#SHADOW SERTHIS?

[palushiemalis-fr]

Dergtober -- day 13 -- Serthis.

"Below... Look Below."

Baglis' voice barely carried above the wind that send his fur and whiskers flowing behind him. Down below them, near the river mouth was a steep ravine where the cliffs gave away to the shore.

A lone serthis was coiled amongst the banded rock face; the river foamed and crashed. There was rubble and mud still tumbling to the river, a rockslide had left the cliff trecherous.

She looked lost and exhausted, as Baglis flew lower he could see her wet hair clinging to her face, she had attempted to swim once before and only just managed to pull herself out.

"What are you on about? Its just a monster."

Baglis ignored him and dipped lower; she was clothes in wet leather armour on her chest. Her belly was swollen. His mind flickered to the passage in the dusty field guide he had read some weeks back.

Serthis have been observed to seek nests in caves they return to with each generation. Nesting sites are passed down from mother to daughter, father to son. Even if the nest deteriorates or becomes hazardous over time, they will be reluctant to seek new grounds to raise their broods.

"Go on without me."

His cousin threw his head back and laughed. He soared over his shoulder, casting a large shadow over Baglis.

"You can't be serious. You'd save one of those poisonous little--"

"They're not poisonous." He snapped, "They're not even venomous."

"You're mad, Bag. That thing won't talk to you--"

"She's not a thing!" He said, whipping his tail about himself, "She's carrying an egg and she needs help. You wouldn't leave a dragon to die, you wouldn't leave an animal to die, you shouldn't leave an anyone to die!"

Before he could be stopped, Baglis spiralled down to the edge of the river. He landed with a skitter of his claws, he wasn't an agile flier. He managed to recover his balance, though there wasn't much room for him on the lip of the rock.

She heard a deep, rumbling hiss. Then came a rattling. The Serthis was poised in a coiled stance, holding a battered spear in front of her. He didn't need to speak her language to know that whatever she was murmuring to him was a desperate warning. She would spill his blood here and let herself drown than let him defile this place.

With a few deep breaths, Baglis lowered his head and closed his eyes. His wings were closed, he wanted to make himself as small as possible. She was still locked in position, ready to lash out and fight.

Baglis lowered his head further to the stone below. For a few minutes, all he could hear was the roar of the river. Perhaps if he was still long enough, he could earn her trust.

He finally opened one eye, she was still staring at him. Tentatively, as she muttered to herself, she put her spear aside and reached out a small hand and placed it on his snout. Baglis exhaled and she jumped instintively. He closed his eyes again. He was going to wait for as long as she needed to trust him.

He felt the cool hand upon his scales again. It combed through the furs on his cheeks. He imagined she was as fascinated as he was in that moment. He looked up as he felt the slightest weight on his shoulders, she was clinging to his mane and the leather straps of his delver's lamp.

He got up one leg at a time looked at his passenger, she shakily nodded at him. With a few powerful flaps they climbed high above the cliffs, he circled on a thermal as he checked on her. Her eyes were shut tight and tears were streaming down her face from the bitter wind. Flying was new to her, it seemed.

When she finally managed to open her eyes, Baglis heard her laugh. For just a moment she let one hand free to feel the wind on her skin and scales. Then she heard her shout, she pulled on his mane as if to steer him. An odd sensation, he thought, but he wasn't going to question it.

He took off to the west towards a wide flat mesa. There gathered atop was a Serthis hunting party, or perhaps a search party. He looked to his passenger who nodded at him and he began his descent.

There was a great uproar as he grew closer and closer to the party, he prayed to the Lightweaver that he wasn't about to felled by eight furious Serthis. He could easily be overwhelmed in their territory, he was a scholar not a fighter, he thought.

He landed as softly as he could manage, the Serthis slithering towards with sickles and spears raised. His passenger slid off of him, he held out a wing to help her to the ground.

She moved in front of him and raised her arms. The party stopped. There was crying and cheers and more rumbling hisses, though Baglis thought they sounded warmer than the warning he had recieved.

They covered her in beautiful fur blankets and fussed over her wet hair. He watched at a distance. The pregnant Serthis glanced at him as the others about her went quiet. She gave him a nod and he bowed back.

The weapons were lowered and he was safe to take to the air once again...

(In my head there's a young serthis out there called Dragon Wing, a name traditionally held by one who has felled a dragon, but earned it a different way...)

[aberration-abbey]

(image not quite final, gotta fix some weird shadow clipping and stuff)

Interest check: Serthis skin. I’m gonna be printing at least two copies no matter what, for myself and my sister, but if anyone else wants one I can print more!

lmk on the forums if you’re interested!

[tiredspirals]

🍏

🍏Show off a dragon family and talk about them! Do you have siblings, parents & kids, etc? (If you don't have any families in your lore, choose one of the other prompts instead!)

I think I'd like to do found family for this one, as the actual parent and child combos are either woefully incomplete or are genuinely depressing.

The adventuring group started when Hraes, Rataskorn, Ambassador, Occar, and Thalictri escaped the shadowed city of Anticant. The three dragons were genuine adventurers, but Ambassador's serthis-dragon clan had been destroyed and Thalictri flat out had no memories. Ambassador, being good with words, requested they and Thal join the adventurers on their, well, adventures- not that much convincing was needed. They had more or less bonded over the jailbreak, and even went through great lengths to save Thalictri. The adventure wasn't going to end here.

