Eldritch
(#24651509)
Level 25 Coatl
Familiar
Magpie Sphinx
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Energy: 0/50
This dragon’s natural inborn element is Arcane.
Male Coatl
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Personal Style
Apparel
Skin
Scene
Measurements
Length
7.62 m
Wingspan
9.78 m
Weight
856.88 kg
Genetics
Obsidian
Iridescent
Iridescent
Eldritch
Peregrine
Peregrine
Eldritch
Crackle
Crackle
Hatchday
Breed
Eye Type
Level 25 Coatl
Max Level
STR
117
AGI
8
DEF
5
QCK
70
INT
5
VIT
25
MND
5
Biography
STR
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Eldritch
Assistant to the Council
Clerical Hero "Your next meeting is at noon, sir." Eldritch grew up among the coatl sanctuary of the Island of Prufrock. His childhood was not unhappy, though he did wish his father had stayed in his life. His mother, the clan's resident psychologist, was attentive and kind, but Eldritch often got the feeling that she couldn't wait until her nest was grown so that she could return her full attentions to her work. Because Eldritch was not an especially pretty coatl growing up - his jaw is too wide, his teeth too sharp, his shoulders too broad, and his brow seems perpetually creased in scorn (and maturity has done little to help this) - it was thought that perhaps he might turn his attention to darker magics. After all, he certainly had the colors for it, and many Arcane dragons over the years have poked their muzzles into things that were more than they should have challenged. But Eldritch himself, though not untalented in magic, showed no great interest in developing his skills beyond what he considered 'useful.' After feeling out of place and constantly underfoot, Eldritch longed to feel useful himself. But while the Island of Prufrock was teaming with dragons who all seemed to have their place, nothing Eldritch tried particularly stuck with him. He was good at some things - organizing, sorting, reading, and itemizing - but he lacked the nature for a serious scholar, trader, or librarian. Instead, Eldritch loved helping others, and he found all those jobs either too solitary or too self-serving for his own taste. His great spark of inspiration for how to spend his life came when he once snuck into his mother's office and spent an afternoon reorganizing his mother's clients so that he could free up extra time to spend with her. After a steady grounding to think about why he shouldn't touch other peoples' things uninvited, Eldritch's mother took him aside. She explained to him that while her scheduling wasn't efficient, it was in fact carefully weighted with different thoughts in mind - one client might need extra time, or perhaps one was especially draining to deal with and she would need a little time afterwards to collect herself before seeing another. Eldritch never rescheduled his mother's workload, but he never forgot how good it felt to organize something efficiently, either. And so, when he became old enough to travel, Eldritch set out to find a place that was as welcoming as his home clan, but also would value his skills and let him assist someone - anyone - in their scheduling. It was this 'helping anyone' policy that ultimately led Eldritch to a bad place in his life. Shortly after leaving the Isle of Prufrock, he crossed paths with a rather good-looking ridgeback by the name of Valrin. Valrin had a pleasant smile and a courteous manner and a charming way with words, and Eldritch found himself completely smitten. And when Valrin asked for his help, well, how could he say no? After all, Valrin had invited him to travel with them, and Eldritch was glad to be valued for the skills he had. At first the tasks Valrin put before him were small things - discovering the hours of a shop's operation, retaining this information, and being able to recall it at a moment's notice. This sort of thing was of no great concern to Eldritch. After all, Valrin seemed to be quite forgetful about a lot of things, and it meant that they kept him close. But then Valrin needed to know less dismissable things - a noble's schedule down to the minute, the exact circuit of a guard's route through the town, the bricks that were loose in certain portions of a wall. Eldritch's curiosity was piqued. But Valrin would only answer "It's just business, my dear. Don't worry. But did you find out..?" And of course Eldritch found out anything that Valrin needed to know. Because while he wasn't exactly friendly-looking, he was actually friendly, and as soon as he spent a few days around a clan, he was above suspicion. He travelled for a few years with Valrin, visiting any number of clans in each of the territories. He never really wondered where Valrin got the money to travel so much. They lived pretty hand-to-mouth, but Eldritch assumed that Valrin was independently wealthy and very frugal. That is until they crossed from Shadow into Earth. Earth clans were different to Eldritch. While they were overtly quite friendly and welcoming to strangers, they also seemed to hold some things back, to guard secrets that Valrin wanted to know and Eldritch couldn't uncover. There were things they would speak about and then just trail off with a significant glance from a clanmate. And there were too many times when Valrin insisted they had to make a hasty departure. They followed this pattern for weeks through Earth territories - meet a clan, ask too many questions, politely take their leave, hang around caves for a while, find a new clan, rinse and repeat. But instead of casually seeking information, the longer Valrin spent in Dragonhome, the more driven they became. There were nights when they turned wild-eyed and sharp, and Eldritch did his best to remember the gentle, smooth-talking Valrin that had once charmed him. They continued to travel, making their way steadily towards Cairnstone Rest. The closer they came, the less Valrin ate, the less they slept, the more they walked. And then, one morning, Eldritch woke feeling woozy. The cave they had spent the night in was nowhere in sight, only the open stars at dawn. He