Raum

Warning: This page contains graphic mentions of punishment and torture. Read as you will.
==Overview==
=== Description===
Raum is a moderately-sized member of the SandWing tribe. He is of a mostly average height and build, with a little bit of extra length and prehensility in his tail. His topscales are a dark gray color, almost bordering on black, and also cover the fronts and backs of his shoulder and upper legs.
The rest of his shoulders and upper legs are covered in almost secondary topscales, which are of an off-bronze color. This bronze is shifted even farther off when it comes to his main scales, which are a light, off-yellow color. his underbelly is an off-cream color color.
Raum's eyes are like the majority of his tribe's, having black sclerae instead of white. His irises are a beady yellow color, similar to a bar of gold or the SandWing Scepter. His sail is a blood-red color, unlike his fellow dragons, and his wings start with this same blood color before fading into black.
=== Personality===
Raum is known for being a very intimidating dragon, both to speak with and to watch. His presence is felt almost everywhere in the SandWing Stronghold, due to the many spies and informants he has sneaking around and gathering information for him.
In addition to this, Raum is extremely ambitious, almost to the level of the Princess he sided with in the War of SandWing Succession, being Blister. He constantly thinks of ways to consolidate more power for himself, and how best to advance his plans for the SandWing tribe as a whole.
Raum is extraordinarily sharp and silver-tongued, and this is only advanced by the fact that he constantly has information about his troops fed to him by informants. He regularly persuades dragons to join his cause based on information he gathers about their wants and/or needs.
Raum is a strict utilitarian, often throwing his soldiers into losing battles if it means that a main force can and/or will take their main goal. This has given a very unfavorable reputation among the majority of his troops, but some love this approach, believing that their lives are well-spent in the service of the Kingdom.
Raum is not an entirely snooty dragon though. He has a certain measure of respect for his opponents, and takes great care not to underestimate them. He also follows the philosophy that the best way to defeat your enemy is to know them, leading to his habit of reading the various texts of the places he conquers.
=== History ===
Raum was hatched a Patrician in the SandWing Kingdom in just about 4,082 AS to both of his parents within Queen Oasis' Palace. Like most of the SandWing youth of the time, Raum was sent to be taught in the Palace Wingery, along with the other noble SandWing Dragonets.
Raum's parents were minor nobles in the kingdom, holding high positions in extra-tribal affairs. Like most noble marriages, Raum's parents weren't particularly fond of one another, rather being married together in the pursuit of further power and prestige. That being said, both of them did like Raum, at least more so than each other.
Raum did reasonably well when it came to his studies in the Wingery. He was especially notable for his prowess in mathematics, especially probability, and his level of literacy. That being said, he was slightly lacking when it came to physical activities, though he didn't lag too far behind.
Raum "graduated" from the Wingery when he was about 8 years old. He was grateful to finally be out of there, thinking that it was beneath him. He went to apprentice with his father to become the next director of extra-tribal relations, and found himself doing quite well. Due to his effectiveness at calculating probability, Raum was able to guess when or if a dragon would take their offer, and if giving the offer was even worth it.
This all changed two years later, when Raum heard sounds of roaring from the palace courtyard. He was one of the dragons who set forth from the palace to investigate, and one of the first to arrive to see the dead Queen Oasis. Raum was merely an observer in the argument that followed, and respected Blister's cunning, due to her choice to postpone the duel for Burn and some others to go and pillage a bunch of Scavenger dens.
Raum initially sided with Blister in the war, traveling to the Ice Kingdom. However, there were many things that lead him to abandon the cause, including (but not limited to):
*Being exiled by Blaze's servants.
*Low troop morale.
*The general weather was terrible.
*Finding no point in usurping Blaze.
*Gaining nothing from usurping her.
In light of all these reasons, Raum decided that it would be better if he joined Blister instead. he had considerably more respect for her than Blister, mostly due to her intellect, and having vague memories of her from the Wingery. So, after roughly five years on Blaze's side, Raum deserted her and located Blister's forces after a long flight through secret routes in SkyWing territory.
Blister ended up recognizing Raum from his time as Director of Extra-Tribal Affairs, and appointed him as a commander in the army, though he was kept under heavier surveillance than the other dragons who defected to Blister's side. Raum's unit performed rather well by most standards. Yes, his troops weren't overly fond of either him or his sometimes kamikaze strategies, but Raum worked efficiently nevertheless.
As his notoriety grew, so did Raum's rank, and by the waning years of the war he found himself as General of Blister's forces, responding only to the Princess herself. Raum's strategies were one of the main things that actually kept Blister's side in the war, especially after the MudWings switched sides to ally with Burn. That being said, Raum was constantly suspicious of the NightWings.