Hraes is sort of the mom of the group, and Rataskorn is like the weird aunt. Occar sorta goes with the flow so long as things are compatible with his sense of honor. He's not used to how wild Rataskorn can be, and is always surprised by how the others are okay with it. (Though it's hard to tell what he feels because. Y'know. Fae.)

Ambassador comes off as cool and calm which the generally likes, but has a bad habit of sassing off people they don't like. Rat and Thalictri finds this hilarious, and Occar has no commentary, thus leaving Hraes to do damage control. They know a suspicious amount of dragon biology, though this was apparently normal for the joint clan they came from. Ambassador makes poisons, potions, and contagions to coat weapons with.

Thalictri is the oldest of the group. A shockingly nimble dryad with an even more shocking control over fire. Thalictri was initially an adversary under the control of Anticant. It was noted the runes on their mask was meant to control the dryad, and that the someone underneath may be innocent, so breaking that mask was done to save them. They got a new mask (with no magic!) that they're rather obsessed with keeping affixed to their face. They're prone to extreme mood swings that comes from the general frustration of their current situation, but Hraes and Ambassador usually do what they can to calm them down. A genuine effort has been made to find and hire on fire dragons and nature dragons to possibly help Thal, though finding another dryad has been a challenge. Seems most dryad groves aren't willing to talk.

There is friction, there are bumps in the road, but overall they work well together. Things get smoother once they get the airship and more people can join their group.

[askthehiddencaste]

Serthi: Think

Serthi fighting with his demons and finally taking a step in his life in the right direction ***Suicidal Thoughts implied heavily with this drabble*** If theres something i missed and can tag please tell me so i can do so Izdira and Xheras both belong to @contrastparadoxx ! Go show them some love!!

“Thank you for walking me home darling. Are you sure you don't want to spend the day with me? Xheras is going to be at his other Red’s today so he won't be around to start a fight this time…”

Serthi smiled sweetly to his mate, reaching up to gently cup the others cheek. “As much as i would love to, I have to get back to my room…they decided to move me this time and i need to clean up and be ready to move by tomorrow after sundown” he replied softly as the fuchsia cusp frowned. 

“Then just come stay here! I hate that you constantly get moved from room to room and live out of a suitcase!” Izdira pouted, those expressive fins showing his displeasure at Serthis situation. The jade returned a softer, sadder smile as he shook his head. 

“I don't want to cause strife more than there already is jewel....besides I still have a lot to repay and atone for…this is….it's just part of it” he answered simply, his thumb running over Izzy’s cheek. 

The dweller gave a defeated sigh and nodded. “Alright, fine….Whatever you did, i don't think you should be stuck living essentially homeless to pay for it…. Please, At least think on the offer… I remember you mentioning that you had a week left on the already paid time, I want you to think about moving in at the end of it… please” he said in a soft voice, tail swaying lightly behind him as he stepped up to give Serthi one last kiss before they parted for the day. 

The jade returned the kiss with a soft sigh through his nose, nodding and turning his eyes away. “I’ll think about it Iz….. I’ll see you in a few nights for dinner” he replied softly, offering a small smile before finally turning away to walk himself ‘home’. 

* * * * * *

Serthi has been walking for a while, his hands in his pockets as he stared up at the dark sky above. 'Just think about the offer'. That phrase seemed to echo through his mind the whole way. The jade sighed and pulled one hand out to rub at his face.  Everything with Izzy was still so new, and he felt as though he deserved everything but the gorgeous man that he had managed to impress completely by accident.

As he came to a bridge, Serthi stopped, deciding the wisest way to walk across was to wander along the stone railing. "Why does he insist on loving me?... I'm no better than a cerulean with what I've done," he muttered to the open air, sighing and looking to the sky again. 

"what could I have done in my life to deserve him?  I mean, I tried to cull two of the most important people in my life… .and for what Serthi?  For some shadow walker asshole who promised you a shot at fame?  Some I'll begotten glory?"

Serthi stopped about halfway across the bridge, staring down into the fast flowing water with a soft hum in his throat. "If I just…. Slip… . He wouldn't have to fight with his mate… I wouldn't be living out of a motel… no more guilt for what I've done…." Serthi balanced with his heel on the edge of the railing, just about to step off when he heard Izdira’s voice in the back of his mind.

"I don't care about what you've done, you are all that's important"

Serthi rocked back onto his other heel again, a frown on his lips as Izzy's voice continued to echo their conversations from the night. The fuchsia had been so intent on learning what he had done… and even accepted that Serthi didn't feel comfortable speaking of his past. Izdira accepts him as is…

"hey man you okay?"

Serthi is ripped from his thoughts as a gold blood with an iguana/ hyena lusus padding behind him.  "hm?  Yea…yea I'm fine" he rushed out, planting his feet firmly on the rail again as the lusus sniffed at his shoe only to begin laughing. 

"what's so fucking funny?" Serthi huffed, the gold reaching out and taking the harness handle. "don't mind dad,  it's a hyena thing."

