Xue

---

By @BubbleTeaCat

---

Xue weaved his way carefully through the crowd, trying his best not to bump into any of the excitable dragons there or tred on an unwary hatchling. The skydancer couldn't fathom why so many dragons had congregated around the Cinderslag message board. The worn bulletin usually only posted day-to-day things like forge holidays or lost pets, nothing that would cause a commotion like this.

It was a nice day in the Ashfall Waste. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and a gentle breeze guided the smoke billowing from the Great Furnace away over the sea, so even a storm announcement seemed unlikely.

When Xue finally made it close enough to the board to read it, it was obvious what had roused the din. A notice had been posted, crowned with a title of bold red.

Warning: Escaped Alchemy Experiment.

The rest of the poster detailed how an untrained dragon had been experimenting in a homemade cauldron and, after a small explosion, a concoction had transformed a leafy moth from beloved familiar into rampaging, fire-breathing titan intent on reaching the seductive, glowing heart of the Great Furnace.

The Ashfall Waste was no stranger to fire, luckily, so the damage wasn't too extensive. The real reason for the crowd was the bounty offered. 10,000 gems for the safe capture and return of the moth to the owner.

No wonder there were so many gathered. Apparently the amateur alchemist was rich, and incredibly attatched to their familiar. There were even a lot of dragons Xue didn't recognize in the crowd, dragons from outside the waste.

He gathered from some of the others that a number of volunteers had begun to string nets across the many pools of exposed lava, including one across the volcano mouth, to prevent an unfortunate accident, but the moth hadn't been seen since the night before, and a few fires were still being put out.

A plan to capture the moth would require a lot of thought, but already an idea was starting to form in Xue's head as he made his way out of the hubbub. Most of the dragons seemed to be overexcited, and their ideas seemed impractical, but a few near the edge caught his eyes.

A pair of male skydancers and a female snapper, all with star-speckled pelts, were chatting together near the edge of the plaza. Xue hadn't seen them before, and assumed they were some of the outsiders who had caught word of the bounty.

The snapper, gold and adorned in inventor's gear, was gesturing at one of the skydancers, who had black fur and golden wings. He was nodding thoughtfully, but the other skydancer, who was purple with translucent butterfly wings, looked up at Xue and caught his eye. The purple dragon smiled and nodded respectfully, noticing the determined look in Xue's eyes. They were rivals for the bounty, then. Things had just gotten more interesting.

++++

Hatchlings in the Ashfall Waste often pass time by catching the salamanders and fireflies that call the Emberglow Hearth their home. Many of them craft their own nets and cages, and have competitions to see who can catch the most within a time limit.

Xue had often taken part in the competitions, and had won them almost as often.
He'd always enjoyed observing his prey and learning what they were drawn to, then designing the perfect traps for each creature.
His plan was simple, really. Just a scaled up version of one of his most successful childhood traps, but it required a lot of materials across multiple flight territories.

His first stop was a general store in the Windswept Plateau. He'd have to be careful what he said. There were already a lot of dragons after the bounty, no sense in stirring more to compete.
Luckily the warm updrafts from the Ashfall Waste soon gave way to the playful gales of the Plateau, so the flight was a swift and easy one.

The shopkeeper seemed surprised by the size his order, but he assured Xue that the materials would be delivered by the following morning.

Next, the skydancer had to make his way back through the Waste to the Shifting Expanse. Xue had been born here, as had his mother, so there were still a few family friends in the Stormcatcher's lands.
Luckily the fair weather held true even in the lightning-charged land, and there was only a single near-miss with an arc of lightning as he neared The Source. Arrangements were made with a worker, who again promised that they'd be prepared by morning.

So, with nothing more to do until morning, Xue returned to the Ashfall Waste, stopping by his favorite eatery in Cinderslag for a meal before returning home.

The restaurant was busier than usual, with the local inn filled to capacity with bounty-bound opportunists. Xue had to wait awhile to get a table, and longer for a waiter to take his order, but a trio was soon seated at the table next to his and he noticed with interest it was the snapper and skydancers from earlier.

