Uh-oh, looks like this passionate brawler wandered a little too far from her home lair (Volrin, #261879), and now she's off to see the world! If ever you feel the need to exalt, she'd really appreciate it if you could just return her to her home lair, or to the 'Dragons Off To See The World' thread, here. This is not necessary, but she would be very grateful!


Owners I've Had:

Volrin, #261879 (Home Lair)
CleverDual, #259164 (The Clan of Resting Wings)
Rosequinn, #342152 (The Clan of Leviathan Cove)
PantheraScience, #330253 (Nightlight Inn)
Crassula, #363800 (Wispwillow Grove)
DemonChild77, #328177 (Dawnchaser Clan)
Nyllei, #295910 (Breezen)
dinosawr #300086 (Cliffside Caverns)
Scorporius, #354462
Oceanic03, #364322 (Lair of a Hundred Songs)
DreamingSunset, #84546 (The Clan of Dreaming Storms)
KingVulture, #437722 (Crow Callers)

(put your lair/username here)


Luggage:

Brutal Headdress

Apparel

A headdress of a brutal nature.

1650

Brown Birdskull Wingpiece

Apparel

A long spindle of twine, beaded with brown baubles and trinkets. There are feathers strung along each thread.

550

White Aviator Scarf

Apparel

What differentiates this from a standard white scarf is a subtlety lost on most.

600

Carmine Serthis

Familiar

The carmine serthis' scales present a particularly rich shade of red after it has freshly molted.

2000

Leather Arm Wraps

Apparel

Two rolls of leather designed to adorn a dragon's arms, providing support to their wrists and elbows.

800

History:

Oakley is an absolutely vicious fighter; she has been ever since she was just an infant, when she would snap at the wings and fins of the Bogsneak hatchlings around her. To this day, she carries quite a few nicks and scars from picking fights with older, larger dragons than her, but many of those battles she won in the end. She doesn't mind bearing such marks, though; in fact, she takes pride in every single one of them, and has plenty of stories to tell about some of the deeper gashes!

For some time as an adolescent, Oakley used her fighting prowess to help on the clan's hunting trips. She assisted in bringing down massive elk and more ornery prey to feed her clan with, and even wrestled with and frightened off mighty predators who threatened their hunting grounds! She took the pelt of one such predator, a fearsome mountain lion, and still wears it to this day. Her parents found this violent behaviour somewhat disturbing, but they let it slide for the time being; at least Oakley was being helpful to the clan, right?

As she got older, however, Oakley's relationship with her parents began to turn sour. They couldn't understand her love of brawling against other dragons, and as the opponents she chose became larger and even more fierce, they began going out of their way to keep her away from her passion. The next few months of her life were spent in absolute dismay; keeping her away from battling was like keeping a Pearlcatcher away from their pearl! She just couldn't stand it. And that's why, as soon as her parents had their backs turned, Oakley snuck away from the lair and headed off to an underground brawler's pit.

She soon made quite a name for herself in the brawling ring, as well as a small fortune's worth of prize money from her numerous victories. Oakley was overjoyed to have finally found a place where she felt as though she belonged, but also felt a strong pang of grief as she realized she could never tell her parents about it. She lived in this lie for months on end, torn between her loving but overbearing family and the fierce, relentless battles of her brawling club.

One day, the choice between the two was finally forced upon Oakley; she was unexpectedly defeated in the ring, and it was a brutal loss, at that. Her opponent was a ruthless Skydancer, graceful and swift on his toes and able to read all of his opponent's movements with no more than a slight twitch of his antennae. He confounded Oakley with his speed and then launched himself at her, battering her with powerful slaps from his wings and tearing into her neck with his toothy, fanged beak. She finally fell to the ground, and was left with no other choice than to limp back home and beg her clan to dress her wounds. Ever since then, Oakley has been terrified of Skydancers.

Her parents where horrified to see their daughter so battered and bruised, and as they begged her to reveal just what had happened, Oakley finally chose to come clean. She told them about everything: the brawler's pit, all of the prize money she had won, the Skydancer that had bested her, and the painful lack of purpose she felt when she wasn't allowed to exercise her claws. Her parents listened intently as she spoke, but still, Oakley could tell that they just didn't understand. When she finished, they expressed their deep sorrow over her defeat, but then they prohibited her from ever setting foot in the brawler's pit again.

