Molten gold, tinted red by heat and fire flows over the hide of this dragon in an incandescent river straight from the smelters forge. Bright as the sun, she shines while superheated ribbons of liquid metal roll over the supple muscles of her head and neck and spill onto the slim plain of her back. Pockets of impurities letter the brilliant surface with odd spots of color. A patch of copper clings to the gentle slope of her right shoulder blade, while nickel bubbles dapple a lean chest and belly. Her slender legs show fiery bright as the metal molds the liquid movements of graceful limbs. The gossamer spread of wingsails glimmer where the refining process has left only sunflower gold shining. Without any impurities to block the passage of light, they seem translucent, a false windowpane of micro-thin metal. Down the long length of tail, the metal finally starts to cool, losing the red tint to a fresh golden luster. The ribbon of molten metal ends with her tail spade tipped playfully in copper.
Egg Name and Description
Drowning in Riches Egg
A shell of raw, untouched gold marred by impurities and only now exposed to the harsh arid air, peeks from its deep nest like a round vein long buried in the ground. What can be seen of this largest egg is unrefined, lumpy and coarse from the long sleep below. The color is uneven, showing dull orange matte in places, while lusterous metallic sunshine in others. The sands encase the shell, locking it in place while some few grains of white cling and glimmer as diamonds embedded in the precious metal. Washing across the whole is a thin film of red and darkness; blood, sweat, and tears which might some day give birth to a shining new future.
Hatching Message
The extraction of precious metals begins with removing the covering soil and debris. So too does the Drowning in Riches egg begin by shaking the sticky white sands from its shell with repeated percussive force. Blood and sweat drop away, leaving only a gleaming diamond encrusted gold.
With the repetitive insistence of a laboring miner, something within continues its attempt to mine a way out of the Drowning in Riches egg. Clink! Clink! The sounds of a mining pick ringing against the ore with each blow, until the sharp snap of breaking shell is heard. The extraction continues.
As the first signs of freedom appear, the struggle to break free escalates. Now the internal miner goes into a frenzy of frantic activity punctuated by increasing snaps and cracks. The final blow for the Drowning in Riches ore comes when a blazing metal muzzle tip forces out the top surface, splitting the shell into three large pieces around a bright golden hatchling.
Impression Message
A soft, gentle breeze brushes across the sweat beading on your face. The boiling, oppressive heat of the sands lifts slightly, as though a weight is removed. The cooling moisture evaporates and you begin to relax and feel calm. Yes the breeze seems to hiss to you. Be at peace. A comforting sense moves in and washes the tiring stress of the hatching with an exotic, alluring scent. The breeze returns, heated now by desert air into a passionate wave of love and acceptance. A surge of hope comes. She loves you. The thought is final, irrevocable and quite solidly not your own. « Of course it isnt yours, my love. », bubble up like a playful spring breeze in your mind. How could you have ever though it was other then Johanneth? « Yes, Allwyn. Johanneth. You know me. You have always known me. » The peaceful breeze of an alto voice settles out of you and moves into the Forged in Flames gold gazing so adoringly at you. « May we eat now? »
Mind Description
The Winds of Change
The mind feels like the very wind itself in all her many forms. Most often prevails the gentle, warm zephyr to sooth and enrich the fertile plains of thoughts with the lush scent of rain. When roused it sitrs into the howling winter storm stripping away one's breath with icy chill. Desire is a desert breeze, hot and arid, yet taunting with the ability to cool the heat of passioned skin with its kiss. And underneath at all times is the ellusive scent that is unique to this mind, exotic and alluring without defination, unnamed and unknowable.
Mind Touches
The Winds of Change arrive as a light, gentle breeze. The electricity of a building storm sparks all around you, but the winds themselves remain calm. Soothing warmth, different somehow from the heat of the sands, enriches the fertile soils of you mind and encourage thought. The gentle rain of knowledge feeds this growth so that someday you might sprout.
The Winds of Change are building into a slow but irresistable force. The pressure within your head grows, pushing out any thoughts of another. Power such as you have never felt flows on the zephyr breezes. They are tainted with an exotic but ellusive scent. Alluring, it draws you deeper. Will the winds stay a gentle but steady force of change, or will violence send them spinning with tornadic force?
The Winds of Change push into the stagnant pools of fear, ignorance and hatred. They cool, then chill, and finally now begin to pick up speed. Suddenly the howling gales of winter are driving at the stagnant air, blowing it away where it can do no more harm. Traces of sadness and anger litter the cold, giving it a hard, steely edge. It strips the very breath away from you.
