Eldamar

Eldamar { EL-dah-maar } Grove Guardian Level 25 Pure 2nd Generation Imperial Forbidden Portal Fighter Simple Gold Bracelets Apparel The perfect complement to any outfit, these golden bracelets sparkle when they catch the light. 500 Daybreak Decorations Apparel Decorative jewelry depicting bright sunrays. (Brightshine Jubilee 2020 Holiday Item) 0 Proto-Roc Familiar Smaller in stature than their modern counterparts, the ancient fossils of proto-rocs still boast talons capable of taking down prey that was as large as the roc. 250 ╭━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╮ A Warrior’s Way written by Nozaria ╰━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╯

Eldamar was what you would call a vain and prideful individual for a large part of his life. He wasn’t born this way, but when he first heard stories as a hatchling about his species, he felt pride grow. He learned that the essence of the lightweaver had shaped his parents before no more imperials were created. Those stories evoked awe inside him, and not only did he hold his parents in higher esteem than ever, but he also felt unique for being their descendant.
He started to seek out more and more stories of glorious battlefields from ages past. The triumph and glory of those formidable warriors, the grandeur of their tales... Young Eldamar wanted nothing more than to be like them, show the rest of their species how glorious they still could be!
He kept this desire inside him as he grew up, occasionally looking for new and old stories of warriors and their battles.

He never met a warrior in person, only from afar as one of them traveled nearby, just outside the safe zone of his village. He still remembers the awe-filled gazes of the dragons around him as they all looked upon this massive warrior, the sunlight reflecting on those gleaming scales and the worn-down armor.
The dragons from his village forbid him from setting off and following this warrior; they even prohibited him from training or looking for a mentor. He realized that they all were avoiding battle, and when he confronted them, he saw fear he could not recognize back then as a hatchling. Despite all the tales of triumph and glory they told him, they were all afraid of something.
Considering them cowards, he turned his back on them and left. As he took flight, he could hear the cries of protest grow quieter with every beat of his wings.

As he roamed the world, he realized how sheltered his village had truly been, so safe and far away from any conflict. Eldamar also noticed that his innate magical ability and physical power were higher than those of other dragons. But it was no use to him as he did not know how to make use of it properly, so he continued his search for a teacher.

One day, he came across a special forest, and the dragons and creatures encountered there started to change something in him. It was as if the forest let him encounter beings and situations that aided his growth. He felt accepted and realized the inhabitants did not live a life of illusion and fear, and it felt liberating.

Then, one fateful day, he met the guardian of this forest. While not as physically big as him, his presence was imposing, and Eldamar felt small and meaningless before him. It ignited the desires within him that were almost forgotten, and the renewed surge of it blinded him once again. He wandered through the forest not long after that, and the forest seemed to change around him. At first, Eldamar thought the forest aided him again and created a battlefield just for him to train, but he soon came to realize that this was a painful lesson.

Glimpses of past battlefields appeared before Eldamar. When he got a good look around, sensations started to creep in. Sensations and feelings of beings long gone, of places those battles took place around. The hopelessness and despair. The pain and suffering. There was no glory in this. There were no childish dreams of harmless fighting and besting your foe. It was real. Loss of precious and unique life, a struggle to hold on to your own, or it would be taken from you. Eldamar still doesn’t know how long those sensations filled him; it could’ve been only a moment or weeks. No words or retelling could ever encompass the magnitude of this experience. It changed Eldamar on a fundamental level.

When he came to his senses, no more barren wasteland was around him; the fire and destruction had vanished.
The shaken Imperial left the forest behind him, but not forever. He felt he needed time to process what he had experienced and look at the world and its inhabitants anew, no more blinded by naïve and biased views.

For many weeks he traveled, spending his time lost in thought. Maybe it was fate or simply pure luck, but he came across a gleaming golden spire. Immediately Eldamar felt how extraordinary this place was, not unlike the forest he came to know. He dared to venture close, and suddenly a voice called out to him.

“Welcome, aspiring warrior. Tell me your name, and answer me this…”
Wind swept up, carrying the voice to him, no louder than a whisper yet so clear at the same time.
“What motivates you to train? Or perhaps, is there a ‘who’ instead?”
As he listened attentively to the voice, the Imperial came to a stop and closed his eyes. Eldamar turned his focus inwards, compelled by the voice to truly look inside him and search for his truth.

As he wandered and took the world in as it was, he made a decision. He still wanted to grow strong and be a warrior. But no longer were future glory and triumph his driving force. Just as the protector of the forest, he wanted to be someone others could lean on for safeguarding. He had seen so many weak and fragile lives on his journey, so easily trampled by those stronger than them. Their cries and pleas unheard and unseen until one was to look around, no more occupied only by themselves and their circumstances. It was what he had done for so long, never truly seeing. But now he did, and it gave him conviction.
Eldamar opened his eyes, and his voice rang clear and firm when he spoke.

