Image Credits Winx Club Dressup / Nick / Flashpoint used;
other textures Arkane

Name: Devin Sand (unlikely to be his real name)

Gender/Preference: Male, straight?

Age/DOB: around 14 at most, unknown exact day of birth but known to be from the Month of Seeds in 1833(?)
-- Currently 20, possibly time-displaced with Cleeve in 1856

Faction: Self Employed, avoiding Hatters or Bottle Street and the Bundry group equally

Family: all deceased during the Rat Plague some 10 years back

Height/Build: 5'0 / wiry and skinny at a glance; extremely small due to lack of nutrition and a life of avoiding detection and capture; has hardly any body fat

Hair: medium shiny brown, improbably upswept though he doesn't use hair-care products for this, it's due to him swimming and getting a lot of sand (and probably eel goop) in it

Eyes: dark brown, angular and large, widely set, under heavy brows

Appearance: yellowish skin that tans into a fairly light golden shade and hasn't known to burn even with his extensive time under the sun; wears cast-off and simple clothing that he's found while retrieving better goods from the shore, no shoes, simple rope belt; he does have other clothing but whenever he outgrows it he will give it to other similar kids on the streets; he has the scent of the ocean and perhaps a little too much fish smell to him; his voice is still high, and may never really drop into a deeper manly tone; he has a surprisingly good vocabulary but often uses words he doesn't understand

"A child of the sea, sand, and sun; but there is more to him than merely a collector of fancy shells."

Skills and Occupation: as an orphan, one of hundreds if not thousands of children who lost one or more of their parents during the Rat Plague, he could have been put to work in mines, on assembly lines, or in the dwindling whaling warehouses. But he chose at a very early age to simply survive on his own. He had been fascinated by the sea life by the shore, and fashioned himself a crab-like 'costume'. He is a master of this sort of disguise, both with and without a heretical mark to boost it. He can recognize treasure when he sees it, and almost everything is treasure to someone. So he does know the fences and shops that will take such gear or 'lost' items without question. He doesn't barter much, either they know him and will toss a couple coins to him or he will hold back and they'll have to actually examine the goods before deciding how much it's worth. He does math in his head well enough that he knows if someone is trying to rip him off, and his appraisal skills are quite good even for things he hasn't scrounged from washed-up crates. Devin is also very talented at evading detection and knows the ins and outs of every single Dunwall shoreline building and street. Right up to the walls of the Tower, he isn't stupid enough to try and climb that sheer stone. He can climb, run, balance, and swim all basically at the same pace when he needs to, never breaking stride as he races down an alley to a dead-end, scales the wall nearby, scampers up to the roof, and proceeds to run over the laundry lines only to dive straight into the nearby inlet. If a guard spots him, they just let him go - no use chasing after him, he's too fast for them all.

Residence: Tower District (docks), Dunwall; while he does have a few stash points and hidden nests for storing his gear scattered around the area, he does focus his sleep and his personal belongings in a narrow alley. Built between two close structures, under the eaves between both of them, and with a drape of ragged cloth to disguise it as merely a hanging banner, no one is the wiser if they just look up: you can't tell it's actually a somewhat comfortable cube big enough for him to stand (barely), and stretch out (quite nicely) as well as pad with the swiped pillows and blankets washed up after a good storm. One of these buildings is unoccupied still even after restoration from the plague era, the other is inhabited by what could only be called a parade of drunks and whores not good enough for the Golden Cat.

Notable Possessions: while he usually ditches virtually everything worth coin, Devin will almost always keep artistic shells or items which can be of use to create such things. He loves abalone and pearlescent shell material, so a lot of the inside of the den he's made has shells of that sort lining the walls. He would really love to have a set of wind chimes made from them, but he knows that would just attract attention. He's thought about actually putting something like it in the abandoned - or just 'empty' since he knows it's owned by someone now - building beside, just so he can hear the results. And possibly: to scare off people who think the place might be haunted... Devin doesn't generally keep the bonecharms or runes that wash up from shipwrecks, but he will definitely move them to a shop or pawn them to others if he thinks they may be 'cursed'. (He figures: if they were from a wreck, how blessed could they be?)

Magical Preferences or Abilities: is able to walk along wires or even sand without detection, he's both light and agile, and also gifted with a nudge from the Outsider and the Void. He has a strange mark on his inner arm under his sleeve, which aids in this regard and others. He doesn't really recognize this as a 'power', but it definitely is supernatural in origin. When he needs to be hidden, he simply blends into the surroundings be it shiny complicated wallpaper in a well-appointed office, or the rocky shoreline by the Rothwild Whaling warehouse. This effect only lasts a little while but it's usually long enough for him to use a distraction and vanish back into the streets.

