darkSpyro

"Very well," Latnok said, "but do you seriously think us incapable of science? Our hexsmiths can, at the very least, get metals back to their non-corroded state, and may even be able to figure out how they work. Stay close to me - I will begin leading us to the armory now." With that, he began moving out.
"Brace yourself - I will protect us, but it will feel like a hot summer day. A really hot summer day." Latnok was quite relieved that Star was apparently the only one that would need additional heat protection. "Climb on my back or something. Lower surface area, less work for me."

Star hopped on Latnok's back, both frightened and curious towards magic. He fluffed out his fur for further insulation, though he resembled a pompom like that. With that accomplished, he began drilling Latnok with questions. "Does magic tend to malfunction if not used carefully? Does it need maintenance?"

Hmm... this actually feels like... something I could get used to, Latnok thought, though the near-faceless helmet would not allow any such emotion to be displayed. Upon hearing and processing the barrage of questions, he decided that a slightly more in-depth explanation would be needed. "The effectiveness of magic depends on the caster, much like the quality of a weapon depends on the smith. So you know how the universe has physical laws and whatnot? Magic is essentially a force, of this world but not quite, that tells those laws to sit down and shut up for a bit, according to magic's own rules - which are quite varied, as the many magical disciplines could tell you.
Magic may or may not require maintenance, depending on the spell. For example, the magic within an escape orb like the one you saw me use to escape requires no maintenance, being good for one use before being vaporized. The teleportation ward around this place requires constant maintenance, which either the Godfather or one of our Adjudicators handle. General, the simpler magical items requiring maintenance just need a recharge, which most mages, such as myself, can do.
"Of course, magic can malfunction, just like anything else. Cast it in certain environments, and it can backfire, much like using a rotted trebuchet. More inexperienced mages fail their spells often, with various effects, though experienced ones rarely if ever fail spell's without interference. That said, our hexsmiths are highly experienced, and I have used their equipment for well over a decade. I have full confidence in them."

Star proceeded to pull out his advanced datapad, and showed it to Latnok. "Do they know how things like this work?"
Darkheart found the sight of what appeared to be a big ball of fluff holding a computer thingy about the same size rather humorous, and she stifled a giggle.

Upon seeing the strange contraption, Latnok came to a complete stop. "...the hell is that thing? I've never seen it in my life." So is that thing not magic? How DOES it work? "Maybe we can figure it out by dissecting it? I dunno, you'd have to ask them, I'm not a smith." Latnok once again began moving, raising an arm out as soon as he started, then pulling it back to himself. The gems in his gloves began to glow, and the air around the two became slightly cooler - something which would become a lot more noticeable as the group approached the armory.

Star sighed and put the datapad away. "I was afraid you'd say that. I use pure technology, you're used to magic. Neither of us will understand each other. I built it myself, I just figured I'd check before handing over such advanced tech. It uses electricity on little chips of silicon with circuits embedded on it to create and store 'data'." He continued to explain how computers work using as little technological jargon as possible. Then he concluded "That's actually the least complicated tech I've got, so make of that what you will. Wait, did the air cool off?" He fluffed up further.

"That's my magic coming into effect," Latnok answered. "More heat up ahead. The armory itself is based in the forge - we produce a special metal that we call phoenix steel there, and an environment like this is the only place we can get enough heat to keep it malleable, at least practically." In the mean time, Latnok was still trying to wrap his head around the whole concept of Star's technology. So... you take electricity... run it through some... circuit thing... and things happen... Wait, that's it! Possibly... "...so, I take it that I can supercharge your equipment by shooting lightning at it?"

Star shrugged, though it wasn't visible past the floof. "Assuming it doesn't just explode instead, maybe. Technology is rarely designed to be supercharged, however, so doing so is risky. And this datapad is simply designed to store and bring up data, hence the name. It's essentially a notebook for the most part, with a few extras. My ChronoModifier, on the other hand, allowed travel through time and even other dimensions. Although, the dimension travel was because I miscalibrated it... It's broken, but that's how I ended up in this world. Purely by accident, might I add."

Angora was dosing off outside the temple, far away from the humans guarding the entrance. At first, she was growing tired of waiting, but after a while, she enjoyed the solitude, as long as Neo didn't decided to appear. She felt really uncomfortable having some sort of spirit living in the lantern, but it and the armor were stuck with her now. She initially wanted to keep the equipment, but after learning about Neo, she doubted it.

