Luraoth

Poetry in motion, this gold moves with a fluid vitality that cannot be made. One has to be born with it, this unique something, this je ne sais quois that defines the rest of one's life. Though diminutive for her color, she is long of limb with a lithe, lissome tail, slim wings gracefully tucked against her back when not in flight. This balance of her body allows her to sashay on warm vanilla paws, the color melting up carpals and wrists in a delicate, nigh-lacy brocade before splashing across her slender stomach. The rest of her body is characterized by brightness, a polished gold that can't help but glisten in the sun. A spirited amber whorls across her hide in an exquisite dance, begging lighter flecks of cream and chiffon to stand out like pinpricks of starlight in a golden sky. Aureolin shades delicately dust high cheeks and an aristocratic nose, lending a subtle familiarity to this otherwise refined creature. Nimble, dexterous wings are alternately marked by pale yellow tides and flickering flames, hints of an effervescent duality that may only be realized with time.


Fanning the Flames Egg

Shades of red spiral over the curves of this mid-sized egg, twisting and writhing in a heated dance. The richest russet coats the base as though it were dipped in heart's blood, gradually bleeding upwards into a rich vermillion hue. Streamers of sanguine scarlet scintillate along the bulging curve of the egg's belly, twining with ribbons of ruby radiance, culminating on the crown in a coronet of crimson candescence. Tucked amidst the flames, several thick black lines streak outwards from the heart of the egg, slashing through the splendor to form the stylized shape of an avian, wings spread to embrace the fire.

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Fires of Love are not a raging torrent of heat as might be expected, but rather the gentle warmth of the hearth fire. As the mind within this egg awakens to your touch, the scent of warm soup, fresh baked bread, and homemade cookies fills the air, and the light brightens almost imperceptibly, chasing the shadows from your mind. The wordless greeting is cheerful and just a touch sleepy, as though your coming had awakened it from a long sleep. Still, there is no censure within the unformed mind which touches yours with a soft, welcoming caress, but only joy at meeting you. Ribbons of soft color, pastel yellows and pinks, with the faintest tinge of orange, surround your mind and wrap it in the silk-soft embrace of the sunrise. Welcome sings in the tinkling of tiny bells, and if there are no words, there is a definite sensation of sweet pleasure and affection, for all that the inhabitant of this egg has only just met you.

Fires of Love do not diminish once they welcome you - if anything, the sensation of adoration grows stronger, the brightness growing, though never strong enough to cause discomfort. That soft chiming of bells is mere background noise, never intrusive, but always present. The heat envelops you like an old friend, a comfortable cloak worn against the chill of winter. Vaguely, the mindscape around you takes shape - rolling hills with summer-seared grasses, green leafed trees, the bright blue of a wandering stream, all drenched in the midday sun - nothing but tranquility as far as the mind can see. This young mind does not force itself upon you, but rather hovers just out of reach and out of sight, watching to see what you do in this peaceful setting, curious - yes, there is curiosity - but not invasive. It clearly wants to know more about you, but asks rather than takes, letting you give yourself to it at your own pace.

Fires of Love are not endless, and despite its boundless cheer and peace, the unformed mind in this egg is not without limits. Slowly, the heat dissipates, until it is a mere memory of soft warmth on your mind. The colors stream away, fading into the growing darkness like the last rays of the sunset sinking below the horizon. The bells tinkle off into silence, stilled for the night, and the scents of home baked goods and cinnamon waft away on the last of the evening breeze. Soon, there is only you and that vague sensation that will someday be a dragon's mind, lingering just out of sight. A wistful goodbye brushes across your mind, along with the sensation of time both distant and distinct. Someday, you will meet again. But not today. Good night, sweet friend.


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Wobble Message

Fanning the Flames Egg seems to flicker and come to life. The shifting of the sand beneath the egg giving its first hint of movement and from there the flames seem to dance and caress the surface of the egg towards its peak. One could almost imagine a creature writhing, flying in the flames upon its surface.

