Kolya

About

Kolya is the catalyst for the Thistle Clan's journey to the Wyrmwound, and the mate to Mercury. Originally born a mirror dragon, Kolya was one half of a set of identical twins; Kolya and his nestmate grew up in Plague territory, near the Arcane border. Since their parents were both mirror dragons their nest was not large, but the brothers never suffered from a lack of playmates.

Their parents assumed it was a game. It was common for hatchlings to conjure up imaginary friends and while naming one after the Plaguebringer was unusual, it was not unheard of. The twins would spend their days wandering the outskirts of their clan’s territory, seeking an essential item for their deity, or squabbling under the glowing sun over which interpretation of Her muddled words were correct.

One summer day, a game of “find the largest always-autumn for Plaguemom” had gone on too long and the brothers found themselves out in the open and caught without cover. The sky opened up and unleashed an acid rainstorm like neither hatchling had witnessed. As the corrosive liquid beat down on them, they ran for shelter; they discovered an old, petrified log and collapsed inside of it. Both hatchlings fell unconscious from the pain of their burns, and remained in the log until the storm passed. When scouts came from their clan in the morning to find the hatchlings, they discovered Kolya badly scorched and his twin already dead from his wounds. During the somber journey back to the clan’s lair, Kolya kept forcefully insisting they go back for the always-autumn they had dropped in the mayhem; the Plaguebringer sent them out to get it, and he needed to bring it to her.

After his twin’s death, the voice in his head became louder, sometimes overwhelming. The mild episodes only consist of the deity’s voice in Kolya’s head, but the very strong episodes can cause him to seize up as the voice booms in his head and he attempts to make sense of the impossibly loud words. During longer or more intense episodes he shakes violently, unable to remain rigid for so long. Touching Kolya now during an episode is ill-advised, since doing so often inflicts magical harm upon the person making contact.

To Kolya’s grieving parents the “Plaguebringer game” was no longer amusing. Even after his brother’s death, Kolya would diligently continue with Her quests and carry on one-sided conversations with Her. When he would tremble and scream out to the deity, his parents were mortified. His parents begged him to stop, telling him that his actions was upsetting, even disrespectful to his dead sibling, but Kolya refused, insisting that the Plaguebringer’s voice was real. Every time Kolya mentioned the visions or the voice speaking to him—giving him tasks—his parents would become upset and insist that he stop his foolishness.

When he, as an adult, wandered off from his clan on another “crucial” and divine mission and did not make it back by nightfall, his clan did not bother to search him out. Kolya wandered around by himself for a brief time, joining mirror packs and then leaving, before he decided to set out on his own.

Kolya first encountered Mercury at the edge of a watering hole, after she had been cursed, and he joined in her quest. Together, they formed the Thistle Clan. They traveled the Plaguelands together, taking in other wandering dragons and helping some in need.

The first time Mercury witnessed one of Kolya’s episodes, she tried to shake him out of it. An agonizing mistake, she found herself disoriented and badly burned at the point of contact, as if she were struck by lightning. Ever since that touch, however, Kolya has been directly bonded to her, involuntarily changing his physical form to mimic hers. Any injury received by one is shared by the other, no matter how small. Death is twofold.

Kolya and Mercury traveled together for quite some time, eventually hatching a nest together. Bessmetten, their first hatchling, seemed like any other rambunctious mirror pup, but she was not always interested in roughhousing. She complained of stiffness in her paws and joints, and often had to stop and rest. It was impossible to tell what was wrong, since Kolya and Mercury had no medical supplies and no healer on hand, but when Bessmetten’s extremities began to calcify, they started to worry. Without anything to reverse or slow the calcification, Kolya and Mercury were forced to watch their daughter turn to bone. This distraught Mercury, and after some deliberation Kolya concluded that they seek out the Plaguebringer in the heart of Her region. She is the goddess of survival and the most likely of anyone to be able to ensure Bessmetten’s. Thus, Mercury and Kolya set out to find her.

When the pair arrived at the Wyrmwound, the fated lair of the Plaguebringer, they were greeted by a hostile clan of coatl. A fight ensued, and Mercury was thrown into the Wyrmwound; Kolya collapsed when she hit the broth, and did not wake until she had emerged and killed over half of the Coatl Clan’s members. While the Wyrmwound had changed Mercury in a matter of minutes, Kolya’s transformation was not far behind. Over the next several hours Kolya’s bones shifted and convulsed as his body changed to mirror his mate’s. By the next morning, two fearsome hybrids stood in the throne room, ready to take charge.

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After the battle that won Mercury leadership of the Wyrmwound Grottoes, she and Kolya settled into life near the Wyrmwound. Their new bodies took time to grow accustomed to, but within weeks both Mercury and Kolya had adjusted. Just as life began to turn peaceful and the future seemed to brighten, Kolya was once again overcome by a powerful vision. The gravely voice called to him, urging him to destroy a beautiful mosaic embedded in one of the throne room’s walls. Nova attempted to grab hold of Kolya to stop the destruction of the intricate work of art but he was physically restrained by Mercury.

To everyone’s surprise, a passage weathered with age and decades of disuse, emerged from behind the mosaic. Following this passage led to a larger chamber, with walls covered in intricate paintings and runes wasted away to illegibility by time. The floor ended abruptly halfway through the room at a steep and sudden precipice. Acidic cave water and the Wyrmwound’s foul broth swirled together below the cliff’s edge, forming a vicious whirlpool. Once again Kolya began to tremble. Through the seizures he stuttered forward, stopping at the very edge of the cliff. When he turned and spoke his voice was not his own, but older, darker, and more powerful.

“MY SERVANTS GROW FEWER IN NUMBER... IN THE DAYS OF OLD, THIS WAS A PORTAL FROM THE PHYSICAL WORLD TO THE NEXT. I NOW COMMAND YOU, GO FORTH AND BRING MORE DRAGONS TO SERVE THEIR LAND AND GOD.”

With these final words the swirling waters below began to glow, waves flaring up and crashing violently against the cliff’s edge. Once, twice, they slammed into the stone, before subsiding as Kolya abruptly collapsed. Despite his terrifying, post-transformation appearance Kolya is incredibly sweet and even-tempered. He is known for dabbling in Arcane magic, out of childhood interest in his old neighboring territory. Inherently likable, Kolya often is the one who stops feuding clan members from coming to blows. When Mercury is in one of her stubborn moods Kolya is the only dragon who stands a chance at convincing her to bend and change her mind.

• The silks he wears are used to indicate leadership in the Coatl Clan. These silks are ones of his own design, and the material he chose was woven by ceanothus brawlers. Later, the fabric was infused with Arcane magic, courtesy of Lori, to give it its glow.
• Kolya is infertile due to Mercury’s curse. It is unknown whether he knows this or not.
• He likes to dabble in Arcane spells and enchantments, and is not a bad mage. He likes to perform transformation spells and conjuring charms. His magic is mainly for show.
• Since Mercury and Kolya are bonded on a physical level, Kolya’s appearance changed when
• Mercury’s did, both becoming hybrids.
• Blackcurrant’s disorientation magic does not affect Kolya, meaning Kolya is able to see David’s true form.
• Mercury and Kolya consume both seafood and meat, but at four times the amount of a normal dragon their size.