Rybera

Rybera is the once clan leader, now retired as her eldest son takes on the mantle of leadership, while she spends her days tending to the ancient lighthouse, her home and charge and a vital part of the island. She is old now, wizened with age, and carefully tends to the relics of the previous generations of the clan that are protected within the lighthouse's walls. Of course, these days she doesn't live alone. She spends her life now with her long lost mate, Torq, making up for lost time and living out the lives they had wished to live when they were younger. Her devotion to him is near that to the lighthouse, and though her charge will always take priority, her little family is an extremely close second. She is proud of the children she has had with her mate, and could not wish for a more perfect life on the island that her family, since the most ancient members first came to it, have lived. Her grandmother had planted white lilies around the base of the lighthouse, and Rybera dutifully tends to them, maintaining this small piece of her clan and family's history, hoping that the lilies continue to survive and prosper, just like her clan and family, for ages to come. The lilies have since mutated to have blue leaves, a unique mutation that, while the origins of it are unknown, are completely isolated to the island.


Rybera was once young, veritable and brave. That isn't to say she isn't now, save for the young part, but she was more so when she was younger, wanting to be strong and fierce and a force to be reckoned with, to be powerful and to assert herself as the leader in his small clan. She battled and defeated many foes, and lead the clan when she earned the title of leadership fiercely, but softened over the years, as her dominance was clear to any who saw her, and she never needed to assert her title when her reputation had surpassed her within the small clan. This also came with it's drawbacks however, as many of the dragons in the clan tried to earn her love and affection, but no matter what offerings they brought her, and no matter what things they did, she never returned the same feelings. She ruled alone, and needed no partner or mate, and the only thing that mattered to her was the lighthouse, her home and charge, and the well-being of her clan. This was how things were for a long long time, until one fateful night, which changed her life in the largest way possible.

At this point in time, the storms were veritably strong, and the waves were tall and menacing, and even on these days, the lighthouse was not enough to aid ships caught in a losing battle with the turbulent ocean, and on one such particularly stormy night, a huge ship tried to navigate towards the island as it was the only hope for the safety of the passengers. The waters were too shallow for the ship however, and the massive hull became lodged in the coral reefs, an an immense wave, bigger than any of the others, crashed against the ship, breaking the straining vessel into pieces as the now dislodged ship ran directly into the island's cliffs. The members of the island's clan who had been patrolling that night dove into the waves, being powerful swimmers, tried to rescue the drowning crew. Among these rescuers was Rybera, who had flown down from her perch in the lighthouse to aid in recovering any survivors.

That night, A single fae who was hanging on to the mast for his life, as the storm was too strong to fly in with his tiny body, and he was drenched and soaked from the battering he had received from the vicious waves. The rescuers almost missed him, until he passed out, strength finally diminished, and fell right in front of them. Rybera, was the one who grabbed him, and clutching his small body against her chest, she leapt out of the ocean, and with a mighty sweep of her wings, launched herself into the turbulent sky to get the near-drowned fae to safety. She brought him to the inn, waking the clan's healers in case more survivors were recovered, and instructed them to do their best to save him, before swiftly leaving to return to help the patrol that was searching the waves. Unfortunately, the fae was the only survivor of the disaster that night.

The clan held a small funeral for the crew and passengers of the ship, and searched the wreckage for any documentation they could to determine the lives that had been lost, as well as to send news of the wreck to the families of those dragons. Luckily, the documentation on the ship had magic cast on it that made it waterproof, and the information was passed onto another ship that came by the next day to pass on when they next docked on the main continent. Rybera learned that, based on the documentation on the ship, the fae was a cartographer who had been traveling on the ship on this trade route to reach this island, and to update the maps that hadn't yet added it as a location. It was a bittersweet thing to Rybera, that the fae had ended up where he wanted to go despite the storm, but no one else on that ship had. She was curious of the fae however, and checked the inn often to see if it's newest visitor had awoken yet so she could break the news to him, as a clan leader should. After two days of sleep, and the slow process of healing, the fae awoke, and Rybera, who had been conveniently checking on him that time, greeted him.

