The Adventures and Journeys of Thelras

Just for fun, I decided to write a journal logging Thelras' adventures. Feel free to read along! :)

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Entry 1

I never gave much thought about keeping a journal, but it’s starting to seem like a good idea with so much happening all of the time. In the few moons I’ve been awake a lot has been going on and I should take the time to reflect on it, process it, learn from it. I’ll start with when I woke up from my long hibernation…

I can’t really recall the reason for my hibernation. The weeks leading up to that point are kind of hazy, but I don’t think anything of great importance happening beforehand. I just became exhausted, both mentally and physically and passed out! I’m not sure for how long I had slept, but it was a great while. I was covered in a very thick layer of dust when I woke up so it must’ve been ages it seemed. Mother wasn’t home when I came to, and the servants weren’t sure where she went exactly, so I decided to return to the outside world. I needed to get back into shape, feel the sun on my scales again and take in the fresh air, so I resumed training with the teachers of the dragon cities over the next few weeks.

I was surprised to find out how much I remembered; despite being asleep for so long it felt like I had been out just yesterday. Fighting the various creatures and monsters the teachers set me against were a moderate challenge, but nothing I couldn’t handle on my own. Though some would never admit it, I think they were impressed at the speed I progressed. It felt like my mind and body were trying to make up for all of that lost time and I just soaked up the knowledge and strength. I mastered technique after technique with ease. It was almost a little frightening.

Along the way I met a peculiar green hatchling by the name of Skali. Apparently he’s in training to be a portal technician or something like that. Anyway, we talked for a bit and he asked me what I was. At first I misunderstood him taking if for a more literal question, but I think it was more of a who I am sort of inquiry. For a long time I never really thought about who I am or what I’m doing, or rather I tried not to. I guess it’s something I’ve been afraid of because of where I came from.

My… creator’s shadow looms over me like a dark cloud that I can’t disperse; it’s inescapable. I remember the looks some of the others had given me a long time ago. Their eyes were filled with mistrust, hate even, and I never understood until I learned how I came to be. A part of me is afraid of turning into that monster even though I know it’s impossible. His soul is long gone and can't return to this body. But every time I see my reflection it reminds me that it’s not my own face but his. It’s a little easier now though; most don’t know who he was and so don’t recognize me.

But I can’t let that hold me back anymore. I have to accept that this is the body I have now and there’s little I can do about it. I need to move forward and forge my own path in this world. I’ve decided to make fighting the Aegis and cleansing the world my life’s mission. Even if I don’t live long enough to see the world purified, I want to be able to bring the Living Races at least a step closer to that goal. I also took on learning the art of rune casting in addition to my other lessons. It’s a very versatile form of magic and I can use it to amplify my own abilities. I’m going to need all the strength I can get.

Please note that these aren't quite current happenings just yet. Thelras completed his Rites a week or two ago, so I'm just playing a bit of catch up with these.

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Entry 2

My training had been going very well and I’ve been gaining a lot of combat experience. My trainers had told me numerous times about the Rite of Passage and that I was more than ready to take them on. At first I was a bit apprehensive about the Rites; my mother had forsaken them and created her own way of ascending.But, that was because she had rejected the dragon community (and they her) due to a tumultuous past. But she told me that I still have a shot at being a part of the community if I so choose. If I want to be able to help them then I have to obtain my adult form and become stronger.

The Rites themselves weren’t the challenge I anticipated, most of it was spent walking from place to place and gathering information and items. However things took a turn when I had to travel to Draak. Something about that place greatly unsettled me, more than just seeing undead kin would. I had some sort of… mental breakdown? I’m not sure how to describe it. But, when I arrived something triggered an onslaught of these images. I could see the school as it once was, but then flashes of the Aegis attacking. There were screams and blood and I was in the middle of it. I have no idea how, but I managed to get to the Entombed Dragon (may he be forgiven) before I passed out because that was the first thing I saw when I woke up.

