Tendanor

There's a time for everything, she says. My mother doesn't know whats best.

"Neither do you," some say.

I know better. There's a time for everything, and there's a time for light.

I think it's time for the sun to go down.

The great starvation

Tendanor's ruling had no major negative consequences until the food levels started to sink. The skydancers, who usually fed latest, started complaining that there wasn't enough food left for them. She ignored it promptly, telling them to hunt better, and either find more food themselves or stop complaining. Miffed by her answer, they tried to go into the forest to get more food. Ophaniel, a quite skilled hunter, had come back empty handed, saying that their part of the hunting land in the forest was swept. The larger animals must have migrated, there for nothing for her to hunt.

Panic began to bloom, and more and more dragons started wondering if there'd be enough food to feed their family and children. So far only the skydancers had been affected, but what if it escalated?
Ophaniel asked Tendanor what to do, whether to go hunt in another part of the land, or to ask for charity of others in the difficult times.
Tendanor refused to charity, but another idea shot a spark.
If my clan cannot find food here, I might be able to persuade them to move..

She told Ophaniel to go hunt in the Tangled Woods on Shadowed territory, claiming their land to be rich of goods and wildlife. She knew, though, that they weren't too happy with outside hunters, even though they did have richer hunting grounds. As was her plan, to get her clan believing that moving to Shadow would end their hunger and their fears, because the only way to hunt there was to swear to their alliance.

The hunger grew day by day, and suddenly the problem had escalated from empty stomachs to bed, into actual days without food. Vucim felt it first, the newly developed warrior was one of the last to eat, and there was never anything left for her to feed on.

Dragons started to turn to Merihim, to open their closed hoard of emergency food. She hissed and angrily protected their chamber. Tenandor's order was to refuse them the emergency food, even though the situation turned to an emergency alarmingly fast.

A week of starvation went by, and not only the skydancers went unfed. Everyone felt the strain of too little nutrition, but no one could do anything about it. Only the highest up had food, those who fed first. Among them, neither the prophet or the priest ate the amount they aught to, which made the clan members fear for their stand with the Lightweaver.
Tenandors plan started to form, soon they'd be too hungry and desperate to do anything else than move to shadow.

Tendanor's wish for the clan was to make it more powerful and bring treasures and honor. Not just honor, but the respect she craves from the people around her.
She made Ezikiel dig up old scripture of traditions. The ways of the elder dragons, how they were raised, how their clan's hierarchy worked in war and peace.
Ezikiel, not knowing what she planned to do with the information, was quite shocked at her sudden interest in Light history.
He should've known there was a downside to it all.

"Luca, my sorceress, what is your knowledge of battles and status?"
Luca, knowing little of the ways of Light, began explaining the violent status system of plague.
Perhaps not her clan in particular, since it's not one of the most violent ones, but the general system.
"Skills are important, intelect and guts. Take the most fearsome of dragons, and breed forth their genes," she said.
Tendanor recalled reading something similar from the older books of Sornieth, and from the early times of the council.
How the imperial breeding line had been carefully monitored, and pairs and mates were set up and arranged to bring forth the most healthy children.

"There's a thought," Tendanor said aloud to Haures sometime later.
"A breeding system, where they can no longer go about and mate as they wish. It makes jobs and life difficult for us all. But if we could plan it, bring the strongest dragons forth, make the genes the strongest. Our clan will grow and flourish, in the ancient rituals of the council, it will please them and please us," she said.
Haures thought for a moment.
"Are you sure the clan will be willing to undergo such drastic changes? We wouldn't want a riot."
Tendanor snorted. "A riot is hardly characteristic of them, they're weak minded fools. Only I can help them out of their perish, a strong leader is all they need to get on the right path."
Haures didn't think before she asked; "And what path is that?"
Tendanor narrowed her eyes, and cocked her head in a calculating, birdlike manner.
"The ways of The Lightweaver, the ways of the Shadowbinder."
Haures didn't hide her mild surprise.
"Who is to say I cannot take my preferred qualities from both of them? They're practically two sides of the same coin. I do prefer the whole coin."
Haures couldn't argue with that.


It didn't take a whole week before the plan was in action.
Tendanor and Haures went out to the hatching area, and welcomed the new hatchlings.
Abbadon, the egg-mother, seemed protective and suspicious not knowing the intention of their visit.
"Such.. good dragons, these ones. Who are their parents?" Tendanor asked in an almost falsely happy voice. She looked at the shining blue and white imperial hatchlings, who curiously looked back. Barely a day old.
Abbadon looked at her with narrowed eyes, without showing too much of her discomfort towards her. "These are the children of Yonder and Morgana."
Tendanor grinned down at the children, and despite her sort of malicious apparel, they obliviously blinked back, neither frightened nor especially excited.
It pleased her greatly, they'll grow quite respectful she thought.
Imperials with golden eyes were after all a treasure.

