Name: Mercé Cadena

Gender Identity: Female

Sexual Orientation: Asexual, but Demiromantic

Age: 51, born in 1969 (Looks roughly 26)

Ethnicity: Catalonian (From Sitges, Spain)

Deion: Merce stands 5'6'' and weighs in at roughly 174lbs. She's not considered thin or shapely, and her 'added' weight is mostly centered in her thighs and backside, with a bit of padding on her stomach. Her face is round and a bit weathered from the sand a sun, while also having a wide smile and large eyes that appear to take up much of her face. This makes her average to look at; not pretty but not horrid either. Merce's eyes are a cloudy blue in the sunlight, but darken when in doors. Her hair is mousy brown, but shimmers golden like her dragon’s eyes when in certain lighting. It's thick and naturally straight, but she tends to keep it in a messy pony tail and out of her way.

Amphora, Merce's dragon side, is a medium sized, but lithe 'European' dragon. She's an extremely pale blue, almost appearing a pearlescent white in bright lighting. The blue lightens even further along her belly and darkens towards her spine and the tops of her wings. Amphora's silver horns are short and thin, as well as the row of spines that start at the back of her head, follow her backbone, and end between her wings. Her eyes are a bright gold.

Dragon or Hunter?: Subtropical Nature

About: Merce was 26 when she accidentally stumbled upon a scalestone buried deep within Dolmen de Menga, a 4,000-year-old passage tomb. Though the archaeological site had been excavated many years prior, new research suggested there were more passages not yet discovered and Merce had been lucky enough to be an intern put on the program. Now, 25 years later she's beginning to understand what exactly has happened to her and how her life has been irreversibly changed. She's not sure whether for the better or worse just yet. Being naturally curious and with a passion for learning, Merce finds the entire thing fascinating, terrifying of course, but also extraordinary. In many ways she's still too new at everything to understand the consequences. But eventually she will.

Though their relationship started out rocky, with Amphora fighting for the reins after her first, disastrous ‘relationship’ with her human host, the last ten years have been relatively peaceful between the two. Merce knows when to give in and Amphora knows when it's becoming to much. Of course they still have their moments, but because both human and dragon are relative pacifists they don't last nor do they put a serious strain on either of them. After leaving Spain using inheritance from her grandparents, Merce's been teaming up with archaeological groups from around the world who need an extra pair of hands. Archaeology's not a lucrative business, and with her credentials she's usually paid in boarding and food - which she's perfectly okay with. Her more recent adventures have brought her to Canada, where she’s now teamed up with an unlikely duo.  

 

Amphora’s story is important because it’s effected so much of Merce’s and her dragon’s relationship. Before she was called Amphora, the dragon had been called Erii by her human, Sree. The two had had a peaceful, happy 150 years together before Sree had eventually settled down and married a marques. Then along came a baby, who Amphora had adored just as much as Sree. Like most things though, it couldn’t last and the child was murdered by a grifter and hunter in 1861. Amphora, devastated, had gone on a rampage in her grief, destroying many villages and towns and killing multiple humans – including Sree’s husband Kleon. Sree, when she was able to retake control, had been so horrified by what Amphora had done she’d decided the dragon was to dangerous to be allowed to continue existing. She’d found the grifter’s knife and used it on herself, trapping Amphora back in her stone. Of course, what Amphora doesn’t know is that these events have had a much further impact than she realizes and the consequences continue to this day.

Other Notes:

- Has a BA in archaeology from UAB Barcelona, and was only two semesters from her Masters before her inner turmoil with Amphora grew to much to concentrate fully.

- Has never wanted a family and never actively pursued a relationship. She's always preferred her work. At least until now..

- Loves to travel, and gets itchy feet if she's stuck in one place for too long.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Name: Zakhar Belyakov

Gender Identity: Male

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Age: 34

Ethnicity: Slavic, though from which country is anyone's guess. 

Deion: Zakhar is 6'2'' and athletically build from a life of training and hunting. He's got a scamp-ish air about him and a nearly permanent, misleading grin. With sharp cheekbones, thin lips, and hooded eyes, he's not classically handsome; but rather closer to being a 'pretty boy' if not for the perma-stubble and square jaw. His thick, black hair is cut in a modern, short style so that the top is slightly longer then the sides. This allows for the naturally wavy tendencies to show. Zakhar's eyes are a dark brown, bordering on black when not in natural light. He's got a mish-mash of small scars, but nothing extremely noteworthy.

Dragon or Hunter?: Hunter

About: Zakhar’s a seventh generation hunter whose family has been passing down secrets and tricks/tips of the trade throughout the generations. And though most have been on how to track and kill dragons, the lessons also included other things important in their line of work; including stealing, breaking-and-entering, how to hide a body, and Zakhar’s favorite, grifting. Not only have these lessons worked well when hunting dragons, but also when applied to the families ‘day job’ (see Family Sheet below). Zakhar’s job in both dragon hunting and the bratva life is grifting, which is basically swindling and fraud in order to gain money, information, and allies. It's becoming a character in order to gain something. With his charisma and suave personality, he's good at it and enjoys it. Because Zakhar's known nothing but the Hunter's life he perceives a 'normal' one as boring and monotonous. He lives for the chase, for the fight; but he also wants nothing more than to make Andon proud.

