::Aurthur lit a candle in his home and settled down at a little makeshift desk. He set down a large book as though to read, but this books pages were blank. He was going to write his own book, and it was going to be about him, and the events of his life. Picking up a pen, he started to write:: The dreadful day seems so long ago. The day in which i hatched from my egg and crawled out on my own. Sometimes i wish that i had never hatched at all. When i hatched, and i let out my first cry, it went unanwsered. I was completely alone. My mother was not there, nor was my father. The shells of my siblings eggs were there, but they were not there either. It cannot be described in words how it feels to be only minutes old and all alone. There was no one to care for me or feed me. I learned within the first few days that my parents werent coming to get me. I was abandoned. I had to teach myself quickly to hunt and find water. I was not given the luxary of an easy childhood. By my first year, i was already an expert hunter, and could glide, which is far more than a dragon my age should be able to do. I still could not control my breath weapon, but it was not exactly necessary at that point in time to do so. ::Aurthur looked at what he had written and set his pen down on the table. It wasnt much yet, but he sighed softly as he blew out the candle. He knew that it would be a while before the story was done, but it would be a long story.::

::It had been some time since Aurthur had time to work on his book, and he sat down once again and began to write.:: Its odd, as short as my battle with Artemus was, and as strong as i was at that time, my quick movements had fatigued me, forcing me to stay on the ground. That was the dark day........A day that i wish i could forget entirely. In my weakened state, i was captured by humans. Barbaric creatures they were, barely able to speak. Their weapons were primal as well, but at that age, i could be hurt easily, so i took no chances. I was chained, my legs chained together, my wings were pinned to my back so i could not fly, and even my tail was confined. I was marched into their camp and put into a cage. I later learned that i was to be sold to the highest buyer, and that my battle with Artemus was not a battle at all, but a trap to tire me so that these humans could trap me. I was absolutely appauled at the idea of a dragon working with these barbarians. However, there was nothing i could do. During my 'stay' in the human camp, i was starved, i was beaten on a daily basis, and i was raped......by both the males and the females of the camp. I was miserable, i was under-nourished.....and i was dying. Worst of all was the knowledge of the fact that there wasnt a single thing i could do about it. I was wearing a muzzle that kept me from using my fire, even if i could use it. But i was so weak and young then......But finally, i was given the opportunity to escape. A potential buyer had me moved out of the cage, and my wings let loose to see my wingspan. Thought to weak to fly, i waited until my tail was also let loose.......and i lashed out. I struck and killed a few of them, and lept into the air, flying off. I was still weak, and burdened by chains and the muzzle. I pushed myself as far as i could go, and i crash landed in a thick forest. ::Aurthur stood and stretched. That was one painful memory left behind, but there were still more to come.::

I set out to find the mercenary dragons, and i soon learned that finding them was going to be a quest in itself. I flew almost endlessly. Days blurred into weeks, and then months. It was as i was settled down one night that i found the reason i could never find them. I was not meant to find them, they found me. I was happened upon by the largest dragon i had ever seen. A large, muscled gold dragon by the name of Fenir. The light of the fire reflected off his gold scales and made him look much more magnificent, and i was in awe. He asked if i wished to join the mercenary group, and of course i said yes. So i was a mercenary. My first mission was to protect a small farming village that was continuosly being raided by theifs and thugs. The buildings were too small for me, so i stayed in the courtyard of the village. It wasnt awfully bad, and though the village was afraid of me at first, they treated me well. While i was there, there were no theifs, nor any thugs. But during the last week of my contract, there was a big attack. It must have been planned for some time, so swift and co-ordinated was the attack. There were literally hundreds of the vagabonds, and there was no way i could get to them all, for they attacked from all sides. I fought with tooth and claw, killing them by the dozens. I could not use my fires because of the confined area, but i was still doing well. However, i quickly ran into trouble because of the confined area. I was being wounded and wore down, being attacked from all sides. And there was no hope that i would be getting re-inforcements because the village was so small. I was panting for breath and bleeding from numerous wounds, and it was only then that i realized something was wrong. They were not trying to kill me, only tire me out. They wanted to capture me! When the first ropes went over my back to pin my wings, i fought valliantly, but it was useless. Soon i was hog-tied, and another muzzle was put on me. Captured again! ::Aurthur actually growled as he set the pen down. He hated captivity, and this was the reason why he hated it so.::

