King Arrax, leader of the luporas


Queen Amelia, mate of King Arrax


Prince Gallant, first born son of Queen Amelia & King Arrax


Princess Echo, last-born daughter of Queen Amelia & King Arrax

the royal lupora family

King Arrax looked down at his egglings, quickly spotting the one he wanted : a large egg speckled with gold. He made no move to grab it, simply waiting for it to hatch. As he suspected, the largest egg hatched first. A handsome lupora pup tumbled out, and he instantly grabbed it. He put it on the throne as he grabbed the next egg, crushing the tiny form inside. Queen Amelia cried out "Arrax! You can't do this!" King Arrax barely glanced at her as he crushed the next egg, and the next. Soon, one of the other eggs hatched, and King Arrax quickly slit the pup's throat with his claw. Queen Amelia grabbed the smallest egg, and weeping, she fled the room. She ran through the courtyard, clutching the egg to her chest, and didn't stop until she reached the high mountains.
She stopped in a small cave, gently placing the eggling down. She watched as the tiny pup crawled through the crack in the egg. When the pup was out, it howled, and it's high melody echoed through the mountains. Queen Amelia smiled. "I'm going to name you Echo, and you will never have to live in the palace." Echo tilted her head towards her mother, her red eyes glowing with understanding. Suddenly, Queen Amelia heard King Arrax calling. "I'll see you soon, Echo," she whispered, her eyes glimmering with tears. "Just stay secret and safe."

ten years later...
Echo bounded up to the edge of the cave, knowing that her mother would be there. As her mother walked up, she sprinted towards her, smiling. However, Queen Amelia was not. "We have to get out of here," she said. Echo's smile faded. "Why?" Queen Amelia looked at her sternly. "There's no time for questions." Echo ran after her mother, toward umbra forest. They sprinted down the mountain, dodging trees, rocks, and thorns. Queen Amelia finally stopped at the entrance to the forest. Echo was confused. "Where are we?" she asked. Her mother didn't respond, only ran further into the forest. Soon, they came to a small village. Queen Amelia walked to the school and guided Echo inside.
Echo looked around at the large building, observing the carved wooden panels surrounding the main hall, the large windows, and the desk at the front where an old black zolnixi was sitting. She turned to ask her mother where they were, but she had disappeared. At the same time, a young Qitari walked up to her. "Are you lost?" she asked. Echo turned around, surprised, to see a blue Qitari, about four years older than her, staring at her. "you should ask Jasper. He works at the front desk." She pointed to the black zolnixi sitting at the desk.
Echo took a deep breath, then walked up to the zolnixi. "Hello? Can you tell me where I'm supposed to be?" she asked. The zolnixi looked at her, smiled, and said, "of course. You're the third room on the right, just to the left of the entrance hall. Here's a map of the school and your schedule." He handed her two rolls of parchment, and pointed to a hallway to the left, marked with a blue diamond.

Echo walked down the hallway, looking at the rooms. Eventually, she came to her room, a medium sized room with four different sleeping areas : a stone ledge, a pile of silk pillows, an icy nest, and a soft bed of moss and leaves. She quickly jumped up on the stone ledge, settling in with the soft feathers and moss that someone left there. She placed her items on a rack next to the ledge, and read one of the scrolls that she took from a rack by the door.
Soon, a young lighira paced into the room, her glittering black eyes looking around at the cave. She walked to the silk pillows, circled once, and laid down, still alert.

The lighira glanced in Echo's direction, pricking her ears. "You're not from around here, are you?" she asked. Surprised, Echo answered. "No. I live in the mountains north of here." The lighira looked at her, slightly surprised. "I'm Lightning, and I'm from the desert to the south." She turned around, looking at a scroll rack, as a small ryori entered the room. Her presence seemed to bring an icy chill over the room, and she swept toward the icy nest, silent. Lightning looked at her curiously, observing her. The small ryori seemed to hold millions of secrets. Trying to break the tension, Echo said, "So, what's your first class?" Lightning looked back at Echo, and replied, "we have history together. I suppose we better be ready for tomorrow" She paced back to her pillows, and settled in, ready to sleep.