There was no way Oakley could accept that. As soon as her wounds were healed, she fled from her family and disappeared into the night, leaving her earnings from the brawler's club in her bed for her mom and dad to discover.


Travel Log:

Rosequinn: Oakley arrived in the Leviathan Cove. She was granted a cave to live in. Quinntalia, the matriarch, gave her a tour of the clan. But when she got to the 3 skydancer birdskull adorned skydancers. Oakley’s panic set in and she dug as quick as lighting hiding behind a tall boulder. The skydancers approached. The brightest and probably the most bubbly of the 3 jumped atop the boulder.

“Hi there! I’m Alani. I’m a spellwork mage. I’m also a 6th generation of Naomi and a 3rd generation Dawnguard. I hope you feel welcome here. Niorra said you had a bad battle with a skydancer before in a illegal fight ring. I’m sorry to scare you so bad because of my breed, but I hope maybe you can look past that and we can become friends. I know Sirius and Niorra wouldn’t mind being friends with you to. And any other skydancers will gladly be friendly a give you all the help you need”

Oakley golden eyes looked up at the pale orange skydancer. She seemed friendly enough. Maybe Oakley could be friends with this group of skydancers resting in this clan. Oakley came out from behind her hiding spot and watched and looked around her.

Many days had gone by and Oakley and Alani had become good friends. Alani had given her a scarf and brown birdskull wingpieces to go along with hers.
Oakley had been resting up one day. When someone attacked the cove, Oakley knew that in that second it happened. She jumped in the fray, battering the dragon who attacked until floated away from the shore, the water was stained red that day. Oakley looked up at the clan. Her three birdskull adorned friends stood in their cave watching her through the eyes of the skulls. Alani shook her head, backing up into the cave, scared at how one dragon could be so vicious. Oakley sighed and dropped her head. She went, gathered up her things, and left the cove with a bit of a heavy heart.

PantheraScience: Next stop was the Southern Icefield. As she wandered the cold, her paws leaving deep wounds in the snow, she stopped at a cave to maybe start a fire and rest. In the midst of her nap she heard claws tapping against the stone, the sounds were getting closer and she jumped to her feet, ready to defend herself against the assailant. What are you doing out here on your own? sounded a kind voice as a Ridgeback much larger than herself came around the corner carrying some cerdae over their shoulder with a Centaur Hunter following behind. Oakley explained that she was a travelling fighter and stopped here for a rest. The Ridgeback smiled and gave the bog a heavy pat on the shoulder. Well if that's the case, I work for an Inn you can stay at and rest. Much better than a damp cave. Hesitant to the offer, Oakley sighed and accepted, following the Ridge to the Inn she had mentioned.

It's been months now since Oakley got a room at the Inn. Shortly after she began her stay, an Ice storm blew through and blocked the entrance to the cave leading up to Nightlight Inn and barricaded everyone inside. It recently opened up enough to let out all of the guests and everyone was hurried out with packed bags. Most decided to take a trip home after being stuck for so long but Oakley decided otherwise and went back on the road.

DemonChild77: Despite deciding not to go home, Oakley's heart seemed to think differently than her mind. She ended up in a different part of the Sunbeam Ruins than her birthplace, but she knew the warm light and beautiful seas for the same region. She took refuge in a small clan just off the coast called Dawnchaser Clan, which ironically was run by skydancers. She was afraid at first, but as a fighter Oakley had faced worse so she kept her chin held high as she greeted the Matriarch Carina.

Oakley wasn't afraid anymore as she began to get to know the clan better. They were all different, misfits united under one name. Luckily for her there were some fighters here, and the clan's Mire Flyer Katara gladly took Oakley under her wing and gave her a few pointers. If she didn't pay attention, she could almost believe this was her own home as she had always wanted it, open to fighting. The more she stayed, however, the more she longed for her own family again, and Oakley knew it was best to move on before her heart got the best of her.

The clan was sad to see her go, but they sent her onward with a serthis companion, a token of their friendship.

dinosawr: Oakley remained in Light’s territory for some more time, though with another clan. She had stumbled upon Cliffside Caverns by searching half-blind in driving rain for shelter. She had been slinking across the cliff face as it had been dangerous to fly, but as she did so, she had felt a crevice-type entrance dug into the cliff face. She pulled herself in, hoping for a shallow cave, but fell a few feet onto cold, damp stone.