The Belyakov’s migrated to the eastern United States in the 1940s-ish, and established themselves in the ‘underbelly’ of the country fairly quickly. Zakhar’s spent most of his time in the area, but has traveled for jobs when he has to. He’s not too keen on it, though. He’s not necessarily a homebody, but he likes having backup close and knowing he can come to his family’s aid quickly if they need it. This possibly lengthy trip into Canada of all places is making him a bit tetchy…

In terms of dragons, Zakhar is usually the one to track down the information and calls in someone else to do the actual killing. He’s not trained to do the actual take down unless it’s under extreme circumstances; and even then more than likely he’s going to get fried. This doesn’t mean he can’t fight, but if you pit him against a hunter whose specifically been trained to kill dragons he doesn’t stand a chance. Guns are more his thing, alongside sneakiness and underhandedness. Along those lines, it should be noted that Zakhar has a healthy respect for dragons, but has his reasons for fearing them as well. It’s this fear that motivates him, and honestly most of his family, into doing what they do.

Other Notes:

- In terms of general personality Zakhar is all snark, charm, and flash until crap hits the fan, then he’s causing as much mayhem as possible. A smart-elic with a surprisingly soft heart, Zakhar's tendency to poke soft spots and make snide remarks at inopportune moments can make people want to smack him pretty regularly. However, his loyalty to those he cares about often overshadows his faults. He'll take a bullet without question for those he finds he loves. It's also hard to get a read on him, to know where you stand: you could think he's your best friend until he sticks a knife in your back, or he might seem like an enemy until he saves you at the last second.

- He's got eight brothers. Not all are from the same mother, but all are loyal to Andon and the Hunters.

- Show him a dragon and he’ll cackle while attempting to shoot it. Show him a spider and he’ll scale the nearest thing - be it tree or person.

Because these guys will show up later on in the rp, and Zakhar's inner monologue often includes them, here's very short bio paragraphs for his brothers/father plus a bit about the bratva side of things. tle="Belyakov Family Sheet" target="_blank">Belyakov Family Sheet.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Name: Itzli 

Gender identity: Male

Sexual orientation: Demisexual

Age: Frankly he’s too old to remember exact dates. He knows he was born roughly 150yrs before the construction of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent in Teotihuacan. Since no one knows the exact date of the temple’s construction, other than that it’s presumed to be in the 3rd century, he’ll never actually know. At least 1900+ years, though (bear with me, it’ll make sense). He looks as if he’s in his mid-thirties. 

Ethnicity: His people no longer exist. To make things less complicated he just tells people he’s Nahuatl (or as Easterners call them, Aztec), though that’s not accurate. He’s probably a bit closer to being Totonac.  

Des/cription: Though he’ll say he’s descended from the Aztec, he’s truly not and thus he does not look as one would think he should. For one, he’s taller than the common Aztec, roughly 5’10’’ with dark brown, red tinged, skin. His black, coarse hair is pin straight, and though it’s fallen a bit out of fashion he prefers to keep it long – typically plaited down his back. Like his people before him Itzli does not really grow facial hair, and if he finds one he’ll pluck it with extreme prejudice. He’s got a broad face with a hooked nose and square jaw. His almond-shaped eyes are black and has the distinctive epicanthic folds at the outer corners. Though on the shorter side, Itzli is stout and has great endurance. He’s not a huge fan of the constricted modern clothing so he’s typically found in t-shirts and loose jeans; things made for comfort and flexibility.

Mazatl, the dragon, is very much more serpentine than many. In fact, his body resembles a 45ft. snake mostly. He has no limbs and instead uses his belly scales and wings to move around. Which his does - easily and with grace. Mazatl’s face, however, is a bit more draconic than serpent. Mazatl’s eyes an acidic green, slitted, and shine in the dark like a cats. What gave him his iconic name are the thin feathers that cover his back, which from a distance appear almost as fur. These create the ‘headdress’ aspect because they thicken into a massive feathered half-mane at the back of his head. These feathers are different shades of green, with the longest ones turning red towards the tips like quetzal feathers. The feathers covering his back are shades of green-blue’s that almost appear iridescent in the bright light. His scales along his sides are a lighter green-yellow and pale into an almost burnt orange on his belly scales. At the tip of his tail are more feathers colored like a quetzal. Mazatl has golden striations along his face, most notably outlining his mouth and eyes. Mazatl’s wings are feathered and each are the length of a third of his body. The marginal coverts of his wings turn from the green-yellow of his scales and fade into the green-blue of his back feathers on the secondary coverts. The primaries and secondaries are burnished yellow that appears almost golden in the sunlight. Over-all, Mazatl is extremely colorful and loud. tle="Mazatl" target="_blank">Mazatl. Though with some color alterations and without the headdress/horns

