Envious

Even if he is shifty and certainly untrustworthy, Envious is fiercely loyal to his brother Vice, even though they have begun aggressively butting heads as of late. He wants nothing more than for himself and his brother to thrive, but unlike Vice, Envious has no moral code and instead takes opportunities for gain as them come, regardless of who it hurts. Envious firmly and genuinely believes that this is how to survive, though, and he does not understand his brother's moral hand-wringing and finds him very self-righteous. Anything that helps you and your loved ones survive is perfectly morally fine to Envious. He can't stand dragons who try to act so righteous and finds rules of honor a frivolous waste of time.

b i r t h


In the flickering bioluminescence of the Foxfire Bramble, an oversized egg burst open to reveal two Imperial hatchlings wound around each other.

b a c k s t o r y


When the swollen egg containing both Vice and his brother Envious was late to hatch, it was assumed the dragon (or dragons, as it turned out) had died in the shell. The egg was left, as was the logical thing to do, assuming the hatchling(s) within were dead. But days past their due date, alone in the blue glow of bioluminescent mushrooms and stray will-o-the-wisps, the bloated egg burst, and out fell not one but two Imperial hatchlings, long bodies intertwined into a knot.

It was a hard life to live so early on, with no one to guide them and nothing but the woods around them. Vice and Envious even spent the first few years of their lives tied together until a confused passerby dragon finally saw the wandering hatchlings and separated them.

But as harsh as survival was, Vice and Envious had each other. Tied together or not, they were each other's whole world and the only dragon the other knew for the longest time. Being intertwined, in a way, contributed to their ability to survive as it forced them to develop teamwork like no other. Finding temporary shelter, tracking down food and outrunning hostile wildlife, Envious and Vice might as well have been one feral hatchling in their incredible synergy. This made their inevitable separation all the more difficult, as they were forced to learn how to live both as separate individuals and more social dragons.

Even if they had been separated physically, though, they remained close as ever and could perform great physical feats of strength and agility when they put their heads together. But the older they got, the more demanding survival became, and the more they were forced to interact with clans and broader dragon society. But could the brothers get by in such a complex world, learning about money, laws, and social norms? It was a big, confusing world.

The merchant's trade was the answer. They could get all the resources they needed and get a proper sense of how money made the world run. And growing up in the wilds, the brothers were certainly the intelligent sort, which led perfectly to advertisement and negotiations. Though all the natural knack for bartering in the world could not guarantee success for their business, which struggled for the longest time. Neither brother, in all their social inexperience, knew what to sell, how to sell it, or how things should be priced. They made money, but it was quickly proving to be insufficient to support two adult dragons in a world much more complicated than hiding in the brambles and chasing bugs in the Tangled Wood.

This was where, for the first time in ages, the brothers diverged on something. At the lack of success, Envious was quite ready to move on to a different tactic, perhaps returning back to the wilds they knew. Vice, on the other hand, did not want to return to that life. Envious did not hate this new life, but he found the way they had lived before was less complex. It was what they knew and understood the best, and Envious was quite certain they could continue to thrive in that environment. Why was there a need to understand these complex systems of dragon society when they had been just fine before? While there was friction, Vice proved to be the most determined to stay and Envious cared too much for his brother to pursue the issue further. Not that Vice did not care for Envious either, but he felt the best way to keep himself and his dear brother safe and happy was the way he had decided on.

And so, they struggled on. Until they didn't.

So suddenly, one day, there was a tremendous influx of money after Envious and Vice briefly went separate ways to try their luck trading in different locations. While Vice returned relatively empty-clawed, an enthusiastic Envious reunited with his brother carrying a tremendous boon, delightedly reporting he had found a most generous caravan during his travels and had made a small fortune trading with them. This small fortune allowed the brothers to not only afford much nicer living accommodations and meals, but even better stock for their shop.

Envious's story was, however, a lie. He'd more or less gone on a spree of thievery, raiding clans and homes for more wealth than their shop had ever earned in its entire existence. A light clicked on in his head as he evaluated his earnings from the trip, even moreso with how happy he made his brother by returning with his spoils. This was the way to do it. This was the way to get by.