He had a certain measure of respect for them, of course, but never trusted them. He was also one of the few dragons that actually had suspicions about their powers. He had a run in with a NightWing at a strategy summit, where the NightWing had failed too pinpoint his trail of thought, and Raum had already begun wondering about the plausibility of mind reading. He also doubted the legitimacy of the prophecy after poring over the texts of a SkyWing settlement that he had conquered.
Raum initially considered taking his concerns to Blister, but decided against that, believing that they would be useful to possibly blackmail the NightWings in the event that he attempted to usurp Blister. He didn't have a full plan for that, however, so Raum simply tucked it away for later use.
Raum continued to serve as Blister's primary general, and was in regular correspondence with her. At this point, when the SeaWings were still good allies, Raum was running dual campaigns in the Sky and Mud Kingdoms. He was, at one point, considered a possible target for assassination, but this plan was shelved once the NightWings joined forces with Blister.
That was, until Blister herself ordered his assassination. Raum had let his ambition slip a bit, and the NightWings, Morrowseer at least, was aware of his ideas that NightWing powers were false. So, Morrowseer fed some false information about Raum to Blister, and as such, Blister requested his assassination. This took place just after the events of the Attack on the Summer palace as well, which left Blister's side much more vulnerable than before.
Deciding that he wasn't content with death (at least not yet) Raum fended off assassination attempts for the rest of the war. Luckily for him though, said attempts didn't last for very long, as the NightWing Exodus occurred only five days later, and the war ended only a few days after that. Due to his current circumstances, Raum was unable to attend the Princesses' Summit at the end of the war, and remained on the borders of the Sea, Sky and Mud Kingdoms. 
Following when he finally received the news, Raum immediately made his way back to the Kingdom of Sand in order to pledge allegiance to the new Queen, Thorn. Raum succeeded in this, arriving roughly three days after the War's end. Initially, Raum was considered a highly suspicious member of the court, but he managed to hide any signs of his future plans as well. Raum was given his old position back, as Head of Extra-Tribal Affairs, as well as being allowed to keep his current position as a general in the army. 
The next years were relatively uneventful. Raum was integral in securing new alliances for the SandWings, creating some ties with the IceWings and MudWings, deciding that those two were the best tribes to get closer with. The MudWings had strong warriors, as well as good potential farmland due to the delta, and the IceWings were similarly powerful allies due to their nigh impenetrable ice cliff and strong soldiers. 
The being said, Raum petitioned Queen Thorn to allow him to make a mission to the independent IceWing city of Frostchannel. The queen allowed it, and Raum sent a letter to Frostchannel, stating that the SandWings were looking for an alliance. A letter came back later, which set a meeting place for the negotiations to take place. Raum was pleased with this development, and set out to meet them. 
He was rather annoyed to have to go back to the land between the Ice and Sand Kingdoms, hating it from his time serving blaze, but put his personal reservations aside for "the greater good of the SandWings." Raum arrived at roughly the same time as two other IceWings, those being the leader of Frostchannel, Zora, and her head advisor, Niveous. 
The negotiations were short, and eventually left Raum feeling annoyed, Zora and Niveous had rejected pretty much every one of his proposals, stating that Frostchannel wasn't looking to be shackled to any kingdom. Unsuccessful, Raum returned to the Kingdom of Sand. Upon his return, almost nothing of note happened, and this state of peaceful boredom continued for about ten years. 
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how your look at it, the peace was shattered only a decade later, during a terrorist attack on the SandWing Palace. The attack was executed by a rogue SkyWing named Condor, who believed that the monarchy was ineffectual and detrimental to dragon kind. Raum wasn't't caught in the blast zone, but soon found that Queen Thorn had perished in the blast. 
Raum assisted in the search for Condor, and was the first one to suggest stringing him up. The deliberation on how exactly to punish Condor went on for two days, before it was decided that he would have a gruesome fate, involving him being hanged. The full punishment consisted of him being run through with spears, hanged from the highest point of the rubble, and then disemboweled, with his corpse hanging from the ramparts as a grim reminder to everyone that said to never perpetrate such a crime again. 
Raum watched something akin to a sense of glee as Condor was hanged, and personally cut him open. Raum purposefully made this process go as slow as possible, and then watched him bleed out and the rest of fall to the ground. He was quite pleased with his handiwork, and only then set about deciding who would be the next Queen. 
==Miscellaneous==
===Relationships===
===Strengths===
===Weaknesses===
===Quotes===
"Fear the power you do not see."
"I will break them. And if they do not break, then they will burn." -To Blister
"The few for the many."
"My favorite kind of soldier." -Referring to his most devoted troops 
"Precisely...if you are in a losing maneuver, do not retreat. Instead, command the troops to move in. Go out in a "blaze of glory," if you will." -To Commander Sidewind 
"If you are going to attempt to list my crimes, take care not to die of asphyxiation." To General Six-Claws upon his return 
Category:Characters
Category:Work in Progress
Category:SandWings
Category:Occupation (Soldier)
Category:Males
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