Ignari

Part dragon, part machine, Ignari is quite the curiosity to many. But because she is a literal walking forge, it's a bit hard to let her into places where a lot of dragons are gathering. That's why she mostly stays in her room in the belly of the clan accessing ores, upgrading tools and fashioning weaponry. This, in combination with her gruff and unfriendly personality, meant she had few acquaintances when she was starting out, but after awhile, cemented her place in the hearts of many who came to visit her. Upon further conversation you may discover somewhat of an endearing disposition, willing to lend an ear to all who had no one else to turn to. In particular, Atlas is one of her best friends, who makes sure to visit her regularly when he has off days.

Even though Ignari is a metal worker, her combat skills are not something to scoff at either. She can easily bonk you on the head with her smithing hammer if she feels like you deserve it enough.

In addition to her staple guardian diet, she makes sure to consume a healthy supply of coal, which fuel both her magic and the engine keeping her alive. This way, she would be allowed to continue to pursue her passions as a blacksmith for as long as she wished, as long as she had a supply of fuel.



Atlas descended the spiral staircase, a hand trailing against the wall to keep his balance. Compared to his tavern, the lighting was about equally dim, but the stone tiling on the walls and the ground, in comparison to the homely cushions and scattered fabrics, gave the stairwell a grimmer atmosphere. In his other, he held a tray with a plate of grilled fish and a glass of orange flower, a cocktail. At the bottom was the forge - Arkana had commissioned the room to be built, but had no blacksmith to fill it with, so it lay dormant for months, until she arrived.

He stepped into the hall. It was massive - at the very end, a coat of arms design that he didn't recognise, while towering statues of dragons lined the side, molten lava streaming down their mouths. The fluid ran along the sides of the room, casting a warm orange glow along the wall, but also bringing the ambient temperature to an intolerable high. In the back, a solitary guardian hammered a piece of metal, its lonely clangs echoing the walkway.

"Hey," he approached her cautiously. Her crucible seemed attached to her body, and her breath glowed slightly with every sigh. Embers danced from the tips of her feet, a feature he couldn't decide if it was
unique to fire dragons, or a product of the room. She looked away from her smelting to glance at him.

"Hello there," she replied.

"Are you the sun? Or were you always this hot?" Atlas asked, immediately regretting the words as they were tumbling out of his mouth. Ignari turned away from the anvil once again, but this time bringing an intense glare. "Sorry, force of habit," he muttered, looking down in embarrassment.

"Anyway I know you can't really come into the tavern, so I brought you a drink and a snack. It's such a shame though, everyone would have loved to meet you. I'll put the tray down here - I know it was a pick up line and all but you really are hot; I'm sweating buckets just walking in here and honestly my feathers can't stand it." Ignari looked over at the tray prepared for her.

"Thank you," she responded, going back to her work. There was a bit of an awkward pause while Atlas tried to figure out what he was supposed to do. Only the echoing calls of the metal continued.

Eventually, as he turned to leave. he said, "Just leave the tray near the entrance. I'll come collect it at my earliest convenience. Tah-tah!"

He was only met with silence, but at this point, he wasn't really expecting an answer.
The earliest possible convenience, as it turned out, was three days later, when Atlas came to bring a new drink and more snacks.

"Sorry I took so long - the tavern is busy and I don't get many days off," placing the new tray where he had put the last. "I brought beans this time, although if you wanted something in particular, you could just let me know."

"Beans are fine," Ignari replied, peering at the dish while Atlas backed away. He hadn't been in the room for three minutes, and he could already feel the colour melting out of his fur.

"How was the food last time?"

"The fish was salty," she paused for consideration, before continuing, The drink balanced it out, but not by much."

"Oh. I wasn't really counting on you having very good taste buds, being part machine and all," he chuckled, before noticing that her dark expression had once again returned to her face. They were both was silent for a moment. "It seems that I have once again overstepped my boundaries," he said quietly, after a while, before taking his leave.

A few nights later, and he was back again. This time, Ignari displayed an obvious look of disgust when she heard the soft clinking of his jewellery.

"Skydancer, for how long more must you insult me?"

Altas looked down at his tray, which featured a lime green drink, as well as a small pile of crackers on the side. "I'm really sorry. I don't mean the things I say half the time - sometimes it can get out of hand. Although in your case, I suppose I should have been more careful. I genuinely want to be friends - maybe it started out of pity, but even from our minute interactions, I'm invested." Ignari turned to study his expression, and the clinks of the anvil paused.

"What have you prepared today?" she sighed, putting her hammer down.

"Lime Mojito, and some salty crackers. I hope they're more to your taste - I tried to sweeten the cocktail a bit more with some sugar melon." Atlas placed the tray onto the ground, in front of her. As much as he would have liked to hand her the tray personally to show his sincerity, he was about 90 percent sure that he would not survive the encounter. As Ignari reached forward towards the cup, her hand toned down from a faint glowing orange back to navy blue. Still, when she held the glass, you told tell that it was heating up beyond temperatures that it was meant to withstand.

"Not shabby," she declared, downing it in one go. "Perhaps it would be better with a sourer edge?" She proceeded to stuff the crackers into her maw. "A bit too salty."

Normally he would view this only with abject horror, but Atlas couldn't help but crack a smile. For someone so stern and solemn, he had imagined a more refined eating style, but this? It revealed a part of her personality that he was not expecting to see.

"If you wouldn't mind - Ignari, next time may I suggest that you take the drink and the snack together? Perhaps you may enjoy the food more in this way."

She looked at him with a curious eye. "Very well then, next time, I'll remember to consume everything together in one bite." Atlas tried not to dwell on how that would taste like.