Shepard

Shepard began life as a singular egg abandoned by his parents. Life in the Scarred Wastelands isn't the easiest and certainly isn't the most forgiving, so sacrifices must be made. Luckily, one of the wandering clans took him in, only referred to as the Reds. He grew up as most did in his clan; under the survival of the fittest. If you were weak, if you could not keep pace with the wandering clan, then you were left behind to struggle and, inevitably, die. The clan took all in who crossed their path, keeping their bloodlines pure and strong but Shepard learned fast to try not to grow too attached to those who walked alongside his kin. Many often did not survive the grueling conditions and the harsh pace set by their clan leader: A large Male Mirror by the name of Finch.

It was unrelenting but deemed a necessity to survive by the heavily scarred and beaten male; a dragon clearly not of the Scarred Wastelands, himself. Over time Shepard grew to see many of this clan come and go, left behind to perish and rot in the contaminated lands that he called home. With each member left to die, his heart sunk further until a day came when she had tooth and claw enough to say no.

A dragon that she had come to know, a male Pearlcatcher who had surprised Shepard at every turn with his survival capabilities, a dragon that she thought would last no longer than a week with them, finally stumbled and fell; finally met his limits and was unable to continue with the ruthless group's demands.

Shepard spat and snarled, bared teeth to a foe greater than him by immeasurable comparison. "It is time for a change!" He screamed until his lungs burnt, standing defiant next to the white Pearlcatcher at his heel.

The clan looked on with tense quietness, awaiting another to make the first move before they, themselves, made their own mind up. There was, after all, strength in numbers and as long as they kept up, they were safe from the other horrors within the Scarred Wastelands.

Finch was not merciful to defiance nor a question to his authority. If this Wildclaw wished to lay his allegiances with the weak and the foolish then so be it. Much like his parents, Shepard could rot away and become food for the vultures!

Sneering, the Mirror dragon offered Shepard barely a second glance as he beat him down with one arm; pinning him to the ground. His muzzle leaned down to his own face, harsh and rancid breath washing over Shepard's snout though it was nothing compared to the swelling pain of reinforced claws beginning to crush his smaller into the plagued dirt. "Your ilk will wither and die without my aid." The last words he heard before a cry of his name and the void greeted him like an old friend.

When his eyes opened once more, there was a motley group of only five to greet him; each with a varying look of concern and relief washing over most of their maws. A male Spiral with braces on each of his legs, as if they'd been recently broken; a male grey Nocturne; a female Coatl with apparel covering her entire body; A blue female Spiral; a white and red female Skydancer; and a large shadow outside, unmistakably a Snapper.

Shepard was indoors, inside a sturdy ancient stone structure with its walls adorned with paraphernalia for an art form he couldn't recognize. Shepard's body was sore and pained, wrapped so gently and meticulously though that he could recognize a healer among this group.

He glanced out a crystal-glass window. The sky... sparkled.

"Where... where am I?." He heaves out the words on strained breaths, arms shaking to support his weight as she slowly sits to stand.

"You're in the Astrolodome. In the Starfall Isles. We found you alone on the stretches of the Wasteland, we couldn't leave you to die," A blue Tundra steps around the others, "I'm Kaidan. I'm the one who healed you."

"Thank you. I... I've never been outside the Plaguebringer's domain. I owe all of you for saving me, but... could we start by showing me around?"

A broken start to a small Clan of misfits and oddities, but, in time, it became a family that Shepard would not trade for all the stars in the universe.

Plague Sprite

Familiar

Entourage of the Plaguebringer. (Riot of Rot Holiday Familiar 2013.)

0

Boneyard Tatters

Apparel

The tattered, degraded remains of a pilgrim who has bested the Abiding Boneyard. There's something not quite right about this dragon's face... (Riot of Rot 2013 Holiday Item)

0

Runaway Rotclaw

Apparel

A parasitic companion, and your new best friend. (Riot of Rot 2014 Holiday Item)

0

Skeletal Chimes

Apparel

A plagueland breeze is best accompanied by a cheerful rattle of skeletal chimes. (Riot of Rot Holiday Item 2015.)

0

Rhodochrosite

Minerals & Ores

This vibrant mineral is commonly mined from hydrothermal vents off the coast of the Starfall Isles. It acts a catalyst for creating arcane metalwork.

45

Irradiated Astronomer

Familiar

Gaze as far into the stars as you may; their domain is fathomless.

2400

---

---

Needs: Noxtide

---

My second Mire Flyer lol

---