Locke

The First Day 05/01/18

When Locke arrived in the Brunested Clan, he had been greeted immediately by the two clan leaders and their children, along with the clan mage and clan oracle. Right away the oracle, a Fae named Hestia, ascertained that this hatchling was "the one" she'd seen in her visions. This would be the clan's new Necromancer if he passed the trials, the dragon who would spread the word and infections of Plaguebringer and, ultimately, bring great honor to the clan in his service. And, seeing as how his parents were accomplished Necromancers in their own right, the young Mirror had plenty of expectations to meet.

As clan leader, Whyvrith took it upon himself to escort the pup to Rotrock Rim to undergo his Necromantic trials. Locke seemed unafraid of what was to come, but Whyvrith wondered if a dragon so young could really comprehend the scope of this undertaking. Perhaps over confidently, the aspiring Necromancer chose a ridge relatively close to the Wyrmwound to take his vigil. As Whyvrith left him there, the clan leader shook his head, wondering if, perhaps, Hestia would be wrong and this pup was not "the one" after all. Surely the foretold Necromancer would not pick a spot so dangerous to spend the many days of trials on?

Day 5

Nothing was happening. Locke had been sitting by the Wyrmwound for days and nothing was happening. He'd been told that, if Plaguebringer approved of him, she would bless him with a disease that he would either overcome or succumb to. If he succeeded, he would be tested to determine if he could spread illness as well as cure it. If that was the case, he would be a Necromancer officially.

But days had passed and no disease had come yet. Had Plaguebringer deemed him unworthy? Unfortunately, Locke had no choice but to continue to wait.

Day:--

The disease snuck up on him. Maybe Locke was just distracted by his growing hunger and impatience, but it felt like one moment, he was waiting for something to happen, and the next he was writhing on the ground as the sickness spread over his flesh and coursed through his insides like molten magma. It didn't take long before he wished for death, anything to stop this pain. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he was supposed to fight for survival. If he did, he would be a Necromancer. So Locke steeled himself for however long it would take for him to survive this.

He was distantly aware of another presence near him, another body pressed up against his thrashing one. He couldn't focus though, so he'd worry about it when he beat this illness.

The Final Day

The pain subsided almost as quickly as it had come along. With it went the fever and the fog around his mind. He was still weak, but Locke wasn't dead and that was the important thing.

The Mirror pushed himself to his feet and shook his head to clear it. The body of another dragon on the ground next to where he had been previously caught his attention. It was a female Skydancer, clearly also undergoing the Trials. But something was wrong. Her breathing was shallow, her body was extremely hot to the touch, and her eyes were closed. Was she dying, succumbing to the illness? For some reason, Locke didn't want to see her fail, especially not if she'd been keeping him company this whole time.

"If you can hear me, don't give up." Locke called out as he gently nudged the other dragon with a paw. "Mother wants to see you survive and so do I. It might be nice to have someone else to share this calling with, so don't die. We're going back to the clan together."

With that, he sat down near her to wait. He knew he should return to the clan and prove that he had successfully become a Necromancer, but Locke couldn't bear to leave the Skydancer alone.

Rare eyes
Dragons with rare eyes are masters of transmutation. Some have command of several elements while others utilize their birth element in ingeniously clever ways, such as making fire run like water or wind carry the currents of lightning. While their strength and ability vary by individual, rare-eyed dragons are infallibly clever, sometimes too clever for their own good. With their ability to contort and transform their magic, dragons with rare eyes find the Trial of Contagion to be intuitive (if not easy) and are likely to pass, assuming they make it that far.