::he cast a gaze over his shoulder to his sleeping family, smiling softly at their dozing forms. The children, now too big to sleep under their mother's wing, were formed in a circle about her, keeping her warm if nothing else. It was then that he decided to change the tone of his writing.::

After i escaped the horrors of the human camp, i met with my group of rebel dragons who sought to protect, rather than hurt. They acted as though my absence was a common thing and paid no heed to it, and they thankfully asked no questions. Instead, i was given another mission. My mission was to guard a small farm.......that was the first time i had ever been in Rhydin. I was on my way to the farm, and i had the opportunity to stop and rest. I stopped at an Inn not too far out of the way. That was where i met the most beautiful dragoness i had ever laid eyes upon. I entered the Inn, not expecting much out of a place that was practically in the middle of nowhere. There was a small group of humans there at the time, and i paid them little heed, due to my mistrust of humans from what i had been through. But there was a dragoness too......An ice dragon with beauty that of which i had never seen. I was so entranced by her beauty that i stumbled over the chair to a table and fell, smashing both chair and table. She laughed, and the sound was like music to my ears, no matter how embarrassed i was. I couldnt take my eyes off of her, and my heart screamed to be near her.

I approached her slowly, and i told her my name. She told me that her name was Icer. We talked long into the night, and then i had to go to complete my mission. I was loathe to leave her, and i hurried to the farm to do as i was told. Upon arriving, however, i found that the problem had resolved itself before my arrival. Upon the news, i headed back to the Inn, and she was there again. Again, we talked long into the night, and again, i was loathe to leave her. I wanted her by my side forever, but i had only known her a few days, how could i possibly ask her to be my mate?

We talked for days, and then weeks. My love for this dragoness known as Icer grew and grew, and finally, i could stand it no longer. I loved her so, and my heart would awnser to no other. I asked her........if she would be my mate. Much to my surprise, she said yes! She would be my mate! My heart soared, and throughout the day, i did nothing but fly on the happiness that i felt. If only she could have been there with my while i flew.........

Waking from her slumber, the dragon slid out from beneath her mate's wing, being very careful not to wake him as she did so, .

Making her way over to Aurthur's book, she smiled, picking up the pen that rested nearby, she had promisedhim to add to his own book.

Opening it to the page he'd last written on, she started penning in her words, her writing had been improving somewhat since she was taking classes, and she wrote: The night I met Aurthur was wonderful, well aside from me being ill. I was resting on my couch, and watching the people that came and went, never would I had thought that, that night I'd end up meeting my mate for life. When he slid inside, I kept my attention on him, it mattered not to me that he had scars, in fact, I have my own, but I smiled to him and watched as he did indeed trip over a chair and into a table. I never would have known he did so because of me had he not told me, but that mattered not, he was quite handsome and we got to talking, he almost seemed self conscious of his scars, but I reassured him, and we continued seeing eachother almost daily.

He is wonderful to be around, and we learned that we had similar pasts, but then again, I try to leave my past behind me, he surprised me the one night and asked me to be his mate, never had a male ever asked me that before, but I loved him from the day we met, every time we were together, I felt as if I were complete, something i never felt before.

I accepted that night, and I could see from the look in his eyes that he truely meant everything he'd said, we had a little ceremony with my friend Tera officiating, it was nothing fancy.., I don't need anything fancy, then we took to the skies, gliding through the clouds and soaring in the moonlight, it was the most wonderful experience and for the first time in my life, I felt whole, complete, and loved.

