As a hatchling growing up in an ever-changing landscape, Viracocha found himself fascinated by what had come before him. What landscapes had fallen back into the tumultuous earth from whence they had arisen over long eons, never to be seen by draconic eyes? Did any remnants of them still struggle against all odds to persist in existence beneath the churning black sands of his home? What ancient traces had yet to be erased? And if not dragons', then whose eyes had witnessed the passing ages?

He was disappointed to hear from the miners and volcanologists in his region that for the most part, little of the past lingered in the fire realm. The Ashfall Waste, they said, was very thorough in its destruction of its past incarnations before recycling them into new volcanic creations. Few monoliths, let alone any trace of their living predecessors, would survive more than a cycle or two.

Well, then. If his homeland was devoid of the history he sought, where could he find it?

Viracocha learned geology (well, volcanology, but rocks were involved) and what little he could of biology, and considered his options as he grew up helping in his family's small forge. The Southern Icefield was said to house numerous collections of fossils, which he found to be the most fascinating primordial relics, but the Icewarden's stoic, analytical view of the world seemed to lack the wonder with which he viewed the past, and the burning passion inherent in a Fire dragon's interests.

The Starwood Strand undoubtably had fascinating specimens, but it seemed likely that they had been twisted by the region's intense energies in the intervening years. He didn't want to end up in the Stormcatcher's employ to look for fossils; the Sea of a Thousand Currents was, well, the Sea of a Thousand Currents; the Wyrmwound was terrifying; the Viridian Labyrinth's tangled roots likely engulfed any fossil they found; the Windswept Plateau and Tangled Wood sounded fun and mysterious, but their cliff-ridden and thorn-covered landscapes sounded frighteningly difficult to excavate; and the Sunbeam Ruins were archeological, not paleontological.

But Dragonhome- there, travelers said, history was not confined to tomes or museums or coldly catalogued collections, but still lived in Earth dragons' memories and even breathed the same air. Viracocha doubted any of the ancient creatures that lived before the Third Age still lingered in the north, but not that their bones were entombed there. If nothing else, he resolved to at least visit Dragonhome some day and see for himself.

Now a professional paleontologist, years later, Viracocha is a respected figure in his field. His specialty is Second Age megafauna, by dint of being his favorite scientific subject and therefore the largest target of his attention, although recently a mysterious species theorized to be an ancient relative of several BeastClans has begun drawing his interest. He is a tad scatter-brained, always thinking along multiple tracks at once that are prone to derailing one another, and pathologically curious, always with a dozen questions in hand. Furthermore, he is always ready to admit where his knowledge is spotty, and eagerly ask others for their opinions and expertise. He is the number-one fan of the clan's resident fossil dragons, particularly Deucalion, and politely peppers them with questions whenever he gets the chance.

In spite of being a paleontologist, he is not the most outdoorsy of dragons. He'll happily go out into the field to prospect or dig up fossils, but abhors having to camp out for more than a few days. If he must do some other type of field work he'll go out of his way to secure a comfy home base. Viracocha is at his happiest in a fossil lab or archives, or curled up with a nice book, or maybe chatting with some friends at his Demesne home.