Perihelion

Perihelion, affectionately known as “Peri,” is the most plagued by tragedy in Clan Ambrosium. The first descriptor that comes to mind upon seeing Peri is beautiful, but only on the good side of his face. When he was barely older than a hatchling, he became separated from his birth clan deep in the Viridian Labyrinth. He was ambushed by a Strangler who dealt him grievous injuries that very nearly claimed his life. He was never the same, horrifically maimed physically and bearing deep mental scars forever after. Peri was struck in the face and neck multiple times, and it left the entire left side of his body almost completely paralyzed and shriveled. He hides his face as best he can, but it is noticeably sunken and skeletal on one side, the scales dull and skin drooping uselessly. He can no longer fly at all, and can barely walk or feed himself without assistance. The attack also claimed his voice, leaving him mute.

Peri is dogged by paranoia, phobias, crippling anxiety and fear of contact with other dragons. Very few even within Clan Ambrosium can approach him, let alone speak to him without sending him into a fit of panic and terror. The Imperial is very slowly warming up to the rest of his clanmates, but progress is painfully slow and littered with setbacks. It is unknown whether Peri will ever reach normalcy; Lumens suspects that the Imperial never found his birth clan again and spent years in isolated pain, forced to recover alone and fend for himself before he was ready. The horrified or even cruel reactions that Peri’s appearance often solicits does not aid in his recovery, either. The one dragon that Peri allows near him and even seeks out the company of is, surprisingly, the aloof and usually hostile Aphelion; the latter bears a soft spot for Peri a thousand miles wide.

Despite his lifelong struggles, Peri has surprised everyone with his true temperament the exceedingly rare times it has shone through. The Imperial is a gifted healer and sorcerer in the art of Nature magic, the best healer in the clan by miles. He cultivates a small garden of fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs for the clan’s benefit, an activity that greatly soothes him. Peri adores sunshine most of all, basking whenever he gets a chance and even more than native Light dragons. The Imperial is the very definition of gentle and would not harm a fly; wherever he walks that might flatten vegetation, he turns around to right it again, down to individual blades of grass (using his magical abilities to hasten the process, of course). Small animals like field mice and deer often trail Peri or even bask in the sun with him, finding him oddly magnetic.