Dramatis Draconæ
The Apprentice:
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A young scout, under the tutelage of a nocturne called Zikel, Primera aspires to a position of leadership. Thus she trains in combat and strategy, so she can better serve the clan she one day hopes to lead. Unfortunately, she's often stuck with mundane tasks such as carrying today's deliveries, as she's believed to be too impulsive to be trusted with important missions. While she's always wanted to prove herself, holding the fate of the entire clan on her shoulders may prove to be too much for her.
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The Watchdragon:
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Possibly somewhat confused, Yen is not a follower of the Lightweaver, but instead a devout worshipper of light itself. She believes it to be her divine duty to bring illumination to those in need; thus her position as night watchdragon. Hers will be the light that pierces the darkness, which sounds rather romantic, until you realize that the light belongs to an overeager spiral who wants nothing more than for you to be surrounded by hundreds of candles at all times.
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The Imposter:
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There are legends in the clan of a mysterious nocturne, one who through natural mimicry and illusions born from powerful magic could perfectly disguise herself as any dragon. Thought of as a harmless trickster, stories of her are mostly something to entertain hatchlings with - but are also used as a quick excuse for when someone sees you doing something you shouldn't be doing. However, nobody in the clan suspected the dark truth behind her legend...
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The Mimic:
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These golems were a recent acquisition meant to help guard the lair, detecting intruders and quickly setting off an alarm. Strangely, nobody is quite sure whose idea it was to install them in the first place.
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"Apprentice. You are late. You will return with me now."
Primera shook her head, disoriented by the sudden change in scenery. In front of her loomed a guardian, clad in spiky armour that would have been intimidating if it wasn't attached to a friendly face. This was clearly Voltak, but something was off. His voice was stilted, and there was something menacing in the way he held himself.
Primera's crests visibly drooped, as all hope that Shadowsong was mistaken left her.
"Apprentice. Follow me. Now."
The apprentice dug one claw into the ground. There were no other options. She'd have to follow the bewitched watchdragon, and hope she could find the imposter before the imposter found her.
She spoke, praying Voltak wouldn't notice the fear in her voice. "Of course. I was just sidetracked by the darkness. Lead the way."
"Come."
Well, holding a conversation was only likely to make him suspicious anyways. She checked to make sure she still had the bag with today's earnings, and then followed the watchdragon.
The walk passed in silence, the dense fog making it impossible to judge how far away the lair still was. Primera wracked her mind, frantically trying to think of a likely candidate for the imposter. But her work bore no fruit. A number of the clan were quite strange, and a few were rather shady, but none had been acting unusual lately. More unusual than was normal, anyways.
Still lost in thought, Primera idly looked around, and then jumped back with a start. The lair, her home, its halls carved directly out of the local pink chalcedony, had been transformed. Or rather, it appeared that way. Obscured by the darkness and the fog, the fortress appeared as if out of a story; dark towers casting a shadow over the land, framed by an eerie glow. The apprentice half expected a evil tyrant to appear and claim dominion over the land.
But, she realized, that was exactly what was happening. The only thing missing was a dramatic flash of lightning.
"Apprentice?" The guardian's voice thundered from in front of her.
"It's nothing. Let's keep going."
The watchdragon took a long look at her. Primera held her breath. Her heartbeat seemed to echo throughout the fog.
Voltak slowly turned his head away, and continued the steady march towards the fortress' entrance. Primera followed behind, looking for any chance to slip away.
Then all she'd have to do was find the imposter by herself and escape, without being noticed by a single dragon in the clan.
Wait. Not by herself. There was still Yen! They could meet up work together. Maybe Yen already new who the imposter was! Maybe she'd already left to tell Shadowsong! Maybe-
"Apprentice. We've arrived," Voltak growled from the lair's entrance. "You must report to- "
"Zikel! I know! I'll head there right away!" This might be her only chance. She dashed down a hallway, the lumbering sounds of a pursuing guardian behind her.
This passageway led to the personal quarters, where Zikel would usually be on a normal day. As this was anything but a normal day, once she felt she was out of the watchdragon's sight, Primera turned down the nearest hallway.
Here were the common rooms. The first was empty and as dark as the fog outside. As Primera checked the room, she heard the sounds of claws moving towards the personal quarters. She breathed a quick sigh of relief.
It was the same story in the rest of the rooms. Dark and empty. And the halls were silent, except for the sounds of Primera's breathing. Maybe the imposter was having most of the dragons sleep for the night? Perhaps they were meeting somewhere, to discuss whatever nefarious plans the imposter had in mind?
Primera crept further down the hall, towards the dining hall. If they were holding a meeting, there seemed a likely place.
When she reached the entranceway, the apprentice cautiously peeked her head into the room. The dining hall welcomed her with darkness, shadows, and two growing green lights.
She jerked her head back. The golems! They were creepy at the best of times, but now... she shuddered. Going in there would definitely set off an alarm. She took a moment to let her heart rate lower, and then began searching the rest of the lair.
