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Personal Style
Apparel
Skin
Scene
Measurements
Length
5.2 m
Wingspan
5.24 m
Weight
673.08 kg
Genetics
Obsidian
Skink
Skink
Saffron
Bee
Bee
Cantaloupe
Runes
Runes
Hatchday
Breed
Eye Type
Level 13 Skydancer
EXP: 21759 / 45676
STR
5
AGI
9
DEF
5
QCK
8
INT
6
VIT
6
MND
6
Biography
Oriel ....
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Quote:
Start of the journey
When Oriel was young, she enjoyed going on field trips and explore her home lands, the Shifting Expanse. She would forage for food and other treasures of the earth. There were some intriguing things one could find in the desert of the Lightning domain, like scrap metal and old tools. Oriel and the other dragons of her age liked to put assemble toys using the parts they found. The toys were small and very simple, but some moved on their own when they were given a zap of electricity.
One day Oriel was out searching for more parts to a new toy. An ally clan from the South was coming to visit her clan, which was a rare occasion, so she wanted to craft a very special gift for them. She would craft something more grand and complex than she had ever attempted before - or that's what she was imagining to do. Oriel ended up wandering around the desert so focused on the ground that she got lost. She walked the desert in circles trying to find back to the familiar road, but without success. As night began to fall, she gave up on her efforts to find her way back and started to look for a place to stay for the night. Even though Oriel was a young dragon, she was quite level-headed. She had been taught about basic survival skills by her guardians, so she knew the desert could be dangerous at night time. After some searching Oriel managed to find a small cave, or rather a crevice in the canyon and decided to take shelter there. It was such a tight nook that she had to crawl her way in. Laying there was going to be little uncomfortable, but it was still better than no shelter. After settling in, she nibbled on some plant leaves she had picked up before and then tried to get some rest. When the night turned pitch black, nervousness started to rise in the back of her mind. She had never actually seen what kind of monsters inhabited the area. As she was quietly resting, every little noise startled her. She was perfectly still, eyes wide open and heart beating so loud in her chest that it was almost painful. It was so dark she could see nothing, which made her feel small and helpless. Minutes felt like hours. This was going to be a long night. As Oriel was trying to survive over the night, she suddenly felt a new, strange sensation wash over her. Numbness spread across her body and drained her strength. Oriel tried to fight it, but soon her breathing grew heavy and she was gasping for air. Every nerve in her body was burning by the lack of oxygen. Before Oriel lost consciousness, she could feel something cold and slick slither on her face. . . .
Something unknown awakes
Oriel woke up the next day feeling light-headed. She slowly looked around her body and saw nothing to be different. Had her mind been playing tricks on her? Or maybe it was a dream. Oriel did feel abnormally weak. After mustering some strength, she managed to drag herself out in the open. She tried to stand up, but couldn't. It was a scary situation to be in. Not only was Oriel still lost and alone, but now she couldn't even properly take care of herself. At this point she could only hope that someone friendly would pass by and offer help. She did get her miracle on the same day, when some stranger noticed her on the bottom of the canyon while flying over it. He picked up Oriel and carried her back to her clan. Oriel's clan had been worrying for her safety and sent as many dragons as possible to go look for her. When she got back, the reunion was full of joy and celebration. Oriel was still weak however, so she couldn't join the merry. She was carried to her home nest to recover. Her condition wasn't given much thought, as everyone assumed she just had a rough journey and would soon be back to normal with some basic care. She would be back to her own feet the next day as expected. But after the night in the wilds, Oriel started to see changes both in her body and mind; Two new pair of wings gradually emerged from her back and all of her six wings were turning transparent. She also grew black curved horns. Simultaneously she started to hear noises in her head that got louder as days passed. Oriel felt like some foreign entity was trying to take over her. The young dragon did her best to hide her bodily changes with clothing so the others wouldn't freak out. She had to come up with lies and excuses to keep the secret, which was extremely tiring. Oriel still kept hiding out of fear and tried to distance herself from the others to avoid troublesome situations. Her change of behavior and appearance got everyone's attention, which made her and her family a target of gossip and ridicule. One day without warning Oriel lost control. She couldn't see, hear or feel anything, yet her body was moving. Powerful streams of lightning poured out of her and burned her protective clothing, revealing the large and surprisingly strong now-adult skydancer with six large, glowing transparent wings and fully developed black curved horns. She let out a loud screech, like a cry of war, and attacked everything and anyone indiscriminately like an untamed beast. She mauled Sedar, one of the clan's most respected leaders, when he jumped in her way to protect a young female dragon. He nearly lost an arm in the fight. Oriel's clan struggled to restrain her and after many failed attempts to