Inamu

Inamu The Mentor

You aren't quite sure how long you and XingTian have been talking--he is not the best conversationalist--but suddenly, the imperial stops midsentence, eyes fixed somewhere over your shoulder. You turn and spy a pearlcatcher with a faded red hide, standing uncertainly in the doorway with a long, golden trident slung across his back. XingTian bids you a quiet goodbye and slips from the hall, sparing the pearlcatcher a sad glance as he passes. The remaining dragon sighs, stepping through doorway to stand infront of you. "My apologies for interrupting, I had thought... nevermind," The pearlcatcher straightens his posture and offers you a smile, "I am Inamu, the mentor of the Flyers; I manage all the clan training around here."

With no written record on where, when, or to whom Inamu was born, the pearlcatcher holds himself only to his Nature lineage. The first instance of Inamu's name written down was by the Queen of the region Inamu was wandering through as a hatchling; a war-torn land in the Viridian Labyrinth that Plague was attempting to infect. The heirless Queen took in the young dragon and began to groom him for the throne and teach him the ways of warfare. Though she was kind and caring, she also pushed Inamu to what she deemed as the highest degree of success possible, so by the time he was a young adult he was ruling over five army sectors. He was an excellent strategist and guided the generals of his army well, leading to many victories that allowed the region to remain under the Gladekeeper. When the young imperial XingTian rose to be one of the generals directly under him, Inamu couldn't stop his fascination with his mind. Tian, as Inamu called him, was reckless and stubborn, but also incredibly efficient and strong, and for as many dragons as he lost in battle, he gained that much ground. They became close friends, spending more time outside of the war together, growing together like intertwined trees. Unfortunately, neither were free of their flaws, and it was those that lead to their split. It was over what Inamu saw as a petty fight--mostly his fault if he were honest--and his poor choice of words that XingTian left the army, disappearing without a trace. Inamu was devastated, and the next few battles suffered because of it; the army was loosing hill after hill, battle after battle. By the time Inamu stepped down and left, half the region was infected by Plague. It was with great shame that Inamu left the Viridian Labyrinth, following what he perceived as XingTian's path. After many more months of searching for his old friend, a stroke of luck brought Inamu to the Galestorm Flyers, where he was shocked to discover Tian, alive and well, doing what he did best. Now he remains in the Lightning clan, teaching those how to manage a battle while attempting to slowly reseed the friendship he cut in the first place.

---

"I'm so sorry, Tian, I was a fool... I was beyond foolish. I thought you were the only one blind to your flaws, but I was--can be--counted among those. I failed, I watched my soldiers fight and fall and I fell along with them. My home, the natural world that calls me... it is infected now, plagued, diseased. I failed them, I am truly a disgrace. I... Nothing I can say will ever repair what we have lost, but perhaps... perhaps I could stay. For a day, if that is all you wish. I just... where am I to go now?"