Erik

Erik has always been kind, always been gentle, always been happy to help anyone who needs it. Erik has not always been blind, and for that very reason, one could easily say Erik has always been TOO kind.

Before she lost her sight, Erik worked in the Observatory as muscle, moving things where they needed to be, lifting things out of the way, and carrying things from one Scholar to another. She enjoyed working with the Scholars, their intelligence well beyond her understanding fascinated her. She would work hard, her only pay being able to listen to their stories and findings with childlike wonder.

It was nothing more than one wrong move. Someone flexed a wing to far, knocking over one of the candles. The flames quickly grew, the scrolls and papers scattered all around making for fine fuel. The library quickly turned to disorder, Scholars crying out and workers trying to save precious recordings from being devoured by the orange glow. Erik focused less on the paperwork, trying to save all of her peers. She grabbed scholars roughly and threw them, protesting, from the room.

A loud crash followed by a roaring scream led Erik to a bookshelf that had toppled over onto one of the researchers. The Dragon was scared, frantically moving to try to get the bookshelf off, but Scholars are not strong; the bookshelf would hardly budge.

Erik could hear others she had saved crying for her to turn back. It was too late! they said, she needed to get out and leave the rest behind or she would die with them. But Erik, Erik was too kind.

She tore the large shelf off, clamped the tiny Fae Scholar in her claws and curled her wings around him to shield him from the flames. She walked through the glowing embers, rescuing him. Her body was seared and scared, her eyes damaged beyond repair. Coral, the leader of her clan and an exceptional healer, had tried everything to restore Erik's sight, but soon had no choice left but to give up.

Erik, now unable to work from a weakness that stemmed from her injuries, was crowned a hero and given a title of respect and love, Peacemaker. She spends her time within the Starwood Strand, admiring the sounds and smells of the unnatural forest. Scholars visit her often, telling her about their research and stories they found within scrolls of the Observatory.

When she finds a Dragon who seems lost in the forest, she helps guide them out, her lack of sight making navigation easier among the trees dotting the horizon like a universe of their own.