Odepha

What follows is an excerpt from Seamet's notes regarding this Obelisk's time in the Platimere Den:

June 23, 2021
Chocoberry came back from the great excavation today with a young child in tow. It seemed rather shy; cloaked in cloth, it is hard to discern which type of dragon it is. Chocoberry, himself, didn't seem to know much about the child; all he had to tell any of us is that it woke up, alone, and needed a place where it could stay. For its part, it seems to be fond of Chocoberry. It wears a few extra vines of Chocoberry wares in earnest and ambles just behind the lumbering Snapper, mimicking his movements as if trying to act the part of a merchant itself. Platibury and Junemere have convened to deliberate about this child, but I do not expect they will be deliberating long.

June 28, 2021
The child is grown now. It is like no dragon I have seen before. That much is certain, even as it continues to wear the veil and shroud. I almost suspect that it is a sphinx that somehow wandered into the Dig as a pup before imprinting on Chocoberry, convincing itself that it is a dragon. In its five days here, it has settled close to the entrance to the underground Den. Almost as soon as someone realizes that it is gone, it will pop out of the cave as if sensing its presence is needed. I intend to keep a close eye on it in the future.

July 21, 2021
She still refuses a name. I and several of the other dragons have offered to generate a few appropriate names for Her, but She silently shakes her head in as polite refusal as She is able to provide us without using words. I do not know if She does not accept our offer because She still is uncertain if She will stay, or if She is biding her time until her name finds Her; either way, for now, all we can call her by is "The Obelisk," as Hrist has reported other clans have come to call these mysterious new-yet-old species. As much as we have become fond of Her, She has only felt comfortable enough to speak her first and few words with Chocoberry. He bids us to give Her time to become comfortable and decide what She will do, but after a month I am beginning to feel the creeping tendrils of trepidation that such a time will never come for Her and I.

August 4, 2021
I have heard her voice for the first time. She spoke as gentle as the whistle of a Sweetsong Reaper's wings on the wind, to say only: "I am staying." We have always thought of her as our own, and now it appears she thinks of herself in the same way. I do not know why she came to me to say those words.
[...]
I did not expect myself to feel so overwhelmed by so small and so frail of a voice.

October 8, 2021
Since we have begun talking, the Obelisk has confided in me that she has vivid dreams of Dune. He has been advising Her on the future, hence her hesitation to say that she is a member of our clan. I will see if Metasme or Cariabyss can find a way to talk to him tonight. She was quiet for a moment after I offered to share my nesting ground with her for tonight, but ultimately she politely declined.

October 12, 2021
She has taken up my offer to sleep in my nest. I can only hope that keeps any disturbing dreams at bay.

December 19, 2021
Something is changing. At first, I thought it was the comforting rustle that the Woods always produce when my brethren reveal themselves to the rest of the world during this time of year. But it was not that. I woke up to the fitful writhing of the Obelisk as some new dream tormented Her. All she could say when she woke up was about the sun, but these parts of the Woods do not see sun. I have informed Cariabyss of these words and hope that she can figure out if these are visions or simple dreams.

December 24, 2021
Her skin has begun to crack. The pattern is subtle, covered under the layers of cloth, but unmistakably there. She has not complained of any pain, but Her sleep is still troubled by fevers. She has taken to sleeping by Crabtree's lake, where it is cooler. I...I don't think I can give her any comfort and this worries me.