Dragon or Hunter?: Gale Dragon

About: Itzli was born around 50 AD in a small village roughly fifty miles north of present day Mexico City, Mexico. Like most every commoner of the time, his family relied on growing what crops they could on the marshy ground and picking up a craft so they could sell their items or labor. Knowing nothing else, Itzli was okay with his lot, if not a little world-weary. But as life was want to do, things changed drastically when Itzli stumbled across a mossy green stone flecked with reds and gold’s. He’d been about 24 at the time and out in the fields of squash and manioc after a particularly rough harvest when it happened. The soil had been unseasonably dry and a windstorm has blown in off Lake Texcoco, blinding everyone in the fields after throwing dust and loosened grit. Itzli had fallen to his knees, ducking his head to shield his eyes as debitage whipped by on the rough currents. Though it only lasted a moment, by the time the storm was over everyone was covered in dirt and dust and what few plants had survived the drought were either buried or broken. Yet while the other people bemoaned their fate, Itzli was staring at the beautiful, shining stone uncovered by the wind. His people were well known throughout the lands as craftsmen of obsidian and the glittering stone, reminiscent of the famed quetzal bird, would make something both beautiful and expensive. Then Itzli touched it..

       The gale dragon, whose name Itzli couldn’t hope to pronounce, was dubbed Mazatl. For the next ten years Itzli thought Mazatl was a god due to his world-view and his people’s dedication to their polytheistic ways. Mazatl, for his part, didn’t dissuade those thoughts. After all, the gale dragon often took possession of the human’s body, bringing rain to the lands from the lake using the air currents, or creating a gentle breeze to cool down the hot days in the fields. No longer did Itzli farm or craft, but rather enjoyed his days in luxurious peace (or as luxurious as one could be during 60AD) as his village people and others from the surrounding area brought him gifts in hopes of gaining a god’s favor. Though saddened by his family’s deaths, Itzli grew up in a time when few lived to be over forty and more babies died in their first year than survived. Life went on, and so did Itzli and Mazatl. The two enjoyed fame and fortune, but loved the freedom of flying even more. The humans of the area grew used to seeing the winged serpent who brought rain and relief and the stories and images of the feathered serpent spread. Eventually, Itzli’s village saw its heyday then fell as such places do and Itzli moved on to the ever growing metropolis Teotihuacan – built 400 BC.

       To the human and dragons utter delight, the massive city bore riches beyond anything they’d ever seen; and after performing some ‘godly magic’ both lived like kings. The image of the feathered serpent deity spread, and somewhere around 200 AD the king of Teotihuacan had the Temple of the Feathered Serpent build alongside of the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon along the Avenue of the Dead. Of course, like his village before Teotihuacan eventually imploded in on its self in the 8th century (701-800AD) when the lower classes rose up against the higher one and ransacked the city. Not even a dragon could stop the chaos as the temples and beautiful homes burned, and along with it came the loss of reverence and respect. No longer did the people worship the feathered serpent who lived among them; a human playing a god. For the first time in 600 years Itzli and Mazatl were nothing more than a commoner on the run. They landed in the ever growing city of Cholula, which had been a major trader with Teotihuacan before it’s demise. Cholula, to Itzli’s consternation, also had a temple dedicated to the feathered serpent, whose image and fame was changing into him being less ‘among’ the humans to being ‘otherworldly’ like Tlaloc or Tezcatlipoca. He was fading into myth and legend.

       Over time Itzli and Mazatl ventured from Cholula to Tenochtitlan (founded 1325), the ever growing major city which reminded them of Teotihuacan. These new people, the Aztecs, had found Teotihuacan’s ruins and had been inspired by the architecture and art and the influences were found all over Tenochtitlan. The Feathered Serpent became Quetzalcoatl, reshaped and rebranded to fit into the Aztecs world-view. At first Itzli had attempted to do as he’d done previously, but quickly found that instead of being awed the Aztecs were terrified; a god did not walk among the lowly humans! He was deemed an interloper and sentenced to death as a sacrifice to Quetzalcoatl for his insolence. The irony wasn’t lost on Itzli. Though bitter, the human and dragon stuck around Tenochtitlan due to its size and wealth. Yet Tenochtitlan, like those before, fell – though this time to something Itzli had never seen before: white men.

With their guns, germs, and steel Herman Cortez and his men devastated Itzli’s homeland. In such a short amount of time the Aztecs were nearly eradicated, and other, less fortunate tribes and cultures went completely extinct. The Mayans, Incans, and so many others suffered the same fate Itzli learned over the next four hundred years. Itzli and Mazatl helped where they could, but like the famed cultures of Mesoamerica he too became more legend than fact. Enraged and embittered, when the dragon heard rumors, whispers in the wind, about another dragon with hopes of eliminating humanity and putting dragons back on top they ruthlessly hunted this ‘cult’ down with every intention of becoming a part of it. It was time for a bit of payback.

Other notes:

- Mazatl cannot breath fire, but being a gale dragon he uses the wind/air. Utilizing a specialized snapping device in his throat, he creates a type of cavitation. The rapid change in pressure when the organ snaps shut creates a vapor filled cavity in his mouth, which is immediately released when he opens his jaws. When these ‘bubbles’ or ‘voids’ hit the higher pressured air outside they collapse and generate an intense shock wave. The same technique is used by the pistol shrimp (look these guys up, their really interesting), whose ‘bubble’ can reach speeds up to 62 mph and kill fish within 4 inches from it. Now, compare a tiny shrimp to a dragon…It’s also important to note that when these ‘bubbles’ collapse they produce sonoluminesence, which generates massive amounts of heat. The collapsing cavitation of the pistol shrimp reaches temperatures of over 5,000K (4,700 Celsius).

