Iroaeium

•••Iroaeium••• ______ Golden Crystal "Quotes and words for five thousand years probably, all the words, ever." -Dragon/Person

Clan role: Mercenary Star sign: Aries Alignment: Blah Chewy Tentacle Seafood If you swallow a chewy tentacle it stays in your stomach for 7 years. It's true! 42 4 Orthoclase Minerals & Ores A gem in the rough. Also the rough in the rough. Minerals are tricky. 85 Good Eater Award Trinkets To the fae with a guardian's appetite. (Special thanks FigmentOfOrigin.) 80 Fractured Tusk Organics The tusk of a great carnivore. This one is shattered in several places, but could still be used in crafts and small jewelry. 70

This was the last straw, he'd had enough with all this unnecessary cruelty. Iroaeium couldn't even believe he'd actually fallen for Cheonghan deception! Looking back, he notice how many times he'd given it away that he was not their friend. He looked around, closely examining every crystal, rock, and wall of the cave. There must be a way out, Iroaeium thought, or at least a weak spot. There was a ray of moon light filtering through a hole in the roof, but he was around 10 meters underground, only a spiral or a fae could squeeze through. The moonlight reflected off the crystals, sending prismatic patterns dancing across the room. They bounced off every wall, aside from one. He inspected the wall, to find that it was simply an illusion, hiding a tunnel. A dark curtain of old dusty moss hung at the back of the tunnel, covering an old oil lantern. He picked it out of it's socket in the wall, and lit a small green flame with his magic. Now all he had to do was find Arathar. He set off down the tunnel, as it got darker and darker. Soon, Iroaeium could barely put one foot in front of the other. Just as he was rounding a corner, he tripped and crash face first through the wall. A pastel glow attack his eyes. stumbling forwards and splashing into the shallows pools of this hidden cave, he glanced around and spotted Arather, crouched silently behind some crystals. "Arathar!" He called victoriously, his voice squeaking slightly with pure joy. Arathar's face lit up at the sound of his love's voice, after deafening silence for so long.

Arathar Mate Jazmin Grandmother Alazura Kind Healer

Iroaeium had a rough start to life, his parents didn't nearly care enough about him. They didn't even care about each other, as they separated too early in his childhood, and neither of them wanted to take responsibility for their son. Thankfully, his grandmother care enough to have taken him in, and trained him in the arts of magic and martial arts. Jazmin was a former military leader, but due to crippling injuries on the battle front, she was forced to retire. She was really honoured with her beautiful cabin in the hills of the Starwood Strand. He trained alone for the most part, his artful practice illuminated by the majesty of the starry flowers that bloomed each night. Many would be eternally jealous of his childhood home, a large cabin, decorated with magical crystals that Jazmin collected in her spare time. Buried deep within an enchanted garden, stretching out in every direction. Every single last luminescent bit of flora perfectly keep pristine and healthy, under the care of Iroaeium's brutish but gentle grandmother. Jazmin's love had replaced anything he could've possibly gotten from his parents, he'd grown to hate them. Iroaeium was disgusted by their appalling treatment of him as a child. The few times they'd bothered to visit, he cringed at their false affection. They pretended to really care about him, and boldly claimed that they missed him everyday. Truth is, he was naturally gifted in magic, being able to preform spells to complex for his level of training. Both individually tried taking him away, and putting him in some magic bordering schools for his fame to flourish, and for them to soak up the perks. Iroaeium wanted anything but this. As he never really complained about anything, Jazmin saw straight through his parents' lies and fought to protect him. His mother scoffed at her, calling her an irresponsible guardian and claiming that she had no right with holding her child's destiny and potential fortune. His father, more respectful of Jazmin as she was his own mother, chose not to make a scene, and instead hire some thugs to ruin her garden and trash her cabin. Part of a master plan to distract her, and then claim to Hatchling Protective Services that she was neglectful and raising Iroaeium in an unsuitable, filthy environment. That plan was foiled when the multitude of dryads who'd taken residence in her gardens defended their home with everything they had. The thugs didn't make it much farther than the front gate.

Jazmin fell ill soon after, due to the spells the dryads had place on the gardens in order to protect it from dragons. Iroaeium tried reasoning with them, but this didn't work. At least the dryads apologised. He tried his own magic on her, while it did relieve her of her pain, but her weakened and feeble body couldn't heal as well has Iroaeium could. She was taken to a nearby healers' clan, where she was treated for her conditions. Unfortunately, her scars had opened up again, and she passed away. Iroaeium was utterly distraught, he couldn't leave her side. The clan of healers tried comforting him. He opened up a little, and let on that he was an aspiring mage and martial artist. One of the healers, Alazura told him about a Mercenaries Club that could further his learnings, and teach him other valuable life lessons. He agreed to go there.

He was reluctant at first, expecting everyone to be rough, and cruel. He was right, but many of the younger ones were kind, and immediately indoctrinated Iroaeium into their little group. There was one particular blue skydancer who seemed rather interesting, he had a bright, contagious smile, and was friendly and approachable. Arathar was treated as if he was the beloved ruler of the club. Iroaeium felt happy just by looking at him, even at ease with his grandmother's death. He had new, strange feelings about him. He couldn't understand what they were telling him to do, or why he'd never felt them before.

