Insidiously's Clan

Roselake Village was a quiet clan. To the south, the infinite, twisting brambles of the Tangled Wood, where the shadows themselves breathed and pulsed, and to the north, the wilds known as the Viridian Labyrinth. It was said that anything that entered would come back stronger, or not come back at all. So, to make a clan at the border of these two threats was a bold move. One that paid off well. Fifteen dragons lived there permanently, but boasted knowledge of the two opposing lands, selling maps and guides for quite the hefty amount of treasure.

It was… happy. Comfortable. Perfect. (But it wouldn’t be for long.)

—-
In the Tangled Wood, a fae searched through the brambles.
“No, that’s just a rock,” she grumbled to herself as she tossed said rock to the side. Said ‘side’ was actually a slowly growing mountain of debris and materials from something. Perhaps a beastclan caravan that crashed and got devoured. That’d make sense. Probably. She couldn’t quite remember how prevalent beastclans were at this time.
“And that’s a mushro-,” Her rambling was cut off as she hefted something that was decidedly not a mushroom. It was round and pulsing, and had an off-putting smell. The lightning dragon’s fans pressed against her skull in displeasure. The… the thing in her talons gave a wave of off-putting magic. It clashed with her own. While hers was a swift, cutting thing, swirling and infinite, its was an ominous sinking feeling, as if she was putting her talons in quicksand.
Despite her quickly spiraling thoughts, she knew what she was holding. An egg. She stared for a moment, debating what to do with it. She sighed when she realized she had no choice in the matter. She adjusted her grip on it, as if she was holding an off-putting ball, and spread her wings, taking flight. The council would have a fest figuring out what to do with it.
—--
The High Council stared at the round object presented to them. The egg sat innocently. Thanks to the shadows that filled the chamber, no one could really tell who spoke.
“I say sell it. We’re happy how we are, we have no need for another dragon so soon. It might even be a guardian, who’d search far and wide for a charge. We wouldn’t be able to provide. It’s best for everyone.”
“Sell it?! You want to give up a hatchling that the Shadowbinder herself presented us? Have you no faith? It’s ours. It will grow well into the clan.”
“How do we even know for sure it will hatch? There has to be a reason there were no parents to account for it. Perhaps the magic didn’t settle right? It could be a warning not to have hatchlings in the coming years…”
The Council, normally calm, dissolved into arguing. Eventually, the vote was settled. Eight dragons elected to try to hatch it, and only one voice called out to sell it. The egg, for better or worse, held the newest member of the clan inside its shell.


—-

Hundreds of years later, no one knew of the clan. Any tales were far-fetched, some even saying that the Shadowbinder herself slaughtered them for some cruel practice they did. Of course, someone has to investigate tall tales. And Natron thought herself perfect for the endeavour. The pearlcatcher wove through the ruins of the lost clan. She was shocked to find the tales true, of course. Even more so the skeletons of dragons twisted at odd angles.
“ThunderRose, have you…?” She called, searching for the fae.
“Yeah,” the voice of her love said from behind her. She turned as the fae ran long fingers along the snout of an imperial that was collapsed over a building. ‘It’s not pretty. I wonder what happened.”
The lightning bolts that dripped from ThunderRose’s eyes flickered, “There’s magic here. A very, very bad kind.”
Natron gulped, turning. She had forgotten that some tales were as bad as they said. Perhaps this one was worse?
“Do you think we can… purify it?” Natron voiced, her tone wavering.
ThunderRose’s wings twitched, “We can try. It’d take a while though. We’d have to monitor it constantly. We’d have to live here.”
“I… Is it worth it, do you think?”
The Fae turned thundering eyes on her mate, “Yeah. A good thing is always worth it.”
They exchanged a look. Apparently this was gonna be a thing. A clan. They could do it, though. They’d done harder.