"Well... that certainly is something..." Latnok said. He continued on, slightly distracted by his thoughts, as the heat slowly began to pick up. Thinking out loud, he muttered, "You know, I've probably talked more with you just now than I have with most humans, other than Guardians..."

OOC: Sorry for the lack of responses, wasn't sure what to add to this whole scene.

Raclaw followed alongside the others to the armory, listening too but not really adding to the ongoing conversation. He knew that he needed to know and that these humans possibly might hold to the key to the answers he was seeking. Part of him also worried about what this so-called 'Guardians' would do with the knowledge if he so inclined them. Meanwhile, another part of him wondered if they could perhaps do a little more than just provide answers. He had kept 'it' for so long, because it was his only clue as to his true past. However, this adventure so far had also proved how dangerous keeping such an artifact could be. To anyone observing, he appeared to be very conflicted about something-- or at the least lost in thought.

OOC: Was wondering where you went.

"Not so much open up..." Latnok began. "Regular humans aren't quite as keen about us. We're freaks to most of them - only good for killing things, which, for the most part, they're correct about. Sure, they know to call us when a poltergeist comes around and can't be removed, or when a sea monster takes control of a fishing colony, but generally, they're fearful of us - they don't know what we will do, how we will react. We're forever scarred by the ritual we undergo to become more powerful - most notably the area around the eyes, which typically have significant burn scars." Latnok reached for his helmet, briefly contemplating removing it to demonstrate, but decided against it. "Not many people choose a life where the only connection you will ever have with most other humans is purely professional. Yet, some do - many because they feel some greater calling... many either in the search for power, or because they have nothing left to lose. We take those things, greed, desperation, and, through intense indoctrination and training, turn them into a force to help our fellow man, regardless of their opinion on us."

OOC: I'm sorry, but I'm kinda confused right now. Is everyone still in the secret temple?

OOC: The group has left and are headed to another area of the cave network where the armory is located.

OOC: Anyone alive?

OOC: I'm still waiting for a change in pace.

OOC: I was waiting 'till darknessdawn replied and the group got a little further ahead, before adding anything else.

As they walked, Raclaw couldn't bottle the thought any longer. "I know this may sound like a strange question, but have the guardians ever sheltered or hosted a dragon before? Before.. before us I mean?," he then asked out of the blue hoping no-one would be offended by the out-of-context question. "Or more specifically-- have your people ever captured or contained a dragon here before? Or developed the technology or magic required to do so? Please... I don't mean to judge and I'm sorry for the abrupt question. I have a reason for asking.," he then awkwardly explained hoping to possibly get an answer without getting into specifics. Especially in front of the others.

Latnok wasn't expecting the question, but nevertheless, it was something he had quite a bit of knowledge on. "Why, yes... our history with dragons goes a long time back, to our very origin. Now, hang on, I'll try to keep it as brief as possible, but it is a bit of a story...

"As you have, of course, figured out by now, we have fought dragons frequently - but we have also collaborated with them many a time as well. The first of the Ardent Guardians came about when a dragon by the name of Tharuki became... oddly attached to human women, at a time when an army of dragons was trying to subject humans. Considering his association with humans to be treason, they attacked him. He escaped, but with mortal wounds. With his dying breath, he gave the humans who found him the secret to a ritual, long performed by dragons on their thralls to turn them into weapons in times of emergency. It required the consumption of enchanted dragon blood - which he willingly provided, as well as his hide and scales, in order to exact revenge on his fellow dragons.
"The ritual granted humans great power - giving them some traits akin to dragons, most importantly the physical strength and endurance and ability to generate magical energy much more effectively. Of course, due to its original intent, it was fatal in almost all it was performed on. This was a price that not many were willing to pay - but a few were more than willing. These men used this power to kill many, many other dragons, but like a huge fire, most of them eventually ran out of fuel and died. Nevertheless, the war was won, and the survivors went on to, over many generations, perfect the ritual to what we have today.
"Of course, that was just an abridged version. The point is, we have worked with dragons since our founding - besides Tharuki's final act of spite, we have fought with them against mutual enemies, such as..." Latnok paused here, making sure Angora wasn't around, before continuing. "...trolls, various undead, griffins, and whatnot, as well as against other dragons we deemed a mutual threat.
"Such cooperation, as well as fighting against them, has resulted in what we are today. Dragons are something we both respect and fear. They are dangerous enemies - but they have been more inclined to work with us than many other species. Maybe because they live longer and are thus wiser - maybe because other species just have a higher proportion of really dumb individuals. The main chamber in our base, which you have seen, is very large in order to accommodate the presence of larger creatures such as dragons - the smaller paths are there to provide shelter against those who may happen to go rogue should our hospitality be taken advantage of. As for dragon prisoners - we have kept several, for... various reasons. Those tend to be kept in other parts of the cave network, however, in order to avoid putting Guardians at unnecessary risk with their presence." Though Latnok was not one for grand speeches, he did feel it his duty to educate his allies as well as he effectively could whenever possible, especially considering that Godfather Sere has placed his trust in them - not the smallest of feats.

