#Rorin the Hunter

[kvalenagle]

Over the holiday, I've been writing a Rorin and Tresh prequel/standalone novel called Rorin the Hunter with Glenn Birmingham, and it's a lot of fun to explore Rorin when he was less of a hunter and more of a fish dropper. Or Tresh back when she was a feral runaway befriending giant salamanders on Luminaire.

It's also helped me figure out how to write while I'm in pain (though we're still fighting to get infusions started again) so I can get back to Saberbeak.

It's a bit like writing the short stories for the Blue Eyes & Other Tales collection, though more like "Blue Eyes," the longer one... except novel length. I don't expect it to be a long novel with just one point of view character, Rorin, but it'll probably end up around the length of Coldbright to Crestfall.

So if you've ever wanted a summer beach read with gryphons and sea monsters, it should be your thing =] Or if you just want more Tresh, Rorin, or fisherfolk culture in general.

(Brenda Lyons is painting the wraparound cover for this one, and I can't wait to see how it looks as a hardcover.)

Anyways, happy holidays! This year has been rough, I really appreciate all of the support and kindness from fans. I'm still getting fan letters about Pridelord =] If all goes well, I'll be back on the antibody infusions in 2025 and writing at my normal speed without the pain.

Until then... I'll be writing some gangly, awkward youth named Rorin who has dreams of being a monster hunter but is struggling to hunt down the 'unnatural shark' stealing crabs out of traps around Luminaire.

(Turresh the Shark by Risuquin)

[pretend-my-art-is-good]

Survivor: Agasint the Echos au

References used:

INFO AND RELATIONSHIPS UNDER CUT

Name: Sage Raspberry (He was given his mother last name)

Breed type: normal

Titles/Aliases:

The Survivor, given to him from his colony after surviving pebbles region, he ends up using this Title the most.

The Father: Given to any members of the colony with pups

The Poacher: Given to him by Five pebbles,

Snowball: nickname his parents call him

Surv: nickname

Dada: called by his pups

Ability: Can use lizard parts for boost and powers. An example being is using the lizard head as a helmet.

Sage fell into pebbles region when migrating with his colony. Pebbles would try to help him but would mostly send him on errands, which is how he found his two pup( mossy is tundra breed, Rorin is hunter breed ). He would almost forget his home before being found by his younger sister, Monk.

Relationships

Monk: "My younger sister, my best friend, and savior"

Scholar: "The youngest of us...I apologize for what I've done to you"

Hunter: "If Monk trust you then so do I...."

Gourmand: "Grandpa Gourmand! I learnt so much from him"

Artificer: "How are we meant to trust you, after you kidnapped us!?"

Saint: haven't met

Spearmaster: haven't met

Saint: "I've heard of you... the stories I hear frighten me"

Inv: Haven't met

Nightcat: "you're quite strange, but it makes you special..."

???: "what... are you"

[pumpkin-bread]

Mirror Monday? Boy can I vibe with that.

Edan - unexpected adoptive father of many children, nuzlocke protag, “clan” leader.  Rorin - One of the first dragons hatched in Edan’s clan, went from seeing him as a role model to a rival. Espen - energetic and boisterous young lady who’s a little heartsick rn. - Milo - quiet and sombre hunter. Sunspeck - Light Elemental. - Malygos - cruel alchemist of Amberspire. Stella - Teamonger and Sommelier of Hilltop Chalet. - Lily - Arcane Exile Survivor

All are G1s. Too tired to do links lol

[inshadowofthegods]

