Chatzkel

A sharp wind flattened his bright blue mane to his spine as Chatzkel soared across the Tangled Woods, his eyes searching back and forth through the shadows below.

This is not the place, he thought to himself as he continued his journey over the murky forest. His thoughts were jumbled and unfocused, but he kept coming back to a central idea: heartbreak. Though he wanted to keen, he dared not in this strange place where there may be those that would not like the presence of a strange dragon in their territory.

His journey had begun in the Nature realm, where he had left his lair and all that he had known since his birth. He had been happy in the Gladeveins. He had learned to fly after being pushed from the nest, not unkindly, by his mother and later learned to soar with the coaxing of his father. He had found friends there, among the dragons of his lair and even visited other lairs and met those who he would always keep fond memories of. One such visit to another lair had brought him in contact with Her.

He had known from their first meeting that she was the female that he desired to bond for the rest of his days. Their colors were nearly perfect for one another and their intellects matched on almost all accounts. She was all he could think about and he filled his head with fancies of their lives together as a couple in his lair. How his mother and father would rejoice!

Their courtship was the talk of lairs across the Viridian Labyrinth and Chatzkel could not remember a moment when he was more happy than when She agreed to permanently bond with him. As was proper, he embarked on an epic hunt to bring her a magnificent beast to feast upon before their bonding could be completed. His travels brought him to the Scarred Wasteland, where he scoffed and passed on from the scarred and pitted creatures there. Instead, he found himself arriving on the far shores of the Starfall Isles where he marveled at the mysterious nature of the land, so different from his own primal homeland. Here, Chatzkel knew he would find a creature that would do honor to their bonding and please Her to be with him.

He hunted for days, discarding many animals and overlooking even more until he found the majestic creature that he sought to bring his True Love. Chatzkel was known among those of his lair for his prowess in hunting, and not even a full moon had passed through the skies before he began his return trip to Her lair. He flew as fast as his wings could take him and arrived just as the moon cycle was beginning again. The heads of many dragons swiveled in his direction and he noted anxious eyes watching him. Confused, the Imperial dragon made his way unsteadily toward Her roost with the fruit of his hunt clutched in one fore-paw.

As he arrived, Chatzkel stumbled backwards as if struck and stared at a clutch of eggs and his Love, who was standing protectively over them.

What is this? he questioned, hurt coloring his thought.

She looked at him without responding for a long while, her eyes coloring with shame. I did not know that you were coming back... she finally returned, hesitantly.

Her words...when he had been so swift in his hunt, for HER! Anger clouded his eyes and he slammed the carcass he had been holding into the ground, grinding the creature into the dirt beneath his claws. He could not understand the feelings coursing through his mind, clouding his usually level-headed judgement. Mindlessly, he turned away from Her, ignoring her pleas to listen and reason. She had betrayed him.

As he stumbled away from Her and the nest, a dragon came into sight and tried to rush to her side. Who is he?! Chatzkel roared, opening his angry mind to all of the dragons in the lair. His frequent visits to this lair had never revealed this dragon to him, and he angrily tried to swipe away the intruder with his front claws, catching his wing and grunting with satisfaction as he felt membrane rip beneath his claws. The startled male reared up in front of him and swiped out on his own, but Chatzkel was already lumbering into the air. While his foe missed Chatzkel's wings, he caught him along his front shoulder, scoring deeply with his claws. The lair watched him fly away from them with blood dripping from him and mingling with angry tears before falling to the ground below.

He knew that he could not return to his lair, where his parents and all he knew could witness his shame and heartbreak. He had to leave his homeland and bury his hurt somewhere far from here. Keening to himself, Chatzkel made his way through the skies, heading South.

After passing over the Tangled Wood, Chatzkel began to tire and his wings beat unsteadily. With a weary reluctance, he settled himself only a deserted shore that barely rose from the sea. Though he was tired, he was not one to take unnecessary chances and took the time to settle himself in a shallow cavelet nearby, to hide him from the eyes of any who might pass overhead and keep him partially concealed from those on the ground. Then, he slept.

When he woke, it was morning and he did not know for how long he had dozed. As he blinked blearily up at the bright sun, a face shadowed him and enormous blue eyes peered down into his face. Surprised, Chatzkel roared with surprise before he could stop himself and scuttled backwards as far as the tiny cave would allow. Angry with his show of fear before a stranger, he drew himself up and glared down at the Spiral dragon before him.

Un-phased, the Spiral curled into the warm sand that Chatzkel had vacated and thought sleepily at him, You needed sleep, so Tsurin did not disturb you from his cave. He has mended your arm. He sleeps now. And without further comment, the long, lithe dragon closed his eyes and drifted into slumber. Chatzkel looked at him for several moments with confusion before glancing down at his shoulder. He grunted to see his arm covered liberally with barnacles and wrapped with seaweed and moved it experimentally. As it did seem to be healing, he decided to leave the strange dragon's medicine in its place for now and lumbered out of the cave while trying not to disturb his helper.

Once out in the full daylight, the bright Imperial dragon got his bearings and launched himself back into the air, continuing his journey South. The rest of the day was devoted to passing over the strong currents of the sea below and he did not lay eyes on land again until the sun began its descent from the sky. In the distance he could see a sweeping plateau with a sharp ascent of cliffs. As the sun finally disappeared over the horizon, Chatzkel touched down on the edge of this land and breathed deeply of the sweet scents it offered. He also tested the air for the smells of other dragons to make sure that he was not encroaching on another lair's territory; something that he should have done when landing in the sea. Clean, empty air greeted him and he felt the first happy thought since he had left all that he had known behind. He was home.

Lifting his snout, he bugled into the winds of the Windswept Plateau in greeting and welcome. Here, he would stay.