Wytchwood

Wytchwood is a powerful empath, and therefore a recluse by choice; the few timex he ventures out of his lair in the deepest, most remote and impenetrable forests in the Oakheart territory, the force of the thoughts surrounding him from even the few dragons living there at the time drove him back into hiding. He will not venture out now, if he can help it, but Galadriel the spirit healer sometimes visits him, to ask advice on curing the more entrenched or complex of traumas which haunt her patients. Being near them himself is impossible, because he will begin to hallucenate and fall into a dead faint if the emotional unrest is too strong, for too long. However, he knows the ways of healing the mind like no one else, so the very 'gift' which causes him the most strife, can be used to create peace and healing in others, and so for this he is glad.

He is the single most talented tracker in Oakheart; maybe even all of the Viridian. Wytchwood can take an item belonging to a loved one, and pinpoint their exact location without fail. But it's rare that a missing persons case will get as far as him, since he can usually feel the pain emanating from the clan long before the request reaches him. He is driven by the echo of suffering to find some way to alleviate it, and will most likely be found either meditating in his grotto with the deep sinkhole pool at its center, or bringing a waif or stray back into the fold, like a distant shepherd of the woods, before melting back into the shadows.




He met Raze, the cursed Skydancer druid, one dark night in the jungle, after tracking the source of the sorrow for weeks, maybe months. It was a wound in the forest, a weeping black hole which twisted nature in its wake; loneliness, betrayal, sadness without name. They are inseparable now, but Raze cares for Wytchwood when he is brought low by illness or by empathy, and Wytchwood braves the world outside for things Raze needs, whenever they need it. Neither ever believed that another living being could complete them, could match the yawning space in their hearts, but every morning as the sun shines bright and the birds sing and they wake with each other safe in their grotto, they are renewed in their faith that there is good in the world, after all.

---

Wytchwood always struggled with an unknown illness that gave him hallucinations and made him faint every once in a while. Although nobody knows where this illness comes from, most dragons in his home lair would work hard to make sure that Wytchwood is doing fine. When he's not hallucinating or light-headed, Wytchwood was the sweetest little thing and a great companion when anyone felt lonely or sad.

Wytchwood had such a heart of gold that he would actively seek out people that were suffering, and put a gentle paw on their shoulder, stroke a hand, lean in close for a hug, and do whatever he could to comfort them. But the more he did this, the worse his symptoms got- until when he reached adolescence, something changed. His hallucinations became more real, his faints more frequent- and when he awoke, he found that his skin was shifting alarmingly, hot and cold and changing colour. The nearer he got to dragons who were emotional, in any sense, the more his skin seemed to alter before his very eyes. He couldn't take the strain though, and after a particularly bad blackout that lasted several days, healers were sent for from all around. It was decided by one mage's suggestion, to try sending him to Oakheart Clan in order to recieve the Glademother's blessing. Perhaps Chimera, their chief healer, or one of her subordinates even, could heal him of this affliction, seal off the channel of psychic energy that he was unwittingly open to. There had been several instances of curses of different kinds, being alleviated or stopped entirely by the residents of Oakheart- even by the Heart Oak's magical influence itself.

Chimera did her best, but she could find no imperfection in his body; just a hypersensitivity to every sensation and every dragon that passed nearby, like a candle at the mercy of every passing draft. Galadriel, their spirit-healer, reassured the youngster that what he had was a gift, not a curse; empathy is never to be quashed, never silenced, lest we become the lesser for lack of it. After many attempts to ease him back into dragon society, and many instances of visual hallucinations of people's worries manifesting before his eyes, and several blackouts that left him with holes in his memory lasting for hours, it was decided that he would do better further from civilization, where he could control the input more, and avoid being overstimulated, overwhelmed.

Once set up in his new home, on the outskirts of Oakheart, he suddenly thrived. No more fits, no more blackouts, no more strugging against monsters of others' imaginations- instead there was peace, quiet, nature and the still joy of wilderness. He listens, still, and watches for those who need his help, and for messages hidden in the air everywhere. Sometimes, his hallucinations are of the Glademother's dreams.




Wytchwood and Rajani, on loan for breeding from Catkinstarchild