Gangrene's Clan

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It is said that all the winds of the world originate for the Windswept Plateau and that they all return to it, carrying messages from every place they have blown through. Unfortunately for at least one peaceful clan of dragons living there words and whispers are not the only thing that the winds carry with them when they arrive. One day a particularly ill wind blew in from the north, bringing with it a small swarm of mosquitoes that had grown fat dining on the living contamination of the Wyrmwound itself. The swarm, infected by countless dire ailments quickly expired amongst the cliffs of the Reedcleft Ascent, but not before passing on at least one of the infections they had picked up, a subtle and insidious strain of unknown virus acting more upon the mind than the body.

The first victim was Zulu, a Mirror, and the others of his clan, assuming the disease to be some manifestation of the savageness inherent to his kind, chained him in one of the many caves honeycombing the cliffs of their home, hoping that his bout of madness would pass. It never did, one by one others began expressing the same symptoms, typified by violent urges, paranoia and lack of impulse control. They began to turn against their neighbors, seeing the smallest slight as an excuse for bloodshed, which they now found quite gratifying. By the time Zulu was freed by his mate Hesper, close to the entire clan had been infected. Those free of the disease fled, believing that those who had succumbed would quickly kill themselves off in bloody conflict. Yet the disease was true to the will of the Plague Mother and the infected were nothing if not survivors. During the outbreak Hesper cemented her position the as the leader and used her strength and ferocity to force the others to obey. There was a great deal of savage fighting, but in a testament to the female Mirror’s powerful will, none died. Many dragons of the clan wear the scars they earned during that time of conflict.

Having solidified her position and the stability of her clan Hesper set her sights on a new territory, one more suiting for the clan’s new found love of slaughter. Besides, it would serve as a fine distraction for them, preventing their savage tendencies from causing them to turn on each other. Under her guidance the infected began to carve a bloody swath across the Plateau, instinct as much as design bringing them north. Along the way they passed through the territories of their neighbors and when questioned about their journey they responded with unrelenting savagery, seeing the actions of their former friends as a challenge to the rightness of their new way of thinking. Word spread and before long they were met with open hostility all across the Plateau, which justified their growing hatred of their neighbors as much as it appealed to their newfound love of violence.

By the time they reached the edges of the lands that had been their home they were unrecognizable as the peaceful clan they had once been. All ties cut and all bridges to their old ways burned, there was hardly even a choice about what they would do next. Without hesitating they crossed into the Wandering Contagion, where they were met by the natives. It was not the warm welcome of spiritual kin that might happen with a clan migrating into any other territory, but a violent frenzy of violence to test the newcomers, to be sure that they were worthy of the gift that the Plague Mother had given them. In short order Hesper’s clan proved that they were more than worthy. They could very well have carved out a comfortable niche for themselves there and thrived, but something drove them onward, deeper, closer to the source of the virus that had remade them. The powerful force of like calling to like guided them across the Abiding Boneyard, helped by Hesper’s relentless determination, leading them safely through the desolate lands that had claimed the lives of some many others.

As of now Zulu and Hesper rule over a thriving clan over sixty strong. They have settled in the Rotrock Rim and have made their lair there. For now they have stopped in their journey, but there is no telling how long that might last. The urge to seek out new prey might again strike them or they may decide to resume warring against their neighbors. They may even continue onward closer to the source of the disease that has guided them this far.