darkSpyro

OOC: That last one worries me. Neither Darkheart nor Star like humans.

Darkheart ignored Sere's statement as much as she could, though a slight change in her dark aura indicated an emotional flare-up. She watched as Star struggled with it. The little Zorua grumbled a bit. "I can't fix my ChronoModifier without at least trace amounts of each skymetal! I can synthesize the rest easily, but skymetals are nearly impossible to recreate even with my technology!"

OOC: I have a summary though PM, but thanks for mentioning that. Didn't say those details.

Becoming bored again, Angora started to play with some stones. She wanted to ask Neo a few things, but she wasn't in the mood to talk to him right now, so instead, she started thinking about the wyvern again. She then remembered he was drinking water, and it made her realize she was thirsty herself. All food but no water. Believing nobody would miss her yet again, she left her spot to head to the same watering hole the creature was drinking in, only taking a different route. He didn't want the pet to mistakenly believe she was being pushy. She started to drink without knowing if he was somewhere nearby, and if he happened to be around, she would simply ignore him.

OOC: Just continuing the relation between Darkheart the Ascension ritual.

Veris had just finished drinking water when Angora arrived. Though he stared at her for a bit, he eventually lost interest and walked past her, back to the rest of the group.
"You know," Latnok said, "We Guardians all train our hardest, but somehow, you manage to still be the best combatant among us all."
"I have simply lived longer than every other Guardian," Sere answered. "I have had much more time to master many facets of magic. Like light and dark magic, for example - my proficiency in them allowing me to wield Grimbane. They are two completely different schools of magic, requiring much different casting techniques, but through the time I have had, I have managed to master both of them, not only individually but in combination. And the combination is very powerful indeed - where there is light, there is almost always shadow, so I can strike rapidly from any angle, as well as create very accurate illusions.
"This is why it is important for me to ensure that Guardians live as long as possible - as we age, we have more opportunities to gain experience. We are not easily replaced - if we live longer, though, we become much more effective."

Star looked up at the mention of illusions. "Illusions? Oh please, you haven't seen an illusion until you've witnessed a pack of my kin working together on one. It's... It's a sight to behold, believe me."
Darkheart, meanwhile, was pretending to ignore Sere, though his words unnerved her slightly. This human was sounding so familiar, and she didn't know WHY!

Sere looked at the odd creature, his mask covering his perplexion. "Star, is it? I must say, you are quite... odd. I have met and fought many creatures, as have the rest of the Guardians, but in my entire life, I have never seen a creature like you, or even read about anything like you, until yesterday. So... illusions? I take it you command some form of light or dark magic as well, then?" Sere, not knowing of Star's origin, had no grasp on his natural capabilities.

Angora only noticed Veris when she heard his thunderous footsteps, and was glad he decided to ignore her as well. No growling whatsoever, which meant she at least made some progress with him. But now that he left, she was alone, and had the drink she so urgently needed, washing her face and enjoying this moment of peace. She looked at her reflection once more, and she still couldn't believe the mission an ugly little thing like her had. It wasn't enough for her being a troll, life had to be even crueler by giving her such outrageous genetic anomaly that gave her ridiculous size, to the point that even her own kind rejected her. To make matters worse, many wild creatures usually saw her as easy prey because of that, so she had to defend herself many times, almost dying once because of a powerful manticore. The only advantages this size gave her was that she was more agile, and was treated slightly better by the few travellers she has encountered, cause for many, it was hard to tell what kind of creature she was. A talking troll was rare, so that helped too.

And now, look at all the things that have happened ever since she climbed that mountain to meet the legendary Galaxy dragon. She already saved the world once, and she had to do it again. Even though she had been very confident, she wasn't certain if she was going to survive this time. She knew she had Neo and the group, but would they be enough? What made her sad was that the fact that, even if she lived, the world will probably never know who saved them, and that there will always be people like Latnok and Sere, who despised her for what she was, and that will probably never change their views, no matter the good she tries to do.

