Elawokazha

The egg that would be Elawokazha (ɛlɑwʊəχɑʒɑ:) had barely been laid in her nest when a band of fledgling plaguebearers snuck into the viridian labyrinth, looking to cause trouble for fame and glory back home. They came upon her nest first and decided because there was a little more brush around it, she would be easier to steal.

Kara had stayed behind this time to watch the lair as the others scavenged and hunted, and she was a bit inattentive having never faced danger at home. The egg-stealers were away before she even smelled them or saw her nest empty. She went tearing after them in a rage and thrashed through the forest for hours; her emotions clouded her tracking judgment and she mussed the trail horribly. Eventually the others returned and, seeing the egg and Kara gone, dove into the forest after her. Neighboring clan leaders were called in, Seeker put his fantastic nose to use, and everyone tried to pick up the trail. It soon became clear the egg may be lost forever.

Meanwhile, with the egg, the plaguebearers had gotten themselves lost and were getting hungry. Both eyed the egg, thinking to infect it and use the spicy puss to tide them over until they escaped. After all, they weren't looking to keep a nature hatchling. But, given their neglectful upbringing, neither were very inclined to share and they launched into clawing and hissing. The egg was knocked away by a careless tail swipe and tumbled down an embankment - straight into the arms for a foraging Dunhoof.

She had hidden from the plaguebearers when she smelled them coming, a bit young and weak to fight even adolescents, but when she saw the sprouting egg rolling away she gladly snatched it up and ran for her herd. The rancid dragons didn't notice her escape in time, and so she saved the Ela-in-the-shell. The Dunhoof herd was fairly far away from Ela's clan and so the news did not travel quickly. They cared for the egg and set up a hutch to easily incubate it, but the young female who had saved her worried over keeping a dragon egg from its parents. So she traveled to market and sold her most prized jewelry to obtain a strong magic talisman: a boon of fertility.

Ela hatched bright eyed and curious the next day, pleasantly asking questions and desiring to learn everything. The news of her home clan reached them and the elders set out with Ela and her savior to return the hatchling. Kara and Seeker were overjoyed to have their first born not only returned to them but chattering happily about her "adventure". The young Dunhoof was also offered to their clan as an ambassador. She had shown great wisdom, strength, and selflessness regarding Ela and so they trusted her represent their interests with this clan. She was happily accepted as well and became Ela's companion.

~*~

The young Imperial's love of adventure didn't wane as she grew. She was always running off, exploring, learning, looking for new things. Sinka blamed Seeker's wind-affinity for her granddaughter's wanderlust but the forest still had its effect on Ela. Most of her interest was in discovering and studying new species of animals and plants. A small garden sprung up just outside the den entrance as she brought home everything, planted it, and noted how it grew. Soon the garden began encroaching inside the den as she discover shade and darkness loving species. It was also not uncommon to find random animals suddenly living in the lair: new "friends" of Ela. For a long time Ela went about with a torch firmly clamped in her jaws, only setting it down to eat or drink, so she was always prepared to dive off into the dark undergrowth or go spelunking. Eventually, Kara and Seeker brought home protective gloves and lamps in the hopes of at least making her excursions safer if they couldn't stop her.

When the Brightshine Jubilee came around, Ela's world turned upside down. She had been so focused on the things around her she had missed the fact that there were other places with different ecosystems and different ideas. To travel the world and study where other flights lived became her dream, and she quickly fixated on the Sunbeam Ruins as her first real adventure. She read as much as she could about them, scraped and scavenged enough to acquire the fancy sunchaser jewelry (which also doubled as extra light in dark places, a fact she loved), and borrowed a map long enough to memorize the shape of the world and the general placement of the regions.

Then without much warning, seeing as she was grown and unmated and generally beholden to no one in her enthusiasm, she set off to complete her dream.


~*~

• Ela's dream about Asakiiran

To be continued across the years~