Gawain

*I was such a fool in the past. I'm so sorry. I hope you can forgive me.*
— Gawain to Lukorro and his parents

* No Apparel
* Apparel

**Gawain Paloteno Navanthe** is a captain of the Empire.

## Personality

Gawain is an arrogant, brash, and glory-seeking dragon. He cares very little for others unless he can use them to gain the glory he seeks. He has a massive ego, believing himself to be the best warrior of the Empire. Despite this, deep down he does care about those around him, and he does want to protect them. He's just been misguided into believing the other things that matter is power.

## Backstory

Hatched to Bramble and Heqet, everyone expect Gawain to become a great performer or a great librarian. However, he soon disappointed them. Gawain didn't have much respect for the arts. No, he wanted to be a warrior. He wanted to leave the Waves to fight and gain glory, not to protect like other dragons might have joined the army. Despite this, he was a great warrior.

It didn't take long for Aislinn to promote him, but not just yet to the rank of a captain, and Gawain knew he was meant to keep fighting in order to earn that rank. With his skill, dragons throughout Sornieth began to fear him. He was almost as well-known as Ivarr, who found himself upset that a young dragon was trying to usurp his position.

It didn't take very long for Gawain to reach the rank of captain: the Kingdom of Mior-Hardri attacked the Waves, who they believed to be encroaching on their territory. During a battle, Gawain killed King Arcturius, sending Mior-Hardri scampering away and back home, where they were never seen by the Waves again. It was after this battle that Gawain was promoted to the rank of Captain, after seven years.

As Gawain gained more and more glory, he found himself looking down on dragons who did not chose to fight, including his parents. He saw them as a burden in the Empire: they weren't contributing, they couldn't be useful. He saw his brother Lukorro as a disappointment as well: he didn't take his job seriously and spent all of his time goofing off.

Gawain fell in line with Abbas and Sidanyis, growing to believe he was much better than any outsiders, despite both of his parents being outsiders. His parents didn't know how to stop their son from acting this way, and they tried meeting with Galactic, Felorai, and Elspeth: the therapists and mediators, but nothing worked.

But Gawain's downfall was coming closer.

While training with his battalion, he came across a group of dragons having fun. His brother was included in that group, alongside Instigator and Saxarla. Gawain immediately yelled at them, calling them failures. When Lukorro tried to stand up for himself, Gawain lashed out, giving Lukorro the scar he has over his eye. It was Saxarla who stopped him. She attacked Gawain, and defeated him in combat.

Horrified, losing to Saxarla was what knocked some sense into Gawain. He apologized to his brother for what he'd done, and although Lukorro said he forgave him, he ignored him for a while. Dejected, Gawain returned home, apologizing to his parents as well. He couldn't believed what he'd done, and spent the next year atoning by helping any dragon he could.

Saxarla saw this change in him, and enjoyed his company. She stood by his side, even as Abbas and Sidanyis turned on him. The kindness she showed to him was what helped Gawain regain his confidence. He still wished for glory, but he didn't hurt those close to him again.