Caviar
(#58592644)
A driftwood beast in a river stained red | he/him
Familiar
Amber Gulper
Click or tap to view this dragon in Predict Morphology.
Energy: 50/50
This dragon’s natural inborn element is Plague.
Male Imperial
This dragon is hibernating.
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Personal Style
Apparel
Skin
Scene
Measurements
Length
31.65 m
Wingspan
23.39 m
Weight
6345.15 kg
Genetics
Fire
Jaguar
Jaguar
Terracotta
Constellation
Constellation
Peach
Opal
Opal
Hatchday
Breed
Eye Type
Level 1 Imperial
EXP: 0 / 245
STR
6
AGI
6
DEF
6
QCK
5
INT
8
VIT
8
MND
6
Biography
|
 CAVIAR 
BARGHEST LORE AND LINEAGE PROJECT
GENERATION I FOUNDER 
"if you tame me, then we shall need each other.
To me, you will be unique in all the world." T he lands surrounding the Red River are cursed by hunger. The river runs dark rusted red - perhaps due to the iron-laden stones that line the riverbed or the thousands of salmon roe deposited amidst the torrents. Others say that the waters are stained by the blood of a great beast, a promise kept from long ago. This is the tale of the barghest, Caviar. |
Tobiko sighed. The path she walked was well worn, a winding passage that switchbacked through the craggy mountains of Dragonhome. It was an old caravan route, yet many travelers and traders traversed it as well; few of them daring to fly above the mountain peaks where the wind was strong and the air thin. Still, travel by ground was equally arduous. The sun beamed down upon an arid landscape of crumbling stone, its heat drawing beads of sweat from between the dragon’s scales. Shrugging a heavy pack from her shoulders, the drake leaned against a boulder, resting for a moment as she stared out across the Shattered Plain. The Imperial could see all of Dragonhome from here, her eyes tracing the numerous fissures that marred the ground back to the ancient tombs of the Cairnstone Rest. The stone pillar that sat at the center of the Earthshaker’s lands towered high above, disappearing amidst a brilliant sky. She would miss this place.
The Imperial pursed her lips, remembering the furrow of her father’s brow as he unfolded a ragged roll of parchment. “What’s wrong?” It had come from a clan nestled between the Scarred Wasteland and the Tangled Woods. “They’re threatening to drop business with us. Says that none of the seeds will grow, none of the plants stay alive”. Tobiko frowned, “that’s impossible. We import the very best from the Viridian Labyrinth - those crops are proven to grow even on the brink of the Wyrmwound where nothing else will.” Herath sighed. “Indeed, it is troublesome. I’ll have to send someone - they’re refusing to return payment and we have barely enough now to cover our costs”. Tobiko knew her father hated discussing the financial aspects of their trade. He wanted only to help, but while the drakes of the Viridian Labyrinth often cut him deals, the import taxes on plant products into the Scarred Wasteland were astronomically high. Tobiko’s earthen eyes settled on the letter still clutched in her father’s claws, “allow me to go”.
It took Tobiko three days to reach the mountain’s peak. The stone here was cold, the ground still packed with ice and the trail nearly lost beneath the fallen snow. The Imperial shuddered, pushing forward against the wind as she came to the pinnacle, the lands beyond Dragonhome revealing themselves far below. The Imperial gasped as she took in the dark swaths of forest that marked the Tangled Woods, her eyes following the thinning tree line to where a massive red plain stretched out for miles into the distance - the Scarred Wasteland. Her destination was somewhere between the two, a small village by the name of Arrowstone.
The old caravan trail faded into the mountainside and Tobiko chose instead to follow the rivulets of snowmelt that trickled ever downwards, fusing first into small streams that eventually fed into the maw of a great, twisting river. The mountain stones were rich in iron and Tobiko assumed that this was what pigmented the water, the river’s torrents stained a deep red.
Arrowstone came into view at the edge of the tree line. It was a small, run down village that rested beside the river, the dilapidated ruins of an old castle crumbling on the banks across from it. Tobiko tread onwards, several smooth stones displacing with a soft clatter beneath her feet. The sound of birdsong, the gentle rustle of leaves, and the babble of the river captivated her for a moment and she afforded a smile. Certainly, it would be easy to lose oneself in such a beautiful place.
Tobiko felt something suddenly sharp against her neck and she swatted instinctually, her claws coming down with a wet crunch. The crumpled form of a mosquito came away, some of the Imperial’s own blood smattered around it in her hand. “Oh - I’m sorry little one.” She said sympathetically before leaning down to wash the insect from her hand in the river. The currents carried it away, water licking her hand free of blood.
