Rowan

Rowan never did remember much of his ancestor’s songs. He regrets that sometimes, not having even the memory of a place he might have belonged. But, he always reminds himself, he does know the most important thing about being a banescale. He knows that he’s meant to be a fighter.

Shortly after hatching, Rowan was found and taken in by a clan of Coatl. He struggled with their language, and his magic formed as arcane energy rather than flame, but they were good to him regardless. A small clan located on the edge of the Ashfall Waste, the Coatl often placated more powerful water and lightning clans with gifts so as not to earn their wrath. Rowan hated seeing his clan exploited, and, when he grew large enough to fight, resolved to defend them.

He was good at it. Fast enough to easily dodge the much larger Ridgebacks and Guardians, and powerful enough to hurt them. He developed a reputation in the Emberglow Hearth as a vicious, brutal fighter, and others began to seek him out when they needed something killed. He loved it, loved the rush of battle and loved fulfilling his purpose. To be a banscale was to be a weapon, after all.


Intruders on the clan’s territory were nothing unusual, and chasing them away was a simple matter. But Rowan hesitated when his clanmate reported that the dragon they had spotted was a banescale. He knew, broadly, that there were others, but they were few and he hadn’t met one before. Swallowing his hesitation, he swept the northern border until he saw her. A yellow dragon with blue wings and patches of pink feathers, she looked as shocked to see him as he felt.

Rather than frighten her off, they struck up a conversation. Her name, he learned, was Lantern, she lived alone, and she’d spent her life unraveling secrets. She told him what she had uncovered about the ancient banescales, and Rowan was enthralled by her stories. An idea seized him, and refused to let go. His clan had grown since the early days, they could defend themselves now. But to wander the world, defeating anything that stood in his way? It wasn’t like being a weapon, he decided. It was being a champion.

Rowan bid farewell to his clan, receiving the traditional send-off and a few tearful goodbyes. His and Lantern’s travels led the two of them from corner to corner of Sornieth, and eventually, beyond it. The many worlds of the Aether were strange and dangerous, but also offered countless horizons, new battles to be fought and truths to be uncovered. So when offered a place in the Astral Oceans clan, the two gladly accepted.

In time, Rowan grew to cherish his new clanmates as much as his old ones. He serves the clan as a warrior, and gets along especially well with his fellow fighters Hati, Shatter, and Venn. He loves fighting and can be quite brutal towards his enemies, but the Astral Oceans’ enemies often necessitate brutality. Rowan is a fiercely devoted dragon, both to Lantern and to the rest of his clan.



art by Infrared