It was only by luck that Korsed found Aventurine buried beneath the ashes of an old hardened path of lava flow.

Korsed had been out gathering gemstones for hatchlings' blacksmith training and searching for plants for whoever may need them. He had found many useful stones in the ancient, hardened flows of lava that day.

'Only a few more, and home I'll go,' Korsed happily thought to himself, looking up out of the sizable hole he had dug himself into. It was nearly dark. He took one more look around the hole before deciding to take a chance with a new dig site. He took up his satchel and flew out from the pit.

It took only moments for the glitter of something large to command Korsed's attention below. Upon landing, he found it to be a large, smooth green stone poking out from beneath the sharp rock. Immediately he tried to pull it out. It did not budge. It felt as though he was trying to lift a boulder. Begrudgingly, Korsed grabbed his shovel and began digging around the strange green stone, all the while secretly hoping that it would not take too long to free from the ground.

At first it was the curvature of a thin sheet of the green crystal to appear.

'What a strange stone,' remarked Korsed in his head, 'It looks like a type of quartz, but the shape is all wrong.' He ran his hand over its smooth surface. Hardly ever before had his attention been captivated this strongly by anything. Usually, Korsed was flighty between interest and always wanting to move on to the next task as quickly as possible. With a grin only one obsessed can have, he dug furiously to unearth this massive stone.

Quickly, a pointed tip of one of the thicker veins of crystal that ran down this thin crystal sheet appeared. Then a hunk of larger crystal.

It was apparent to Korsed as soon as he saw the hulking mass attached to the now obvious wing shape, that what he had found was not some large crystal to break up for jewelry or whatever trinkets the young blacksmiths would make. No, it was a crystal guardian statue. Korsed's eyes glittered with excitement at the thought of having such an incredible sculpture in his study. Oh, what he could learn from studying such impeccable ancient carving techniques!

All through the night he dug around the statue as he thought of just what stone it could be carved out of. By midday the next day, the statue was free of its earthly confines. Korsed sat back upon his haunches and stared up at it in awe. It was massive! Far larger than he had thought. And the craftsmanship! It looked as though it could move at any moment!

Korsed stared at it in adoration for what must have been at least 20 minutes- which to his credit, was far longer than he had ever sat in one spot without fidgeting before- before realizing he still had to get this statue home and in one piece. He could try his magic, though it was never specialized to lift things with it. Besides, the statue looked far too large to lift, even with his magic.

The dark-scaled dragon next considered asking for help from a friend. His closest friends were far too small to lift it. There was the scholarly mage Modonis who could possibly lift it with his enhanced magic, though the likelihood of that stuck-up Fae actually lifting a talon to help him was practically zero.

Then there was Gimmegold and her subordinates. They were among the largest of the clan members. Surely they would be large enough to transport this statue back to his abode. His face twisted into a grimace. They would probably demand something in return for their service, something most likely worth far more than what Korsed was willing to part with. No, Gimmegold and her lot would not do.

Belekoroz and his faction were completely out of the question. The dark Spiral's body shivered at the thought of even approaching that creature's dwelling for any semblance of help.

The noodle-like dragon began flying in circles around the statue, and then through the openings it created. He had to think of something. He could not just leave this statue out here for the elements to beat down upon: or worse, a fellow collector snatches it while he's away. Korsed tossed around various ideas as he continued to fly, as if pacing. This was his natural state. Suddenly he took a turn too quickly and bashed into the forehead of the statue.

The midnight Spiral gasped in horror at what he had done! What if he had broke it? What if he chipped it with his horns? The head of the statue slowly began to bend down. Korsed gripped his cheeks with his claws as he hyperventilated at his blunder. How could he have done this? Why couldn't he have just flown far above it?

The head began to dip further on an angle; then lower; and lower; and lower, until the chin was touching the ground. The overwhelmed onlooker waited stock still for a crack and a thud, but neither came. Instead the toes began to slowly wiggle, and the tail begin to slowly sway. The wings began to furl and unfurl, and the head began to slowly rise from its bowing position. The statue's eyes were no longer held the coldness of a gem, but the warmth of fire and life.

The smaller dragon began rapidly flying about the golem in excitement. He could not believe his luck! He began to imagine what his fellow clan-mates would say about his discovery. Aeeloth would welcome it with some wariness before finding it useful in some way. Shimmerstrike would certainly enjoy having a second guard that does not tire for the entrance to the clan. Rawn and Brandywine would-

'For one so quiet, your thoughts are quite loud, young Spiral.' A deep, gravelly voice echoed throughout his mind. Korsed froze and stared at the golem. Never before had he had someone speak into his mind like this- or at least none that he was aware of.

'Can.. Can you hear me?' The Spiral fidgeted in the air, nervous that he was merely hallucinating.

'Yes, young Spiral, I can hear you. I have been hearing you since you approached my resting place. It was your loud mind and the bump to my head that truly roused me from my slumber.' The larger dragon shifted and stretched his joints loose. Korsed wrapped himself around the golem's neck, hovering his face even with the golem's.

'Are you a golem? You're more intelligent than any I've ever seen!'

'I am... unsure. I do not believe I was created, but, I remember little of myself from long ago.'

Korsed would have hummed in disappointment if he could. 'Do you remember a name?'

The golem was silent for a long minute- a time that far exceeded Korsed's patience. 'No,' the green giant finally admitted.

'Then I shall call you Aventurine- the stone of luck, and also what I'm rather sure you're made of!'

Aventurine opened his mouth in a wide grin. His cracked teeth gave view to a space that should be filled with something but wasn't. Korsed took little notice of this in his bliss of having a new friend to converse with.

With an amount of energy that a Spiral should never have, Korsed zoomed off of Aventurine's neck, 'Follow me! There are many dragons I want you to meet!' With Aventurine in tow, the two headed back towards Korsed's home.