Stormstrike

Second Generation Royalty
Clutchmates: Princess Clyffwind and Princex Thornefinder.
Siblings: His Royal Silliness and His Royal Goofiness.

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Tertiary Gene: Spines Specialty Items A scroll that will change the tertiary gene of one dragon to spines. This item can only be used once and will disappear after it has been applied. 19000

Cost: 190kt Applied: month day, year

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He was determined to get his sister to give up the throne to him by any means necessary, up to and including using force. So far, his attempts had not gotten quite that severe- he'd been sending his familiar tear up her garden on days she has leadership lessons and generally pester her in the hopes that she likes gardening better than the prospect of leading. It'd worked to a certain extent- she was tired and unobservant- but she hasn't seriously considered giving up the throne.

He kept sending the sparrowmouse to wreck Clyffwind's garden for weeks upon weeks upon weeks, but Thornefinder soon lived up to their name and found the metaphorical 'thorn' of the familiar. It was then that the Jealous Prince realized his efforts with the garden would bear no fruit. He immediately asked to switch familiars with Willowglow, knowing she would accept. The Veilspun never seemed to mind which familiar she was assigned, and was always particularly good at soothing and comforting the familiars the Prince would give to her without second thought, thrown away like a plastic spoon when a more useful familiar came along.

He never thought about that, though. He had a mission to accomplish. And being able to see through the eyes of an inconspicuous animal? Well, really, what could be more useful than that?

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Stormstrike narrowed his eyes in thought as he hovered in front of the Breed Change shelf, checking price tags.

Most of these were far too expensive for him to afford, and of what he could, none of it was useful- nothing that would grant him strength in battle, or stealth, or protection or intimidation or at least disguise him enough to make himself out to be a someone else- that would be far more expensive. He’d need to buy one of those pricey tri-color scatterscrolls for that, and probably some genes, too.

Pearlcatcher, he read, 250,000 treasure. He scowled and checked the scroll sitting next to it for the third time. Obelisk, it remained, unchanging, 400,000 treasure. The only thing that was in stock that was anywhere near affordable was the one he was already holding.

Tundra, 50,000 treasure.

It was out of the question. He refused to become anything like his father. Soft-hearted and stupid. Defenseless. Useless. Not even leading the clan he had founded, and unable to choose a worthy successor. He turned his glare on it instead of the better scrolls on the shelf. Those, at least, might prove useful to him someday.

He contemplated stealing one.

It wouldn’t be hard. hide it under his wing, slip away while the shopkeep was busy, disappear back to Thundercrack with it and get off scot-free. But before he could think to try it, the gravely voice of the stall’s owner spoke up in front of him.

“Tough decision?”

He spared a glance upward. A Snapper, colored like dust and sun-bleached rock, met his gaze. He shrugged in response. The merchant nodded back at him serenely.

“It is a difficult choice. Perhaps you have a goal in mind to guide you? If you tell me, I may be able to help.”

He considered it.

“I want to be strong,” he decided, “strong enough to defeat my enemies. To assure victory in any battles I fight.”

The shopkeep frowned thoughtfully at his answer.

“Safety is a worthy goal, but… You may gain strength from other sources. Battle training would be more efficient if you wish to fight against these enemies of yours, would it not? Many dragons find the change brought by these scrolls to be disorienting, and spend many days learning to fly and fight as they could before. Some find that their balance and abilities are never the same.”

Well, stagnant air, he hadn’t considered that.

“I suppose I shouldn’t waste my money, then,” he groused, slotting the scroll he’d been holding back into the spot he’d taken it from.

“Yes, save your treasure. I have battle stones for you if you wish to see them.”

He shook his head.

“I’m not advanced enough to use them, yet. I’ll come back when I’m stronger, though,” he promised. The merchant snorted.

“Don’t bother with that. I will be long gone by then, friend. I simply hope that my advice is able to help you.”

Well then, fair enough. He nodded and waved goodbye as he turned away, looking for something else to spend his budget on in the bustling marketplace. That dragon looked to be selling weapons…