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 Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:53 pm
Dear Journal,
I tried my hardest to make friends with a dragon today. Well, I tried. Not sure if it was really my hardest, but it didn't work. The dragon didn't become friends with me. In fact, I killed it. I hadn't meant to, but I guess I'm stronger than I had thought. Caught me by surprise when it died. If it had only befriended me...
I buried the poor dragon. Couldn't just leave its bones there. Didn't seem right.
On the upside, I did get a soul orb, which I'm supposed to be getting anyways. So, yay?
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:54 pm
Dear Journal,
I met an Oblivionite today. It was odd, I found her in a tree. She seems pretty cool, though. We sparred and I won, which was cool! We went to a stream to cool off and get a drink and found a Ysali dragon!! The two of us worked together and beat it up, winning. I like Elleth, she's fun!
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 6:41 am
Dear Journal,
I... I lost. I lost to a dragon. It didn't want to be my friend either. I guess what my teachers have told me, about how dragons are just beasts, is true. I guess they won't ever be friends with me. Perhaps I'll give it one more try? But I don't think it would help any.
But I have killed two dragons. Not many of my friends can say that!
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 7:56 am
Musing on Clan choices
It was a rest day and Samril took the opportunity to visit his family. Rest days were a day of gathering at his parents' house, he and all his older siblings. Samril was the youngest of the group, with his other siblings already out of the Celestial Fortress and off into the world. Most of his brothers were strong dragon fighters and Samril couldn't wait to tell them that he had beaten two dragons! He'd selectively forget to mention the one that had beaten him up as well as the fact that an Oblivionite had helped with the second dragon...
As Samril grew close to his parents' home, he could hear his siblings playing outside. His entire family was of the Peisio clan and, turning the corner, Samril walked right into a stream of water. The others were playing a magical game of water tag, using spells to stream water at each other. They were all soaked and Samril sighed as he brushed his wet hair out of his face.
"Sammy!" "Look guys it's Sammy!" "Sammy's home!!!" "Little wet there, brother?" "Hahaha! He's not wet enough yet! C'mon guys!"
"Hey hey hey!" Samril held up his hands but it was to no avail. Multiple streams of water splashed his face and the young Dovaa sputtered. "Not funny, guys..." He muttered, unable to be heard over the laughter of his siblings. With a sigh, he walked past his siblings and on into the house. Inside was almost as chaotic as outside as his mother and a few sisters bustled about the kitchen.
"Oh Sammy! It's so good to see you!" His mother spotted him and enveloped him in a tight hug. "You're wet. Guess your brothers found you, huh?" She chuckled. "Why don't you set the table? Lunch is almost ready. I better go call your brothers in so they can dry off before they eat!"
Samril turned to pick up the plates when a hand towel hit him in the face. "Dry off a bit first, Sammy," one of his sisters commented, turning back to the stove.
In a rush of activity, the table was set, food was put out, the boys were called in and dried off (Samril's father included), and everyone was sitting at the table. The food was great and all was quiet for several minutes as everyone shoved food down their throats, the only words spoken were requests for food to be passed their way.
Slowly, conversation picked up as several of Samril's brothers told stories of their latest dragon hunts. In the quiet that fell after one story, Samril piped up. "I killed two dragons." Silence as everyone looked at him. "I did. I have the soul orbs to prove it!" He pulled them out, proudly showing them off.
"Ha! Ysali orbs! Couldn't kill a real dragon, could you?" One of his brothers commented, making the others laugh.
"Oh shut up boys! You all started on Ysali dragons yourself, remember? And I don't recall any of you coming home with two soul orbs after your first week of dragon hunting!" The sister who'd given Samril the towel to dry off spoke up, scowling at the boys. She was the oldest child and had taken on more of a nurturing role. She was strictly a healer, refusing to dragon hunt. "Good job, Sammy. You'll be the best dragon hunter of the entire family if you keep this up."
The boys scowled and were soon talking over one another to tell of their own great dragon hunts, none of which involved a Ysali dragon, of course.
