Fioralba

Fioralba's background is unknown to her and she does not know of or remember either of her parents. She was, as is said in our tongue, a Klurkein, a hatchling made orphan by war. When enemy clans are defeated, weak looking children are culled to reduce outside threats to territory. However, strong and useful looking Klurkein are adopted by the clan to improve and diversify bloodlines, and Fioralba was one of many adopted hatchlings to serve the needs of the clan. Her name is foreign to the clan; most females are named in Sindarin or Quenyan, Tolkien's elvish languages, but hers is Italian, meaning “dawn flower.”

The Klurkein are raised as a group effort by the entire clan and no particular parental figure exists for them, meaning that care and attention is spread thin and often distant, if not outright apathetic. It also means that they are treated like adults rather than hatchlings, no matter what their age, and this means that Klurkein are forced to grow up very quickly. Fioralba in particular learned the harsh realities of the world with a proficiency that was both impressive and concerning. She didn't resent her adopted clan, but she did strive to be superior to them in every way.

Fioralba enlisted in the Frulahvu, Rakkagar's militia, as a young adult and ascended the ranks with a fiercesome proficiency. Outsider blood does not cause prejudice in the clan and neither does age, least of all when it comes to anyone who can prove their salt, and her skill quickly became infamous through the rank and file.

Brutality comes naturally to her, but not without purpose. She is slick and cunning in a way that the other fighters are not, and yet more savage in a way that the sages and shaman of the clan are not. She is both conscientious and reckless, steadfast yet fickle, and boisterously friendly yet silently conniving. She easily fills whichever roll in a situation she feels will give her the greatest advantage at any given time. She has no clearly defined fighting style because she makes a point of never being predictable, and she has no easily forseeable tactics to plan around, besides the fact that she always depends heavily on the element of surprise.

This vicious versatility allowed her to outsmart and out-muscle her competition in every aspect, and eventually it landed her a position as a Ruveyzun, essentially a Captain, the second highest rank in the militia and one of only three in the entire clan. Furthermore, she had unquestionably earned it and she was well respected for it, even if most dragons found her more than a little intimidating.

There are three Ruveyzun at any given time, all in charge of different units. The three are technically all the same rank, but they hold a number one, number two, or number three position. Fioralba was number one, followed by Ruv. Basalt and Ruv. Aureole, and the three did not exactly get along. Fioralba was a wildcard on the best of days, (it can be said that, having lived her entire life being adaptive, she did not have a baseline personality) but Basalt was too contemplative and philosophical for her tastes, and Aureole was too obsessive over nobility and order. But they worked well enough together, whether discussing tactic or employing strategy, and their Rahzun (enlisted soldiers under them) were well trained and very successful.





Basalt






Aureole

During disputes they answered to a single Commander, Uthiik Corona, and the majority of their intentions and strategies had to pass through him. Corona is a pretty facetious sort of fellow, a seasoned veteran and yet hardly ever serious, and he entrusted a good deal of the militia to the good judgment of his captains.









Fioralba was a brilliant tactician and concocted excellent strategies, but they were often deemed too extreme by the moderate Aureole and mild Basalt, who felt often that less violent and risky tactics would serve the unit as a whole better. Even if she insisted on seeking the Uth's approval anyway, she was frequently shut down. While Uth. Corona did not hold these multiple failed plans against her, (in fact it raised his faith in her, for she was clearly intelligent and highly motivated) her two comrades began to openly criticize her and mistrust her when it became clear that she was not becoming more responsible with time, but very clearly the opposite.

As time passed, Fioralba became very jealous of the Uth's position. She was treated well and respected and recognized for her skills, but the Uthiik still had ultimate power over her, and she began to loathe and covet his power. The Uthiik of the clan remains in power indefinitely until he either dies or is forced out of his position by force, which was rare and unlikely, as a dragon was often promoted to Uthiik by through popular vote, because it was as important for the Uth to be likable and respected as it was for him to be a skilled fighter. Skilled though she was, Fioralba was anything but popular, and she had no doubt that should Corona ever fall, some other self-righteous prat of a dragon like Aureole would get the position. The only way she could claim it was through force or cunning, at which no one could best her.

There came a time when Corona and Aureole had to leave the clan for a long period of time on personal matters I don't get into here. With only the quiet Basalt to check her, Fioralba had unbridled ability to bully her peers into her more drastic tactics, and the clan became extremely aggressive and began to pick fights where it was unneeded for the sole purpose of gaining territory, which they did at a frightening rate. Basalt, being a Skydancer and thus sensitive to feelings and intentions, watched her very carefully. He sensed the treachery and desire thriving in her and he sensed her blatant joy and excitement at violence, but while he is very loyal and an excellent fighter, he's not one for making decisions of his own accord without his commander to rely on. All he knew was that he did not trust her, and when he failed again and again to dissuade her plans, he became very uneasy.

There came a point where Fioralba became aware that she could control Basalt indirectly using her sex as a weapon. She became very friendly with him and flirted with him discreetly, and despite his misgivings he became infatuated with her. They conceived one egg together, a son, Ancel, who was raised primarily by his father. Fioralba refused to mother him, and with Basalt's inherent nature to obsess over his offspring, she easily managed to keep him out of the way long enough to take definitive control over the militia.



Ancel, not only being a Skydancer like his father but having been raised by him as well, shared his father's qualms over his mother's brutish ways. When he was older he pursued his mother and tried to get her to at least talk to him, but when he realized that she cared very little for anything that couldn't fight, he enlisted, despite his father's apprehension. He hoped that one day he could become a respectable enough fighter that she might respect him in return if she wouldn't care for him just for being her son.

Unfortunately, Ancel did not inherit either of his parent's talents for battle, and as a result he suffered both in training and on the battlefield. Though Basalt encouraged him to find another profession, he persisted, promising that he might one day be able to talk some sense into his mother. He died at a very young age in a fruitless scuffle over territory, and while Fioralba hardly noticed, (their casualties that battle had been very low, which she considered a sound victory) Basalt was overwhelmed with grief. He became very emotional and very publicly castigated her, and this insolence enraged her. They fought and Basalt lost, and of his own accord he resigned his position, at that point deciding that he did not care any more.

Fioralba intended to seek Matriarch status of the clan next, but she didn't have time. Corona and Aureole returned very shortly after Ancel's death and learned all that had happened. She refused to submit to her commanding officer and properly fought him for his position, and she lost. They might have left it at that, for Corona was very forgiving, but she attempted to kill Corona anyway through backhanded means. She was stopped at the last moment by Basalt before the assassination attempt could go through. At that point her rank was immediately abolished and her place was taken by another warrior. Basalt was convinced to return and reinstated at the same rank, although he had technically lost rank as he became the lowest of the three Ruveyzun, their order now being Aureole, Ankalima, and himself.

Stripped of all rank, power, and respect, Fioralba isolates herself from the clan and plots her glorious return. Her cunning and scheming grew tenfold over her ferocity; her insatiability for power had cost her dearly and she would not make the same mistake. She waits for the chance to either redeem herself or find some other, easier way to gain power, perhaps in a new clan where she can make a fresh start?