Karigan

It's impossible to traverse the fortress without seeing some of Karigan's art, for her tapestries line the hallways' walls. Not even if you keep your eyes closed, as some of them glow with a magic that forces its light through even the strongest of eyelids.

Her tapestries show a variety of concepts, from simple landscapes to world history. A number of them even tell a story, but unfortunately she forgot to tell the one who hung them that. So now they're all in the wrong order, and scattered throughout the place. Karigan was rather upset about that one, because it meant that all the good plot twists were spoiled.

No, the tapestries are not woven using her own fur. That would be weird. And there are no weird dragons in this clan.

As for the dragon herself, she can usually be found in her quarters, buried under her unfinished works. A lot of it is nothing more than simple gradients and geometric designs, for the fortress has a lot of eye-searingly pink walls that need to be covered up by anything at all. Karigan's works that took more artistry and effort to create are stored far more securely. She cares a lot more about those pieces. Midboss once tried to clean up the loose fabric, only to find she had built a really cool fort underneath it all. He then wasn't seen much for the next few weeks.

She knows some magic, mostly in the school of enchanting. All those tapestries need to be made fireproof at the very least, or they won't have a hope of surviving in the clan. Her runic markings make her fireproof as well, though tundra fur is often too dense to burn regardless of whether it's enchanted. Karigan had the runes applied more for the side effect of them preventing her from overheating in the warmer months.

Karigan is easily the clan member with the greatest appreciation for music. (At least in her opinion.) Not that she's got much competition, as the fae are nearly universally tone-deaf. Kepriel and Seca are the two exceptions among them, but the tastes in music between the three vary too wildly to ever form a musical group. Vectrus is a musician, but is apparently incapable of singing anything that isn't horribly dreary. And she even had to spy on him to learn that much, because he refuses to have an audience. So with no other options, Karigan can often be found bothering any bards that happen to visit the clan.

One of those bards didn't particularly appreciate her company, and cursed Karigan with an enchanted vine covered in thorns. Luckily, Karigan's fur is thick enough that she can't even feel them. Instead, they're just a rather pointed fashion statement.

To stop that from happening again, she and Cress worked together on an experimental music recorder. A complex array of crystals record sound, and then later project that sound to a smaller pair that can be placed near the ears. Their creation can't store much music, but on the other claw it is far more portable than any other technology Karigan has seen! And produces the most horrendous of cacophonies if it's ever dropped. Luckily, that doesn't happen often, because Karigan keeps the device strapped to herself at all times. Not only because she couldn't bear to be without music, but also because you never know who might secretly be a bard.

(Hint: Nobody.)

---

Memories may fade, but tapestries... fade more slowly. And so Karigan weaves, so that nothing will be forgotten. Not history, not her friends, not the lowliest of ideas. Nothing.

Except for them.

The one dragon Karigan did forget. A hole in her memories, each thread violently torn out. But a few strands still remain, forming a flickering shadow across the fabric of her mind.

She guesses this is someone from her childhood while grasping at the shadowy memories that escape her. She unravels every thread, yet the ends are all frayed. She hums notes of some forgotten song, yet can't match them to a tune. No matter what she does, she can't weave those threads into the faintest of images.

Karigan wants nothing more than to remember this dragon, but a tundra's curse is to forget. But in an attempt to go against the natural order, Karigan weaves. Perhaps that dragon's memory still survives deep in her subconscious; maybe those remaining threads can be pulled into reality, and woven into her work.

Karigan's been searching her own art for a pattern, but she's found nothing yet.

---

---

It had been an ordinary day in Clan _______, or at least as ordinary as they'd come since Silas had left. Kokoro had taken up the leadership mantle in his absence, but the skycancer had promised it was only a temporary measure until Silas returned, which was likely to be in a few months by his estimates.

As such, Karigan was working on a gift for him to be presented on his return. A wonderful tapestry, showing Silas, Gwenith, Primera, Auron and Simeois all looking dashing and heroic, preparing to set out on the adventure they were currently on, one so important that Silas had left without letting anyone know he was leaving. It was a bit cheesy, but Karigan was sure he'd love it anyways.

So she kept weaving, letting her claws do the work while she listened to music on the wonderful device Cress had built for her. She'd sketched out the entire piece before she began, so she was free to relax and let her mind wander. Karigan let the rhythm of her art overtake her, weaving to the beat of her music.

Suddenly, she paused.

In her claws was a black thread. That was wrong. She needed purple! Karigan shook her head at herself and found the right thread. That's what she got for not paying attention, she mused.

Quickly, Karigan got lost in her music again and fell back into the weaving zone. But within a minute she was pulled back out, once again holding the black thread. Her next try lasted barely twenty seconds.

After that, Karigan switched her music player off. Something was wrong. Wrong enough that her fur was beginning to stand on end. Nervously, she scanned her den, but she was alone. Or was she? Out of the corner of her eye, Karigan thought she saw a dark shape on one of the pink chalcedony walls. Inside the wall? Whatever it was, by the time Karigan had run over to get a better look at it, it was gone.

But not quite gone. While Karigan was never the best at magic, she was an arcane dragon, and could sense things that other flights couldn't. This wasn't just a trick of the light. It had left a magical trace behind. Karigan sort of wished it hadn't, because focusing on that residue was making her feel uncomfortable. A sickening feeling in her stomach, a pounding headache, she was shaking from fear of this unfamiliar presence.

No.

No, this was familiar.

But how? When? Where had she felt this before?

She had to remember!

She couldn't remember...

Wait! She'd been in the basement. Someone was asking her to cover up a hole in a wall. Karigan made plain tapestries for such purposes, and she'd brought one with her. It was green. No, the other dragon was green. And she'd felt like someone was watching the two of them. But it'd stopped once she hung up the tapestry, so she'd dismissed it as baseless fear. Good thing the tapestry was long enough to cover the entire crack. But who was the other dragon?

She'd needed to grab a tapestry longer than that dragon...

Midboss!

She needed to find Midboss.

Karigan dashed out of her den, nearly taking flight before remembering that she was indoors. Behind her, the half-finished tapestry laid forgotten, the incomplete image of a fae's wing awaiting more thread.

It would be a while before it got any.