“I am called Eldamar. Once, I sought to train and battle for the glory and reverence it would bring me. However, I left those aspirations behind. Instead, I wish to make use of the abundant powers given to me. I have never learned how to do so properly and lack experience. Once I master all that, I wish to protect those who cannot do so themselves, just like a protector of a forest I have met.”


”Eldamar, I look forward to seeing you at the lighthouse’s peak. That is a noble ambition, and may you always find the strength to persevere in this endeavor. I believe you can already fathom the lengths to which you must go, and the hardships that you will endure.

Let me guide your path, even if I am not bodily present, for I cannot be. That does not mean my presence is invisible - quite the contrary, even if all you can hear for now is my voice.” It echoes with a thousand songs, a chorus singing of joy and victory alike.

“Go forth. Seek the Lighthouse, and if you give all of yourself, you will never fall before the gates. Become unbreakable, just as all these legends have. I await your arrival.”

When Eldamar takes his first break after a long time, the disembodied voice calls out to him once again.

"How do you feel about the decision to embark on this road, now that you've taken it on?”

The sound of that voice takes him back to reality. Eldamar did not realize that his mind was still lost in the many battles he had just fought. He takes a few breaths and takes the chance to think about the question. When he has calmed slightly, he speaks out.
“I knew this road would not be easy, but I still decided to walk it.”

He sighs and shakes his head. “But just knowing and experiencing it are two different things. I’m aware of that now.” He shakes his massive body to eliminate the last of the remaining tension in his tired and overworked muscles.

“There is no better lesson or teacher than the experience. Putting my life on the line made me give it my all. In practice, I might’ve held back. But here, I have no other choice than to be victorious, or I will lose my life.” The golden imperial stays silent for a moment.

“I might not like having to take a life... But there will be moments where it will be either me and those I wish to protect or my enemies. And they will likely not show the same kind of hesitation. So this is as much an exercise for my body as it is for my mind.”

With these words, his resolve strengthens again, and he goes off to the next battles awaiting him.

The next time he hears the voice around him, Eldamar is drenched in blood. It is not his own blood however, only a few wounds mar his body. Just as he’s about to reach up to his horns, he hears it again. He stops his massive paw and listens. It’s almost a whisper now, carried to him by the wind.

"Is there an enemy you despise above all others?"

Eldamar chuckles without humour.
“Of course you would ask this question right after.”
He takes the abandoned movement up again and finally plucks something that was stuck in his horns out and tosses it to the ground. It lands with a wet squelch, and Eldamar makes a repulsed face.

“I detest those who prey on the weak. Those who do so without any reason.”
The imperial grows agitated.
“There are those who want to protect their young or act out of hunger. They, too, will prey on the weak. It is for survival. Maybe someone else drove them to those actions, feeling like they have no other choice. But they-!”
He spits that last word out like a curse, his claws digging into the earth, leaving behind deep gouges.

“They do so simply for their own pleasure and amusement! Gauding their victims, ridiculing them, and torturing them! Relishing in their suffering!”
His eyes ignite with fury, and his long tail whips around aggressively before he slaps the ground with it, making the earth around him tremble. “I will not tolerate it!”

Silence sets in after that roar, only the labored breathing of the imperial could be heard. Eldamar closes his eyes to regain some of his composure, and his following words are already a bit calmer.

“I despise them. I just encountered some of that variety. It would rile me up too much to speak more of it, but those were the easiest kills on my road up to here.”
He still can’t help but think back.

“I tossed my weapon aside and used my claws and fangs instead. Fury overtook me, and I almost lost myself in it.”
He looks down at his blood-soaked body and lifts a clawed paw from the ground to inspect it.

“As atrocious as those foes were… It was still a lesson. I should never get lost in anger, as righteous as it may be. I should always remember the power my body holds.”
Eldamar's words had grown quiet by the end, and he seemed lost in thought. As if talking to himself in his mind, he nods once. He looks up towards the lighthouse in the distance and continues on the road.

After many more battles and bloodshed, Eldamar finally gets a small respite. Whispers and murmurs can soon be heard, and it does not take long before he can make out the words of a familiar voice that rises above all else.

"What do you do with the bodies of fallen allies? Or conversely, foes?"

Taken aback, Eldamar blinks.

“What a strange question.”
The imperial shakes his head but still earnestly thinks about what he was asked. “I think... Yes, I think I know.”
Eldamar lays down on the ground, still aware of his surroundings but taking a much-needed rest. He stares off into the sky, still thinking as he speaks.

“Of course, I would rather none of my allies fall in battle. It would mean I did not do a good job of protecting them… But I can’t control everything, and some things cannot be avoided, as much as I wish they could. Should they fall, I will honor their rites and those of their home. I will try to follow them if I know of them. Right there or take them back home. If it is an imperial… We need not talk about it; we all know what can happen if we do not take care of those bodies properly.”

