#how to train your dragonblood

[mechanicalriddle]

OCtober DAY 3: Old OC (i know im posting this on day 5. I know. I dont know what to tell you V_V):

I'm playing a trick on you because this guy is new AND old. Mostly old, because he actually dates back all the way to shortly after the creation of the FIRST EXALTED CHARACTER I EVER PLAYED. which may actually be like seven fucking years ago at this point. Anyway, meet Niraj.

Cynis Niraj is a dynast, a member of the ruling class of the (standard) Exalted setting. He belongs to a dynasty known as the Scarlet Empire, frequently shorthanded to the Realm. The Realm is made up of a family of Exalted called Dragonbloods, these being the weakest but most numerous sort, as their exaltation is ostensibly 'carried in the blood' rather than bestowed.

This creates about as many problems as you would expect it would.

Anyway, dragonbloods are aligned to one of five elemental dragons- fire, air, wood, water, and earth. A lot of them are descendants of the powerful figurehead known as the Scarlet Empress, and they tend to be rich as shit and probably inbred to some degree.

Niraj is no exception to the dynastic stereotypes; House Cynis made its fortunes on the imperial drug trade, as well as partnering with the guild on their... human trafficking ventures. He is a pothead wizard and a snobby little bitch, and the best friend of the Anathema Ledaal Tedeo, though that's on a need to know basis, and maybe three people need to know that. As a matter of fact he was at the scene of the crime when Ted was Chosen, except-

-Well there's an important thing you should know here, which is that in Exalted lore, Heaven deposed the Solar Deliberative thousands of years ago. By killing... Pretty much all of them. And then capturing as many of their exaltations they could find, and putting them in a big vault under the sea. And then creating a new religion which would brand anything that looked like a Solar (or Lunar, for that matter) as a demon-cavorting wild and wicked monster that must be hunted to extinction. By the Dragonbloods. Dragonblooded are not supposed to be friends with Solars. Solars aren't supposed to be human. Solars are supposed to die.

By association, one could also be branded as an anathema for his aiding and abetting a known anathema such as Ledaal Tedeo.

But we're not talking about Ledaal Tedeo. We're talking about Cynis Niraj, who is like, a little bit gay. Just like a leeeeeeeeettle bit gay. He's just gay and just sentimental enough that he's decided he doesn't want his best friend getting put down like a dog, even if it means turnabout is a fair excuse to also get put down like a dog. Every day his house of cards adds a new one to the stack. But it's fine, because water aspects are supposed to be good at the cloak and dagger courtly espionage thing. Its sort of their whole schtick.

Like any young dragon of the realm, Niraj is desperately obsessed with appearances. If you thought your highschool experience was bad, DBs are on a whole new level of psychological warfare being that the honor of their house is constantly on the line. They're trained from a young age to engage in cutthroat social combat with their peers, preparing them for a future where nearly anything about them is assumed to be weaponized against them. Niraj spent a long time teaching himself how to be """cool""". Stay on the periphery of drama, never be embroiled in it. He provided the benefits of a direct mainline to quality Cynis intoxicants to his peers as a social lubricant to keep himself out of trouble. He learned to let insults slide cleanly off of him.

This didn't really fully work for a couple of reasons; one being that there are certain personality types in Dynastic schooling that see a guy like that and wonder exactly what it will take to make him snap. Secondly, he did take an unusual fondness towards one of their mortal peers, widely disliked for continuing his schooling after failing to exalt (....as a dragonblood) during his adolescence. Niraj simply appreciated his capacity for earnestness, a trait which was vanishingly rare in his circles, and would inevitably rub off on him - at least a little bit.

All Niraj asked for in exchange was his charge's complete confidence.

Ted always thought of Niraj's companionship as sort of like having a pet leopard with an admirable track record of not mauling him. He certainly has the capacity to, if he really wanted. He chooses not to, for reasons one can pretend to fathom, but will never actually understand. It's almost as though he enjoys the sensation of human hands running through his soft fur, but its hard to say for certain.

Currently Niraj is stuck participating in a Wyld Hunt- the sacred mission partaken by dragonblooded shikari (and their immaculate coterie) to find and successfully bring down threats to the Order. Niraj is indispensable to this mission on account of valuable information he may have due to his proximity to the target (Or at least, the leader of the Wyld Hunt, Sesus Varen, seems to think.) Fortunately nobody on the team seems to think that the young water aspect would have the fucking cojones to feed them a constant influx of false information for several months, something which is rapidly driving him toward his breaking point. Unfortunately Ted is no longer answering his calls, and things are getting weird quick. To top it all off, perhaps the strangest detail is that the person Varen is hunting to the ends of the earth also happens to be his own son. And while Varen has never been a particularly attentive father, it almost seems a bit weird, the zealotry with which he pursues his mission, and the lack of hesitation at the prospect of completing its penultimate goal.

Will Niraj lose it all for the sake of authenticity? Or will Ted's lousy anathema hunter father finally get to him?

Only time will tell.

Some fun facts now, cuz fuck it.

He/him, 21yrs. Essence 3 ish, 5'8" tall

He's the son of lesbian drug magnates, and the last of a prodigious wood aspected lineage, and nobodys sure why it suddenly decided to veer into water territory, but Blood of the Dragons is Blood of the Dragons sooooo....

Went to The Heptagram (foremost academy of sorcery in the Realm, and probably all of creation) seemingly on a whim

just kidding he subconsciously wanted to trans his gender with sorcery. later he wanted to consciously trans his gender with sorcery.

and then he did it ^_^

Exalted while playing chicken on the seawall in his hometown & almost drowning, miraculously managing to not kill anyone in his essence fever-rage

(not for lack of trying)

Despite not being a wood aspect, likes plants a lot. And not just the ones that make you funny, he also has (or had) a painstakingly maintained orchid collection back in school

I didnt talk about him publicly for a very long time specifically because I loved keeping my fellow players in suspense about what this guy was actually like. All they got was occasional magical correspondences and a name, no face, no house for a long time, no other identifies. It was fun. But I'm also very happy I get to talk about him finally :3

I consider him an old oc because Ive had him for like seven years. He's new because I only recently started a pbp with him! which, speaking of, I should really get to responding to. so...

ta ta~

[coffeebeanowl]

For the earlier anon now that I am a bit more aware of my surroundings, the specifics of how Exalted wouldn't play nice with JoJo is a bit easier to lay out.

JoJo is generally about characters with very unique abilities seeing how they can get around each others strengths and weaknesses, looking for odd edge cases and creative problem solving, based around the core tenant that each character has their own core power almost unique to them.

In Exalted, your powers are derived from Charms, in game skill trees whose structure is set from the moment you pick your character type. Are you a Solar trained in Melee? You and every other Melee Solar are going to be building off the same core blocks, even if end execution will change up depending on a couple specific later abilities and more important which other ability trees you choose to go down. The main tool for distinguishing characters becomes "what is the one thing unique to me" and instead "what combination of skills am I able to leverage simultaneously".

Beyond that, since the powers available are set by your character type (Solar, Lunar, Dragonblood, Sidereal, Abyssal, Infernal, and a handful of other less common ones), and are both tied thematically to that type and are a known thing in universe, an Exalted game where these specific types don't exist is simply impossible. As much as Exalted gets pitched as "anime the game" by a lot of people, it is not a generic anime game, but a very specific mythic fantasy that happens to also draw from a lot of anime.

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

other bloodlines

Based on this story written by @saesama

Mathye stared at Reinhardt.

"Bullshite." He said. "No fucking way."

"Why would I make something like this up?! And Paien confirmed it!" Reinhardt countered, gesturing.

"He's not lying." Augustine said around a mouthful of riceball.

"How in the seven hells was Leviathan an actual fucking dragon?!" Mathye exploded.

"Your guess is as good as mine, but that's the situation!" Reinhardt said. "From how Klynt described it, I think her Echo triggered to save her from Leviathan attempting to temper her--and the primal's aether triggered the dormant dragonblood inside her. The abilities she has, she's going off pure instinct to perform."

"Without a soulstone?"

"Without a soulstone." Reinhardt confirmed. "She's probably picked up one or two things from Estinien, but otherwise? She's completely self-taught."

"I can vaguely hear the shitestorm that's about to break loose at the Congregation when you report this in." Augustine commented.

"There's nothing for it, is there?" Reinhardt countered. "If anything, maybe this will finally get some focus on the other draconic lineages! And maybe give the investigation to find our other ancestral kin a boost."

"Have you told Riven about this?" Mathye asked.

"Not yet. I sent her a request to see what she could dig up about Leviathan's origins other than what his tribe's already told us. Figured I'd explain it when she came back in."

"The only dragon I could think of as a possible parent is Ratatoskr?" Augustine ventured. "Otherwise if Leviathan was sired from Nidhogg or Hraesvelgr we would have possibly found out by now."

"What about Azdaja? We don't know if she had a brood or not." Reinhardt added.

"If Azdaja had a brood Vrtra would have been taking care of them." Mathye stretched out in his chair, wincing as what remained of his right thigh complained.

"But that aside--what are you going to recommend to Brucemont?"

"I told her I'd take her on as an apprentice." Reinhardt didn't blink as Augustine started to choke on his food and Mathye did a double-take. "I'm within my rights to do so. I don't see her going through the full training we do, it'd be a waste of time. But if she can refine her skills--and learn our basic ones, she'll be better off than how she is currently."

"You want to put her through Knight-Dragoon basic training." Augustine's voice was incredulous.

"Aye, and give her a soulstone so she can imprint her techniques. Don't ask me about the drachen yet, I need to get this past Brucemont first."

"Who is going to possibly fucking kill you the minute he smells the salt and seaweed." Mathye's voice was dry. "Did she fess up before or after you two fucked?"

