jae

The oldest dragon in Koi-no-Ryokan by far, Jae has been alive since the very beginnings of the Fourth Age. The firstborn of his family, he fled the Scarred Wasteland when his jealous younger brother Ashwing attacked him, crushing Jae's right forepaw in the process and leaving Jae a cripple for life. He was taken in and nursed back to health by a welcoming clan in the Sunbeam Ruins; when they succumbed to a mysterious illness that devastated the region, Jae left the Light territories and wandered aimlessly through Sornieth for many decades. He refused to call any one place his own until at last he was captured by Harpies, fell ill in captivity, and was abandoned and left to die in the Mire, the merciless swamps that surrounded the very land he once knew so well.

Maehwa found him there as he lay dying and brought him home, and Maestra Eira saved his life (even calling on the clan's necromancer Fey to bring Jae back when it became clear that Maehwa had been too late). But it was Maehwa's adopted daughter and Eira's protégé Saya who tied him down with her kindness and affection, things Jae had spent so long without that he'd almost forgotten how to respond in kind. He does love Saya, very much, and would gladly die in her service to protect her. But he would rather cut out his own heart than tell her so directly; it is a product of his natural reticence, his troubled youth, and his conviction that she would be better off with someone younger and less broken, especially now that Saya has been named the new leader of Koi-no-Ryokan. But Saya loves him just as much and is extremely stubborn in her preference for him, so Jae has sworn to himself that he will honor her choice with his actions until the last breath is wrenched from his body, however soon that may be for an old dragon fighter like him.

Jae's mangled right forepaw had to be amputated halfway down from the shoulder due to an infection during his captivity with the Harpies; in its place, Tetsuo created a metal-and-magic simulacrum that flexes at a thought, with claws sharp enough to pierce the shell of a stone borer. Jae is still strong despite his advanced age (if a little slow) and fights in battle like a crazed thing, able to take down multiple enemies at once thanks to his bloodscale bracers and tail spikes that may or may not have been charmed to heal him with every wound he inflicts on his opponents. His true weakness is in flight - an injury to his wings during his escape from his brother left them scarred and tender, and while he can make do in an emergency he tires easily and much prefers to travel by foot whenever possible.

Having lived in relative isolation from other dragons for so long, Jae is reserved, almost shy, and speaks an archaic and formal mode of Draconic that leaves most dragons able to parse his words only with great difficulty. He does not make friends easily, and due to his trust issues prefers to fight alone unlike the nature of most Mirrors; the sole exception to the rule is his good friend Harry, a fellow Mirror close to him in age who happened to have been imprisoned by the same murder of Harpies that nearly killed Jae. They hunt together occasionally, alongside Harry's partner Eggsy. And then there is Saya, who is the only one able to bully him into taking better care of himself - fortunate for his continued existence, as he is both terrible at self-care (often forgetting to eat while hunting or continuing to fight long after he is badly wounded) and, ever since his resurrection, is now highly susceptible to fevers and lung infections. It's a great embarrassment to him, given his birth element and his firm belief that only the strong are worthy of survival; but the love of his wife and support from his new clan have taught him that strength can come in many forms, and that accepting help from those who care about him is nothing to be ashamed of.



(boreal brawler)