Karek

Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell

When Two Hearts Are Tied
Bio by IrritatedMind

Karek and Elerani are a testament to the bond that can form between mates. Some might think that is because of the crimson corruption, which has to be fought back to prevent it from overtaking them. Others might see it as due to the female's golden wings.

Both of these statements are true. Our tale truly starts when they were coming of age. That is when they fell in love. No one knew then that the love that would be born between them would be as powerful as the strongest of those told in the ancient legend.

Back then, Elerani was passed over by many male dragons. They took one look at her grey scales and black fur and turned away. They wanted a dragon that was bright and colorful, not someone so bland. That wasn't how Karek saw her.

The first time he met her he was enchanted. He told her that she was a thing of beauty and he would be honored to court her. That was a surprise to many, and no one was more shocked than Elerani herself. "I am not so beautiful." She told the black, green, and golden-yellow male.

That was when the other dragon smiled and moved in close. "You only look plain because none of those other dragons know what it's like to work with stone. So they overlook the beauty right in front of their faces."

Immediately after saying that, he nuzzled the dragon's neck, blowing hotly and rubbing his snout against it. As a result, her neck shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow due to the type of stone her scales resembled. "See, you are the most beautiful of dragons."

After that moment, the two spent most of their time together. Even as they learned their trades, they did what they could together. Karek became a blacksmith, and Elerani an alchemist/artificer. He would make her weapons and such to enchant, and she would make potions to help him heal up when he was exhausted.

Then corruption spread and started to destroy villages. When it approached the mated pair's home village a few eggs were about to be swallowed up. The corrupt tendrils Elerani had rushed through had only one purpose: to consume. Nevertheless, she braved them in order to spare the watching mothers the sorrow they would have otherwise experienced. Everyone seeing that she was about to be swallowed whole, stared shocked as time seemed to stand still for a moment as she dove toward the eggs.

But she burst free with the eggs safely in her arms, but not without a price. Her wings had glowing red veins on them that were started to spread to the rest of her body. In a flash, Karek tore the wings from her body, using his fiery breath to seal the wounds. He apologized over and over for hurting her even if it was to save her life.

Then time seemed to move on. Elerani tried to focus on her job and the little ones that she had helped save, but deep down she missed her wings... This was something Karek noticed. To construct her metallic wings, he collected every scrap of gold he could find over the next two years.

When he presented them to her, she happily started coming up with ways to enchant them and by the time she was done with them, they worked better than her original wings ever had. But happiness rarely is a fixed state.

Crimson tendrils began appearing on Elerani and Karek a few months after she received her new wings. The corruption was entrenched now and there could be no escaping. So they spend their days doing what they can to live happily in their den and to keep from letting others get infected, while Elerani tries to find them a cure.