Click or tap to view this dragon in Scenic Mode, which will remove interface elements. For dragons with a Scene assigned, the background artwork will display at full opacity.
Familiar
Sickle Kamaitachi
Click or tap to share this dragon.
Click or tap to view this dragon in Predict Morphology.
______As a hatchling RockyParadise was awalys left out of everything which left him depressed and down all the time. Untill Ashes his mother came up to him one day and comforted him telling him everything would be ok and that she understood. Rocky never really understood what she ment untill he grew older and saw her being excluded from things which made him angry because he finally understood why. It was the gembond. He couldnt belive it over the simpe fact he had gems in his fur made others hate him. He realized he wasnt the only one; his sister Hollowhunt had gotton sick of it so she left to serve.______He enlightened his clan members on respect and equality.Now Rocky is off to spread the word.
This was a tiring journey! After a few long days of nonstop travel, I finally hunkered down in the middle of Sorineth to stop at a little motel. The inhabitants seemed pretty nice, and they seemed to like the gems in my fur a lot, especially the hatchlings, which was a nice relief.
But then the Guardian who seemed to run the place became more stressed and more stressed as time went on. I tried to help, but she kept saying that it was okay, that I didn't need to worry.
One night, though, I tried looking for her but couldn't find her. I heard some noises, breaking things noises, and I rushed outside to see the Guardian and two others out fighting a group of rogue Dragons! "Stay back," barked the Mirror as Tourmaline, the Guardian, dealt some wind damage to one dragon.
But as he was talking, there was a large dragon coming up behind him. Without thinking, I jumped over the Mirror and slashed the dragon's eyes. The dragon scratched my arm and cut it open. He shook his head and sighed, pulling me away. "You need to get to safety. Promise I'll take ya out later. Also here's a lil somethin for your trouble."
Iron Filigree Banner
Apparel
This iron plate is etched with a decorative filigree. The banner proclaims this dragon's commitment to honor.
2000
Entry 2.
I happened upon the Lightening territory and discovered a small (32-36) clan of dragons that managed to make a inhabitable lesser lair for themselves in the Highland Scrub. Resourceful, genius--I've never seen such tenacity and ingenuity.
I was relieved to see not one--not even two--but THREE other dragons with gembond, and they all maintained positions of status and dignity in their clan. It gave me hope--to see other respectable, successful dragons with the same markings as me. Living their truest lives. It made me reminisce about where I've been and how far I've come. From the land of Dark and Shadow--to Lightening territory--dry, deserted, a ruthless torment of an environment. I didn't know how other tundras my size could stand it. The climate was way too intense for me.
Bequest, a Skydancer that I had come to respect and value as a friend, sat next to me one evening. We had a perfect view of the dark blue sky with all the stars you could imagine.
"I know you'll be leaving soon, but I want you to take this with you my friend.." he pushed toward me, a helmet. One that near matched my iron banner!
Ebony Filigree Helmet
Apparel
This ebony plate is etched with a decorative filigree. The armor symbolizes a commitment to secrecy.
2000
"Not everyone is as open-minded or compassionate to those with gembond. I hail from the Plaguelands, Rocky... if only you knew of the hate that resided in the hearts of dragons.."
I accepted the helmet, smiling at my friend. "Thank you, this is a wonderful parting gift." Soon after we bid each other our goodbyes, and I continued my journey.
Entry 3.
I boarded a train from a station close by and travelled south to Stormseeker Junction. Then I went east to Dune Junction. There I found a clan who was willing to let me stay for some time. The clan was large, and all of them lived in elaborately constructed tents, spreading out from a small spire in the centre of the lair. This spire reminded me of the fountains at the centre of town squares, but in this case, it was more similar to the bonfire at the heart of a villiage.
I spent a lot of my time chatting with other dragons around the spire. There was a friendly Spiral named Bunsen who taught me many things about archaeology and politics. In return I told him about my experience with gembond.
"My, that's terrible. There are a couple of gembonded dragons in our clan, and nobody treats them any differently, I don't believe. Ezra is our guard. Dragons avoid him because he has a tought attitude while on partrol, but not because of his genes. I wish you luck with your mission."
On my fifth night, I bumped into a mirror as we were all eating dinner. He turned out to be one of the founders of the clan. Vin took one look at my armour and huffed at its dusty state. Then he said something in a strong accent and left before I could say something back. Thankfully Bunsen was there to translate.
"He said that you looked like you got your gear from robbing a train. And that if you go to his tent tomorrow morning he'll fix everything up. Vin's an expert in weapons and armour. You're in good hands."
