Albany

Living Form:

---

Completed her scrying on November 1st 2023 at 12:57 AM

---

Original Dragon:

---

Lore

Albany was a powerful, yet young, mage. So powerful, in fact, that she was one of the sorcerers who summoned the living ice storm spell that wiped out the banescales.
Before that tragedy took place, she was in a secret relationship with a banescale named Solairah. Albany and Solairah crossed paths when both of them were coincidentally exploring a small and undocumented shallow reef/sandbar area in between the sea. They met with hostility at first, but due to not wanting to harm the reef, they passive aggressively kept to their own sides of the reef. Solairah had claimed this spot long ago as a secret safe place she could go to get away from the clamor and calamity of her fiery home, plus she had a weird fascination with crustaceans and the reef was full of em. Albany discovered the hidden treasure when flying near the border out of curiosity. On one of her little escapes from reality, Albany appeared, and so began their story.

The two returned to that spot frequently, sometimes they encountered each other while other times they were alone, and avoided communication as much as possible due to their differences. However, they each watched each watched each other carefully out of weariness and began noticing that they shared similar interests. Solairah was the first to ignite small talk, which inevitably lead to them growing evermore closer. As they came to enjoy each others company, they both shared their love for singing as well, and it became a favorite pastime of their to make up tunes for each other.

They began meeting up with each other intentionally more and more, sharing stories, good and bad, and were completely falling in love, they even gave each other nicknames, Albany was Solairah's Moon Princess, and Solairah's was Albany's Starshine. However, dreadful plans were overheard one day on , and when they met that day a great dread fell upon them and their beautiful hidden treasure of a reef. The banescales were planning to take over the Southern Icefields, and the gaolers were already preparing their defenses. The two were distraught and fearful of the safety of their families and themselves, but alas upon return to their homes after a worrisome, yet hopeful goodbye, they separated, unknowingly it would be their last embrace for centuries to come.

Albany knew she had to serve her duty and apologized to Solairah for anything she would be forced to do, and then told her to gather everything she holds dear and sneak away with them and any loved ones she can convince to join her to flee to their secret meeting spot, which should be outside of the field of battle, and fly from there towards the frigid floes if the battle becomes unbearable or gets too close to her hiding place, in which would be where Albany said she would flee too the first chance she gets and try to meet up with her and her company.

Everything was going according to plan except for that Albany was unaware of one tiny, yet crucial detail. Albany was aware of the last resort plan to cast a spell that would wipe out the Banescales in the battle field, but she was never told that such a spell would range all the way into the very hearts of the Banescales lairs, or that the spell it would cost the poor sorceress her life.

When all seemed lost for the land of ice and snow, it was time for casting the spell. Albany joined her peers in the summoning of the dreadful vortex, but became increasingly fearful as she realized too late she had lost control of her body as her soul began to be sucked out of her by the vortex she had created. With a final, pained gasp and a powerful blast of cold winds, the living ice storm comprised of the sorcerer's souls rampaged head on into the enemy forces, and freezing them on sight. Poor Albany and her peers became part of a ferocious hiveminded blizzard, in which had also been spotted by the distressed Solairah from afar.

Solairah had seen the mass extinction of her family begin before her, and she had none to weep with nor time to do so anyway, for they were all in battle before she could save them except for her trusted and loyal familiar. She took flight towards the meeting place Albany had told her was safe, but alas the eyes of the looming blizzard had spotted her as it surpassed the shores towards the land of Ashfall. Try as she might, she could not out fly the raging storm tailing her. With clear skys ahead and certain death behind her she made a final decision if she was unable to escape. She was so close to the meeting grounds that if she were to fall her current trajectory would give her a final crash landing, which unfortunately is what she faced. With a terrifying roar, the storms edge had shaped itself into a giant wing-claw and slammed down upon Solairah with so much force she was barely able to cast a final spell.

