Smiles Without Grace's Story

“My master was one of the monstrosities that was created by the Empire. The Empire was a glorious melding of Dragonkind and humanity, which went one step too far. It began to experiment with things that should never be. My master’s name was Draegor, and he was both brilliant and cruel, for he it was who found the way to the Netherworld. He was himself a final product of the Empire, a melding of human and Dragonewt that was a combination of the strengths of both speices, but also suffered the frailties of both. Unlike normal Dragonewts he was not part of the cycle, and unlike normal humans he could not pass over into the Godplane to rest.”

“My master took my egg from the main nest and he brought it here to experiment upon it. I believe he was trying to do to me what his predecessors were not able to do to him. Instead of being born right, when my egg hatched again I knew I was different. I grew up serving my master and his colleagues at the villa at Wrymghost. They performed many dangerous and risky magical endeavours whilst I was there until the day that the Dragons came to wipe the scourge of the Empire from the world. That day I rejoined the cycle – exhumed by the purifying and purging fire of the Dragons. Before I was taken back into the glorious cycle I saw my master spread the keys of entrance to the villa unto the winds of time.”

“When I was eventually reborn unto the world the Dragonewts did not initially perceive the differences in me and I was allowed to go into the world and continue on my path. So I lived a full life, free to explore the world as I wished. Then one day I was walking on my own when two Dragonewts told me to stop in the name of the Inhuman King so I may be punished. I ran and they pursued me to this cave where they attacked me and killed me.”

“The next time that I was reborn the senior Dragonewts were in quite a flap, and they began to check everyone that had completed the cycle. I was questioned, and was found to be deviant and I was imprisoned and killed in a ritual. Every cycle that I re-emerged from my egg I was taken, questioned and killed by the Dragonewts. At one time I found out that I was to be killed on the orders of the Inhuman King himself.”

"Some three years ago when I was reborn I was surprised to find that my egg was no longer in the nest in Dragon's Eye. The Perfect Master stood over me and looked me over before he headed off. Another Dragonewt came to me and told me that the Perfect Master had deemed that it was time to progress again, and that I was to find the key to unlock the secret once again. So I set out on the path and was hounded by agents of the Inhuman King who sought me out to kill me. I managed to conceal myself from their spying magics and made my way back here where I activated the defenses of the cave. As it turned out this was only just in time and the three Dragonewts that were pursuing me turned up to try and kill me."