[[Forgive me. It's been one of those dream-filled days, and this wants to escape. It's rough, but I hope that can be forgiven.]]
In the Court of the Eternal Sun, a guard's life isn't worth the smallest spine-plate on his body. His every breathing moment dedicated to the Kronus and the family of the Kronus. Dedicated since the moment he first drew breath; dedicated till the moment the Eternal Sun takes his body. That scarred, patterned, branded body that declared him one of the Offered, forever marked by the Living Sun that runs in glowing rivulets down the walls.
What, then, is a guard to do when approached by a young krona, she whom he must serve and protect, and his services demanded? Not merely the services of a guard, that which he is permitted, nay, required to give, but the services... of a mate.
A guard is to guard, and to report all activities to the Kronus that would jeopardize the Family. For a guard to mate a krona is blasphemy, for those of the Black Corona must not sully their blood with the whites and ashes of the lesser kindred, or even rare sun-tones of the imar caste. And this was not merely the sin of youthful passion, for which he would merely be discretely moved out of the young krona's reach after reporting it, but a greater sin. The sin of willful defilement.
The krona did not wish to be bound to the old, plate-bound relic she had been promised to. A despoiled krona could choose who they bonded, who they mated. A despoiled krona was punished by restrictions - of rank, of power, but little else.
The one who despoiled the krona, however...
It was a guard's duty to report this behavior, for it jeopardized the smooth running of the Family. A guard's duty that would end in a discrete, unmourned death, as ends were tidied up and witnesses of the krona's attempt at defiance were removed.
The Family kept itself pure. Youthful indiscretions initiated by a krona could be overlooked, but willful defiance of Family Law could not be overlooked, no matter who initiated it.
What was a guard to do, then, faced on two sides with death?
Report, was the proper answer. Report was what many did, giving their lives to the Eternal Sun and to loyalty. Anything else was heresy, punishable by the lingering death a rivulet of the Living Sun would provide.
But what if there was a third option. Escape.
Not into the general populous, for a guard was branded by both Sun-scars and training, but true escape, into the Land Beyond the Sun. The land where, eons ago, the People lived. Where the Sun wasn't eternal, where its living essence didn't run down the walls, casting everything in shades of shimmering orange-white. Where guards weren't branded by painting lines of Living Sun upon their bodies, to endure the torment or be ended, their lives given to the Eternal Sun.
To be part of the Black Corona was to know the way back. To be one of the Sun Kissed, the imar who tended the Sun in all its forms and so shone the same orange-white as the Sun, was to know how to traverse the Rivers of the Sun. To be Lesser was to be led.
But any hope was better than none.
Court of the Eternal Sun
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StarFyre
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Not a story, but some fairly detailed information, presented in a slightly tidied up form. There would be a sketch accompanying it, but I have no access to a scanner at current.
---
They name themselves the Najii, and their legends speak of a time when the People swam the seas of the world, surfacing only to take deep lungfuls of air. But those seas became poisoned, and the People quarreled - many wanted to escape to the places above the waves, but a segment wanted to trace the great underground rivers back into the rock, hoping for a reprieve in the purity of the rivers that could no longer be found in the seas.
And so the People split. And so the Najii came to be...
Or so the tales say. The Lesser Kin, the Najii of the white and the ash colorations, snort in disbelief whenever an imar speaks of the legends. For how could they swim, covered in heavy, head-to-toe scales, the largest of which the hatchlings could use as protection and play toy all in one?
For while the adults are covered in tough, heat and melt-resistant scales, the hatchlings boast tender, flexible scales, and only the barest hint of the spine-plates that would one day protect from falling Sun and enemy bites, all in one. And while it is the adults who carefully farm and catch the fish from the nearby river, it is the children who paddle back and forth, their paws webbed and forms sinuous as they slice through the water. It is the children who stay in the water-cavern, often on their own, for few adults feel comfortable around the water they used to splash in as children themselves, but now sink like rocks under the weight of their scales.
The children of the Black Corona, of course, get their own small river-cavern at the back of the Family's cavern, where guards are required to watch them diligently. At this age, and for many river-cycles yet to come, these children are all titled Ke -- "little one" -- and are equals in the sight of the Black Corona. It is only upon showing the first signs of the scales hardening, and the slow drying and disintegration of the webbing between their toes, that they become krona, regardless of gender.
The krona, like the ke, are all "equal" - the child of the Kronus is a krona, just as the child of the lowest kron is also a krona. Indeed - heritage means little for inheritance - the Kronus is chosen by a contest of strength and will, and must often defend his or her position against challengers.
The imar, on the other hand, are chosen for their position by the strength of the yellow in their scales. The deeper yellow they are, the more blessed they are, and the higher rank they are. And while the imar always have children with yellow scales, it is possible for the Lesser Kin to occasionally show a yellow tinge --- this is because, though the Najii know it not, the coloration isn't anything passed down from parent to child, but rather the result of their bodies dealing with an overabundance of sulfur in their bodies by putting it into their scales. This makes those with yellow scale, especially the higher ranks of the imar cast, very susceptible to the ravages of the Eternal Sun and the Living Sun, so they often anoint themselves with pastes made of pulverized rocks, to serve as a barrier between their spine-plates and the Sun. During many rituals, these pastes are left off, because to hide from the glory of the Sun is blasphemy to those closest to that glory.
It isn't unheard of for a particularly blessed imar to burst into flames upon approaching the Eternal Sun. Such blessed individuals will proceed to throw themselves into the embrace of the Eternal Sun, to finally become one with their god.
