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The Empress
▸ Location: Incredibly deep cavern, hundreds of meters below the main lair, which in itself is hundreds of meters below the surface of the Forum of the Obscured Crescent.
▸ Appearance:
Taru, the far right head, is completely missing half of her lower jaw, leaving her unable to keep her tongue in her mouth. Her eyes glow shining gold, and her forehead boasts an impressive pearlcatcher-like horn.
Lillith, the main head (mid-right) is wolf-like in appearance, with upwards pointed ears and huge deer-like antlers. She is Shadow, born of gods.
Nogo, the mid-left head, is completely void of a face- all that's left there is remnants of the back of the skull, lots of torn skin, large ram-like horns and a gaping hole where his face should be.
Medea (far left) is primarily Wildclaw-like in appearance, blind in her left eye and angry red in the other. Don't let her breath in your direction.
▸ Origin: Found in the woods merging with Medea, Echo and many others hastily threw her into a sleep spell while she was distracted and transferred her to an old chamber deep underground that originally housed some of the more deadly members of the clan.
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A Day In Their Life
Soft... comfortable, blanketing, wonderful furs lay below my body as I wake. Slowly and sleepily, I move my heavy head to somewhere near the right side of our chamber. One of my sisters, Taru, sleeps peacefully as her tongue lolls from her half-missing lower jaw. To the left, my brother Nogo lifts his neck, watching the door with a faceless expression. And to his left, my second sister, Medea, ravenously scarfs down the remains of last night's meal. All is quiet, save for her incessant crunching. I scream out a warning for her to silence herself. She obeys, begrudgingly, and tosses some bones towards a wall.
A door opens, blinding me with light. Why is there light? Why is there no light here at other times? No, it doesn't matter. I'm hungry. I lift my tired body, suddenly full of energy. Nogo rams me in the side with his large horns, and I take a snap at him, tearing away a piece of his forehead in the process. He shrinks back and cowers beneath Medea.
Soon, a shape walks in from the glow of the newly created entrance. I don't care what it is. It's food. I lunge for it, but my head slams into something invisible. Hissing in disgust, I try thrice more in vain. Medea and Taru join me, though Nogo is too embarrassed from his earlier challenge. I try a final time, and my mind flickers out.
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"Gao, can you tell me about my dad again?"
Gao, a mid-sized Gaoler, acknowledges the question with a nod. "Sure, Lillith, but I can't say any more than last time, it's all I know!" He laughs, re-positioning his huge body into a sitting position.
The tiny Imperial child looks up from her deer carcass meal in wonder, clearly eager to listen to whatever this imposing dragon has to say.
"Your father is a powerful god, able to shapeshift his form to appear as one of us. He reigns separately from the deities of Sornieth, however- his abilities and ambitions are clouded by mystery.
"Some say his true form is like a four-winged serpent, with huge branched antlers of solid gold, and eyes that could make you believe any lie. However, despite his overwhelming power, he was lonely. One day, he took the claw of a scarlet Wildclaw, a goddess of stars and fortune, and their souls combined bore many children.
"You, Lillith, are one of them. I look forward to the day when you.... realize your potential," he speaks softly, unable to look into the happy eyes of the hatchling before him. She chirps out a second question.
"What's that jewel you always wear on your neck, Gao?"
The fluffy mountain rumbles with a slight chuckle, and he smiles at her, readjusting his gaze to match hers.
"It allows me to speak with you. Without it, I would never be able to understand your ethereal voice!"
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Gao
▸ Appearance: Gao is mid-range in size by Gaoler standards, but he still towers over many of the ordinary dragons in the clan. Standing on his hind legs, he can touch noses with a ridgeback. His wings are also larger than usual, though still much smaller than those of a Tundra in proportion to his body. His eyes shine a brilliant shade of green, though they are often hidden beneath a strong helm used as slight protection when he's near his charge in her primal state.
▸ Abilities: Can create incredibly strong bars and chains with wood packed tightly together. Breath has a soothing smell and effect, putting most to sleep after a couple minutes of breathing it. Gemstone on his neck holds a spell inside, allowing him to temporarily calm Lillith and co, turning them into a fully-fused hatchling state that retains all memories of him and none of being an emperor or before arriving in the lair.