At first he was confused, and wondered where he was, while trying to get out of the bed he was in. Rybera told him to not move and that he was in a delicate state after the wreck from two days ago. While he asked her questions, but stayed in bed as he was told, Rybera asked the innkeeper to bring him something to eat. She told him the circumstances of his arrival, and as she expected, the fae was in a state of shock. She stayed with him, comforting him as they talked for hours, and the fae gratefully thanked her for saving his life, introducing himself as Torq. She finally told him that he would need to stay in bed for some more days, a week at least, to recover properly, but told him that the island's bounty was available to him, and if he needed anything, to just let her know. Torq requested his cartography tools, and whatever maps had been recovered, so that his work could keep him occupied, which Rybera was able to provide because they were also enchanted to be waterproof, and she left him for the night, bidding the intriguing fae a good evening.

The next day she visited him, and they ate breakfast together while they chatted. They were both quite curious of eachother, and Rybera was interested in the maps that he drew. His craftsmanship was immaculate, with maps drawn with rich inks and on expensive paper, the finished works themselves coated in magic for the purpose of longevity and durability, so that they'd never fade and would be extremely difficult to destroy. Torq even demonstrated how he worked on them to her, and to impress her further, drew a portrait of her. He was as talented as a cartographer as he was an artist, evident in how he captured her visage despite the quickness of the drawing, and gifted her the piece as a small gift of his appreciation. Rybera took it, a toothy smile on her face, and a bit of redness to her scaly cheeks, if dragons even have those, and when she returned to her lighthouse, her sanctuary and home, she placed the drawing by her nest, and gazed at it that night as she drifted off to sleep.

This cycle continued for days, with the two getting to know eachother more and more. As he got better, Rybera showed Torq her island, showing him the most amazing views of the cliffs, the greenhouses and gardens that the clan shared, the bustling market with its many wares, and the busy port, where new ships had arrived and more visitors came to the island. They found that they had a lot in common when it came to tastes in music and literature and interests, and Torq even taught her how to draw better, something she liked to do, but wasn't particularly great at. Torq even began visiting her at the lighthouse, and as they talked for hours on end, they'd sit at the very top, with the amazing view, and he'd work on his maps while she watched him and simultaneously the ocean for any hints of more ships of a brewing storm. They ended up becoming good friends, and then, as these things tend to go, Rybera found herself utterly smitten with the fae that had found his way to her island.

She didn't know what to do with these feelings, or what they even meant. This wasn't like with her previous suitors, whom she had felt nothing for, but she wanted to protect the friendly and interesting fae, and to have it so that they'd have these conversations every night, wanting to spend all her days with him. She knew that he'd eventually have to move on. He loved the sea, and liked the adventure that came with his map making, charting unknown lands and making maps of all the paths that could be taken through even the most merciless environments. He had been all over Sornieth, and his thirst for adventure would eventually make him lose interest in the small island that was her home. Rybera feared that she'd lose him, or that he'd find a mate that wasn't her on one of these adventures, and feared the heartbreak that would come with that, so she hid her feelings, trying to stomp them down inside her. However, no matter what she did, she was utterly unsuccessful, so she counted down the days until he might leave, enjoying what little time she thought she had with him to its fullest.

Time flew by quickly, as the two grew closer, five months had passed. Torq had spent all this time dutifully working on his maps, and instead of leaving with trade ships that came, he instead bought materials from them to continue working, and communicated by letters and messengers to get whatever he needed, as well as communicate with customers. He sold his maps to the visitors of the island, or passed them on to the crew of the trade ships to deliver to their intended destinations. He found the island to be a perfect workplace, as it's size was small enough to go where ever he wanted easily, and safe enough that he could work anywhere, as he told Rybera. Eventually however, he packed up his maps, and got ready to depart from the island. He needed to return to the main continent of Sornieth, to make more maps, but he promised Rybera he would return. It was a heartfelt goodbye, as the two wished eachother the best, and to seal Torq's promise with veritable truth, he carefully unraveled a scroll which had been wrapped in a blue ribbon with a simple bow and presented it to the guardian.

She was shocked speechless; this map was by far the most beautiful map he had ever drawn, and dripped with perfected craftsmanship, with the richest, most high-quality inks, on the most durable and finest parchment, with gold coloured words in the neatest hand writing she had every seen to label all the places. It wasn't small either, as the map was twice the size of Torq so that it wasn't the size of a napkin when compared to Rybera. A tear of pure disbelief and staggering gratitude rolled down Rybera's face when she recognized that the map was of her island, and every immaculate detail was perfectly placed and designed. Even the compass, which had been drawn in the bottom right corner, shimmered, and she realized that the map itself was enchanted strongly. Torq explained that he had visited the mage on the island numerous times, and meticulously planned with them the spell that would preserve the gift the longest, and would protect it from both the crawl of time, and any possible damage that could come to it, boldly lighting an edge on fire using a nearby lantern, and after giving Rybera a small heart attack, displayed that it was entirely unharmed, even sparkled as the embers from the fire were repelled away from the map.