do so, Oriel took flight. She kept flying till she reached the Viridian Labyrinth. As she was gliding above the forest, strength started to escape her body fast and Oriel landed by crashing into a tree. The crash alerted a skydancer named Yugao, the local clan's border guard. He found Oriel spread on the ground, disoriented. He immediately noticed the creature's six wings and couldn't determine right away if the thing was a monster or a dragon. He stepped closer cautiously and inspected the thing carefully. Even with the strange wings, it looked an awful lot like a skydancer. "Hey, can you hear me?" Yugao asked, keeping a safe distance. Like Oriel had just been awakened from a nightmare, her eyes flew open and wings rustled. As her wings moved, a pained noise escaped her snout. "Are you hurt?" Yugao continued with questions, trying to get some communication established with the thing. "Y-yes" Oriel replied slowly, focusing on the sharp pain in her wing. At that Yugao got more convinced that the girl was indeed a dragon and the next step would be helping her. He didn't even try to move her, since it looked like she might've had broken bones. Yugao took a piece of scroll, scribbled a message to it and gave it to his rooster companion Nokka. Nokka took the letter to the clan's medics. . . .
Welcome to the Viridian Labyrinth
Medics Lotus and Helianthus came to Yugao's aid. They carried Oriel together to Yugao's tent, treated her wounds and offered her food. Oriel initially refused food. She had many important questions that needed to be addressed first. "Where am I?" Oriel started with the basics. She couldn't see anything or anyone familiar around. The tent she was carried to looked plain and worn from the inside out and hold only the very necessities. Lotus was sitting closest to her, holding a bowl of food. Yugao was observing the situation from further back, and Helianthus was outside the tent mixing herbs for a healing potion. "You are in the woods of the Behemoth. I'm Lotus from the Nevernight Woods clan. It's nice to meet you." Lotus replied with a gentle smile. Oriel lowered her gaze in thought. "The...Behemoth?" She had heard of the place, but couldn't remember where it was. "Yes, in the Viridian Labyrinth." Lotus clarified. The information hit Oriel like a ton of bricks. She couldn't recall what had happened after she snapped. Just how long had she been out? The trip from the Shifting Expanse to the Viridian Labyrinth takes definitely more than a day by flight. How would she find back home? Would she even be welcome back? Oriel buried her face in the pillows. All of this was overwhelming. Lotus gave the skydancer an emphatic look. "May I ask your name?" "I'm Oriel." She had turned her head away from the pillows and spoke to the wall. The medic sensed that Oriel wanted more space for her own thoughts. She set the food bowl next to Oriel and stood up. "Oriel, please eat something. It'll make you feel better. I'm going outside now, but Yugao will be here if you need anything. Right?" Lotus looked at Yugao for confirmation. "Right." He nodded. With that Lotus stepped outside the tent. There was a long silence. The medics were chattering about something near the tent, but neither Yugao nor Oriel could make out the words. Oriel finally gave in to her hunger and took the food bowl. She would've just wolfed it all down in an instant, but Yugao's presence made her bashful. Yugao wasn't looking at her, he was busy arranging something on the other side of the tent. She only now noted the rooster that was running in between his feet like an excited cat. "Um, Yugao? Is that your pet?" She asked in a curious tone. Yugao didn't stop what he was doing, just looked quickly at Oriel and then at the rooster. "Oh him? His name is Nokka. He's a little frolicsome as you can see." Oriel thought the bird was absolutely adorable. Just looking at it go made her forget about her issues for a while. The rest of the evening went pleasantly. Oriel felt better with her stomach full. She tried to play with Nokka and was surprised to learn that he could play fetch with a ball and a stick. As Oriel was bonding with the bird, it felt easier to talk and become familiar with Yugao. They shared stuff about their clans and life in general. Yugao touched the topic about her unusual appearance once, but Oriel was careful not to share too much details and dodged the topic with a non-answer. To her relief that didn't stop the flow of conversation. At some point Lotus stepped back in the tent with the potion that Helianthus had worked on. It was a potion that numbs pain and accelerates healing of bones. Oriel gratefully accepted the vial. Then the medics bid a farewell and returned to their homes, seeing as it was getting late. Yugao finished making a bed to the other side of the tent and prepared to get sleep. There was a table and other stuff in between him and Oriel for privacy. Oriel still got a little flustered about the thought of sleeping so close to the guard. It didn't help to know that she was likely settled in his bed and she basically forced his host to sleep in a makeshift one. Lotus and Helianthus visited Oriel and Yugao every day for a check-up and brought hearty meals with them. The four dragons had long discussions over their meals and Oriel grew to like her new acquaintances. She almost wished that her wing wouldn't heal, so that she could stay like this longer. As Oriel began to feel better, she had to accept that she'd have to go somewhere and not burden her host any longer than it was necessary. She still didn't have clear direction for the future - should she return home, try to get a place in this clan or become a castaway. . . .