I’m not sure, but I think that perhaps they were memories. I’ve come to the conclusion that my soul must’ve come from Draak and I used to be trapped like the other pale hatchlings. My creator must’ve taken my soul fragments from a hatchling and used them to keep this vessel alive. Once I regained my senses I quickly finished my mission dealing with the enslavers, and the Entombed. I had to return again to defeat the Shadow Dragon, the monster that now calls Draak home. The foul beast was one of the most difficult opponents I had to face, but I eventually brought him down with the use of my phylactery. The elder in Dralk tells me that I’m now at the end of the Rites and ready to ascend into adulthood.

I can’t say when exactly I’ll use the Phylactery of Shadows. I still have to speak with mother about my intentions. I plan on leaving home for good so that I can start truly delving into my work. I know she’ll need to devote her time to teaching and training my younger brother; he needs her much more than I. I’m strong enough to be on my own now and I can’t be afraid of what lies ahead of me be it good or bad.

Entry 3

With my Rites completed, I have returned to my study of rune-casting. It has been a slow process trying to learn it along with my combat training; it feels there aren’t enough hours in the day sometimes. Admittedly I sometimes fall asleep on top of my books and end up with my notes stuck to my brow spikes. So, in order to keep myself from over exerting I took a day off to do some hiking and exploring. It does wonders to know that there are still places of extreme beauty left in the world, and it makes me want to work even harder to protect it, not only for myself but for others to enjoy as well.

I happened upon a forested mountain range with a valley cutting through the middle. The valley appeared to be quite untouched by anyone save for the wildlife so I thought it’d be the perfect place to relax, but I was quite mistaken. Several others had already arrived when I got there, an ancient and two hatchlings. It just happened to be my luck that the older hatchling was one who knew Selarth so needless to say I didn’t have the restful time I was hoping for.

I came to learn that this hatchling went by the name of Ritarathi and proclaimed herself to be a defender and teacher of other hatchlings. She was one of the few who had forsaken taking the Rites and earned herself the nickname of “Elder Hatchling”. I have no idea why, but her reasons are her own. I told her that she and I weren’t so different in that I too wish to protect and guide others, but that hardly seemed to matter when I told her I had completed my Rites. She began to rant at me when I said that I’m not an experienced crafter, and that I’m not responsible enough to become an adult because I wouldn’t be able to provide a lot of gear nor spells to those in need. I tried to explain to her that not everyone is a skilled crafter and that we each have our roles to play, but she just figured I was being selfish.

She only grew worse in her tirade because I rely on my skill in tooth and claw combat, and thusly I opted to follow the Lunus Rites. It is true that I primarily fight with my teeth and claws and that I am a warrior, but that’s not entirely who I am. I’m also a researcher, a student, and an aspiring scholar as well. And I have no ambition to rule over bipeds or anyone like many Lunus might. However Ritarathi seemed content to only take me at face value. A part of me understood why she did considering who I look like, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t hurtful. I suppose I should accept there will be people who’ll have a negative reaction to me, and that I should just get used to it. It isn’t my fault I look like this so I shouldn’t take it so personally.

If I could only return to the body I was hatched with, but I can’t remember what I used to look like. Otherwise I’d use the same method my creator did to make myself and go back to what I’m supposed to be. Though even if I did I’m not sure my soul would even be able to bond to it after being stuck in this one for so long. The risk of trying to recreate my original body as an adult and then trying to transfer would be too great. So I’m stuck like this… for now anyway.

Entry 4

I’ve done it; I’ve finally ascended to my adult form! It’s so strange; this body feels like mine, and yet not at the same time. I'm used to taking up much less space. But even so being able to soar through the skies is one of the most liberating feelings! Gliding barely compares; you’re still chained by gravity and will come back down eventually. I was very surprised at the gathering that turned up to watch and accompany me on my first flight. To be very honest I didn’t expect anyone outside of my mother and Skali to join me. Not only that, I received wonderful gifts as well. I suppose I had gotten the idea into my head that others either disliked me or didn’t acknowledge my existence, but I was proven wrong!

