Almonihah Zrathanzon is the son of an adventuring sorceress and a bronze dragon who liked to spend time in human form. However, due to incidents in his past which he is rarely willing to discuss, he was raised by a ranger (ironically, another half-dragon - half-elven/half-gold dragon, to be precise) and thereby trained in the ways of the wild. Taciturn in the extreme, Almonihah prefers to speak in single-word sentences, or even better, a shrug, snort, or shake of the head.
(Many thanks to Tarkaris for the sprite)
Almonihah fighting a mysterious half-silver dragon. Why is he fighting her? Why is his form so terrible? You'll just have to wait to find out! (Art by Kara Vines )
Almonihah with his bow. (Thanks to Alyse Allen!)
Author: Almonihah
Race: Half-Human/Half-Bronze Dragon
Gender: Male
Age: mid-40's
Date of Birth: Unknown
Place of Origin: Northern Draezoln
Currently Located: Somewhere in Draezoln (Who knows where?)
Height: Roughly 6'9"
Weight: Around 200 lbs
Scale Color: Bronze, of course
Eye Color: Sea green
Occupation: Ranger
Nickname(s): A.Z. (but only on the forums)
Appears In: Draezoln
Physical Description
Almonihah is humanoid in general shape, having two arms, two legs, and a (mostly) humanlike head. He shows many evidences of his draconic heritage, however—his body is covered in hard, bronze-colored scales, he has a small frill or fin which runs from the top of his head to the base of his neck, and he sports a pair of large, draconic wings on his back. His facial features are, perhaps, slightly more elongated than a human's, hinting at a dragon's snout. He has small, though functional, claws on his hands, and his mouth bears a larger number of large, sharp canine teeth than any human has.
Voice
Almonihah's voice is usually very rough and growly, reflecting his rather defensive personality. He usually tries to speak as little as possible to convey his meaning, and rarely wastes time or energy on being diplomatic. He is, however, skilled in speaking a number of different languages, and could probably actually speak pleasantly if he ever desired to do so.
Biography
Almonihah was born Almonihah du Garthen, son of Sekara du Garthen and a dragon known only as Almon (since dragons don't have last names, they used Sekara's last name for their son). He was born in a small village in the northwestern reaches of Gatath. At first, he was raised in a loving, if humble, home, hidden from the eyes of the villagers, who did not yet know that "Almon du Garthen" was actually a powerful dragon. However, despite all the caution the pair took, someone eventually caught sight of Almonihah, and word of the monstrousity being hidden in the du Garthen home spread through the small town like a virulent disease of fear. It was all Almon and Sekara could do to hastily gather up a few of their posessions and their infant son and flee to the wilds.
Almon and Sekara fled further west, into the wilds of the North Forest. There they dwelt, living off the land, in a small cabin that Almon built with the strength of his true form as a dragon. For about four years, Almonihah grew under the care of his parents. And then, things started to change.
At first, Almonihah just noticed that his father was away from home more often. Then he started to notice a growing tension in the air, the occasional nervous glance his mother would throw at the door when his father wasn't home, quiet conversations his parents held when they thought he wasn't paying attention. Until one night, They came.
Even after an entire lifetime of searching, Almonihah has yet to discover who They were. All he knows is that one night, not long after his fifth birthday, his father looked up with a start just as he was about to put Almonihah to bed. Wordlessly, both Almon and Sekara got up and made hasty preparations to leave. Then, Almon took a beautifully crafted silvered rapier - Zithrandrak - that he had taken with him from his treasure hoard for his many years of human-form adventuring, gave it to Almonihah, and went out the front door.
He and his mother went out the back door -which was odd, as Almonihah didn't remember ever having seen a back door in their cabin- and went out into the night. Soon they were far from the cabin, almost so far that it was lost in the night even to Almonihah's sharp eyes. Then he heard a roar. It was his father's roar, he was certain, but more angered than he had ever heard his father. And then there was an answering roar, from somewhere ahead of them, right where he and his mother were heading. Sekara said something Almonihah was pretty sure she normally wouldn't have wanted him to hear, set him down under a nearby tree, and then ran out into a spot where there was a break in the trees, chanting under her breath.
Almonihah could never forget what happened next. His mother looking up at something -something blue that he could just barely see through the leaves above his head. Her starting to cast some spell. And then the bolt of lightning -a blue dragon's breath- that struck his mother. His mother laying, unmoving, on the ground. The sound of approaching wingbeats. And then a startled roar, and the wingbeats turning the other way and leaving.
Almonihah just sat there, his young mind refusing to accept what had happened. And then, he heard footsteps. A pair of golden eyes looked into his. "Let's go, kid," a deep voice whispered. Almonihah offered no resistence as a pair of clawed hands picked him up and slung him over a scaled shoulder. His eyes continued to stare at where his mother lay long after he could no longer see her.