Darkheart froze in place at the mention of the name Tharuki. It sounded oddly familiar. The ritual also sounded strangely familiar, similar to part of her 'Shadow Corruption', the other part being the potential to control those under it. She decided to test it and used her dark magic to send a message through a method she used to control those afflicted by her Shadow Corruption, directing it towards Latnok. LATNOK. LOOK AT ME.
Star flinched slightly, sensing a wave of dark energy.

OOC: I really don't know what to my character anymore. I will wait for SC

OOC: You could always do massive amounts of exposition, like what I've done. Or just hang tight..

Latnok suddenly felt a strong, unexplainable compulsion, immediately stopping his movement forward, turning towards Darkheart and providing her his full attention. "...what do you want?" he asked, a hint of tension in his voice.

OOC: Alright. Sorry to do this suddenly, but I have no choice if I want to continue.

"Well now, can't handle anything I see..." Angora said from behind Latnok, having followed the group after being unable to wait for them.
"By the way, nice little speech you give to the feathered beast. Really, pretty story. Claiming you help dragons but at the same time stealing their powers. And I thought dragons themselves were the greedy, power hungry ones." she said with a classy voice, having caught the group just in time for Latnok to give his speech. Just how did she managed to be undetected? Not only was she small, she was also a thief. She was used to stealth. It was now that she caught on with the group cause the armor was weighing her down, but nevertheless, she wasn't going to be left alone after being insisted on helping with whatever new madness was going on...

Ooc: Still here too. Just nothing much to add.

Dex had been silent for long and he still did not feel like talking. He was again feeling like his nasty, not caring about anybody then himself kind of spirit was crushed at the battle. It was the first time since he was a cub when his life had been in hand of others, and because of his ways he had been sure that next time would be the last one, but here he still was alive . He was following the group from the back as he always did. After Angoras come back Dex thought "Normally i would enjoy this..... i guess not now." "Maybe you should just try to get along if you are going to do something about the big picture here" Dex said with a loud voice. He was very surprised too, why did he say something like that, why would he even care?First chance he will get he is out of the group, or at least thats his plan.

Darkheart began shaking. "Oh no... I was afraid you'd respond... That ritual functions just like my Shadow Corruption! If anyone with the ability to control it tried, they could use you as a slave!"
Star's expression displayed shock briefly through the fluff.

"Well..." Latnok started, considered responding to Angora, but he finally decided that no response he could give her would do anything to change her mind - in the end, he ignored her, despite her sudden appearance, and continued moving, his words directed at Darkheart.
"Well, well... that's certainly an... inconvenience." That was quite the understatement on his part - the idea of anyone taking any sort of involuntary control of him was unsettling, to say the least - but showing weakness before the mission was even in full swing was not something he felt would be good. "Like I mentioned, as far as I know, the ritual does have its basis in a ritual dragons performed on human thralls in order to turn them into what were effectively suicide warriors - a control element would make sense. Perhaps those with more knowledge about how the ritual works, like Godfather Sere, would probably know how to resist it - I'm afraid I'm not quite educated enough on that, however." As the group continued to move, another earthen barrier, similar to the ones they saw before, appeared. "So... here's an idea. How about, whenever we have a chance, we'll see if we can't have me learn how to resist it?" He hoped, at least, that it would be that simple.

Latnok then raised an arm to the wall, pausing for a second. "Make sure you have your heat resistance now," he said, before continuing, pushing his hand against the barrier. With some grinding, the barrier shifted out of the way, and extreme heat exuded from the chamber, filled with lava - right now, near the end of the chamber, some Guardians could be seen telekinetically pulling some metals out of the pools. There was a long, large path up ahead, with huge pools of lava on either side. At the very end, there was what appeared to be a booth.

