Forever

Forever was the name of a large and powerful dragon living during the New Age. One of the oldest living creatures in existence, he dwelled within the Swordedge Mountains in the country of Torlynn.

Forever was an ancient creature, who was known to many culture by many different names. Among the names he was known over the years included Xanthir, Gurrrr’th’kant, Bladetooth, Sclarentocht, Dejarlonsh, Fex, Moonus, Phlephaa, and Broughbew. His favorite name assigned to him by other races was the name Forever, which he felt had a certain poetic irony.

History[]

Forever's most dangerous encounter with the Greater Races came when he battled the human pirate Captain Peg-Face for the storehouse of treasure aboard his ship. Forever hunted the ship from under the sea, biting a hole in the hull that inadvertantly deposited the ship's treasure at the bottom of the sea. Captain Peg-Face fired a harpoon gun at Forever, catching the dragon in the face and destroying his left eye. Forever dragged the pirate into the sky, briefly engaging him in an aerial struggle that culminated when Forever swallowed the captain whole. The battle with the pirate captain would go down in history as a notable encounter, to the point where it would be commemorated in illustrated text.

In the days that followed, the Greater Races banded together to hunt the dragons to near extinction. It was possible that the tendencies of other dragons to steal food and gold and women from them had something to do with this, though it is not known if Forever participated in these activities directly. The surviving dragons finally settled upon a treaty with the other races, agreeing to leave their lands and possessions alone and in exchange, the dragons would be allowed to live out the remainder of their lives in peace. The Swordedge Mountains were created as a safe haven for the dragons, and Forever and his remaining kin lived there for the better part of a century.

At some point, the King of Torlynn Castle traveled to the mountains, seeking to claim a baby dragon as his pet, but encountered Forever instead. Forever made quick work of the army of soldiers the King had brought to claim his prize; Forever chose to spare the King's life in exchange for all the gold in his kingdom. After the King's health began to fail, Forever offered him a vial of his own blood if the King would continue to deliver gold to Forever's keep on a regular basis. Forever asked for enough gold to cover the floor of his cavern, something the King seemed unable to provide, despite his best efforts to raise capital. It was once speculated that Forever might have made similar arrangements with other kingdoms as well, though this theory was not confirmed.

The Lost Treasure of Torlynn[]

By unctual year 3887, Forever was the only known dragon living in the Swordedge Mountains. A party consisting of Mariposa, Four, and Christabel sought him out in their search for the missing butterfly people, but Forever knew nothing of such matters. Indeed, he was fairly unconcerned about the affairs of mere mortals, though he did provide them with a jeweled sword that he wasn't particuarly fond of, and agreed to carry their airship out of the mountains and back to Torlynn soil.

The Quest for the World-Breaker[]

At some point prior to April 3889, Mirabel Miller contacted Forever and proposed a business arrangement: She promised him one thousand avoirdupois pounds of gold, delivering half as a down payment, if he would secure the Butterfly's Flight from Torlynn Castle and return it to her. Forever would later detect the scent of Christabel on the ship and, mistaking it for Mirabel's, accepted her as the rightful owner. Forever tampered with the minds of the castle guards, who never recalled seeing Forever remove the airship from the stable in the castle courtyard and carry it off into the night sky. Forever never received the other half of his promised payment, however.

After suspecting that a dragon was responsible for rewriting the memories of the Royal Knights of Torlynn Castle during an encounter with the Moth Dominion, Mariposa once again sought out Forever to ask if he had been involved. He protested that his only recent involvement with Men was to reclaim the airship and return it to its owner. His theory was that another dragon must have been involved, perhaps an immature terragon, but he also assured her that if a dragon had been born recently, he would have known about it.

Later, after Mariposa and several of her companions were trapped in a snow avalanche in White Mesa, Forever became telepathically aware of their plight. He took a certain morbid interest in their imminent deaths and approached the site to immerse himself in the experience. After he telepathically overheard a passing thought belonging to Syxx, in reference to a statue with jewels for eyes that she'd seen in the desert, Forever rescued them all, asking for the statue in exchange for saving their lives. After delivering the group to Torlynn Castle, Forever accompanied Syxx and Mariposa to the desert to retrieve the statue. Upon returning to the castle, they found it under siege by the airship and a band of goblins led by Mirabel. Forever entered the fray, decimating the moths who had taken control of the airship and recovering both the unconscious form of Syxx and the assembled World-Breaker from the ship only moments before it collided with Torlynn Castle.

In the aftermath of the World-Breaker's destruction, Forever claimed a jeweled eye from the statue, inserting it into his own eye socket. In light of Christabel's transformation into a dragon, when asked if there was a cure for Christabel's condition, Forever was offended by the prospect. He agreed to take Christabel into his care, though he implied that he would end her life if she wished it.

Alternate Reality (Various)[]

When Four began to tamper with reality using the fate-shifter, he arrived at a moment prior to the World-Breaker's destruction. Forever was capable of sensing that Four had transcended the astral plane. He recognized that Four must have made a deal with the Ancient One and tried to warn him of the dangers involved in meddling with the natural flow of events. He further pointed out that not every reality to which Four journeyed was going to have a dragon to steer him back on course. Forever's words were largely lost on Four, who continued to manipulate the continuum as he saw fit.

In another unfolding of events, Four returned to the point before the Ancient One was unleashed, but the Dwarves, believing the Elves to have attempted to free the demon, launched an attack on the Elvenwood. Forever took notice of an unspoken plea by Talla Unica, who had developed strong clairvoyant powers and promised to reveal to Forever the point at which he would die. Intrigued, Forever took Talla Unica to the Giant, which was advancing towards the Elvenwood, and rescued the ones who had infiltrated the machine. The Dwarf personnel aboard the Giant responded by motivating the Giant's arm to strike Forever in mid-air, knocking him out of the sky.

In the aftermath of the encounter, Talla Unica revealed to Forever how and when he would die. He found the details of the news to be "disturbing" but "not altogether unexpected."

Embarrassment of Riches[]

Forever and Christabel were later spotted outside the town of Stockwood, prompting Four and Mariposa to investigate. The dragons engaged in a fierce aerial battle that culminated in Christabel impaling Forever with a chunk of bloodrock, ending his life.

Forever's body was quickly consumed by the fire that existed within him, likely leaving only ashes behind, but Four and Mariposa did not verify this to be certain.

The Veil of Souls[]

Seeking those who could challenge the sorceress Deorwynn, Brian Devonhyre briefly considered recruiting Forever, unaware that Christabel had killed him.

Behind the Scenes[]

Some of Forever's many names are thinly-veiled references to the characters D.J. Lance, Plex, Muno, Foofa, and Brobee from the children's program Yo Gabba Gabba.

Due largely to the film Dragonheart, the author will always hear Forever's dialogue in the voice of Sean Connery.