Karma

Again

Karma was found in the Coliseum by her birth clan. No one knew where she came from, but they celebrated her. They didn't hatch her but instead left her in the egg, treasuring her existence for the luck and blessing. Karma wasn't awake then but may have preferred that life. The clan that found her was struggling with food, and it was causing a clear rift between the members. On one side, was the calm leader who believed they could endure it. On the other side, an arrogant pompous skydancer, named Arik, who said they should try to claim more land. He also believed certain dragons were better than others, hating breeds who seemed weaker than others. He had followers to the surprise of the calm, wise leader. The leader had managed to keep them in line by allowing them to expand their hunting location, but the skydancer wasn't fully satisfied. One night, he planned a rebellion. Arik would take control of the clan, and make it perfect. It wasn't fast, but slow and deadly. He'd whisper things about the old leader to members, things that slowly planted seeds of doubt. The skydancer's silver tongue made members loyal to the leader begin to doubt him. Even scarier than that was the leader had no clue about all of this. All he'd do was tend to Karma and speak his thoughts. He'd speak of how he was worried about the Arik, and his clan.

The skydancer had successfully planted seeds of doubt in every clan member about the old leader. To them, he now seemed week, frail, and cowardly. It was no surprise to any but the leader when the skydancer suddenly dethroned him. The leader was outcast from the clan, left to die in the wild lands outside of their territory. The Arik reformed the clan drastically. Weak dragons no longer were tolerated. Those who couldn't defend themselves in some way were left outside the clan with no way to return. It was a dark time, and some would do anything to remain. One was a tiny fae in the clan. The fae was a loyal arcane dragon, and they remembered Karama's egg. The fae offered a suggestion to Arik. The tiny dragon spoke of how dangerously strong the Arcanist was when he was born, and how the egg may have such power. The fae would nurture the egg, and help it absorb magic from inside in hopes of it being a strong beast. If the fae failed they'd be expelled from the clan. If it worked they'd never have to leave. The wager had begun, and the fae brought the egg close to the arcane territory. Karama's egg absorbed a lot of raw arcane magic, but she herself didn't gain any. This went on for a month straight, the fae determined to keep their place in the clan. Finally, Karama was hatched. The skydancer hoped for a strong guardian or a smart mirror. The fae hoped to see one of his own come from the egg. Both were disappointed, a shakey legged tundra came out.

She looked weak, even for a newborn. Her body wouldn't stop shaking, and her eyes wouldn't open. The skydancer scowled at the fae and then exiled him. After that, Arik looked at the tundra. All he wanted to do was dump her in a pit and walk away. But since the clan had worshiped this egg so much, someone would protest. Everyone left were strong dragons, and as much as the Arik hated to admit, he wasn't as strong as them. He chose to have a vote to see if they'd keep the tundra. The clan was split almost perfectly, some saying how weak the tundra was made them all look bad. Others were reminded of how rare she was, and how they should treasure her. In the end, she remained. Those who didn't like her made it clear. The tundra lived with the Arik's mate, a kind ridgeback named Kal. She was huge and dangerous compared to her mate, but her heart beat for this frail tundra. She became the tundra's adoptive mother and did anything for her. Sometimes Karma would catch colds, and she'd force herself to gather water to keep the tundra from overheating. She'd get blankets when Karma would shed all her fur. Nothing was too much, and it annoyed Arik. The thought of the weak, useless tundra being with his mate made him sick. He grew worried some would think he adopted the child, and always dismissed the notion. He'd not have to worry about that soon though, a war springing up from a rival clan. It was a rough, long war. Kal refused to fight, not wanting to leave her child and the clan unattended. It caused most of the best fighters to be drafted, the Arik included. He left the clan in his mate's care but came back to horror.

His mate's dead body laid over the tundra hatchling, seeming to be protecting her. The tundra kept nuzzling her adoptive mother, trying to wake her up. Karma's left leg was gnarled beyond repair, but he didn't care. He yanked her out by it and yelled at her to explain what happened. Karma explained how once he left, one dragon turned on the clan. That traitorous dragon planned to kill everyone and leave with Karma and all other valuables of the clan. At first, Kal tried to offer just the treasures to the dragon, asking for him to leave her child. The dragon sneered and tried to steal Karma first. Kal went into a blind rage, attacking the dragon. It was a long fight, but both bled out from their wounds. Kal curled up around Karma and whispering kind words as life left her eyes. Arik was furious and blamed the loss of Kal on the tundra. He made her life hell then. He sent her to do dangerous tasks, and no one protested. The clan turned a blind eye, knowing it was wrong. Karma felt fear for the first time, always running from the jaws or claws of some dangerous creature just for a few meager rewards. Arik never went easy on her and made sure no one liked her. Any dragon that got close to her would be scorned and thought of as a useless waste of space. Karma watched as those she cared for turn their back on her. Those who didn't would find themselves in dangerous situations and would be kicked from the clan for returning with incurable injuries. Karma herself has a bad leg and had to limp everywhere. She only remained to be Arik's punching bag.