- Itzli’s more brawn than brain. He’s not stupid by any means, but there’s a reason he defers to the higher ups of the cult to get things done. Strategizing isn’t his strong suit, nor is it Mazatl’s; who prefers to just kill his enemies and be done with it.

- Itzli has an almost child-like fascination with this new ‘technological’ world. It’s bright and flashy so very, very different from the world he grew up in. It’s all happened so fast though that it’s left him a little behind. If it’s technological he will accidentally break it – which never fails to depress him. Mazatl, on the other hand, detest technology and wants nothing to do with it.

- In terms of general personality Itzli is quick tempered and stuck in his ways; not to mention bitter. He doesn’t see humans as necessarily lesser than dragons, but crueler. He won’t be sad to see them go. On the flip-side, Itzli’s also a bit naïve and has a tendency to be easily goaded. Mazatl, on the other hand, is hedonistic and hostile. He likes the finer things in life, such as food and comfort and will do whatever needs to be done to gain it. He’s also learned to like adoration and fear.

Name: Reito Satomi

Gender identity: Male

Sexual orientation: Eh, Bi I suppose but he is rather eccentric

Age:26

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Des/cription: Reito is tall at 6'1 and weighing 165 pounds. Despite his height Reito has


 a fairly sleek musculature and he tends to be a bit on the slimmer


side.


 His skin is rather pale in tone, this is partially due to the fact that


 he often works during the night however even if he spends time out in


the day he is unlikely to gain any sort of tan. This makes his jet black


 hair stand out quite a bit against his pale complexion but it is not


always so noticeable considering he dresses from head to toe in black.


Along with black boots he also wears  black pants and a black shirt,


sometimes just simple t-shirt but everyone and awhile he will wear a


nicer black button down shirt when he is doing business with a rich


customer. Over top of that he wears a warn and slightly tattered black


leather trench coat which has hidden pockets stitched inside where he


hides small weapons. On top of his pale complexion and dressing habits,


he has something else that makes him stand out, imposing blood red eyes.

Rizzio
 a somewhat smallish black western style dragon with red eyes whom
stands at roughly fifteen feet tall and thirty feet long. On the top of
his head he has a pair of slightly curved horns several facial spikes
and a small crown of spike that continue in


a signal row running from the back of his neck down to the tip of his


tail which is tipped with a razor sharp spade like spike. These spikes have a similar curve to that of a wolfs canine tooth

Dragon or Hunter? Moon Dragon

About: As a youth while his parents where still alive Reito was well known as a


 rebellious trouble maker. He was the type of child always getting into


trouble, stealing things, getting into fights and regularly pranking


others. This was partially due to his families financial issues brought


on by his father who was both a drunk, had a severe gambling issue as


 well as anger issue's among other things.The other part being that


Reito had simply fallen in with a bad crowd at a young age.  His


troublesome nature however was soon brought to an abrupt end his life took a dramatic turn when his parents where murdered by a


local mobster. Unknown to him at the time in order to survive his


parents had been borrowing cash from the local mob and they had failed


to pay them back.

Due to the trouble he caused and the crowd he had gotten involved with


for years he believed that he was the one responsible for his parents


demise. Also because he had no where else to go he was brought in for


training several months earlier then what was originally planned. The


very next day he left to join the army.

Over
time he moved his way up through the ranks and went on to join a


special forces unit which was skilled in assassinations. This was who


Reito was for a long time, a cold blooded, emotionless killer.

That
is no longer whom Reito is today, somewhere along the way he learned


the truth of his parents demise and through a series of unfortunate


encounters he decided enough was enough. He decided to change who he


was, leaving the army by faking his death during a raid he struck out on


 his own to reinvent himself.

Taking
 odd jobs he has made a living working for all sorts of people, both the
 good and the bad, legal and illegal. He will take just about any job
with no questions asked as long as it does not involve hurting innocent
people.

The
Reito of today could be described as many things, cheerful, eccentric


and sometimes just plain odd. He is not a serious man by any means and


still has a knack for getting into trouble. There are some things that


he is just completely oblivious too however deep down the old assassin


remains somewhat. This tends to present itself in the most unusual of


ways, often times he will make random comments about random observation


that are not really conducive to a conversation.

Other notes: Reito is basically a brand new dragon having encountered a dragon stone only a short time ago. He is still learning 'how to dragon' and he and his dragon currently have a love/hate sort of relationship.

