EPICdragon99 » Lair » Fossil

Fossil

(#6907255)

Level 10 Guardian

Scourer

Obscuring Goblin

Energy: 50/50

Personal Style

Apparel

Skin

Scene

Physical Attributes

Battle Stats

Measurements

Length

11.23 m

Wingspan

14.29 m

Weight

13296.03 kg

Genetics

Stone
Clown

Rust
Hypnotic

Ice
Veined

Hatchday

Oct 13, 2014
(9 years)

Breed

Adult
Guardian

Eye Type

Shadow
Common

Level 10 Guardian

EXP: 78 / 27676

STR

AGI

DEF

QCK

INT

VIT

MND

Lineage

Parents

none

Offspring

Biography

Fossil

Protector/"Patriarch" • Fossil x Moonshadow • Polite • Zealous

As you follow the dark-colored Mirror through the winding lair, you approach a large underground room crafted of adobe. "Fossil! We have guests!" Suddenly, what you presumed to be a large rock shifts to reveal a great male dragon. "Greetings," He says in a low, whispery voice. "I am Fossil, defender of my mate and, by extension, this clan." The dragon nods toward you, and you nod back politely. He steps back to reveal a collection of fossils and knick-knacks. "That is our hoard," The Mirror crows proudly. "Our son, Bloodbath, is probably off hunting. Oh, but first, the lab, I say!" She whisks you off, but you can hear the great dragon singing hauntingly:

"The skies are gray, and the salamanders crawl;
I am alone, alone, my love.
My father left for battle tides,
My mother joined the fearsome skies.
Traitor! Traitor! Betray me now,
But my children will capture you, for we will never bow."

Fossil was hatched to a family of innkeepers near the border of Earth and Shadow. His father, a stout Snapper, was in charge of the family business after his grandfather's retirement; his mother, a sleek gray Guardian, was a priestess of the Shadowbinder who had met her mate when she stopped at the inn as a resting place on her journey to lead a troupe of Earth exaltation recruits to the home of the Shadowbinder herself in the Forum of the Obscured Crescent. While there, she realized the inn was her Charge- but she had to leave in order to guide her party further. After her pilgrimage ended, she returned and set up shop to care for and guide travelers found wandering under the Shadowbinder's wing. And so it went, for several years; the pair eventually faced a change of pace when they conceived s nest of eggs so they could have children to raise and leat to follow in their footsteps. And all was well.

But of course, nothing ever stays that way. Fossil, being their firstborn, was primed to inherit the inn. Despite his misgivings and desire to take his mother's path in the Shadowbinder's glory, he was fiercely devoted to ensuring the inn was kept in running order. Over the years he grew older and older, growing from a gangly teen to a compact adult (likely due to his Snapper heritage). He was fairly content at first, but grew tired of the carelessness of so many guests. The tourists, in particular, were maddening. They gave little care for he and his father's work, and his mother was viewed as little more than a curiosity and provider of supernatural insurance. They were stationed well away from the Shadow Flight's centers of population; the traditions here were older and stranger, with secrets still yet buried away from the claws of adventurous dragons. Many who came were well off the beaten path, and desperate for one of two things: Help, or entertainment, something to rattle their mundane lives and send them a call to adventure (a thing, in truth, few actually answered). While the majority was kind enough, Fossil's resentment grew with every new insult.

It all boiled over when a cocky young Wildclaw, heady on fermented berries and an unending desire to be "right," tried to start a fight with Fossil's father. He couldn't stand and watch this upstart insult his family like that. It was too much.

Fossil burst into the fray just before the first blow was struck. With a snick, his beard was cut down to only a few inches at most. The young Wildclaw looked into Fossil's furious violet eyes. He let out a roar that made the ground shake around them, teeth glinting like slivers of diamond. The Wildclaw puffed up, trying to seem brave, but trembling nonetheless. Fossil had half a mind to kill him then and there.

But it was not to be. His father intervened, stopping him before he could chase out the Wildclaw- after what happened, he was glad to chase out himself. Fossil felt the gaze of their patrons pick his scales as he sulked back deeper, away from the visitors, as to not scare them. He was ashamed- and angry. He would fight back. But not yet.

Fossil's mother grew weary as well, and became closer to her son after the confrontation. Neither of his parents wished to retaliate,
however, and she tried her best to tell Fossil to let it go. His beard would grow back to its former length, the guests would settle, and business would be as usual again. Unforetunately, neither was quite satisfied with "business as usual" as of late, but, for the father's sake, at least, they would hold their tongues and claws. Fossil knew how much the old inn meant to him, and would gladly inherit it in his name.

It had been a year since the Wildclaw's challenge, and yet not time enough to nurse away Fossil's wounds- if not so on the outside, then certainly on the inside. The night was cool, with clear skies dotted with sterling silver starts. The moon was full and shimmering upon the forest. Fossil could feel the dew on the ground between his talons as he returned from a supply trip into the wilderness.

Smoke was the first sign- thin and black, with an odd tang to its odor. Feathers were the second- too wildly patterned and colored and of too large a size to be anything but draconic in origin, but not of a morphology he recognized. Finally, through the sodden earth he strode, to be met with a sorrowful sight: The inn was burned to the ground, only a few pieces of scorched frame standing tall like gravestones. Around the ruins, the ground glittered from new stones made from sandy soil in the heat.

Fulgurite. This was Lightning's work.