He shakes his head to get rid of that nasty thought, like chasing away a fly bothering him. Then Eldamar lowers his head again, his golden scales long since caked over by a layer of dried blood and mud.

“My foes? That depends.”
He takes a second to gather his thoughts.
“First, who is my foe? A simple-minded beast or a hostile dragon? There’s a higher chance I’d leave the beast where it is and not touch it. The enemy dragon? If I know and respect them, I might honor them.”
More seconds pass as he ponders over the question.

“It also depends on the situation and the place. If I fear there might be diseases spreading from leaving behind the fallen, I will torch them. If it’s safe enough, I will leave them to be returned to the cycle of life.”

The imperial gets up and stretches his sore muscles, but already feeling more energetic than before.

“It truly depends; there are so many- Ah. I see now.”
Eldamar pauses mid-stretch as realization dawns on him.
“You asked this question to make me pause and rest. It would make me think for a while, holding me off from the next battle I would’ve encountered by now.”

Only silence answers him, but the imperial did not expect an answer.

“Lesson learned. Rest is important. I will keep it in mind.”

Eldamar does not know how much time has passed when he finally reaches the lighthouse. He can feel his body aching, muscles sore, and joints slow, unused to what he has been through, no matter how much power his body holds. As he lifts his tired head and blinks up to look at the radiant light, a familiar sensation reaches his ears.

"You stand at the gates of the lighthouse. I remember your name."

Eldamar patiently awaits for the voice to continue, relief spreading through his body. He finally had reached the end. It was real. He made it.

"What is the most valuable lesson that combat has taught you?"

Once more, that voice drones over the whispers accompanying it, now clearer than ever, as if his close presence to the lighthouse amplified it.

“I…” Eldamar struggles to think, his mind as tired as his body, if not more so. All those new sensations and truths about himself and the world he had to face. They took a toll on him. But he pushes through and thinks of an answer.

“I learned never to falter or hesitate. My first battle taught me well. I hesitated for a split second. Unsure if I was allowed to take this life solely for me to get stronger and learn. But its teeth had already dug into my scales in the next second. It and many other foes do not hesitate. It could cost me my life or those I wish to protect.” The imperial closes his eyes painedly, the thinking straining him.

“Combat has taught me to have no regrets. To enter every battle with a clear mind. This was and is my decision and what I chose to do. I entered those battles knowing what would await me. And so did my foes. They chose to battle me. They could’ve turned around or fled. They did not, so any regrets serve no purpose.” A small chuckle escapes him.
“Some others might say I only tell myself that to comfort myself. But this is what I believe in. I will follow my convictions without any doubt.”

Once more, the voice speaks to him.

"You have spoken a most enlightening truth. There will only be a final question from me. Answer it as you see fit."
Eldamar pays attention to every word.
"What does 'glory' mean?"

He sighs at the question. “Saving the hard questions for last, are we? Not only a battle for the body but also for the mind. And that one seems not to be over yet.”

He breathes in deeply and releases the breath in a slow exhale before he speaks. “I wish I had more time to think about it, to come up with a more satisfying answer. But right now, it goes something like this….”

“In the past, I would’ve answered that glory is being renowned. To have others see and acknowledge one's grand achievements, relish in praise of others, be famous wherever you walk, the grandeur of one's deeds rushing ahead. This can still be glory, but I discovered a different meaning.”

Eldamar looks up into the blinding light, fighting against the impulse to blink against the harsh sensation.

“To survive. To look at those I wish to protect after a battle and see in their eyes and gazes that they, and I, know what just transpired was extraordinary. To be thanked and maybe even praised for it, not for vanity’s sake, but for the pure expression of the joy of being alive. To recognize that without my aid, there would be no more life for them. The connection, the knowledge, and appreciation of life we share in this moment. Survival and the joy of being alive. That is glory for me. I wish I could explain it better, but those are all the words I had left in me for now.”


"Welcome, vaunted victor. I have been awaiting your arrival." The Skydancer's form is still brilliant, even though the ground they stand upon is still crumbling around them. The ghostly appearance that became more pronounced by the moment had created a sort of ethereal iridescence, as though they were a scattered aurora made sharp. "Eldamar. I saw the potential in you, as others did."

"But of course I do. A great warrior always knows what pushes them on, what motivates them to fight. It gladdens me that you do. You have changed greatly - evolved, even. And I think we would both agree that it has been for the better.

You have become worthy of standing here. Not through strength alone. The strength to fight fate comes not only from being willing, but from the urge to survive - and to thrive.

Know that you are victorious in the way that matters most. You've found your glory - never let it go, to the very end. Stand, rise, and always face the dawn."