Obsidian

Obsidian left home at a fairly young age. While not unusual among dragons, it wasn't as prevalent in his family- his grandparents are the clan's founders, and his parents and several aunts and uncles remain close. Even some cousins and two siblings. He feared his leaving would upset his family- but he felt he needed to. He told only his siblings Sage and Mauveine, and even then, he didn't tell them he was going that night. He snuck out in secret.

Initially, he considered his leaving as exaltation. He would seek out the Arcanist and serve him. He'd always had a little bit of magical talent, and surely the Arcanist could teach him how to control his magic better. Or perhaps he could work for the god as an alchemist? That too could be exciting.

Obsidian quickly learned that clanless life was harder than he'd thought. He knew his grandparents had both lived clanless before and he'd never really considered what that must have been like, and he was filled with respect for them as he struggled to find food and shelter. Insects were everywhere, but they knew to stay away from a fae. Some insects he recognized apparently were guarded by queens that were sort of the same kind of thing, but bigger and... dangerous. He didn't want to eat any insects that he didn't recognize, just in case.

Obsidian typically settled down for the night in abandoned animal dens. One day, he awoke to the terrifying sight of a wood ear deer standing outside of the den. Wood ear deer only live in dryad groves. They guard them. It would almost certainly try to kill him. He stayed in the den for a long while, waiting for the deer to leave, but it did not. It must know he's there. Although... he hadn't seen it move at all. Perhaps it was still growing? But it hadn't been there the night before, so that couldn't be it. He crawled out slowly, but it didn't seem to care. He considered just flying away, but if the deer wasn't going to hurt him, it wasn't right to just leave it.

It took longer than it should have to figure out what was wrong. The deer wasn't finished being made. Most likely, a dryad tried to claim the area and then realized he was there and left. The deer's wooden bark 'bones' and softer plant 'veins' were in place, but the fungus that served as its 'nerves' wasn't present. The deer wasn't really alive yet. It wouldn't grow leaves or photosynthesize, and it could not uproot itself to move. Obsidian looked around for a short time, trying to find a base fungus to work with. It wasn't too hard- fungi grow all over. He grabbed some carefully and tried to alter it so it would function correctly with the deer's body. He had studied a little about magic, but he'd never paid attention to plants, so he wasn't sure if he could help the deer.

Surprisingly, the deer seemed to live after he put the fungus in a crevice in its shoulders. It didn't move much, but that was probably just because it needed energy. Obsidian didn't want to leave the deer alone, so he ended up staying in this clearing for another few weeks. Plants usually grow slowly, but wood ear deer need to develop quickly in order to serve as guards. He was initially worried that it would consider him a threat once it was grown, but it was smarter than he'd thought. It understood that he was its father, and even knew that it's mother had to have been a dryad that did not finish culturing it. Obsidian assured it that its mother was probably healthy, but had probably been too frightened by the dragon's proximity to continue working on its fungus. It decided to accompany its father for the time being. Obsidian named it Gildred.

During his search for a new home, Obsidian reconsidered his mission. Perhaps he did not desire to be among the exalted. Exaltation was... well, it was a weighty prospect. Was he worthy of the title? He hadn't really done anything that would be seen as such. None of his accomplishments were seen as particularly noteworthy. Would the Arcanist even accept him? He had no esteem. He was not exalted in anyone's eyes; why would his gods be any different? Surely their standards were even higher. He would never make the grade.

With this newfound lack of purpose, he wandered aimlessly. If it weren't for Gildred, he might've just withered away. He ended up outside of the Arcanist's domain quite on accident and didn't even really notice. The Wasteland was usually quite an intimidating place, but it hardly caught his attention until he was forced.

Ah, yes. His attention was stolen eventually. A Mirror pack, mostly youths from other lands that had migrated here to connect with their roots. About ten in total. They charged towards Gildred and Obsidian with murderous intent. Obsidian heard their war cries and realized quickly that he needed to prepare for a fight. He could take to the air- Mirrors were famously bad fliers- but Gildred wouldn't be able to follow. Obsidian couldn't abandon his child. So, a fight. Gildred's legs, neck, and 'antlers' were sturdy and it could probably take quite a few enemies on its own. Obsidian would need to rely on his magical ability. Mirrors typically didn't have a lot of magic, but of course there could be exceptions within the pack. Obsidian climbed onto Gildred's back and fired a bolt of arcane energy into the advancing pack. They whooped in response- excited for a battle. Could he really do this? Gildred seemed confident, at least.