Star shivered at the mention of magic. "I'm a Zorua. Classified as a 'Tricky Fox'. Pure Dark-Type, signature Ability is Illusion, blah blah you have no clue what that means, so I'll cut to the chase. I CAN'T use magic, and honestly prefer science. My illusory powers are based on a natural ability of my species, not any training. A Zorua's signature talent is... Well, I'll just show you." With that he leaped up in a backflip, and when he landed he was suddenly a human, at least in appearance. His fluffy black tail was visible, however. Looking up, his eyelids were still red like before.

OOC: Using the visuals from Zoroark: Master of Illusions is what gave me THAT description.

Angora's moment of thought was shattered when waves in the water broke her thoughts. Seems as if these moments were becoming a pattern.
"Sheesh, what are those idiots doing?" Angora asked herself, correctly deducing that the little tremor was caused by an angry Shade. Looks like he wasn't cooperating very much. Perhaps if he had been released for a little while like she suggested, that wouldn't have happened. But if nobody was going to listen to her, she would certainly lend no help in the matter, at least for the time being. She remained by the watering hole, taking her time and only meaning to return when things cooled off.

"Done deal," Latnok said to Orion, "but I'm still not removing that collar. It's likely the only thing stopping him from overwhelming Raclaw right now. And unfortunately, our very mission may lead to him becoming stressed out."
Meanwhile, Sere performed a magic scan to detect the typical magical signatures which constituted most illusions. "Wow, that is quite... interesting. I'm clearly witnessing an illusion, but I cannot sense any magical signatures which would give it away. This is something that I will have to study... What would happen if you were struck during your illusion? Would you be able to maintain it, emulating the effects of the blow?"

Star shook his head. "A blow of any sort is likely to break the Illusion, although a weak enough one won't. And grabbing my tail in a form that normally lacks one also breaks the Illusion. It takes concentration, if only a little, so getting hit hard enough or grabbed by the tail breaks it by distracting me. But otherwise, the Illusions I create are so powerful the mind makes it real."

"Relax... you're get through this. We all will. Just remember-- deep breaths. For both our sakes.," Raclaw said once again calming Shade down and perhaps reassuring himself at the same time. He knew that if anything happened to Shade, that it would likely affect him as well. He gave an impressive nod at Star's little display, recalling how he had once tricked an bear into not seeing him. It didn't last very long, of course, as he had only just regained his powers at the time. Even now-- he would've only had a couple years (in human terms at least) of practice using his powers where as most dragons had their whole life to learn. "Impressive.," he said commenting on Star's act.

Raclaw wondered if he could do such an thing again now having access to more power. He then gave an faint smile and focused his telepathic energy directly on both Star and Latnok-- imagining an invisible wall in front of him and projecting that image directly into their minds. He briefly tapped into the energy of the collar and tried to make the two believe that he was no longer there. If it worked, they would see nothing but woods and whatever else laid behind him. If it didn't work, then he would've wasted his time and proved that he still had more to learn.

"That is, nonetheless, very impressive," Sere said. "And you seem easy enough to work with. I can see why Latnok likes having you around. Just imagine if you could learn magic!"
Veris returned to the group, now having his fill of food and water. Fully satisfied and not being occupied at the moment, he curled into a ball, resting, though not sleeping lest Sere need him ready.

Star sighed. "I've seen a few creatures of my world learn magic. So unscientific. And I only work with others if I have a good reason, since I... I just don't like people." He mumbled a bit to himself: "Especially humans." Then he looked at the suddenly-invisible Raclaw and called to him "Neat trick! But suddenly disappearing isn't usually effective on sentient beings, unless they already believe you can teleport." He turned to Sere and added "I've seen a few beings who can do that, mostly Psychic Ty- Erm, those with Psychic abilities."

"Unscientific? Magic has a science all its own," Sere argued. "It doesn't obey the regular physical rules of the world - but, depending on the type of magic, it changes the rules, and you must have a good understanding of how in order to produce consistent results. Take, for example, dark magic. Normally, darkness isn't anything in and of itself - just the absence of light. However, imagine if the universe acted under a different set of rules, in which darkness manifested physically. That is what my dark magic can do - cause the darkness to act under those rules, as long as I have the energy and focus to direct it. It's how I can pin a creature down with its own shadow."
As intended, Latnok was unable to see Raclaw. "Well... that's actually pretty good. Combine that with the collar's 'hide' command and you should be completely undetectable by any means. As previously mentioned by Vellune, the command should render the user undetectable via every conceivable means except sight.

