Name:Kharis Al’Calaani/ Sin Race: Elf, Wood Class: Monk Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Dragon Egg Type (suspected): Red would be interesting but any is doable and I really like the idea of random and the fun challenge of how to incorporate it into my writing.
***Used standard point buy system for attributes.
Kharis’ muscles burn and perspiration tracks down her cheeks. Teeth clench as hard as her fingers hold to the uneven rock of the ceiling. Unwavering her gaze remains on the barred door below. Hard grey eyes turned coal black in the darkness watch for the long awaited moment. Toes and joints protest painfully the abuse but hold. For now at least.
*Click, tching plonk* The corroded lock cries out in warning and the door complains with a loud squeal the years of neglect. Kharis’ ears twitch and she draws deeply of the damp cave air. Heavy boots stomp into the small space and grumble at the pile of blankets rolled in the corner. “Move yer lazy ass. Mornin’s here and yer ‘spected in t’pit.” The tall jailor grunts in annoyance and kicks at the roll.
NOW! Kharis lets go and for a brief moment knows what it means to be free. Free of the ground and gravity, free of the cage she’s known for the past five long years and free to be who she has become. She twists in the air tucking and bringing her legs around. The ground rushes up to embrace her, brought together by the machinations of gravity. But Kharis is ready for that and kicks out just as the man turns away from her now scattered blankets. In another life his expression, one of incredulity mixed with surprise and just the right tinge of fear, would have made her laugh. But not now. No, now it made the ever present magma that was her rage begin to burble up.
Her feet connect hard and she pushes with all the strength she can muster. She feels the crack of cartilage beneath her bare feet and her reward is a scream of pain as the man tumbled back into the corner. But Kharis has no time for him. The fall turned dive merely slows the inevitable and she taps the ground with her palms before tucking into a tight ball and rolling out of the cell.
Five years gone and her vengeance not yet enacted. Five years denied the sun and clean forest air of her childhood home. Five years for those who took everything she had and everything she was away from her. She would be free and they would pay for every second the gods had blessed them with in her absence for she would become their end.
Too far her momentum spins Kharis, her meticulous plans marred by her own energetic rage, right into the far wall. Pain flares from her shoulder making her fingers tingle with the loss of feeling. She hisses through clenched teeth and drags her aching body upwards to stand on feet wobbling from the hour spent clutching at half-formed stalagmites. The scream of pain turns into a call for help and it spurs Kharis back into action and she runs down the corridor her small feet tapping lightly on the cold stone surface.
Left, left, right then up. Another right and then a run down a long hall. Left, left and right leads her to the sparring chamber. Shouts meant to be a clarion call of her escape give way to the stomp of boots as her captors realize that she doubled back and did not make for the main exit as they first though. No, her goal and freedom dangled twenty feet in front of her. Large rusted chains with loops bigger than her head rise up through the circular hole in the ceiling meant to power some unknown device but like the rest left to rust from disuse beckon to her. Freedom is here they cry out. Come, climb us and see the beautiful stars again.
So Kharis begins to run and pushes off hard in a jump that would be sung into legend. If not for the decaying nature of the ledge she was on. Her beautiful jump, now disfigured by a broken stone sends her tumbling in a cartwheel towards the ground once more. This time there would be no recovery. This time gravity would win their little game.
Be it luck or the gods the fickle hand of fate, covered in tough callouses, grabbed her by the injured arm and stopped her plummet. The direction change did not stop her momentum completely and the twist caused her ahould to pop painfully from its socket. Her scream, half pain and half rage fills the chamber and those below look up in surprise. Tears born of agony and defeat blur her vision of the man she knows too well. She weakly kicks at him all the strength fled from her limbs sustained now only by the thoughts of revenge and freedom.
But in the end she could never be free of the presence that has grown in her mind, a silent companion to her thoughts that haunts her as much as the painful memories that come with sleep. Thankfully blackness engulf her as the fiery agony of her injured arm takes the light from her eyes.
“Take her back and call the physician. She’s a mess. I need to speak to the council.”
“Be better if she was not one of the intended. Then we could remove her permanently.”