In contrast, typical composition of a Najii's scales involve a varying mixture of iron, tungsten, and platinum, with other trace minerals and elements mixed in. These minerals are usually ingested through either drinking mineral laden water (a result of running the river water through channels and into the main caverns, where the water can come into contact with lava and heated rocks) or chewing on "teething stones". These stones (which can be any stone small enough to fit into the mouth and still close the jaws) actually have nothing to do with teething as we think about it, but came about as a habit to attempt to alleviate the hunger of the first few generations, before they had a sustainable supply of fish to feed all of them. Their bodies adapted to this influx of useless minerals and trace poisons by co-opting them for use in scale-building (and, as time went on, for strengthening the bone structure to support the massive scales that were evolving).
This resulted in larger, tougher scales that stood up much better under the heat and danger of living beneath a large pocket of magma than their lighter, more flexible scales had. As the generations went on, those whose bodies made most efficient use of the minerals lived longer, healthier lives and passed on their genes more often, eventually resulting in the hard, heavy scales of the current era. Shed scales are saved, smashed, and the pieces eaten to bolster the growth of new scales. When a Najii dies, he or she is first carefully stripped of all scales, down to the tiniest paw-scale, and those scales distributed to the family as such: children, especially young children, get the heavy spine-scales, while the mate gets many of the much smaller body scales, siblings get a few scales, and parents, if they still live, get one scale each. The body, now devoid of its protection, is then given to the Eternal Sun -- tossed into the magma pocket by the imar, so that they can 'return to the land of the sun'.
The coloration of the Lesser Kin comes from the mixture of minerals in their scales, which thus gives them a white to ashen appearance. The coloration of the Black Corona comes from a recessive trait that is often paired with vestigial fin-wings, a last trace of their aquatic heritage that is retained even into adulthood, unlike the webbing between the toes. Those who don't have the vestigial wings are less likely to suffer from deficiencies that make their scales lighter and less heat resistant, but more likely to suffer from various palsies, weak limbs, or breathing difficulties. Crossing a Black Corona with one of the Lesser Kin will always result in a white or ash colored hatchling, and it's because of this that there are occasional 'throwbacks' in the Lesser Kin who have black scales, due to interbreeding in the past. These throwbacks are calmly hustled off into the Black Corona as quickly as possible, because new blood is always needed in such a small population.
Like some species of fish, a female that is bred can and often will not show pregnancy until a later date, at which point a "spontaneous pregnancy" may occur, without the father being anywhere near the mother. Any children a female has may be related to any male she's ever mated with in her lifetime, and this is why relations between the Black Corona and the Lesser Kin (and even the imar) is forbidden, because the Black Corona needs to keep rigorous track of parentage, so that they can keep the inbreeding at a minimum. This is also why Black Corona females that have been "despoiled" (whether by another Black Corona or one of the other two classes) will be treated as a lower class, permitted to choose their own mates and do whatever they'd like, because there's no longer a way to tell precisely who the child is related to. Children born white or ash in color are immediately shoved out the door and put in with the Lesser Kin by a Guard, before they've even been able to imprint on their mother or be named. Children like this often grow up as outcasts among the Lesser Kin, because of being unnamed and without 'real' parents, and there's a slowly growing 'outcast community' among the Lesser Kin.
Guards are chosen from precocious young Lesser Kin by other Guards, or dedicated to that position by the fact that they were born of two Guards. Guard training starts as soon as a youngster is chosen, and mostly consists of indoctrination, fighting lessons, and survival training, for not only are Guards used as protection for the Black Corona, but they're used as exploratory and patrolling forces, to map out and discover what else inhabits the twisting collection of caverns they're living in.
--
I've rambled about enough. Maybe more later.
---
They name themselves the Najii, and their legends speak of a time when the People swam the seas of the world, surfacing only to take deep lungfuls of air. But those seas became poisoned, and the People quarreled - many wanted to escape to the places above the waves, but a segment wanted to trace the great underground rivers back into the rock, hoping for a reprieve in the purity of the rivers that could no longer be found in the seas.
And so the People split. And so the Najii came to be...
Or so the tales say. The Lesser Kin, the Najii of the white and the ash colorations, snort in disbelief whenever an imar speaks of the legends. For how could they swim, covered in heavy, head-to-toe scales, the largest of which the hatchlings could use as protection and play toy all in one?
For while the adults are covered in tough, heat and melt-resistant scales, the hatchlings boast tender, flexible scales, and only the barest hint of the spine-plates that would one day protect from falling Sun and enemy bites, all in one. And while it is the adults who carefully farm and catch the fish from the nearby river, it is the children who paddle back and forth, their paws webbed and forms sinuous as they slice through the water. It is the children who stay in the water-cavern, often on their own, for few adults feel comfortable around the water they used to splash in as children themselves, but now sink like rocks under the weight of their scales.
The children of the Black Corona, of course, get their own small river-cavern at the back of the Family's cavern, where guards are required to watch them diligently. At this age, and for many river-cycles yet to come, these children are all titled Ke -- "little one" -- and are equals in the sight of the Black Corona. It is only upon showing the first signs of the scales hardening, and the slow drying and disintegration of the webbing between their toes, that they become krona, regardless of gender.
The krona, like the ke, are all "equal" - the child of the Kronus is a krona, just as the child of the lowest kron is also a krona. Indeed - heritage means little for inheritance - the Kronus is chosen by a contest of strength and will, and must often defend his or her position against challengers.
The imar, on the other hand, are chosen for their position by the strength of the yellow in their scales. The deeper yellow they are, the more blessed they are, and the higher rank they are. And while the imar always have children with yellow scales, it is possible for the Lesser Kin to occasionally show a yellow tinge --- this is because, though the Najii know it not, the coloration isn't anything passed down from parent to child, but rather the result of their bodies dealing with an overabundance of sulfur in their bodies by putting it into their scales. This makes those with yellow scale, especially the higher ranks of the imar cast, very susceptible to the ravages of the Eternal Sun and the Living Sun, so they often anoint themselves with pastes made of pulverized rocks, to serve as a barrier between their spine-plates and the Sun. During many rituals, these pastes are left off, because to hide from the glory of the Sun is blasphemy to those closest to that glory.