A Discussion

Days passed, and then weeks. Fortnight of the Nocturne ended, and the hectic state of the world outside began to ease. The nocturne hatchlings came of age, and though none picked up Ila’s love of sewing, she did manage to spark the creative spirits in some: Clade developed a passion for drawing and cataloguing their native plants, and soon had begun a guide that listed each ones’ various uses, from fiber to food to poison. Hazel adored seeking out scraps and trinkets she thought might be useful, building trinkets and weapons from any scraps Ila couldn’t use. Marshall and Espen weren’t quite as creatively minded, and simply loved to tear their way through the forest and keep their siblings safe while they worked. Ciron grew up, as well, and desperately wanted to start earning his keep. In spite of protests from both Edan and Saerun, he was steadfast, and a way was worked out. With Rorin at his side to sweep the area and watch for anyone coming, and Saerun to keep an eye on him and identify any threats from their old clan, another full team was formed. Though they only went out for short excursions - and Edan went to supervise most of them - Ciron became a skilled healer, and Saerun rebuilt her strength bit by bit, becoming a formidable hunter in her own right. Every dragon that had fallen into the fold was now earning their own keep, and their home’s larder had never been so full. If situations had been different, Edan would have thought times were good. Wonderful, even. But he knew better than to relax, and he made sure that everyone knew that each day they might face something horrible. He made sure they were prepared. It always paid off. He had returned from a successful hunt with the new group, only to find Ila waiting outside the door to their home. Her arms were crossed, and her expression was strangely blank. “Someone came today,” she stated simply, looking between Saerun and Edan. “None of ours have been hurt.” “Wh - where did - ” Saerun stammered, panicking. “Rorin, take Ciron inside, alright? Wait - they’re not inside, are they?” “No,” Ila shook her head. “I put him in the cellar.” “Is he dead?” Edan asked, stepping to the side as Rorin ushered the fire-eyed pearlcatcher inside. “No, I thought we might need some information from him, so I invited him in and poisoned his tea,” Ila replied. She smiled an empty smile. “Then I tied him up and tossed him down there, so… what you do is up to you.” Edan was speechless. He slowly turned to look at Saerun, who seemed a mix of confused and terrified. “You might want to go in and have a look?” Ila suggested, cocking her head to the side. “Just to make sure it is someone you know, and everything. He was a pearlcatcher looking for another pearlcatcher so I’m pretty sure, but… you know.” “Uh,” Edan blurted, his throat dry. “That… would probably be best. Do you think you can handle that, Saerun?” The skydancer silently nodded. “Good,” Ila nodded back, then turned to head inside. “Then I’ll start dinner for you. See you soon.” Edan found himself equally unnerved by the nocturne’s demeanor as he was by the task at hand. He shook his head and headed toward the cellar’s trapdoor, unlocking it and heading down first to make sure their uninvited guest was indeed still unconscious. Saerun nervously poked her head in after him. “Yea, he’s out,” Edan stated after nudging the unresponsive dragon a bit. He looked over the pearlcatcher, frowning at the sight. “Wonder what Ila used on h -” He stopped, starting at Saerun’s sudden, sharp laugh. “What the hell?” he hissed, turning to look at the skydancer who was now wearing a completely unreadable expression. Her eyes were wild as the day he first saw her. “I can’t believe it,” she breathed, sounding almost giddy. “I can’t believe it! Edan, I have… I have to talk to him when he’s awake. Please, please let me talk to him. Oh my gods.” The mirror gradually realized her bizarre excitement was actually rage. The hatred in her eyes as she stared at the unconscious pearlcatcher was overwhelming. “Of… course… you can,” he replied hesitantly. “But I’ll need to be present for it.” “Fine!” Saerun shouted. She began to pace, swearing and repeating herself under her breath. “I can not believe it.” “We might want to head back out,” Edan suggested. “We don’t know when he’s gonna wake up. Can check back in an hour or two?” “Can we try to wake him up first?” Saerun asked eagerly, still pacing back and forth. “Oh I have so much to say, I have so much… please try.” Edan nudged at the pearlcatcher again, to no response. He pushed a little harder, rolling the dragon onto his back - and, in spite of himself, took a moment to be impressed with how thoroughly Ila had managed to tie his limbs together. Then he aimed a hard slap to his