MagiStream

Name: Larathen

Age: Mid 20's

Species: Dragon

Appearance: Larathen is of average height and rather thin, with shoulder-length, slightly untidy blond hair and brown eyes. His habitual grin holds no malice, and he has a knack for coaxing a smile from others. Overall, Larathen is unremarkable in appearance - he can generally blend in well almost anywhere - and goes out of his way not to appear threatening.

There are no particular traces of Larathen's dragon heritage visible to the casual observer - his slightly clawlike fingers and toes can be explained away as an illness or misfired spell, while pointed ears can be jokingly attributed to being part elf (not that anybody actually believes in elves, of course). The line of scales down his spine and parallel ridges at his shoulder blades (marking where his wings are in dragon form) are harder to explain away, but not something that many are in a position to notice.

Larathen dresses for comfort, not style - neutral-colored clothes that are easy to travel in, and certainly nothing fancy. His most noticeable possession is his pack, which looks to be considerably older than he is and holds more than it should (including a tent). He takes great pains to appear harmless and like nothing more than the scholar he pretends to be (not that he isn't really the scholarly type - he just didn't attend any university the humans he meets would recognize).

Larathen is about as imposing as a dragon as he is as a human (not very, in other words). He's about waist-high to the average human, if that, and has no scales, horns, spines, or even much in the way of claws. Except for a blond mane (resembling that of a lion), he's a uniform yellow-brown in color (about the shade of a DC ochredrake). Other distinguishing features are copper eyes and large, pointed ears. Larathen can fly, but generally chooses not to, because it makes him too noticeable.

Personality: Larathen is personable and easy-going, always liking to meet new people and see new places. He's deeply motivated by curiosity, though (usually) not the point of being foolhardy. Very laid-back, he prefers to avoid conflict, sometimes to the point of seeming passive (though less so as he's spent more time out in the world). Larathen has a knack for generally blending in wherever he goes (it helps that he can successfully claim to be from any of a number of countries or one of several nationalities), and likes to fade into the background wherever he can. This is partly to avoid being outed as a dragon, and partly because he dislikes in general to cause trouble or attract too much attention (though there are always exceptions).

Thanks to a deep interest in people, Larathen has over time developed a knack for getting along with other people (a talent which usually deserts him when his family is involved, though), and can spend hours listening to others tell him their stories. He can usually be persuaded to share a story of his own in exchange, though these must always be modified to remove any incriminating information about his heritage.

Larathen dislikes physical violence, though he'll sometimes make an exception to help others, and relies largely on an assortment of stunning spells and the like to keep himself safe. He fears the day when the conflict between humans and dragons will escalate to the point where he can no longer remain neutral, and especially dreads being forced to fight.

History: Practically the youngest (and certainly the smallest) of a rather large family, Larathen grew up overshadowed by his siblings. They were all either large and powerful or extremely skilled magic users (if not both), and prone to picking fights, and so Larathen learned early on how best to try to escape notice. In addition, they were all very anti-human (the community still jokes about how his parents were trying to create their own personal army for the seemingly-inevitable war), and Larathen's interest in humanity was considered highly suspect, if not downright treasonous.

He was determined to learn more about the dragons' ancient enemies, though, and so at an age when most dragons were urged to consider settling down and starting a family, Larathen chose instead to set off to see the world. He's been many places by now, and despite dire predictions from everyone he knew, he's survived his many adventures largely unscathed. His one regret is that he has yet to find a traveling companion - the dragons he meets tend to want no more contact with humans than is absolutely necessary, and humans would be too much of a risk if they found out what he really was.

Special Talents: Larathen knows a few spells, mostly along the lines of simple illusions or basic mending charms. He has the potential to become quite a skilled mage, but fears the extra attention this would bring from his kin - there would be no way he could avoid becoming part of the war against humankind.

Other: Larathen has remained steadfastly single for his entire life (without even any crushes, or at least none that he's willing to admit to) - whether because of lack of interest or just not having met the right person yet is unclear.

Name: She's got a lot of names, but the one she's using lately that's easiest to say is Kura.