Raclaw released the illusion, once again "revealing" himself at least somewhat satisfied with the others' reactions. He was sure he was capable of much much more when it came to illusions. However, it would be a matter of time/practice until he had fully mastered that aspect of his abilities. And with Shade, he probably couldn't afford to experiment too much as keeping the dark dragonoid stable was much more important than his own development. "Well-- it worked on a bear once. But you have a point.," he said acknowledging Star. "Huh... you're right. Thanks for the advice.," he then said responding to Latnok. Regardless of what past childhood it may have cost him, the collar did have its uses and at least Latnok proved helpful as always.

OOC: Last post today.

Star suddenly tilted his head. "As a Dark Type, I can do the same thing. A signature method of my species is called Night Daze. It involves using dark energy to create a shockwave, and is rather prone towards causing temporary blindness in targets. Then there's Dark Pulse, which is a massive eruption of darkness powered by sheer hatred and dark thoughts. There are others too."

"We do not have any magic techniques which are powered by emotion," Sere said. "It is much too inconsistent for us. The closest thing to that would be my sword, Grimbane, which is powered by my resolve. And resolve is something I possess in spades.
"I have lived longer than the vast majority of humans. I have killed many sapient beings... and I have watched many of my companions die. I know all too well the pain of losing someone - I attend to the death of each Guardian personally. Though we have fought for a long time for our fellow man, I seek a world in which I would never have to send anyone to die ever again. And yet, making those decisions is an absolute necessity. Nevertheless, I will do what I have to in order to see that goal through."

Back at the watering hole, Angora loved the alone time she was having. Usually, when she tried to be by herself, somebody would always follow her and shatter the peace she felt, namely Latnok. Thankfully, he seemed too busy with Shade to even bother her this time, so she wanted to treasure the moment. She spent this moment listening to the sounds of nature and just being lazy. She wanted to enjoy as much as she could before the big task. She tried to sleep to recover what remaining rest she lost yesterday, but all she managed to do was doze off.

A little more than an hour later, Angora felt ready to join the annoying group again, imagining that they must've had some progress with Shade in the time she was absent. She knew that she won't be able to escape the mission, so she enjoyed the surroundings as much as she could. As she walked to camp, she was finally open enough to talk to Neo.
"Hey, still there? Listen, I don't know when will this mission start, but I would like to know at least what I'll be facing. Is it something... or someone?" Angora asked, wanting to have a head start on what she was about to face. She was about to battle something that was endangering the entire world, so obviously, it was something not to take lightly. She needed to know, so that she could prepare heart and mind for the terrifying event.

Angora wasn't certain with the answer.
"So, you say it's a creature but also a shadow? Does it even talk? Will it try to corrupt me?" Angora continued asking, starting to get nervous. She was confident before, but now she was having doubts. She has never had this much responsibility before, and she felt as if everything was befalling on her too fast.

The information wasn't helping Angora at all. Neo still wasn't being specific on what exactly she was going to face, but if that was the case, chances were that he didn't know either.
"You know you're not being very helpful, right?" Angora commented, feeling the need to express her uneasiness. She couldn't help being worried, even if she already kinda saved the world once already.

As Latnok/Sere continued their training and kept up the occasional conversation with Star-- Raclaw kept an close eye on Shade and occasionally glanced at Sere wondering just how long the Grand Master would keep their party company. Deciding not to waste too much time and wanting to get *all* the answers before they left, he focused hus native telepathic energy and sent a message directly into his mind.

'When you have a moment, we need to talk. And preferably without our corrupted friend in earsight. I trust Latnak or Vellune have told you a little about me.' he said via telepathy and hoping that the Grand Master wouldn't take offense to him wanting more answers. He needed to know the Guardians were being truthful to their word and he deserved to know that he were doing all that he could to help his cause.

The telepathic message immediately pulled Sere's attention. Though aware of his own importance, he did not feel as if he were above speaking to others, even if he didn't address them. "I know some details about you. You were apparently raised by humans in one of our cooperative projects with various governments to foster a closer development between humans and dragons. Something which, if it went right, would be mutually beneficial to both humans and dragons. Humans would have fewer enemies and more allies to depend upon, and the dragon population would be able to grow much more than it currently can - much like why wyverns aren't common in the wild but are plentiful in the armies of various nations, dragons demand much food, and cannot live together for extended periods of time without overhunting. However, human agriculture would be a great boon to dragon growth and development." Sere waited for the dragon to offer a response, lest he overwhelm him with information.