Latkok's reaction to Darkheart's successful attempt at controlling him made Raclaw briefly shudder, reminding him of his own reaction of one of Shade's (former?) minions trying to control him earlier in their journey. If the magic powering his collar was even partly based off the same 'shadow' element, then the same could possibly be used on him as well-- and that was certainly an unpleasant possibility. And of course, Angora showed up as well despite claiming to hate certain members of the group earlier. He decided that he definitely needed to talk further about the subject to Latnok.. and possibly Darkheart as well. It was obvious though, that Angora still didn't quite know what he was and he had hoped to keep it that way. 'Angora... one of these days you're calm down. One of these days..,' he thought to himself almost feeling a certain degree of pity for the troll.

He held his tongue as they continued forward into the heat, not wanting to openly discuss the specifics of the subject out in the open. However, he decided to test something of his own on the poor Latkok. Focusing on the human guardian, he sent a telepathic thought directly into his head. 'Latkok... If you can hear me, I am speaking directly into your mind. If you are capable of responding back in the same private manor, please respond. Otherwise, say nothing or make some kind of gesture. I promise-- I will explain and could use your help on something, if possible.' he telepathically sent hoping the guardian was able to respond. He was sure poor Latkok was tired was others getting into his mind, but he needed to know.

Latnok was no stranger to telepathy - it being a spell all Guardians were required to learn - and was receptive to Raclaw's message. "I hear you loud and clear," Latnok responded telepathically, while continuing to move forward as he had been. "What do you need?" Meanwhile, he continued to brood on Darkheart's earlier control of him. Well, just knowing what had happened just now should give me some sort of idea of how to respond... I hope.

OOC: I will try to continue as best as I can, unless I wait for SC to reply

OOC: Pretty sure we're all expecting a reply from him.

OOC: I just realized that I had misspelled "Latnok" into "Latkok" that whole post-- sorry!

Raclaw was somewhat relieved that Latnok was able to respond, although he had already suspected the guardians were capable. And not only was Raclaw able to receive the telepathic response itself, but the private thought that followed afterwards. However, he didn't this be known and very carefully chose his next words. 'I'm sorry for throwing a fastball earlier, but thank-you for being honest. The reason I asked... the reason I am curious--' he paused unintentionally briefly bringing up a memory which transferred just as easily over the connection. For a few mere seconds, a flashback was visible to Latnok and anyone peering into his mind.

"Please-- let me keep it. It's.. it's the only sign of my true past. Before you raised me and before you found me." Raclaw's voice could be heard talking to someone. "But isn't this what you wanted? Without it, you can be free and live your own life." "There may be a way, if this is what he truly wants." two or possibly three different voices responded back. "It is and I am grateful for everything all of you have done. I will never forget you, but I need to know where I come from and why..." the memory abruptly cut off as Raclaw stopped the telepathic connection before quickly resuming it. In the memory-- Raclaw appeared to be slightly younger (perhaps by one or two years) and the backdrop appeared to be that of a farm or forest. The two or three people were possibly humans-- possibly that of a couple farmers and some sort of magic specialist.

'I'm sorry for that-- I got carried away there for a moment, but now you partly know the reason I ask. As a young pup, I was found alone and abandoned on the side of a road. This collar, and this is no ordinary collar, has been around my neck for as long as I can remember. At first, it restricted my abilities among other things. Now-- now I wear it by choice having rendered aspects of it useless while maintaining control over the other aspects. I know I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I suspect that your organization may have something to do with it and my true past. I wish to know. No-- I need to know. It would've been 18 of your years ago that I was hatched and I never knew my true parents. It was only with time and dedication, that we were able to even find a glimmer of information. And that only explained the collar, but not where it came from or where I came from. Please-- can you help? Do you or your organization know anything or know someone who does?,' he then basically almost begged over the telepathic connection feeling as if he was closer to the answers then ever before. Maybe they would know. At the very least, he hoped they would and hoped that hr didn't just make a very very bad mistake...

Latnok took a few moments to process all of the telepathic message he had received. A young dragon, talking with humans... he would have been an Initiate when that happened. He certainly wouldn't have been responsible for any dragon interaction. However...

