For some reason I can't view other peoples blogs but I'm going to try and post one anyway. I've been wanting to get back into writing, so I thought I'd try a little experiment. I used to collect fantasy art cards, so I decided I would pull one out and write a short piece about what I see. I think it is quite a bit under 1000 words (I only have WordPad which doesn't have word count) but the title gets the message across. It was belted out pretty quickly and does lack polish, but your thoughts are appreciated. I will give some more of my thoughts soon, but I don't want to cloud your judgement by giving you preconceptions. I couldn't figure out how to spoiler the image (my html was not well formed. Sigh) so I've included it at the end of the piece. You can choose whether you want to scroll down and see the image first, or read the piece first then look at the image. Note that I am only vaguely aware of the fiction the artwork relates to, so this does not contain any of the original characters or story; only one of my own imagining based on the artwork.
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Her grip on the chains were futile, yet she still felt the need to hold them, to pull at them, to show sign of resistance, even though she knew she had no hope of tearing them from their holdings. The shackles were clasped tightly around her forearms, and pulling against them only forced them to dig into her wrists. She contemplated her carelessness. It had been her watch, but she had fallen asleep. She berated herself for such foolishness. She had awoken to the insipid touch of scaly hands upon her, but one had clasped about her mouth before she could make enough noise to alert her comrades, and that scaly hand contained a cloth with a fragrant substance that had caused her to lose consciousness once again, though this time unnaturally.
She had awoken, shackled yet otherwise apparently unharmed. Her virtues had not otherwise been violated. The pedestals to which her chains were permanently attached housed shallow dishes which were being used to burn some form of incense, and fragrant smoke rose slowly from them and billowed out into the room. The smell was unfamiliar and somewhat confronting, though not particularly unpleasant. Based on her vague memory of the hand that had enveloped her, she had already come to the conclusion that she had been captured by the Dre'kor. The sound she heard from behind her, a cross between a hiss and a snarl, gave further evidence, and she turned as her eyes gave final confirmation that this was the case. He was an orange beast, and she saw armour upon him, and a spear in his hand. She did not take much notice of the Dre'kor, as something far more captivating had commanded her view.
Slight background noises which had not registered before suddenly became apparent as the five-headed dragon dominated her senses. There was a rhythmic pattern as the heads breathed in turn. The rub of scales, almost imperceptible as it was, immediately sounded like a cacophony. Perhaps most striking was that the necks and heads were all of different hues. Another oddity was that the heads had quite different features, as though they were from different species, and this creature was some conjured mix, a chimera forged from separate beings. The black head had three horns atop its head, and two folds of skin extended from the end of its snout, almost like whiskers. The blue head had two horns atop its head, with a line of raised scales down the back of its neck. The red head, central to the creature, had multiple horns not only on its head, but also continuing down is neck like a row of thorns. The green head raised up, showing a collection of whiskers that hung from its jowel. The yellow head had a crest of horns, which it wore almost like a lions mane. Two rows of smaller spikes continued down its neck.
Fear instantly gripped her. Her pull on the chains grew taut, all reason fleeing as her stomach clenched and her mind went awash with horrible outcomes. The thought of one or more of those giant jaws reaching forward to rend her flesh made her lose all coherence, and she slipped on the stair near which she had been chained, and the chain jerked her body around. She quickly turned; the sight of this beast scared her to her core, but not knowing exactly where it was or what it was doing was even more disturbing. She noticed the other Dre'kor then out of the corner of her eye, still unwilling to divert her attention from the vast beast that towered over her. The crimson head came forward, and she fell backwards, and the shackles cut into her wrists as she began to scream. All ten eyes were upon her then, and the red head moved slightly backwards from the noise, as though apprehensive, before once again advancing towards her. Her panic had begun to subside, as it appeared as though it was contemplating her, its head cocking from one side to the other. She wondered if it were intelligent, whether it spoke a language like the Dre'kor.
"Elzera!" At the voice that came from behind her, the dragon's eyes narrowed as it drew it's head back. Elzera turned to find that her companions had found her. The three were running across the cavern floor, brandishing their weapons. She saw the Dre'kor closing in on her peripheral vision as two distinct shrieks rang out behind and above her, echoing in the cavern. She pulled tight on the chains as she tried to step towards her companions, with hope in her heart that she would be freed from her containment, and fear for both her life and for those that would attempt to rescue her. If they survived, this would be an encounter they would never forget.