~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “If I cannot be wanted, I will be needed and if I cannot be needed, let me be used until there’s nothing left of me.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stēllāns was hatched beneath a sky that never felt truly hers. Her father, Vita Brevis, was a respected Nightwing scholar who had once worked in observatories that dotted the cliffside of the Rainwing territories. Her mother, Glaucous, was an Icewing exile. She had abandoned the rigid hierarchy of his tribe to live as far, far away as she could. Their union had never been widely accepted. Hybrids were not uncommon, not this far into the future of the series, but they were rarely welcomed in positions of power or prestige. Vita Brevis believed knowledge would protect his children from Prejudice though, that knowing what they were up against would make them strong enough to stand against the tide. Glaucous knew better. Stēllāns and her twin brother, Australis, were both raised on both sides of the coin. From their father, they learned astronomy and strategy, the long history of tribal conflicts. From their mother, a sense of pride in themselves, in protecting themselves against the world that could come to hate them. Where Australis used this knowledge from their parents, where he took pride in their mixed heritage… Stēllāns did not. She grew up surrounded by Nightwings who were praised for cunning, for their brilliance. Even centuries after the tribe abandoned the volcanos, after they abandoned their libraries and their sanctuaries of knowledge, Nightwing superiority would always burn in their veins, even among the “softer” Rainwings. To Stēllāns, every reminder that she was not purely Nightwing felt like a flaw. Her wings were too angular, her scales carried too much pigment and lighter than her peers, even her pronounced spikes that almost crested just like the icewing’s spike-y necks. Small things. Nocticable things. When tensions between tribes began to rise again; old alliances reborn, new alliances forged, Stēllāns found the one place where difference mattered less than performance. The Nightwing’s guard, their military force. Training suited her, even young. Icewing’s endurance combined with tactical mind, she was effective in drills. She learned to fight with precision over brute force. Commanders noticed. When the war came about, Stēllāns tried extra hard to prove herself more. She feared even the idea that they could think her a spy for her icewing heritage, and made every effort to keep the trust she had made with her fellow Nightwings. Many, honestly, forgot that she was a hybrid at all. One, however, did not. Her brother Australis. Her brother had grown increasigly uneasy as the conflict escalated, especially once the Nightwing command began framing Icewings as ruthless enemies who had to be crushed before they froze the continent in the war- harkening back to the old conflicts between the tribes so many centuries prior. Their arguments became frequent, bitter. Australis insisted the war was becoming ugly, something that their parents would not want them with their toes in. It was exactly what their father had warned them about. Australis, looking more Icewing than his sister, could not stay in the kingdom. Disappearing somewhere among the chaos. Perhaps allying with the Icewings, perhaps allying himself with no one at all. Stēllāns only continued to double down. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Original base by Roselock22 on Deviantart! You can also click or hit space to see Stēllāns’ family members, and also her old design! I made her and her brother back on my original account, , YEARS ago, from a WOF au where Darkstalker had won.