Crack Message

The Fanning the Flames Egg continues rocking. Nothing jerky, almost rolling and undulating right there in its place on the sands. Flames seem to separate from each other as cracks appear across the surface of the egg, each tendril of flame seeming to take on a life of its own. It is at the highest point of the flames that the largest crack appears and at first, seeming like an extension of the flames, a single claw pushes through to reaching out of the flames.

Hatching Message

The Fanning the Flames Egg continues to seethe and flicker, flames moving up its surface as it gives birth to this creature of fire. More cracks appear, tongues of flames falling away to the sand as pieces of shell crumble and flake. Suddenly more claws push through the apex of the egg causing a split in the shell large enough that finally the flames are dispersed. The curls of steam rising from her egg-damp hide could almost be smoke, leaving the hatchling to cool after her fiery emergence.


Impression Message

It starts with a soft tinkle of some distant bell and the wafting of cookies which surface in your mind, perhaps the cause for a sudden rumble in your stomach you had no inkling of before. Ribbons of sunset oranges, yellows, and soft pinks float in from some other place in the world, making you for a time to forget that you're on the sands and transporting you to realm of peace and tranquility. A voice more clear than you have ever heard before beckons your attention to it as the bells seemingly prance louder in your mind, « Sweet friend! » With the enthusiasm of the love behind it the words grow more distinct, « Here you are and here I am! I promised you I would meet you again, my sweet Soriana. » All the comforts of the world don't seem to compare to the happiness that fills you now as she joins you for an adventure of a lifetime. « Life will be ours to dance Soriana, now that we are together. I cannot wait to begin! » As the world comes clear to you and the impact of impression allows you to see her clearly, she seems to laugh with merriment, confirming the bond, « My sweet girl, I am Luraoth. » Then her overwhelming curiosity overtakes you, « Oh this ache in my belly. Do you know how to stop it? »


Personality

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Luraoth is an outgoing creature and her self confidence is such that she assumes all creatures she confronts and all manner of people she will encounter, are friendly. She won't hesitate to make friends, be they people or other dragons. She's such an optimist that even if you are disinterested or wary toward someone or something, she's sure that by including them in your lives she can change your outlook. In fact, she'll gather as she can possibly fit into your schedule so that your social lives together leave little time for study or focusing on classes if you let it. This might lead to an argument or two at the most inopportune of times and, at least in the early days, she might inadvertently broadcast this to others in range. If you don't develop the ability to insist on time for your mental solitude, your grades may suffer and draw the ire of your Weyrlingmasters.

Her cheerful and easygoing nature makes her an excellent playmate for her clutch siblings while young. She'll be pleased to join in the running and romping, holding back due to her larger size from competitiveness to frolic for the sheer enjoyment of it rather than to 'win'. Squabbles do happen and before she is mature, she'll have her fair share of them, but rarely starts one and increasingly as she grows, she'll be trying to mediate a truce between parties.

Unlike many hatchlings, who tend to clumsiness in their first days, Luraoth seems born to move on the ground with a fluid grace and agility that appears to have little to do with her smaller size, for she is probably the smallest gold ever to be hatched at Xanadu Weyr. For a time, she'll be smaller than Kanekith, roughly the size of the larger of her brown clutchsibs. Until she hits her growth, this may be a cause for concern amongst the dragonhealers. And though she will never grow to be amongst the larger of the golds, remaining close to the size of Xanadu's largest bronzes, Luraoth will loom large in the thoughts and minds of those entrusted to remember her.

Of more concern than her size will be the fact that one wing seems to be shorter than the other - at least at first. The problem, it will be found is an abnormally short flexor tendon between the main wing joint and the endmost wingspar preventing full extension of the wing. This will require physical therapy but with stretching and exercise this defect ought to be resolved in time so that she can fly safely enough to attempt the skies. Perhaps it's part innate ability, perhaps sheer determination and practice that will result in her flight skill becoming such that the wind is her partner in what can only be described as a dance.

