Isa

Isa is an old, powerful elemental. Born in The Fortress of Ends, his first memories are nothing but snow, frigid wind, and ice - coincidentally, all that makes up his true form. For decades after he became aware, he stayed near his place of birth, ignorant to the concept of action. He had no desires or goals, he merely was. Only when the first dragon wandered blindly into his path did he realize he, too, could wander. Of course, he faired better than that dragon, doomed to freeze in foreign lands. Isa, as cold as his element, felt no pity for the creature as he passed it, taking his first steps in the direction it had come.

Decades more passed. Decades spent hiding in the winds of winter, chilling dragons and watching them struggle against the place they called home. Such odd creatures. Stubborn and almost spiteful against that which ailed them. They cursed his winds, most not even realizing their problems were the result of an elemental. Those that did cursed him, and, if they made it home, they cursed him some more to their clans. It amused Isa.

He decided to wander farther from his birthplace, to see what other oddities he could, what other dragons he could pester. When he reached the Snowsquall Tundra, it was summer. He disliked the absence of ever-present wind and snow. The sun stayed too long in the sky and melted most of the ice. It was his first run-in with the feeling of disappointment. He began to feel aggravation for the sun in the same way dragons felt it towards him.

While he wandered the Tundra, he came across a travelling party. At first, they were small dots on the horizon, walking in single-file line away from him. He took to the air to get a better look, and as he got closer, he noticed that most of the party were hatchlings. As he grew closer still, he noticed the ropes that bound them to each other, led by a large dragon in draconic form in front. A Guardian, if he remembered correctly. Behind the group were two other adults, also in draconic form. Another Guardian and a Skydancer.

Isa liked hatchlings. Always wandering, playing, and young. Their sense of wonder at his snow and ice made him favor them. If they ever got lost, he would bend the elements to stall the inevitable. To see these hatchlings being treated as they instilled him with more anger than it did curiosity. They should not be bound.

He changed his appearence, taking the form of a hatchling Imperial - a regal and powerful species - and approached the group. The Guardian stopped short when he spotted what he no doubt assumed to be an Imperial child. Isa landed in front of him, immediately shifting to resemble the other hatchlings in their shifted forms. He was there for them and so wanted to appear as such.

Taking a quick look at the faces of the young ones, Isa instantly knew something wrong was happening. He didn't have to feel as they did to understand they were afraid, cowering from the adults. Tears had yet to dry on one Tundra's cheeks.

Cold eyes slid to meet the scheming ones raking his body over in thought.

"What are you doing?" Isa demanded in a calm voice.

"Where are your parents?" The head Guardian questioned instead of answering.

"I have none. Where are theirs?"

A smirk twitched at the corner of the Guardian's mouth, eyes turning devious. The Skydancer in the back shifted his weight to scan Isa as the Guardian had done.

"We could probably get a good price on him. He's a triple and has rare genes. Gembond might deter some," spoke the Skydancer.

"Oh, he'll sell," the Guardian nearly purred.

Without warning, the only Imperial hatchling in the group - scales white and painted red - shouted at him to run. The Guardian before him growled menancingly and smacked the hatchling, hard, with his tail, knocking the whole group of young ones to the ground with shouts and screams. They fell in a pile, nearly on top of one another.

The Guardian whirled on Isa, large, clawed hand wrapping around Isa's neck in an effort to subdue him, to capture him. But when he went to jerk Isa off his feet, he found him immovable. The snarl on the Guardian's face turned to one of confusion. It turned to fear when he found his hand freezing to Isa's neck.

"You are thieves," Isa hissed. "Thieves of young. You dare come into my lands with your filth!"

Isa let loose his true form. He ripped apart the gaping Guardian with winds and ice. He ensnared the fleeing traders and showed them no mercy. The screams and panic of the hatchlings went ignored by him as he destroyed their enemies. When all that was left was red mist in the snow, Isa resumed his hatchling form.

He turned to find all the hatchlings save for the Imperial quite literally running for the hills, having freed themselves during his slaughter.

"You're welcome," Isa said blandly to their retreating forms.

He approached the red-white boy lying still on the ground. For a moment, he feared him dead, the Guardian's blow too strong for the boy's still developing bones to withstand. But when he knelt beside him, he saw him breathing. He saw the rune-inscribed collar around his neck.

A touch of his power and the metal of the collar became brittle. It broke with a press of his finger. The boy stirred, red eyes opening to look up at Isa in pain. Red eyes. He didn't belong here. Those born in the ice had eyes of white. Where had the youth come from? Isa wanted to know.

"Come," he commanded as he held out a hand.

