Onward!

Original concept post: (x)

Key characters: (x)

Acitrox - Ancient black dragon, 1100+ years old. Known by the locals as the Crowned Shade for the gold adorning his curved horns and how he blots out the sun when he flies overhead. His lair is situated in a lonely mountain surrounded by swamps, and his territory extends to an entire kingdom. For a black dragon, he is oddly nuanced in his evil, uninterested in domination or overt blanket cruelty as he finds that to be boring at this point in his life. And boredom, it seems, is the one persistent enemy he has left. He's taken to trickery, meddling in the human population of the kingdom, looking to seed opportunities for future conflicts or intrigue, whether that be allowing other dragons or monstrosities to take up residence, mentally tormenting key political figures, or luring the knights away into his swamps for his own amusement. He keeps a small population of goblins in his lair, who serve as his underlings, spies, and army when he wants to have a bit of fun and while his treasure hoard grows from battles with giants and other dragons, there is one paladin besmirching his name he wants to add into his possession...

The Lich - age unknown, actual name forgotten, gender also forgotten, lives deep under the mountain in their own maze like catacombs. Evil to the point of apathy for most living things but tempered only because they have no interest in dealing with mortals and prefer being hidden away with their studies and their ghouls. They find Acitrox intellectually stimulating when he isn't on some bullshit and enjoys the symbiotic relationship they have, given Acitrox's presence deters explorers and holy warriors and in return, the lich has taught the dragon greater magic than he could ever learn on his own.

Ixsy - young adult in goblin years, newest right hand goblin-servant to Acitrox after her superior got eaten and she was chosen for the position by a democratic and not-rigged-at-all drawing of sticks. Her job is to communicate orders from the dragon to the goblins, anything from raiding some village in the kingdom over to finding a few barrels of wine he likes. Ixsy does not like her job at first, but she does eventually grow into it, learning how to easily placate Acitrox's most foul moods and finding enjoyment at being essentially the head honcho. She hates being told to go talk to the Bone Thing downstairs and is happiest when Acitrox is busy with his knight schemes so she can focus on reading his books and doing her art or when they are visited by his mate and Acitrox is on his best behavior.

Naria - 220+, powerful sorceress, mate to and blessed by Acitrox. In her very late teens, she was offered up as a sacrifice to the dragon, who, already being old and uninterested in this affair, would usually take the sacrifices in, give them some gold, and send them off to a different kingdom to live their lives. Naria refused to leave, not wanting to be destined to some nunnery or as a wife working her womb and her hands to the bone, and he took her under his wing as a sort of apprentice. After several years, they eventually fell in love and started a relationship. Naria stuck around for decades, honing her magical craft before eventually leaving to seek experience, power, and further knowledge but she does come back to visit from time to time. She is bull-headed, determined, calculating, and highly independent, choosing to spend her time alone, though she has her own gaggle of allies out in the world.

Gilead the Dragonsbane - 29, the ever famous paladin. Born a whole country away, he was a humble butcher's son who dreamt of being a fierce warrior. Taking up lessons at the local church to become a paladin, he was entirely unprepared at the tender age of 13 when a goblin army headed by an immense black dragon laid waste to his town. He tried to challenge the ancient drake, able to knock a piece of his horn off in his attempt, but was swiftly knocked aside and out by a swipe of the dragon's claws. Being the only one left alive to tell the tale, he fashioned the piece of the horn into a pendant and swore some kind of revenge, exaggerating his encounter to make it seem like he scared the drake off with his holy powers to get into a different order of paladins to continue his training. This lie has carried him through his life and becoming second in command in the paladin chapter in our kingdom and, while he is highly skilled having thrown himself into his craft and is very accomplished in other acts of heroism that have added to his status as a beloved and local legend, the title of Dragonsbane makes him flinch with every use. While Gilead is generally a confident, no-nonsense, stick-in-the-mud goody two shoes in the armor, outside of his duties, he's a kind, thoughtful soul with a humble and gentle disposition who enjoys playing the fiddle. He has a grand friendship with the local bards and the court wizard and is struggling with extremely conflicting reactions to Acitrox's torments. You would not believe the dreams he's been having about going into the dragon's swamps and getting 'caught'.