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Luraoth is, for the most part, a light-hearted character, at times mischievous, but never aggressive, malicious or conceited. Rarely will she sound emphatic and never haughty. Playfully enticing others to follow her lead rather than pompously pushing her agenda when she knows it's important, she'll learn the art of skillful direction and execute her leadership with grace.

First, though she has to obtain the knowledge! As she grows beyond weyrlinghood, her motivation to learn stems from this one goal. You may find yourself drawn into more than pickle because of her curiosity. She has a flair for using turn of events - some might call it luck, but it is really cunning. Usually she's wise enough to see danger or misunderstanding ahead, if only at the last moment - and avoid it before anything serious happens.

For example, Tahryth's lifemate intends to keep well away from the old fodder equines during hunting versus a clutch mate who has a special taste for them. Luraoth will be somewhere in the middle, empathizing and demonstrating an understanding for her greenling sister and the same time encouraging her brother for his prowess and skill. Who dare she support without offending one or another? As her clutchbrother starts his hunt, a wherry might flutter nearby or a fish might leap clear of water, drawing her clutch sibling's attention toward it. Her prompt, « Did you see that?! What a prize it would be to the one who catches it! »

There will be times when Luraoth she gets in over her head and the circumstances don't align quite right for her to use the management skills she has. At these times, she will need you, yet may not at first directly ask for your help. Her signs that she's aware of her ill weighted decisions, might be a jangling alarm bell of indecision in your ears or the acrid odor of human sweat in your nose. Though her cause is probably noble, deep down she knows she should not face risk alone. In these times her motto will be: This is what the dance of life is about; exploring the instinct to literally go beyond ourselves and into ourselves at the same time.

Once she knows they exist, Luraoth will find that she has a taste for shellfish. After she's tasted spider-claws, it'll be hard to influence her away from them. Digging and hunting for them will become an enjoyed pastime upon the shores of a beach or at a river bed. It'll be the texture as well as the flavor she'll find appealing so her desire for crunchy things will grow. If it breaks, pops, and snaps in between her teeth, all the better! You may find her relish of snapping herdbeast bones during feeding stems from this and her mental images of her enjoyment may be shared unrestrainedly and quite vividly.

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One particular feast she will have only every couple of Turns, blooding when the instinct to rise to mate compels her to it, may be of particular challenge to both of you. These are the times you will need to exert your dominance over her to prevent her from indulging in her penchant for bone-crunching meals because blooding only will infuriate her. She might be frustrated enough that on some occasions she does not blood enough to sustain a longer flight. Once in the skies, the world her stage and she'll find the dance with her suitors exhilarating. She flies to a different beat, hears her own music, sings her own song. The dance is finished when she decides it is, not before.

Like most young dragons, the size of Luraoth's clutches will vary depending on her flights. If her mate proves to be a doting clutch sire, her trust in leaving him to guard the sands will give both of you a short breather from them now and then. If the winning male chooses not to stick with her through thick and thin, she might not allow him on the sands when the time comes for them to hatch! Understanding that baby dragons will emerge from those eggs will certainly help brooding over them on the hot sands a more enjoyable task for both of you. When they finally hatch, she'll be a proud, loving and attentive mama. They've impressed to humans? So what? They'll still, in her opinion, need her! Her hatchlings will be nudged them in the right direction both mentally and physically for some time afterwards. She'll keep up with their accomplishments, encourage them, visiting the Weyrling areas when allowed to do so. The offspring of other golds in the Weyr? She'll treat in much the same manner.

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Her interest in younglings won’t stop at dragon babies either. Human offspring fascinate her with their vulnerability, precocious honesty, keen perception, and imaginations. She can often be found in the clearing or on the beach with several tots in her watch-care and won’t at all mind them crawling all over her or their rambling childish confessions for her ears alone.