Placing the pen down then, she closed the book carefully, then slid back over to her mate, resuming her spot underneath his wing, where once again, she drifted into a peaceful slumber.

I am not one who takes pleasure in the taking of any life, nor do i encourage or accept revenge as an excuse for doing so. But under certain extreme circumstances, revenge is unavoidable. What my parents did to me was unforgivable, and under those circumstances, i sought them out. My father was the first that i found. He knew me the second he saw me and caught my scent, and at that moment, i saw absolute fear in his eyes. He knew why I had come, and what i had planned to do. But i am not so heartless as to kill without an explanation, and i let him talk. He told me that while i was within the egg, he and my mother both sensed great weakness in me, and that i would not survive either way. So when my brothers and sisters hatched, they gathered them up and left, thinking that i would probably not hatch, and if i did, i would be deformed or dead within moments. After hearing his sorry excuse for an explanation, i challenged him to a duel for honor. Throughout my life, forever filled with trials and hardships, my body has grown immensely strong, and my father had grown weaker, thinking himself secure in his status. However, my constant training made me his superior, and though we both fought long, it was he who tired first, and it was a simple task to wound him badly enough to force him to the ground. I take no pleasure in taking life, but this was the one instance i can say i loved it. As i bit into his throat and felt his lifeforce fading, it felt as though i got a part of my life back. My mother was harder to track, and it took me a good deal of time to find her. She too knew me from my scent, and the fear in her eyes was greater than that of my father. She did not want to fight her own son, but i forced her to when i attacked her first. She was far weaker and slower than my father was, and much easier to bring to ground. But i did not kill her......for some reason i couldn't. I saw it a much more fitting end for her to have lost to me, and to live with the shame of the loss, as well as that of being wrong. I was not weak, i did not die, and i was far stronger than she could have ever imagined. I have no true parents, but my beloved mate Icer's father Aurok has become like a father to me, and he is the closest thing that i will accept to a parent again. I will not allow myself to be betrayed and hurt like that ever again.

::Aurthur sat down at his makeshift desk and opened his book to it's next page. It had been so long since he had last written in his book, there was a large gap in the things that had happened since then. He would fill that gap in now, so that not only his legacy, but that of his family was properly recorded.::

"It's amazing how fast the flow of time can be, and how sometimes it sees as if nothing but a moment has passed, and you look over your shoulder and see how much things have changed. Ever since i have come to be here in Rhydin and settled down, things have changed so much from the life I used to know. The last time I wrote here, our orphanage still was not open yet. Now, the orphanage has been open for some time, and we have already had childen come through. In the last writing, our second clutch was still very young, and now they too are grown and moved from us, even Icewing has moved off now, and has a family of his own. Two of our children from the orphanage, Tiamatus and Snowpearl, have found each other, and have become mates. They are expecting their first child soon. But alas, all writings cannot be good and happy, for our family has had much tragedy during this lapse in time where i have not written.

Aurok had grown very ill and depressed, giving up on life and waiting to die. Storm saved his life, and made him a hatchling again. She is currently raising him as her son. Our family has been attacked again and again by various parties who all wanted us dead, such as Sir Matthew Spade, who is now dead by my mate's claws. A black knight has taken it upon himself to hunt our family, and i was recently attacked and poisoned by this same knight.

And the worst news of all, my mother has come in search of me. She has been seen around Rhydin, destroying things and endangering innocent lives. I cannot let this stand, i have to confront her. I beat her once, and i can do it again. But i have since learned that it does not hurt me or my pride to ask for help. I wont fight her alone......I will ask for the aid of Storm, Tiamatus, and my mate as well. She has as much to lose as I, if it were to come to a battle........"

::Aurthur closed the book, as well as his eyes. As much as he would like to avoid a battle with his mother, at this point, he knew that it would be impossible. But he knew that he wouldnt be alone.::