Borne on Starlight Brown Ytildth
Power defines this brown’s physique; in musculature and movement. He’s bulky for his moderate size, with powerful shoulders and stride. His limbs on the whole are shorter, although not remarkably so, with a carriage as proud as his. Chiseled head high, broad wings aloft, he stomps more than swaggers, and has enough bulk to move things out of his way. The chiseling of his head carries down: craggy ‘ridges, defined muscles, and a mountain’s coloring. Subtly variegated browns make up the bulk of his hide, unpolished and rough. Darker sepia and paler buff make up a fair amount of it, the darker shade making up larger stretches while the paler speckles and stripes unevenly. Only his ‘sails vary from this striated coloring, a storm of near-black char and silvered browns. Speckles of palest gold freckle the storm, starlight captured. Not at first obvious, hidden save for odd hours or maybe strange lighting or movement, speckles sketch down from his brow and neck, bright enough that it seems odd to miss them.
Egg Name and Description
Treasured Trash Heap Egg
Overall, this egg is less than entirely impressive. Mid-sized, it's a little rounder than most, nice and rotund for extra sand cover. It's a grimy, gritty kind of brown — flecks of yellow and speckles of red here, patches of peeling taupe there. Shadows dominate, cubbies of strange shapes in smudged colors barely visible. Is that a shoe? A fan blade? A pink avian with a long bill? Maybe it's your imagination, since the shadows seem to shift from every new perspective. A patch of wavering blue sits bright on one side, a strange rectangle of bright in the dim egg, while multicolored ovals line up in fanciful sprays in a smaller rebellion against the grime and grit. They're haphazard, the lights, but seem almost lovingly placed, weaving around the shadows and strange smudges of color.
Hatching Message
The Treasured Trash Heap Egg startles. There’s no other word for it; a neighbor rolls closer, and the egg jumps right up out of the sand. The sundered halves fly apart, and then the dragonet is lying in the sand, confused as can be. The Borne on Starlight Brown blinks, and then growls at the egg that apparently startled it, almost falling sideways to glare.
Impression Message
It’s hot, chaotic, probably frightening on the sands — and then it isn’t. It’s dim, and you get the impression of a grand landscape before he’s there. Just there: cool and pleasant, bolstering your spirits with a rush of affection and curiosity. « Maelle, » The voice is warm and soft, a little gruff as it tries your name. « I knew it was you. Why you felt the need to hide from me over here, I do not know. » A passing breath of irritation is just that, passing, and then only born of the raking hunger now residing in both of your middles. « Me? I’m Ytildith, of course. Let’s go, before one of these things faints on you. » You get the notion that that would go *very* badly, but the dragonet is already moving on, a little wistful. « Ytildith and Maelle. Doesn’t sound bad, does it, my girl? » There might even be a ghost of cool laughter, as you’re released back to yourself, back to the chaos. Right, that. Best follow the Weyrlingmasters off to the side, now.
Mindvoice
Refined from his earliest days, the towers and dim light have transformed into something beautiful. Ytildith’s mind is expansive, shining in the distance and pleasantly cool. Intricate facades of towering buildings loom to every direction, delicate bridges and paths stretching between them lit by the gentle glow of warm lights. Halls of columns that stretch as high as the eye can see, lit only by stray shafts of light. Low noises rumble in the distance, the earth settling, distant drifts of forgotten songs like the former gusts of hot air.
The sense of something forgotten, of emptiness lingers.
Ytildith’s mind is one of the most curious minds you’ll probably ever come across, past the vast emptiness which most perceive of him. It’s not their fault; that is all they’re afforded. An echoing and abandoned realm, bereft of life save for the ghosts of the past and what might lurk in the dark.
Below the gruff habits and growling, curiosity flourishes like hidden gold. You’re privy to the whole of your dragon’s mind, you’re witness to the unabashed joy in understanding that comes in wild bursts of gold and fire. It burns, almost, this love, this need for more, for better understanding. The whimsy of his unfinished mind, the part before you came in, is not all lost. His more poetic moods lend themselves to soft words and warmth like honey, like firelight and the promise of better things to come.
There are always better things to come, with Ytildith. It settles into the background of his mind, into the sweeping grandiosity of his voice when he really gets into something. It gifts him with a silver tongue when others might dismiss his as barbed or cutting. Indeed, for all his words might be designed to cut, Ytildith’s voice itself is pleasant. It resonates, melodic and warm, only crashing in an ominous rumble for those who particularly raise his hackles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4dT8FJ2GE0
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v65ffiQvo6A
Personality
The Dwarves indeed proved tough and hard to tame; they ill endure the domination of others, and the thoughts of their hearts are hard to fathom, nor can they be turned to shadows.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion
Ytildith is a dragon who expects to be heeded, a proud and restless creature whose ambition can only be curtailed by a steady hand from you. However, ambition is easily sidelined: he’s also a dragon who has an almost insatiable curiosity about the world around him. He wants to know things, how things work, how they fit together, how to craft them or grow them and make them flourish. How people work, how other dragons work, and he won’t stop until he gathers this information.