Indeed, Vin worked on my armour with skill and flair. My helmet and armguard were worked on over a furnace so that they fit my body perfectly, and painted with matching colours.
Burnished Filigree Helmet
Apparel
This burnished plate is etched with a decorative filigree. The armor symbolizes a commitment to might.
2000
Burnished Filigree Banner
Apparel
This burnished plate is etched with a decorative filigree. The banner proclaims this dragon's commitment to might.
2000
I took off on my travels again more prepared than I've ever felt.
Entry 4.
At first, taking a few days rest at Nightlight Inn was nice, but then days turned to months because the cave got closed off in a freak ice storm and just recently melted enough to get the travelers outside. The Inn workers were all looking worried as they rushed us out with all of our things and gave us a wave farewell and that was that. I was back on the road again. It felt odd to spread my wings again, but it was relieving. Maybe I'll take a trip home to see how things are there.
Entry 5:
City of Caesura; Wind Territory, 4/21/18
GrinningWolf24, #212075
On the wing. I was enjoying my flight immensly, the lively, uplifting breezes flowing around me after all the time in that stuffy ice cave. Perhaps that was why I wasn't paying as close attention to my surroundings as I should. A pain erupted from my shoulder, and I plummeted to the ground, grinding to a halt in the soft, grassy plains of Wind Territory.
My vision dimmed out, a large silhouette the last thing I could make out before falling unconscious.
I awoke to swaying. A tight, wooden structure held me in, and strong leather bonds held shut my jaws. I could barely wiggle- wings, legs, tail, paws, all tied expertly with the leather straps. Could barely see, either; it was too dark. I dozed. Pondered. Wondered. Dozed and pondered some more. Little else I could do in this situation. Eventually, with a mighty jolt, the swaying ceased. My nostrils flared, trying to scent any of the surroundings; figure out what was beyond my little prison.
Creeeeeee-ack! An entire wall came off, and I was momentarily blinded by the light around me. I was dragged by my ankles briefly, and felt dextrous paws remove my bindings as my eyes adjusted. Finally! I was free! I rolled onto my belly, squinting at the strong scent of filth and soil. A sudden clang! sounded beside me, and I jumped, my attention snapping to the metal grate of a door that was just slammed shut. Another tundra was on the other side, overseeing the removal of the bonds of a few other dragons, in similar barred cells like myself.
Slowly, I rose to my feet, padding towards the door. A gentle hiss from the cell beside me drew my attention. "Hey. Don't." A fluffy pink tundra shook his head, a mixed expression somewhere between amusement and pity. "They'll lash at anything or one that comes too close to the bars." He spoke in the same hiss-whisper. Thinking better of it, I slowly placed my paws back onto the ground. I gazed at the iron bars that made up the door to my cell with distrust.
"....how else do we get out of here, then?" My words were barely audible, but my cell-neighbor cocked his head, so I knew he had heard me.
".....you fight. More importantly; you die."
I shivered, the motion making my hackles stand on end. I spoke very quitely, and at length with my cell-mate. We both wanted out of here, and this tundra- Nathan I learned his name was- had been here for quite a bit longer than I had. New dragons and creatures were brought in quite frequently, but the time they were let out was when they died, or in a supremely rare case, they manage to find a way to escape. I would need to be clever to achieve the second option.
In the meantime, I did fight- which I wasn't opposed to, mind you. Training is wonderful, and I wanted to learn to fight, but I was opposed to the bloodsport aspect of it. As I grew, I came to know some of the others who were here- which ones to avoid when we were permitted small times to roam the larger enclosed cells, which ones were decently friendly, and which ones could tell stories of this place. I came to know Nathan pretty well too.
And together, we devised a plan. You see, Nathan is a vampire. So part of him wasn't at all opposed to this gladiator pit- quite enjoyed all the destruction and strength he was allowed to show off- but part of himself also despised it for forcing such an intense bloodlust on him at nearly all hours. He was fighting quite often to keep from biting random dragons and creatures.
He wanted out. And luckily for us, being a vampire meant that he had no perceptible heartbeat or other life signs. We waited months until we were put into a fight that was simply the two of us. And put on a fight we did! We fought for almost half an hour, building the crowd's anticipation.
Until finally, we came to our finale; our escape plan. We both clased for one final death blow- that we landed at the same time. We both collapsed, Nathan on top of me. Minutes passed. Neither of us moved. More minutes. I could hear the crowd murmuring and babbling in disappointment. But still we laid still.