The boy did what he was told, following after Isa with a defeated air and nursing an injured arm. It took hours for the youth to open up. He'd been with the traders for as long as he could remember, and from the beginning they'd been forthcoming with his fate. They'd come to The Southern Icefield to gather more hatchlings to auction off, dragging him along. He had no name, no clan. Isa told him to name himself. Surprised, he took a few moments, and then named himself Scarlet.

It took days for him to come to trust Isa, finally understanding that Isa meant him no harm. Isa wasn't even a dragon. What need did an elemental have in auctioning him off? It took weeks for them to leave, Scarlet finally an adolescent and large enough for his wings to take him across the sea. Isa 'grew' with him, finding enjoyment in his pretending. Months found them learning of Sornieth together. A year marked Scarlet's death, an accident involving a misstep in a canopy within the Shrieking Wilds.

A sharp branch is not meant to break a fall, and Isa's magic isn't meant to save. Isa mourned. Isa felt guilt. He grew angry at the forest around him, blamed it for his friend's demise. Winter befell kilometers of trees that had never truly experienced such a season.

In his grief, Isa cursed the Wilds and flew from them. He rampaged across the continent and acted harshly against any and all that crossed his path. Scarlet was a painful memory for years.

As time went on, Isa grew cold again, the warmth his friend had given him long gone. He resumed his travels, seeking out beings that could entertain him. He was so bored. He longed for the adventures he'd had, and never could he find them, that feeling of life.

Since then, he's met many dragons on his journeys.

Spessartine, a light-colored, Imperial youth he met whilst hiding under a tree, desperately seeking relief from the summer sun in Light lands. The sun doesn't burn him, but even he has a limit to how much discomfort he will withstand before growing ill. Spessartine has, more than once, tried to tell him what clothing to wear to avoid the sun's wrath. But Isa is stubborn. He insists that more clothing than what he chooses to wear will only make him hotter, and Spessartine continues to tell him he's wrong.

Katyushka, a Tundra he encountered while she was pushing through a winter storm in the Southern Icefield. She was nearly upon him by the time she smelt him, the crisp air and winds masking his scent to her. They made small talk, he taunting her a little over her odds of survival in the harsh lands of the south. She continued on, however, Tundra spirit strong and compelling. He's run into her since, coming across her clan in the Sunbeam Ruins. She remembers his scent, but her memory of their meeting is gone. Now, he taunts her over that, but he humors questions about himself, somewhat pleased that she proved him wrong.

Castiel, the Knight-Captain. A strong-willed and well-trained Imperial that Isa has respect for despite how much he pesters the other. He met Castiel on a supply run, stalking the Ice dragon out of curiosity. Noticing Castiel catching wind of his following, Isa turned it into a game. How long would Castiel play ignorant to his presence before snapping? The answer was quite a while, but once his patience ran thin he became a rather demanding dragon. Now, whenever Isa is in the area, he makes a point to initiate their game of cat and mouse. Each time, Castiel's patience runs thinner. Soon, Isa wonders if he'll be chased off with a broom and be labeled a pest.

Raziel, an icy Coatl and leader of a clan. He is a seeker of knowledge and a meditative dragon. Isa came upon him in the Tundra, but he did not seem wary of Isa's presence. He seemed excited, rather than repulsed, to learn of Isa's true nature, eagerly wanting tales of his adventures. Isa humors him whenever he stops by, but he steers clear of the rest of the clan.

Moras, an Ice ambassador in a land of Nature. Isa still holds a grudge against the region, so Moras' presence there confuses him. He chats with him, trying to discern his feelings towards the tall trees that dwarf him. He's an oddity that humors Isa, and thus Isa humors him.

Taiga, a Light Wildclaw who tries so hard to be Ice. She makes a job of rescuing others from the cold winds and snow of winter, sometimes escorting them to safety herself, even if they're capable of walking. Isa follows her around, when he spots her in her task, and teases her. She's denying the inevitable. She won't save them all. Of course, she rolls her eyes and tells him he's wrong. She proves him wrong. They've become friendly rivals.

And then there's Lucien. Lucien is a dragon Isa will go out of his way to meet, time and time again. He is a volatile dragon, one who alternates between an eerie calm and a manic bloodlust. It's when he's covered in the blood of another, ripping through his enemies in the coliseum, that he reminds Isa so much of Scarlet and himself. Lucien doesn't have to fear accidentally turning against him, as Isa's very nature means he'll withstand most anything the Imperial could throw at him. And Isa would never do anything to intentionally harm Lucien in retaliation.

Regardless of how many dragons Isa has met on his travels, he prefers to be a solitary being. Even now, considered part of the clan lead by the summoner Heru, he still leaves for long periods of time to explore. However, Erebus, the Plague elemental that has grown attached to him, he sometimes allows to come with.