Kusil

Kusil is announced by his thumping step - one stiff leg, one heavy staff, and a slither where the rest of his body follows. He lives outside the Citadel, keeping his goats within a reasonable range and returning to a little den with his love when the weather turns bad.

Kusil talks with more of a lisp than many coatls. In his youth, he had been bitten by a venomous snake, and the snake's neurotoxins took from him the use of his left leg and portions of the rest of his side. Now, he flies weakly and his gait stumbles when he is tired.

Kusil's goats, however, provide many services, despite the trials of their goatherd. Their rangy meat is used when their bodies are spent. Their fur is spun to woolen yarns. Their milk is a special treat, provided to the Citadel's storemaster and the Little Acorn Inn alone. The Citadel makes the milk to cheese and yogurts, but the Inn uses it exclusively in drinks - coffees of all kinds, steamed milk, hot cocoa, anything to warm the spirit and the body after a long day.

Kusil is known by friends and acquaintances alike for his stillness. While watching his herd, some may mistake him for a pale boulder. In the Inn with friends, he is a solemn listener. And with his anxious mate, Peony, he is warm and gentle as a sun-drenched river. Kusil enjoys solitude nearly as much as he enjoys listening to others. A solid introvert, he reads many books while off on the range, and often swaps recommendations and books with Kier.