Personality: Quiet and focused, Devin is not a frivolous sort of kid. He's watched others pay for their loud laughter or inappropriate comments, and wants to avoid scrutiny. He's a loner, but doesn't mind at all having one or two people around now and then... as long as they're gone by the end of the evening. If he spots a pile of goods sitting unattended he'll keep watch, if it's in a spot he knows others work on. If not... well then it's open game innit?

Likes and Dislikes: Enjoys the feel of the ocean breeze, and the occasional spat of rain, though he'll still prefer being wet in the water, over 'wet because of a downpour'. Loves being able to judge the tide and its flow, because somehow he's tied to it, and when things are floating up to the shore he knows just where to be. The feeling of gentle rocking in a shallow, the sweeping motion of the tides, he feels most alive when he's being moved by it. He doesn't care for new people or ones which bring attention to those he knows, and will go out of his way to avoid being followed or chatted to by those folks. He's mistrustful but not dumb: if he must, he will talk with the city guard. But he won't linger.

Fears or Interruptions: He does still fear being dragged under by a powerful current, but truth be told he's been given a gift and the Outsider would protect him if he was about to drown. He more fears being confined by the guard, or even by a greedy mine owner or whaling baron - also having seen his peers be taken by them and never seen again. He would like to be able to study more, learn more formally, but who would take in a kid like him filled with grit and sand and eel snot? He's more ashamed of his smell and obvious poor appearance if he's confronted by higher class folks, they look down on him as a mudlark or wretch and he's neither of those things. Well no he is a mudlark...

History: though born to reasonably comfortable parentage, the Rat Plague took everything from so many people including his family. He doesn't remember his older sister, and doesn't remember what his parents names were. As a four year old among the ruins of Dunwall's merchant zone that bordered the Flooded District (formerly the 'financial' district) he wasn't alone either. A large group of such children provided themselves with security and companionship in the worst of it all, and somehow most of them made it out of the Plague era without ever needing to be treated for the plague itself.

When the plague was deemed over, and the city began repairs, he realized that the new Empress was barely older than himself. Not that he would ever try meeting her, but - she still made appearances at odd hours or in very strange places, even as a young teenager. He spotted her - and her cloaked Lord Protector - now and again leaping across rooftops and chatting quietly in the darkness above the city. Perhaps he learned how to scurry around while watching those shadowy figures.

At some point he had to escape being put on a trading ship, losing half his friends to the sea as they never returned. While that might have made many mistrust the sea, he knew it wasn't the water that did them dirty - it was the owners of that ship, and the dock that was then left silent and in disrepair for a year before anyone finally cleaned it up. In that year, he moved a lot of goods and items that had been left unattended, no one missed them, they were mainly stolen from plague victims homes anyway.

Never one to actually break and enter a home when there's a chance he'd be discovered, Devin trekked up and down the Dunwall shoreline. He knows every inch of it, from the rocky rubble cliffs near the Flooded District to the marshy inlets and sodden ground beyond the Brigmore Manner. And it was somewhere along that path that he picked up more and more interesting magical totems and charms. But he didn't want to enter the Brigmore place, no - that was... nope. That was a haunt, that was some place for witches. But its bounty of flooded-out and tide-turned goods out along the shore? Oh he'd sift through all of that!

He has learned who to talk to and who to avoid, in the black market shops around the city. While some folks think he's merely a beggar, a few know him and signal him in if there's a chance he will have goods to trade. He spends his coin only on what he needs to survive, which means he actually eats a little better now that he's old enough to have confident chats and work on his social skills. But mainly he gives more away than he spends on himself, since he picks up a great amount of treasure or goods he can outfit himself easily that way. But others might not be so lucky, so Devin will drop a few coins in easily spotted locations where he knows an orphan or a group of beggers bed down. He doesn't have any illusions about earning enough coin to leave Dunwall - where would he go? He prefers to know the area and he has a deep understanding of this location, and would just be lost if he had to re-learn it all somewhere else, even if profitable.

**

"His name's Garest," the pub owner claimed, "and he spotted you not long ago. There is a reason I called for you." Cleeve was older, but clearly had a youthful spirit. That spirit was in the form of a black and lightning-strike yellow ... dragon.

