Amdir

Light up the darkness. . .

Young, optimistic, and very curious, he explores the world around him with an open mind, but is wary of new situations. His interests shift towards mythology and history, and as such, he can often be found hanging around the older members of the Clan, asking for stories and recollection of the age of dragons when they were growing up, and is just as easily entranced by stories and legends pertaining to the dragon deities. He is afraid of the dark, and refuses to sleep without a light source, at least two paper lanterns, nearby to chase off the darkness. His build is frail, but his eyes shine bright with hope and curiosity.

He's also fascinated with the young, hard-working Erasmus, and the two can be found talking late into the night. He encourages Erasmus to tinker and create.

~~~

The shade that hangs over the haunted Hewn City, that marred the scales of his parents and wiped out an excursion force effortlessly, lingered within them. Their children, as rumor suggests, are cursed at birth; their scales marked with the same dark markings that scarred their parents, and bad luck and disaster are said to befall surviving offspring. Some dragons look upon these hatchlings with pity, for they did not make the mistakes of their parents, but suffer just the same. Others glare and growl in their direction; the hatchlings believed to be Shade-touched, harbringers of disaster, chaos, and darkness that would sooner feed their own kind to mindless Emperors and shadows.

He was the youngest of his clutch of three eggs, identical in appearance to his closest older brother. Despite being the largest of the three, he came out sickly and weak. Whatever mysterious illness plagued him made him feverish and left him with no appetite to eat. Even his pearl suffered from his sickness; it was small, and its sheen dull; both indicators of a weak soul. His strength sapped away with each passing hour, until it seemed that he was doomed to die before he could even truly live, claimed by whatever cursed aura seemed to run through his veins. For a while, he would drift into fitful dozes that left his body trembling. Eventually, darkness engulfed his mind, he could see it around him, ready to consume him. He was prepared to accept his fate, to be consumed by the darkness, by the Shade or the mysterious aura and exist no more. . .

Brilliant golden and pale light cut through the darkness, and he could see shapeless creatures burn under its intense rays. The dark tendrils retreated, and in its place, the warm light caressed his body in a gentle warmth. A massive golden head appeared from the brightest center of the light and touched his forehead. "It is not your path to take, young one. Let not the darkness lead you astray, but may you be the beacon of truth. . ." Words he could not begin to comprehend were uttered, and the head withdrew itself. There was another flash of blinding light. . .

When he awoke, he was alone, weak and starving. His nest, his family were nowhere to be seen; he wasn't even in the Sunbeam Ruins anymore. Perhaps they'd believed him dead, and disposed of his body, or perhaps some hungry predator had snatched him as an easy meal, only to be chased away from their prize. He clutched to his pearl as afternoon fell, and a curious, pale green Spiral landed nearby. . .

~~~~

The sun had been setting when he'd heard the shuffling sounds of Erasmus' paws against the ground. Amdir lifted his gaze briefly from the half-crumbled relief he'd found recently. The Ridgeback had one of the hoard's spare bags tucked against his side, and he seemed almost. . . Nervous.

"You're busy? I can. . . Come back later, if you are." He shook his head. "Nonsense, it can wait. . . What's in the bag?" He asked as he stood up and stretched. He came over to nuzzle Erasmus' chest.

"Something I've been working on for a while. A new gadget. It's nothing large, but. . . I thought you might like it, a lot," Erasmus described as he shrugged the bag off. He pushed it over to him. Amdir raised a brow but took the bag and opened it. . .

"It was a hassle, getting the leather belt set up. Had to seek some help out near the Trading Post. . . But it doesn't require relighting like the candles, and it will run for quite some time on it's own. Some pure Light energy encapsulated in glass and controlled by some wiring and electricity.

"A perfect blending of Light and Lightning magic and technology. . ." Amdir smiled as he looked away from the lantern, up at Erasmus. "You've outdone yourself."

"Thank you. . . I just, I know you don't like the dark much, so. . . I sought a solution that was more efficient. It even shines brighter, from what I've gathered from experimentation. . ." He could feel teal eyes on him as he slid the lantern on.

"Thank you. I love it. . . It's perfect. . . It's us."