Eventually, others came out to clear off our bodies. We were checked for signs of life- pulse, breath, etc. ....nothing. I stayed as still as I possibly could. They hauled a magic platform under use, and used it to carry us out of the arena and to a place I had heard stories of- the trash chute. We were dumped without ceremony into the pit. And even then, the pair of us didn't move. Hours went by. Silence reigned... and finally, the pair of us stirred. My neck itched where Nathan had bitten it a few days before, but otherwise, I felt perfectly fine. Holding my breath for hours on end hadn't even made me break a sweat!
Nathan gave me a wicked grin as we started to wade through the maze of refuse, towards the outside world we knew was beyond a small access door, as the older gladiator's stories had said. And before we knew it, we were free. A pair of vampires, free vampires, off to see more of the world yet.
On the Road
by Taijavu
The following days with Nathan were some of my best. There's something very freeing about having no rules, except for the ones the two of you make. No community, no someplace, no old cares tying you down. And coming from being a slave, anything felt better.
For awhile it was just the two of us, travelling whatever road tickled our fancy. We would "play dead," and thrust ourselves upon whatever curious creature came to investigate. I must admit, I took savage joy in the horror and surprise on their faces. I had fought many of these creatures before, usually when they were stalking me as prey. Now I got to call the shots. They couldn't harass me anymore. No one who had ever hurt me could. It was a nice feeling.
Nathan was impressed. He told me that not many mortals could stomach his hunting methods, but then again, I was -- am -- no longer mortal. And besides the point, what choice did we have? I'm a Tundra. I never had to eat meat before, but I had to help hunt it for those who did. This was no different. With our diet choices dangerously limited, we had no other option. It was hunt, or die. As a soldier, this was something I knew well. And if you closed your eyes, the taste of flesh wasn't all too different. Just try to forget the screaming. And if it ever got to be too much, I had Nathan, who was just as head deep in this mess as I was. We may have been monsters, but at least we were monsters together.
I remember being told stories of vampires. They were the boogie men that lurked in the shadows that got too deep, waiting to steal hatchlings that wandered too curiously and too far into them. They were the dragons that had sold their souls, the Shade entities that had learned how to put on a dragon-like smile to better devour their prey. When I asked Nathan if these stories were true, he'd simply shrug his shoulders. No one really knew where they had come from.
"I suppose the only ones who'd know would be the very first vampires, the ones that didn't get theirs passed down, and we aren't really a social lot. Although the last one describes us just fine, doesn't it?" He'd give a toothy grin, and that would be that.
Although, apparently the hatchling part was true. I'm not sure if we can pass off our genes through more... natural means. It's not like either of us have tried. But, apparently if a vampire was feeling particularly lonely and not very patient, they would simply "claim" their own heir. One hatchling and one bite is all that would suffice. It didn't need to be a hatchling of course, but they were more impressionable. More easily molded. I haven't really pried into how Nathan knew this, but in my heart I already knew. It wasn't something he liked to talk about.
Weeks turned into months, possibly years. It's hard to keep a track of time when you're immortal. No rush, right? And not to mention, survival was a bigger priority to the two of us at the time than the calendar ever was. It was hard, and often times brutal. But we had each other's backs, and together, we adapted quite nicely. But nothing lasts forever. Time spares no one, not even the timeless.
We were hunting, just as we always did. There was nothing unusual in that. Perhaps we hadn't been cautious enough in covering our tracks. Not staying in an area too long. We had become myths in some parts -- spirits, more demon than dragon. We enjoyed encouraging these myths. Nothing lethal, of course. Just a little scare here, a little bit of fun. We should have known it would have made enemies.
We had taken down our prey, and were feasting together. Our mouths and fangs gleamed bright red with our prize, our fur mottled bloody brown. Demons indeed.
The next moment, two claws surrounded us. Too large to struggle against, but large enough to squeeze through -- as if sensing our deceit, the claws squeezed harder. There would be no escape.
"Now, what do we have here?" a deep voice cooed, sounding amused.
"Careful, they might be contaminated! They look sick!" a shrill voice cried.
"Well, of course they're sick! Why else would two tundras be head deep in a corpse?" the voice rumbled again.
Fair point.
Breathing wasn't a problem, not for us. But there was no room for movement. Someone "fetched" some cloth, and next thing we knew we were also blinded.
"So, these must be the "beasts" the emissary warned us about." The voice chuckled, putting us with ease up to what must have been their face. "Tell them they no longer have need to worry."
"Please, you don't understand! We were starving, and --- !" I tried to cry, smuggling as much noise as I could beneath the enormous paws.
"Shhhhhh. There's no need to talk. You will talk later."
