Sunset

-Theme- Doggone Dogfight

Sunset Clan Leader, Ambassor With Orchid and Aether interested in anything but being the voice of the clan, Sunset decided to take up the job. Any matters with large projects and dialogue with other clans go through him first, and his collected personality and unchanging gaze settle disputes and put rowdy hatchlings in their place quickly. Very little can be done about the crazier adult dragons, however, and he's always glad to send Zenith away for her team's next mission whenever he gets the chance. Sunset's most prized possession is his Windbound Mask, which allows him to channel small Wind energies. Though friendly clans never had much concern about the Plague dragon, needing help to traverse the Twisting Crescendo and Cloudsong affected Sunset's self esteem greatly in his first months as the clan leader, and now it's rare to see him without the magical mask even indoors.

Early Life

Sunset was rejected in his home Flight for his frail looks and reluctance to fight, and told to find his survival skills in battle against the clan's trained monsters or die trying. He wanted neither and by some stroke of luck sneaked out of the clan, and the Scarred Wasteland with the help of a well-protected merchant caravan, into the Windswept Plateau. Though the unknown merchants liked his quick thinking and shining feather coat, they couldn't raise such a small dragon and work at the same time, and had to give him to the Clan of the Garuda Vortex after Eternity mentioned that his group had plenty of space.

For his first weeks, the weight of what Sunset did came crashing down, and unless in the arms of Orchid, he was completely inconsolable. The Guardian was well aware of how much being rejected by his own parents affected the poor hatchling, but the others had the first impression of a crybaby that never changed over the years.

Sunset was well aware of the reputation, and once the Skydancer managed to get over his traumatic start in life, he did everything on his power to make Orchid proud. Every moment he was working with one of the elders, or studying the simple-but-vast diplomatic structure of the Wind Flight. As the clan grew, he started asking for more roles that allowed him to use his knowledge, and his stern personality would give him plenty of confidence as shady figures that attempted to scam the clan out of its hoard or even dragons were met with his unchanging Plague gaze, and quickly outsmarted.

When the time was right, he put his mind to even more studies about Sornieth and other famous Wind clans, and went up to Orchid and Aether to ask to be the clan's third leader. No one was too surprised at the request, and with the exception of Octave and Zenith - who was busier pointing out his new Marva brand contacts - , all agreed with having him as the newest leader.

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Familiar Sunny was given to Sunset as a birthday gift, as his room is right next to the clan's indoor lake and his few moments of free time usually go towards taking care of the fish and trustworthy Maren. Though the Maren had to go to the outside lake as the Loga started nibbling at their hair, Sunset's habits haven't changed, and Sunny is a friend he trusts and listens to just about everything he has to say if there are treats waiting. Personal Room Sunset's room is a neat mess - you won't walk three steps without bumping into a book pile, but every single one is labeled and anything that doesn't fit in a shelf is stacked against walls and furniture. Mistral and Gliese also dug tiny tunnels into the outside, where the sounds of the Garuda Vortex make a soothing melody. Rumor has it that he keeps jars of his favorite food, fried scorpion, under his sleeping area. It is also the only place where one would find him not using contacts, which has scared a few hatchlings away as huge red sclera isn't exactly friendly looking.

by MulberryScroll

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Short Story

An extraordinary meeting of clan leaders in the Cloudsong. He... He could do it. Orchid was on a trip and Aether has to stay and watch the lair. Sunset had to do it.

He avoided judgemental stares and hurriedly answered questions from dragons who could notice his distress as he walked to the top floor. The post-Night of the Nocturne battles for Dominance were rough for the Wind Flight and many of the clan had left to buy and stockpile supplies, or help train warriors while keeping raiders at bay. And the less dragons in the center of the region, the more necessary were the clan meetings to make sure everyone was fine and in good standing.

Sunset reached the takeoff pad, and gulped when he looked straight up. The winds were stronger and the clouds thicker where the silhouette of the Cloudsong was visible - not because of the entity of the Garuda Vortex, but from the Windsinger to provide quick transport to the giant-kite-dwellers and prevent accidents - at least on the way down. He opened his tiny wings, trying not to think of the much bigger shapes of Zenith or Mistral when they left the other day, and put a paw on his mask trying to get the courage to leap.

Orchid gave him the mask when he stopped a particularly big fight between Zenith and Octave over newly bought equipment, long before his new position, as she believed he deserved the magic more than the two knuckleheads. She believed in him... He had to jump. With one last nervous glance at the vortex below, he left the plataform and flew up as fast as he could.

The first few minutes went swimmingly, and thankfully there were no dragons around to notice his rather clumsy technique. He flew past Skycats and hippogrifs and didn't allow their acrobatics distract him, and the Cloudsong's shape grew clearer and clearer...

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"Did you hear about the Flutterbell Clan's ban on propellers?" A young Spiral clan elder said to another high-ranking friend, while taking a sip of tea.

"I wish it was submitted to us first!" The friend said. "I know they voted for it unanimously after their engineer shredded their Cloudsong Kite Contest entries, but I don't want to see their faces when a storm blows their lower plataforms away."

"And strong storms have been so frequent, too... We heard from the Gale Sanctum that things would be rough, but this area should be the calmest aside from the Zephyr Steppes!"

Suddenly, they all heard a startling thunk and a crash on the walls of the room. The leaders expected a stray Skycat to have flown too close to the settlements and a worried Guardian looked out of the window to rescue the poor kitty - but to her surprise, she found an orange Skydancer, halfway through the flooring below.