Sire and Dam: Gold Tajiath and Bronze
Mnemaxath
Hatching Date: Sunday, June 10, 2001
Theme of Clutch: Mystical/Magical Items
Theme of Dragonets: Mystical/Magical Characters
Hatchling Name: Shadowy Mysterious Malachite Dragonet
Dragon Name: Caeruleth
Couch: High Priestess Card
Sapphire Rose Egg
Deep sapphire, dark in its clarity, radiates from egg's
center outward along shell's curve, paling into the pure
brilliance of azureto illuminate the etched illusion of
a rose in full bloom, each tanzanite-traced petal delicately
carved with loving accuracy. Seeming alive, the rosette-like
orb pulses a vibrant violet-blue, its mesmerizing elusiveness
compelling and attractive - almost addictive - as it emanates
a strength and power completely out of place within the
fragility of its physical being. There is an indestructible
quality to the ovule, a timeless durability that is at the
heart of the egg's fascinating allure, although a faint
hint of unconscious malevolence resides inherent within
such purity, born of imprisoned greatness of unimaginable
magnitude.
Clutch Message:
On the sands, once again the eggs waste no time in making
a grand entrance. With quick, efficient movements, Tajiath
scoops out another dip with her powerful foreclaws. Fortunately
it's plenty wide, for two eggs (Sapphire Rose Egg and Silver
Chalice Egg) arrive in swift procession, rolling gently
into their new bed.
Hatch Message
Sapphire Rose Egg gives one final, twisting writhe, the
surface rippling as it unfurls one last petal, the effort
resounding through the cavern with a sharp crack. Dark talons
rip through the shell, ambivalent to the beauty it is marring.
A bang, a crash, and the masterpiece collapses, Shadowy
Mysterious Malachite Dragonet standing where the egg once
sat.
Shadowy Mysterious Malachite Dragonet
Shadows wreak havoc upon this diminutive mistress of the
night, dark forest greens twining with lighter, more verdant
shades along her long sinuous neck, while crisscrossing
malachite patterns dapple her smoothed-down neckridges.
A narrow, angular frame is swathed in moonlight, her dancer's
belly rounding out and paling to a gaudy shade of lime -
a snaky whiplash tail coated in a deep moss green, is flecked
with specks of green-blue, adding more color to the monochrome
appearance. Lanky limbs offset bodily proportions, sharp
talons etched from black marble. Vaguely oversized wings
could easily been deemed 'svelte' in their velvety darkness.
Impression Pose (what the audience sees)
Shadowy Malachite Green Dragonet darts for a fleeting instant
out of the shadows, her disguise of slowness vanishing in
the light as she lurches for her sun, her someone to shadow,
her alabaster mistress. A creel of demand is ripped from
her throat as her own whirling red orbs lock on eyes of
watery blue beneath tawny gold curls, insistently urging
recognition in those vacant depths.
Impression Message (what you see)
Sudden blackness blooms in your mind, the deep russets,
forest greens, and the scent of cedar wood overwhelming
your senses, your very being. From the shadows of your mind,
tentative at showing herself, yet refusing to let the best
go unclaimed, an alto voice purrs possessively, <<Mine>>At
first a faint whisper, the voice grows stronger. <<
/Mine/>> she repeats, <<Forever. I am Caeruleth!>>
a pause, then <<And I am very hungry.>>
High Priestess Card Couch
This is a smaller couch, but cozily so, rather than being
overly cramped. It is here that that Caeruleth can lurk
in perfect anonymity, withdrawing from the world around
her to remain patiently waiting, calm and passive. It is
here that she can look within, seeking guidance from her
inner voice to see the bigger reality - accessing her dreams
and using her imagination to think of any number of sundry
things. Here, too, she can allow development of hidden talents,
helping what could be blossom as she begins to understand
the possibilities of her nature. As well, here she can reach
into she shadows and see those things hidden, opening herself
to the unknown and finding remembrance of important things
as she seeks that which is concealed. It is her place, and
hers alone.
Egg
The Sapphire Rose Egg was based on the Sapphire Rose from
David Eddings' book of the same name. The gem is the solidified
form of an entity that shapes entire galaxies and creates
planets (they call him Bellhiom, which is trollish for blue-rose).
He was trapped in that form when he came in contact with
iron (which is like poison to him), and had to remain on
the planet he had created. A troll found this gem and shaped
it into a rose over centuries of painstaking work, and then
hid his troll gods within it - Sparhawk, the hero of the
saga, used the Sapphire Rose to bring his beloved queen
back to life after she had been poisoned.
