soulykins » Hibernal Den » Zalaph

Zalaph

(#14737752)

Level 10 Wildclaw

Familiar

Maren Spearmaiden

Energy: 50/50

Personal Style

Apparel

Skin

Scene

Physical Attributes

Battle Stats

Measurements

Length

5.79 m

Wingspan

6.6 m

Weight

382.06 kg

Genetics

Platinum
Iridescent

Royal
Shimmer

Violet
Smoke

Hatchday

Jul 06, 2015
(8 years)

Breed

Adult
Wildclaw

Eye Type

Fire
Common

Level 10 Wildclaw

EXP: 24382 / 27676

STR

AGI

DEF

QCK

INT

VIT

MND

Lineage

Parents

Caelum
Lilac

Offspring

Biography

Zalaph - Pirate

Mate of N/A

Personality:

Zalaph is a long suffering dragon who is exceedingly patient with those around him. Seriously, he has seemingly endless reserves. He's got a pretty good sense of humor, and he's good at keeping a calm and level head no matter what. He's very easy to get along with and is usually very laid back, but when poked he has a backbone of steel underneath that easygoing nature. Few have witnessed his frankly frightening expressions of true anger, nor would they wish a repeat performance. Zalaph is well respected around the clan and is known to be able to hold his own at the very least. He's usually fairly kind to those that know him at least, and he's good at both taking orders and giving them. He's experienced enough that most listen to him without complaint.

History:

Zalaph was born to a young mother on the coast of the Ashfall Wastes along the obsidian shores. He was the eldest of three, though he doesn't remember his siblings well, nor does he remember his mother well either. There's a reason for this, because when Zalaph was little more than a hatchling the coastal town was raided and pillaged. His mother, frightened beyond belief, told Zalaph to hide himself as she went to try and round up her other offspring. That was the last time he saw her, panicked and afraid. But he was an obedient child if nothing else, so he did hide. He hid in his mother's chest of valuables, which had just enough room for a tiny Wildclaw child to fit in alongside the fine cloths and treasures the family had accumulated.

Of course, during a Pirate raid this wasn't exactly the best of places to hide. He was fortunate enough that nobody looked inside the chest, though they took it with them. Tiny and tearful, Zalaph hunkered down inside the chest as it was hauled onto the pirate ship. He didn't let out a single peep, Pirate stories were common along the coastlines after all and he knew what Pirates did to stowaways. He didn't want to walk to the plank!

But he couldn't exactly hide forever, and the chest lid opened eventually as the Quartermaster inventoried their loot. Of course, he wasn't expecting Zalaph among it! After a long few hours of hurried discussion (and a curiously tear-less Zalaph who already figured he might as well accept his fate like a brave little soldier) and a severe looking mirror lumbered over to him with a fierce scowl on her face. She inspected Zalaph for a few brief heartbeats before nodding, "He'll do." She simply said before leaving Zalaph sitting in the middle of the rest of the crew. As if by some signal the crew promptly swarmed him, laughing and prodding him.

And that was how Zalaph was adopted by an entire pirate ship.

That's not to say he didn't earn his keep. Even as the ship's unofficial mascot, Zalaph was raised to be useful. He scrambled up the mast and played in the sails, peeling potatoes below deck and hauling canon balls during fights. It was a tough life, full of hard lessons and rough work, but Zalaph found himself loving every second of it. He didn't really miss his mother and siblings, and as time went by his memory of them grew fainter and fainter. His memories were full of loot and drinking songs and the wide open sea, and it was wonderful.

He grew older, and got more responsibilities. He helped just about everybody out on the ship and was friendly with them all. The crew had raised him, after all, and considered the young Wildclaw as family. He learned how to fight on deck with the scrappy younger members of the crew, and he learned a variety of, well, less than savory skills from the older members. Needless to say, Zalaph became pretty good at an odd assortment of things like pick-pocketing and lock picking.

