Zerrul

Z E R R U L 3 0 • T H O U S A N D • 3 0 K I N G ⥈ O F ⥈ T H E ⥈ U N D E A D

T H E ➸ M E S S E N G E R Standard of the Flamecaller Apparel The hardy warriors of the Fire flight bear their colors proudly on the battlefield. This smoldering standard inspires all who see it flying proudly. (Flameforger's Festival 2019 Holiday Item) 0 A large pile of snow sat precariously balanced on the branch of a fir tree. Frostwing ran ahead, yanking the end of the branch before darting away. The flat of snow tumbled onto Sleetpelt, covering him in a white flurry. “Frostwing! Cut it out!” Sleetpelt shook off the fluffy snow. “Remember, we’re on an important mission! As representatives of our flight and this mission, we need to make a good first impression to Stormfeather! We must deliver these blueprints to Stormfeather so she can hand them to the Stormcatcher himself!” Frostwing chuckled. “There’s no harm in a little fun!” Frostwing dashed to a nearby snowpile and dived in. Sleetpelt groaned. “For an exalted dragon serving directly under the orders of the Icewarden, you sure are childish.” Sleetpelt remarked. Frostwing lifted her snow-covered head from the mound. “I was exalted as a hatchling. I’ve never had much time for fun,” Frostwing replied with saddened eyes. Sleetpelt looked away. “But now,” Frostwing’s expression lifted. “I get to go on fun adventures with you!” A compact snowball came flying Sleetpelt’s way. He blocked it with a shielded wing. Sleetpelt shot Frostwing a stern glare. Frostwing’s excitement faded, and the pair trudged on in silence amidst the peaceful blankets of snowfall. Sleetpelt glanced over to see Frostwing looking down with a disheartened appearance. Sleetpelt twined his tail between Frostwing’s forelegs. She tripped, landing face-first into the snow. He kept walking. “Hey!” She piped up angrily. Sleetpelt smiled before facing front. Frostwing giggled, licking the snow from her snout. She jumped up, creeping forward until she was within striking distance from Sleetpelt. “Gotcha!” She pounced, only to land awkwardly as Sleetpelt moved shrewdly out of the way. “In order to move silently in this type of terrain, you need to step lightly on the tips of your pads. I can hear your clumsy paws stomping around like a Greattusk.” Sleetpelt muttered. Frostwing looked up with confusion. He kept walking. Frostwing picked herself up and shuffled up to Sleetpelt. “Sleetpelt?” He paused. “Yeah? What is it--” Frostwing lunged at him, toppling him over and playfully swiping at him with flat blows. “Frostwing!” Sleetpelt hissed. His anger soon succumbed to good-natured laughs. They exchanged light blows and tussled in the snow before lying in the cool fluff, giggling. “Sleetpelt!” a voice called out. “You’re going to get those blueprints wet!” A pale, sleek Skydancer made her way from the treeline. Sleetpelt immediately stood up, shaking the snow from his fur, cursing under his breath. He dipped his head. “Stormfeather! It’s a pleasure to see you! Though, I didn’t notice you there - your fur blends in with the white of the snow!” Frostwing waved her tail. “Hiya there! My name’s Frostwing!” Sleetpelt bumped his tail into her rump to silence her. “Well now, who do we have here?” The Skydancer chuckled, analyzing her disheveled fur and joyful eyes. “I’m--” “She is the newest esteemed messenger under the service of the Icewarden.” Sleetpelt replied. “Pardon our unkempt state,” he gave several licks to the fur on his chest, smoothing his coat. “But I assure you the blueprints are in an exceptional state.” He removed the sandy satchel from his waist and carefully handed it to the Skydancer. Stormfeather wrapped the handle around her neck. “I must thank you, Sleetpelt and Frostwing; the Stormcatcher greatly needs these blueprints. He, too, thanks you for your services.” Sleetpelt bowed; Frostwing followed suit. “Stormfeather - will you be alright traveling the Ashfall Waste? We know of the savage dragon clans that live there. We are more than happy to accompany you through--” “No, it’s alright. I’ve wandered those wastelands many a time before. There are barely any dragons and it’s far too dry even for beastclans. I will be fine.” Stormfeather rested her tail reassuringly on Sleetpelt’s shoulder. “Then I wish you good luck.” Sleetpelt responded. There was a pause as they looked deep into each other’s eyes. Frostwing wondered if something had developed as they shared duties as messengers. But they were from different flights, Frostwing reasoned, and love between flights was strictly forbidden. “Sleetpelt - it was very nice to see you once more. Frostwing,” Stormfeather scanned her with an approving smile. “You will be a wonderful messenger.” Frostwing squealed, fluttering her wings. They bowed in sync before Stormfeather spun around and, with one great stroke of her wings, took to the air. “You hear that, kid? She says you’ll make for a good messenger!” He scoffed, wagging his tail, flicking snow onto her pelt. She smiled at him, sharing a moment as the sun fell. As Stormfeather flew across the icefields towards the Ashfall Waste, her heart sank. It’s true that the hot desert was unpopulated and unorganized, so much so that there weren’t even messengers available to deliver information. She wasn’t even sure if the Flamecaller wanted to interact with the other flights; the hostile, unkind lands seemed apparent enough that she had little interest in communication. Despite the statistically low levels of a threat, she couldn’t help shake off the feeling that trekking the unfriendly territory was dangerous. She just hoped to make her cross quick and arrive at The Shifting Expanse in a timely manner.