"Not allowed to sleep with apprentices, that's the general rule~" Augustine sang-song.

"She wasn't my apprentice then! And it's...not even that! I'm more of a..." Reinhardt paused, thinking. "Mentor."

<Reinhardt, you ignorant slut.> Hrist commented. <Paien, I am so sorry you have to deal with him.>

<I told him she smelled like seaweed and crazy, but did he listen to me? Nooo. Had to stick his dick in it.> The younger dragon grumped.

"Hey!" Reinhardt protested.

[ryuzakemo128]

House of the Dragon and Skyrim crossover Headcanons

Approximately twenty years before The House of Dragon begins, The Last Dragonborn was born. It is believed that her mother died attempting to protect her from mercenaries sent by her father to abduct her.

As the events of The house of the dragon starts, she is primarily speaking the language of dragons. (Thu'um just to make it clear.)

There are at least one dragon near her most of the time. Most of the time it's usually Odahviing.

(Image above is what the dragon named Odahviing looks like.)

4. Odahviing is the last dragonborn's right hand, the younger and smaller dragon named Saphira. Unlike Odahviing she didn't have scales, she had sleek, glossy looking black feathers. She is only seen whenever there aren't either many people around or any people near the last dragonborn.

5. Saphira is often confused for Leviathan. The much younger dragon that only just hatched three years after she was born. Leviathan being much like Saphira as he doesn't have scales either. But instead of having black feathers, he has a darker grey.

6. The last dragonborn's name is Freyja. Her hair is a dark burgundy and her eyes are a light grey colour. Her skin so pale as if she could blend into the snow and no one would notice. She's quite tall, standing at six foot five. Often dressed in armor and rarely ever seen without wearing it.

7. Freyja doesn't have an opinion on the family of dragon riders, which to her dismay has caused more trouble than she would have hoped.

"You asked whether or not if I had an opinion and turn around saying that I must have one? How am I supposed to know what to think if I don't know enough about them to form an opinion?" Freyja to Otto, several times.

8. Her opinion of certain individuals are more biased over time. As she gets used to those certain individuals were persistent enough to stick around her. Despite the fact that she had put out the most intimidating aura around her.

"I don't think you'll be able to get rid of me that quickly." Aemond to Freyja.

9. Freyja works normally as a blacksmith, if you can't find her and you know she hadn't left town. She's most likely working as a blacksmith during that time. Mostly as a blacksmith's assistant or working inside the shop.

"This is where you work?" Rhaenyra asked her.

"Where else would I work?" Freyja replied rather confused.

10. She is recognized as dragonborn by the greybeards after she reached the age of 25.

11. Freyja is fine with her mundane job and her life being pretty boring even after being recognized as dragonborn. Unfortunately it also means she's last one too.

12. Freyja owns her own home, among the smallfolk just to make sure no one could find her.

13. Freyja had been trained by different swordsmen growing up, as she could never really afford more than one lesson from one trainer at one point or another. Therefore a lot of her scars on her body are from her trying to learn by herself between each paid lesson. Her stubborn behavior would not allow her to accept them not taking her money, saying it was her right to spend it how she wanted.

14. Freyja plays dumb among the ones who like to talk as if she was dumber because she's not male or had the same formal education.

"Due to my experience and your lack of experience. I can comfortably say that doesn't work the way that you think it does." Freyja talking to someone trying to belittle her in some form.

"I also don't think I need your help as much as you think I do."

15. Freyja's goal in life at the moment is to open up a store somewhere, a place where she can make it her own. Which has proven to be more difficult than she had hoped.

"They're acting as if I want to murder them, I have no plans to make a name for myself in the way they're imagining and yet they treat me as if I had murdered their entire family at the same time."

16. Her main weapon that she is seen wielding most of the time is a two-handed greatsword named Sossedov meaning Dragonblood/ Blood of the Dragon. But in reality it's Chrysamere a greatsword artifact she found after exiting a ruin.

(The image above is the sword that is referenced in the headcanon above.)

17. Freyja has made at least four greatsword. One is named Oath-breaker, another is named after one her own gods Akatosh the god of time and the third one named Unslaad Vulon meaning Eternal Night. These three were made for her friends she fought in battle with between the age of 20 and 25.

"We will meet again in the great halls of valor." Freyja to her deceased friends.

18. After the deaths of her friends and the blades telling her to kill her mentor, Paarthurnax, Freyja is on a war path to find the thing capable of killing her. Even that turns out to be failure after failure. So she frequents a tavern drinking cheap ale and hoping a slow death would be better than none at all.

"Have you come to mock, gloat or poke the nearest bear you could find?" Freyja said to either Alicent or Rhaenyra. Depending on when this takes place.

19. Freyja towers over most people growing up, it was something she hold over the other person instigating a fight or trying to start a fight with someone else. Which most of the time had gone her way most of the time.

"You'll regret this one day! I'll make sure of it Freyja."

"I certainly doubt that." A younger Freyja yelled back at the shorter child.

20. Freyja is the champion for Hermaeus Mora. She had decided that after she had taken the Oghma Infinium after Septimus Signus was disintegrated to ashes in front of her. While Freyja's thirst for knowledge is unquenchable, most of what drives it is her dragon-like need to dominate. Just like any other dragon around her, it's the main reason she has become a reliable aid to those who can't afford to pay for a healer or a place to replace or repair their equipment.

"Don't bother, I don't need the money I have more than enough and I'd rather see you alive." Freyja says to most of them. "If you want to repay me, you can help me by making sure you stay healthy and safe."

(Image Below is Hermaeus Mora and how he makes himself look like to Mortal men and mer.)

"I'll explain it to you once you're a bit older." Freya says to Aemond. "Besides I'd rather not face the executioner's axe for the second time." She added before leaving to return to her home.

"I certainly doubt she'd kill you over that." He says to her.

"I can't take the chance either way," Freyja yelled back. As the day came to a close and the two departed, one to her home. A small cottage among the smallfolk outside the castle walls. It might not have been much, but to her it was everything. Her hair had blood in it, her heart was beating hard against her ribcage. It felt like it was only beginning and most of the trouble was only just picking up.

Freyja had bathed a few hours later, she didn't know what to tell or hide as the fact that his mother had a terrifying death glare that sent the fear of the gods straight to her. Despite not being generally afraid of most things.

[sephie-books]

Ok read book 2 of the Dragonblood series and man this was so disappointing

Cover and LI looks like Jason Momoa (yay! Then not yay because no one comments about how handsome he is ever. Not a soul.)

story was about a teammate of the LI in book 1 - she's a fighter pilot and is a crackshot that was trained to be a sniper. Her plane was shot down in enemy territory and she was taken prisoner. She escaped with the notorious Deathmaker, a ruthless pirate known for his concoctions and bombs, and in their travels he falls in love with her. Supposedly idk

It's becoming apparent this author couldn't write romance if her life depended on it

Her characters all fall into Like

"Well I really like you, so meh I guess I love you"

And with this MC she had a really interesting backstory and personality, but the author ruined it by never exploring what that means and concentrating on "then this happened, here's some info dumping under ~truth serum~ (instead of properly incorporating it throughout the story), and just writing everything in a ~I just think they're neat~ vibe way"

Like the MC and the LI never properly think about each other, what it means to fall in love with the enemy, how they feel about love and being in love, and what that now means to have a person that you hold dear.

Would you give up everything for them? Would you die for them? Did you fucking tell them you love them? Are they your first and last thought when waking or dreaming?

I'm literally so disappointed with this author. Please don't list your books under the romance umbrella if you can only do the bare fucking minimum by stating "and now they love each other :>"

I wish i had a physical book so I could chew on it in feral frustration before hurling it across the room

Not for being bad or having a bad premise, but for being so fucking disappointing

2 out of 5 stars, if that

[paynewriting]

Now, we went back and forth a bit on if we would be posting this, as it was confrontational, and isn't covered well in the text, or at all. But we will for posterity and will cover some of our thoughts as an addendum. Heads up, there is a content warning for misandry, discussion of forced gendering of children, and the mutilation of their genitals to enforce it. So, lets start with what was said:

Charlie (Asker):

This question is for Passantra: how was life like as a queen?

Passantra:

Good. I finally had the family I had always, I got to see them prosper all around me. It was delightful. The latter years we coloured by the increased efforts I had to go to to protect them. But I wouldn't have changed that at all, because they were still my family and brought me so much joy, even if their existence was not as carefree as I would that it was.

Charlie (Asker):

I’m happy to hear that but this leads me to my next question for you. Why continue to allow the castration of dragon blood males? I’d figured you being unable to have children of your own wouldn’t allow to have others share the same fate as you?

Passantra:

That practice primarily faded along with the births of males after a few centuries of the Krinaale on Dentre. When Karthil was cast out and Astrorus left the 'male' birthrate plummeted and took the practice with it. Though I cannot bear children, I would dare you to say aloud the unspoken part of that where you imply I am somehow less of a parent for it. There are many in this nation who have raised children, who have been incredible parents, but did not bear, nor sire the children they raised. The practice of castration is not about denying those individuals a family, it is about giving them their rightful place in our family and our culture. Without it we would not have the Kas En, we would not be as strong a nation as we are, and we would lose sight of the covenant on which this nation was founded.

Charlie (Asker):

Giving them their rightful place? So the only way for them to be apart of your “family” is to be unable to produce one of their own. Gods do you even hear yourselves or are all you Old Bloods so desperately trying not to see your pathetic existence as nothing more than a blight on this world?

