Khys'tan Kran ni Min (allegedly pronounced
/kʼɨʃ.'ǂ.ʔʈæɴ kɻæɴ nɪ min/) is a
dragon assigned to watch over
Min-aniara Laita (i.e. me) by
Min, god of Minama. Like all dragons, he is incredibly old, wise, and insufferable. Sure, he will bring me gifts from other universes and let me ride on his back, but must he do all that while whistling the latest summer hit from Einya? He knows I
loathe that music (if it can be called music at all).
Anyway, let's get this over with, shall we?
Appearance
Like all dragons, Khys'tan has a long snake-like body, four legs, and his true form has a total length of about 600 m. His scales are black with a certain purple quality to them, and his mane, which extends along his spine to the tip of his tail, is silver. His two horns emit a soft light that he is very proud of—he loves meeting up when it's dark just so I can "behold his shininess" (his words, not mine).
His favorite color is purple, so there will always be some of this in his shapeshifted forms—be it eyes, skin, or fur. He enjoys human forms (they feel "squishy"), as well as burrowing animals like moles. I've also spotted him a couple of times shifting into a tardigrade because "it makes him feel powerful". Go figure.
Biography
Like all dragons, he was born many iterations before the current universe and, like all dragons, he doesn't remember anything about how that happened. Typical. Even if all dragons remembered, he'd have forgotten anyway, just to make me suffer. And I don't get it! Sure, I called him an oversized lizard once or twice, but is that an excuse to treat me so poorly? Who in their right mind would use a
palatoalveolar click next to a glottal stop in their own
name? I'm pretty sure the wacky phonology of his name is the leading cause of death among linguists at this point.
I'm rambling again, I'm sorry. He just gets on my nerves, but it's not your fault (whoever you might be), so let's keeping going.
In the previous iteration of the universe, Khys'tan and Min were friends, so when Min ascended, they naturally gravitated towards each other. In fact, it is said that Minama was initially created as a present for Khys'tan, although he has never confirmed that to me. Whatever the case may be, Khys'tan
very frequently visits the planet and has even helped minlings with knowledge and guidance, something that most dragons avoid doing. He may be insufferable, but he has a heart of gold (maybe literally, for all I know—those who know about the internal anatomy of dragons won't tell me).
Current universe
After the infamous day in which Min tricked me into becoming almost immortal and quasi-divine, Khys'tan became my lifelong companion. In the beginning, I didn't find him insufferable—I found him absolutely despicable. He was the symbol of my doom, after all. But to his credit, he seemed to be genuinely interested in my research and from time to time even laughed at my bad humor.
As years went by, though, my opinion about him became more forgiving. Sure, he was serving Min, but
it wasn't his choice—he simply had a purpose to fulfill, just like me. He even invited me to hot chocolate every time he met up with me (curious how hot chocolate is one of the universal constants). Which was pretty frequently, unfortunately for the poor locals he liked to scare off from time to time. I'm pretty sure the legends about dragons in
Frasfu are all about him.
But anyway, as years turned into centuries, we got closer until our relationship became... well, whatever it is now. I know he enjoys my company, and I've grown to accept him too. Even though I didn't have a choice and he
is the most insufferable being I know, he's almost the only ally I have in the entire universe. Thanks to him, I don't have to spend this lifetime and the next completely alone.
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