Karma didn't care too much. Half of her was numb, the other half felt she deserved this. She put up with Arik's abuse, thinking he only did it out of upsetment. Sure, sometimes she'd cry herself to sleep, but if it was for him, her mother's mate, she'd smile and bear it. She grew up in these conditions, becoming even frailer. She didn't like eating much, and no one minded. Karama's morning tasks were to clean every member's cave, make food for everyone, and remake everyone's sleeping mat. After that, she was to go out and hunt for the best plants, bugs, and seafood. Since she was such a weakling, hunting was something Arik never would trust her with. When she'd finish she'd be scaled and forced to remake something. The beds wern't soft enough, the lair smelt of her, or some other complaint from Arik. Rarely he'd say nothing, and Karma could finish her nightly duties with a little time to enjoy herself. During these breaks, she'd try to clean her messy pelt and get medicine from the clan healer for her leg. Those were fun things, and sometimes the medicine would work so well it'd feel like she could maybe walk normally. It wasn't until a traveling dragon saw her that she started to feel depressed. The dragon went nuts, screaming at Arik about how poorly he was treating Karma. Arik kept calm, saying how Karma chose this life. Karma snorted to herself at that thought, not sure what a choice even was. Before the traveling dragon was forced to leave, he left Karma something.

Karma snuck out during one of her breaks and limped to the location the dragon mentioned. There sat a book, with a note. The note said to read the book. Karma opened it and slowly used her weak magic to translate it. Her world was shattered reading this book. In it were logs about the dragon's travels and how each clan was. Never once was there a dragon like her, slaving away. Every member had a place, and everyone was shown kindness. Karma wept, curling up around the book. What really crushed her was the log the dragon left about her clan. He called it horrific, barbaric, and savage. He wrote about how disgusted, irritated, and saddened he was to see Karma. The frail tundra had never heard of someone caring about her since her mother Kal died. It was then Karma finally stood up for herself. She returned late to her clan. Arik scalded her, yelling and shaming her. Instead of her bowing and apologizing, Karma remained standing. She told Arik she wanted to leave the clan. Arik nearly stopped breathing from laughing so hard. He told her she'd never leave. She was his, and he would never let her go. He grabbed the book, telling her to get her head out of the clouds. Karama fought for it. She held on rightly, desperation in her eyes. Arik clearly won, but Karma tore out a page. She was sent to her room, guarded by the clan's strongest guards. Karma cried for a whole night, despair having a firm hold on her heart.

That's when the page she held in her dirty paws let off a faint glow. The words on it changed, forming something else. On it was a letter from a new dragon who called herself Change. Change wrote how she could help Karma, all she had to do was escape and meet her in the arcane land near Karama's clan. Karma shook at the idea of trying to leave and suddenly began to move the rocks blocking her in. Before the guards caught wind, she had squeezed her way out. She cut up her bad leg, but she didn't care. She ran like the wind, tears streaming from her face. She was going to be free. She was then face to face with an odd smelling pearl catcher. The dragon bowed, introducing herself as Change. She held a pearl that had a faint purple glow to it. Karma felt bothered by the smell but didn't care. Karma asked why Change asked to see her. Change chuckled, her voice like soft rain. She told Karma how she could free her from her shackles, and let her have a new life. In exchange, Karama would have to give something to Change. Karma blinked. This deal seemed very good, but she couldn't help but ask what she wanted. Change grinned, her voice now filled with malice. She asked for Arik's head. Karma froze in place. An emotion she'd never felt before filled Karma, and a dark smile spread across her face.

Karma agreed, and Change offered her paw to shake Karma's. As soon as Karma took her paw, her body started to burn. Her normal dull pink eyes turned bright pink, and the hue took over. Her body started to burn, arcane magic flowing into her body. The land they stood on seemed to give into Karma, raw arcane magic continuing to flood her body. Slowly she began to be covered in pink flames, Karama screaming in pain. Change watched calmly, Karma glaring at the pearl catcher. Karama swore at Change for lying to her and tried to attack her with sudden raw fury. Her body instead fell, the fire burning more and more at her. It began to devour her until she felt like she was dying. Karma fell over, fully charred from the intense magic that flew into her frail body. Change didn't seem bothered though. She poked at the tundra after a while, boredom on her face. As the sun rose, Karama finally stirred. She got up slowly. Her body was now huge, the size of a medium sized guardian. She had large red horns and claws, and her eyes seemed still full of raw arcane magic.

Karma turned to Change, and let a dark smile leave her face. Change grinned sweetly and reminded Karama of her promise. Karma shook the remains of her old burned fur from her pelt and smirked. The large dragon made her way to Arik's clan slowly, bloodlust was bright in her eyes. Most scattered when they saw her, some held their ground. Karama killed most with ease, her red claws thicker than any metal their armor was made of. Soon all that remained was Arik. Karma looked at his now tiny form. He was shaking, fear in his eyes. He begged for his life, and Karma reviled in it. She then told him she was Karma. Arik stared at her in shock, and Karama took his head. She returned to Change bloodsoaked. Change grinned, took the head, and vanished.