Dagorlad

SAF Dagorlad (Sindarin – ‘Battlefield’) - One of the Royal line, progeny: Khazad and two further descendants.

Clan Role – Member of the Royal Line and a Combat Captain of the only mage squad in the clan, leading Mykiss and Flynn. Unofficial Lore Seeker of Magic.

Mate – Valarauka. Like most dragons in the SaF clan, all of Dagorlad’s mates should have been chosen by the clan’s ruler Morgul. However, Dagorlad famously and ill-advisedly defied his father when he sired his first clutch with a low ranking, power hungry visitor from another clan, causing much strife within the clanholme. The dragoness hoped to seduce the prince into taking her as his life mate, but as soon as Morgul discovered the clutch, the dragoness was cast out and all the hatchlings were trained for and sent to the Flamecaller's army. This hardened Dagorlad's heart considerably, and his ability to love and trust another dragon has been seriously damaged. Since his disastrous first clutch, he has been mated to the quite, reserved Valarauka as his father wished all along. The two are openly not 'in love' with each other, but they get on well and treat each other kindly, and both are thankfully content with the arrangement. Outside of parenting duties they do not spend time together, Valarauka prefers to be alone with her familiars and both dragons wish to focus on their studies, she of familiars and he of battle magic.

Family – Dagorlad is the first born son and heir to Morgul, the clan's imposing leader. His mother Leoni is also still within the clan, however Dagorlad’s vastly different personality and outlook on life has distanced him from both his strong-willed, aggressive parents. Dagorlad's temperament was heavily influenced by Pietro, Morgul's placid second in command, while he was growing up and he was raised alongside Pietro's first born son, Fury. Like Pietro, Dagorlad excels at magic based combat, but he has neglected the healing aspect of his skills to focus purely on his offensive capabilities to try and win the approval of his father, who it seems will always admire physical combat skills more than magical ones to Dagorlad's dismay.
As a member of the royal line he has many relatives in the clan, including a full-blood older sister, Belfalas. Belfalas is a highly skilled, capable warrior in the clan and he is painfully aware that Morgul is seriously considering her over him as next in line for the throne. His fears on this front are actually unjustified; he is far better fitted for the role of clan leader and is much more liked by members of the clan than the hot-headed Belfalas.
Only one of Dagorlad’s children has remained in the SaF clan, Khazad. Khazad has Morgul's personality and lust for battle combined with natural fighting skills and exceptional combat training from Achilles. He has thus become the greatest warrior in the clan, which Dagorlad is quietly proud of despite sharing no common interests with his son and having very little contact with him. Khazad has recently had a son, Agmar, who has been permitted to remain in the clan and Dagorlad has found to his surprise that the he gets on remarkably well with his grandson. Despite Agmar’s aptitude for physical battleskills and hunting, which typically causes Dagorlad to fall out with other members of his family, Agmar’s personality is very similar to Dagorlad’s and the two thoughtful dragons have forged a strong bond in a short space of time. His latest great-grandchild, Palantiri, was the first dragon in the clan to be born with primal fire powers, and Dagorlad is one of the few who can help her learn to harness these abilities.

Bio – Dagorlad, heir to leadership of the SaF clan, has been considered unusual for a fireborn dragon since his birth just after the clan’s formation. His temperament is remarkably calm compared to his unforgiving father and tempestuous mother, Leoni, both of whom are aggressive, quick to anger and to dish out a sound hiding or worse to an offending party. Dagorlad thinks things through before he acts and is very slow to anger for a fireborn dragon, which all in all may make him a better leader for the SaF clan when the time comes for his rule. While growing up Dagorlad had many duties and lessons to prepare him for his eventual role as leader of the clan, and with little free time for fun he quickly developed a serious, thoughtful outlook on life. This was mostly due to the wise and patient Pietro’s influence, as Dagorlad spent much time with the imperial as he is Morgul’s second in command. This also lead to him seeing the value of magical abilities, as Pietro is the Lore Master of Magic in the clan, and developing his own incredible powers as a combat mage. Initially Dagorlad began to openly study all magic and wished to become a Lore Seeker of Magic under Pietro, but Morgul made it clear to the young dragon that this was an unacceptable role for his heir. Dismayed and seeking to please his imposing father somehow, Dagorlad began to secretly study and practise only combat magic, as Morgul values dragons that can fight above all others. This strategy worked to some degree, Morgul permitted Dagorlad to form and lead a Combat Squad made up entirely of offensive mages, which Dagorlad interprets as a sign of approval of his son’s activities. However Dagorlad still does not openly claim the title of Lore Seeker, instead studying and practising his fire magic privately.
Between his strained relationships with the majority of his hot-headed blood family and his disastrous experiences with his first clutch, he has few close friends. He has been best friends with Fury since both dragons hatched. As another son of a high ranking clan member (Pietro), Fury had to endure many of the same lectures on clan matters growing up as Dagorlad did, and the two soon became fast friends. Fury’s mischievous streak compliments Dagorlad’s serious nature well and the two became established as the clan’s charismatic troublemakers while growing up, Fury’s antics getting both of them into trouble but Dagorlad’s level head ensuring it was never too bad. Now both dragons are grown and with important clan roles, they don’t get to spend as much time together as they’d like but the two meet up whenever they can to swap stories and joke together. Dagorlad has great respect for both Pietro and Achilles. He reveres Pietro as he opened Dagorlad’s eyes to magic and secretly taught him enough basics so he could experiment and grow on his own, in defiance of Morgul’s wishes. He is hugely fond of Achilles due to the patience and understanding the Battle Master showed Dagorlad during the years when Morgul insisted he be trained in physical combat skills, despite his natural aptitude for magical fighting. Aside from his grandson Agmar, a recent clan addition who he has bonded with over their mutual exasperation over the rest of their belligerent family, he also enjoys the company of Morgana, the only Lore Seeker of Magic in the SaF clan. As two of only three dragons in the clan that want to study magic, the two enjoy discussing hypotheses, experiments and arguing over different theories about magical energies. He takes his Combat Squad out in the field whenever possible, as it is the only time he can openly use magic. The other two offensive mages in the squad, the strange, icy coalt Flynn and the mysterious fae Mykiss, are extremely powerful but do not study or practise their magic, instead relying on their natural talent and emotions to wield their powers. Dagorlad therefore has a difficult time leading and training such a squad, but he handles both of the difficult dragons well and is one of the few they respect and obey. The rest of Dagorlad’s time is eaten up with duties to assist run the clan with Morgul, much to his chagrin.