Kabegami

Kabegami was raised directly next to the Wyrmwound, a deadly privilege for the Denizens of the Scarred Wasteland. Sickness writhed within her and all of her siblings. Many of her siblings, ones born long before she hatched, left quickly for fear of falling to the Plague. Many were from the Icefields, one clutch was from the Tangled Wood, and all after were tested by the Wyrmwound. Many of them didn't make it, but Kabegami was of the fortunate. She had the will to survive and that was what she did - Fortune had no place in the matter. Plenty of the children hatched long before her had moved on to find their own places in Sorneith. Those of Kabegami's clutch were only the second group to be hatched in the Wasteland. Their parents had readjusted to their homeland enough to have all three hatchlings survive, but for the most part that was due to their will to live and not their parents. The clutch before them had perished. The girl wasted away and hardly reached adulthood. The boy lived for a time, but even he eventually succumbed to disease. A young Kabegami watched as the clutch after her hatched rotted and stillborn.


Those were the words spoken by a dragon less kind than most dragons. In the heart of the Wyrmwound this brand of "kindness" was something that other dragons would never know. This dragon was harsh and scarred by blade and claw, yet other more dangerous things had ravaged his scales. Patches as large as her wings were discolored and mangled. Open sores were left gaping, and something that wasn't quite blood glistened on them. All Kabegami could do was shiver and tremble on three of her claws; the other echoed with a searing pain that surged through it and the rest of her body.

The glowering eyes above her seemed darker than that Wyrmwound that day. Kabegami weakly rose to her feet, and scampered home. Her claw healed with rest, but her mind did not. Her life returned to normal.

Some days she and her siblings would watch dragons play in little pustules of rot. They were more-or-less forbidden from doing so. That still didn't stop some of them from going out and playing, but Kabegami was one of the hatchlings who listened. She listened, until the day that she was on her own.

A couple of her siblings had entered into a competition to win the Plaguebringer's favor. A certain one didn't show up, so low and behold Kabegami was sent in their place. After all, there were so many of them, and they all looked alike...no one would know.

No one ever found out either. Kabegami was introduced by another name, and off into the tournament she was sent. The crowd cheered with a deafening strength. A wizened, old Pearlcatcher pulled the lots to determined which hatchlings would fight.

Dirt and dust was kicked up into the air, when it really began. The crowd took the noise to an even louder level. She could hardly hear the cries of the other hatchlings, as they were thrown into the filth and bones. Feathers flew and wings were slashed open. By the time that Kabegami was called up to the makeshift arena, she could hardly see the other end of it. Dust filled the air and the smell of iron made her stomach churn.

Pitted against a Mirror a little older than her, the two raced around the bloody circle. He lunged and she backstepped. She ducked, but his claws still grazed her wings. After what seemed like eternity of this back and forth, she backed away panting heavily. Her wings ached and burned from the scratches. Her pristine coat was mottled and matted with blood. She desperately bowed her head in defeat only vaguely hearing his approach from somewhere in the dust cloud.

Their time was up. The Pearlcatcher announced the end of the fight. Kabegami weakly left, despite pulling a tie from the fight without any experience going into it.

She returned home to contemplate the turn of events. It seemed quieter. She supposed that it would be that way with one clutch sibling already gone. It would be time for Kabegami to leave soon as well... She would be an adult soon. Her parents had another nest waiting to hatch, and they probably wanted Kabegami out of the lair.

What would she do? She could hardly defend herself. No, she couldn't defend herself. She desperately wanted away from the Wyrmwound, but how would she even survive leaving? Someone, somewhere would end up ending her life on the path to another region. That was how Plague worked. Fight or die.

Kabegami's kind and sweet demeanor diminished as time went on. She locked herself away and read about Sorneith, but nothing struck her as something that she really wanted to do with herself. Her days passed with contemptment towards herself and her surroundings.

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