As she pulled herself up and shook the extra water off of her cape and wrung out her scarf, she barely had time to notice the lights and sub-caverns before an arrow head was thrust into her face.

“Name yourself.” The voice commanded, and to her dismay, it was a skydancer, adorned in battle-ready gear. A lamp was perched on her shoulder.

Oakley, driven by fear and adrenaline, answered her in a commanding voice, “Oakley, world traveler… and fighter.”

“Qiren.” The skydancer replied after considering Oakley's reply. The rest of the introductions were simpler after that. Oakley met the “stand in” matriarch, merchant, Light guide, mage, and medic. Qiren was the beast tamer.

Her time with Cliffside was short, only staying for the storm and a few days after. She mainly stayed with Virlu, Mavir, and Ezyl, though she was pleasant with the skydancers. They understood and made sure not to bother her too much. She ran errands with Virlu, learned how to treat minor wounds on herself with Ezyl, and learned how to traverse unknown lands with Mavir.

On Oakley’s final day, they all settled down in the main cavern and ate and shared stories long into the night. The next morning, Mavir and Virlu escorted her to the Trading Post, where they said their final goodbyes and she was sent on her way to her next destination.


Scorporius: Oakley had wandered far from her home of sun and open sky. The air was as thick with ash and toxic gasses as it was with breathable substances. The sky was getting darker and she needed to find shelter for the night. With the fiery glow of the lava in the deep, but skinny crags below as her guide, Oakley found her way to a cave.

The bogsneak knew that caves were hardly a safe place to be in this tough landscape, but it certainly beat sleeping out in the open. Oakley did a quick search of the cave and deemed it uninhabited before taking respite behind a large bolder. This would be as good of place as any to sleep. She allowed herself to drift off, with thoughts of home and future adventures floating through her mind.

Oakley awoke several hours later to the clinking of armor and the gentle taps of claws against stone. From the sounds of the footfalls there were two dragons nearby. One set of footfalls sounded far heavier than the other's. The bogsneak readied herself from her hiding place. She was her first and if these dragons were hostile, it was better to be ready than be caught off-guard.

Silently, she inched towards the edge of the boulder and carefully peaked around it. At the opening of the cave, back-lit by the thin rivers of lava, were two silhouettes; one was tall and spined with a long nose, the other, shorter and stockier with distinct webbed spines on the legs- a male ridgeback and a guardian then. They seemed well armored too, if the clinking was anything to go by. This would not be an easy fight. There was a flicker of shadows above her and before she could fully snap her body around to defend herself, her assailant was upon her.

The fight was vicious and had tumbled out into the open part of the cave. The midnight blue wildclaw was pinned beneath Oakley's claws and body. She snarled defensively at the casually approaching duo from the entrance. Her claws dug into the wildclaw's scales more.

Despite her display, the guardian and ridgeback were not deterred, until finally they were close enough for Oakley to see their features. The ridgeback was wearing black armor with red spikes. Was that lace and roses on his wings? Now was not the time to question it. His gaze flickered between herself and the wildclaw, obviously far more concerned with the situation than his companion. The guardian, on the other hand, was gold from snout to tail tip. The armor, the scales all of it. If Oakley was asked to describe the expression worn by that guardian then, it would have been one of a vehement greed. It was the expression a devout collector wears when a rare specimen is within grasp. She lowered her head and snarled again, louder this time.

"This is my cave! Leave!" Oakley wanted nothing to do with this dragon. That look rubbed her in all the wrong ways.

"You have spirit," The guardian only continued to approach, unfittingly smooth voice echoing off the cave walls, "I like that."

The gold-scaled giant stopped just out of Oakley's reach. "I am Gimmegold. You would do well in my mercenary company. I am always looking for fierce fighters." A golden hand was extended to her.

Oakley slashed at the hand with her own. "I have no interest in joining a company where the leader looks at dragons like they're something to collect!"

A flash of anger overcame the guardian's look of greed. "Then leave. This cave is ours."

"No."

One moment Oakley was crouched above the wildclaw, the next she was flung against a rock with an armored ridgeback charging at her. Three versus one in a rocky cave her opponents probably knew well. This was not a fight she could win. With agility that even somewhat surprised herself, Oakley bolted for the exit, narrowly dodging the ridgeback on her way out. Thankfully none of them pursued her. Hopefully the next dragons she would run into would be more welcoming.

