Requiem

Owned by Catkinstarchild

*Mistress-made-legitimate to Commander Solus, leader of the Oakheart Defenders (military). No one knows what drove the formerly loyal Commander Solus to stray from his preciously beloved lifemate Goldanna, but Requiem considers the former's loss to be her gain.
*Has several children by Solus, though none of them he considers to be a worthy successor- the last nest was a disaster, hatching only two eggs with twin fae that ran off to join the gods shortly after maturity, and a third egg larger than the others. This incubation took longer, and that alone should have nudged Requiem into suspicion, but when Maeve hatched, Requiem was so taken by the little tundra's melted chocolate eyes that she felt sure this would be the perfect child that Solus so desired as a successor to the throne. Solus was not in the least impressed, and this unworthy 'heir' was trained as a fighter from the moment she could stand, but thrown into the fray and considered a soldier as expendable as the last- Solus' heart had been corrupted by Shade long ago, and he had become scarce more than a husk of his former self- with nothing left but cunning and lust for power above all else.

Failed from acceptance into Firefly society only by dint of not being born in a Fire lair, this would-be Firefly Royal took it hard when she was rejected from the ranks of her highly bred peers. She declared herself 'Nameless', a dragon without value and therefore not worth remembering.

But that was just the beginning of her tale. A kindly and jovial soul had also attended Firefly tryouts that day, and had failed to qualify just the same; this one was called Shani, or such was her title; the Miracle Child. She regaled Nameless with the stories of her birth, how her egg was nearly consumed by flames but instead the blackened shell held a perfectly formed and entirely unharmed baby. But for the hand of the Gladekeeper, bringing unexpected rain to the burning forest, Shani told the wide-eyed Nameless, it would be her death. Flamebringer was her parents' deity, not hers, and Shani thought it only fair, since the Gladekeeper had spared her life.
A would-be Noble Firefly, Shani did not feel the pain of failing to qualify as much as her 'cousin' Nameless, the Royal- instead, she thought it terribly romantic that her parents rejected tradition to run away and have her in a nearby Nature lair, where their frowned-upon liason was celebrated rather than rejected. Her parents took care to tell her that she was absolutely beautiful, regardless of what colour her eyes were. Shani's pragmatic optimism saved Nameless from despair, helping her see that the place of your birth could hardly be something a hatchling could be faulted for.
They could not have been more different; Shani was brimming with confidence where Nameless had none; Shani was raised by people who made it a point to tell her she’s beautiful, Nameless had pinned all her hopes for worth on the dream of belonging to something she had thought of as bigger than herself.

On the long and arduous journey, the pair became fast friends, but Nameless took ill from the plague-borne sickness. The Noble begged the Flamebringer for Nameless' life, and the Flamebringer granted his own peculiar brand of mercy, allowing only one Firefly to survive that fateful night. Nameless, broken-hearted and broken of spirit, dragged her fallen comrade across leagues of scarred wasteland to bring her back home, heedless of the danger, surviving despite the intense heat and going without food or water for days on end. When she arrived, more than half-dead, days later, the clan welcomed her in as if she were their own, and named her Requiem, for it was a labour of love and dedication that honoured the life of their lost child. Bearing this new name with pride, Requiem flew out into the world, ready to bear the flame of hope- but a new determination smouldered in her heart, and it was the vision she had been given by the Fire god, whose beating drums still rang in her head. The phoenix, it promised her; eternal life. Rejuvenation, renewal, through resurrection and rebirth. It was she who first discovered the Ouroborus scrolls, and then translated them from the ancient scripts, sending their possible interpretations to scholars in far corners of Sornieth in the hopes that their secrets might be unlocked once again.

She hides her emotions carefully, behind the expressionless mask, because she cannot look upon anyone who reminds her of her lost Shani, without weeping.

• A talented performer and magician.
• Frequently uses fire as a part of her performances and magical displays. This can be a bit risky, but she has it under control and the audience loves it
• Met her mate, Solus, when he approached her after seeing one of her performances, saying he had never seen anything so beautiful. Though it's his second marriage, Commander Solus brings her respectability and royalty- she lends her social grace to his blunt militaristic approach, and puts out diplomatic 'fires' almost as well as real ones.
• She feels her best when she’s researching bloodlines, or the ancient roots of magic.
• Forgetful, she has to write everything down in order to remember it. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a note card, a leaf, some bark, or even her arm, it needs to be written down somewhere or it’s lost forever.
• Completely tone-deaf, but loves to sing. Loudly. And in public
• The embodiment of manners and class, young hatchlings are told to be like her when they grow up.