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MATAH
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Matah's life, from day one, has been quite the wild ride- despite her affinity for the chills of the southern ice floes, she despises the cold, wishing ill will on those who favor it and on the Icewarden himself. Rarely does she admit to enjoying her power over the frost, the way that icy crystals concentrate in her body and brighten up her scales just a little bit through the slightly translucent part of it, and her wings perpetually exude the supercooled air necessary to keep the iron chains wrapped loosely around them frozen in place. However, her personal life is not one that she prefers to talk about, not even with her partner, Nelah.
She was calm, calculating- the brains of the operation, one could say. Where the other Skydancer would use his skills to crack open vaults and gather the shining hoards inside, Matah found her ability to analyze a dragon's mindset, personality, and habits at a glance and predict their next course of action useful within the context of a crime. Often, she's considered one of the greatest masterminds of her time, yet none know of her current whereabouts, in a lovely little Light clan, taking refuge from the patrols sent after the duo and spending her time studying and teaching psychology instead of getting into brawls and draping the stolen silks and jewels over herself. Where she once ignored the opinions and feelings of others, pursuing her own wants and needs with her lover, she now takes the time to listen and give advice on the issue.
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Many years ago, in a time not so different from the present, there were two famed crooks, whose soft, dark plumage concealed them from patrols in the dark of the night. Feared for their apparent disregard for others, they were menaces in every sense of the word, drawing things out as long as possible in order to make sure that no one, no one at all would interrupt their activity- and this succeeded, their reputation being boosted and their very names instilling a sense of dread in others when spoken. Despite this, they were very much in love with one another, the epitome of partners in crime, and they continued on, almost recklessly in a manner. Truly, they believed themselves to be on top of the world...until Matah made a fatal error, forgetting one simple thing.
She was not a Shadow dragon, and their hideout was in the middle of the dark brambles concealing the sky from view. She did not have the ability to almost melt into the shadows, as her mate did, and failed to recall the fact that her eyes were indeed very, very bright in the darkness, like little stars guiding the way to the two of them. The mercenaries hired to capture them came, saw, and conquered in all but land alone; they, too, could not blend into the shadows, but they had the knowledge on their side, and when Nelah ambushed the opposition, well...they knew his tricks. His strengths, his weaknesses- and he fell quickly, with cuffs put on his limbs and restraints on his wings to prevent him from flying off. Matah knew her power, and knew that she alone was no match, especially when her own magic had been overused in order to conceal her as much as possible. Willingly, she gave in, for her life had little meaning without her beloved.
As they were dragged through countless territories, the squadron making a mockery of them, she realized something; dragons only feared them when they were willing to be feared. Where she would bare her teeth and taunt the pathetic strangers cowering in fear at their elaborate plans, she now just looks away, glares towards the barren earth and feebly attempts to prevent her feathers from getting too dusty in the absence of her icy magic, which she would usually employ for temporary armor. Brambles turned to the crystal-clear Sea, separating them from the molten lands of the Flamecaller. The ocean was not forgiving either, as they were placed in the holding cells embedded within the ship, restrained to the walls by the magic of a particularly sadistic mage who seemed to revel in their suffering, their lack of freedom. Oh, how she despised them- she despised every inch of their being, wishing a slow, painful death on them. But, she reasoned, it was merely his job and he did it how he wished. Of course, she may not have agreed with it...but hey, she was exactly the same way, so perhaps it was but a taste of her own bittersweet medicine.
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When they arrived at the southernmost point of Sornieth, that now familiar sense of dread ever-present made itself clearer. The entrance to the Fortress of Ends was in sight, the whitish-blue spires of ice jutting from the permafrost providing the backdrop to a terrifying scene. The two were urged forward by the mercenaries, who themselves seemed apprehensive about the whole situation, constantly looking behind them to ensure they themselves weren't being trailed. Matah noted the fearful expressions of some of the criminals trapped in the ice, too...some were frozen in the middle of begging for mercy, pleading for death, or cursing the world with their last breath. Well, that's not accurate- some likely still live to this day, their punishment being to watch the ice forever, unchanging and grim. Before she could make a snarky comment, or do so much as tell Nelah she loved him, so very, very much- she was frozen. And so was he, both staring at one another in a knowing look, in that same spire now growing from the earth.
...However, Matah was a dragon of the ice, and she always had a certain gift with manipulating the molecules in it. Bit by bit, she noticed the clear part of her body crystallizing into a sort of pale purple slush, the crystals half-melted by her own body temperature. Over time, she began to take control of the pillar, moving it so that her beloved could move his claws, then his head, then, finally, his wings. The other Skydancer knew what his mate was thinking, but was unsure about the plan at first- for his limbs and wings were still bound by heavy iron chains, pulled taut and melted to fit to perfection. Eventually, though, he found the courage to give in, and began to bash the ice into pieces, shipping away at it until the both of them were freed. That was when the patrols around the Fortress caught them- and that was when they fled for their lives, making a mad dash to the nearest ship and steering it away from the lonely, frozen harbor, navigating it around Sornieth as far as possible.
Eventually, the escaped duo came across a massive lair near the shores of the Sunbeam Ruins, full to the brim with dragons of all sorts. Though the two of them were obviously foreboding and appeared to be dangerous, what with the chains they left frozen to their wings, they were welcomed in regardless, and the duo worked hard to become unrecognizable from their past selves- being stuck in one place without even the ability to believe in freedom felt like an eternity, even if it was only for a relatively short time. Matah now teaches the youths of the lair about morality and the way that the mind works, putting her analytical skills to use and seeking out others with her same talents. After all, she may never truly get away from her life of crime, but one thing's for certain; she will never, ever get caught again, even if she has to freeze another unfortunate soul and place them in her same position. Not for as long as Nelah lives, and not for as long as she is treated kindly by the other dragons.
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