"Well, I wouldn't know anything... nevermind, that's not quite right. I do know that your artifact sounds pretty similar to devices that we have used in order to neutralize dragons we had captured, typically in the form of a collar bound around their neck. There is more to it, of course - something about stored power and whatnot - but I'm not the expert on that. Fortunately for us, you're in luck. We will soon be able to speak to the head of the armory. Adjudicator Vellune. He is an old, experienced Guardian - if anyone would know about magical artifacts, it would be him."

Though the heat and maintaining his cooling spell was very distracting, Latnok managed to force the telepathic message through without any sort of interruption. Though compassion wasn't his strong point - much like most Guardians - Raclaw was an ally at this point, and he would be treated as such. They were nearing the end of the path, at which there seemed to be two Guardians manning the booth.

Darkheart shook her head at Latnok's response. "I'm afraid the only way I know of to remove control is death, and that's not exactly an option right now."
Star had been trying to listen in on the telepathy, and commented (out loud, of course, he has no telepathy of his own) "It's good we'll get there soon. I can't seem to smooth my fur down."
"Why is being so fluffy a bad thing? It's cute."
Star fumed. "I'm not cute..."

Raclaw gave a slight smile at the prospect of being too fluffy and/or too cute. He imagined that his old human 'family' would've had a similar reaction back when he was merely a pup-- and probably more fluff then anything. He gave a simple to Latnok's telepathic response, letting the guardian's magic telepathic magic relax and somewhat pleased with the response. He had hoped that no-one was able to listen in, although what's done was done.

Somewhat disappointed with Darkheart's statement, Latnok sighed. "Say, how do you know all of this, anyway?" he asked, glad that his helmet concealed all of his emotions. Just as he asked that, the group had made its way to the booth.

"Welcome, Executioner!" greeted one of the Hunters, offering a salute to Latnok which he returned. "I take it you're here to pick up those weapons?"
"Yes," Latnok answered, "and, while you're getting them, I need to see Adjudicator Vellune. Also, one of our friends here has some rusted tools, and I believe you here at the forge have the spells to restore it."
"Very well, Executioner, I will see to it that it gets done," said the Hunter, as he stepped off to fulfill the orders. Latnok finally dropped his cooling spell, feeling a sense of relief.
"This area right here has gems imbued with the cooling spell, so I will not have to maintain it here."

Darkheart growled at the question. "I INVENTED the Shadow Corruption. I've USED it on my foes to enslave them, though it had... Problematic side effects. That's how I know the way it works."
Star struggled with his fluffed up fur. "The issue with being fluffy is it's so hard to unfluff yourself."
Darkheart questioned the word. "'Unfluff'? Never heard of that word."
Star smirked mischievously. "I dunno why. It's a perfectly cromulent word." He struggled to contain his giggles at Darkheart's immensely confused expression.

"So... What you're telling me is, that you invented the base for this whole ritual that we do?" Latnok asked. "How many other dragons have you shared the information with?" he added, as non-confrontationally as he could. I must always be vigilant for threats to us...

Quote: redwes

Raclaw gave a slight smile at the prospect of being too fluffy and/or too cute. He imagined that his old human 'family' would've had a similar reaction back when he was merely a pup-- and probably more fluff then anything. He gave a simple to Latnok's telepathic response, letting the guardian's magic telepathic magic relax and somewhat pleased with the response. He had hoped that no-one was able to listen in, although what's done was done.

Angora wasn't interested in Latnok and Darkheart's talk about the darkness, so instead she simply turned to look at Raclaw, smirking, almost as if she was making fun of him. She needed amusement, and he was providing it.

Darkheart shook her head at Latnok's question. "I never SHARED it. Anybody who knows it has essentially stolen the recipe. Though, at least you had the courtesy to improve on it. Would you mind terribly if you told me the recipe? The original has a tendency to cause issues when I'm not available, such as psychosis, murderous urges, and worse." She growled at the thought of what havoc this new concoction could cause.
Star suddenly looked annoyed. "Nobody who invents anything should have the design stolen, that's just against common courtesy." And copyright law, should it exist here.

Raclaw looked at Angora as with a expression of "What's so funny?" written on his face. However, he soon turned his attention towards Latnok and Darkhaert. 'Please don't tell me that you used that same dark magic in the creation of the collars you mentioned.' he telepathically spoke to Latnok worried that he would possibly share the same flaw as the guardians themselves.