Choosing the next path
A week passed. Oriel had become full of life and energy. She frequently joined Yugao when he was doing his border guarding duties. They patrolled by foot most of the time, since Oriel wasn't still fit to fly long distances. She could glide and do other flying practices, which was progress. The other thing that could be called progress was that Oriel didn't feel the need to hide her body - at least from Yugao, Lotus and Helianthus. She was very relaxed around those three. The noises she used to hear in her head had become silent too, which wasn't only a major improvement but gave her hope that maybe her 'condition' would pass on it's own. In the beginning Oriel tried not to get too attached to Yugao and Nokka, for it'd make the imminent departure harder. That plan didn't hold up very long however. Nokka the rooster was just too cute to resist and his guardian, Yugao... He was the kindest and most generous dragon she'd ever met. And most importantly, he seemed to accept Oriel as she was. She felt safe and comfortable living with him. Oriel was seriously considering trying to join the Nevernight Woods clan just so he could stay close to Yugao. She'd invested so much emotion in him already, even going as far as flirting with him - like "accidentally" brushing against him and "innocently" grooming her feathers in front of him. It's night. The two skydancers have made it back to their beds after a day of patrolling the woods. They continued to casually chatter until Oriel blew out the candle in a lantern. Oriel settled on her bed and let her thoughts wander. The question about leaving surfaced in her mind again, as it often did. After a period of silence, Oriel whispered: "Hey Yugao?" "Yeah?" Yugao replied quickly, which indicated he hadn't tried to sleep just yet either. "I.. I just want to thank you for taking care of me for all these weeks. I'm very happy that I met you and your clan. You are all such wonderful dragons." Oriel whispered bashfully, keeping her eyes in the opposite site to where Yugao's bed was. "It's my pleasure. Great to hear you've enjoyed your time here... But are you going to leave somewhere?" Yugao's question sounded a little more startled than he had intended to. Of course Oriel was going to leave sooner or later, her family was probably waiting for her back home. "I'm not sure... I haven't still completely decided on where to go." She replied vaguely, hoping for Yugao to give his thoughts. Oriel wasn't sure if she was welcome here or not. Heavy silence filled the air. "You are welcome to stay here, if you like to, you know..." "What? Really?" Oriel chirped and almost jumped up from her bed. She was genuinely surprised. "Of course! Stay here as long as you want." Yugao chuckled at her reaction. You could hear him smiling. Oriel was smiling too and for a while her tail was swaying from side to side like that of an excited dog. She was so happy that she wanted to jump on Yugao and give him a super tight hug. After recovering from the endorphine rush, she spoke in whisper again: "If you really think I'm not going to be a bother, then I'd be happy to stay. Thank you so much Yugao." "You couldn't be, so don't worry about it... Now let's get some sleep. Good night Oriel." "Good night." Oriel curled into a happy ball of fluff and fell into a peaceful sleep. . . .
