Atacama

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Sandstone Minerals & Ores A beauty tool among dragons both popular and easy to obtain. Useful for both buffing down tough scales as well as sharpening claws! (Special thanks to Arborpunk!) 83

Current Status: Healthy Current Age: Adult Time of Birth: Autumn Mate: none (aromantic) Relatives: none Friends: none

Size at Hatching: tiny Size at Adulthood: average Occupation: none Likes: salty foods Dislikes: excessive water Hobbies: telling outrageous stories

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- Hatchling Biography
Atacama claims he hatched in the middle of a war between two clans. Literally. He was in the middle, his eggshell breaking as large dragons fought above him. Barely able to even think, he moved. As fast as he could, he slithered to a rock and took shelter behind it. there he waited until the skirmish ended and then he moved on. He was tiny, barely larger than a lizard. By some divine chance, he was found and taken in by a sweet old snapper. She was grandmotherly and helped to nurse him back to health. He stayed with her for a long time after.

- Adolescent Biography
Whether it was due to his unusual hatching or being raised by a slow snapper, it was clear that Atacama was not like other spirals. For one, he was not at all energetic, not to the extremes that spirals are known for. His activity level was on par with most other dragon species. He was also fiercely intelligent, his mind was easy to keep on track and he did not forget details easily. He was growing into the most unusual spiral, or even dragon, that his snapper caretaker had ever seen.

- Adult Biography
As soon as Atacama deemed himself old and mature enough to handle the real world, he left his snapper caretaker. It wasn't as if he didn't care for her, it was that he wanted a life more exciting. So after a heartfelt goodbye, he left to travel. He found himself drawn to dry expanses, so he traveled to the origin of it all: Dragonhome. He spent many a year living by himself on the crumbling reaches. He was content.

But even the most content dragons wish for something else. And for Atacama, that was action. Hearing of another desert-like area, he traveled southeast over the course of many days and reached the Shifting Expanse. And there too, he spent his time living alone and surviving, making much more of an effort to attack hostile creatures. He found it all very fun. Atacama tells that he had even slain a minor emperor that had wandered from the Sunbeam Ruins. And that gave him an idea. He would slay a powerful beast from each of the 11 regions and then spend his time as a wandering mercenary. It was perfect.

And so off he went, traveling again. He was determined to finish his quest admirably and with haste. His first stop was in the neighboring region, the Ashfall Waste. There, he learned from the hardened blacksmiths how to make a sword to aid on his journey. And make a sword he did, its edges sharper than any rock he had come across. With his sword, he slayed an ancient beast that had awoken from its slumber. Atacama did not know whether the raging monster was draconic in nature or not, but it had lost its mind long ago. From that, he felt no guilt putting the hostile creature down to eternal rest. After a hardy meal, he traveled west to the Windswept Plateau and slayed another beast, and so on. It was his encounter in the Starfall Isles that changed him dramatically though.

Having taken the practice of taking large bounties as his target, he set off to complete his goal for the arcane region. It was only when he saw his target did his stomach drop. It was a horrific amalgamation of creatures strung together. Parts of the body were dark and crumbling, purple spots glowing at random. Limbs from various creatures were strung out on the torso, many seeping blood by the liter. Two heads sprouted out of the collar. One that was a parasite to the other, a dark mimicry of a wildclaw, teeth bared. The original head, of the chimeric body it can be assumed, was a terrified pearlcatcher. Young sorcerer by the looks of it. He had tears in his eyes and dark spikes erupted from his skull. Blood the color of dark rubies oozed from the base of the horns. All became silent. A final plea whispered from the pearlcatcher's lips. "Help me. I don't want to die."

