Rune

Rune Elementalist & Gamemaster

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Cartographer Apparel Mapping Sornieth one shard at a time. 1500

lore Written by FourLeaf

Will o' the Ember

Apparel

Visitors of the Ashfall Waste should never follow the dancing flames.(Flameforger's Festival Holiday Item 2015.)

0

Simple Gold Bracelets

Apparel

The perfect complement to any outfit, these golden bracelets sparkle when they catch the light.

500

Scarlet Sylvan Lattice

Apparel

A graceful lattice of scarlet jewelry.

1600

"A mysterious traveler who has settled into the clan, she seems more than happy to help with various tasks using potent magics. Some say she might be an archmage, though no one can find much proof of that; and she'll never say anything on the subject. She seems to rather enjoy various games of all sorts, and will gladly play against any travelers up for a game of chess. Oddly, though, she seems to be rather skittish towards anyone new, as if she's hiding from something. Either way, no one's willing to complain; she's great for the tavern, and excellent at helping out the clan with more delicate and difficult magics, excelling as the clan's Fire Elementalist."

Once a renowned archmage, now disgraced due to habitual gambling, she has found shelter at her new clan and will use her magic to protect it, and help weary travelers - provided they're not there to collect on her debts, of course.

"A dragon of unusual luck and skill; it seems she can only do things when she isn't actually trying. Rune tends to enjoy the mysteries of life, and often spends large amounts of time reading and theorizing about fairytales." — by FourLeaf Not for Sale Notes > One of 14 existing/5 unexalted sunset/carrot/sable dragons > Hatched on Halloween 2018 Achievements > N/A

Black King Trinkets Its value could be considered infinite. 60 Phoenix Familiar A fiery bird of indeterminate age. 400 White King Trinkets Its value could be considered infinite plus one. 60

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Rune looked eagerly at the pale orange egg on the table before her. "Just beat you before it hatches, and I get to keep it?"

The shadowy figure across the table nodded. "You have about ten minutes."

"Alright," the Pearlcatcher replied. She looked expectantly at the dark figure, listening carefully to the rules of the game.

"White goes first," the dragon said, pointing at the board. Rune cautiously moved a pawn forward two spaces.

She couldn't wait. The Tale of the Phoenix had always been her favorite legend. She'd always wished that it was real. And now she knew that it was real. She looked again at the speckled egg as it rocked gently back and forth. Imagine her clan's surprise when she came home with a real, live phoenix!

Although, home wasn't exactly the best option at the moment. Her clan was still falling apart as usual, but this time was different. A mysterious new dragon had joined the clan. The new dragon said her name was Timebender, and claimed to be the deity of the Forbidden Element of Time. Nobody trusted Timebender. What if she decided to turn around, kill the clan, and steal everything in their hoard? The clan was already in a bad enough position; Timebender could easily take everything and leave without ever being caught.

She was already in a dangerous situation. Being in the marketplace after dark was bad enough. What made it worse was that she was alone in the dark, playing chess with a stranger for an egg that might turn out to just be a common songbird, or something poisonous.

Well, okay. She wasn't exactly alone. A crowd had gathered by now, which made escape practically impossible. It was already suspicious enough, being out here at night. If she tried to take the egg and run, what would they do? Take her prisoner, or... maybe even kill her? She hoped they didn't figure out what clan she was from.

She didn't like being under all this pressure. Dragons surrounding her, watching her every move. Even if it was just a game of chess, it still made her uncomfortable. Why were there so many dragons out at midnight, anyway?

"Your turn," the mysterious dragon across from her said. A shadowy talon reached out and pointed at the egg, which had begun to crack. "Better hurry."

Rune panicked, and without thinking moved her queen forward three spaces. She stopped and looked at the dark figure across from her, worried that she'd made a wrong move. The other dragon stared at the chess board with glowing eyes. Had she done something wrong?

"She did it!" A voice yelled from the back of the crowd. "It's a checkmate!" Dragons all around began to scream in excitement.

"Not official until she says it," the dark dragon muttered. She felt the dragon's wrathful gaze on her.

She stared at the board in shock. Had she really done it? Her tail swished back and forth in excitement. A cloud passed over the moon, and for a moment the shadows of the chess pieces danced across the board, illuminated by the fire.

"C-checkmate?" Rune echoed, confused. "D-does that mean... I... I won? I really won?"

The other dragon sighed. "Yes, yes, I suppose it does. Take the egg." The dragon turned and stormed off into the darkness. Whispers echoed after him: "Isn't he the greatest chess master to ever live?" "Can you believe it? Beaten by a hatchling! Such a disgrace." "I can't believe she did it."

Rune reached out, brushing a claw softly along the surface of the egg. Just as she pulled her talon away, the egg exploded in a burst of fire, and a small red-gold bird sat in the pile of ashes, looking at Rune with its bright golden eyes.

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