It isn't unheard of for a particularly blessed imar to burst into flames upon approaching the Eternal Sun. Such blessed individuals will proceed to throw themselves into the embrace of the Eternal Sun, to finally become one with their god.
In contrast, typical composition of a Najii's scales involve a varying mixture of iron, tungsten, and platinum, with other trace minerals and elements mixed in. These minerals are usually ingested through either drinking mineral laden water (a result of running the river water through channels and into the main caverns, where the water can come into contact with lava and heated rocks) or chewing on "teething stones". These stones (which can be any stone small enough to fit into the mouth and still close the jaws) actually have nothing to do with teething as we think about it, but came about as a habit to attempt to alleviate the hunger of the first few generations, before they had a sustainable supply of fish to feed all of them. Their bodies adapted to this influx of useless minerals and trace poisons by co-opting them for use in scale-building (and, as time went on, for strengthening the bone structure to support the massive scales that were evolving).
This resulted in larger, tougher scales that stood up much better under the heat and danger of living beneath a large pocket of magma than their lighter, more flexible scales had. As the generations went on, those whose bodies made most efficient use of the minerals lived longer, healthier lives and passed on their genes more often, eventually resulting in the hard, heavy scales of the current era. Shed scales are saved, smashed, and the pieces eaten to bolster the growth of new scales. When a Najii dies, he or she is first carefully stripped of all scales, down to the tiniest paw-scale, and those scales distributed to the family as such: children, especially young children, get the heavy spine-scales, while the mate gets many of the much smaller body scales, siblings get a few scales, and parents, if they still live, get one scale each. The body, now devoid of its protection, is then given to the Eternal Sun -- tossed into the magma pocket by the imar, so that they can 'return to the land of the sun'.
The coloration of the Lesser Kin comes from the mixture of minerals in their scales, which thus gives them a white to ashen appearance. The coloration of the Black Corona comes from a recessive trait that is often paired with vestigial fin-wings, a last trace of their aquatic heritage that is retained even into adulthood, unlike the webbing between the toes. Those who don't have the vestigial wings are less likely to suffer from deficiencies that make their scales lighter and less heat resistant, but more likely to suffer from various palsies, weak limbs, or breathing difficulties. Crossing a Black Corona with one of the Lesser Kin will always result in a white or ash colored hatchling, and it's because of this that there are occasional 'throwbacks' in the Lesser Kin who have black scales, due to interbreeding in the past. These throwbacks are calmly hustled off into the Black Corona as quickly as possible, because new blood is always needed in such a small population.
Like some species of fish, a female that is bred can and often will not show pregnancy until a later date, at which point a "spontaneous pregnancy" may occur, without the father being anywhere near the mother. Any children a female has may be related to any male she's ever mated with in her lifetime, and this is why relations between the Black Corona and the Lesser Kin (and even the imar) is forbidden, because the Black Corona needs to keep rigorous track of parentage, so that they can keep the inbreeding at a minimum. This is also why Black Corona females that have been "despoiled" (whether by another Black Corona or one of the other two classes) will be treated as a lower class, permitted to choose their own mates and do whatever they'd like, because there's no longer a way to tell precisely who the child is related to. Children born white or ash in color are immediately shoved out the door and put in with the Lesser Kin by a Guard, before they've even been able to imprint on their mother or be named. Children like this often grow up as outcasts among the Lesser Kin, because of being unnamed and without 'real' parents, and there's a slowly growing 'outcast community' among the Lesser Kin.
Guards are chosen from precocious young Lesser Kin by other Guards, or dedicated to that position by the fact that they were born of two Guards. Guard training starts as soon as a youngster is chosen, and mostly consists of indoctrination, fighting lessons, and survival training, for not only are Guards used as protection for the Black Corona, but they're used as exploratory and patrolling forces, to map out and discover what else inhabits the twisting collection of caverns they're living in.
--
I've rambled about enough. Maybe more later.
This is really neat. It's strange too because my own little randomly generated Dragondeep world, while not nearly as intricate as this one for the 'dragons' themselves, they do evolve right out of the water 
I can't wait to see images, oh please make some
I can't wait to see images, oh please make some
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kshau-protectorate.com
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StarFyre
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Hey look, I finally got around to scanning the sketches I made!
A headshot, showing one version of the Guard branding. The branding is, for the most part, random - what matters is that the face and neck are scarred by magma.
A full body image, sitting, no Guard branding. They stand about 5 feet tall at the shoulder, though most are smaller than that. Hatchlings are tiny. Tiny enough that that huge head-scale there is more than large enough for them to sleep under for months. (They grow pretty slowly, to be honest.)
A headshot, showing one version of the Guard branding. The branding is, for the most part, random - what matters is that the face and neck are scarred by magma.
A full body image, sitting, no Guard branding. They stand about 5 feet tall at the shoulder, though most are smaller than that. Hatchlings are tiny. Tiny enough that that huge head-scale there is more than large enough for them to sleep under for months. (They grow pretty slowly, to be honest.)
Cleaning between those scales must be a total bitch.
Are there parasites on them? I mean, I doubt it since they have such close contact with magma/etc. *wonders about parasites that live in magma* ...
Are there parasites on them? I mean, I doubt it since they have such close contact with magma/etc. *wonders about parasites that live in magma* ...
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StarFyre
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The Black Corona would admit to no such thing... and since their word is law..
Well, to be totally honest, since most adults (minus the imar because, you know, flaming sulfur dragonscales are awesome) tend to use the magma to give themselves rough baths, there isn't much that sticks to them. In other news, they do live in symbiosis with little cave-dwelling mammal-esque critters that are small enough to clean down between the massive neck scales. Cute, they are really not - furless little hard-shelled armadillo-esque things, but slinky like a snake, evil little beady eyes, and a needle-fine beak-mouth. They traditionally lived a bit away from the the magma caves that the Najii have claimed, eating bugs and other cave-dwelling tiny things, including tiny fish and fish-eggs.
