Pair with Lydia

Still writing lore; almost done

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The cold icy wind whipped through his synthetic hair, racing down the glaciers. The dragon's large paws sank through the snow, leaving frozen footprints in his wake. Heavy spare parts clattered in his satchels, accompanied by the whirring and clanking of his heavy mechanical joints. In Sornieth, it was the duty of some dragons to brave the frozen tundra of The Southern Icefields to transport supplies and goods from other regions, as dragons unsuited to the frigid climate wouldn't last long. But for this Gaoler, it was no problem, it is what he was designed for. He knew his purpose well; to serve his creators.

His metal exoskeleton shielded him from the sharp winds, and his inner wire workings produced enough heat as to not freeze him to the core. His rather rounded frame and limbs helped the wind bounce off him, and his dark metallic shell made him visible against the white expanse of the snowy plains.

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This robotic Gaoler was not meant to have a name, only a number; 026. Many of the earlier models had succumbed to the elements long ago, but not 026. He was more resilient than the others. While the others saw the world as a bleak wasteland, 026 had hope. Hope of a better future, of happiness, although he wasn't quite sure what happiness was just yet.

Until one day, while travelling his regular route, he found what appeared to be the remains of one of the labratories where his kind was created; only some wires and part of the rusted roof poking out of the snow. While 026 needed to complete his journey, his solid-state memory drive had taken some water damage from some snow snaking its way through his metallic plating and warming on his wires. This made his programming malfunction slightly, and damaged some files. His sense of purpose now somehow seemed less important; like a second priority. Dumping his satchels in a snow drift, he began to dig.

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As the sun began to set, 026 was finally able to make out the silhouette of a large door. Opening it with a creak, he was bewildered by what he saw. It was the classic labratory layout he was raised in, except it was overtaken by greenery. Here! Buried deep in the frigid snow! Stepping inside, 026 noticed it was significantly warmer inside. He trailed his wings along vines clinging to the walls like bats to their perch as he walked the abandoned halls.

Soon, the hallway opened up into a large room, where the majority of the plant life seemed to stem from. The monitors and terminals were barely visible beneath the greenery. After brushing away some particularly spiky fogflowers, 026 entered the override code into the somehow still-functioning computers. The structure whirred to life, lights started blinking, the monitors started flickering, and someone rose to their feet.

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A rather disoriented Worker model stood blinking at him. On her side was the number 286. 286 had been reported as out of commision for two years now, how could she still be functioning? Her metal plate shell was rusted and worn, and had markings where ivy once grew, now flaking off and falling at her feet. Her eyes, once dull and lifeless, began to blink with a pale green light that reflected off the various metallic items in the room.

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