Vestis

Tertiary Gene: Thylacine

Specialty Items

A scroll that will change the tertiary gene of one dragon to Thylacine. This item can only be used once and will disappear after it has been applied.

15500

Needs to be rewritten for flow...

---

A strange humming music egan to surround you, becoming only stronger as you walked forward until you came upon a sort of clearing with two large stone statues.

The standing statue had a breathtaking amount of detail. The emeralds in its eyes gave it a piercing green stare and even the finest features of the face were sculpted and tuned into a fiercely noble gaze. A mixture of onyx and perhaps obsidian had been molded into the shape of an almond for the pupil. Other gems, stones and metals pockmarked the scale and gave it an intense illusion of a dragon of a sharp red with accents of gold in the scale. The leathery membranes of the wings were shaved down to look almost as soft and flat as the real thing, there were even subtle hints of veins and arteries woven into the stone. The only thing to hint that it was, in fact, only a statue was the fact that it wasn't breathing and remained unnaturally still.

The creamy white one that surrounded the first seemed unfinished by comparison- it had no horns and there was little texture in the scale. The wings did not have visible bone structure and every piece of the entire body was smooth and lacked even webbed fins.

The two statues almost didn’t seem to make sense. The white one lacking texture was curled around the standing one at an unnatural and uncomfortable angle with its claws hidden behind one of the standing statue’s wing. It almost as if it were to have some sort of abstract meaning behind the design- until the smooth one started moving. He craned his neck over from his work and greeted you with a friendly tone, ”Ah, well, hello!”

In one quick motion he unwrapped his body from the statue and threw himself down in front of you. "I am Vestis, master of sound, carver of statues, and mate of the beautiful Auhrhun. I almost did not notice you approach in on my work. Have you come to observe?

"I don't know you, so you must be a visitor. You caught me at an interesting moment I must admit. The statue itself is mostly complete, but now I am working to weave its song. At the moment it is rather simplistic, just a simple calming hum. If you stay long enough, you may be able to watch as I make it truly sing."

He subtly twists his head to you as a thought comes to him, "I must ask, was there something in particular that brought you here? Were you simply listening for the tone out of curiosity? Or perhaps did the idea of a statue commission interest you or your clan perhaps?"

---

Vestis' scales are something to gawk at for young dragons, especially for the hatchlings without restraint on their voice. He does not have the rigid rows of thick shields that guard his flesh, they do not form a visible pattern that is seen on the most burly of dragons. What Vestis has, is smooth and thin. Still, it manages to compare to the strength of the healthy scale of other dragons. It forms around him like one large smooth coating of armor. Even his wings lack any jutting formations of structure and bone, and instead are supported by a complex network of smaller bones within rather than form one strong limb. How strange it is for a dragon to have wings that seem little more than a thick boneless membrane and yet suffer no consequence in his ability with flight.

However, the fact that he is missing a set of horns is his one trait that is actually lost on most. That owes partially to the fact that they are such an integral piece of dragonkind, and also this is yet not an uncommon piece that dragons go without. Whether it be that they were broken in battle or that the dragon never had any to begin with, some out there do not carry the weight of them on the head. On Vestis however, there is a purpose.

Vestis had hatched with a very unique ability, something his scale, wings and horns can attest to. From the time he had first stumbled out of his egg he had been imbued with the very essence of the energy in sound and what drives it. Even the cracks of the shell emitted a deafening echo of the little hatchling that fought his way into the outside world. His own parents were forced to close their ears against it lest they ring for hours.

He cannot breathe fire, or any variation of the sort. It has been replaced with a bellowing call, a blast of pure sound powerful enough to shatter tree, rock and structure near him to shards. Up close it is enough to break ears- far, it will set them ringing. Vestis can use the power of sound to his aid, whatever form it may take. From destruction like this, to completely canceling every sound he makes and becoming more silent than a moth.

This is the very reason why his scale is so smooth- why every transition of his body from wing, tail, and head is seamless. So imbued with sound, he can nearly become it and fly at its blindingly fast speed. It allows him to cut through the air with little difficulty and little resistance. Thick, rigid scale and jutting features of limbs would only hinder this ability and likely injure him if he were to use it.