Passantra:

This is no small part of why the tradition was born. When the Mothers Unburnt gathered and the Pact of Kith and Kin was sworn we created a nation born of dragons, and this was how we ensured that. We also created a nation safe from the violence of the men who viewed every dragonblood and every dragon as a slight upon their world. When the Mothers Unburnt came to us for protection it wasn't from people who had philosophical objections to the Old Blood and the existence of dragonbloods, it was from men whose visceral fear at no longer being at the top of the pecking order had festered and become violence. I saw no place for them in my nation. That was our culture. And if you didn't want your place in that nation, with those practices you were more than welcome to leave and bear male children elsewhere.

Charlie (Asker):

Figured much. Honestly doesn’t surprise me one bit of your view on men. Do you even love your male children? Apparently you don’t because you are fine with your women to go off and have a family but your men can’t because of your barbaric tradition.

Passantra:

Men, as you would think of them simply do not exist within Krinaale society. We do have some visitors from the mainland, but that's it. As for our children, we love all of them, and raise them with support and care regardless of their birth. For those who were castrated some chose to take Inktooth and develop as women, and some chose to let their bodies develop more neutrally. Likewise there are female born children who chose that third path. But regardless of their choice they are children of this nation, they can earn their Ink, form families, train as warriors, create art, or do anything else that a child of Dentre can. Though the Green Palace princesses, the closest there is to my immediate family, are presumed by most to be all women by their name their have been a number of princers among them, they are named simply for their majority.

Charlie (Asker):

If you love them then why castrate them?

Voidsung (Moderator):

I'm going to ask that this be the last question on this vein, as this is a topic that hasn't been covered much in the written text thus far and it should be handled there rather than through this means.

Passantra:

When the Mothers Unburnt came to me to protect them, when a pact was sworn to make them our family, to strike out and forge a new nation, that was not done lightly. I had very few terms, but if we were to create a nation born of dragons, without the violence that they had asked for protection from, this was one of them.

So that's all that was said at the time. And we most confess to feeling stressed over it all, and mixed. The Old Blood are not 'good', they are problematic, and morally grey and for every good thing that they do they are terrible ones you can point to. They are not simple characters. This practice is not one we expect anyone to be comfortable with, it is born from a misandric place and maintained by 'tradition' and a lack of self-reflection in the leaders. But it is also meant to point to the fact that we have similar practices occurring in the world where children are circumcised for all sorts of reasons, from cultural to prophylactic healthcare, where intersex children risk everything from stigma and pushing into one of the more accepted genders, to infanticide with a whole host of medical interventions aimed at normalising the children in the middle. In effect, we have forms of these same practices that the nation of Dentre has, we simply target a minority of marginalised individuals and not men in general. In whole, this is barbaric, and we agree that you shouldn't be comfortable with this or approve of it. But if you feel that way, there are real world practices that should bother you too, this is hardly a unique evil that has been created for Passantra. It also likely informs where we are coming from that neither of us has a simple relationship with gender, and Alexis, being trans in particular has a perspective on having your gender assigned and your body develop in ways out of your control that isn't the majority one. But we will leave that there, we are definitely thinking about how we approach and frame the difficult topic that we want to write about, but we wanted to give some context here for something that was mostly presented without.

[crystalgirl259]

How to Train Your Dragonblood 3: The Dragonblood Alpha Ch4

"Ground all dragonbloods!" Cliff shouted at the top of his lungs as he ran through the underground stone corridor to the hanger. Jay and Kai were trailing after the chief as he ran ahead, bellowing orders to anyone who would listen. Cole and Ed were also following them, also concerned about Cliff's fear. The others were following Cliff's orders and locking down the island, even though some of the dragonbloods weren't happy about it. They hated being controlled and ordered around, especially after all those years of being enslaved by that monster at the nest.

Unfortunately, as they were living on Cliff's island, they had to live by his rules.

As soon as Jay confirmed Iron Baron's name, it was like Cliff suddenly became a completely different person. One not seen by his family or anyone in Ninjago. As he was growing up, Jay had seen his father in chief mode, father mode, over-protective mode, and sometimes he could just be an insensitive and condescending jerk. This Cliff was very different, however. He looked downright terrified as he ran around the hanger, and it was very unnerving for Jay to see.

"What?! Why?" Jay cried in shock, but Cliff ignored his son.

"Seal the gates! Lower the storm doors!" He shouted as they entered a bigger cavern. Jay tried to keep up while Kai followed him, just as bewildered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait, wait, what is happening?" The brunette asked as everyone rushed around.

"Come on, you heard the man, lock it down!" Ed echoed around the underground cave with dragonbloods and humans milling around as the group climbed down the stairs, one-half alert and the other half confused. People began to pull down levers and the gate that led outside slowly closed.

"No dragonblood or man sets foot off this island until I give the word!" Cliff bellowed and dragonbloods and humans start running around in near panic at their Chief's sudden alarm. Cliff ignored the stairs and jumped down the platform along with Kai and Ed.

"Wait, all this because some weird guy you knew is stirring up troubles on some faraway land?" Jay asked in shock. He had never seen his father run from anything in his life. Without warning, Cliff suddenly got into his son's face, a look of fear, anger, and determination plastered on his face.

"Because Iron Baron is a madman, without conscience or mercy, and if he's built a dragonblood army... Gods help us all!" He muttered in horror before he started to scream orders at his men again as he paced around. Jay wasn't discouraged by this and caught up to him, cutting off his path. Ed had to give the kid some points for audacity. He had always known the lad had it in him to stand up to his own father.

"Let's ride back out there," Jay suggested, trying to be positive. "We'll follow those trappers to Iron Baron and talk some sense into him."

"No! We fortify the island!" Cliff insisted.

"It's our duty to keep the peace!" Jay argued.

"Peace is over, Jay! I must prepare you for war."

"War!?" Kai exclaimed in shock. He could tell Cliff was scared of the Iron Baron, so was Kai, but the brunette didn't expect it to go so far.

"Dad, if this Iron Baron is coming for the dragonbloods, we can't wait around for him to get here! Let's go find him and change his mind!" Jay pushed, but the chief was too stubborn to listen.

"No, some minds won't be changed, Jay; Ninjago is what you need to worry about! A Chief protects his own!" He snapped at the young man before turning back to the panicking humans and dragonbloods running around the hanger. "Secure the stables! Latch every stall!" He ordered as he ran ahead, leaving Jay and Kai alone in the middle of the hanger. As he left, Jay looked at Kai and gave his hotheaded boyfriend a comforting look, sensing his unease.

The Fire Dragonblood then went and gently touched his arm, already knowing he was up to something from his determined look.

"Jay, don't!" He tried to reason with his boyfriend, but Jay was just as stubborn as his father.

"I have to baby, you know that." He replied as he leaned down for a quick peck on Kai's cheek and that was all it took to convince Kai into transforming into his dragon form. Cliff saw the flash of Kai's transformation, but before he could turn around completely, Jay was already on top of Kai's dragon form and then they were in the air and swooping underneath the closing hanger gate. The couple tried to find a way out as the windows and other openings of the cave were closing off.

Luckily, they managed to get into the open air before the last gate was closed.

As the Chief and Ed watch him go, another dragon swooped down behind them and takes after them. When they saw what was happening, Pixal also transformed and she and Zane chased after the pair. Zane frowned as the gate slowly rose and the light was blocked but in the last second, he and Zane were out right before the entrance was locked. Cliff sighed and shook his head as he watched his son and Zane fly off into the distance...

****************

As the sun began to set, a ship was sailing in the icy sea near some huge cliffs. At the front of the ship stood Clutch Powers, watching the horizon before he walked back on the deck where his men were working and pulling ropes. They all had to keep their eyes peeled. With this wind, they would reach Iron Baron by daybreak so they had to fill up the ship with dragonbloods and quick. It was no time to be picky. Not with riders showing up to rescue their targets almost every night.

He just couldn't understand how anyone could like those flying, murderous, monsters.

As Clutch examined his maps, trying to pinpoint the most recent dragonblood sightings with their route, one of the sailors looked in the sky, and Clutch noticed that and followed his gaze. Everyone was watched the two dragonbloods appeared in the distance and flew towards them. Clutch brightened up at the sight of two healthy-looking targets.

"Get them, lads! Take them down! He ordered as he aimed the crossbow with a satisfied smirk. It was wiped off, however, when he realized who the dragonbloods were. The same riders and dragonbloods that they had met earlier that day. As the men around him yelled and prepared themselves for capture while Clutch frowned and pulled the machine.

"You're not getting away this time!" He shouted at the riders.

"Jaybird, please tell me you have a plan at least." Kai gulped mentally as they flew closer to the ship. The ginger-haired man didn't say anything to his boyfriend, however. He wasn't confident enough to even look at him. "YOU DON'T HAVE A PLAN!?" He roared, catching Zane and Pixal's attention.

"Is everything alright?" Zane asked in worry, but Jay gave him a comforting smile.

"Yeah, we're good, Kai's just being paranoid as per usual." He reassured as he petted the Fire Dragonblood's head. Kai only snorted in disbelief, but before he could respond, Clutch started firing net at them. The launched nets were gracefully avoided and Kai got closer to the ship until he could leap on the deck with Pixal following seconds after. Jay removed his helmet while Zane spun his large shurikens and Clutch takes out his blade.

"And here I was worried I may turn up empty-handed," Clutch smirked as he prepared for the riders to make the first strike.

"Nope! It's your lucky day, we're here to give up." Jay chirped as he held out a hand for Zane to put down his weapon and for Pixal and Kai to return to their human forms, which they all did. The hunters and Clutch were shocked to see the dragonbloods transform into humans. They knew dragonbloods could do this, but they rarely saw this. When they all finally registered Jay's words, everyone blinked in shock. Even Kai and Pixal were confused, and Kai practically shared a mind with him.

What was his human boyfriend up to?