The purple skydancer caught his eye once again and smiled. "Ho there!" He said, raising his voice just loud enough to be heard over the chatter of other patrons. "Any luck on the hunt?"

"Not yet." Xue shook his head. "Today was just for preparation."

"I wished we'd had such forethought." The black skydancer lamented.
"Gallen here was too eager to get started." The snapper chuckled, nudging the purple skydancer. "I told him my machine might need to be reinforced, but he insisted on testing it out on the moth. The thing was barely slowed for a second. My name is Mae, by the way. The stoic one is Ulyx."

The black skydancer nodded. "A pleasure."
"Likewise." Xue returned it. "I'm sorry your trap failed, but I can't help but be glad I still get a chance at the prize."
"We'll repair the trap and be at it again, soon enough." Mae warned, pausing briefly as the waiter finally delivered Xue's order: a large bowl of soup. "I wonder if your first try will go any better than ours!"
"I suppose we'll have to see."
Gallen grinned. "May the best dragon win!"
Xue was glad the trio seemed more interested in a friendly competition than a cutthroat race, not that he would have balked from the challenge either way. He smiled as he dug into his soup, his mind filling in the last details of the scematics in his mind.


++++

Up at sunrise the next morning and working until sunset, Xue finally stepped back, proud of his work.
The trap was simple, elegant, and comically large, spanning the entire width of the Carrion Canyon in the Shifting Expanse. Long bamboo poles framed a gargantuan rope net box that stretched a few hundred yards back into the canyon. The rope was a special kind frequently used in the Ashfall Waste and treated to be fire retardant, and the poles were structured in such a way that would make the trap flexible, but strong. A massive machine with a large circle of glace in its face waited near the back of the trap and a proportionate cord led from it up the canyon wall and across the dry dunes.

The sun was setting; it was nearly time to put his plan into action, and a few dragons had gathered, having caught sight of the net flying overhead, or lingering after delivering all the bamboo and machinery. Xue entertained their questions with a smile and vague answers as he worked to complete the trap.

The sun finally sunk beneath the horizon and Xue smirked, turning a switch on a panel near him.

The dragons gathered on the rim of the canyon cried out and shielded their eyes as a light came to life, shining a massive beacon up into the sky, bright enough to contend with the light of the volcano glowing in the distance.

Now all there was to do was wait.

++++

More dragons had gathered, drawn to the light the same way Xue hopped the moth would be. He'd have to be patient, even if the gathered dragons were not. Many of them were chattering amongst themselves, the news of the escaped monster moth was traveling swiftly through them to those who hadn't yet heard it.

It wasn't long before the sound of massive wingbeats filled the air and a burst of fire lit up the sky. The moth had arrived in all of its titanic glory, its wings stirring up dust and blocking out the sky around the mesmerized dragons. Slowly it descended towards the massive light.
"It's going to work!" A voice called out from the crowd. It took a moment for Xue to recognize it as Gallen the skydancer, his purple coat light enough to be nearly reflective in the bright light. His friends were beside him, Mae staring up at the creature while Ulyx stared down at Xue with an impressed smile.

The moth drifted slowly down towards the beacon, towards the gaping edge of the net until it was swallowed by the bamboo maw. Xue leapt off the ledge he was perching on, taking flight and sailing easily towards the front of the net, where, with the removal of a bamboo pole, it collapsed, trapping the creature within. Dragons cheered as he dropped to the ground to fasten anchoring stakes into the floor of the canyon.

++++

Baldwin came out to see the moth the next morning, having been contacted to try and reverse its accidental transformation. The moth's owner had awarded Xue with the bounty, expressing a gushing display of gratitude for its capture and sheepishness over the mess.
The gems clacked cheerfully in bags at Xue's waist, and all of Cinderslag was alive with chatter about his accomplishment.
The excitement would die down in time, after the razed buildings were rebuilt and the moth was returned to normal moth size. But for now Xue would accept the awed looks and occasional cheers with little more than a knowing smirk.

Lore written by the amazing HylianPharaoh