OOC: You forgot to answer Angora. I'll still post something though

Angora returned to camp, still uneasy. At least with everybody dealing with Shade, she would have some time to prepare more and have the time to calm herself. She wanted to say somethings, but Shade, Raclaw and the humans looked very deep in thought. The dragolet was calm right now, so whatever they were doing, it seemed to be working. She waved at the wyvern out of pure boredom, and wondered what the foursome were doing. She once again assumed the right thing when she assumed they must be talking telepathically. She has been spoken that way many times already, and has learned to detect it. She didn't care about having any magic abilities, so she had no reason to feel envious about their little ritual.

Angora simply shrank her shoulders, rather disappointed at Neo for not having better information on the subject. She was growing desperate. Shade threatening them in one side, and forsaken creature or thing in another, which Neo couldn't describe in better detail. Was she suppose to swing the sword and strike whatever the thing was? She knew there wouldn't be any progress in their journey unless Shade was under control.

"Alright, you know what? Enough of this!" she said as she climbed his back.
"Listen, I know you're stressed. I know how annoying this all is, especially with those human..." she whispered that last sentence before continuing.
"... but you have to calm down." Angora begged, giving him a massage. She knew the risk she was taking with that, but she needed Shade to be docile. She had to be careful with the spines of his back, but if she had to do something about this stubborn dragon like creature, and this method was the only one she could think of.

"Well fine. That's the idea." Angora replied indifferently.
"But if you set your body on fire and burn me, I will hurt you." she said in a calm voice, hard to tell if she was kidding or being serious.

Although Angora was strong like her species, she slowly got tired with all the force she had to make.
"Ugh, what kind of skin is this? I get more comfortable climbing a volcano." the little troll complained, feeling so insignificant. She had to take several steps just to walk around Shade's whole body.
"And are these things stress bumps? They feel like hills." she commented again, trying to sink them. She was rather surprised to se Shade having accepted her climbing like that. Raclaw was more gentle, but he didn't take it very nicely when she did it to him.

"Why am I... to calm you down of course! Why else?" Angora answered bluntly, having thought she was clear the first time. She wasn't doing it out of mere kindness. She just wanted Shade to take it easy.

Angora stopped the massage and looked at him, being taken off guard by the question. She didn't answer until a few minutes later.
"I don't know. I was irritated at first for being handled this much responsibility, but then I felt proud, cause a troll will finally do something good and we'll have better reputation..." Angora said, then indirectly glaring at Latnok and Sere.
"... but that will never happen, will it? No matter what I do, there will be some who will never change their views. I'm beginning to think that the reason I'm chosen is cause if I don't make it, nobody will miss me." Angora confessed, surprisingly feeling enough trust in Shade to express such feelings, but it could also be due to the question hitting a wound she had to heal.

Quote: A Guy

The telepathic message immediately pulled Sere's attention. Though aware of his own importance, he did not feel as if he were above speaking to others, even if he didn't address them. "I know some details about you. You were apparently raised by humans in one of our cooperative projects with various governments to foster a closer development between humans and dragons. Something which, if it went right, would be mutually beneficial to both humans and dragons. Humans would have fewer enemies and more allies to depend upon, and the dragon population would be able to grow much more than it currently can - much like why wyverns aren't common in the wild but are plentiful in the armies of various nations, dragons demand much food, and cannot live together for extended periods of time without overhunting. However, human agriculture would be a great boon to dragon growth and development." Sere waited for the dragon to offer a response, lest he overwhelm him with information.

Failing to think that Shade could listen in on the normally private conversation option, Raclaw took a moment to gather his thoughts before responding much to the anticipation of certain others. 'So you do know and you would be right-- from a very human perspective. The humans who raised me did indeed have fewer enemies, much fewer in fact. And we did indeed become very close. Why-- they're the very reason why I'm here now and the reason I investigated a certain volcano. And now here we are. However and I mean no offense... I don't suppose you ever thought about from the perspective of the dragon? The soul whose life would have forever been changed for better or for worse?,' he then said pausing before continuing. As he spoke, his feelings could best be described as conflicted with a hint of anger. Although he did his best to hide that, not knowing how Sere would react.

