Korinna

Korinna - Little maiden.

The den was brightly lit and quite spacious. Beautifully complex architecture that looked to be mostly made of marble.

As the hatchling broke out of her shell she heard much chatter from the surrounding area. It was a tad overwhelming as the light surrounded her and blinded her from seeing what was causing the commotion. She squeaked anxiously blinking slowly gaining sight. Many dragons laughed around her making her curl up bowing her head down."Oh for Lightweaver's sake!" a male Pearlcatcher exclaimed grabbing the hatchlings shell and shoving it in her mouth. She gagged nearly throwing up her eyes welling up with tears.

"Valenti easy... She just hatched. This is just overwhelming for her." a lady Pearlcatcher spoke, gently pushing the male out of the way and patting the small hatchling. "Its okay Korrina. Your okay." She cooed at the hatchling, encouraging her to eat the shell which the hatchling proceeded to do. Valenti huffed annoyed, but quickly put on a happy face for the other Pearlcatchers who had come to see the hatch. "Oh. Uh. Great job Cupida. Though I"m sure I had it handled perfectly." he said pleasantly but with a undertone of anger.

"I'm sure you did dear." Cupida said nonchalant, watching her little hatchling cough up her first pearl with pride. The on looking Pearlcatchers cheered and clapped at the seen. A few gossiped in the back not paying much attention. Korrina was rolling around her pearl. Finding it quite entertaining already forgetting what was going on around her. Cupida scooped her up and handed Korrina her pearl, "Be careful with this, you only get one in your whole entire life." She said calmly smiling and nuzzling her new hatchling.

"Ahem well I am so happy you all decided to attend my child's hatch... Please enjoy the food, drink and company." Valenti spoke to all the Pearlcatchers in a very formal manner. Many congratulated him and Cupida on the hatch providing gifts for them. However he heard a few gossiping about how Korrina didn't automatically start eating the shell. He didn't let it show but it really bothered him that they thought anything was wrong with his hatchling.

Cupida was captivated my Korrina from the moment she first laid eyes on her. She only paid attention to Korrina well after the party was over. Curling around Korrina and humming a lullaby to make her sleep. Cupida quickly fell asleep beside her with pleasant smile resting on her face.

Unfortunately her sleep didn't last long as she heard the door to her room creak open. Cupida lifted her head to look at Valenti's disappointed face. "Did you hear them? What they were saying about her?" Valenti asked with a look of disgrace. "She's a lame hatchling isn't she?" He said with spite glaring over at Korrina who was passed out her little tongue sticking out a bit. "No she isn't lame." Cupida hissed at Valenti. "She just needs a little extra care... like the most beautiful flower in a garden." Cupida said looking lovingly at Korrina, watching her roll around in her sleep. "Puh. Thats just perfume talk. Doesn't cover up the smell of the truth. She is slow. You best make up for this Cupida. I don't need everyone hearing that the women genes I chose were so disappointing." Valenti said arrogantly looking at Cupida with disdain then promptly leaving the room for her to sit with it. Cupida sighed a tear rolling down her cheek, she curled around her perfect child and nuzzled her.

Korrina grew up a smart but very anxious dragon. Hesitant with new things, getting overwhelmed easily, but her mother was always there to help her through it. She very easily got lost in reading, not just fiction, but nonfiction as well. Dragons did gossip about her, but not just about the panic attacks. But also about how quickly she absorbed new material and retained it. Her mother worked very hard to help her be more comfortable with her surroundings. Teaching her how to cope in good way, doing everything she could to make Korrina feel normal among all the dragons.

However this was very difficult whenever her father was around. He would comment awful things, Cupida always trying to direct the insults towards herself which was most of the time successful. Valenti was too prideful and even the little criticisms he heard others gossip enraged him and would in turn cause him to take it out on Cupida and Korrina when he got the chance. Now he never did raise a hand to either of them, but he cut them with his bitter words. Cupida had created a shawl especially for Korrina and told her it would protect her from the mean words of her father. So anytime he approached she would bury her head in it and block him out. Cupida usually would take the brunt end of Valenti's verbal beatings, but she didn't mind as long as her daughter was okay.

One day as Korrina returned from the local library she noticed quite a few dragons around her den. This wasn't particularly strange sense her father loved to host parties to show off how generous and kind he was. But the closer she got she could hear them saying things that alarmed her. She quickly ran into the home and saw her mother being dressed in light jewels and linen. Her mother looked at her with a sad smile. "Wh-whats going on?" Korrina asked nervously glancing at all the dragons around her but quickly focusing on Cupida. "Korrina I think you know." Cupida said meeting her child halfway and hugging her. "Its our villages light celebration... And I've been selected from the volunteers to be exalted." Cupida said her voice quivering a tad as she held Korrina close. She had added her name years ago, not thinking much of it cause no one else did and now she sorely regretted it.

Korrina began to cry holding tightly onto her mother, dropping her pearl in the process. "Please don't go... I-I can't do this without you. How am I supposed to..." Korrina sobbed her chest feeling heavy, her breaths shaky. "Shhh my darling your going to be okay. I raised you to be strong, you can handle this. You will always have me with you." Cupida said softly to Korrina holding her close, whispering words of encouragement though she herself was on the brink of tears as well.