We had no choice but to comply. The paws moved back down, holding us like we were a pair of disgusting insects. We couldn't see our surroundings, but the flicker of light against our cloth and the pull of gravity told us we were in the air.
We held limp, waiting for the situation to change. After an hour, it finally did. We were gingerly placed down against what felt like cool metal. The cloth was pulled off of us, and cowering in the light, we finally saw our captor. She, I presumed, was a massive imperial with a completely-covered head. Restraining us now made sense. But what didn't make sense is how they were able to sneak up on us so easily. Stupid!
"So, you were starving?"
Think fast. Nathan was the first to speak up.
"We were with a caravan, we got stranded ... "
"Were there no plants nearby?"
Nathan shook his head. "Nothing edible.. By the time we made it here... It was too late." He began shaking, and I followed suite.
Well, that wasn't fully a lie. There was nothing else edible, and we did have to eat.
"By the Gods, we're sorry! We were dying... We had no choice!" I cried. "You have no idea what the hunger feels like.. What it does to you!"
I began tearing up. Tears never came naturally to me, but after having to be clever for so long, you get used to it.
"Oh, you silly dears. You weren't dying. Now, don't you worry. Everything's going to be alright from here on out." The Imperial smiled what was probably meant to look pleasantly, showing rows of teeth outlined beneath her mask. It seemed familiar somehow.
"Madam! The other patients require your attention." I knew that voice. The shrilly voice from before. A curiously, equally-massive fae entered the room.
( Note: Not equally massive as in as big as the Imperial. Haha. Just.. equally as larger-than-average.)
"I am aware, Gunther. I'll be right there."
"You two relax. We'll meet again later."
She slunk back into the shadows.
"It's odd, Gunther." The voice trailed from ... a hallway? Further out of the room. My ears pricked.
"They should look sick or famished, but they don't look malnourished."
"And the squinting?"
"They must have been lost deep in the Shadowlands for quite some time. Poor dears, who knows when they've last seen the light of day."
Oh, she had no idea.
The voices faded out, and we were again left to our own thoughts. She was getting suspicious. We'd have to be on our guard.
"That was pathetic," Nathan grinned.
"Doesn't that make two of us?" I whispered, grinning back. I didn't want any other ears to hear us. With our enhanced senses, that usually wasn't a problem. But we had had a lot of broken usuallys lately.
"Now where are we ....?"
I opened my eyes, trying to find out more about where we were. The light hurt, but I was able to catch a glimpse of our surroundings. It looked like... A cage, inside a bigger cage of a room. Everything was white. Notes and phosphorescent bulbs dotted the place.
"An infirmary, or a prison. Or both.." Nathan hissed.
I put a paw against our bars. They were tightly packed, and small. Not any squeeze room. But they were meant for a Tundra sized package. They likely wouldn't be prepared for our strength.
"Nothing we haven't escaped before. Shall we pry open these bars?"
"No. We don't know what lies outside here. It's too dangerous."
"And," he continued, "It'll make us look suspicious if we're able to force our way through. Put a bounty on our heads. Bigger one. We'll be hunted like animals."
"Instead, we wait. Nothing we haven't done before. Shall we, Partner?"
He gave me a wink. He was right. It wasn't anything we hadn't managed before. So that was the plan. We'd wait, until we had one.
Until then, we played along. We were model "patients." We ate our meals - medically enhanced green garbage - and pretended to be satisfied. We behaved as our vitals were checked over and over again. Recoiled as lights were shone in our faces, again and again. Grinned as it felt like our bodies slowly atrophied from the inside. As we sat politely in our cages, slowly suffering, like good pets.
"Madam, you have helped us so much as it is! We insist, we're feeling so much better already!"
We would beg, and the mistress would shake her head.
"Are you?"
"Yes! We swear we'll be fine on our own! You've helped us enough!"
"That's not what your charts say," she smiled with a hint of dryness.
"Charts be -- !" I let my words and anger quickly die into a low rumble. I had to catch myself. "Why worry so much about our data? We're adults. I think we can figure it out on our own. Even if we don't, that's on us. You don't need to care for us anymore." I tried giving a disarming smile.
"We'll see."
With no explanation, she gave us a deep, malcontented sigh, locked shut the door, and returned us to our darkness.
"Hhhhhg!" I rammed my head against the bars.
" 'We'll see!~' What's that supposed to bloody mean?"
Nathan growled. "It means our good behavior isn't working. If we're going to get out of here, we're going to need a more direct approach."
"You mean...?"
Nathan nodded.
I put my claws on the bars once again, feeling for any weaknesses in the metal.
