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Ceygha-zaed & Zetaorionisth[ About Ceygha-zaed | Stats | Story | Hatching | Description ] About Ceygha-zaedFor the majority of her life, Ceygha-zaed was simply known as Ceygha and she was one of the Judges on the world of Aranas, commonly called "purgatory." But when her indifference to those being Judged caused her to send an otherwise decent person to the hell-world Buzgorahk, she herself was sent to a world that reflected indifference and apathy -- Maura-Zin. Although she's not a cruel person, she allowed her inability to weigh sides to destroy the lives of many souls she had to Judge ... and it destroyed her life, as well. Since her arrival at Maura-Zin, she has changed her name, adding the title -zaed to the end of it, indicating her fallen status from Judgehood. [ Top of Page ]
Name: Ceygha-zaed
Name: Zetaorionisth
[ Top of Page ]
Story"Understand that I was not always like this.", Ceygha-zaed murmured, looking askance at one of the children following her. "I was a powerful person and now I am here, forced to scavenge just outside of your city." The whelps liked to follow her around on her food-gathering expeditions, probably because she looked so much different than anything they'd ever seen. Although half-dragons of the aerial sort did live on Maura-Zin, most of them dwelled in the mountain towns, where they could find a cave network to live in. She, however, decided to put herself through her own version of purgatory and lived in the forests outside of a small city called Osk-min. Ceygha-zaed rarely flew these days; she simply didn't feel up to it. Instead, she settled for hunting on the ground, which enabled the little children -- and some of the bigger ones -- to follow the strange creature around. If they knew what she had done, they would probably run screaming back to town and she would be flayed by the cityfolk. Her jaw twitched slightly at the thought. She hadn't meant to send the man to Buzgorahk, but he did kill a person. Self-defense or not, that kind of thing simply wasn't acceptable ... was it? It must have been; she was sent here because she didn't accept it. Ceygha-zaed's jaw twitched again and she reached up to pluck some fruit from the tree; some of it went to the children, who munched happily on the sweet treats. "What did you do?", one of the older boys, one of the first ones who saw her, piped up. Ceygha's jaw clenched. "What do you mean?", she replied cautiously, keeping her tone neutral. "To get sent here, you silly thing. I mean, you aren't human. You fell out of the sky, remember? We saw it. You must've done something to get sent here. Was it an accident?" "Yes, an accident. A terrible one.", she answered, although she felt a strange sort of fear wash over her. "Must have been terrible.", the boy conceded, nodding sagely. The other children agreed in hushed whispers of assent. They were in a clearing of fruit and flowering trees, where Ceygha-zaed had set up her camp. Her tent was slung up in some trees with a hammock, and a fire pit of sorts was in the middle of the clearing for the few things she needed to cook. Everything was provided by nature, in some sort or another. The children often brought her things, like cloth or scraps of meat, but she felt guilty about taking them. Their parents probably didn't know that they were running around with her, something that bothered her deeply. She'd grown too accustomed to the children now. If they told their parents, she'd lose her friends. But, the Judge within her told her that they needed to tell their parents. So who was right? Her heart or her head? She felt a headache starting up, a right nasty one, right behind her eyes. Ceygha smiled and turned to the children, handing out a few more pieces of fruit and a flower or two before crouching. "Children. I think it's time you went home now. We'll do something really fun tomorrow, I promise, but I'm not feeling too good right now." One of the smaller children burst into a smile. "Will you take us flying?" Unable to tell the smiling, bouncing child no, Ceygha merely smiled again. "We'll see, how's that? I haven't stretched my wings in a long time. But, I'll try. Is that okay?" The chorus of squeals and laughter seemed to answer in the affirmative. She patted a few of them on the head and sent them on their way before clambering up the ladder to her tent and hammock. Ceygha-zaed lay there for a long time without sleeping, her eyes glittering in the fading light. Finally, when the moon rose, sleep cast her thoughts aside and filled her mind with slumber. *** The next day, the children came and found her, their raucous laughter pulling her out of sleep. She squinted down at them and smiled, waving at them cheerfully. Carefully, she flexed her wings and glided down from the branch, eliciting even more squeals from the easily amused shifter-children. There seemed to be more of them today, probably ployed by their friends with promises of flying on a dragon. Ceygha couldn't help but smile. "The smallest ones first, okay? Then we'll get the bigger kids. That way, I don't hurt myself or drop any of you." The children were all too eager to agree. She carefully plucked two of the smallest up in her arms and they, for their part, remained almost perfectly still as she launched into