Mariana

Name: Mariana
Age: Older Adult
Rank: Warrior
Mate: None

Personality: Mariana is quiet, contemplative, and a loner. Despite her Lightning-born heritage, she appears to like the element of water the most and spends most of her time at the edge of her clan's lands by the bank of a narrow, winding river. It may be because, like many Imperials, she is vain and likens the water to her own hide's markings. Or it could be because, being fiercely independent, she'd rather hunt and dine on seafood fished out of the river herself than raid her clan's stores. It could even be because she has an impaired flight ability compared to others of her kind and prefers the ease of swimming; though if asked this, she vehemently denies it.

Mariana loosely tolerates the other Pearlcatchers in the clan, being stiff and cordial but not very warm. She is much friendlier to all others in the clan, but still appears to prefer keeping her distance and only making short visits to the busier parts of the clan on her own terms. Despite her calm and reserved attitude, she is not averse to battle. When asked to lend her clerical aid to the clan's band of warriors by the leader Aulendra, she accepted. Now rarely seen at her lair, Mariana often leads a busy life wandering with the other warriors and assisting Aulendra in training new recruits in the name of both her clan and the Flamecaller.

History: Mariana was born to an unusually large and bustling clan of Imperials in a lair nearby to the Lightning Farm. From birth, she was afflicted with a strange condition; but it did not manifest itself until her early adulthood. Through the years, the illness began to take its toll on her. All the while, multiple medics and clerics could not figure out why their spells and salves weren't working as her condition worsened.

When it reached the point that she was ill and had trouble eating and breathing, the lair's elders sensed that her death was near and took her away to a nearby mountain to die. When they sensed her resistance, and that her lifeforce was still strong enough to allow her to fly, they broke her wings to ensure that she did not attempt to return and die on their clan's grounds.

Gasping for air and nearly dead, the battered Imperial looked within herself. She wished with all of her might that she could heal, that she could be among her own kind again, and that the horrible pain would stop. To her incredible surprise, the air cleared in her lungs slightly and her broken wings began to mend. It was then that the dragon discovered her true talent; clerical magic. Using what little strength she had, she drank from rainwater and ate the nearby plants and insects outside of a small cave while using every other hour to meditate, focusing on developing this healing talent of hers. Knowing her own body, her healing magic was able to target the afflicted organs the Imperial lair's clerics could not. It took weeks, but in time her breathing was restored and her wings mended enough for her to fly.

Although she understood her clan's motives for deserting her, Mariana was still furious at them and terrified at what they might do if they saw a "dying" dragon reappear in their clan looking miraculously healthy. For this reason, she chose to flee. traveling mostly on foot, as even with healing magics her wings were too mangled to ever fly with the strength of a healthy dragon again, Mariana traveled across her home. In time she seeked shelter in the Ashen Wastes, as she knew her birth clan would not dare to follow her there. Nephrius discovered Mariana on his patrol by the lair's outskirts, and offered her shelter within the Goldclaw clan. To this day she is immensely thankful to the clan, for both being given a new home as well as a safe place to practice continuing her healing magic on others as well as herself.