It was as the meal was ending that the brother sitting across from Samril stared at him for a moment. "You still got your baby eyes," he commented.
"What?" Samril's father asked from the head of the table.
"His eyes. They're still lavender."
Samril's father glanced at his youngest. "You're old enough now to pick a clan! Just go tell Marcus Ysaride your choice. It's easy enough, right?"
"Dear..."
"What? It's not hard at all. You go up, tell Marcus you want to be a Peisio and then the rest is taken care of!"
Samril looked up from his plate, eight pairs of blue eyes staring at him. "Well... I... uh, I don't know if I want to be a Peisio Dovaa..."
"Nonsense!" His father cried out. "Our entire family is of the Peisio clan! Marcus himself is a Peisio! The Peisio clan is the strongest clan of all, filled with the strongest Dovaa!"
Samril's mother scowled at her spouse. "It is his choice, dear. He can choose any clan he wants." She turned to look at Samril. "Which clan do you want?"
Samril pushed his food around on his plate for a minute. "I... I don't know. I just know which clans I don't want to be. I don't want to be a Ysali or a Peisio or an Aiskala or a Gaili...."
"That leaves Ayrala, Kiandri, and Firani," his mother commented.
"No son of mine will-" His father started to shout before he was cut off by a glare from his spouse.
"Come along, Sammy. Let's go talk about this while your father organizes clean up." She stood and waited for Samril to slowly stand before ushering him away from the others.
They entered the living room, Samril's mother sitting on the comfy couch and patting the spot beside her. Samril sat, turning when his mother gestured. She gently undid his braids to retie them. "Don't listen to your father, Samril. You can choose any clan you want. Just because all of your siblings chose Peisio doesn't mean you have to. Ayrala, Kiandri, and Firani clans are just as strong as the Peisio clan. You have time to think it over. A whole year, in fact. You don't have to choose right away. Take your time, think over each clan. Speak to some of the elders in each. You know how the elders love to talk about their dragon hunting days. Talk with them, listen, think it all over. The right clan will make itself apparent to you. You just have to listen. There." She smiled as she finished tying off the boy's braids.
Samril turned and looked at his mother. "Choose the right clan for you, Sammy. We will love you no matter what clan you become part of, your father included. He's just a bit strong-willed, but he will accept you, Peisio clan or not. Don't feel you have to settle for a clan you don't want just because of him."
"Thanks, Mama." He gave her a hug, relieved that he was not going to be forced into the Peisio clan. That had been his fear ever since he'd realized he didn't want to be part of that clan. His mother was right, his father was very strong-willed. But so was Samril and he wasn't going to settle just to make his father happy.
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 7:12 am
Dear Journal,
I went out on my first true dragon hunt today. Not to try and make friends with a dragon, but to actually kill it. Well, that didn't go too well. I got beat up and ended up running. Don't tell my brothers, please!
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 7:15 am
Dear Journal,
On my way home, I ran into another dragon! And lost again... What has happened to me? I was doing so well! Perhaps I should try sparring with someone as some practice again. I think that might help...
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 2:02 pm
Talking to the Elders, Part 1: Ayrala Clan
Samril had asked around and found an old Ayrala Dovaa who would sit and talk with the young boy. The elder had invited the younger Dovaa over for afternoon tea and Samril had made sure to get ready and be there on time. He was standing outside the old man's door, hesitating before knocking. He still wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to ask.
"Well, are you coming in or not?" called a voice from inside. Blushing, Samril opened the door.
"Sorry, I... well, I'm just not sure what to ask you. My mother said I should talk to elders from the clans I'm thinking about, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for in a clan..." Samril blurted out in a rush as he shut the door behind him.
"Ah yes, clan selection... I remember being young and unsure, myself. Come, sit. Pour the tea before it gets cold. My daughter made it, you know. She makes excellent tea." As Samril's eyes adjusted to the low light inside, he could see the old Dovaa sitting at the table in the corner. A cane was leaning against the wall nearby and the man had a small blanket across his lap. But his eyes were still a stormy grey, full of life.