Eventually, his new friends introduced them. He learned that Arathar was the ringmaster of an underground black market, an by 'the ringmaster of an underground black market', he was actually a great chef who has been secretly making gourmet food for the mercenary trainees, as they were only allow gruel and salted jerky. Some fruit or old cuts if they were lucky. Iroaeium leapt at the opportunity to join in, he'd only had a few nights of gruel and he was already sick of it. The first night, wild fowl curry. The second, raspberry pie. Every night, he magically baked the most amazing foods using only the resources around him! He assumed the forest surrounding the club's camp would be barren and empty, that the mercenaries scared everything away with their noise and other pollution.

Everyone was Arathar's friend, and anyone who was a friend of Arathar's, was a friend of theirs. His cooking really brought together the community. Iroaeium could only dream of such power. Except, one called 'Brittany' despised the very existence of Arathar and his deities' forsaken cooking. Iroaeium couldn't understand why, Arathar was such a sweet and innocent skydancer, and pretty cute one at that. Why would she be that mean? Regardless, Iroaeium also felt threatened by her snide remarks, and he felt an obligation to protect him. He got a certain... pleasure, from defending his new best friend.

He expected that she would eventually give up and leave them alone. But she just kept persisting. Even when demanded to stop, she kept pushing. No matter how good an attitude that is, this was seriously concerning. Iroaeium began to distrust Arathar, he could've committed some heinous crime against her, and she was simply out for revenge. But he couldn't possibly imagine such a caring, kindhearted, beautiful little skydancer doing something that bad.

Arathar continued to prove time and time again, that he was innocent, and deserving of his love. Both of their roommates has move on to the official Mercenary Barracks, so Iroaeium persuaded the supervisors to move him into Arathar's room. Their first night together, Iroaeium deemed it the right time to really come forward and tell Arathar the truth about his feelings. He was always the one to be in control of the situation, he was always confident and proud, but that night he was trembling, so terrified of Arathar rejecting him. The three second silence between his confession and Arathar's answer felt like an eternity of unbearable fear. To his relief, Arathar had always bottled up the same feelings for him, afraid of Iroaeium's rejection, too. He praised his strength, bravery, intelligence and willingness to always help others.

However, Brittany hid in the bushes around their dormitory, preying on anything that could be remotely incriminating or humiliating. Tonight was her lucky night The next morning, she was unfortunately assigned to supervising their morning exercises and training routines. she called them aside, grabbed each firmly by the shoulders and announced, for all to hear, their love for each other. Arathar's heart sank and Iroaeium was caught off guard. He always tried to see the good in everyone, but this was proof that some people are just rotten to the core. His hundreds of friends he'd made through Arathar had all immediately turned on them, and laughed. They couldn't walk a single step without being belittled and heckled.

Only four other dragons actually supported them, and defended them. Consequently, they were bullied too. But that didn't stop them from standing up for their friends. Arathar hoped to win everyone back with some extra special food that night, but only the same four turned up. Together, the six of them got to solemnly eat several hundred servings of pocketmouse and turnip noodles.

The mirror that was in charge eventually had to send them both home, out of pity. They had no reason to have to suffer like that. Iroaeium stuck by Arathar's side, and went home with him. Arathar's father Cheonghan, was overwhelmingly excited to have his son back, and welcomed Iroaeium into their family with open talons. Upon admitting their true relationship, and why they were sent home, Cheonghan was surprised, but heavily disappointed. He passed it off as being disappointed they were sent home early, but Iroaeium doubted that. Cheonghan proceeded to be incredibly passive aggressive towards them, even when he constantly praise them for random things. The severity of the snide comments and rude behaviour gradually increased, to the point it was blindingly obvious that his intentions were indeed malicious.

One dinner, Cheonghan hid a secret ingredient in their food, and they didn't even notice. The funny taste was excused by Cheonghan's lack of experience in cooking. But they woke up in a crystalline labyrinth, an undocumented network of caves that Cheonghan had discovered below their lair. Arathar and Iroaeium, both in separate caves so they would have no way of getting back together, and that their disappearance could be blamed on something else. 'They must have gone exploring, got separated, and starved to death' Cheonghan even rehearsed his sorrowful explanation. He had left them with some old exploration gear, to sell his lies further, and even gave Arathar a crude map that he'd made of the tunnels. Their ever growing love for each other wouldn't let them die apart, and pushed Iroaeium forward, to find his love and escape their horrible fate.

But when they took this horrible deed to the authorities, it was Cheonghan's word against theirs, his strong presence in the Earth Flight and great reputation won over the authorities, and he had the two punished. Simply for being in love. Cheonghan's excuse was that 'they'd been constantly defaming him and wrecking his lair'.

Needless to say, neither of them were happy about this. So they ran off together the night they were to be taken away, and eloped. They kept running until they finally reached Hewn City in the light domain where they felt safe. Sometime into their new life, they met Emperor and joined Rosewall clan.

Notes

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  Spell Sword