Most parasites they pick up are from the water-caves where they get their fish and the like. Luckily, this is also where the cleaner-critters live, so it all works out. Children are obviously the most vulnerable, with their softer scales and the fact that they spend nearly 100% of their time in the water-caves. Many opportunistic critters have learned that the hatchlings are always a good source of easy food, and so hang around all the time, just waiting for a child to lay down on the shore, so they can swarm all over the hatchling.
Well, to be totally honest, since most adults (minus the imar because, you know, flaming sulfur dragonscales are awesome) tend to use the magma to give themselves rough baths, there isn't much that sticks to them. In other news, they do live in symbiosis with little cave-dwelling mammal-esque critters that are small enough to clean down between the massive neck scales. Cute, they are really not - furless little hard-shelled armadillo-esque things, but slinky like a snake, evil little beady eyes, and a needle-fine beak-mouth. They traditionally lived a bit away from the the magma caves that the Najii have claimed, eating bugs and other cave-dwelling tiny things, including tiny fish and fish-eggs.
Most parasites they pick up are from the water-caves where they get their fish and the like. Luckily, this is also where the cleaner-critters live, so it all works out. Children are obviously the most vulnerable, with their softer scales and the fact that they spend nearly 100% of their time in the water-caves. Many opportunistic critters have learned that the hatchlings are always a good source of easy food, and so hang around all the time, just waiting for a child to lay down on the shore, so they can swarm all over the hatchling.
Yes! its amazing, the possibilities of what you speak of. and i'm drooling over the images you've uploaded.
alright. going to leave this laptop alone before i beat my keyboard senseless. my mind is working faster than my fingers, and i need to think before i put down into words my thoughts.
but def. def interested. and wanting more!
on another note. shy is def. back. and in my .doc versions, he as decided on who to wake first, to complete my insane roll back into the nexus.
alright. going to leave this laptop alone before i beat my keyboard senseless. my mind is working faster than my fingers, and i need to think before i put down into words my thoughts.
but def. def interested. and wanting more!
on another note. shy is def. back. and in my .doc versions, he as decided on who to wake first, to complete my insane roll back into the nexus.
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StarFyre
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So, who wants Story-Time-With-Starry? I'm thinking about writing short slice-of-life stories for the Najii and posting them, probably once a week, maybe more if I start getting much faster with the writing.
Nothing right now, because I'm dead tired after being run ragged the past three days because of Joe's research gig, but tomorrow or Friday night I'll probably post something.
Here's the topics I'm thinking of covering. More might crop up as I write or as people suggest them.
An Outcast
A child of the Outcast
One of the Lesser Kin
A child of the Lesser Kin
One of the imar
A child of the imar
A Guard
A child of the Guard
A young krona
The Kronus
A wedding
A funeral
A hatching
An Outcast trying to become a Guard
A Guard patrol
A ceremony
A high ceremony
...more to come?
I have no real preference of when I write each of these - does anyone have a topic they'd like to see written first? Or a topic they'd like to see written that I haven't listed?
Nothing right now, because I'm dead tired after being run ragged the past three days because of Joe's research gig, but tomorrow or Friday night I'll probably post something.
Here's the topics I'm thinking of covering. More might crop up as I write or as people suggest them.
An Outcast
A child of the Outcast
One of the Lesser Kin
A child of the Lesser Kin
One of the imar
A child of the imar
A Guard
A child of the Guard
A young krona
The Kronus
A wedding
A funeral
A hatching
An Outcast trying to become a Guard
A Guard patrol
A ceremony
A high ceremony
...more to come?
I have no real preference of when I write each of these - does anyone have a topic they'd like to see written first? Or a topic they'd like to see written that I haven't listed?
Maybe start with young ones, so we can see their development and contrasts between status as they grow up?
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StarFyre
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((Tada! As promised, a bit of a story. From here on, the stories will likely be split between Lesser, imar, Black Corona, and Outcast, instead of all together like this, but I thought this one worked best like this.))
She hovered over her clutch, ash-silver scales glinting in the light of the Living Sun. She rearranged her precious three silver eggs, shifting one closer to the rivulet of Living Sun, another away, another a bit to one side. Her tongue flicked out to taste the air, head swaying back and forth between her three eggs, listening, ever listening...
There! A tapping!
Her head swiveled, eyes fixing on the egg from which the tapping had come. She flicked her tongue out again, rasping it over the shell, then paused to listen again.
Taptap..tap..taptaptap
The egg trembled, shaking with the fury of the trapped inhabitant.
She threw her head back and howled her joy.
\\\\
Across the vastness of the cavern, another expecting mother looked up from her own clutch. Her brilliant yellow scales were dulled by rock-paste and water, and her eyes glowed in the reflected light of the Eternal Sun. Most of her body was submerged in the boiling water, just her head above it. Her eggs, with their yellow shells, were resting on the shallow ledge in grooves carved for them, water halfway up their shells.
"Zajaish, what is that racket?" She demanded, her eyes narrowing.
Her attendant never looked up from where he fussed over the eggs, "I believe one of the Lessers is witnessing the birth of her own children, High Priestess."
"Mmm," She dipped her head in the water briefly, forcing down the surge of fear that rose in her heart as she did. The water was too shallow to drown her, she reminded herself. If she stood up, it would barely touch her underbelly, and there was no current to speak of. "Well, go tell her to shut up. I can't hear to listen for my own littles."
Zajaish bobbed his head, eyes never leaving the floor. "Yes, High Priestess."