A pathway of footprints soon led him to the culprits: The same Wildclaw as before, now joined by two other Wildclaws and a Skydancer, all Lightning. Their claws were filled with loot: Stolen Treasure, mineral relics, a few beverages, and a decorative tapestry imported from Earth. Thieves! He rushed out of the bushes, snarling viciously. Under one claw, he pinned the Skydancer- a much lighter opponent- and the other lashed out at a leaping Wildclaw. One turned tail and fled, dropping all but a clawful of coins, while the other two leapt onto his back, biting and scratching ferociously. Shifting his back talon onto the Skydancer, he reared up and spread his wings, flapping and roaring, reaching around with claws and teeth to catch them whenever he could. With a whip of the tail, one Wildclaw was scarred across the face; with a snag along fangs, the other's wing was torn like fabric. The torn-winged Wildclaw howled and clawed for Fossil's eyes. He brought up a mighty paw and slammed the enemy dragon over his head, pinning them to the dirt with their Skydancer companion. At the upheaval, the first attacker grew disoriented; Fossil easily bucked them off. Neither of his grounded foes resisted further. Fossil flung them aside and stared face-to-face with the dragon who had started it all, now adorned with a fresh laceration.

"You." Fossil roared, glowering at his opponent. The ash-covered dragon panted, snarling back. His claws shone deadly sharp in the evening light. "Give it up, magnet-claws. At least your parents had the good graces to surrender. Everything you had is gone. I. Win.
Got it?" Fossil roared, rushing at his opponent with a crocodile's gape. The Wildclaw dodged, leaving Fossil with a mouthful of tail feathers. He cared little. Fossil rebounded, pouncing fast enough to get a slight grip on his enemy's tail. Thinking fast, he dug his claws in and pushed down hard. The Wildclaw hissed and wriggled free, leaving a set of long scratches down his tail. He leapt into the air for an aerial attack, but wobbled about from his tattered tail. Fossil found it easy to drag him down. He rolled on top of the grounded dragon, claws in his chest and gut. The Wildclaw's mighty legs kicked out, hooked claws snatching at Fossil's belly. He howled, and reared back for just a second- just long enough for the Wildclaw to escape. The feathered dragon roared, leaping onto Fossil's head. Eyes closed, he snatched at the thief, looking for somewhere, anywhere, to grab hold or inflict pain. Finally, he whipped his head down into the dirt, crushing the Wildclaw under his skull and horns. He pressed down until the opponent gave up. Dizzy and blurry-eyed, Fossil lifted his head, leering down at the Wildclaw. Nearly falling over, he leaned down and whispered coarsely: "Who wins now?"

"You do." The Wildclaw croaked. Like a cat, Fossil lifted his opponent by the back of his neck and tossed him aside with his companions. "You three leave. Now. And never return." Exhausted, the beaten dragons shambles away, soon breaking out into a run. Fossil spread his wings wide and roared, his cry of rage echoing into the horizon. It was done.

Everything he'd known had been destroyed. Alongside the ashes of the inn smoldered the ashes of his family: his mother, devastated, had lost her faith in the Shadowbinder, and his father, desperate and with nowhere else to go, had exalted himself. He remembered his mother's faith being a cornerstone of his upbringing; now, she was so heartbroken and traumatized by the destruction of her Charge that she saw the attack as a sign that her god had abandoned her, and it was time to move to the flight of the stronger dragons:
Lightning. Although she would always be a Shadow dragon at heart, her fear and depression had bound her to a life resigned to scrounging for a position in the Tempest Spire. His father, left without income and the love of his life, but with a son who had proved more competent than he, left Fossil behind. He had been the first of his line to be born on the Shadow side of the border, with Fossil being the second. Compelled to defend his homeland and become a father strong enough that Fossil could be proud (and perhaps enough to convince his former mate to return), left for a pilgrimage to the Forum.

"Fossil. Son. Leave this place behind; there's nothing left. But, more importantly... leave me behind. I'm sorry, but... It's all my fault. I was never a fighter, but I see now that such predispositions breed weakness. Your mother left us for it, and I don't want you to follow her. I don't want to be a further disappointment. Maybe, someday, we'll meet again, but... Right now, I'm not strong enough. I need to learn to become a soldier so this never happens again. I'd ask for forgiveness, but... Nevermind. I want you to choose your own path from now on, okay? And don't let anyone get in your way. Kill them, if you must."

Left alone with nowhere to go, with the growing pull of the Search competing with his loneliness, his mourning, his hopelessness, and the last lesson he'd been taught having been that cruelty was the only way to prove yourself to the world, Fossil grew angry and bitter. He wandered the Tangled Wood, lashing out at any who approached him. He was becoming a monster, and he didn't care.

That was, of course, until he met Moonshadow. She was similarly nomadic, a one-dragon pack black as thorns and cheerful as mushrooms. Her sing-song voice was stuck in his head like ichor, and he loved it- loved her. No matter where they wandered, it felt right to be next to her. Was this what it was like, to have a Charge?It had to be; he no longer hungered in wanderlust, ever-scouring for something he may never find. Perhaps, then, it was time to settle once more. This time, he could do it right; they could be safe, and proud, and happy. They could be whole.

If you feel that this content violates our Rules & Policies, or Terms of Use, you can send a report to our Flight Rising support team using this window.

Please keep in mind that for player privacy reasons, we will not personally respond to you for this report, but it will be sent to us for review.

0/1000

Click or tap a food type to individually feed this dragon only. The other dragons in your lair will not have their energy replenished.

Exalting Fossil to the service of the Shadowbinder will remove them from your lair forever. They will leave behind a small sum of riches that they have accumulated. This action is irreversible.

Do you wish to continue?

Name

Names must be longer than 2 characters.
Names must be no longer than 16 characters.
Names can only contain letters.

Name

Names must be no longer than 16 characters.
Names can only contain letters.