▸ Personality: Gao is kind, and acts almost like a father to Lillith. He's the sort of dragon you'd look for if you had a question about life or love, and he's always willing to tell a long story. Gao's one of the only dragons brave enough to watch Lillith in emperor state, and is tasked with both feeding her and making sure she never leaves the chamber. He has a soft spot for the beast, though he can't help but wonder how long peace will last with an emperor chained
beneath the clan.
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A few days later...
"So, what's it like having godly power? Can you lift things with your mind? Or turn into a rock?" Tarin excitedly asks, fluttering around Velhmeir's face and waving his fins.
"I'm not sure what this has to do with anything, you do ask quite a lot of questions."
"Leave her alone, she's resting! Honestly, I'm not sure how she puts up with all of you crowding around for a view at all times."
"Don't worry about it dear, it happens often enough. I don't mind all that much."
As if to prove a point, Vel shifts into a vastly smaller form, resembling something like a Qiriq with a light golden iridescence over crimson scales and fur. She winks at Ixquic and turns back towards Tarin.
"I'm not sure about... turning into a rock, but I can freely shapeshift my form into whatever suits my needs. I've never really thought about trying something inanimate, and frankly, I'm not sure if I want to."
"That's so COOL! You look so pretty, I'm sure you two are happy together."
Vel laughs as Ixquic shakes her head. There's no getting through to them. The pair had been constantly hounded by the rest of the lair over the last few days, each one excited to see the visiting deity. Things were only just beginning to slow down, and now the two lay resting in their nest, carefully guarding three cyan-spotted eggs. Tarin chatters on for a few minutes more before Kali claws her way up through the tunnel and shoos him away.
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A Visit They Won't Forget
(Read- Middle, Left, Right.)
Two years after Lillith was taken in by the Demonix...
"Kali? I... think you're going to need to see this," Tarin whispers into his beloved's ear as he flies in from a scavenging trip. "You'll never believe who's at the door."
Quickly shaking off the last of her sleep, Kali rises from her pelted bed and shakes away some loose fur. After a swift nod to Tarin, she strolls out the door, her whip of a tail waving slowly behind her in curiosity. Tarin watches her leave and soon falls into a quiet nap.
Eventually arriving at the entrance to the lair, Kali meets two visitors. One is a resplendent Wildclaw of regal stature, who bows to the Mirror before her. The other, Kali finds herself having to look to the sky in order to view properly. Standing there on the Forum steps is an absolutely enormous being that appears to be some kind of Imperial, though the beast has so many wings and such a unique shimmer to their scales that they may in fact be something entirely other. The being looks down on Kali, small though she is compared to them, and greets her.
"You are Kali, I presume? The Wolf of the Demonix? I am one often called Velhmeir. My lovely wife Ixquic and I have come for a visit, hoping to make use of your woodland nesting grounds for a change of pace and perhaps meet the members of your lair."
"Velhmeir... I've heard that name before. I think I have someone special in mind for you to see, but for now, come in- we're happy to host such a wondrous couple for as long as you may wish!"
With that, the three dragons enter the stairwell, and the stone door closes shut behind them.
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(Continued from left)
"Sorry about him. He's still very excited. Velhmeir, would you or your wife mind if I dragged you away for a few hours? I'd like to take you to see the one I mentioned, but I think it would be best if you met her on your own."
After a quick talk and some concerned glances, Vel agrees to the terms and follows as Kali leads her back through the tunnel, into the main cavern, and down a concealed side corridor. The path is dark, and constant twists imply there's a maze built in, possibly for protection. Despite this, the halls themselves are quite large- Vel notices that she could probably fit five times over even in her most common form.
"Why all the secrecy? Who.... or, what, do you have down here?"
Kali's tail taps Vel on the shoulder as they round a corner. "Nothing we can't handle. You're about to meet one of your daughters, we found her a couple years ago causing chaos in the woods.
Now more confused than anything, Vel quietly continues until reaching a massive door sealed by all manner of binding spells
and sealing magics.
"Here we are."
Kali whispers something unintelligible under her breath, then jumps on the door. She climbs through intricate carvings, placing her hands on glowing marks in a wild yet incredibly specific manner. After about five minutes of this, a loud click shakes the ground, and the doors slowly open. A Gaoler greets the two from within, and wordlessly ushers
them in.
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(Continued from mid)
Velhmeir tells the child some of her past, of how she was born in a moonlit clearing in the Tangle, and how she used to be so sweet to her siblings. How she'd once caught a fox and, instead of eating it like many others would, protected it from harm and helped to guard it and its kits. How she'd joked with her brothers and laughed with her sisters, before they each went their own way in life. And how, soon after she reached adolescence, a group of black shapes, hissing and tearing, dragged her away into the trees not long before it would be her turn to
leave as well.