Tobiko made her way towards the town, noticing as the earth became barren and muddy the closer she approached. An old sign hung at the gates, creaking as it swung on rusted chains.
“Oi, who goes there?” The voice came from an old and nearly blind Snapper at Tobiko’s feet. “Don’t get many visitors around here anymore” the squat dragon scoffed, probing one of the Imperial’s legs with her walking cane. “Hello, my name is Tob-”.
“What you saying? Gotta speak a little louder for these old ears. Hearing ain’t what it used to be.” Tobiko cleared her throat, “I’m uh, my father sent me. From the H and H Trading Co? We got a letter from you about the seeds not growing”.
The Snapper tapped her cane, “Nope. Don’t want none of your seeds. Won’t grow in this soil. Nothing will.” The Snapper’s tone was now resigned and bitter and Tobiko saw how tired the elder looked. Her pale hide hung from her frame and Tobiko was shocked to notice the prominent ridges of the dragon’s spine and ribs showing through her skin. This village was starving, even its elders. “Please” she said softly, “Allow me to try”.
“Bah. Waste of time! But you can try all you want. Don’t matter none to me”. Tobiko smiled before a breath of air ghosted across her claws. She glanced down to find a dog sniffing at her scales. It was a hunting breed, an Irish Setter with stunning red fur that trailed off of it in silken waves. It looked up at her with intelligent eyes before the elder huffed, waving her cane. “Shoo! Shoo! Get outta here!”
The dog easily avoided the Snapper’s waving cane, glancing up at Tobiko briefly before darting away and disappearing into the woods. The elder only scoffed, muttering something under her breath.
Tobiko trailed along behind the Snapper, the elder pointing out landmarks as they wandered through town. “Used to be a great place here I’ll tell ya - the crops still grew back then and out over there was an orchard,” the Snapper said in reminiscence, pointing her cane towards an ashen plot of land where several blackened trees jutted from the earth. “Those trees had the best apples every year and my mama used to make them into pies. Still have the old recipe”. The elder smiled.
The Snapper pointed out several homes occupied by villagers, waving to a few of the townsfolk as they passed. Still, many of the old residences were abandoned, their inhabitants long since moved or passed away. “That over there is the cemetery” the elder said, gesturing to another barren plot surrounded by a small black fence. Tobiko followed the elder’s gaze, looking up at the hundreds of gravestones that marked the earth. “Son of mine used to try to garden there, but now he just digs the graves and makes the stones. We’ve lost so many.”
It was getting dark and Tobiko felt a deep sadness was over her as she looked upon the graves. “I’m sorry” she said quietly. “Eh, ain’t your fault. Happens to all of us one day. Getting dark now though, best you come with Mama Rae, we’ll put you up for the night”.
Mama Rae. The white cataracts in her eyes prevented Tobiko from discerning where the elder was born, but it seemed that she had resided in Arrowstone for the majority of her life. She took Tobiko back to her home, a small tavern near the diseased apple orchard. Another Imperial was working outside when they arrived, his claws dragging across a slab of stone as he carved it into shape. “Ah, Mama! Been a while since we’ve had guests”, her son chimed when he saw the pair approach, wiping chips of ground stone from his arms. He leaned down in greeting so that the Snapper could kiss his cheeks. “Aeron, this is Tobiko, came out here to help with those seeds you keep tryin’ a plant”.
“Ah, you’re from the trading corporation then?” Aeron smiled. “I’m afraid we don’t have much to offer these days, but the least we can do is a bed and a fire.” Tobiko smiled in return. “No worries, I brought a few things with me as well".
Tobiko stayed up late that night, slicing and layering vegetables into a casserole dish with the help of Aeron and Mama Rae. Given how few villagers remained in the town, the ratatouille they were making would be enough to feed everyone. Tobiko smiled, looking at Mama Rae in the firelight as the elder laughed and spoke of her past. “I remember when I was a child. . .” the old Snapper began and Aeron chuckled. "Mama Rae has the best memory of all of us".
"That's right, boy. Mama never forgets. Not a single thing!"