Many dragons were whispering and laughing at the childish scene and gossiping about how disgraceful it was to drop your pearl. Valenti was highly annoyed and offended by this. He walked over and picked up Korrina's pearl and shoved it between the two then leaned over to whisper, ''Your making a damn scene. Clean yourselves up and get going." He then turned to everyone else with a fake smile. "Alright it is time to send my beautiful wife to the Lightweaver. I will sorely miss her, but it is great honor for our family. Praise the Lightweaver." He said quite theatrically, like he had practiced it.

Korrina held tightly to her shawl holding a brave face watching as her mother was sent off. She quivered holding back tears and looking at the ground. "Oh stop being such a baby. You should at least pretend to be proud. Dragons will look down on you for this display." Valenti whispered bitterly. "If only I could have sent the both of you." He mumbled under his breath. Quickly Korrina realized what he had done. Her heart filling with hatred and sadness.

As soon as the event was over she packed all the necessities and left. Her head filled with determination to become her own person and challenge herself, and while she was still somewhat fearful she new she had her mother with her always to protect her against any obstacle. Her father had couldn't handle the shame of a runaway daughter so he faked her accidental death and moved on quickly.

Korrina chose to move to Plague, thinking she might as well just throw herself into a truly challenging environment. While she did panic a few times, she was able to push through solve most situations easily. Her extensive knowledge from reading had made survival somewhat doable in the Scarred Wasteland. However the dragons their were unlike anything she was prepared for. Sure she knew they would be tough, but she wasn't expecting them to be so violent and brutal.

One night she was snatched and brought to a Plague village. There they quickly realized she was very panic ridden and debated just eating her. As she listened to the debate she began thinking of ways to get out of this situations which all seemed impossible... But maybe if they knew how knowledgeable she was they wouldn't eat her. Korrina began reciting the book she had read on the Scarred Wasteland. They stopped talking and listened. "We can sell her for quite a bit, I'd bet." One dragon said. "Thats not a bad idea, will sell her at the market tomorrow. If she recites that kind of stuff, we'll make a good amount of coin." Another said smiling. The first approached her, "Hey you think you can recite that again for us in a day or so?" He said with a crooked smile. Korrina nodded not wanting to converse too much with these beastly dragons.

The next day Korrina was at the market reciting all the knowledge she had in her brain. The dragons who brought her there were talking up customers. When from her right she heard a loud laugh which caused her to stop reciting and look that way. "Aye don't stop gods damnet", her sellers spoke harshly.

"Honestly I've heard quite enough. She truly is a living encyclopedia." A male guardian spoke pleasantly as he approached, a female mirror by his side examining the situation. "Where did you find her? She clearly isn't from Plague." The mirror asked staring at Korrina which made her slightly uncomfortable. "Well we found her sleeping under a outcrop. Seems to be from light, likely got lost or something." One of sellers said nonchalantly. "You gonna buy her or what?" Another said losing patience.

The guardian looked at the sellers then back at Korrina, then at the mirror beside him... It almost appeared he was giving her begging eyes. "Yeah we will. How much?" The mirror said rolling her eyes at the Guardian. Korrina for some reason felt relief knowing they were willing to take her. Something about them seemed safe. "Fifty thousand treasure. No bartering." One of the sellers said sternly. "Thats outrageous." The mirror said glaring the sellers. The Guardian stood tall looking down at them. "Well I think we will do 3 okay?" He said with a very serious tone.

Next thing Korrina knew the Guardian had thrown the one seller into the other two then grabbed her and put her behind him, the mirror then walking her to the edge of the market where they sat not talking just waiting. A few moments after the guardian walked up to them with a welcoming smile. He had blood on his chin but it wasn't his own. "So have you ladies introduced yourselves ye-" He began to speak but was interrupted by the mirror. "No." She said quickly and calmly. "Well I guess you still need some work on your social skills..." He said with a light chuckle. "Alright then! My name is Gideon and this lovely lady is Belladonna." He said gesturing to the mirror. "I-I'm Korrina." She said hesitantly. "Its nice to meet you Korrina. Um, we picked you up for a few reasons. The main reason was cause I don't like dragons selling dragons its wrong. How did you end up with them?" Gideon asked curiously. "And feel free to tell us where you came from." Belladonna added casually.

Korrina paused for a bit processing, but then proceeded to tell them about where she came from and how she ended up there with a lot of detail. By the time she was finished they arrived at their small camp. "Well that quite a bit of information, but important. We can build a ot of trust from this." Gideon said happily. "We forgot to mention the other reason." Belladonna said as they settled down at the camp. "We think it would be good for our clan to have someone with your considerable amount of knowledge at our camp." Belladonna spoke calmly to her. "Yeah we're just starting out, but we'd really appreciate if you stuck around. Your free to leave at any time though so don't feel any pre-" Gideon was saying before getting cut off by Korrina. "Yes." She said sounding somewhat confident for once. "I will be your knowledge keeper." She said with a slight smile holding her shawl tightly.

So then she stuck with the clan as it grew, becoming a essential member. Gideon and Belladonna treated her like family. Belladonna relating quite a bit to her awkward behavior. She was often also considered an adviser on many matters concerning the clan due to how well versed she was in many subjects. She knew her mother would be proud of the dragon she had become even though they were so far apart.