Iliad

__NOTOC__
 
:Top left
This character belongs to Sebastion!
Iliad is a part of the group, The Celestial Haven, as the spawned daughter of The Grave of Butterflies.
An unintentional child of Death, Iliad is familiar with the sense of ostracization and odd comforts through loneliness. Though, facing a haven for dragons like her, never again will she embrace the cold fate she was written. She'll take responsibility for her own happiness and relationships. And she won't make the same mistakes as the ones before her.
Iliad 	Iliad
The Medium of Consequence	The Medium of Consequence
Creator/Coder 	Sebastion
Theme Song 	Curses - The Crane Wives
Quote 	text
Basic 	Basic
Nicknames 	n/a
Age 	7 dyrs / 18 hyrs
Gender 	Trans Woman
Orientation 	Ace Sapphic
Tribe 	SkyWing
Abilities 	Firebreath, communication with ghosts, interest in performing arts, green thumb!
Social 	Social
Occupation 	Counselor
Goal 	n/a
Residence 	Dawn's Roost (formerly)
Gin Chi
Relatives 	Oriental Bay Owl (SkyWing mother)Shi (Kami father)
Love interests 	n/a
Personal 	Personal
Allies 	Dusk's Keen, Grotto, Figure Eight, Amai
Enemies 	n/a
Likes 	Pastries, gardening (fruits especially), sewing, fashion (but also a nudist), wandering, protecting others
Dislikes 	The more tempermental ghosts, mindless violence, unwarrented fued and conflict
==Appearance==
If it wasn’t for her imposing height and obnoxious hues, Iliad could disappear into the background, nothing more than a statue lost in a world it was sculpted into. But to pull her out of it would bring out the light in her eyes. The flash of her grin. Her serpentine body with a once sinister connotation has a bounce and a burst of life. 
On second look, Iliad’s intimidating height is less to impose and more reassuring. Her long, lithe figure is toned with muscles, subtle hinting to her training as a warrior. Her thin figure is less of a lack of eating and more of a high metabolism that she struggles to satisfy. Even her horns betray her originally intimidating form, as they curl like a young ram’s, instead of impressively spiral like a traditional SkyWing’s. Her butterfly winged ears are more ornate than what’s typical but frame her face. Her tail ends with a similarly patterned butterfly wing tail tip.
In many ways, she betrays the SkyWing ideal, with a soft, snake-like face instead of a menacing beak and soft, retractable paws instead of threatening talons. 
Iliad has a near-constant soft expression on her face. Traditionally, she’s an observer, with eyes wide and a voice that’s not used to being used. But nowadays, her mouth twitches in anticipation to jump in or laugh and join in with the group. Anymore, the SkyWing has trouble gauging her reactions. Overreacting or underreacting inappropriately and, in higher emotion scenarios, prefers to revert to her quiet, thoughtful ways as a listener.
==Personality==
Iliad was once a solumn character. A child lost in her mind, lonely and unfamiliar with the warmth and affection that a dragonet ought to be given. She didn't think to speak up for herself. She didn't think to lash out. She simply watched the world pass her by, with much more grounded stories to tell. She was numb to the blows the world delt upon her, as they were all she really knew. 
As a daughter of Death, Iliad has been haunted with the ability to see spirits that haven't passed on from this realm. Understandably, she grew up confused between recognizing the living or the dead. She grew confused that the most morbid spirits were often the most friendly, but the softest living were most often the most fearsome. Instead, she grew more soft-spoken. To avoid the shame of speaking to the invisible dragons in the corner, and only truly confided in privacy with her "imaginary friend."
Though her heart never faltered and her talons never flexed. Despite how timid and outcast she was forced to become, one with nature and solitude, finding peace in being absent, she still longed for companionship and could never reciprocate the ostracization she felt upon anyone else.
Her lack of proper upbringing has turned Iliad into an individual who's socially confused as demonstrated by the odd mannerisms she demonstrates or the lack of understanding for social cues. With the change of location from the artisans' hills of the SkyWings to the island of the divine oddities, Iliad has found herself as much more outgoing. Despite being obliviously awkward and a tad tone-deaf, her quiet voice nudges its way into conversations. And her confidence continues to grow, letting her blossom into a more affectionate and friendly SkyWing. 