Serthi frowned, jumping down with a sigh when the lusus tugged on his pants leg. "Alright, alright I'm down.  Better?" another laugh from the odd iguana dog.  "your lusus round?" the gold asked, not wanting to leave Serthi alone after what he had almost witnessed.

The jades frown deepened, shaking his head "no moms……she's not around anymore."

"Oof…uh… quads?  Pale?  Flush? Hell, even a pitch?"

Serthi paused at that, swallowing thickly as he dared putting a label on what he and Izdira had. "matesprit…but I just dropped him home… he's probably asleep now and I don't want to bother him…"

The gold frowned, letting his lusus go to rub the back of his neck. "well… . I could hang around. I was just walking dad anyways so it wouldn't be a problem to get you home" he offered, the hyguanna snuffling at his hand and making Serthi pet him.

The jade thought for a moment before nodding. "yea… I could use a companion for a bit… you got a name?"

"Yeah, it's Hahena Ignedi.  You?" 

"Serthi Xernal" 

The two shook hands and brought a smile to the golds lips. "let's get you home man"

Serthi shakes his head,  a light smile on his lips.  "no… that's not for a few days yet" after all,  Izzy is still waiting for him at home

[oncillamoltres]

The Starry Night Inn

The only waystop between the Oculus of the Eleven and Dragonhome. The Inn has room for hundreds of guests, but few travelers come out this way anymore. Now the Inn is staffed only by an odd little family of five, and caters mostly to soldiers on their way to the border outpost. If you ask nicely, maybe the staff will show you the old ballroom.

What's that? Haunted? Well...I wouldn't go wandering through the deep halls at night...

(Flight Rising askblog run by Oncilla from @aberration-abbey; likes, asks, and follows from @oncillaphoenix)

STAFF:

Bramble, the Innkeeper. A friendly, down-to-earth Nocturne who inherited the care of the Inn from her father. (she/her, Fire element)

Cheshire, the Night Attendant. A jovial, ever-smiling Spiral who uses his magic to play harmless pranks on the guests. That was...some pretty powerful magic, though... (he/him, Shadow element)

Queenie, the Barkeep. A Plaguelands Serthis who's always friendly and ready to talk. She seems close with Cheshire. (she/her, no element)

Lissy, the Patchwork Daughter. A bright-eyed teenaged Spiral who was raised by the staff of the Inn. Is she...actually made of fabric...? (she/her, Fire element)

Starlight, the baby. An Aether whose egg was abandoned in the rush to rehome the Astrolab residents, he was taken in by the staff of the Inn. (he/him, Plague element)

[luciellia-fr]

I'm SO SUPER HYPED about Beast clan too! But what if, not hear me out....Wind Harpies?

Okay, okay, the design possibilities are SUPER PROMISING! But listen... hear me out too- What if no birds for wind. What if wind mage dunhoof!?!?!?!

[swallowtail-jumper]

serthis-archivist replied to your post “Shattered Gorge (incomplete) list of illegal activities: Regular...”

is the purple a "purple is reserved for royalty only" thing or? where does that come from? o:

Purple is the “Official” color of the Shadow flight, from which Torchic hails. However, for reasons unknown to anyone, Torchic was sent back after exaltation to the Shadowbinder. This was previously unheard of, and it is still a rare phenomena to come back after going to whichever deity for whatever reason. Torchic seems to hold a special distaste for the Shadowbinder. 

On top of this, the Nightrage Drag’s official colors of royalty and most buildings, or cloths, or what have you, were green and purple. Torchic would never be read to the Gladekeeper because the Shattered Gorge is right near the border of Earth/Nature and he’s not a complete fool, but also he really hates the Nightrage Drag for writing him out of history after he was essentially sent away. 

His revenge? Making purple, the arguably more important of his opposing clan’s official colors as that’s where they had their roots, into something for children. It’s considered juvenile, which alone is enough of a deterrent. But if one were to dress in mostly purple, despite the implications, it implies a loyalty to the Shadowbinder, who is oft said to be an enemy of the clan.

Betraying the clan is a crime not tolerated.

[naphiatra]

Serthis Alchemist

Clay/Shadow/Mauve

[blooming-grove]

Lair Stats courtesy of @serthis-archivist (the biggest thank yous ever omgg)

True to shadowmama i have a weakness for shadow dragons but i was surprise to see arcane and light hand in hand!!

[pumpkin-bread]

So now I know people don’t much care for serthis adopts. Or at the very least, not this art I did.

Ah well.

You live, you learn.

These snake friends are going on AH for 88g a pop, each.

I will not lower the price further, but if you prefer you can CR me for 100kT.

I will exalt them when their listings expire.

All art is attached to unbred g1s.

Frost - Sable/Shadow/Moon Aphid - Goldenrod/Tarnish/Raspberry Butterbur - Saffron/Goldenrod/Gold

Just to be clear, no other dragons will ever have art from this base I made (obviously)

[felidthing-fr]

MY LAIR STATS thank you so much @serthis-archivist !!!!!!!!

top elements: light, shadow, wind least elements: arcane, lightning, nature, ice

top breeds: skydancer, imperial, spiral least breeds: snapper, obelisk, veilspun, gaoler

top primary genes: cherub, python, basic top secondary genes: trail, noxtide, basic, shimmer, morph top tertiary genes: peacock, underbelly, basic, spines

[peacevine]

serthis potionmaster // 1111414

This potions specialist has been trying to teach shadow magic for five years... but the congregation keeps passing him over for less-experienced Serthis.

