Betzalel

Partner: N/A Best Friends: Renly, Keshet Relatives: Zuriel Elemental Alignment: Shadow Alignment: Lawful Good MBTI Type: INFP Theme Song: Notos Name meaning: Hebrew בְּצַלְאֵל. "In the shadow of G-d."

Pronouns: He/Him/His Role: Chief Theologian Likes: Flowers, warm clothes, cool weather Dislikes: Insects, warm weather, close-minded attitudes Hobbies: Code and robotics, gardening Hoard: Coins, the older the better "Everything is phenomenal, everything is incredible. Never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed."

The youngest member of Home's main faculty board, Betzalel and his older brother Zuriel escaped Dark Sclera society when Betzalel was only a hatchling. Well-versed in anthropology, theology, and moral philosophy, the young Shadow-born rabbi now serves as Home's chief theologian.

- Biography
Betzalel and his older brother Zuriel were born to an all-Dark Sclera Clan who believed themselves created of the Shade. Zuriel was cast out at as a young dragon due to his magical deficiency, and managed to escape with Betzalel in tow. Because he managed to escape before he was ever really exposed to Dark Sclera society and teachings, Betzalel has had an easier time of it than many of the other Dark Sclera dragons at Home, never having to re-learn social conventions or re-consider teachings about Dark Sclera dragons being generally better. Though the brothers grew up having to take care of each other, he remembers a happy childhood. Betzalel was accepted into the rabbinate young, and he was quickly respected as an excellent scholar and thinker. Now, he considers it his responsibility to help guide Home's residents in spiritual matters and make sure Home's functions are inclusive for as many dragons as possible.

- Life at Home
Despite his young age - only a few years older than the oldest residents at Home - his reputation as a brilliant scholar is well-deserved, and he's always happy to help Home's young dragons with their research. Patient and forgiving to the extreme, he's always been the sort to believe in second chances. And third and fourth chances, for that matter. Betzalel is a much-loved member of Home's faculty, with his colleagues proud to call him a friend and his classes always filling up. There are few other theologians at Home, so Betzalel takes his responsibilities seriously, organizing and delegating all theology classes and mentoring prospective theology students himself. He is known to always be involved in something around Home, and if he's not busy during his office hours talking with students, he's helping out in the kitchen, the library, or sitting in on other professors' classes.

- Relationships
Betzalel does all he can to make sure the dragons at Home know he's always there for them, and he's been known to overextend himself trying to be there for every dragon at once. He can always be counted upon to be in attendance for performances, speeches, conferences - everything. His gentle nature and reluctance to anger are well-known around Home, and Home's younger residents who don't know him as well certainly tend to think of him as a bit of a pushover. It's true that Betzalel is always loathe to discipline, even when it's well-deserved. He may hate being strict, but Betzalel's go-to punishment for infractions is assigning work in his garden, and seeing him act stern and disappointed is often punishment enough from a dragon usually so cheerful and supportive. He remains very close with his older brother Zuriel and his brother-in-law Keshet, and the three often spend time together. Zuriel and Kes are the only ones who can get away with calling him Bet, a nickname he notoriously hates. Most of his students call him "Rebbe B."

- Personality
Typically calm, collected, and level-headed, Betzalel can always be counted on to provide a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on. Though he loves talking with the other dragons at Home and truly considers them all family, Betzalel is also prone to being somewhat awkward, especially in tense situations or when he's asked to do things like chat about the weather. He suffers from insomnia and often takes walks around Home at night, which is actually rather convenient for his occupation, as he often runs into residents who are up thinking about stressful matters. Awkward tendencies aside, his level head and devotion to doing what is right makes him an excellent dragon for a crisis. Betzalel is a fiercely curious and inquisitive dragon, and the only time he truly becomes frustrated is when he feels like information is being withheld from him. He may be a bit too soft on the young dragons at Home, but everyone knows that Betzalel's heart is always in the right place.

Brother

Friend

Friend

TRIVIA Betzalel's favourite colour is blue. He hates overly-sweet foods, like candies and syrups. He keeps a collection of silk scarves.

