Funkel

Born alone near the Hewn City in the Sunbeam Ruins, Funkel stumbled into the Emperor's Wake as a young fledgeling, where he got lost and spent his early years struggling to survive on his own. While being an Imperial did not lend itself to Stealth, he still learned quickly that staying silent and unseen is one of the first and best defenses. When he was found by Glimmer, it was both the promise of a safe haven and her beauty that convinced him to abandon his solitary lifestyle to become a part of her lair.

His stern glares and hulking figure did not endear him to many dragons in the Dann-j'noss Clan, but he built rapport when he became known for deflecting raids on their settlement or bringing home a particularly large piece of game from a hunt. The only dragon who did not fear him at first was Glimmer, who he started to see was less suited to combat than she might think. Hunting, yes; even guarding was something she was better suited for than most of her clanmates, but he had seen dragons far stronger and began to worry for her.

While she did not truly need protection, he slipped into the role more and more often. Thankfully, she did not take it as insult, but found it charming. As the two of them became the strongest guards of the clan, Funkel opened up to her - and her only. He wanted more from their relationship, but was uncertain how to approach it without destroying what they had. In this regard, his stoic and silent behaviour did not help, and while he was convinced he was being the most obvious drake with a crush in the clan, this was far from the truth.

It was only decades later, after having to see Glimmer actually having a clutch of eggs with a different Imperial that had stayed at the lair for a short while, that a late-night conversation revealed to Glimmer his feelings, which swiftly led to them dating and, eventually, having their own clutch of eggs together. The jealousy for the other Imperial drake faded over time, as they had many more children and Glimmer had revealed to him that Marcius had been a spontaneous and short-lived relationship, and while she had tried to raise the two children resulting from their nest, they had left shortly after becoming fledgelings, never to return.

Meanwhile, the children Funkel had with her were manyfold and adventurous, and while they too, fled the nest fairly early, they did so to roam Sornieth and occasionally visited them while on one of their adventures.

Shortly after starting their family, the lair grew big enough to begin assembling a Lair Guard, which Funkel joined without hesitation. When Glimmer voiced her doubts, he encouraged her to explore other aspects, which led her to Auntie Viola and thus, her current job as the Skull Painter. Funkel, however, will likely forever hold a role as warrior and guardian of the lair, with values nearly as strong as those of an actual Guardian, if you can believe it.