The Proving

All Valya Daardendrian ever wanted was to be worthy of her clan. As a young Dragonborn, her clan was all she had ever known –it was one of many in the mountainous region they had settled long ago. Daardendrians had always been renowned for their martial prowess, and every clan member was trained for combat. Not only could they boast of strength, but of magic as well. There were only a few clans that practiced the ways of the old Dragon Pantheon, and the founders had ensured that their ways would never be forgotten. This earned the clan respect, for a while. However, as time went on the already small number of dragonborn that appealed to their Gods alone grew smaller and smaller. For all their military and magical might, one clan alone could never withstand being persecuted by many. Clerics and Paladins are also sent into the world with various missions from the High Council. Every so often, someone is sent into the world on a mission directly from the Gods. This was a great honor, one of the greatest a Daardendrian could achieve.

Valya loved her people. The same could not be said for her parents. When hard times hit, her mother and father were seduced by the call of the outside world. They decided that the Gods no longer cared for them, and that they no longer cared for the Gods or their people. The traitors abandoned Valya when she was newly hatched and decided to run—this is unheard of from any type of dragonborn. Valya worked every day to prove herself to the clan. Not only did she have to pass the rigorous physical and mental tests from their teachers and trainers, but she had to work twice as hard to overcome the whispers behind her back; whispers that named her traitor too. Unlike many of her clanmates, she spent as much time indoors studying as she did outside training, and this was not lost on the elders.

Her favorite was the history of the cleric Mandrasath, whose faith manifested as the breath weapon of lightning. He went on to save their people and settle on this mountain range on the coast of the continent, and it was atop the tallest mountain where he chose a select few to continue the work of Clerics and Paladins for Wyrith, God of justice and judge of dragons, and his wife Morvaar, the Goddess of light, life, and mercy. Together, the two draconic Gods gifted the power to harness the storm and the sea in pursuit of swift justice and mercy for all living beings. Mandrasath was a bronze dragon just like she was, and in her youth, she liked to pretend they were distantly related.

To her great pride, when she was 20 years old, she was among the new group of acolytes the clerics chose to train. She was taught the vital lessons of not only destruction but of healing and life as well. Equipped with only her fists and her wit, after a year and a day she went into her final trial: The Proving. The greatest test of her life, the one where she would get her breath weapon and finally, finally, be able to start the rest of her life. She would be able to achieve greatness in the eyes of her people and her Gods once this last hurdle was cleared.

As Valya lined up for her turn in the ritual, she was struck with a memory of an old mentor, seated in this very temple, telling her and her classmates:

“Calm yourselves, children. It is a difficult thing, holding that much power within you. It is harder still to be able to release it on command. Not every student chosen for the clerical or paladin orders is able to pass The Proving in the end, and thus continues to serve the good of the clan in other ways- as historians, priests, healers, soldiers or a myriad of other things—and yet for those who do pass, life is never the same.”

Then, the kids had laughed it off, practicing their roars. Now, the words held new meaning.

Valya knew that while the test would have physical aspects, the bulk of it would be mental. She knelt on the cold stone ground of their ancient temple, and closed her eyes as the elder triad of clerics cast a sacred ritual. She was drawn into a realm between worlds atop the great mountain. Valya watched as the spiritual representation of the old draconic clerics appeared before her. Some appeared as ancient, mighty dragons; others seemed almost small and frail in front of her. She had to speak with them all—both good and corrupt. This test was to distinguish their actions between just and unjust, a worthy cause and one born of selfish desire; she had to prove she not only knew the (sometimes excruciating) difference between right and wrong but could rely on her faith to come to a worthy conclusion. She was a good fighter, but the reason she was chosen to be a cleric was her affinity for magic, and with every test her faith was bolstered and as a result, so were her divine abilities.

Wiping tears from her eyes, overcome with the weight of determining that one woman’s ambition had cost her her family, the storm clouds gathered around the top of the mountain parted, revealing the towering peak and the monstrous waterfall that poured from the top, bringing water to the lands below. Now came the more physical aspect of her test. Valya rolled her shoulders in preparation and leapt for a handhold on the mountainside. She gritted her teeth and started climbing. The path was treacherous, stones slick and the roar of the nearby rushing water was deafening. The air thinned out this high up, and her lungs began to strain along with the muscles in her hands and feet. She knew this part was meant to test mental fortitude, though the way her entire body ached to let go made her question her strength. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to focus on the small sensations: the steadiness of the rock beneath her fingers, the smell of distant lightning in the air, and last, a faint hum in her heart that she hadn’t noticed before. The vibration buzzed in her chest, and she allowed it to move through her limbs, giving her just enough energy to reach the top.

Finally, she grasped the final ledge before the apex of the mountain and hauled herself up and onto the plateau. She took a moment to lie flat on her back, arms and legs akimbo as she heaved for breath before realizing that this wouldn’t look very dignified to whatever might be waiting up here for her. She scrambled to her feet as proudly as she could, then looked around, taking in the sights of the valley below. From here, she could see for miles across the rocky beaches and over the waves of the sea below.

She felt it in the air when the wind swept over her scales, as she tasted metal in her mouth, and the scent of the sea wafted through her nose. And it was there, atop the mountain that she felt something change. Closing her eyes, she plunged one fist into the mighty waterfall and fought against its rolling current. Opening her hand, she could feel the raw power that had been imbued into the stone and the waters that graced their lands. She then raised one open palm to the heavens as though she could touch the clouds and feel their wrath. The wind howled and the static in the air that promised a mighty storm raged around her—and yet she felt no fear or anxiety. Though her eyes were closed she sensed something building and surrounding her, she felt only the calm of the storm engulfing her.

All at once, everything shifted. It was as if the final piece of the puzzle had finally fallen into place. Static electricity filled the air and ran along her body. The savage crackle of lightning in the clouds was no longer lightning– but a voice.

Open your eyes, child. See the world how it is meant to be seen.

The deafening boom of thunder was no longer just thunder.

Open your mouth, child. Show the world what justice is.

She surrendered to the incredible will of the storm and turned to face it. Opening her eyes and her mouth, she felt the blessing of the Gods bloom in her chest and explode out of her in an arc of lightning.

When she awakened, she was christened “Ramiel,” meaning the thunder of God. She smiled, not out of pride, but out of peace. The very students who had mocked her and looked down upon her sat in silence, tears streaking down their scales, breath remaining dormant.

Ramiel set her sights on a new goal – a mission from her God would do nicely. Her parent’s sins were solely their own; she had her own ambitions to answer to now.