#shadowseeker's journal

[pyrlemon]

Entry No. 2 There’s something Whiptail won’t tell me. She thinks she’s hiding it well, but I can tell she’s jumping around the topic of the next poison. Vulture wants to sell it to Blister; I overheard it myself. He said something else too, but I couldn’t make out the conversation without getting closer. Cobra definitely would’ve realized I was there if I had tried. That dragon is sharp. Vulture isn’t. That sands-for-brains didn’t realize I was there. I suppose I should be grateful. I had the perfect opportunity to kill him, but he supports Whiptail with his wealth, and other SandWings don’t exactly appreciate her. Whiptail says she didn’t need other dragons to survive. I think she needs me to survive. I’m going to convince her to leave with me soon. I’m almost six, and I will be able to carry her weight soon. I’ve been practicing a lot, and I’m plenty strong. We’ll be happy together, far, far away from the Scorpion Den.

[pyrlemon]

Entry No. 4 I stumbled into Possibility after escaping Vulture’s talons and met the Talons of Peace. They assumed I was connected with Morrowseer, and greeted me worriedly, saying the dragonets of destiny had appeared in the Sky Kingdom. What dumb dragons. Of course the dragonets escaped. How do they expect to keep five healthy young dragonets under their claws when they themselves are so weak? They also seemed not to know about the RainWing. I’m glad to see Morrowseer’s plan isn’t working well. They told me that they were going to contact him through the NightWing at Jade Mountain, but now I could do it directly instead. I can’t. Morrowseer would kill me. I may still pay a visit to the dragon at Jade Mountain, though. There’s something very curious about the way they described him when I prodded them for more details. Decrepit. Unmoving. Crazy. The call is coming from inside the den. Dragons who are worthless spineless cowards that depend on babies that just hatched to solve a world war. I won’t bother with them. I have more important things to do. I’ve been busying myself in search of Whiptail. There is no way she’s dead. A dragon doesn’t need all their limbs to survive, and there’s no way of knowing if Vulture lied to me. I hope with all my heart he did.

[pyrlemon]

Entry No. 8 I have started tutoring the young SeaWing princess. According to her mother, her old animus teacher had pushed her to do too much violence, and she was afraid that Anemone was too young for that sort of thing. I agree, she is barely two, she should not have the responsibility of war on her shoulders. I feel sympathy for the dragonets, who do not get that luxury. I try to keep up with them, even though my visions do guide me. Last I checked they were in the rainforest. Creepy place. Back to my current state, I became the new tutor for the young heir in exchange for lessons in Aquatic, though the queen was puzzled on what I would use it for, since I didn't have light up scales like they did. It is just pure intrigue. I have been teaching Princess Anemone a bit of minute control through incantation, as well as having enchanted her harness to prevent her from casting spells without speaking. It would be dangerous for someone of her age to mindlessly be thinking spells.

[pyrlemon]

Shadowseeker's excerpts: During my stay at the Sea Kingdom, promises were made good on by Queen Coral. Although she was quite suspicious when my only request was to learn Aquatic, she had agreed to indulge me since I proposed to teach Princess Anemone the proper ways to use her magic. However, Queen Coral did swear me to secrecy, saying that under no circumstances could I spread this information outward. I agreed easily, since it was a simple trade-off for satiating my curiosity. I swore upon my magic that I would keep the intricacies of the language to myself, and Queen Coral assigned one of her many sons to me as my Aquatic teacher. His name was Lamprey, a blueish-gray dragon with a curious yellow color lining his scales. I didn’t know SeaWings came in colors other than blue or green. He was older than the dragonets of destiny and me, yet somehow, he was much smaller than the average dragon. He was often flustered around me and always disappeared quite quickly after our lessons, though I figured it was because I was a NightWing. Many moons later, when I met the SeaWing Princess once more, Anemone made fun of me for ignoring his feelings. According to the small, loud RainWing, she does that quite a bit. It’s an odd thing to bring up, though. I clearly recall erasing myself from her memories. I should look into it.

[pyrlemon]

Entry No. 6 I wanted to try bringing Whiptail back to life. When I asked, Stonemover said it was impossible and that it was taboo to bring a dragon back from the dead. He then had a terrified look on his face and asked me seriously if I was considering it. That day, he cast his last spell, enchanting me to never break the rules of animus magic. Stonemover’s face from that day still haunts me.

[pyrlemon]

Entry No. 7 The dragonets are once again on the tongues of the dragons around me. They were spotted around the Sea Kingdom. I don't understand why the tribes cling to the hope that these young things will save their lives. It’s better to depend on yourself after all. I suppose it’s time for me to get moving. Stonemover has taught me enough, and frankly he stresses me out. Maybe I’ll check the SeaWing Kingdom out. If the dragonets went there, there must be something interesting.

[pyrlemon]

Entry No. 1 I can never quite read Whiptail's eyes. Sometimes, I’d catch her staring at the sky, and it seemed almost tragic. Her black eyes glittered, almost dangerously, whenever I tried to ask. A dragon that is not chained because they can never get away. But still, living more freely than anyone else in the Scorpion Den must be nice. She is gifted all sorts of things when she gives her poisons to Vulture, and doesn’t hesitate to adorn them either. Besides, it can’t be that bad; the sun shines upon my scales, and I can feel the breeze. I could never feel it in the volcano. . . . Still, maybe when I get a bit bigger, I can carry her into the sky to experience it once more.

[pyrlemon]

Entry No. 3 I don’t know how Vulture found out. I hadn’t mentioned my escape to anyone besides Whiptail. She said it was a fool’s dream to leave the Scorpion den unscathed. I disagreed, and she said I could leave without her. Then, she went missing. I searched and searched, and took up every job Vulture threw my way in hopes that he would find out some information. Eventually, he grew tired of me, saying I had grown sloppy. He told me that he would dispose of me, since I was no use to him anymore. ‘Just like that old hag,’ he had said, and had thrown her tail barb towards me with disdain. I killed her. Not by my own talons, but by my foolishness. She knew what would happen, and I didn’t believe her. I tried to take Vulture’s life that night. He was prepared for me, and I realized I had to flee. In my panic, I shouted the word ‘stop’ crudely. I discovered I was an animus that night.