Wanderer

“So, why did you invite us, anyways?”
The Clan of Scattered Bones was bigger than Wanderer had expected, not only having many dens under the light of the sun but also using an expansive cave system under the dirt as their home. Wanderer and Shadice walked down one such long cave, the only light coming from an eerie gray pulsing from within the walls. The two dragons were about a few feet away from each other although they walked side by side, and for good reason. When they had first met not too long ago, Shadice and Wanderer shook paws, only for Wanderer to recoil in pain. Her scales had been burned from the briefest of contact with Shadice’s skin. Shadice had a crystalline shell around her bearing the resemblance of ice but matching the texture of scales, which acted as a barrier against the Shade itself and other forms of vile evil. Of course, this also meant it repelled shade-touched dragons as well, and could give them a nasty burn. Thus, Shadice had nothing to fear from minor contact with the Shade. So she wanted to learn about it.

Shadice led Wanderer to a room full of all sorts of different trinkets. Sharp tools to glowing crystals lined the walls. Over in a corner sat none other than Winterdawn, conversing with a rather nervous looking Tundra. When Winterdawn saw Shadice, she immediately scrambled over to say hello, climbing on the parts of Shadice that were covered in cloth. This was somewhat safe, as Winterdawn would just feel a bit of warmth through the cloth, although if Winterdawn was to stay that close to Shadice for too long her scales would begin to bubble up. The fact that this had happened before was evident by the nasty scar on Winterdawn’s tail. After the Fae was done hugging Shadice, she turned to Wanderer, recognizing the Nocturne. Winterdawn tipped her head to the side. “How are white-eyes and plain-scales?” she asked. Wanderer looked to Shadice in confusion. “She’s talking about her parents,” Shadice translated. Wanderer was a bit taken aback by this, but answered nonetheless. “Phoenix and Emerald are doing quite well, and are alive and happily running the clan,” she answered. Immediately, Winderdawn underwent a horrific change. Her body hunched over and her face contorted into one of rage. She hissed and leapt at Wanderer, clawing at the Nocturne and screaming “No!” over and over again. Shadice, as if she had expected this, snatched a paper Guardian masque from a shelf and waved it in front of Winterdawn’s face. The Fae calmed unusually quickly, and slid the masque on over her face. She gave Shadice a quick hug before rushing off somewhere, humming a cheery tune. Shadice stared at Wanderer apologetically. “It’s because she’s shade-touched,” Shadice explained with a sigh. “Being born in the land that she was, but then leaving so quickly before she could adjust to such an affliction surrounded by other dragons like her... it had some adverse side affects. She’s hurting, both inside and out. It’s why she hates other Faes, you see. She thinks her parents cast her own with the intention of hurting her. Winterdawn feels betrayed by them, and thus she wants revenge.” Shadice’s vision turned dark, and she muttered “At least I made sure my children were healthy before sending them off into the world,” under her breath.

Wanderer stared uneasily after Winterdawn before turning back to Shadice. “And does that have anything to do with why I’m here?” she inquired. Shadice seemed to light up. “Yes, actually!” the Mirror exclaimed. She began to rush around, shifting through various tools and trinkets before she finally procured a crystal the same color as her scales. “If I am to help Winterdawn and purge the Shade from her scales, then I must understand what exactly I am fighting against.” Shadice set the crystal on the table. “Now, can you give me some of your Shade essence please?” When Wanderer did not respond, Shadice looked over to see a mildly terrified Nocturne. Shadice snorted and chuckled quietly. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to try and cure you. You’ve been living with it so long you’d probably die if I tried. And as for the essence I need, just cup your paws together and concentrate. A little swirl of it will appear in your paws. Oh, don’t give me that look — you won’t have any less. You’re practically an infinite resource of shade-wisps.” Wanderer did as she was told, cupping her paws together and concentrating on putting something into them. Soon enough, to her surprise, a little whisp of pure Shade formed. Not too concentrated as the Shade itself, seeing as it was but the tiniest fragment, but Shadice seemed happy nonetheless. The Mirror held out her paws and Wanderer passed the wisp to her. Or, at least she tried to. The wisp seemed to realize the apparent danger, and struggled to get away from Shadice. Smoke drifted up from it. Finally, Shadice managed to shove the wisp into a pure white crystal, and although it wasn’t a tangible thing, it froze as if trapped. Shadice sighed, and then got to work.

As Wanderer stayed in the Clan of Scattered Bones, she helped Shadice experiment with shade-wisps. They got to know each other, and Wanderer learned that although Shadice was considered to be the biggest enemy of the Flaming Core, she was actually one of the nicest dragons Wanderer had ever met. Shadice was kind, understanding, and fiercely protective of her clan. She treated any and all members of it as if they were her children, and loved them all the same. The Mirror definitely had a temper and at times could be bitter to dragons like 26, but most of her anger stemmed from worry that she wouldn’t be able to protect her clan. Shadice believed in only killing when the situation called for it, and was likely to show mercy to even the worst of dragons. Of course, some of the surprise Wanderer felt for some of Shadice’s morals probably came from the fact that Wanderer hailed from a clan which supported cannibalism and idolized slaughter. Wanderer could see why Winterdawn had taken such a shine to Shadice, like a replacement for the parents that she believed had betrayed her. Eventually, Wanderer grew to consider Shadice a friend. She knew that her home clan would find the mere notion of befriending Shadice despicable, seeing as they told Wanderer over and over again not to go to the Clan of Scattered Bones, but Wanderer didn’t really care. Shadice was a good dragon, even if her home clan didn’t think so. When it eventually came time to leave, Shadice gave Wanderer a familiar of her own to keep her company. Wanderer realized that she was sad to leave, and hoped that one day she would be able to return to the Clan of Scattered Bones.

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