Phantasma

As the clan trader, Phantasma seeks out specialty items and cheerfully haggles the sellers down to rock bottom prices. When out trading, she loves exploring and will often take adventurous detours for the fun of it. Her cheerful disposition makes her very popular among clan members.

Phantasma’s skill at mimicry is excellent. She once spent years pretending to be a fae since it gave her an edge when bargaining. Only her childhood best friend Aeleth could tell she was actually a nocturne, though that might be because Phantasma never bothered with the pretense when it was just the two of them.

After Aeleth’s brush with discorporation, Phantasma has been struggling to deal with how willing Aeleth was to just leave her behind. It hurts that the person she loves most might not value her in return.

Hatched together, Aeleth and Phantasma were the bestest of friends. They’d spend hours in mockery battles. Mimicking each other in behavioral loops so tightly wound that it was impossible to believe as mere imitation. They spent their formative years in lockstep. Nearly all words spoken in unison, body language in stereo. To onlookers, they were inseparable and indistinguishable in every way but color. They existed in their own world of constant conversation, because even if they spoke the same words their thoughts were all their own. Outsiders couldn’t tell which of them was the origin, but they knew who the words came from. Whether they were playing with one of the adults (haha the looks on their faces!) or just with each other (Phantasma was good at queuing Aeleth into the wrong move, but Aeleth was better at chaining together unpredictable patterns), their mirror game added a layer of fun to all of their daily activities.

Nocturnes are not genetically distinct from other modern breeds. Instead of a unique genetic signature, Nocturnes have all genes from the modern breeds created before their hatch date and the core set of genes that lead to ‘nocturne’ is a mish-mash pulled from other breeds. During development, Nocturnes are heavily influenced by surrounding dragons – spirals can trigger secondary wing formation, being surrounded by pearlcatchers can result in whiskers, and belly ridges often form in guardian-heavy lairs. However, this flexibility is only present in hatchlings. Upon reaching adulthood, they settle into an individual- specific mosaic of transcriptional programs that fossilize any unique characteristics. Leanan was fascinated by this discovery. In theory, if this plasticity were pushed to the extreme, could a nocturne essentially become another breed entirely? Phantasma and Aeleth were the two subjects chosen to explore this hypothesis. It was random chance, a coin flip, that lead to Aeleth being chosen as the experiment and Phantasma being left as the control.

Phantasma never forgave Leanan for what she did to Aeleth. The gruesome transformation was bad enough, but Phantasma primarily hated Leanan for the most was stripping her best friend of her autonomy. Aeleth never cried because of the pain or the ugliness. Instead, Phantasma comforted her while she sobbed over the loss of her identity and lack of control over her own body. Phantasma only made the mistake of expressing her own fears surrounding Aeleth’s transformation once. It triggered Aeleth into a catastrophic downward spiral that culminated in serial panic attacks, isolation, and terrifying dissociation episodes. Phantasma swore to herself that she’d stay strong and optimistic for Aeleth’s sake no matter the consequences. Supporting her dear friend was worth any stress, even if it meant having breakdowns deserted corners of the complex. After one of her worse days, Shimo discovered her in a dusty storage room coming off a crying jag. The notoriously chill wildclaw didn’t pressure her to talk but he did offer her a listening ear. Phantasma left that meeting with a standing invitation: whenever she was overwhelmed, Shimo would offer her a listening ear, a hug, or access to his art supplies. Phantasma was no artist, but there was something very therapeutic about aggressively throwing paint at a canvas and then burning it. She felt bad for using Shimo. She knew she was a terrible friend to him, only coming around when she needed support. She showed at his door on the brink of a breakdown and then left pierced back together enough that she could hold herself together for Aeleth for the next little while.

What do you do with yourself when your purpose is finished? The experiment Leanan created them for was over, barring long-term observation, and Aeleth was off learning combat and no longer needed her. Phantasma found herself directionless. xxx “A trader.” Bishop handed over a sheaf of account ledgers. “You are more than adept enough in social situations and I’ve seen you fleece others out of money plenty of times during your gambling games. Your competitive nature and excellent skill at faking emotions will be incredibly beneficial.” xxx It was easy. So very easy. Phantasma was naturally competitive and friendly, never mind her skill with body language that came from being a nocturne. She had a natural knack for both setting others at ease and making it seem totally reasonable to agree with her requests. She loved traveling around the expanse and meeting new people. She tried to convince Aeleth to come along as her bodyguard but gave up in the face of Aeleth’s broken self-confidence.

