A poor and unfortunate creature, cursed till the end of her life, to be taken over by darkness and hatred in the end. Phobos used to be an energetic and cheerful dragon, enjoying life and doing the best she could for the clan. She could make any dragon smile with stupid songs and jokes, or cheer them up with silly stories; she was especially popular among hatchlings and younger dragons, with whom she used to kid around and play with a lot.

She cared a lot for her half-sister Frostfall and helped to raise her; once Frostfall was fully grown the two would go on many journeys together and Phobos would show her the lands of Sornieth, teaching her all she knew. She always supported her younger sister and cheered her up in her darkest moments. When Frostfall made the decision to become a warrior, Phobos encouraged her to chase her dream and never failed to believe in her.

However, Phobos has been doomed ever since she took her sister - back then she was still just a wee hatchling - on their first trip. It was curiosity that sentenced her to death, one touch of that strange black cloud in the water, that twisted so funnily and blinked at her with a thousand eyes. Ever since, the Shade has taken a hold of her, slowly destroying her body from the inside out and turning it into an empty vessel.

Once Phobos realized what happened, she tried to hide her condition. She managed to fight back for a long time, but over the years the Shade grew stronger and stronger until she had to give in, causing her to grow ill. It seemed like a simple cold a first, but gradually her condition worsened, and finally the first signs started to kick in: strange, pitch black shapes started to move on her scales, her limbs refused to obey her and slowly, but steadily, the Shade started to rip her body apart, turning the once energetic dragon into a sad and pained being.

Now every day is a struggle. Phobos suffers immense memory loss, so much so that she struggles to recognize even her own sister on some days, screaching and screaming at her to go away. Sometimes she feels like she knows someone, she might even remember their name, but she won't be able to remember why she knows them. Many events of her past and memories of the places she has been to are forever lost. There will be days where she completely forgets herself, causing her to act like a witless creature, grunting and screaching, and hiding from everyone else. Most days, however, she knows exactly what is happening to her, and she will fight to regain some of her memories, to regain control, her sister's care and love giving her strenght.

With every move hurting and her body getting worse every day, Phobos is bound to the lair. Most days she will lie in her corner, barely moving and only stirring when her sister or the healer arrive. Edrea visits her several times a day, treating her with herbs and medicine to ease her pain for a few hours. She can barely eat and drink on her own, and requires constant help. Usually her sister will care for her, but other dragons have shown themselves willing to help, too, trying to help carry Frostfall's burden. Phobos cannot be left unsupervised, lest she should start moving about the lair in confusion and hurt herself in the process.

Some days she gets visits from Artemis or Molly, and they will urge her to drink nasty tasting tinctures, or smear odd smelling lotions on her scales in an attempt to chase away the Shade. They will come up with new ideas every few days, but none of their attempts have shown any positive effects yet, if they had any effect at all.

No one knows how much time there is left until the Shade will completely take over her body and how much time they have left to reverse the process, nor if they have any at all. No one knows what to do with her should the Shade take over her body completely. Many members of the clan worry about her condition, yet they won't give up hope and continue to support Frostfall, trying to lift up her spirits and taking care of her sister when she can not. Even Aria herself will pay the two a visit from time to time, for she, too, is affected greatly by the thought of loosing Phobos.



„What are you looking at, big sis?” Frostfall stood behind her, cranking her neck and trying to see what her big sister was looking at.

“Oh, nothing special sweetie,” Phobos declared and turned around to ruffle her baby sister’s short mane. “I was just looking at the water – I like how it reflects the sunlight. The sparkles are so nice.”

“Oh, really?” Frostfall came closer to look at the water, too, but she didn’t find the suns’s sparkles too interesting. “You really like that stuff?” she asked, a questioning look in her eyes. She was more interested in the dragonflies that flew all around them and found little joy in the aesthetics of their environment. She’s still too young for that, I guess, Phobos thought and went back to watching the water as her baby sister turned away and started chasing bugs.

The water’s movement broke up the sun’s reflection and created a mesmerizing puzzle of small specks of light that danced cheerily on its surface. Phobos had been just like her sister when she was still young, but with age she had grown to appreciate the small things in life, too.

It was noon, and a slight breeze moved the grass around them, creating a faint whispering sound, almost as if it was trying to tell them something. Phobos had taken Frostfall on a trip to the Windswept Plateau – a welcome change from the frosty environment they were so used to. Her sister was just a few months old and full of energy – while Phobos was lazily lying by the water, still watching the sun’s reflections dance on its surface, Frostfall was jumping all around and discovering new things to play with every few minutes. It made Phobos happy to see her sister like this – all she wanted was for her sister to be happy.

She was starting to doze off when something in the water caught her eye. She leaned forward, curious. She was sure that something had moved close to her, underneath the surface – a fish maybe? Or a frog? She kept her gaze on the water, and there! There it was a again! A faint flickering, a dark form, a pair of eyes looking directly at her. She couldn’t quite make out its form, but it seemed to smile at her and watched her intently, as if it was just as curious about her as she was curious about it.

She leaned even closer, the tip of her snout touching the water, and watched that mysterious thing. It moved around a little, but it never took its gaze from her. Soon, more eyes appeared, blinking in the harsh sunlight, watching her. Phobos laughed a little. She wasn’t sure what she was dealing with, but whatever it was, it delighted her. I’m just like my little sister, she thought as she put her hand into the water, playfully drawing circles around the black creature. It seemed to like it and followed her hand’s movement, but its eyes never stopped to look at her. They twinkled and blinked friendly at her, and she even thought that she could see a smile somewhere.

Then, suddenly, it moved quickly – too quickly –, long black tendrils reaching towards her and small, sharp black teeth snapping at her face. She closed her eyes in surprise and pulled back, letting out a short squeak – she could feel a few splashes of water hit her face, but nothing else happened. As she recovered from the surprise, she opened her eyes again and looked at the water. The creature was gone – she must have startled it. All that was left were the sun’s sparkles dancing on the water.

“Are you okay, sis?” Frostfall had heard her surprised squeak and had come running. Her face was full of worry.

“Oh, don’t worry, sweetie. I’m fine,” Phobos assured her and smiled at her. “I was just surprised by an animal, that’s all.”

Frostfall cocked her head, a pout on her face and her eyes full of doubt. “Are you sure? There’s something in your eyes.”

“Oh?” Phobos wiped over her eyes, but she couldn’t feel anything unusual. “Is it gone now?”

Frostfall looked at her and then nodded, a smile creeping back on her face. “Yeah, it’s gone now!”

But it wasn’t gone – not really. They just couldn’t see it anymore – it had taken refuge in Phobos’ heart, had made it its home. There it would wait and grow. Curiosity had just killed the cat – she just didn’t know it yet.