Khione

Khione The Shard

Battered Book of Fables Dragonmade The terrible thing is that all your favorite characters die in the end. (Special thanks XenonZerrow.) 70 Selenite Minerals & Ores Known to strengthen memory, many desperate Tundras have used it as a last resort. (Special thanks to MelonLeaves!) 85 Zeeba Horn Organics Used in the production of a variety of natural remedies. The effectiveness of these remedies reportedly varies from dragon to dragon. 25

Role: Khione, known almost affectionately within the local sect of Gaolers as 'The Menace' and by the prisoners as 'The Blight' or 'The Ghost', stalks the halls of the Fortress of Ends. Though she often causes trouble for the prison's wardens, they have come to appreciate her usefullness in keeping order in the cells; more than once, they have found an escapee trapped in the wall after an unfortunate run-in with the Fortress' unofficial peace-keeper. On a quiet day, the whisper of her feathers against the ice can often be heard in the corridors, just out of sight. Though it may feel like she is stalking you, it's actually a good sign that she's only curious; it's when the halls are silent that you should be concerned.

Personality and Relationships:

Khione likes order; in fact, she demands it. Though she doesn't actually care who plays warden and who plays prisoner, she cannot tolerate escapees because they break from what she perceives as their 'place' in her home, and she will readily rectify this by dragging them into the ice wall for the Gaolers to come collect at their leisure. She is cold, blunt, and what little sense of humour she has is often cruel - she finds her fun in scaring prisoners and wardens by lunging out the wall at them in the dead of night, and may even fight them if sufficiently bored.

Though one might think this would stop her from making friends, Khione gets on rather well with Aenea and will pay her frequent, if brief, visits. She enjoys that Aenea is one of the few dragons who shares her sense of humour, and will often make an effort to scare the guards outside Aenea's cell just to entertain her. In turn, Aenea teaches Khione about Sornieth, magic, and fighting.





History:

Khione was carved by the gaolers of the West Guard from a shard of ice that had fallen from the Icewarden's scales. Fvuros, the Guard's captain, hoped that the ice's innate magic might allow them to bring the carving to life, to serve as a tireless jailor. For three months he waited, watching Khione's lifeless sculpture for any sign of success, but eventually he was forced to relent that more drastic action would be needed and turned to Hircate - who specialised in animation and conjuring - for help. Unknown to Fvuros, Hircate had been corrupted by Miaura, who instructed her to sabotage the ritual by infecting the statue with a fragment of Shade. However, when Hircate introduced the sample to the ice, the strong magics of the Icewarden collided violently with the remnant of his old enemy; Khione was brought to life, uncorrupted but uncontrolled, while Hircate in turn was warped by the backfiring magics of the Shade.

Unwilling to serve both Shade and Gaolers, Khione turned on both; not to fight for her freedom, but to claim what she saw as her home. In the confusion of battle, the Gaolers were able to drive Hircate into a cell and contain her, but Khione ultimately escaped into the halls and vanished - it was only later that the Gaolers learned that she could travel through the Fortress' ice.

Since that day, Khione has stalked the Fortress' halls, toying with prisoners and guards alike. Over time, the Gaolers have been able to broke an unsteady truce with her by leaving food and giving her a warm bed to sleep in, though it does not stop her from scaring the younger wardens for her own amusement.



Hobbies and Interests:



Further Information:

Due to the nature of her origin, Khione's stone form changes her to ice instead of rock. When combined with the strong magics that she was imbued with, this grants her the ability to meld into the ice walls of the Fortress of Ends, to travel through at will. Though this would allow her easy escape, Khione is terrified of the outside world and chooses to stay in her home, where everything stays as it should.