Aspen

An odd young Gaoler of the Keeper order. Distant kin to the Gladekeeper, his disadvantage as a guard was obvious to his other brethren. Unable to successfully wield any ice powers, he had to depend on his stature and cunning in order to stay relevant to not only his clan, but other dragonkin as well. What he lacked due to being too distant in blood to the realm of the Icewarden, he compensated with his ability to conjure flora and foliage that could easily overtake most any element with ease.

This was proudly displayed by his permanent summer coat, as well as the periwinkle blossoms that had roots down to his very bones. Any element that surrounded him would grant him energy and life, just as a rose would bask in the sunlight and bend to the will of the wind. Unlike other Gaoler, this again puts Aspen at a very heavy disadvantage. It would be expected for a dragon of his stature to be able to easily overpower others in combat, but the greenery that adorns his body is a part of him. Though the cold and heat do not bother him due to his mane regulating his temperature, a blow to the lush vegetation on his body causes the flowers and leaves to bruise and bleed. Long after any altercation, the petals will turn from blood red to black and slowly die and fall off. This causes Aspen immense pain, and for that he will not partake in any physical combat.

He often received scrutiny from the other orders, despite his best efforts. The longer he stayed as a keeper, the more he questioned the heavily enforced caste system that crowded him. He did not want to be born as a worker and die as one. Nothing in this scape brought him happiness, save for the kind spirit armor that he was tasked to guard. This entity of shade had possessed a set of armor meant for a fae. He was taught to not listen to the whisperings of the dark entity that had tried to destroy our very world, and at the beginning it made perfect sense to him. Often the beings he guarded would prattle on about the horrible things they were to accomplish should they ever break free. Others would scheme and plot in vain attempts to break free, be it false tears or attempting to overpower other keepers. But Aspen knew this spirit armor was different. While patrolling the prison halls, the small ensemble of metal would often ask about the hulking Gaolers flowers.

I've never seen anything like this before. I've never seen colors so bright, all I can remember are these dark and dreary halls.

The armor was right. Save for the occasional flashy dragon of the orders, this horrible place was entirely devoid of color. When Aspen was left alone on quiet nights to guard, he would grow a few sprouts for the shade he was meant to be terrorizing, as long as he promised to get rid of the evidence before the next dragons to patrol came around.

One day, the spirit armor asked,

When will I be free? I have committed no crime... I wish to see the other colors in this world...

Aspen bit his Tongue. He did not have an answer. None of dragonkind was present for the first onslaught of the shade, save for our ancestors. The Natureborn Gaoler only knew of stories passed down onto him. But surely... This couldn't go on forever. This creature with so little power, and only knowing a life surrounded by these bleak and icy walls, surely it did not deserve to suffer endlessly for an offense from a time so far beyond its comprehension. He began to weep. A tear from any other would have frozen before it reached the ground in this cold wasteland, but his tears ran freely and created a small oasis. Moss began to sprout forth at his paws.

I want to show you the other colors, my dear friend. You deserve a life of redemption, rather than punishment...

Aspen pushed his head against the pillars of ice that contained the inkling of shade within this frigid prison and wept. The tangles of branchlets began to climb the imprisoning icicles. The armor watched his friend cry, and understood he was trapped the same as the shade he was sworn to keep contained. Water began to pool between them as the ice melted from the warmth of the sprouting plant life. Soon there was nothing left to act as bars to the spirit armors cell other than soft and spiraling branches. The being of the shade could have made a run for it, but he had decided his friend was so much more important than a chance toescape. When Aspen had returned to his senses, he saw his dear friend taking advantage of the newfound space by reaching out and embracing his paw. Holding back his newfound tears, Aspen gingerly used his teeth to scruff the small spirit and began to run. Crashing through the frost windows and unceremoniously plummeting to the lowland of the Fortress of Ends. The order of sentries and seekers caught wind of his escape before he hit the ground. He was abandoning his post. The sentence was death. As he ran, evading the magic that reigned upon him, he prayed to the Gladekeeper, and the Icewarden alike.

Please. This realm has not been kind to me. I wish to serve you both, but I must do this. I will die running before I live standing still!

While holding onto the spirit armor that granted him the courage to escape, and by some grace of the gods, a storm that ripped through the Plateau of the Southern Icefield had granted them enough time and distance to evade those still loyal to the orders. Aspen would continue running for days on end until he would finally collapse at an abandoned den at the southernmost point of the Scarred Wasteland. He would remain there for a few months, regaining his strength and keeping out of sight from the seekers that roamed the land. Ganache, a scavenger of her clan, not unknown for wandering every corner of Sornieth on a whim stumbled upon his makeshift den and what to her looked like a simple familiar. He asked if he could trade anything for food or supplies being as sparce as they are in the domain of the Plaugebringer. She said she only wished for his company and shelter for the night as she passed through. That night around the fire he told of his great escape and how he had betrayed both of the gods he was meant to serve. Ganache told him that was nonsense.

It sounds to me that the gods have failed you.

Not long after their encounter, Aspen was convinced to follow the plague born guardian to her clan. When approaching the Viridian Labyrinth, Aspen thought it appropriate to give his dear friend a name.

Indigo. I do enjoy this name my friend. I hope to discover many other colors by your side...