The pack mobbed them. Obsidian took to the air and hovered above Gildred, supplying supporting fire while the deer kicked and pitched. The Mirrors realized quickly that the wood ear deer wasn't vulnerable to them- their claws had trouble slashing through its thick wooden hide, and they couldn't even draw 'blood'. They tried to keep it surrounded while they figured out how to attack, but Gildred was fierce and Obsidian's magic had them wary. To Obsidian's surprise, another Mirror ran up and tore into one of the pack's Mirrors, reigniting the battle. Gildred rushed to the dissenting Mirror's aid, and the three of them were able to repel the pack. They couldn't actually outfight the Mirror pack, of course, but the pack realized the fight was too risky. If they all were injured, they wouldn't be able to hunt any more, and none of them wanted that.

Obsidian tended to his baby once the pack was far enough off. Gildred wasn't too badly off, mostly superficial damage to its hide. Any cuts that weren't deep enough to wound the softer green flesh could be ignored entirely, though Obsidian fretted over them nonetheless.

The helpful Mirror was worse off, and Obsidian struggled to heal her. He hadn't had much experience with practical healing of dragons. He'd learned, of course. It was one of the first things an aspiring young magic user was taught. But he hadn't had much practice. He did okay, but the more severe bites and cuts would still need some time for natural healing.

The Mirror's name was Swag, and she insisted on traveling with him and Gildred. She knew an easy way through to the Tangled Wood. She apologized for the pack's behavior, explaining that she'd run with them. She had never thought them capable of attacking another dragon, though. Or a plant, for that matter. It was horrific to try to kill another of their kind, and there's just no reason to hunt a plant since Mirrors can't eat them. Obsidian found her explanations strange, but she herself seemed peaceful, so he accepted her apologies. Getting out of the Wasteland seemed to be her first priority, and since he shared that goal, why not travel together? At the very least, it'd be safer that way.

The Tangled Woods were great! There were fascinating plants and delicious insects everywhere. The soft glow of the local fungi made travel fairly simple despite the thick trees. The only downside was that there didn't appear to be any other dragons. Obsidian knew that there had to be clans here, but Shadow clans were famously tricky and cautious of strangers. Unfortunately, the fauna of the Wood were similarly equipped, and Swag struggled to find food. They would need to get out of here quickly and deliver her to a place with more beasts or she would starve. Obsidian initially tried to use alchemy to create food for her out of extra insects, but he simply wasn't skilled enough. The Viridian Labyrinth wasn't too far away.

Swag warned him that the Labyrinth was dangerous, but he wasn't prepared for the extent of the threat. Swag was covering their back and Gildred stomped at the lead, but even then they needed to watch out. Beasts were stalking everywhere and while many were afraid of dragons, there were several that hunted them as well. There was plenty of food, at least, but the jungle wasn't meant to be traveled in a small group. They needed numbers they didn't have. They needed a clan.

She wanted to start a family. With him. He liked her a lot, but he hadn't thought she was interested in him at all. She was so confident and savvy, and he was so... not those things. She had strength and suave, charisma and power, stealthy, sleek, smart. He ended up flustered, but she seemed to not notice. He knew she was better than being with him, but... she seemed to disagree? He might as well try to make this work. He did like her.

They ended up in a clan called Drakel. They'd wandered into the dragons' territory by accident, and luckily the Mirror chick in charge was willing to take them in. They didn't have many magically inclined dragons, so he had a good opportunity to really be important here. Although, he'd probably have to figure a lot of things out on his own. That could be tricky. The clan was surprisingly unconcerned with Gildred, accepting that it was his familiar without much difficulty. He ended up trying to make himself into an alchemist. Swag seemed to think he could do it. She was usually right about things, so maybe he really did have a chance.