Retaining very little of this, Lillith and co instead recount how their life has been in the Demonix. How Lillith and her three siblings had woken up in this cave one day, with Gao standing over them, and how they'd been fused together into one body. They had been told in the last few months the story of what they really were, and that it scared them, but they knew it would be okay because Gao wouldn't let anything happen one way or another. And they didn't really know their parent in any meaningful way, but the smell was enough to prove it was them. Lillith had no regrets, and was ecstatic to meet her life-bringer for the first time; meanwhile, the three others residing in her body found it enjoyable to have someone new to
speak with.
Lillith is a curious child, and she speaks often of playing with the animals brought to her each day. She also pesters Vel to play mind games with her- from simple riddles to complex math such as "If two dragons had fifty-seven dusk mice, and three ran away, and then twelve were eaten... but then six glowing pocketmice showed up disguised as dusk mice with no way to tell the difference, how many duskmice did the two dragons think they lost?" The questions only get longer from there.
Nogo also speaks fairly often, and his tales are much less benign in nature. He tells Vel about that one time he and his siblings ripped a small goat's head off and used its blood to paint a picture for Gao. He also recounts that Gao was less than pleased when he saw it, but that it didn't really deter the group from similar acts later on. Nogo does say that he has vague memories of being in emperor form, but that they're incredibly fuzzy and he doesn't think he can see then. At one point he brings Vel a small contraption made of scrap metal and rocks, made to resemble an Imperial but looking more like a lopsided swan with bat wings.
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(Continued from above right)
There, in the opened doorway, Velhmeir stands petrified as she looks in abject horror upon the monstrosity in front of her. Behind the gate is a gargantuan chamber, with glowing runes floating throughout the air. Ahead is a barrier casting a translucent red glow in the room, and behind that stands a four-headed Empress of massive proportions. One head in particular is distinctly familiar, and this disturbs Vel greatly. She knew this creature, this beast who had once been a kind young dragon. The head stares directly into her eyes, saliva dripping and hissing upon touching the cold rock beneath.
"Gao, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like not to scar our distinguished guest too much. She's seen enough, time for happy mother-daughter bonding time."
Still too stunned to move the rest of her body, Vel watches as the Gaoler from before clutches a stone strapped to his chest, and the gem begins to glow bright as a miniature sun, bathing the chamber in soft blue light. Turning back to the Emperor, Vel finds that the behemoth of an undead is seemingly no longer present. In its place is a creature no more than a hatchling Imperial, though its crest of horns is unique to say the least. The barrier dissipates and the child bounds forward to greet its visitor.
Seeing all of this in the span of a few minutes has shocked Velhmeir to the point that she doesn't move a muscle as the hatchling grabs onto her qiriq-like front leg, hugging tightly but carefully avoiding injuring the shapeshifter. The hug breaks Vel from her trance, and she looks down at the creature, looking just like a daughter she'd thought lost to the wood so many years ago. She turns to Kali with a pleading glance, as if asking if this is really happening.
"Don't worry. This will last for about five hours- but just in case, we should restrict it to four and a half. Until then, I give you my word that she is perfectly safe to be around. She has no memory of you that we know of, all she knows are stories and descriptions Gao has told her from records we've found on scavenging trips detailing your exploits and powers. She may see you as a father, or simply as a new friend."
At that, the young dragon speaks up. Her voice sounds as though four dragons speak at once, though the words themselves are clear and unbroken. "Papa? Is that you? Why do you look like a Unicorn?"
Tears begin to stream from Velhmeir's eyes as the hatchling clings to her, and the qiriq swiftly shifts into the shimmering and magnificent form of an Imperial, showcasing countless feathered wings and gilded features. She leans down to nuzzle the young one, thinking hard on what she could possibly say in a situation like this.
"Oh my dear Lillithaenn... I'd thought you died when the shade trawlers stole you away. You looked so broken... You have no idea how happy I am to see you well and happy, my little on iki." Somewhat confused but getting the message, the young dragon nestles into their parent's feathers with glee. The tender moment seems to last forever, but once it ends the two begin to
exchange stories.