“But she is and you will do best to remember that as the time approaches. It will be her own undoing or that of her intended not us that decides things.”
No, she could not escape the uncaring hands of destiny…
background (in summary):Death has long been a part of Kharis’ life. Her parents were both killed during an orc raid on her village when she was but a mere twenty years old. The scars of their passing coloured how she saw the world even as the surviving villagers bundled her safely up and off to relatives who taught at a secluded monastery high in the mountains to the south. Feeling alone and powerless to shape her destiny or protect those she loved, Kharis spent most of her time avoiding the students of the monastery and her chores. Instead she wandered the surrounding lands finding delights in the hidden wonders that nature gave her brief glimpses of.
Eventually though she could hide no longer and her guardians/relatives put her to work both at maintaining their home and training to become one of the very students she watched. But she struggled at both finding her temper often getting the better of the peace they attempted to teach her and the work that needed doing. She learned the forms slowly over the intervening years though never could find the peace others seemed to gain so easily. Their patience with Kharis brought about a hard won affection from her and for many years she truly did try to fit in and be the daughter they’d always wanted.
But as with all things this too was fleeting and one bright summer morning her world was thrown into chaos once more. Raiders from a large mercenary company travelling through the area had heard about the monastery and assumed that it hid golden idols and other treasures and relics. When confronted with barred doors and requests to move on the raiders attacked. Kharis wanted to fight, she wanted to defend her new home and family. But what she wanted was not what she got and in the end was taken by an old, blind servant through a set of catacombs beneath the monastery (something she’d never known about) and back into the surrounding forest.
Out of rage and pain of loss Kharis fought against the servant to return to the scene of the battle and exact some measure of revenge uncaring if it too cost her life to do so. He drugged her long enough to make good their escape and when she woke days later Kharis took out her frustrations on the poor man leaving him unconscious and to fend for himself outside of a small village.
Weeks later, alone and with no money or provisions a starving Kharis was found by a small group of humans as she attempted to make off with a farmer’s chickens. One pointed at her indicating she was the one they were searching for and within a matter of moments she was bound and draped like a sack across the back of one of their horses. That was the last time she saw the light of the outside world for they had come to join her with a dragon.
Ever since she has done what she could to escape, all the while tending that damned egg knowing that should it die her life too would be over.
Kharis is haunted by loss and a life not of her choosing. She fights against the unfairness of it all by being selfish when it serves to gain her something. Kharis years to be free both in the physical and spiritual sense and places everything else beneath that desire. She does not make friends easily for fear of being hurt and making new scars to carry with the old. Instead she keeps her own council and is willing to use others if she gains something out of it. Her mercurial nature is off-putting and she is prone to anger at seemingly small slights. Most others she has met in her time with the egg have stopped trying to talk or include her.
Kharis is a lean five foot five covered in dust and bruises from her time working in the pits. Her red hair is a tangled mess that hangs to her shoulders and often slips forward to hide one grey eye. Small pointed ears tell of her elven heritage and peek out from beneath her hair. Her hands a feet are often wrapped with rags as she does not own or has not been given footwear and her clothes are a patchwork of mended tears and pieces of cloth she has salvaged. In another place and time she would have been considered cute but hard eyes and a hard life have robbed the plumpness and cheer of youth from her features.
Default Attack & Damage: Bite +6, 1d10+4 Pierce plus 1d6 Fire Default Ranged & Damage: Fire Breath, 15ft cone, 7d6 Fire damage, DC 13 Dex save for half. Recharge on a 5-6 on a d6
Name - Wyowen Race - Human Intended Class - Fighter Alignment - LG
Writing Sample -
Suspected Dragon Egg Type Selected - Bronze. (Alternatively open to Gold or Silver)
Wyowen was a shy boy, nervous and scared all the time. He didn't know how some of the others did it. He looked around the other initiates, wide-eyed and silent. He looked down to his hands, scratching his thumbs.
