Conifer

Uh-oh, looks like this snowy evergreen wandered a little too far from his lair (DuskDream, 94971), in search of himself and cool things to see! If ever you feel the urge to exalt, he'd really appreciate it if you could just return him home instead, or to the 'Dragons Off To See The World' thread, here. This little tree realized from an early age that he was a masculine, if cuddly and gentle, ridgeback. While his horn may not grow in, it's certainly not stopped him from understanding who he is. His clan provided all the support and care a young dragon might ask for, but he can't help himself from exploring, and begun his journey into the world with both enthusiasm and curiosity.

Conifer landed in the FantasyFreak lair. Amused, he looked around. What an amazing place! He wondered if maybe he would like this pace enough to stay. He was welcomed by many of the other dragons. He stumbled upon a dragon by the name of SpitFire. She was very motherly to him. She told him she would take good care of him, and that he would not leave until he was grown. He enjoyed her warmth and her kindness.

Soon however, he did grow up. He never got his horn like he'd wanted to have, but that didn't stop him from feeling the way he did. He stood strongly with who he was. Spitfire didn't care one bit that Conifer was a little more different than the other children. If anything, she felt he was special in a good way. As much as Conifer began to love SpitFire as a mother, he felt an itch begin to grow in him, and he had to go once more. He promised SpitFire that she would always be his mother even if she hadn't really laid his egg. She was his mother as much as he was a male.


As Conifer landed himself in a fire lair, he was very confused. People seemed to be praising 'the mather' and using these things called 'mem-ays'. As he lived in the fire lair for longer and longer he started to realize that fire was no different from nature, the flight he was hatched in. However, he started to have feelings for one of the skydancers in the lair. As he watched her, he soon found out she was to be sold or exalted, so he left and moved on to the next lair.


He ended up in the Gladeveins where he felt at home and stayed for quite a while. The residents of the lair were quite friendly and happily shared their food with him. However, things became hectic with a battle with Lightweaver and her children occurred. Dragons entered and left the lair after being taken to the coliseum for training. Conifer stayed close to the oddly dressed coatl pair as many willing dragons went off to serve the Gladekeeper. It was exciting to watch, but he decided that it was not his time to serve a deity yet, even if the Gladekeeper and all her children were victorious today. Soon it was time to go, so Conifer bid farewell to the clan and flew off, searching for a new adventure.


Conifer soon wound up getting lost in a maze somewhere in the Foxfire Bramble. Luckily, an Imperial named Copper helped him find the way to the Forgotten Clan where he rested. He enjoyed his time staying at this incredibly rowdy lair, but with such a cacophony constantly in motion, he decided that it would be a good idea to move on quickly. A wildclaw by the name of Vincent rather hurriedly showed him the way out, seemingly desperate to re-route the maze that led to their secluded home.


Making his way west, Conifer got lost -- and ended up in the middle the Abiding Boneyard. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to make his way out of the virulent desert (or, perhaps, worse -- wander into hostile plague clan territory, as the Plaguebringer's children had never been exactly friendly to nature-flight) but before he could find himself in any danger, a frost mage named Winter found him and escorted him back to the Blackveil Clan's keep.

He stayed some time, training with the clan warriors -- he found he had little magical talent -- but really only grew close to Winter. He lived in the mage tower, and got to know Inferno, Spirit and Storm, but the mages were reclusive and had trouble accepting his warrior nature.

Eventually he had an itch to wander, and his friend Winter helped escort him to the edge of the Scarred Wasteland, bidding him farewell and good fortune on his travels.


The next stop was a small one, hidden away in the middle of the Tangled Woods. He only found out about them after making a rest stop at one of the markets in the area and asking around for a place to stay the night. One of the dragons from the clan- he looked like a blacksmith, maybe- offered him a place to stay. The clan was kind and polite to him, and he stayed there for nearly a month. But he felt the itch to explore, and bid the clan farewell.


Conifer was travelling through the Sunbeam Ruins when he encountered a small pack of Mirrors from Clan Malevu. Fortunately, this was a small team of scavengers, digging for relics of the past in the old ruins, rather than one of the clan's hunting packs. Not that the hunters would have harmed him; but mostly because the hunting parties make a very. . . different first impression.

The Mirrors invited Conifer to return with them, to rest and recover from his travels; an invitation he was grateful to accept. However, his stay was not precisely comfortable - most of the lair was suited to much smaller dragons, and the few dens set aside for larger denizens were already occupied. Still, his short stay provided him with interesting conversation and friendly company, and for that much he was grateful.


His travels took him next to the Starfall Isles, where he discovered Deoradhan-Kunibert preparing for the Battle of the Bay 2 against their rivals in the Windswept Plateau. The intensity with which their warriors were training young dragons for exaltation was a bit unnerving, if Conifer was being completely honest. But he kept his mouth shut and his body out of the way, and thus he did not provoke the aggravation of said warriors.

And then... then the battle was over, and the atmosphere within the lair changed dramatically. Suddenly, everyone was subdued. Conifer, having observed their fervored dedication to their cause, did his best to alleviate their melancholy, but had little success.

He decided it was time to move on.


Conifer's next stop was at The Estate, an island Nature lair. Being a Nature dragon himself, he found it easy to settle in here! He made a friend in Canopy, a sweet Ridgeback who was the only one of her kind on the island. She was most excited to meet another dragon of her species and invited Conifer over most days to chat and to listen to his stories. He really loved her company and was so glad that she accepted him without his horn.