OOC: I love this phone, but Jesus Christ, the autocorrect sucks and I can't turn it off.

"There is no such magic in these collars - the ritual is a unique form of magic," Latnok telepathed to Raclaw to reassure him. "Just some advanced magic negation, power siphoning, and power storage."

As he telepathed the reply to Raclaw, he spoke to Darkheart. "Well, at least one dragon has stolen the design, though there has been no indication of anyone alive but you who would know how to exploit it. From my understanding, the ritual went from using pure dragon blood to a combination of dragon and human blood, to make it more compatible with humans. In addition, we now use two guides for the ritual that help them telepathically through the transformation process. I think the spell has changed somewhat as well, but any additional changes would be outside of my area of expertise." Latnok initially stopped there, but one more question happened to pop up in his mind. "Say, would you have happened to know Tharuki, by any chance?"

OOC: There's a site called DamnYouAutocorrect. Also, incoming exposition for A Guy, everyone else will be familiar with Darkheart's backstory and rather poor grip on sanity.

Darkheart memorized the method. At Latnok's question, she sort of shrugged. "The name's vaguely famil-" She stopped mid-sentence, flashbacks of her ruined nest hitting hard. "No... It couldn't have been him... No no no nonononononononononononono!!!" She collapsed, flashbacks coursing through her mind, her eyes displaying the risk of her returning to her previous half-insane state. The voices were back, as her flashbacks turned towards her oath to have vengeance on the world that slighted her so severely.
Star dropped into the bag, noting "I think she's about to snap. What in the name of Arceus happened to her?"

Gods, what have I done this time?! Latnok attempted to send Darkheart a telepathic message to calm her down - however, on the attempt, he was immediately overwhelmed with a dark sense of terror and dread, and immediately had to break the connection. "What the hell has gotten into her?!"

Just then, a different, presence attempted to force a strong message into Darkheart's mind - "Stand down, now." At that point, a Guardian with the symbol of a single dragon on his forearms appeared.
Latnok saluted. "Greetings, Adjudicator."
The Adjudicator returned the salute. "Greetings. I am here. What do you need of me?"

Darkheart managed to shout. "GET THEM OUT OF MY HEAD DAMMIT MAKE IT STOP!!!" She responded to the telepathy by sending images back of the horrors she's been through, mostly of her nest being destroyed and the curse on her offspring, along with her descent into complete madness.
Star fell out of the bag, his sensitive ears bleeding. "Urghhhhhh… My poor ears..."

Adjudicator Vellune, seemingly undisturbed by the telepathic nightmare, responded by immediately producing a collar from his bag, similar to the one held by Raclaw. "I fear that we may have to temporarily suppress her... wait, I will try something else first." "I will overwhelm your mind, until there is no space left for the vision, at least for now," the Adjudicator telepathed to Darkheart. "Be ready - I mean you no harm."

With that, he immediately began a telepathic assault, typically reserved for breaking the minds of prisoners who refused to settle down - except this time, instead of cruel visions of nightmares, he attempted to overwhelm her with the many positive experiences shared between him and dragons during his time. At the same time, he tossed the collar to Latnok - who knew he would have to put it on if Darkheart could not be neutralized.

Despite Angora wanting to have fun with Raclaw, she knew that would have to wait.
"What do you idiot think you're doing? Seriously, always trying to mess with what you don't understand." she said to Darkheart, but then quickly turned his attention to Latnok.
"Do you even know how to use that thing?" she asked, not wanting to trust a human with anything that seemed magical.

Darkheart snarled in response to the visions rather than the expected relief. Her own flashbacks only grew worse due to her memory of being despised by all; The dragons in the visions were normal, accepted members of the species. She only settled when Icestorm hugged her, flopping onto her side like an overgrown puppy.

Raclaw was relieved that they didn't have to resort to the use of the collar on Darkheart-- although it only made him wonder more on the how/why of his own collar. If what Latnok said was true and he was indeed wearing one of their magic-subduing collars (albeit partly inactive), had he once been in the procession of these human guardians? Having had it possibly since even his own hatching, it was possible that he even came from a dragon was once in their procession. They had even admitted to capturing dragons and subduing them with very familiar looking collars, so the possibility (however so remote) was certainly out there. "Are you alright?" he quickly asked seeing the now amusingly puppy-like Darkheart.