Aria

Once upon a time there lived the tiniest princess in a forested kingdom you and I might call a valley meadow. Full of may bell flowers, it would take the largest dragons but a few minutes to fly past. For the citizens of Convallaria Majalis, however, it was a forest stretching as far as the eye could see, farther than anyone they knew could travel by foot and ever return. This white lily forest grew so tall they were like permanent, fluffy white clouds in the skies of every Convallarian citizen, sheltering them from the world of giants outside. In this kingdom of the lilies, they crafted their buildings and livelihood with magic, transmutation of materials into strong and beautiful gems. Rooftops shaped like their lily-clouds adorned the palace, the stonework coloured to match that mythical blue sky beyond.

How did they know that sky was blue? Adventurers. Legends brought back from the lily climbers and those rare insect-tamers with only the best, most obedient steeds.

Our princess fancied herself the latter, even though such a task was deemed far too risky for anyone of royal blood. The First Matriarch of legends had a gift, one passed down to her feminine descendants farther back than any books could cite. Her song could still even the most fearsome of carnivorous beasts and insects.

Princess Aria proved particularly adept with the songs and the magic. Enough so that even though she had two older sisters, adventure was out of the question. This life-saving magic was far too necessary to risk anyone in Aria’s family on exploration, too far away for an enchanted stone to cast her voice wherever it was most needed.

But oh how she dreamed…

What time Aria didn’t spend daydreaming, was spent in the study of magic and history at The Great Library. While she enjoyed her studies, the books of legends, myths, and fiction captivated her. They provided adventure, you see, safe from the confines of the castle.

As did her dreams.

And this is where Aria’s story truly found her: In dreams and their long-forgotten magics.


Princess Aria awoke feeling strange one evening. Cold, sluggish, and stiff. And she wasn’t in her bed. Confused by the hard wood floor and mess of random treasures, however lovely, she stretched and groaned. Her wings unfurled in the process.

Wings???

Jeweled wings of peridot, embellished with gold and silver filigree. They were long enough to fold in front of her eyes, her silver, strange body decorated in more jewelry and pink silks.

I’m dreaming, she realized, but did not wake up. Instead, upon turning around to get a better look at her dreamscape, her tail sent a pile of pretty crystals skittering to the far side of the floor where they fell over the edge. 1…2…3…not too far a drop before they clattered, but noisy enough the clattering woke a giant the likes of which Princess Aria had never set eyes on, nor heard described in legend.

A beautiful giant with shimmering feathers the colour of her favourite fantasy mural. It depicted an adventurer’s description of a soft sunrise in the clouds, far above the lilies. Compared to her new form, this other being was taller than most two story homes in the kingdom, the cavernous room around them taller than Aria’s palace home.

Panic overcame her awe as the giant neared and she sang, hoping to pacify any threat. The tones of her song lilted and trilled through the unfamiliar, silver body, sounding like the purist melody of a flute.

This was how she met Parthenia - the giant. A ‘skydancer’ surprised in turn to find Aria’s spirit inhabiting their little fae-shaped trinket.

“These trinkets are enchanted by mysterious means,” Parthenia had explained, “But I’ve never heard of one developing awareness…”

Every night after, Princess Aria dreamed of the skydancer while inhabiting the little body of metal and jewels. They went on adventures together, Aria attached securely to Parthenia’s side, exploring their world.

The skydancer, in turn, was captivated by Aria’s own stories, the legends and description of her kingdom. The people of Convallaria Majalis do not describe themselves or their surroundings in terms we might recognize. What we call may bells and lily of the valley, they call something else entirely.

Even so, Princess Aria dreamed of the wide open skies with Parthenia and knew her silver dream form to be even larger than the lily clouds above. More importantly, they held a love of music in common and with each song shared their bond grew stronger and the dreams more vivid.

Though Princess Aria woke refreshed each morning, she became convinced Parthenia truly existed. She felt real. A quest began to form.

She could not leave her home, but she could research, and in dreams, she could continue that quest, free to roam with her love. To that end, Parthenia confessed they found that first song - the panicked song of peace and protection, a hauntingly familiar tune. One they never recalled hearing before, but somehow achingly familiar.

