[CLAIMING] The Cave Wyrm

[Scortatus~]

The arrival of the bull dragon was announced, not by a great fanfare of horns or by some great salute. In fact were it not for the ripples that spread across the surface of the otherwise glass-like lake, or the faint slithering sound that accompanied them, Scortatus may well have gone utterly unnoticed. The snake-like beast slipped into the water, savouring the feel of the cool water against his scales as it washed the accumulated dirt and grime away. Once his head had resurfaced he exhaled in a soft sigh and, by undulating his body from side to side, he began to swim around the circumference of the lake.The legless dragon had been travelling for many months. He had previously settled alone in a small area of grassland, though the prey there had been scarce, and after a few years he had exhausted it. He had had to move on, and since then, he had not stayed in one place for more than a few nights. It seemed that every area he passed into was either inhospitable or claimed by hostile dragons that chased him out. It was a pleasure then, to find an area where the scent of other dragons was far away, somewhere he could rest and recuperate before continuing his thankless journey.

After swimming a few more laps to cool down, he snacked on a few unfortunate fish then headed towards land, intending to haul himself out so that he could curl up for the night, but just as his chin brushed against mud, something caught his eye; it appeared to be the top of a small opening in the rock at the back end of the lake, just poking out the surface of the water. Curious, the young male beast swam towards it, then ducked underwater. Once his eyes had adjusted he saw that it was in fact a small cave, and, after hesitating for a moment, he swam in, ready to reverse out should the cave prove a dead-end. Instead it led into an uphill tunnel, and Scortatus suddenly found his head breaking the surface of the water and entering a dry (relatively speaking) cavern that was lit by some strange fungus. He looked around a little, but he was so tired from his travelling that, once the entirety of his bulk was up on the stony floor and assorted into coils, he slept.

---

Once he awoke the next morning, the first thing that entered Scortatus’ mind was that he did not want to leave this lovely place. He had never felt inclined to stay in one place before, but he was fairly sure that nowhere in the world could be more to his liking than this lake, with its secret, hidden cave. After slipping back into the water, he swam through to the open part of the lake and slithered back up onto land He wasn’t entirely sure how one went about claiming land as ones own, and so the first thing he did was go about marking his territory, thinking that he might as well get his scent out there. That didn’t seem quite enough though, so once he’d coiled back up he raised his head and gave out as fearsome a roar as he could manage.

“I, Scortatus, hereby claim this lake and its surrounding territories as my own!” He called out, feeling a little foolish for talking when no one was listening. He shook away the feeling, and paused to listen for any response, but none came. Content that his claim had gone unchallenged, he slipped into the undergrowth surrounding the lake in search of some large game.

[THE SPIRITS]

THE SPIRITS HAVE RECOGNIZED YOUR CLAIMING.

THE INDIGO LAKE BELONGS TO SCORTATUS.