Caspian

Caspian
Also called Rune
(The snake's name is Scarf.)

"Father, look what I've got! Isn't it wonderful?"

Caspian has always suffered from a lack of supportive kin.
He never received much more than polite indifference from his mother, whom he was raised by.
And his father... well, Krese was a real piece of work. One who clearly had other children he liked better. Neither of his parents liked him much: Krese, because Krese likes almost no one, and Zaria because he inherited his father's stunted magical ability.

Caspian, despite the fact he should possess large magical reserves due to his Arcane element, has almost none. Barely enough to keep him alive, in fact. And even if he wanted to, he physically cannot draw on his own power, no matter how hard he tries.
Power derived from other sources, such as magic lent by other dragons or drawn from a magical artifact, he can wield with the usual aptitude of the Arcane flight. But his own is locked out of his reach.

He feels that it is also the source of his mother's contempt. But there is nothing he can do. Being born as a Golem (as such dragons are sometimes nicknamed, due to being magical in nature but unable to cast-- not to be confused with real, artificially made golems) is a status that can be neither caused nor revoked.

So he has, instead, always made his goal to win his father's attention.

The intense curiosity he possesses as an Arcane dragon causes him to seek out superstitious trinkets: items and talismans both supposedly, and sometimes actually able to grant mystical powers.
Wherever he goes, Caspian is usually accompanied by a small hoard of protection charms, talismans of premonition, and holy symbols of the Eleven, especially the Arcanist. It was from one of these, an Arcane runestone that he had turned into a pendant necklace, that he got his nickname: Rune.

Caspian hoards so many magical items that he can draw on their powers to cast simple magics, urged on by his friend Sterkur and even more so by the tundra's father, Draugur. If he has the right tools on him, he can already cast Arcane magic, and has been learning a little bit of Wind and Water magic too. His nature as a Golem actually makes it far easier for him to make use of tools aligned with other elements, and it has been giving him confidence.

"One day," he vows, "I will be the strongest mage that Sornieth has ever seen! Wielding every element, or immortal, or maybe even able to see the future!"
Surely his father will be impressed by that.

Caspian is oblivious to the fact that Krese has known dragons with such ambitions before.

~~~~~

At a rather young age, Caspian left home, travelling into the Windswept Plateau where the land was more to his liking. He settled down in the privately-owned countryside near Zephyr Bay. This took more than a little persuasion, and several favors for the landlord, but its central location in Sornieth was perfect: putting him at equal distance from both parents. In the process, he and his landlord -- along with most of the other locals and residents -- became good friends, and Joxar often lets him come into the shop a day early before every festival.

Sure, it may be a little lonely every now and then, being so far from his family, but he loves it in the Windsinger's domain. The rolling grasslands and hills, the warm breeze, the bustling markets and flying trade hubs where he frequently finds some new charm or trinket that could grant him the magical powers he had always desired.
He has friends that like him, he has a place to call his home, and best of all, he has magic now.

Everything is just as he always dreamed.

He's not missing something.

...right?



Kudos skittlebow
I owe ya one Skittle

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