Dremiter

((phantom/bee/underbelly)) WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWDremiter

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1. Setting Out

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That was the command given to us by the Icewarden himself a mere few years ago. And I can smell it. The reek of Shade far beyond the confines of the gaols. Shade-touched beings run rampant outside these walls. The destructive, all-consuming nature of it poisons the very land of our home. It all must be contained.

I huff to get the attention of my deputy as I turn to leave, knowing the loyal little imp will follow. The other Keepers are more than capable of watching over these prisoners while I go to work as a Seeker. The glaring sunlight reflecting off the icy spires has me squinting as I exit the cave, I hold a wing in front of my eyes until they can adjust to the light, and I walk out into the silent snowy valley.

I had a few minutes to focus on my plans before my deputy hops up to my shoulder, points off to the side with a grunt, and I turn my head to follow. A Gaoler I'd never seen before is quickly approaching, though not particularly aggressively and she stops a few feet away, but what really catches my attention are her strange eyes. Striking blue, instead of the clear white I'm used to. My interest is certainly piqued about this curious stranger, and the extra set of claws would certainly be helpful in capturing the beasts of Shade. I ask her to join me, and she agrees to.

We go through introductions as we continue on together, but I can't shake the feeling that there's something more to Glacialis than just her odd eyes.


2. A New Den, A New Clan

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For days we've been attacked by the Shade-touched as we get farther out from the Fortress. Glacialis and I have been strong enough to fight off everything that's come against us without terrible injury, but I snarl as yet another beast evades being pinned under my claws and ultimately escapes capture. I glare at where it disappeared to, then sigh and turn away. It is no matter for now, it will be captured in time.

I see my deputy collapse to its knees, panting, and Glacialis trying to hide her obvious exhaustion. I too am worn out, the late night ambushes certainly haven't helped our recovery between days of fights and travel. We need a more defensible place to rest. A lair to return to as we hunt down every Shade beast in the area. Somewhere to keep extra food stores so we don't have to waste so much time and energy foraging for every meal...

I announce my plan and, once we've rested enough to keep moving, we set out to find a suitable place. The fields have proven far too open, so I look to the nearby forest. Plenty of cover and looks like it would have plenty of food as well. Glacialis, however, is reluctant to enter, but I talk her into at least skirting through the edge of the forest. My mistake quickly becomes evident. A howl echoes between the trees and a pack of large beasts come rushing through the brush, surrounding us. I steel myself for an attack, and grit my teeth as it strikes notably harder than anything we've encountered in the snow fields. This is not good.

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(all events list, to be figured out how to write as memory fragments
-leave original clan and meet Glacialis.
-meet Claudius and Agnir, set up clan's den in the Woodland's Edge.
-meet Sirena and her familiar HighGlider.
-Blizzard. Several others join the clan, notable to Dremiter is Elivagar, and to a lesser extent Solheim.
-Frozen Forest part 1; Dremiter and Glacialis argue about plans, G. hesitant about them not being ready for the stronger monsters deep in the forest while D. wants to press onward.
-Agnir reports back to Dremiter about the mass shade monster attack Solheim lead him and Glacialis into. The forces of shade are building.
-A huge group of shade-touched monsters surround and attack the clan at their den, drawn by Elivagar's extremely bright cyan baby. Elivagar is shade-touched, and Dremiter, aided by Keegan and Bato, fights her.
-Frozen Forest part 2 for real this time; The clan abandons the den and evades the horde of monsters deeper into the forest, heading straight into some of the strongest monsters there. Dremiter sees Glacialis nearly killed protecting young Thorstein from the attack and makes his first ever call to retreat from battle, carrying her to safety himself.
-the clan builds up a new den in the Frozen Forest.)