felt sick, and his arms and legs were bound, and he felt oddly cold before he realized that patches of his fur had been shaved and darker marks in some pattern that he couldn't discern were inked into his flesh. It was then that he knew he'd been had. He didn't say a word to Valrin as they traveled, and Valrin didn't speak to him, either. Instead, the ridgeback started to speak to an unknown party, unseen and indetectable to Eldritch, discussing and arguing any time they rested between the buttes and mountains. Eldritch stayed quiet. He spent the days thrown across Valrin's back, and his nights with his rope bonds replaced with something cold and black that wasn't metal but seemed to strike nails into his soul if he tried to run. One day, Eldritch heard the clatter of scree, and he looked up in time to see a large guardian take flight against the sky. There was no challenge, nor any hailing. She simply departed. Eldritch dismissed her quickly, assuming she must have been there for a purpose and then left without noticing these strange visitors to Dragonhome. Three days later, Valrin made their ascent. They flew with Eldritch in their claws towards the highest plateau in the area. There, they left him. They returned intermittently with the makings of a stone bier. And they started unpacking bits and baubles that Eldritch recognized as treasures from various clans that they visited along their way. He watched in wide-eyed silence as Valrin began scrawling letters Eldritch had never seen before around the base of the bier. He watched the sun starting to set, the first stars twinkling into view. He knew he was going to die. Or worse. He hoped he was going to die, but the darker the sky grew, the more he was sure that the third party was there, an inky shadow against the twilight. Eldritch stared hopelessly down at his bound wrists and he wished - he wished - he'd been canny enough to train as a fighter or a mage or ... well anything that could have gotten him out of this mess. He tried to shimmy away as Valrin began chanting in a language Eldritch didn't know. And it felt like fire was lacing through the ink that scrawled along his flesh. And it looked that way, too. His flesh danced with the red embers of dying coals laced with a shadow blacker than the night. And Eldritch screamed. He heard it echo across the mountains, felt the third presence trace a claw along his jaw. And then heard the most terrifying sound as three huge guardians landed on the plateau with three simultaneous roars. The guardians were all different - one a sleek and quick creature who crashed into Valrin, the second clad in armor with crystal-studded flesh that glowed faintly with a reassuring light, and lastly a guardian that moved slowly but turned his gaze immediately on where Eldritch thought the third presence might be and began chanting in an old tongue that chilled him to the bone. While the guardians fought and the light-touched one guarded Eldritch, he watched the stones themselves pull apart the bier and the dust erase the runes. And while they fought, he thought he heard the one fighting the shadow presence shout "You dare defile our ancestors? You dare bend them to your will? Be gone!" And then, in a rush of silence, all was still beneath the starry sky. It was then the guardians turned their gaze on Eldritch, his flesh still softly glowing as with embers. The one that challenged the shadow frowned to the one covered in gems. "Perhaps Paige will have an answer," the third guardian said, her voice calm but empty of inflection. "I hate to think of inviting an evil inside," the first guardian said, his voice old and tired. "I'll mind him," the light-touched one said. "I have no reason to think it may return in my presence." The other two exchanged a silent look, then took flight. And the light-touched one used his body to create a small enclosure around Eldritch. "We can't touch you," he said, "since we don't know what was done. But know that you're in good hands. I've never seen them kill a bystander before." Eldritch's eyes flashed up towards the guardian. The guardian inclined his head towards the far-end of the plateau. And there, in a heap, lay Valrin. Their blood was slowly wicking into the soil. And in death, there was the easy smile that had so charmed him. Eldritch felt sick all over again. But this time it wasn't with fear. It was with disgust. How could he have let himself be fooled? "There now," the guardian said. "It's over. And we'll put the finishing touches on your freedom in the light of day." "Who are the lot of you?" he asked, retreating back to the safety of the guardian. "I'm Sigil," he answered. "Blackshore saw you a few days ago and caught whiff of something bad. Her family's been chasing down evil since long before either of us was around. She went to Copperlight, the other one who was here, and he called on my aid. We're all here protecting you as our Charge." "I'm no one's charge," Eldritch said. "Ah, but Blackshore's Charge is those lost within the borders. And mine is those in danger near Cairnstone Rest. And Copper's Charge are those whose spirits are in danger of corruption. So where, exactly, do you think you don't fit in, hmm?" Eldritch had to admit he had a point. In the morning, others came. Copperlight returned with a wildclaw named Paige and a pair of coatls named Ink and Sterling. The three of them poked and prodded boldly, taking notes and chattering back and forth in a pijin of draconic and coatl. Finally, Paige broke from the group and reported their findings to Copperlight. While she was gone, Ink and Sterling turned amused looks to Eldritch. "Don't worry, things like this happen to the best of us," Sterling teased in their native tongue. "After all, I'm sure you know drab coatls are bad luck?" Eldritch's neck feathers flared with indignation just as Copperlight approached. The other two coatls fell back, and the old guardian inspected where Paige pointed out parts of the ink searing into Eldritch's flesh. "I see," Copperlight said. And he mixed a few drops of his own