Her lack of family in her formidable years has left her terribly attached to the one she's found. She can never bring herself to hate individuals like her father, or even her deceitful mother, but she's terribly introspective of whether or not she should be. She believes, unconsciously, in tough love. Though she may not practice it. She treats every interaction as an opportunity to be kind and sympathetic, leaving herself wide open to be confined to, as she wishes to treat the world with gratitude and gratefulness, rather than how the world treated her. Iliad is extremely affectionate, but quite easily started for the imposing dragoness that she is. She'll happily nuzzle or tap her loved ones, but if she is touched without warning, she might as well jump out of her scales.
She acknowledges the reputation she's made at Camp, and despite being fully aware of the status of a fellow camper, she enjoys to beg the question, "Are you alive?"
==Abilities==
Iliad is simply a SkyWing without the impressive speeds they're known for. She can breathe the impressive plumes of flame her mother had with ease. Her wings aren't exactly built for speed though she is a capable flier with impressive endurance. She does have the capacity for strength and combat skills, though she sees these as more of a cultural and practiced skill rather than innate talent. 
She is currently a part of the Warrior Pathway of Gin Chi, with specific practice in claw-to-claw combat and self-defense. She admires the idea of chivalry and desires to use her knowledge for protection, composure, and to help her stay grounded and focused. With this she has been able to grow more knowledgeable in reading dragons, being able to detect body language as she once did to avoid malevolent ghosts as a child.
Most notably, her inherited powers from The Grave involve being able to communicate with the dead. In her perspective, ghosts and living dragonets are virtually indistinguishable, as she can interact with either realm despite others being unable to. Unless she is acutely aware of a ghost being dead, they will appear as healthy or fit as they did before perishing. After becoming aware, the means of their death often become clear, whether they be wounds, symptoms of illness, or even the image of their deceased mortal vessel's bodies. 
Her visions of the dead leave her to seem somewhat dazed and distant. Largely populated areas frequently make her feel overwhelmed, with volumes doubled compared to what another hears. Gradually, she desires to overcome the anxieties related to how an outside eye would perceive her and fully embrace her powers alongside her goals.
==History==
in need of a revamp!
Warning for slightly mature content: Murder of a parent being extremely prevalent.
In the hills of the expansive SkyWing kingdom, a lone dragoness of pale blush scales and deep brown speckles had left her successful family in exchange for the humble life she had imagined in a simple artisan village. Oriental Bay Owl was no doubt privileged and her naivety lead her to throw away the opportunities she had been handed in exchange for the thrill of independence. In truth, she fell in love with a town called Dawn's Roost she was meant to establish a trade system with for her family. She stayed and faced the consequence for doing so.
The God of Death had been visiting the Sky Dragons' hills, as routine, and partially on a prank, the words of another kami had murmured to him that he was absolutely needed for the restless spirits in the hills. He collected, of course, to move the ones he found on but found himself distracted when a SkyWing noticed him reaping near her village and the two became infatuated with one another. Oriental Bay's charm pierced through his gloomy spirit and she begged to befriend him and offered that he stay with her. If he had such important work to do, he ought to take a vacation, just as she had! 
Though her puppy love had doomed her from the start. The moment that she presented Shi with an egg, his eyes went narrow and he cursed out his foolishness. In a dreamy daze, he had become distracted with this SkyWing with a terrible charisma. He announced he would make very sure that no other soul knew of his mistake and killed the SkyWing to prevent any further distraction and left the egg cold and alone.
Though, as the morning sun woke the residents of Dawn's Roost, Oriental Bay's absence was noticed. In a few friend's lax search for her, they discovered a lone egg. Knowing she had excitedly told them she was expecting, rumors rose as to if this egg belonged to her. And if it did... where was she? The most popular opinion, in the minds of Dawn's Roost's residents, was that the strange dragon she was seeing must have been a feral SkyWing, a loner of the mountains and a simple cave dweller. She had spoken of wonder and adventure and her most recent trip must have been into the mountains to join the mad dragon. Why she would leave her egg behind? No one could truly say. 
