Majestas

Clan Balmoral's leader and founder, Majestas, came to the Starfall Isles in the hope of finding his Charge. A small cave in the outer rings of the Isles seemed promising, but it wasn't until he landed that he discovered it was empty. Confused and concerned, he turned to take off and circle the island for more clues -

- only to come nose-to-nose with a female Tundra, who was just returning from a foraging trip.

Her name was Mael, and the first thing she told Majestas was "You smell like shelter". The Charge was sealed from that moment, and Majestas has not left her side since.

They named their clan Balmoral, starting with a couple of travelling Imperials who became their closest friends and allies. Soon enough, the cave began to fill with dragons: their children; their children's children; outsiders drawn by news of a new clan and looking for a place to settle down, even if only for a while.

As the clan went from strength to strength, their expanding numbers meant that the small cave soon became a liability. First, Majestas found an underground cave system in the Starwood, full of bioluminescent starlight. It was here that two things began that fundamentally changed the lives of both Majestas and the clan as a whole.

The first was the creation of the Serthis Army, a battalion of Opheodrys Serthis set to be eight hundred strong, led by their inestimable captain and commander, Ashkasa.

The second, and most formative of any event the Clan ever went through, was the beginning of the Starfall Isles Hunger Games. Clan Balmoral were chosen to enter the first Games, and by fortune or misfortune found their own fates bound to the will of the Games. For over one hundred games, Clan Balmoral and the Hunger Games were fundamentally intertwined, either through sending their own members to fight, live and die in the arena, or eventually running it themselves.

Majestas was no stranger to these Games. As one of the clan leaders and one of their finest warriors, he was almost always responsible for choosing who would go. Often this brought tragedy, and the weight of those decisions weighed heavily on his mind.

In the second Quarter Quell of the Starfall Isles Hunger Games, the Fiftieth Games, everything came to a head. Forced to enter with his most beloved partner, he turned on his Charge Mael and attacked her, severely wounding her. When his mind recovered and he realised what he had done, he exiled himself to the tiny cave where he had met Mael, and wore sack-cloth and molten metal to atone for his crime.

Four months later, having withstood his long, lonely penance, Majestas crept into the Fifty Sixth Games, and proved himself by harming no creature in his soujourn there. His reward was to return to the clan and the dragon he loved so dearly, with his mind and soul intact, to once again take up the mantle of leadership.

By this time, the clan had grown yet again, so that even an entire cave system couldn't hold them. Eventually, the clan received a response to their petition for a larger territory, and were moved to the foot of the Focal Point. There, they found a vast, ancient, long-abandoned cathedral built of pure chalcedony, surrounded by training courtyards, herb and vegetable gardens, orchards, hunting grounds and a huge fishing pond. More than satisfied with their good fortune, the Clan set up in the newly-named Balmoral Cathedral, knowing that this was the home they'd been searching for.

Even with all the space available to them, however, there wasn't room for all of the Serthis Army to join them. They remained in the Starwood, at the newly-built Serthis Army Barracks, and Marshal their leader remained with them, along with Ashkasa.

And so the story of the clan continues, through good and bad times. These days, Majestas is usually found on the outer walls with his beloved Mael, or resting in the shade of the cathedral towers with the hatchlings clambering all over him. The Cathedral is their home for good, and he is proud of what it has become, lifted high on an unexpected burst of magic to the top of the Observatory, close to the world-famous Tourmaline Archives. Majestas does not know what will come next for his wonderful clan and all the dragons that make it, but he knows he loves them, and that no matter what, he is their leader, their protector, their Patriarch.