[tiredspirals]

Fucks me up that the Serthis potionmaster is a light monster trying to teach shadow magic

Like no shit the congregation is ignoring u

[askthehiddencaste]

Builds a grumpy snowman outside Serthi's place.

the snowman is quickly squashed by a large, dark skinned male with a snarl on his lips and shadows dripping from his extremities. "get lost" is the only words he speaks before disappearing.

[longneckreach]

Breakout

[Archive folder]

Longneck Reach struck under cover of night.

Aspis slithered flat against the ground, the hard stone beneath him still hot enough from the day to burn his stomach; but with no natural cover for miles, they had to be very careful. 

He was grateful for the moonless night but more grateful, exponentially more grateful, for the dragons on either side of him. The Reach was reeling, still, in the wake of the Marrow Massacre raid; and there were only so many dragons they could justify sending on a mission like this, so different from anything they normally committed to.

Adecia defended her borders--the Council, Aspis reminded himself. It was strange thinking of a dragon like Adecia as not being mistress after the gods to her clan, even stranger to think of a clan leader who held no power except as a tiebreaker and willingly bowed to the will of a Council that was more Beastclan than dragon.

So, the Council, and the clan itself, they defended their borders and would send aid to allies and potential allies. But that was very different from a black-ops strike in the middle of the Wasteland.

Ostensibly, they were only here for Alumette, and the Serthis who was commanding the force had been sending messages up and down the arrowhead formation while they flew here. This was a rescue mission only, she’d said, firm. They were not here to destroy a clan of slavers...this time. Nor were they under any circumstances to cause so much damage that the clan was likely to fortify, nor were they to give any impression that they would be coming back.

Because they would, she’d said, razor-sharp blades somehow glinting in the black night, be coming back.

The handful of dragons that had been able to accompany the strike force were mostly smaller breeds. Ennis had shrugged off any attempts to get her to stay behind in favor of insisting Kenner, blue-and-white Wildclaw who’d healed Aspis’ injuries, was useless in a fight and better than her in an emergency. Chavi had shown up without being sent for with her mate, a Wildclaw who looked like the kind of cocky mercenary Aspis used to kill in the arena except for the way all the Resistance liaisons seemed to revere him. Aspis had secretly hoped that Adecia’s mate Radec would join them, or else Captain Turania; but Turania was needed to organize the forces remaining, and Radec’s injuries in the battle for the Reach had been too severe.

They’d picked up another Wildclaw in the form of an auburn dragon named Lexine, who’d introduced herself with a smirk as an “archaeologist” to general good-natured eye-rolling. The plan was to send her in as a scout to try to smuggle Alumette out without being seen, and she’d come prepared with a literal bag of thieves’ tricks, so Aspis had a pretty good idea of what kind of ‘excavating’ she usually did.

(“I’ve never stolen anything in my life,” she’d assured him when she saw his skeptical look. “Every artifact I’ve ever touched has ended up in the hands of its rightful owners, no exceptions.”

That gave him an even better idea of what her ‘excavations’ were about, but it also increased his respect for her considerably.)

Other than that, however, they were short on hard hitters. His new friend Katosomata, who gently told him to call her ‘Kat’, had flown him here; but she wasn’t a fighter at all. That role was being filled by a big red Imperial named Claret who’d carried most of their Beastclan allies—two centaurs, seven longnecks, four serthii.  Kat was only here as a navigator. Aspis, after all, had only been to their destination once, and he couldn’t fly. Navigating from the air would be an exercise in futility, and they didn’t have time to waste.

She said she could “remember” the Pit, from the pain it caused. Aspis had first thought that maybe she’d been held captive there too; he couldn’t imagine that she had ever been part of the clan. She’d looked at him for a long time, smiled, and shaken her head. “Neither,” she’d murmured softly, and hadn’t offered him any more information.

He respected her too much to press. Alumette would have had a million questions, if she were here—well, she would have a million questions. If this worked, she’d be here very soon.

Nearly soundless even against the hard-baked earth of the Wasteland, the Serthis leader slithered up beside him.

“Shirala,” Kat greeted her.

“Hush, my friend, unless you need to speak. The scouts are closer than you know. We’re ready to move,” she murmured, face pressed close beside Aspis’ ears. He nodded, trusting her to feel it. “You’ll follow Lexine. Do as she says. Identify your sister. If she sends you back, come back.”

“Yes ma’am.” Even though he was nearly frantic with the knowledge that his sister was nearby, Aspis would never do anything to risk the mission.

“We expect an alarm to be raised,” Shirala continued. “Chavi will be with you; Perry will be close.” They’d sent Perry in on the ground earlier that morning; he had the blessing of being a generic-looking low-tier merc with a weirdly good reputation considering all of his Beastclan Resistance prisoners conveniently ended up escaping at some point. Exactly the kind of dragon who might sign on with a group of slavers for a quick, easy bit of treasure. “If you can run, run east. If you can’t run, do your best to make noise and light. Stay alive. Do not allow them to separate you. We will come. Trust us.”