"It's too dangerous," I replied with a smile, as the bars gently curved out like melted butter.
"Absolutely," Nathan grinned, putting his ear to the ground. I did the same.
It sounded unusually quiet. Perhaps not so unusual. During the night, special monitors would be hooked up to us to monitor our "sleep." That hadn't happened yet. There was talk of a flame festival starting up the next day, and everything was probably running slower than usual. It felt like late evening. The night watch hadn't taken place yet, and any remaining dragons would be tired and distracted. Now was the time -- better now than never.
The coast clear, I pried open the remaining bars, and then freed Nathan.
We shimmied up to the door. Thick. No handle, beyond a slot for a card. We both pressed our paws against it. Nothing. Our claws left thin dents, but nothing more. Unlike our cell bars, it looked like the door was prepared with more powerful quarry in mind.
"Gods! We can't get this far for nothing!" I grimaced. We could always put the bars back and pretend nothing had happened, but without the door... How else were we ever going to get out of here? Without it, any escape plan we made .....
"Wait," Nathan calmed me down. "Let's look around first. There may be something in this room that can help us."
So we looked. Notes, dialysis tubes, chunks of glass squares with beeping noises and lines of data displays. Wires, so many wires. Attached to us, attached to the glass squares, crawling and writhing around the room like diseased roots. I tore as many as I could off of us. Some were deeper into our bodies than others. The squares started beeping, so I killed them.
There didn't seem to be anything we could use. The notes, filled with pointless information like, "Not doing well on medical diet," or, "Still sensitive to light. Try different light spectrums." If the squares could help, we could barely understand them in the first place. And the wires seemed to be good for nothing but giving the squares information, or for being sticked into us. Not that I'd want to touch another filthy wire again, anyway. It seemed a lost cause.
"Look," Nathan whispered. "Her bag."
"What about it?"
"We still have not checked it."
Yes, her bag. It was brought in whenever she or Gunther would "visit" to watch the other staff do their checkups. It seemed to hold books she would jot notes in, or snacks for the staff. Not much else. She usually carried it out -- usually, but there were days like today that she left it behind.
"Lip.. Stick. Is that like some kind of glue?" I shuddered at the thought. The sooner we could leave this sick place behind, the better.
"I think she has enough books in here to fuel a campfire for at least a week! Think we should take some ... for emergencies?" He gave a sly wink.
"Of course. Wouldn't want 'em to go to waste."
Books, sheets of paper, snacks, more books, more sheets, more snacks.
This wasn't getting anywhere. A card. We needed a card.
"Hey.. Look at this." A thin, hard square of paper fell out of one of the books. The background seemed to be of some fairytale dragon with goggles and a sword. There was flowery writing on the other side.
"Marley's Bookmark -- DO NOT THROW AWAY. Property of Marley's Miracles."
"This is just a bookmark.. You know, the things those booky types would carry around to remember their progress."
"We don't have much other choice. Besides, maybe all the door needs is a square?"
I shook my head. "I don't think so. It seems to need one of those beepy ones. But let's try it."
We slid it in. It was pulled in, and a light on the door began cutting through the darkness.
"Reading. Dr. Marley Mauchasun. Approved. Welcome, Doctor Mauchasun."
A grinding sound began to play. We pushed, and this time it opened.
(Note: Mauchasun is a weird name, but it's meant to be. It's supposed to sound like Munchhausen (by Proxy,) the syndrome where guardians will make their children ill intentionally. )
The hallways were barely lit. We entered cautiously. There seemed to be no one there. Not even any staff ending their shifts. Now, that was at least strange -- for there to be no one at all. I hoped all that meant was that they were taking their festival very seriously.
'Do we continue?' Nathan seemed to give me a look. I nodded. There was no going back now.
We ran into more and more doors, through unguarded hallways. They all gave in the same to our "bookmark." Cooling coffee cups were still on the tables. Tonight, this seemed to be the house of the dead.
Nathan stopped me before we reached what seemed to be one of the final doors. "Continue On to Exit," a red light blazed on the top.
There seemed to be someone on the other side. Small, adolescent. Female,Tundra. A smell strangely of .. Cotton candy? And something burnt. Dull. Fire element... Or Lightning? Another sniff told us she was all alone. Stressed, bored maybe, but with little adrenaline to go through their veins. Elements or not, cornered. Weak.
(Note: Dis one of my science-yTundras, Starburst, who used to be in my clan before going to the Plague lands.)
We looked at eachother, and Nathan nodded. Together we opened the door.
True to our senses, a young Tundra lifted her head off of a desk to look in our direction. Her eyes widened, freezing in panic.
