Tumi

In a colorless land, covered in ice and snow,
Lively dragons claimed the wasteland as their own
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The Tale

Dragons are everywhere. Why wouldn't they be? They're the dominant species, the matriarchs of the third age and the inheritors of everything put out before them. Sonerith is a vast world, filled with potential and custom tailored to the drakes and wyverns, created for them to take by the hands of the gods. What kind of creature could one even be called if they chose not to embrace it?

To Tumi's parents, that creature would be a son. And Tumi, well- he used to be such a thing in his underwater home...

Water dragons roam the seas, sometimes claiming islands and coasts as their native lands. Still, others use magic or gills and live under the waves themselves, being truly at home in the tides they call lord. Coral reefs provided brightly patterned dragons a realm to call both home and kingdom, snapping up tropical fish and dancing with the seafoam in the dawn, before the surface dwelling and air breathing dragons can take to the skies and see the happy aquatic kin. It wasn't a matter of survival that the diving dragons in question stayed hidden. No, the only force strong enough to make the small familial clan of coral-like dragons isolate themselves was prejudice. The parents Tumi- of many, many children as well- believed the surface world to be a dangerous and dirty place, filled with riffraff and never to be trusted. They held no hope in their hearts for redemption, for kindness, for anything less than darkness and hedonism up above.

So, they remained in their little bubble, swimming with the fish. Life was... Comfortable. Consistent. Unbothered.

But Tumi wasn't satisfied to hide, not like his brothers, sisters, and siblings. He wrapped himself in his bright orange and blue wings, watching the distorted surface of the water and everything over it, watching ridgebacks flying high and dodging diving coatls from fishing boats. He wanted to take his draconic destiny in hand, see the world, grow as much as he could, be someone, be something! And his parents would never let him be both their son and a free spirit.

He fought with them for years on the topic. Just one chance, one clawtip out of the tropical water, one moment to see the green trees and yellow sands, bringing stories home, being happy, being who he wanted to be. They dug in their claws and barked back that he'd be tainted as soon as he left, that the horrible world was corrupting him, that if he left he wouldn't be allowed back home. Ever. Disowned. Forgotten.

He still left. And immediately regretted it, as the world above... It was constantly trying to kill him. The sky itself was blinding, gravity wore him away even with his swimmer's muscle, food was scarce, other dragons aggressive. Everything was cold. Night, cold. Wind, cold. He'd never been cold in his life and now the stuff was everywhere, looming over him and stabbing through his scales. That cold could take everything from him, leave him a husk as he flew over the world, trying to find a new place to belong that wasn't so horribly like what his parents told him. As he flew south, he found nothing but worsening temperatures and the onset of snow, but believed the end of the world to possess more than ice and wasteland. It had to. Somewhere had to.

That cold took everything from him. It took his nightmares as a challenge and delivered a walking curse. Tumi lost his color in the snow, oranges dulling to cream and pink to pearl, turning into the ice and void before him and shaking him to his core as he realized his parents were right!

Really, it was adaptation. It helped him survive in a while world, but it terrified the poor lost wanderer. Was this what his parents meant by corruption, is this why they wouldn't let him home? Because his identity as a coral dragon was stripped from him, just like his hopes of fantastical adventure? Was this the start of death? It certainly felt so, as the weakening nocturne found the ice too much to handle, crashing more than he was flying, bashing himself against a metaphorical wall like a trapped bird. Getting nowhere.

Eventually, he landed without the effort to get back up, thinking he'd come to his final resting place.
Then, he woke up.

Eyes adjusting to darkness, he found himself in a cave den littered with bones and driftwood, fabric scraps and pelts. Wrapped up tightly in soft furs, warm enough to be sluggish and slow, backed by a massive guardian snoring gently with a growl at each inhale. This, of course, was terrifying.

Turns out- he'd found the home of two icy dragons who called the wastes a paradise. Tarmeux and Vercada, two far-flung wanderers who found the odds beatable together. Tumi couldn't believe, once they were up and communicating with him, that they could make this world so comfortable and love it so much. Like a frightened rabbit, he was sputtering and flapping, still processing his near death experience as the two mighty hunters watched. To them, he was rather pathetic. But... Vercada's motherly instinct and Tarmeux's fatherly one led them to a new conclusion. Now, they had a son. Tumi was in no shape to leave, so he had time to adjust to the strange mute female, impatient male, and their violent, primal dynamic as they requested he stay with them. In fact- he became drawn to it. He followed them on their hunts, burying himself in the snow as to not be scolded for putting himself in danger. He grew accustomed to the snow and cold, the biting chill lessening as he lived longer and longer inside it. He was a delightful hider, after months of trailing and learning from his adoptive parental figures.

Eventually, they decided to teach him, and he listened. There was much difficulty learning how to use his claws and jaws for the first time, but his camouflage helped him every step of the way. Once he'd gleaned what he could from the two of them, he trained himself, better and better, having no example of what "good enough" was besides the master huntsdrakes. He excelled. He went above what he ever knew was possible, learning agility, speed, brutality and when to hold it back, maneuvers, tactics. Diplomacy. Strategy.

And when the next poor lost soul came crashing into the wastes? He was right there to greet them. Bring them back to his parents, introduce them with the words he'd learned long before this new life. He translated his mother's head nods and father's hisses to all variety of travelers, being their voice when he wasn't their little prodigy. And as more dragons settled in the wastes, he kept the peace.

He knew from living with Vercada and Tarmeux for longer than any soul could claim, that only the gods together could save whatever incurred their wrath. Why allow bloodshed to happen when it didn't need to? Why not be the cushion that made the surface world better, made it the peaceful and happy life his parents claimed as their personal property?

Now, with the growing society of outcasts, he remains the central spokesdrake and diplomat between everyone, with the clear might to give weight to his words. Are you fighting with your neighbor? Talk to Tumi, he'll mediate the discussion. Having trouble with a project? Talk to Tumi, he'll find who or what you need. Need a place to stay, a shoulder to cry on, a winged hug to comfort old sores? Tumi, he's there, he cares for you! He can do anything. He's the drake he always wanted to be.

The Ambassador to His Parents

Vercada barely even talks, mostly communicating in gutteral noises and gestures. Tarmeux isn't much better- slipping into signals and hisses instead of spoken words when stressed or surprised, overwhelmed by noise he's not used to, or unnerved by something new. Which happens... All the time, with all the strange new dragons appearing out of the snow. Tumi is the only one of the three master hunters who keeps a level head and a sharp tongue under pressure, and is the only one who can properly communicate with civilized drakes. His parents are also often confused, neither one being particularly bright; so his translation from their language to others, and translating the world back to his parents, has helped prevent... Several homicides, at least two full on battles, and the destruction of their tiny society completely.
Yay, Tumi! The one thing holding together this clan of misfits!