Still, despite that he has such a power, he does not often use it for battle or travel. More often he will be found resting in his own personal grove. A grove where the very rocks vibrate the air with a hum, surrounding him with the quiet song he had invested within them. He enjoys using his ability to imbue the very air, stones, wood and metal with music of his own. They sing to all who are near enough to hear it. Some have come to believe that he does this out of memory for Thaeyuun, the dragon that was once to become his mate, she had always expressed at least some appreciation for this particular facet of his ability. The fact that he had begun his habit only days after he found her bloody corpse only seems to confirm this all the more.

He is, however, best known for carving. Stone, wood, even ice under occasion, Vestis has shown a talent for creating innumerable statues lifelike enough that a few dragons have been known to be startled by the sight of them. He caresses the stone with his metallic claw he has attached to himself, shaving and shaping so slowly that he may take weeks to finish one facet of a complicated expression. Some of the works he is most proud of are those that he imbues with a perpetual song to accentuate the beauty of the creations. Vestis is particularly proud of this skill, and makes no effort to hide his creations from public eye.

---

The subtle look of pain that crossed Auhrhun’s eyes and made her crest shiver for a heartbeat haunted his mind. Yet Thaeyuun was his mate. He was a part of her and she a part of him.

So why did it feel so wrong?

Vestis curled himself on the floors of his grove and buried his face under a wing. The tragedy driven resolve had continued on so long that it almost became a pillar of comfort to him. Feeling that resolve slip made his mind swim with numbing doubt. Never before had he felt so conflicted.

What was he to do?

Vestis felt some remorse for Auhrhun's disappointment of course, but he continually reminded himself that he had vows to keep. She herself knew that, yet pressed anyway. He should be furious with her but he simply couldn't keep his anger afloat. His admiration of her incessantly extinguished it.

In an effort to settle his mind enough that he might sleep, Vestis searched for the piece of jewelry he was never without- a necklace of gold crafted by his claw. It held a stray scale that caught his eye in the scene of her death, and he crafted it into gold as a sort of memento to his beloved Thaeyuun. He grasped his necklace hard enough for it to put pressure on the inner part of his claw without bending the metal.

The touch of it brought a rare smile to his lips. It was strange, the thing almost seemed to hum with a comforting warmth in his claws. So comforting it was, it almost served to further unsettle his already struggling mind.

His eyes shot open when he realized that warmth was a familiar presence that hadn't graced him in more than an age. Vestis found himself staring into a blurry world made of a dream with a silhouette that made his heart shudder.

Warily, he called out to her. "Thaeyuun?"

It spoke back in a ghostly voice. "It has been too long hasn't it Vestis?"

Vestis heart rate rose enough to wake him out of his slumber, but something kept him back. Could this be true? After all these years of longing to speak to her one last time, could that opportunity have finally come?

"You seem overjoyed to see me Vestis. Why?"

The question derailed his thoughts and he was speechless for a heartbeat. She was asking him why? Thaeyuun, the very dragon he had dedicated centuries of his life to honor, was asking him why!? Vestis couldn't keep his voice out of the realm of anger, and had to fight to not raise it to a bellowing roar. "'Who are you then, demon!? Have you come to taunt a dragon that has already gone to wallow in his sorrows!? Thaeyuun, you were my mate! I found you dead and pale on the floor of your grove, the very grove I created for you! I loved you, of course I am overjoyed to hear your voice!" Vestis' own outburst startled him, and he clamped his maw shut tight as he could muster to avoid ranting further.

The silhouette stood unfazed against Vestis' lamenting, "Do you even remember the vows Vestis? Do you remember precisely what you had said to me to pledge your life to mine?"

Vestis groaned. Where was Thaeyuun going with this? Why couldn't she simply use this time for them both to speak their last farewells like he had longed for? He ached to spend time with her, and she was only making it worse. "No, I do not-

She interrupted him, giving him a confused twist of her head that looked so sincere Vestis knew it had to be sarcastic. "Truly, my Vestis? Why?"

"Because I never did...not yet."

"We both know they would have been. I was on my way to speak them to you. I flew as fast as my wings would carry to claim you as my mate but-" Vestis pauses for a moment when the memory returns to haunt him worse than any time he had felt since he first found her. "-you were already dead."

"Please Thaeyuun. Speak those vows to me now. Allow me just this last level of closure."

"No."

