Hatokk

Possibly the most powerful and volatile dragon in Clan Maelstrym, Hatokk is an outsider. The cracks along his body are a physical display of just how strong his magic is. Many clan members respect him greatly, while others still fear what he might do. Nobody is entirely sure that he has full command over the power sleeping within him.

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Hatokk had been restless for days without explanation. Nearly everyone in the clan had noticed it, and none of them ever made it a habit of being in the Pearlcatcher's company if they had a choice.

It began with a twitch of his wingtips and escalated into heavy breathing. By the end of the week Hatokk had taken up a lonely patrol along the barren edge of the clan's territory that nobody had seen him abandon. Not for food. Not for drink. Not for sleep.

For three days the baleful shadow of the outsider drifted ghost-like in the clan's peripheral vision. Each arc of lightning from The Spire smeared it across the sand so that it could not be ignored. Everyone was on edge but no one knew why, and not even the most foolhardy of hatchlings could be coerced into drawing near enough to the shadow's source for fear that something terrible would happen if they got too close. Rumors sprouted like ants from a disturbed hill and itched just as badly on each tongue--Hatokk had finally been consumed by the magic within him, he'd been transformed into some kind of beast or he had begun summoning the souls of the dead for what purpose nobody knew. The things spoken in secret were outlandish, but somehow everyone seemed to believe the one common spark between them all--Hatokk had finally proven himself to be the danger that everyone had always suspected.

With the rising of the sun on the fourth day a handful of the clan's strongest dragons gathered on a ridge. Ginny headed the party, with Immul and Sorine there as the strongest magic-users. Iah came along as well, insisting that the strength of an old Imperial would come in handy. Osla, his mate, saw him off with a nod.

The four dragons were among the older members of the clan. It didn't take them long to steel themselves against whatever horror might be awaiting them, and they took wing very soon after gathering. The storm winds of the Expanse were odd that day. It was a fight just to make it to the far edge of the territory, but they persisted. By the afternoon they touched down again, uneasy glances jumping between them like static.

Hatokk was missing with no trace at all.

The news troubled everyone. As the moon rose that evening Keida sat at the base of one of the smaller spires in the territory and watched it poke through the clouds, a look of stone upon her face. Alhazred lay against her side, curled about her pearl.

Three hours later Valeste careened in from the north, clutching at each breath as if she'd not seen air in a week. The tiny nocturne collapsed in front of her leaders and ripped the goggles from her face. When at last she could gather enough composure to speak frantic fragments of words began pouring from her snout. There was trouble in The Scarred Wasteland that had something to do with Nature, and she couldn't be sure but there were whispers on the wind of strange and terrible things happening all around Sornieth. Alhazred blinked rapidly and looked to his mate. His features were strained with the effort of processing everything.

Was this all related to Hatokk?

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A reference of Hatokk before he vanished: