Shaida

Gale's Thoughts: Shaida

I've learned more about the life of royalty from Shaida than the actual princess herself.

I know he was her personal attendant, and that they definitely were not mates before he helped her escape. He's respected her wishes about not telling us why they left, though I can tell he badly wants to. I know he still worries about her and thinks the clan would be better equipped to keep her safe if we knew everything.

I also now know that the personal attendants of royal dragons are remarkably gifted casters. He says Sidhe's actually more gifted than him, but I've never seen her even produce a spark. Shaida is perhaps the best light caster in the clan (though certainly not the best I've seen), and he would move dragons thirty times his size to protect Sidhe.

But beyond that, he's a perfect gentleman. Unerringly polite, kind to others, unusually proficient at dining etiquette, not stuck up, and never too brash in his actions.

Going against everything he's ever known for the dragon he loves most must have been difficult, though he's never said so. No one can doubt his devotion to her after everything they've been through together, and for a long time I questioned whether said devotion was mutual.

But because of recent events, I have no doubts.

...Shaida is sick. Very sick. And even with Peril's remarkable healing powers, it's an uphill battle. Some days are better than others, but he always makes sure to get outside the den even when he's not doing so hot. Peril says whatever it is that won't go away is concentrated in his heart, which is one of the two worst places for it to be, according to her.

And every day, Sidhe is by his side, making sure he gets sun and food and some quality time with his friends. She helps life stay as normal as possible for him, and if the grateful smiles and forehead touches I see him give her every day are any indication, her efforts do not go unappreciated.

No matter where one goes, the other follows, and if Shaida dies, I fear that will not change. Sidhe will follow him into whatever it is that lies beyond life, be that oblivion or an actual afterlife or reincarnation.

Needless to say, I plan to do everything in my power to make sure they both stay with us.

_______

Baseline Stats





Living as a royal attendant made certain that Shaida would always have a higher-than-normal level of social acumen; he had the privilege of being permitted among the super-rich while still retaining the status and social circles of the very poor.



While he's not likely to get in a straight-up fight with most dragons if he can help it and is not particularly physically adept, Shaida is an excellent combatant who uses his magic to augment even the most basic of moves and make them all the more powerful. Most of our fighters in Chiaroscuro rely largely on physical strength and skill, but Shaida is uniquely gifted and surprisingly, a force to be reckoned with for most.



While he's certainly not the smartest dragon I've met, Shaida utilized a lot of his more niche knowledge very effectively in his daily life back when he still had a full-time job in the clan. His unique life experiences alone make him uniquely suited to discussions about and negotiations with higher society in Sornieth.



While I don't know if I'd necessarily call a lot of what's happened in Shaida's life the result of "luck," he says that he most certainly would for a number of reasons. I suppose on this particular account, even with his dire state, if he believes it that wholeheartedly, it must be true to an extent.



Shaida is the most powerful light mage in Chiaroscuro, and while sometimes it's easy to forget that with how decrepit he can seem on certain days, in a straight-up casting battle he could outmatch almost anyone here with ease.



Sidhe makes sure he never truly falls into despair and he retains much of the spirit and tenacity he had before his illness, but Shaida is small and sick and not actively getting better.