Dekishi
(#69290245)
They/Them / It's hard to watch a story whose ending I know.
Jumper
Speckled Peacock Spider
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Energy: 0/50
This dragon’s natural inborn element is Shadow.
Male Spiral
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Personal Style
Apparel
Skin
Scene
Measurements
Length
3.94 m
Wingspan
3.37 m
Weight
85.58 kg
Genetics
Abyss
Metallic
Metallic
Robin
Bee
Bee
Aqua
Runes
Runes
Hatchday
Breed
Eye Type
Level 1 Spiral
EXP: 0 / 245
STR
5
AGI
9
DEF
5
QCK
8
INT
6
VIT
6
MND
6
Biography
Dekishi
Oracle/Advisor
Theme: Hymn for the Missing by Red
Lore written by @foureclispe
Art by @SunnyInferno
Art by @GPO
Oracle/Advisor
Theme: Hymn for the Missing by Red
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Relation: Co-Founder  Relation: Co-Founder  Favored Treasure: 
Favored Apparel:
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Notes~
Lore~ The dark imperial walked into the cavern with a heavy tread, head held low, the only sound that of the whisper of his tail and wings dragging on the floor. Dekishi stirred at his entrance, their scaled body slithering against the slick stone of their stalactite as they tightened their coil around the perch. If the imperial heard, or noticed their presence in any other way, he made no acknowledgement, but continued his weary trek to the far wall of the cave. Light taps of his claw against a row of mushrooms growing out of cracks in the stone, and soft blueish light bloomed in the room. Vesper, leader of the Twisted Reach clan, did not flinch away from the light, but stood still and silent as he stared into the muted glow, armored wings drooping, horned head bowed as if to hold it up was too difficult a task to bear any longer. The mushroom’s light cradled his face gently, as a parent with their hatchling, outlining the sharp lines and edges of his black scales with a shine that reflected dully in his eyes. Those lines spoke of bone-deep ache and tiredness, a strain now so accustom and familiar to the imperial it lived with him, walked in step with him, always by his side, curled around him at night. Dekishi hissed, “You’re late.” The least of their problems. Vesper’s head lifted slightly, and after a beat too late, as if he’d forgotten speech and just recovered it, he replied, “The patrol . . . brushed with troops of the Acolytes.” Dekishi was not moved by the hoarse whisper of Vesper’s voice. “I warned you,” they said, an anger and pain cutting through them like a knife. “I saw this occurrence. We both knew it would happen. But you—” Vesper let out a sudden groan, and like the slow, inevitable fall of a tumbling stone to cause an avalanche, he collapsed to the ground, slumping arduously onto his side with one wing bent awkwardly beneath him and the other splayed across his body like a fan. Alarm shot through them, and Dekishi slipped from the ceiling to dart to their leader’s side faster than a raindrop could fall. Only then did they notice the blood oozing out from underneath the scales of the imperial’s belly, a deep wound as if his opponent had attempted to dig their claws up and under the scales and pry them off completely. Dekishi stared at it, clutching their horns in distress. “I did not foresee this!” they hissed, voice twisting into a higher pitched shriek. “Vesper, why—how did this—why didn’t you tell me—” They cut themself off, lurching upright. “I’ll get Nox. He’ll know what—” “Deki,” Vesper rasped. “Wait. Stay. I made it this far, I’ll last a while longer.” A cough rattled his body. “Please.” Dekishi hesitated, torn—and still angry. They knew they should still leave, ignore their leader’s foolish selflessness and gone to the herbalist immediately. But they couldn’t disregard Vesper’s plea so easily, not at the haggard, defeated voice of their friend. They couldn’t leave him alone. So they stayed, crouched by Vesper’s head, anxiously watching the continued slow drip of blood added to the pool building beneath him. It took a while for Vesper to build the strength to speak again. “Deki . . .” He paused, working his jaw uncertainly, then whispered, “I failed the patrol, Deki. When you told me your vision, I saw—a flaw, in it. A weakness in the Acolytes I believed I could work to our advantage. I attempted something risky, and it put us all in danger . . . I was not enough. I need to be better, to do more.” “You’re wrong,” Dekishi snapped, and as Vesper opened his mouth to speak again, the anger erupted from them, fully-formed. They leapt atop the imperial’s head, digging their claws in his mane and grasping his ear firmly in one forefoot. “No,” they snarled, leaning in close enough that their breath hit his scales. “No, you listen to me now, as your advisor.” They gave his ear a shake, a little helplessly, their voice nearly breaking as they said unsteadily, “As your friend.” Vesper lay still and silent, without protest at Dekishi’s harsh words and manner, then inclined his head. “You listen to me,” Dekishi repeated, regaining their will. “This needs to stop.” “Lux—” Vesper objected. “—will not relent, I am aware. I know, Vesper, more—more than you may think.” Dekishi swallowed, realizing they were trembling all over. They hated this, hated to confront their friend so directly, to cause him pain when he was already injured, already so tired. But they couldn’t—they couldn’t stand by any longer, skulking in the deepest shadows of the Reach’s caverns and mumbling aloud the cryptic predictions whispered in their ears by spirits. But the spirits, the visions, did not lie. Their prophecies came true—so the time had come to intervene. Or lose their friend forever. “Your conflict with those crazed zealots will continue—must continue, as long as they pose a threat to us and ours. But you, Vesper, are a danger much greater to all involved.” They expected him to contradict them, but Vesper said nothing. Maybe he agreed, thinking Dekishi confirmed his worst fears about himself. “You never sleep,” they continued, quiet now. “You barely eat, maybe once a day, and