"You're not! --"
"We're not your enemy ... Yet." Nathan hissed.
"We mean you no harm. Let us through, and we won't hurt you."
She just stood still, looking like a wounded rabbit. She seemed to be staring at our wounds, dripping dots of blood from where the wires used to be.
All she managed was a small nod. That was good enough.
We slid past her, opening the final door. We could feel the breeze beneath it ruffle our feet. By the Gods, it'd be good to feel that again.
It was indeed evening. The light still hurt, especially after coming from the dark hallways, but it was dim enough that we could easily see our surroundings. The grass was uniform and neatly kept. There were a few spaced out Rowan trees. Weird smells. Lack of smells? Almost.. Disinfected. Artificial. It didn't look like any region I knew of. As if reading my mind, Nathan muttered a soft, "Where are we?"
"Fair question."
A familiar voice.
No.
Gods, no.
A slight heave of the building behind us was all the warning there was as that horrible face snaked
it's way down to ours.
It was the Imperial, obviously. But there was something very wrong. Her eyes were bloodshot.
Her teeth were massive. Without her mask, it was clear. No wonder she felt familiar. She was ... One of us?
That was all I could take in before the two of us began running. All of the sudden, those horrible beeping noises began to wake up. The missing staff began filling the perimeter. Buzzing sounds as
hidden doors came into view, grinding shut.
So, it was a fight, then.
We chose one of the clearings closest to us, and barreled right into the staff blocking it. Some of them tried to hold us down, others shirked, but we cut through each of them. We made it to the clearing. We ran for it, and hit something cool. Glass!?
The staff inched closer, we inched further away. There in the middle, stood the Imperial, looking as though she was delighted. With anger fueling our veins, and little else in the way of options, we began charging towards her instead. Some staff ran for us, but the Imperial shook her head. She stared us down hungrily. We returned the favor.
Closer now. I leapt towards her, swatted down by one of her massive paws. Nathan managed to grab onto it, tearing into thick scales. "Why, you little!" she cried, and shook him off with a quick, jolted movement. Nathan went flying. The both of us stood up.
Again. I tried circling her this time, staying out of the strike zone of her mighty paws. Her head swerved back and forth, back and forth, as she tried keeping an eye on the both of us. Nathan ran wherever her head wasn't, trying to get any sort of opening. There. Just as she leaned her weight towards myself, Nathan struck one of her bulging, muscular ankles. She tried to swat him off again, but he was holding on too tightly. She lifted her foot and rammed it down. The whiplash threw Nathan off, and drips of -his- blood and broken teeth dotted the ground.
Nathan was recoiling on the ground. I ran for him,
"GET UP!"
Come on, Nathan. Not now.
"NATHAN, YOU HAVE TO GET UP!"
He struggled to his feet. The Imperial hovered a giant paw above him.
She was going to kill him.
I ran faster. She turned to me with a wicked smile, and all of the sudden her tail was wheedling towards me. I blacked out, and I remember nothing else.
I woke up to a metallic taste. B.. Blood? My body began to twitch ravenously. No, this was all wrong. It was my blood.
A shrill voice invaded my head.
"Looks like one of em's trying to wake up, Gunther. Let the rest of S1 know the test was a success."
Head pounding. I tried to open my eyes, but they refused. I was drugged. Knew the feeling. Was used to it.
"Mhmmmm..." I groaned, trying to get any words out with a mouth that was dead.
Murmuring. Laughing. It hurt. That didn't matter.
Nathan... Nathan was with me. Where is Nathan?
I tried to remember, but all I could remember was darkness.
Nathan? Nathan? I tried to call out with my mind. There was no answer. (No, duh xD)
I had to find Nathan. My body began twitching. I could feel my body coming back to me. My eye fluttered, and waxy, blurry shapes flew in and out of view as I tried to keep them open.
I had to find him. I had to find him. I had to find him.
I remained like this for a few more minutes. More murmuring. Almost frantic.
A paw stroked my fur. Sickeningly. A pain entered my thigh, and I tried to desperately kick it away. Needles. Darkness creeping in. Again.
A few moments later. Warmth. I lazily opened an eye. The warmth hurt to open it. I was tired. I closed it again. Shifting. Ugh. Can't get comfortable. I opened my eye again. Shapes. The Imperial again. Meh. She was bandaged. So was I. I moved my paw in annoyance. That's why I can't get comfortable. I shifted some more. I saw Nathan. Oh, that's where he went. Silly me. I tried to go back to sleep, but my body wouldn't let me. I groaned. I wondered if Nathan was able to fall asleep.