The Winds of Change can bring joy as well as pain. Like the light skipping winds of springtime, it tosses up your heart to bounce in the sky like a kite in flight. Hope springs up as dizzying thermals drive you higher and higher towards the bright light of Rukbat. In that light you can sense the potential of the future.
The Winds of Change have passion. Love, desire, need are the things that make up the desert storm winds. Hot, arid and blinding, they even seem burn to with intensity. Yet, somehow, within the wildness it cools and caresses. The damp, dewy heat of passion on your skin is cooled by the touch, kissed with love and possiblities.
Personality
Your lady is a being of quiet strength, moral courage, and gentle but firm leadership. Within her is an unbreakable faith in the inherent goodness of all things and the iron will to approach them with love and hope. That is not to imply she is young and foolish, nor is she simple or naive. She is well aware there are wrongs to right, evil which must be fought, and others to enlighten. At times even she will be challenged to offer love and forgiveness. Yet it is not in her to avoid the tough choices, nor can she turn away from injustice. Her life centers on striving for the improvement of all.
From a very young age, Johanneth will show an intense focus on and unquenchable thirst for knowledge. She, more then any other in her clutch, will quest to learn all she can and then share that knowledge with others. She will be an encouraging force in your own studies, pushing you to work better and present yourself more. No more standing in the background for you! This dragon shows a surprising memory, even for a queen and will often seem to remember things days after the others have forgotten. While still growing she might first begin to notice the inequalities shown between men and even at times between dragons. She will question you on this repeatedly, before coming to her stance on the differences between the honest inequalities of responsible leadership and natural abilities verse the dishonest inequalities of opportunity or respect. This will become her life's goal and once into maturity nothing you or anyone else can do will stop her from crusading for fairness and against violence in any form.
When the time comes for your queen to step forward as a leader of Western and her dragons, Johanneth will do so with a grace and poise that will inspire the others to follow. Hers is a gentle but firm hand leading by both example and thought provoking speeches. Be she junior or senior, this gold always has the weyr's interests at heart and it shows. But she can not abide false flattery or respect based solely on her hide color. Such behavior earns only her cold anger and silence. In her focus on doing what is best for all, she will most likely never settle on just one mate for life. Each flight will be a meticulously planned affair ultimately leading to the one male best suited to both lead at her side and sire a strong, healthy clutch. Her flights will be long and exhausting, but she will not allow any of the violence so many queens seem to crave. Peaceful actions, wisdom, and a forgiving nature go far to win her heart.
The only place this abhorrence of violence seems to dissipate is on the sands. Like her dam, your lady is a broody queen. While not going to attack and willing to allow the candidates to approach, shes still going to growl her warnings to anyone who dares to enter her sands. She sees her most important job as ensuring the future and none will be allowed to endanger this. If you point out this oddity she responses with « I am simply giving a firm warning. » When the day is done, this is your dragon and you should make of her what you will. I hope you are not too disappointed. Enjoy, have fun, and congratulations.
Credits
The theme of this clutch was a Celebration of Nations, continuity from the Olympics held earlier this year. The challenge for the egg was to create a celebration of the unique people/places/things as well as culture and history of each nation. Your egg is based on South Africa, a country by blessed and continuously challenged by diversity. I chose this country for both its historical connection to gold, as well as for its history of struggle, of accomplishments and tragedies and the many dynamic people it has spawned. Your dragon is based specifically on Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a learned man born and coming of age in the progressively anti-native time period of the 1930s to 1990s. A religious man, he studied theology, was ordained and has risen to be a leader for the Anglican Church in South Africa. He is also famous for becoming a strong public leader for the push for peaceful change, first in his own country and then abroad. In 1984, he won the Nobel peace prize for his leadership in striving for peace, love, equality of all people, and forgiveness of past transgressions. I have offered you two possible names for your gold. My favorite is Johanneth. It is derived from the city of Johannesburg, home to the South African gold community and a pivotal city economically, socially, and politically for that country. The second name is Leibeth from leibe, the German word for love.
| Forged in Flames Gold Leibeth | |
| Dam | Gold Nylaeth |
| Sire | Bronze Xalmyrilth |
| Created by | Kathryn |
| Impressee | Allwyn |
| April 15, 2006 | |
| Western Weyr | |
| PernWorld MUSH | |