blood with the earth beneath them before smearing it in runes across the same routes on Eldritch's body. Eldritch looked around for help from the gathered crowd of dragons. "He's breaking the binding," Paige explained. "Don't worry. You'll be out of the woods soon enough." Copperlight worked quickly, mumbling quietly in an old tongue as he did. Then, one final rune was placed across Eldritch's flesh before the wet earth immediately dried and flaked away on the wind, carrying with it the marks that Valrin had tattooed on him. Immediately, Eldritch's heart felt lighter. He didn't realize he was still carrying a weight of dread with him. But it was gone now. And he looked at the sky above Dragonhome as if it were the first time he had ever seen it. "How can I repay you?" he asked, staring around at the gathered dragons. "Please." "Let's get you ship-shape before we start thinking about that," Paige suggested. "You'll recover for a few days, then you'll be on your way." "But--" Eldritch protested. "This is our duty," Copperlight said, "and our honor. To wipe away what evils we find, this is our cause. You owe us nothing but your word that you will do your best to avoid such troubles in the future." Eldritch allowed himself to be carried back to their citadel, which each dragon referred to as "Oakrest". He thought it rather odd to name any site in Dragonhome after an oak, but the stand of trees that grew in the ravine were undoubtedly oaks. "I didn't know those could grow here," he said stupidly as they landed. "Many things can grow in the desert that outsiders do not consider," Copperlight said. Eldritch spent the next week recovering and getting to know the dragons of Oakrest. There were many different dragons who lived there with many different motives for living there. But he found them all fascinating and delightful, and rather like the Island of Prufrock had been with its large and bustling population of incredibly diverse personalities. And at the end of the week, Copperlight was supposed to speak with him about his plans going forward. But when the old guardian did not show up at the appointed time, Eldritch thought something terrible may have happened and went looking for him. He searched all over Oakrest only to find the old dragon in his study, poring over a scroll. At the sound of Eldritch's knock, the old guardian looked up in surprise. "Copper," he said carefully, "you've been very kind to me. But I think, perhaps, it's time you need my help." After much discussion, it was agreed that Eldritch would stay in Oakrest as the personal clerk to the Council of Elders. He is responsible for organizing their meetings - both fully convened Council meetings and private meetings with individual dragons - and ensuring that everything about their jobs runs smoothly so that they may successfully govern their community. Most dragons know that if they want something put on a Council agenda, they should go to Eldritch to add it to the schedule. And if they can't find him in his office, he's usually in the tow of Copperlight, who is easily his favorite among the Council. But that's not to say that Eldritch won't lend a hand to another dragon if he sees he can help. Eldritch's open and friendly demeanor has made him a well-loved member of the Oakrest clan. He has an amazing memory for where things are filed, as well as an ingenious filing system for a set of cabinets in the back of Bo's library, which contains all manner of public record. Since settling in Oakrest, Eldritch has discovered a love for floral arrangements. He loves spending a few hours to himself each week making new designs with whatever flowers or plants are in season this month. He doesn't have any way of gauging if he's any good at it, since no one else in the clan really does anything like that, but he likes to think he's got a talent for it. Eldritch has also taken the time to learn to defend himself, as he never wants to be caught in a situation like that again. As he grows stronger, he sometimes takes pilgrims on excursions with him so that they may be stronger and better serve Earthshaker when they make the journey with Rikuto to the Pillar. Eldritch is fond of hatchlings, and quite patient as well. While he isn't sure he wants children of his own, he is happy to serve as surrogate uncle for any and all hatchlings that grow up in Oakrest. Despite his rough appearance, he is well-loved by the children of the clan, and many go into the world with stories from Eldritch's life as a cautionary tale. Notably, Ink & Paige's children Bound & Verso have gone to the Island of Prufrock after hearing so many of Eldritch's stories of his childhood. When Eldritch heard this he was at once excited and horrified, until he heard the children had arrived safely and settled in well. In his spare time, Eldritch loves spending time with others. He gets along very well with the other coatls in Oakrest, as well as Paige, Torch, and Setara. He is very good friends with Lightshow, especially since the tundra makes a point of having Eldritch design a floral arrangement for pretty much every occasion he can think of. He is well-connected in his new life, and while Eldritch sometimes thinks his mother would frown over some of the choices he made, he also knows that she ultimately would be pleased with how his life turned out. For a time, he hoped to nurture a romance with the meteorologist, Ansel. However, as he was uncertain of Ansel's feelings towards him, he kept his tongue and remained a polite and thoughtful friend. Shortly after Ansel left to study weather patterns by the sea, trouble brewed in Oakrest, and Eldritch was trapped within the tunnels and hellbent on defending those who once saved him. Layout by Straif/34928 Stat block by hisako/19016 |
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Exalting Eldritch to the service of the Earthshaker will remove them from your lair forever. They will leave behind a small sum of riches that they have accumulated. This action is irreversible.
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