Styrax Thunderscale – Half-Dragon Sorcerer

Raised by a family with a long pedigree of powerful spellcasters, Styrax was kept cloistered from his peers for most of his life, having his siblings and parents be the sole providers of his socialisation. Cynthira, his eldest sister, was merciless to her younger brother, and though he always tried to turn the other cheek, it only seemed to beg her for more. As he grew older and wiser to the world beyond his family’s home, he begun to sneak out from their manor into the nearby town of Volosvio, where his peculiar appearance would gather the eyes of the locals, who began to call him the “Lizard Leper” thinking his skin condition contagious. All establishments through the town refused him entry, and his eldest sister soon tattled on her brother for his clandestine expeditions into the public eye. Hoping to have his condition treated, he was sent to the nearby University of Ardris, where his parents old friends and masters took a keen interest in the boy. The Headmaster, Barandir, concluded that they boy’s soul was infused with that of a Dragon, a chance event where the wandering soul of a perished dragon latched itself to the soul of a newborn. Unfortunately for Styrax, this meant the physical properties of the dragon manifested themselves in an unsightly manner, akin to skin diseases. Deep within, however, he was gifted with the arcane arts of a powerful dragon of yore, and under tutelage within the University, he came to learn to wield this power, even if only in a rudimentary manner. His magic was often unstable, not in the way of Wild Magic, but in its own suppressed manner, as though a greater being was trying to tear itself out of him, where basic spells could suddenly turn cataclysmic at the roll of a dice. Seeing the young sorcerer as a potential font of knowledge, but also a danger, Barandir recommended he be transferred to the University of Canos, in hopes that those there might provide better aid to him, seeing as the school had a large department dedicated to Draconic Lore. Styrax, however, detested this notion. Ardris and Volosvio were his home, and those around him had begun to recognise him, and cease recoiling in fear at the sight of him. Little choice was given to him, however, and he soon found himself sitting atop a carriage bound for the school in the bustling city of Canos. On his arrival, he made his way to the markets to gather supplies for his future tutoring there, yet stumbled upon what he beheld. A young girl, close to his own in age, though scorned by the same ailment as himself. Her tattered cloak barely concealed the heavy scales that coated her skin. In her eyes lay a deep sadness, welled with a lifetime of suffering, he could sense it just at a first glance at her, and something within him stirred, was it pity? Or perhaps, empathy? He was unsure, though he knew his life of privilege and tutoring barely held a candle to the suffering that had followed his girl all her life. Through the crowds he sifted, finding his way to the young maiden, introducing himself and embracing her. Fighting back tears, he kept himself composed as he asked her for her story, and began to explain his own, and the condition they shared, for it seemed the young woman, Illyria, was oblivious to the truth: that she shared her soul with a dragon. The longer Styrax spent with her, the more he came to learn that their dragons were not alike, whereas he was collected, calculating and cold, she was hot, brash, strong-headed. Still, he could not shake a feeling that an unbreakable bond had formed between them, as he forsook his tutoring in Canos, planning to instead seek out the truth from across the realm, in places where dragons still tread, like Greypeak and lands far beyond the sea. For almost a decade they have travelled side by side, inseparable. His eyes are fixed ahead, leading them to a place where they might finally understand their gifts, Zandoriel. There in the empires of the Dragonkin, he hopes to have his inner-dragon truly awakened, so that it may no longer be seen as an affliction, but a gift. This dream has been kept close to his chest, however, hoping to tell Illyria when the time is right, for his faithful partner and companion is hoping to instead be rid of the dragon bound to her soul, rather than empower it. Styrax has no intent of keeping her from that goal, but knows that when the time comes, their paths will diverge.