As the sun set, Torq left on the ship, waving goodbye to the guardian who had been so kind to him, and Rybera, stiffing more tears that threatened to spill down her face in salty waterfalls, waved back, clutching the map, the most precious of her possessions now, tightly to her chest, already missing the wonderful fae who had made it. As night defeated the day, and stars lit up the sky, Rybera walked home. She thought long and hard about her time with the fae, and as she came to her lighthouse, she suddenly realized how much she regretted not telling him how she felt, and then regretted even more that she had not been able to rid herself of the mushy feelings that fluttered in her stomach like butterflies. Longingly, she looked at the map, then carefully placed it on her desk. She wanted to display this magnificent piece, and after thinking long and hard, her gaze landed on a picture in a golden frame. In the frame was a map of the island, drawn by an ancestor of hers, and one of the ancient keepers of the lighthouse before she had even been hatched.

The outdatedness of the map showed clearly, as the once thick lines and neatly written names were faded, having lost their colour to time. It was about time she updated the map, so she carefully pulled the frame off the wall, and opened it up, then placed Torq's map in front of the older one. Surprisingly, it was a perfect fit, as if the golden frame was meant for the work of art. Rybera closed up the frame, then carefully replaced it onto the wall, gazing lovingly at the beauty that now graced her wall. An itch of loneliness was felt, knowing this was one of the few things she had to remind her of the fae she so dearly cared for, and she fell asleep gazing at the shimmering linework, lazily tracing all the ways that they had traversed her home with her eyes, recounting their small adventures and the little hidden spots she had shown to him only. She missed him already, and hoped, wished even, with every fiber of her being, that she'd see him soon.

Her wish was granted rather lately, and not in the way that she hoped it would be. At this point, several years had passed, with Rybera growing and becoming more powerful, and learning many lessons in leadership. Though she dearly missed the fae, he had been on many adventures, making more and more maps. She found solace in the many letter they sent to eachother, and looked forward to each and every single one, as well as keeping them all in a small box. To see the overly fancy lettering of Torq filled her with happiness, as he recounted his adventures and updated her on his whereabouts. He'd taken to doodling what sorts of things he'd seen, and sent delicate proto-versions of his maps to her, and she felt a sense of pride in knowing she was the only one besides him who had these. She also carefully kept them safe in boxes, along with the letters. She wasn't the most organized dragon per say, but those letters and maps and drawings were carefully organized from most recent to least, in waterproof and tightly sealed boxes at the top of her highest shelf, to keep them as safe as possible and out of everyone's, save her own, reach.

Then, she received a letter that excited her more than any of his letters before. In the letter, he told her that he'd finally completed the biggest job he had ever taken, the job to map basically all of Sornieth, and now that it was done, he'd had enough adventure for his life and would be returned to her, to stay at the island for good. Her exhilaration was noticed by everyone, and the clan was in high spirits, seeing their leader so happy. Not only this, but the clan was preparing for the upcoming Starfall Celebration, so everyone was in a great mood. Rybera counted down the days, hours, minutes, seconds, wanting so desperately to see her love, and was giddy at the thought of seeing his face. She felt like a young dragon, so excited for the chance to see her crush, and laughed to herself at these feelings that had taken far too long to be experienced. Then, the day came, the third day of Starfall, the celebration in full swing as sunset painted the sky pink, as the ship that carried her fae docked in the marina. She rushed to greet the captain, crew and passengers, but most importantly, the one she had wanted to see most, and noticed how oddly it was that the dragons on the ship weren't so much in a jovial mood as she expected to see.