'For instance-- did you know that it took me 16 of your years to undo your handywork concerning the collar and it's enhanced restrictions? Or that I was unable to hunt or even defend myself for many many years due to not having access to what would normally be a dragon's best defense? Or that due to being within a nation that lacked the common tongue and not having access to even the most basic telepathy-- rendered me little more then one of your Wyverns or a dog at first? And is your idea of a cooperative project dumping said dragon on the side of the road only to be fortunately be discovered by chance? Let me tell you my story and and you will see how I felt and the many many questions I developed over the years...' he then said seemingly letting go of bottled feelings and lifting a big weight off his chest. He would let the Grand Master of the Guardians respond before continuing as to not go on a rant.

He ignored the Antics of Angora for the time being, being too distracted or focused on Sere and his past. If any feelings leaked through to Shade-- they would be a combination of a anger, relief, anticipation, and a sense of simply trying to remain calm. The last thing he wanted was to make things worse, concerning ether the relationship of the party or Shade himself.

Sere, seemingly always ready with a response, gave his answer calmly without hesitation. He could sense the dragon's anger - but, being confident in his own abilities, he did not fear even the enhanced Raclaw. "Yes, I see you are angry... As you probably know, you cannot truly have mutual cooperation at the edge of a blade. However, we had no choice but to impose these restrictions.
"After several terrible incidents resulting in the deaths of multiple human families, governments refused to cooperate with the program any longer. Indeed, they wanted to end it - by putting every dragon they could to death. We Guardians, however, still believed in the potential for an alliance between humans and dragons to be mutually beneficial - after all, we owe our power to dragons. So we came up with a compromise.
"We would modify the collar we used to restrain prisoners. This new model would allow developing dragons to grow while preventing them from killing children, or even their parents, if they couldn't control their own power. In exchange for this, the hatchlings, once grown up, would be able to call upon the power to help them later in life. After successful demonstrations of the effectivity of this model, we were allowed to proceed.
"We are not perfect - however, given the circumstances, I think we chose the option that was best for the most people. The true tragedy here is that neither your family nor any Guardian was there to monitor your growth. I am not quite sure why this is - however, my first, educated guess would be that your parents, and any Guardians that were with them, fell in battle - most likely a large-scale engagement, which would make it more difficult for at least one to survive - and without them or the collar, all record we would have of you would be lost. The process was always meant to be monitored, and I am sorry that we have failed you in that regard." Sere, aware of the weight of the inference he had made, braced himself for an angry Raclaw - he did not live as long as he had by being careless.

"Paralyze." At Latnok's command, the collar began sending impulses to Shade to stop his movement. "Calm. Down. We're already trying our damndest to drag you along without killing us. Stop making this harder than it has to be." Latnok had long grown tired of keeping Shade under control, but undeestood that having him could allow them to understand the corruption more effectively.

Angora felt bad for sharing that moment of weakness with Shade, especially since he didn't seem to listen to her. She grabbed him by the neck.
"Oh no no, don't you start again or I'll choke you!" Angora threatened, tightening her grasp. She made it her job to prevent Shade from going wild, and she was going to do it no matter what. She was even ready to tolerate as much heat as she could in case his body spontaneously combusted.

Darkheart hissed, sensing the tremendous energy from Shade. The hiss didn't sound angry so much as startled. "By the Maker... Shade, you're a veritable factory of magical energy!"
Star pulls out a scanner. "I wonder how much energy he's... What the... The scanner says it's god-tier amounts! I suppose I should be adjusting it to a higher reading level, it did the same thing when scanning the legendaries of my world." Out of simple scientific curiosity, he turned it on Orion... And got nothing. "Well, that's something I've never seen before except on one creature... It just says that it's too high to read... But I thought Orion was weakened..." The little fox shuddered, trying to hide the sudden terror gripping him. I-I-I only e-ever got that r-r-reading on Arceus himself! … Herself... Itself. If Orion was so inclined, he could reduce me to subatomic particles! I'd better not taunt him anymore, if he's this powerful when weakened... Thankfully the energy seems rather contained... No, not contained... But something's off...

