Meri
(#33886582)
Level 17 Spiral
Click or tap to view this dragon in Predict Morphology.
Energy: 50/50
This dragon’s natural inborn element is Shadow.
Male Spiral
This dragon is hibernating.
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Personal Style
Apparel
Skin
Scene
Measurements
Length
4.22 m
Wingspan
2.44 m
Weight
105.89 kg
Genetics
Bronze
Clown
Clown
Bronze
Eye Spots
Eye Spots
Fire
Smoke
Smoke
Hatchday
Breed
Eye Type
Level 17 Spiral
EXP: 1333 / 81619
STR
5
AGI
9
DEF
5
QCK
8
INT
6
VIT
6
MND
6
Lineage
Biography
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Sornieth was not always as we know it now. Once the world was young and a bit temperamental. It took some time for the deities to work out the kinks, and sometimes they didn’t quite catch all of the problems. Sometimes, dragons had to take matters into their own claws. It was into such a world that a pair of friends was born. No one was quite certain later how exactly they’d ended up in the same nest, but Shadow dragons are born to play jokes, so perhaps it was only natural that one of the eggs from a nesting Spiral rolled right over the border of the Tidelord’s domain as it began to hatch and splashed into a shallow pool full of Imperial eggs. As luck, or perhaps fate, would have it, that egg landed right next to another shell etched with cracks, and moments after the tiny Spiral shook itself free of shell fragments in a panic, it was born up out of the water on the shoulders of a newborn Imperial. This turned out to be a very fortunate development as Shadow dragons are not born swimming like many Ice ones, and the poor Spiral knotted itself around the Imperial’s tiny horn-nubs in agitation. It was in this entangled position that both sets of rather bemused parents happened upon the hatchlings an hour later, and while it took some time to untangle the Spiral, no lasting harm was done and both young dragons departed the situation with a new best friend and healthy respect for the perils of water-hatchings. Quite literally bound together from birth, the two were inseparable as they grew, and spent many fun-filled hours playing among the dappled floor of the Tangled Wood and the gentle currents of the Tsunami Flats. The young Shadow dragonling was called Meri, and he was a gentle, clever dragon who delighted in following other creatures around to discover how they went about their lives. When he was finished with his explorations for the day, he would travel down to the seaside to bask in the lazy currents. Summer, his Imperial friend, often joined him there and he would watch as she wore herself out chasing giant butterflies and diving in and out of the briny pools, for she was the braver of the two. Both dragons equally loved the season that shared Summer’s name, and often splayed themselves out on the sun-baked rocks at the water’s edge to better soak up the heat. They were so fond of the sunshine and the heat and the perfume of flowers that they often forgot just how much most of their friends and family disliked the season. All around them the other dragons spent their time complaining. One said that the sun was too hot, another that it was too bright, and still another that it was too yellow. For some of the dragons who climbed hurriedly into the nearest mud holes, there were simply too many buzzing insects about, and another dragon claimed all the flowers gave him a rash. There was in fact, no end to the complaints, but Meri and Summer didn’t care. They were too busy collecting shells, building towering sand lairs, exploring the old trunks of hollow trees, and following the bees to see where they’d hidden their secret honey hives. They didn’t have time to listen to complaints. Year by year they grew, and the summer seemed to stretch longer and hotter every year. Until the year of winter. It started with a sudden frost that drove the trees to dump their leaves all at once, and for a week there were bright splashes of red, yellow and orange scattered all over the forest floor. It sent the garden-tenders into a panic and had them racing to cover their melons and squash and rescue what other fruits and vegetables they could. Meri and Summer’s clans were both alive with frantic activity as the other dragons forgot about their heat-related woes and rushed to finish winter preparations before the cold really set in. Their talk turned to all the wonderful things the change of seasons would bring: no more sunburns, no scorched paws, no rancid meat spoiling under the sun… With so many things to look forward to the mood was positively festive in short order. When winter came it was brutal and long. The snow settled in driven by icy winds and left drifts as tall as a Ridgeback against the trunks of trees. The hatchlings skidded across frozen streams with peals of laughter while the older dragons grumbled about snow between their toes and squabbled good-naturedly over the warmest rocks in the lair. Everyone was grateful for the change in weather and bore the cold patiently with the knowledge that all-too-soon summer would be upon them again. It was one of the younger hunters who first asked if the birds and rabbits shouldn’t have already started coming back to the forest. The other dragons scoffed and told him not to be ridiculous. After all, the trees were still bare, the days still short, and the ice still thick. Why should any of the animals start back so soon? But as the days passed, the dragons began to grow uneasy. For the animals did not return, and what’s more, the sunlight was so dim and weak that the plants began to die off, leaving behind only ice and the wind that wailed through the trees and dropped snow on unsuspecting dragon heads. Food grew scarce and tempers grew short. The summer heat was a dim memory that the dragons recalled with ever-growing fondness as they huddled around fires and tried to warm their frost-bitten tails. Meri and Summer joined with the others in trading stories of warm rocks, scorching beaches, and thick woods filled with delicious things to