Virgil

"For the good of our clan, we must, at times, turn from the Light long enough to see the threats lurking in the shadows."

Although the rest of the clan grumbles about him nearly constantly, Virgil plays an important part in maintaining order, enforcing loyalty, and ensuring that the clan doesn't destroy itself. He is the clan's Shadowseeker, one who has turned from the Light in order to seek new truths and insights provided through the contrast of the shadows. Primarily, his job is to act as the clan's voice of reason by rejecting the opinions held by the clan's current majority, and forcing them to consider the negative sides of their ideas- regardless of any personal opinions he may hold. He has trained himself to first see all issues objectively, and then consider and relay the pros of the opposing viewpoint to his comrades.

Being compelled to play devil's advocate in all situations, however, does not earn him any love from his clanmates; although they respect him and his role, and he is heavily adorned in offerings indicative of his high status, he is widely viewed as the clan's "resident killjoy" and keeps primarily to himself. He forms few strong opinions of his own(aside from those required of him by his duty as Shadowseeker) and spends most of his time in quiet contemplation... when he isn't busy arguing with someone.

Aside from being the nay-sayer of the clan, Virgil is also deeply involved in his own forms of divination. Under the veil of darkness, in the deepest shadows one can find in the Hewn City, he performs rituals in order to obtain secrets from the Shadows. This is why his pearl shines a deep, dark red; wheras normal Pearlcatchers secrete the memories of their pasts to create the layers of their pearls, his pearl is bolstered with glimpses of the future... A feat only possible through brutal blood magic. The rest of the clan could care less about the "blood magic" bit, but his lack of clarity on who exactly is giving him these secrets -- the Shadowbinder, or the Shade itself? -- is troubling to some.

As of recently, he spends much of his time urging the overly-friendly dragons of the clan to not associate with the Beastclans and any creatures belonging to them. The frantic and worried tones in which he conveys these requests are very different from his normal, monotone language-- evidence, some believe, that he knows something that the others don't...