Cork

Mirrors typically have a voracious appetite and stick together in powerful hunting packs, but Cork was different from the moment she broke the shell. While her clutchmates wrestled and clawed at each other, building their fighting skills, she was busy seeking out the edges of her clan's temporary territory, exploring every nook and cranny of their patch of the Labyrinth. Her appetite was for insight and information--every last scrap of knowledge she could find. She felt she had to know everything about the way the world worked, immediately. Or sooner, if at all possible.

She was fascinated by the creatures she found in the jungle, and would spend hours watching them, eyes gleaming brightly as she learned their habits. In the evenings, she sat rapt at the talons of the clan's storyteller, an old fellow ignored by most of the pack. In a creaking voice, he would tell her tale after tale of the world beyond the trees. When she demanded more, he wound out still more stories for her, of old heroes and adventurers, of strange gods, of her own ancestors and the land's beginnings.

When the latest group of hatchlings were grown and the Mirror pack prepared to move on, Cork knew she would not go with them. Prey was plentiful in the Labyrinth, and the pack would travel further along its edges in search of good hunting, but Cork had a different hunger. And she would not be stopped by anything.

She bid only the storyteller goodbye when she left. The morning was dewy and cool, and a fierce joy sang in her chest as she padded through the grass, completely alone. She bared her teeth in a grin, her tail whipping back and forth in pleasure. Yes. This was where she was meant to be: on an adventure.

She went first to the Tangled Wood. For others, the journey might have been easy, but for a Mirror, whose wings could only carry her a short distance, it was a long, arduous swim. She emerged on the other side winded and shivering, but her eyes were gleaming with excitement to match the glorious phosphorescent flora surrounding her. Shaking off the water, she prowled through the silt and old leaves to explore further inland, eagerness making her blood thrill.

She listened; she watched; she learned. The Tangled Wood was the first place she explored, but certainly not the last--she could not possibly return to the Viridian Labyrinth without having seen the rest of the world, she determined after her exploration of the Wood. Everything was simply too fascinating. She set off next for Dragonhome, determining that she would travel roughly in a circle until she returned home.