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Betzalel's Journal Notes on the History of Sornieth, Begun in the Year 5779 The Light Flight Unaðheim is located in the Beacon region of Light territory, situated along the eastern coast. The orphanage's position along the seaside cliffs means it is far away from the conflict at the Flight borders, though it also means the nearest large city is hours away. As with every other Flight, Light grows more peaceful the further away one flies from the Flight borders. Light's greatest exports take the form of knowledge itself, and many of Sornieth's most prestigious schools of higher learning are within Light territory. A society which places great emphasis on learned professions, the most admired dragons in Light are its teachers, professors, historians, and doctors. Light exports notably include printed books, textbooks for use in schools and universities across Sornieth, and what I believe to be the finest writing ink in the world, as well as produce such as wheat, olives, and grapes. Along the cliffside, many Clans and villages rely on fishing, and seafood restaurants are popular throughout the Flight. The schools of philosophy situated here are renowned the world over. Light is a temperate climate, and is often warm and sunny, with infrequent rainfall and mild, humid winters. Weather on the coast is typically more unpredictable, particularly in the summer, and strong storms are infrequent but possible. Small fishing villages are a common sight along the coast, though most of Light's population is situated within metropolitan areas. The climate means that many dragons who have spent their lives at Unaðheim fare better in warmer weather, being unused to colder temperatures. Cuisine Light cuisine is very different from the cuisine of my birth Flight, Shadow. Dietary differences between classes are far less pronounced than in many Flights. Staple foods include wheat bread, honey, seafood, eggs, cheese, and game meat (such as venison, with beef being a rarity except at the wealthiest of tables). Olives, figs, fruits (such as apricots and cherries) and vegetables (such as carrots and beets) are popular. Bread, honey, vegetables, and seafood make up the typical meal here at Home, with fruits and the occasional sweet pastry for dessert. The larger Friday night and festival meals are often the only times we eat fancier meat-based meals. Bread is often dipped in wine or served with olives, cheeses, and grapes. My personal favourite treat is a wine cake, made with reduced red wine, cinnamon, and honey; the kids at Home are often very partial to fruit tarts and buns flavoured with blackcurrants. Potatoes, tomatoes, and capsicums are typically very uncommon, but are growing in popularity as inter-Flight trade increases, especially among younger generations. Flight Relations It is particularly important to be cognizant of Flight relations in times such as these. Though Light is currently at relative peace, skirmishes at the borders are constant and unpredictable, and the character of Flight struggles often seems to change on a weekly basis. As a general rule, Light is loosely allied with Arcane, and relations with Shadow are often testy. Dragons with Shadow and Plague eyes are often treated with suspicion or even outright hostility by more xenophobic neighbouring Light Clans, which is an unfortunate reality we must be aware of when selecting dragons to run errands. Stereotypes abound - Shadow dragons are often seen as untrustworthy, Plague dragons are uncivilized and filthy, Earth dragons are greedy, and so on. Fortunately, many Light dragons are scholarly enough to realize that a single dragon does not an entire Flight represent, though xenophobic attitudes are still present, particularly in more rural areas. Though staying aware of the latest developments from the borders can be troubling at best, it is necessary, especially when we have so many dragons here from so many different backgrounds. In particular, it has been important to keep a close eye on Earth's encroachments into its neighbouring Flights, as attitudes towards Earth dragons have been getting more and more hostile of late. The Exclusion Zone The Hewn City is one of the rare places still existing on Sornieth which pose a very real threat of Shade infection. It is known to be heavily infested with Shade particles, and scholars are still unsure why. Shade infection takes two forms: active and latent. Active infestations feature an actual terrorbeast or other Shade creature; latent infestations are more like a stain on the land. The Hewn City has a massive latent infestation. Latent infestations are known to sap dragons of their innate magical stores, making for a very slow and gruesome death indeed. Because of this, there is an Exclusion Zone covering roughly 1,000 square miles of the Hewn City. This Exclusion Zone covers the centre of the city and many of the best-preserved ruins. The City is a dream for archaeologists, but only the best and brightest of Light's Archaeological Guild have any hope of getting in. Of course, the area around the Zone is still highly dangerous, but the few dragons who live and work there tend not to care very much. There are extremely high rates of cancers and magical disorders around the Zone, but surrounding towns can make quite a pretty penny off of tourists from inns and tourist traps. Cities and Clans In Light territory as in other Flights, dragon society is split up into Clans, which are typically family groups, tight-knit bands of friends or multiple families, or, most often, small settlements. These Clans function independently of larger Flight society, for the most part, though are of course still subject to local law and regulation. In each Flight, cities tend to crop up. These cities are often comprised of multiple