A morning in the woods
The next morning Yugao and Oriel woke to the sound of Nokka's crowing at an ungodly hour as usual. Oriel stifled a pained groan. She hasn't gotten used to the crude awakening yet. Yugao was already up and about, yawning and stretching. "Good morning!" Yugao spoke in a cheerful tone. Oriel replied with less enthusiasm and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes. Nokka was pacing on a small table and clucking impatiently, presumably waiting for his breakfast. Yugao grabbed a small bag of grains and headed out of the tent, Nokka in his wake. It took only a minute to serve food to the bird, so Yugao was shortly back in the tent. He started to collect empty water pouches from the floor. "These should be filled. Would you like to come with me to the stream?" The two had passed the stream before on their patrols. It wasn't very far away. "Sure, sounds great." Oriel smiled groggily and picked up a couple of pouches as well. It felt nice to be able to help with something. To her it was like paying back for the care she'd received. When they arrived at the stream, the first rays of morning sun started to peek amidst the tree leaves. Birds were singing, water was flowing and the scent of morning dew was in the air. Once the two stopped moving, Oriel took a deep breath and enjoyed the taste of fresh air. For a while they both stayed still, appreciating the beauty before them. Then they started to fill the empty pouches with the crystal clear water of the stream. When all of them were filled, Yugao turned back to the stream. "If you excuse me, I'd like to use this opportunity to freshen up a bit." Oriel nodded and Yugao stepped into the stream, where the water level was relatively low. He dipped his head and wings in, then splashed the water like a bird that was having a bath. Oriel took a more modest approach and washed her face using hands. The water was ice cold which sent shivers down her spine. Washing herself using water was something foreign to her and she didn't particularly enjoy it. In her own clan they used sand baths. She really missed them now. Yugao stepped out the water and shook himself dry like a dog. "Ah, feels much better" Oriel felt like freezing, shaking visibly. "Brrh, I think the water is a bit too cold for me" Yugao let out a light laugh. He picked up his shawl and swiftly wrapped it around his friend. The gesture probably warmed up Oriel more than the shawl which didn't cover much. "Here you go. How about we have breakfast here before going back? It's growing all kinds of berries, shrooms and plants around this stream." "Okay! I'm not sure which plants and insects around here are edible yet though, so I need some guidance on that part." "No problem. Come with me and I'll teach you." The two skydancers gathered and enjoyed fresh fruits of the forest. There were lots of flying and crawling insects too that Oriel had never seen before. She noticed that Yugao didn't show interest in any of them which evoked her curiosity. "Yugao, why aren't we collecting any insects?" Yugao stopped and looked puzzled for a second, like the question sounded absurd to him. Then a bulb seemed to light up in his head and he laughed. "Oh, right. Funny that this hasn't surfaced until now, but I don't eat insects, or anything else that walks, flies or swims." Yugao's smile shined brightly. "Really, you only eat plants? How come?" Oriel leaned in, listening intently. She had never heard of a skydancer that refused to eat bugs. Yugao looked at the ground in thought. He spotted a little beetle, set his hand on it's path and let it crawl on his palm. Then he raised it up to Oriel's eye level. "Well.. I just feel connected to animals in some level? It doesn't sit right with me to kill one if I don't have to. I can thrive on plants too." Yugao let the beetle climb on his fingers for a bit before gently releasing it back to the ground. Oriel felt touched by his reasoning - she didn't know that great of an empathy even existed. She had never perceived bugs as actual living beings worthy of moral consideration, but merely as food. Most of Oriel's favorite foods were insects, so she doubted she could take bugs entirely off the menu. But she was open to at least try it. She'd feel guilty otherwise to eat insects right in front of Yugao. "I see. Maybe I'll try plants-only diet too." Yugao's eyes widened in bewilderment. He had never gotten such response to his reasoning. "Wow.. I'll understand if you can't, but if you do at least try it, it'd make me really happy" Oriel felt warmth spread throughout her entire body, blushing deeply. If she could make Yugao happy, she'd definitely try it. On their way back to the tent Oriel noticed she was still wearing Yugao's shawl. "Thanks for lending this. I'm not used to cleaning myself with water, since we use primarily sand baths in my clan. That's one thing I'm missing to be honest." Oriel laughed lightly. Yugao murmured 'it's nothing' and took a mental notes. . . .
