Hailcourser

Made by LemonsSharks

The Old Knight

Nocturnes are said to cycle through the personality of their clansmates, but despite all his time spent with the Orchard, Ser Hailcourser has only ever been one person. It's widely accepted in the clan that he has broken away from his races' urges to mimic in order to be his own dragon, but this couldn't be further from the truth.

Hailing from deeper withing the Southern Icefields, Hailcourser was a knight in a prominent court. Aside from partaking in the occasionnal courtly intrigue (once managing to win the favours of the princess, albiet temporarily), he took part in many military operations across Sornieth on their behalf.
That's where he met Styx.
She was a tall Ridgeback, even by the specie's standards and reputed to be cold, emotionless, well versed in dark witchcraft and willing to pay for victory in blood. To him, she was the bravest and single most extraordinary dragon to ever walk Sornieth. She was dedicted to her duty to the point where she would deny herself the luxury of emotions. She took over the responsibilities no one else wanted, making the hard choices no other dragon would dare make and shouldering the burden without flinching or faltering. She was powerful and fearless, leading through example and earning herself many scars in the process. They were the same age, but Hailcourser would look up to her more than he did any ranking officers.
They bonded over their years of shared service, developing a relationship that no one truly understood. Some would say that she would sacrifice him in a heartbeat, but she earned herself a few scars protecting him when his sword failed him. Most would praise him on his many romantic conquests, but she would chide him for trying to escape the reality that as soldiers, they would never have a chance at properly building a family. Others would say that she was barely tolerating him, yet she consoled him after he foolishly let himself believe that what he had with Princess Dollia was anything more than a passing fancy.
They said that she was as cold as ice, completely uncaring but she warmed his soul more than any hearth could ever hope to.
They were never officially mated, but traditions weren't necessary to the feelings they had for one another. As long as they had each other and their duty, nothing else mattered. They gave away the children that came of their union, but they ended up claimed by war regardless, one way or an other.

In hindsight, Hailcourser would be tortured by the thought that fate gave him ample warnings. He should have known better.

Styx was sent to the Sea of a Thousand Currents for what was supposed to be a diplomatic mission. What should have led to an important alliance turned into a bloodbath, the Ice Flight's soldiers decimated by treatcherous children of the Wavesinger. Styx was one of the lucky ones: her body was recovered from the massacre. She was buried as a hero and her funerals were a grandiose thing, but that offered little consolation to the grief-stricken Hailcourser. No sooner was the service over that he had already vanished, leaving everything but the armor he wore behind.
He was thought dead for a long time; he wouldn't be the first dragon to die of sadness after the loss of a mate. In reality, Hail retreated to a cave deeper inland where he laid dormant as most Nocturnes do. He found no solace in his slumber but at least he didn't neet to keep being while he slept. When he would finally wake up, he would spent the weeks of solstice wandering aimlessly, heartbroken and lost, until the nightmares would claim him again. Eventually the nightmares were too much and he was forced back into the world. Unable to cope with his grief, he abandonned whatever was left of who he was and pretended to be Styx. He would never admit to the comfort it brought him, nor could he ever fully get rid of the nausea it made him feel. He would try to justify himself by pretending that it was a way to honour her memory, but the excuse would forever ring hollow to him.

Now Hailcourser in cowardice only, he began to roam the Icefields once more as a knight-errant. As the situation in his adoptive land became more and more dire, he found that his skills were increasingly needed. No longer could he lend his sword to dispatch a lone wendigo or help chase away packs of wolves or he occasionnal brigand. He left the mainland to assist in the efforts to push back skirmishing parties from the Fire and Lightning Flights and that's where he met a small group of Imperials with a cause he could not ignore. They had decided to risk their lives in the name of the Icewarden and head to the Floes to try to run an operation that would both serve as a last bulwark against escaped prisonner as well as a first line of defense against the hostile Flights. A worthy cause, would've determined Styx, and so Hailcourser pledged himself to them. At first he was their sword and shield but as time went on and times became rough, he began to see the weight of guilt weighing on the Council. They had to purchase what little hold they had on the Floes in the their blood and that of their bretheren and while it would certainly be worth it in the end, it had looked very futile at the time. They needed someone to shoulder the burden, to make the hard decisions no one else could bear to make.
Just like Styx had, a lifetime ago.
He joined the Council, tasking himself to be the cold voice of logic and the one to push so that the hard decisions would be made. He fought for them, too, but as more and more claws came in and stayed, he laid his weapons down and concentrated on leading with the Council.