the air. Gone breathless with the excitement, they quietly watched the world draw away with each beat of the half-dragon's golden wings. Ceygha-zaed gave a slight turn in the air and then descended in a loose spiral, feeling the thrill of the air in her wings for the first time in ages ... and it felt wonderful. The children all lined up nicely for their chances and each of them seemed awestruck by the sight of Osk-min glittering in the distance and of the forest below, which looked rather like a vast sea of green. And every child, after having flown, was silent when they landed. When all of them had their chance, Ceygha flared her wings briefly and then folded them -- they'd started aching fiercely about half-way through, but she didn't want to disappoint the children -- forcing a smile despite the pain. "So. What did you think." "Amazing!" "Beautiful!" "Can you take us again?!" A barrage of answers and questions spilled out, as if some powerful dam had been broken. Ceygha shook her head to many of the requests, although it pained her to do so. She wanted to do it again, but, on the other hand, didn't want to risk any of them getting hurt. She picked fruit for the children and the lot of them sat around for a while in the warmth and the sunlight, munching on fruit and babbling on about how different things looked from the sky. As darkness began to fall, the children left, leaving Ceygha alone again with only her thoughts as company. That night, she slept better than she ever had, dreaming of flying and the sky and the glittering sea of the forest. Her friends weren't there the next morning to wake her up as they usually did. A bad sign. In the distance, she heard people -- big people, adults -- thumping around in the woods. They were probably closer than she thought and Ceygha-zaed climbed up her tree to try and find them. Her friends must have told of their journey, or perhaps their ruddy, excited faces told it all to their parents. Whatever happened, she was all alone again. Ceygha-zaed tilted her head to the sky and sent up a mourning keen, a shrill, undulating cry that lasted but a moment. She flexed her sore wings and launched herself from her perch, aiming herself for a dragon stronghold in the mountains. Maybe, one day, she could return for her friends. One day. Her thoughts seemed distant, even to herself, as she drew closer to the dragon fortress that seemed to lounge on the side of the mountains. Though her wings ached, she had to endure, she had to make it. She'd avoided it for so long, but now, she had no choice but to live with others of "her kind." Tears burned in her eyes, left shining streaks down her cheeks as she approached the place she dreaded -- and needed -- most. There are other worlds, you know. The sudden intrusion of another mind, other thoughts, into her head caused her to falter, her wings sending confused splashes of light everywhere as she struggled to regain her balance. What do you mean?, she queried of the other entity, struggling to pinpoint the voice's source. Go here. Perhaps you will find a companion to bring back. By then, surely, the parents will have forgotten and your companions could join you again. An image filtered into Ceygha-zaed's mind and without thinking, she simply went there, out of desperation and longing, out of a desire to have someone there to keep her company. And the possibility that she could have her friends again! The very idea made her heart race. Cathair Utopian was a pleasant place and shortly after arriving, a strange dragon -- a native, apparently -- who was emerald in hue approached her and smiled. A human, her companion, asked the questions and before she fully understood what she was agreeing to, Ceygha-zaed replied that she really did want to stand for the clutch on the sands, the clutch of Chielath and Charnath. [ Top of Page ]
HatchingHatching day came and Ceygha-zaed found herself still wondering why she had come. Fear, perhaps, or out of a blind desire to have someone, anyone, who would be able to stay with her no matter what. She couldn't say, exactly. The half-dragoness watched numbly as people around her bonded to dragons; could only watch as a full dragon found a lifemate of his own. She bit back her own tears and found her sight dazzled by the starry golden hide of a large dragon hatchling. And her name was Zetaorionisth. [ Top of Page ]
DescriptionHalf-dragons are generally attractive creatures and Ceygha-zaed is no exception. She's easily seven feet tall, with a light, lithe build and two pairs of feathered wings. Her wings seem to darken as they spread from her body, turning from a very pale yellow to a rich golden at the ends. Her body is covered in small scales, which appear to be a very faint yellow in colour. She has a narrow muzzle, with blue freckles smattered on it and her eyes are a clear green, almost like frosted sea-foam. She's got a pair of glistening opalescent horns that jut from the back of her head, twisting and curving slightly, rather like a goat's. On her back are light blue stripes, which turn into bands around her tail. Her hands and feet are delicate, tipped in indigo talons, and quite dextrous. She generally wears tight fitting clothing which doesn't interfere with her flight. [ Top of Page ]
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