They had met in the wee hours, after the pub closed but before dawn. A few hand signals from one black market fence to another, to a beggar that served as a lookout, to Devin, and he was guided into this underground tunnel system. It was far older than the structures above, by the look of it. But it had clearly been in use as a smuggler's hideaway between ship docks and shore, for centuries. And now, it was the shelter for a dragon, a Nekrat, who seemed to giggle with giddiness.

Will take you to the right place, I will! Garest announced, and for the first time Devin realized that this was no beast, it was a thinking, intelligent person in the form of fins and sleek hide.

"But - take? Me? Where I could go on a whale? Or a ship?" Devin asked.

"No, this isn't a place you could reach with a ship," Cleeve assured him, which wasn't much of an assurance...

He'd learn in time, however. Devin would be taught about dragons, about the Void and its connection between worlds, and in fact the dragons that could travel both the World, the Void, and... other Worlds. That there were worlds plural. Cleeve was pretty happy that the kid could understand that much too, he wasn't well educated but he was definitely smart. That would help him in the future.

For now, the nekrat Garest and the older man would take him to a spot more isolated. Cleeve helped Devin figure out how best to hold on to the sleek dragon's shoulder, and it felt like magic as they left the shelter of the docks. Diving deeply... Almost to the point of being crushed? But then the pressure relaxed and the air returned. They surfaced in a more calm but incredibly chilled location. Still night, or perhaps it was a place without sun. There they met with another... a land dragon, sort of, with legs rather than fins, and with a color scheme that looked very familiar to both Cleeve and Devin. The rich violet-blue, trimmed in gold? Those looked like --

"Shrine will be able to take him from here," the echoing voice of the Outsider moved through Devin and Cleeve with the force of the tide itself. When Devin had collected his wits enough to even raise his gaze from the dragon to the man standing on its shoulder, Cleeve had put his strong hand on the boy's shoulder. It was a good thing, too, because Devin was pretty sure he was going to float off.

"Now that's new," Cleeve said, somewhat more conversational than one might, when chatting to a god.

Shrine, the dragon, seemed to perk up and all but grinned. The golden wingsails shimmered with pale stars, glittering as he raised them. Probably, to let Cleeve get a better look at how pretty he was.

"He is, yes," the Outsider floated off the dragon's neck, and continued to float as if suspended in the water. Around this time Devin noticed that Clive had tilted his head and was looking more closely at the big dragon. And shortly after, that voice from the young looking man floating beside them echoed again. "If you want I can bring you too," the Outsider nodded toward the nekrat who almost rippled with a seal-like energy at the thought. He didn't even wait; the nekrat moved through the air like it was water, to the side of this much larger dragon.

So the trio approached the dragon again, with the Outsider extending his elegant hand to Devin first, and then to Cleeve. Devin felt how... well, how warm Cleeve had gotten as they seated themselves near the Outsider, who was rather a lot cooler to the touch than a person ought to be. Devin realized with a little chuckle, that the older barkeep was most certainly smitten with the - god.

The thoughts in Devin's mind were interrupted by the flexing of the dragon's body below him. Instinctively he gripped to stay close to the dragon's neck spine.

"You will want to take a deep breath, and hold it," the Outsider commented, "it's a bit of a trip."

Incredible chill, harsh wind the likes of which Devin had never felt tore through him. He'd clenched his eyes shut, mostly against that wind, and realized it was colder than frozen metal. His breath was all but spent by the time they emerged from the Void, through whatever space or... not space, into a new location.

Gasping for breath, he and Cleeve, and it sounded like Garest too, they could finally relax in the sudden warmth. Devin dared to open his eyes, even though there was still considerable wind. It was because they were flying, over a large and beautiful shallow bay. It wasn't night here, wherever this was, and there were people visible on the shore. He did grip a little more at the thought that now not only was he in a place that he didn't know but it was to be surrounded by a great many dragons, people, and whoever else.

Don't be afraid, it will be all right, Garest reminded him. The dragon's voice was as sunny as the light glinting off the water below. Then Garest gave off a sing-song warble which attracted the attention of those others in the water, and he squirmed free from Shrine's gentle grip to dive into the water from far above! It took a moment to realize that Cleeve was with him, drenched and laughing when they emerged from the depths.

The Outsider more gently deposited Devin onto the bay's warm and brilliant sand. Rustling his big leather wings, Shrine proceded to flop onto that sand to warm up in a very catlike manner... Once everyone was settled or where they wanted to be, someone came up to Devin to escort him over to a small structure nearby. He was bewildered, but given water and a smile for his troubles.

"We'll sign you up," the attendant, who might or might not have been human, said. "Welcome to Lantessama!"

