Aivrid
APPEARANCE
Height: 32 meters (normal), 68 meters (standing on hind legs)
Length: 92 meters
Wingspan: 187 meters
Mass: 44.11 metric tonnes
Eyes: Piercing purple
Scale Colour: Black, Beige-Brown-Gold underside
Aivrid is an imposing, massive dragon, dwarfing many of the greatest beasts found on Arethil. His extreme weight and size are easily the most notable traits, along with his deep purple eyes and the bony, crown-like crest adorning his head. His enormous wingspan further gives the impression of something beyond human, elf, or dwarf. Each of Aivrid's four, powerful legs ends in a set of five claws, each the size of a human, though they appear to be dulled from use. His night-black scales seem to absorb all light, only shining under the moon and stars. His long tail ends in a group of pointed spikes.
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Eternally Wise. Aivrid has lived an incredibly long life; his travels and experiences have given him a unique perspective, infinite wisdom and knowledge beyond even the greatest scholars.
Strength of Dragons. Dragons are among the most dangerous creatures in Arethil, and even though Aivrid is past his prime, his enormous size and strength have not been diminished -- not to mention the devastating fiery breath he wields. His unique physiology and nature give him a host of other abilities and traits, from a naturally long lifespan, incredible senses, and scales stronger than steel.
Endlessly Powerful. Even beyond his pure physical might, Aivrid is a mage of great power. His skills largely lie in enchantment magic -- he regularly practices his skills by keeping up magical wards around his lair in the Seret Mountains.
Sight Beyond Sight. Even discounting Aivrid's excellent senses, the dragon has another way of seeing -- magic. Every Lessat eclipse, Aivrid performs a ceremony that allows him to see across the continent in near-perfect detail. Glimpses of the future and past are not uncommon either with the power of the eclipse. Additionally, Aivrid is able to cast simple spells to more accurately sense the motives, intentions, emotions, and even in some cases the thoughts of others.
MAGIC
Enchantments and Magic Circles. By drawing magic circles on any surface -- usually using his claws -- Aivrid can leave an enchanted mark. The mark itself lasts until it physically fades or is otherwise destroyed. A magic circle has a set of conditions that, when met, activate an effect. The complexity and design of the circle determine the effect, while the energy expended during the creation of the circle determines how powerful the effect is and how many times it can be used before the magic is depleted.
- Cost: Much of the cost is paid in the time and effort used to draw the circle, though the circle is still used primarily as a medium for the magic to be produced rather than the magic itself. The cost Aivrid pays is dependent on the complexity of the magic circle. For simple, particularly one-use magic circles, Aivrid tries to pay using impermanent energy, often breathing fire and taking the energy to fuel the magic. For more complex circles, Aivrid pulls from his actual wealth -- giving a more literal meaning to the cost. The greater the magic, the more valuable thing is taken from his hoard.
- Cost: As with magic circles, the medium cuts the cost in many ways. If a human mage were to draw and cast a rune, they would have no effective cost outside of a little tiredness and drawing from the energy around them. Thus, casting simple, low-magnitude spells such as tracking and detection have little cost. When it comes to offensive spells, though, Aivrid usually needs to expend some of his wealth to add magnitude to the spell.
- Cost: Celestial magic requires celestial objects to be in certain positions in the sky. Aside from that, the rituals and spells related to the magic often have some amount of material or vocal components.
- Cost: Aivrid must spend the wealth from his hoard directly, or find an alternate energy source to draw on to create the forces necessary to create the effects of direct magic.
PERSONALITY
For a creature that once reveled in razing entire villages, Aivrid is incredibly calm -- one might even say mellow. The dragon has simply become too wise and old for most petty squabbles and simple desires. More animalistic urges surface only when hungry or enraged, but Aivrid has rarely had such moments. Most of the time the old beast is a cynical, uncaring creature. His speech is surprisingly modern for a shut-in dragon; his powers as a seer have often been useful.
BIOGRAPHY AND LORE
PRE-RP HISTORY
The Destroyer. The Dragon. The Beast.
The Harbinger of Death. The Herald of Annihilation. The Champion of Black.
Aivrid once reveled in hearing the names the small ones called him. If he heard them spoken now, he'd laugh so hard he'd shake his mountain.
The dragon's history is long and storied. For most of his long life he had terrorized nations, gathered a great hoard of gold, and crushed would-be dragonslayers underfoot. But with age came wisdom, and with wisdom -- for Aivrid at least -- came apathy. After three and a half millennia of crushing puny humanoids underfoot, he stopped caring. There was no joy, only repetition. His hoard of treasure was almost too big for his lair. And killing children before they got old severely limited the number of adventurers who came to his doorstep.
Aivrid became more and more reclusive as the years passed, and soon enough his flights were limited to scaring the orcs that inhabited the Seret Mountains (in fact, many of them have taken up worship of him -- seeing the dragon in flight is seen as an omen of great misfortune or great fortune, depending on which orc you ask).
The practice of magic has instead taken up the mighty beast's time. Its practice became one of his few pleasures; the success of creating a powerful ward around his lair made him happy, though not in the same way that burning a village did. The experience of joy beyond his basest urges made him long for more. His search continued through each Lessat eclipse as he learned more of the world again. Aivrid, for a time, might've been a scholar among dragons, and in his age of boredom he truly lived up to such a title.
Part of him longs for something more than just seeing the world through his magic -- perhaps it's time for the world to see the great dragon again. Perhaps it's time to settle some unfinished business.
REFERENCES
TBA