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Nearly a year
of practicing his breath weapon on the tunnel wall was finally rewarded
when SearAll burned through the thin rock and reached the adjacent
passage. The melted stone also gave up the hidden item, a scale from
the black dragon Keristiltilin. SearAll picked up the scale puzzled by
it's location so far from black dragon territory and so near his
mother's lair. When he touched the scale a voice rang out in his head
greeting him and praising his power and speedy growth. Introducing
himself as the juvenile wyrm's father, BurnClaw began a relationship
that would last through SearAll's long wait to be released from his
mother's lair. She soon discovered the hole in her tunnel complex and
melted both ends of the tunnel to seal in the young dragons, but never
discovered the black scale that now sat safely in a fold inside her
son's intestines. She suspected much but loved her children, more than
any red dragon could be imagined to, even more than the incredible
treasure which graced her bedchamber.
BurnClaw and SearAll spoke for many years developing a
kinship that caused the young wyrm to grow much like his father in
demeanor and patience. If Lady StoneBoil noticed, she never spoke of
such a similairity. SearAll learned of his mother's treachery during
the mating which had brought about the brood. This only added fuel to
the resentment he had felt for her his entire life. When he was of an
age to be allowed to roam the mountains and foothills, SearAll, which
he had started calling himself, often asked to be directed to the
territory of BurnClaw. He dared not ask his mother, but couldn't get
his father to allow him to visit nor to direct him. He tried to bribe
his father with many of the most powerful and precious items from his
mother's hoard. BurnClaw always refused, saying such an act would
endanger them both and the time was not yet right for SearAll to strike
out on his own. SearAll and BurnClaw both shared a cautious attitude
when it came to Lady StoneBoil.
The other three hatchlings were very much like their
mother in demeanor and were quick to start conflicts with whomever they
encountered trusting Lady StoneBoil to decimate any adversary they
could not gang up on and defeat. They travelled as a band when they
left the lair and soon became known in the region as the Fire Death
Scouts. They would torment the giants of the foothills and
intentionally allow one of the warning boulders thrown by the fed up
hill giants to hit them with a glancing blow to soar above the tribe as
their mother tore them limb from limb.
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Such depraved
behavior, common to red dragons, was beneath SearAll. He detested his
siblings and his mother and could hardly wait for himself and the other
hatchlings to mature enough to scatter from her territory. He secretly
discussed his wish to eradicate the lot of them to his father. Both
knew such action would only result in the death of SearAll, and
BurnClaw should he be convinced to help. The combined might of the
dragoness and the unruly brood was formidable.
Years passed and SearAll was finally old enough to attend
the Gathering and began begging his mother to allow him to go. At first
she protested but eventually gave in to his pleading. His brothers and
sister didn't have more than a passing interest in the other members of
the dragon race and remained behind. SearAll happily went alone, yet he
knew both of his parents watched through their scrying devices. The
experience wasn't quite what he had hoped for, more of his race leaned
toward the same demeanor and mindset as his mother and siblings. He did
happen to over hear several dragons discussing BurnClaw and his recent
activities, which included the execution of three green dragons and a
silver. The three green brothers had sought to claim his lair and
territory for their own, but had failed to realize the power and
intelligence of their foe. The silver had been on some sort of quest
and had attacked BurnClaw when he had shown himself. The battle hadn't
been breif and had left BurnClaw wounded enough to be forced to walk
back to his lair. All four dragon corpses had been taken to a deep cave
in the Canyon Maze and gutted by the cyclops.
The news of his father included the location of his domain
and sent SearAll's mind reaching out to his father. BurnClaw failed to
answer for the first time since they had initiated contact decades
before. SearAll attended the rest of the Gathering and returned home to
Lady StoneBoil's lair, where he set to planning his trip to the
Brokenlands. He planned to search out the cyclops they had discussed
frequently and gain the location of the lair of BurnClaw. But before he
left he wanted to collect certain items from the hoard of his mother.
She had separated the magic and rare treasure from the main hoard when
her children reached the age to understand such things. Rarely she
would bring out an item from her hidden cache and teach some lesson to
her offspring about wizards and magic. SearAll had discovered the
location of her hidden cache and had investigated the wards and traps
that protected it.
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