Shards

16'11" long (true/draconic form)

### Relatives

Stryfe Coermortson - *Father* (Deceased)Meribelle, the Unyielding - *Mother* (Deceased)

### Allies

Gustave TheldirkCorinthia Sun-Wind

Knights of Nadir

## Oneshot/Campaign Participation

### First Appearance

Halintar: Respite of the Gods

**Shards, Guardian of Glass** is a dragon who, before her hometown of Moore Bay was destroyed, masqueraded as an elderly sand elf and matron of the exiles who lived there. She is a rare mix of yellow and brass dragon, allowing her to breathe a unique glass breath. She's also known to be a powerful sorceress, having summoned and maintained an entire fortress of glassy sand to defend her home and cast vivid group-projecting scrying visions. Currently, she serves as a Keeper of Nadir's Zenith and a general leadership figure of the Brigade.

She originally appeared during the Halintar: Respite of the Gods campaign, where she was kidnapped and eventually rescued by the as-of-yet-unnamed Knights of Nadir.

## Personality

Shards is a very compassionate dragon, as one can tell from her founding and protecting Moore Bay. She speaks in a gentle, warm tone. When not focusing on her magical abilities and responsibilities, such as maintaining Nadir's Zenith's Core, she seems to enjoy being in nature as well as sculpting things with her glassy breath. She's very sensitive to those who seem to dislike her, and seems to be ashamed of showing herself in her true form.

## Appearance

### Humanoid Form

In her humanoid form, Shards looks like an elderly sand elf, with short horns and vitiligo. She wears sunglasses to hide her bright pink (and clearly draconic) eyes. Her light yellow-green hair is almost the full length of her body, flowing openly and never seeming to be tangled or matted. She wears a choker of elongated green beads of unknown origin, and alternates between a flowing teal gown and a teal body-suit with kimono-like sleeves, both of which are accented with yellow on the tops of the arms and down the back.

### True Form

In her true form, Shards looks the part of a mixed dragon breed. She has a long winding body, with small yellow scales coating her top half all the way from her snout to the end of her tail. A short, spiky mane sits atop her head, the same green-yellow as her hair in humanoid form. Her underbelly has brass "fur" and there are brass dragon frills on either side of her head. She has two small arms that have the same scaled top and fur underneath.

## Relationships

### Gustave Theldirk

Gustave and Shards are incredibly old friends, going back to when Shards was just a child. It's unknown how they met, but they've remained good friends through Shards' entire life. Gustave sent the Brigade on the perilous mission to rescue her from Fort Breakneck.

### Corinthia Sun-Wind

As a young woman, Corinthia had been traveling through Halintar as an adventurer when she happened upon Moore Bay. She and Shards became close friends, and the leonthrope even helped build a shop and home for the newest member of their exile family, Chingus. They also both have powerful divination magic, contacting each other frequently.

The two of them both visited Nadir's Zenith at some point in the last five years, learning how to properly utilize the Core.

### Professor Hydran

The nature of Shards' relationship with Professor Hydran is unknown. She has contacted him several times in his dreams in the form of a golden merfolk, speaking with him about his chosen path and his destiny.

### The Knights of Nadir

The Knights of Nadir (then a part of Caravan 17) visited Moore Bay on their way to the Ashen Breach. They were pursuing Kris Nifeton, who was their enemy at the time and had escaped her bonds, kidnapped their friend Zor, and escaped from Crooksbarrow on a stolen ship. Shards formally greeted them before handing off the tour to the town baker and Sarnai's uncle, Chingus, having formal business to attend to. Kris, who had used her warlock magic to blend in with the townsfolk, had other plans for the town's matron. With several lackeys as her assistants, she blocked Shards' house off with a wall of daggers and prepared to teleport the house away with Shards trapped inside. While the lackeys were successful, Kris and Zor were pulled out of the house before it could teleport away. Sarnai, the caravan's leader, was also taken away with the home.

About a month later, the Knights of Nadir were sent to Fort Breakneck by Gustave, who had somehow discovered that that was where Shards was being detained. Through blood, sweat, and tears, they managed to reach the chamber where she was being held, rescuing her and dodging their pursuers all the way back to Nadir's Zenith.

## Backstory

Much of Shard's history is unknown, as she does not speak much about it. At some point in her life before Moore Bay she had met and spent a "century or two" with Gustave. Since she had the unmistakable visage of a yellow dragon, she was met with much scorn and hatred, even though she herself was a gentle soul. At some point she found a small camp of exiled sand elves led by a halfling living in a halfling-sized "mansion" in the middle of the woods. Disguised in her humanoid form, she offered her powers to them in exchange for housing, and eventually became the de facto leader and founder of the town of Moore Bay.

## Campaign Activity

Shards was abducted by the Glitterati during the Moore Bay arc of Halintar: Respite of the Gods. Later down the line, Gustave sent the then-unnamed Knights of Nadir to rescue her from Fort Breakneck in the Breakneck Breakout arc, which they did so successfully.

After recovering from her wounds, Shards became the "master" of the Core, the central magical source of Nadir's Zenith's power. She was able to use it to show the Knights a group vision of her scrying, which showed them that Oakarthel had been reduced to a strange magical pit surrounded by runes.

When Dinante attacked the Zenith and was later assaulted by Tephra, Kefyn called an emergency Cabal summit to address the state of their deity. Shards was brought along as a representative of the Brigade, and spoke at the meetings for the Brigade's values and interests.

Before the events of ViRUS, Shards made her way back to the Zenith, and is there as leadership during the start of 906.

## Gallery

Shards draconic formShards human formShards headshotShards in both draconic and humanoid forms, drawn in 2020. Lilgreenfox2020 Shards design, with glasses used to hide her draconic eyes. Lilgreenfox.