Date in the clan's center
By the next day Yugao had made arrangements for them to pay a visit to the clan's center. He'd sent letter to commander Amasonia, who agreed to take care of the border guarding meanwhile with a group of youngsters he trained. Whenever Yugao needed to leave his position, he knew he could trust Amasonia to fill in. Yugao planned to show Oriel around and introduce some clan members to her. Oriel considered wearing a cloak so she wouldn't spook anyone, but Yugao convinced her not to. Everyone had gotten used to Ranka after all and she was the spookiest of them all. After doing their morning routines they headed to the village. The Nevernight Woods clan's village was small, about the size of Oriel's home village. They passed a library, medic's tent and bunch of tents and caves. Yugao gave a brief description of each building and about the dragons who lived there. The last attraction they visited was the clan's shrine, kept by priestess Airis. It was located outside of the clan's center, standing on a hill that was surrounded by thick forest. Yugao and Oriel followed the path to the shrine and passed the open wooden gate decorated with beautiful, blooming vines. The sound of wind chimes and scent of incense greeted them. They walked through the recently raked courtyard. Oriel then followed Yugao's lead to the shrine's altar, which was right in front of the wooden building. The altar's floor had been scattered with flower petals and the altar itself had two small flower arrangements on each side. In the middle of them was a pedestal that held a miniature tree growing in a pot. The tree had been shaped to resemble the Gladekeeper. In front of the tree was a single burning insence. It was nearly burned out, so Yugao lit a new one next to it. Then he searched something from his pocket and placed it on the altar. It was a green gem in the size of a thumb. He gave the tree a respectful bow, left the altar and turned to speak to Oriel in a hushed voice. "There's a garden behind the shrine. Let's have a look, shall we?" Oriel nodded smilingly. She didn't dear to speak and break the surrounding serenity. The shrine's garden was like a piece of art. There were numerous flowering bushes and trees. The trees had been kept in shape by cutting and styling. One tall tree especially caught Oriel's eyes: she marveled it's drooping yellow flower clusters that covered almost the whole tree. It was attracting a lot of butterflies, bees and other insects. "This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Oriel breathed, reaching a hand for one of the flower clusters. Yugao looked at the sight affectionately. "If we see Airis today, we can ask for the flowers' name." As if on cue, they heard light steps approaching and saw a dignified looking female skydancer emerging behind rose bushes. Oriel could tell by her looks that this dragon was the priestess, Airis. When the dragon glad in violet garments saw the visitors, she gave them both a small bow. "Good day Yugao, and Oriel I presume." Yugao returned the bow. "Good day Airis." Oriel blinked in astonishment. She didn't expect Airis to know her name. The word must have been carried through the whole clan that they had a foreign guest. She quickly collected herself, returned the bow and nervously parroted Yugao's words. "Good day Airis." Airis smiled gently at Oriel and continued: "I have been looking forward to meeting you. How are you feeling today?" "I've been well. Yugao, Lotus and Helianthus have been taking exceptionally good care of me." "Glad to hear. May I treat you both with some tea?" Oriel looked at Yugao questioningly. Yugao jumped in immediately. "That sounds great. Can we enjoy it in the garden?" "Of course. Please take a seat anywhere you like, I will bring the tea shortly." When Airis had left Yugao's and Oriel's vision, Oriel let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. It was tough to try acting and speaking formally. Yugao sensed Oriel's tension and tried to calm her down with a pat on her shoulder and reassuring words. "Airis may be a priestess, but she is sweet like an angel. Try to relax a bit okay?" Oriel laughed dryly. She couldn't help but think to herself that she probably looked like a devil next to Airis' angelic form. The three skydancers sat in the garden next to a fish pond. Airis served them the shrine's own tea made of rose petals and herbs. They had a light conversation, which helped Oriel to get more relaxed. Oriel completely forgot to ask about the flowering tree they saw earlier, but fortunately Valente brought it up at one point of their talking. "The tree you saw, she is called Liburna." "According to the scroll that has this shrine's history written on, Liburna was named after a priestess that dedicated her life to our goddess. When she parted this world, the Gladekeeper planted a seed to her grave and breathed life into it. The tree now represents loyalty and eternal life. Everything on this hill was built around Liburna. We use her branches for the most special rituals." Airis told them. Yugao nodded thoughtfully. "I rarely get out of my post, so this is new to me also." They continued to talk, enjoy the tea and the scenery. Once they finished the tea, Yugao bowed at the hostess. "Thank you for the fantastic tea and company Airis. We must take our leave now, for there is still a place I wish to show Oriel." "I understand." Airis smiled softly. She started to collect the tea cups