\\\
Deep in the cavern of the Black Corona, a young mother cowered next to her clutch, whimpering as she nosed each black egg repeatedly. The damning silver speckles wouldn't disappear, no matter how often she licked the shells or rubbed her scales against them. One egg was almost entirely silver, with only the smallest swirls of black. She hoped that one didn't hatch... she prayed to the Eternal Sun that none of her children would become Outcast.
"Oh, hush your moaning, Vi," groused her mother. "It's your own fault for having relations with a Guard. You're only here on the off chance one of those speckled eggs actually hatches a black."
Vi ducked her head close to the floor again, avoiding her mother's eyes. It had seemed so romantic at the time...
And now she paid for it, in the blood of her own children.
\\\\
The rocking silver egg twirled about, to come crashing down out of its little nest of stones, cracks lacing through the hard shell. Four tiny claws poked through, then four more, followed by an insistent nose with a tiny horn. The ash-silver mother crooned her encouragement, her mate leaning against her side and joining in the song.
Bit by bit, the shell fell away, and a tiny ash-silver hatchling tumbled out, almost rolling into the rivulet of Living Sun that his egg had been next to.
With a squeak, the mother darted forward, her mouth closing over her hatchling's delicate skin and dragging him back, away from the Sun.
"There will be time for that later, daring one," his father rumbled softly. "For now, it is rest and the river for you."
In the shadows, unnoticed, Zajaish hovered, eyes bright with longing.
He would not disturb this moment with his mistress' words.
\\\\
"Zajaish! Zajaish! Where are you! Damn-fool assistant!" The High Priestess snarled, snapping her jaws loudly a few inches above the shells that held her own hatchlings. "I will throw that worthless fool into the Eternal Sun!"
Never-the-less, her eggs were shivering, and there was no assistant to help her. She supposed she could call for the father, but that would be giving the pale-scale more than his due. Bad enough she had been told to mate with him, because all of her rank were too closely related, but to give him the privilege of the hatching chamber... unheard of!
No male but the eunuch assistants were allowed within, and that would not be changed!
Frantic, she tried to lift the eggs from the water, but couldn't grip the smooth shells properly in her teeth. One slipped free, coming down with a crack! upon the hard edge of the basin, spilling its inhabitant out and into the water.
She shrieked, lunging for the delicate yellow of her child, only to have the hatchling slip away with a giggle. Blinking, she pulled back, watching as the hatchling (hers! The father truly didn't matter, this little yellow-scale was hers!) paddled across the pool. Her eyes softened, and she moved forward to nose her little one with joy, remembering her own days paddling fearlessly in the hotsprings of the Temple.
\\\\
"No! No!" Vi screamed, struggling against her mother's strength, trying to reach the silver-scale that had hatched from the silver-and-black egg. "She's my daughter! Give her back!"
"You knew this would happen when you chose to mate with a Guard!" Her mother rasped. "Let the Guard dispose of her, she is no daughter of yours. Look to your son, a fine black-scale, and hope he has more sense than his mother ever did!"
Sobbing, Vi finally collapsed, spent. Her son huddled next to her head, trembling as much as she was. Both of them watched as the Guard stalked from the chamber, silver bundle gripped tight in his mouth.
"Well? Get on with it. Name your son and let's leave. Your other egg will not hatch, thank the Sun."
Vi growled low in her throat, though she made no move to rise more than enough to look her son in his eyes, stretching out her heart to him, as her mother once had to her. He looked back at her solemnly.
"Kikan. Your name is Kikan." And may you never forgive them, for taking your sister from you.
\\\\
"What are their names, heart?" Her white mate rubbed his cheek against her's affectionately, then looked down at the three playing hatchling. White, ash-silver, and grey, the three coiled together like one creature.
She chuckled, then nosed the three apart long enough to look each in the eyes. "Miashi," she named the tiny white female. "Akran," she said to the lithe grey male. "Gradan," she told the impatient ash-silver male.
Her mate smiled. "Fine names, for fine children."
\\\\
"There you are, Zajaish!" She groused, but her words had little bite left in them. She'd punish him later, for not being there when her hatchlings needed him, but for now...
"Meet Xijan and Shai," her words came out as a purr, as she indulgently watched the brother and sister splash about in the pool together. "I believe they will go far and do much... do you not agree?"
"Yes, High Priestess," Zajaish murmured, eyes only for the two hatchlings. "They will go far indeed."
\\\\
The little silver squeaked in fear, as the Guard dropped her unceremoniously in a large pool of water then turned to leave.
She could meet his eyes. Why wouldn't he look at her? Where was mother? Who was mother? There was something... she longed for something, and the water was not it. Something was wrong. Why was she alone?!
She set up a howl, thin and reedy, creeling for... something. Anything to fill the hole in her heart.
A silver form, as thin as her howl, slipped up to the water's edge and reached out to her.
Another! She quickly paddled closer, eyes desperately seeking the other's, longing meeting hope and...
Nothing. Or, not nothing, but not enough to fill the longing. Enough to survive, perhaps.
He - for it was a he, she knew now - sighed dejectedly, the hope in his eyes dimming to sadness. "I had hoped... I thought I knew how," he murmured, "I am sorry, little one, little Yulaisa. Welcome to the Outcasts, for what it's worth. I am Jan."
He dipped his head closer to the water, and she nosed at it with her tiny muzzle, licking his thin scales. All was not right with the world, but she would live, and that was all she cared about at that moment.
She hovered over her clutch, ash-silver scales glinting in the light of the Living Sun. She rearranged her precious three silver eggs, shifting one closer to the rivulet of Living Sun, another away, another a bit to one side. Her tongue flicked out to taste the air, head swaying back and forth between her three eggs, listening, ever listening...
There! A tapping!
Her head swiveled, eyes fixing on the egg from which the tapping had come. She flicked her tongue out again, rasping it over the shell, then paused to listen again.