As she grows, she will develop a pride in being a queen dragon of Xanadu Weyr and she desires to be open and honest with those living in it. Though Luraoth tends to want to bring others to a common viewpoint, she's not malicious or pushy about it. She simply strives for what she sees as the common good. She believes that knowledge is power and she intends to share that knowledge for the betterment of everyone. At some point this theory will backfire, and when that happens, she'll adjust, learning to be subtle and creative in the ways she shares her insight.

Though Luraoth will be a leader from the start, she'll quickly find that leader who tries to make everyone her best friend, which will likely encounter some problems with that approach. As you spend the time learning what is expected of a Junior Weyrwoman in Weyr management, Holder and inter-Weyr Diplomacy, Emergency Management and of course, the inevitable paper work, she'll be there watching through your eyes not only gleaning experience but adding her input, which at first may be quite entertaining. Her appetite to learn will not stop there. Once she hears that Xanadu Weyr's Harper complex includes a library and the administration wing has archives, she'll you press to have you read something - anything - to her.

Sometimes she might chafe at the fact that golds do not do sweeps or envy the search and rescue dragon pairs. With her fondness for crunching on hard things, if thread flew, she might be the first to want to chew firestone and she'd certainly want to fight it. So her drive may often prompt you to challenge the traditional viewpoint that Weyrwomen remain at the Weyr while others ‘go do’ or that queen dragons are cosseted egg-layers made of glass that cannot be endangered. Somehow, she knows that her unique abilities, both physical and mental are needed ‘out there’ also.

Where Luraoth's outgoing personality and easy-befriending will be an advantage is in assisting the work in the Dragonhealer's annex. There, when needed to help put an ailing dragon at ease, or use her mental prowess in shielding some of the pain and holding a thrashing dragon still, she'll find her social skills quite handy.

Luraoth chose you, Soriana because she saw in you the ability to balance both affability and authority. Her choice wasn't so much of a you-need-me or I-need-you sort of thing, but more a recognition of kindred beings who might travel the road together and draw immeasurable mutual enjoyment from a long and close-knit association together. And though she seeks to be your guide, she'll just as often seek your guidance through the turns ahead as you face them - together.

"Our biological rhythms are the symphony of the cosmos, music embedded deep within us to which we dance, even when we can't name the tune."

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Inspiration

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The theme for this clutch was 'the Zodiac' and Searchco were encouraged to look beyond the 'traditional zodiac'. N'shen chose for this egg Zhu-que, The Vermillion Bird, which is one of the four symbols for Chinese Constellations. A creature both noble and elegant.

Persona: Based on the characteristics of otters. Otters are such a mix of personalities in one creature. When they are 'safe', they are playful dancers. Taking to the water for the enjoyment of it. There seems to be pure joy in their acrobatic movements. It is hard not to watch the antics of otters and not smile or laugh and yet there is nothing but grace and fluid elegance to their movements. It is mere the joy they seem to express at these dancer like movement that is truly infectious. Because of this, they are often underestimated and seen as 'playful children'. When the need arises, when they notice a stranger in their midst, they become watchful and protective guardians. They will not hesitate to take on a larger predator to protect their home and family. Such actions are taken as a group, each otter playing their role in the attack and defense of their territory.

The name: Luraoth comes from Genus Lutra (which is the otter genus) and the Old English word otor in which otter (and water) derives from. Luraoth may be pronounced Lur-a-oth, Lue-ray-oth, or Lue-ra-oth, whichever you prefer.

.~*~. Luraoth was created for you by A'dmar, Briana, Thea and Esiae at Xanadu, Winter 2013 .~*~.


Credits

Name Luraoth
Dam Sahazyth
Sire Orionth
Created By A'dmar, Briana, Thea and Esiae
Impressee Soriana
Hatched February 10, 2013
Xanadu Weyr
PernWorld MUSH

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