Auster

No one in the Shifting Expanse is quite sure where Auster came from; some say he hails as an outcast from a clan of scientists. Others, that he hatched, bewildered, from a presumably dud egg just before its being discarded, and was passed along clan to clan until striking out on his own. Few still believe the tale the Ridgeback himself spins.

If asked, Auster will tell how he was molded from lightning itself by the Stormcatcher. Once tasked with maintaining one of the largest energy harvest fields in all of the Expanse, Auster maintained his duty with a single-mindedness bordering on divine devotion. Even after his exodus from the Expanse, erything he does is in the name of his deity, and the only creature who might rival his fondness for the god of the Expanse is his mate, a chipper old Spiral who is the absolute antithesis of everything Auster aspires to be.

When his ambition proved to be too great for simple maintenance, however, Auster set his sights on expanding the Stormcatcher's reach by seeking out a home for a new energy harvest - surely the God of the Expanse would appreciate his going above and beyond in the name of his Flight. In searching for this untapped power he came across the Athenaeum. It was beyond convenient, settled right beside one of the most mysterious and untested sources of power - the Shade that still clung to every inch of the Hewn City.

Though Auster is cautious in his experimentation, experiment he does, and more than once has nearly brought disaster upon more than one resident of the Athenaeum. Still, he is allowed to stay, for his devices and electronics power the main lighting system within the library. Fire magic was deemed too dangerous for the many dusty, dank bookshelves, and Light magic too blinding in its radiance - fearing that either could destroy the knowledge within, the Athenaeum's guardian called upon Auster for his expertise. Auster, of course, was all too happy to oblige.

Auster's piety to the Stormcatcher affords him a haughty air; he believes himself to be one of the god's chosen few, despite his own minimal contact with the deity. As such, he tends to be distrustful and dismissive of dragons outside his own flight and species. Notable exceptions include Tamerak, his life-mate and the only dragon who seems willing, even happy to tolerate his presence for longer than necessary - and the Athenaeum's keepers themselves.