NYLA

Nyla is an intelligence-based support hero of the Draconis faction.

"What are mortals really like?"

The night before Nyla was to depart for the Dark Forest, her auntie brought her to a cliffside to chat. The sheltered, young Draconis had been eager to leave Dragon Isle and make new friends, but as the time approached, she grew apprehensive.

In all the stories she'd heard since she was a child, mortals were portrayed as cunning, sinister, and willing to do anything to get what they want. Even to ask such a simple question, Nyla had mulled it over for a long time before speaking.

The young wear their emotions on their faces, so Nyla's auntie understood what she was thinking from her distant, frowning expression. Still, she only smiled and gave a vague answer.

"To understand what they're really like, you'll have to see with your own eyes, hear with your own ears, and speak with your own mouth."

Nyla's auntie was not worried about Nyla's destination. For the most part, Wilders were kind and generous. They were the perfect choice for a long-isolated Draconis' first visit to the outside world.

"This is no easy thing." The auntie smiled gently as she used her tail to pull Nyla in close. "Nyla, my brave little bubble. The lands of the new age are nourished by young blood. In time, you'll find your own answers."

Still apprehensive from her auntie's words upon arriving in the Dark Forest, Nyla did her best to set aside any preconceptions of what mortals might be like. She invited the Wilders to discuss everything about the Dark Forest, but-as her auntie had said-that was no easy task. She expected answers to her questions, but the Wilders were reserved, giving only curt replies.

Nyla was utterly disappointed, but then she remembered that children were always more curious and open than adults.

Case in point, a large sprout of puff grass suddenly appeared in front of Nyla's nose, and behind the thick stalks stood a cluster of children peeking at her: "Hey lady, are you a Draconis? My dad says you should never, ever make a Draconis angry. Are you like that? Are you gonna eat us if you get mad?"

The young Draconis' eyes darted back and forth as she tried to recall her auntie's warning. "If you want to know what the Draconis are really like, you'll have to be my friend so you can find out for yourself!"

"But that won't work. You have to take our gift before we can be friends," the children said in unison.

So this was their gift? Nyla patted the colorful and curious-looking plant, but soon realized there was a problem. This was a special plant from the Dreamwood, and when it is touched, it spits out bubbles of sap. Before she knew it, Nyla was trapped inside a puff grass bubble, swaying back and forth as the bubble drifted in the air. The children erupted in giggling so contagious that Nyla couldn't help but laugh herself. It was then she realized that the Wilders were just as nervous as she was when they stood before a Draconis, a race that had disappeared so long ago.

Nyla's auntie had always said she was among the more amiable of the younger generation, so Nyla decided to just be herself.

She began talking to all the local residents, telling them all about Dragon Isle and its customs, and even following them around asking her usual tricky questions. Some questions brought laughter, like "Do you eat meat, or are you vegetarian?" Other questions made the Wilders laugh until they cried: "Are Wilders born, or do you hatch from eggs?"

The children became her fastest friends, of course-especially since their Draconic big sister not only brought them perfectly shaped tree-branch swords, but also told them exciting tales about the Dragon Isle they'd never visited. Since they'd pranked her from the start with the puff grass, she turned the tables and began pranking them. Nyla crafted a kind of magical bubble from puff grass, which always send the Wilder children floating into the air, giggling all the while.

The residents of the Dark Forest were infected by Nyla's contagious enthusiasm. After they'd seen her cheerful pranks from her foreign culture, a few of them opened up enough to tell her some "common sense" in the Dark Forest:

Don't dig up frogs to feed them during winter; they're hibernating. And don't disturb that overturned tortoise at Jade Reef Bay. He's not overheating, he just falls asleep while sunbathing.

It was long an unspoken secret that a Draconis was living amongst the Wilders of the Dark Forest.

But the time had come. Like a bird that migrates home, Nyla could hear her distant elders beckoning her home. She rarely reminisced, but now she felt some anticipation for her homecoming. It was hard to leave her Dark Forest friends behind, but Nyla was certain they'd see one another again soon.

And now, Nyla was eager to return to her auntie and tell her that she'd found her own answers.