Ylva

Uh-oh, looks like this familiar handler wandered a little too far from her home lair (sgkat, 158838), and now she's off to see the world! If ever you feel the urge to exalt, she'd really appreciate it if you could just return her home instead, or to the 'Dragons Off To See The World' thread, here.

Ylva inherited her mother's fascination with the past, only she wasn't interested in lineage. She wanted to know the history of animal domestication - and how it could be continued in the present day. She spent hours with the clan's familiars, learning their habits and their quirks. Dissatisfied with a single population to work with, however, she has decided to travel to expand her understanding.



Ylva came upon a small clearing in the Tangled Wood, and it seemed to provide the perfect place to stay for a while: she encountered a small community living without magic, and the opportunity to study familiars who were not impacted by active magical energy was too intriguing to pass up. The dragons who lived there were more than happy to let her stay awhile, and curious about what she could discover about their companions.

However, after staying for some time, the inability to use her magic began to grate on her nerves, despite her engrossing study of familiar behaviour. She said her goodbyes, packed up her notes, and continued her journey.



She followed the faintest of faint suggestions of a path out of the Tangled Wood, which eventually strengthened into a proper track. It led her to a green field at the bottom of a cliff. The cliff was riddled with numerous caves and openings, some so small Ylva could barely fit her claw inside, some big enough for a Snapper to pass through.

Looking up at the cliff-face, Ylva's attention was captured by the sky. It made her frown; the sky promised a downpour. With a tired sigh, she picked out an opening about halfway up the cliffside and carefully climbed up to it. No sound greeted her ears upon her arrival; if anything lived in this particular cave, it was currently gone. Taking her chances, she found a cozy-enough rock and settled in for a nap.

She was awakened in the black of night by screeches and battle cries. She sneaked in their direction, curious, and found herself at an opening that led deeper into the cliff, one that overlooked a stone gallery of sorts - one from which she could easily observe, but not be seen.

She rolled her eyes when she realized: this was a cave where young dragons came to train.

But who would train in the middle of the night?!

She'd returned to her makeshift sleeping space to gather her meager belongings and depart when she startled something. It hastily clambered higher up her rock and then stared at her. She stared back. "Where - did you just -" she sputtered. "I dissslike long fightssss. They tire me outssss," it answered.

Bramble Guardian Familiar A colony of bramble guardians is sure to keep any lair warded from tiny intruders. 2100

Her interest returning her wits to her, Ylva took out her notes and began asking questions about its kind and it itself in particular. It seemed a pretty nice individual, after all, and it even shared with her a story about a peculiar Transmuted Treasure it had chanced to meet in passing.

They talked until dawn. With the rising of the sun, Ylva thanked her unusual conversational partner and went on her way.



When Ylva reached her next destination, it was dusk, not that she could tell: huge buildings and skyscrapers were glowing beacons, shining so brightly they hurt her eyes; the city would have looked exactly at home in the Arcane region, or perhaps in Lightning, but she was in Flotsam Town.

...She wasn't actually sure about that.

"Hello there! Welcome to Lumrora City! My name is Prust."

Turning, Ylva found herself rather intimidated by an eye-catching Coatl. "Errrm. Hello. My name is Ylva."

"What a beautiful name. Would you like to join me for a cup of tea?"

"O-okay. Thank you."

Ylva followed Prust to her home; her host regaled her with tales and wonders of the city throughout the tea service. It was rather overwhelming, but Ylva didn't know how to admit it; Prust was the epitome of graciousness: she even put up her visitor in the local hotel, all expenses paid.

The next morning, Ylva was ready to move on. The city had a certain charm, but she wasn't sure about it. And she wasn't ready to be done traveling Sornieth.



Ylva came to Clan Burning Fantasies, a clan dedicated to both the Flamecaller and the Windsinger. It was a unique place, and the dragons there were kind to her, but she did not find much to do. She stayed only a short time before moving on.



Ylva was not thrilled to find herself at home again: her mother still didn't understand what she found so interesting about familiars.

She had intended to stay only long enough to restock her supplies, maybe drop off her notes in the library archive, but she there she encountered an Encouraging Quill, which was so cheering and helpful that Ylva decided against simply dropping off her notes: she'd write them up properly in a scholarly paper. It was harder than she'd anticipated, but she had her companion quill, who was so generous with praise that it was worth staying home for an extended period.

Encouraging Quill Familiar This bewitched writing instrument will give you unearned positive feedback on that screenplay you keep meaning to finish. 1500

But eventually it was done, her companion had Awakened, and it was time to get back on the road.



When Ylva arrived at the Voltitech Corps after travelling to the Shifting Expanse for the first time, she was thrilled to find not only a fellow familiar handler (Jalapeno the bogsneak), but an entire section of the underground lair devoted to housing various non-draconian species. While some of these critters were familiars of the clan members, others were trained to perform tasks around the lair or were being researched by the scientists. Not expecting to find such a hidden gem in a cave deep in the desert, Ylva was quite happy to settle in for a lengthy stay while she studied fauna brought in from all across Sornieth.

Though it eventually became time for her to depart after she had taken notes on everything she could possibly think of, Ylva left with a wealth of knowledge and a newfound fascination with how the unique abilities of all kinds of domesticated animals could be combined with the power of cutting-edge technology. But as interesting as it was, there were always more familiars to find - and the potential of discovering more new and exciting uses of animal domestication.



Ylva's arrival to Vixen's Clan brought an adventure she hardly expected. She found herself courted by the Plague Tundra Erebos. Though she didn't think he was her type - he struck her as a shameless and devious fellow. But he was relentless, and she found herself laying a nest with him. They had two hatchlings who left to serve different deities. Honestly, the whole experience left her shaken... especially when she found out he already technically had a mate of sorts, who didn't take well to the whole affair.