Zane looked at him like he was crazy as Jay put his arms up in surrender. Everybody else was too busy gawking to even remember to pick up their fallen jaws. Clutch also almost dropped his knife as he raised a confused eyebrow. Jay and Zane walked away from their dragonbloods and Jay leaned down to take a net.

"That's one Fire Dragonblood, one Ice Dragonblood, and two of the finest riders from the sunny island of Ninjago; that ought to make the boss happy, right?" He smirked as he suddenly threw the net over his three friends all froze in shock. Kai really hoped Jay did have a plan or else the human would be sleeping outside for a week. Mutters of insane and worried rumbles flew in the air around them. Pixal mentally begging the crazy boy who apparently was willing to sell them to a bunch of hunters to explain himself faster or she would happily freeze him right where he stood.

Jay said nothing to his friends as he pushed Zane's shurikens into Clutch's hands, who was still rooted to the spot and watching Jay in disbelief. He backed off when Kai bared his fangs at him to follow.

Jay then shoved out of the way the weapons of the dumbstruck crew while Zane, Kai, and Pixal finally got the net off. They all climbed down in a cage built below the ship while the men are still watching.

"What are you doing Jaybird?" Kai hissed at his boyfriend as Jay followed after him, pulling down the barred opening. This only made Kai more worried as he was a bit lost by his boyfriend's actions. They were among enemies yet the boy and Zane were not aggressive. Granted he somehow doubted Jay would ever intentionally be aggressive. He just didn't seem to carry that type of intimidating aura like his fellow humans. He was also concerned that he willingly entered a cage.

He whined in his throat at Jay's confusing gestures that made a dragonblood as mighty as he behaves like a mother watching its hatchling from falling out of the sky.

For the life of him, Kai just couldn't understand his human, boyfriend, rider sometimes.

"Kai, just relax." Jay pleaded as he turned back to the hunters. "Dragonbloods don't really care for cramped spaces, but they won't be any trouble." He promised, but this had a very opposite effect to what he was hoping for. The people suddenly pointed all of their weapons at the Fire Dragonblood, making Kai jump in fright as he transformed, eyes like needles and back arched like a cat. Pixal quickly followed his lead, also feeling incredibly threatened.

She had spent many long and grueling months locked up in a cage in the arena back in Ninjago, so this was all brought back some very painful memories.

Zane seemed to sense this and gently rubbed her head to help her relax. It worked, but only a little bit. Kai lowered his body to the ground and growled. Jay resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he poked his head through the bars. Clutch stared at him with a flat look. Beside him, a hooded man fidgeted with his weapon. After a short staring contest, Clutch rolled his eyes to the sky when a sword sticks out of the cage. The crew jumps back when it lit up in flames.

Jay popped out again, hitting his head as if reprimanding himself for not remembering.

"Can't have armed prisoners." He smiled as he gave the sword to a man while down below Ka, Zane, and Pixal watched everything unfold with trepidation.

"How is this a plan?" Kai mentally glared at the back of his head. But Jay was more focused on the trappers and gaining their trust.

"Just what every dragonblood trapper needs." He smiled as the men inspected the device he made curiously. One end coated the blade in saliva from Kai's dragon form and the other sprayed gas from Tox. As the men looked at the weapon, they accidentally activated the gas. They desperately tried to shut it off, and Clutch stepped away while another man clicked the lighter by mistake. Jay ducked below as an explosion rocked the deck. The two men that caused the explosion were covered in soot and coughing.

A spark was floating around and glided into the cage.

Without thinking, Kai and Pixal leaped onto their back legs and played with it, trying to be the first to catch it with their paws. Jay almost squealed at the sight and Zane smiled. Despite being intelligent, powerful creatures, dragonbloods were still animals deep down. Jay would even use light reflecting off his knife to make a little dot for Kai to chase like a cat. When he finally regained his senses and the spark faded, Kai moaned and covered his face with a paw.

He hated it when he acted cute when he was supposed to be daunting and remarkable.

He always told Jay and anyone that he was a fearless creature, not some cuddly toy. Having enough of the show, Clutch stomped to the men and grabbed the sword before he turned to Jay.

"What game are you playing?" He demanded.

"Eh, no game, ee just want to meet the Iron Baron." He shrugged innocently.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to change his mind about dragonbloods." He replied, looking more serious than Clutch had thought the small man was capable of and the crew started to laugh. Zane sighed in disagreement but said nothing.

"Some minds cannot be changed, Jaybird, you really have to understand that." Kai mentally mumbled with a tired thought when Jay caught his eye he shook his head and that visibly hit the ginger-haired man judging by his surprised look. The teen was silent as he stared back until he finally gathered his thoughts.

"Well, you changed yours, so did my Dad and all of Ninjago." He shot back just as determined but a tad more subdued, and Kai looked away. Zane and Pixal shared a look, knowing that the couple were having a private talk, and were feeling very uncomfortable at being in the middle. When he knew he had won their short argument, Jay slowly climbed out of the cage and was joined by Zane and the two dragonbloods. The trappers raised their weapons but waited for Clutch's command.

"He can be very persuasive," Zane added, trying to help his friend.

"Once you gain their loyalty there is nothing a dragonblood won't do for you." Jay smiled as he scratched the Fire Dragonblood's ear fondly, demonstrating their close bond and showing Kai he wasn't upset with him. But Clutch was still not convinced.

"You won't be changing any minds around here." He snorted.

"I can change yours right here, right now." He promised as he reached for Kai's flying gear, pulling a lever that spread the prosthetic tailfin.

"You sure about this Jaybird?" Kai asked nervously, but his boyfriend sent him as much love and reassurance as he could through their link. Once he was sure Kai would be alright, Jay turned back to Clutch.

"May I?" He asked as he extended his hand for Clutch to take. Only he didn't get the chance to do anything because all of a sudden, a dark green shape moved across the ship and snatched him away. Another dragonblood flew by and ripped the sails. Within seconds, the trapper's ship was surrounded by a few dragonbloods. The sailors tried to stay on their feet as Clutch glanced around at the sky for the assailants. Fearing for his boyfriend, Kai leaped onto the mast and sails growling loudly, until he stopped when he saw they were the other riders from Ninjago.

He was relieved to see Jay in Morro's claws.

"Put me down! Harumi, what are you doing?!" Jay screeched as he struggled in the Wind Dragonblood's claws, but Harumi and Morro had to suddenly duck with everyone else as the trappers started firing nets at them. As most of the riders managed to dodge the nets, Dareth and Tox weren't as fast and one of the nets wrapped around them. They would have fallen into the icy sea if Rocky hadn't caught them in the air. The Earth Dragonblood hovered in place as Cole climbed down and cut the net away with a knife, freeing the pair.

While they were all distracted, Jay finally managed to push his legs up and released himself from Morro's grip.

As he fell headfirst he looped his hands through the bands around his legs and unfolded his wings. On the deck, Zane rushed Clutch and pushed him away from the catapult, but the net was still fired. Luckily, Jay avoided it as he glided back down to the ship. He grabbed a rope from a sail and slid down on the deck. Kai jumped beside him as he took off the wings and nuzzled the human affectionately. He would have transformed and hugged Jay, but he still didn't feel safe enough to do that yet.

"What are you guys doing here?!"

"We're here to rescue you!

"We don't need to be rescued!

"Enough!" A voice suddenly boomed and a large dragonblood made of metal landed behind a sail, with Cliff Gordon as the rider and Ed as a back passenger. This was Karloff, a large Metal Dragonblood. A couple of years ago, Jay finally convinced his father to partner up with a dragonblood like almost everyone else in Ninjago. After many failed attempts to connect with a dragonblood, Cliff met Karloff in a local tavern and the two of them hit it off right away.

They were now regular drink buddies and partnered up whenever Cliff needed a dragonblood.

Karloff roared in agreement with his rider and Jay turned just as the Chief hopped down with a thud on the floor.

"Well, you just picked the wrong ship!" Clutch sneered as he gestured angrily at them. Cliff just heaved a sigh in frustration. Before the lead trapper could say another word, the chief grabbed his face without a word and pushed him away, being in no mood to deal with other people with attitude problems. He slid down and as he tried to stand, Zane hit him in the head, knocking him back down. Before he could get up again, Pixal suddenly pinned Clutch down, her icy breath leaving bits of frost in his face and hair.

Clutch was smart enough to stop struggling.

"Does anybody else want to try anything?" Cliff growled and the crew reluctantly lowered their weapons. They may be skilled in the art of Dragonblood hunting, but they weren't stupid enough to take on eight different Dragonbloods and nine humans. "That's what I figured." Cliff huffed and turned to glare at Jay. "You, saddle up; we're going home."

"No." Jay snapped. It was so blunt that Cliff almost fell over. That ungrateful, idiotic son of his! What had he done to deserve so much grief from his family? First Libber and now Jay? It must have come from her side of the family, no doubt about it.

"Of all the irresponsible–"

"I'm trying to protect our dragonbloods and stop a war! How is that irresponsible?!"

"BECAUSE WAR IS WHAT HE WANTS, SON!" Cliff shouted louder than he had in his life. The exasperation in his voice had Jay freeze and Cliff realized he had to explain. With a heavy sigh, he began to tell the story of Iron Baron. "Years ago there was a great gathering of chieftains to discuss the dragonblood scourge we all faced." He started and Ed gripped his friend's arm tightly. The Chief was rubbing his eyes and frowning. Ed had a feeling that by the end of this his friend would have aged decades.

Who could have thought that something so old and gone would surge from the folds of the past and haunt him so much?

As Cliff recounted his encounter with the Iron Baron, his mind flashed to the past. A younger Cliff looked around at the other chiefs sitting on high chairs as a pale, hunched figure was stepping in their middle.