Wait. Nathan. That was important. Why was it important.
NATHAN!?
I craned my head up to look for him. His chest was gently heaving. He was alive. I felt
a huge rush of relief. But if we were still here, then ....
"Well, aren't you an early riser?"
That face purred at me.
Anger rose up in my throat.
"You caught us. We know your game. Why tube us up again, then? Why?"
"Maybe because you terrorized my entire staff, and happened to fracture my paw?"
She retorted, but with a sickeningly relaxed and mocking smile.
"We were trying to escape! You were caging us like animals!"
"Oh, I suppose it looked like that, didn't it? I owe you an explanation, don't I?"
"So you can justify all the insane surgeon crap you did to us? What's there to explain?"
"Not surgery, dears. We were monitoring your health. And oh, hush. So overdramatic."
"If you calm down and listen, and maybe you'll find out," she continued.
So she explained away.
We weren't here because we were sick. That may have been the original plan, but once "Madam Marley" realized we weren't starving, and that we weren't sickly -- far from it, actually, we became useful. We were here to be tested upon, and nothing more. She knew we were getting frustrated, but she encouraged it and let it happen to see if we'd actually try to escape -- and if we'd be able to succeed. I guess we'd get half marks for that.
As for why she, a vampire, was doing this to her own kind? Well, she wasn't. Not fully.
We weren't the only "odd" patients here, obviously. There were others here, hidden out of sight in tubes and cages. Some were animals, some were other dragons. The genuinely sick were treated, and then released if they had no other purpose. The others were genetic abnormalities like us, if that's what you want to call vampirism. Those ones had a purpose. And the ones who had a purpose, well... They were kept until they exhausted that purpose. And that purpose was to help make her.
Well, dragons like her.
Her over-sized teeth and bulging muscles? They got that trick from a dog that couldn't regulate muscle production. She had to break her teeth out first, but lucky for her the plan worked and the new ones "grew" in with some kind of cell magic. Her bloodshot eyes were an accident, really. They got it from what they call .. a Savant. Dragon could see like a hawk, and had other unnatural senses to boot. So they "took him in," and prodded his brain until they got what they wanted. However, that one partially blinded her, but the same accident did something to her brain apparently, and gave her enhanced senses. That almost explained why she was able to sneak up on us. I believe that dragon was still here, being milked until they could fix "his" little accident.
And then came us. With our unusual abilities, we were the "prize." We could leave when they got everything they wanted out of us. Which meant ... We could never leave.
She claimed they weren't doing this for greed, or power. She just wanted to give her people the best fighting chance. Improve their "survival," if you will. Everyone there was so focused on survival of the fittest and strength that she figured she'd help even the odds. Strengthen those who were sick, instead of leaving them to die. Make them "fit." Make them immune against those illnesses to begin with. Put the little guys on an even playing field. And eventually, rise as a race together. All would benefit and grow together, and no one would have to be left behind ever again. No one understood, but she wasn't going to stop until her people and their way of life was "enlightened."
Or, so she said. But no one makes a power-sucking factory and turns it into a slave zoo without having developed a thirst for it. And noble intentions or not, I didn't particularly care for her... methods. She didn't know exactly what we were, though -- not yet. She probably thought we were just another set of mutants, and while she thought that, there was still time to escape.
We waited until she left the room. We couldn't whisper to each other this time, not while those machines were watching us, doing who knows what. But all it took was a few looks, and Nathan nodded. He knew. We knew what we had to do.
"How're my two favorite patients doing today?" Our Doctor peered her head in. "You two sure
slept soundly today." We didn't move. She chuckled.
"You do know you've been off the anesthesia for awhile now, right? You can't fool me."
She prodded us. Silence. A button cranked. A gasp.
"Gunther! I need you in here now!"
"Gunther! Their vitals are down! Get all the others in, now!"
Continued shouting. The sound of wheels and claws crawling all over our bodies. We were being wheeled away.
More clawing. Needles being pressed against us. Knives gently cutting into our skin. Even though our sense of pain had long been numbed, it took everything we had not to cringe. Eventually the knives stopped, and the voices died down into hushed tones.
"A shame.. We were so close. And just when they learned the truth."
Our bodies were wheeled out of another set of doors. Fresh air, and morning light burning, trickling, onto our eyes. We were outside. The plan worked, and we'd soon be free. But we had to wait. One wrong move, and it could ruin everything. We just had to wait until they decided to bury us.. Almost there...
Another set of doors. Darkness. It smelt of death, and more needles. This didn't feel right. Perhaps they were going to embalm us first..? I tried to quiet the feeling of panic rising along my neck.
