Agamemnon
Royal Consort
Commander
A Regal Rebirth
Born to a warrior clan, Agamemnon was sent to the auction house at an early age. Though there is the pretext of negotiating a “fair payment for services lost”, he knew the auction house was one step above a slave market. Hatchlings got sold along with tamed beasts, bartered for gems or wares.
Some got lucky and found good clans that treasured them. Most ended up being sent to serve their deities as exalted dragons. In the weeks following him being left in the care of his clan’s merchant, Agamemnon entertained himself by climbing as high as he could on the market stalls’ rooftops and watching as dragons from all over strolled by, browsing and haggling for wares in a flurry of activity.
Maybe because of his constant wanderings he never caught the eye of any clans. It was only too late that he realized that he had missed his window of opportunity. Fully grown, it cost the clan too much to keep him there, and he was set to be sent to serve Windsinger in his battle for dominance.
Agamemnon didn’t particularly care about his fate. He yearned to see the world, and even fighting for a god would be preferable than spending his life at that market watching the others go by.
But as he was getting ready to leave, the clan merchant was approached by two females.
The two skydancers had the bearing of royalty, or at the very least of those used to having their orders obeyed. Agamemnon has always despised their kind, those that came to the market and carelessly chose hatchlings like they did their baubles.
As soon as he turned his back on them he felt a light tap on his shoulder. The dark skydancer stared unseeing at him, the gold pattern on her body glowing as her face remained hidden behind her mask. She nodded at the other one, and after treasure was exchanged Agamemnon found himself being escorted back to their clan, deep into the Ice mountains.
It was a weird sight. The place was filled with dragons everywhere. Coatls and nocturnes emerged from pockets within the mountain, and as they entered the main chamber the place was already crowded with skydancers and imperials, which he assumed acted as bodyguards for the leader.
He looked around him, expecting to see the leader among the imposing figures before him. Surely the two that escorted him were underlings, although clearly they had the respect of the others. As he halted in the middle of the room he felt one of the females brush past him and perch atop a throne like ice formation.
Agamemnon stared in awe at the queen, the silent one he had pegged as the seer’s bodyguard. Things got no easier as the dark skydancer – Nightfall, the clan’s high priestess, he’d later learn – announced to all that he’d be their queen’s new mate.
No matter what he had expected, suddenly rising to royalty was most definitely not in his plans.
Sworn to The Sword
Say what you want about it, being royalty sucked.
As the shock wore off, Agamemnon slowly got used to life in his new clan. His mate,
Cassandra, would delegate tasks and decide any pressing matters the others brought to her.
Nightfall, the high priestess, would interpret for the gods and for their patron deity – something Agamemnon wasn’t used to and still found odd – and relay their orders and wishes.
As for himself… he had no idea. Not only didn’t he have a role, most of the clan seemed under strict orders not to give him one. The merchants and artisans wouldn’t accept his help, males weren’t allowed to hunt, and overall his sole purpose seemed to be as an amusement to the queen. Agamemnon was really getting antsy.
In the clan females did most of the fighting. Though males were welcome to help in crafting goods and in other areas, fighting was strictly reserved to their mates.
The only time males were trained to fight was during dominance pushes, when the deities would demand soldiers. During such times there were no rules, only a pressing desperation to send as many warriors as possible.
Born to a warrior clan, Agamemnon felt drawn to the art of combat, and started seeking out a way to learn by himself. Unfortunately, the enemies just refused to cooperate. His assigned familiar, a – very small – giant locust was essentially useless in combat, and with no experience and equipment, the weakest enemy turned into a mighty foe.
Worse yet, Agamemnon was careful to hide any evidence of his nightly activities from the queen. As much as she might have warmed up to him, Cassandra deeply disliked when her orders were disobeyed.
Opportunity presented itself in the form of Adage, recently promoted to trainer and in charge of getting new dragons into fighting shape for the Icewarden.
