Welcome to Gaia! ::

That night, all was well. Luciel doted on her, prompting her to sit on him, and only to let him up when he had cooled it a bit. They did share numerous kisses, however, though he got himself smacked when he jokingly reached for a certain other area. Later on, they took the remaining deer to Cory and Ash, who both pronounced Luciel's cooking of them genius, and at that, the young Auricupric brought forth his beloved, telling them how she had helped him immensely by roasting them with him.

The next morning, however, things changed for the worse. Luciel and Igniska had gone out for a walk together, through the valley, at Luciel's urging. The young one needed to present himself before his father anyways. Unfortunately, their path took them by a group of older dragons, and they heard the snipes, stage whispered about Luciel and Igniska.

((You need to do it. One, I see these dragons as being of about your age bracket...and two. I have never lived with true racism, and so wouldn't know how to do it. I can only say they should be framed to be about Igniska personally and Luciel socially))

Luciel, however, is having none of it, and he sits down, folding his paws in front of him. A single point of blackness reveals itself to be a miniature version of Kero, in his humanoid form. The Voidmage gradually grows, finally settling down properly as a humanoid creature, disinguishable only by his slitted eyes, pointed ears, and of course the writhing tentacles.

"Luciel, child of my soul and flesh. For what reason do you summon me? And Igniska, ah. Don't you look ravishing."

"I..I summoned him to show those old biddies the errorof their thoughts..."

Kero suddenly raises a hand, stopping him. "I am not permitted to interfere in the social lives of many races. Dragons are an exception to this, as I am technically still an Auricupric Dragon, as well as Paladine's adopted son. However, I will not do precisely what you ask of me. You, Luciel, need to go in there and confront them. Be assertive, but not agressive. Put forth your views and command, but do not demand, respect. Be polite, but be ready to be nasty as well. And remember this, child of my blood: I am with you. I lived with enough half-blood hatred when I was younger. If you need my authority, I will be there. Go, Luciel, and do what is in your mind. Let your anger chill you, not inflame you. Show them the foolishness they have shown. Be a mirror, nothing more."

With that, Kero winked out, and Luciel sunk into thought for a second, before nodding. Moving to hug Igniska, he pulled her back towards the sunbathing grannies, whispering to her.

"Trust me on this, Igniska, and play along. I understand what Kero was telling me to do, and I think it just might work. We'll both show these old biddies what's what, and if they still won't see reason, I'll turn the tables on them. With Kero to back me up, I think we can do this."

Dragging her to where they were out of sight of the biddies, but almost there, he suddenly shoved her into the clearing, following her as if they were having an argument. The clearing, set up almost in a stage-like fashion, provided almost the perfect backdrop for this little farce, and Luciel began the first act perfectly, opening his mouth.

"Get away from, you wretched wyrm. How could I have ever thought you were worth having. After all, your scales are red, and not made of metal, so how can you be worth any of my time. It's a factwe are all taught in our cradles: Only metal-scaled dragons are capable of being Good. All others are Bad dragons. I am a Gold dragon, and know this for fact. I am the species of dragon fit to judge all others as if I were Paladine himself!"

(He's pulling a trick I pull...take someone's main argument and say it as it really is...making it sound really stupid in the process)

Luciel leaves, stomping away, keeping an eye on the old Grannies, and circles around, catching Igniska in his arms when she comes through.

"I know that hurt, beloved. Know this: I do not believe a single bit of what I just said. You heard how stupid it sounds. And so, I bet, did they. Now dry those eyes of yours. If we're going to take down these idiotic..." he referred to the biddies with a word that made her cringe, "then we have to keep an eye on things. If push comes to shove, Kero will come and read them the riot act...and believe me, you heard how he really sounds. Don't you think he can make someone feel so guilty they'll THANK him for lecturing them? Now dry your eyes, cuddle close to me, remember that I love you very very much, and let's listen to the biddies."

And so he did just that, cuddling close to her and listening to the reaction of the old ladies to their little farce.

Luciel nods to Igniska, and summons Kerobian instead, who appears as himself, sitting on the limb of a tree.

"Ah, just the trio I wanted to speak to. I just had a dragoness come crying to me about her beloved leaving her (He had...he'd been playing pretend with his Godchildren) and thought you three might just happen to know something about it. Young little one, Igniska by name. Seemed quite upset, that was for sure. Know anything I should know about it?"

"Seems to me that should be the young one's decision, not yours. And by what rights do you treat her like dirt and deny her love? Just because her breed may be bad does not mean she herself is evil. You are old enough to know what I am. You know what I can do. It is not our abilities that make us who we are or worthwhile, it is our choices. And I now ask you this: Who better to teach of the dangers of Chromatics than one who has lived under them?"

"I am a Voidmage, who by rights should be eating you right now. I am the spawn of hunger and emptiness, yet you speak with me. As for her burying herself in a book, how would you act if I were suddenly to tell you you were worthless, and did not belong? You might just pull away too. As for the strutting, I saw no strutting, only a crying dragoness slinking away from a group of Dragons who browbeat her with the fact that her scales are not metallic.

And I would advise you to lower your voice, Madame, before I lose my temper. That apology Paladine ordered Luciel to carve into the bluff was carved to placate my anger.

"Can one who was evil not be redeemed? Can those who have fallen not repent and be forgiven? Just because of someone's scales, you would drive them away. You and your two companions are forgetting one very important decree of the All-Father: Judge not, lest ye be Judged. Igniska is not allowed to remain because Luciel took a shine to her. Igniska is allowed to remain because she has proven her worthiness to do so time and time again. Who helped guard your children during the war with Takhisis? She did. Who flew patrols with the oldest dragons, ready to fight, even if she ached and could barely keep up. She did. Who helped feed the youngest, and still does with what is left of her kills. She did, and does.

And yet you three, A Copper, a Gold, and a Silver, three of the dragons famous for being the epitome of Goodness, sit here and tell her she is a worthless little red-hided wyrm whose kind isn't welcomed here. What happened to the famous Wit of the Coppers? The intelligence that the clan that spawned me is so famous for? What of the Lenience and Kind nature of the Silver Clan, the dragons always willing to lend a helping hand to those in need? What of the Gold clan, my other half? What happened to them, those who would stand for Goodness and Light, and who punished evil fairly and never without being sure there was Evil that needed to be punished? If you would even oppen the senses I know golds and coppers have, you could easily tell Igniska is not evil at all. Yet instead you sit here, sunning yourselves, and Judge her like you were Paladine himself. And then, of all the things you do, you deny her Love. Did you ever stop to consider the fact that it is a lack of love and care which often turns good beings evil? I would say if she ever falls into evil, that it is your fault for treating her this way.