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(Continued from left)
Taru tends to stay quiet during the visit, but every now and then she jumps in with a minor fun fact about something completely off the walls, such as how certain dragons explode when they get too magically strong and she's glad that hasn't happened to Gao yet. Gao pops his head in here to re-explain that, because he uses his stone as a focus, he doesn't need to expend much of his internal magic on allowing the children their free time in hatchling form, and thus isn't nearly as at-risk as Taru believes he is.
Medea seems to be the most mature of the group, and she commonly throws chat about how the other three are too happy as they are. She seems to be regretful of what she's become, and vents about how her raptor-like mother would hate to see her like this- but that it doesn't matter because she failed in battle to save her anyway. Lillith and Nogo are constantly trying to cheer her up, but Taru's insistence on Vel shifting into a wildclaw form- and Vel doing so- is the only thing that makes Medea lose her edge
for a while.
Time draws on, and about four hours after the visit began, Kali pokes her head in with a warning. The hatchling seems upset, but they exchange hugs and goodbyes with Vel as well as a few cryptic messages for her to decode at home. Gao gently ushers the young dragon back behind their barrier a few minutes later, and the child gazes longingly upon Velhmeir with a sad smile.
"You'd better come visit us again some time! You hear us? We want more stories! Gao's starting to do repeats."
Gao shifts in his fur a bit at this comment, smiling nervously and giving a small chuckle.
"I'll see what I can do. You be good for Gao, Kali, and the others here, alright? I'm glad to see they've been taking care of you. Don't eat them in their sleep..."
With a laugh tinged by sadness, Velhmeir shifts into her Qirin form and follows Kali out the door, carrying memories of an interesting day and some tattered notes to remember her child by. Or... is it children? Hard to tell at this point. Regardless, this may be an interesting story for Ixquic to hear.
~End~
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____Using the power of a mage-made amulet, Gao can temporarily transform the Empress into a child-like, fully fused state with a mind of their own. They only have one head, but speak in four voices from the same maw, and each has a unique personality. They have no memory of before becoming an Emperor, nor do they remember being one- however, they do retain memories of Gao and the chamber. To them, Gao is a father figure, and this cavern is their home. The main purpose of this is to ease on feeding costs and lower danger in the process, but Gao has taken a liking to the youngling and formed a tight bond. The transformation can last approximately five hours before needing an hour-long cooldown, reverting the Empress back into their aggressive, mountainous, zombie-like state. When this happens, they are kept behind a powerful barrier.
▸Appearance
____By most accounts, the young Empress seems to be an ordinary hatchling Imperial. However, they are incredibly large for their apparent age, and their crest dons a multitude of horns and antlers. Two are long, curved and pronged, like those of a white tail deer. Two more are closer to those of a ram. Another four frame their cheeks, similar to the frill of a Wildclaw- and finally, a last two adorn their forehead, resembling a Pearlcatcher. (The smaller of these is closer to the base of the neck than the larger one.)
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▸ Lillith
____Lillith, as the origin of the Empress, speaks most often and with pride. Daughter of two young gods, her abilities in life allowed her to freely shape-shift and spin lies into truth with a flick of her tongue. These powers are no longer present post-death, but she has a quick wit and loves games. She's very curious, the sort of dragon who would find a cookie crumb the size of a flea and feed it to a wild rat.
▸ Taru
____Taru is the first dragon Lillith fused with following her death. She was sliced apart by angered harpies, leaving little left aside from most of a head, her neck, a wing and an arm. In life she was the proud spawn of a Pearlcatcher rogue and his Imperial love, which manifested in her form as a unique crest for an Imperial child. Taru is cautious and shy, and will only speak when spoken to. She enjoys the company of lizards.
▸ Nogo
____Nogo is the only born male of the group, second to be fused after a death involving a home-made lightning reactor he was working on. The device exploded, destroying much of his head and skull. He's incredibly smart, but he thinks like a rebellious idiot. If you asked, he could tell you how to get away with stealing a beastclan's child and have the mother apologize to you.
▸ Medea
____Last to be fused into the Empress, Medea was a valiant warrior who fought to save her clan from a rival pack of Wildclaws hundreds strong. She was the last dragon on her side still standing when the attack ended, neither clan with a soul left, but she soon succumbed to her many wounds. Medea is good-hearted but stern, and can easily be aggravated. She also happens to have a beautiful singing voice, though only a very rare few have ever caught her in a good enough mood to hear it.
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Bio template by Mibella, find it here.
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