Too much sadness so instead imagine a lair where most of the hatchlings get exalted
Imagine proud parents hatching a nest of ridiculous looking children, imagine them rejoicing that they are strong and healthy and perfect for serving their deity
Imagine parents bringing their fresh hatchies to the leader and boasting that they’re perfect warriors
Imagine large families getting disdainful looks from the rest of the clan for selfishly keeping so many of their babies
Imagine newly grown dragons excitedly thrashing their way through the kelp beds, taking a beating along the way but knowing that in the end they’ll become strong and go to serve their deity
Imagine hatchlings placing bets to see who can accrue the most wealth to leave behind for their families
Imagine exalting as a joyous event, one that dragons look forward to, and one that they are only rarely called away from, either to lead, to protect their clan, or to take up some other profession
Yeah, I hate the sad headcanons about exalting.
I always imagine dragon-parents being so incredibly proud whenever they hear their children will be going to fight for or aid the deities! Moreso for the more rugged or productive deities like Icewarden, Arcanist, Plaguebringer, Stormcatcher, etc, because they know their children are Extremely Skilled to be chosen for such an esteemed position. And then there’s Nature, Water, Wind, etc, parents getting wistful as they watch their children happily fly away to a life of learning, nurturing, travel, etc, with the deities.
I don’t imagine it would be sad, other than the little bit of sadness that comes with someone leaving. It’s a high honor!
There shouldn’t be sad Exalt anything in the first place
As a game mechanic, there’s other reason’s why exalting is sad. “No one bought this dragon but i don’t have room” “Oh that color combo i really want is all exalted now i need to work my but off to find/ breed it”
That kinda stuff kinda hurts the ego but exalting, either for lore or as a mechanic, is not sad
There’s a reason exalting ties into Dominance! They’re being sent off to serve their deity directly. You’re sending your dragon to go serve in the dragon army!
All the ‘exalting is like death’ headcanons bother me so much for this reason.
The only time I’ve ever been sad exalting a dragon is when I exalted one of my first dragons but had found a replacement for her. Like I cried when I exalted her. But I knew her going to serve the Windsinger was what she would have wanted and made her (in my head) happy.