Clans and dragons living independently from a Clan unit. The largest cities in Sornieth are Cloudsong in Wind and the Tempest Spire in Lightning, though most Flights have a metropolitan area where the majority of the population lives. In Light, the largest city is the Mirrorlight Promenade, which is also home to the local government. Mirrorlight is about a day's journey away from Unaðheim, and we must make the trip every week for supplies. Folklore Dragons can be intensely superstitious creatures. Despite Light's more erudite nature, it is no different here. The old dragons here tell me that this land used to be holy, and I've never dared ask why it isn't anymore. I think that Emperors left a stain on this land, on Light as a whole, and it's affected the whole Flight and every dragon who lives here. I've never seen an Emperor, I don't even know if they're real. But what I do know is that the dragons here tell me that funerals in Light are different. They must happen as soon as possible, and the deceased must be buried deep. It does not matter what species of dragon. Despite the fixation on death and funeral rites in Light folklore, I've never seen a cemetery here. The superstition can't help but creep in, just a little, into our everyday lives. It gets strange in Light after dark, perhaps because the land is so bright during the day the darkness feels...wrong. We tell the hatchlings here to be in well before sunset. Fun and Games We are fortunate to live in a time of relative peace and prosperity. How true this is can vary from day to day - with the constant skirmishes at the borders and new rumours every day about ancient magic and ancient wrongs, it feels as if our current peace grows more fragile every moment. Still, dragons now have more security and leisure time than dragons from the past, and the pastimes from different Flights have begun to spread. The most common game in Light has for decades been a simple puzzle game involving flipping pieces representing Shadow over, changing them to Light pieces. Wherever you go in Light, you can see tables set up for this puzzle game. An increasingly popular game among older dragons is Mahjong, an ancient game from Wind. Pieces are typically arranged in a pattern meant to resemble the Twisting Crescendo, and I am seeing this game played more and more frequently when I go to town. I am glad to see evidence of cultural exchange, but I wonder how long it will last. Speakeasies Recently, most of the Flights have joined together in a rare display of inter-Flight cooperation to ban certain products from the mainstream markets. Every Flight joined in except for Shadow, which, despite certain improvements, has always been too disjointed to form any sort of coherent government. Products banned include the more obvious breed-change scrolls previously saturating the market, as well as, more surprisingly, intoxicants. This led to the rapid shut-down of bars and breed-change saloons across Sornieth. It also led to the rapid crop-ups of what are now known as speakeasies. These laid-back establishments serve illegal products, often for cheaper costs than they were sold for previously, but with the risk that the products have obviously not been subject to inspection. I noticed quickly that most dragons in Sornieth show an obvious disregard for the new temperance laws. In an effort to see how prevalent speakeasies are, I set out on a quest to see how difficult it was to obtain an intoxicating beverage in several cities across Sornieth. In the Mirrorlight Promenade, it took me thirty-two minutes. In the Tempest Spire, I asked the taxi driver immediately after I arrived if he knew where I could obtain any alcohol. He said "right here" and handed me a flask. I gave up my quest after that. It's ironic to me that, the first time in living memory so many Flights actually worked together, it amounted to so little. Eyes and Culture It is difficult to overstate the cultural importance on being able to see the eyes of others. We live in a world where, in the overwhelming majority of cases, being able to see the eyes of another tells us where that dragon grew up, what their magic is, and gives us a good clue as to their cultural upbringing and values. Dragons who intentionally cover up their eyes by wearing masks, dark glasses, etc. are uniformly viewed with suspicion in every Flight. Covering one's eyes is seen as a sign of a dishonest dragon at best and one who has something to hide at worst. In more rural and xenophobic areas, it's not unusual for shopkeepers to refuse entry to dragons from certain Flights, and even in more erudite areas, passing judgements based on eye colour isn't exactly uncommon. This can be very frustrating for many dragons, especially those who were raised in a Flight different from their birth or the extremely rare cases where eye colour and birth element don't match. Cyclical History I can't help but feel as if the Fourth Age is drawing to a close. It seems every day as if we are on the cusp of something extraordinary. Tensions between the Flights continue to grow, and every day I wonder if the new magics and extraordinary powers cropping up across Sornieth are signs. Recently, we've even had an influx of Ancients at Home - Ancients! I had a lengthy discussion with Lothur the very first week I arrived, during which we agreed that Gaolers were no more than an old Ice Flight superstition! Superstition one day, and the next day I'm having breakfast sitting across from one. My own brother-in-law is a Veilspun, for Eleven's sake. Call me just as superstitious as the old dragons I hear in Mirrorlight, but I think they're right when they say that the tall grass has been whispering old names lately. If the first children of the gods are surfacing and integrating into modern dragon society, what could be next?