Periphas

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"An Ashfall born?
- Yes ma'am." The dragon hesitates: "But he did pass all three trials.
- ...Very well then."




___His early life was nothing remarkable: Periphas did as he was told. He was always the quiet kid.
___When he came of age, and like most of his family before him, he travelled from the Ashfall Wastes to the Scarred Wasteland to pass the Necromantic trials. It's quite rare for a non-Plague dragon to attempt to pass the trials; it's even rarer for them to survive.

___But he had no time to celebrate. The Necromantic Council appointed Aletheia, an older necromancer, to be his mentor. He was to assist her in her missionary duties, travelling the boneyard, monitoring dragon and beastclan activity, singing tales of necromantic prowess and, of course, reporting to the council. They left the bone tower at dawn.

___At the time Periphas didn't know of how unusual the practice was. Experienced necromancers are often appointed a necroservus as their assistant, but for a necromancer to take up that role? That's humiliating. Was the Council aware of who he was the son of?
___He didn't mind either way. He actually quite enjoyed being Aletheia's servant! She taught him how to avoid the dangers of the wastelands, hunt and fight. He listened and took notes every time she would speak of Mother, report to the Council, or cajole reckless dragons into passing the trials. And, at night, he always sat behind her, towering over her small mirror body, listening to her singing.
___In his naive and inexperienced mind, Aletheia became everything.


"Aletheia?
- Yes?"
___Periphas avoided looking at her directly, his tail nervously beating the red sand of the desert.
"I think you're my Charge.
- Oh, really?" She paused. "Are you saying that because of what happened last night?
- No, I'm being serious! I've never felt that for anyone or- or anything before!"
___The mirror smiled. She gently rest her head against his arm.
"I am sure you will be a wonderful father."




"What is wrong with you?
- Nothing. Nothing's wrong." he lied,
"You're lying."
___He looked down at her. For the first time, those four eyes were showing neither compassion nor concern. He knew he hadn't been easy on her, but he didn't know what was wrong! Nothing was wrong! He was a high-ranking priest travelling with his mate and Charge, and their children were doing well: nothing was wrong!
___And yet, as years had gone by, that creeping feeling of hollowness had kept growing. It had always been there, to some extent, but as a hatchling he assumed it would go away as he found his place in the world. Yet the feeling persisted. Something was still missing. He felt like... He felt like a failure.
___She was growing impatient for an anwser. He didn't want to lose her but she didn't know how to help him either. He just said:
"I'm going hunting."


___The night was cold and the sky surprizingly clear. Both moons were shining faintly, revealing the alien, greenish shapes of the Quarantine zone up North, in the distance.
___Periphas landed silently, knowing the area was a fertile hunting ground. He hoped the hunting would at least pacify him, allowing him to calmly talk to his mate afterwards. He had always stayed vague when talking to her about his feelings. Maybe now was the time to open up... Maybe now was the last opportunity, too.
___He sighed. He really didn't want to lose her but he felt trapped. If he said nothing, she would get understandably angry. And if he told her, well. He didn't want to think about it.

___He sat down and stared at the stars for a while. A soft breeze sometimes lifted clouds of red sand, delicately licking his scales. He knew. Deep down, he always had known... And he had to be honest with himself before he could be honest with anyone else.
___Aletheia couldn't fill that hollowness he was feeling because Aletheia was not his Charge.


___When he came back to their makeshift camp the next day, ready to talk, Aletheia was gone. He looked for her in the surrounding area but couldn't find her. He didn't know what to think. He was sad she left, and relieved to be free, and crying, and angry. He decided he would wait for her three days, and then leave for good.

___When he woke up the next morning, an unfamiliar tundra was staring at him. The marking of her wings clearly indicated she was a necromancer, just like him, but she seemed lost.
"We need to go." she said.
"What? Who are you?
We need to go. I am... We need to go." she repeated. She seemed concerned, like she had difficulty remembering something.
"I'm not going anywhere with you! Who are you?"
___There was a long silence, as the tundra concentrated.
"I am... I am Ale- Aletheia. We need to go. Now."




___Periphas never found out what exactly happened to his mate. Even for a tundra, she had become extremely forgetful, and had almost no memory of the past few days. From the incoherent bribes he managed to get out of her, he gathered she apparently decided to fly to the bone tower: she had something important to to report to the Council, something very important. Well, the Council wanted her gone now.
___And so they both left. Periphas was now the one having to take care of his forgetful mate. He felt the safest option was to go back to the only other place he knew: the Ashfall Wastes.

___Even then, they never settled, in keeping with their Plague nomadic lifestyle. In Cinderslag, they are quite well known as wandering healers. To the miner clans that inhabit the Molten scars, they are strange, lost travellers. To the Forgemasters of the Great Furnace, they are Plague assasins for hire.

___He never found the courage to tell Aletheia she was not his real Charge. She seemed so fragile now, in a way she never was before her transformation. She relied on him so much, him, the only person she remembered. She would ask him about the world. She would introduce herself as his mate and Charge, and laugh.
___He still loved her. He couldn't bring himself to break her heart.

____________________

Aletheia Mate

??? Charge

Lowenzahn Acquaintance

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- Not a particularly powerful necromancer, but it doesn't matter in the Ashfall Waste. His abilities are impressive to almost every fire dragon.
- Not interested in plague magic at all anymore. Sells his services, and that's all his skills are for.
- Worships neither the Plaguebringer nor the Flamecaller.
- Often wonders what life would have been like if he refused to pass the necromantic trials and instead went on his Search another way...
- Wonders if he will ever reconnect with his family.

- Periphas was an Attican king and a priest of Apollo. People were very fond of him and started honouring him in place of Zeus and set up shrines and temples for him. This annoyed Zeus, who decided to annihilate the entire family of Periphas. But because he was a just king and a good devotee, Apollo intervened and requested his father to spare Periphas. Zeus considered Apollo's words and agreed to let him live. He metamorphosed Periphas into an eagle and made the eagle the king of birds.
- Children names theme: bones.

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