As the weeks passed, Conifer felt the warm weather starting to take its toll. He felt lethargic and could no longer do much apart from lay in the shade. An evergreen is not really suited to a rainforest! Although he was going to miss Canopy, he knew that there were more adventures still to be had!


Conifer ended up in a peaceful clan in the Zephyr Steppes of the Windswept Plateau. The clan accepted him in as one of their own, even without a horn! He listened to the stories many other dragons in the clan shared, some sad, some funny, and some exciting battle tales. Their leader, Coralia, gave him a tour of the clan's territory. He hd a good time here, but after a few days he felt as if he'd seen everything to see here. He left before he could make any close ties, unfortunately.


Conifer's path led to the crowded lair of Lunara and Reno in the Focal Point. Even he was first thought a bit weird he was still welcomed with open arms! He soon became close to one particular coatl, Sielunkimalle and soon they laid a lovely nest with four eggs. Sadly only one made it to the adulthood and the failure of raising their little ones drifted the couple apart. After that he decided that it was time to move on again and he left the lair.


After wandering for a while, Conifer found himself spending a few nights in a small Shadow clan who were still clearing space in the tangled woodlands they had chosen for their home. Like him, many of the dragons were from faraway places and had travelled for a long time before settling here. Others were very young, listening with wide-eyed amazement at Conifer's many tales from his travels. The clan leaders were grateful for his help collecting food and trinkets for their hoard and told him that he was welcome to stay as long as he wanted - but even though he was grateful for their hospitality, Conifer soon found himself restless again, his wings itching to take flight once more.

Traveling through the Sunbeam Ruins, Conifer was surprised to again come upon Deoradhan-Kunibert. But they were Deoradhan-Kunibert no longer; with a change in leadership, they were now the Free Proton Spirits. He spent some time catching up, then continued his journey.


Conifer was so tired from his long flight, that he did not notice himself falling from the sky. He was quite lucky to be seen falling by Maria the mirror. Maria was a dragon with Orca falcon, Gloom Peregrine. Conifer awoke to see Maria's red eyes. Startled, he threw himself back into some paintings. Maria showed no emotion.
''The ink told me you would be coming, handsome one.'' Maria spoke gently. After a while Conifer calmed down and asked how she knew he was coming. Maria told Conifer of how she was taken by the Monks she had known all her life. Maria told Conifer how she took up painting and calligraphy to pass the time. After explaining how she found out she can paint visions and predict the future, Conifer unexpectedly kissed Maria! Conifer was so moved by her tale, he wanted to stay by her side for a while. Maria and Conifer held a ceremony approved by her sister and brother, they all looked alike, except her sister and brother were ridgebacks. Eserelda and Daedalus were her siblings' names. After a while Conifer was getting bored of the lair. (never of Maria.) Maria understood Conifer's itch to roam, but that didn't make her any less sad. She took Conifer to their den one last time and painted His face in Red warrior paint. Conifer vows to paint his face everyday like his mate did. He now sees Plague dragons in a new light.

Maria: ''Never forget me, my love.''
Conifer: ''I'll send you letters, anything-''
Maria: ''I love you.''
Conifer: ''I love you too.''
(Written by: Nagujaa - 226560)






Conifer spent some time at the Inn Over Yonder. He enjoyed the weeks of relaxation after so long of travelling. Still, he missed his Maria. He couldn't help but feel that his stay at the Inn would have been better if he had the love of his life with him to share it with him.


A long, restless journey across Sornieth brought him back to the Viridian Labyrinth. He was deep in the Gladeveins one night when it started pouring, that sort of torrential rain that seemed it would never end. In his search for shelter, he stumbled across The Queen’s Parda.

Resting just within the borders of Dawn’s Call territory, the inn was run by a cheerful tundra, Boddingtons. Over the week he spent there, Conifer got to see how the clan’s warriors ran drills, and how hunting parties operated in the Gladeveins (his white scales, sadly, made him a bit useless at it). He grew especially close to Barleyhop, one of the clan’s defenders, and when he left at the end of the week, it was with a promise to visit next time he was nearby.


After so long journeying, and with his heart still so heavy, Conifer's mind and wings drifted to the Viridian again. This time, he let instinct lead him to the nesting grounds of his birthclan, perhaps thinking too much on what family life could mean to him.

Conifer was taken aback then, at finding few familiar faces there-- none of which were in his lineage. He asked the clan where the four generations of his family might have gone, if not a single one remained with them now. The dragons had varying answers, but the more Conifer listened, the more he felt this was no longer his home.

Though he stayed for a number of nights under the insistence of the matriarch, the ridgeback had to confess he didn't feel at home with them anymore. The matriarch explained his soul was meant to wander still, until he found somewhere with a reason to stay. His old sweetheart came to mind, but it had been a while since they last roosted together. There was no reason to presume she would be waiting for his return, especially after so long. It was hard to swallow, but Conifer vowed to himself that he would follow his matriarch's wisdom, and venture out again. Searching, still.


He stayed briefly in a clan known only as Namesong- a clan full of fluffy tundras, curses, and tenacious warriors and scholars alike. And it was in Namesong that he, along with several other travelers, experienced a cave-in firsthand.