into a box with wheels. "Can you help me taking these back inside, Yugao?" "Of course." Yugao replied fast. He picked up the tea kettle. Everything else seemed to fit into Airis' box. Before following the priestess inside the shrine building, he quickly turned to Oriel. "This will only take a minute so wait for me, okay?" Oriel flashed a smile and nodded, happy to sit and relax in this beautiful environment. Inside the shrine building Airis suddenly turned serious. She spoke to Yugao in a hushed voice. "Yugao, I can feel the presence of a malignant spirit inside her. Who is she?" Yugao froze where he stood, his blood running cold. He absolutely trusted Airis and didn't have any reason to doubt her knowledge when it came to the spiritual realm. But Yugao had also spent over a week with Oriel around the clock and there hadn't been any indication of malignancy in her behavior so far. She had been the very opposite of that. Yet on the other hand, week was a short time and there was still a lot of things that Oriel had kept in secret from him. "She has a clan in the Shifting Expanse. That's all that I know of her, really... She doesn't like to talk about her past with anyone." Yugao replied Airis, visibly ashamed that he didn't have more information to offer. "I see." Airis replied quietly. She was thinking about something. Yugao grew anxious by the second. "Can't we do something to help her?" Was the first thought that raised his mind. The question sounded more demanding and rude than he had intended to. "I know of a purification ritual but it requires preparation. Until then, be careful. Try not to put yourself or others at risk in case the spirit were to lash out. It may be wise to ask someone to guard her with you." Airis adviced. Her stern words reminded Yugao of his place. "Thank you Airis. And worry not, I'm the border guard. My spells have been designed to protect, restrain and capture. I'll take full responsibility of her." The male spoke with eyes full of determination. Airis sighed in defeat. "Very well. I'll trust you with her. May the Gladekeeper be with you." As Yugao and Oriel took their leave, Airis summoned a small ethereal butterfly on her palm. It was glowing faint blue light. She focused for a moment and then sent the butterfly off, whispering a spell. It glided straight to Yugao, hiding inside his clothes without him noticing. . . .
Lotus Hotel Spa
"Here we are, our final stop." Yugao stopped at the entry of a wooden building. Oriel briefly inspected it, stopping to read the wooden sign on the wall. "Your clan has a hotel spa?!" She exclaimed in disbelief. She had heard about services like these existing in some bigger clans, but never actually seen or visited one. Yugao chuckled at Oriel's reaction and puffed his chest feathers a little in pride. "As it says in the sign. Shall we go in?" He slid the door open for Oriel and indicated that the lady should enter first. Oriel blushed brilliantly and quickly strode inside to escape the flustering situation. The reception hall was warm and welcoming. There was a comfy looking resting place with a sturdy wooden table. Potted plants decorated the room. Lanterns had been lit and they gave off a soft light. Yugao approached the reception desk, which was unoccupied. On top of the desk stood a small ornament that was composed of hollow metallic pipes. Yugao picked up a small metallic hammer next to the ornament and lightly tapped it to one of the pipes, which gave a beautiful ring. As they waited for someone to come, Oriel noticed a huge and ridiculously detailed carved wooden board hanging on the wall behind the desk. It looked like it depicted a paradise. Soon they heard someone coming from the right wing hallway. "Hey Yugao, Oriel! It's good to see you." A familiar pearlcatcher medic greeted. "Lotus? Are you the owner of this hotel spa?" Oriel blinked in confusion. "I am! Didn't Yugao tell you?" Lotus smiled brightly and took a seat behind the reception counter. She lifted a notebook on the desk. "No, I wanted to surprise Oriel." Yugao smirked mischievously. "Did you get our reservation for today?" Lotus nodded. "Everything's arranged. Your room number is two. Feel free to use the spa and let me know if there's anything I can help you with." With a thank-you, Yugao took the lead and guided Oriel to the room number two. The room had no actual door, but there was a heavy piece of cloth hanging from the door frame and it covered the entrance pretty well. When they stepped into the room, Yugao set down his bag and started to strip all of his protective garments, since they were going to a spa. Meanwhile Oriel was examining the room. Her eyes went immediately to the large nest made of straws and pelts. Of course, there was only one place to sleep. For the both of them. Oriel felt her body temperature rise to record digits. Did Yugao arrange that as well? Does she dare to ask? Should she even question it? Oriel kinda liked the idea of sharing a nest with the male, if she was being honest. Instead of bringing up the elephant in the room, she tried to think of something else to talk about. She glanced around their room. "The room looks nice." She began. "I like... the wall paintings." One of the walls had been painted to look like a pond, with colorful fish swimming in the water and iris flowers blooming around it. Yugao was still struggling to get out of all the layers of fabric. "Yeah. It's not much bigger than our tent, but it feels