"Into our midst came a stranger from a strange land, covered in scars and draped in a cloak of dragon skin; he carried no weapon and spoke softly, saying that he, Iron Baron was a man of the people devoted to free mankind from the tyranny of dragonbloods." He said as he remembered the man speaking to the chiefs and Cliff leaned down in his chair, scratching his chin as he listened with the others. "He claimed that he alone could control all the dragonbloods and that he alone can keep us safe if, we chose to bow down and follow him." He sighed sadly as the sound of the other chiefs laughing rowdily at the man's boldness still ringing in his ears.

In the present day, the teens all started laughing too, Dareth and Plundar the loudest.

Ronin was laughing so loud that he had to wipe a tear from his eye.

"Yeah, we all laughed too; until he wrapped himself in his cloak and cried out: Then see how well you do without me." Cliff shuddered at the memory. "Then the rooftops of the meeting hall suddenly burst into flames and from it armies of dragonbloods descended, burning everything to the ground!" He hissed angrily before it melted into a look of sorrow and regret. "I... was the only one to escape." He muttered and everyone on the deck fell silent at the confession.

Jay still wasn't convinced, however, and everyone could see it.

"Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with." Cliff tried to convince him, but as usual, his son was stubborn.

"Maybe, but I'm still going to try." Jay insisted as he walked away. Clutch followed Jay with his gaze as the younger man Jay hopped onto the Fire Dragonblood, just as surprised as the chief. "This is what I'm good at, and if I could change your mind, then I can change his too." He added, sounding sincere but determined at the same time. Ed smiled at his apprentice's courage while the Chief shook his head. With one thought from Jay, Kai took off and Cole runs over to Rocky to follow.

"Let's go!" He ordered to the other riders, but Cliff grabbed his arm.

"No, lead the others back to Ninjago; I've had enough mutiny for one day." He growled as he stepped away from the Earth Dragonblood and his rider. Down with Clutch, Pixal still had him pinned to the deck until Zane managed to pull her off. As quickly as they had appeared, the riders all flew from the trappers' boat, with Ed and Cliff chasing after Jay and Kai and the others heading back to Ninjago. Clutch couldn't move from the deck, too shocked and confused by what just happened...

[sadoeuphemist]

With the dragon dead, the knight could see quite clearly now the thin gold chain tightened around its neck, the hunched and scoliotic curve of its spine as its body lay crooked, bleeding into the dirt. Curled around the tower, it had seemed a fearsome beast to be sure. But with the beast cut down it was evident now that the tower had served as a sort of crutch, a stone stake in the earth that had trained the dragon to its dimensions, left it clinging and deformed.

“It was a pitiful old thing,” the princess was saying, coming into view as she descended the spiraling stone stairs. “My father’s men found a clutch of eggs in a raid, and on my orders brought one home. We raised it. It was quite a chore, honestly. God only knows how many times it set the curtains afire. And dragons attract dragons, or somesuch. Great red matriarch kept harassing the kingdom after that, until my father finally assembled a force to slay her, and that was that.” She flicked her fingers carelessly through her flowing hair, her movements light, insubstantial. She lowered her eyes and smiled at him mischievously. “I wouldn’t advise it, should you ever get it in mind to keep a dragon for yourself.”

The knight said nothing. His hand wavered, and he looked down in dull realization to see he was still holding his naked sword, the blade bared, ichor dripping down its length. It felt unusually heavy, his sword. As if the point were weighted, threatening to sway it in another direction uncontrolled. He blinked, and looked up at the princess’s fair face. “Of course,” he said. “My lady.”

“And at last, you have freed me from the foul beast,” she said, floating to him gracefully. “Freed it, too,” she added, looking down at her reflection in its lifeless amber eyes. She eased a lock of hair back into place. “Thank goodness for wandering knights. And for their swords, that can slice through any bond or obligation.”

Beneath his armor the knight shivered, and with an effort sheathed his sword, releasing his fingers from the hilt. “Could you have not -” he said, and shook his head and hesitated. “Could you not have simply set it free yourself?”

“After so long? After we had accustomed it to civilization?” The princess lowered herself upon the curve of the dragon’s neck, tucking her dress beneath her, and although her eyes were clear and hard, there was a tenderness to her touch as she ran her hand across its scales. “It could not fly, dear knight. Could barely breathe fire. It had all the viciousness of its kind bred out of it.” For a moment the gleam of a bared grin crossed her mouth. “This was a princess’s project. The idle fancy of a girl without a kingdom yet to rule. I had thought to raise it as a captive flame, a leashed destruction that could wreak vengeance upon the earth.” She smiled up at him, her lips soft, no hint of teeth. “Alas, such qualities, at least in dragons, proved incompatible with civility.”

She was almost tender, nestled in the dragon’s coils, her fingers toying with its filigreed leash, and the knight felt a revulsion building in him, erratic and irrational, towards both her tenderness and her scorn. “So you - you regret it?” he said.

She eyed him sharply. “Do you regret it? The way you charged right in - surely you’ve slain more dragons than this.”

“Yes, but - but those ones were fearsome! Wicked beasts! Had I known -!” He had indeed slain dragons. He had held his shield against their flame, feeling the heat of a furnace, moved nimbly to avoid their darting strikes, the searing venom of their breath. They had been wicked indeed, but at least vibrant in their wickedness, creatures that yearned to devour, to inflame, to sunder. Nothing like this piteous dead thing, this malformed creature that had never known anything but the thin allowance of leash chained around a tower. He could feel the blood rushing in his ears now, as if he was again charging in to do battle. “The dragons I slayed were true threats! Plundering the countryside! Terrors to both man and beast alike!”

“And so I should have ordered the eggs to be left where they lay, to be raised into wickedness?” she countered. “I should regret my efforts to indoctrinate this rapacious beast into the service of Christendom?”

‘No, but -” His knight’s armor was heavy on him, and clumsy, and he wished the dragon was not dead, or that there was some vile beast in front of him still, some reason for him to unsheathe his sword and rely on his knightly talents. “It - it is cruel,” he said, “to hold a wild thing in captivity, to force a thing to go against its nature! The dragons are fearsome, yes, but only in the manner of beasts, as a hawk rends apart its prey! And a beast - To be trained, it -”

The princess laughed, high and scornful. “Cruel? For a beast? To be trained? Will you say the same about the horse you rode in on?”

Ill-equipped for parley, the knight began to stumble over his words. The stink of dragonblood hung heavy in the air, clung to the insides of his nostrils. All he needed do was look down upon the dead dragon, from the thin gold chain lacerating its throat to where its body lay twisted like entrails, and then the indignation rose in him hot again. And yet, in his fumbling arguments, he found himself retreating to the image of a trained hawk swooping slow to disembowel a hare, soon again to bear willingly the darkness of the hood. He looked upon the dragon’s thin reptilian face, inscrutable and inert, as if it had been beyond suffering or humiliation even at the final stroke of his sword, and found himself abruptly at a loss for words. “I -” He fell silent and bowed his head. “Forgive me, my lady, I do not know what I say.”

She rose to meet him, gentle once again, her soft hands stroking the unfeeling metal of his gauntlets, and there was pity in her voice. “It is true,” she told him. “We must all of us, regardless of the circumstances in which we are raised, act according to our natures.”

This did nothing to untangle his thoughts, but she spoke to him softly, and soothed him, and he allowed himself to be soothed. “You have won me,” she whispered to him, her lustrous green eyes looking up into his face. “You have slain the dragon. You have freed a princess. And now your questing is over, Sir Knight. You have found your glory. You have found your vindication.

“Now take me far from here!” she said, and flung herself into his arms. “Return me to my father’s castle, and we shall wed, and you shall inherit my father’s kingdom and so justly be rewarded!” She broke out into a laugh, this one traipsing and melodious, with such easy joy that his heart could not help but be lifted.

With hands around her slender waist, he lifted her onto his horse, the both of them now moving so as to put the sight of the dead dragon behind them, its bloody carcass beginning to attract a bloated swarm of flies.

He mounted his horse to sit behind her, the soft curves of her body nestled into the space between his thighs, and as he reached around her to take the reins, his nose for a moment pressed into the soft fragrance of her hair. He spurred his steed into motion and they rode, through forest and through dale, the trees opening to meadow so that her hair was made golden by the sunlight, and all the while she laughed and spoke fondly to him. Now and again she would turn, peeking at him teasingly, showing him her smile, and each time he was struck anew by her beauty: the shine of her eyes, the curve of her cheek, the way her hair fell across her face, the glint of golden chain across the delicate length of her throat.

[dragalialore]

New Plot Implications!

With Dawn of Dragalia and Chapter 19, a LOT of what we understand about the backstory has changed. Let’s get right into it.

Spoilers ahead, obviously, for Dawn of Dragalia, Alberius’s adventure story, Notte’s adventure story, Chapter 19, and... Pandora Hearts?

First, let’s summarize what we’ve learned from Dawn of Dragalia, Alberius’s story, Notte’s story, and Chapter 19:

Alberius’s sword, Dragalia, is made from the pactstone between Midgardsormr Zero and Meene. It was a last-second swap from Elysium’s pactstone with Ilia, which was meant to be the original Dragalia. (Dragalia has been lost....... badum-tshh) This was done because Meene understood Elysium’s true nature and decided to set up a failsafe in case he ever turned on humanity again.

The Blood Casket is a faerie ritual, taught to Alberius by the fae 300 years ago. He was fully aware of the outcome and prepared to go through it regardless. (Might have to make some timeline adjustments here...) Alberius used the art to trap the largest piece of Morsayati’s body at Clave Loy’elune; 300 years later, Morsazethia reclaimed it.

Faeries grow large and later return to their small size as a part of their puberty. In modern times, the fae have learned to change their size at will. The faeries are also well aware of Euden’s true nature, demonstrated when Shirley tried to kill him in his sleep. It seems that the events that created Euden were not very popular.