I know that I must look like Selarth now more than ever, but I’ve got a feeling that it may not be a problem. Or, at least I hope it won’t be. There’s still people out there who don’t trust me, and I understand. But I’m going to show them that I have the good of the community in mind. I know my work with rune-casting will take a major leap forward now that I have a mentor: Runos. The ancient was present at my ascension as well and gifted me with a rune-scribed bracelet. It allows me to burn away blight and turn blighted objects to ash! Very powerful! I’ll definitely be using it while out hunting the deadlands for samples to practice on. I just hope that I’ll be able to keep up with her lessons and not let her down!

When all was said and done, I thought it’d be the end of surprises but I was mistaken. Once everyone else had taken their leave, I was left in the company of my friend Skali. Even though he and I aren’t especially close (as we haven’t known each other long), somewhere along the way it seems he’d developed romantic feelings for me. I guess now thinking back on it it may have been obvious, insisting that I’m handsome and other such things, but still-! He just came right out and told me that he wished to be my mate! But I can’t be with him in the way that he wants; I hardly think that I’m mate material, and I my feelings for him don’t extend beyond friendship. Plus there’s so much work to be done how can I have time to be thinking about such things? The whole thing’s gotten me flustered; I’ve never had to deal with such a thing before. And I’m upset that I hurt Skali’s feelings as he's the only friend I've got. But he told me that he was still happy that he was my friend who’s not about to leave anytime soon, and I’m glad for that. This isn’t a world I want to take on alone.

The next step in my journey will be constructing my new home and laboratory.

Entry 5

Work on my lair has begun. Relstaroth has been teaching me a lot about lairshaping along with Balennos and it’s been a long and grueling process. But thankfully I’m not without help. A drake by the name of AlaeNymVorax has been assisting me. I have finished construction on my first lair chamber so now I actually have a place to sleep! And a place to store my belongings. It’s not very much, but it’s home now. My progress with this is no where near as quick as learning to fight and heal from the other trainers. It’s a serious test of patience and endurance. My new wings have been getting a serious workout from hauling materials all over.

When I’m not lairshaping I’m delving into my studies of runecasting. The blight lands of the Dead Pool have been providing me with unlimited test subjects to practice my cleansing on. I can remove small amounts of blight at a time or burn it away, but I want to make sure I can leave the original object intact. I’ve also begun further study of the blight itself and its behavior. There’s still so much we don’t know about it or how to fully rid the world of it. Our battle against the Aegis has been long and difficult, and at a standstill until New Trismus was nearly overrun.

I feel like if I don’t at least try to aid in destroying the blight I might as well be saying I’m okay with letting another monster like Selarth appear. And all the other blighted beings that had terrorized people. I suppose my reasons for all of this aren’t as altruistic as I’d like to think. I’m in a desperate attempt to separate myself as much as possible from Selarth in my own mind and the minds of others. I know it’s pathetic; I know I’m not him and that I shouldn’t let the thoughts of others sway me. So why do I feel the need to prove myself so strongly? I don’t really get it, but as long as what I’m doing doesn’t hurt anyone it should be okay. Who knows, maybe something good will come of it and we can start taking back our land! If I should ever, in the distant future, decide to take a mate and raise hatchlings, I wouldn’t want them to live in this blight-filled land. I’d want them to be safe and live a life of peace.

I think we all have earned that at this point many times over

Entry 6

Things have really been quiet the past few weeks. I haven't seen much of anyone except for Runos, but that has to do with the fact that I rarely leave her library. It's been so wonderful to actually study from a master, but my wings were starting to feel weak from disuse. I thought to change that with a relaxing flight over the mountain valley, but my break wasn't nearly as restful as I thought it'd be.

