Bruno

Lore

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There’s a notable sharpness to most everything in the Shifting Expanse. Tarnished bronze structures with needle-like spires to redirect the countless lightning storms that befall the desert. Jagged flashes of blue and white light split the sky, accompanied by bellowing winds and cracks of thunder. Sharp structures, sharp air, sharp sounds. The Shifting Expanse is not a place for gentle souls, and it is not a forgiving land for anyone who does not meet its harsh demands.

Even despite the brutality of his birthplace, the adolescent years of the obelisk’s life seemed to hold a positive trajectory. Upon his hatching, Bruno was introduced to his village. A great iron vista with countless shops of scientists, engineers, and inventors. However, its settlement also catered to less conventional professions along the Carrion Canyon, the likes of chefs, writers, and warriors. Each dragon who lived there was a diligent worker, dedicating their life and soul to providing a service for their village.

Despite the diversity of dragons residing there, there was a constant, notable hostility to the community. As a crowd, they were judgmental, resistant to change, and very demanding of their young dragons. Each yearling had to decide their purpose long before they were even considered a member of the community. Many of the townsfolk had tongues just as sharp as the region in which they inhabited.

Needless to say, Bruno was not taught his kindness and empathy. That aspect of his personality was innate, primal, and a part of the very makeup of his soul. He so often understood the pain and trials that other dragons were going through on a far deeper level than most. The obelisk was not overly close to any of his siblings or even his parents. They didn’t spend a lot of quality time with one another, instead urging their children to attend classes and discover what they could provide for the village. Even before the hatchlings knew what it was they wanted to pursue, they were expected to perform small, menial odd jobs such as building maintenance and food gathering.

Bruno never once complained about any of this. He did all that was asked of him, and while he wasn’t particularly satisfied with his place in the village, he understood that it was the hand he’d been dealt, and it was not an altogether miserable one. The obelisk spent his early days studying, working, and hoping that soon, he would find out what it was he could give back to his home.

As he reached adolescence, he found himself growing lonely and isolated. No matter how hard he tried, the others did not share his enthusiasm for building friendships. While he was talented at smoothing over tensions between others, no one seemed to thank him for it.

The young dragon spent a portion of his free time learning how to read fortune telling cards. Magic was not something that the village encouraged. Scientific advancements were far more valuable. And yet, in his heart, Bruno had an affinity for the subject. Enough that when he wasn’t working or attending class, the obelisk taught himself to be a Seer. He found a sense of enjoyment in even that simple form of magic, but it wasn’t enough to truly make him happy. So he began to go more in depth with his magical studies. Experiment more.

There was a secret side to him that he hadn’t become aware of until recently. The whispers he’d heard since he was a hatchling, the reason he was able to relate so strongly to all other dragons, was the blood-given gift of telepathy. Now that he’d been exposed to magical research, he was finely attuned to this side of him. A secret he couldn’t long keep hidden. A secret that was instantly given away when he discovered his second gift: Telekinesis. He could shuffle his fortune telling deck without ever laying a claw on it.

A young stablekeeper, a ridgeback named Solomon, saw Bruno outside town limits, practicing his telekinesis. Shocked, he reported it to the city council, who demanded Bruno cease his magical endeavors at once. Magic was not forbidden, but to see a dragon born with such abilities- a dragon who had never been taught the secrets of magic- it was downright unnatural. When Bruno agreed to stop focusing on his path as a seer, he expected that would be the end of it, and things would return to the norm.

They didn’t.

The entire village shunned him. He was treated like some otherworldly dangerous creature. Suddenly, his bright cyan eyes that had always maintained unnatural brightness were considered a bad omen. Bruno was no longer accepted as a student of the community. Either disrespected or even feared, no dragon, not even his parents, looked at him the same way. The village whose members had passed their judgment the day they found out about his abilities had turned their back on him.

Desperate to escape the hateful glares and murmured rumors that had only worsened over time, Bruno fled. He left the Shifting Expanse and traveled countless days to reach a peaceful squat of forest. He no longer knew which of the regions’ ground it was. It didn’t matter. The trees offered shelter and solitude, and they did not watch him through suspicious eyes.

It was here, however, that Bruno found others who, like him, had been dismissed as freaks. Despite never having learned how to be kind, how to interact, he quickly formed a bond with them. Socially awkward, he developed a sort of brotherly dynamic to his newly formed family. They did not shun him for his powers, and instead, they embraced them. Thought they were invaluable. In return for the small group’s kindness, Bruno protected them. He protected their hatchlings, their territory, and their lives with a ferocity he called upon only when those he cared for were in danger. And over time, he healed from the wounds his village had inflicted upon him. For the first time, the obelisk was happy and secure in who he was.

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