"I'm sorry-- don't blame him. He is only feeling the residential effects of my emotions.," Raclaw said out-loud briefly looking back at the now paralyzed Shade. He then turned his attention back towards Sere as well as Latnok. 'You should hear this as well.,' he telepathically said-- as he started a three-way telepathic connection similar to with Vellune and projected his own memory of the immediate conversation into the mind of Latnok. 'To catch you up. And Shade... I'm sorry. It'll be over soon.,' he then said explaining the sudden memory burst and cluing Latnok into the source of the anger.

I see-- so you just figured that you would take any hatchings you managed to get ahold of and simply implant them into human civilization. And when that failed, you compromised and resorted to the use of the collars on the very same species that you owe your life-source to. And the parents-- my parents had they survived.. they were okay with you just taking their children away from them? For the good of this so-called alliance you claim to seek? And what about the others? What about the other poor souls whose parents were possibly wiped and who possibly remain-- forever dependent on their humans and stuck forever with the restrictions imposed by their collars? Surely, you have some form of written record so that you can at least keep track of your selected experiments? If not for their own good, then for your own desire to simply see what happens...,' Raclaw then said trying to keep himself at least somewhat calm.

After Angora was convinced that the paralyzing magic worked on Shade, she left him alone. She jumped away, feeling like she wasn't needed. Everyone here seemed to have magic, so she really felt out of place among that group. She was the only one who didn't have magic or special powers of her own, and Neo was simply a spirit sharing his magic with her, nothing more. Feeling ignored again, she couldn't take it anymore. She walked away from the group, finding a reclusive place to speak with Neo again.

"That's it! I can't stand it anymore! Nobody in that group wants to do anything with me, so why should I? And that stupid Shade is just making us waste time! I won't have it! Group or not, I'm going on this quest alone! They're all holding me back, and I just want this nightmarish nonsense to be over!" Angora complained furiously, wanting the mission to be over so that she won't have to be in the company of that bunch anymore. She didn't even cared whether she survived. What started as a simple camping moment for them to recover their energy turned into a patience ritual with the formerly evil dragolet.

"Hatchlings were freely given to us by dragon parents who, for one reason or another, were unable to raise dragons themselves," Sere corrected, staying calm and answering quickly. "The most likely answer I can see is that your parents were deeply involved in whatever conflict would inflict their death. Unfortunately, as I do not know who they are, I would be hard-pressed to pinpoint any information about you. This is all conjecture, anyway - there may be other reasons. Perhaps your parents abandoned you. But I would not risk my men fishing for dragon eggs where I did not need to.
"Yes, there is a cost. As there is to everything. There would be no perfect solution. But it was that, or more fighting between humans and dragons - possibly the extirpation of dragonkind in vicinities anywhere near humans. The sad truth for the dragon race is that, as other major races become more powerful, dragons will have less and less space to claim. What used to be a huge gap in power is becoming smaller and smaller, as other races develop powerful dragon countermeasures - wyverns, dragonbane, magical ballistae, magic cancellation, et cetera. We have proven that, under the right circumstances, we can work together. And I believe we should. One day, I would like humans to be able to live peacefully with every other race. Dragons, however, are the only race we have had consistent success with.
"However, there are benefits. You are now more powerful than you ever could have been. Look at the dark dragon over there - Darkheart, I believe her name is. From what I can infer from Latnok's memories, her clutch was murdered. You are very powerful now, as are many other dragons who have worked with us. You would have the power to oppose anyone who tried to kill your family - within reason. As we Guardians know, there is nothing that does not have a weakness.
"As for what happened, the most likely situation would have been a confrontation during the War of Xiarun - circa a decade and a half ago, large-scale conflict, human and dragon cooperation against a powerful lich. We Guardians typically do not involve ourselves in large conflicts, but we do what we have to.
"You are right to be angry. You had no say in the matter. But I seek a world where I will never have to send another man to die again. And I believe we will achieve it - we just have to find a way to live in peace."