Before attending his tea, Phantasma hardly interacted with the VaLumo. Bishop insisted that he was interested in getting to know his clan members more, but she didn’t buy it. She’d take shameless advantage for her own curiosity though. His quarters were noticeably more well-appointed than anyone else, and she was happy to have an opportunity to ogle it. Phantasma went out of her way to ask him about the items he displayed so proudly. His stories were plenty interesting, but not too noteworthy until he took out his map collection. Carefully preserved and artfully inked. Each map depicted strange places far from anything Phatasma had ever seen. xxx Was that a flesh pit? Surely roots can’t be larger than a dragon. Are those rocks floating?? xxx She’d never been beyond the edges of the expanse – never imagined a world covered in sand and storms. Faced with places filled with lush plants or covered molten rock or un-melting ice, Phantasma discovered in herself a deep yearning to see all these strange places. To see and taste these wild wonders that until now she never knew existed.

Aeleth, that idiot, decided to get involved with another of Leanan’s experiments. Predictably, it turned out terribly for her, messing with her senses and leaving her just as scared and miserable as she’d been when they were hatchlings. For the first time, Phantasma wanted to scream at her best friend. She was very glad that she suppressed that impulse when her question of ‘why in would you do something so horrendously stupid’ was answered with and outpouring of despair and self-hatred. Phantasma didn’t want to go back – back to the crying and despair and helplessness – but if Aeleth needed her to support again she would do it. But the helplessness and need for constant reassurance never happened. Aeleth tackled resolving her overclocked senses with fierce determination and very little self-pity. Instead of constant and draining emotional support, Aeleth would ask her to lay next to her as one of the few people she could tolerate in her space, and they would talk and tell stories and share the minutiae of their lives. Phantasma was struck with how much nicer it was to be wanted was rather than needed.

How exciting relocating to Dragonhome was! Previously, she had minor interactions with the Dragonhome Preservation Guild and the major clans of Terraclae, but she had never really been able to make much headway in breaking into the truly influential circles of the old clans. While the proximity would help, what Phantasma actually needed was leverage. If even one of the old clans would vouch for her, door across Dragonhome would open to her. Her big break came from the Gradina, an old clan known for their architectural skills. All of the old and richest members of the Terraclae polished stone chambers carved by them. One of the younger sons of the current matriarch had just finished his apprentice training and was looking to establish his credibility as an artisan. Looking to make a splash, he was searching for something to make his work unique. Phantasma, seeing her opening, pitched him the use of fulgurite, touting the skill required to work with such a brittle and fragile material. She became his sole supplier, and once her worth was proven, he was more than happy to recommend her to the rest of his family and their allies.

The pearl sat abandoned in the dirt. Aeleth was so careful with her pearl that it was barely ever out of reach. The only time she didn’t hold it was when she gave it to Phantasma to hold onto. xxx Aeleth…? xxx There were no sign of struggle. Just the dry, packed dirt of Dragonhome. No one else was around, either. No tracks. xxx Something terrible happened. xxx She would never just abandon her pearl. She guarded it jealously. Phantasma had seen her nearly get herself impaled trying to make sure her pearl was out of harm’s way. The only thing that would separate her from her pearl was death. She should get up. Report this to Chou and get a search party sent out. Phantasma took off but her wings gave out, dropping her back in the dirt. xxx She’s gone. xxx She needed to get up. She knew she needed to get up, but all she managed to do was lie in the dirt. After everything they been through, this was how it ended. After everything. After holding her together when they were young. After finally feeling that they were turning out okay. This is how it ends…? Phantasma wailed into the unforgiving dirt. xxx Why would she leave me? xxx She’s interrupted by a whirlwind. Intense enough lift her and spin her end over end. It was terrifying but she was at the eye of the storm and the magic was familiar. She reached out and curled around Aeleth in tight hug, sobbing in relief. * Many hours later, after learning that Aeleth managed to nearly destroy herself and making her promise to never do anything like that again, Phantasma sat awake. Wind dragons were so hard to pin down. So hard to make stay. Ever since that day when they were hatchlings, when they fell out of sync, she’d been feeling like she was losing her. Aeleth hadn’t hesitated to leave. Phantasma rolled over and tried to concentrate on the fact that she came back.

Hired 06-08-2016


Skycat bought 6/22/22 for 195kg (yeesh, I sure am determined to buy these things at max price)