It led them, eventually, to discover the valley forest of Convallaria Majalis.

That had been a strange sight indeed. Perched on Parthenia’s shoulder, Aria looked out over the blanket of white flowers, the sky of her home. Impossibly tall as they seemed in her waking form, the little white bells only reached her shoulder. Parthenia was truly beyond the scope of what she could measure from that height.

Aria might as well be in love with the sun or a distant planet.

A small barrier for true love.

In the end, the answer was simple. While awake in her own kingdom, Aria hired only the best artisans to craft a statue a head taller than herself. Not a miniature dragon, but a Convallarian inspired by Parthenia’s beauty. Aria handled the mobility enchantments and transmutation herself - stonework taking on the form of aura quartz and golds to match the colours of her love.

From there a little research and the oldest songs took hold, soaring through Aria’s soul and calling to the sleeping skydancer in their world of opposites, bonded fast by love and music.


Parthenia dreams of a kingdom called Convallaria Majalis where she’s a being made of enchanted aura quartz. A kingdom where she married their youngest princess. Then, as the sun rises on Sornieth, the couple sleep. Parthenia to awaken in our world and Princess Aria to dream of their life as dragons, always ready and eager for another daily adventure side by side.

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About: Inspired by Aria's subspecies: The Jewelry Box Fae - which are literally just enchanted, decorative trinkets.

This fairy tale supposes that Parthenia's subconscious picked up on Aria's song, sounded through the borders of the kingdom via a linked system of enchanted stones to keep the farthest reaches of Convallaria Majalis safe.

Parthenia was probably wearing or carrying the little fae trinket, maybe humming snatches of a mysterious tune. Fairy tale wish and true love magic, combined with the spellwork of that tune to allow Aria's soul to inhabit the trinket.

The story glosses over the fact that Aria then reverse-engineered this to allow Parthenia's soul to inhabit a similar construct in her world so the two can be together in dreams. Parthenia probably is diurnal, so Convallarians are nocturnal?

Either way, the kingdom is actually the latin name for lily of the valley (the name of the badge this story was written for) lol.

Aria was chosen for both music and because it is contained in the word Convallaria. Parthenia has been in my lair much longer and was chosen for this story because I decided I wanted the tale to be about two of my dragons and went in search of a good romantic match for this little jewelry box fae possessed by a fairy tale princess.

What do Convallarian's look like? Probably tiny humanoids of varying descriptions. Little tieflings? Antenna like a skydancer/butterfly? Either way Aria is probably transfem, just because I said so. Which is why I chose the wording of "feminine descendants."

What about the masculine Convallarians? NB Convallarians? I'm sure there's something special about them too. And maybe gender-fluid Convallarians change talents according to the day's gender mood. Who knows. Maybe there'll be more Convallarian tales ahead.

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Gift from son. Hatched on my 16th wedding anniversary with Partner A.

Gold topaz and peridot are the traditional stones for the 16th anniversary, while silver hollow ware and/or plates are the traditional gifts usually received. I'm much happier with a peridot and silver Jewelry Box Fae :D

Pink for soft and cuddle romance - the green matches the clothes I got married in (I wore earthy browns and greens with teal/aqua accents), silver jewelry too - our rings are also silver - as is the "family pendant" we got our son.

Includes shades of the pan pride flag colours, which is meaningful to me and part of what makes our relationship a queer one. Also nifty that she definitely has polysexual flag colours which can be another umbrella term, though since my own attraction is more gender has no factor at all in my attraction, it's slightly less applicable to me than pan/omni. Still, I enjoy the extra rep. Aria herself can be polysexual, feminine and nonbinary attraction.

Blue is also my husband's favourite colour. Mine is green, but not really this green (dark teal-green). The rest is just a jewelry box fae being extra fancy ;P

As for the name...

Aria: "A long accompanied song for a solo voice, typically one in an opera or oratorio." & "The term was originally used to refer to any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer."

16 years is a long time to be married (17 now). I am the only one of us who enjoys singing as a frequent, almost necessary means of expression. Partner A is my sturdy, highly supportive accompaniment. Our marriage is the orchestra, and this dragon is a soloist expression of it.

Peridot flourish apparel gifted by mxlplyx