Alvaro

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Ever since Alvaro was a hatchling he lived his life underground as a part of a large Cave-Dwellers colony. His mother had lived her entire life underground but Alvaro’s father, Steve, was from the surface. Before Alvaro’s father left to serve the Earthshaker, he would tell his hatchlings stories of the surface world. Alvaro’s favorite story was when his father recounted the seasons of the surface. The young coatl’s mind would be flooded with wishes to feel the warmth of the summer sun, to be able to smell a sweet summer rain. Alvaro wanted nothing more than to enjoy the summer season of the surface world.

As he grew into a fully fledged adult, Alvaro became quite proficient in the art of identifying and molding gems. He knew that the dragons of the surface were obsessed with gemstones and that the surface dragons wanted to flaunt the gemstone by wearing them on their bodies. He perfected his craft by creating intricate jewelry designs. He also ensured that he studied proper marketing techniques so as to not be tricked into selling his stock for the wrong price. Alvaro spent his entire life to become a master jeweler to ensure that he would be able to one day see a surface summer. His plan was simple: create jewelry that surface dragons would be obsessed with and then sell his wares during the summer time.

Alvaro believed that he had finally accumulated enough sets of jewelry to do his initial soft opening of his store. He took one of the maps from a local cartographer and followed the tunnels to one of the entrances. He stood before the mouth of the cave. Sunlight poured into the entrance. Alvaro had never seen the sun or felt the warmth of its rays, he was hesitant to leave the coldness of the tunnel. A sound from the outside caught Alvaro’s attention, there was a sound of laughter and splashing. His curiosity eclipsed the pool of fear that had welled inside of him. Alvaro took his first steps into the sunlight, the brightness almost blinded him. The sunlight washing over his skin felt amazing. It was a feeling that he would never forget.

Once his eyes adjusted he saw before him the most beautiful body of water. It sparkled like the sapphire tunnels. He saw brightly colored dragons splashing in the shallows of the water. Alvaro slowly approached some of the dragons basking on the shore of the lake.

He cleared his throat, “Hello there. My name is Alvaro. I am a master gemsmith. Would you care to see my wares?”

A nocturne looked up, slightly annoyed, “Hey, I’m on break. This is neither the time nor the place to try and sell you goods.”

The courage faltered from Alvaro, “Oh, well then what is this place? And when is the proper time?”

The nocturne let out a deep sigh, “You’re not from around here, are you? This is Lake Baikal and we’re here on summer vacation. Perhaps you should take your jewelry into town? Or you could just relax and enjoy yourself?” clearly the nocturne was getting annoyed. Alvaro thanked her for her time and left her to continue basking in the sun.

Alvaro spent the rest of the day just sitting away from the other dragons located at Lake Baikal. He had succeeded in only half of his plan and it was glorious. Summer was even better than his father had made it seem. As the moon crept up over the horizon, Alvaro got his first glimpse of a summer night sky. The stars reminded him of the glowworm cavern that he used to visit as a hatchling. The moment was ruined when Alvaro sensed that he was being watched by something. He scanned the lake and his eyes landed upon two slanted blue eyes watching him from below the water. This unsettled Alvaro, but curiosity once again overwhelmed him. He didn’t leave the shoreline. Even as the creature watched him, he felt no immediate danger.

The next morning, Alvaro awoke completely unharmed. He thought it best to find the town the nocturne had mentioned, after all he did not have a single treasure to his name. Alvaro was very successful in his jewelry venture. Many dragons went on to describe his work as one of the highest forms of fashion. Alvaro was able to open a shop in the town near the lake. His shop is only open during summer months, for the rest of the seasons he retreats back underground. Every evening in summer, Alvaro goes and watches the sunset below the mountains. Sometimes he feels the presence he felt on his first night on the surface. Other nights he enjoys the serenity of the lake alone, with the fireflies floating above the water and the stars streaking across the sky.

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