The sound of knives being taken out of drawers and needles being rolled around filled the room. But if we were dead, why..?
"Gunther, you can start on the blood samples. I"ll do the tissue."
They cut into us for what lasted several minutes. Cutting -out- bits and pieces. This wasn't surgery, where they poked their heads into our wounds and stitched us back up. Something was different.
"Thank you, Gunther. You may want to leave for this. We have to preserve the brain."
Preserve the.. I shuddered. Were they planning on freezing us? Were they still trying to bring us back to life? That couldn't be it. Then they started skimming along my head, and then I knew.
I leapt up, and in shock the knife plummeted to the floor. I pushed towards her, grabbing the knife from the ground and aiming it towards her. She was much larger than I was, but I had her alone with a weapon, with surprise on my side. She just stared back in shock, as if she wasn't sure what to do.
"Gun..ther? Gunther!" she cried, and I took my chance. "Nathan, we're leaving!"
He lifted his head groggily. "Oh, already? I was just getting comfortable!" He still had gashes along his body where our "surgeries" had not been completed. I realized he was still probably weak from the night before. Without thinking I grabbed his collarbone, and we began running together -- I holding him up. We opened the door, and into the staff outside. Most of them parted before us, stunned and confused looks on their faces. One of them stood dumbfounded beside what looked to be a plastic chute leading out of the dome. "Toxic waste -- please remove with caution." We ran towards it, the door still mid-open. The staff just ran out of the way. Some of them were running, others were shouting. Others were doing both. Alarms were being set. We made it to the door in time, clambering over piles of boxes. We pushed through the other side, and we were finally free. But we weren't safe, yet. We continued running, as blood dripped onto the forest floor below us.
Shouting could still be heard from behind us. We didn't have much time, but hopefully the confusion and disarray would buy us a few minutes. But there wasn't time to think about it. We were already out, and they were already on our tail -- or would be soon enough. We did the only thing we could do, and ran. We ran towards the morning light as fast as our bloodied paws would carry us, not daring to look back.
Home
Entry. 5
Somewhere along the way I lost him. I found my way home back to my brother, my family, my home. But what was the cost? I lay awake at night thinking of the monster I’ve become and what I’ve lost, he haunts my memories. I see his lazy smile, his voice fills my ears and I drown in his scent—yet when I wake it’s only a dream. That’s all I’ve been left with a forever empty pang in my soul that will never be filled. I left looking to change the world and I came back a monster...
The caster will focus on the surrounding magical energies, generating a large amount of Breath. Reduces physical damage dealt by 75% for two turns.
25
Required Level: 1
Contuse
Ability Stone
Deals neutral magic damage and weakens the target, decreasing their offensive capabilities.
250
Required Level: 1
Sickle Kamaitachi
Familiar
This spirit has a fiery temper, and charges headlong into battle, knocking down its foes. (KS-Sponsored by Larthan.)
2800
Chestnut Tail Feathers
Apparel
A forked tail, fashioned from wax and feather.
1500
Autumn Woodwing
Apparel
It is an unusual dragon that would take the adornments of a woodland with them into the sky.
1500
Conflagrant Kilt
Apparel
Although known for its weapons and armor, the Ashfall Waste can also produce decorative apparel for the fashionable (and wealthy). (Flameforger's Festival 2018 Holiday Item)
0
Haunting Amber Nightshroud
Apparel
To don a nightshroud is to commit to a life of sneaking and trickery.
500
Spessartine Leg Enhancement (Front)
Apparel
Build it better, faster, stronger, and more bedazzled than before! This enhancement is for the front leg.
800
Spessartine Tail Enhancement
Apparel
Build it better, faster, stronger, and more bedazzled than before! This enhancement is for the tail.
900
If you feel that this content violates our Rules & Policies, or Terms of Use, you can send a report to our Flight Rising support team using this window.
Please keep in mind that for player privacy reasons, we will not personally respond to you for this report, but it will be sent to us for review.
Click or tap a food type to individually feed this dragon only. The other dragons in your lair will not have their energy replenished.
This dragon doesn't eat Insects.
This dragon doesn't eat Meat.
This dragon doesn't eat Seafood.
Feed this dragon Plants.
You can share this dragon on the forums by either copying the browser URL manually, or using bbcode!
URL:
Widget:
Copy this URL to the clipboard.
Copy this Widget to the clipboard.
Exalting RockyParadise to the service of the Shadowbinder will remove them from your lair forever. They will leave behind a small sum of riches that they have accumulated. This action is irreversible.
