Ashoka

Ashoka is an old and wise mage on the surface - but a timeless, near-omnipotent force of nature under the thin veil of perception. He first made his other-worldliness apparent when he took the brunt of an attack directed at Kynareth to save her life. In the years since he joined the clan he has done this again for Balthazar, Malacath and Meridia - firmly cementing him as one of the perceptibly most valuable members of the clan - it is generally considered that were it not for his help, the clan would have been attacked by increasingly greater foes and would have eventually disbanded and scattered.

Ashoka uses a kind of Nature magic that no other dragon known to the Lucanidae Clan has ever seen or heard of in all their time in Sornieth, even the scholarly Meridia - when he absorbs life-threatening blows for others, it is as though his body becomes vegetative matter like that of roots and vines - in the case of melee attacks he is thus incapable of ever drawing blood or harming vital innards, in the case of energy attacks the entangling roots seem to wrap around the energy forming a kind of orb that Ashoka then takes into himself - sometimes, he is even seen to then expel the attack back at the attacker or a different foe.

He is also able to use this bodily transmutation to send ranged attacks with vines - enemies often report back that the vines are not like the usual kind you find in the Shrieking Wilds but rather incredibly heavy and strong, hitting as though they were made of metal or stone, grasping as though they were a vice or chain. His reflexes are especially sharp, he can deflect attacks with these vines as well and often sees ranged attacks against him coming from metres away. In the harshest battles the clan has ever faced his joining the fight has very quickly turned the tide - it is fair to say nobody has ever seen his powers truly put to their highest potential.

In day to day life, Ashoka is very calm and gentle and most members of the clan enjoy his company. Due to his magical prowess he is also deemed tolerable by the more obstinately antisocial clan members as well - even swaying Eurydice to consider conversing with him once.

Kynareth and Balthazar have dubbed Ashoka Ward of the Tendrils. Kyne's Chamber is the term given to all those who have won the esteem and privileges given to them by those who first joined the clan in what would come to be referred to as The First Age. Prior to the pilgrimage at the turn of this age that would take them from the Everbloom Gardens to the Shrieking Wilds, Kynareth decided that a Ward should be established as a protector of the newer clan members "outside of the Chamber", the Tendrils, so that aspiring Tendrils might stand more of a chance to some day make it to the Chamber.

Beyond his protection duties which are generally prioritised towards direct descendants of Chamber members, Ashoka also has to screen newcomers who are most often wanderers or fleeting relations. Where many of the Kyne's Chamber will invariably keep to social circles within that grouping, Ashoka is more often out amongst the Tendrils since he is their Ward, or even the Eidos, Wraiths, Gaolers, Banescales or Aeon Incarnate - as time goes on, he takes on more and more of a socially diplomatic role.

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