- Table of Contents - > Instructions > Other Editions > Writers > Article > Credits __________________________________ - Instructions - Use click/space/right arrow to move forward, the left arrow to go backward. __________________________________ - Other Editions - Episode 1 - https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1191300983/ Episode 3 - https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1248151966/ __________________________________ - Writers - Leiurus - When I was younger I struggled to read and write and without that ability I felt in the dark about what was happening outside the walls of my village. I started 'Near & Far' to give dragons like myself a look into the outside world and I always do my best to travel to towns after new release in order to read to those like me. I'm so proud of what 'Near & Far' has become and I hope I never have to stop writing and spreading what I love. (@_ruckus) Valakadyn - When I was a dragonet, I didn’t know who or what I wanted to be. Back then, I didn’t have the time to even think about it. But, after I took that leap to find out, stepping away from what I knew, I found my calling, and someplace to call my own, too. (@AmethysttheSilkwing) Mezereum - I was raised by a family of scholars and explorers, so I developed a love for discovery and adventure pretty early on. Whilst venturing the continents with my siblings, I came across a small gecko, who has become my most loyal companion. Although most of my family has taken on different paths, I have began to document my findings and perfect my skills as a journalist, driven by a passion to uncover the truth and share it with the world. (@-_Firelilies_-) __________________________________ - Article - As many of you may know, Titan is a former animus who was the only one of Xerces's five animus apprentices to survive the war of Heroic. In this special edition, we will go over Titan's past and what brought him to be the dragon he is today. Born in a small village on the edge of the Pantalen Dragonfly Bay. Titan had two loving parents whose names, for privacy reasons, have not been shared with the public. What we do know is that his father was a Hivewing and his mother was a Rainwing. He had no known siblings. Titan lived in that steadily growing town until he was sixteen, at which point he would pack his bags and move to Pyrrha in the hopes of finding his calling. Upon his arrival, he was informed by a passerby of 'The Choosing of the Animi, ' an event orchestrated by the last remaining animus during which they choose five apprentices to succeed them. Having to fly for almost three days just to reach the Claws of Cloud mountains in time for the choosing. Titan arrived just as Xerces let loose their famously animus-touched fawn, who was known to be drawn to those with purest of hearts and strongest of spirits. The gathering of dragons was described to be so huge that the valley between the largest of the Claws of the Clouds mountains was completely covered in dragons. Among the gathered Titans was the first approached by the small creature dubbed Varitus by its creator. Eye witness accounts state that Vartius was so attached to Titan that Xerxes had to instruct him to take flight so the small fawn would be able to continue its work. The remaining apprentices were then chosen in the following order. Lupine, the gentle and kind niece of the Icewing queen, Heroic, a generous and determined Nightwing nomad, Sondaica, a brave and loyal Sandwing painter, and lastly, Rooster, a Rainwing and Skywing pick-pocket, a famously controversial choice. Xerces then gave each a small piece of their magic, which, when absorbed by the collective, was said to glow so strongly their souls could be seen through their scales.
These five would go on to spend the next ten years of their lives learning under Xerces in the Claws of the Clouds mountains. After their rigorous training, they were released into the world to do good and help others with their gift. Within the decade of their training, the five were sent on countless quests during which they met hundreds of dragons. Many in the group were said to have fallen in love, most notably Sondaica, who loved the Silkwing writer, Sable, and Heroic, who married Harlequin, a Seawing adviser, on a journey to the Scitidel of the Sea. Having formed a very close bond during their time together, the five were not quick to be separated and spent much of the first year of their freedom by each other's sides. Unfortunately, when they did finally choose to split up, Heroic, who was considered the loyalist of the group, began to turn for the worst. Over the next year, Heroic would slowly gain power, promising those around him a piece of his magic for their loyalty. He began to establish what he called his own kingdom, the kingdom of the Freewings. As his kingdom grew in strength, Xerces called a summit of the animi in an attempt to bring an end to his rule. But upon their arrival at Heroic’s stronghold, they chose to take more decisive measures and attempt to remove Heroic’s magic. Tragically, due to a spell cast on Heroic himself, which prevented any dragon from hurting or altering his magic, Xerces died the moment the spell had left their lips. Destroyed by the death of her mentor, Sondaica decided to take matters into her own hands, traveling to the stronghold itself and attempting to reason with her old friend. This, too, ended in tragedy when what started as a peaceful negotiation quickly turned violent and led to Sondaica’s death. With only three animi left, they attempted to gather their forces, but Rooster never arrived at the meeting, and he would be discovered fifty years later, dead in a river, having fled from the war and gotten mixed up with the hybrid crime lords of central Pyhrria. At the roosters' disappearance, Titan and Lupine understood that they would be the continent's last hope. Working together, they used his own magic against him and crafted a spell that will go down in history as the ultimate sacrifice. Though this spell has been lost mostly to time a dragon who has claimed to have been there when it was cast claims it went like this, “Let my soul will be forever linked with that of Heroic anything that befalls me will befall him as well, and if I were to be slain, he would fall with me.” This spell was said to have been performed by Titan, but in secret, Lupine altered it to connect her soul to Heroics and save Titan. With the last of their forces, they stormed the stronghold and managed to reach Heroic's inner chambers, making one last attempt to reason with him. Having failed, they were ready to bring an end to his tyranny, but just as Titan reached for his weapon to make the final blow, the stronghold exploded. It would later be discovered that Heroic's forces set off a collection of Dragonflame Cacti, which would explosian result in the death of Lupine, and as she lay gasping for air, she admitted what she had done to Titan, and with her final breath uttered the following words: “I am sorry for what I have done, but my friend, you were never meant to die, you are the purest of us all, and the world will go dark the day you fall.” Titan would watch both of his best friends that day, as neither Lupine nor Heroic would survive more than a moment after she took her final breath. Left alone in a world that hated the very idea of his existence and having lost everything, Titan secluded himself in a small cabin around the same bay in which he was born. Shortly after moving there, he enchanted a thread to prevent him from doing animus magic ever again and sewed his own mouth shut. Thanks so much for reading, and that's it for Near & Far! __________________________________ Interacting with this project helps get lineage out there to more people, a like and a favorite would be much appreciated. Thank you!