Age: Technically she was created in a place where time has no meaning, so really, she's ageless...but she appears to be about 21 or 22

Species: Goddess (lower-level)

Appearance: At first glance, while it isn't clear that Kura isn't of this realm, it's clear that she's...strange. She stands at about five foot three or so in her bare feet, and she's all pale white skin and dark, dark red hair; it's only in the right lights that it's clear that her hair isn't a dark shade of brown. Everything about her seems delicate, breakable; she gives the impression of being made of glass, from her skinny limbs to the way she walks like she thinks she should be floating. Her face is fine-boned and, like the rest of her, seems delicate, like she should bruise in a stiff breeze. Large, dark blue eyes set a little deeply take up most of her face, rimmed with thick black eyelashes. Her lips are soft pink, and she bites them as a nervous habit when she's not paying close attention. Her hair is smooth and gently wavy, hitting at just past her shoulders; she usually lets it hang loose, but when she needs to get it out of the way, she braids it.

As far as her clothes go, at the start, Kura is dressed in...well. Not much. A long, winding piece of shimmery silver cloth that wraps around her several times. In general, she likes soft things to wear and dress in (really, soft things in general, ha ha) and she's not particularly picky as to what she wears.

When Kura slips out of her mortal self and into her goddess being, she looks...entirely different, and yet much the same. She glows softly when she goes into her power, her eyes a bright and cutting blue and her skin an almost painful white. She adds an extra joint to her limbs, giving her a spindly, eerie look, as well as more dexterity. Her fingers lengthen and gain little spines that allow her to climb up walls, and she loses most of her body weight, sucking her skin closer to her bones, leaving her looking like a skeleton with a little flesh and some space for her organs. She becomes much stronger, despite the thinness of her frame, and can carry up to five times her weight. She is also nearly unstoppable in her goddess form, though the wounds she accrues will harm her greatly when she returns to her "maiden" self.

Personality: Kura was only created for the purpose of stopping a war between the humans and dragons a short time ago (since she was born in the realm of the gods, where there is no time, she's not sure how long ago that was...but she knows it's been a relatively short time), but in this time, she's progressed enormously; she learns about humanity and dragonkind whenever she sleeps, meaning that even if she's only lived a little while, she's learned enough for longer. That doesn't necessarily means she knows what it all means, or how to use her knowledge... But she's excited to actually live her life, now that she has it. She's enthusiastic and naive, believing strongly in ideals and excited to actually get to walk around in the world she's been dreaming about for the few years of her life. She's kind without thinking of it, in part because that's what she was designed to be and in part because it's just her.

When she shifts into her goddess self, though, all of that is gone, replaced by cold calculations and an animalistic drive to survive. The goddess self is designed as a way to keep herself alive in times of extreme danger, and it has little notion of anything that isn't attacking or fleeing. She can't usually remember much about being in her goddess self, meaning that when she goes back to her 'maiden' self, she can remember vague blurs and general concepts, but no details.

History: Kura was "created" a short time ago by the Forces that Be, ((lame name for the overarching deities, I know. DX)) who designed her to stop the coming war between the dragons and the humans, since they love both peoples equally and must not favor one over the other. She stayed in the Otherrealm for her entire life up until the present, learning what she could of the rules of this realm from the upper-level deities before she was sent down. She really doesn't have much in the way of history, really...just future, ha ha.

Special Talents: The goddess form has already been mentioned as a form she slips into in times of physical danger in order to protect herself and ensure her survival. She can't choose to go into her goddess self; it comes over her with or without her permission. In her goddess self, she's faster, stronger, and more magical; she can lift about five times her weight and leap very high distances.

In her maiden self, her powers are there, but much more...graceful. She can levitate small things, nothing heavier than about twenty pounds, and she can heal wounds, though she can't bring someone back from the brink of death. She can heal broken bones or organs, however. She also glows very slightly in the dark, enough that someone may think that it's a trick of the light if he doesn't know better. Anyone with any magical ability can also see that she's constantly radiating a steady level of magic, and she uses that to create small bursts of energy as a minor attack. If it's drained, she must recuperate by sleeping until her magic reaches normal levels again. This normally takes about 24 hours or so.

