Nox

The little Skydancer peeked out of the small hole in his shell. He looked at his mother first, who had a blank stare, and then at his father, who looked dissatisfied. He considered, for a moment, just staying inside of that cracked shell. The two parents scared him a bit. Neither looked happy to see him. From the moment he was born, he didn't feel loved. His father broke the rest of the shell by force and pulled the small hatchling out by the wing. It hurt, and he resisted, but his father was strong and his grip on the little hatchling's wing didn't loosen, so he gave up fighting it.

The mother stayed back, while the father flew. The hatchling looked below him and saw a beaten-up neighborhood. Roads and sidewalks were cracked, houses were old and falling apart. His father landed by the entrance to an underground subway station, that looked like it hadn't been used in years. He walked down the steps. There were lots of dragons and lots of chatter all around. There was a small arena set up in the middle of the dragon, with most lighting pointing at it. Little Nox had lost the feeling in his wing by now. The father walked up to a desk next to the ring and spoke to the dragon sitting there. He lifted up Nox a bit as he spoke, to show the dragon at the desk what the kid looked like. Nox couldn't hear what his dad was saying. He's not sure if he wanted to hear it, anyways.

His dad put him into the ring, and told the kid to do his best. Well, not exactly. It was more of a, "You'd better win, kid," but Nox likes to think of that moment in a better light. He looked across the ring to see another hatchling, potentially even more scared than Nox was. Dragons all around them held up bags of treasure and gems in the air, screaming, "My bet's on the skinny one!" or, "The snapper's got the weight going for 'im! It's not even a competition!" A bell rang loudly, and Nox covered his ears. The ringing continued in his head, and the snapper was already headed towards him at full speed. Nox suddenly jumped up, using his wings to elevate him. He tried to fly out of the ring, but his father quickly went into the air and stopped him, giving him a glare that let Nox know that whatever happened in there couldn't be worse than what'd happen if he left that ring. He returned to the ring, and landed. The snapper did have a weight advantage over Nox, but Nox had more speed. He knew that if he didn't fight, he'd get hurt. It was in self defense. Using his tail like a whip, he hit the snapper hatchling's face. The snapper fell backwards, clutching his eye with his hands. Nox didn't stop. "Finish him!" the crowd cheered at Nox. He felt a rush of power and coiled his tail around the snapper's neck, until the snapper was so weak that he fell over from exhaustion. Nox was breathing heavily as the crowd around him cheered, and after being claimed the winner of the duel, he blacked out.


Light.


He awoke to see his dad smiling. His mother tended to the small bruises on his tail. Nox was in the room he hatched in. The windows were open and light was pouring in. "Good job, son," his father said. Nox felt a rush of emotion. Acceptance. He smiled at his father, but his dad had already walked away to go make a phone call. Nox watched his mother. She didn't talk. Didn't look him in the eye. He didn't know why. He didn't ask.

The next day, it was back to the ring. Nox didn't want to go back, so his father carried him by the wing. Today, it was a mirror. This one was a better fighter, with a strong jaw. He bit at Nox's arms and neck, but Nox won again. Next, a timid fae. No mercy was given to the newborn. After, a guardian. But this one had a trick up his sleeve. When the guardian realized Nox was winning, the guarian began moving faster. It was hard to see his hands. He had a knife. He went after Nox's arms, neck, and hips. He was surprisingly faster than Nox, and a lot bigger. Nox was losing blood, but had to continue. The guardian got him over and over again. Nox passed out from blood loss.

When he awoke, he was on the streets. This place wasn't familiar to him. He didn't know how to get home. Some spots had stopped bleeding. His neck and arms continued, as the cuts and stab wounds were deeper there. He lied back down and accepted his fate. But one deity wouldn't have it. As Nox laid there dying, the wind picked up, and Nox saw a magnificent figure of green appear in front of him. The deity picked Nox up and placed him carefully on his curved back. They were off, headed in the direction of the Windswept Plateau. The Windsinger placed the boy in the care of a kind clan, which nursed him back to health the best they could. The cuts left scars all over Nox's body, and some wounds never fully healed, just leaving holes in him. These spots were covered with bandages.

Nox never really got along with other dragons because of his experiences. He never trusted anyone, and would sometimes fight other members of the clan. His bandages were constantly replaced because of reopened injuries.

Bio by Mitchy (#45707)


Art by Fallowtail (#67419)


Art by Ravenquill (#59492)


Art by FelisReaper (#413)