Zemidriath (Zem - ee - dree - ath)

Glider-Through-Clouds, Lord of the Ever-Summer Vale, Master of Verdorn Pass, Zemidriath (a.k.a. Zemmi)

A copper Dragon resident in the highest parts of the Issar Mountains, whose chosen hoard is stories, myths and legends.  When polymorphed, he usually chooses to assume the appearance of a wealthy Saraynese nomad.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Zemidriath is a fully adult copper dragon, although not yet nearing Ancienthood.  A little on the small side for his age, around 15ft, having started out small at hatching, he is nevertheless growing at the same rate as most dragons and seems likely to continue doing so.  He is inordinately proud of his scales, as most copper dragons are, and washes the dust off them regularly.

Body Features

Zemidriath is missing several non-essential spikes, including the end of one of the prominent spines on his head which are ofted mistaken for horns.  These are mostly from his various scuffles with his brother, or occasionally other dragons.  Until recently, he was missing a claw from his rear right leg for the same reason, but a party of adventurers gave him the idea of persuading - bullying - a powerful mage into fixing this, and he now once again posesses all his claws.

Apparel & Accessories

When in polymorphed form, Zemidriath chooses to appear as a human of the nomadic Saraynese tribes, and dresses as such.  Wearing his hair loose with golden bands around the head, or sometimes braided with gold circular beads keeping the braids in place, Zemidriath sets himself out in the apparel of a wealthy nomadic trader, of the kind often seen in Nerevarn.  His clothing, also like that of the nomads, is worn loose, flowing and rich in gold and expensive fabrics.  He almost invariably chooses colours which resemble his natural scales.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Born the smallest of his hatchmates, Zemidriath nevertheless quickly showed himself the most cunning, although this ultimately proved irrelevant as he was in the end the only one from his clutch to live past the first few days. As a result, he was fed and defended by his mother with even greater care than is normal for dragon mothers, and perhaps even a little spoiled. Upon fledging into a wyrmling and leaving his mothers' lair, Zemidriath succeeded in taking a handwritten letter of King Gabraeil from his mother’s hoard with him, getting away with it without the often violent or even fatal consequences which are frequently visited on rash wyrmlings who steal from their mother. It is still a proud possession to this day, and one he often carries with him when travelling in polymorphed form.
For several decades, as a young wyrmling, Zemidriath travelled through Sarayne as the companion of an elven bard from Velladae, during which time he developed his love of Saraynese culture and fashion, and learned to speak both elven and the common tongue in addition to his native draconic. After outgrowing this partnership, and achieving early adulthood as a juvenile dragon, he established a glade in The End Mountain Range until his older half-brother Zamascryon drove him out in a fight that resulted in the loss of much of his hoard and an injured rear claw. He subsequently tried briefly to settle in the low hills around the Issar mountains where travelers often pass, but one of Zamascryon’s followers discovered his location. As a result, he reluctantly moved further up into the more isolated mountain pass. After the move he established his current home and spent many centuries rebuilding his current hoard.

Sexuality

Like other dragons, Zemidriath does not exhibit natural sexuality in the way that the non-bestial races such as elves or humans do. However, many dragons are more than willing to indulge in activities generally associated with sexuality as a gift or favour to non-dragons that wish it, or sometimes merely for entertainment, and Zemidriath is known to be among those dragons inclined to it. In his case, it is non-dragons who are most flattering to his vanity; who display open admiration and unhidden desire, who are usually those whom he finds sufficiently amusing to gift with 'boon' of his company for a night.

Education

Zemidriath has a vast but selective knowledge of magic, seemingly only interested in conjuration spells but immensely talented in that area.  In addition to these skills he has, through his chosen hoard, amassed an almost unfathomable amount of knowledge on the cultural myths, histories and fictional literature of every known race and culture in the Nerevarn Peninsula  and Sarayne, in addition to a not-insignificant knowledge of those from the Taarian Archipelago.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Zemidriath has in the last couple centuries succeeded in amassing a not-insignificant hoard, especially given the loss of most of his earlier collection after being forced to flee Sarayne by his half-brother. His collection of stories, both fiction and non-fiction, has been rapidly expanded by his tendency to waylay travelers through the Issar Mountains and demand a tale from their life or their imagination before he will allow them to pass.
In addition, Zemidriath has recently achieved the honour of being selected by a copper female to father her next clutch of eggs. Being the first time he has been chosen, he is immensely proud of this mark of his superiority, especially as his half-brother was also bidding for the female's attention, ultimately without success.

Failures & Embarrassments

In the ongoing feud between Zemidriath and his half-brother, the former has generally come off worst - possibly the reason he is particularly delighted at being chosen over the latter to father eggs.  In particular, Zamascryon has recently sucessfully stolen several of Zemidriath's most prized hoard items, including several ornately bound tomes and his treasured letter of King Gabraiel.  While the two - as with most dragons - do have a history of stealing from one another, and Zemidriath has on several occasions sucessfully sneaked an item or two, in particular the Ring of Volcabulary, it must be said that he is overall being outplayed by his older half-brother as well as out-sized and out-aged, all of which are highly valued qualities in dragons.