**

All the people and smells and oh the food! This place was quite interesting even if it was a bit too... busy for Devin's taste. Another traveler, Uraimo, arrived shortly for this unusual 'clutch' of dragons. Dolkrats, apparently - a mixture of something they called a nekrat, which Cleeve's dragon was, and a single-colored fin flippered creature that someone called a Loch Nexian. Whether there was more to that, Devin might or might not find out, but he was intrigued. He and Uraimo had a little in common too, the ship captain would surely benefit from being befriended by one of these lovely creatures!

The warbling call went out, finally, that the eggs were actually hatching - this time - and the pair met up at the beach once more. They were sure that more eggs had been there, but perhaps it was just stones, or they had been moved by their mother. But from one came a grey and sand shaded dragonet, who attached itself to Uraimo, who looked amused at its antics.

There was a long and complicated call of whistles, peep peep peep pip pip it went, and for some reason, Devin realized... that was a name. Another shadow-black form moved through the shallow water next to Devin, gently touching his hand with an aqua-blue fin. The voice that came to his mind was almost-but-not-quite serious, almost somber, but it was distinct, new, and warmly settled into his soul. Medesimo, or Medimth, the dragonet announced himself with confidence. He later learned that the coloration was known as 'pool', and that now, he was ready to learn the ways of this other World.

**

They first needed to learn all the basics. Devin was attentive to the needs of this young dragonet, which appeared to make the dam and sire quite pleased with him. Anatomy and food requirements, how to prepare bedding and how to dive with the dragon safely. But once they were settled on those things, and Devin had been making notes that he was keeping in a water-safe booklet, he and Cleeve were ready to be picked up. The nekrat and new dolkrat got along 'swimmingly' (Devin groaned, Cleeve laughed loudly at his own joke) so he knew that it would be safe to follow in their wake back at Dunwall. Now if only they could bring--

"Ready to go?" The Outsider appeared directly over Devin's shoulder, startling him and causing a scramble of sand and shells. And Devin had to admit that the chuckle of amusement that the Outsider let off was exactly as dreamy as Cleeve seemed to think it was...

"I was, but now I don't know!" Devin said, clutching his chest comedically and picking up his scattered gear. His hair hadn't gotten any tamer in the month or so they'd been here, and he put one of his new fountain pens into it for 'safe keeping'. Medesimo would flop over Devin's back and poke around his hair for such goodies, but he knew that this one was off limits! He was also still small enough to sit with the humans, upon Shrine's back, while they traveled. It was hardly an effort for Medesimo to hold his breath, and the confidence in his diving ability lent itself to Devin's own. So on their return journey - well, their return to the Void anyway - was less stressful on everyone than the travel to Lantessama.

They would miss the place, it was busy but it was safe. Perhaps some day, Dunwall might say the same.

**

On their return to Dunwall the first thing that Medesimo noticed was the strange feel of the water. Even in the dim pre-dawn light his sensitive whiskers and fins worked quite well in the water. What is wrong with the lumps here?

"The... the lumps- oh. Well," Devin scratched the back of his head and found a small shell that had mysteriously wedged itself there. Probably while the Outsider was busy laughing at his surprise. It - hatched - while in his hands?! Devin had to put his conversation with the dolkrat on hold, for the moment, because from this tiny egg came an equally tiny flitter!

"Like a pearl," he breathed, "what a beautiful little - OW!" That beautiful newly hatched flit was hungry! "Sharpshell," he announced, "like what happens when an abalone breaks."

The lumps might be helpful... Medesimo announced, nudging what looked like a half-eaten piece of hagfish up onto the shore.

While the flit eagerly devoured the fish, Devin explained, "yeah the... um, the lumps are probably all the junk from the whaling slaughterhouses and runoff from the sewers."

Cleeve gave a distateful wince, looking away, "well put it that way, yeah it's pretty gross..." He was supervising their antics before opening the pub, or more accurately, opening the black market in the pub. There was a ship that would be arriving, and he impressed upon the pair and his own nekrat that it was time to hide and sleep.

"I'll be nearby and if anything happens don't worry," the older man said, "I'll handle it."

His brawling skill was still well known among the tavern patrons, after all.

**

It was when Devin realized he was now a 'grown up', he was eighteen and his dragon friend was nearly four. While he still did all the things he had before bonding, scrounging the shores for things to sell and working on his collection of pretty shells in his hideaway, Cleeve had also convinced him that he could, in fact, use the money he'd been earning...

