Shinrei

06/29/2020: Acquired from Auction House (unnamed).
06/29/2020: Named Shinrei.
06/29/2020: Assigned Skoll.
07/14/2020: Applied Breed Change: Spiral (previously Nocturne), Secondary Gene: Striation, and Tertiary Gene: Runes (both previously Basic).
07/14/2020: Equipped with Illuminated Emblem, Illuminated Runescroll, Golden Tail Bangle, Golden Sage Sleeves, and Golden Sage Lantern.
08/09/2020: Applied Primary Gene: Wasp (previously Basic) and Vial of Naivety (eyes previously Common). Perfection achieved.
06/28/2022: Equipped with Light Aura.

Shine from Within

&

As a Spiral, Shinrei values freedom of movement over fashion. Her only concessions are the golden sleeves which she wears to conceal the cicatrices on her forearms - more for the comfort of other dragons than her own, since they tend to recoil when first they see the scars left by the destruction of her original pearl - and the tail bangle, chosen and treasured as much for its resistance to tangling as for its elegant drape. The rest of Shinrei's ensemble is not mere apparel, but rather the embodiment of her innate courage and grace. The runescroll around her shoulders is a gift from the Lightweaver; made to take the place of her vanished pearl, it is inscribed both with old memories and living thoughts, each symbol gleaming with indomitable spirit against the darkest of backgrounds. This selfsame spirit manifests on Shinrei's brow as the mark of the deity's favor, and surrounds her in the form of lanterns illuminating paths and choices yet to be faced.

Shinrei met her companion when she was still a Pearlcatcher and he was just a cub. The circumstances of their meeting were less than auspicious.

You see, he broke her pearl. (He thought it was the Sun.)

Shinrei had been playing in a clearing in the woods near her birthplace. She was alone, having neither parents nor clan, but she knew nothing of loneliness. Child that she was, to her the pearl she held was but a beautiful and shining trinket; there was no one to tell her that the light shining from it was the light of her own innocent spirit.

She had found that the pearl would do her bidding, rising into the air and falling back into her claws as she wished. Thus she amused herself as the hours passed.

The Skoll cub was himself an orphan, though he was ignorant of the fact; the mother who had gone out to hunt never returned to their den. He had cried in vain for her and for the lack of food in his belly, and after two interminable days he ventured out into the unwelcoming world. The woods loomed over him in their great green silence, obscuring the Sun which his kind so deeply desired.

When he saw the light shining among the trees some distance away, a different kind of hunger woke in his mind. His eyes locked on to the source of the light, a brilliant orb moving slowly in the air, and instinct took over. He began to run.

The hatchling was already tiring of her solitary game, and had just started to think of taking a nap when the cub burst from the foliage and seized the descending pearl in his hungry jaws. A howl of triumph rose in his throat, but it quickly changed to a wail of anguish as the pearl shattered into a thousand glittering fragments.

Shinrei cried out in fear and pain, the falling shards cutting into her forelegs when she flung them up to protect her eyes. The cub crashed down almost on top of her, his mouth torn and bleeding from innumerable cuts.

Seeing the extent of his injuries, the Pearlcatcher forgot her own agony and lunged forward, cradling the cub's head, trying to keep him from snapping his jaws shut and doing himself further damage. He might have bitten her in his extremity - who knows?

When he stopped struggling, Shinrei thought he was dead. In her pity and horror at his wounds, she began to cry. She had never seen anything like him before, and perhaps never would again. Sitting in the clearing, dark now without the light of her pearl, she closed her eyes tightly and rocked back and forth, still holding the Skoll, unaware that she was beginning to glow.

I don't care about the pearl, she thought. I just want him to wake up.

The cub woke bathed in light. He looked into the hatchling's face, inches from his nose, her eyes shut in the sleep of exhaustion. His mouth no longer pained him. He ran his tongue over his snout, wincing in anticipation.

But his wounds were gone. Hers were reduced to scars.

And the light - her light - was brighter even than the pearl had been.

He thought: Are you the Sun?

You must be. Yes. Mine, now.

The cub who would take the name Solvarg nuzzled Shinrei's cheek, and waited for his sun to rise.




It was in an obscure clearing of the Tangled Wood that Shinrei and Solvarg first met. How the Pearlcatcher came to hatch there remains a mystery to her, and to those who learned her story. Some say that her parents were travelling to - or from? - the Sunbeam Ruins, and were waylaid by beastclans on their final journey.

But that is a matter for future conjecture.

Here they lived for some time, hiding from intruders, spying on them from afar, learning speech and stories under cover of darkness and at a safe distance from the subjects of their observation, until at last Shinrei's natural glow became impossible to conceal. Travelers in the region began to talk of a hidden sun blazing in the depths of the forest, and the clans of the Shadowbinder turned their eyes woodward.

In the end, they fled their clearing, both dragons and beastclans in pursuit. Only when Solvarg led Shinrei along the Driftwood Drag and across the river to the steps of the Sundial Terrace did the hunt abate.

They collapsed where they stood, blinking in the unaccustomed brightness.

Shinrei thought or said or thought, They will never find us here, Solvarg. It's so bright, I can hide here forever. And indeed, the radiance around them filled her vision, until she could hardly see. Beside her, Solvarg moved closer, unsure of himself in this new territory, but determined to protect his sun nonetheless.