Morning brought the comforting scent of vegetable stew, yet through the windows of the tavern, the sky was dark and ominous with the promise of rain. Tobiko became aware of a haunting sound echoing through the village as well. From the window, the Imperial saw Mama Rae emerge from the tavern, walking solemnly towards a Skydancer in dark clothes who bent over a wooden plank - the stiff form of a child laid out on the dark wood. Raindrops fell. They speckled the ground and echoed with a gentle patter against the tavern’s roof. Even amidst the rainfall, Tobiko could still hear the wails of grief from below. The wails of a mother who had lost her child.
Tobiko rushed down the stairs as Mama Rae returned to the tavern with a sigh. “Ah. What a useless elder I am” she said with a solemn shake of her head, hanging her rain parka back on a hook next to the door. “Can’t protect anyone. Just keep on blessing the dead”.
Aeron approached, embracing his mother in a hug. “You’re doing the best you can, Mama”. The Snapper looked weak and venerable and Tobiko was frightened by the exhaustion that showed in the elder’s eyes. She allowed her own arms and wings to wrap around Mama Rae and Aeron, embracing them as the rain continued its patter against the roof above.
The funeral was held later that day, the few remaining villagers gathering solemnly around the graveyard. The child's casket was sealed in a grim silence, the dark pine box slowly lowered into the earth and covered with muddy soil. As an Earth dragon born beside the tombs of the Cairnstone Rest, Tobiko felt deeply unsettled by the burial. It felt like something profound was missing and she lingered by the graveside long after the others had dispersed, her scales and feathers wet with rain.
Tobiko dug her claws into the dirt, pinching and molding it in her hands until it took the form a small clay flower that she set atop the child's grave. She looked up to a flash of red, her eyes locking with brilliant crimson orbs. “You’re the dog from before” she said quietly as the beast approached, sniffing at the newly turned earth that marked the child’s grave. It let out a pitiful whine, pawing gently at the soil.
“Was he your friend? I’m sorry.”
The dog seemed to respond to her words, approaching to sit beside the Imperial, his brilliant red fur caking with mud as he laid down to rest his head upon the Earth. Up close, Tobiko could see that under his coat, the dog was as starved and thin as the rest of the villagers and there were several areas where his fur now failed to grow - great bands of scar tissue marring the skin beneath. Tobiko allowed her hand to come down, brushing through locks of red fur as the dog let out a deep sigh.
Tobiko slept fretfully that night. Her dreams brought her back to the graveyard, slabs of grey stone shining under the moonlight. A flash of red. She saw that the dog was digging now, his claws tearing into the earth. She heard him whine as she approached, watching as he pawed and bit frantically at the ground. His fur was covered in mud when he finally leapt back, hackles raised as he barked at the black pit that had opened, the child’s casket nowhere to be seen.
Instead, something bubbled up from the gaping hole in the ground. It was a thick dark liquid that spilled out of the grave. Tobiko watched as it seeped across the ground, skittering as if it were alive. It coiled back before. . . the Imperial cried out as the dark tendril snapped towards her, ensnaring her arm as it corroded though scales and flesh. “AHH!” She frantically attempted to dislodge the serpentine contagion, but it only wrapped tighter around her, searing and burning all that it touched.
She looked up then, familiar crimson eyes meeting her own. Yet, they no longer belonged to the red dog. Instead, an enormous beast towered above her. Its lips parted back into a snarl, jagged ivory teeth snapping shut onto the dark tendril of contagion.
Tobiko jolted awake.
The Imperial’s heart thudded against her chest, her body soaked in a cold sweat and her breathing ragged. It was still dark outside, the moon a waning sliver overhead. She put her head down in her hands, noticing a dull ache in her right wrist that was rapidly progressing into outright pain. Frantically, she lurched from the bed, lighting a candle and inspecting her wrist. A series of snaking scars marred her scales and Tobiko winced as she touched the line of burned flesh tracking up her arm.
With a shudder, Tobiko reached for her pack, anointing the wound with a salve of aloe before bandaging it tightly. She was still shaking as she draped a blanket over her shoulders and wandered downstairs, surprised to find that Mama Rae was awake, staring quietly at a candle lit before her on the kitchen table.
“Trouble sleeping dear?” The Snapper’s voice came, “come join Mama Rae by the fire”. Tobiko took a seat across from the elder, watching the candle flicker gently as it illuminated the Snapper’s face with a warm glow. “Is there something on your mind?”
Tobiko clutched her bandaged arm. "I saw the red dog again”.
Old wood creaked as Mama Rae leaned back in her chair. “Not everyone sees that dog. Here, let tell you a story ‘bout him and you can make of it what you will. Now, you seen that old castle on your way in, I presume?” Tobiko nodded. “Well, ‘long time ago, it belonged to a duke.”
