Sforzando

STATS
Name: Sforzando
Gender: Female 
Mother: Bessie (Lake Erie Monster) 
Species: Loch Nexian
Place of origin: East Rock Territory
Description: A muted rock-red sea-dragoness with smooth hide, a long tail and powerful flippers.  
   Size at hatching: approximately 4 inches from keel to shoulder, 32 inches long.
   Size at Reproductive Maturity (2 years): approximately 3 feet from keel to shoulder, 24 feet long.
   Size: They will continue to grow at the rate of one foot of length per year (1.5 inches at the shoulder).
   Proportions: 30% neck, 30% body, 40% tail. Their height from keel to shoulder is 1/8th their length.
Personality: Sforzando seeks freedom and solitude without being a complete hermit. She likes spending time on her own but also likes to stay in the loop. Like the musical element she was named for, Sforzando stays hidden but jumps out at you at unexpected times.  
Abilities: 
   *High Intelligence
   *Extra large lung capacity
   *Musical vocalizations and perfect pitch.

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LORE
Sometimes, the Nexus picks up beings from one place and deposits them another. Or moves them from one time to another. Sometimes it makes dragons and other creatures out of nothing and sets them free in the world. It is not unheard of for dragons that physically match certain hatcheries or specific clutches to appear, but be wholly unrelated to the others that hatched from it.
In this case, the Nexus merely brushed two places together. A gravid cryptid crossed between and found herself in an unfamiliar lake. Her fright caused sudden and premature labour, and she laid her clutch in the shallows of a lake in East Rock Territory and fled back the way she’d come. Earth-born witnesses said she looked like the Loch Ness monster, and so the eggs became known as LochNexians.
One of these eggs hatched into Sforzando. She vocalised her name as a soft thrill that ended with a bang and then died out. She grew up without much incidents, cared for by local sponsors. After two years, when she'd reached maturity but was far from full-grown, Sforzando decided that it was time to look for her own lake to go inhabit. 
Something in her genetic make-up made her look for solitude and cold depths. To sink deep below the surface and observe from a distance. To be free and elusive. She asked for passage to a world where there were more sea dragons, hoping to hear from them for likely living places. 
She was dropped off at Lantessama where the Nekrats and Atcydia welcomed her without reserve. She soon knew however that Syl'Neriss wasn't the place for her. It was too crowded. She wanted some company, but not this many of her kind to share the waters with. 
It was then that one of the nekrats invited her to their secondary home, a small settlement on a planet that had no draconic species of it's own. Surely she would be able to find a place for herself there? The Nekrat, Chunyon, was bonded to one of the settlement's leaders and very inviting. 
Sforzando agreed to take a look and followed Chunyon when they teleported. She would not be able to travel on her own, but there were enough nekrats present to help her go somewhere else if she wanted to. But Gremyne was nice indeed. The sea was deep and had plenty of fish. The humans were ignorant and easy to fool. But most of all, she had leagues of space to call her own. 

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
LochNex dragons are a sexually dimorphic breed. Males have a long eel fin type crest from forehead to the tips of their tails. Females have no crests. Other than this they are the same. Their hides are muted greens, blues, and greys, and they have opalescent eyes like Old World dragons. Their forelimbs are strong flippers. Their upper forelimbs are short, which causes the keel of the dragon to be only a few inches above the ground. Their rear limbs are longer, and also have finny feet.
They cannot speak verbally or telepathically. They can make a wide range of musical vocalizations and can communicate among their kind with these sounds. They can understand a large number of languages, and can answer yes/no questions. More complex discussions can be had with pre-determined codes, but that is still very time consuming.
A strong telepath can ‘read’ words and concepts from their minds, if the LochNexian is willing. If they bond a dragon with telepathic speech, the two will have no difficulty communicating.
They cannot fly but are expert swimmers. They are supremely graceful in the water but ungainly on land.
They do not have teleportation or breath weapons, but are accomplished spitters. If they have a mouthful of water they can spit a long distance. This trait might be useful to their progeny.
These dragons are genetically malleable, moreso than other breeds. This may be due to the interference of the Nexus while they were eggs. They will blend easily with any other dragons, aquatic or otherwise.
If the eggs are kept wet (as these were in the shallows of a lake) the hatchlings will be aqruatic. Eggs kept warm and dry will hatch terrestrial with somewhat longer legs and long clawed toes rather than fins. Eggs kept in warm and humid conditions will hatch more amphibious.
As these are the first known LochNexians, they were given into the care of Sponsors to make sure they got what they needed to thrive. It is generally thought that they would be ok on their own given that they are sentient and very smart, but loneliness could be a problem. Once they are grown, they can go off into the Nexus to find their own places. They do not require bonds, but probably would like company of some sort.
It is unknown if LochNexians will have any issues with inbreeding.
Names: As LochNexians are not capable of humanoid speech, their chosen names can be more conceptual and musical – Glissando. Staccato. Arpeggio. Forte. Telepathic readers can pick up what the dragons call themselves. Their humanoid and dragon companions can translate these, or may have given the hatchling a name or nickname that isn’t related to their chosen names. Some will want to be called by their chosen names. Some will be fine being called Frank or Nessie or whatever their friends decide to call them.
Bonding: LochNexians do not bond naturally. They can be bonded to by a hatchling, or can have a bond forged with another through magical means.
Preferred Habitat: Lakes, rivers, oceans, bogs and fens maybe? Just so long as they’re deep enough to swim in, because the premier LochNexians are swimmers.
Diet: Fish and water plants are preferred, but they are omnivorous and can eat all plants and animals generally considered edible.
Resistances: Unknown. May or may not be susceptible to poisons and toxins. Let me know what you find out.

