Kokoro

Kokoro is Captain of the Guard, which is a very important job even though it often doesn't involve much more than pointing Levant in the right direction and watching him wreck everything. He also trains the other warriors of the clan, and even though there aren't many of them, he is very proud of his squadron. He prefers to lead by example, inspiring valour and bravery in his soldiers by aspiring to those same values himself.

Of course, sometimes the life of a guardsdragon is stressful enough that Kokoro's glorious presence isn't enough to keep a soldier going. Kokoro's not oblivious to this; he is a skydancer, after all, and thus can sense the emotions of the squad. And it turns out he's surprisingly caring for a dragon dedicated to fighting. He takes care of the Guard, no matter what kind of struggles they may have. But only for as long as they don't tell the rest of the clan. He does have an image to keep up, after all.

However, Kokoro's awareness of the Guard's mental state doesn't always extend to his own. He's a reckless dragon, and will often charge into the front lines, despite being much more suited for fighting from a distance. However, he is a fully capable fighter, and is honoured in the clan for the many times he has held the front line while waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

One place where does lack skill is in tactics, and thus he will gladly accept advice from either Silas or his second in command, Zikel. Not that he'll always listen to that advice, as he has a tendency to follow his gut instinct in the heat of battle. Considering he's survived this long, he might actually have the right idea.

His current armour was awarded to him for his valiant services on the field of battle, but Kokoro still keeps his old armour, as it holds valuable memories and is more suited for battle than the decorative set. His sword is almost entirely decorative, as he prefers to fight with magic, not physical force, but he is capable of using it if need be.

He gained that scar upon his eye long ago, back when Invernale lead the clan. In the loosest sense of the word, of course. The one who was really in control was the old guard captain, a wildclaw who had realized Invernale didn't care what happened in the clan, and was fully willing to take advantage of that fact. She was violent to anyone who got in her way, and Kokoro wasn't going to let his clanmates suffer that any longer. So he did what he does best; one day, with no plan in mind, he charged at her, ready to spill blood. Much to his surprise, he failed miserably. He was pinned by the wildclaw in seconds, one of her claws crushing his throat. She decided to make Kokoro suffer, taking a deep cut out of his face with a talon, before preparing to gouge out his eyes. Kokoro closed those eyes and prepared for the worst, before the weight upon his neck suddenly disappeared. He looked around, and saw Invernale surrounded by a glow of arcane magic, with the wildclaw nowhere to be seen. He's been loyal to the fae ever since.

While he is skilled with magic, Kokoro generally doesn't bother with any complicated spells in combat. Instead, he just launches as many smaller attacks as possible, as clearly at least some of them will have to connect. Or perhaps his enemies will just flee under the rain of arcane bolts, as they become so numerous that it appears as if the stars themselves are falling. Either works. Amazingly, this still causes less collateral damage than letting one of the other mages cast a larger spell. Have you never thought about the poor souls that have to clean up after someone summons a firestorm?

Kokoro really hates that winged headpiece, but it's part of his uniform. As captain he could get rid of it, but he'll still wear it, as Kushiel designed it and he probably likes the fae enough to not want to upset him. That or Kokoro believes he'll just get a more ridiculous hat in its place.

He has a surprisingly good singing voice. Not that he sings particularly often, but the melodious nature of his warcries can be a bit of a laugh.

---

...Listening for the slightest hint of movement, Kokoro crouched behind the hastily created barricade. On the other side, the silence was frightening; the pirates having seemingly decided to back up and regroup.

Kokoro turned to check on the nocturne beside him. Their breathing ragged, they clutched the wound in their wing joint, blood leaking between their claws.

"Stay with me! We're going to get through this!"

He received only a pained groan in response.

A quick glace over the wooden rubble showed the same sight as before. A couple of downed pirates littered the ground, their ship in the distance. But there was no movement to be seen.

Kokoro clenched his front claw. This was it then, just waiting for the pirates to overrun them? The nocturne beside him slaughtered, too injured to defend themselves?

No. If he was going down, he was going down on his own terms.

With a single beat of his wings, he leapt over the barrier. Eyes glowing with arcane magic, nearly leaving a trail behind him, he let out a battlecry.

"For the Arcanist!'

Sword held high, Kokoro charged towards the pirate's ship, ready to meet destiny head on...