Schatten

"I am what you fear when step into the jungle. I am the one that makes your heart race and the hair stand up on the back of your neck. I am that feeling of uneasiness creeping in. I am the reason you should run."

Green was never my color

In a land of vibrant greens and blossoming gardens, a shadow was born. By day, Schatten would hide herself among the lush foliage, burrowing into the cool mud of the abundant streams. Only when the night blanketed the Gladekeeper's land would she reveal herself. Climbing to the top of the trees she would soak in the shadows. The night was the only thing that made her feel alive.

Eventually she grew tired of the Viridian Labyrinth. Why stay in this world of light when there was a perfectly dark forest nearby? After all, she was more fit for the Shadowbinder's territory. She crossed the sea, and joined the dark woods that felt more like home than the Viridian Labyrinth ever had. There, she spent many moons in different clans, until one day after leaving her last clan, she stumbled upon another newer clan.

Glass shatters

Curious but wary, she chose to hide and watch, until an observant female Mirror found her. The Mirror, Aries, was the Matriarch of the Shatter Glass Clan, and, interested in Schatten's beauty and the prospect of making profit selling her hatchlings, she offered her a place to live if she joined her Clan. Schatten, though a bit mistrustful of Aries, accepted, and she quickly found herself paired with a Guardian, Ripto. Ripto was very nice with her, and he respected her. He was always here for her, especially after one of their first borns, Nerve, hatched with a birth defect. Oh, she spent hours crying on Ripto's shoulder, blaming herself for her son's ailment. She even prevented him from leaving the Clan, choosing insted to protect him, even after he became a strong adult Guardian. Eventually, she started to get better, but then things took a turn for the worst, with Pitch's arrival into the Clan. Schatten could feel Ripto growing distant, until Aries ordered Ripto to become Pitch's mate. This was like a slap to the face for Schatten. Why did this have to happen to her? Why was Aries so sadistic? She tried to move on, but she had become numb and empty, not even caring when the babies she had with her new mate were sold as fodder by Aries. When she learnt that Pitch and Ripto where expecting hatchlings, she snapped, and left without even telling her beloved son Nerve. No, she couldn't stay any longer in the clan that had brought her so much pain, even for her son.

Ocean of tears

She went back to the coast to gaze upon her birthplace, the Viridian Labyrinth, then joined the water and took refuge in deep underwater caves. There, she hid in the water for so long, in a sort of meditative state, not moving and not feeding, that her body itself changed. She eventually came out of her daze and slowly followed an underground river upstream, until she found a beautiful cave full of glowing flora. It was the Chiroptera Cult's main source of water, as well as Waterfall's home. When she saw that Waterfall lived here, she first tried to leave, not wanting to be hurt again by dragons, but the Spiral just looked at her, saw the muffled pain in her eyes, and started humming, his song amplified by the Echo Flowers. Schatten, mesmerized by his soothing song, did not dare to move, and ended up laying amongts the glowing plants. This place seemed nice. Maybe she didn't have to leave... She slowly closed her eyes and dozed off to sleep.

When she woke up, Waterfall was here, as well as Nightshade, the Chiroptera Cult's leader. Schatten almost started panicking at the sight of this small Fae whose presence somehow felt imposing, until she looked into her eyes. There was no malice in those dark, shrouded eyes, no envy, no judgement. Just understanding and curiosity. Nightshade was very different from Aries. She told Schatten that she could join the Clan, live wherever she wanted, mate with whoever she wanted, and there would be no questions if she didn't want to talk. The only rule of the Cult was to not hurt the other members. Schatten glanced at Waterfall (would the Spiral let her stay in his cave? She didn't feel ready to go out yet), who just smiled and offhandedly mentioned the numerous pools in his cave and how big and warm they were, big enough for a fully grown dragon to live in. Surprised at this kindness, Schatten smiled for the first time in months. Yes, this place was nice. Maybe she could heal her heart here. Maybe...

Time and love heal all wounds

And heal she did. It wasn't easy at first, letting people into her heart again. But with Waterfall's quiet and gentle support, and later Phycodura's (who stumbled into their cave from the same access Schatten did, along with her army of fish, and never left) optimism and energy, she began to feel like life was really worth living.

Somehow, she even became Waterfall's mate. It happened gradually, as the Spiral never left her side during the day, and always woke her up when she was having nightmares then sang her back to sleep every night, before going back to his own pool. Eventually he started sleeping in the same pool as she did, wrapping his long body comfortably around hers, and the nightmares disappeared. One day, she told him everything. Where she was born, what happened with Ripto, how devastated she felt after his betrayal, how guilty she felt for leaving Nerve... And Waterfall calmly let her tell her story at her own pace, soothing her with gentle touches and hugs whenever she cried, and swore never to leave her side, never to let her heart be broken again.

After that day, Schatten felt much better, like a weight had lifted of her shoulders. She was still an introvert though, never leaving her cave. And her trust was still hard to gain. But she wasn't so afraid of other dragons anymore. Until one day a Guardian came from the Southern Icefield and declared Schatten her Charge. Enigma looked so much like Ripto. But it wasn't possible, she came from the Icewarden's territory, and the Glass Shatter clan was from the Tangled Woods... But still, the resemblance was strong enough for Schatten to resist at first, not wanting to be mean to a stranger and new member of the Clan, but also not able to bear the thought of seeing a dragon who looked like her old mate every day. But Enigma never pressed her, only told her to take her time, and that even though it would hurt her, she could spend her whole life hiding from Schatten if that was what she wanted, for she only wanted her happiness. So after months of internal debates and discussions with Waterfall (who thought it would be good for her to face her fears and befriend Enigma, since she was only here to protect her, and he would always support her if she started panicking), Schatten (accompagnied by Waterfall) went to Enigma's cave, and agreed to become friends, providind Waterfall would stay with them, and Enigma would leave if Schatten started to become uncomfortable. Obviously Enigma was overjoyed and agreed immediately.