Euden is an amalgamation of faerie magic and a slab of Morsayati’s own flesh. (Or, if you want to get technical, Myriam’s dad’s flesh... probably.) He was traded with an infant who died of wyrmscale, who is somehow Nedrick.

All of these points raise a LOT more questions than they do answers. A lot of information considered to be foundational is getting thrown out the window here. Let’s step back and take a look at some of the puzzle pieces that no longer quite fit. (Or never did in the first place.)

Euden’s dragonblood. This should be a BIG ONE: if Euden really is some sort of Morsayati-homunculus... why is he able to transform? According to Myriam in Dawn of Dragalia, those showered with the light of Ilia and Elysium’s original pactstone were granted dragonblood. If we’re following the thread correctly, then that would mean that Myriam’s own bloodline possessed dragonblood, but we’re (pretty) sure that she doesn’t. So what gives? Is he made of Mordecai’s alchemized body somehow?

Euden shapeshifting into Elysium. This is a mystery that’s gone unresolved since the game released, though it looks like it may have been all Zethia. Morsayati says something VERY interesting upon seeing this: “Dragonblood and maiden's prayer have united to awaken the new king... The cycle repeats...and that I cannot abide.” I bolded the interesting bit. I think the previous cycle Morsayati is referring to is Myriam and Alberius’s encounter. Which ALSO infers that Alberius shapeshifted into Elysium at some point.... I don’t like this train of thought.

Why didn’t Morsayati recognize it? Seriously, dude, I’d THINK you’d realize a walking talking slab of your own flesh was in front of you. Why wasn’t your first target Euden--why Zethia? Was it just a long con in an attempt to get Euden’s body like you nearly did in chapter 14?

Euden’s near-identical appearance to Alberius. Look, it might be nothing, and I know i’ve said this before, but Alberius one HUNDRED percent looks like an adult version of Euden--even MORE so with his pre-makeover design. The theory of him being a direct descendant has gotten flimsier with time, but I firmly believe that they are connected on a deeper level. It makes me wonder if it’s a Pandora Hearts-esque situation: for those who don’t know, Pandora Hearts is an Alice in Wonderland-inspired manga centering around a century-old tragedy wrapped in shadows and conspiracy. A mid-story plot point centers around the identity of a body used in a certain sealing ritual; for a good chunk of the arc, it’s widely believed to be one character’s, and is later revealed to be another’s. I guess what I’m saying is, are we sure it was MORSAYATI’S flesh Euden was made of?

Phares and Beren’s aims. I REALLY don’t like that these two have been out of the picture for so long. It makes me nervous. We haven’t heard from them since Chapter 14 and we’re still no closer to understanding their aims. We’re ALSO no closer to understanding how Phares is alive or how Beren is able to use/generate black mana.

While we’re at it, Nedrick’s aims. What do you want the fucking Dawnshard for, dude. We know it’s a sacred shard of unmitigated power--Zena’s using her world’s Dawnshard to power her mana projection. What does he need it for? It’s clear he’s familiar with the Faerie kingdom, so if the shard is there, why didn’t he obtain it earlier? Did he need Zethia’s power as the Auspex?

There are still a LOT of questions going unanswered. I hope that we get SOME answers in next month’s update... in the meantime, I’m gonna be fucking busy organizing my lore.

[filthtouched]

❰❰ PIN ❱❱ // ❰❰ FREE ❱❱

It's a new practice the monastery's been trying out, but that hasn't stopped students and staff making a game of it. The goal's simple: in lieu of maiming the heck out of someone or something, sometimes it's preferable to restrain them, instead... and so, you must tie your opponent's hands before they tie yours.

But as Matthew stares at Niles, he can but shake his head and sigh. Then, the ghost of a smirk on his lips, he stoops to unravel the rope expertly wound about the other's arms and hands.

"If I didn't know any better," he notes with no little amusement and wonder, dangling the loose rope as he straightens back up, "I'd almost say you were letting me win."

ask meme | receiving!

❰❰ PIN ❱❱ sender pins receiver during a fight/training. | ❰❰ FREE ❱❱ sender frees the receiver from restraints.

"Oh, if we're talking about things I'd let you do, I promise that simply tying me up won't be all." His smile shows a hint of teeth as he rises, still unable to instill a habit of dusting himself off.

The boy—Matthew; it's a name to remember—moves like very few at Garreg Mach do, if any else at all. Here, they've enjoyed (ha!) the presence of kings and queens, of princes and princesses; men and women of noble upbringing, all with some claim to power through a measure of divinity in their veins. Crests. Dragonblood. As if it'd make a difference at all when eventually their own hubris lays sweet kisses to their lips, again and again, until blues and purples fade into thick, poisoned black.

Matthew, however, is not one of them. It isn't in his speech or his clothes; he speaks as many others do, and dresses as the rest, in the pitch blacks and glimmering golds of the Academy uniform. It's in the way he moves, silent and deadly, the pivots he takes that only a choice few of their classmates can manage. It's in the way he watches, sharp-eyed and unforgiving, two steps ahead even when his smile promises he is three steps behind.

The lightness of his steps say thief. The way he'd bound Niles says something more.

He's not likely to pose any threat to Leo, but that isn't why Niles finds himself held captive by his intrigue. His singular eye dips lower, purposefully letting his gaze drag slowly down from Matthew's eyes to his mouth to his shoulders to his chest, meant to disquiet him even as Niles steals glances of his hands.

(Callused, but almost everyone's is. He can't tell what kind, though, or where. Sword calluses are different from axe calluses. Those are different from a spear's. A bow's. A dagger's.

Which do you use, little shadow?)

"I don't normally enjoy multiple rounds with the same people," he says, reaching out for the rope, "but I certainly wouldn't mind another one with you. How about it? I promise I won't be too rough once I've got you tied up and at my mercy..."

[dragonrajafanfiction]

yaeter6iu46eyjrd lets try “all i’m saying is, they hyped you up a lot.” w zihang + whitchever character ya feel like usin💃💃

he was overhyped in the game

Chu Zihang had entered Cassell College, having grown up in China where he spent his early years, training and focusing on improvement, gradually learning everything he could about what his father, Chu Tianjiao, had been doing while his mother and he were divorced. All this training and investigation manifested in his being able to find Cassell College all on his own, a discovery that he hoped would take him on a path to find and destroy the monster that had killed his father. It was a journey he never planned on sharing with anyone, because he knew that the only person who could kill Odin would be someone who could surpass his father, and the only one worthy of surpassing his father was Chu Zihang himself.

Chu Zihang tailored his body and mind like a robot. People half expected him to open his face one day and reveal silver metal and wiring and show that he was really a machine all along, one programmed to kill the enemy as efficiently as possible.

But if Chu Zihang is a single minded death robot, Carlotta Vanderwood is a formless nightmare.

At over six feet tall, she overshadowed the other freshmen at Cassell. But it wasn't just her height that darkened the halls of the 100 year old institution. She was a top level prodigy in the art of physical movement. While some could study for years practicing the same punch over and over, she could see that punch once, and file it away in her brain and then, by some strange esoteric logic, throw that same punch at that same fighter at the one time when they least expected it. It didn't matter what she was doing - dancing, gymnastics, or figure skating - she would take what was given to her and return it flipped upside down, twisted and grotesque. Her skill earned her high marks in technique but low marks in artistry as no one on the judges panel had any idea what to think of her performances.

Even her family regarded her as something precious, but also as something frightening. They were all hybrids themselves and used to the sort of superhuman feats that having dragonblood made people capable of. But Carlotta's abilities had nothing to do with her dragonblood. That incredible talent was something distinctly human.

They found Carlotta something difficult to categorize to the point that they sent her off to Cassell College as soon as she graduated so they no longer had to think about their daughter.

But it was a rejection that Carlotta had learned to savor, her predatory, overbearing personality taking pleasure in looking down at boring, conformist people and showing them that all their training, all their hardwork, was, in the end, setting them up for spectacular failure before her ability to twist what they thought was established order.

Chu Zihang, not knowing what or who Carlotta was, invited her to join the Lionheart Club. Carlotta took that opportunity to immediately challenge him to a fight. To her, Chu Zihang's stiff unfeeling manner cried out to be ripped to pieces and put back into all the wrong places.

During the fight, nothing Carlotta did followed any pacing. Or any rhythm. Lancelot, who was called to monitor the fight, watched her body shift its weight only for her attack to come from the opposite direction expected. How she seemed to twist in the air, misdirect and punish you for following her trajectory. While Chu Zihang was a master machine, when it came to fighting Carlotta Vanderwood, none of his calculations mattered. Every right answer was dead wrong. Her fighting was more than just being a master of punches and kicks, but a master at understanding human psychology. Fighting her left her opponent wondering if anything they'd learned over the years meant anything at all.

By the end of the fight, their precious Lionheart president had landed several hits, but hadn't been able to defend against a single one of hers. One side of his face was swollen, blood dripped from his nose. She walked slowly towards him, eyes fixed on him, searching for that sparkle she enjoyed so much, that human instinctual fear of the dark, that fear of the unknown. She found it when, despite the fight being over and he'd conceded defeat, he tensed up in uncertainty.

"Not bad." She drew her thumb over her bloodied lip.

"Is it your intention to run the Lionheart Club?" He asked, relaxing when she didn't come at him again.

"No," she kept walking, passing him by, making her way towards the women's showers. "They hyped you up a lot. That's all."

[ancano]

You've been visited by the random OC question fairy! :D ~☆

What education did your character receive? What education does your character wish they had received? How has their childhood education (or lack thereof) affected them?