“I do.”

Like magic, between one breath and the next, Chavi’s beautiful marbled-copper fur pressed into Aspis’ right side. Shirala clasped Aspis’ shoulder before dropping to the scorched earth and hauling herself flat away, and was replaced by Lexine.

“Tell me what I’m looking at.”

Aspis did his best to point without moving. They were crouched in the shadow of a low plateau, maybe half a mile from the edge of the Pit itself; it was the only cover to be found.

“That’s the Pit,” he said in a low voice. “The web of metal. The camp is behind it. It’s centered around Adder’s command tent. Um, the command tent is big and red. They weren’t keeping Al in the Pit last time, but they might have moved her.”

“Will she come with me if I ask?”

Aspis thought about it. “I’m not sure. She might think you’re one of Adder’s trying to trick her. Tell her...tell her that her brother says he wants her to get out of there like clockwork. They shouldn’t know that reference.”

“Clever,” Lexine whispered. “Ready?” Aspis gave a single, steely nod.

That was when the Pit exploded.

=

It started slowly.

A little too slowly for Alumette’s sense of comfort, actually, but it was within the expected parameters.

It started with a glow, racing through the wire she’d planted all around the Pit’s edge, and from there shooting through the ugly mismatched web of chain and razor wire that kept dragons from flying out.

It glowed, bright angry red then orange then yellow in the dark, then white, and then the network was no longer able to handle the strength of the electric current she’d created.

Alumette knew what that meant. It was the central thesis of her Plan, after all!

She remembered what it meant in time to duck.

Flames burst into existence like dropping a torch in lamp oil, not racing from one end of the wire to the next but all at once; violent green flames, fading to a furious red as the copper burned out and the heat began eating through the other parts of the net, the cords and the grime and the shards of glass. The wires unravelled, weak points snapped. Sharp nails and glass were flung in every direction; Alumette heard a strangled scream but couldn’t afford to care, because within seconds, the net over the Pit had collapsed.

Before the guards had a chance to recover, she’d already slithered over the side and was racing on all fours through the burning wreckage of the overloaded wires.

Without the net, there was nothing to keep the bridge up. And with the bridge down, that meant that if she could just get the keys…

And without the net, there was nothing keeping her from racing across the Pit, while the stunned and confused guards would have to run around the perimeter in order to get anywhere first.

The guards liked to taunt their prisoners while they ate. Some of them, not all but some, would have been standing on the metal bars over the prisoners’ cells when that lightning bolt ran through the circuit. Al raced toward a gap in the guards’ line. Part of her thought she should try not to look too closely at his body; but she did, anyway. He sure did look dead.

Maybe that should bother her. But maybe, given who he was, what they did here, it was fine that it didn’t.

She grabbed his key pouch in her teeth and tugged, hard, before diving back down into the Pit.

There was only one guards’ entrance to the Arena, and none of the guards on duty down there carried keys in case the prisoners overwhelmed them. So Alumette flung the key pouch through the arena-level bars of the closest cell, grabbed a spear from the rack and dove through the guard door. A guard, a Snapper, was on his way through it from the other side. She dodged snakelike around him; he shouted after her, like she was going to stop.

By the time she skidded to a stop in front of the cell she’d identified, the injured Skydancer on the other side was just coming through the outer door.

“Who the hell—” he began.

Alumette snatched the key back and shoved a spear at him. “Later! Fucking later!”

She kept running, and left the Skydancer to deal with the guard.

She really couldn’t have carried more than one weapon at a time, so when she fumbled all the other cell doors open she didn’t have anything to give them. They were dragons, though, or Beastclans who were used to hardship, and even if they normally hated each other they weren’t stupid enough to fight amongst themselves right now.

Hopefully. Probably. She did not have an appropriate alteration to the Plan if she were wrong about that part.

“Don’t leave without me!” she called to a venom-green fighter as she bounded from her cell.

“No promises,” the Mirror rasped back. “Every dragon for himself out here.”

“That’s dumb,” muttered Al, and ran off in the other direction. 

Despite having just said every dragon for himself, the Mirror shouted after her, “Hey! No! Kid, don’t go in there!”

=

Aspis didn’t know what was going on anymore.

His first instinct had been to run toward the flames too, but that was just his first instinct. Whatever was going on, it had to be the perfect distraction. Who would notice them going after Alumette now, with a breakout in the Pit? Wasn’t this perfect for them? Lexine had said the same thing, gesturing them in toward the camp while chaos broke out.

But he wasn’t one of the Reach, and Chavi was; when she’d countermanded their “archaeologist” simply by virtue of saying that no, the fire was where they needed to be, Lexine had listened to her. And Aspis...gods forgive him, but Aspis trusted these people.

That being said, he really hoped reinforcements got here soon, because the two dozen escaped arena fighters plus the three from the Reach weren’t going to be able to hold out against the entire captor clan for much longer.

And ‘two dozen’ was a stretch. By now, it was probably closer to sixteen that had actually stayed, and a few of those were dead already. A lot of them had broken clear the moment they could spread their wings.