Other: Kura can sometimes speak to the Forces that Be, but only when they wish to speak to her and give her some direction. Upon coming to this realm, she lost most memory of the details of the Otherrealm, recalling little other than the physics of this realm and the vague sense that she has a Greater Purpose...even if she doesn't remember any details. She knows she needs to stop a war between the humans and dragons, but she doesn't know how and she barely knows why.

The day had been quiet and uneventful, not that Larathen really minded. A little too quiet, perhaps - he was still a day or so away from the nearest town, according to his maps, and hadn't seen any other people in nearly a week - but that couldn't be helped. Any dragons with an interest in travel didn't share his interest in humans (or not in the same way, at least), and human traveling companions couldn't be trusted with the secret of his heritage. Still, the only permanent cure for being lonely was to find some dragon settlement willing to take him in (not especially hard, given the continuing decline in population), and Larathen had no interest in doing that. He might be spending another evening by the campfire with just a good book for company, but at least he could stay clear of the seemingly-inevitable war for a little while longer.

Larathen dug a book out of his pack and conjured a light sphere to read by, but soon set the book aside and snuffed out the light. One advantage to being far away from city lights was being able to fully appreciate the stars, and they were especially bright this warm summer night. There were even some shooting stars to enjoy. The first six Larathen spotted were ordinary enough, but the seventh was unusually bright, and didn't fade away before it got to the horizon. In fact, Larathen almost thought he felt the impact of its landing. Intrigued, Larathen decided to see if he could find where the meteorite (for it could be nothing else) had fallen - probably too far away for him to find, no matter how close it had seemed, but at least he could go look. He placed the book and his pack in the tent, checked on the campfire, and set off in the direction of the meteorite.

He was just about to give up and go back to the campsite when he reached the top of a nearby hill and saw a crater that had definitely not been there earlier that day. Curled up at the center of the crater was what seemed to be (but couldn't possibly be) a young woman, possibly about his age, wearing what looked to be some sort of silver robe. While there was always the chance this could be some sort of trap - unlikely, yes, but he'd had close calls with dragon-hunting wizards before - Larathen's desire to help the woman outweighed his concern (and besides, even if it were a trap, whoever had set it certainly already knew he was there). He carefully made his way down the hill to the crater, moving quietly yet deliberately so as not to alarm the woman.

Heat. Intense, searing heat that pulled at Kura's bones, rent her in two, ripped her apart from the inside out. Except she couldn't tell where it was coming from, the heat, whether it flamed inside her or burnt from without.

And there was a sense of falling, of plummeting fast downward. She couldn't open her eyes, and that frightened her, that scared her out of her mind. She screamed once, and then...

Collision. Wherever she was falling from, she'd hit the ground with enough force to vibrate her bones and shock her senseless. For several moments, she could do nothing but try to breathe, pressed against the ground in a tight curl, until at last she worked up the strength to unfold her body, to sit up and look around. Everything ached dully, but the pain was going away, and as she looked around, she found herself in a strange crater in the ground. A man with blond hair stood at the edge of the crater, and she waved an arm at him, calling, "Hello there."

Larathen smiled back. "Hello. Don't get up - I'll come down to you." The young woman seemed uninjured, if understandably a little dazed by the fall. He wondered who she was - his first thought was an apprentice wizard who had managed to spectacularly botch a teleport spell. Well, if so, that was alright - most wizards he'd met were decent sorts (until they began to suspect what he was), and she'd have no reason to suspect he was really a dragon instead of just a wandering scholar. If nothing else, perhaps he'd have someone to talk to for a little while.

As Larathen made his way to the center of the crater, he was able to get a closer look at the mysterious young woman and was intrigued. She looked delicate, almost fragile, though she seemed to have survived her crash landing unscathed, and her dark brown hair contrasted strongly with very pale skin. Like him, it was impossible to say what part of the world she might have come from. Larathen wondered momentarily if she was a dragon like himself, but if she were, she showed even fewer signs of it than he did.

Finally, he'd reached her side. Grinning broadly, Larathen reached out a hand. "That was quite a fall you took. Need a hand?" He still couldn't figure out what she was wearing, not to mention whether it had been a victim of the fall or had always been that...scanty, and resolved to offer her at least a jacket if she came back to the campsite with him.