Name
Caeruleth comes from "cæruleus", the latin
word for dark. We struggled with finding /just/ the right
name to compliment Hanneke, one that you could be proud
of that was different and unique. We felt we came upon this
with Caeruleth. It is pronounced with the hard 'K' sound
(/Kare/-Rul-Eth) and seems to roll right off the tongue
with a slight bite at the beginning. Nicknames are an absolute
no-no for Caeruleth, although she allows Hanneke to call
her Caer'. Anyone else who tries this trick on Caeruleth
will be reprimanded with a sharp insult, or worse, one of
Caer's own imaginative nicknames.
Inspiration
Elements of various witches all went into the creation of
Caeruleth - from the Wicked Witch of the West's hydrophobia
to Terry Pratchett's Granny Weatherwax's haughty arrogance
and snappish remarks. Along with the common stereotype of
witches, one can also find tidbits of the Witch from Stephen
Sondheim's "Into the Woods" thrown in there, and
while Mark from Jonathon Larson's "Rent" isn't
exactly occult, Caer shares his reluctance to get involved
in the world.
Check out these websites, which might give you insight
into your dragon's inspiration:
http://www.halcyon.com/piglet/ozites/oz0073.htm
http://home.wxs.nl/~jgmetsel/granny.html
http://musicals.net/cgi-bin/musicals?sn=380&show=Into+the+Woods&type=Synopsis
http://musicals.net/cgi-bin/musicals?sn=580&show=Rent&type=Synopsis
Mindvoice
Caerulath's voice is a deep alto with almost a burr threaded
through it. Sharp and edgy she can lash our with her words,
using them to strike and reshape things she doesn't like.
Yet winsome, this green can be, when she deems it appropriate.
She loves to tweak a males ego while proddy, with an alto
purr, a slight caress, her voice being heralded and followed
with rich green washing over black, tinges of opium scent
lingering.
Mindcolors
Rich, luscious all with a very dark, almost black base.
Forest green ripples with enjoyment, midnight navy is the
calm before the storm, and burgundy warns all of her irritation
while eggplant screams and demands attention. Words will
be draped with shadows and dripping with rich color.
Mindscent
Incense. Lots of it, all musky and heavy - sandalwood, opium,
patchouli, and tinges of narcissus, cloves, eucalyptus and
sage. The strength of the scent seems to depend on her mood.
If she is excited, just a dash peppered appears throughout.
If she is slow and thoughtful it is heavy and strong - when
she is proddy, the aroma becomes a main tool of communication.
Physical Voice
Like her mindvoice, Caeruleth's physical voice is a deep
alto - verging on the contralto edge. Despite the fact that
she generally sounds rough and gravelly, there will be times
(usually in her proddy period or when she's alone with Hanneke)
when her lighter side will shine through. This gives her
voice a musical hint, almost as if she was trying to replicate
your days as a Harper.
Growth
Caeruleth will never be a large dragon, but she will always
be a contender for the smallest. In a way, she has a love-hate
relationship with her size, preening over the fact that
she can easily hide in shadows one moment, then cursing
her inability to strike the necessary fear in others on
first sight the next. Her wingsails are slightly out of
proportion to the rest of her body, and perhaps it is this
flaw that makes her love them the most. Surprisingly enough,
her limbs are lanky rather than squat, giving her an elongated
appearance. She has surprising grace when dealing with these
'sails, and even as a hatchling will show considerable amounts
of control over her body. She will also grow exceedingly
fast, reaching her full stature long before the rest of
her clutchmates.
Caer's coloring is enough to allow her to fit into any
shadow or dark corner - dark, dark, dark. There is malachite
smoothness that covers a great deal of her, but she will
always be dark, dark, dark. The world 'svelte' will also
come to mind when describing her, and while her hide may
seem to be harshly made, with the right oiling tricks she'll
be velvety soft.
Movement
On the ground she is deceptively slow, crawling along at
a snail's pace, and will never quicken her step at the urgings
of the Weyrlingmasters or clutchmates. In the air, she takes
flight, her extra-large wingsails giving her all the more
power. She won't be one for fancy flights, instead preferring
the technique that only involves getting from Point A to
Point B (Caeruleth /can/ be a lazy dragon, when she wants
to be), but perhaps when you have night sweeps she'll want
to strut her stuff.
Personality
There is something distinctly dark about Caeruleth: dark,
mysterious, and foreboding - traits that most commonly deal
with the stereotype of witches. Like these "mothers
of the night", Caeruleth won't be found as being the
most scrupulous of the bunch; rather, she has a deficient
in the area that makes the right/wrong-good/bad" choices.
In her opinion, right and wrong simply don't come into the
question - when she makes a decision, it is based on here
and now status. Never you fear that she is evil, dragons
are like children and don't comprehend this. She doesn't
yearn to harm anyone, but rather lessen her own pain, protect
Hanneke and take what she feels is rightfully hers. As she
prides herself on being, she's not good, she's not nice,
she's just right.