Atacama doesn't remember what happened after. Or maybe he does, but he doesn't tell anyone. All he remembers is the look on the pearlcatcher's face as he realized his life was over and his soul was leaving his body. The look of betrayal, sadness, longing, they all flashed across his face with tears framing it all. His body slumped to the ground in a soft thump. Atacama had to take a step back, but he could not tear his eyes away from the body of the pearlcatcher that he killed. A child, barely. The spiral was stuck like that for hours, until the dragons hired to clean the mess arrived. It wasn't until the face of the body was covered that Atacama could look away. After the body was carried away, Atacama was told of what happened. The pearlcatcher was a young student learning arcane magic in the Starfall Isles. He was a bright student, always ahead of the rest of his class. He had too much confidence in his skills and he believed he could kill the Shade with only magic. It had never been done before, and for good reason. The pearlcatcher tried it at his home, and it backfired. It corrupted and killed his brother immediately, absorbing his body and lifeforce. It then traveled to his body, taking it over and corrupting him as well. It forced him to kill his family and absorbed their lifeforces as well. He then was dragged on a maniacal rampage as the corruption controlled his body and left. It was only until Atacama killed the host that the Shade left the barely-living corpse. The scholars tried reassuring that there was no way to separate the two and that death was the only option. Atacama remembered to the ancient beast he killed in the Ashfall Waste, and the emperor in the Shifting Expanse. Did they have a choice in becoming who they were, did they feel the pain inflicted, their bodies dying? Atacama had enough. He left without taking his payment and flew back home. Home to his snapper mother.

There was nothing there. No one answered. Opening the door, Atacama wandered in, only to find the place he grew up in empty. A single piece of paper hung on the wall, his name as the receiver. He read it, then weeped. 'I'm sorry to have left you so soon into your journey, Atacama. As I'm writing this letter, I am in my final days. My belongings will go to other families, as I know you would have no use nor the taste to use them! Know that I have always seen you as my own grandchild when I had none, and that I am thankful for all the time you have spent with me. I will always love you, even as I ascend to live with my ancestors. I hope you do well in my absence.'

Taking the note, Atacama left his childhood home and wandered. Aimlessly and without care to himself. He didn't eat for days, and water was consumed only by the mouthfuls. No one approached him as his frame deteriorated. His speckled hide, that once rippled with the unusual muscles he once possessed, now withered to an outline of bones. His skin lost color, turning more mute by the day. Eventually, he collapsed. He didn't know where he was, but he didn't care. He awoke many days later to the face of a golden wildclaw. Beside the wildclaw was an aqua-colored coatl. Atacama attempted to move but found it futile. He relaxed his body and looked at the two dragons again. His vision blurred into nothing a moment later.

Atacama awoke again later. He felt revitalized and curled upwards in his bed. He was in the medical ward of the aqua coatl, who was a bit further away writing at a desk. Atacama cleared his throat and introduced himself. The coatl, named Mirai, did the same. He was brought up to speed with what happened after he collapsed. Otto collected him from the outskirts of the Sunbeam Ruins, a location very far from the clan border. The spiral was then brought back to be cared for by the doctor, Mirai. Otto occasionally checked up on the spiral to ensure he was recovering well, but said nothing that indicated he had interest in the spiral. While this was most unusual, Atacama accepted it. Finally able to move, he removed himself from his bed and walked off, which Mirai allowed him to do.

Atacama exited the medical den and found himself in the center of the clan. Sunlight was faint through the clouds but still lit the surrounding structures. Dragons moved to and from separate buildings all around him, few giving him more than a passing glance. After wandering for a bit, he found the hall that Otto resided in. Atacama barely got a word out before Otto passed by him saying "Don't worry about it" and exited the hall. He was left alone in the hall.

"And that little dragons, is how I joined this here clan."

- Additional Subtitle
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No one truly knows where this Spiral originated from, it's not like he talks about his home. His past, sure. He loves to tell grand tales of his battles and adventures in a distant desert, but whatever came before, he avoids talking about. Perhaps he was an abandoned egg, growing up and surviving on his own. Who knows, but it doesn't impact his charismatic personality.

With other dragons, there isn't a moment that he doesn't smile. He's a genuine and good-hearted fella. He doesn't seem too interested in taking a mate, but loves telling tall tales to the small hatchlings. A very filtered version, of course.[/columns]



(preferred method of standing)

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