Name: Creus
Gender identity: Male
Sexual orientation: Possibly Bi
Age: 23
Ethnicity: Caucasion
Des/cription : Creus is fair skinned  however he may get a slight honey colored tan
if he spends enough time in the sun. He is 6 feet even with a lithe
build due to years of living life on the run.Like this rest of his
build  His proportions give him a rather graceful appearance for normal a
 human. He also bares thick, golden blond hair that falls just above the
 center of his back when left loose however he often keeps it tied
backout of his face with a black ribbon. One of his most striking
features are his eyes. If one where to examine them closely they would
see a dark blue rim around his iris and jagged rays of lighter blue
intertwined with deeper blue around his pupil. He prefers to wear
lighter weight clothes as he does not want to be weighed down when a
speedy escape is needed. His usual attire often includes a simple white
button down shirt with black pants and well worn black leather boots.
Over that he wears a stolen trench coat with plenty of hidden pockets
sown into to stow away stolen valuables.

Raizel:   Raizel is a
relatively large dragon with glimmering metallic gold scales and cat
like sapphire eyes. Similar to the western style dragons he has four
legs  and large bat like wings.  He stands at the height of thirty feet
with his body doubling in length at sixty feet long and an impressive
wingspan of seventy feet. On top of his head he wields a pair of
slightly curved and perfectly spaced horns, several facial spikes and a
small crown of spikes that continue in a signal row running from the back
 of his neck down to the tip of his tail which is tipped with a razor
sharp spade like spike. These spikes  have a similar curve to that of a
wolfs canine tooth and along with the horns are a metallic gold color
that are a few shades deeper than his scales. The spikes also are longer
 on his back and neck and grow shorter as they approach the tip of his tail.

Dragon or Hunter? Dragon, eventually to be one anyway

About:
 Creus was born an unwanted child to abusive parents whom eventually
tried to sell him away illegally and got themselves killed doing so.
After a couple of years he managed to escape the place he had landed in
and spent most of his life struggling to survive on his own on the
streets, running away the one time he landed in a foster home.  Now as an
 adult he has managed scrape together a fairly decent living as a thief
however he is constantly on the move in fear of getting caught. One
fateful encounter as a child introduced him into the world of dragons,
at the age of  seven, shortly after he escaped the madman his parents
sold him too he had gotten lost in a forest and ended up falling off a
cliff, breaking a few bones. For days he was trapped at the bottom of a
cliff when a dragon found him. At the time it had been a frightening
encounter however the creature saved his life and brought him to a
hospital. He will never forget that persons kindness however he learned
quickly that most of the world seemed to think they where just myth so
learned to keep his mouth shut. That being said, he always secretly
searched for them and any information regarding them hoping one day to
encounter the dragon that saved his life.

Personality wise he tends
to be on the calculating side, often taking the time to carefully think
over his actions and words. He can be slow to warm up to others,
dishonest and distrusting due to his past. Furthermore he is not
generally the type to sugar coat things, taking the cold hard truth over
 soft white lies any day. Should one be able to over look all these
personality flaws they can find a loyal ally deep inside. He knows the
pain of betrayal well and wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy, well
perhaps them but not to any decent person.

Other notes: Roughly three
 years ago he got stranded deep in the mountains during a blizzard while
 escaping a close call with the cops. After being forced to abandon his
car and hike to safety he encountered a deceased wolf caught in a trap
surrounded by her pups. Only one was alive, so taking pity on the animal
 he rescued it and somehow ended up with a large white wolf as a pet,
unable to bring himself to part with it despite his initial plans to
find a place to take him. He has since gotten a permit to keep him and
has earned himself a loyal partner in crime, a large white wolf with
golden eyes. Don't worry, he's afraid of cats :P

Name: Wren

Gender identity: Male

Sexual orientation: Bi

Age: 521(Became a dragon at age 21)

Ethnicity: ½ english, ½ chinese 

Des/cription:  Wren is around 5’11 with long black hair and grey eyes, his appearance taken mostly from his english father aside from a few features such as the color of his hair. He has the well muscled build of a warrior however while his musculature is strong and defined his body is naturally on the leaner side. He has a few scars on his chest, arms and legs from his past but have all faded to faint silver lines that mar his skin here and there. Many who lay eyes upon him would describe his features as striking and handsome. He has a faint, undeterminable accent leftover from decades long passed. His hair is often tied bake with a red ribbon and he has a tendency to wear dark colored or red clothing.

His dragon Suibien boasts beautiful iridescent red scales and vibrant golden eyes, some of which are rimmed with metallic gold that form patterns reminiscent of ancient chinese drawings around his face and eyes. His build is like that of a racehorse, tall, light weight and lean with long legs and a slender body and his wingspan is massive, built to glide upon the winds and travel great distances.  Upon his head he has two curved horns deeper red in color than the rest of his body.

Dragon or Hunter? Fire Dragon

About: Wren is not his true name but rather the current name he goes by, he’s a wanderer who changes his name as he sees fit as the centuries past. He was born a little over five hundred years ago from an illegitimate pairing between a beautiful young chinese woman and a handsome young english man. His mother was once a member of chinese royalty and his father a mere tradesmen, when their relations came to light the royal family was furious. The current king called for the execution of both for bringing shame on the family however his mother was spared and exiled instead. After he was born the two struggled in poverty for years, exiled, shamed and humiliated his mother fell into a deep despair and by the time he was seven years old she had fallen gravely ill. The medication she required was expensive, far more than a poverty stricken child like him could afford however he refused to give up. Finding work wherever he could to try and save his mother he often worked long hours day in and day out desperate to care of the only family he had. Time and again he worked until he collapsed, got up and worked some more, he survived on nothing more than a bowl of rice a day. On occasion his efforts were rewarded  and he was paid enough to buy a small amount of medicine for his mother however she remained bed ridden for years, growing weaker and weaker. She knew she was going to die however no matter how often she argued with her son to leave her be and focus on taking care of himself he refused. In the end the guilt and shame she felt watching her son come home night after night injured and exhausted she took matters into her own hands. 