As her sight began to freeze over she breathed one last powerful burst of purple and red flames, and part of her soul resided with it. The soulfilled flames escaped the grasp of the storm and soared into the sky left of the moon and combusted into new stars, which aligned in the form of Solairah's body, entrapping part of her soul in the eternal void above. What was left of her froze mid air, trapped in an icy tomb, which began falling to the earth at rapid speeds, surely to shatter upon impact. The last thing Solairah saw was the precious moon and her flames reaching for it as her heart did for Albany. The ice froze over her open, tear-ridden eyes and she had fallen with the rest of her kind.

Suddenly, Albany had awakened in the storm as she witnessed the power of the hivemind consume the love of her life, what specifically had snapped her out of the storms hold will forever escape her, be she likes to think it was true loves last attempt at survival. Unfortunately Albany had woke up too late, and watched as her frozen partner fell to the earth. Out of grief and anger Albany suddenly overflowed with power and lunged to catch the mound of ice before it shattered, and she fortunately succeeded.

Albany lost conciousness shortly after she and Solairah completed a rough landing. She awoke once again a short time later, but something was wrong. She was in a physical form, yet was phantasmic at the same time. Her luscious fur blown away by the wind with what strands remain clung frozen to her soul as a reminder of who she once was, and her bright eyes were now dull, glassy, and eternally crying tears that drift away as snowflakes. She checked on Solairah to see if there was a chance at saving her somehow, but unfortunately the storm had done its job, and had done it very well. Albany mourned and then momentarily panicked as she realized others may try to find and disturb Solairah's resting place to shatter her. Albany used her newfound enhanced abilities and covered the tomb of her beloved banescale with a mountain of snow. Surely none would look this far for frozen foes anyway, but if they did Albany made sure Solairah would never be found.

Albany sat in silence that night in grief for not only her loss of Solairah, but also for herself as she could not move on with the rest of the gaolers whom made up the now dissipated storm. She didn't know what to do except the one thing she and Solairah did best. Make up a song and sing to each other, and so, with a heavy heart, she did just that.

Albany's nameless spirit roams on the anniversary of the extinction between the battlefield and Solairah's tomb, and when her spirit rest she sleeps on a now frigid sandbar, surrounded by the frozen remains of a coral reef. Solairah's ghost is trapped in the stars until she can one day be freed, and only when her two halves of soul reunite will her afterlife be opened. When and if that event shall take place may Albany reunite with Solairah, and they can finally rest together in piece.

Few have encountered Albany's ghost, and those who have all share a similar tale. The encounters never fail to begin with overhearing, from a distance, a lullaby of sorrow.

---

Lullaby for a Lost Love
FR Fan Parody/Cover of "Lullaby for a Princess" by GalacticWicke


Fate has been cruel, and order unkind.
How could I have sent you away?...
The blame was my own, the punishment yours.
The ancestors are silent today...

And into the stillness, I'll sing you a song, and I will your company keep...
Till' your tired eyes, and my lullabies, carry you softly to sleep...

Once did a gaoler who shimmered like the snow, watch over her clanmates and sigh.
She smiled and said, "Surely there is no other so lucky and loyal to my clan as I."

So great was her fame, and so brilliant her magic, that long was the shadow she cast...
Which fell dark upon the young banescale she loved, and it only grew darker as days and nights passed.

Soon did that gaoler take notice that others did not give the banescales their dues, and nor had she loved them as they deserved...
She watched as her lover's unhappiness grew...

But such is the way of the limelight, it slowly takes over the mind of its host, and that foolish gaoler did nothing to stop the destruction of one who had needed her most.

"Lullay, Moon Princess", "Goodnight Starshine, mine", rest now in moonlight's embrace...
Bare up my lullabies, wings of the earth, through cloud, and through sky, and through space...

Carry the peace in the coolness of night, and carry my sorrow in kind...
Solairah, you're loved so much more than you know, may troubles be far from your mind...

.......And forgive me for being so blind.......

The years now before us, fearful and unknown...I never imagined I'd face them on my own!
May these thousand winters swiftly pass I pray...
I love you...I miss you...all these miles away!

May all your dreams be...sweet, tonight. There upon your bed of starlight...and know not of sadness, pain, or care...and when I dream, I'll fly away, and meet you there...

Sleep...sleep...sleep.......