Baryon

Baryon, Bary to those few who can stand to be around him, is a low-generation purestrain Celestial Runner. The magical energies and knowledge he has been bathed in since conception caused some... odd... effects on the pearlcatcher's psyche as it developed. His attitude is (charitably) philosophical or (uncharitably/ realistically) uncaring toward most living beings. Bary knows how small he and the rest of dragonkind are, and that perspective tends to lead him not to get attached at all. On a cosmic scale, there's not too much to worry about.

The only thing he gets passionate about is proof. Most celestial Runners are loath to share what they consider family secrets, but to Bary's mind, there's no reason not to share knowledge. Bary never liked prophets, though. He recognizes there's no reason to believe him without proof... which means experimentation and scientific rigor. Bary has the work ethic of a Lightning dragon and the sheer stubbornness of a plagueling, coupled with the occasional temper of a Fire dragon. He understands secrets, yes, but will do absolutely anything to uncover them. Disproving something he always thought was true carries with it a sort of perverse delight for Baryon.

His main employment, source of income, and claim to fame are his ruthless and relentless style of peer-review. When new studies are submitted for publication in the scientific journals he edits for, they're almost guaranteed to be torn to pieces for rigor. Baryon doesn't mince words and isn't friendly. If he makes someone cry, they usually get an impatient snap in response: "Don't be sad, be better." He never attacks the dragon, just their work-- but his criticism of their work is exhaustive and brutal. He also gets frustrated when others mince words with him, seeing it as a sign of disrespect. Baryon has very very few friends. The research is always pristine and excellent-quality, among the most rigorous in the world, once he's through revising it.

Outside of work, he's incisive and curious in an incredibly uncomfortable way. Baryon doesn't understand social interactions, for the most part, and is almost completely unwilling to try. He's quite lonely, but to him, there are far more important things than his own happiness. When it comes to befriending Baryon, for the poor idiots who want to spend their time that way, the best way to do it is to be smarter than him at something or to have thought of something he hasn't. Without that, he'll be entirely dismissive. "I'm the baseline for an average dragon," he'll say, completely ignoring how differently his brain works. "If I'm the smartest guy in the room, Sornieth is hosed." Trying to point out the differences, and his STEM-optimization, will just result in a blank stare and mumbling about how he himself is 'neck-deep in the Dunning-Kruger effect.'

As brutal as he is on others, Baryon is at least 5 times meaner to himself. He can only tolerate mistakes in himself for as long as it takes to correct them, and cognitive dissonance is almost physically painful once he realizes it's there. He's insufferable and nuts in the way many high-level academics are... but the very few who can stand him enough to earn his friendship will find a high-level academic mage trained to terrifying extremes who would do anything to protect them. Anything. In some ways, Baryon's respect is scarier than his ire.

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Generation 3 I am a Celestial Runner! The innate abilities of the family include word, bone and blood magic, as well as stargazing and future predictions. There is also a bit of unknown magic from space - the mystery of how existence began included. Each hatchling has their own personality and abilities. This makes the family incredibly special and incredibly mysterious. It is not often that they share their magic and secrets, but it is passed down in the family. Each hatchling has their own secret to be discovered! To find out more information on the Celestial Runner Project, click the button! Celestial Runner Lineage: Lasgalen & Galanta >> Bizurian >> Andromeda >> Baryon

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