Samril crossed the room to the table and sat in the open chair, pouring tea for both himself and his host. "Why did you pick Ayrala, sir?"
The man sipped his tea and smiled. "Ah. This is excellent tea, as always. Hmm, now why did I choose Ayrala? Well... like you, I was unsure of which clan to pick. There were so many and each had its own benefit. I remember mulling over each and every one of them and was beginning to fear I'd never choose! I'd be the only Dovaa to go his entire life with lavender eyes, clanless and alone! But, one evening, as I was sitting outside, moping about my future as a clanless Dovaa, a breeze picked up. My moping thoughts seemed to be whisked away by the breeze, picking me up instantly. And then it hit me. I wanted to be of the Ayrala clan." The old man chuckled. "I ran to Marcus Ysaride right then, waking the poor man from a good rest, I'm sure. He chewed me out for waking him and told me it could've waited until morning and to come back when he was awake to make the announcement official." The old man's grin widened. "Looking back, he was right. But at that time, I was certain that if I didn't announce it then, I would have to go back to that clanless Dovaa I'd been imagining."
"So... you knew because of a breeze?"
"The clans are based upon the dragons, you know that right?" When Samril nodded, the man went on. "Each dragon has an element that it is in control of. Ysali control plant life, which if you've fought any of them, you've probably noticed. Ayrala control the air, the winds. When that wind cheered me up, I realized that I loved the wind. And so Ayrala was a logical choice. If the choices seem to be confusing you, young Dovaa, think of the elements behind them. What elements make you happy? Are you fickle like the wind? Full of passion like fire? Quick like lightning? Think of the elements, young Samril, and they will lead you to the clan of your heart."
Samril sat quietly for a moment, taking that all in. Think of the elements... "Thank you, kind sir. You have given me much to think about today." The young Dovaa stood and bowed to the older, who waved it off.
"Every Dovaa has a few moments where they are unsure of what clan, even if they tell you otherwise. But every Dovaa has chosen a clan. We find our clans, young Samril, even if it seems impossible at times."
"Thank you again. This shall help me a lot!"
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 10:26 am
Talking to the Elders, Part 2: Kiandri Clan
The next day after his visit with the Ayrala elder, Samril had a meeting with an elder of the Kiandri clan. This time, he was less nervous. After all, the Ayrala elder had been very nice and helpful. Samril had lots to think about the previous evening. Perhaps he'd have more to think about after this meeting.
It was still fairly early, most Dovaa having just finished breakfast and getting ready for the day. As Samril headed into the Dwelling Place, he passed several dragon hunters going the other direction to the Celestial Palace. He waved and smiled to them as they passed by, regardless if they returned the greeting or not.
Before long, he was at the home of the Kiandri elder he was supposed to meet. He knocked on the door.
"Come in, come in!"
Samril opened the door and stepped inside. "Good morning, sir!"
"Yeah, yeah, shut the door already!" The voice was rather cranky. Clearly, someone was not a morning person!
"I brought some fruit," Samril announced, holding up the basket as he made his way into the home. He found the elder in the kitchen, hunched over a mug.
"Fruit, eh? While you're up, young'un, why don't you refill this?"" He handed the mug to Samril, snatching the basket and eying the fruit within.
Samril refilled the mug for the old man and returned to the table, setting the mug in front of the elder before taking a seat himself. "I wanted to ask you... Why did you choose to join the Kiandri clan?"
The elder took a bite of fruit, chewing messily before swallowing and answering. "Easy. I always wanted to be in Kiandri. As soon as I was old enough to make the decision formal, I did."
Samril frowned. This wasn't helpful. "You always knew? You never thought you might not want to be in Kiandri?"
"Always! Well, that's not quite true. There was a day or so when all my friends were joining other clans when I thought I might want to reconsider. But I didn't. And I joined the Kiandri clan like I always wanted. Glad I did too."
