Marenubium

Stolen as an egg by serthis raiders, Mare hatched en route back to the encampment and was tossed into the Mire as food for the beasts who lived there. But a nocturne is a prime imitator of their surroundings, and Mare became as one of the wild creatures who called the Mire home, feral and dangerous, using body motion more than words to communicate her intent. As beautiful and dangerous as a sundew flower, Mare was as home in the Mire as any other creature born there, and the creatures she hunted rarely had time to flee.

All solitude comes to an end, however, and Mare eventually encountered another dragon, and followed him more out of curiosity over this creature so like and unlike her than any interest in communication or companionship. He was a hunter known colloquially as a "Mire Flier", hunting the creatures of the Mire while training young dragons behind his wings. Mare skulked behind the first dragon she had ever seen for weeks, returning to places she had seen him when she had lost him, until he finally grew tired of pretending not to know she was there. Over the course of months, they finally grew into comfortable companions, and without really meaning to, Mare started training behind the dragon she only knew as Ranger Four. He taught her the tricks of the trade, and Mare's wild-honed battle talents were fine-tuned into those of a warrior dragon.

Bit by bit, the ranger led Mare out of the Mire, introducing her to the realm of the dragons, though she would never go far from the dangerous swamps she had always known as home. Then, one day, Mare awoke with the ranger vanished, and a stone with nine tick marks carved on it tied around her ankle, marking her as Ranger Nine. Though she continues to lurk and fight in the swamp, Mare has never encountered Ranger Four again. Perhaps one day she'll discover another of her order...

Mare is a wild, feral dragon, and often moves restlessly, like a wild animal. She is rarely comfortable in a lair, and will den outside, particularly in rotting vegetation or in thick, lichen-covered branches. Unsurprisingly, this does not endear her to most other dragons. Her connection to the Clan is vague at best; she is on neutral terms with the kelpies in the area, and finds herself both calm and affectionate in the presence of the witch Ciatha, who loves her. Because Mare never had the chance to learn speech as a young dragon, she has very limited grasp of language, and can learn little more than to recognize names and simple commands. She finds the company of the kelpies soothing, and rarely cares to listen to speech from others than Ciatha.

Without the chance to form the habit, Mare has no real interest in hoarding. She will, however, bring rare plants, herbs, and materials back from her ranging for Ciatha, though she keeps nothing of her own.

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Mare is named after the Mare Nubium, the lunar highlands into which the Ranger 9 lunar probe crashed on March 24th, 1965.

Completed geneing on 14 Jan 2019