Lissad

They told him he could be anything, so he became a guardian.

No, not really. But there was something incredibly appealing about the idea that he could find a charge, that one true thing worth giving one's life for. Inspired by his sister's bold rejection of the family tradition of serving Lightweaver, he threw off his training, saw a witch, made a fateful bargain, and now he is a guardian.

Thing is, he's a very small guardian. Not at all as glorious as he had hoped but...no going back now. Onward! To find his charge!

He never thought his charge would be so close to home. His mother, the clan's Keeper of Beasts, led an expedition with several journeymen beastkeepers to study and attempt to capture some of the native fauna of the nearby Windswept Plateau. Lissad, a fierce fighter despite his small size, and still on a quest to find his charge, asked to come along as a guard.

After a draining day--mentally and physically--the shy Keeper retired to a perch some distance away from where the younger dragons were camped. Lissad spent some time after dinner entertaining the group, but felt the need to check on Sheyada, and so lumbered up the winding path toward the top of the ridge above.

He found her there, curled up tightly and shivering against the night's chill. Though the little alcove she had retreated to was partially sheltered against the omnipresent winds, drafts whistled in whenever the breeze turned the wrong way. She slept, but uneasily. Concerned for her health, he laid down quietly next to her and extended a wing over her delicate frame. Though small for a guardian, he was still large enough to shelter the little skydancer.

A bastion against the cold, he curled around her and laid his neck next to hers, affectionately nuzzling against her crest feathers and breathing quietly so as not to wake her. Something stirred in his chest, something more than the warmth of a son for a mother. It grew in his awareness, as the subtle light of coming dawn creeps into the sleeper's consciousness. He mentally nudged and investigated the feeling for all of the hours of the night, and by the time Sheyada stirred slowly awake in his protective embrace, her son had realized that she was to be his charge.