"Why didn't you reconsider?"
"Because I wanted to be in Kiandri. Don't you listen?"
Samril scowled a bit. That wasn't what he'd meant. "I meant... uh, when did you realize you wanted to be in Kiandri?"
"I always knew. I told you. Was probably born knowing."
"Oh. Well, uh, tell me about your clan."
The old man smiled. "Can't be telling you too much, now. Not unless you choose it as your own clan. But Kiandri Dovaa are quick. Fast. Get in and get the battle done before you get too hurt!"
Samril nodded. That sounded nice. He didn't like getting hurt and if this clan could help prevent that, well, that was pretty cool! "The Ayrala clan... they don't take much damage either, right?"
"They do things differently, preventing some damage and such. But they're not fast like the Kiandri. Not short, quick battles. No, the Kiandri are the fastest of the clans."
"I see. Thank you, sir, for all your help."
"Mmhmm..." The man continued on in a mutter, "Kids these days... can't even pick a clan. Hopeless."
"Uh right... Thank you and goodbye." Samril retreated, thinking perhaps he should've met this man in the afternoon instead. But he still came away with a bit to think about, at least.
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 10:28 am
Talking to the Elders, Part 3: Firani Clan
It was the afternoon of the day of the meeting with the Kiandri elder. Samril found himself once more at the door of an elder's home. His nerves were acting up again. This was the last of the clans he was considering. What if this just confused him even more? What if he had too many things to think about? He already had several things from the first two elders, but how many more things could he handle to think about? Pushing that aside, Samril knocked on the door.
"Come in, come in."
Samril opened the door and was nearly knocked over by a wave of heat. Sweat quickly began to bead on his face as he shut the door, wondering if he should leave it open. The elderly Firani Dovaa was sitting in front of the fire, the flickering light casting scary shadows on the man's scarred face. Samril gulped and slowly made his way closer to the heat source.
"Ah, young one. Isn't the fire fascinating?" The elder continued to stare into the fire as Samril drew even with the older man.
"It's... well, it's warm..." Samril managed, sweat dripping down his face. How did this old man stand the heat?
The Firani elder laughed. "That it is. I forget sometimes how warm it is to others." The man waved a hand for a moment and the flames lowered to a smaller fire, the heat radiating from it diminishing greatly as a result.
"Thank you, sir. That's much better." Samril wiped at his face and gave a small sigh of relief.
The elder chuckled. "Working with fire for so many years, I don't even notice the heat anymore."
Samril drew up a chair and sat, interested. "Really? You're immune?"
The Firani elder laughed. "Hardly! How else would I have gotten all these burns?" He gestured to the scars on his arms and face. "No, it's a more gradual thing. Fire is dangerous, even to a Firani Dovaa, but as you work with it, day in and day out for year after year after year, you build up a... well, a tolerance, I suppose. Go too fast early on, though, and you'll hurt yourself. Slow and easy does it as you grow accustomed to your new abilities."
"Slow and easy? That makes sense, I guess." Samril sat for a moment. "Why did you choose to become a member of the Firani clan?"
The elder sat back for a moment, thinking. "You know... that's a good question. My parents were of Firani and I just always knew I'd be a member of the Firani clan as well. I never even thought of joining the other clans; Firani just seemed right for me." The elder glanced at Samril. "I guess that doesn't help you much. But you will find your clan. And when you do, remember: slow and easy at first."
Samril sat for a moment. Everyone was so sure he'd find his clan, but he was beginning to wonder if he ever would. Sure, every Dovaa before him had a clan... there'd never been a clanless Dovaa. But... what if he was the first? Would he be stuck as a Year 1 Dovaa forever if he never chose a clan?
He gave a shake of his head and smiled apologetically at the elder. "Everyone says I'll find my clan, but it just seems hard to believe sometimes. I... just don't know."
The elderly Dovaa reached over and pat the young boy's hand. "You'll find it. Listen to your heart and let it guide you. I find it easy to think when watching fire burn. What makes it easy for you to think?"
