Rhoda

Rhoda was hatched. She was picked up by parents in nurturing talents, but the first thing she could remember was thinking of the color in everything around her, the contrast of the colors of her parents against the dull walls. She wasn’t used to this, however. She had wished it had been more colorful. Her clan, the Color Clan, had flourished for many years based on what her parents had told her. Suddenly, the Plague invaders rushed in, setting fire to houses and killing everyone. She watched as the throat was slit on her mother, and as her father died gurgling on the ground, foam coming out of his mouth as the disease of the Plague consumed him. She watched, horrified, as all of her clan had died. She hid in the closet, breathing heavy. Everything went foggy after that.

She woke up to the darkness of the closet and the rotting smell of the dead. She walked out to see all of her clan dead. She searched through their home… their village… for traces of their Deity, who lived in the village paining unlike most others, called “The Painter”... who was also lying dead. She knew what that meant. Without the Deity, without the clan members, they would forever be forgotten. People would think she was crazy if she said she was in the color clan. She searched the island for days, with no idea where to go. She was an adolescent now, able to do more things than before. She finally found Lori, the dunhoof who she instantly fell in love with. She also found the large moth, the Luna Mith, who followed her everywhere for some reason. The horse-legged being walked her up to the forest edge, pulling apart the vines and walking through. She followed, finding a forest. It was called the Nature forest. She and her familliars traveled for months, until they found something special.

She gasped, her eyes widening in awe. She had never seen the rainforest huts that the ones in the Jungle had built here. It was all green. The dragons, and all, were green. She walked in, seeing a big marketplace in the center. There were dragons of all kind… Plague… Water… Shadow… and more. She walked into the market, making sure her familiar was close by her side, and… yep. The Luna Mith was right behind her, of course. She walked up to see a fae dragon, with dark green eyes and a purple body. It had a mischievous grin going. “Welcome to Twig’s Painting Emporium!,” the dragon said, his eyes narrowing. He leaned in. “We only have one more thing of paint in stock… but it’s magical. It regenerates itself, and was enchanted by the Arcane. If you want it, you’ll have to give something up.” She had remembered paint from The Painter. It was magical, and you could grab a brush and twist it along any surface to make the most beautiful images, from the depths of the sea to the treetops of the rainforest. “Sure. What are you eyeing?” Twig grinned. “I want that Luna Mith of yours… I don’t know if it belongs to you, but it looks expensive.” She had remembered everything she had worked for, the fun adventures she had had with those familiars. “I’ll take the paints.”

She walked out in the forest, putting some White Bark to a tree. She had glued it on with sap, and backed up. She remembered her first vision of the forest. She smiled, grabbing her make-shift paintbrush… her tail... and going to work. She took her tail, dipping it in the green, and made elegant strokes against the canvas. When she had finished, a beautiful painting of the forest was in front of her. She put it in her bag, along with her new paints, and continued traveling along.

Soon, she had reached the border of a couple clans. She had only thought of one thing, however… Plague. She watched as a little dog ran up behind her. She smiled, holding up the little thing. She decided against eating it, and put it on her shoulder as she walked over the border. She would call it Miku. She walked into the Plague clan, her memories fuzzy about them. She greeted the others, and asked to set up a home there. Most decided against it, but a kind dragon named Oskar decided it was a good idea. He persuaded the others that she would make for good hunting and maybe more. She moved into a hut there. It was so bland, and so she got out her paints, blowing them up with scenes of her travels. The mermaid back in the Water Clan, the little mice back in the Fire Clan, and the many dragons she had seen along the way. For some reason, that she did not know, she painted deep red eyes, and a red haze around the black they surrounded. Whatever it was, she ignored it, and kept on painting. She grew up happily, an Adult now, living with her familliar and Miku.