only a miniscule portion of the clan’s catch. You avoid all company, even that of your co-founders, spending all your time either out on patrol or within your own caves, training, studying, speaking ill of yourself, never resting.” Vesper had closed his eyes, his breathing slowing, the rise and fall of his chest nearly imperceptible to the eye. Dekishi’s voice dropped lower. “I know what you believe. I know how you think this battle will—end. You think yourself expendable, believe you and your strength alone will be what finishes the Acolytes . . . and take yourself down with them.” Their voice became a quavering whisper. “You think yourself already dead, and so hardly bother to keep yourself alive.” At this, the imperial opened his mouth. Dekishi beat him to it. “Don’t think I didn’t hear the returning sentry’s report, the way you threw yourself into the fray ahead of anyone else, despite the plan, despite your warrior’s preparation and expertise. Their clan leader abandoned them—” Vesper twitched, eyes flaring open. “I would never—” “LOOK AT YOU!” Dekishi yelled. They released him and flew back to the ground, standing in Vesper’s violet gaze. They flicked their tail, gesturing at the imperial’s wound. “Look at what your actions have caused. I did not see this. Causing yourself unnecessary harm is not the way to defeat your enemies.” Vesper said nothing, so Dekishi pressed on. “In your refusal to preserve yourself, you deny your followers. You show them: I do not trust you. You tell them: Your efforts are useless, your dedication is nothing. In your struggle to save them by sacrificing yourself, you will kill them, Vesper. Whether in body or by spirit, our clan will die.” They were panting, and shaking so hard they forced themself to sit, to wait and be still. Await their leader’s response. Vesper was slow to give it. “I do not know—” He stopped. “Is this true?” he asked at last. There was a new note of pain in his voice, a pleading keen. “Is this what my fighters, my clan, thinks of me?” “I cannot know all their minds. But it is what I see. And how I feel.” “I knew that at least,” he murmured. “I’ve seen your unhappiness for moons now, my friend. But I had not realized . . . Deki, what should I do? What—how can I fix this, restore their faith in me? You know I would do anything for them. But now I almost do not trust my own judgment . . .” Dekishi flinched. They’d feared hurting their leader in this way. But they hardened their resolve; it had had to be done. If sowing doubt in their friend was the only way to save him, they had to do it. They could not lose him. “You do know what is best.” Dekishi made their voice firm, unwavering. “You know what you must do.” A pause, then: “I do . . . Yes. You are right, Dekishi.” New strength in his voice made Dekishi’s heart soar. “I will take your advice into consideration and make changes to how I rule our clan immediately . . .” In the mushroom’s glow, the look of him had changed. The weariness was still there, a sadness in his eyes Dekishi feared would never leave, but a new thoughtfulness and humility softened the hard planes of his face. If not a release of tension, a shifting of it, an awareness and recognition for Vesper to focus his attention somewhere other than self-depredation. Dekishi hid a sigh of relief. Now they felt exhausted, and could not conceal it completely; their shoulders slumped, and a wry note entered their voice as they told Vesper, “You can do something today, right now.” Vesper tilted his head at them, receptive. Dekishi leaned in, pressing their forehead to Vesper’s. “Let your friends put a Shade-cursed bandage on you,” they growled softly. “We need you alive, Vesper. All of us.” Vesper hesitated, the tufted tip of his tail flicking from side to side, then he bowed his head, letting Dekishi’s snout slide forward to rest between the horns of his head. For a second the imperial seemed small, curling up against Dekishi’s chest, and Dekishi closed their eyes, praying to all Eleven this moment would never end. But Vesper withdrew, with a long stuttering sigh, and pulled himself up in a more restful position, folding his wings against his sides and arching his neck to gracefully bring up his head. “Fetch Nox,” he ordered. “I can’t go on and bleed out, not now that I’ve agreed to attempt living.” His joke fell flat, but Dekishi nodded anyway and lifted their wings. “Deki,” Vesper whispered, as they were about to exit the chamber. They stopped, hovering in place, and looked back. The imperial was not looking at them, but stared into the light emitted by the mushrooms, very similarly as he had upon first entering the cave. Unlike before, the bleak gauntness was gone. His expression, his eyes, were completely blank, void of any emotion. For a moment, he looked a stranger to Dekishi, and they did not know him. “I will heed you,” he said at last. “I will not needlessly throw my life away. But do not mistake me. I know what your silence means, when you refuse to tell me of any vision involving the final encounter between me and them. I do not believe I will survive the Acolytes and their hate. No, don’t try to argue.” Dekishi had not. Their throat was closed, their tongue thick in their mouth. Their heart beat very fast. “I will not live to the end of this.” Still, his head did not turn from the mushroom glow. “But I will fight anyway. I will keep my clan alive. I am not the oracle you are, but I know this as surely as I know the Shadowbinder’s protection. You, me, and Nox . . . we will never know that easy companionship we shared in our first days together. No, not ever again.” Maybe he said more, but Dekishi was not there to hear them. They fled, down the dark corridor and towards Nox’s den, unable to listen to Vesper’s prediction any longer. Terror had struck their heart, rooting within them, and they feared it would never leave them. Despite Vesper’s promise, they had failed him. |
Lore written by @foureclispe
Art by @SunnyInferno
Art by @GPO
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