LICH ➸ THE ➸ UNDEAD TW: Gore Zerrul lunged, inflicting critical bites into his neck. Again and again he bit down, leaving puncture marks in his neck which seeped a deep crimson. “Get it off of me!” X’s cry quickly melted into a senseless gurgle. X1 stared on in petrified horror as over and over the beast clamped down and released. Once X1 regained motor control, it was far too late. The monster was crouched over X, its entire face painted with shiny, glittering blood. The beast paid no attention to X1. X wore a face of agony, and a kick every few seconds came from the limp body before finally ceasing. Instantly, it began feeding, burying its face into X’s stomach. X jerked as the beast pulled out a string of entrails. The beast was grotesque; thin, long, and bony... wait… Is that a dragon? A spiral dragon! It is! But how could a creature this emaciated be alive? The beast’s eyes met with X1. They were a deep orange, like smoldering embers. Its pupils were horizontal slits, confusing and threatening. The dragon was so skinny that its skin wrapped tightly around its skeletal structure. Two large eyes on either wing stared X1 down as it fed. Although this beast was in fact a dragon, something about the way it moved and the way it looked at X1 with animalistically fierce eyes made X1 believe that there was no dragon in this walking, breathing corpse. Not even a beast clansmen was as emotionless as this dragon. [W.I.P] Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. The smell of rotting flesh was insufferable. Zerrul was growing excited. Finally, a fight worth living for. The dragon Zerrul had been scouring the land for was notorious for its ferocity. If taking down such a beast was proving to be difficult, Zerrul would simply reanimate the presumably plentiful corpses nearby. This legendary dragon would have already been weakened from its war with the shadow clans to the east. Even so, Zerrul couldn’t help but feel a pang of anticipation. He could walk away with serious inflictions if he isn’t careful. Plan was to ambush amidst the war and attack the mighty beast while it was distracted. If Zerrul was late to the battle, surely then the beast would have taken care of the armies and fighting such a monster one-on-one would be challenging. Scorch marks, bodies, and weaponry littered the land. The war had already taken place. There, in the center of the battlefield, lay a hefty spiral sprawled out across the earth. Zerrul cautiously made his way towards the unmoving body. This limp, lifeless creature couldn’t possibly be Plague flight’s strongest fighter, could it? As he approached the front of the dragon, he noticed its eyes were shut tight and its lips were curled into a snarl, revealing sharp, conical teeth. The beast was slashed across its entire body. It had attempted to dress its major wounds, but it had been scored far too many times, and blood had poured rhythmically out of its wounds and onto the blood-sodden soil. Zerrul stood several meters away, making sure to steer clear of the sanguine turf. “I’ve flown all the way from the Ashfall Waste just to see you,” Zerrul muttered. “I was expecting a thrilling fight to the death, but instead I’m greeted with a dragon that has been maimed so severely it’s practically a corpse. A pity.” Suddenly, the beast heaved. Startled, Zerrul leapt back, lashing out with his barbed tail in defense. It flicked open its eyes. A look of sheer hatred caught Zerrul off guard. The crippled spiral made no attempt to move, only following Zerrul with a hostile gaze. Observing the condition it was in, Zerrul relaxed, and made his way slowly towards the head of the dragon. “I’ve heard legends of your immeasurable strength and unerring indestructibility,” Zerrul sat beside it, curling his tail neatly across his claws. Crimson waves lapped at his paws and soaked his scales. The dying spiral tracked his every movement. “Yet here you lie, dying like the sickened land from which you came.” Zerrul mocked. Blood spurted from the beast’s nose and mouth and cacophonous gurgling prevented any sound communication. Zerrul’s tail snaked towards the beast, twining it firmly around the spiral’s neck and wrapping it around several times over. The jagged arrow piece of his tail tip caught the lower jaw of the spiral and tugged down at its mouth. Zerrul’s tail tightened and begun constricting. The beast flashed its teeth and slashed out at Zerrul, to which he nimbly avoided. Heaving desperately for air, it shot Zerrul a loathsome glare. Until the bitter end did the beast fight. [W.I.P.]

