Fireglow
(#42761066)
Level 1 Skydancer
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Energy: 50/50
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Personal Style
Apparel
Skin
Scene
Measurements
Length
3.68 m
Wingspan
4.36 m
Weight
501.04 kg
Genetics
Phthalo
Metallic
Metallic
Phthalo
Butterfly
Butterfly
Sunshine
Glimmer
Glimmer
Hatchday
Breed
Eye Type
Level 1 Skydancer
EXP: 0 / 245
STR
4
AGI
5
DEF
4
QCK
9
INT
9
VIT
4
MND
9
Lineage
Parents
Offspring
Biography
Fireglow
Poet
Poet
I love all my brothers, but Saberdepths and I could have been twins. I'm not even sure I can describe what I feel for him as 'love.' It's more like half of my heart is beating in his chest. All our lives, we were together--him training, because he took so easily to the fight, and me at the harp, because oratory and the declamation of the sagas of Sornieth are my devotions. I was content. I, who loved words, needed none. We were about our lives, and that was well.
All that lasted until it came time for us to find our way in the world, which is when we discovered how hard it is for any dragon to find a new home, much less one willing to take siblings. You might think that a depressing influence, but it didn't perturb me. No matter how far we're parted, still, our heart beats. Any separation is ephemeral, and I know it will end soon.
And that conviction lasted until the imperial led him away.
I didn't know her. I didn't hear what she said to him. But the shiver that swept my flanks felt like storms, and I was standing under a perfect, cloudless sky. Nothing yet had parted us, not distance, not time, not circumstance. But that dragoness... she was a scythe, and I saw death in her.
There was no following him, of course. For days after his departure, I wandered the dragon markets, listening, looking. Not suffering, but not at ease either. To be at loose ends this way... I wasn't used to it. But I had faith in the gods, and moreover, in our bond, and that was why I heard the rumor of the Lair by the Sea, a clan allied with the one that had taken Saberdepths away. A large clan, and a strong one, not currently looking for members... so I did the only thing I could, and threw myself on the mercy of the skydancer I found at their clan blanket, a dragoness as dark as a falcon and as gentle as spring's first breath.
"Oh!" she said, smiling. "So your brother went to Cloudkeeper's clan!" A laugh. "Then you must come stay with us. We have a habit of sharing siblings."
"I will do everything in my power to ensure you have neither regret nor complaint," I said.
***
I am in luck: my new clan is not just allied with my brother's, but very closely tied to them by bloodline and mutual history. We even have a dedicated courier whose sole task is to fly packages to and from all the friends and relations exchanging letters and gifts. It's not a short flight anymore; my new clan moves every year while my brother's remains in Light, which means right now we must overfly the entirety of the Shifting Expanse to reach them. I have watched the clan mage, Thelo, applying a 'swift flight' enchantment to the courier's wings, which allows her to make the trip each week. He's a powerful mage, and the spell makes her vanes seem to vibrate like the strings of a harp, or a dragonfly in motion. When at last she leaps into the air, one barely has time to blink before she's gone.
Even without that enchantment, she's a deft flier, Celerity. I like her.
More to the point, I can now write my brother letters. So I present myself to the cavern guards, am given paper and ink, and I apply myself to that task.
Beloved Saberdepths:
I hope this missive finds you well. You find me among a clan of my own now, one your clan might know of: the Lair by the Sea, led by the Wind-marked skydancer Reina. They are good dragons, eclectic but industrious. I have pledged myself to their historians, and spend my working hours as an amanuensis. They like my poetry here, as well; I am popular by the bonfires at night. Or I was before my clan packed up and moved from Ice to Fire. Now we spend our evenings by the shore, where the sea breezes can cool us.
Fire is not a forgiving realm. I'm told we move every year, and next year, we will be heading for the Shifting Expanse. I believe that means we'll be closer... we might even visit. That would be pleasing.
How are you, my dear? Tell me all.
--Fireglow
***
"A letter from your brother? I didn't know you had one."
That is Marquise. We began our association when I discovered he'd been born of Cloudkeeper's clan, for I wanted to hear stories of my brother's new family. We continued speaking because Marquise tends the clan's alliances with the beastclans, and this work fascinates me. It is through him that I came to meet the maren, whose poetic forms are compelling, and now I have a regular meeting with them. A cultural exchange, Marquise calls it, and tells me if I'm not careful he'll draft me as his assistant.
Marquise... I could call him a friend. Perhaps. "Yes," I say. "We are very close, Saberdepths and I."
Marquise glances at me, crest held carefully erect. He is good with these non-expressions: much practice as a diplomat, no doubt. But I am a poet, and I see the effort it costs him in the stiffness of his face. "You love him."
"With everything in me."
I trust the silence between us, and we walk along Fire's burnt rim with the warm sea sloshing over our feet. Presently, Marquise says, "I had a brother. I still don't know who I am now that he's gone. But I'm not sure I loved him." He mantles his wings, uncomfortable. "Do you think that makes me a bad drake?"
"I had two other brothers," I say dryly. "But Saberdepths is the only one I miss."
Marquise laughs. "I guess some things are universal."
"If they weren't," I say, "I would have a much smaller audience." I wait for his smile, am rewarded with it. Continue. "Saberdepths tells me he is a father now, and that his mate is Dawnsea. Do you know her?"
"Do I! That's a fine pairing."
"Tell me," I say, and Marquise is only too glad to oblige. His stories of Dawnsea do not contradict my brother's. I have to believe she is as good for him as he seems to feel, and yet there is something in his writing that makes my mane itch at the base. He worries, maybe. He always has, but still.
And he did not mention the imperial.
Later, when I am alone, I answer.
My dearest Saberdepths:
It gives me great joy to hear that you have been accepted into the Library Reclaimed with such ease. I am not surprised, for it is obvious that you would be a fine addition to any clan, but I know it concerned you, that you might fail of a place. Does it please you as much as you anticipated, to have found yourself a position in the hierarchy at last? I'm told that Dawnsea is one of the clan's elders; pairing with her must have been a great honor. Or is it like it is here, that mating is not considered of great import, no matter who one is with? Most dragons here mate with friends or acquaintances; few are the permanent bonds, though those who do so choose are supported. It is not like the stories we've heard where such pairings are either forced, or sundered if they do not suit the clan's need, or plan.
I myself have not found anyone I would yoke myself to thus, though like you I am also a father. I was asked, because the dragoness liked my looks and needed a partner, and I obliged. It is a strange thing, breeding. I do not feel the connection to it that you do. Perhaps it is a matter of finding the right mate, as apparently Dawnsea is for you. Do you think?
Fire is full of gemstones. One can hardly walk the cliffs here within finding agates and bloodstones and infused crystals. Yet the ones that remind me most of you come from the sea, brought to me by the maren who are teaching me their songs. I have enclosed several of these pearls... perhaps you can use them as decoration, and think of me, as I do of you.
With all my regard,
Fireglow
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