Essence

It was a cold, dim morning when Doc Scratch was woken by the news that there were visitors for her at the lair's entrance. She was often sought-out by doctorless clans for treatment, so she wasn't too surprised by this. Until she saw the visitors. A mated pair, gasping and exausted, had flown all the way from the Southern Icefields to seek her help. In the male's grasp was a single ice Egg, which he tried to force into Scratch's grasp, begging her to heal it. She hurriedly placed it into one of the Clan's own nests for warmth, tending to it as the pair explained the problem. A snowstorm had struck without warning. Their clan, having had no time to prepare, gathered what they could. Dragons were assigned to collect different items; what food they could carry, the trinkets and materials of highest value. The problems arose when the dragons collecting the eggs from the Nesting Grounds were not the parents. A simple miscount, an innocent mistake, and the egg Scratch was now tending had been left behind. In all the chaos, nobody even noticed until they returned home hours later, once it was safe. The tiny egg had been buried in snow for so long, even the Ice dragon within couldn't withstand the temperatures. The parents refused to lose hope, even though their hatchling was almost certainly already gone. They set out for our Clan immediately, on the advice of a Dragon that had heard tales of Scratch reviving her mate, Wound.

Scratch worked for hours, but there was little she could do. The eggshell was too solid to break, and without direct access to the hatchling, she was unable to save it. Even the best attempts of the Clan’s necromancers failed, as although MissFortune made contact with the hatchling’s spirit, Scratch couldn’t heal the body enough for them to reinhabit it.

The parents, heartbroken, tearfully asked one last request of our clan: for the egg to be buried in the beauty of the Starwood Strand.

The funeral was a solemn affair. Bubblegum carved a simple, white-marble headstone, under which the egg was buried on the outskirts of the Clan’s property. After the parents had paid their respects, they thanked our Clan for their kindness, and set off for home.

But, a few days later, unexplained events began happening in the lair. Objects moved by themselves, a soft voice could be heard that belonged to no one, and chills would strike suddenly, causing dragons in the lair to complain about the bitter cold that only they could feel.

Suspicious, Scratch snuck off to the hatchling gravesite, where she saw a young white Pearlcatcher crying over it. Upon seeing Scratch, the pale, unfamiliar hatchling scampered over, exclaiming that she recognised her. Though Scratch adamantly denied knowing her, she insisted... And thanked her for trying to revive her.

The ghostly hatchling apologised for disturbing the lair, but she had needed help. She had been unable to pass on after trying to reenter her egg, and was now forced to wander Sornieth. Pawing at the dirt of her grave, she asked Scratch to dig it up. Without a Pearl, she felt incomplete, and since the Pearl is formed by eating the eggshell after hatching, she felt her egg would be a possible replacement.

Saddened by the Pearlcatcher’s tale, Scratch agreed to help, and quickly unearthed the egg. The cold of the storm had deformed it and frozen it permanently, leaving a smooth, almost round egg. The spirit took it gratefully, and asked another favour of Scratch.

Her parents had already left for home, and the Pearlcatcher now had no home, and no one to look after her. On her trips through the Lair, she had seen how Scratch looked after Sirius, her adopted daughter, and longed to be cared for like that. Sorrowfully, she requested that she be allowed to live with the Clan. Scratch, teary-eyed herself, quickly comforted the hatchling, assuring her that she would look after her.

Scratch named the young dragon Essence, for her non-corporeal nature, and she quickly settled in with the Clan. She is now increbily good close to her adoptive sister, Sirius, as both have died and been reborn, and bonded fast over their (somewhat) shared experiences.




Stunning duo piece by Reshireka
Solo art by MortalQuiche (Links to their lairpages)