Xaladreth
Xaladreth Goldaming (a.k.a. The Unyielding)
An ancient and crafty Feral Dragon, Xaladreth was driven by the Soulfires' quest for knowledge and intelligence. A revered matriarch within her community, both for her sharp intellect and her impressive hoard, she is best remembered among non-dragons for her short marriage to a human, Paitr Goldaming.
Physical Description
Body Features
Xaladreth was covered in thick, dark green scales with black accents around her face, throat, and wings. These markings were difficult to see from a distance but gave her a rather striking and regal appearance up close.
Facial Features
Xaladreth's face was narrow with distinct bone ridges beneath her scales, a rather dainty appearance for a Feral Dragon. Her teeth were sharp and plentiful, both lower incisors protruding from her mouth when closed, resulting in a rather fearsome smile. Her eyes were light green with gold flecks, her pupils tall and narrow black slits
Identifying Characteristics
She bore a large scar on the right back leg, a reminder of a disagreement with a Tlaxxi in her youth and how she had bested him with nothing but her own quick wits, a matter of great pride.
Special abilities
Xaladreth's breath attacks consisted of sonic and ultrasonic soundwaves which she could direct into tight, focused beams or massive area attacks. She could also use her wings to direct large wind attacks capable of flattening all but the most sturdy of structures. Her telepathic communications were also particularly pursuasive due to centuries of practice and difficult to resist.
Mental characteristics
Education
Xaladreth collected the knowledge of her fellow dragons, as is tradition among the Soulfire. Upon maturity she also scoured Fillimet for her own additions to this knowledge, testing the limits of her magic, observing the rises and falls of the non-dragons, and collecting non-dragon scholars or their items for her own education and amusement.
Accomplishments & Achievements
As she aged Xaladreth grew in wisdom and in power, eventually becoming a well-esteemed matriarch within the Soulfire. This entitled her to tributes from the other dragons in exchange for her efforts uniting their community and assisting to raise their young on the path of knowledge.
Failures & Embarrassments
Her temporary mating with Paitr Goldaming was originally a cause for ridicule, even after she awarded him the title Dragonkin, and almost lost her matriarchal standing among the Soulfire. It was believed that she had lost her intelligent edge, to craft mating challenges simple enough for a mere Human to succeed.
While she did eventually convince her fellow dragons of Paitr's sharp mind she never came to terms with the Goldaming Family's taxation requirements. Paitr had insisted upon a formal marriage, citing the Great Library and other resources at Arcana, but after three years of fighting off tax collection attempts she determined the rewards of the Goldamings' lesser knowledge were not worth the loss of her own hoard of storied treasures, and broke with the family. As is the way of the Soulfire the break was amicable towards Paitr, and he would occasionally visit her and her young to impart his own wisdom to the dragon's.
Intellectual Characteristics
Xaladreth was logical and precise in her thoughts, and her quick cogitation won her many a verbal insult duel. This made her impatient when discussing ideas with those less advanced in their thought or understanding processes, resulting in a few friendly arguments with other Soulfires and several devoured scholars who were less intelligent in person than their reputations suggested.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
As with all Soulfire Feral Dragons, Xaladreth was motivated by knowledge, intelligence, and cunning.
She wanted to learn all she could and would exercise her mind daily so as to constantly improve her own intellect.
Virtues & Personality perks
Xaladreth was an honest dragon, speaking her mind and keeping her word. She held firm to the Soulfire ideals of intelligence, creativity, and wit, and had no qualms or personal insecurities about calmly debating her decisions with others in her circle. She stood unyielding in her convictions and risked everything she had to uphold her own beliefs.
Vices & Personality flaws
She was a Feral Dragon, and believed in their superiority to all other species of Fillimet as a whole. This is not a flaw by dragon standards, especially as their longer lifespans allow for a greater amassing of wealth and knowledge throughout their lifetime compared to the other races. She was cold and brutal towards all non-dragons unless the individual could prove an intellect on par with her own.
Social
Family Ties
Xaladreth had close ties within the Soulfire community due to their child-rearing traditions. She was also inducted into the Goldaming Family due to her partnering with Paitr Goldaming, although she left after three years due to differences of opinion on their taxation policies.
Hobbies & Pets
Occasionally Xaladreth would take a liking to a scholar of one of the non-dragon sentient races, plucking them from their home to keep at her lair. She would always treat them well as long as they provided her with semi-intelligent conversation upon occasion, providing food and shelter and even teaching some of her own knowledge to particular favorites, teaching them to debate with her on particular topics. She learned early on to only keep one pet at a time, as multiples tended to scheme together and caused no end of troubles with their escape plans.
Speech
Her telepathic communications felt wise, confident, and musical. Her communications with the Goldamings, particularly Paitr Goldaming, also held an air of amusement.
Relationships
History
In an effort to obtain access to her rumored collection of tomes on Old Magic, Paitr submitted himself to Xaladreth's courtship challenges. The ancient dragon was intrigued by the human who not only dared attempt her feats but actually completed them, and selected him as one of her mates after naming him Dragonkin. Paitr was hopeful he could obtain knowledge from Xaladreth's vast library of collected tomes, particularly the volumes on Old Magic. While the ancient dragon did permit her unusual mate to review a few of the books, and even spend a year physically restoring some of the older volumes, the tomes were written in a long-dead language and thus retained their secrets. Xaladreth would not reveal whether she already knew the contents of the books, merely informing him that some knowledge was too powerful for those unable to interpret it themselves. She did cheerfully teach him her own book preservation spells, advanced techniques which earned Paitr an honored place with the Fillimet Magical Archives and their full assistance in attempting to decipher the ancient languages of the Old Magic. Paitr and Xaladreth's pairing lasted three years before Xaladreth grew tired of the taxations levied against her by the Goldaming Family and broke off the official relationship. As is the custom of most Soulfire pairings the break was amicable and the two kept in touch, sharing knowledge with the other's offspring as is customary.
Wealth & Financial state
As a matriarch of the Soulfire community Xaladreth was also entitled to tributes from her fellow dragons. She was also quite active in her own research efforts, both as an observer and as a collector. As a result her personal collection of wealth was vast and respected by her fellows.
Xaladreth's hoard included a lifetime of riches from multiple kingdoms, assortments of enchanted items of different purposes, and many ancient tomes on knowledge lost to the non-dragons, including the secrets of Old Magic.
Species
Ethnicity
Life
5276 CFE
5738 CFE
462 years old
Circumstances of Death
In her elder years Xaladreth was eventually felled in battle, defending her hoard and her community's young from the incursion of a Tlaxxi feral dragon, an honorable death for an honored dragon.
Spouses
Paitr Goldaming
(Spouse)
Siblings
Children
Gender
Female
Eyes
Light green with gold flecks and slitted pupils
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Dark green scales with black accents around her face, throat, and wings
Height
10 ft 4 in
Weight
1500 lbs
Quotes & Catchphrases
A true scholar is open to knowledge in all its forms, no matter how... unexpected.
Aligned Organization
Related Plots
Comments