Itai

Uh-oh, looks like this performer wandered a little too far from his home lair (KingVulture, 437722), and now he's off to see the world! If you ever feel the urge to exalt, he'd really appreciate it if you could just return him home instead, or to the 'Dragons Off to See the World' thread. If you don't want another traveler in return, you can also drop him off at the Traveling Dragon Rest Hub! He'd like to receive a permanent home someday, so if you'd like to adopt him, just let KingVulture know!

Itai's mother was a circus performer, so it's no surprise he takes after her. He like to imitate the same death-defying stunts that she does - but maybe one day he'll find other types of performances besides acrobatics that he can do.



Before one of his performances, Itai was given a paper mask by an anonymous "well-wisher". But when he put it on, he discovered the mask was cursed with a horrible disease - one which bent him into a hideous figure. He became a ghastly, disjointed creature with boils all over his body. Foul pus dripped from his loose and jagged teeth.

Repulsed by what he had become, Itai fled.



He hated his appearance, he didn't want to look so monstrous, but he could not remove the mask. He needed help. He needed help badly.

His travels transformed from lighthearted performance to desperate search for a cure, he nabbed a hood to help cover the worst of his malady and set out on his way.

He asked around for anyone who might be able to heal him. A merchant in one of the many towns he visited hold him of a clan tucked away deep in the Starwood Strand, where it was rumored that some of its dragons possessed special gifts.

Itai traveled day and night to get to the clan, Cosmos Crypta. But once he reached the Strand, he became hopelessly lost. Eventually he was found by Peony, who led him to the clan. He met many dragons with a gift in healing, but none could cure him. Despite their failure, they assured him that he could stay as long as he liked, and that they were not afraid of his appearance.

But he had to keeping searching.



Itai kept traveling, staying away from populated areas as much as possible, but he didn't count on meeting up with dragons in the middle of the Mire. The Guardian, Zanaida, clearly the leader of the group he'd just horrified, crashed into the underbrush after him, shouting for him to come back, but she wouldn't have been able to catch up with him if he hadn't hit a tree so hard that he stunned himself.

To his surprise, the Skydancer dosed him with some kind of potion which at least eased the pain and left him relaxed and sleepy. Then they wrapped him up a giant blanket - not actually all that comfortable, on his raw and abraded skin, but they probably meant well - and flew him back to their home in the Sunbeam Ruins, near Lanternlea Port. They brought him to their clan's medical clinic, where the Skydancer joined a team of doctors - a surprisingly Plague-leaning group of doctors - in examining him and interviewing him about the origin of his sufferings, his symptoms, the dragon who'd given him the mask, and the remedies he'd tried to date.

Their initial efforts to remove the mask were futile, but they told him not to give up or panic, and whether it was the head injury he'd sustained earlier or the potion he'd been given before the flight, he accepted their hospitality. The Skydancer, Aruna, gave him another dose of the potion, and he had his first night of restful, pain-free sleep in ages.

Unfortunately, as the days passed, none of the healers looking after him made any headway on dispelling the curse. Iyasu, whose healing magic seemed most linked to the Plaguebringer, managed to detach the mask from his face, but that didn't free him from the curse, which seemed to have transferred to his body. And then when Itai put the mask back on, reasoning that he might as well keep his face covered, Iyasu was unable to remove it again. Aruna's alchemical remedies could ease his pain, and Medicus could treat the individual pockets of infection that formed all over his body, but no one could cure the root cause.

Leaving them with samples of his blood, his scales, samples of tissue and pus and a shred of the mask itself, and taking away a list of other healers he might consult or treatments he might try, and a bag full of vials of Aruna's potions, Itai said his goodbyes and moved on again.



Itai came to the Sunbeam Lanternhouse in search of Nerva, another Plague-aligned doctor, whose name had been on the list he'd been given. After he'd consulted with the tiny Veilspun, he had to conclude that flight affiliation was the only reason his name had been included; Nerva specialized in creating cures from poisons, and had little to no practical expertise in lifting curses.

At least the residents' hospitality had been effusive?



Itai had stopped at a strange villa, it seemed like it was somehow haunted, so he thought he could be at the right place. He stood for a while in front of the entrance, murmuring to himself if he should go in or just fly by. He didn't know anyone there, it was his very first time stopping by the Fire realm and he expected... something else.
When he get to know the Lion Heart clan, he found out that Mavis loved to have to do with curses, even though he for sure didn't seem like a dragon who could such things. Itai, while he stayed there, had the help of Kayka too, a cute little fae, a librarian, whom had so many books, but none had been of help.
Somehow he maybe just had to find that "well-wisher" but without knowing where to search exactly, his search would surely last so much time.



It had been a while since Itai had last visited the Scarred Wasteland. It wasn't like he really wanted to, but it wasn't like he had much to do other than keep looking for a solution. And what better(?) place to look for information on his curse than the "capital of concoction" itself?

At first, it seemed like his searching would be as fruitless as before. While he had come across another clinic, he again had no luck in actually curing the curse-acquired ailment. In fact, he was about to give up and go back on his travels when he encountered a scraggly Mirror after exiting the clinic. The Mirror introduced herself as Kahina and claimed that she could help him with his curse. Itai was somewhat doubtful, of course, as everyone before her had thought the same thing. Not wanting to turn down actual help, the Spiral followed her to her home anyway.

To his surprise, the Mirror turned out to have some ability after all. She explained that she was a Necromancer, which was a group of dragons blessed by the Plaguebringer with abilities that would let them serve the greater public. One of those abilities was moving illnesses from body to body, and Kahina theorized that she could take the Spiral's curse and keep it in her body. This wasn't exactly what Itai wished to hear, as he didn't want to inflict his pain on someone else just for his own gain. Kahina was insistent, however, and so he reluctantly let Kahina do her magic.

For the first time in ages, Itai felt relief. No longer was his skin speckled with pustules, no longer did his teeth ache, and no longer did he feel so uncomfortable in his own flesh. When he turned back to the Necromancer, however, she looked as worse-for-wear as he once had.

"How do you feel?" Her words were slurred and awkward, and her teeth jutted out in places that she was not used to them being in. The paper mask had fallen off his face and was now being clutched tightly in her claws.

"M-Much better."



(Continue his acrobatic antics here!)

Owners I've Had: KingVulture, 437722 Strangeflesh, 576542 Stillxill, 586107 Lirillith, 149136 sgkat, 158838 lovelykitten94, 573397 MoonlilyluvsCas, 559581 / AlumTheDragon, 506666

Gen 8

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