The Ancient One ~ Sidney
Sidney is not so much ancient as one of the first members of the clan, she has seen it come together and flourish under their Royal Family, she was there when the Great Nest Tragedy struck.
She is the young Sionyn's mother and believes her relationship with Donnell is the best thing she could have asked for her....and yet she is not so willing to out the traitor. This traitor, who means as much to her as Sionyn.
Must she choose between them?
The Friend ~ Serilla
Serilla is a royal dragon, first born of Princess Windrunner, future heir to the throne, but her future wasn't always so bright.
Serilla has known Sydney for all of her short life and looks up to her just as she does any other clan elder. After all, Sydney was one of the great dragons who built up their clan along with her grandparents, the current King and Queen, and looks after her from time to time.
Serilla doesn't know much about the tragedy as she had just been born, she has heard rumours from the older dragons that Sydney wasn't really one for socialising before then, but that must be crazy because Sydney is her best friend!
They are very close, sometimes Sydney even seems a little too protective, but that isn't just with her....right?
The Progenitor ~ Halka
Our glorious King Halka. The Half that started the Whole.
King Halka is also a Clement, a royal who is skilled in magic and can see snatches of the future, but many in the clan are skeptical of that last bit. His Queen and his clan's elders, including Sydney, have no doubt that he can see some of the hidden truths of this world. Truths which can reveal startling realities or awaken vast possibilities.
As the first and current King, he ruled during the Great Nest Tragedy, and is also the one to declare Donnell guilty of committing the crime. As a clement who had no mentor and so heavily relies on his visions, he can sometimes mistakenly interpret them but is not easily swayed if confronted about his mistakes.
He is Serilla's grandfather and so he takes matters which concern her very seriously, she is his only grandchild after all....
Her Loved One ~ Donnell
He knows he has no chance. He knows he will die.
The King won't change his mind, he is blinded by his love for Serilla, they all are.
He didn't commit the crime, he would never dare. His soul screamed just as the other clan member's did, on that dark, dark day when blood was spilled and children killed.
He had run, flown, clawed his way to get to the hatchlings, those precious hatchlings, only to watch in horror as all but one was ripped into tiny pieces. As all but one beautiful life was snuffed out. That traitor had been his friend, had loved Sionyn as much as he had.
Had. He had never even guessed at the possible darkness residing within, maybe if he had this could have been prevented.
But that is not important anymore. Serilla is safe and happy and
sheltered. He loves his Sionyn, his beautiful, happy Sionyn, and all three of their gorgeous children. Hodor. Aiki. Annalisa. He will miss them but...this is for the best, life goes on.
They all know who the traitor is, how cruel life can be.
The Young One ~ Sionyn
Sionyn. Bright, bouncy Sionyn. Desperate to save the life of her lover.
They all blame Donnell, he was found at the scene of the crime, in one of the fortune telling king's 'visions', yet she knows in her heart that he would never have done it.
And so she goes to her mother, the one dragon that she could always turn to for help no matter what. She knows that as a clan elder, her mother will know more about the situation, that she will help free her love. And yet her mother, her most trusted ally, simply pauses with that forlorn look on her face that seems tinged with pity, and tells her to sit down so that she may listen to a tale.
She simply doesn't understand what could make her mother, the only chance for her dear Donnell, so reluctant to tell her the truth. What is she hiding?...
* * *
Sydney - "Oh my dear child, the Great Nest Tragedy was the darkest day in our clan's history. The King was distraught, he lost so many of his grandchildren on that day, I fear that if little Serilla hadn't survived our clan's future would have died too.
Thirteen children died on that day. That is the reason why it has been heralded as such a dark number since. Some had barely hatched out of their shells but still they were ripped apart limb from limb.
It was cruel and calculated revenge and yet I believe there was madness already clinging to his heart.
Yes, his, I know who the traitor is, but you must first understand why this happened. Beyond anything, those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.
You see, there was a young dragon, much like yourself dearest Sionyn, who loved the world and everything in it, but ultimately loved his father more than anyone else. However, one fateful day, that father was taken from him by our King Halka, not out of spite or malice, but out of our duty to serve the great Shadowbinder.
This young dragon had not yet been taught how honourable it was to fight for one's deity, so while he watched his father grudgingly leave his home and everything he held dear, a small seed of hatred began to grow within. When his father closed the door to their lair behind him, without a word to the trembling child within, his heart grew as dark and cold as their home now became.
In a blind fit of revenge he took away the dearest thing in Halka's heart: his precious family. He killed them to show Halka the pain that he had come to know from losing his own father. He was never truly evil, no dragon is truly evil, he was, is, in pain.
I am not condoning his actions in the slightest, what he did was unforgivable and yet I find that I cannot hate him for it.
The truth is...the one who betrayed us all, ripped out our hearts, our very core...it was your brother, Sionyn, my son...it was Thelxiope"
The Traitor ~ Thelxiope