catch and eat. Naturally, this only made their longing for the places they described worse than ever and did nothing to bring the icy weather to an end. By now it was apparent to even the most skeptical that spring was late in arriving. The woods were dark and cold and the normally snug lairs were no better. Everyone had a perpetually-dripping nose and the sound of sneezing was loud and often enough to keep all but the deafest of dragons from sleeping. Soon only the most optimistic dragons were venturing out into the cold, and they reported back no sign of thawing anywhere. Even the sea seemed to have frozen over. The dragons of the nearby lairs came together for a council. It was a gloomy affair full of complaints about empty bellies, empty larders, and (according to some of the elders) empty heads incapable of doing anything to fix the disaster. The only thing anyone could agree on was the distressing idea that if the spring didn’t come soon they would all be faced with the grim choice of abandoning their homes or starving. Nobody was terribly happy about either option. Meri and Summer listened from their spot at the base of an old, twisted oak with growing dismay. Leave their homes? Leave behind the dancing surf, the hidden thickets, and the happy burbling streams that they’d played in each summer? It was unthinkable. There was only one thing to be done. Together, they turned and slipped away into the windy night. Choosing to set off in search of the sun by themselves was perhaps a hasty decision, but children have never been the most rational creatures, particularly children of dragons, and they did at least have the courtesy to leave their parents a note. (If they’d known the stir it would cause the next morning and the way the woods and beach would be searched, perhaps they would have been a bit clearer about their plans.) As it was they set off in the direction where the sun’s minimal light seemed brightest, weaving their way through the twisted trunks of the Tangled Wood’s trees and trudging through thick drifts of snow. Summer spent a great deal of time pulling Meri out of those drifts until both decided it was far more efficient for him to ride on her shoulders and, when the snow got particularly deep, on the top of her head. The little spiral proved to be an excellent navigator and steered Summer around the many holes, rocks, and other snow-covered hazards in their path in exchange for not getting his paws wet. They spent the first night under the boughs of a drooping fir tree that Meri found, and though neither of them were old enough to breath fire yet, they found the their tiny shelter unexpectedly cozy. They traded stories through the night and curled up to sleep together when they finally grew tired, confident that they would find the sun tomorrow and bring spring back to their home. The next day dawned cold and dim, much like the first. Together, they struggled out of their sleeping place and out into the woods once more, never straying far from the coast and telling each other that surely the sun was just beyond the next copse of trees. They didn’t find the sun that day, or the next. The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, and still the light was dim and the world was cold. Summer and Meri finally broke free of the trees and came to the shores of a frozen sea. They flew over the stiff whitecaps and motionless swells, and each night they landed on the ice and burrowed into the crust of snow to sleep while dark shapes flickered beneath the surface of their frozen world. Eleven days after they’d left the shore behind, the ice began to thin, and soon they were flying over great cracks in the sea, and then over ice flows. The young dragons were cheered by the sight of waves and the scent of salt, and they pushed themselves to fly faster and harder. They had their first meal of fish and seabirds that night and ate so much that they were obliged to wait an extra day on the iceberg where they’d made camp, too full and sluggish to consider flying on. They might have been lost when they reached open water, but Summer was an excellent swimmer and plowed through the ever-warming sea with Meri clinging to her antlers and calling out directions by the faint stars overhead. The world on the other side of the ocean was a riot of colour and life, full of lush plants and the buzzing of insects. Meri and Summer luxuriated in the warmth and the smells of spring as they made their way up the beach and into the jungle. What a sight they must have been, thin and wet, their scales dull and cracked from the cold and the wind they’d suffered through, but they were determined to go on, certain their goal was close. It was a journey that got no easier, even though they no longer had to trudge through snow and ice. Now they faced new dangers: quicksand bogs that could keep a dragon stuck for hours, massive angry beasts that chased them with strange weapons or tried to capture them in weighted metal nets, and great carnivorous plants that could have swallowed a hatchling whole. The dragons they encountered were often just as dangerous. Some clans were willing to offer food and shelter for a night, but many were wary of strangers in their territory, and the two young dragons found themselves running from angry roars and threats more than once after unknowingly trespassing. Summer grew tired of running and was soon standing her ground and fighting back against the unfriendly dragons and beasts they encountered, often driving off attackers two or three times her size. Meri was amazed by her bravery and resolved to make himself more useful as well. While Summer became their defender, he observed the animals around them and learned where their burrows were likely to be. Slowly, with a great deal of practice and patience, he became a master hunter and gatherer, foraging for roots and berries when he wasn’t snapping up rabbits and squirrels as they ventured out of their dens. Together they ventured on, growing better at adapting to new flora