The previous day had not been kind to Coriloc. For all his efforts, misfortune clung to him like a reaper. Striking when he had his back turned or when he finally found momentum. Ready to claim him at any moment and nearly had, had it not been for the timely intervention of Lusilya. Even after the healing touch of Vimszi, he had gone to bed beyond exhausted, drained, sore, aching, that even the slightest of movement threatened to cause pain to shoot through every part of his body.

The following morning, he felt none of it. He ever so carefully moved his arm, yet no ache. No discomfort. No pain. If anything, he never felt better in his life. That he never felt stronger. That he was a brand new him. But then came the slew of questions going through his head. Shouldn’t he be in pain? Shouldn’t he be struggling to move? Though after some thought, he waved them away. Vimszi was a skilled Druid. She must have helped him further before she left. Coriloc then looked to his side, to the still slumbering Griselda. With the greatest of care, he moved away so as to not disturb her and leave her to sleep in peace, but not before sneaking in a light peck on the cheek.

“The mirror.” Was his only thought, carefully making his way to the next room over.

As he stood before the mirror, he took in the sight before him. He was wearing a long sleeve tunic and simple slacks and most of his scales still had that expected glimmer and sheen to them, that familiar blueish color still holding strong despite everything.

“Everything is still normal… But then why…” He leans in closer to the mirror, trying to find anything different. Then he saw it. Lines of dull scales across his face and neck, nearly hidden from the light of the room.

“Was it from yesterday? I may have to clean them then. Nothing too troublesome.” He reached for a small towel to soak and began to wipe at the scales. Yet nothing changed with them. The only glimmer came from the moisture of the towel that quickly faded. A small huff of indignation as he tried again with a slightly firmer, yet nothing changed. He pressed down a bit more firmly as he continued to clean his scales.

“Perhaps I have slacked in ta-” The towel went across far more smoothly than before, causing him to lose his balance and stumble forward. He could scarcely hear the light clattering of scales on the ground. He immediately dropped the towel and reached for the spot he had attempted to clean in a panic, looking for the source. He moved his foot, kicking against some of the discarded scales and quickly looked down. He picked one up with the greatest care, eyeing it with worry. “But… Why? My scales…” He very carefully removed his hand from the spot, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

Under his hand were brand new, bright silver scales glimmering brighter than his own ever had. A color far removed from his usual shade of blue.

“My… Scales… These… These are not my scales…” He repeated those words over and over as he traced over the rest of the dull scales on his neck. “But these are from…” Coriloc quickly removed his tunic and took a good look in the mirror. At the center of his chest was what appeared to be a scorch mark, a remnant of the powerful bolt that struck him. On his left flank, a large wound from a drake’s tail. On his right arm was a bite wound from the same drake. But most notably were the veins running across his body, making him appear as though he had been broken into pieces. The remains of a powerful Inflict Wounds spell.

“My scales…” He reached for the mirror, pressing against it as if to check it was real. He reached for the magic and sensed nothing from the mirror. “Is this… Is this some strange dream? When will I awake?” Pulling his hand away, he went to pinch himself in the arm only to hear more clattering. He looked down in shock, having unintentionally reached for his ‘injured’ arm and instead revealing more bright silver scales. “It is but a dream… It must be…” He reached to pinch the new scales but was shocked to find them far harder than his old ones. Even if he could get a grip, he couldn’t pinch them like he could the rest of his body. So he reached for another part and dug in with his claws. The sharp pain and tiny trickle of blood running down his arm only proved that he was not dreaming or going mad.

“This is.. Not a dream?” A soft word and the wound was healed. Finally, he reached for the scorch mark on his chest. “Then even here?” He began to scrape at the ‘wound’ but stopped. He didn’t need to do this by hand. By instinct, he raised his hand and began to reach for the weave. He could see much more than before. How it flowed. How he could control it now. With a word, he swept his hand down and all the dull scales were wiped off his body. The floor was covered in a small pile of them, falling free from his back, chest, and running down the legs of his slacks. He looked with horror and disbelief at the growing pile before forcing himself to face the mirror.

The veins of dull scales were gone, now replaced by the same scales of bright silver, glimmering brightly in the light. Where the dull scales made him look broken, shattered into pieces, the silver scales instead ‘fixed’ him. Like he was put back together after everything and made whole once more. That something more was growing within him and with each passing moment he stared at his reflection, he felt it. Something slowly rising from within him. Something greater. Something powerful. But what he hated was how he felt. Something he thought he already felt before.

He felt whole.

---

Bit of a bigger moment for him and something that was actually spur of the moment in terms of design and concept, but it *really* paid off. Especially thanks to  starfallhybrid bringing it home with another amazing piece of Coriloc. Now go get a comm off them.

Level 5 College of Valor Bard/Level 1 Draconic Sorcerer

HP - 55
STR - 10
DEX - 14
CON - 12
INT - 12
WIS - 11
CHA - 18

Coriloc is mine
Artist is  starfallhybrid
Dragonborn/D&D are copyright WotC/Hasbro