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Lore details:
A dragon can choose to 'exalt' themselves and serve the Icewarden directly (analogous to going into the military). Dragons who are born from abandoned eggs are exalted in this way.

Snowheart
- Snowheart is an exalted ice messenger (glorified package/letter delivery) serving under the Icewarden.
- Snowheart is assigned to Frostwing as a mentor
Personality: cold on the outside, warm on the inside

Frostwing
- Frostwing was an abandoned egg sent to serve the Icewarden
Personality: bubbly, energetic

Stormfeather
- When Snowheart was younger, he loved Stormfeather - a Lightning Flight messenger - but love between flights is forbidden
- Stormfeather's mate is Thundersky
Personality: kind, reserved, serious at her job

Thundersky
- Thundersky's mate is Stormfeather
- Thundersky ends up dying and gets resurrected by Zerrul, now serving as the Death Organizer (DO). His job is to expand Zerrul's empire, calculate the best position of attack, suppress opposition (military general of sorts)
- was chosen specifically by Zerrul as he was adept in his field at calculations in Lightning flight
- Once he reunites with Stormfeather and saves her from Lich when they were on a mission to... take over Banescale clans? and Stormfeather was delivering a package/letter from the Southern Icefields. Lich finds out that DO's real name is Thundersky and belonged to the Lightning flight and that Stormfeather was his mate. As Lich and DO had grown close, Lich decides not to tell Zerrul, but warns him. Mistake.
- After seeing his mate, he grows selfless, fearing that Zerrul's empire will destroy the Shifting Expanse. No longer afraid of dying, and sick of ordering dragons to their deaths, he...
- becomes a mole and begins working against Zerrul
- Later, Lich catches him sneaking back from ice/lightning, and this time decides to tell Zerrul. DO argues that he'll kill him, but Lich disagrees, blinded by his quality treatment by Zerrul and pointing out that his position was too important. Out of fear, DO knocks him out, and rushes off to tell protagonists. Is speared in front of his mate(?). Zerrul praises Lich for his loyalty, but he feels really guilty and upset, having strong attachments to friends and all.
Personality: providing, serious || numb, fearful of true death

Lich
- Lich was a large, nameless Spiral in a savage clan in the Scarred Wasteland
- knew only surviving, fighting, and warring
- made a name for himself, notable for his immense strength and inability to die
- fatally maimed in a battle between Plague and Shadow flight clans for territory on the borders;
technically was the last man standing as he was surrounded by bodies of both flights and the only one left breathing
- zerrul flies from his kingdom (or before he founds his kingdom) in the Ashfall Waste to the Scarred Wasteland just to kill him in the midst of battle (as he's too strong to take down solo). he's too late to witness the battle, but finds him in the aftermath. he kills him. he then resurrects him and threatens that if he doesn't obey orders, he will release him to true death. lich complies.
- lich acts as Zerrul's personal assistant, guard, and later, his close companion
- lich reckons that his lifestyle as the second-hand man to a king is significantly better than his life as a clan member in Plague. Plus, he has no choice; Zerrul could take away what's keeping him animated at any time, and killing zerrul would result in his own death as the death of a necromancer means the death for everything it resurrects.
Personality: extremely loyal; cares more about zerrul than undergoing true death (would die again for him). after experiencing the death of his entire clan, zerrul is all he's got left

Zerrul
- Zerrul escaped "hell"
How?: Flamecaller could've been distracted, could have been the cause (maybe lied to his peers that they would all make it out alive in a rebellion but he forced his way to the top; great way to immediately introduce a character)
- and swam all the way up through the Great Furnace. He emerged, and the native banescale population were in awe. he might kill one to set an example, maybe even resurrect one. in any case, they then feared him and become important workers of his founding kingdom.
- Necromancer
- Resurrectionist
- Zerrul is born in hell (which again, is really just a high-temperature cavern deep underground the Ashfall Waste). He gains the ability to resurrect dragons - which is unique to dragons in hell - by practicing Shade/black magic. Extending his magical knowledge, he uncovers a way to revive the dead (could be part of his escape plan? and also maybe places a bounty on him(?). Shade can explain the unexplainable).
Personality: merciless, ambitious, great at leading, brash.
Lich and Zerrul do share moments in the Overworld over little things that Zerrul has never experienced before. Lich teaches him basic things. They do grow fond of each other.

