Nobody longs for the day they realize they're multi.
The problem is, nobody knows who is, and is not. They can never know until it is too late. Not that knowing any earlier would have done them much good.
Qalura was barely more than a hatchling when she felt an agonizing shock course through her veins. She was far above the skies of Dragonhome when it happened, being carried in her mother's arms as the elder dragon sought out edible fauna across the barren wasteland. You might be thinking that it would have been smarter to seek out food in a less desolate territory, such as that of the Tidelord or the Gladekeeper. Unfortunately, a recent disagreement over the property rights of a shard of the Pillar of the World that had been found on the border of the territories of Lightning and Fire sent schisms between the various clans as they took sides with one or the other. The Earthshaker commanded his followers to remain in Earth territory for the time being, such as to avoid unintentionally taking sides in the conflict.
It would have been alright, if the excruciating pain had not afflicted her mother as well. Of course it did, she was her mother. The child passed out from shock almost instantly, but her mother remained conscious long enough to flip herself over to carry her child on her stomach. She knew what was happening, she had been taught to prepare for this from day one. Well, they all had. But her careless friends had shrugged it off as mere fairytales, stories told to keep the younglings in check. Perhaps it would be, for them. As well known of an occurrence as this is, it is exceptionally rare. If only the cruel hand of fate had passed over the clan of Velanyr...
Thud.
That was three weeks ago. A figure shrouded by a blue-green hood now passes between the stalls of a bustling bazaar. Four brown eyes sparkled underneath as they reflected the light of the mid-day sun, so pale that one could almost assume they were stolen out of the hands of a pearlcatcher. The figure walked with the gait of someone lost yet found, a lazy saunter with head drooped to the ground, yet giving off a definite aura of deliberacy. She held her wings almost completely straight up in the air for the sake of secrecy; people are less likely to notice you if they don't bump into you, and the steel-colored fleshy tarps obscured her face from the sides.
The figure turned into one of the reinforced structures hidden behind the rows of tents and stalls, a semi-decrepit one-story wooden shack with a sheet-metal roof. A plaque hung above its entryway, suspended by a rope running from the building's thin metal chimney to the lamppost outside, a habit that many of the landowners had picked up for advertising their trades. This one in particular read "Scathing Knowledge".
Inside the shop lay a wide variety of wares stacked high on dusty shelves, from scrolls to spellbooks to reagents to antique magical artifacts. As the coral face of this shadowy traveler became revealed by the open door, a flash of panic passed through the lime-green eyes of the ridgeback male behind the counter. Thankfully, they were alone in the lesser-used shop, and nobody noticed.
"Are you insane!?" hissed the golden drake from behind the counter, "walking down the street like that in broad daylight, do you have a death wish!?"
"With that nose and these breakables I could ask the same question", came the snarky reply. "I'm fine, I know what I'm doing."
"Why are you here!? You know I can't be seen with you! No one can!"
"You're the only one I trust to help me who can."
"You have ten seconds before I force you out of here."
"I'm looking for a spell. A forbidden spell. You know the one I want."
The ridgeback's voice fell to a forceful whisper, "That spell is not just forbidden. It's an abomination of life itself. We should be killed for even speaking about it."
"But that's the thing, you know about it. You know where I can find it." The shrouded mirror brought her right foreclaw up to lightly graze the other's chin. "You know things that others dare not dream of, don't you Gakri?"
The larger dragon slapped away her hand and placed both his foreclaws firmly on the glass counter. "Even if I could help you, and I can't, you know that what you're asking defies enough codes to support an entire city."
"I know", replied the visitor, "which is why no one else who knows its location would be willing to do this."
Just then an artificially amplified voice came piercing through the walls of the flimsy establishment:
"Qalura of the multiple account 'Velanyr'! You have nowhere left to run. End this needless tribulation and come out peacefully. Don't make this be any harder than it has to be."
"**** QALURA, I THOUGHT YOU WERE 'FINE'!?", barked the frantic ridgeback. "IN THE BACK, NOW!"
The two dragons quickly scrambled into the back room where the more delicate, dangerous, and valuable oddities were kept, knocking several items to the floor in the process.
"You always have a plan", the coral mirror smugly stated.
"Damnit Qalura, don't you DARE get cocky with me! I never wanted to get dragged into this ****, but you just HAD to come and find me, didn't you!?"
The ridgeback furiously ground several ingredients in a mortar and pestle. A loud bang could be heard from the next room over as the front door was burst open. As the thumping of a dozen dragonclaws against a wooden floor rapidly became louder and louder, Gakri dumped the contents of the mortar into his claw and sprinkled them into the air in a vertical circle in front of him. They could already see a draconic muzzle breaking into the room when Gakri grabbed Qalura's hand, extended his other into the ring of powder and shouted "Aramos!", pulling the two of them into the portal and leaving only rustled papers and falling jars in their wake.
So, yeah. I came up with this at 8 am, eating pizza with no pants on. Finished writing at 12:21. Thoughts?
