Ogham

Being so tied to one's element could be a blessing or a curse, depending on how one looks at it. Ogham can see it both ways, figuratively speaking, although she's never known any different. She doesn't have mundane vision, as such-- rather, her eyes pick up the life force of the things around her, like light radiating out in darkness. Ogham can tell at a glance how healthy a living thing is, whether it suffers from poison or disease, what element the thing is, and where any major damage to the organism may lie. In the Viridian Labyrinth, Ogham's gift functioned much like mundane sight would, owing to the sheer overabundance of life in every nook and cranny. She served as a scout in a pack once she came of age, easily able to distinguish plant from animal and friend from foe. Her steps were soft, and her arrows struck true.

Well, right up until she challenged her pack leader's daughter for the right to be scoutmaster. Ogham, with her special eyes, had been a thorn in the younger dragon's side ever since she arrived in the pack. With a chilly underhandedness more befitting a Pearlcatcher than another wildclaw, the other dragon smashed Ogham over the back of the head with a rock and left her in the middle of the Shifting Expanse to die.

The next few weeks were absolutely brutal on Ogham, testing her to her very limits. She was used to seeing so much life, but here, her world was almost completely dark. Ogham spent the first few days feeling exposed, running from cactus to cactus just to have some sort of landmark in the sparsely populated wasteland. She hid from the sun in old burrows, which she found by following the life forces of beastmen. Ogham wanted nothing more than to head North, to at least find shelter in the redwoods of the Sunbeam Ruins. Instead, she wandered South. Further and further she went, cactus to cactus, burrow to burrow. Discovering the cryptobiotic soil in some parts of the Expanse made her life marginally easier, and led to fewer stubbed toes, but such a low level community of lifeforms didn't put out much for her eyes to pick up.

It was only after weeks of wandering that she caught sight of something in the distance. It wasn't just another dragon clan... no. There was green there. Lots of green. It didn't quite equal the plant life she loved in the Viridian Labyrinth, but a Nature dragon had clearly had their claws on it. Ogham dashed for the first time in weeks, oriented squarely on that big spot of green so far underground. She was so glad to see it, she almost took flight... but no. Even running so far away from plant life was dangerous, and Ogham's unique vision had never lent itself to flight.

Unbeknownst to her, Ogham was about to take the next few steps off into Carrion Canyon, when something nearby shoved her over. A massive being of pure Nature magic stood next to her, taking the form of a stag, as they often did. The Spirit of Nature offered its horns to pull Ogham to her feet. She let her eyes adjust, and when they did... well, she could see the Spirit's point. There was a great deep void of almost any and all life below her, with only the odd bird or dragon to break up the pattern.

The Nature spirit shimmered a bit, and upon its back rested two magnificent green wings. It took a flying leap and extended them, barely flapping as it began to coast on the thermals. Ogham took a deep breath, got a running start, and followed. She'd never been a strong flier. This glide would end up being the longest she had ever taken, or likely would ever take, unassisted by other dragons. Spirits of Nature did not give their aid lightly, though, and often tested their charges to their absolute limits. After all, only the fittest survived.

Ogham landed clumsily on the other side, tumbling rump over teakettle before stopping in a heap about thirty feet from the edge. But she was alive. No way would she have survived trying to walk through Carrion Canyon. The Spirit helped her up again, and the two of them traveled for a while, until they reached Clan AXQU.

The clan had never been one to waste anything, and it took barely any time at all for Ogham's gifts to be of use. Out in the desert, she was almost useless as a scout, even with the Spirit acting as her guide. She could, however, use her gifts to help Millie diagnose and treat patients much faster. There was the usual fighting and reshuffling of the hierarchy, as there always was when a wildclaw pack got a new member, but Ogham soon settled into her own thickly planted room just off the main garden area. She likes the security of clan AXQU. She likes Millie, but her absolute favorite is Rowan; Ogham is still trying to figure out how to woo her.

She misses the Labyrinth, but is far too afraid of the open desert to leave the clan. Since her nature spirit seems disinclined to leave, well, Ogham has decided that there are much worse places to be than here.