Your first few days with your dragonet will be long ones. His natural habits towards pride will be at war with this natural curiosity, and he won’t quite have a handle on either. All he’ll really know is that you’re the most important thing in the world, and he wants to be by your side, day in and day out. Asking questions, demanding answers, watching the other weyrlings with shrewdly assessing eyes. Sizing them up, sizing you up, but learning his own limits? Not so much.
Ytildith won’t be the most graceful creature as he grows. In fact, he’ll be among the clumsier of his clutchsibs, racking up the scuffs and bruises count pretty high. It’ll take time to grow into those powerful shoulders and strong gait; and in the meantime, it’s best not to point out his flaws. Your dragon has his pride, even as a hatchling, and he won’t abide being coddled or babied for his stumbles. Even your healer training won’t endear him to it.
« I am fine, Maelle-mine, don’t fuss — tch! Be quiet, Kivshiralth, if you know what’s good for you! »
Weyrlinghood will be difficult for this brown, and for you, as an extension of him. He won’t have Masikoth’s flair, or Qhynnveslacth’s unshakable confidence, and his awkwardness won’t help. He’ll be prone to bouts of snappish grouching and sullen bruised pride.
Don’t let them get you down, though, because Ytildith is also easily distracted by shiny things once he’s finished with the initial bout. If you dangle reading from one of the texts to him — or even better, a physical lesson where he can get his paws into something — he will follow you right out of his funk with a « We’ll show them how it’s done well. » and a much better attitude.
You’ll learn pretty quickly that Ytildith will follow you above anything else. You’re the only being to have earned his ultimate respect; or perhaps you’re the jewel, the prized piece of his hoard. Ytildith doesn’t share well, but as a weyrling this habit will be even more obvious, as he develops and grows into his personality. You in particular, he’ll never quite be able to share without some level of ire.
« I don’t see why you must go — I am more than enough for you! Come. Let us continue working. We only have so much time, and we will be better than Qhynnveslacth. »
Yes, he’ll have something of an attitude in these first days. As he grows into himself, however, this will even out — in form and in temperament. His movement will be impressive as an adult, not quite graceful so much as sheerly powerful. He’s got no place for pretty prancing or a showy nature: Ytildith is here to get things done, not show off. This lends itself to a thrifty movement that might surprise those who watch him plow down the first dragon who gets in his way in-air. That a problem? Really? They shouldn’t have been in his way, then.
Under the Mountain dark and tall
The King has come unto his hall!
His foe is dead,
the Worm of Dread,
And ever so his foes shall fall.The sword is sharp, the spear is long,
The arrow swift, the Gate is strong;
The heart is bold that looks on gold;
The dwarves no more shall suffer wrong.The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fells like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit (Dwarves Battle Song)
His early habits towards snappishness won’t necessarily even out too much, even as he grows into himself. Ytildith is a dragon who firmly believes he should be leading things, who may not ever get the chance to. He has the mind; calculating and shrewd, but eternally curious, always looking for answers. For solutions. There is an elegance to this brown’s answers to problems that you might not expect, given his gruff demeanor. He’s surprisingly careful, diplomatic when it really calls for it, able to see the motivations of those who he’s working with with clarity.
« Maelle, Sonyxaeth wishes to prevent harm to Hannista’s forests. Her suggestion to ‘burn the grasslands down’ isn’t without merit. »
Granted, this patience is…pretty much reserved for you. This insight is yours, and perhaps his closest allies, those who’ve won his respect over time. For others, a « You forget your place! » will suffice. Ytildith has little patience for questions on the validity of his schemes, or those of whom he approves of.
Even more rare is his very dry sense of humor that masks a horrible affection for puns. Puns, and really terrible jokes. Ytildith would seem like a dragon with a more sophisticated sense of humor, but no. When in good spirits, he’ll see how long it takes you to realize that he’s made fifteen puns in a row. He excels at a blank delivery, as well, so it’s always going to be hard to tell if he is joking or not.
You’ll need to temper this pride, in your wing duties. It is entirely possible that one day — dragging you along if he has to, although if you really object he will cede to your wishes reluctantly — he will lead a wing. He’ll even do a spectacular job of it, with you to hold him back from his hot-headed initial reactions. Until then, keeping a firm hand on his temper is going to be a priority. Encouraging his natural curiosity is usually the easiest path to this goal. Problems left unsolved are not in this brown’s nature, not something he can stand.