 One night when Wren was coming home late as usual she used the later of her strength to write a message for him before taking her own life. Up until that day he didn’t know much about his past, he only knew that his mother was from a wealthy family family and her affair with an english man ended where her being exiled and him being born. This was the reason why she had a much better education than the rest of the poor people in their village and why they all ostracized them. It turned out he was the half blood grandson of the previous emperor. It was a bit of a shock to learn this but it didn’t matter shortly after his birth the emperor was overthrown by another family. The emperor, his grandfather along with most of his lineage was destroyed.   Although it was indeed surprising news, it was far overshadowed by the devastation his mother's death caused him. With a broken heart he lost the will to keep working, spending his days praying and crying over the grave he dug for his mother. Due do this he was unable to pay taxes and his home was seized as compensation. When soldiers came to seize his home he fought back, trying to defend it but was ultimately beaten until he fell unconscious. They took everything, in the end, the only thing he had was the clothes on his back and a pendant that had his family's crest that had belonged to his mother. Life on the street in a poverty stricken village wasn’t easy by any means. Food was scarce and competition for work was high, a starving young child was little match for able bodied adults competing for the same jobs. Wren struggled to survive and as the days turned into months starvation and exposure to the elements began to take their toll. At first he often cried and wished his mother would come back, other times her cursed her for leaving him in this postion but in the end he didn’t have the energy to do either of those things. All he could do was try to survive. Often times he could be found in some back alley staring listlessly at his mother's pendant, the same empty stare thousands of others in his position had. Hopeless and alone all he could do was try to carry on. 

A year passed, the winter was as harsh as ever and he had no strength left to resist the cold. Even though he was still just a child he knew that his life would soon come to an end and he no longer had the will to go on. As he waited for death to finally claim him a life changing event occurred, he had been sitting in an ally as usual just staring at his mother's pendant when some drunk soldiers stumbled out from behind a nearby bar. Upon seeing him with the pendant they accused him of theft and began to beat him before dragging him bloody and nearly unresponsive out onto the road for punishment. It was not uncommon for thieves to be punished in horribly cruel ways during that era and he a lone, starving child had no way to prove that the pendant did in fact belong to him and that he was a true descendant of the former royal family. Even if he tried to argue, it would be pointless and knowing this he quietly submitted to whatever might come his way.

He didn’t cry, nor beg for leniency as most others would do. He didn’t have the energy to care however as fortune would have it, someone else decided to care. That someone else was the young prince of the current emperor, as boy that was roughly his own age witnessed the event with his personal guards and attendants at his side.  The boy was kind hearted and called naive by many do to his nature and upon seeing a bunch of drunken soldiers dragging a nearly lifeless child his own age out for punishment he quickly put an end to it. Although the people in the boys company tried to convince him to ignore the situation, that he was above people like Wren and had no reason to bother himself with the likes of others he wouldn’t hear of it. After stubbornly insisting that the soldiers drop the charges unless they could actually find proof of such a theft he went further by insisting that his people bring Wren back with them. Naturally they were horrified,  a dirty, bloody wretch had no place in the emperor's forbidden city but the boy was their master and they could not ignore his orders.

Wren had only managed to catch a glimpse of this boy, dressed in extravagant clothing, surrounded by wealth and servants before he lost consciousness. He had no idea who he was and didn’t understand what was going on but when he next woke up he was warm. Had he finally died? He thought so but as his blurry vision cleared he saw that he was laying next to a fire on a straw mat in a massive kitchen. He had no idea where he was or what was going on he remembered being attacked and the smiling face of a boy dressed in expensive clothing everything after that was a blur. Sitting up slowly his body aching from head to toe, he looked around. A few people seemed to be working in the kitchen, all surprisingly well dressed for servants and all but one ignored him. The one who noticed he had awoken walked over and shoved a bowl of hot congee in his hands, the first real meal he had in months before retreating without explanation or acknowledging him. All the man would when he tried to speak to him was to shoot him a look of disgust before returning to his business.  Although Wren was very confused he couldn’t resist devouring the bowl of food placed before him only remembering the manners his mother taught him after word.

He wasn’t quite sure what to do after that but since no one seemed to acknowledge him he struggled to his feet and took the bowl to a basin to wash. Only then did someone finally acknowledge his existence a young servant only a few years older than him finally approached. When he asked where he was he was told that he was in the forbidden city and that the boy who spared his life was none other than the son of the current emperor himself. It was a shocking change of fortune, people like him where not even supposed to gaze upon royalty and anyone who tried to enter the forbidden city was punished by death, yet he looked upon royalty and was brought into the city.

