Krum Kobold and Stratus the Silver Phantom
Krum is not a people person. Most aren’t even sure she’s a person person. She may be some gremlin changeling abandoned on a hilltop. Her dreary monotone, dead expression, no concept of personal space (humans or dragons) and unblinking, froglike stare make others uncomfortable in her presence. She assumes that everyone is, to a greater or lesser extent, an animal driven by animal instinct.
With the dragons new place in the world Krum wants to learn more about them. She’s analytical, recording her growing knowledge of anatomy and physiology in her notebook and a glance inside is not for the squeamish. She’s not considerate of hygiene and it's unknown if she has a sense of smell or a gag reflex. She certainly has no shame.
Krum thoughtlessly obeys instruction because it’s easier than questioning a human's strange emotional logic. All instruction, any instruction. Until there’s something to write in her diary. She will wander into danger with her shears and measuring knots with no concern for personal injury. Black eyes, scratches and bandages are a mere inconvenience in the quest for knowledge so Stratus has his work cut out for him as he strives to fulfil his life debt.
As a researcher, Krum is especially unhappy with the Book of Dragons which she finds out of date and unobjective. She takes special offense to the ‘Mystery Class’, which means they just aren’t trying hard enough! She’s also adamant that dragons, although related, are too biologically sophisticated to be ‘reptiles’ and to prove this she wants to get her hands on a dragon’s heart but they always seem just out of reach.
Had Hiccup explored further than Itchy Armpit he’d have seen Hoofwart, the largest and warmest island of the Archipelago with scattered farming communities. He might even have soared above the small flickering light of Holgar Kobold as he helped everything from a pregnant yak in trouble, to chickens with fowlpox or a woolly flock with the weeping glaggies.
Krum follows in his footsteps. While he visited townships for medicine it was her duty to see to the animals and aside from the occasional farmer, human exposure was limited. Due to their proximity to Eret’s Fort, dragons were rare. Krum feels she knows everything there is to know about sheep, dragons seems like a logical step.
Krum doesn’t have relationships, she has observation subjects. She greatly admires Stoik the Vast for his ability to lead his flock and thinks that Hiccup has a lot to live up to. She spends time exchanging notes with Fishlegs but believes he’s prone to personification and lacks objectivity.
She refers to Frey as the bellwether, the head of their flock and sees Gunilla and Jian constantly test his control. Sisterly Bebe is there to bandage her endless wounds and she thinks of Snorri as the straggler, the one who will be eaten soonest which she hopes to witness and record.
The others view her as either strange, a source of information or a mild nuisance that has to be nannied or she’ll walk straight into the dragon’s maw.
After watching Krum deftly fight a gang of dragon hunters with little more than old farming sickle, Gunilla was filled with inspiration. A week’s work brought forth Sickleglow, a ghostly pale sickle and chain lantern of deathsong amber filled with monstrous nightmare oil to light her way, presumably from the back of something’s throat.
Stratus the Silver Phantom
Stratus’s sleek body is honed like a knife. Bright white scales with an amethyst, opaline lustre allows him to blend seamlessly with the clouds. As a male, his arrow shaped head possesses only a small nose horn however his glassy, crystalline horns sweep back and crackle with static. His lobed wings create an easy airfoil for gliding and create a whistling noise as he picks up speed.
Despite his years in captivity, Stratus is haughty as a prince and binds himself due to a perceived life debt. Unfortunately Krum has the survival instinct of a dementia patient on an eight lane highway, constantly wandering after dragons in the name of research. When she doesn’t listen a short, sharp shock to temporarily paralyse her is the only warning she’ll heed. His contempt is not just for his rider but his fellow dragons who fail to realise his beauty and magnificence.
:Strengths and Weaknesses:
Silver Phantoms with their glossy, mirror like scales have a natural camouflage and no matter the weather Stratus shrouds seamlessly with the sky. His rider, not so much. He can soar up where the atmosphere is thin and a Silver Phantom’s stoop can outfly a night fury. Otherwise they’re made for a natural glide, able to sleep on the wing and surf the updrafts with little energy expended.
Living above the clouds means Stratus has learned to channel and direct lightning although not with the strength of their rival, the skrill. He uses it indiscriminately on Krum causing that twitching, frazzled look the Fang Gang have come to accept. More often he creates blossoms of rapid, bluewhite fire.
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