9S, known to his friends as Nines, is a small-for-an-Imperial dragon. He's fast and agile thanks to this small size and along with his natural curiosity it makes him an excellent scout and explorer.

His birth clan lived in the Sunbeam Ruins as a modest group of Imperials. They named their hatchlings by birth order and role, so 9S was the ninth of the scouts born into the clan. Their peaceful lives came to a screeching halt when reports of an Emperor rampaging nearby came in. 9S left first to warn other clans of the danger but in doing so got separated from his birth clan. He has hope that he will meet up again with his clan someday, as they had several other scouts and warriors to help them escape.

He particularly misses 2B, a large battler from the clan. While others saw her as cold and uncaring, he saw that she was merely putting up a facade of toughness to assure the clan of her strength. Traditionally only males were battlers, as they tended to be larger than females, but 2B was so big and strong she couldn't fill any other role.

Traveling south, he eventually reached the Ashfall Waste and met with the Clan of the Alien God. They welcomed him in as an adventurer where he quickly fell in love with the hardy lifeforms of the Waste, like potash peaches and lava striders.

Why did he travel so far from home? When he came to the Sea of a Thousand Currents, he found it devastated by a tsunami. He didn't want to add to their burden, so he kept on traveling. Though the Waste finds itself in the beginnings of civil war, the wealthy and friendly Clan of the Alien God was more than happy to help him get back on his claws and offer him a role as scout and explorer of the rapidly changing lands.

He also has a steadfast companion that travels with him everywhere named Pod-153. Though the small magical golem is but one of many that his birth clan manufactured, he looks after it as if it were another living being. Anyone who attempts to separate them will be met with his full fury.



Embedded palindrome & string of 9s ID!
IKTR picks: 2