If there's one thing that Caeruleth loves as dearly as
/her/ Hanneke, it would be the act of lurking. If your lifemate
ever goes missing, look in the shadows - she will most likely
be lurking there, simply observing the rest of the world.
More often than not, a running line of commentary will continue
in your head, always criticizing anything and everything
in sight. <<Look - Ruulth flirts with /everything/.
Isn't that simply disgusting?>>
And if she is quiet, she's crept off to be alone, usually
fleeing to the depth of the dank Istan jungles, watching
the vtols trundle across the damp ground. As harsh as she
may be outwardly, there is a core of self-doubt and confusion
that will require Hanneke to be her true anchor, no matter
what others may think.
For that matter, Caeruleth is quite certain that no one
else in the world is genuine, except for Hanneke. She even
goes as far to pity other dragons for having to pick second
best, and is more than willing to rub it in anyone's face.
Even so, she will secretly confide to you, usually around
two o'clock in the morning, that she wishes that she could
be accepted for the dark persona that she is, but how she's
positive that the only thing awaiting her socially is rejection.
Perhaps this is why she is so drawn to Hanneke: she sees
someone who is "real", someone who can be involved
in theworld and not be afraid to stand up to it, someone
who she can push around. After all, emotional attachment
is nearly as bad as other dragons - Caeruleth will quite
happily observe anything, but she is loath to jump into
the fray.
Thus, she will distance herself from anyone and everyone,
being a snob when it's possible, insulting when nothing
else works, and tell herself the lie that if she does this,
no one will ever hurt her. While Hanneke may not be the
brightest of the bunch, Caeruleth is convinced that somehow,
/she/ has to make up for it. In that respect, you will never
lack an advocate, or a teacher, and whileCaer's patience
may be stretched at times with her lifemate, she will rarely
snap out the way that she does with "outsiders".
Yet the gentleness that she shows to her Harper is banished
without a thought once she gets out onto the Feeding Grounds.
Most people - and even dragons - will be disgusted by the
way that she taunts her food, and then slowly rips it to
shreds. Unlike most dragons, she will take to the concept
of killing quite easily and quickly. When many of her clutchmates
are fumbling about, trying to snap the neck of their first
herdbeast, she will have already killed. Nonetheless, she
will not be a happy dragon once thefeasting is done, considering
that it will take a incredibleamount of time to preen herself
pretty yet again.
If there's one thing that Caeruleth simply adores, next
to Hanneke, it is preening herself and showing off her velvety
wingsails. But beware: Caeruleth hates the water. Any suggestion
pertaining to water will result in immediate interest in
something else that is definitely more mundane. Bathing
will be a challenge, most likely resorting in sand baths
instead. You may encounter some problems with this hatred
as a rider, especially when it comes time to ride sweeps
in the middle of winter. <<Sweeps? /Sweeps/?But Hanne,
it's /raining/!>>There are bound to be many characteristics
to Caeruleth that will constantly keep Hanneke on her toes,
and more importantly, thinking on her own. If there's one
thing that's good about Caer's reign of terror, it's that
she does inspire the individual to think for his or herself.
While Hanneke is immune to her deep sarcasm, sheis more
than willing to snap out at anyone asking "stupid"
questions.
Proddiness
When 'That Time of Turn' comes around the corner, Caeruleth
will only become more like herself. That is, her ego will
significantly increase, her snappish remarks will be in
greater abundance, and the message that should run through
the Weyr is: Be afraid. Be very afraid. Males will be no
exception to this rule, either; Caer will be convinced that
they are still only second-best, right up until the point
where she gets off the air in her mating flight. She isn't
so much particular to the color as she is to the way she
is treated - and in the end, that may not even matter. When
the deed is done and over with, she will steadfastly deny
any connection to the whole mess of the cycle, and life
will continue as normal. Or at least, as normal as things
get.
When all is said and done, Caeruleth will be the only way
she knows how to be: dark, mysterious, haughty, and arrogant,
showing her underbelly only to her Hanneke. One of our aims
was to give you, the player, more of a foil for Hanneke,
rather than something complimentary. (Hey we read your app!)
So what does one think of to oppose light? Dark? Someone
slow-witted? Someone quick-tongued? We looked high and low
trying to find that perfect character to build Caeruleth
from, but nothing fit just right. So we clipped here, pasted
there and came up with our Dark Witch. We hope you love
her and get as much enjoyment from her as we did bringing
her to life.
Credits
Egg: G'briel
Hatchling: Rhea
Hatcher: Kyla
Messages: Kyla (Rhia tweak)
Name: Kyla
Inspiration: Kyla and Rhia
Clutchmates
Zureile and Gold Suryareth
D'minic and Bronze Jaqueth
D'las and Blue Rojoth
Klari and Blue Daemith
Saldia and Green Asryth
