Nefario

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Lvl 1 Tundra Ice Poison Tangerine Trail Cottoncandy Runes Ice Common

FIRST GEN
Mate: Shadowfox (Jiaotu)
Offspring: Lex, Kai, Tor, and Freya (Nefario)

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Who is he? That's the question that everyone is asking, but no one knows the answer. Arriving one evening just as the sun was setting, Nefario's sudden appearance startled even the Gaolers who stood sentry outside the entrance to the Dregs.

At first, with the setting sun at his back making him appear as nothing more than a silhouette, they mistook him for Yukiko, but as he drew nearer they saw their mistake. His primary coloration might have been similar, but his wings and mane were different, and there were runes sparkling on his lower legs and peeking out of the hood he wore wrapped about his face.

He wore dark padded armor and carried the weapons and tools of an assassin, putting the two Sentries on high alert immediately, but it wasn't that alone. There was something else about him, something haunted. Perhaps what made them uneasy was the goggles that hid the true colour of his eyes. They could not know where his true allegiance lay.

"Hold!" the larger of the two Gaolers snarled, barring his way with his huge, dark form. "Who dares attempt to enter the hidden domain of the Gaolers? Speak, while you still have breath to do so!"

The strange Tundra paused, but he seemed strangely unperturbed by the obvious threat. He met the Sentry's glare calmly, and spoke. "Peace, my brethren. Are we not all the Icewarden's children?"

"The Icewarden doesn't recognize traitors and deserters," the first Gaoler responded icily. "You wear the costume of a killer, and you stink of deceit. Do you take us for fools?" A dangerous growl had entered his tone.

By way of answer, the Tundra reached up a claw and unhooked the goggles from his face, revealing the pale blue eyes of a native. "If I have offended, I offer my sincere apologies. I had heard this was a haven for both Tundra and Gaoler, Ice-blessed or not."

"Heard from whom?" the first Gaoler demanded, but the second one spoke before Nefario could answer.

"You have heard correctly, but as I'm sure you're aware, we take security very seriously, and we dispose of anything or anyone that threatens the peace within these catacombs. If you were wise, you would turn away from this place. Your kind are not welcome here."

"My 'kind'?" Nefario repeated. "I am Ice-blessed, and a Tundra. The Icefield is my home as much as it is yours."

"You know that's not what my partner was referring to," the first Gaoler snarled, stomping a foot into the snow. "Don't play games with us, Tundra."

"I am not a threat to anyone in your hallowed halls," the smaller dragon responded, not even flinching at the behemoth's anger. "I know you can smell the truth in those words, at least."

Gaoler Number One let out a low, rumbling growl deep in his throat, but the second one stepped forward, stopping him from pouncing. "Enough, Sebastian," he said to the larger one. "Whatever else he may be, he is still Ice-blessed. It is not within our rights to decide his final fate, regardless of our personal feelings on the matter. This is a matter for the Sentry Warden."

"Vidar would agree with us, Draven!" the one named Sebastian argued back. "Even if he didn't carry the tools of a murderer, he is certainly Shade-touched."

"And we're not?" Draven answered mildly, raising a brow. "Are you forgetting the trials our parents faced when they first came here?"

"Of course not." Sebastian averted his gaze.

"My parents were imprisoned when they first arrived, and I was taken from them as soon as I hatched," Draven explained to Nefario.

"I never met them until I was an adult, when they were released to help research the cause of the quakes. They were Arcane dragons, peaceful sages who never meant any harm, and yet because they were Shade-touched, they were treated as criminals.

"That was before it was common knowledge that the Shade had infiltrated the entirety of Sornieth, including the Icewarden's domain, and that very few have escaped it's influence."

"I'm sorry. I'm sure that must have been very difficult for you." Nefario's tone didn't betray his personal opinions on the matter, but at least he sounded sincere.

"So, what? We're just going to let this suspicious, armed stranger into our domain, while the smell of blood lingers on his claws?" Sebastian asked, incredulous.

"He's telling the truth. He is no threat here, and even if he was," Draven narrowed his icy gaze at the Tundra, "we can easily deal with him, and he knows it."

"I'll consider myself warned," Nefario said.

His arrival startled more than just the Sentries. Skye was quite shaken to lay eyes on this stranger, though she couldn't quite understand why she had responded in such a way. She was certain she had never seen him before, and yet there was something, a memory, nagging at the back of her mind.

His scent was as familiar to her as her own.