Iridescent

Gone are her days of frozen wonder. She was once a powerful, yet solitary, dragon who kept to her small kingdom in the north. But a siege was taken on her lands and now she is forced to flee.
by AnoraBorealis

It seemed like a fairy tale to those who heard it, and often it was passed around as such - a simple cautionary tale to tuck hatchlings away into their nests with at night. The story even started like one: once upon a time, there was a princess, and that princess had a heart of ice.

Now, she liked to clarify that her heart was not made of ice. It beat with blood and magic, the same as any other derg’s. The only affliction that plagued her young self was arrogance.

Her younger days were marked by their distance from the Icewarden’s glacial gaze. He was a stickler for discipline and self-preservation, but with her clan’s placement on the Floes, it was far too easy to grow cocky. Their clan grew fat with spoils that their army had begun to secure from nearby beasts. Work fell to these great warriors, and the clan contented itself with the bemusements secured from their efforts - games, and food, and drink. It was during the crux of these pleasures that Iridescent took over, now taking to calling their den’s operations a “kingdom”. They were no more one than a beast is a dragon, but the title amused the den members - they were rich and happy, and heralded by a beautiful leader whose only job was to overlook the parties and look indiscernible from their growing collection of jewelries. Why shouldn’t they be called a kingdom? Why shouldn’t Iridescent, then, be a princess? She took to the title quite quickly. Princess Iridescent, ruler of the Floes most gorgeous peoples!

The army grew restless. Why, they complained, were they always sent away during the height of the parties to secure more food and gems? Were they no better than simple servants? Iridescent soothed them with her words when they approached her with their worries. Soon, she promised, we will hold a party in your honor. You, who make this land as plentiful as it is.

Such parties in their honor became a regular occurrence, happening once a moon. Iridescent was pleased with her work and retired to her original position as a living ornament. Things seemed at peace.

Dragons get to talking when they are put in life and death situations, you can imagine. The army’s missions were not simple - beastclans did not simply roll over and give up their wealth at the sight of dragons. Wars were waged, and were almost always won by the army. But losses still settled heavily on their backs. The army, in a sense, became its own clan. Their personal connection to Iridescent’s people waned. Parties no longer held the same appeal for them as they once did.

And thus, the revolt.

It is undetermined if it was pre-planned, or if something just happened to snap at that fateful final party. Whoever threw the first claw, army or denizen, sparked something that could not be quenched. Soon, the army had rallied all of Iridescent’s peoples into a scared but non-quarrelsome rhythm of life - setting them to work for their keep, none had the means to fight back. Leaving Iridescent. Would she concede to their rule? Her people waited breathlessly for her decision, some holding onto the small hope that she would once again secure their standard of living. Isn’t that the job of royalty?

No. She turned tail and left, fleeing for the safety of another clan.

Now, in her older years, her thoughts and dreams are plagued with regret. The doom that befell her kingdom was wholly her fault, and she cannot bear to return. She does not hold anger towards the army, nor feels resentment at her displacement - only at her previous temperament, now that age has mellowed her mind. The Earth realm is peaceful, but nothing compared to the home she once knew. One that exists now only in her mind.

Lore by Hyzenthlaay