Samson
Story of the Stone-Seer
For @
MadmDragonfly
From Strange Roots Sprouted
Samson was but one of a multitude of children born to
Elessar and
Osha within the grim expanse of the Scarred Wasteland. Each a jewel of brilliance perhaps scarcely seen in the Plagebringer's domain. But within that glittering collective, Samson was of very little note. He would not be able to aspire to high rank and favor or gain much wealth within his large family and clan. Indeed, throughout his childhood, he has not even a formalized name. None of his brothers and sisters had names either, those were things to be earned, and not many did, it seemed. So as quickly as he was able, he slipped away from his family and searched throughout the farther reaches of his homeland. It was only with the new perspective gained from the outside that he discovered what a strange enclave his family had been. His departure itself was not without consequences, and he got out at a good time, as the organization within that territory dissolved and his parents relocated to the distant ruins of Light to begin anew.
He did not think to concern himself with those things. The history of his family and how they came to live where they did mattered nothing to the handsome, jeweled Coatl in a newer and wider world.
History Neglected
Samson spent his time as a wanderer. He had few skills of value but was smart and strong enough to get by on odd jobs and basic hunting skills. He took on many names as he traveled until one stuck suitably well - Samson. He had just begun to get used to that being his name and having a name when trouble caught him up.
He had met a jeweler, a pearlcatcher named Shul who lived in a small clan. For Shul, Samson ran deliveries, as Shul was skilled in his craft and could make a fair living selling his goods. But Shul was old and ugly and not disposed to travel. So Samson sold the jewelry and craft on his behalf. In return, Shul taught Samson some of his craft and gave the young coatl a small cut of the profits. While traveling out to the market one morning, Samson stopped. He had felt a sudden and strange sense of dread. He unslung his pack and checked within to look upon Shul's goods, feeling certain that they had been stolen, but they were not stolen, all were there and accounted for. He shrugged this off and proceeded on with his business. When he returned to Shul a few days later, however, he found the workshop ransacked, and the old jeweler was gone, as were all his most precious stones. Samson set out immediately to try and find Shul, but the rest of his clan seemed to think it was a lost cause, and none cared to venture into the Boneyard for fear of something unknown. Samson never found Shul, but did find the old dragon's pearl.
Samson found the pearl and the jewels all strewn across the ground in a haphazard way. When he reached them and began to pick them up, he felt another wave of dread and recognized the way the stones were scattered. The same as stars in one singular season, same as a map on the ceiling of the brood chambers where he was born. An instant later he was fighting for his life against a phantom thing which came upon him then. Each time it moved between the stones it became visible briefly. It did not seem able to cope with being seen and was run off quickly because of this.
Once all was settled, Samson gathered the jewels and the old pearl to take back to Shul's family. As he did, counting each like counting stars, he knew Shul had seen the thing before, and come out here to set a trap for it. He counted stars and glints in the jewels and thought they looked familiar to him. That was the same familiarity he had known when the phantom thing attacked him. It had followed him. But he did not know what it was or why or even how he knew these things. He could never know because he had left it all behind and never concerned himself with it.
Colorburst Seer
Shul's tribe did not take the jewels when Samson tried to return them, not even the craftsman's pearl. They said the jewels were cursed, and it was Samson's task to take them as far away as possible. He was not so certain about their judgment upon the stones but took them anyway. He found he liked having them. As time went on he traded and collected for more. Each one seemed to open a tiny window through which he could peer and see unknown things. New things only, he could never divine the past. Sometimes he thought he caught glimpses of the Phantom Thief, and sometimes gemstones and jewels did go missing.
Samson kept the Pearl for a long time and found that by studying it, he could study Shul's craft, and mastered the cutting, shaping, and artistry which the jewelry had possessed. Each alteration Samson made to a stone could change its power and meaning and the secrets it contained. With them he learned to craft not only beautiful apparel but powerful auguries of color and light.
Jeweled Dragonfly
Of course, he did not learn all of this while a wanderer on the road, though he remained that way for quite some time. He was only able to truly come into his craft once he managed to claim a home for himself. His future secure, even if his past could never be.
He came of course, to the place where all wanderers do, as the Windsinger adores those who walk the winding roads and flit through the endless sky. For their stories create the most colorful and glittering tapestry. He came to settle within the territory of the Dragonfly Clan. His creations are of great use to
Sunrise in their most mundane application, but they are also imbued with subtle magics capable of bestowing boons of Knowing and limited foresight. He can craft trades tools for mages and other seers as well.
Still, there is always the nagging things which he can never know, and the strange thief which follows behind him.
Gemstone Blossoms
Samson crafted himself a rose made from rose quartz, and in it he saw a wilting and withering garden. The vision had for him an urgency which he could not ignore, and he sought through his craft to divine more, to find the place he had seen.
He learned though, it was no place, but a
dragon who was withered and would perish before long. With the knowledge he gained, he penned a letter of gentle inquiry to the clan at the center of this particular vision and quickly received a response from a terrible
courier made from blood, bone, and some demonic engine. The response was from
Nuodai, the desperate mate of the diminishing dragon Samson had seen.
The two shared correspondence for only a brief period, as the dire circumstance was quickly made apparent, and Nuodai sought a place of refuge and life for his mate, and as soon as possible. Samson was quick to extend an invitation to her, and arrangements were made for Erytheia to come to their territory to settle.
