XiaFeng

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Mate: --- Family: Signis Occupation: Alchemist

Artwork: Album

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Raised in a traveling performance troupe, Xia-Feng never really knew a single place to regard as "home". Instead he meandered the world under the thumb of the troupe leader, rigorously working to perfect his act to draw in the most attention.

Most outsiders complimented his wayfaring life, noting on fantasies of traveling with a gaggle of performers and seeing the world, spreading smiles wherever they went. Xia-Feng had no such illusions, however. The troupe leader was a greedy man who wanted only what the dragons he'd taken in could provide. Xia-Feng's unique coloring drew eyes, it was the only reason he'd scooped him up as a lone hatchling to begin with.

Every dragon under his command clamored to appease his greedy appetite by being the most popular act, well aware of the consequences if they failed to bring in the base amount he demanded as penance for keeping them all safe. At first Xia-Feng was nothing more than a piece of a larger act, which made him expendable, but as he matured he worked tirelessly to find something that would make him stand out.

Alchemy came easily to the young Pearlcatcher. He studied torn pages and faded tomes, adapting and augmenting formulas he found, then rebranding them as magic tricks when presented to the troupe leader. Soon enough, Xia-Feng had become the most glamorous act in the entire troupe, raking in more than triple times his staying fee. The troupe leader was thrilled, beginning to exclaim that he had always held promise, and was regarded as something of a son. Xia-Feng accepted all these compliments humbly and with a grateful smile.

Unbeknownst to the troupe leader, Xia-Feng's smile was nothing more than a carefully crafted facade. Over the years the dragon had become bitter towards others, the lifestyle of the troupe and ignorance of outsiders turning the once bright eyed dragon cold. But performers cannot scowl, and so he cultivated a pleasant visage loved by audiences and troupe members alike that aptly disguised his crueler self.

Eventually, the troupe made its way through the outskirts of the Tangled Wood. As it skirted the edges of the shadowed terrain, a dark dragon appeared amidst the audience. After watching his performance with and unreadable smile, the Imperial approached him and offered to take him away from the troupe.

"Skill like your's shouldn't be squandered." said the dragon, he would later learn was named Omneis. "And besides, wouldn't it be nice to not have to wear that pathetic excuse for a smile?"

After leaving the troupe, Avon-Kei gifted Xia-Feng with ample space and resources to build himself an adequate laboratory. The Pearlcatcher dedicated himself to crafting a space he could call his own, and thereafter his long neglected research, and as a result somewhat secluded himself from the clan. Few dragons managed to shoulder past his outward personality, Omneis and Aramos chiefly among them, which Xia-Feng struggled to change. So long shutting himself off from others with a scathing smile and obviously saccharine words left him at a bit of a loss on how to adapt to an environment where he would be accepted regardless of how he behaved.

Nothing changes one’s perspective quite like a war, however. When Sepheraph’s revolt began, Xia-Feng’s first instinct was to do as he had when conflict broke out within the troupe and simply not get involved. It wasn’t his fight, he reasoned-- Except that it was. This was not a band of dragons to which he had no connection, this was his clan. His home. Perhaps he had not been here for long, but it had been long enough for him to know for certain that he would not stand idly by and watch it fall.

Xia-Feng’s battle experience was limited, and he was injured more than any seasoned veteran might have been. But he brought to the battlefield a devastating sect of magic that many still believed to be purely industrial; alchemy, in capable hands, became a brutal weapon. He fought his way blindly through the chaos, and for each dragon he passed that he recognized, he offered some kind of aid. Liquid energy to rejuvenate magicians, tonics to temporarily blind one to pain, a powder that when mixed with fire would combust. For the first time, he began to feel a bond to the clan that had offered him solace, and a newfound desire to protect it.

After the Revolt was said and done, the clan collecting itself in careful pieces and tethering itself back together, the other dragons seemed to regard Xia-Feng differently. He didn't blame them for holding back previously, it's not as if he'd been terribly welcoming to any of them, and the change was nice. Even if his personality still needed some work to make him seem more hospitable, it was impossible to deny that beneath the biting words, he cared.

Though, his love of the clan did not quite extend to the additional Alchemist that eventually joined their ranks. Already displeased he would have to share his lab and research materials with another dragon, Xia-Feng was further put off by Balto's grasp of alchemy on the whole. He insisted on focusing only on the practical aspects without paying any attention to the magical, which in Xia-Feng's opinion produced seriously subpar results. On top of that, his temper made it impossible to hold a debate with him without it turning into a full blown yelling match.

Much as he'd like to say that Balto has been terrible for his productivity, it's impossible to deny that having someone there to light a fire under him has been helpful. Though they're opposing forces, they do manage to drive each other to bettering their craft in their own ways. Sometimes, they even manage a collaborative effort. Sometimes.

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