Rather than Ritarathi (thankfully) I met this dragoness. I... I can barely even think of the words to describe her. She was so beautiful that I found it difficult to even look away from her. Like, a sort of radiance came from her the way her scales shone in the sunlight. And her scent was near intoxicating, some mixture of mint and herbs and her own natural scent. And on top of that her eyes and smile were dazzling along with her sleek and lithe form.

Sikeolitrii was her name. And never has anyone affected me in such a way. I became so nervous in her presence
I found it hard to anything else but stare at her. It felt like I ate nest of ants after a time and my mouth dried like I spent a month in the desert wastes. I honestly cannot place why she out of all the dragons I've seen struck me so, I've seen beautiful dragons before. But none quite so... alluring? I haven't a clue honestly. I felt as if I wanted to run from her, but get closer all the same, and absolutely confused.

She told me she was an exotic of a kind, a non-native to Istaria, and that she studies psychology. A very unusual subject in this time of war. No doubt she read my every move since studying the behavior of people is her school of choice. We spoke for a time and proposed that we could be friends. I don't know what to make of her just yet, but she seems kind enough, and gentle. I do know that I'd like to speak with her again though. And perhaps learn more about her field of study. Sometimes I miss the more subtle things in social interactions and perhaps I could glean a few tricks from her.

As Thelras packed and organized his belongings in preparations for the lair’s expansion, he stumbled across his old journal. It was dusty and stiff from disuse and the last entry was quite some time ago. He gave a small chuckle as he ran his paws over the leather book. “Though I lost this thing.” He opened the pages and began reading over his previous entries.

“So much has changed since then…” He murmured. Thankfully the changes were for the better. “Now that I’ve found it, maybe…” He looked around for his quill which was thankfully not stored away yet.

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Entry 7

Wow, it really has been a long time since I last wrote in this thing. Time really had escaped me, I had no idea it’s been this long. There’s been so much that’s happened over the last moons I don’t know where to start. Most of it’s recent, but I guess I can begin where I last left off.

In short I delved into my studies and secluded myself away from the outside world. And while doing so I completely forgot about this journal. The reasons for my seclusion were varied, but for the most part I wanted to really focus on my work. Okay, that’s not really it; truth was I was running away from the outside. Not the outside itself, but rather the people. Thinking back on it it was a cowardly move, but I was afraid of getting hurt again. No matter what happened, the people I knew all faded, one by one. To let anyone else in would be setting myself up for more disappointment and loneliness and I wasn’t willing to put up with it, not at the time. So when Sikeolitrii said she wanted to get to know me better I suppose I panicked.

My isolation… it didn’t do very well for me. Rather than getting used to being on my own I think it only made things worst honestly. Sure I got a lot accomplished with my research, but I was in such a sorry state that I most surely would’ve died alone underneath all of my books and scrolls and no one would be the wiser.

So, after a good long time of being a hermit I decided to venture out again. And, guess who I encountered on my first trip out? Sika. You have no idea how glad I was to see her again; I figured she would’ve gone like all the others had, but there she was and she hadn’t forgotten me! I never thought in my wildest dreams that we’d get as close as we have, but she was the one I decided to let into my life. I’m done with being alone for good!

But between when I first returned to the outside and now, two very big things have happened. One: Sikeolitrii and I have become mates, and two: I’ve found a way to return myself to my original body! Both of these things are absolutely incredible! And I would’ve considered them impossible, but, somehow, the fates have smiled upon me. These stories are a bit lengthy and perhaps I’ll elaborate on them in another entry, but for now I’ve got to put down my quill. Sika has just come home!

Entry 8

My life really has taken a turn for the better. Honestly I don’t think I can remember a time when I was this happy, perhaps in my first life, but not since then. Even my ascension, as wonderful a moment as it was, was still haunted by shadows of who created me. For the entire life that I do remember I had been constantly living under Selarth’s shadow. It’s something I don’t think I would have ever been able to truly be at peace with. Even if I had no idea as to who he was my soul would recognize that something was off.