He knew the Reach force was right on their heels, he’d heard Ennis and Shirala marshalling them as his trio bolted for the fire; but as he slashed, hissed, twisted to slash again, a snarling leonine Tundra raised a battleaxe that Aspis wasn’t going to be able to dodge, and he knew they’d get here too late.

From the rear of the pack, he heard a bloodcurdling shriek.

“She’s loose! She’s loose! The plague rat’s—!”

The Tundra’s head snapped around. Even as he turned something flashed, black on black and gray, in the smoke and flames; red eyes and the wicked curled horns of a mutated daughter of the Wyrmwound glistened like blood as the Tundra’s life poured out, scarlet, pooling on ground too tortured by the sun even to drink up moisture.

Kpinga, free and with frills spread for the first time Aspis had ever seen, raised her head to look him in the eye.

“You’re an idiot,” she told him flatly. “Your sister is too. You were both right. Don’t let it go to your head. Duck.”

Before Aspis could process literally any of that, his body had already responded to the order; it had learned not to hesitate when his arena partner said things like that during a fight. As he was halfway through hitting the dirt hard enough to jar his teeth Kpinga beat her tattered wings once, shooting over his head and slicing out the eyes of the Mirror who’d been about to tackle him while both dragons were in midair.

The Mirror hit the ground screaming, and a Serthis finished it off.

Longneck Reach had come for them.

Serthii and longnecks swarmed down the bridge, one longneck warrior sitting astride a galloping centaur; she flung herself off to impale an enemy Wildclaw in passing. The other centaur, leading a group of beastclan warriors and Ennis, charged straight through the battle and into the guard’s entrance to sweep the back corridors for injured, or anyone left behind.

Aspis turned to Kpinga, who had managed to kill two more Mirrors and a Coatl since the last time he’d looked.

“Al’s here?” he asked.

“Spiral, bright silver, talks with her front paws, never sits still, picks locks like nobody’s business. She’s running a sweep. I like you, Aspis. But if you go back in there, I’m not coming after you.”

“You should run,” Aspis agreed. “While you still can.”

Kpinga dipped her head, spread her vast wings, and leaped into the sky without another word.

Aspis ran toward the guard’s entrance.

=

“No one’s coming, lightning rod.”

Alumette’s claws scrabbled against the hard ground, trying to find purchase. The Wildclaw digging bloody front claws under the scales of her tail had electric blue eyes too; she’d tried to shock him to no effect, except to make him grin wider.

She hadn’t liked that grin at all, so she’d stopped.

He tugged her back; reflexively, she tried to spread her wings and cried out when they jerked against the piercings. She lost her balance, rolling her front half onto her back to try to twist out of his grip, and also so that she could snap and bite. She flung an empty food bucket into his face, but he dodged it.

He raised one sickle claw and ripped it down; she twisted at the last second and it missed her wing, biting deep into her left flank instead and ripping open a long gash. She screamed.

“You, you can’t hurt me,” Al said desperately. “Nalkh—”

“Your brother’s running with the Resistance now,” said the guard, planting his foot firmly on her belly, killing claw raised again. “I don’t think Nalkh is very happy with him. You should be begging me to gut you quickly instead of waiting to see what she wants to make him watch.”

Al twisted again, trying to turn and bite; he jerked her tail until he flipped her back around, banging her head on the floor and hauling her tail under his arm and over one shoulder so her back legs were off the ground, pinning her to the floor with his sickle claw over her throat.

Al had never been very good with words. She was good at making things, like equipment, and inventions, and plans, and scripts. But talking was hard, and she didn’t know what to say that would help.

She hadn’t been paying enough attention. She’d been running one last circuit, making sure she hadn’t missed anyone. And there’d been a Wildclaw curled up in an empty cell who’d called out to her, so she’d slipped inside to free him, and hadn’t looked close enough to realize he was one of the relief guards...

Maybe she was imagining things, but as she closed her eyes and pressed back into the floor she could almost hear Aspis calling for her.

The guard growled low. “Oh, good. The meatshield’s still alive.”

Alumette’s eyes flew open. Her brother’s voice hadn’t been a dying hallucination?

Well. That was definitely not part of the plan.

“Aspis!” she yelled before the guard bore down on her throat and choked her.

“That’s your brother, right, lightning rod?” he said. “Good. I want him to watch this. I had a brother too, you know that? You’re carrying his key pouch.”

Al froze, then glared at him.

“Your brother was a piece of shit,” she informed him, since he was going to kill her anyway. “And mine’s gonna kill you.”

Claws shrieking against the packed dirt like a chalkboard, Aspis skidded to a halt outside the cell. “Al! Are you—”

He froze. The Wildclaw, turned to look at him, grinned viciously. He slowly raised his sickle claw over Al’s throat.

“Who’s faster, meatshield?” he said. “You move the tip of your tail, and I’ll—”

It wasn’t like the end of that sentence was exactly a mystery, but Alumette never did learn what it was going to be. Something rushed by overhead with a wet thud, the guard’s head snapped to the side, and his suddenly limp sickle claw glanced harmlessly off her throat scales as he collapsed.

“Kpinga?” Aspis blurted, looking around. Al didn’t know exactly what he meant by that.

Ss she picked herself up she did definitely know there was a white arrow embedded in the guard’s skull. She stood on her good hind leg, peering out the window in the thick wooden door to peek into the arena.