But there was nothing to be found. Primera saw no movement, only heard the telltale clacking of claws on stone, which she avoided as if her life depended on it. It probably did. Each smaller room she checked was empty, devoid of any hint to the imposter's identity. And the library, the auditorium, all of the larger rooms were guarded by those pairs of glowing green eyes.
It's hopeless. I should have kept following Voltak. He was probably about to reveal the imposter. I should have-
A light from ahead caught her eyes.
She looked up, just in time to see a flash of orange and gold cross far end of the hallway. Yen!
Primera leaped forwards to follow, and then quickly turned around sprinted the other way. The spiral was clearly in a hurry, and while that didn't mean she was being chased, if that was the case it would all be over if they were both caught.
She ducked down another hallway, one she hadn't checked yet. Here were the workshops and laboratories, each clearly marked with a 'Do Not Enter' sign that was traditionally ignored by most of the clan.
The first two workshops were empty and untouched. Not that Primera would have noticed anything suspicious, being too focused on whether on not Yen was likely to escape. But before she could check the third, she caught a change in the shadows in the distance. The clear silhouette of an imperial was rounding the corner, antlers nearly scraping against the roof.
Primera dove into the workshop, and then crawled into the storage room in the back. Pressed against the wall, heart pounding in her chest, she waited for the patrolling dragon to pass by.
Click. Click. The unknown dragon's clawsteps grew louder. Primera held her breath.
Silence.
Then the clicking began again. It slowly became quieter, and the apprentice let her breath escape. Primera took a second to check which room she was in.
This was a familiar place, belonging to her friend, the enchanter Cress. He kept his failed creations here, and the trinkets had lined the shelves, until he'd given up on that and just began unceremoniously dumping them in the middle of the room.
As she looked at the room, her second set of eyes noticed something strange. There was something warm in the centre of the pile.
Had Cress managed to escape? Was the enchanter now hiding in the storage room, hoping they couldn't find him?
Primera began digging through the junk, as quickly as possible while still keeping quiet. Cups, bangles, hats... her claws caught something heavier than the rest. She pulled it up.
Platinum scales, marked with a familiar orange pattern.
"Plagebringer's boils!" Objects flew across the room, Primera no longer caring about keeping quiet. After everything was out of the way, the truth was plain to see. Yen lay across the floor, not moving.
Primera put a claw to her friend's neck. "Still breathing, praise the Eleven!"
But if the spiral was here, that could only mean one thing.
The apprentice got to her feet. She just had to get out and tell Shadowsong. Hopefully Yen would be safe here.
But how to escape? The front entrance would be guarded, if not by dragons by those eerie golems, as would any other exits. The imposter knew she was there, and was trying to use Yen's form to trap her. Thus she had to escape without anyone noticing, or the imposter might shift to someone else's form. Primera wracked her brain, adrenaline pumping.
Of course! The west wing, on the second floor! It had been closed recently due to a ragamice infestation, so it should be unguarded. All she had to do was get there and leap out a window.
Primera dashed out of the workshop, and sprinted towards the nearest passage to the second floor. Halfway there, she slowed down, cursing her foolishness. What if she'd been seen then and there?
Cautiously, she checked around the corner. There was a ridgeback patrolling this hallway, but the dragon was walking away from her. She followed a distance behind the dragon, hoping that if one dragon was here, there wouldn't be any others.
That seemed to be the case, as she reached the entrance to the second floor without incident. As the ridgeback turned to the right, she waited a few seconds, and then took the opportunity to dash across the hall.
All senses on high alert, her clawsteps seemed to echo thunderously as she climbed to the second floor. Up here the passages were smaller, the largest dragons being confined to the lower floors for structural reasons.
She checked the hallway, but saw nothing. There'd likely be fae patrolling up here, and those would be flying. Thus no clawsteps to listen for.
Hugging the left wall, she crept towards the west wing. Fortunately, it was close to her entrance to the second floor, so she didn't have far to go. Forwards and to the left, a cord hung across the passage to the wing, the sign attached to it proclaiming its closure. Above it were two fae, apparently holding a conversation.
Primera looked to the left and right, but there were no rooms in this stretch of hallway. She was so close too!
She considered her options. She was fairly confident she could overpower the two fae, but she'd rather not hurt the other clan members. She needed a distraction, but what?
The treasure bag! She fished it out of her satchel, careful not to let the coins jingle. She never thought she'd have been so glad to have been sent on a mundane trade mission.
She hooked the bag with one claw, and threw it with all her might. It sailed past the west wing and the two fae, crashing to the ground a fair distance further on. Coins spilled everywhere, clinking echoing throughout the hallway. One of the fae said something Primera couldn't quite make out, and then both left to check out the disturbance.
Seeing her opportunity, Primera charged into the west wing. Not a soul was to be found here, just piles of chewed though clothing and fabric, waiting for either salvaging or disposal. She didn't bother to even look at any of these, instead completely focused on rushing to the window at the far end of the hall.
She dove out the window, opening her wings just enough to glide safely to the ground. With a resounding thud she hit the earth, and began running without stopping for a moment to check if any one had noticed.
The apprentice disappeared into the fog, fervently hoping that Shadowsong would find her before the imposter did.