The egg was taken in by the owners of a well-kept and well-maintained orphanage. Its doors were wide open, kitchen stalls were typically full of donated catches, and no shortage of volunteers. The walls were well furnished with comfortable fixies specifically made from the crafters of the village themselves. The owners prided themselves on how accepting of dragonets they were, of any hatchling that found itself in their doors. The egg was draped in comfort and surveillance before it hatched.
Though, when she did hatch, she did not emerge with the heaps of affection and love that the orphanage promised them. Dragonets acted strangely sometimes, this was a given. Not all dragons were to tick the same way. But it was quite disconcerting that she spoke to the still air. That every so often she would stare in the corner as if listening intently to an adult.
The rumor that Oriental Bay ran off with a feral SkyWing became more and more popular. They used the excuse that feral SkyWings' tendency to isolate and act offputtingly to members of their tribe. At least, this is what citizens of Dawn Roost said as not to feel bad to let the child occupy itself for hours on end beside the assigned mealtimes. After all, who knew what kinds of things she could be exposing to the other dragonets. 
And Iliad grew up quite alone because of it. Besides, of course, her faithful imaginary friend. She took the form of a SkyWing with pale blush scales and deep brown speckles. And she was frankly the only friend who stayed by her side throughout most of her dragonethoot. She didn't warn other dragonets to stay away from her. She didn't wrinkle her nose before being affectionate with her. Iliad confided in her imaginary friend, who listened, smiled, and played with her when no one else would.
And when she got bored, she simply left. She wandered the outskirts of the village. Occasionally weaving in to ask strangers for their candies or ask a local to spare a rabbit leg with her. Though, every time she went to interact with the villagers themselves, she often got strange looks and odd nudges asking if she was all right. She simply was speaking to an individual one moment, who disappeared the next. Dragons who were impossibly old. Or dragons whose funerals were being mentioned by other folks. 
To save the embarrassment of speaking to dragons who supposedly didn't exist, to save the murmurs of being a "disgrace," the offspring of a dirty cave dweller - which her imaginary friend seemed to take mild offense to - she retreated to the woods. The diverse hills and wildlife. Oftentimes racing through the woods and splashing through rivers until her dear imaginary friend couldn't even keep up, and she interacted with the wildlife. And the lost souls that seemed to haunt these woods. No one who was "real" tended to stay in these places. So she spent time opening herself up. To take in the words of the dragons who were surprised to see her, and happy to speak with her. And give her words of encouragement that most villagers hardly would.
She'd return to the orphanage to get a scolding from her imaginary best friend, sometimes. How she'd be worried sick and hold her face to inspect her for scratches. She was warned about wandering too quickly away from her. While they spoke over board games and the occasional orphanage grounding for being gone much too past curfew, Iliad turned to her for her most vulnerable moments. When she truly did not understand what she was doing wrong if no one wanted her around. When she expressed concerns over how dragons saw her as she became conscious of her presentation and hated being told she was simply the product of what hatched from someone else's egg. And her imaginary friend sat solemnly. And silently. 
Regardless of the scoldings, Iliad left the village frequently, disappearing for days as she wandered aimlessly, without thought, and frequently forgetting to eat and drink. She found so intrigued by the life, or lack thereof, she found on the feet of the SkyWing mountains. But unfortunately, some of the souls that she met weren't so kind to spare her a pleasant story or to give her a word of advice. Not all of these souls were gently watching the families that didn't respond to them. Or the homes they once lived in with new occupants. She learned not even these imaginary dragons were all kind. The days she came back from her aimless wanderings were most frequently the ones she stumbled upon an old war's battlefield. A twisted figure and gnarled dragon roaring at her. Her heart would skip a beat and she would race home. Chased back to the village, crying for help, but when she turned around, the soldier would be gone. Yet the claw scratches it swiped were surely real and bleeding.