Euriana
Plaguetouched
For @
MadmDragonfly
Transplanted
For all of Euriana's life, her mother had been cursed with a withering illness which left her not well capable of caring for her daughter. That did not mean they didn't spend time together. Euriana's fondest memories were sitting with her mother in the garden when it was still lush, and in her room when the garden finally lost all color. Euriana had never known her mother's strength until they came to the Dragonfly clan. Only then was Erytheia able to give her daughter the care and attention and learning which she had long wished to give.
Although Euriana loved her mother and was overwhelmed and happy with the new life and vigor now available to her, she was far less certain and happy with their new surroundings. The journey there took them up and across what felt like the entire Windswept Plateau. The lush grasses and singing reeds which covered the great stone cliffs which were filled with vibrant colors were nothing at all like a dark and sinister crags and bone spires upon which Clifftown was built. The brilliant Cloudsong, built of a multitude of communities as an ever-flying collection of windbound cities was an intimidating and overwhelming vista. This plague Imperial, had spent her childhood sneaking through long underground passages to a Keep made of stone and bone hung on sloped cliffs before the boiling Wyrmwound, All places which seemed so firmly grounded, and where the world and it's simple brutality made sense, even to such a youthful dragon.
Sign of the Father
She remained close to her mother, for that was the one thing familiar to her, and even Erytheia was not much like she had been before. When her mother began keeping a garden once more, Euriana tried to learn and help her with it, but it seemed that everything she touched withered and died instead. She became frustrated by this and withdrawn.
Erytheia did not despair or relent but continued to try and make a life for them both in their new home, and a way for them to find happiness. She came to realize her daughter possessed some sliver of her father's curse, however, as it seemed that the more care and investment and heart she put into a given plant, the quicker it died. Erytheia called her daughter to her and gave her a new task in the garden.
"The plants will grow as they will, it is what they do, but you can help them along by removing the afflicted, the weak, and the weeds. That is how the Plaguebringer tends her garden."
Erytheia continued to work with and encourage her daughter, and together they maintain a beautiful garden for the clan, strong and fruitful, clear of weakness and weeds.
Notes
Euriana does not look much like a plague dragon, and some are surprised to glimpse the color of her eyes. Her beauty gains her much favor from other members of her clan and the dragons which wander though.
She can drain the life from dragons she interacts with, though she mostly practices and refines her power on plant life, to try and get a handle on it so she doesn't end up like her father.
Erytheia
the Eternal Bloom
For @
MadmDragonfly
Balance
Erytheia tended the gardens which initially Zahrada's grand project. Such a verdant little slice of home for the nature dragon was extraordinarily hard to maintain, and ontop of that, she had begun to fall ill. So Zahrada departed and the gardens quickly withered and were strangled by weeds.
Erytheia came to the clan when she met Nuodai, who had come to the Shrieking Wilds in search of his former lover but was unable to find her. He had become lost in that unfamiliar territory and was taken in by Erytheia. She learned he was from a plague clan and set herself to join him when he returned home, as she had always been enamored with plague and its nature, and the interplay of balance between the two sister elements.
Under her care, both the garden and Nuodai flourished.
Curse
For a long time she remained with the Clan of Singing Blood, and provided the clan with great bounties, and learned the creed of power and growth which dominate the plague lands. For Nuodai, she had three children.
But she fell ill, as Zahrada had. Some would claim it to be no more than the weakness of a nature dragon, or incompatibility with Plague, but Erytheia did not believe this. She also had no intention of fleeing, as Zahrada before her. She went to Sahko, the Elementalist, hoping he might be able to help. He was very happy to. He confirmed it was not due to her weakness or some elemental conflict between nature and plague, as the clan was home to two other nature dragons, who had not suffered as Zahrada and Erytheia. He called to his peers and set to locate other skilled herbalists and witches, thinking perhaps some foul flora within the garden was the cause, but that did not seem to be the case.
All the while, Erytheia's condition worsened, and she was taken into Siekte's care.
Eventually, the cause of Erytheia's illness was determined to be Nuodai, though the mechanism was not understood. Nuodai was horrified and immediately set to arranging for his love to be removed from the clan. It had taken them this long to find out it was him, and he did not know if it would be possible to fix, or how long that might take, and in the meantime, Erytheia could have easily perished.
She loathed leaving her love, her garden, and her clan. Had it been up to her, she might have remained and died there. Certainly, such a decision would have been viewed and honorable among some of the clan but Nuodai would not allow that.
Renewal
Nuodai desperately sought help and quickly made arrangements for his love's departure, knowing full-well that he should likely never see her again. While in the midst of these labors, he received a message from a seer in a distant wind clan who had experienced a vision of Erytheia's plight. Shortly after the Seer Samson invited Erytheia to join him and his clan.
Erytheia went, and arrived as she had departed, heartbroken and diminished. She was able to regain her health, but her spirit was slower to mend. Samson became close to her and helped in caring for her. He crafted gifts of beauty and magic, all styled after the natural world. Flowers of stone which could never wilt.
They did not seem to please her as much as he would have liked. He pondered on this for a long time. He came to the answer when working with a bit of ivory. Inspired, he set out to collect new materials and crafted for her a hideous totem to the Plaguebringer the balance out all the nature art he had given her. She was stuck by this and laughed fitfully at the strange new gift, but loved it dearly.
The totem now sits in the center of her garden, surrounded by the blessings of Samson's Jeweled flowers, and cultivated with her hand for life.