"To buy the apartment!" Devin exclaimed, "of course! Why... didn't I even think of it, oh yeah because the magistrate would never--"

"You never know until you try, and coin has a way of changing minds," Cleeve said.

With the two dragons patrolling together, usually with a little overlap when one was taking an early night 'shift' and the other the wee hours of morning, they were well informed of any ship arrivals and definitely anything fun that had drifted to the sea floor. So they were almost overrun with shiny things from wrecks and dropped shipments, Cleeve actually had to reopen the market stall under the main tavern. It wasn't really a hidden thing, either, and it had appeared that the Empress and her Protector were apt to ignore all of the goings-on even though they were right up there directly above in the Tower.

Cleeve had been keeping a small amount of that coin whenever Devin and Medesimo went out on patrol or gathering journeys, and handed a lockbox to the younger man. "This will come in handy, too," he winked.

Devin's arms were surely strong enough from all his swimming and lifting, climbing and occasionally sparring... but when he reached for the box it felt like the entire Isle's worth of coin was held inside. He also nodded toward the counter nearby, where a folded packet of clothing rested. "You need to look your best. I can't guarantee your hair won't need its own whole wardrobe," he ruffled the peak of the young man's hair, "but you'll at least look presentable." Sharpshell peeped and settled on the starched-and-folded shirt, and Cleeve shooed her away from it gently.

The dragons remained out to sea just far enough to be unseen by the shore guard, but also awake while the pair discussed their new arrangement. Devin got ready, cleaned and actually bathed with soap (he didn't really like the fruity smell but if it would impress the magistrate so be it), and put on his new clothes. Obviously he wouldn't be swimming in them! These would be reserved for such occasions, as he gathered the pay he'd got and the lockbox (and key), and the properly written location of the apartment at the top of the building he'd lived next to for most of his life. It had still been empty, though a couple times people had gone through the place trying to 'scare out' the ghosts... Oh that didn't go well for them when they felt Medesimo's mind in their own urging them to leave - now.

Devin wanted to leave 'now' but instead pulled his courage up and put Sharpshell aside. "You have to stay here, I can't have you..." She gave a creeling cry that sounded for all the world exactly like the gulls. "... Well okay, fine you can come but you have to stay outside the building. Pretend to be a bird, it's okay." She cooed again and all was well in the world. He could feel Medesimo's mind chuckling as well.

The structure was terrifying to the young Devin, but his mind was made up, and he knew that the place he was going to buy had been empty so long the government agency just wanted to be done with it. That's what Cleeve had said, anyway, and it was what Devin was prepared to tell them too.

He felt so out of place, but he at least still looked prepared and wealthy enough to pass. The others in this marble-floored office were clearly a touch put off by his presence, but when he was next in line, he proudly presented the address information and the amount he'd added up beside it.

"This is the place I'd like, and," he moved that second piece of paper with a higher amount of coin-numbers than he'd ever had in his life before now, "I believe this would cover it and the taxes."

When the clerk sought out the folder with paperwork on that location, she got a strange pucker to her face, but then closely examined the information. True, it was in a place around the edges of the Tower, literally up the street from where Cleeve's pub the Black Pony was. But it had been abandoned and ruined since the rat plague! Attempts had been made to fix it up, newer plumbing and all, but no buyers were ever quite serious about it even if they had been excited before.

She didn't know the reason they were hesitant to follow through with those purchases was standing right in front of her!

(He heard the chuckling from the dragon's mind, and the raucous call of 'a sea bird' from the open window nearby...)

So it happened that the orphan calling himself Devin Sand became the full official owner of the structure on Kaldwin Boulevard, taxes paid in advance, with the promise that it would be 'suitable for habitation' in no time. Before he left, however, Devin paused, still holding the paperwork and having tucked the now-emptied lock box back into his satchel. He stared hard at the printed map, the officially stamped documents, his own half-legible signature on them. "Will... I be able to open ... maybe, a shop here?"

"A - a shop," the clerk stammered. "Well I suppose so, what you do with the property is your business, but if it involves financial transactions you'd need to prepare some other--"

"Do you have the paperwork?" Devin asked, before he could allow himself time to hem and haw or back out. "I'd at least like to see what I would be in for, you know - so much to read, fine print, and all?"

"I suppose there's no harm in giving you copies to look over, though you might want to check again ... these things sometimes get updated," she replied. A well prepared office, Devin noted, she knew just where to look for those papers. Thus armed, on his way out he thanked her and gave an honest smile, for the first time looking forward to dealing with the Empire's legal system...