A white centaur, with elegant silver skin and flashing hooves, stood on the other side holding a second arrow to the loose string of a recurve bow.

She smiled when Alumette waved at her, put the arrow between her teeth, and waved back before turning and galloping away.

Aspis, big paws shaking badly, had managed to fumble open the cell door by then, and Al dropped back to the ground and dragged herself through it.

“Al,” her brother whispered. “Al, you’re—was this all you?”

Al’s tail twitched with the need to wind herself around him and never let go, but this wasn’t the time or the place.

“I made an electromagnet,” she explained. That was probably a sufficient summary. “You have friends!”

“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” protested Aspis, but at that moment an unfamiliar Mirror came loping up behind him. Al stiffened at first; but there were several longnecks and a serthis with her, and she slowed to an easy stop when she saw Aspis, so this was probably a friend. 

Note to self: Not just the Resistance, there are also new dragons. Addendum: Do not electrocute strange dragons on sight.

“Your sister?” the Mirror confirmed. Apparently taking Aspis’ watery eyes as confirmation, she nodded to Alumette and said, “You need to lie down. Aspis, Shirala, Riin, cover me.”

Hoofbeats echoed along the corridor as the Mirror (“This is Ennis, Al, she saved my life”) worked. It was the beautiful silver centaur from earlier, the young archer. She took one look at Al’s injured leg, and winced.

“Oh, sweetheart,” she murmured; then, to the Serthis, she said, “Chieftain, we’re being overrun. We have to move, now.”

“She can’t walk, and she can’t fly,” said Ennis. She tied off the bandage. “Can you carry her?”

“Like I would with a young Serthis, she’s almost the same size,” confirmed the archer. Al didn’t protest as she trotted forward.

“This is going to sting,” she said. “I’m sorry. Wrap your tail around my quiver and your body around my shoulders…”

“I think I’ve got it.” Al squirmed slightly, feeling sick as her injured leg twinged. “If I put my paws here I can balance and my head won’t get in the way when you shoot. I’m Alumette.”

“Alayna,” said the centaur. “That’s a beautiful name.”

Ennis double-checked Al’s bandage, then nodded to the Serthis who seemed to be in charge. Without pausing, she shouted, “Fall back!”

Everything was kind of a blur after that.

Alayna was very fast, and everyone seemed invested in getting their group to safety. The arena was mostly empty, but there was fighting at the top of the bridge that was probably going to present a problem…

Except that it didn’t. Their band sprinted toward the silhouette of a Guardian in the darkness, encouraged by shouts from the Beastclan already sitting on her back. As they started getting close the air shuddered, something made the black sky even darker…

“Oh!” Al realized. “That’s what it’s like being under an Imperial attack run—”

 The Imperial opened his mouth, and gold flames enveloped the arena. 

“He’s a Light dragon!” she informed Alayna.

The centaur turned to glance over her shoulder, grinning. “I know.”

Al twisted her head to watch the Imperial as he finished his first pass and pulled up. The golden light of his own flames danced along his scales, drawing out all kinds of beautiful shades of red. But the bigger members of the slaver clan, the ridgebacks and the handful of their own Imperials, were readying to meet him. If the smaller dragons and beastclan wanted to get out, it would have to be now, while they had a big red distraction and the smaller enemy dragons had been scattered or immolated.

 And they weren’t all going to fit on that Guardian.

Judging by the Serthis’ expression, she knew that too.

“If you can fly, fly,” she shouted. “Everyone else, move! Get southeast! Now!”

[inshadowofthegods]

