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Malachite

(#43956434)

Imagine being blind on all of your *checks notes* 34 eyes.

Familiar

Seaglass Swimmer

Energy: 0/50

Personal Style

Apparel

Skin

Scene

Physical Attributes

Battle Stats

Measurements

Length

15.34 m

Wingspan

13.46 m

Weight

8743.52 kg

Genetics

Turquoise
Iridescent

Maroon
Shimmer

Banana
Ghost

Hatchday

Aug 02, 2018
(5 years)

Breed

Adult
Ridgeback

Eye Type

Ice
Multi-Gaze

Level 1 Ridgeback

EXP: 0 / 245

STR

AGI

DEF

QCK

INT

VIT

MND

Lineage

Parents

Offspring

none

Biography

Blind Beauty

_____________________________ *** _____________________________

So many eyes. She has so many eyes. They’re blank and lifeless. “She is blind,” they tell you, “she has always been blind.”

Her eyes fixate on you when you talk.

_____________________________ *** _____________________________

"Multiple eyes disorder, short MED, or how it is more commonly known, multi-gaze, is a disorder that causes tissue that would normally grow into skin cells to form eyes instead. The severity of the disorder varies from dragon to dragon, with some specimens only sprouting a pair of extra eyes, while others develop multiple extra sets along the whole lenght of their body, with extreme cases developing eyes even in the caudal region. It is a very curious condition indeed, and very rare at that. As of yet, the cause is unknown, though multiple theories about its origin have been proposed already, all of which center around magic in some way or another. The fact that it seems to be a relatively recent disorder, with almost no evidence of it occuring in the past, only serves to make it more obscure.

As a developmental biologist, I feel compelled to try to explain it in other ways instead. It is easy to explain things we do not understand with some obscure magic, but those explanations, unless we can unearth real evidence for them, are mere speculation, with barely an ounce of truth to them. However, I am not suggesting that magic has nothing to do with this conditon - after all, while I do have a reasonable explanation as to how it occurs, there are still holes, still pieces missing, to explain it fully.

My own guess is that MED is caused by the overexpression of a certain gene, or more truthfully, the expression of a gene in places where it shouldn't be expressed at all. The gene in question is, in my opinion, PAX6, which codes for a protein of the humble name paired box protein Pax-6, or just Pax6 for short, though a few of my scientific brethren may know it better under the name of oculorhombin.

PAX6 acts, simply said, as a kind of switch. When activated, it in turn activates a whole cascade of genes which ultimately lead to the development of the eye. Switching it off, as I have shown repeatedly in experiments with Drosophila melanogaster (there the PAX6 analogue is called eyeless) as well as with mice, causes partial to complete loss of the eyes in the former as well as more severe issues (namely the loss of the nasal cavities) in the latter.

Furthermore, artifically activating eyeless or using the Pax6-protein of mice in tissues unrelated to the eye in Drosophila melanogaster resulted in the flies developing ectopic eyes, that is, eyes where there shouldn't be any. It is thus not unreasonable to think that an overexpression of PAX6 leads to the development of multiple eyes in dragons affected with MED.

To test this hypothesis further, I used a dragon embryo and artifically introduced Pax6-protein into tissues where the protein is usually not found, and indeed, the embryo in question soon began to develop eyes in these tissues. The hatchling came out of its egg unscathed and completely functional once it had completely developed. While one dragon is a small sample size indeed - if you can even call it a sample -, it is at least proof that the overexpression of PAX6 might be the cause of MED.

But what exactly the cause of this overexpression is, I do not know. It might very well have something to do with magic - after all, dragonkind is affected by magic even when still in the egg. It might be that extreme magical fluctuations could alter the pattern of DNA expression in some hatchlings, thus leading to conditions like these. However, this is mere speculation, and I will have to look further into it.

Curiously, the extra eyes that multi-gaze dragons develop seem to be completely functional. Malachite is unfortunately completely blind, due to severe injuries to her normal pair of eyes which she suffered when she was still a fledgling. Yet, her extra eyes react to light and even to movement to some degree, but they seem to be unable to pass the information they receive from their surroundings to her brain. It seems like the extra eyes do not connect to the right places in the nervous system - if they connect to anything at all.

Even more curious, some multi-gaze dragons do seem to be capable of seeing through their extra sets of eyes, or at least out of some of them, even those sets of eyes that are far apart from the brain. It seems that in some cases, the eyes are able to connect to the right places in the nervous system - though what or where these are I do not know yet - and thus convey visual information just like any normal set of eyes would."

"Multi-gaze is such a peculiar thing! The first specimen I came into contact with that was affected by this conditon was Morte, and he's not ... uh, how should I say ... he's not exactly the nicest fella to be around. He's also super duper cursed, with all that 'I touch you and you die' thing that he has going on. So I always thought that his multiple eyes were just part of that creepiness factor that many curses come with.

But I wouldn't exactly call Malachite cursed, though her past was definitely most unfortunate. I think she and her mother still carry the weight of that day around with them ... I can't imagine how much trauma it must have caused both of them. The fact that Malachite is a regular guest at Morpheus' place is kinda telling, you know.

Anyway, back to the point. Where was I? Oh yeah! I don't think Malachite is cursed, so maybe multi-gaze doesn't have anything to do with it after all - though I wouldn't rule out the possibility of curses being able to cause it. I mean, there's gotta be some jealous witches out there that want to turn their exes into hideous beasts, right? Right?