A slight thing, only the inhuman kids were any smaller than him, gnomes and halflings. The dark corners of the caverns kept him on edge. His breathing always seemed to tighten and quicken with fear. It could be from crawling insects in the cave-damp, or frightening tales, or just strange moving shadows in the shifting flickering light that cast a meagre glow about their dark world. And his dreams were haunted by nightmares; nightmares where the old overseers' threats came true, his egg hatched, and the dragon inside ate him... Why wouldn't it? He wasn't meant to be a hero, he was certain of it. He kept quiet and to himself. His hands never stopped, nervously scratching at his thumbs, picking at his nails, or twisting in his simple threadbare tunic. He tried, and to give him credit he was getting better, but still he seemed resigned to the fact he simply wouldn't be one of those few who survived that day. He didn't even realize it himself as he started to grow into his own. He just wanted to keep his head down, do what they said and keep from being noticed. He picked up wielding a sword alright. If worse came to worse, he could possibly defend himself.
Wyowen was shy and quiet to a fault, just his cowardice bleeding over into his associations. Becoming friends with him would prove almost impossible for all but the most patient. He would not move first, so any friendship would have to start with the other, and they would have to be determined to break through his shell and make anything stick. Asking him questions, usually resulted in quick little one word answers. Little peeps hinting at the boy hidden behind the blushing face and nervously avoiding eyes. Approaching him softly was also important. In many ways, he was like a small rabbit. But in those few cases where he could find himself a real friend, he treasured friendship. He really longed for more of it. Good friends were few and far between in this dark place. Kind and reserved, he was easily agreeable, as long as the other was not put off by long stretched of silence.
He was cheerful though, or, at least he thought he was cheerful. He felt he should be cheerful. It’s just that this place gave so few opportunities for it. The darkness, their cold treatment, and the threat that all of this would only end in being eaten, it all took its toll. He wanted to be cheerful, he really did. There just never was an opportunity. So instead he was mostly just reserved, curled inwards on himself with his swirling thoughts.
He went to sleep as the overseer extinguished the light, plunging the little damp cavern into complete black. He put his hands tight around the hard smooth surface of his egg, pulling it tight to his chest. His fingers bent. Had it been any softer, his nails would dig in and scratch that dappled surface. He closed his eyes tight, hoping he could have a pleasant sleep. He could still remember the faintest glimmer of his parents. Two shadowy forms and the slightest memory of being ripped from their arms. It wasn't right. He knew that much. To be wretched from warmth and thrown into this cold darkness. It wasn't fair. It wasn't just. Why did it have to be done this way? But how could he change any of that? If he had a path, he could work towards it, but as of yet he couldn't see...
He bit his lip to keep silent in the dark. Whatever the outcome, no matter how bad for him, Wyowen just wished it would happen soon and end the waiting.
But the dragon had plans, he would make the boy into a powerful warrior for good.
Character Idea -
With a good heart and a kind demeanor, Wyowen is well suited to the task of good. His fright stems from being helpless, and having a dragon at his back will soon buoy up his flimsy spirits. Shyness and quiet reservation though are somethings that he cannot be rid of. Opening up will only come at making good friends. He rankles at injustice and cruelty, especially the situations forced on him and all of his fellow children. But right now he feels crushed and powerless to help it. More than anything though, he longs for the life he was taken away from, warmth, kindness, a sense of belonging. Once the dragon has hatched, and hasn’t eaten him, Wyowen will work tirelessly to try and find that with the dragon. He has been rather dismissive of the egg so far. He cares for it, only because it would be cruel not to. Unlike most of the others, he doesn’t talk to the egg, or dream of the day when he has a dragon. He is more terrified of the threat of it eating him, and has resigned himself to that fate. Once that doesn’t happen, he’ll almost feel that he needs to make up for all the kindness he denied the egg. It will be a little pit of guilt in his stomach, something he needs to make right. And further, he’ll hope he and the dragon can become the friends and family he has been denied.