quite spacious. There isn't as much clutter laying around and it's really tidy in here. It's nice." Yugao chuckled. Once Yugao was ready, they left the room and head to the spa in the backyard. It was a large, fenced space. There were some other dragons too. One imperial was relaxing on the grass, while a young and pretty pearlcatcher female was brushing his mane with a comb. In a corner was an area covered with stone slabs. There was a big fireplace made of stone built next to the fence. Tree Coatls were in that spot. Two of them were laying on the ground, while one of them was working the fireplace. The worker took stones out of the fire and placed them on the backs of the customers. The customers hissed with pleasure. Oriel felt like that treatment was a bit too hardcore for her. Thankfully there were many options to choose from in this spa. Yugao seemed to stride forward with a clear destination in mind, so Oriel went along. They walked all the way to the end of the spa, when she saw dunes of sand and squealed in excitement. "Sand bath!" "Looks like it! I hope you'll enjoy this one." Yugao smiled. Oriel was so excited she was almost dancing. The sand looked so clean and soft and inviting, she wanted to just dive into it head first. "You come too!" She pleaded. Yugao thought about it for a second and shrugged. It sounded a bit troublesome to get covered in sand. That stuff gets everywhere. But he could take a real bath after this, he figured, so why not try it out. The sand bath eventually turned into a sand war. After draining some energy, the two picked up some food from the reception. At the end Yugao didn't feel the need to take a real bath, the sand made him feel surprisingly fresh. So, they dined and prepared for the bedtime. That was when Yugao finally realized, that they had only one nest in the room. But, since it was made of straws and pelts, it could probably be separated into two nests. He immediately started working on it. "What are you doing?" Oriel looked at Yugao throwing pelts off the nest. "I think I can divide this nest, since it's made of straw." He explained. "Oh, but can't we just share it? You take the other side and I take the other. It'd be messy trying to take it apart." Oriel suggested casually and kept munching on her bowl of algae. Yugao gave it a thought. "I guess so.. I'm okay with it, if you are." "It's ok." . . .
The Darkness Takes Hold
That night, Yugao and Oriel comfortably nestled together. As they closed their eyes and were waiting for sleep to come, Oriel felt something wasn't right. She felt like something was trying to take control over her thoughts. She took distance from Yugao as she struggled to keep her own mind intact. Yugao perked up, sensing the tensing air. "Are you okay?" He asked in a concerned tone. Oriel desperately hold her head in her hands. She could hear a foreign voice growling, barking and echoing in her head. The voice grew louder and louder. Sense of coldness started to spread over her body leaving her numb, limb by limb. Oriel could hardly even breathe. Yugao stood up, took a safe distance and braced himself for what was coming. He observed Oriel calmly, like he had expected this to happen. Oriel let out growls of pain, her body was twitching and gradually swallowed by a black veil. The whole room seemed to become unnaturally darker and colder. Yugao started to chant a spell while keeping an eye on the female. Finally, when she couldn't hold back the foreign entity anymore, she let out an ear-splitting screech and released a powerful surge of lightning that burned the walls of the room and made the ground tremble. Yugao was quick to react and deflected the streams of electricity with her enchanted wings. He kept chanting still. Oriel stood up, her eyes glowing, wings spread and wild electric currents still cracking as they run through her fur. It looked like she had grown in size, suddenly making Yugao feel smaller. Her demeanor was so different she looked more like a wild beast than a dragon. But she was still Oriel, somewhere deep inside, and Yugao would drag her back out even if it killed him. That's the kind of dragon Yugao, the border guardian, was. Oriel, or the creature that controlled her, didn't seem to acknowledge Yugao's presence and turned to the window, looking to escape from it. Yugao was faster and released the spell that he had been preparing. Shining white chains emerged from the ground, walls and ceiling, wrapping around Oriel and making her immobile. In response, the trapped skydancer thrashed around, pulling the chains and doing everything she could to get free. Then Oriel halted for a brief moment, locking her glowing blue eyes with Yugao. The cold gaze instantly sent shivers down Yugao's spine, but he stood his ground. Oriel started to charge a beam of lightning in her mouth, aiming it at the male. When Yugao saw this, he ordered one of the chains to wrap around Oriel's snout. When she was secured, Yugao leapt in front of her and placed his palm on Oriel's forehead. He then casted a spell which started to drain energy off Oriel. As she weakened, her appearance started to gradually turn back to normal. After Yugao was done, she dropped to the ground in deep slumber. She looked so innocent and peaceful, that the male wanted to just wrap her into a warm pelt and take care of her. But he knew better than take such a risk so soon and let the chains remain attached to her, as much as it pained him. . . .
