Twili

Twili's heart always belonged to the arcane lands. He was stirred by the constant dance of sparks across the sky, of never knowing whether that sound was the wind howling or just the earth's sudden intake of breath as someone's spell changed matter into magic. So many of his children were here, his grandchildren. The rich tapestry of magical accomplishments that he had garnered over the years was woven among the purple stones.

His dreams were fully rooted in magic, but Twili's greatest joys (his children aside of course) lay in mysteries. Thankfully, the world was full of them. Dragons changing the shape of their eyes, their species- how did that happen?! Twili had to know. He traveled Sornieth seeking out dragons who had become something they had not been at birth, studying what they had done (if, in fact, they had done it on purpose- some dragons seemed just as confused as Twili as to how they had become the way they were).

In his travels, Twili heard many stories that he deemed fantasy- stories of ancient, pre-draconic guardians of vast chambers, of dragons that could shift forms at will between a dragon shape and a soft, hairless bipedal one, of dragons that never aged beyond hatchling age. Of all these stories Twili never expected to find any evidence. When he was called to the Soaring Cliffs to investigate the causes of the permanent darkness that hovers over the Hewn City, though, Twili met his match.

Twili had been warned that the City was dangerous, and not to approach it without another dragon as backup. Of course, the arcane dragon's curiosity (and his pride) were too strong to give this warning the respect that it deserved. Early one morning, Twili took off for the city. He landed on its outskirts and stepped carefully through the threshold, catching his breath at the immediate temperature drop.

He was gone for several hours before the clan realized something was wrong. Lochlani sent out the fastest and strongest dragons she could muster for the City, knowing that was the only place her wayward scientist could have gone. Solas, Xanth, Lionel and his sons Mio and Mei took off for the city. They found Twili deep in the heart of the city, utterly unconscious and surrounded by footprints none of them could identify. As quickly as wings could carry them, they fled back to the lair.

When Twili woke, he knew immediately that something was wrong. Imperials could happily go weeks between meals, and Twili knew he had eaten just yesterday. Yet somehow he was ravenous. He opened his eyes and struggled to adjust to the bright glare.... of a hearth fire? He was coiled loosely on a nest of blankets and molted feathers, tucked under a blanket. The fire was well banked and tended by Cinder, the hatchling he had met when he first came to the Soaring Cliffs. As she stared at him in utter shock, he shook himself and tried to stand.

Bad idea. Twili's legs buckled under him as Cinder yelped and ran out the door. As Twili tried to piece together what in the world had happened to him, dragons began pounding down the hallway. First to arrive was Solas, about six feet longer then Twili remembered him and sporting a pair of raw red scars, with Dorcha on his tail. Lionel and Lochlani arrived nearly at the same time, and a blue and gold dragon wearing a headdress that Twili vaguely recognized filed in after the others.

That was when Twili learned what he had done, what the others had done to bring him home- a humbling story for the arcane dragon, who had not stopped to consider the implications of sneaking into the Hewn City unannounced. He stared guiltily at the scars across Solas's muzzle as the new clan leader explained that he had been in the warm little room for nearly two months, apparently asleep but unrousable. About this time Cinder returned, carrying a basket of food, and Twili cut into Solas's patient explanation.

"How can it have been two months? Cinder is exactly the same as when I left- she should have doubled in size by now!"

Solas, Cinder, and Lochlani exchanged looks and burst into laughter. Dorcha watched them with a long-suffering expression on his face, but ducked his muzzle to hide a smile at the look on Twili's face. Lionel glanced at the other three, but none of them showed any signs of breathing anytime soon, so he turned to face an exasperated Twili.

"Cinder is the same age as Solas and Dorcha, Twili. She just... never grew, after her hatchling days. No one can explain it."

The other dragons watched Twili take that in.

"Well...... there must be SOME explanation. Even if only that magic did it, somehow."

Cinder cocked her wings and took a playful step back, towards the door.

"If you can catch me, I'll let you try and figure it out!"

Twili never was nimble enough to catch the smaller dragon. But he was persistent, and without even realizing it, he found himself building friendships and putting down roots. Soon Twili and Cinder were inseparable friends, pouring over texts and inscriptions in an attempt to find out what had caused her to cease growing so young. Dorcha joined them frequently, as did Aigeann. And as Twili's research began to lead him towards the looming City once again, Nodons began to find excuses to brush past him in the halls.