Morality & Philosophy

Zemidriath is a copper dragon, and shares the characteristics common to that sub-species; namely flamboyance, capriciousness and vanity.  His vanity in particular manifests as an extremely loose attachement to 'truth' as a concept, and his self-aggrandisement is so obvious that it almost trancendes lying and becomes merely the narration of elaborate stories which the listener enjoys without believing for a moment, and which even the dragon himself does not particularly intend to be taken literally.  Unlike many of his sub-species however, when it comes to making agreements or deals with non-dragons Zemidriath is known for keeping his word, though he does not feel in any way obligated to do so, seeing it instead as a sign of his own magnanimity and expecting his trustworthiness to recieve significant praise in return.  He is in fact considered unusually magnanimous for a copper dragon, even with those who have irritated or bored him, although they will experience a marked difference between the way he treats them and the way he treats those who please him.
Despite these positive traits however, which seem to have developed due to his love of non-dragon company and the understandable tendency of such beings to flee untrustworthy, conniving dragons, Zemidriath is still subject to the limitations of his species and sub-species.  He is fickle, values himself over everything and everyone else, and considers mortal races primarily as a source of entertainment which exist solely to please him rather than as truly autonomous beings who deserve respect.  Impulsively generous beyond reason to those who entertain or amuse him, and dissmisively insulting to those who do not - which may be the same individual mere moments later - it is better to regard Zemidriath as the intelligent, amusing and frequently useful magical beast he is, and not as a trustworthy participant in an equal friendship.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Currently Zemidriath's overriding concern is to recover those items from his hoard which have been taken by his half-brother, an ambition only temporarily set aside for the sake of fulfilling the mating ritual with the female who has chosen him.  Aside from these current intentions, Zemidriath, like all dragons, is motivated by a need - it is a biological compulsion and not merely a desire - to increase the size of his hoard.  In his case, given that his hoard is comprised of stories, legends and the like, this leads to a strong inclination to socialise with travellers, adventurers and especially bards.

Likes & Dislikes

Zemidriath is particularly fond of bards, travellers and those who can tell tales in an engaging manner.  The truthfulness or otherwise of the tale is of little consequence to him, and he would much rather hear an over-embellished tale in which the speaker exaggerates their own bravery, skill and daring, or the overstates the drama of the situation, than a true account which lacks the same engaging delivery.  He also enjoys taking the same liberties with his own stories, and will show particular favour to those who openly admire him without questioning his statements.  He particularly enjoys tea parties, dinner parties, balls and other formal events typical to non-dragon society, which he seems to engage in with the manner of a delighted but somewhat spoiled child playing at dress-up.  As long as he is permitted, unopposed, to be in charge of these events and direct them according to his whims, it is generally a worthwhile thing for his chosen guests to indulge him and participate without resentment - they will usually be handsomely rewarded.
On the other hand, those who bore him, refuse to indulge his sense of condesceding superiority, or insist upon ruining the little games in which he play-acts the beneficent mortal host, will provoke almost instant dislike, verging occasionally on spite.  Not prone to violence, being fundamentally benevolent despite his fickle nature, he will nevertheless not shy away from threats if he believes they will provoke a response, since a cowering and cowed opponent is far more entertaining than a boring one

Relationships

Emmeline

Mate

Towards Zemidriath

2

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Zemidriath

Mate

Towards Emmeline

3

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History

Emmeline, in her true draconic form, decided she wished to rear a clutch of hatchlings and began searching for a suitable mate to father them in the traditional manner of Dragon mating rituals. Narrowing her choices down to either Zemidriath or his half-brother, the red/copper mix Zamascryon, she eventually chose Zemidriath despite his inferior size owing to the interventions of The Adventuring Party of Nerevarn, who told her some less than flattering truths about her other option which she found decidedly offputting.

Nicknames & Petnames

Zemidriath refers to Emmeline as 'Emmy', inkeeping with his tendency to give nicknames similar to his own - Zemmi - to those he is connected to in some way. This nickname is short for her draconic name, Emiamar, and the link to her incognito name of Emmeline is coincidental.

Relationship Reasoning

Sexual partnerships between dragons are exclusively for the purpose of procreation, at the whim of the female. Despite this, males are almost invariably eager to be chosen owing to the prestige of both being selected by a female and of being the father to many clutches, and Zemidriath is no exception.

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Current Location

The Issar Mountains

Species

Dragon

Age

Unknown, somewhere around 7 or 8 hundred

Spouses

Emmeline (Mate)

Siblings

Pronouns

He/Him

Gender

Male

Eyes

Dark brown, with lizard-like pupils when in his true draconic form.

Hair

When polymorphed, worn long, coloured somewhere between reddish brown and black depending on mood.

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Burnished copper scales. When polymorphed, chooses a dark, warm skin tone with a coppery hue.

Height

Around 15ft., or 5'9 when polymorphed.

Aligned Organization

The Nomads of Sarayne

Known Languages

Zemidriath speaks Draconic, Common, Elven and Celestial with equal fluency. The first is his native tongue, the second and third he learned from listening to the elven bard he travelled with as a wyrmling, and the fourth he learned by choice, after being assured that many of the best legends are written in this language.