Family

Night was falling. Below them, jagged crags of rock cast long shadows against vast stretches of barren, parched earth. They’d cleared the forest hours ago, and were headed in the general direction of the crumbling Pillar that still towered over all else. They were nowhere close to it, of course. They were still far from the light of any other inhabited villages or townships, and so they would remain. In the dim light, Edan could make out two long, deep, curved lines gouged side-by-side into the cracked dirt below. They continued on far out of view, forming two large circles, one within the other. He motioned to Solveig and pointed them out. “Do you see it?” The pearlcatcher nodded. “They signify condemned ground,” Edan stated, swallowing back the sick feeling rising in his stomach. “We’re almost there. Do. Not. Land. Under any circumstances.” “I… yes,” Solveig replied, looking back at him with wide eyes. “Follow me, and circle when I circle,” the mirror instructed, his voice strong in spite of the dread filling him. “There will be… ruins, I imagine. I’ve not been here in… a long time.” The next few minutes of flight were silent, Edan hardly breathing as he strained to hear any sign of movement below them. His second sight was useless here: there was no body heat to track. Finally, far below, he saw what they’d come there for. “This was my home,” he said quietly, drifting close to the pearlcatcher as he spoke, then breaking off to circle the crumbling remains of a tiny village. A few houses still stood, though their clay walls and wooden roofs were worn down by years of enduring the elements without any care. His stomach twisted around itself as he flew, watching breathlessly for any movement below. He couldn’t be relieved to not see anything at first: that would just mean they’d wandered. But then, something crawled out of one of the husks of a home. It was draconic in shape, certainly. But the sick, halting way it moved was enough to hint that there was no sapience left in its body. He couldn’t recognize who it was, and silently thanked the gods for it. If he looked long enough at the clothes still clinging to its emaciated form, though, he knew he would. He looked away, instead focusing on the macabre shadow it cast as it dragged itself out of the gloom. He could see every bone wherever the fabric didn’t cover, watch its jaw move as if snapping at prey just ahead, held together by sinews and the remnants of magic that once coursed through the dragon’s veins. Once, it could have been one of his siblings, or his father, he didn’t know. He was so grateful he didn’t know. He looked back toward Solveig, who was flying erratically. The pearlcatcher made a beeline toward him, their fearful, pleading eyes reflected briefly in the moonlight. Edan nodded and turned, flying away from the remains of his childhood home, the pearlcatcher flitting frantically after him. They didn’t stop until they reached the edge of the forest hours later. Edan scanned the area, and then turned to Solveig. He did his best to stay stern. Strong, in spite of how devastating the trip had been. “Solveig,” he addressed, holding his head high as he looked down at the pearlcatcher. They seemed so young, then. Frightened, like the day he found them. “That is what happens when you aren’t careful. That is what happens when you slip for even a moment.” “I don’t - I don’t understand, I still don’t - ” Solveig replied, their voice wavering. “What was that, Edan? What happened to that mirror? The town?” “When I was young, younger than you are now,” Edan began, glancing back out toward the open expanse of the Plateau. “I was part of a clan. Son of one of the leaders, in fact. There were about… thirty of us, I think. But we were all family, blood or otherwise. There was a hunter. A guardian named Kvel. He was stronger than either of us, bigger than that lady friend of yours, and so… so kind. We all loved him, me and my siblings. He babysat us when we were younger.” “And he…?” “He dragged himself home to us one day,” Edan sighed. “Serthis got the better of him. He had half a dozen spears lodged between his belly plates. We had healers, like you. They all teamed together to save him, dragged him into our medical hut.” “And they failed,” Solveig finished, their voice sympathetic, but still confused. “It was… worse than that, Sol,” Edan shook his head. “My father had been out with another hunting party. When he came home and heard the news, he rushed in to check on how things were going. Then all hell broke loose. The building collapsed, and Kvel came barreling out of it. There were still… pieces… of our healers stuck to him. He’d crushed them all. I didn’t see my father after that, but I heard him screaming to us that Kvel was dead, didn’t have a heartbeat.” Solveig’s mouth was agape. “He… just kept rampaging through town after that,” Edan continued, trying to force himself to finish the story, even as his voice began to shake. “Like he was blind, frenzied. If someone got in his way, he’d rip them apart. If someone screamed, he’d… it was like he wanted to stop the noise. I saw my siblings die when my mother tried to take us and run. I saw the hunters fall as they tried to take down something several times their size that didn’t feel pain anymore. I saw everything torn apart as my mother grabbed me and flew for the horizon.” “Why did that happen to him?” Solveig asked, their voice a frightened whisper. “When my mother died, that was… that was it.” “You can’t know who will…” Edan paused, taking a deep breath to try and steady himself. He was shaking, and he hated it. “Sometimes the magic doesn’t leave us when we go. It keeps going, without any… without any soul to guide it. It makes us feral. It’s more likely if the death is sudden. That’s why Kvel… rose. That’s why one of my clanmates is still out there. That’s why… when the grief and exhaustion took my mother, all I had to do was bury her.” The two dragons looked at each other in silence. A long and painful acknowledgement of shared loss. “I need you to trust me, Solveig,” Edan finally stated, breaking the silence. “You are… my family, now. You’re my child. That’s what you are to me. I’ve been trying to just shut it off, but I can’t. I’m terrified of losing you - I can’t… I can’t handle the thought of any of you winding up like… like that. I promise I’m just trying to protect you. I just want you to be safe. I need you to trust me.” “I’m sorry, Edan,” the pearlcatcher breathed. It was impossible to see any detail in the darkness at that point, but judging by their voice, they were crying. “I’ve been so stupid. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” “Probably should have just told you sooner,” Edan replied, letting out a particularly broken-sounding chuckle. Or maybe it was a sob. Gods, he felt so weak then. “It’s just… so damn hard to talk about it. Might have to ask you to relay it to your sister at some point.” Solveig responded by slumping forward, their head resting against his shoulder. Edan jumped at the motion, then draped a wing around the shaking pearlcatcher’s back. “Come on, Sol, you’re gonna make me start crying and someone needs to navigate.” “I - I’m sorry,” the pearlcatcher replied, letting out a weak laugh. “I trust you, Edan. I’ll be more careful from now on, I promise.” “I’m gonna hold you to that promise,” Edan replied, patting the pearlcatcher’s back before pulling away. “Come on, let’s go home. I’m so damn tired.” “Be-before that,” Solveig said, looking nervous once more. “No more secrets, so there’s one more thing. Praz and I, we - ” “If you’re going to tell me you’re a couple that’s really not a secret - ” “No, a nest. We have a nest. We’re going to have kids.” “A - ” Edan blinked, then went completely still. He shook his head. “O… kay. So. I don’t… have the energy to… think about that right now. Thank you… for telling me. Let’s go home.”