Samril thought for a moment on that. What did make it easy for him to think? "Quiet... I like quiet to think," he finally answered.
The older man nodded. "Then find a quiet place and think. Listen. Look inside. You'll figure it out."
Samril smiled and, standing, bowed to the elder. "Thank you, sir. You've been most helpful."
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 11:57 am
Dear Journal,
After my rotten luck at dragon hunting, I decided to get some more practice sparring in. My friends were all busy with other things, so I found Kavanna, a girl from one of my previous classes. She has already picked her clan: Ysali. Which gave her a bit of an advantage since I'm still clanless... but we got a good spar in. And I got to see just how much stronger a Dovaa with a clan truly is!
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 1:16 pm
Dear Journal,
I met up with Elleth again. She was wearing a blindfold and practicing when I showed up. We decided to spar again and she insisted on leaving the blindfold on. She must have some crazy teachers! But, we went ahead and sparred. For being blindfolded, she was still a tough opponent! I won, but I must've hit her pretty hard at the end on accident. Hope I didn't hurt her too hard...
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 2:42 pm
Which Clan?
It was as Samril thought back to his fight with Kavanna that he realized he'd been putting something off for far too long. She'd had her abilities and, while they were of a Ysali Dovaa, they were definitely better than what he had had. After all, he only had what every Dovaa had as they became aware of their magical abilities. He needed to choose a clan to become more powerful, the only question was: Which was it going to be?
Returning to the field where he'd sparred with Kavanna, the young Dovaa found a nice shady spot to sit and think. "Ayrala... Kiandri.... Firani," Samril mused aloud, thinking over his talks with the elders of each. "Wind, Electric, Fire," he continued, remembering the Ayrala elder's advice to think of the elements.
Samril decided to spend a bit of time thinking on each clan individually. Perhaps thinking of all of them was confusing him. "Ayrala. Clan of air and fog... They use their magic to prevent damage..." He thought for a while on that, imagining himself controlling breezes and tornadoes.
"Hmmm... Kiandri. Clan of lightning and electricity... Fast striking Dovaa..." More time was spent as Samril imagined himself shocking people with lightning bolts and being a fast fighter.
Time to think on the last clan. "Firani. Clan of fire... They burn their opponents, hurting them over time..." Yet again, Samril imagined himself controlling the element of the clan, this time fire.
Imagining himself as a Firani made Samril realize how he didn't like fire. He recalled the burns on the Firani elder's face and thought of how he didn't want to look like that when he was an elder. "Guess Firani is out, then," he commented aloud. That left Ayrala and Kiandri.
"Wind... Lightning..." Samril gave a sigh. This was too hard to decide! Both were interesting and, as he thought, Samril got up and paced where he'd been sitting.
He could see himself as both, truthfully, and that didn't help too much. Though, imagining himself as a Firani had helped him realize he didn't want to be one of them. So what else could he do to narrow it down? He'd thought of the elements like he'd been told and he liked both wind and lightning, really. Both were definitely neat.
Perhaps he should think more on some of their special abilities. Samril didn't like getting hurt and the Ayrala were good at negating damage. But the Kiandri were fast and struck quick and got the battle done with before too much damage could be done to them. So both were good at preventing a lot of damage to themselves, really. They just went about it differently from what he'd learned.
Samril began to think back on stories his brothers had told of their own dragon hunts, especially those of the Ayrala and Kiandri dragons. They had many stories of each, but the ones that stuck in his head were the stories of the Kiandri dragons. As his brothers were all of the Peisio clan, they had struggled greatly when encountering the electric dragons. A rather evil grin spread across Samril's face as he recalled this fact. Water did not fair well against electricity.......
Jumping up, Samril ran off. He knew which clan he wanted to be in now: Kiandri!
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Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 9:39 am
Dear Journal,
I beat my first Ysali as a Kiandri Dovaa! It was so easy!!! I love my new powers! I can't wait to use them again!!!
