Vectrus

As a traditional bard, Vectrus has much wisdom to pass on in the form of stories and song. But none of it is more important than the simple truth that things that are dead need to stay dead, by the Eleven, and so help Vectrus he'll put every single undead monster back in it's place by his own two claws if he has to. Such is the duty of a bard of the Cycle. Though most of them aren't quite brave enough to beat a zombie over the head with a harp.

Vectrus originates from a secretive school, deep in the Worldedge Wetlands. There, dragons are taught the Songs of the Cycle and how to perpetuate it, to stave off the danger that would overrun Sornieth if it was to be broken. Quite simply, an unending tide of undead, who can't die because the world will have forgotten what death is. You know, nothing major.

While necromancers and their ilk are condemned under Vectrus's ideals, they're really not able to cause that much damage in the grand scheme of things. Sure, a particularly bad infestation of a death cult or two might give you a few hundred animated skeletons, but when you smash those to bits they won't be back. Dragons subverting the natural order cause problems, but those problems can be solved by removing the dragons. That's always a fun time for Vectrus; getting to piledrive some weedy fae or skydancers into the dirt, too withered from their abuse of dark magics to fight back. It never makes a huge difference — there will always be more dragons tempted by the lure of power — but noting helps Vectrus burn off stress like punching someone in the face who really deserves it.

But sadly, the greater issues with Sorneith can't be solved with violence. Where the world forgets the way of things and the Cycle stagnates, the only way Vectrus was taught to renew it is through song. Which is rather awkward, because he's got an awful singing voice. And he's honestly not particularly talented with the harp, either. Sornieth doesn't seem to care — the magic works as long as the words are correctly sung, no matter how awful Vectrus thinks he sounds. Still, he always asks for any observers to leave before he revitalises an area, claiming it's too dangerous for them to stick around, just so that he doesn't have to suffer the embarrassment of them listening in. He won't even let anyone listen to him practice. Vectrus has a soundproofed room set up for just that reason.

The Songs of the Cycle themselves are universally slow, sad ballads and dirges. Songs of the importance of remembering the dead, but also of the need to move on and let new things have their time. But they do their work, clearing up and restoring places where the Cycle has ground to a halt. It can happen anywhere in Sornieth, but it's by far the worst in Dragonhome. There, the culture that constantly builds memorials to the past alongside countless forgotten and buried ruins creates a land where not only can it seem like time has stopped, but in many ways, time has actually stopped. The dangers of the Returned below are nothing to be trifled with, even after all this time. Vectrus is one of the few who can do anything to save an archaeological dig that has gone too deep, into tunnels that time has forgotten.

Which is unfortunate, because while he'd never shirk his duty, his voice echoes so much down there and sounds even worse.

The excavation tunnels aren't all bad, though. He picked up his travelling companion, Zaida, in one of them after all. And by now that fae's his stationary companion as well. Zaida can often be found resting in Vectrus's mane, even if they don't have any missions planned for a while. Vectrus doesn't mind. Few understand the true importance of the Cycle, so the obelisk tends to be more solitary that he'd like. Also, Zaida can be annoyingly reluctant to actually do things, so it's nice not to have to hunt the fae down and force him to get prepared to investigate the latest Returned sightings.

Even at his worst, Zaida is still worst putting up with. That fae is one of the most talented exorcists Vectrus has ever met, which is impressive, because not only is Zaida self-taught, but he still doesn't quite seem to understand what exorcism is. Still, nobody can put the last threads of a dragon's magic to rest as skilfully as Zaida does. Vectrus's songs can only prevent more from rising — the ones that are already up and walking don't have an ear for music. And as strong as Vectrus might be, brute force only goes so far to stop things that will eventually get back up again. Sure, he might know a multitude of ways to put one down for good, but those take time, effort, and some preparation. After some practice, that fae can now turn one to dust with one stern look. Vectrus is terrified, honestly.

The herbs on his wings are for warding. Warding off the smell of the undead, to be precise.