She retreated to the River Lands, a subregion of the clan far from Erebos. Whilst there, she discovered that dragons of this clan tended to pair with a familiar to form a lifelong bond, which she found comforting after her ordeal.



This time when Ylva returned home, it was with a plan: to change her genes. She couldn't remember who along her travels had suggested it, but she was still haunted by her time in Vixen's Clan and needed some cheer. She picked out some animal-patterned genes for herself. That accomplished, she set out once more.



Ylva's journey took her to Wanderweg Wood, where she was greeted by a flurry of marvelous creatures. It seemed every dragon here had a Familiar or two that they worked closely beside, and she was fascinated to hear all their stories. Curled up eating sweet fruits, she spoke with the leader, Evernia while Evernia's beloved Moss-Covered Golem snoozed in a sunbeam. She marveled at Okopipi, a Masked Phantom, who whisked past her gathering ingredients for the local poison keeper, Aconitum. And lo and behold, she found someone like her. Aconitum's own child, Larkspur could be found surrounded by all of the unbonded Familiars. Treating their wounds, coaxing them to eat their food, and grooming any that desired it. His calm presence was a balm on her troubled soul, and she found herself drawn to his side as much as the Familiars were.

The two spent many nights nestled up together exchanging stories. He was in awe of her travels, and she in awe of the sheer number of creatures he had befriended. Lark showed her several rare species, as well as the different approaches he used for bonding. He expressed how every Familiar, even two of the same species, was an individual, and you had to figure out their language and preferences. Some were physical and sought touch at every turn, others preferred greater distance. The key was to not superimpose your own expectations, and instead meet the Familiar somewhere in the middle.

Ylva was delighted by his thoughts, sharing many of them, and told him about her many experiences. Glossing over some rough parts, as she could see how young he still was.

Eventually, when it came time for her to depart, she butted heads with the Skydancer affectionately, and promised that next time she saw him, she would have even more stories, and perhaps a new Familiar in tow.



Ylva once again found herself in the Sunbeam Ruins. By now, she’d experienced many dragon clans’ unique relationships with their familiars and also made a few friends, but still she longed to uncover more about the history between these species and dragonkind. Reassessing her travel plans would take a night or two to consider what locations and libraries might hold the data she sought as well as which pathways and wind currents would carry her in the right direction, so she set foot down in a sun-specked forest not terribly far west of the Mirrorlight Promenade. Needing to restock on food and water, she located a small ruin whose roof had only partially collapsed and prepared herself for a midnight solo hunt. She settled down for a short nap.

With a start, Ylva awoke to a searing pain in her throat. A spear, coated in something that burned! When her eyes opened, she could see their heat signatures everywhere - Serthis. A whole sect. They’d spotted her descent, surely. How careless! The mirror had spent so much time among dragons and their familiars she’d nearly forgotten how dangerous it was to rest by herself! In quick retaliation, she rolled, breaking the embedded spear and crushing the individual that had attacked her, along with a few others that had gathered too closely. Though she’d weakened some enough to remove them from the fight, she was at a disadvantage, and could feel the burning venom entering the wound beneath her jaw. If she couldn’t manage to escape soon…

Like a gift from Lightweaver, another Mirror dragon descended from the red-orange sky, planting itself by her side in the center of the Serthis horde. Once it pried the wedged spearhead from under Ylva’s jaw, a look of understanding was shared between the two, and it assumed a battle stance. After all, if one thing stood true, it was that a mirror was at its strongest with a partner. They fought their way out of danger. Despite the brutality of the Serthis, the stranger chose not to attack with lethal precision, but instead opted to disable their foes with blunt blows. Ylva followed suit easily though she was weak. At the earliest opening, the two took to the skies to flee their tactful ambushers. Ylva didn’t question their destination, partly out of a newly gained trust, but also out of failing strength. As they landed, Ylva’s consciousness slipped away.

She came-to as she had done only hours before: with a Serthis standing over her head. Just strong enough now to flinch, she reeled back, watching with shock as the Serthis recoiled also. After a bit of reassurance from the stranger, who finally introduced themself as Bloodstone, Ylva calmed. She learned this particular Serthis, “Ithosa,” was a friend of theirs and was in the habit of brewing solutions and poultices for Bloodstone’s clan, Clan Arcadia, and had helped heal her wound.

For the next several days, Ylva befriended Bloodstone and the non-dragon-speaking Ithosa within their half-crumbled fort, Arcadia Keep. She spent some time with the clan’s mysterious defender, a banescale who wouldn’t mention his name but showed her a few things about engaging smartly in combat. Overall, despite the ample time spent training and her harrowing arrival, Ylva found herself at peace in the sunlit ruins of the keep, happy to stay and enjoy the very small community Clan Arcadia kept. Alas, the answers she sought were not in this place, so after some time recharging in her own room within the keep, she said her goodbyes and departed with Bloodstone as an escort to the edge of the Sunbeam Ruins. Ylva promised them she’d return if ever she felt the need for a rest or more training.



Continue her adventures here!



Owners I've Had:
sgkat, 158838
Lunalis, 526243
Strukla, 90706
Sekine, 567762
ArtemisHalfMoon, 532589
lunusdragoness, 17407
/ Fantivity, 541094
Alligatorsight, 118679
sgkat, 158838 (Return Visit)
SylverFyre2003, 523140
Ithaca, 37298
Auralyx, 556616
sgkat, 158838 (Return Visit)
ashenfinch, 606075
StormWind7201, 537856
Slatinus, 549575
ArcadiaHawk, 617252