Naoki

Several generations ago, the Circle theatrical company rose to great fame and fortune. They were renowned for their long-running epics with dazzling production values. Despite boasting a huge array of settings, characters, tone, and art direction, they created a distinct genre and became known across many regions of Sornieth.

For all of Circle's size and splendor, one of its productions nearly killed the whole enterprise. The first chapter of 14th series of plays was so poorly directed that it disappointed almost every viewer. Its lavish sets and costumes were overwhelmed by a confusing and anemic script. The dragons in charge of this fiasco were quickly removed, but the future for Circle as a whole was uncertain. In a desperate bid to change direction, Naoki was found within their ranks and promoted. His mission; do the impossible and restore the prestige and goodwill of this horrendously botched project.

Naoki was relatively inexperienced, but he possessed a good attitude, a peerless work ethic, and a powerful desire to please his customers. He had spent many quiet years studying the competition and observing which things worked best, then carefully incorporated this knowledge into the project.

Somehow, Naoki and his team restored the 14th series to a place of glory, weaving an unusually long-form and rewarding tale that is beloved by thousands upon thousands of dragons. To this day, many dragons speculate about the how and why this was possible. Usually throwing good treasure after bad is a futile endeavor, and most dragons that have tried similar gambits have failed tremendously. Some of it must have been luck. Some of it must have been the talented team under his command. But Naoki himself attracts attention for defying the odds and making something beautiful out of a catastrophic failure.

His association with the Empyreal is through his compatriot Nomura. The scatterbrained Spiral has little in common with him, but sometimes they collaborate on Circle productions.