So basically the biggest part of my lore centers around Karasi believing in a set of old gods being trapped away by an immense amount of magic, and her actively trying to build enough magic to release them from where they’re trapped bc she thinks whatever current gods are running about are shit and weak.
Nihil is my ghost son, and long long long long time ago (thousands of years at least) he was gifted off to a magic user bc he was born with lots of magic, but no way to use it himself. Well the magic user he was gifted off too was right under a much younger Karasi’s thumb and she was _thrilled_ that he was nearly overflowing with magic for whoever could draw it off him to use bc she was just starting on her path to Fucking Over The World via the gods she was devoted to
Ultimately Nihil turned on his “owner” and basically got them killed in an effort to topple their shitty empire they were trying to build. Said owner was understandably Pissed As Fuck and bound Nihil’s soul to the “temple” that worked as the main court sorta thing as their death curse.
Nihil ended up forcing his soul to sleep and Karasi, annoyed that her underlings had turned on eachother before she could do what she needed to, moved on to try and find more unknowing participants to help her
Flash forward (bc Karasi is semi-immortal in that she won’t die until something rips her to absolute shreds) to currently where she picks up some abandoned kids (Venatici, Persephone, Percy) and focuses her attention now on raising Percy bc he showed the most magical inclination of the three, sent the other two off with some “friends” bc she wasn’t actively for child murder
The rest of the lore focuses on Karasi being a manipulative mother-figure to Percy and keeping him in line under her thumb even though he knows she’s not good to him, but he’s v much in the “she’s still my mom” mindset for now
and Percy offering refugee in his clan to magic-users mostly, but in all honesty any others who were shunned from their homes
Venatici and Persephone are kinda tentatively? are part of their brother’s clan/group, but also kinda run on their own lil groups.
Seph basically keeps the lesbian squad living, and Venatici very clearly knows what Karasi will do, but is trying to out maneuver her bc he does care abt Percy and his clan enough to not want them horribly maimed or killed
Does Percy enjoy leading the clan? Does he ever wish he could pass on leadership?
Percy sort of enjoys it? He definitely did not ever plan/want to be leading but he does it because Karasi gave him this as a “gift” and he owes her his life basically. That and she’s the only one he could pass it off to and that is not something he would ever feel comfortable doing for a few reasons. He cares for the clan and all it’s members, even if he is not comfortable with his position, and knowing he’s protecting them/giving them a place to safely live is what he enjoys/why he keeps leading.
A small snippet of time before most of my lore really gets rolling, Persephone being convinced to go visit her brother’s clan by Gatekeeper. As a warning I haven’t written in years so I made the decision to write them as humans for now. I’ll probably rewrite it for them as dragons when I get more on track. It’s also 1:30 am so forgive me if things are rough.
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Piles of Spathiphyllum, Cindermint, and Chickweed lay haphazardly around a kneeling Gatekeeper as she continues to pull more Chickweed from clusters nearby. Several feet away, Persephone is leaning against a tree and watching after having brought most of the pile of Cindermint to the druid.
“Do you ever consider returning to your brother’s clan?” The gentle snap of stems being broken continues undisturbed.
“About as much as I consider trying to understand your druid magic.” A cop out that earns a small huffing laugh from Gatekeeper. Shifting her hood back to uncover her short curly hair, she attempts an unamused look.
“Sometimes I do, yes. But then I remember how everyone trails after him as if he’s handing out blessings from the Lightweaver herself. No doubt he’d try to get Karasi to teach me all about her magic Voice nonsense,” Persephone admits, unable to resist giving Gatekeeper anything she asks for.
“It’s safer there though, and much less stressful than having to keep on our toes for all those enemies you and Cass manage to make.” The barb earns an indignant noise from Persephone. Setting aside her neatly organized piles of herbs, Gatekeeper turns to face her fully.
“I know you worry about us, we could visit and catch a break for a while if nothing else.”