'Yes I am more powerful now and it is true that my kind is losing dominance in the world-- the lands where I come from don't have any dragons and are heavily human populated. You claim that the hatch-lings were freely given and for your sake... I hope that you are right. If it is true that my parents' lives were lost in this War of Xiarun or by some other means, then I don't blame you. I don't even blame you for failing your due diligence, as I suspect that I didn't end up at my intended destination. That cost though-- it is quite high for someone in my position and you should know it well if you intend to put others through it. I can't speak for the others who have gone through this, but I can speak for myself. And you will listen. This... this is my story.," Raclaw responded speaking in the same calm but angry tone and just almost threatening Sere. But not quite.

'From what I was told, I know that I was found at the side of a road by an innocent bystander whom had happen to specialize in the study of magical artifacts. Unsure of what to do and unable to raise me himself, he dropped me off at a nearby farm where I spent the next 16 years under the care of two loving compassionate human parents. They raised me in the hope that I would probably develop my abilities and be able to survive on my own. The only problem was-- I never did and that collar would serve as the only reminder of my past. Imagine growing up with a permanent reminder of a past you never knew. And loving parents you would never meet. I knew naught of the Guardians or your experiments, nor did anyone else. I was a mystery, both to myself and to others around me.

That was a feeling that only grew with time as I became more and more ware of my own restrictions. I was starting to grow more independent, only I was unable to do so as I had no choice but to continue to depend on my human family. They became more and more aware of this and although I could not speak to them directly at least not yet, they could sense the tension within me. And it was that same innocent bystander who came to the rescue. It was in fact due to his help and an ancient manual beyond my understanding, that I was able to become free of the collar's restrictions. And it was then, after I had brute forced control of it, that I had realized exactly what I was missing. While most dragons had their whole lives to learn and experience their own abilities, I was only starting to do so. And that was without the unlocked status. I had to learn and control my abilities at an age where most dragons would've already had. I had to learn to properly hunt again as a dragon would. And.. and it took the work of both dragon and human to do so. I suppose am I one of the lucky ones and that you were, at least in part, successful with me. However, I'll never truly know what it cost me. And I never will.,' he then said summarizing and explaining his childhood. It was true that his circumstances brought some humans and one dragon together. It was also true, however, that it could've also ended very differently-- with him ether remaining on the farm forever or being found by someone else. Part of him was just happy to have answers, while another part wished the humans had never gotten involved in his life.

Sere had to pause a moment - he was not used to anyone sharing their life story with him, certainly not a dragon. "I have always wished that, no matter what, I could make everything right in the world. I have always hoped that there would always be a right choice to make. But... I have learned that everything has a cost. From my time as an Initiate to now, I have had to make many decisions I did not want to make. Unfortunately, we live in the real world - while some cases are clear-cut, there are many shades of grey." Sere punctuated his comment with the unsheathing of Grimbane, his sword, which alternated between radiating light and absorbing it.
"This sword, Grimbane. It is powered by my own resolve. It is the only sword you will see any of us Guardians use. You see, it possesses a duality. The light represents doing what is the 'right' or 'honorable' thing to do. The dark represents doing what is pragmatic. Both are important - it is powered by my dedication to doing whatever I have to in order to make things right. What is 'right' and what is something I 'have to' do, though? That is a balance that I will never get perfect. But that doesn't mean that I can't try. At the end of the day, someone has to make the hard choices.
"As for your parents... there is no guarantee that they're dead. It is also possible that they lost track of you somehow - you did not get to your desired destination, apparently, so that is a reasonable possibility. This would most likely be caused by the Guardian who was responsible for you dying before you arrived where you needed to. I can try to have my men look into records of the war and cross-reference the data on fallen Guardians with Guardians who were responsible for eggs and hatchlings.
"I do hope you understand where I'm coming from. If not, then... there is not much else I can say. But your collar is activated because I believe I can trust you. I pray that trust is well-placed - we are counting on you."

Star watched as the weird sword went from black to white and back again. "That blade reminds me of something. Or, rather, someone. The Tao Trio... Reshiram, guardian of truth... Zekrom, guardian of ideals... And Kyurem, the icy body awaiting a hero who will fill in the missing parts of its body with either truth or ideals..." The little Zorua was reminiscing on his homeworld.
Darkheart looked at him with half-lidded eyes. "You speak gibberish."