face. The pearlcatcher came to with a yelp, then groaned, trying to focus on Edan’s face. “Wh-? Who… are you?” Saerun laughed again. Edan glanced behind himself to see the absolute fury on her face, and briefly spread his wings to block her way. Taking the hint, the skydancer calmed herself. Her expression was neutral when she approached, and he stepped out of her way. “S-Saerun?” the groggy male asked, voice peaking in disbelief. Saerun responded by kicking him in the face. Judging by the resulting crack and horrific yelp, it was enough to break something. “Veldr,” she snarled, with a rage beyond anything Edan had seen from her before. “He sent you after me, of all people?” The pearlcatcher wasn’t in any state state for responding, writing in agony and struggling against his bindings in an effort to shield his face. The skydancer let out a frustrated yell and reared back again, preparing for another kick. “Hey! Hey,” Edan rushed to grab her shoulder, pulling her back. “You’re not going to get anything from him if you break his jaw. Calm down. Please.” Saerun nodded and stood straight, shutting her eyes for a moment and taking a few slow breaths. Her hand clenched into a fist as she looked back down at the male and waited. “Not you. He didn’t think you were alive,” he finally hissed through bloodied teeth. “He wants his son, Saerun.” “And of course, you were going to come and deliver him to him,” Saerun scoffed, each word dripping with venom. “Always his good little lapdog, aren’t you?” “I have to listen,” the pearlcatcher shouted back. “He’ll punish me if I don’t! You know that!” “Oh, poor you,” Saerun mocked. “Oh, he might be mean to you! He might yell at you! Do you have any idea what he did to me? To Ciron’s mother?” “I - ” “No. Veldr. I know you do,” Saerun interrupted. Her voice cracked, though the fury stayed clear on her face. “And you never did anything until you decided I was of some worth to you. It was never because you had any shred of decency as a person. You only cared about your property.” “I couldn’t go with you! I never had a chance to slip away!” “You’re lying!” Saerun barely held herself back that time, visibly shaking. “You know I can tell! What made you change your mind? If you try to lie to me again I swear I’ll -” “I got scared!” Veldr shouted. “I was too afraid of being caught! I’m sorry, Saerun!” “You’re… pathetic,” Saerun replied, still shaking with emotion. “You useless, selfish piece of -” “I know,” he replied, fighting back tears. “I know I am. And I’m so sorry. I’ll do anything to make it up to you.” “Wh-” Saerun paused, her antennae twitching. “Why in the gods names should I give you a chance?” “Because I still love you, I want to make things right,” he pleaded. “I…” Saerun stammered, clearly taken aback. Then a look of absolute disgust took over. “And I hate you, you absolute idiot. What we had was a business exchange, and you couldn’t even keep your end of the bargain! What can you possibly do to make anything up to me? Regrow my arm? Undo a lifetime of abuse and pain that you stood by and watched? The best thing you could do for me now is drop dead on the goddamned spot!” Veldr made a noise that was more pained than when he’d been kicked in the face, and Saerun turned and hurried to the ladder outside, motioning for Edan to follow before climbing out. He didn’t follow right away, still a bit too blindsided by the scene to react. By the time he did, he found her seated on the ground outside, wings wrapped around her legs. She wiped a tear from her eye. “Are you… going to be alright?” Edan asked hesitantly, unsure of just what to say. “Yeah,” she sighed, forcing a frail smile on her face as she turned to meet the mirror’s gaze. “I never thought I’d actually have the chance to yell at him. I just… gods.” Edan quietly moved to sit near her. “He wasn’t lying about wanting to help… or about caring about me,” she said bitterly, bowing her head. “I wish he was. It would make this a lot easier.” “What do you want me to do?” Edan asked, trying to keep his tone gentle. “I… can we just leave him like that for tonight?” she asked, glancing at the trapdoor. “I need some time to think… and we can see if he still means it by tomorrow, with everything I said.” “Well,” Edan paused, considering the state of the pearlcatcher now locked in his cellar. “…It’s not like he’ll be able to get out of there.” “Yeah,” Saerun let out another sigh, standing with some difficulty and nodding to the mirror. “Thank you… for working with me on this. I need to go talk to Rorin, I think. And Ciron. They both need know about this.” Edan nodded, remaining seated until the skydancer had made her way into the house. Then he stood, pacing and scanning the area as he tried to work off his own nerves. Gods, what a mess.