A few days later he was given a bed in the servants quarters, clean, well made clothes that and a job as an apprentice to one of the kitchen chefs. It was a whirlwind of changes and at first he struggled to even accept what was happening but he was grateful and from day one made the decision to not let the young prince who saved him down. He worked hard, learned everything he could and then asked to learn more. Although he was originally seen as an outsider and treated poorly his dedication to the job and his hard working nature eventually won over the people he worked with. He worked harder than them all and always helped, even when he knew he was being used and taken advantage of. At first he became the butt of people's jokes and was cruelly taunted by those born into wealthier families  but when he eventually earned the recognition of the head chef that too changed. 

Another year had passed and he hadn’t seen that young prince since that fateful day. Servants like him were not allowed to go past a certain point within the forbidden city without receiving punishment  and he didn’t dare break that rule. 

One night after finishing his duties early he wandered out toward the stables intending on paying the horses a visit when a boy his age suddenly ran around the corner of a building and headlong into him, knocking both to the ground. Most people in the city wouldn’t have recognized this boy, he was wearing normal clothing and few actually knew what he looked like. Wren did, as soon as he saw who ran into him his first instinct was to kowtow and apologize fearing that he would get in trouble but the boy shushed him, seized him by the arm and dragged him behind a bush. 

It was none other than the young prince who saved him and instead of demanding punishment as most members of royalty tended to do the prince instead pleaded with him not to say anything. He snuck out of his house to avoid his studies and if Wren made a seen he would surely get caught and told to return.  Not only that but he had admitted to having gotten lost and asked Wren to show him the way back. It was a dangerous thing to ask, if things went wrong Wren could easily get blamed and executed but even with that knowledge in mind Wren agreed as he owed this boy his life.

As soon as the boy knew Wren was one his side he chatted away about his life and even moaned and complained about how boring things got. The boy held nothing back and that did make Wren quite nervous, after all he wasn’t sure a servant should even know some of the things the boy told him. He was also rather surprised and embarrassed when the boy asked how he was doing and admitted to recognizing him as the one he saved a year ago. The situation was quite awkward, Wren didn’t know how to act and as grateful for the boys kindness as he was he was relieved when he finally arrived at a location familiar to the boy and they parted ways. To his surprise the very next day the boy found him, flagged him down and wanted to chat. This continued day after day and before he knew it, he began to look forward to these visits even though aware of the danger it put a lowly servant like him in. Over time the boy who once almost starved to death on the streets and the wealthiest child in the country developed quite a strong friendship.

They developed secret signals to warn each other when they spotted people who were looking for the prince and after the prince finished his schooling and he finished his duties they would find each other and hang out.   Things went well for months, two lonely youths found friendship and comfort with each other however eventually all good things come to an end. One day someone tried to kidnap the prince and Wren interfered getting injured in the process but saving the prince in return. For this action Wren was rewarded and offered a chance to train among the royal guards. He saw it as a chance to be around his friend more often and eagerly accepted even though it meant getting sent away for training.  Once again he was faced with mockery and taunted for not being born a member of high society and once again he earned his reputation by working harder than anyone. Even though he arrived at the training grounds with less knowledge and experience than anyone else there, eventually he managed to claw his was to the top becoming the best warrior in his group. Although the wealthy families that served under the emperor understood dedication they did not truly know what hard work was. They all had easy lives prior to training where as he had worked himself to the bone trying to survive. 

On his eighteenth birthday he was sent out to war, life on the battle front wasn’t easy but he was a survivor. He became known for his penchant to outwit his enemies and assisted in securing many victories. By the time he returned from the war  he had grown from that pitiful starving child to a battle hardened general and a hero. He at last earned himself a place among royalty, a place he should have belonged to all along and no one but the prince knew of his true heritage. If they had learned this they would never have allowed him to step foot inside that city, they would have seen him, a blood relative of the former royal family as a danger. 

From that point on he stood proudly by the prince's side, his most loyal and trusted guard and Wren wouldn’t have it any other way. He was happy with where he ended up and hoped that his actions would eventually prove the worth of the poor however deep inside he still felt sorrow. He had overcome his mother's death and honored her memory, that wasn’t the cause. His relationship with the prince was the problem and it took him far too long to realize it. The prince had grown up to be a man who’s appearance seemed flawless and who kindness was endless. The two had been best friends since childhood and their relationship eventually deepened beyond that though neither really noticed until after the prince was arranged to marry a woman from another family. It was only then that Wren began to recognize these feelings, sorrow and worse jealousy toward the prince's wife. Worse yet, there was nothing he could do about it. If people found out he would likely get immediately removed from the prince's guard if not executed for them. That kind of thing was considered heresy and people who fell for the same gender were seen as lunatics. 

For years Wren endured these feelings in silence, distancing himself from the prince when he could and closing himself off when he couldn’t. This served to put some strain on their relationship but the ever so kind prince always forgave him. What Wren didn’t know was that not only did the prince know of his feelings, he felt the same way but like him, he couldn’t act on it. War always seemed to loom around the corner and neither could afford causing such a scandal. 

