Scratch, scratch. The egg trembled, shook, the scratching sound growing louder as the dragonling within grew more desperate in their attempt to break through the shell. Cracks spidered their way over the surface, growing wider and wider before...

With a sharp crack, the hatchling tumbled forth, damp and seemingly surprised by her surroundings. Eyes stared up, wide in wonder as she regarded her parents for the first time. Her soft, lovely parents that quickly cleaned and warmed her, gathering her close and smiling down at their little bundle of joy.

“Hello, sweet Bora. Rest easy, Momma and Papa are here.”



Bora's egg had been discovered by the pair of tundras half-buried in a bank of snow. At first, they didn't think it would hatch at all, but the egg was...different. The shell was thicker than any they had seen, and it gave off a slight warmth that made them decide to tend to it and see if it might hatch after all. Carefully they guarded the egg like it was their own, and when it began to shows signs of hatching, they were overjoyed.

The dragon that tumbled out of the shell was unlike any they had seen before. She was covered in thick fur like a tundra, but her wings were small and stunted, horns oddly shaped, and claws far too long. Perhaps this was a consequence of her egg being left in the frigid snow? Whatever the cause, they didn't care. Bora was their child, and they raised her with love and care with the rest of their family.

She learned how to live in the cold, how to forage for things to eat during times of scarcity, but it always seemed like something was missing. Like she was meant to be doing something else.

It wasn't until Bora was grown that word began to spread through Sornieth about the reemergence of the gaolers. In the end it was a trader that recognized her as one, and Bora felt the need to seek out more of her kind. After all, she wanted to know, to learn all she could about who and what she was.

Saying goodbye to her parents and family was bittersweet, and Bora promised to come back and visit when she was able, but she departed nonetheless, ready to seek out the answers to the thousand questions whirling around in her brain like a maelstrom.



Bora plodded across the plains, sun shining bright overhead. Her travels had taken her far but she still had a ways to go. Sometimes she missed her family; it was a simpler life there, and it seemed as if the more she learned about her gaoler heritage, the more it conflicted with her upbringing. She no longer needed to spend days on end in the warmer months grazing without stopping. When she rested, she was no longer obligated to burrow a lair. Instead, Bora could find somewhere simple to lay her head without needing to cover the space in branches or other useless clutter. It was confusing, but oddly liberating.

Still, she was happy out here like this, eager to venture forth and sate her curiosity further.