Taptap..tap..taptaptap
The egg trembled, shaking with the fury of the trapped inhabitant.
She threw her head back and howled her joy.
\\\\
Across the vastness of the cavern, another expecting mother looked up from her own clutch. Her brilliant yellow scales were dulled by rock-paste and water, and her eyes glowed in the reflected light of the Eternal Sun. Most of her body was submerged in the boiling water, just her head above it. Her eggs, with their yellow shells, were resting on the shallow ledge in grooves carved for them, water halfway up their shells.
"Zajaish, what is that racket?" She demanded, her eyes narrowing.
Her attendant never looked up from where he fussed over the eggs, "I believe one of the Lessers is witnessing the birth of her own children, High Priestess."
"Mmm," She dipped her head in the water briefly, forcing down the surge of fear that rose in her heart as she did. The water was too shallow to drown her, she reminded herself. If she stood up, it would barely touch her underbelly, and there was no current to speak of. "Well, go tell her to shut up. I can't hear to listen for my own littles."
Zajaish bobbed his head, eyes never leaving the floor. "Yes, High Priestess."
\\\
Deep in the cavern of the Black Corona, a young mother cowered next to her clutch, whimpering as she nosed each black egg repeatedly. The damning silver speckles wouldn't disappear, no matter how often she licked the shells or rubbed her scales against them. One egg was almost entirely silver, with only the smallest swirls of black. She hoped that one didn't hatch... she prayed to the Eternal Sun that none of her children would become Outcast.
"Oh, hush your moaning, Vi," groused her mother. "It's your own fault for having relations with a Guard. You're only here on the off chance one of those speckled eggs actually hatches a black."
Vi ducked her head close to the floor again, avoiding her mother's eyes. It had seemed so romantic at the time...
And now she paid for it, in the blood of her own children.
\\\\
The rocking silver egg twirled about, to come crashing down out of its little nest of stones, cracks lacing through the hard shell. Four tiny claws poked through, then four more, followed by an insistent nose with a tiny horn. The ash-silver mother crooned her encouragement, her mate leaning against her side and joining in the song.
Bit by bit, the shell fell away, and a tiny ash-silver hatchling tumbled out, almost rolling into the rivulet of Living Sun that his egg had been next to.
With a squeak, the mother darted forward, her mouth closing over her hatchling's delicate skin and dragging him back, away from the Sun.
"There will be time for that later, daring one," his father rumbled softly. "For now, it is rest and the river for you."
In the shadows, unnoticed, Zajaish hovered, eyes bright with longing.
He would not disturb this moment with his mistress' words.
\\\\
"Zajaish! Zajaish! Where are you! Damn-fool assistant!" The High Priestess snarled, snapping her jaws loudly a few inches above the shells that held her own hatchlings. "I will throw that worthless fool into the Eternal Sun!"
Never-the-less, her eggs were shivering, and there was no assistant to help her. She supposed she could call for the father, but that would be giving the pale-scale more than his due. Bad enough she had been told to mate with him, because all of her rank were too closely related, but to give him the privilege of the hatching chamber... unheard of!
No male but the eunuch assistants were allowed within, and that would not be changed!
Frantic, she tried to lift the eggs from the water, but couldn't grip the smooth shells properly in her teeth. One slipped free, coming down with a crack! upon the hard edge of the basin, spilling its inhabitant out and into the water.
She shrieked, lunging for the delicate yellow of her child, only to have the hatchling slip away with a giggle. Blinking, she pulled back, watching as the hatchling (hers! The father truly didn't matter, this little yellow-scale was hers!) paddled across the pool. Her eyes softened, and she moved forward to nose her little one with joy, remembering her own days paddling fearlessly in the hotsprings of the Temple.
\\\\
"No! No!" Vi screamed, struggling against her mother's strength, trying to reach the silver-scale that had hatched from the silver-and-black egg. "She's my daughter! Give her back!"
"You knew this would happen when you chose to mate with a Guard!" Her mother rasped. "Let the Guard dispose of her, she is no daughter of yours. Look to your son, a fine black-scale, and hope he has more sense than his mother ever did!"
Sobbing, Vi finally collapsed, spent. Her son huddled next to her head, trembling as much as she was. Both of them watched as the Guard stalked from the chamber, silver bundle gripped tight in his mouth.
"Well? Get on with it. Name your son and let's leave. Your other egg will not hatch, thank the Sun."
Vi growled low in her throat, though she made no move to rise more than enough to look her son in his eyes, stretching out her heart to him, as her mother once had to her. He looked back at her solemnly.
"Kikan. Your name is Kikan." And may you never forgive them, for taking your sister from you.
\\\\
"What are their names, heart?" Her white mate rubbed his cheek against her's affectionately, then looked down at the three playing hatchling. White, ash-silver, and grey, the three coiled together like one creature.
She chuckled, then nosed the three apart long enough to look each in the eyes. "Miashi," she named the tiny white female. "Akran," she said to the lithe grey male. "Gradan," she told the impatient ash-silver male.
Her mate smiled. "Fine names, for fine children."
\\\\
"There you are, Zajaish!" She groused, but her words had little bite left in them. She'd punish him later, for not being there when her hatchlings needed him, but for now...
"Meet Xijan and Shai," her words came out as a purr, as she indulgently watched the brother and sister splash about in the pool together. "I believe they will go far and do much... do you not agree?"
"Yes, High Priestess," Zajaish murmured, eyes only for the two hatchlings. "They will go far indeed."
\\\\
The little silver squeaked in fear, as the Guard dropped her unceremoniously in a large pool of water then turned to leave.
She could meet his eyes. Why wouldn't he look at her? Where was mother? Who was mother? There was something... she longed for something, and the water was not it. Something was wrong. Why was she alone?!