Here for You
The Lotus Hotel Spa room became Oriel's makeshift prison, as the whole clan of the Nevernight Woods started to investigate her condition. There were few options, but the most likely ones seemed to be either a curse or possession. Neither option really soothed them, especially if either of them was contagious. In case of a possession, an invading spirit could sometimes move from host to host. And if the spirit was powerful enough, it could even spread different curses from dragon to dragon. Worst case scenario Oriel might have been touched by Shade and there was no known cure for that. It was the most aggressive kind of possession that often killed it's host. Shade was like a parasite, slowly eating every cell in the body and growing until completely taking over. After taking complete control, it could start spreading the Shade to more victims. Since it couldn't be cured or banished, it could only be suppressed with seals. The clan priestess Airis, clan elder Suroa and Yugao took lead of the investigation. Nobody from the clan had ever actually met a cursed or possessed dragon before, but Airis and Suroa at least had some knowledge of them from books. The three dragons spent time going through Suroa's large library and asking Oriel questions. Oriel was terrified, tired and sore. She was suffering from trauma and couldn't communicate or cooperate, even if she desperately wanted help. It was only when Yugao was left alone with Oriel, that she started to open up. At first Oriel could only cry miserably. She was still in chains, albeit they were loosened and allowed her to move around a bit. It was risky to approach her, but the male couldn't bear to just sit and watch and do nothing, when Oriel was like this. Yugao took a seat in front of Oriel, put his shawl over her shoulders and wrapped his wings around the crying female. Oriel clung to the shawl like her life depended on it. Her sobs gradually became more quiet. For a while they just listened to the silence and just appreciated the warmth, when they hold each other close. Once Oriel felt ready, she started speaking somberly. On the other hand, she didn't want to remember. But on the other, it felt kinda nice to have someone to listen and to help process all these bottled up feelings, that were burdening her. They ended up talking the whole night, both sharing their pasts. Yugao managed to lighten the mood with some of his silly childhood stories and by pulling a wrapped package of herbs and greens out of his bag. Oriel munched on a sweet blueberry branch like it was candy. - in the process of rewriting- . . . He had never performed the sealing ritual and had to ask aid from Uroboros, as much as he didn't like to depend on the pearlcatcher. Uroboros appeared as serene and kind old dragon, but he had some disturbing morals below the surface. To Valente's surprise Uroboros , agreed to help without hesitation. After some searching they found the book of seals from Uroboros' library. It was an old and torn book, but it did contain the spell they were looking for. Valente went through the steps repeatedly with Uroboros' guidance and memorized the ritual in one week. It was quite a detailed spell and he was determined to perform it perfectly in the first try. . . . Even though Lotus had been taking care of Oriel this whole time, she looked like a mess when Valente step into the room. It must've not been easy to be chained for a whole week. Valente explained Oriel that he was going to put a spell on her that would silence the voices and allow her to live normally again. Oriel smiled weakly, not fully convinced that she could be cured so simply. But she allowed Valente to give a try. He started the ritual by placing a small altar in front of Oriel. The altar was a simple wooden tray, that hold a single candle, incense and ink bottle. Valente sat before the altar and closed his eyes. Lotus did the same. There was perfect silence for a moment, then Valente started whispering words that Oriel couldn't comprehend. He moved closer to Oriel, dipped his finger into the bottle of ink and started drawing symbols across her body. When done, Valente placed his palm on the symbols. The flame of the candle flared up, it's smoke turned white and took the form of a whip. It bended and touched the written symbols one by one, making them glow in the color of the flame. Valente sighed in relief - the seal was ready. How long would it last? |
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