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==Warning==
This page contains mention of body horror- specifically too many eyes. While there is no visual, if this bothers you, please don't read it!
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A long time ago, before even the era of Darkstalker or his family, there was a NightWing.
Their name has long since been lost to history. No one is around who would remember them. It's been that way for almost as long as they've existed, really. 
They were a member of the NightWing court, once. While neither a seer or mind reader, this dragon was cunning and ruthless and defensive of their position in the palace. In fact, some dragons though of them as too harsh. Too paranoid. 
It was no surprise that they made enemies. There probably weren't many dragons in the palace who didn't have enemies- if there were any at all. 
But it was surprising when those enemies acted on their hatred and jealousy. Especially since rather than send a simple assassin or slip some poison into one of their meals, they contacted a mysterious animus instead. This animus was one with no reluctance to use their magic and no fear of the rumours of soul loss. They delighted in using their magic to experiment and cause chaos- if, of course, they were paid for their efforts. And they were, of course.
The NightWing vanished without a trace one day. Their family was devastated. Their now empty position in the palace was soon filled by a dragon who humbly accepted and said they could only hope to live up to their predecessor, who they'd just respected so much. 
It was assumed the NightWing had died. It was only them and the dragon who'd cursed them who knew the truth.
They'd woken up that morning and something had felt different. They'd opened their eyes-
and then more eyes and more eyes and more eyes everywhere, on their wings and on their sides, each and every single silver scale on their body replaced by a new round silver eye
And they had screamed, but no one had heard them. Which was odd, because they weren't alone. This was their own room in the palace, sure, but it was close to other rooms. Other dragons should have hears them. Other dragons should have come running to see what was wrong. 
No one ever came.
And no one ever saw when they finally shakily left the room, expecting the first dragon to see them to cry out in disgust and horror. It was like they were invisible and completely silent. The other NightWings just looked through them no matter how loud they cried, no matter how much they screamed that they were right here while their family wondered where they could have vanished to. 
The worst part was when they'd tried to reach out to one of the other dragons and their talons had gone straight through them as though they were nothing but an illusion.
They'd seen the animus who cursed them then. That was the only time they did. A dragon who'd blended in with the puzzled crowd of dragons who had no idea how a palace NightWing had just up and vanished until suddenly they had turned their head, stared directly into the Nightwing's eyes (the last time anyone looked directly at them for a long, long time) and given them a horrible cruel smile.
And then, though they stayed in the palace, they were alone for years and years. They were like a ghost, haunting the halls and rooms, unseen by the dragons walking around, though they weren't actually dead
They found out relatively quickly that they couldn't die. Not even from old age. 
They watched as the dragons who'd planned out their own "demise" slowly died off- but also as their loved ones did, too. Something changed after a while- it seemed like the spell would fail sometimes, just for a few moments. They'd suddenly be visible at the darkest times of night. The looks of sheer terror on the eyes of the few dragons who would see them and the rumours of a horrible monster lurking in the furthest edges of the palace made them feel worse then they already did, and that was how they knew these brief moments were an intentional part of the spell.
They wondered how it was worded. It had only started once everyone they'd known before the curse was gone. Had the animus made sure it would only happen once no one remembered them from before? 
It didn't matter. They watched more. They watched new queens come and go. They watched the fateful choice be made that a group of NightWing ambassadors would be sent to forge an alliance with the IceWings. They watched the spiraling aftermath of that choice, with the queen and her old seer realizing that they'd paid a dangerous price in gaining animus magic for the Nightwings. 
They'd long since decided animus magic wasn't worth it. Their only experiences with it were always horrible. Not that they could have warned anyone anyways.
They followed the other NightWings to the island. After the volcano erupted the first time, it wasn't long before dragons started whispering about eyes in the smoke, like the volcano was always watching. The NightWing wondered how much of that was their fault.
Time went on. The volcano erupted again. The NightWings moved again. They followed again. 
But now they watched a real new start. They watched their tribe rebuild not just a home but their reputation amongst the dragons of Pyrrhia. They wondered if they'd ever get be able to get a new start too someday, but even if not...
It was nice to watch the others, at least.
Category:Characters
Category:NightWings
Category:Non-binary
Category:Animus Touched
Category:Content (GlamorousSneaking)