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 12:25 pm
Have you any orbs?
There was another thing that Samril had been putting off and now that he had chosen his clan and was close to moving up to year 2, he was beginning to panic about having not turned in his dragon souls. Samril stared at the three Ysali dragon orbs on his shelf. While the orbs all looked the same, each had a special meaning to him.
One was of his very first dragon hunt when he'd been trying to befriend a dragon. Instead, he'd been attacked and had ended up killing the poor thing. He remembered burying the bones before he'd collected the orb. He still felt pangs of regret at that. He truly hadn't meant to kill the dragon, but it just wouldn't listen to him.
The second was from the dragon he and Elleth had taken on together. He remembered how tired they were, having already sparred together before spotting the dragon and deciding to take it on. Oh, he'd slept for a solid day after that!
That left the third and final orb: the one from his first dragon hunt after choosing his clan. It had been his first battle as a Kiandri Dovaa and he'd smoked that Ysali dragon! Samril grinned as he recalled that battle.
How was he to choose two of these to give to Marcus Ysaride when they all had special meanings to him? How could he pick one memory as being more special than the others by keeping that orb? After all, Marcus wouldn't care which ones he gave... right? Perhaps he should hold onto the second orb? Would the Dovaa leader want an orb that an Oblivionite helped him to get? Perhaps he should hold onto the third orb? He hadn't shown it to his family yet, though they laughed at the first two...
Perhaps he was thinking too much into this. Samril sighed, still unsure which orbs to take and turn in. Finally, an idea hit him. He grabbed a bag and placed all three within before closing it and moving the orbs about within. Finally, he opened it enough to reach in and grab one orb at random. There. He'd keep that one. He placed it back on the shelf and picked up the bag, heading towards Marcus' rooms in the Celestial Fortress.
The young Dovaa skipped along the path, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. He'd met Marcus Ysaride once before, when he'd chosen his clan. The man had been busy at the time with several other things and hadn't even looked up when Samril came in. The boy had announced himself and Marcus had replied without even looking up. "Ah, another Baird, eh? Peisio, right?" The Dovaa leader had even started to get up and fetch the orb before Samril had spoken up and corrected the man.
"N-no, sir. I want to be Kiandri."
This had made Marcus stop and turn, a slight smile on his lips. "I see. I apologize young Samril for the assumption. Kiandri it is." And he'd disappeared only to return moments later with a large yellow orb, which he'd presented to Samril, giving him the instructions to crush it and allow the souls within to bond with him, granting him the powers of the Kiandri clan.
Samril smiled as he remembered the rush of power and nearly bumped into another Dovaa as his feet automatically took him into the Celestial Fortress. "Oops! Sorry!" Samril pushed thoughts of the past away as he gathered his bearings and, hitching his bag up higher on his shoulder, headed towards Marcus' rooms.
It wasn't long before he was knocking on the Dovaa leader's door. "Come in, come in!" Samril opened the door and Marcus turned to see who entered. "Ah, young Samril. How is life as a Kiandri Dovaa treating you?"
"Good. I killed my first dragon using my new abilities!" Samril grinned, remembering how the electricity had felt as he wielded it.
"Good, good! What can I do for you today?"
Samril removed the bag from his shoulder and opened it to take out the two orbs within. "I brought orbs for you," he told the older man, lifting them up to show them off.
"Ah, very good! Two Ysali soul orbs. Thank you very much," Marcus smiled and took the orbs from the young boy. "You're doing very well, Samril. You'll catch up to your brothers in no time at this rate. In fact, I do believe you'll be moving on up very soon, won't you?"
Samril nodded. "Yes, sir. Not much longer."
"Keep up the good work. Now, I'm afraid I'm very busy today, but I look forward to seeing your progress as you grow."
Samril bowed and turned to leave, his chest puffed out in pride. Marcus Ysaride himself had said he was a great dragon hunter! Okay, maybe not quite in those words, but the meaning had been the same, right?
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