Shade Magic
- Shade magic is magic that has properties atypical of normal dragon magic. Shade magic is caused by the seeping tendrils that are poured into the Earth by generations of native banescale populations who hurl Shade fragments into the Great Furnace as part of rituals. This act effectively removes Shade from the Overworld, but the Shade fragments become trapped deep within the earth, which is then absorbed by the dragons born into hell. Note that while some other deities are free to roam the surface if they so choose, the Flamecaller is locked inside the earth to protect "hell" from overflowing the Overworld with Shade, effectively protecting Sornieth. I suppose a long time ago she brought down with her honorable dragons to act as servants to take care of her and protect her location while she lay dormant. She would have casted her own spell or Shade repellent (or another deity would for her). Certain special dragon lineages/clans still care and protect her and her location, but the dragons populated hell, and now there's a whole hell hierarchy. Many clans have grown complacent with their ancestors' duties, and have neglected to take on their roles. Many dragons don't even believe in the Flamecaller, the Overworld, or the tales told. They have no concept of the Overworld. The clans are impacted by the Shade's presence, developing different forms of magic.

Zerrul Lore:
Zerrul believes in the Overworld (akin to how one would not believe in hell). He wishes to escape the hot, fiery, smoggy, acrid Underworld. The exit to the Great Furnace is located where the Flamecaller resides, which is heavily guarded and strictly off-limits. Zerrul tired of his poor living conditions and faithful in an Overworld, bands the miserable dragons together and starts an uprising. Dragons storm the honorable clans and a war breaks out. Zerrul fights and kills to make his way to the Flamecaller. He leaves his friends behind in the process. The Flamecaller awakens from her hibernation due to all of the commotion just to open her eyes and stare down Zerrul. Zerrul is in sheer awe, but wastes no time circumventing the deity and making his way to the exit.

The Flamecaller might not want any dragons escaping (something the old clans would've sworn not to do) because she fears the highly-concentrated shade present in the dragons would infect, cause problems, or wreak havoc on the Overworld.

The Flamecaller lifts her head/tries to prevent his escape, but this only destroys her hibernal den/collapses the exit and causes an earthquake. Zerrul swims to the surface and emerges from the Great Furnace followed by an immense earthquake and a great volcanic eruption that could be felt and heard from all around Sornieth. The native banescale populations immediately assume he's some type of deity and follow his command.

Now that he's made it to the Overworld, Zerrul's goal is:
Conquer. He wants power, something he never had in hell and was shunned by the aristocrats. He wants full reign of all of the Overworld and all of its unique and distinct lands, as he only had hell. He's very able-bodied and has special powers due to Shade magic that normal dragons don't have. This allows him to easily establish himself as a ruling power above other dragons.
His powers include necromancy, or an undying ability, which is a characteristic seen in the Shade and its persistence, which also prevents him from old age death.

Meanwhile, underground, the Flamecaller is disturbed, and the aristocrat clans are trying to suppress rebellion.

Zerrul could die by: Flamecaller herself bursts through the Great Furnace and drags him back to hell/kills him. This would effectively seal hell from Sornieth, and also allow his servants to 'live.'
Protagonists could kill him.

Flamecaller:
"I struggle to keep the heart of Sornieth from overflowing"
- reigns over "hell"
- only one exit from hell - The Great Furnace (giant volcano)

Hell does exist, but it's not for where dead spirits go. Once you die, you stay dead forever (unless you're resurrected, that is. Heaven does not exist). "Hell" is below the Ashfall Waste in the mantle of the planet. This is where the Flamecaller resides. Note: some deities are more active/interactive with their flight/others than others. For example, the Windsinger happily plays with his clans. The Flamecaller only interacts with dragons(?) that can withstand the heat in "hell." The Ashfall Waste itself is barren and inactive, victim to volcanic activity, lava, and other conditions that are caused by events underneath.

Map/Flight Path:



Ice Faction:

Snowheart
Frostwing

I have my clan lore all figured out, but it's a jumbled mess rn and when I do finish it might be a novel LOL

Artwork by Shika

the eye. That very same eye. It stared back. He tumbled through the sky.