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A TRIP TO LANTESSAMA
Sforzando let herself float in the warmer current below the surface. The oceans of gremyne were large and quite hospitable to her kind. The nekrats who shared the waters were mostly easygoing though some could be a bit irritating. The two other LochNexians who'd appeared after her had taken a home quite a distance away. She could talk to them if she wanted to. Every now and then a message reached her.
In summary, life had become a bit of a repetitive drag. And so, it wasn't strange that Sforzando suddenly found herself in different waters... She glanced around and found the place quite alright. Although, something niggled at the back of her mind.
It didn't take too long for her to realise what it was as she was suddenly surrounded by a large pod of nekrats who all cmmenced talking at once. The resulting explosion of telepathic over-exposure caused Sforzando to launch a loud keen of her own which seemed to have the others back off.
When the silt had settled, one returned and told her:
"Welcome to lantessama. We were certain you were here for the clutch so we were excited. It's always nice to see our little ones bond to a proper sea dragon. Plus, you'll be returning to Dawn Cove which means they won't be alone."
Sforzando acquiesced. Apparently one could never get rid of nekrats.

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HATCHING
A pleasantly warm day presented itself on Lantessama. It was a day with sunshine that warmed the sand and invited to come outside. A cool breeze helped to keep people there while others - who commented about people risking a sunburn - sought the shade of the trees. In the bay, nekrats cared for a small clutch of eggs. The donated eggs were all relatively the same age and once one started to crack, the others usually followed. And it seemed that today would be that moment as the sun coaxed even those hiding in shells to come out and play.
The call to gather went out and soon the lazy relaxation of the day was replaced with the buzz of expectation and exhileration. Deep in the water waited Sforzando, a Loch Nexian who had come to see whether or not she would find a companion here.
The people didn't have to wait long for the tell-tale fountain spurts that indicated some of the eggs had hatched. Suddenly the bay waters were alive with fins, tails and the occasional head. Spectators craned their necks in an attempt to make out the colours but it was hard as most of the hatchlings had blue or teal colour, but one did stand out. The orange-brown kitten bonded first, while two others joined a pack with an otter shifter and a dragon.
While the first three nekrats were being fed by their new bonds or packmates, a last nekrat hatchling swam out toward Sforzando. The turquoise-coloured Pool was a male. He was quiet by nature and preferred to keep away from the bustling shore. He met up with Sforzando and recognised a like-minded soul. The Loch Nexian introduced herself with both her real name and the meaningful concept it entailed. At the end she added an inquiring thrill.
The Pool considered the response and then chose a name that would fit. He wove a little hummed melody that he had heard while in the egg and that had appealed to him.
"Ritornello." he added, requesting to be allowed to become a constant in Sforzando's life.
Sforzando hummed his name in consent and then she went to hunt for food, Ritonello in close pursuit.

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GROWING UP
Ritornello hummed his name through the ocean, echoes and other names returning to him, letting him know where everyone was. Of course he could pinpoint the location of the other nekrats in other ways. And he also somehow knew where Sforzando was. Like he knew where his tail was. Not in the absolute sense, but he always knew which direction she was in. But even despite those advantages, locating others the vocal way had a charm of it's own. Hearing all those voices gave the ocean a warm and welcoming feeling.
As he thought that, warmth came to him over the bond-link he shared with Sforzando. Her mind was different from nekrats and humans. But they understood each other. As evidenced by his thoughts, Sforzando appeared next to him to give Ritornello a sea-hug with her flippers and tail. Ritornello returned the gesture.
"It's okay, I know I'm not alone." Ritornello assured his bond.
Sforzando swam back a little distance. In her mind she gave him a sneak peak of an idea she felt was worth considering. They could always fill the ocean with more sea dragons. More and more nekrats were coming every year so why shouldn't some be related to them?
Ritornello approved and chased his bond as she hurried away to more secluded places.

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Intro

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All images found with google
Lantessama Isle