Sadie

Wind Runestone

Dragonmade

An ancient stone bearing the ancestral rune of the Windsinger. Such a find should be kept as a prized possession.

110

Written by Keldeo

A pale yellow coatl sits in front of you, fidgeting with the device attached to her throat. It’s supposed to translate her kind’s language into regular draconic, though she keeps worrying at it like she thinks it’ll explode. After a few minutes of messing with it she remembers why she’s wearing it in the first place and clears her throat.

“Ahem! Is this thing workin’? Ah, yes, apparently it is,” she says, noting the stunned look on your face. You really didn’t think the contraption would do anything, but you suppose you stand corrected. Now that the language barrier is out of the way, you motion for the coatl to get on with it, eager to hear the tale of the clan’s infamous mercenary.

“Right, right, gimme a moment t’ collect my thoughts,” she huffs. “Yer lucky I’m doin’ this at all. Now then, where shall I begin…” She gets a distant look in her eye. You try to get comfortable and brace yourself for a story.

“I suppose I should start from th’ beginnin’. When I was a little hatchling, I lived with my parents near th’ border between th’ Windswept Plateau an’ th’ Sea of a Thousand Currents. It was a quiet little port town, though it sure managed to rake in th’ gold. It would’ve been perfect, ‘cept it lacked any real militia, so it was basically a sitting duck.

“’Course, Wind and Water ain’t got any real quarrels, ‘least not anymore. So we was safe for a long time. Then, when I was… oh, gods, I can’t even remember how old I was. Old enough t’ read an’ write, young enough that I wasn’t yet full grown. ‘Round that time, piratin’ started t’ get real popular, an’ you can probably guess what comes next.

“Th’ town was one o’ the first t’ get raided. It was horrible… There was fire all o’er th’ place, far as th’ eye could see. My family an’ I, we lived right down near th’ docks, see, so we was caught in the worst of it. We all got separated. Pardon, th’ details are all muddled, so there ain’t a lot I can remember. I got cornered by th’ pirates, an’ then… Well, then I ain’t too sure what happened.

“All I knows is I woke up on their ship. She was a beast of a thing; big enough t’ hold a small town. I was one o’ th’ hatchlings they’d taken on as slaves. Y’ may’ve noticed I picked up a bit o’ their slang while I was on board. Lots o’ folks find it cool or annoying, but believe me, I’d stop talkin’ like this if I could. It just serves as a reminder o’ my years with those monsters…

“Well, while I was on th’ ship, I learned that the crew was havin’ a bit of a war with another band o’ pirates. Somethin’ about one invadin’ the other’s territory or some such thing; no one ever really bothered t’ explain it t’ me. After a couple o’ years o’ petty skirmishes, th’ two finally clashed in one last, bloody battle, an’ guess who was lucky enough t’ be caught in th’ middle of it?

“Durin’ the fight, I managed t’ grab a weapon from some dead fellow – don’t feel bad for ‘im, ‘e was one o’ the pirates – an’ I retreated t’ one end o’ the ship, desperate t’ have a wall at my back. It was then that I met [pirate name]. Y’ might’ve heard of ‘im; there’s at least three shanties ‘bout his reign o’ terror. I’d recite one, but my singin’ voice ain’t too good.

“Anyway, at th’ time, I ‘ad no idea who this guy was. All I knew was that ‘e was comin’ at me with a sword, an’ gods know I didn’ just survive five years as a pirate slave t’ get killed by this guy. So while ‘e was standin’ there, monologuin’ ‘bout all th’ dragons he’d killed, I stabbed ‘im. Never understood why th’ heroes didn’ do that in them fairy tales; dragons is vulnerable when they’re monologuin’.

“Anyway, turns out ol’ [pirate name] was th’ captain o’ the enemy crew, an’ I’d just killed ‘im. This sparked a whole chain of events that I ain’t gonna bore y’ with. Long story short, I wound up with a small following o’ my own, an’ we staged a mutiny. After that, I was th’ captain fer a few years, an’ I ‘ave t’ admit it was a little fun. I did a few things I ain’t proud of, sure, but it’s what shaped me into th’ dragon I am t’day.

“I started t’ miss my old life after a while. Th’ sea was a nice diversion, but my true calling was back on land. I could feel it in my bones. My first mate was happy t’ take over fer me, so next port we inva- er, stopped in, I left t’ carve my own path. On my travels, I met [clan leader]. [He/She]’s a great dragon, [‘e/she] is. A great dragon with a fat coin purse.

“An’ that was when I joined this ‘ere clan. I work as a mercenary, an’ I’ll thank y’ t’ ignore those bleeding hearts that say [clan leader] took me in out o’ pity. There’s no reason t’ pity me. I mean, I ain’t dead, am I? ‘Sides, now I ‘ave a chance t’ look fer my family. Hey, wipe that pittyin’ look off yer face! They ain’t dead, got it? They’re still out there somewhere. I can feel it. All I needs t’ do is find ‘em. ‘Course, stayin’ here in the meantime couldn’t hurt.

“So there y’ have it. That’s my story,” the coatl says, sitting back on her haunches. “It’s a bit depressin’, aye, but it’s the only one I got. Now get out o’ here, y’ little nuisance. I got stuff t’ do.” With that she removes the translation device and ushers you out the door, leaving you to your thoughts.

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