As they began falling into a rhythm as merchants, Vice became the dragon who interacted with customers the most. Envious proved better with funds and management. Among... other things. More of Envious's responsibilites entailed sneaking out by night, ransacking lairs and scamming dragons on the street. His brother began taking the merchant's trade and code increasingly seriously, which pushed Envious to further extremes to tiptoe around him and ensure Vice did not find out about his activities. But Envious, ever the realist, knew well that taking away the supplemental income from his excursions would sink them immediately. It was necessary, and Envious knew well the honest way of making money could not support them. It was impossible to bring up these thoughts to his brother, though, as his moral compass was far too stringent and Envious knew it would not go well.

Envious did not share his enthusiasm for trade, but he was happy to be able to get by, and often voiced his delight that his brother, his shadow, his reflection, had found a passion that fulfilled him so.

Things changed completely soon after. The brothers had taken their traveling shop to the Millmeadows and had been doing business there for about a week when Vice had quite the illuminating conversation with a customer. Envious was not present for this conversation, for if he was, he would have moved faster to cover his tracks and divert his brother's attention.

The dragon offhandedly mentioned that for the past week, their clan home, as well as several nearby clans, had been reporting thefts, chunks of their hoard disappearing overnight. The customer expressed concern for the brothers, warning them to keep a careful eye on their stock and earnings, as the thief had never been so much as sighted. This roving thief was actually Envious, following what were now his usual patterns and thieving from every corner of the Millmeadows by night. Vice was, however, none the wiser. That was how Envious wanted it to stay, until his brother was alarmed by this customer's story and, one night while he was on yet another spree, Vice took it upon himself to take inventory of their stock and funds. This was something Envious had always insisted upon doing, and was why he could continue his swindling the way he did.

There was a discrepancy in the ledger indeed, Vice discovered. But they were not missing gold. They had too much. Far too much.

Vice brought this to Envious, who was furious his brother was poking his nose in his assigned business. But Vice continued pressing, why did they have this much extra money? This didn't match the ledger at all! It didn't take long to figure out what had happened. All this time, the extra funds that bolstered their business, they'd all been stolen from a variety of places the brothers passed through. Vice was appalled. They were honest, hardworking merchants! This wasn't the way to make money!

Envious quickly brought up they would be completely under if not for his thievery, and scamming he also apparently did on the side, but Vice would not listen. He asserted he would have rather starved than live off dishonest money, which Envious scoffed at. He called Vice stupid and self-important, and refused to return any of the money. Envious accused him of being ingrateful for all his hard work, which Vice did not consider hard work at all. On that night, the explosive fight had drove a massive wedge between the brothers.

Neither was willing to give up their ways or come to an agreement, though. And despite their horrible fight, they were still brothers and could only pretend to hate one another. Both wanted to help the other survive and thrive, and in a way, that day was when an unstoppable force met an immovable object. Both argued fiercely for the other to change, but both were equally to stubborn and self-assured to give in. Somehow, things continued with no change. It was all that could be done. The tension remained thick in the shop, though. The peace was gone and between the brothers built a quiet resentment for one another.

Onward they moved, and the more careful Vice remained, struggling to stop his brother's dishonest acts and thieving exploits, while Envious continued to adapt to get around his brother's obstructions. One of the locations that they stopped in their travels ended up being in The Clan of the Wounded, deemed a big enough clan to set up shop, and the empty and silent wastes made the perfect cover for Envious's schemes. And yet, the dragons of the clan were all, according to Vice, honest and hardworking folk. He heard their stories, and saw much of his and his brother's struggle in them. They were a lot alike--so maybe, just maybe, if he found an excuse to maintain their shop on clan grounds, he thought Envious could learn from these dragons.

But... Envious was still at large and very much an issue still hellbent on thievery, and is very offened by his brother's attempts to "fix" him. Vice will still try, though.

p r e s e n t


Envious wants to get moving again. After he took point in the clan for several days, Envious found what he believed were several potential great scores.

He could really use all the help he could get, but Vice doesn't know how to reach out. Their way of life is far too fragile to risk, and at the end of the day, Vice loves his brother more, even more than the moral code he cherishes.

r e l a t i o n s h i p s