This curiosity will be a saving grace for Ytildith. In this, his gentler side comes out; an almost childlike wonder beneath the fervid need to understand. He will enthusiastically wax poetic about the smallest details of crop production, or the clock tower’s importance, or any other thing he deems worthy of his attention. And for all that you’re the center of his universe, he’ll rhapsodize to just about anybody who’ll listen if you’re not available.
« Isobeth, did you know — the moons control the tides. Every day, we are under their influence, and yet we take this for granted. We speak of their beauty, their paths across the sky, and never pause to consider all that they provide. »
Finding this softer side will prove to be the hardest part, however. Ytildith’s ambition, his firm belief in himself and in you, will always drive him. His curiosity might steer him, but the drive behind this dragon will be his determination to prove himself. In his worst moments, he might even seem crazed — consumed by greed, by the fierce determination to prove that he is what he wants others to see him as. These fits will be few and far between, however, usually following a major loss (such as a flight, or bid for other leadership).
Most days, his ambition leads him to discovery. The understanding of some new flight tactic. Grasping with clarity why X wing performs Y duty. Perfecting some obscure flight pattern that his size or shape would seem to completely bar him from. Helping you perfect your own self-imposed tasks, pushing you to learn and do and think.
This brown may not ever actually win a gold’s flight. It’s unlikely; he’s not a large brown, midsized at best, and dogged stubbornness only goes so far. He’ll never stop trying, however. You might find it easier to take vacations whenever one of the Weyr’s golds go up, after a while, because the temper that follows these losses is towering. Greens will be more in his reach, and he will chase them with the same furor as golds. Tenderness is not his specialty, though, and settling down will probably be on you, if it’s something you want.
Should he ever actually win one of his goldflights, however, Ytildith will be an excellent guardian of the clutch. Actually…maybe a little too good. He’ll rarely leave the eggs once they’re laid, jealously protective of the eggs, and you and his gold mate both will have to be firm in forcing him to allow candidates to see them. Even then, while he won’t actually hurt them, scaring the pants off of candidates won’t be out of the ordinary. He’ll roar and bellow, shout commands (« Why should I allow them? What do they offer? That one can’t breathe. Remove him. I said, remove him! ») and if they don’t work, get right up in their face. Consequences be damned.
No human is as good as you are, after all. Other dragons he tolerates. Few, he actually likes — and friendship with this brown is hard-won, but loyal to the end. He’s gruff and a little rough around the edges, but this brown is a very loyal beast. He expects respect, yes, but as long as their schemes have no impact on his own he will ensure that his allies go far.
You’re the only human really worth anything, though; you and those that may come from you. Tolerance for your own mates will have to be very firmly outlined to him. Should you produce children, expect them to be guarded jealously even if they’re fostered out. They’re yours, and therefore they’re his, and bullies and broken limbs should maybe be kept out of your dragon’s range of influence. Best he doesn’t know about it.
Ytildith won’t be the easiest lifemate, Maelle. He’ll rarely have sweet moments outside of the first delighted moments of a discovery. He’ll throw righteous fits every time he loses at something he thought he’d win. He’ll chase off every single dragon, person, or animal that he finds unworthy of your presence. You are his moral compass, the north star to his conscience, and you keep him aloft when he’d rather burrow down into his own mind. You draw him out, encourage him, you make him believe that the world can be wonderful even when he’s not so sure. You give him direction, and he’ll give you anything you could ever want. All you have to do is ask, and Ytildith will work until you have what you want. You are his, and he’s yours, and even more than his ambition that’s the heart of this dragon.
There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
Thorin Oakenshield, The Hobbit
Inspiration
Egg
The theme for this clutch of eggs was “Dystopias”! The Treasured Trash Heap egg was based on the film WALL-E. Specifically, EVE, being cute zipping around blowing stuff up.
Dragon
Ytildith was a bit of a mash-up. We took the writing you requested, and built a dragon around the dwarves and a little bit of EVE and WALL-E in with them. He’s got the dwarvish pride and gruffness, and the curiosity of those cute little robots, and we really hope that you love him! He was a blast to write. However, Ytildith is your dragon — and he is yours to play as you like! You are free to make changes as you like. :)
Name Meaning
Ytildith is from “Ithildin”, the magical substance which made the words on Durin’s Door glow in the moonlight.
Credits
| Name | Ytildith |
| Dam | Gold Kairoikyriath |
| Sire | Bronze Saburath |
| Created By | Azchel and E'tan |
| Impressee | Maelle |
| Hatched | July 26, 2015 |
| Xanadu Weyr | |
| PernWorld MUSH |