* Ah, but no, my child, * a voice said out of the dazzle. * There is no need for you ever to hide again. *

Shinrei was shocked into silence. Who was this, who called her "child"?

* Indeed you are, * the voice went on. * You were lost, and now have been found. Once by your companion, and now by me. *

Shinrei felt the weight of the unknown voice's regard shifting from her to Solvarg. * Yet he has done you harm. Your pearl is gone. *

He didn't mean to! Shinrei blurted out, feeling some unspecified threat to her friend. He was just a baby then! And, she added, with some defiance, I've done just fine without it.

* So you have, * mused the voice, unperturbed by Shinrei's outburst. * Better than most Pearlcatchers who lose their pearls. *

Pearlcatcher? Shinrei thought for a moment. I was playing catch with my pearl back then -

The voice laughed, and it was a glittering, golden sound, like bells. * Child, that is not at all what "Pearlcatcher" means. I see that you may be better off in a different form. Besides, * the voice went on, * this is ... shall we say ... a new start. For you both. Allow me.*

Solvarg looked at Shinrei in perplexity - what was this voice going on about? - and yelped in sudden alarm. The Pearlcatcher had vanished. In her place sat a Spiral - a Spiral with Shinrei's scent, Shinrei's aura, and incongruously, Shinrei's scarred forearms.

* I could erase those scars, * the voice said, * but that would erase all bonds between you, sun-wolf. She bore them for your sake, to heal you better. *

Shinrei looked down at herself. She had always wanted to dance in the air, as did the Spirals who had travelled close to their former home. How had the voice known that?

The bells of laughter chimed again, gently. * Call it a lucky guess, child. Now you can dance, and shine, and heal without hiding. However - *

Shinrei felt softness settling around her arms and shoulders. Her scars were blanketed in gold, and a dark cloth, emblazoned with runes, fluttered around her. She thought, how beautiful this all is - and gasped when the words appeared on the cloth, exactly as she had said them.

* - Spirals can be a little forgetful at times. Too much going on, all at once, * the voice said. * This is not at all like a pearl, but it will help you remember all that matters most. And these sleeves will protect your scars from unwanted notice. *

* Farewell now, child. The first dragon you meet will take you both where you need to go. *

The brilliance began to fade, until at last there was only Shinrei, still glowing with her own personal light, and Solvarg mute with amazement beside her.

"Hello there!" a different voice called to them. A mortal voice, thought the new-minted Spiral, and looked bemusedly upon the source. It was a Spiral, like herself, shimmering green on the terrace, adorned in yellow flowers.

"Happy Brightshine, travellers! Welcome to Clan Everlight!"




Everlight, thought Shinrei. How fitting. She advanced toward the other Spiral, Solvarg keeping pace. She moved awkwardly, still unused to her new form, still weary from the mad rush out of the Tangled Wood.

"Are you all right?" the green Spiral asked, concerned. The visitor's golden aura, which had first attracted her attention, seemed to have faded. She moved forward to welcome them, wondering where they had sprung from. Very few found their way to Clan Everlight by way of the Shadowlands.

"Here, let me help you. You must be exhausted," she said, and offered an arm for the visitor to lean on. Shinrei hesitated, then accepted the support, smiling gratefully. A faint shock ran up her own arm. She had never touched another dragon before, and the unaccustomed contact brought her perilously close to tears.

"I am Sukui," said the green Spiral, guiding Shinrei to a nearby seat. "And this," she indicated a Lilyfowl nestled in the curve of her neck, "is Vivere. "

Shinrei bobbed her head at the pair, and gave her name and Solvarg's in reply. She looked about her in wonderment. After their narrow escape and the encounter with the mysterious voice, the midday sun and peaceful silence came as a relief.

"I'm sorry it's so quiet down here," said Sukui, misreading her look. "Everyone is over in the flower fields for Brightshine. I can take you there now, if you're ready."

"Ready," whispered Shinrei, and looked at her companion. "Are we ready, Solvarg?"

The Skoll thought a moment, and laid his head on Shinrei's free arm. Ready when you are, he said.

The sun was low on the horizon by the time Shinrei finished telling her story to Sukui and the Lady of Everlight, Talamasca. She felt drained, yet curiously relieved. And safe.

Sukui had brought food and drink for her and Solvarg, far more than they had ever seen at any time, and certainly more than they could consume. The Lady had listened intently, her silence a comfort; she asked no probing questions, made no judgments, and at the end of the tale looked with infinite tenderness upon them both.

"You have endured much, for all your youth," said Talamasca, "and yet have been much blessed, as well." She smiled at them, and the warmth in her eyes was clear to see. "This Clan is your family now, for as long as you wish to stay.

"Come," she said. "The sunflowers still chase the sun. Let them welcome you home."

Shinrei and Solvarg stood with their new friends in the middle of the fields. They had never seen such golden beauty before. The sun's last rays fell upon the sea of blooms, and they yearned upward to catch the final sunlight before night fell once again.

Next year, thought Shinrei, exchanging smiles with the Skoll who was her first and best friend. Next year, at this time, I will dance for you all.