Xalvadora

Xalvadora was born to a nomadic clan while they were staying for a time in Plague territory. A few short days after she was hatched, the clan moved on towards Arcane territory, where the caravan contracted a deadly disease. Most of the clan was wiped out, but Xalvadora's father fought his illness with her curled up under his wing. One fateful day, a bogsneak and a mirror attacked. The bogsneak held her father, Neolithic, by the throat until he stopped moving, uttering Xalvadora's name with his last breath. The bogsneak, Glex, took the hatchling in her jaws and stole her back to her own clan in Glimmerfall.

Xalvadora quickly became friends with Ethir, the spiral child that was staying in the clan's nest. They were both still young enough to be in the nest when Glex's own eggs hatched. One out of three of the hatchlings didn't make it. As Xalvadora watched her tiny nestmate draw his last breaths, she couldn't help but find herself fascinated with the somber sight that she did not quite understand. A fascination with death blossomed within her.

The three adults of the clan had to go out and gather supplies, leaving Ethir (the eldest child of the clan) to watch Xalvadora and the other hatchlings. In an effort to understand the world around her and process what she had seen, Xalvadora took hold of one of the mirror hatchling's throats and would not let go, no matter how Ethir screamed and tried to pull her off of him. The hatchling died, and although Xalvadora was too young to understand what she had done, Glex grew to hate her for it.

Naal, the surviving mirror hatchling, was too young to understand or remember that Xalvadora had killed her brother. Ethir knew, but he also understood that Xalvadora had not understood what she was doing. Despite the dark secret that hung over the three, Naal, Xalvadora, and Ethir became very close friends.




The three young dragons grew together and their bond strengthened. They all confided in each other, and they trusted each other with their lives. During a hunting mission, Xalvadora saved Naal's life by rushing her back to the clan after she had been attacked by a strangler.

Xalvadora continued to find a fascination with death, but after the near death of one of her dearest friends, she resolved to use whatever knowledge she accumulated to prevent future death within the clan and took up the role of the clan's librarian.

When Glex declared Ethir would be the one to father her next clutch, Xalvadora threw herself into studying hatchling death in an attempt to try to make sure Ethir's child was healthy. However, she was thrown out of the den as soon as they began to pip, though she didn't understand why. Ethir's single hatchling died while Xalvadora was out training two of the younger dragons.

Xalvadora met a dragon outside of the clan, a shade, who spoke to her of his own clan's experiences with death, including how he had died during an Emperor dragon attack. He invited her to join his clan. Xalvadora felt a longing to go back to his clan with him to learn more, but could not bear to leave Naal and Ethir behind, so she declined his offer.

As tragedy fell on Ethir and he, Xalvadora, and Naal drew closer together, Glex decided that she did not like how close her daughter was becoming with the spiral and Xalvadora. ...especially because she had reason to suspect the three of them were either planning to flee the clan together or planning a coup. She pulled Naal aside and in a gentle and motherly tone told her of the atrocity Xalvadora had committed as a hatchling. Naal was too shocked to believe it, and Glex encouraged her to have Ethir confirm. Ethir could not lie to Naal, though it hurt him to talk of the day Xalvadora had strangled her nestmate. Hurt, betrayed, and confused, Naal refused to talk to Xlavadora and avoided her as if she were a disease.

Xalvadora tried to approach Naal, not knowing what Glex had said to her, but Naal continued to brush her off and avoid her. Xalvadora was hurt and confused, but respected her friend's wishes to be left alone, not knowing what else to do to patch the friendship.

Glex and Sebastion nested together again and had a single egg in their clutch. Naal was fiercely protective over it, determined to be a good big sister to this little hatchling. Nobody would allow Xalvadora near the nest, and although she did not understand why, she once again respected everyone's wishes, losing herself in the collection of books that she was in charge of.

In the night, the clan is attacked by an Emperor dragon. The fused bodies of three dead imperials wreaked havoc throughout the clan, ruining supplies and injuring many. Since her conversation with the stranger from another clan, Xalvadora had studied exactly how to take down Emperor dragons. When the gargantuan monstrosity hurled itself towards the nest where Moongleam, Naal's newly hatched sister, and three eggs lay, Xalvadora launched herself at the Emperor and took out its middle head, stopping it from destroying the nest and the young within it. However, the other two heads turned and tore her to pieces. Naal and Ethir, grief-stricken and enraged, destroyed the other two heads, but it was too late. Xalvadora lay in three pieces on the ground and her friends wept bitterly over her body. When they took her to be buried, they spent the night curled up on her grave, as if to keep her warm through the night. Naal's grief was especially bitter, for despite the grudge that Naal had held against her friend, Xalvadora's final act had saved Naal's baby sister's life.