Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mirela sniffed at the nest and the three eggs that rested in it. “Mirela.” Her mother’s voice sounded just as she nudged one of the eggs with her snout. “Leave your siblings alone.” Kerubi moved over to her curious daughter, nudging her neck affectionately as she settled down with her eggs. “Your father’s going to take just you out for training this morning. Behave for him, please. No running off.” Mir swished her tail back and forth and whined. “I mean it. You’re going to get hurt one of these days if you don’t stop it. That oblivionite isn’t always going to be around to help you find your way back.”

“Fiiiine.” Mirela whined more but gave up as she tucked her wings in close to her and looked around. She trilled happily as her dad broke through the brush and headed towards them. Her brothers and sister had already had a go at trying to use their magic and Mirela was happy to finally have a turn at practice. She bounded off towards her dad, prancing around him in circles. “Now?” She asked happily as she stopped behind him and nudged at his hind legs. “Let’s goooo.”

Arben chuckled as he nudged Mir with his snout. “Patience little one.” He moved over to Kerubi, rumbling low in his throat and nuzzling her neck. “Wish me luck in keeping up with our daughter love.” They both chuckled lightly as Mir huffed and crouched low to the ground. Her father turned to leave and as he walked past Mir she pounced at his tail. He lifted it out of her reach and chuckled. “So feisty. Come, it’s time you learn to use your magic Mirela.” He sauntered into the forest, knowing full well that Mir would be right on his heels.

He turned as they reached they reached the clearing he had used to train Mir’s three siblings. He had already made sure no other creatures or magescians were around before he had went and gotten Mir from her mother. The last thing he wanted or needed was for their training to be interrupted. He sat and lowered his head down to her height. “You’ve grown so much. It is hard to believe that it’s time for you to learn how to control your magic.” He bumped his nose against hers and she chirruped. “Listen carefully, little one. Magic can be a wonderful thing but you must learn to control it or you could hurt yourself.” He straightened up. “Close your eyes Mirela. Let your body relax and try to tune out everything but my voice.”

Mir obeyed, letting her eyes fall shut and her body relax. It was hard to concentrate on just her father’s voice though. So many noises filtered through the trees and bushes of the forest. She took a deep breath and forced her mind to concentrate. Eventually, she had narrowed in on his voice. “Concentrate, feel your magic flowing through your body, over your legs and tail and wings. Feel it flowing in and around you, out of you. You are Diabi Mirela. Your very nature is darkness. Imagine it seeping out of you, slow and lethal.” He watched as his daughter’s scales took on a darker look, her magic manifesting over her body in a dark, purple haze. “Good, you’re doing well. Now open your eyes but remember, keep your concentration focused. Narrow in on your magic.” As her eyes opened he stepped out of her line of sight. “See the tree in front of you?” At Mirela’s nod Arben continued. “Focus in on that point and let your magic flow. Push it and force it towards a single point on that tree’s trunk.”

Mir did as she was told, shoving at her magic. It seemed, though that she either shoved too hard or lost focus at the last minute. Her magic shot forward but missed the tree by inches. She growled, lowering her head and huffing. “That’s alright little one. It takes practice. That was very good for a first try.” She trilled softly as she raised her head back up. “Again.” They practiced for what seemed like hours. As Mir’s magic began to weaken and her body grew heavy, they headed back to the nest.

Mir went in and out of consciousness the whole boat ride from Soudul. She drowsily watched as the oblivionites carried her off of the ferry and was soon drifting back into nothingness. How much time passed between when she'd been taken, and now, Mirela wasn't sure. All she knew that she was definitely not home anymore and she was definitely not on Soudul anymore either. There was a strange foreignness to the world around her. It was much hotter than the woods of Soudul and the sun shone bright overhead when she awoke several hours — at least she assumed it had been hours — later . She squinted her eyes, relieved when a shadow passed before her. The relief, however, was quickly replaced by trepidation as one of the oblivionites, who had taken her, came into view. She hissed, backing up, groggily, as far as her wooden cage would allow her.

"Here, here. Calm yourself beast." Something that looked like black smoke seeped out of the oblivionite's fingers and slowly coiled itself around Mir's throat. She shook her head, reeling away from the smoke but failed as it invaded her nostrils and she felt her eyelids grow heavy. She fought against the spell, gnashing her teeth, before her body finally gave in and succumbed to sleep again.

The next time she awoke, it was to the sounds of battle. Mir blinked her eyes open, head feeling heavy as she lifted it up to look around. The wagon her cage was on, sped over the desert sand, obviously in a hurry to escape whatever it was that was attacking the group. At the sudden heat trailing after them, Mir shrinked back against her cage, gaze flicking to the back of the wagon. Flames licked against the wheels as the shadow of, what she could only guess was, a friani dragon. The wagon hit a bump, sending Mir flying up into the air. Trapped in her tiny cage, as she was, her head and back hit against the top of it and she groaned as the cage tilted and began to tumble off of the vehicle.

The wood splintered as it crashed to the ground and Mir was thrown around. She tumbled out, shaking her head to try and clear some of the fog from the spell that gripped at her mind. She knew she needed move, needed to get away from the oblivionites who had stolen her away from her family and the dragons that were now attacking the group of poachers. Her body didn't want to cooperate, however. The sand beneath her claws was foreign, lending an unstableness to her already shaky legs. Mir grit her teeth and shook her head again as she took off away from the skirmish, stumbling and falling several times before finally getting a feel for how to move around across the desert.

Once far enough away, at least as far as her tired body would carry her, Mir's eyes flicked around her strange surroundings. It was almost as if the desert went on for miles on end. The only thing in sight were some far off cliffs and what looked to be an opening. She huffed, pushing herself back up onto her legs and taking off towards her goal. The magic that remained inside her clawed at her, wearing her down little by little, so that by the time she reached the small opening — large enough for her to fit into — she was about ready to pass out. She gave one last look behind her, the flames and black smoke of oblvionite magic still visible in the air, before scrambling in and giving into her body's need to sleep.