Gwindir:

He trained informally as a bard in the Imperial City, taking apprenticeship under a few bards here and there, but is mostly self taught. He travels to Skyrim initially to join the Bards College in Solitude, but ends up tangled in the Dragonborn Prophecy. After he's killed his first dragon in Whiterun, he decides to ignore the whole dragonborn business, not yet fully accepting it. So instead of going to see the Greybeards, he travels to Solitude to finally join the college. He isn't happy that his initiation is a tomb crawl, but doesn't argue and does what he can to join. Once he's finally initiated, he spends a few weeks there training as a bard, writing to Cyrelian about it but doesn't tell him he's dragonborn at first, afraid it'll worry his husband. But once Gwin realizes the dragon menace is only getting worse, and Cyrelian writes asking if he's safe from dragons, does he tell him. Cyre sneaks across the border and rushes to be with Gwin, in order to guide him on his path, as he's no stranger to those blessed by the dragonblood. (I got carried away this was more than just his education lmao)

Cyrelian:

He trained with the Mages Guild in Auridon, then moved to the Imperial City to train with the guild there. He's a powerful mage and many are right to fear him.

[insolitus-academy]

HAPPY 9TH ANNIVERSARY - NEW RACE + NEW LOCATION

First the location. The new race: Llavalings will be released tomorrow

A large city named after a campfire as the legend goes it was the campfire of the Godly Llavalings.

Ciudad de Fogatas or Fogatas for short is a large city that was build on and inside a working vulcano. There are mostly dark elves, dragons, Llavalings and sunsprites living in the city but others are definitely welcome. It is also always 40℃ (104℉) and a thick layer of smoke around the volcano makes it seem a little spooky. The ground is very fertile around the lava rivers and the people are friendly. Why not visit or even live there?

A little steam train goes to the volcano city that is located behind the large forest of the academy in the South.

Arcoíris Bank

Have things to store? A lot of money in your pockets? Need a loan? Arcoíris bank is the place to be with its endless vaults guarded by, rumored, the last dragon-bodied dragonbloods.

Sueño Bubbletea & snacks

Be sure to visit this adorable cafe belonging to a chippy Sunsprite and enjoy the best boba in your life.

Dadivosa park

A beautiful rock and lava park in the middle of the city where you can see people with their kids, dogs and enjoy some lava-fishing.

Ataraxia Mall

SHOPPING TIME!  This is the one and only mall where you need to be and a lot of shops here are manned by llavalings but there are also some angels selling clothes and mermaids trying to sell their vintage jewellery. Anything you might need is in the Ataraxia mall!

Petricor temple

A temple where there is no worship to Gods but to the mind and selfcare. Do Yoga and learn how to meditate here among the Petricor monks walking around in golden robes on bare feet.

Perenne Hot Air Balloons

Be sure to book a flight with friends or our loved ones at this amazing place on top of the vulcano

Vivir Apartments

Beautiful apartment complex that allows you to live in a nice place without paying too much

The fire

On top of the volcano you can find the depths where the fire burns, people say that when you stare into the golden liquid you can see the face of your soulmate.

[horizonwalkers]

@ne0dymium

​ replied to your post

“I love that homebrew lore! One question, why are you a coward who wont...”

so many questions... Does this mean that things with draconic lineage exist because dragons laid non-true-dragon eggs? Is that out of choice or mutation? Do lesser draconic races reproduce the same way? Is there any theoretical muddling of the original dragon blood? I'm assuming half-dragons are definitely not a thing, but what about other draconic heritage aspects? Would draconic heritage sorcerers have to be reflavored/removed if they aren't of a draconic race?

Lesser Draconic Races aren't really that much of a thing in Zaekata besides Drakes but drakes are only in Lyraelia and used as mounts (think how to train your dragon toothless adjacent creatures).

They can biologically reproduce and r basically like. Horses but, can breath elements and fly and have Reptile AND cat energy too. Like I said. Toothless.  

I'm of the mind that like. If I really want a half dragon, Dragons are ancient, powerful, magical creatures all descended from The DragonTM with such great magnitude of power that it was on the same level as the Gods.

If you want to give ur human lover a kid? you just magic that womb. or create a half dragon baby out of thin air. It's not that Unlikely and if it it's It's my Fantasy Setting and I Control The Do.

Dragonborn and Dragonblooded.

Two different things! Dragonborn exist but so do 'Dragonblooded' which is more what you think when you think of half dragons and probs the race I'd give to player half dragons.

Dragonborn were people transformed into quasi-dragons by the 'Dark' side and Dragonblooded were gifted draconic lineage by the 'Light' side.

Dragonborn are NOT explicitly evil

Similarly to actual dragons, both are born translucent scales and their lineage comes to them later (typically by their teens if not earlier)

tldr no subclasses aren't affected because one way or another dragonborn or dragonblooded things get passed down and it also could be like, you were blessed by a dragon as a baby.

[langwrites]

I wrote up a bunch of my notes for that Fire Emblem crossover.

I’m thinking the Awakening/Three Houses crossover ought to be called Dragonblood.

Here’s some of the trouble Morgan and Aversa might get into. Really, it’s a list of potential support conversations partners as well as a summary of what the topic/event might be. And the max potential support rank.

(And a warning: Morgan is nearly as social as her old man and has the dorkier of the two Morgan personalities. Aversa is not as social, and probably shouldn’t be allowed to deal with people unsupervised. Also, Byleth remains the only character able to get to S-rank with anyone.)

Morgan’s Supports:

GOLDEN DEER:

Claude: The mystery of being foreign on this wacky country and also Morgan is a dragon. Claude doesn’t believe her. (max rank: A)

Lorenz: Lorenz teaches Morgan tea etiquette and ballroom dancing, but Morgan is a menace to both toes and cake. (max rank: A)

Hilda: Morgan is tricked into doing Hilda’s chores, only to take all the materials and turn them into traps. (max rank: B)

Marianne: Morgan enlists Marianne’s help to check in on a pregnant pegasus throughout the Academy phase. (max rank: A)

Leonie: Morgan wants to bag a bear, and is willing to do anything to help Leonie do it. (max rank: B)

Ignatz: Art lessons for sword lessons! And both of them are bad teachers and students, but they have fun. (max rank: A)

Raphael: Muscle party training time. Morgan’s strength is partly supernatural, so she wants to do more than train with her stone. (max rank A)

Lysithea: Morgan shares what happened with Miklan and discusses Crest issues over cake. Lysithea is so cool. (max rank: A)

Hanneman: Morgan learns about Crestology and tries to dig up more info on the topic. She falls asleep partway through Hanneman’s lecture. (max rank: A)

Aversa: Morgan gently interrogates her aunt about why she and Tiki don’t get along, while Aversa tries to deflect. (max rank: A)

BLUE LIONS:

Dimitri: In return for helping her with lance practice, Morgan gives Dimitri a nickname and decides to be friends. She keeps it up even after the time-skip. (max rank: A)

Dedue: Dedue warns Morgan to stay away from him, and so Morgan decides to hang out more, but as the guy’s personal cheerleader. (max rank: A)

Sylvain: Morgan spectates the flirting for comedy’s sake, then bothers him about the Lance of Ruin for Science. She concludes it’s all bad. (max rank: A)

Felix: Morgan pays Felix for homework help in sparring matches. His attitude’s better than Severa’s, at least. (max rank: B)

Ingrid: Ingrid tests Morgan’s total lack of acrophobia or, indeed, any fear of heights at all. She’s left convinced Morgan is secretly a loon. (max rank: B)

Annette: Time to form the Black Magic Club. (max rank: A)

Mercedes: Mercedes and Morgan do a bit of comparative mythology, with Morgan trying her best not to say that the only goddess she follows is also her grandmother. (max rank: B)

Ashe: Ashe helps Morgan break into her room after she locks herself out, so she gives him a book. It’d be banned if the Church had ever heard of it. Oh no. (Max rank: A)

Byleth: Morgan takes notes on Byleth’s rather striking similarities to Robin and decides that it’s time to learn strategy somewhere new. (max rank: A)

BLACK EAGLES:

Ferdinand: What is nobility? And should Morgan care? (No.) Morgan proceeds to troll him. (max rank: B)

Bernadetta: Morgan takes up handicrafts after seeing Bernadetta’s freaky dolls, and decides Bernadetta is a role model after observing more. She’s so artistic! (max rank: A)

Caspar: What is justice and why is there so much punching? (max rank: B)

CHURCH OF SEIROS:

Seteth: Morgan bugs Seteth about how old he really is. (max rank: B)

Flayn: Flayn and Morgan decide to try teenage rebellion and Flayn gets to be a big sister. (max rank: A)

Cyril: Cyril decides Morgan is a stealth menace to his chore rotation. Morgan eventually realizes that’s a bad thing. (max rank: A)

Aversa’s Supports:

GOLDEN DEER:

Claude: Claude tries to bother Aversa about her inconsistent past and eventually learns she used to be a witch. (max rank: B)

Lorenz: Lorenz asks for tutoring in black magic. Aversa does so, but refuses to go into dark magic. They continue with lances instead. (max rank: B)

Leonie: Leonie gets a warning about her laser focus on Jeralt, because Aversa is projecting a bit about her old father issues. (max rank: B)

Marianne: Aversa tells a story about how people with tainted blood can still get happy endings (like Robin, Henry, Tharja, and her). (max rank: B)

Lysithea: Aversa relates all too much to someone losing years to dark magic, and resolves to help Lysithea any way she can. (max rank: A)

Hanneman: An argument over crests ensues because Aversa doesn’t share her family history. (max rank: B)

Morgan: See above.

