StarsAndMoon » Clan | Lair | Nesting Grounds

StarsAndMoon's Clan

none of my fandragons are even close to done please help

Ancient Lair

carved into the

Rotrock Rim

Clan Info

If I haven’t named/renamed your dragon yet, don’t worry! I get a bit weird about trying to find the best possible name before I rename them for sure.

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Deep in a ravine in the Rotrock Rim, there is a system of caves carved out of the cliffside, an expansive and defensible lair the clan crafted and set carefully. Disguised, secure, and outfitted with generous accommodations, it’s a steady place to rest from the constant strain that is surviving in the Scarred Wasteland.
Infected and diseased stone has been cut away from the tunnels and chambers inside, the larger and healthier stone that was still quarried out from the lair has been used to build something somewhere between awning and arch, with the broken rubble piled atop it outside. This makes the entrance to the lair look like little but a rockfall from the ravine’s edge when looked on from above, and has the added benefit of being collapsible if the clan needs to seal the lair against intruders.

The location for the lair was chosen with great care by Chronos peering ahead and the assistance of a few experts at searching for sound stone and finding safe sources of water in the Rim. As a consequence, the ravine itself is rather flush with strangely pulsing life, and the lair was built to be safe from tremors and instability, and to intercept an underground stream of pure water which runs through several of the lair’s caverns.
Upon entering the lair, you encounter a smooth staircase running sharply down into a flat and empty chamber. The chamber has three tunnel entrances, all of which are set back up, with small staircases winding up to a balcony that runs between them and overlooks the chamber. It is illuminated, like the rest of the lair, by bioluminescent algae, and a few hanging plants. This entryway was arranged to give the clan the high ground, and space to pounce down or attack the enemy from above in case anyone sought to assault the lair.

Each tunnel entrance leads to a different branch of the lair. The first branch goes for a short while before stopping abruptly at a stone gate which is normally sealed except when necessary to access it. Beyond it lies a network of caves including the armory, along with several vaults which hold the majority of the clan’s hoard. If the gate is forced open or opened improperly, portions of it crumble into dust, releasing some of the Wasteland’s deadliest airborne toxins and diseases into the air, rendering the areas beyond nie impassable and very dangerous to traverse.
The second branch of tunnels leads to a food preparation area, which has a section of the underground stream split off to run through a trough along the wall. It rejoins the main stream itself only once it has passed through the rest of the lair. This segment was built carefully, so fresh water can be drawn for food, and it can also be used for washing up. The room contains a large and flat slab of obsidian carried all the way from the Blacksand Annex, that is always scalding to the touch. It makes cooking easier, as the lair vents smoke only with difficulty.
Past the food prep area this branch splits, one path leading down to a modest prison with cells in sizes designed for every breed from Fae to Imperial. The prison is sealed by two gates, one normal, and the innermost one much like the gate sealing off the clan’s treasure, of stone packed full of prepared dust to be turned airborne if broken.

The second path in this branch leads to a basement, holding the clan’s food stores on neatly organized stone shelves. There are several chambers here, most dedicated to food, but also to other common place goods. Scattered throughout these storage caverns are stashed away caches of weapons and armor, in case dragons cannot get to the armory. In one of the food caverns is a table set out for Borr’s butchering, including several barrels for brine, chests for salting meat, and plenty of hooks and racks for him to do his work.
The final branch leads to by far the most expansive part of the lair, the living quarters. Dug at a constant, if slight, decline, this portion of the complex was dug specifically with an eye to future expansion. Upon starting down the tunnel leading towards the various dens, however, a large chamber is quickly encountered; a communal eating space.
This is a place where dragons can recline and take their meals together, with various seating arrangements and tables for dragons of various breeds and sizes. The tables also usually have at least some non perishable foods laid out, for dragons passing through or keeping odd hours.

Past the communal eating space, lies the tunnel leading to the main body of the clan’s residents, which immediately webs out, forking off into various halls and chambers grouped together mostly by rank in the clan. With the rank and file being nearest the food, the deeper in, the deeper a dragon’s authority, finally ending with caves for the clan’s three leaders, Signora, Achren, and Persephone.
About halfway down through the dens, near Nocturna’s rather warrenlike cave (which gives a taste of exploration while in safety, complete with vegetation, and provides nooks and crannies to hide things away), is where the main body of the stream cuts through the lair; bisecting two chambers and one the main tunnel itself. There is an arched little foot bridge built into the tunnel, to allow it to be traversed easily.
The cavern upstream has the water coming down in a waterfall from high up, leading into an inset pool to serve as a common bathhouse for those that wish to be cleanly. The stream then leads off across the tunnel, and into the next chamber, before leaving the lair entirely. The next chamber of course being a latrine, which keeps the lair free from any added contamination. It is hard enough keeping a place relatively safe in the Rim.

The dens are mostly carved for each member of the clan individually, with only a few sharing a space like Juno and Gwyneth. The walls are for the most part decorated in usual plague flight style, with furrows and claw marks gouged out of the walls, and occasionally paint scraped into it to give the place color. Each also has its own accommodations, like a few planters and cages built into the walls outside the mouth of Arular’s den, to keep fresh provisions for particularly important alchemical projects. He also has another very small part of the stream siphoned off to run through his den, providing a safe way to dispose of work waste.
One of the most distinctive and unique quarters and the deepest, aside from the leaders’, is Chronos’ home. Unlike the rest of the complex, which is roughly hewn, if comfortably so, his place is smooth. Instead of the everpresent algae, his chamber is lit from above by a line of magic circling the edge of the ceiling, and soft runes carved into it to give the soft illusion of a night sky shining down; with glowing stars worked along the walls as well. It’s well furnished, and most surfaces are covered in papers, left open journals and misplaced writing instruments.

The lair’s last important feature, is a hidden chamber that can be accessed from any of the leaders’ caves, leading up to a long and narrow staircase that shoots up straight and away at steep incline. Leading away and out of the ravine. The tunnel is incomplete, but has magic prepared to blast away the last sections. It’s meant to be used only in emergencies, in case the clan need ever evacuate.

(Lore by Mystif~)