But it does definitely have something to do with magic, and maybe even a hint of the supernatural, of that I am sure. Malachite has extremely high readings of ... well, something. When I view her through my specs, she is surrounded by a flaming, bright aura - it's almost blinding to look at. I've only ever seen something like this in three other dragons - Helios, Heliopal and Deathtrap, Malachite's mother, but none of those auras are quite as bright as hers.

Maybe it's some kind of magic buildup, which manifests, among other things, in the development of several eyes? It's no secret that Malachite and her mother are extremely strong, being able to wield two elements, not to mention Deathtrap's necromancy. Maybe all that special magic that Deathtrap has, paired with some external magic influence - a surge of strong ice magic in our surrounding for example - caused it. Our other multi-gazed friends might have developed their extra eyes for similar reasons - a whole lot of magic buildup while they were still in the egg, and boom! You've got yourself a multi-gaze dragon."

"In all my years working with nightmare patients, I have only seldom had ones that were as painful to watch as Malachite. Every dragon deals with their nightmares differently - some are more resilient than others, and some take their time with recovery. The age of the dragon can play a part in it, but even then, some hatchlings recover almost immediately, while others will carry their nightmares into their adult lives and never get fully over them.

Leadwort was even younger than Malachite when she suffered her injury. She, too, had terrible nightmares, and I took them away from her. Despite all the pain and fear she had gone through, she had a strong heart and recovered quickly. Malachite, on the other hand, still hasn't recovered. Her heart is fragile and full of fear, and she has to visit me often, taking the dangerous journey from the Outpost to our main lair, so that I might take her nightmares away just for a few nights.

Malachite ... she is truly a special patient. I only know one other dragon whose pain is as bad as hers, and despite trying my best, I am never able to eradicate their nightmares completely. A few days of rest, maybe a fortnight ... that is all I can give them, and then the nightmares come back. Like demons they hide in their hearts, and no matter how often I attack them, how hard I try to drive them away, a piece of them always manages to cling on and grow back, and with it, the nightmares come and plague the poor dragon's mind.

Again and again I treat them, facing the demons inside of them in their stead. It is excrutiating, painful, scarring work. I see what they see, I feel their pain and their fear, their confusion and their sadness, as if it was mine.

When I treat Malachite, I see them, I hear them. I hear the mocking, I hear her terrified screams as they attack. I see bared fangs, growing longer and longer, I see claws slashing, covered in blood. I feel the pain, red, hot, burning through my eyes. I feel their claws pulling at me, hear her begging them to stop, to just stop this, to leave her alone, she can't bear it anymore. I hear her calling out for her mother, feel how her voice breaks, her mouth filled with the taste of blood.

The images of her dreams are burned into my mind. She was so young when it happened, and so full of joy. She had big dreams and ambitions, wanted to be just like her parents - strong, brave. She is nothing but a shadow of herself now. She is getting better, but her progress is painfully slow. She still hasn't adjusted to loosing her eyesight - it is not so much navigating the world that is the problem, but the emotional aspect of it. She is angry at the world for treating her so unfairly, she is confused and scared and unsure of the future. But deep down, she blames herself for what happened, believes that she somehow deserved it. I know, because I've seen it, felt it. I wish I could do more for her, but all I can do is take her nightmares away, again and again ..."

"My sweet, sweet daughter ... I weep when I think about what happened to her. She is my greatest treasure, and I love her even more than my own mate. To see her like this ... broken, sad, afraid ... it causes me deep sadness and distress. She used to be so full of joy, so unafraid, and curious about the world around her. Now she is wary and nervous even of the smallest of things. It is as if she believes that the whole world is bent on hurting her, and it takes her a long time to warm up to others and trust them. She rarely goes out exploring anymore, she does not want to know about any new things; she rather stays inside, surrounded by friends and family, where she believes herself safe.

She has a hard time controlling her power - whenever she is consumed by waves of sadness she starts to freeze herself and everything around her, barricading herself and forcing her to wallow even further in her emotions, until one of us finally manages to reach her. Anger causes the flames inside of her to flare up, ready to explode, and she has hurt others in the process already, without meaning to.

If I ever see those exiles again ... if they ever dare to turn up here again, I will tear them to shreds and turn their remains into dust. It was the first time that Wolfsbane's group laid claws on us, and my poor daughter was their victim. They ambushed her when she was still a fledgling - not yet fully grown, but not a hatchling anymore, either. She had gone out on her own, unsupervised, and had strayed too far, when suddenly they sprang upon her, digging their claws into her flesh and burning her eyes. When I heard my poor baby's cries, it was already too late; she was covered in wounds and blinded by fire, and those wretched dragons were pushing her around like a toy.

Oh, I showed them. I showed them my wrath and taught them a lesson. I should have punished them harder than I did, should have killed both of them, should have used both of their bodies for revenge, but alas, I let one of them live. What they did to my daughter was inexcusable, and for that I will never forgive them. They could come to me, their bodies torn and dragging themselves along with just one claw, begging me for their forgiveness, and I would not grant their wish.

Shall they burn in Flameforger's eternal fire."

_____________________________ *** _____________________________

_____________________________ *** _____________________________

Meet the others!

Deathtrap

Vaporwave

Chalcanthite

Khucho

Barrier

Atlas

Banana

Morpheus

Angus

Morte

Helios

Heliopal

Leadwort

Starburst

Wolfsbane

Scrapmetal

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Exalting Malachite to the service of the Icewarden will remove them from your lair forever. They will leave behind a small sum of riches that they have accumulated. This action is irreversible.

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