She set up a howl, thin and reedy, creeling for... something. Anything to fill the hole in her heart.
A silver form, as thin as her howl, slipped up to the water's edge and reached out to her.
Another! She quickly paddled closer, eyes desperately seeking the other's, longing meeting hope and...
Nothing. Or, not nothing, but not enough to fill the longing. Enough to survive, perhaps.
He - for it was a he, she knew now - sighed dejectedly, the hope in his eyes dimming to sadness. "I had hoped... I thought I knew how," he murmured, "I am sorry, little one, little Yulaisa. Welcome to the Outcasts, for what it's worth. I am Jan."
He dipped his head closer to the water, and she nosed at it with her tiny muzzle, licking his thin scales. All was not right with the world, but she would live, and that was all she cared about at that moment.
-
StarFyre
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Re: Court of the Eternal Sun
((kthunk. Years later, decided to write more. Enjoy!))
"Come along, children!" Their father spoke as he chivvied the three of them along. "The imar have called all Najii together for the Rite of the Silent Storm."
Gradan huffed and skittered away from his father's muzzle, out in front of the little group. Moments later he skidded to a stop and turned to stare behind him at his brother and sister, Akran and Miashi. They remained close to their father's paws, huddling beneath his body away from the drops of Living Sun that came from the sky. Their mother looked on indulgently at Gradan's impatience, as she pressed close to her mate's side and walked in sync.
Gradan danced out of the way of a drop of Living Sun, then glowered up at the sky. This was not the cool safety of the Water Cavern; this was the dangerous Home Cavern, where the sky glowed a constant, sullen red-orange. He did not like the dim, reddish light, it hurt his eyes and made him strain to see, unlike the cool blue-green light of the Water Cavern.
Finally giving in, he took shelter under his mother's belly.
"Father," Akran spoke quietly. "What is the Rite of the Silent Storm?"
It was their mother who responded, voice soft and rhythmic. "Once every few generations, the Eternal Sun becomes restless, roiling with gathered emotions. If not brought back to silence, the Eternal Sun will grow angry, and the Living Sun will fall from the sky in torrents. The Rite calms the Eternal Sun's fury for a short time, allowing us to remain here beneath its grace."
"So you must remember to be silent during the ceremony," their father broke in. "This Rite can only be performed once a generation, so if it is disturbed..."
Gradan scowled. He hated sitting still and quiet, hated the dismissive gazes of the imar and the Black Corona.
Miashi leaned into his body, until they were walking in step like their parents. She said nothing, but her presence, her support, was enough to calm Gradan's restless soul for a time.
\\\\
Yulaisa watched, crouched in her tiny nook next to Jan, as the yellow-scales paraded by. (Imar, Jan had said. The Sun Kissed. Blessed by the Eternal Sun, he had explained with broken, detached words; a lesson learned by rote, gained through furtive forays into the Home Cavern.)
"What do they do?" She asked quietly, as the yellow-scale in the lead reared upright and spread his forelimbs in an awkward gesture. It was like he was trying to grasp a gigantic, invisible fish in his paws.
Jan ducked his head, peering out of their hiding spot. "I do not know. We Outcasts have never seen a gathering like this."
Yulaisa turned her gaze from the parade of yellow-scales, and looked out at those who had gathered in the open. At the silent, still crowd of ashen white and silver, like corpses lined up to be devoured. Even the few children she could see were still and quiet, huddled by their... parents? Yes, parents, That was the word Jan had taught her.
And there, in a small gathering closer to the yellow-scales than the ashen ones were allowed...
Black-scales. Those who had made her Outcast for being born silver instead of black.
And there, huddled near the back, a small black-scale. Perhaps her... what was the word. Mate? No. That was for when she was older. Ah, sibling. She remembered another tiny one at her side when she came into the world. That was a sibling, right?
Perhaps sensing her gaze (where no other had? Perhaps it was a sibling thing-- were there sibling things?), the small black-scale turned his gaze up to stare in her direction.
For the briefest of moments, she felt a flare of... something... in her heart.
For the briefest of moments, she felt a claw of red-hot emotion pierce her chest and burrow deep-deep-deeper like a parasite.
Then he blinked. Turned his gaze back to the group of yellow-scales.
The red-hot claw hissed and shriveled, like Living Sun meeting water, leaving her hollow and empty once more.
Jan bumped his head against her neck, drawing her attention back to the gathering, and she set the oddity aside, in favor of helping her guardian attempt to make sense of what was occuring.
\\\\
Kikan could still sense her gaze, her presence. It soothed a raw wound in his soul that had been ripped open moments after he hatched.
His sister, the unnamed silver he had watched carted away in the jaws of a Guard, as he huddled next to his crying mother. That she still lived was amazing.
But... for now, he could do nothing. He was just a ke, just a little one with no say and no strength.
He would change that, he swore. He would become strong, stronger than the other ke, stronger than the other krona, stronger than the Kronus herself. He would change it all.
\\\\
"Bless us, oh Eternal Sun," she chanted in time with the other High ones, her yellow-scaled body swaying gently from side to side. "Welcome peace into thine heart, Eternal Sun. Calm thine rage and let us sing once more of hope and prosperity. Let us sing once more of cooperation and wellbeing. Bless us, bless us, bless us."
The heat from the Eternal Sun beat upon her body like a physical thing, pressing and hissing and whispering promises of hate and death into her mind. The Eternal Sun was hardly a friendly god -- no matter what those foolish Lessers believed! They who could not hear the Voice of their God lived in a delusion -- but rarely was it so blatently furious, so enraged as it was now.
This was more than a rage born of a Lesser overstepping their boundary, quickly appeased by sacrificing the offender to the Eternal Sun; this was a symbiotic rage, reflected and amplified from the world around them. This was a rage born of the hearts of Najii.