In time to come, Almonihah would learn that the pair of golden eyes belonged to a Half-Elven/Half-Gold Dragon ranger named Zrathanzon. Zrathanzon took Almonihah to his camp and essentially adopted him as his own child. As the years passed, Zrathanzon trained Almonihah in the ways of being a ranger, and the two travelled widely. But though Almonihah grew older, it seemed that neither time nor the ranger's care could not heal the unseen wounds he bore.
In time, Almonihah struck out on his own. He travelled far, his feet treading the ground of every country of the Northern Continent, and many of the untamed wildernesses that no country claimed. He even struck into the Madlands so far as to see the Desolation of the Dragonfall and the Maelstrom. This trip nearly cost him his sanity, and his life, but in the end he emerged, though not unscathed. The most obvious change that came over him in this journey was that he returned with wings. Not long after, he travelled to the Basin of the Lost Sea, where he met Zachin'Dach and stayed for a time.
Personality
Almonihah can be prideful almost to the point of arrogance, crushingly blunt, derogatory of almost everything about him, or just plain rude. He makes his disdain of civilization and those who live in it publicly known -when he bothers to say anything. However, those who get past this rough exterior can find that, while his trust is hard-earned, he is a loyal friend once that trust has been earned. And despite his supposed disdain for civilization and civilized people, he has many times risked his life to defend people who never even saw him and villages that never heard of him. Though he usually prefers to be as brief as possible in speaking, he does occasionally display a surprising eloquence that shows that, for all his pretense of being an uncultured frontiersman, he has inherited the keen intellect and aptitude for speaking that bronze dragons are known for.
Skills and Abilities
Almonihah's ranger training goes well with his draconic heritage, as his heightened senses and surprising strength mesh well with the hunting skills of the ranger.
- Heightened senses: Due to his draconic parentage, Almonihah's sight, smell, and hearing are much more accute than a human's. He can see even in complete darkness, albeit only in black and white and to a very limited distance.
- Tracking: Almonihah is a very accomplished tracker, and his keen senses only aid him in this.
- Quick Reflexes: Due to his training and keen senses, Almonihah can react to threats long before a normal human would, even to threats of which he is not yet conciously aware.
- Flight: Almonihah is not a very agile flier, due to the fact that he was not born with his wings. He can get by, though.
- Speed: Almonihah can run very quickly, and does not tire easily. He uses this to his advantage often in combat or hunting.
- Lightning Breath: Almonihah can breath a bolt of lightning, though neither as frequently nor as powerful of a bolt as a full bronze dragon. He is also unharmed by lightning and electricity.
- Stealth: Part of Almonihah's ranger training includes the ability to move about unnoticed by the (often very dangerous) creatures he often hunts, and these skills work just as well to avoid detection by humans. He is not very skilled at moving stealthily in towns, however.
- Two-Weapon Fighting: Almonihah is a skilled swordsman, and is accustomed to fighting with two swords. He is completely ambidexterous, and sometimes will switch his swords between hands to keep his enemies on their toes.
Special Items
Over the course of his travels, Almonihah has acquired a number of useful magical items.
- Zithrandrak: A silver rapier from his father's treasure hoard, Zithrandrak is an enchanted weapon of moderate power and Almonihah's only reminder of his parents. It is beautifully crafted to resemble a silver dragon, with the dragon's tail forming the blade, while its wings, neck, and head form the hilt. It is enchanted to be harder and sharper than steel, and also bears a minor frost enchantment, mimicking the frigid breath of a silver dragon when it strikes a foe.
- Eldereth: Eldereth is a longsword of elven make that Almonihah acquired on his travels. While much plainer in appearance than Zithrandrak, the enchantment on its edge is greater, and it delivers an electric shock to those it strikes.
- Mithril chain mail shirt: Almonihah wears a 'shirt' of chain mail, crafted of the incredibly light yet strong metal Mithril, underneath his tough leather jacket. It is enchanted to move silently and to not reflect light.
- Naishia's Messenger: Naishia's Messenger is a longbow which Almonihah believes was specifically gifted to him by Naishia, Goddess of the Natural Order. It has a powerful enchantment on it which makes arrows fired from it fly faster and truer, and it also imbues any arrows fired from it with a holy light which burns evil or unnatural creatures.
- Enchanted Quiver: Almonihah uses an enchanted quiver which can hold up to sixty arrows in it in such a way that it is impossible for them to fall out, even when he is executing extreme aerial maneuvers.
- Arrows: Almonihah uses a wide array of enchanted and normal arrows. Some of his favorites are his Farflight Arrows, fletched with parts of feathers that Zachin'Dach has shed, enchanted to fly true even across incredible distances, his Pheonixflame Arrows, which explode in a ball of flame instead of piercing their target, and his powerful Dragonpiercer Arrows, arrows with adamantine heads made specifically for penetrating the thick, hard scales of dragons or other heavily armored targets. However, he has a very limited supply of enchanted arrows, so Almonihah usually tries to use his normal arrows.
- Enchanted Bag: A gift from the Mage's Guild of Midport, this bag is much larger on the inside than the outside, allowing Almonihah to carry a large number of useful items, spare arrows, etc. without being overly encumbered.
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