Vaskip

Vaskip Clan Champion - Judgement Vaskip does not make friends easily, within the clan or otherwise. She is an exceptionally large Ridgeback: Her jagged, black form merges with the sharp-edged slate cliffs of her roost and her personality is no less sharp. Her manner is brusque and her tongue acidic, and she has no patience for fools. She is the chief warrior of the clan and unafraid to let that show in the sharp glare of her eyes or in the prickle of her long spines. Despite her bitterness, Vaskip is an enormously respected member of the clan. She may be a little terrifying, but she's their terrifying, so that's all right. Many dragons speak fondly of her and her devotion to the clan, though usually out of earshot. Around the clan her emotions are glossed into disdainful aggression or brisk pragmatism but, privately, Vaskip is a very elementally anguished dragon. Though everything about her personality belongs to Plague, she has a deep and powerful love of Water and the open horizon of the Sea. Everything she does ends up as a battle of ideals, as the element she is and the element she loves conflict within her. Vaskip forms a loose triad with Aucanor and Musca, acting as the harshest voice of reason and practicality within the clan leadership. Vaskip's concerns are mainly with the security and physical might of the clan, especially after the events of the Swords War.

History: A wandering pup from the festering edge of Plague's domain, a young Vaskip found herself drawn to the raw power of the ocean and its inexorable currents and storms. She became part of the fledgeling clan at the ocean's edge, training hard from a young age and cementing herself as the clan's first warrior. Vaskip has adamantly no ties to her old clan of Scarbrood, especially so since the betrayal of Rennic, who also hails from there.

Physical: Vaskip's bleached spines seem to be a natural effect- perhaps another manifestation of her Plague nature-, as they have grown back repeatedly missing pigment. Aside from missing colour they are as tough as ever, and she pays the mutation little heed. Vaskip is exceedingly swift and agile (if delicate) for her size, and is one of the clan's best fliers; fast and direct. Vaskip cannot swim, barely able to manage wading in up to her belly before hastily leaving the water. In battle she fights fast and bloody, but fights best with a sturdier dragon to retreat behind, such as Aucanor, or in a pack of speedy dragons similar to herself.

Her scars are assumed by many to be a relic of the War, but are actually from a lowly cockatrice; a reminder never to underestimate a weaker opponent.

Familiar: Gifted to her by her home clan in Plague, the Sprite was intended to help her acclimatise to Water, and to help her overcome her species' innate aquaphobia. He has not had much success at this. Metaphor-riddled and esoteric, nobody understands the Sprite's quiet words when he speaks, especially Vaskip. The two have been together for a long time, however, and have a sort of bond of mutual frustration. Vaskip is able to share sensation with the Sprite, helping her better understand Water and the way it moves around him, and providing a very limited form of long-distance communication.

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Musca: Clan leader Musca is the opposite of Vaskip in many ways, but the grey Guardian is easily just as stubborn. While perhaps not quite "friendship", their relationship solidified during the Swords War, and Vaskip converses openly with her on many issues. If the people you argue with most casually can be called your friends, then Musca can definitely be considered Vaskip's best friend.

Shass & Sorrin: Vaskip's two exalted daughters, sired with Aucanor. The exalts occasionally visit her in dreams; always an emotional and confusing experience. Vaskip's feelings for the sisters are complex, and certainly they concern her thoughts more than her unexalted clan-living son Lorvicca, who does just fine even if he is a bit of an idiot.

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