—
“I… I love you, Natron!” Cassiopeia said, her voice elated. The Pearlcatcher stared, running her fingers along her pearl, clutched to her chest.
“Cassiopeia… You… You do know I’m mated to ThunderRose, right?” Natron said, confusion etching her tone.
“...Yes. But! But I’m so much better than her! Just.. leave her. She’s… Eleven, she’s so bad!”
Natron started, scowling, a growl rising in her throat, “You will not badtalk her in front of me. Especially when trying to convince me to give her up. If you think I’d listen to you like that, you’ve got the wrong dragoness.”
Cassiopeia stood still for a moment, before she flared her fans and shouted, “I’m a time mage! What is she?! Nothing! Stormcatcher just thought she was obedient enough to choose her!”
Natron’s face, once furious and wrathful, smoothed into a cold indifference. “Ah.”
Cassiopeia faltered, “What are you doing?”
The pearlcatcher didn’t respond, spreading her wings, and leaving the evergreen meadow Cassiopeia had chosen for her confession. Cassiopeia stared. She. She had left. A nasty feeling rose up in her chest, though Cassiopeia paid no mind to it. She… she was so much more dedicated then some stupid primal eyed freak. So, so, all she’d have to do to win Natron’s heart was prove that! She’d be by her side every moment. Never leave her alone, so she’d have constant comfort from Cassiopeia. There. A perfect idea. No way it could go wrong.

—
“Hey, Cassiopeia. Natron wants you to meet her in her den,” A passing obelisk informed the fae.
“Finally,” she muttered under her breath. Her work would get acknowledged! It.. it only took a couple threats to ThunderRose for it to work. The fae ran from the wrath of a full time lord! Hah. The only smart decision. Next she’d come groveling at Cassiopeia’s feet for forgiveness. And what would she get? Nothing! She’d kept her from her love for far too long.
She flew to the cozy den her soon-to-be-mate lived in. Small shells, flowers, and feathers hung from strings, bits and bobs of glass reflecting the small amount of light along the walls. She could hardly wait to move in. She already knew where she’d put her workshop. She struggled to contain her excitement.
“Natron!” Cassiopeia called, and grinned when she heard a soft purr come from the back of the den.
She threw open the cloths and fabrics that hid the nest of the Pearlcatcher. And she stopped dead in her tracks.
Natron stared at her with contempt, ThunderRose curled underneath her wing, her claws lying along Natron’s pearl. Her.. her pearl. Doubt flooded Cassiopeia’s mind.
“Natron, what’s she doing here?” She said, eyes flicking at the lightning eyed fae who stared at her with cold indifference.
“I’m here because we can’t trust you. Especially alone with my mate,” ThunderRose said.
“W-What?”
Natron drew herself up to her full height, her tail still curled around her mate and pearl, and flared her wings with such an air of authority that Cassiopeia might’ve fallen in love again.
“You, Cassiopeia, dragon of the Shifting Expanse, are exiled from Candlelight Village.”
For not the first time, Cassiopeia felt her whole world crumple around her.

—
Cassiopeia was beyond angry. She was furious. Natron had exiled her. She had spent so long spending every moment she could with the pearlcatcher. And this was the thanks she got. Exile. But, those idiots in charge thought they could wrong her and get away with it. Well, she was gonna prove them dead wrong. And what better way to do that then to prevent the clan from existing in the first place? She wasn’t heralded as a powerful time mage for nothing.

—
In the middle of the Tangled Wood, a fae slammed to the forest floor, completely catatonic. And in the same place, a hundred years earlier, the same fae woke up.

—
“What’s your name, little star?” The council’s many voices hissed.
“Cassiopeia.” She stated, not addressing the fact it felt like dragging her wings through amber to answer something as simple as that.
“Do you want to join this clan? We could use a mage…”
A.. mage? She was one of those? Well… “Yes, I’d be honored to join this clan of…?”
“Roselake Village,” they murmured.
“Of course.”
“Wonderful. Now, to earn your keep, go look in the woods for anything to sell. We heard of a ruined Beastclan caravan to the south.”
“Of course.”

(Written by Dragonlover858)