"I would like to speak to Morgana," Tendanor straightened from her bowed down position.
Abbadon nodded curtly, while subtly placing herself in front of the children.
"Nothing serious," Tendanor assured her, it didn't help much.
"The future of these hatchlings are.. bright."
Why that left the egg-mother perplexed.

Tendanor spoke to Haures in confidentiality sometime later.
"Lamechial, the "prophet" as he calls himself, he seems to have settled down somewhat.
We might've had our differences, a shaky beginning. But he will be very useful for the next generation," she tapped her claw at the desk in front of her.
"If we persuade him to stay of course. Which I will, my methods are foolproof."
Haures nodded in agreement.
"What are your plans with him?" She asked.
Tendanor folded her hands.
"Not only him, Israfil too. My loyal warrior. Good genes, and of course, very predictable. It is minds like those, colors like those. The eyes their offspring will bear, that I am interested in. They bring fortune. We've been watched by the council, I know their ways. If we do not step carefully and get into the warmth of the elders, they'll assign us a new leader," she spat with distaste. "Or worse, throw us all out of our territory."

"This is why," she continued. "That I have sought out the old traditions of the scripture. I've decided to assign these Imperials with mates. I've gathered the bloodlines from Rosanne, and she assured me that they're not related," Tendanor smirked.
"And have you found mates for them already?" Haures asked. She could not think of any proper female mates, since the only remaining female imperials were.. Well just Morgana. And she just had hatchlings of her own.
Tendanor bowed forward a bit.
"Those bright imperial hatchlings, will be their mates-to-be. Arranged marriage. For the better of the clan of course."
Haures blanched a bit. She knew these were the old traditions, but these hatchlings were barely a day old.

"They're children.They might not agree to it, your soldiers may not even agree to it," she had to add.
Tendanor waved a distracted hand. "They will agree to it. When the imperials come of age, a month or two is nothing. They will produce great imperials who will work under my supervision," she finished.
Haures hid her scepticism, and nodded instead in agreement.
"Thus, Israfil will go through with it. It's this or banishment. I know he will choose right.
Lamechial is another story, but I will persuade him. He's raised by the council, young mates will not be a concern of his."
With that, Haures was sent out, and Ezikiel called to the office to write down instructions for future "arranged matings."



The meeting was longer than she anticipated.
No longer leaning her head on her hand, she tries her utmost to seem interested in the patrol feedback from Haures.
"-it's been a few days since I saw her, but she's taken to avoiding me, she might have an insider in the clan. She definitely knows who I am-"
Tendanor's gaze goes in and out of focus, and her right arm's sometimes infrequent tremor has started up again. She would like Haures to finish, so that she might discreetly take another swig from her bottle.
Her arm trembles slightly, but has taken to tremble more and more these last few days.

Her gaze focuses back on Haures, and the very tense, awaiting expression on her face.
Damn her for making an important announcement when she's got other matters on her mind.
"Well?" Tendanor asks hauntingly.
Haures keeps staring back. "Well?" She mimics.
"Well what do you suggest we do?" Tendanor snapped back, trying to lean more on her left arm, hiding the right one from view.
Haures stares back, and it's not often Tendanor can say with certainty that her right-wing counselor and faithful patroller looks dumbfounded.
"Tendanor, would you rather I. Would you rather I do something about your mother?"
The mirror snaps to attention.

"Of course not!" She bellows, annoyed at her continuously failing health. Where is that potion.
"I can deal with her, and whichever-" she thinks back to the snippets of report she had mustered to listen to. "-clan member she might be conversing with."
Haures looked at her tensely for a few moments.
Tendanor got the distinct impression that she had missed some vital information just now.
The guardian held her gaze, then relented with a "very well."
However she didn't leave the room right away.

Tendanor's hand shook as she stared at her loyal worker, now more annoyed than ever that she would not leave.
"Is there anything else?" She said tensely.
Haures' look tightened into a visible frown.
"I wish to inquire about your health," she said at last. "You seem a bit on edge."
Tendanor almost laughed. On edge? Who is she to inquire about her being on edge?

"Stumbling about in the forest seem to have given you some misconceptions about social rules," Tendanor sneered. "As you seem to be stumbling about inquiries that is none of your business."
The guardian didn't answer.
Tendanor kept her expression in a very displeased sneer, and Haures nodded once, then curly left.

Tendanor didn't waste any time, and started frantically raffling about the cabinet under her desk. Bottles and quills and ink fell over and seeped into the light wood as she rummaged around with an unsteady, shaking hand.
At last, in the very back, the small vial was visible. With a hearty breath of relief, she unscrewed the cork and without measure, downed the liquid in one go.

Letting out a mighty, relieved breath, she steadied herself and waited for it to react.
It took mere minutes, and she felt as if a cold ease fell over her neck and shoulders, and she straightened up confidently.
Her arm finally stopped shaking.