and fauna as they went. The air got ever-warmer and the light brighter. The lush jungle thinned out and they began to see plants that were withered and scorched. Here the earth was broken and cracked and the air shimmered with heat. Most of the animal life had disappeared, leaving only salamanders and the occasional wiry dragon in the distance. The light was so bright now that both dragons found themselves squinting as they made their way across a barren plain, passing half-melted boulders and the charred remains of plants, until they came to the tallest mountain they’d ever seen. Jagged and steep, it reached high into the clouds, disappearing into blinding white light far above them. Meri and Summer shared a look of determination and set out for the top. It was a long journey and many claws were broken in the precarious scramble up the mountain. The two flew as often as they could, but the sharp spires of stone and the hot air currents that spun them around made it too dangerous to travel by air for more than a few meters at a time. Still they pressed on, trying not to crash into rocks, each other, and in one case a very startled bird. After many hours they reached the top, and here they stared in amazement. Ahead of them, the mountain dipped down into a small valley filled with molten rock and there, caught on a rocky peak, was the sun. Summer and Meri were both overjoyed and confounded by this. They’d finally found the sun, but how were they to get it home? The two took their time discussing the predicament. It was obvious that the sun would eventually melt the rock that held it, and likely already had considering the lava that it rested in, but by then it might be too late for their friends and family. No, they couldn’t wait for the sun to break free on its own. They’d have to move it themselves. Meri thought the most sensible thing was to haul the sun out. They had several long coils of rope in their packs, so he and Summer set to work tying them into one long line and then flew close to wrap it around the sun. To their dismay, the ropes burned up and left only ash behind that was soon blown away by the wind. Meri brightened watching this and suggested that a strong enough gust might blow the sun loose as well. Summer agreed this was worth a try, and they perched together on one of the nearby rocks and beat their wings, creating great bursts of wind. But it was no use, for the sun was deeply mired in the lava, and though it rocked a bit at their efforts, it remained well and truly stuck. The young dragons sat down to rest, heads lowered in disappointment, and stared at the problem. The sun had to be moved, but how were they to do it? It couldn’t be pulled with ropes or blown with wind… “There’s nothing for it,” Summer said, squaring up her shoulders and fixing the problematic sun with a stubborn glare. “We’ll have to go and pull it loose ourselves.” So down they went. Close up, the sun radiated terrible heat. Summer braved the lava and dove down to push at the sun from below. The molten rock splashed and crackled over her scales, leaving fiery patterns behind and singeing her mane in places, but she set her shoulder determinedly against the sun all the same and heaved. Above her, Meri hooked his claws into the tendrils of flame and did his best to jerk the sun free. Ash and smoke curled around him and coated his body, making the smaller dragon sneeze terribly, but he didn’t let go. Together they tugged and pulled, pushed and shoved until it seemed their claws and backs would break from the strain. Just as Summer thought she would surely collapse from the heat, the sun snapped free of its molten prison with a sucking sound and a cascade of broken rock from the peak that had held it. Meri and Summer guided it back into the sky with a ragged cheer and turned for home. The flight back was slow and took many weeks. Everywhere they went the ground below them warmed. Winter-withered meadows bloomed, and animals came sniffing out of their burrows to investigate the sudden return of light and the onset of spring and the promise of summer. Their own forest came into view slowly, growing rich with new leaves and life, and by the time they reached the place where the trees gave way to sand they could see the dragons of their clans slowly making their way back home, having followed the sun’s path after leaving so many long months before. Summer and Meri flew down to join them and were greeted with joy and tears by the friends and family they’d left behind. The celebrations of the return of summer lasted long into the night as the travellers exchanged tales of the adventures they’d had and the dangers they’d faced, but as talk turned to the rest of the year and the plans for rebuilding, Meri and Summer began to worry. What would happen when the sun slipped away from them? Would it become stuck again and leave their homes in danger once more? They discussed it with their families and, with their parents’ full blessing this time, came to a decision. The next morning, when the sun rose, Summer and Meri bid goodbye to their friends once again and set off to follow the sun on its slow journey around Sornieth. Together they tracked it, keeping a careful eye on the sky for obstacles just in case the sun needed a little help getting around. And every year, when their clans welcomed the longest day of summer, the two dragons returned home to a great festival, the celebration of a new cycle around the world and the conclusion of a successful journey that didn’t involve the sun getting stuck. | xxxx |
a labor of love brought to you by:
Jirazeil (artist) | Jirazeil (lore writer) | Grouchybeast (trainer)
Jirazeil (artist) | Jirazeil (lore writer) | Grouchybeast (trainer)
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Exalting Meri to the service of the Windsinger will remove them from your lair forever. They will leave behind a small sum of riches that they have accumulated. This action is irreversible.
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