The dragon, will be a paragon of good, desiring little more than for the two of them to become great warriors to right the wrongs of the world. Protect the weak by slaying the evil. The dragon’s first thoughts are for righteous combat, ridding the world of demons, darkness, and injustice. At first, Wyowen’s attempts at kindness and friendship will annoy him. Care and kindness are not the traits of stoic warriors. He would rather the boy be impersonal and strong, honing his metal, his strength, and his insight for good. Friendship is greedy and self-indulgent, they have more important things to do, to selflessly improve the world for others.
Character Traits -
Personality Trait - Shy and Quiet, Wyowen is reserved and withdrawn. Strangers struggle to get him to say even a few words. If asked direct questions, he will usually default to giving quick one or two word answers; always clipped and impersonal, the answer will generally be what he thinks they want to hear rather than his true thoughts. He is so shy, he finds it hard to speak up even with pertinent information. Once he gets to know someone, usually only with that someone's careful and persistent hard work, then he is able to open up a little more. He genuinely wants to be cheerful and easy to get a long with, but just doesn't quite know how. This also results in him being overly agreeable.
Ideals - Charity and Justice - Wyone is rankled by the injustices of the world, the one most apparent to him is the seemingly purposeless way he has been ripped from his loving family. When confronted with something that is simply unfair, be it an injustice that is directed at him or anyone else, he will endeavour to fix it - or at least dearly want to endeavour to fix it. Unfortunately, he is usually to cowed and reserved to act, and he finds himself not knowing how to fix it even if he could. As he certainly wouldn't want to act without understanding exactly what is going on and having a clear path forward that would fix the problem without doing more harm. It leaves him feeling rather powerless and swept up in the world. He wants to make the world a better place, but finds himself unable, unknowing, and too paralyzed to even try.
Bonds - Helping the Common People - As tied in with above. The common folk and the innocent are the ones he wishes to help the most. He also feels a bond to the egg, being the only thing he's had all these years to hold onto. Like a stone in the river of life, constantly threatening to sweep him away. Even if he is certain the dragon within is going to eat him.
Flaws - Slow to Trust and Slow to Act - As with the first one. Slow to trust new people, and he will seldom act himself to get to know them. So his only chance at friends is meeting someone interested enough in cracking his shell to break through. Slow to act, in that he constantly worries about not doing the right thing. He is so worried about making a mistake, he seldom even tries.
As you can see, his dragon has a lot of work to do. The dragon though, being even younger and inexperienced than him, and having a rather black and white view of the world, may introduce just as many problems and flaws in trying to 'fix' his human. I foresee the dragon pushing him too far the other way in some cases, and in other cases, the two of them will be just as inept for the situation. The result of which will be Wyowen remaining silent even if he has a good idea, and the dragon insisting on his strategy, even though he has hardly even thought it through, simply choosing the first course that comes to his mind that seems 'right'.
__________________
Oh well uh, you might think I'm delirious, The way I run you down
But somewhere sometimes, When you're curious, I'll be back around - The Cars
Last edited by savoylen; Jan 23rd, 2016 at 12:03 AM.
Name:Jovaric Race: Human Class: Barbarian Alignment: Lawful Good Dragon type: Silver (11)
I remember more of my life before than some of the other dragon-touched. Was I taken later than the other children? Or does my memory just work better? Either way, if I concentrate I can remember, just snippets. I remember the day they cast the bones for me, the old lady telling my parents that I was fated, or chosen and I must go away with men that would come for me. I can remember my mother holding me, crying, but nobody argues with the bone woman. When the overseers came for me, I was sent away. If I had stayed, I would be nearly a man now. Ready to hunt with the clan. Instead, I have no clan and no family... almost.
The other thing I remember is the cold. I remember the chill winds blowing down off the mountains, they make you grow strong. Here in this cave it is warm, always too warm. I tug my robes open, rolling them down to my waist, open like a kilt. But in the caves, no breeze blows to cool my sweat. The overseers don't like it when I don't wear my robes properly. They say it isn't appropriate.
The overseers say many things.
They threaten us with failure, say our dragon will eat us. But I know she won't. The egg is warm to the touch, like everything here. But nonetheless, when I touch it, I can feel the cold again, and it reminds me of home. Soon. Soon she will hatch, and we will be together. I will have family again, and nothing will come between us.