Lord Caviar. He had inherited the run-down estate of Arrowstone and founded the nearby village as a refuge for outcasts and pariahs. “We were among them, my own mama and I; two escaped refugees from the Snowsquall Tundra. Lord Caviar welcomed us here when we had nowhere else to go”.
Mama Rae stifled a cough, clearing her throat before she continued. The duke had been kind, helping with harvests and the planting of new crops. “It seemed that no task was above him. Then, after the hard work, we’d all venture up to the castle”. Tobiko could imagine it; a Snapper child awed by the song and dance and the great banquet hall of the castle, it’s table overflowing with the freshest of the harvest and the meat from Caviar’s hunts.
“He never missed his mark when it came to hunting. He’d take down great stags and boars while his dogs scurried through the brush and flushed out rabbits and birds.” Mama Rae’s eyes were glassy in the candlelight as she delved into her memories. “I’ll never forget what he told me. Called me close one day as he was preparing a rabbit. . . asked me to say a few words for it.”
“But, it’s already dead. It won’t hear my words.”
Caviar had smiled at that. “Yet, you will hear your words and through them you will know respect for the creature that has given its life to sustain you. You will hold that memory close and you will find that even in death there is a beauty that unfolds.”
“Hah” Mama Rae laughed, “you know what I told him back then?”
Tobiko imagined the child's innocent gaze meeting the duke's eyes. “But, m’Lord. I don’t even eat meat.”
Tobiko stared at the fire with a smile, “so the dogs were. . .”
“Right” Mama Rae replied, “Caviar’s hunting dogs. You know, those dogs waited for him to come back. I tried to leave them food out by the castle. . . but when the famine struck there was too little to go around. Didn’t see the dogs for years until suddenly that one popped back up. Caviar always said they were like the guardians of this town. Hah. More like a nuisance tryin’a dig up all the graves.”
Tobiko frowned, “where did the duke go?”
The elder's voice grew quiet. “I. . . I don’t remember. Just tha-AH after he left it came. It said. Said she was. . . burning. Said no one will save you now. An-d I-I found the dogs. I found the dogs in the river.”
Tobiko no longer paid attention to the elder’s words. Instead, she was concerned by how the Snapper stuttered with confusion, repeating phrases as her eyes rolled back and she began to shake. The Imperial managed to catch the elder before her body was able to hit the floor, but Mama Rae’s voice remained an incoherent and distant ramble. The Imperial felt for the Snapper’s pulse, barely hearing her own voice as she yelled. “Aeron! Aeron help!”
“And t-the river ran. . . red”.
Aeron’s voice pierced the silence. “Why don’t you get some sleep? I can watch her for now.” He gripped Tobiko’s shoulder as she slumped in a chair beside Mama Rae’s bed. The Snapper’s breaths were rapid, her chest rising and falling beneath a nest of white linen sheets. She was alive, yet, she had not woken in three days.
“I-I’m” Tobiko dropped her head into her hands as the other Imperial leaned down beside her. “There’s no need to apologize. I’ll watch Mama while you rest.” Tobiko nodded, glancing up at Aeron through bleary eyes as he helped her to her feet.
With a sigh, Tobiko shuffled back to her room. Her vision tunneled darkly as she curled atop the linens and quickly fell into a deep slumber.
She stood before the river, red water spilling over the edges of its banks and welling up as if it were blood seeping from a wound opened into the land. The castle loomed above her, an amalgamation of dark stone and skittering tendrils of ivy.
Iron doors creaked open as Tobiko knocked and her claws tapped loudly against the stone floor when she passed through the threshold. “H-hello?” The Imperial called, her voice and footfalls reverberating as she wandered across the decaying remains of an ornamental rug that lined the entry hall. She could see the echoes of grandeur, the heads of great beasts mounted upon the walls and an immense oaken dining table resting in the adjacent dining hall.
A chandelier of tangled elk antlers glowed softly from above and in the dim light, Tobiko could make out dark streaks upon the floor. She felt something slick and wet underfoot, looking down to find spatters of blood smeared across the ground. Her heart raced, but Tobiko pushed herself onwards, following the dark trail up a set of winding stairs.
Red gleamed from the wall at the top of the stairs and Tobiko reached out to caress an old painting, the shining eyes of a proud plague dragon staring down at her from the worn canvas. She felt her heart flutter in her chest. The duke had been a handsome drake, a circlet of roses atop his head and a red dog sitting loyally by his side.