BLUE LIONS:

Dimitri: A blunt, honest assessment about his lance style and advice about battle rage. Aversa’s seen this before. (max rank: A)

Dedue: People keep mistaking Aversa as being from Duscur and harassing her, so she decides to see how he’s doing under genuine pressure. (max rank: A)

Ingrid: Choose your dream. Go, dear. Spread those wings. (max rank: B)

Sylvain: Flirting with Aversa gets Sylvain laughed out of the first conversation, but they end up discussing his deeper issues. (max rank: A)

BLACK EAGLE:

Bernadetta: Aversa would like to meet Bernie’s dad and set him on fire. She never got to do that with hers. (max rank: B)

Dorothea: Are you...sure you want to get married to just any old jerk? Aversa would advise a career in being a witch instead. (max rank: B)

CHURCH OF SEIROS:

Seteth: Aversa’s paperwork is a nightmare. She refuses to fix it. (max rank: B)

Cyril: Loyalty is admirable, but Aversa has been thoroughly burned before. She advises caution and fails. (max rank: B)

Manuela: Aversa is happily single while around ten years older than Manuela is. Manuela dreads ending up like her. (max rank: B)

Aversa chats to other characters, but doesn’t really bond much compared to the number of people Morgan likes. She’s a bit of a meanie.

Also, a fair number of the supports deal with plot developments, so they’d be event-locked.

And finally, while Aversa’s choices are done, Morgan’s are incomplete. I didn’t know what to have for some people without retreading old ground.

[writing-ro]

Fictober 19-4: “I know you didn’t ask for this.”

@fictober-event //  Set in a Multi-fandom Fantasy AU where most if not all kinds of fantasy creatures exist alongside humans, though the two cultures stay fairly separate, with many humans being afraid or prejudice against creatures.

Rating: T Fandom: Star Wars, Characters: Ahsoka Tano, Arista Amara (OFC), Oren Revik (OMC),  Additional Tags: Magical blood powerups, Mentions of Merrill (Dragon Age), Sequel to Day 3, elf!Ahsoka, dragon!Oren, Oren is a bit of an ass, Ahsoka is a proto-tsundare, 

When Ahsoka woke, she saw a tent canopy above her head. One she knew well, after staring at it every night for the last two weeks. 

She tried to push herself up, but a soft hand on her chest stopped her. “Slowly,” Arista said. “You’ve been out for a whole day. Here.” She grabbed a bedroll and tucked it behind Ahsoka as she pushed herself into a half sitting position. Arista helped her sip a cup of water, and then about half a bowl of broth before she let Ahsoka push her arm away. 

“Merida and Tamlen, are they?...”

“Nearly die and your first question is about others.” Arista shook her head, first fondly, then sadly. “We’ve seen no trace of them. Merrill’s set wards around the mirror, so no one else can touch it. And she tuned it to their possessions, so if they show up, they should be able to get out without any more of those monsters following them.”

Ahsoka nodded. “Good.” She looked down at herself and saw she was in one of her training tunics, and she could see bandages wrapped around her chest through the opening of the collar. She remembered the arrow, and the horde on their heels, and then fire, then black. 

“How did we escape?”

Arista’s cheeks actually pinked a little. “First, you have to promise not to aggravate your injury by going after him.”

Ahsoka raised a brow. “Him?” She thought she remembered a man, but it could have been a hallucination, right?

“Promise first.” Arista raised a brow back, and adopted her “I am your healer and you will do what I say” face. Much like her “I really really really want to do this thing please” face, Ahsoka couldn’t go against it.

“Alright, I promise not to aggravate my injury. Who was it.”

Arista took a deep breath. “His name is Oren Revik. He was the dragon who spied on us a few months ago.”

Ahsoka blinked once, twice, then moved to toss the covers off her, only to be pressed back down by Arista. 

“No! You just promised you wouldn’t aggravate your injury.”

“I’m not going to. I’ll use my left hand to slap him in the face.”

“Oh really?” a man’s voice sounded from the tent flap and she looked past Arista to see the dragon standing there. He was wearing similar clothes to the night they had met, except his shirt was slightly scorched in some places, which told of the intensity of the flames he had to be in, since dragoncloth was renown for being nearly completely fireproof. “Is that anyway to treat the man who saved your life?”

“It’s the way to treat the man who spied on a private evening with me and my lover,” Ahsoka retorted. 

The dragon - Oren - scoffed. “Okay, but did you encounter an arachne pack on the way back to your village?”

Ahsoka’s shoulders slumped slightly. “Yes. It’s still not an excuse for being a pervert.”

Oren shrugged. “What can I say, I was bored, and you were providing such a lovely show.” He came in and knelt by Arista, his wings tucked as close to his back as possible. “Now, let me check your arm.” He reached for it, but Ahsoka snatched it away, biting her tongue to keep a hiss of pain from escaping. 

She looked down at it, and found a bandaged wrapped around it. She started to unwrap it, only for Arista’s hands to take over for her. On the underside of her arm was a long scar, from her wrist to halfway up her forearm. She did not recall getting injured there in the battle.

“How did this happen?”

“Well, you see, by the time I got to you-”

“Wait, how did you even know we were here in the first place?” Ahsoka asked. “Our clan hasn’t done trade with the dragons in centuries, and we certainly never contacted you.”

“Again, bored, so I decided to take a flight and see what I could find. Found you guys about five days ago and decided to hang around, see what you find. When I saw seven go in and three come out looking like they ran through a death course, I had to find out what happened. I gave your mages lyria potions and they managed to make a barrier strong enough to keep the ra’zac horde in and-”

“Ra’zac?”

“Merrill found an old reference,” Arista said. “They’re creatures of decay and blight, who were fought by the ancient elves of long ago. But she still can’t find out anything about the mirror. We don’t know if it was meant to trap them, or if they somehow corrupted it or what.”

“As I was saying,” Oren said with a slight drawl that he was getting irritated at the interruptions, “I hit them with firepower and burned all the ones in the room to ashes, then I saw them fleeing down the passageway you opened. I came up on their rear and burned as many as I could, though a lot disappeared down the side passages. When I reached you two, you had passed out in Arista’s arms, and were starting to turn grey. I carried you out and had your healer look you over.” He grimaced. 

Arista took over. “Turns out the Ra’zac coat their weapons in their own - not blood, but closest we can determine. It was thinning out your blood so it ran out faster, and then poisoning the rest as passed over. With how hard we were running, it was… bad. Possibly not even Marethari could have healed you and you’d be long dead before we got home to try.” 

“The only way to save you was to transfer blood compatible to your own that could burn out the poison.” Oren rolled up his sleeve and showed a similar cut on his own wrist, though the scar was much less obvious. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

Ahsoka stared at the cut. “That can’t have worked. Dragonblood burns out almost everyone who tries to use it, even given freely.”

“Well you seem to fall in that gap between ‘almost’ and ‘everyone’,” Oren said. “It saved your life, and now you get a few little bonuses to go with it.”

Ahsoka clenched her fist. It was the reason a Dragonslayers’ Guild had existed a century ago, before the Dragon King destroyed their Hall and a Kings’ Conclave banned such a guild from forming again. For those few who could survive the ingestion of the blood, they were given special powers, based on the dragon who gave it. An old legend told of an elven sorceress who had been given the blood of the Dragon King and his Consort, and she became the most powerful sorceress in the world, with the ability to command very powerful fire and ice magics at the same time, and in some versions even sprout wings and fly. One version of the tale said she became the leader of a collation of clans and ruled as a Queen for years, until the Dragon King and his Consort asked her to marry them and took her to their mountain home. Another was that she grew corrupt on power, and attempted to subjugate the entire continent, only to lose in battle to the Demon King. The Dragon King and his Consort retrieved her body and took it to be laid to rest in some secret location, so none might try to use her body for evil. 

“So what effects am I likely to get?”

“Your body temperature is already starting to rise,” Oren said. “It will settle out in a few weeks to about halfway between your old standard and my own. Basically, you’ll constantly feel like you’re having a fever. On the plus side, you’ll never get those again, you’ll just burn the sickness out. But you’re also now susceptible to dragon sicknesses, though that’s no matter as long as you stay away from the mountains until you built up an immunity. You’ll have an affinity for fire magic now, so we’ll have to work with you on taming it. Advanced healing - well, advanced for your people. You can see in the dark much easier now, and possibly your vision spectrum will shift a bit. Maybe you’ll get physically stronger. That’s all I can think off the top of my head, I’ll write to Parthanax for a full list of possibilities. Of course, it’s gonna take a few weeks for these changes to happen, plenty of time to get me settled.”

“Settled?” Ahsoka’s brow went up again.

“Oh, right, we didn’t say it yet.” Oren grinned. “Since you need a teacher to help you handle your new dragon abilities, I’ll be going back with you.”

Her eyes widened, then narrowed. “No. Absolutely not. I won’t be learning a thing from you.”

“Too late, already sent a message informing the King of my decision, and your mage sent a message to your clan leader last night.”

“Send another saying I refuse you and want another teacher, if I have to learn anything.” Her hands clenched the blankets. “I can get by, I always have.”

“Ahsoka!” Arista spoke for the first time in a while. She unwrapped Ahsoka’s hand from the blankets and and held it in hers. “I know you didn’t ask for this, but this is what happened. And even if Oren didn’t want to teach you, he’d have to. Dragon Law says that the dragon who caused the change has to train their charge for at least a half year before they can hand them off to anyone else.”

“Yup, helps teach us responsibility or something like that,” Oren said, then held up his hands in surrender when she shot her “Healer’s Look” at him. 

“So, please, don’t fight this.” She turned back to Ahsoka. “I know it’s not your first choice, but is it really that much of a price to pay?”

Ahsoka rolled it over in her head. Arista was right, Oren did save her and Arista’s lives, putting up with a pompous ass of a dragon would be adequate repayment of the debt. 

She shot Oren a glare. “If you spy on us again, I’m running you through, training or no training.”

Oren just smiled. “I’ve survived worse, fledgling.”