Stories were woven, of course. No one wished to speak to the orphan who had never been adopted to ask why she was so strange. The feral SkyWing story had been accepted as truth. And when trading their wares, so would the artisans spread their tales of a mad non-feral SkyWing, her blood tainted with the rogue SkyWings who denied the Queen and organized civilization in favor of traditional mountain ways. Her mother disappeared without a trace, almost knowing that this odd one would certainly disappear to fend for herself if she didn't cause harm to a fellow villager before then! 
And while the rumors became stories and stories became accepted truth, they didn't just reach the ears of merchants. 
At age 3 dyrs (say 10 hyrs), Iliad was approached by a traveler, moving through Dawn's Roost. She made the situation quite awkward with hardly having spoken to anyone in town, let alone holding a conversation with them. This traveler denied any inconvenience and asked her about any strange happenings in the town, in which she explained her peculiar affliction with populating reality with her overreactive imaginary friends. 
This traveler brought up an island. A place where "odd" dragons found refuge from impending adversaries who sought out dragons like herself. And Iliad, at first, waved the offer. Claiming that her alleged powers attracted nothing but trouble and she could survive just fine. Until the traveler pressed about her heritage. If her parents showed any odd abilities or if one didn't quite seem like a proper SkyWing. 
And her imaginary friend tenses. And Iliad explains the story of the feral SkyWing she's been fed her entire life. The scout? He tells Iliad a brief story about the Kami Pantheon. The gods of this realm. And suggests, in something that Iliad almost always knew, that these weren't imaginary dragons. They were the dead. And part of her had accepted that these dragons weren't alive. But she didn't want that to be the truth. For there to be a true reason why no one wanted to be around her.
In a bit of an impulse, she has a gentle outburst. That her mother did run away with her father of Death and left her to die as an orphaned egg! And her imaginary friend tensed. And sprung. Asking how dare she believed that her mother didn't love her? How dare she say that after the years that she spent watching over an ungrateful welp of a dragonet? Iliad's heart sunk. And the traveler, this scout for Gin Chi, watched as Iliad and the empty air argued. That Iliad grew up without a mother. And that Oriental Bay died because of Iliad. Because she showed Shi her egg and was killed for it. And Iliad went silent. And she rubbed her eyes and turned to the traveler. Accepting their request to go to a Camp where she can make use of these powers. Instead of live in the lie that her mother foolishly crafted for her as a ghost, feigning as her imaginary friend. Fully aware of Iliad's grief as a child. And not being honest with any of it.
Iliad was brought to Gin Chi, intrigued by the heritage she had been promptly cut off from when Shi had tried to abandon his egg. She was intrigued by concepts of deities among mortal dragons, demons beneath the earth's surface, and yokai potentially putting all the lovely folks of Dawn's Roost in danger because of her. 
And she decided she would make herself useful. No longer concerned with what her dear imaginary friend and mother claimed was embarrassing for them. She would make friends, however offputting she was. And find a family that she would never have gotten the chance to meet if she listened to Oriental Bay.
She approached Camp with a demeanor treating everyone as if they were her friend already. Despite the "Shi Kid Stigma" that seemed to haunt her regardless. She makes friends nonetheless. And while investigating the pathway options - being intrigued by healing, but inevitably deeming the idea of healing old wounds much more symbolic than the actual practice would be - she opts for the warrior path. Compelled by a sense of honor and majesty, to be a symbol of chivalry and protection, she strives to be the hope she wished to see as a dragonet. To protect everyone by becoming the very thing she thought she would fear most. But she won't make the same mistakes as the ghosts of the past. 
==Relationships==
Parents
Oriental Bay Owl - Mother, SkyWing
:Oriental Bay raised Iliad under an extremely odd circumstance and her dishonesty did not help Iliad's image of her when she finally admitted it in the heat of an argument. Oriental Bay pretended to be Iliad's imaginary friend, instead of exposing her hatchling to the violent circumstances of her heritage. She gave her someone to confide in and share loneliness with, due to Iliad's ability, yet feels the need for compensation as she feels her death is Iliad's fault. Iliad and her mother have barely spoken to each other since she arrived at Camp years ago, as her mother, despite being dead, cannot pass through the barrier. Iliad has a very rocky relationship with her mother, disheartened that her mother blames her for her death, but too attached to her memories of her being "imaginary friend" to totally cut her off.