[inshadowofthegods]

Homeward

Ryla turned out to be a good-natured hatchling, and seemed content to watch the scenery, or just nap as she rode along. Edan was grateful for that. It had been a long trip back. Though Reika had quickly thrown out any of their kills from near the infected waters, their haul was still to heavy to fly far with - even split three ways. The vast portion of their journey had been on foot. Really, they never shouldn't have strayed so far in the first place. Edan was still trying to work out the mapping of it all in his mind, but the best he could come up with was that the plaguelands were beginning to spread Northward in the late spring heat. That was... worrisome, at best. They'd walked through the night, and dawn had risen by the time they could spot home through the trees. Ila was outside, pacing back and forth until she noticed them. She waved excitedly, and hurried to meet them. "Mornin', Ila," Edan greeted. "Hope we didn't worry you too much." "I - " Ila staggered to a stop just in front of him, balanced on her hind legs. She put her hands on her hips. "Well, yes, I was worried! What happened to make you take so long?" "Long story," Edan replied, shaking his head. "I'll tell you all about it a little later, I promise." Reika slowly held out her arm, which Ryla was wrapped lazily around. "A lot of it involves this," Edan said, nodding toward the hatchling. "Oh!" Ila exclaimed, her face lighting up at the sight of the spiral. "Oh my goodness, she's cute!" Reika nodded, then let her arm drop as Ryla crawled up it to reach her shoulder. Ila tilted her head to the side, surveying the bags they carried with them. She clasped her hands together and then turned away, calling back toward the buildings. "Hey, Hazel! Go grab Veldr and Rorin, there's a lot of meat to process!" The skydancer stood up suddenly from their vegetable garden and nodded before trotting toward one of the buildings. "Here, let me grab one of those," Ila said, quickly taking hold of one of their bags and hauling it towards the cellar. Reika passed Ryla over to Edan, trudged over to drop her own bag where Ila did, and then offered a vague half-wave before retreating into her shed. Saerun pulled the last bag over with Edan. She let out a sigh, glancing over at the shed's door. "I don't think we really wound up learning much," she said under her breath. "Well, other than she's a damn good hunter and fighter," Edan replied, gritting his teeth for a moment. "...And we couldn't have seen any of that coming. Just have to try again later." Saerun frowned, then nodded, stepping away as Hazel reappeared to call Veldr up from the cellar. "Alright everyone!" Ila called out, clapping her hands together. "Edan and Saerun are back, and we've got a new clan member to welcome! Eyes over here for a second, please!" Edan quickly stood on his hind legs and held up the hatchling, who let out an excited trill at the sight of the clan gathering. "This is -" Ila began, only to stop, her mouth frozen in an open smile as she realized she didn't know the spiral's name. "Ryla," Edan whispered with a chuckle. "Ryla! Meet Ryla!" she finished quickly. "Please pass that on to everyone who isn't out here right now if you see them before I do! No surprise babies!" There was a smattering of laughter from a few of the other dragons; Edan wondered vaguely if there was some joke he was missing out on. But he was rapidly becoming aware of his own exhaustion, and couldn't bring himself to care too much. "So..." Edan began, squinting his eyes and then rubbing at them. "I'm sorry to ask you this, Ila, but can you hold down the fort for... a few more hours? None of us have slept since... before we left, ya know." "Oh," the nocturne turned, giving him and Saerun a somewhat pitying look. "Of course I can. But, uh, could you help me with one more thing first?" "What is it?" "Could you please help me with Marshall? He just... won't stop digging. I can't get him to come back up."