When looting on one of the Starfall Isles, their first mate didn't make it out. The crew mourned for weeks before finally getting around to nominate a new one. And the captain, still that ragged old mirror, choose Zalaph. He was surprised, but perhaps he shouldn't have been. He knew his way around the ship better than most of the dragon on board, having grown up on it as he did. He knew the crew well and was familiar with all their peculiarities. He was the best choice without unsettling another position. So he became first mate, and took that job just as seriously as any other he'd had. He was good, strong and firm and patient, always obeying his Captain's word and making sure the rest of the crew did as well. He quickly became well respected for his fairness among even the new crewmembers. The old ones who had been on board since Zalaph's own accidental acquisition were fond enough of him not to challenge him anyway.

Life was good, for a while. The crew plundered and looted, though they rarely killed. They sailed their way through the ocean, and they were happy. Until, of course, everything went wrong.

Logically Zalaph had known that it wouldn't last forever. Everyone gets caught eventually, everyone meets their match. He'd just hoped it wouldn't be until he was old, until he could go down fighting. The ship was raiding along the Southern Icefields while the weather still held. They were caught by surprise, at dawn. The other ship curved through the water like a shark towards them, graceful and sleek and deadly. It came out of nowhere, and the crew paid for it. They didn't stand a chance. There was the mad rush as the crew tried to save the ship, the few that panicked and tried to fly away to safety were shot down with apparent ease. Zalaph went to the Captain, who looked at him with her battle-scarred visage tinted with something almost like defeat. "You might try to get off." She told him plainly, gesturing with a wing to where the rest were preparing the smaller rowboats to try and make a break for land. Their ship was crippled and wouldn't be making it anyway, and even with their enemies waiting to pick them off it was their best chance.

"What about you?" Zalaph replied, already knowing what the answer would be. His Captain was old and abided by the code, she was honorable and just and he knew what he answer would be before she even opened her mouth.

"A good Captain goes down with the ship."

Zalaph looked at her. Really looked at her. He recalled his terror when she'd inspected him oh so long ago, when he'd been barely more than a pup. And she had taken him in instead of throwing him overboard. Had given him a family. Had given him a purpose. The whole crew had known of the Captain's soft-spot for Zalaph, and Zalaph had caught himself wishing that he'd actually been born to this life instead of merely adopted into it. He thought that the Captain would have made a good mother. So instead of attempting to leave with the rest, Zalaph sat beside her. "We've had a good run, haven't we?" He said, attempting a smile but probably coming nowhere near close. The Captain looked back at him, seeing his decision for what it was and accepting it. The choice was Zalaph's after all, and she could not take it from him.

"Aye." She acknowledged, as the ship sank deeper beneath the waves. The crew was dotted about in their boats, hunched over to avoid the other's ships projectiles. The dark sea was close to them now, too close. "It's been an honor serving with you, lad. You grew up alright."

With that said, the ship gave up and sank beneath the waves pulling both Zalaph and the Captain into the sea with it. The water was bitterly cold, as it should be this close to the Icefields. Zalaph had learned many things whilst onboard their beloved ship, but swimming? Swimming had not been one of them. So he slipped beneath the waves and was lost.

And then he woke up, coughing and sputtering and so very alive. No one was more surprised than Zalaph himself, though the blue and grey coatl hovering over him could probably have given him a run for his money.

The coatl's name was Albion, and he'd managed to pull Zalaph from the sea if he understood the stranger's babbled explanation correctly. It was a toss up really, as Zalaph was even more confused than normal. Still, he sat up and tried to ask about his Captain - the mirror that had been with him. But Albion told Zalaph that he'd only seen him in the icy waters. Which begged the question - what was Albion doing out there? The coatl gestured to the side, and Zalaph rolled over to see barrel upon barrel of fish. Apparently Zalaph had gotten snagged in a fast moving current that had pulled him quickly into Albion's path, and the older coatl had seen fit to drag Zalaph's sorry self onto land in an attempt to save him. The coatl had been wondering about the variety of odd things that the current had brought to him that day, lots of wood and cloth and odd bits and bobs, and had managed to piece together a bit of what had happened upon seeing Zalaph.

Zalaph was near inconsolable for the next several hours, mourning the loss of his crew - no, of his family. He had no idea if anyone else had made it to shore, and with the frigid waters he was almost certain that the Captain hadn't been saved like he had. That ship had been his home for so long, he could honestly make the claim that more of his life had been spent on the sea than on land. And it was all gone.