Shi - Father, kami of Death/Afterlife
:Iliad has trouble forming an opinion for her father. She never met him and only found out that Shi killed her mother when she was too old for it to matter anymore. Her half-siblings all have stories to tell and vendettas against him, so she's justifiably not in any rush to meet him. But she can't help but wonder if her father does think anything of her.
Half Siblings
Feel free to ask to be added if you have a demikami of Shi!
Dusk's Keen - Half-Brother
:Iliad frankly adores her brother, Dusk. Landing on the island at the relatively same age and growing up there together helped give Iliad a sense of familiarity and family there! Especially considering the two of them ended up as roommates in the Shi Cabin. The two of them share a similar sense of being socially outcast, having the ominous figures of stereotypical children of death. But in all honesty, the two of them are absolute fools who bond overlooking for frogs in the woods, talking philosophy into the dawning hours of the night, and tormenting each other. Whether Iliad destroys perfectly good weapons in front of him or Dusk sweeps Iliad up in fool's errands. Plus, their ghost moms might be falling in love! Good for them.
Shinjiru / Blush - Half-Sister
:Despite Blush probably being older than Iliad, Iliad tries to treat her sister as a slightly younger sibling just like she does Dusk! The two of them are go-tos when it comes to discussing ghostly gossip, being two mediums in the Shi Cabin. Iliad takes the fact that Blush remembers her own mother's death to heart and tries to be a wonderful figure in her life. The two of them do their best to socialize, but unfortunately, both of them are terribly socially incompetent. They do their bests to show each other affection nonetheless! Whether verbally or no.
Friends
Grotto
:Aside from her own siblings, Grotto is probably Iliad's greatest friend! At least according to her. The two of them had similarly shown up to Gin Chi at similar points in time. So logically, when going to classes and training, Iliad gravitated to another odd dragonet who was friendly to her! They were her first attempt at being social, after years of shutting her mouth tight and avoiding confrontation. But with Grotto, she had the chance to talk and hug another living dragon, which she hadn't had the chance to before. The two of them retain a mutual appreciation for each others company, and can often be seen chatting with one another when they get the chance to.
Figure Eight
:Iliad greatly looks up to Figure Eight. Even though she has to look down at Eight. The point being, Eight's impressive abilities gave Iliad an impressive match to face in sparring practices. The two of them are go-to training buddies, and as time goes on, the two of them can read each other extremely well and would trust each other with their lives. Eight assisted Iliad in her training, alongside Titanoboa, and helped make her a warrior she can be proud of. Iliad even picked up Pantalan Sign Language from them!
Tilly
:Her siblings may hate her, but Amai can't help but goggle over this dragonet. Despite Amai literally being a monster who used to be under Izanami's control, Iliad claims she sees her for what she is. A child! (A child that gnaws on her ankles and insults her brother relentlessly.) Iliad wants to give Amai some semblance of a normal childhood, considering how frankly un-normal her life has been. And while deep down she knows she can never give her that, and that Amai might never trust her genuinely, Iliad won't stop babying this literal demon child. And Amai will gladly take advantage of that.
==Trivia==
*still interested in textiles
**smithery may be about armor and weapons, but she enjoys the idea of comfort and fashion (specifically dark colors and lace)
*makes little dolls as gifts
*still loves rubies, doesn't have them anymore because shes Poor but she likes them!!
*extreme affinity in sweets
==Gallery==
36597C2D-84B8-458D-9E63-C0D13C31AF6B.png|Newest Reference
Heeeeeeebiiiiii.png|By Mooooods!!! (old design)
Hebibone.png|By Bone!!! (old design)
Hebi.png|By Dray!!! (old design)
Hebiicon.png|by luster, old design
mayo_ghosts.png|new old design
EA1D40E8-72EF-4F0E-9D22-9DEA01394CAC.jpeg|featuring Dusks Keen but with a hoof like it was meant to be <3
Category:Content (EnigmaTheHybrid)
Category:Characters
Category:Females
Category:SkyWings
Category:LGBT+
Category:Occupation (Student)
Category:Dragonets