Persephone makes a noise of disgust and shifts closer to her girlfriend, before hesitating and shifting back to where she had been previously. The line of questioning was getting to her then, hardly anything could stop the tactile woman from twisting their fingers into a loose hold whenever she could. A change of topic was in order.
“Cass wanted to to try and offload some of the items from that last clan as soon as possible, said something about a sorcerer swearing vengeance?” Gatekeeper brushes a hand along a pile of Chickweed before gathering it up into a pouch at her waist. Persephone lets out a heavy, frustrated sigh and starts gathering up some of the other herbs.
The two trail silently back towards where they had set up their small camp, brushing from shoulder down to loose hands. Gatekeeper was content in closeness, it was Persephone who needed solid touch as often as possible. Only when they reach the edge of camp does Persephone fit their fingers together gently. Gatekeeper returns the gesture with a small squeeze, her customary response and an apology all mixed in one.
They settle the herbs into their respective piles in a dry corner of their shared shetler, before Persephone begins unbuckling her belt of daggers and pulls her dark cloak from her shoulders. It all falls in a messy pile next to the bedrolls laid out for the two of them. She yanks the band from her braid and shakes her head, loosening the tightly woven braid and sitting down heavily on the bedrolls.
“If we pass near Percy’s clan, we can stop by for a while, but I won’t stay if he insists on telling me all about my destiny or how we need to bring Venatici back to the clan. Poor guy just wants to be left alone, I don’t get why he won’t get over that,” Persephone allows quietly, not looking up at the druid who’d turned to focus on her when she began speaking.
Gatekeeper brushes her hands off against her dark pants, removes her cloak and places it neatly next to her dark headdress she had decided against wearing that morning. She then moves over to drape herself across Persephone’s lap, the other’s hands coming up to wrap around her waist immediately. She tucks herself neatly under Persephone’s chin, her own arms circling her girlfriend’s waist.
“We don’t have to, I just wanted you to be able to rest and not be on guard at all hours for a bit. It’s not healthy for you,” Gatekeeper mumbles the words quietly into the tanned collarbone in front of her.
“You’re right though, we need the chance to be off guard for a short while. We’ll head back towards the Hewn City as soon as Cass gets rid of all the stuff she’s so worried about.” Persephone presses a gentle kiss into the crown of Gatekeeper's head before tilting the two of them back to lay entangled on the bed rolls.
Old lore for Venatici that is getting redone because I had a better idea for the terror triplets like a week ago. A lot of it will still hold true, but I realized I’d rather split the three up when they were young and try to fit them back together later, and let whatever chaos may come fall in.
Younger brother to Percy, Venatici has quite literally hidden in the shadow of his larger-than-life brother. While Percy spent his time as a growing hatchling in another clan and training to take on his responsibilty as Clan leader, Venatici spent his time split evenly between the Clan's place in the Hewn City, and where Shadow's lands reached out to brush against the Light. Too curious for his own good, and none too attached to the lifestyle of other Lightborn dragons, Venatici grew up learning tricks from Shadow dragons, and venturing as far as he dared into the Tangled Woods.
Upon Percy's return to the Clan, Venatici realized he would never be like his older brother. He didn't enjoy the Light in the same way, instead he used tricks he'd learned from his time with the Shadow dragons, particularly (Unnamed), to bend shadows and light to his will, more often than not hiding himself in the shadows. His natural coloring making it easier to disappear into the darkness.
As Percy took over the Clan, his attempts to reach out to his brother fell short, and despite his efforts Venatici never did come to sit at his brother's side. Instead, or maybe in spite, the wildclaw left the Clan, and light territory all together. His plan was to join up with a clan in Shadow's lands and stay with them, because at least they had the connection of finding comfort in the Shadows.
The Clans he found were never the right fit, and in the end he moved on, charting travels closer to Plague lands. Light was the only place he would not go, determined to find shadows other than those cast by his brother to live in. In the end, his stumbling upon Mahlah was pure coincidence.
