Riot

Riot

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Riot has spent his entire life on the move. From the moment he first saw the despicable acts of the wealthy leadership around the Cinderslag as a hatchling growing up there, and the heroic and bold acts of the Magmablood Rebellion nearby which trapped the authorities in fear, he wanted to be a unionizer. Someone who would lead the oppressed workers to victory, someone to put the means of production back in the hands of the common dragon. He gave himself his own name, to spur thoughts of revolution and power, and set off on his quest.

And quest he did, for a long time. He went from settlement to settlement, from clan to clan, all throughout Sornieth, creating alliances and raising unions and uprising against the corrupt leadership. He became well-known as a powerful revolutionary and someone you want on your side, someone you don’t want to fight against. It came to the point that corrupt leaders would often hear whispers of his name as he approached their lands and would quickly surrender.

Then, he decided it was time to take on the very hub of corrupt business practices. It was time to face the Shifting Expanse.

But unfortunately for Riot, the first settlement in the Shifting Expanse he chose to visit was none other than Electrician’s Edge. And he was shocked to find that for the first time ever, he wasn’t needed. There was no corrupt leadership, no greedy bosses puppeteering their employees with the promise of a minuscule wage. Emperor was unafraid to tell Screechfang what he considered best. The warriors had no general who would lead them into questionable battles. The healers had their own circle, with no ridiculous insurance prices. The scientists all had their own labs and had no one to answer to, and had even been granted individual authority over their areas of expertise. Dragons were free to pursue the arts without fear of poverty. Everyone worked together to keep the clan working smoothly. Everyone had their piece to contribute, their own part to play. The closest thing Riot found to the corruption he sought to destroy was dragons like Orevei, who held no power here.

Riot was dumbfounded. What was he doing here, then? Where was the corruption, the abused power, the horrors he had seen in so many other places? Riot chose to stay in Electrician’s Edge, at least for now, to learn what was going on here and how this clan managed to do what so many other clans he had seen before failed to do.

And of course, Cadfael saw this as the perfect opportunity to swoop in.

Cadfael convinced Riot that the corruption he sought to destroy was hidden away here. Cadfael convinced Riot that Screechfang and Skytail’s kindness was an illusion, that Riot had fallen for their trick, and that the leadership was more corrupt than anything Riot had ever seen before. And Riot fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. Riot pledged himself unconditionally to Cadfael, believing that Cadfael’s goals were in line with his own, and that this was the very kind of revolution he had sought out to help urge. Riot believed that by pledging himself to Cadfael, he was helping the Clan of the Striking Bolt achieve the greater good and shed their chains.

Of course, that’s not the case at all. Cadfael, as usual, lied to Riot, and Screechfang, Skytail, and their family truly are as good as they seem to be. But Riot is so desperate to help, to revolutionize, that he would have eaten up anything Cadfael spoon-fed him.

Unfortunately.