But even so I sort of resigned myself to my fate, I never even gave thought to trying to return to my original body, not until Sika came along. It was because of her that I found the courage to try even though I could’ve died in the process. She accepted me for who I am, and loved me all the same. But I found I couldn’t accept her feelings, not entirely, when I still held on to this self-hatred. Just imagine waking up every day knowing that you’re living in a body that was created by a known killer, a monster, a creature born from blight and hate. Every time you look in the mirror it’s not your own face you see but his face.

I couldn’t continue on like that; if I tried I wouldn’t be the drake that Sika deserves. All I would do is bring her down with my issues which would be unacceptable. She already has goodness knows what else going on and I didn’t want to add to her problems; it’d be a selfish move on my part. So I made the choice to delve into a solution.

I spoke at great lengths with the ancients of Dralk and Chiconis about the Rites, the creation of a new body and transferring of the soul into the new body. I spoke with Nyasela in dralk about the form changing runes that she and her clan employed and what could be done with that. Eventually the spell I created was an amalgamation of these methods to create a permanent form change.

I suppose when I say I returned to my original body I mean a body that resembled what I used to look like. My original physical body was likely destroyed by Selarth when he took my soul from Draak, and recovering it would’ve been impossible. So, rather, I recreated my body using Selarth’s clone as a base. I took the raw primal energies it was comprised of and reshaped it in the image my soul has through a rather violent and grueling process. I don’t honestly remember the moments right before the spell engulfed me and when I came back, but Sika told me I was near death. If it weren’t for her I very well might have perished if she hadn’t healed me.

But, I came back. I survived. And now I have a future to look forward to.

Entry 9

A lot has happened over the past few weeks and I figured I should jot them down before I forget them in the rush of life. My research has taken me into the area of portal and inter-dimensional magics, magics that us Istarian’s are still trying to develop and advance. The reason for this is that I’ve realized the only way to truly purify the lands is to cut of the blight realm from the Prime completely by sealing their portals. I know that this is likely an impossible task, but if I can find some way to at least slow them down…

This path has lead me to undertake my Ancient Rites. As an adult I wasn’t privy to many magics that the Council holds, primarily of inter-planer travel. It’s no secret that the Gate of Embers can transport someone to other realms provided they have the proper key to open the portal. I learned a great deal about the war against the Aegis as well as how to use the Gate itself as I followed in the pawsteps of Ellean, a heroic dragon who gave his life in order to find a way to stop the Aegis.

The final steps of my journey had me travel to the Void, the Realm of None, where the Sleeper currently resides. I, along with others, managed to defeat the threat that endangered the Prime and I was given the gift of ancient form by Drulkar. I know that this is an incredible honor, and that I should feel much more proud about what I and the others accomplished, but I feel as if this is only the beginning. Now I have the knowledge to travel to other realms, but I know that the Council would never sanction what I have in mind. They’d never let me use the Gate; I’ll have to try another route.

But, for now, I have to prepare, I have to arm myself. The ideas I’ve been stewing over are some of the most dangerous thoughts I’ve ever had, but I’ve hit a dead end otherwise. As we sit fighting these endless battles with the Aegis they only grow stronger as their recent pushes have shown. But, perhaps, the most difficult thing will be convincing Sika to agree to my plans. As an ancient I’m stronger than I’ve ever been, but I know I’m not invincible. In fact… I’m not even Gifted.

I found this out as I was tracing Ellean’s route which brought me to the Spiritist Tower. I had to know. For years I’ve lived without knowing so I’ve always played it safe. Confirming that I’m not only means I have to create some safeguards. Should something happen to me and Sika try to revive me and use too much energy, or worse, no one be around who’s able to resurrect me… No, I can’t fall prey to these fears. If I do I’ll never move forward.