Kura smiled at the man's kindness as he came down into the crater, waiting obediently for him to come to her. She stretched her arms over her head. It was good to move her muscles here, in this realm...back where she'd come from, it was like her physical form didn't really matter. Did it even exist there? She couldn't remember.

Stay with this dragon. The voice was sudden, sharp, quick, and for a moment Kura recognized it...but then the moment was gone and she was left wondering if the thought was her own, or if it had come from somewhere or someone else.

She blinked and shook her head as if dislodging water and turned her attention back to the man. He seemed friendly, and kind, certainly kind to be coming down here to try to help her. She liked him already. Smiling at him, she took his hand and gingerly stood, wobbling a bit on her new legs. She vaguely got the sense of how they should work...but she wasn't sure if she could apply the knowledge.

"Thank you," she said to the man, leaning a little on him. "You are very kind. What's your name? I'm Kura."

Now that Kura (and what an unusual name that was) was standing, Larathen could tell that she was considerably shorter than she was - easily able to lean on him (which he gladly allowed, seeing how unsteady she was) without there being any danger of her knocking him over. "Nice to meet you, Kura. I'm Larathen. So, you didn't know that teleport spell as well as you thought, I'm guessing."

Kura still seemed uninjured, but she seemed disoriented enough that Larathen wondered if she might have hit her head upon impact. "Are you hurt?" Larathen asked in concern. "You don't seem quite...sure of yourself." Healing magic, unfortunately, wasn't one of his strong points, so with luck she was just still shaken from the fall.

"Teleport spell?" Kura asked in confusion, her brow furrowing a bit. "I don't know any spells, I don't think. That's how humans and dragons use the magic in the atmosphere to serve specific purposes, right?" She shook her head. "I think...I think this was as close as I could get to the ground before they had to drop me. I remember someone saying this was as close as they could drop me before they'd start to rupture some...boundary. Or something like that."

At his question, she shook her head again. "I'm...I don't think I'm hurt. Nothing's bleeding or broken...although I think I have what are called bruises. But those aren't serious, usually, are they?" She patted his arm. "Thank you for asking, though."

Larathen tried not to tense up - no point in giving Kura cause for concern. The unusual name and appearance had been nothing to get alarmed about - he hadn't been everywhere in the world, after all, and there were certainly lots of places he hadn't even heard of yet, so she could just be from one of those. Her words, though, were another matter.

What Kura had just said was decidedly odd. The first part sounded disturbingly like the lead-in to an attack. Dragon settlements had magical barriers to prevent just anyone from entering, after all, as did certain human settlements, and learning how to break or warp them was an important concern for both sides. Why a forest would have some sort of magical boundary, though, he had no idea (and, yes, she'd mentioned not rupturing the boundary, but that could be her misunderstanding).

The rest of what she'd said was odd as well. Not knowing what "teleport" meant was understandable - you really needed magical training to have heard that term - but "spell" was a common word. Besides, even if she'd gone her entire life without hearing anything about magic, she'd at least know what a bruise was. Larathen suspected she really had hurt her head. If not, then, well, he'd get his wish of having someone to talk to for a little while, as there was no way he was letting her leave until he'd figured out what, exactly, was going on.

"Well, that's the textbook definition of a spell, at least," he said, shifting position and turning his head so he could look her in the eyes. "And no, bruises usually aren't serious - what I'm more concerned about is if your head hurts at all since your abrupt entrance." He wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, besides any obvious lumps or cuts.

"Hmm?" Kura blinked at Larathen. "No, my head is fine. I'm pretty sure. I'm relatively new to it and everything." She smiled at him as they made their way out of the crater. So, she needed to stay with him, though she wasn't sure why...did it have something to do with why she was here? She knew it was important that she was here, that she go somewhere...

As soon as she had the thought, her other hand, the one not leaning on Larathen, lifted of its own will from her body and pointed ahead of her. That way, a voice in her head said quietly. You need to go that way.

And like before, the thought was gone so quickly she wasn't sure if it was her own or something else's. Familiar and yet entirely separate from her...where was that voice from?

Realizing that she'd pointed for what would seem to Larathen like no good reason, she smiled at him and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. That's just the way we need to go. I don't know why, though. I'm sorry, am I being confusing? I feel like I'm being confusing."