With a final brush of her fingers against the canvas, Tobiko turned, venturing further into the belly of the castle where a heavy oaken door loomed before her. She traced the dark marks upon the door, a depiction of an interlocked arrow and stag's horn etched into the hard oak. Now, the etching was worn with age and obscured by a series of dark, claw-like marks gouged deep into the wood.
With a shaking hand, Tobiko pushed the door open.
The rumble of a heavy exhale greeted Tobiko as she entered the dark room, her mane and feathers fluttering softly in a warm breeze generated by the sleeping form. It rested upon the mighty bed, its body coiled atop a mound of silken sheets that shimmered red in the dim light. It stirred. "Mortal" the voice came, a deep vibration upon the air, "are you not. . . afraid?”
Tobiko swallowed heavily. She remained silent as the beast lifted its head. The movement was slow, almost painful, and a torrent of dark blood leaked down the creature’s neck as he moved. Tobiko’s heart twisted in her chest. “No, stop, you’re hurt! Please. . . please let me help. Let me. . ."
She stopped short as an enormous red eye slid open, its crimson sclera gleaming in the darkness. Still, she rested a hand across the beast’s fur. He appeared to flinch away for a moment before stilling. “Mortal. Why have you come here? I can. . . smell your blood”.
The beast said the final words with disgust. “Leave me before. . . I devour you”. His words were slow and haggard. "N-no, please let me help you! I can bring food? I can. . ." He laughed at this. “It will not help. I have resisted it for so long, this hunger. Do not tempt me, mortal. . . for I crave not simply meat and wine”.
"My blood then" Tobiko said quietly as she kneeled beside him, exposing her bandaged wrist. The beast’s eyes widened. You do not know what you offer. . . you too will be. . . cursed”.
Tobiko stilled at the mention of the curse. "Is not this town cursed as well, Lord Caviar?"
At that the beast snarled, a low growl rumbling in his throat. "The. . . Shade destroys all that it touches. It has corrupted my land, its dark tendrils sapping away the life. I have grown. . . too weak to fight it."
Tobiko stared at the scars that wound up her arm. She understood now. The marks of the Shade. She'd heard of it in hushed whispers, in eerie tales meant to frighten the faint of heart. It was a force of unrelenting darkness - a sickness with no cure, a contagion that no mage could dispel and no healer could heal. It was a plight upon the land that not even the Gods could contain. . . and yet.
"You can destroy Shade."
Tobiko had witnessed it. The darkness that skittered up her arm had writhed and erupted into crumbling ash between the red beast's jaws. The realization dawned upon the Imperial and her decision became clear.
"Please, allow me to help you. Take my blood. Allow me to share your burden. . . to save this town."
Red eyes locked with Tobiko's own, the room caught in a moment of silence before Caviar's voice echoed once more “. . . very well.”
The room spun red and Tobiko felt the warmth of breath. She closed her eyes at the sight of ivory teeth parting wide, wincing in anticipation. Yet the bite felt akin to a gentle kiss against her skin.
Mama Rae's eyes opened slowly, looking down to find Aeron's hands grasping tightly onto one of her own. She smiled as she shifted awake, "I feel like I've just had the strangest dream".
Aeron grinned at that, laughing as tears pricked his eyes. "I'll go get you some water, Mama," he called, disappearing downstairs to grab a glass from the kitchen. He returned with a puzzled look on his face. "What's wrong boy?" Mama Rae questioned.
"I, uh. I thought Tobiko was sleeping, but the door is ajar and she's. . . well, she's gone."
Mama Rae stared down at the glass of water now clutched in her hands. She chuckled lightly. "What is it Mama?" The elder didn't offer much in reply, but she smiled with a knowing glint in her eyes. "Blood is a powerful thing."
Life slowly returned to the town of Arrowstone. Rabbits and wild boar once again scurried and rooted through the underbrush and tendrils of vibrant green erupted from the ground. Aeron smiled, chuckling under his breath. "Well look at that! Those seeds grew after all". Even the old apple trees came back into bloom, and the scent of pies wafted through the village each fall. The dragon called Tobiko never returned to that town, but there were rumors. . .
“Mama Rae!” A child’s voice called, “I saw these HUUGE dogs down by the river today! They were so big and scary!” The old Snapper’s eyes shined knowingly. “Don’t worry child," she said with a smile, "there’s no need to be afraid”.
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