srandear was a scoundrel. The tiny Petal cared nothing for others, and enjoyed nothing more than tormenting them. Born of a union neither parent wished to acknowledge, the Shadow Fey was abandoned on the streets at a very early age. Forced to fend for himself, Israndear only survived those early years due to his small size and correspondingly limited needs. His quick wits, quick tongue, and quick hands led him to rapid mastery of the arts of illusion and manipulation. Few could resist his charms, and even fewer his Charms. Israndear employed his skills in finding ever more creative ways to amuse himself. Trinkets he desired rapidly came into his possession. Practical jokes of every variety were inflicted on anyone who annoyed him.
Increasing age and skill only drove Israndear to seek greater challenges. The guards sent to arrest him found themselves dancing naked in the streets. He occasionally allowed himself to be taken into custody only to demonstrate that no court would find him guilty. And so his life continued, not a care in the world.
Eventually, his age began to show. He found his body weakening, though his mind was sharper than ever, and his malicious tendencies were unabated. He sought a challenge worthy of his incredible skill, something that would make him forever remembered. And then news reached him that would change his life forever. An ancient gold Dragoness named Ethelinda, one of the original settlers of Esdraelon, had died. And, more significantly for Israndear, she had clutched, only a few months before: a single egg. This was the ultimate prize, a truly priceless item. The details of the theft are for another account, suffice it to say it was spectacular, and involved skilled application of powerful magic.
Having pulled off this incredible feat, Israndear hardly new what to do next. He knew that chance of the wyrmling surviving without the care of a dragon was almost zero, and cared not about the death that would be on his conscience. Almost as a lark, he kept the egg hot. At first, he kept it in an oven. A month later, inexplicably, he brought the egg to a cavern in the mountains, and lit a roaring fire under it.
Israndear tended the egg with ever increasing devotion, to the exclusion of everything else. The fire beneath it never went out, and became an inferno. The transformation that overcame Israndear in the years he tended that egg testifies to the majesty of the creature growing inside it, and perhaps to some quality in Israndear himself. In time, the egg hatched, and against all odds, the wyrmling survived. Israndear tended the infant dragon with even greater dedication than he had the egg. When, a year after the dragon's birth, Israndear and the dragon, whose name was Gloriothys, came down from the mountains, they were inseparable.
4 years in the company of a gold dragon changed Israndear. His malice was melted away and replaced with kindness. While he maintained all of his mischievousness, it was redirected to helping others. Israndear swore a vow of nonviolence. At first, he attempted to make amends for his individual offenses, but found this impossible, and decided to find an appropriate occupation to redeem himself. And thus Israndear and Gloriothys found themselves in the royal guard – though whether Israndear made this position with impressive qualifications, or because the vetting process involved only a few meager truth spells is up for debate.
07-20-2011, 09:26 PM