The problem is, nobody knows who is, and is not. They can never know until it is too late. Not that knowing any earlier would have done them much good.
Qalura was barely more than a hatchling when she felt an agonizing shock course through her veins. She was far above the skies of Dragonhome when it happened, being carried in her mother's arms as the elder dragon sought out edible fauna across the barren wasteland. You might be thinking that it would have been smarter to seek out food in a less desolate territory, such as that of the Tidelord or the Gladekeeper. Unfortunately, a recent disagreement over the property rights of a shard of the Pillar of the World that had been found on the border of the territories of Lightning and Fire sent schisms between the various clans as they took sides with one or the other. The Earthshaker commanded his followers to remain in Earth territory for the time being, such as to avoid unintentionally taking sides in the conflict.
It would have been alright, if the excruciating pain had not afflicted her mother as well. Of course it did, she was her mother. The child passed out from shock almost instantly, but her mother remained conscious long enough to flip herself over to carry her child on her stomach. She knew what was happening, she had been taught to prepare for this from day one. Well, they all had. But her careless friends had shrugged it off as mere fairytales, stories told to keep the younglings in check. Perhaps it would be, for them. As well known of an occurrence as this is, it is exceptionally rare. If only the cruel hand of fate had passed over the clan of Velanyr...
Thud.
That was three weeks ago. A figure shrouded by a blue-green hood now passes between the stalls of a bustling bazaar. Four brown eyes sparkled underneath as they reflected the light of the mid-day sun, so pale that one could almost assume they were stolen out of the hands of a pearlcatcher. The figure walked with the gait of someone lost yet found, a lazy saunter with head drooped to the ground, yet giving off a definite aura of deliberacy. She held her wings almost completely straight up in the air for the sake of secrecy; people are less likely to notice you if they don't bump into you, and the steel-colored fleshy tarps obscured her face from the sides.
The figure turned into one of the reinforced structures hidden behind the rows of tents and stalls, a semi-decrepit one-story wooden shack with a sheet-metal roof. A plaque hung above its entryway, suspended by a rope running from the building's thin metal chimney to the lamppost outside, a habit that many of the landowners had picked up for advertising their trades. This one in particular read "Scathing Knowledge".
Inside the shop lay a wide variety of wares stacked high on dusty shelves, from scrolls to spellbooks to reagents to antique magical artifacts. As the coral face of this shadowy traveler became revealed by the open door, a flash of panic passed through the lime-green eyes of the ridgeback male behind the counter. Thankfully, they were alone in the lesser-used shop, and nobody noticed.
"Are you insane!?" hissed the golden drake from behind the counter, "walking down the street like that in broad daylight, do you have a death wish!?"
"With that nose and these breakables I could ask the same question", came the snarky reply. "I'm fine, I know what I'm doing."
"Why are you here!? You know I can't be seen with you! No one can!"
"You're the only one I trust to help me who can."
"You have ten seconds before I force you out of here."
"I'm looking for a spell. A forbidden spell. You know the one I want."
The ridgeback's voice fell to a forceful whisper, "That spell is not just forbidden. It's an abomination of life itself. We should be killed for even speaking about it."
"But that's the thing, you know about it. You know where I can find it." The shrouded mirror brought her right foreclaw up to lightly graze the other's chin. "You know things that others dare not dream of, don't you Gakri?"
The larger dragon slapped away her hand and placed both his foreclaws firmly on the glass counter. "Even if I could help you, and I can't, you know that what you're asking defies enough codes to support an entire city."
"I know", replied the visitor, "which is why no one else who knows its location would be willing to do this."
Just then an artificially amplified voice came piercing through the walls of the flimsy establishment:
"Qalura of the multiple account 'Velanyr'! You have nowhere left to run. End this needless tribulation and come out peacefully. Don't make this be any harder than it has to be."
"**** QALURA, I THOUGHT YOU WERE 'FINE'!?", barked the frantic ridgeback. "IN THE BACK, NOW!"
The two dragons quickly scrambled into the back room where the more delicate, dangerous, and valuable oddities were kept, knocking several items to the floor in the process.
"You always have a plan", the coral mirror smugly stated.
"Damnit Qalura, don't you DARE get cocky with me! I never wanted to get dragged into this ****, but you just HAD to come and find me, didn't you!?"
The ridgeback furiously ground several ingredients in a mortar and pestle. A loud bang could be heard from the next room over as the front door was burst open. As the thumping of a dozen dragonclaws against a wooden floor rapidly became louder and louder, Gakri dumped the contents of the mortar into his claw and sprinkled them into the air in a vertical circle in front of him. They could already see a draconic muzzle breaking into the room when Gakri grabbed Qalura's hand, extended his other into the ring of powder and shouted "Aramos!", pulling the two of them into the portal and leaving only rustled papers and falling jars in their wake.
So, yeah. I came up with this at 8 am, eating pizza with no pants on. Finished writing at 12:21. Thoughts?