Fortunately, Albion was sympathetic. He covered Zalaph in plenty of furs and blankets to keep him warm (the sea hadn't exactly been forgiving and Zalaph was wracked with shivers he couldn't stop) while he went about his day. Collecting the variety of things the current pulled in as well of course, because an opportunity was an opportunity no matter the circumstances. It was only when the sky began to darken that Albion decreed it time to go home (where was home? Home was a ship that was now beneath the waves) and offered some crates for Zalaph to carry. On autopilot, Zalaph accepted them, only to recognize the sodden cutlass that had been carelessly tossed on top of the pile of odds and ends. It was the Captain's. If that wasn't an indication of her death, then Zalaph wasn't sure what was. She would never have let it go willingly. With a lump in his throat, he plucked it from the pile and put in on his own waste, daring Albion to say something, anything, with a glare. But Albion kept his silence, and the two trundled across the land in quiet company.

Apparently, Albion belonged to a small clan, just starting out. It was headed by two mirrors. For the second time in his life, Zalaph stood feeling small and scared as his fate was discussed without any input from himself. For the second time in his life, a mirror dragon gazed upon him and judge him, sizing him up. For the second time in his life, he got the solemn nod that would allow him to stay.

Zalaph didn't exactly have a choice. He was alone, with nothing but the torn clothes on his back and an old cutlass at his hip, but he accepted it. He was good at adapting, he'd been doing it all his life. So, with that decided, Zalaph settled into the clan ever so carefully. He wasn't exactly young anymore, not like most of the youthful vagabonds who usually ventured out to join budding clans. But he carved out a place for himself and learned a variety of new skills along the way. He fought tooth and nail to earn his pace and the respect of the crew - no not a crew, the clan.

He was good at appraising the value of objects, a lifetime of looting had given him that skill above all, and he was often sought out by various dragons to judge a fair price on their wares. He was given trust, and free access to the clan's vast hoards so he could come and go as he pleased. Zalaph found it amusing that a pirate such as himself was afforded such a high level of faith. It was through this access that he met a wonderful young thief by the name of Anya. She was a cheeky Pearlcatcher who's response to being caught was not curses, but a wide grin and a sheepish "Oops?"

He was charmed. There were precious few dragons who understood the rather grey morals that Zalaph himself possessed, and so instead of raging and attacking the little thief, Zalaph found himself offering to vouch for her. So that she could join the clan. It would be nice to have another dragon with more dubious morals around after all, and he already felt rather fond of her. She reminded him quite a bit of one of the cabin girls they'd picked up on the coast of Dragonhome once upon a time.

Surprisingly enough, Anya agreed. Instead of stealing (heh) away at the first opportunity, she stuck around. She also stuck to Zalaph like glue. He was extremely fond of her, the little dragoness who pestered him and tried to steal his trinkets under his very nose. She was bold as brass, and he was more than willing to humor her. Maybe they got carried away, maybe they didn't, but after a night of recklessness (and more than a little rum - in his late Captain's memory he always kept a stash around) he and Anya ended up with slightly more, well, proof of their relationship. This proof came in the form of three little eggs. They both knew they weren't suited as actual mates - thank goodness - and knew that they were far better as friends and occasional partners in crime. So Zalaph and Anya raised their three offspring as best they could, with Zalaph often laughing at Anya's attempts at parenting though he himself was not all that much better. As soon as they were old enough, all three set out into the world. Zalaph doesn't really miss them, per se, but he does spare a thought for them every so often.

Soon after their children grew up and left the nest, Anya found someone who was actually perfect for her. She was still Zalaph's friend, probably his best friend, but there was no undertone to their relationship anymore. They were just friends who joked around and drank together and had a good time.

Still, with Anya's attention now mainly focused elsewhere, Zalaph found himself rather lonely. And if he went to the coast and gazed upon the sea, longing deep within his heart and a familiar weapon at his waist, well, no one had to know.

(to be continued)

Familiar:

Dina the Fawn Fox Rat

Items:

Art:

Art by BeckGecko

Art by Lidgeon

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Click or tap a food type to individually feed this dragon only. The other dragons in your lair will not have their energy replenished.

Exalting Zalaph to the service of the Icewarden will remove them from your lair forever. They will leave behind a small sum of riches that they have accumulated. This action is irreversible.

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