Oceanic03: After fleeing the mercenaries, Oakley decided to head north over the Sea of a Thousand Currents. It was a grueling two days of travel with only a short stop on an uninhabited island, but she made it to the northern shore where light and dark meet. There she found Clan Musicorum, those who live in the Lair of a Hundred Songs, carved into a sandstone cliff side. She was swiftly greeted by the leaders, Mahira and Rothiron, and made welcome among their halls for as long as she would want to stay.

A sweet calmness and song seemed to echo through the entire clan and seep into her very bones, allowing her to relax for the first time in what could have been her whole life, and she suddenly became very aware of her tired and aching body that has been running on adrenaline and pure willpower for quite some time. Mahira seemed to know the instant the change happened and quickly showed her to a cozy cave piled with pillows and other such soft things that she could call her own as long as her stay would be, where she could rest, recuperate and heal her mind, body and soul. There was no fighting here.

Still, after a few days of calm introductions and gentle interactions with some of the members of the clan, she finds herself itching to do something, so she goes to find Arven to see if there is anything she can help with. She finds him quickly enough and asks her questions, but is told everything has either already been done or had dragons assigned to the task. She ends up wandering and exploring, attempting to follow the soft song drifting through the halls with little success and gazing out upon the sea, watching the waves and the hatchlings playing in the sand down below. Is this feeling peace because everything has been done? Or is it boredom, because there is nothing to do? She muses upon it as the sun meanders across the sky, turning afternoon into the brilliant colors of sunset.

Another two days pass and she can feel the boredom creeping up on her. There is nothing to do here! Not to mention she has begun to feel slightly uneasy about the ceaseless song in the air. She has done some more searching and still can't find the source, and it's starting to grate on her nerves. So why does she want to stay? She finds herself often thinking about settling down here, creating a life for herself that isn't fraught with travel and danger, but that's not what she wants at all! She loves fighting, the heat of a battle against an evenly matched fighter, the rush of the crowd's cheers pushing her on to greater feats, the thrill of victory as she stands above her defeated opponent, but this melodious hum wants her to throw that all away so she can stay with it. And the worst part? She wants to! Or, is that just the melody haunting her, changing her to her very core? She doesn't know, and it weighs heavy on her mind.

The next day, she goes to find Mahira and Rothiron to let them know she plans to leave to continue her journey. They seem slightly disappointed, but wish her safe travels and within the hour she's packed her things and gone. She doesn't know where she's going next, but she hopes it's somewhere she won't have her mind tampered with ever so sweetly.

DreamingSunset:Oakley traveled over the Sea of a Thousand Currents and most of the Windswept Plateau. She had to get that song out of her head. As she flew further over the Windsinger's domain, the air currents grew stronger. Oakley soon found herself battling gale force winds as she was sucked into the twisting crescendo!

What happened next was a blur...both literally and figuratively. Oakley fought against the howling winds of the twisting crescendo for as long as she could, but her wings just weren't strong enough to make it out. Eventually, exhausted and feeling defeated Oakley nearly let the winds sweep her away...but someone called out to her, "Hang on! We're coming to help!"

The voice came from a pearlcatcher dressed in adventuring gear. He sported a pair of goggles and a mask...he clearly came prepared for the harsh weather. The pearlcathcer jumped into action...literally. He plunged into the whirling winds of the twisting crescendo without hesitation...that's when everything went dark...

Oakley came to aboard a small platform of the Cloudsong, the pearlcatcher and a bluemoon aviar stood nearby.
"You had me worried there," the pearlcatcher said, pulling down his mask.
"She nearly kicked the bucket!" the aviar squawked.
"Oh, hush, Daros," the pearlcatcher hissed at his familiar while walking over to help Oakley up, "Sorry about him. Daros can be a bit...dramatic. Anyway, my name is Tarkov, welcome aboard the Cloudsong..."

With all the excitement over with, Oakley wanted to find somewhere to rest for a while. Tarkov was happy enough to offer a room with his home clan. Although the accomidations were quite nice, Oakley didn't end up staying long...too many skydancers...at least that's what Oakley convinced herself of...in reality she just couldn't stand living so high up off the ground.

KingVulture: Oakley had a brief stay in Crow Callers. She heard about some fellow fighters in the clan, notably Rifate, Passenger, and RustingPenny, and considered the possibility of sparring with them... until she realized that Rifate and RustingPenny were Skydancers.

Not willing to face her fear, Oakley left the next morning.

User: