Part 1: A Brief Introduction

He knew sailing that ship meant risking the future of dragonkind. Depending on the seas, however vast they were, would only result in extinction—certain extinction, in fact. Taking a gamble with winning chances in the single digits seemed like a far better idea at the time, and despite how his tail twitched anxiously, all of his kin knew he had his mind made. Once a draconic sailor finds determination, any who stand in their way will find what they would end up wishing was death.

The path to a sailor’s metaphorical destination was rarely straightforward, much like the path through the more literal storms they encountered. Pacing the bottom floor of Draseenic Keep, Sailor Oshwolden found himself counting the bricks again. Each stone brick had a series of claw marks etched in the bottom right corner. Every brick seemed to be at a different level of breaking down, just as every clawed in signature of a brick forger had a sense of uniqueness despite being almost identical. It’s simply wondrous what a talon dipped in magic can do to make its marks distinct when the intentional blemish was visually identical to the previously carved flaw. That was all there was to see when visiting the ground level floor of Draseenic Keep. That is, as far as the eye alone goes.

Three marks per brick, three bricks per artisan, three artisans per fallen Truedrake. The naked eye saw bricks with signatures etched in them. The naked heart felt sorrow that could chill a soul to absolute zero. At absolute zero, there is no measurable temperature due to a total lack of movement. On the day declared Absolute Loss, the temperature was just as cold, thanks to the Truedrake bodies that were just as still. A heavy sigh escaped from Sailor Oshwolden. He closed his eyes so tightly they could not glow, furrowed his brow so intensely he looked ancient, and balled his fists until his claws drew a drop of blood. Another sigh left his lips, this one heavier and permitted exit.

”The Truedrakes died for our future. Here I am, about to set sail to make that future happen. If I fail and the eggs crack, may Kethiroon’s remains swallow me whole.” His voice wavered with unease as he spoke to himself. While he was alone, he still felt the ghostly presence of the fallen. He still felt Kethiroon's betrayal.

Part 2: Four Months Later...I Forgot I Made This...Oops.

Sailor Oshwolden's eyes slowly cracked open, their glowing fury peeking through. Once fully opened, their glow brightened with determination. He would sail to the last nesting grounds, offer the last eggs his kind had to offer, and not once falter along the way. "And if those eggs crack and Kethiroon's bones consume me, may it be in a book of fiction!" Exclaiming, his voice could have shaken the bricks if they had not been magically sealed together. He growled out another few sentences. "I have sailed a thousand ships. I have watched a thousand lives end. I have endured pains meant to be spread across a thousand lifetimes, and here I am. I stand ready and firm. Not a thousand enemies can stop me. Not a thousand doubts, either. Not a thousand, not more!" His growl steadily increased in volume as he spoke before leaping to a yell at the last few words.

Part 2 is not finished.

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