Zyras

Born into a prestigious Wind clan whose lair was large and filled with fine bloodlines, Zyras was sent to the Marketplace with his contract clutched in nervous jaws. He was to earn treasure for his clan even as he made his way in the world in a different lair, but when he uncrumpled his contract parchment and showed it to one of the Marketplace overseers, she did a double-take. 'Are you sure this is correct?' she asked, showing him the scrawled writing.

He was too young to read, so he shrugged his ears and tried to look confident. 'Y-yes.'

So he was placed on sale for far too low a price, one of his teeth having snagged the parchment and removed a zero from the number written there.

Foamflower found him and wilted, knowing the fullness of his aquatic lair, knowing he could not continue to sneak such 'rescues' into the clan without consequence. But such a handsome lad at such a low price... he would be snatched up and--well, Exaltation wasn't the only fate awaiting cheap contracts and well-gened hatchlings.

So Foamflower brought him home, and if Zyras was afraid when the clanhead cut gills into his neck and drew him beneath the waves, he managed not to show it.

Kelpwash pulled Foamflower aside, after the young Imperial had settled in. 'No more, Foam,' the Fae murmured quietly. 'We've got no more room to hold them all.'

'We can dig out more room--'

'No,' Kelp said, 'we can't. This is all the room we've got in the reef. If we are to grow larger... we will move deeper in the ocean.'

Foamflower cast his gaze beyond the shelf of Fishspine Reef, to the blackness fathoms down, to the muttering bubbles that filtered through the currents from the Tidelord's sea-bottom keep... and he shuddered.