Gale

_______________________
{Gale Daybreeze}


_______________________



____________________
A Lonely Lair in the Cloudsong...

Gale was, at a young age, raised to become an incredible flyer. As a young hatchling, taken from his original lair, he was put through the paces on the Zephyr Steppes to become the best; there was no room for friendship, or any time to think of what else he might want to be.

A strict tutor, and reluctant competition against others under the same tutelage, meant Gale did his best to shine. His wings grew strong, his movement light, and when it came time to ascend through towards the Twisting Crescendo, he soared.

Some dropped out before they'd even reached the edges of the spiralling vortex, carried off by the hidden winds and sly breezes which set them off balance and tossed them aside as leaves are in early winters. Gale remained firm, but when the tips of his wings hit the vortex, he was thrown summarily and was carried away himself.

Between his dizziest moments and the rough handling of the air, Gale's heart hammered as he saw others - confident, brash, competitive dragons, many more skilled than he - being tossed aside, twisted, and in some cases literally torn apart by the storm. A stray flap of wing-fibre hit him in the face and back into alignment, long enough for the horror-stricken dragonling to right himself and think.

Carving the pure, magical energy around him in a shield, Gale tilted to the side and rode the tornado.

____________________

When Gale thinks back on the happier moments of his youth, the first he remembers is the final moments of his first flight through the storm.

At that moment, as he landed, Gale staggered, dropped his magical shield, and threw up.

It was a most ethereal feeling, knowing that he - among all those students - had survived. Never had he thought himself strong, able, or even capable in the way the others were. So, when at last he reached the end of the ordeal, he felt suddenly as if he could do anything, and nobody could tell him otherwise.

He enjoyed flight, as few others did. And he would continue to fly. But why fly for the dragon who had allowed so many students to fly to their deaths?

So Gale left.
____________________

Lorem -- Gale makes a home in the Cloudsong
____________________