Vestis snapped his throat shut when another angered snarl almost slipped past his lips. He didn't want to yell at her. Not now, not ever again.

Thaeyuun stepped close to him, allowing her features to develop from a simple shadow until he could see every detail of her breathtaking beauty. "So why do you insist on remaining alone?"

"I only ever desired to have one mate, Thaeyuun. 'One life, one mate. Have you already forgotten even that old mantra in your death? There are hundreds of other dragons that lost their mates and never searched for another. Why should I?”

“Vestis, you had just now admitted it yourself. I never became your mate. I never became a part of you. I died before we exchanged vows, not after. You are, and have always been, mateless. Or is this truly how you want to spend your life, doting over the memory of a dragon that is now no more than a pile of ash? I was nothing but a good close friend when I died, are you going to let that get in the way of Auhrhun?”

Vestis was utterly dumbfounded. Was she truly doing this? Was she truly trying to push him away from her? “So I am wrong for staying loyal to you?”

“Why should you!? Vestis, for the last time, we were not yet mates. I died before we exchanged vows. You owe me nothing you old fool.”
Thaeyuun then touched an almost ethereal claw to the tip of his snout. Immediately his dream’s mind flooded with images of Auhrhun.
“Vestis, she is a strong dragon. If you do not reconcile now she will soon rebound from her short mourning and forget you. You will become nothing but a fleeting chapter in the story of her life, regarded like an old friend but never more than that. Go find her.”
An oppressive silence fell over them both, until Thaeyuun spoke an almost demanding, ”Now.” that broke the dream apart.

Vestis' eyes snapped open to a bright and nearly cloudless dawn. Thaeyuun's words still buzzed angrily in his ears. Finally he had a chance to speak to her, to his beloved Thaeyuun, and it was not at all what thought it would be. There were no heartfelt farewells, no commendations for him remaining so loyal. She instead reprimanded him, rebuked him. She actually wanted him to forget about her.

It left him completely baffled.

Why would she do this? Was there something wrong with him?

A realization dawned on him that lifted the confusion like a morning fog. Yes. There was something wrong with him. Something terribly wrong. For so many moons after her death he begged to see her one last time. Even as the nightly vigils disappeared, the deep mourning brooding weighed on his mind like lead.

He was anything but happy, and Thaeyuun didn't want that.

So she spent the last of her dying energy to make sure he was.

Thaeyuun knew him even better than he thought she could. She always told him that he could be hopelessly stubborn when the mood hit him. In a way, so was she. They were alike in this way and others, which drove them on to become quick friends. Before long they both began to consider matehood. She cared for him just as much as he cared for her, maybe more. If she was able to give him up like this, then maybe she was right?

Vestis shook his head. No, she was absolutely right. He only hoped it was not too late to truly reconcile with Auhrhun. Thaeyuun had cleared a barricade in his mind and Vestis realized just what she meant to him.

With a hard kick he launched himself out of the cave he had found the night before. A shock wave echoed across neighboring mountains when he used his inborn talent to launch himself through the skies as fast as his wings would carry him. He was not going to miss his chance. Not again.

Once he had found her, Vestis, as a gesture of sincerity, passed his gilded jewelry to Auhrhun. She took it and wears it even now, treasuring it as much as Vestis always had.

It was odd to him seeing that necklace upon Auhrhun. After all this time of feeling its weight against his scale, it seemed almost lackluster to his eyes.

---

Auhrhun had been slowly pressuring him without him ever realizing it. She took the time to know him almost as well as Thaeyuun had, taking an interest into his unique ability not for its destructive power but for its capability to create breathtaking beauty.

Vestis had once wondered if he ever truly had been close to losing Auhrhun permanently. Once asked she told him that yes, she was beginning to wonder that she would ever break through to him. Though she knew very early on of his stubborn nature, and was well aware that she would have to feel the sting of rejection at least once. Somehow, she knew that Vestis had never truly sworn himself to Thaeyuun despite what he himself had thought.

Auhrhun never did truly replace his memories of Thaeyuun, but Vestis learned over time that she did not have to. Thaeyuun simply was not his mate, no matter the pang of mourning he once felt for her. Occasionally he will still think of her with a smile on his lips. After all she had done for him, his memory of her could never be anything but fond.

It was because of her that he now knew Auhrhun.