She might fear the queen, but she feared the possibility of the queen’s mate dying even more if left to fend for himself. So reluctantly she agreed to train him to fight. Training sessions would happen late at night when most clan members were asleep, and always where others wouldn’t see them.
Fighting is still challenging, but Agamemnon is proud of how far he has come. He only hopes that when she finds out, that his mate may choose to fight by his side. As formidable as she is, it would do his queen good to have someone at her back for once.
Warrior
Once his training was complete, Agamemnon had no qualms about going on incursions into beastclan territory by himself. More reckless with each passing day, the royal consort fought fiercely, his frustration at the rigid rules imposed on him making him a savage fighter.
Rumors of the berserk warrior spread across the neighboring Beastclans, finally reaching the queen during her fighting expeditions with her warriors.
Incensed at having her orders challenged, Cassandra faced Agamemnon in battle herself, intent on proving to her mate that he was way over his head, and hoping that he would drop such childish aspirations and accept his role in the clan. She was not, however, prepared for the skill born out of nights of training and hundreds of perilous battles where he could rely on no one but himself.
Defeated and impressed, the proud queen had no choice but to back down and acknowledge Agamemnon as a worthy fighter of the clan.
Not only that, but the longtime ban that kept males from fighting was lifted as well, leading to the arrival of many able soldiers to strengthen the clan and train the new hatchlings to come.
Donning armor befitting his new station, Agamemnon not only attained the status of a warrior, but also the respect of his clanmates.
Although clan rules keep him from ever raising to the title of king, the male rules alongside Cassandra as effectively as one, standing beside her both on the battlefield as well as out of it.
Exalted Returned
Being sent to serve the gods as an exalted dragon is a high honor among most clans, but all dragons know that, once made, the decision to serve one’s gods is permanent and irrevocable.
That is, with a few exceptions.
As the years went by, more and more of the Godborn left their clans to serve the gods. Famine, a small territory, instable politics or simply a whim of the gods led thousands to abandon the only home they ever knew to fight for the deities that had birthed them.
However, those left behind were left bereft, unsettled and without a ruler.
The chaos that ensued led the gods, after much deliberation, to allow for the return of the exalted ones. Only the Godborn would be allowed to return to their homes, and only once would such mercy be granted.
Deposed
The clan was in an uproar at the
king’s return. While few remembered the days when both
Kyle and
Cassandra were in power, many of the clan’s dragons, who came to the clan after the king’s exaltation, were loyal to Agamemnon.
At first nothing more than a figure to appease the council and with no sway or social standing, the royal consort has risen through the ranks to be a respected leader and warrior.
Often being called to rule when the queen was away, the male was regarded highly by the clan, and the clan was torn in a battle of loyalties between the legitimate king and the one they followed by choice.
When the king suddenly came back it left hanging the question of who would be the rightful ruler, and whether Agamemnon would be even allowed to stay in the clan, once his usefulness had come and gone.
With a broken heart Cassandra accepted the fact that, regardless of the gods’ decision, she would lose one mate at the cost of another.
Unlikely Alliance
Determined to stake his claim and take back his mate and clan, Kyle was unprepared by the support his adversary received. Agamemnon seemed truly appreciated by the council as well as the other clan members. Worse, he seemed to have won over the queen as well as his peers in the decades that the king was gone.
The clan was Cassandra’s life, and she would do anything to see it thrive.
Kyle had no such qualms – he cared little for the strangers around him, but he loathed the idea of hurting the only mate he ever had. What he proposed was unusual – and shocking to the council – but to keep his mate, Kyle was willing to share her with the other male.
Commander
The arrangement worked, and the clan saw a new era of prosperity like never before under the rule of the trio.
While matters of succession are still confusing at best, the three have fallen into a system that works well for all.
Kyle and Cassandra are the official rulers of the clan, and the ones to represent it on all diplomatic dealings. Without a real claim to the throne, Agamemnon manages matters in their absence and deals with internal affairs since, while not recognized as a member of royalty, the member has earned the respect of his peers – and the title of Commander when dealing with official matters, as the royal court is as confusing nowadays as any succession lines.
