Umbriel

From the moment Umbriel breached their egg's shell, their parents knew they were a highly unusual dragon. Halfway through their hatching, they stopped trying to break their shell with their small Pearlcatcher horn, and suddenly melted before their parents' horrified eyes. But then the blue and purple goo poured out of the hole in the shell, and promptly reformed into a tiny Pearlcatcher. While infinitely relieved that their child had not died, and the euphoria of experiencing a hatching quickly replaced their momentary horror, there was still a bit of a damper on the hatching celebration as they realized that Umbriel's strange shapeshifting would make it much harder to hatchling-proof their den than they expected.

And Umbriel only got stranger from there. Their shapeshifting did not stop with “melting” and reforming; as they grew, they became able to alter parts of their body at will. First they made their wings wider so flying would be easier, and then they started stretching their limbs to grab things just out of reach. In time, this naturally progressed to changing their body to suit their current gender; this was the least surprising development, as Umbriel had already expressed a great deal of genderfluidity. Eventually, they even figured out how to shift into the shape of entirely different dragon species, and then experimented with the forms of the Beastclans as soon as they became aware of Sornieth's other sapient species.

Their are some limitations to Umbriel's remarkable abilities. For the most part, they cannot add or lose mass when they change shape. They have learned that they can use their excess magic's energy to increase their mass, or do the reverse to lower their mass and gain more magic, but only in small amounts. This exchange occurs in their “molten” state, which they assume- at least in part- whenever they leave one shape to create another. They also do not have sufficiently detailed control over their skin and scales to change their distinctive colors and patterns. Furthermore, their ability to utilize elemental magic is severely limited compared to other dragons; a bit of additional static charge is usually all they can muster, unless they draw on their mass to generate more energy, which is a very draining process.

Nowadays, Umbriel applies their unique talents in their work as a mercenary. Most of the time they take jobs protecting travelers or guarding clans' vaults, but from time to time they've been willing to be hired by more unsavory clients if there's enough money involved. That is not to say they're without standards- Umbriel refuses to harm innocents, or kill in cold blood, for instance, but otherwise will take whatever job pays. This has attracted to them the attention of law enforcement in some clans, sometimes negative but usually positive, as Umbriel has no attachments other than monetary ones to their less reputable clients and is perfectly willing to be an (anonymous) informant if the need is great enough.

Umbriel puts forth a persona of an irreverent, somewhat laid-back gadfly, although their humor tends to be more odd than biting. They are very wily, however, and not to be underestimated; they are a pathological pragmatist and use their powers very creatively in battle. Furthermore, their peculiar nature made them the target of suspicion and prejudice for most of their life, leaving them wary and much more guarded than their surface personality suggests. They are very hard to catch off-guard and will become dead serious when taking care of a direct threat to themselves or their loved ones, especially their mate, the almost equally odd alchemist Morgana.