Shuck

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Gravyard Gaoler subspecies: Kirkyard Grim (XXY, Obsidian/Obsidian/Cream)

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*warning: stories involving death of young dragons in this bio



Shuck had been alone for as long as he could remember. His early memories were fuzzy, though he had vague recollections of a loving family when he was but a hatchling. He'd had brief but impressive battle training and had learned the funerary rites and spells to ward his territory. He'd been charged with guarding the graveyard he called home so many years ago that he feels as if he's always been here. This place holds special meaning; he always feels drawn back to it. He maintains wards around the graveyard to protect it's resting denizens from anyone who means them harm.

Shuck works part-time providing funeral services to the local community. He sometimes travels to other nearby towns to help dig graves or perform rites. But his main duty is to protect the region near his graveyard from threats made by necromancer activity. As a Kirkyard Grim, Shuck takes his duty to defend the residents of Sornieth from undead threats seriously. His long claws and sharp fangs are excellent at tearing apart reanimated corpses. The only dragons who should fear him are necromancers and the abominations they create.

Some dragons avoid him, thinking him an ill omen. But Shuck intends no harm to anyone (except for necromancers - they didn't deserve mercy). He makes a habit of walking near travelers at night to make sure they arrive safely at their destination. He tries to be silent so as not to scare them, his footsteps nearly noiseless. His immense stamina means he rarely needs to rest and can remain vigilant for days at a time.

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One evening Shuck heard a beautiful, unworldly song that was like nothing he'd ever heard before. He walked through the woods looking for the source, but was unable to find an answer to his curiosity. He heard the sound few more times, mostly around the town near the graveyard he inhabits. It wasn't until the death of an older dragon that Shuck considered a mentor of sorts that he found the source of the song.

An otherworldly figure appeared as if out of thin air. She sang her haunting yet soothing dirge that made him think of comforting lullabies. A trail of flowers bloomed before her and he watched - entranced - as the spirit of his departed friend rose and followed the flowers to a portal of some sort. His friend turned to look at him, bestowing upon him one last smile before disappearing through the Veil.

The singing dragon finished her song. She turned her gaze upon Shuck and he felt as if her eyes pierced deep into his very soul. After a brief moment, she would also disappear, leaving as mysteriously as she had arrived. Her name, he would come to learn upon their next meeting, is Periwinkle.

Shuck found that Periwinkle did not speak, at least not in the ways that other dragons do. Yet somehow they could communicate, as if there was a spiritual link between them. Perhaps this had something to do with her being a being from another plane of existence or somesuch. Periwinkle clarified that they had similar duties carried out differently, but that she, too, felt a deep connection with him. This connection brought her to see him, even when there were no souls to usher onward. Both of them felt that they were "soulmates" of a sort, and decided that they would nest together.

This resulted in two children, though the youngest was sickly and not long for this world. His eldest son seemed to share his mother's connection to the spirit plane and told his parents about how his twin's soul had latched onto his own. Though the little one's mortal body was unable to survive, the spirit had a strong will to stay in this world and protect his sibling from harm.

Shuck followed proper burial rites for the tiny body, gently laying it to rest in the grave he had dug. He cast protective spells around the area, though the graveyard that the family lived in was already warded against necromancers and their reanimated minions. No one would desecrate his child's resting place.

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Though their duties had some similarities, Shuck and Periwinkle rarely crossed paths while working. On the occasion that they did, they took comfort in each other's presence. Shuck remembers an incident not long after his own child's passing that he felt drawn to where his mate was performing her rites of passage for a child's soul. He helped the grieving father shroud the small body and dug a grave for the departed. His mate had left one of her flowers on the freshly turned dirt, a blessing to protect mourners from harm and a sign of reverence for the deceased. His soulmate smiled at him as they walked home together and he was filled with a sense of peace.

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Son, Ruth?
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