Poise

Poise

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Poise works in the Hall of Records to keep track of every contract ever signed within the clan. He has his own shelf in the Hall of Records, and whenever a dragon approaches him regarding a contract, he’ll turn to this shelf and remove the contract to analyze it. Poise is a very intelligent dragon, and speaks legalese very fluently. Contracts are often full of advanced and confusing language, but Poise is there to help clear it up for the sake of his clanmates.

But Poise doesn’t just keep pre-existing contracts. Poise helps to write new contracts when needed. No matter how secluded and quiet two dragons are when discussing a new contract, Poise will somehow be there with parchment and ink in claw. Some dragons have been known to head far away from Electrician’s Edge to discuss a new contract, and Poise still manages to appear by their side to put it onto paper.

When it comes to writing contracts, Poise tries to stay as neutral as possible, and tries to keep both parties pleased. Once the contract is signed, however, all bets are off. Poise can be described as a bit of a sleaze or a slimeball, like many lawyers. He will go out of his way to exploit all the loopholes that can be exploited. Even if he didn’t mean them as loopholes when he wrote them, once the pen has been put to paper, any loopholes that are present are his to toy with. And he takes quite a few liberties with these loopholes, and will go so far as to argue the very definition of everyday words just to win the argument.

When a dragon approaches him regarding a pre-existing contract, Poise will do his best to settle the case as simply and easily as possible. But his sleazy nature prevents him from being able to ignore a loophole if he notices one, and these cases tend to drag on and on. These cases frequently go all the way to court, and Zap and Poise have become close friends as a result of these dealings. And it’s never a good thing for anyone when the contract lawyer has the judge in his pocket.

To Poise, legally binding contracts are a mix of philosophy and a game, where the game is won by being allied with the party who comes out on top. Poise is avidly against cheating at the game — but that’s where the philosophy comes in. Although it is within Poise’s means to edit the contract afterwards, where is the fun in that? It’s much more entertaining to break down the document, dig out the tiniest loopholes, and rip them wide open. What’s more fun than spending your days arguing about the legal definition of a functioning vehicle, and what really makes something “functioning”, or a “vehicle”, anyway?

Poise has the unique habit of signing contracts with his nose. No dragon has ever seen him with a quill, only ink and parchment. He instead signs with his long snout, which he keeps polished and pointed. Poise finds signing with his snout to be much easier, more personal, and more legible than manipulating any quill in his claws. His clients are frequently weirded out by this, but nobody says anything. It’s never a good idea to alienate the dragon who holds your business dealings in his claws.