**

"You sure about this, son?" Cleeve asked, and Devin nodded. The three children behind Devin, small but almost as big as him due to his still-small stature even as a 20 year old, peered around their 'street savior' with big eyes and hopeful pouts. Oh, they were good at that...

"As sure as I've ever been," he replied. "Sand Crabs have to stick together, right?"

"Better than mudlarks," the one boy muttered.

"Of all the things I ever thought you'd be doing with yourself," Cleeve slapped his hand (gently) on the younger man's shoulder, "opening a charity orphanage isn't one of them, but here we are."

"Will you come with?" Devin asked.

"This time, yes," the elder said. "If you're going to present yourself as a legitimate businessman, you'll need to have a partner and proof that your young charges will have training and job duties when they're old enough, right?"

The twin girls glanced at each other with doubt in their expressions, but Cleeve winked at them and they giggled.

So back to the magistrate, back to the legal center of Dunwall, and even - back to the same clerk as he'd dealt with on a bi-monthly basis for taxes and reports. She'd actually become a bit attached to the young man, even if the other customers and merchants she served were apt to snub him. He'd made good with his promise, the building was in fine shape, repainted and with new fixtures, good furnishings, and windows that would keep the heat in winter and open for light in the summer.

He got the papers notarized, signed, stamped with Empress Emily's seal. It definitely hadn't hurt his chances that he'd actually grown bold enough to have written directly to the Empress about it. So many young children - like he'd been - still had no family, no home, and were in danger constantly in this city. Not that the city was as dangerous as it had been when they had both been kids! And he'd sent the image he'd drawn up - with the note of 'the abbey won't notice will it?' - of his idea.

She'd sent her blessing, a hand-written note including a tiny smiley-face of her own, she was an artist too! (He got starry-eyed at that, actually.) The more important part was that this letter also fully validated his request. At last, with yet more taxes and fees paid and an official business licence to frame in his 'office', Sand Crabs Alms House For Children was opened!

Devin was proud, and knew that both of the dragons as well as Cleeve... And the Outsider, too, were all proud of him. Devin was never going to be a very social sort, he was always much more at home running on the beaches and scouring wrecks, but he also remembered where he came from with a sad and wistful sigh. He got help from the twins Ayla and Keyla, and Pace as well, to put up the signage, to add their map to the back wall, and then to spread the news. It was more than a flop house, it was different than just the charities that would then 'hire' children to work in mines or on ships. This was to be a steady dock for these drifting children to moor at. They did set up three sets of bunk beds, so there was room for Devin himself and six others. Cleeve took care of the food needs for them all, since he'd hired a cook for the pub in the meantime. As long as the ingredients had come in (from wherever, he didn't care) she'd put them all into a tasty edible format. Since the pub was barely two blocks away, and the actual docks right behind it, the streets here were now the 'Sand Crabs' territory.

At first, a fair number of gangs attempted to push them out. In response, the City Guard cracked down a little (knowing full well that Cleeve's market was there, they let certain folk in, kept others away). Then... well, then the upper crust started trying to move back into the big buildings under the Tower. Boyle's business was... not doing well. Their signage had long since fallen to the ground and been removed, waiting for a new business. The Dunwall Courier was still doing very well, and it was to the Courier that many of the orphans would find jobs! Delivering papers, and even in some cases reporting for the editor!

But those are their stories... This one still belongs to Devin - who lovingly tends to his dragon. Never a huge one, Medesimo often strayed out during the late afternoon as the shadows crept over the shore and docks. He could be mistaken for a seal, or even just a shadow with the light reflecting on the waters. There were still 'lumps' in the water, but by this time the Empress had made a concerted effort to get the city including the docks all fresh and clean. The loss of most of the major whaling slaughterhouses was a gain for other industries, including importing parts and labor from Serkonos to put up new and safe windmills for power!

Devin held on to the dragon's fins, legs nested behind his legs. They swam out and circled around the lighthouse - Emily wouldn't talk about it, but Devin got the impression that she didn't care for it much. Yes, he had actually met with and would meet again, the very Empress herself! Medesimo lumbered himself up onto the rocks of that lighthouse island, Wrenhaven it was known as, and they looked at the city beyond. It wasn't clearly visible of course, but the glow from Dunwall's varied skyline lit the low clouds in a warm tone, reflected on the waters.

"It's nice and warm tonight," Devin commented, "I wonder... if there are other dragons out there?"

Here? Yes, there are. More than when I was new here. The dragon seemed to listen to the aether, and seemed confident there would be more later.