Dunkelzahn
Dunkelzahn (which, for those of us not versed in the Germanic languages, roughly translates to “Dark Tooth”) showed up on our doorstep and into the public’s consciousness in January 2012. Witnesses and news reports—naturally agog for weeks and months after his appearance—took particular notice of how fascinated the great dragon was with our world. It is said he spent quite a lot of his initial appearance marveling gleefully over an automobile. We as metahumans spend an inordinate amount of time worshipping our own images and creations; to have a creature as dazzling as a great dragon (remember, no one had ever seen his like before) be so fascinated with our technology was a tremendous compliment. We were smitten. Not much is known of Dunkelzahn’s life before we met him. He has sat for interviews—a level of great dragon accessibility that has never been equaled — and has said he believes he was born circa 13,000 B.C. Other than that, and a few notably cryptic comments, he has said little about his life prior to his appearance in 2012. During the years from then until his assassination, which we’ll get to in a bit, he worked wonders. Dunkelzahn was invested in metahumanity in a way that his skeptics found disingenuous. Over the years, he turned many hearts, though, and fought for the rights of metahumans around the world. In 2042, Dunkelzahn made himself better known to the world at large when the trid show Wyrm Talk debuted. Dunkelzahn used the show to talk about the world and his thoughts. It was the vehicle through which Dunkelzahn became the darling of the UCAS and the vehicle through which he announced his candidacy for the UCAS presidency. Little wonder that “Big D,” as he came to be colloquially known, was elected president of the UCAS, the country that he said in previous years took him in, worked in concert with him on some of the issues nearest to his heart, and helped him. For all those things, he said he would be eternally grateful—a word not often heard gracing the snouts of dragons. Metahumanity was close to his heart, and we were better for it. Dunkelzahn was a generous and forthright soul, but he was also never one to trifle with. Metahumanity is full of schemers, jealousy, and bad blood. There were plenty of people in the country who were horrified at the idea of a great dragon becoming our president. Stories of draconic machinations often won out over the simple reality that Dunkelzahn really did care about metahumans. But we’d never get the chance to find out how much. Dunkelzahn’s term as President became the shortest in history when he disappeared in an explosion that targeted his limousine parked outside the Watergate Hotel on the night of his swearing in. We would not discover the assassin, although there were many worthy suspects. What is perhaps most concerning is that Dunkelzahn’s body was not recovered. He literally disappeared. Even upon his death, Dunkelzahn was both generous and not one to be trifled with. He willed millions upon millions of nuyen to favored contacts and organizations for his pet projects. He also put a massive bounty on the heads of blood mages and toxic shamans. He bequeathed hundreds of his possessions to individuals and organizations around the world—and planes, in some cases. Dunkelzahn will be remembered as a leader for the ages. We are poorer for the loss of this truly great dragon, but with the declarations in his last will and testament, his beneficent influence lives on.
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