No Dismots Here

[Revan]

Dismots and vernox dragons. Two of the most peculiar creatures I have encountered in my many years of traveling across the world. They are very distinct species, one avian, the other draconian, each having appeared at different times, a vast flood of eggs floating down the Stream past the Keep, then gone, never to be seen again. I remember myself and a great many of my fellow magi gathering up as many as we could. I for one adored the feathered little puffs that were dismot chicks and made them my main field of study, so many of which nest throughout my quarters and sprawl out into the halls, much to the dismay of my colleagues.

For years, we attempted to breed both of these creatures, but time and time again failed to produce any results. I began to think they were sterile, even though I couldn’t help but ponder where the original eggs had originated from. Surely they did not just fall from the sky? Another great mystery of our world I suppose.

Then the most peculiar thing happened.

One of the apprentices accidentally lost their grip on one of my dismot hens and it flapped it’s way into the vernox dragon enclosure. For a moment, I thought the worst when I witnessed all the males rushing towards the bird for never had I seen them in such a frenzy. Yet, they did not harm the dismot. Instead, they circled around her, and almost seemed to dance, swaying their serpentine bodies to and fro, their bright colors shimmering in the light, as if performing a sort of courtship ritual.

Seeing as they did not injure the hen, I decided to leave her be and observe this fascinating behavior.

A few days later, the dismot had created a nest in the far corner of the room, and within it, lay an egg.

It was a most unexpected union for sure. If not for the dark markings, it could have been easily mistaken for a dismot egg. The energy it radiated as well was almost...unsettling. Somehow the neutral and life energies of the parents had become void and fire. I left it be, watching as both the dismot and a vernox dragon, presumably the father, took turns sitting upon the egg.

Some weeks later, it hatched, and I was rather intrigued by the creature that emerged from within.

At first glance, much to my delight, it appeared very much like a dismot chick, with it’s avian features and fluffy down body. However, a small, black, red and golden tail, the same colors as the shell of the egg, uncurled from it’s backside, scaly and rather hot to the touch.

After consulting with my fellow magi, we decided to name it after a mythological beast of similar appearance; the cockatrice.

A hybrid for certain, but if not for the apprentice's mishap, we never would have thought to pair dismots and vernox dragons together. Yet, as my colleagues pointed out, it was not so different from the breeding of an ibex, a mammal, and a koi, a marine animal, that produced a capricorn as offspring.

Most regrettably, as I learned, the results were also the same as when breeding capricorns rather than the offspring being able to take after one of the parents as it was when breeding, for example, manticores and direwolves together. There was no chance of having varying offspring. A dismot and a vernox dragon always produced a cockatrice, and quite abundantly too. Eight out of the ten breedings that I conducted resulted in an egg.

Alas, how I would have enjoyed seeing more dismots running around the Keep, but instead ended up with fire breathing hatchlings, whose power only increased each each molt. After much pressure and many a complaint from my fellow magi after their robes (and a few research notes) were irreparably burnt, I was forced to relocate the cockatrices outside and cease my continued efforts in attempting to breed dismot chicks.

I admit, they are probably right. As the hybrids of now taken to burning deep trenches across the Keep grounds, I find my coffers running quite low from needing to pay for repairs. That, and Master Thane is most displeased with me still for one of the creatures having incinerated his hydrangeas. I shall put the practical applications aside and return to theoretical studies for now.

~ Magi Revan