Perhaps it was time to purge the Outcast population again, those nameless dregs that lived their solitary, bestial lives in the maze of passages off the Water Cavern. Their hearts were said to contain nothing but a bestial hatred of the Najii -- perhaps they had been sneaking around, poisoning the heart and mind of the Eternal Sun against the people that had rejected them.
She would be sure to speak her mind to the Sunfall when she met him after the ritual.
"Come along, children!" Their father spoke as he chivvied the three of them along. "The imar have called all Najii together for the Rite of the Silent Storm."
Gradan huffed and skittered away from his father's muzzle, out in front of the little group. Moments later he skidded to a stop and turned to stare behind him at his brother and sister, Akran and Miashi. They remained close to their father's paws, huddling beneath his body away from the drops of Living Sun that came from the sky. Their mother looked on indulgently at Gradan's impatience, as she pressed close to her mate's side and walked in sync.
Gradan danced out of the way of a drop of Living Sun, then glowered up at the sky. This was not the cool safety of the Water Cavern; this was the dangerous Home Cavern, where the sky glowed a constant, sullen red-orange. He did not like the dim, reddish light, it hurt his eyes and made him strain to see, unlike the cool blue-green light of the Water Cavern.
Finally giving in, he took shelter under his mother's belly.
"Father," Akran spoke quietly. "What is the Rite of the Silent Storm?"
It was their mother who responded, voice soft and rhythmic. "Once every few generations, the Eternal Sun becomes restless, roiling with gathered emotions. If not brought back to silence, the Eternal Sun will grow angry, and the Living Sun will fall from the sky in torrents. The Rite calms the Eternal Sun's fury for a short time, allowing us to remain here beneath its grace."
"So you must remember to be silent during the ceremony," their father broke in. "This Rite can only be performed once a generation, so if it is disturbed..."
Gradan scowled. He hated sitting still and quiet, hated the dismissive gazes of the imar and the Black Corona.
Miashi leaned into his body, until they were walking in step like their parents. She said nothing, but her presence, her support, was enough to calm Gradan's restless soul for a time.
\\\\
Yulaisa watched, crouched in her tiny nook next to Jan, as the yellow-scales paraded by. (Imar, Jan had said. The Sun Kissed. Blessed by the Eternal Sun, he had explained with broken, detached words; a lesson learned by rote, gained through furtive forays into the Home Cavern.)
"What do they do?" She asked quietly, as the yellow-scale in the lead reared upright and spread his forelimbs in an awkward gesture. It was like he was trying to grasp a gigantic, invisible fish in his paws.
Jan ducked his head, peering out of their hiding spot. "I do not know. We Outcasts have never seen a gathering like this."
Yulaisa turned her gaze from the parade of yellow-scales, and looked out at those who had gathered in the open. At the silent, still crowd of ashen white and silver, like corpses lined up to be devoured. Even the few children she could see were still and quiet, huddled by their... parents? Yes, parents, That was the word Jan had taught her.
And there, in a small gathering closer to the yellow-scales than the ashen ones were allowed...
Black-scales. Those who had made her Outcast for being born silver instead of black.
And there, huddled near the back, a small black-scale. Perhaps her... what was the word. Mate? No. That was for when she was older. Ah, sibling. She remembered another tiny one at her side when she came into the world. That was a sibling, right?
Perhaps sensing her gaze (where no other had? Perhaps it was a sibling thing-- were there sibling things?), the small black-scale turned his gaze up to stare in her direction.
For the briefest of moments, she felt a flare of... something... in her heart.
For the briefest of moments, she felt a claw of red-hot emotion pierce her chest and burrow deep-deep-deeper like a parasite.
Then he blinked. Turned his gaze back to the group of yellow-scales.
The red-hot claw hissed and shriveled, like Living Sun meeting water, leaving her hollow and empty once more.
Jan bumped his head against her neck, drawing her attention back to the gathering, and she set the oddity aside, in favor of helping her guardian attempt to make sense of what was occuring.
\\\\
Kikan could still sense her gaze, her presence. It soothed a raw wound in his soul that had been ripped open moments after he hatched.
His sister, the unnamed silver he had watched carted away in the jaws of a Guard, as he huddled next to his crying mother. That she still lived was amazing.
But... for now, he could do nothing. He was just a ke, just a little one with no say and no strength.
He would change that, he swore. He would become strong, stronger than the other ke, stronger than the other krona, stronger than the Kronus herself. He would change it all.
\\\\
"Bless us, oh Eternal Sun," she chanted in time with the other High ones, her yellow-scaled body swaying gently from side to side. "Welcome peace into thine heart, Eternal Sun. Calm thine rage and let us sing once more of hope and prosperity. Let us sing once more of cooperation and wellbeing. Bless us, bless us, bless us."
The heat from the Eternal Sun beat upon her body like a physical thing, pressing and hissing and whispering promises of hate and death into her mind. The Eternal Sun was hardly a friendly god -- no matter what those foolish Lessers believed! They who could not hear the Voice of their God lived in a delusion -- but rarely was it so blatently furious, so enraged as it was now.
This was more than a rage born of a Lesser overstepping their boundary, quickly appeased by sacrificing the offender to the Eternal Sun; this was a symbiotic rage, reflected and amplified from the world around them. This was a rage born of the hearts of Najii.
Perhaps it was time to purge the Outcast population again, those nameless dregs that lived their solitary, bestial lives in the maze of passages off the Water Cavern. Their hearts were said to contain nothing but a bestial hatred of the Najii -- perhaps they had been sneaking around, poisoning the heart and mind of the Eternal Sun against the people that had rejected them.
She would be sure to speak her mind to the Sunfall when she met him after the ritual.
Re: Court of the Eternal Sun
This is really amazing and interesting.come on,you must to insist on writing the story. 
LG G3 halterung
LG G3 halterung