Amitola Clan Lore

After the arrival of Ciivaesin and the birth of her adopted son Penk, the Clan of Many Colors- now called the much shorter and snappier "Amitola Clan", by Ciivaesin's suggestion- faced a period of sudden increased growth. Dragons of all shapes, sizes and flights found themselves at the Amitola clan's doorstep, and it found itself expanding rapidly as more and more dragons decided they'd rather call themselves Amitolans than return to whence they may have come. The clan went from a small, comfortable home to a bustling clan filling out every last inch of the Heartwood, and as the treetop house grew larger and larger to accommodate more and more dragons, it soon became clear that the Amitola clan's home of choice wouldn't be able to support this for much longer- the tree was buckling under the weight of the dragons within it. But, more importantly, something special was happening within the quatrumvirate of dragons who led the clan.

Penk had grown up to be a joyful, friendly and doggedly determined Coatl, who joined in on Noboru and Ciivaesin's work to manage the clan more and more as he got older, until an older and somewhat overwhelmed Noboru retired to a job running the trade routes of the clan, and sprightly young Penk took his old position as the clan's de-facto leader- the big dog among the three, or now four, leading dragons. He was cheerful and loved his work, but was fairly scatterbrained even compared to Noboru- thank goodness Ciivaesin was there to back him up and make sure he had his records straight. As the clan grew ever larger and it became clearer and clearer that they may not be able to stay here for much longer, a very strange thing started happening.

"So where do you think we'll go, once the tree falls down?" Penk asked Ciivaesin, one night.
"I don't know. We haven't been far beyond the Tangled Wood. I'm not sure any other place would be able to support us quite like the Wood does."
"Well...maybe I'll find a new place to stay. I'll fly so high that I can see the whole world, and I'll see the perfect place, and then I can point and lead the way and we can go to our new home! How does that sound?"
"That sounds wonderful, sweetie. Maybe you will after all, Penk. Now...it's getting late. I think it's about time your momma went to bed." She jumped down from Penk's bed and flew through the window, off to her room. "Goodnight, Penk, I love you!"
"I love you too!"

That night, Penk dreamed. He was high in the air, far, far above the ground, but he didn't feel like he was flapping his wings. He was simply...floating. He turned around and around, and he could see faraway places, all so different and interesting. He saw a big pillar in a rocky place, a big, smoky volcano, a huge tree in a big jungle, and...wait, those trees looked familiar. Was that the Tangled Wood? Then he looked down- he definitely wasn't in the Tangled Wood. Where was he? Carefully, he descended, and he came to rest on a floating piece of earth. From there, he could get a good look at the place he was in. Massive, curved pink spires towered into the heavens, and he looked down to see a big, golden observatory, miles above the sea below. There were trees along the borders of one side of the mountains, very tall, with white bark and seemingly no leaves. Sounds like whispers and windchimes carried on the wind, and he felt at peace. This is it. This is home.

Night after night, he kept having the same dream. It was slightly different each time, maybe, but every night, he saw that place, again and again. He saw dragons flying by, their eyes a bright shade of pink that he'd never seen before. He saw the forest at night once, with big, blue leaves appearing on the trees under the cover of darkness. Sometimes, he even saw the observatory move, and he swore he could see something big and pink and weird inside of it. The dream kept happening for weeks, and as he pondered over the implications of it, someone arrived at his doorstep.

She was another Coatl, and her name was Chloris. She had light pink feathers and a white belly, with a soft, pink satin bow wrapped around her neck. She had a kind face, and warm, gentle, pink eyes. Wait, pink eyes? Like the dragons he saw in his dream...but he couldn't ask about that now. Chloris was a new arrival, and it was more important to get her acquainted with the clan. So he did. The hustle and bustle of a new dragon in the clan repeated once more, as Chloris introduced herself to the Amitolans and got settled among the clan's dragons. She was a pleasant soul, and seemed happy to play with every dragon in the clan, but she loved Penk most. The two grew closer and closer as time went on, and one day, Penk decided it was finally time to ask, as the two sat together in Penk's room.

"So, I've got a bit of a weird question I want to ask you, Chloris," Penk asked.
"Huh? Go ahead, I bet you I've heard weirder from Noboru."
"Hey, don't be mean! He tries his best! Uh...anyway, so...uh, what flight are you from?" He twiddled his fingers nervously. What a dumb question, I should be able to tell just by looking, shouldn't I?
"I'm an Arcane dragon, Penk," she replied, with a bemused chuckle on her voice. "What, can't you tell looking at my eyes?"
"Well, that's kind of where my question comes in," he continued. "Y'see, we've been wanting to move out of here for a while now, 'cause our little tree can only hold up so much weight, y'know. And I've been having a really weird dream for weeks. I'm standing on this floating bit of land above a bunch of pink, shiny mountains and a big observatory. Sometimes I see dragons flying by, dragons with...pink eyes, just like yours." He looked away awkwardly. "So...do you have anything to tell me about that?"
Chloris perked up a little. "That sounds like the Starfall Isles to me. That's where Arcane dragons like me come from. It's a great place, I could tell you all about it..."

And she rambled and rambled, with Penk listening intently, not even saying a word. And that same night, he knocked on Ciivaesin's door, and when she waved through her window to tell Penk it was okay to open, he opened the door beaming with joy on his face. "Mom, I found it. I found home."

Plans to move to the Starfall Isles went into motion very soon after, with the four leaders of the Amitola clan getting everyone packed and ready for the trip. Noboru heard the question a few times- what would become of the Heartwood now that they were moving? He had plans for the old tree; he wanted to give the place up to a fledgling flight, drifters who needed a home, just as he had a year ago. But it wouldn't be gone forever...he'd packed something very special. In his bag, he carried a seed- a seed he'd picked from the tree that spring. The Heartwood would not be gone forever- he would grow a new Heartwood at the base of their new Arcane home. And so it was. Soon, the clan was travelling across bramble-filled woods and virulent wastelands, until at last, they found the bright pink mountains and golden observatory that Penk had described. As the clan's Nature dragons planted and tended to the new Heartwood sapling, the Earth and Fire dragons carved out a brand new home within the Crystalspine Reaches- a home they called Mountainhome. And as for Penk, he lay resting on that very same floating island, Chloris at his side, and he looked up at the rings of magic and distant stars in the sky.

Sounds like whispers and windchimes carried on the wind, and he felt at peace.

This is it. This is home.