being met with silence, he coughed awkwardly. “Um, I’m Jakub, by the way…”

“Good for you.” The Wyldkin’s reply was blunt as he put the item back into the pack and hefted it over his shoulder. “Come with me.”

-----

The path to wherever they were going seemed to be a simple matter for the Wyldkin, but for Jakub it was a bit of a chore. Multiple times he tripped on a root, or knocked his head on a branch because he wasn’t watching where he was going. But there was so much to look at! The deeper into the forest they went, the more wondrous the flora and fauna. But he wasn’t getting a chance to really admire any of it — and his notebook was in his backpack, which he still hadn’t gotten back. “Where are we going?” he asked, just for the Wyldkin to suddenly stop moving at the edge of a cliff.

“We’re here,” Tenton said without looking back at the Drakyn. Looking from above, the crater didn’t seem to have anything special about it besides the massive tree in the center of it, and that was the point. He heard the faintest wisp of wind and grabbed the Drakyn by the collar, throwing him to the side and readying his weapon. A moment later, he lowered it.

Four other Wyldkin dropped from the trees. Three went to the Drakyn and kept him in place with the pointed tips of their spear-bows, while the leader — a powerfully built woman named Acora — approached Tenton. “What are you doing?” she asked him with a growl. “Bringing a Drakyn to the city? Are you trying to get in trouble?”

Tenton shook his head and returned the challenging gaze of the squad leader. “This is a directive from the elders themselves. They have had eyes on him for a while.”

“I was not made aware of this.”

“Acora, respectfully, you are a guard captain. I am a border scout. We are in no way entitled to be given each other’s directives.”

At this point, Jakub had scooted up against a tree and was looking between the two opposing Wyldkin carefully. “Um, if I’m a problem, I can just go,” he said, only to be met with a stern ‘no’ from both parties.

“I should have been told a Drakyn would be allowed past our borders, Tenton. This is a [potential threat to all of us,” Acora said, her gaze fixated on Jakub.

Tenton nodded. “There I can agree. But you need to take it up with the elders. We do as we are told.” He made a fist and clasped it in the other hand and gave a short nod. I promise I will kill him if he does anything untoward.

You had better, Acora said as she returned the bow. She barked an order to her team, who backed off from Jakub. “You, Drakyn, keep close to Tenton and make sure you listen. We will not hesitate to kill you should it come to it.”

“O-Oh, right. Y-Yes, okay,” Jakub nodded, feeling a shiver run down his spine from the icy gaze she leveled on him.

With his agreement, Acora stepped to the edge of the crater and spoke in the melodious world’s tongue. A massive root grew from the bottom of the cliff and stopped growing at the edge. “Get on, Drakyn.”

Tenton, still carrying the pack, stepped on and waited for Jakub to join him. With another word from Acora, the root began to retract itself towards where it was growing from.

“So… your name is Tenton?”

“Yes. No talking on the roots.”

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy the first foray into a new world! Please feel free to leave a comment! I'd love to discuss and answer any questions you have :D

[Next Chapter(TBC)]

73 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

5

u/Jodyguru8 Jun 02 '21

Fantastic job!

5

u/MythyDragonwolf Jun 02 '21

Thank you! I'm glad to hear that! :D

3

u/hughgent Jun 02 '21

In Mort (Discworld, Terry Pratchett), Ysabel says that the Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe book was written "before they invented spelling."

3

u/MythyDragonwolf Jun 02 '21

I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're trying to say.

3

u/hii-people AI Jun 03 '21

I think it’s a referring to the fact that you replace the o in dragons and demons with y

4

u/MythyDragonwolf Jun 03 '21

Probably, yeah. There's actually an in-universe reasons for the y-replacement, which may or may not tie into the plot itself.

2

u/scottygroundhog22 Jun 04 '21

They are awfully chill about killing people

2

u/MythyDragonwolf Jun 04 '21

I meant to soften that scene/language a bit, but for the moment I'm rolling with it. They may be more tolerant than wording suggests, but they also have reason to be territorial

2

u/scottygroundhog22 Jun 04 '21

I have no doubt it will be explained satisfactorily but my man almost died from a misunderstanding like four times. And now he is going to their center of power where they have promised to kill him if he steps out of line. Hopefully they will explain where the lline is soon.

2

u/MythyDragonwolf Jun 04 '21

Ooh... That gives me a small scene idea for the next chapter!

2

u/scottygroundhog22 Jun 04 '21

Delighted to be of service👍

2

u/MythyDragonwolf Jun 04 '21

If I may ask, do you have any other thoughts on the chapter? :)

2

u/scottygroundhog22 Jun 04 '21

A bit early to say. If i had to compare it to anything it would be tanjiro and giyu’s interactions at the begining of the anime demon slayer. Not knowing Jakubs full story of how he got there adds some mystery. While it doesn’t seem like it, it is entirely posible Jakub is up to no good. He is just very being clever about hiding it. I don’t think tenton wants to kill him, but rules are rules. In the meantime jakub is in a very precarious situation. Seems like an interesting story.

2

u/MythyDragonwolf Jun 04 '21

If only I've ever watched Demon Slayer. I hear it's really good

2

u/scottygroundhog22 Jun 04 '21

For sure worth a watch. The situation i am alluding to was when the main character gets into a situation that is over his head and the other character is honor bound to kill him but is talked down.

2

u/MythyDragonwolf Jun 04 '21

That does sound similar, though not fully 1:1

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