The captain came down from the ship, and as pleasantries were exchanged, the captain told her to come onto the ship. Rybera questioned what it was that she needed to see, and asked where Torq was. At the mention of the name, the captains gaze dropped from her eyes to the wooden boards that made up the ship's hull. A sullen response of "You need to come see him" was all he gave her as he made his way back up the plank onto the ship. She followed him, and as he lead her to the storage area of the ship, he stopped in front of something covered in a white sheet. She gave the captain a curious look, and he, with a sad expression on her face, continuing to avoid her gaze, pulled the sheet off. At first, she was confused, as a statue of a face, made of pure gold faced her. She noticed how it's eyes were two big, beautiful sapphires, cut to perfection. "What is this? Where is Torq?" Rybera asked, and the captain, almost wincing at her response, and quietly said in something slightly louder than a whisper "That is him".

At first she was silent, she turned away from the captain to look at the statue once more, looking at it closer. Realization hit her like the crash of an ice cold tsunami, as the features became familiar to her. The gems that made up his eyes were indeed the same shade of blue that Torq had as she remembered. Shock gripped her in its tight hold, as she looked at his expression, and the pose he was in. He was looking at his arms, as something akin to dawning realization took hold on his face, an expression made permanent by shiny metal. In a near whisper of her own, Rybera asked a simple "How", and the captain picked up on the dangerously emotionless tone in her voice, quickly responding "An accident happened, before we started the voyage to your island, when we were preparing to depart the Starfall Isles. The preparation of the celebration had many young arcane dragons practicing their magic, and he was hit with a spell. We thought he had recovered, and that there had been no effects, but the slow transformation of scales to metal only revealed itself when we started the voyage by ship. By that point, we were too far from the mainland to get help, and had no doctors who could treat the effects quickly enough. He told us, in his last moments before he was overtaken, to get him to the island. to you."

Rybera was silent and still. She did not draw a breath, and only a thick tear dripping down her face was seen. Then, suddenly, her claws dug into the wood, making holes in the floor from the strength of her her strike, and a sharp intake of breath filled her lungs with air as she bellowed a fierce and loud roar that shook the ship itself. No one had ever heard the stoic leader of the small water clan ever yell, and had barely heard her raise her voice, so to hear her let out a noise akin to a shriek of pain, heartbreak, loss and fury unlike any other made the once bustling dock silent. The captain shrunk away from her, fearing that the guardian, enraged by the loss of her love, would strike him. He did not want to end up like the shattered floor boards, and quickly ran out of the storage area. Fury coursed through her veins, and Rybera picked up a crate, splinters flying across the room, all that was left of the container. Her roar was long, and loud, almost shattering sound-barriers. Then, as the fierce call faded, her sobs replaced them, quieter as she gently held the statue of her fae close to her, begging the lifeless metal to turn back to her love. She sobs and wishes were not answered, and she cursed thickly at whomever was responsible for this sorrowful fate that befell Torq.

The celebration continued in the clan, but the evident lack of the clan leader was noticed by all. The clan leader did not greet the ships that came to the dock, the clan leader did not check in on the market activity, the clan leader did not come out of her lighthouse for months, long after the celebration had concluded. No one could get her to come out of the lighthouse, and very few could even get a word out of her. Merrol, the second in command, had managed to get into the lighthouse one day, and did not come out until the next day. Merrol said nothing of what had happened in the lighthouse, but the guardian had emerged from her sanctuary some time after to return to her duties of leadership. She spent the first days of her emergence in the ocean, buying silks and flowers and fanciful things, barely speaking, and then disappearing with the items. She dove into the ocean, and into a small, very hidden cave concealed underwater, someplace quiet and safe against the cliffs of the island. She meticulously placed all the things there, flowers arranged around the walls, silks and pillows in the center of the cave, and numerous lanterns of all colours, both of stained glass and decorated paper, that illuminated the cave in vibrant light.

After this, she brought down the boxes of letter and maps, carefully placing them in the corner of the room, making sure the seals were still closed. All of the things that he had given her were here, every single memory and reminder. All, except the map he made her. She couldn't bear to bring it down here, and it was the only remnant of her love that she kept where she could see it. Finally, after three days of meticulous detail and care, she brought the statue of her love down into the cave, placing him in it, carefully placing silks on him, and lying him down in what she hoped was a comfortable way onto the pillows, she whispered loving words to her silent love. She spent a final hour or so here, just... looking. Remembering old memories, sitting as still as the fae before her. Then, she got up, leaving the cave, and returning to the surface above the ocean. She fell asleep gazing at the map, some more tears spilled down her face, but when she woke up the next day, she was ready to get back to leading the clan, it was her duty as the leader to take care of her family afterall.