At the age of twenty one, while accompanying the prince on a mission of peace another day came when his life changed drastically. He became a dragon upon picking up an unusual stone near a volcano they were passing by. Picking up a stone and getting turned into a dragon in the middle of the  princes entourage could have ended very badly for the both of them, however the Prince was aware of the existence of dragons and instead of running he broke free from the rest of his guard and risked his life to soothe the frightened beast his friend had arbitrarily been transformed into. While everyone else was frightened and wanted to either do away with Wren or demand he leave before he brought harm to the royal family, the prince had other ideas. He had always been fascinated by the idea of dragons and so when his best friend became one he naturally chose to keep Wren at his side. 

It took some time for the prince to convince his family of this when they later returned home after a successful trip. In the end however, the emperor himself ended up deciding that having the power of dragon under his command was a good thing. In the end, Wren continued to guard the prince and now the empire as a dragon, over the years he was deployed to battle numerous times and he and his dragon Suibien helped secure victory after victory. They also successfully defended the city during numerous invasion attempts. This did take its toll on Wren however, the endless battles the screams of death began to haunt Wrens dreams, only the prince took notice of his struggles and sought a way to help him.  It was then that the prince gifted him with a black kitten,

Hoping it would at least offer Wren companionship, Wren insisted that the prince name and so he did. He named the kitten Kai Ji and that kitten stayed by Wrens side longer than anyone else in the world ever could. 

When  the emperor passed away and the prince accedended to the throne worked hard and took many risks to finally create and era of peace and while everyone thought it was simply do to the princes kindness, there was a deeper reason. The prince worked hard to end the wars for Wren who quietly suffered from them. It took years for the prince, now emperor to finally establish peace and Wren didn’t know the truth until many years later when he sat beside his friend during his final days.   At long last the aging emperor finally told Wren the truth, that he also loved him and that he ended the war for his sake and his sake alone, shortly after that the emperor passed away and the heartbroken Wren vowed to protect the emperor's family for as long as he lived. Time went on and he guarded generation after generation of the princes family, overtime he was worshiped as a guardian and many forgot he was human. As time went on and hunters reached their country Wren slowly faded into obscurity, a lone silent guardian protecting the family of the man he loved. 

Wren kept this up for nearly two centuries, living alone in a temple with his cat Kai ji however eventually war struck again. Once again he rose up to protect his people but this time things didn’t end the same way. The family had given into corruption and eventually turned on him, after assisting in a battle Wren was summoned to the inner part of the city for the first time in a century. There he met with the emperor, a man who despite the generation bore a very similar appearance to his beloved emperor. This man was nothing like the prince he loved, his was cold hearted, callous and power hungry. He saw Wren, with his power as a dragon and ties to the families ancient ways as a threat and arranged to have him killed. That day when he met with the emperor, the emperor himself plunged a dagger into his back straight into his heart and gloated in his face as Wren collapsed to the ground. A normal human would have been killed by this blow but a normal dagger was no match for a dragon and the foolish emperor failed to realize this.

Suibien took over Wrens body after he lost consciousness, enraged by this betrayal the fire dragon nearly took the emperor's life and killed quite a few of his guards. It was emperors face that saved his life and its likeness to the man his vessel and he loved. In the end Suibien managed to hold back his rage but not before burning the emperor's face, permanently marring and disfiguring him. As far as Suibien was concerned, this man did not deserve to keep that kind face. After that Suibien retrieved a few of Wrens belongings and Kai Ji before fleeing the forbidden city evading the arrival of  hunters, eventually the trio left the country but for years they were lost and heartbroken. They had lost their reason for existence, they had no purpose and had nowhere to go. As the centuries dragged on, the two eventually found some purpose in helping others, whether it was a human being or a dragon regardless of the situation they would randomly appear, help someone out and eventually vanish. With their battle experience and cunning the two excelled at outsmarting hunters when they could and winning fights when they couldn’t During his lifetime Wren met a few people here and there that he had come to love, a farmer's daughter and a businessman to name a few but none of those relationships lasted Wren did not wish to witness them grow old and die and not one of them affected him the way that prince did all those years ago.

 

 

Other notes:

Despite his dark past Wren seems to be able to maintain a happy and carefree attitude having come to terms with much of what has happened to him. He can be a bit of a trouble maker, often enjoying playing minor pranks on random people.

He is always accompanied by a small apathetic black cat named Kai Ji

The name Suibien translates to Whatever, when Wren first got his dragon Suibien was quite grumpy and refused to allow Wren to give him a name and refused to name himself as well. Wren refused to allow the creature sharing his body to remain nameless however Suibien rejected name suggestions again and again. Eventually Wren grew frustrated with this and started to refer to his dragon as Suibien, originally not meant to be a name but rather an attempt at mockery in hopes the beast would change his mind. Suibien never did accept a name outright however he did come to accept the term Suibien when his vessel called to him.  Eventually Suibien even found it a bit amusing especially when encountering other dragons who boasts all sorts of fancy names. When they discovered that Suibien translated into the word Whatever many where quite shocked, quite a few found it offensive even but Suibien and Wren always got a good laugh out of the reactions it got from others. 

(Here they are, everything is a bit wonky because of copying from other places but I will fix it some other time)