Lepra

_________ Birth Flight _________ The Hand Sinister, by Oneiir. _________ Left at Wyrmwound at 4 days old. _________ Necromantic Symbol: Darksteel Amulet of Necromancy Apparel An oversized amulet inscribed with a necromancy formula. 250 _________ Familiar: Plague Sprite Familiar Entourage of the Plaguebringer. (Riot of Rot Holiday Familiar 2013.) 0 _________ By Hikumi

Lepra has always been fascinated with skin and with all these things that can infect it and completely change its look. She believes that the Plaguebringer gave her her power for a reason and that it means she can use it as she pleases. If the Plaguebringer does not want a certain dragon to be infected or healed, Lepra's powers will simply not work, so as long as she can use her abilities, it means it is also the Plaguebringer's will. Although Lepra believes in balance - if she agrees to heal a dragon, she gives them a different disease instead (usually skin disease, as she loves observing them) or infects another dragon. Lepra was always frustrated observing her father. He was too quiet, too distant. He never wanted to get involved, which did not make any sense. He was given a great power, why not use it? He just kept saying that it was not up to him to reject the Plaguebringer's will to infect - a view that his daughter would never agree with. _________________________________________________ Trials She arrived in the Rotrock Rim with her brother and sister. She knew that in 23 days none of them would be the same. She also knew that it was most likely the last time she would see them. Blessed or cursed, Lepra was never planning on coming back. She was tired of the others telling her how she should behave once she would have become a Necromancer, tired of seeing her father, who seemed miserable and in pain to her. She needed freedom. When the siblings split to go separate ways and undergo the trials alone, she did not look back. 'This is the new beginning,' she thought. 'There is nothing to be sad about.' The first trial - infection. ...... The second trial - survival. A day after she had passed the first trial, she started feeling it. The sickness slowly spread through her veins. It was not sudden, quite the opposite. The first few days were rather quiet. First she felt a bit off, then she got a headache. It started to expand, taking over her jaw, chest, stomach, limbs, tail and wings. The plague seemed to relish every second of its victory. Lepra lay down. Every move was painful. Her skin was soon covered in blisters and weird wounds that seemed to had come from nowhere. At first, the Mirror tried to kill the time by observing them - these were the most fascinating occurences she had seen so far. But a few more days passed and she could not do even that. It was too much. She felt every single cell in her body, exploding with pain and heat. Every pump of her heart felt like her chest was being crushed. Every breath felt like breathing in fire. The red sun was burning her eyes and each sound was scarring her ears. It's hard to tell how long it took - minutes or months? It felt both like just a quick moment, but also like an eternity. That time seemed to be surreal like a dream and yet clear like the most real experience in the world. But it did not matter. What mattered was that she slowly started winning over it. Second by second, she became stronger and more determined to defeat the thing that was weakening her. A few more moments passed (were they seconds or days?) and it all stopped. Lepra looked at her body, now covered in thylacine markings - sign of her suffering, which she had survived and defeated. The third trial - contagion. It was not a problem for her, she touched with the plague the very first dragon she came across. It was not her first time either. The day after she was born, she could infect birds and other animals with her mind and even gave one of the dragons a harmless rash when she touched him. Lepra was a natural. She did not doubt her abilities for a second. She spent a few hours searching for a perfect candidate that she could make her final trial. Her victory and tribute to the Plaguebringer. She saw a small clan of dragons residing near the place of her torment. She approached them. When one of the dragons tried to attack her, she immediately struck him with the plague. The rest of the clan wanted to flee, but she did not let them. After a few seconds all the dragons were on the ground, shivering in agony. She smiled slightly and came closer to the one she infected first. She put her hand on his head and the sickness left him. The dragon was so terrified that he instantly flew away, leaving his friends behind. Lepra began to heal all the other dragons, one by one, praising the Plaguebringer in her thoughts. Then she told them to leave as well. And they did.

'That’s the place where you were truly born' – these were the first words Celiac heard after he had completed his trials said to him by his mother, Lepra, who was standing a few feet from him, looking down at him with a tiny shred of weirdly vicious joy and respect.

He still felt the remains of all the pain experienced during his trials, his muscles were shaking and he was tired, but at the same time he felt stronger than ever. Power was flowing through his veins, pulsing in his nerves, filling him from the inside.

'How do you feel?,' asked Lepra, looking at him closely.

Celiac didn’t know what to say. All Necromancers are supposed to serve the Plaguebringer, fulfill Her will as their power comes directly from Her, not to show off their abilities or take pride in their strength.

'How did you feel after you completed your trials?,' he asked. His mother smiled.

'Strong.'

Celiac didn’t reply. He knew his mother, she was always confident about her powers and was using them as she pleased, never giving too much thought about the Plaguebringer’s will. It was surprising, considering that her father, Cassadaga, was never eager to heal other dragons, as he believed he is not to reject the deity’s will to infect.

'Aren’t you afraid that the Plaguebringer will take away your abilities one day? That you’re using them too much?,' he asked.

Lepra growled, but her gaze was enough to make him quiet.

'If She wanted them gone, She would’ve already taken them away. I survived the trials, completed the task. Everything I have was deserved. Even if I lost my powers, She can’t take away my accomplishment and my pride. It’s not Her, who made me like this.' – Lepra’s eyes became more gentle – 'That’s true that She gave us the opportunity, She is the source of our power, but we are the ones who passed and survived and who made us who we are now. Never forget that.'

Celiac’s mother sounded so confident. Her voice wasn’t loud, but when she was speaking, nobody dared to interrupt or question her. She acted like a queen, like a godess.

'I’m not a goddess, Celiac,' she said, almost like she could have read her son’s thoughts. 'I know my boundaries, I know my place. And I know that the Plaguebringer is to be worshipped. But I also know I am the manifest of Her power, the harbinger of Her will. I am a sign of a god on earth, which makes me the closest thing to god that most dragons will ever come across.'

Clown Charger

Familiar

The clown charger's skin is poisonous. Most dragons consider eating them to be more trouble than hunting them.

1900