Halcyon Auric

## **Basic Information**

**Full Name:** Halcyon Auric the 2nd

**Nickname:** Halcyon, Hal

**Birthday:** March 30th 263

**Species:** Dragon

**Purity:** 8%

**Gender:** Genderless he/him

**Height:** 96’

**Sexuality:** Heterosexual

**Languages Spoken:** Standard, Bellows, Demonic

## **Personality**

**Likes:** Gold, reading, family, sunshine, gemstones

**Dislikes:** Demons, Whiver, rodents, cold weather, pests

**Fears/Phobias:** Chaos

A blank and aloof individual. Halcyon doesn’t make a point of showing much emotion or getting too close to people. He knows his job is to continue the work his father left behind, and that job comes above all else. That said, he’s a pretty lonely Dragon. He’s always enjoyed the company of others, and when his father died he was left with no one. He doesn’t really understand people, and has a hard time relating to them, but he likes them nonetheless.

Like most Dragons, Halcyon has the instinctual urge to hoard things. His favoured item just so happens to be books, which are extremely easy to find in the city he lives in. As hard as he tries, he’s never able to return his library books in a timely manner. He’s done his best to write his hoarding tendencies off as average for his species, but the town has definitely noticed. Halcyon isn’t good at lying. He’s only good at keeping his mouth shut.

While in his true form, his true colours do shine a lot more. He’s been tasked with the work of a demigod, and something like that can put a lot of pressure on a person. While disguised it’s easy to pretend he’s someone he’s not, but in his true form he’s forced to face reality. Halcyon believes he’ll never fully live up to his father’s image, and he’s terrified that any mistake he makes while pretending to be the Great Dragon will cause the end of the world. He’s more likely to doubt himself or make a wrong move, just because he spends too much time overthinking his actions.

## **Abilities**

**Strengths:** Strength

**Weaknesses:** Self doubt

**Weapons/Tools:** Natural weapons

Like many Dragons, Halcyon is able to breathe a burning hot flame from his mouth. The substance he produces is thick and heavy, almost like molten metal, and it’ll leave a scalding hot residue on anything it touches. Once it’s stuck to something, it’s extremely difficult to remove without waiting for it to cool down first.

Halcyon is a natural shapeshifter. He can change and warp his natural appearance without expending any of his Mana. This form can look like any creature, although the accuracy of his disguise largely depends on how familiar he is with the target. The caveat to this is that he’s unable to change his body colour. Sure, he could switch things up and make his primary colour gold rather than white, but no matter what his new form will always be white and gold just like his natural form. His eye colour cannot change either.

## **Health**

**Addictions:** None

**Mental Illnesses:** None

**Physical Illnesses:** None

**Disabilities:** None

**Allergies:** None

## **Backstory**

The Great Dragon has been a prominent and well-known figure in Mirror Domain since the great Demon infestation all the way back in year 0. Without him, Demons would have exterminated Mortals as a whole and taken over the world. His Magic was rumored to rival that of the Gods and, despite the world’s distaste for his kind, he used his powers to help put an end to the infestation once and for all. With the help of a powerful Relic he slowed the infestation to a near halt. Once his work was done, he seemingly disappeared off of the face of the world never to be seen again.

Of course, this Dragon did not just disappear. From the very beginning Halcyon the first knew his presence in the world would only be tolerated for as long as he was needed. Once the infestation was taken care of, people’s patience for his Dragon-like tendencies would wean. The Relic he possessed was far too dangerous for the likes of Mortals, and Mortals seemed hellbent on destroying his species as a whole. So, the great Halcyon set off into the desert in order to find a place to settle down.

Years went by, and Halcyon the great had built himself a rather nice home out in the desert by Pelrior Abyss. A massive cave where he could train, study his Magic, and lay low from the world until his presence was needed once more. It was a lonely existence, but Dragons are solitary creatures by nature. After awhile he got into a routine, and life went by as normal.

Of course, a Relic of such epic proportions like his could not stay hidden forever. This Relic gave Halcyon the great a steady supply of Purple Magic. A Magic that, at the time, was completely unknown to the rest of the world. As far as he knew, he was the only being in Mirror Domain who used the stuff. Still, his Relic was too powerful for its own good. A steady flow of Purple Magic had been seeping out of Halcyon since the day he’d gotten it, and because he’d spent much of his time since then near Pelrior Abyss the entire area had been completely flooded with it. Eventually people began to get curious about the odd happenings of the area. He’d been hidden from the world for a good two hundred years or so, but eventually he was discovered.

In the year 220ADI Halcyon encountered the first of many Magic researchers that’d eventually make their way to Pelrior Abyss. It was a small group of about 8 Mortals. There were only two of interest in the group; those two being a Sinvian named Julian and a Vulpine Kodin named Thorn. These two had started this research project in search of a place called the “Mirror Temple”. They knew that Mirrors used an unknown type of Magic, so when they discovered more of a similar type of Magic in this place they had to check it out. This group had been tracking the “source” of this Magic in hopes of finding the Mirror Temple. Unfortunately for Halcyon, the “source” of this Magic was his Relic.

The pair of Wizards eventually made their way to Halcyon’s cave, where they were left face to face with the enormous Dragon. Surprisingly, they weren’t aggressive towards him despite his standoffish nature. The both of them were far more interested in his Magic, to the point where they seemingly wrote off the fact he was a Dragon to begin with. People in pursuit of knowledge; knowledge that could come in handy when it came to preventing another infestation. Halcyon the Great knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his Magic a secret any longer, so on the condition that they kept his existence a secret from the rest of the world he agreed to help the pair study. The three of them became very close almost immediately. He’d been isolated for so long that Halcyon forgot what it was like to interact with people in a social setting. All of them had similar values, and they were all able to bond over their studies in Magic.

While they were close, all three of them knew that Halcyon would not be accepted into the world with open arms. Just like he thought, the world would only tolerate a Dragon like him for as long as he was needed. Seeing as his power wasn’t necessary at the time, people would treat him just as they’d treat any other Dragon. But, while not necessary for keeping Demons at bay, Halcyon was needed. He was one of the only creatures in Mirror Domain that knew how to use this mysterious Purple Magic. Pelrior Abyss was the new home of this Magic, and it needed it’s own protector. A protector like Halcyon.

A few more years went by, and eventually the small team of researchers led by Julian and Thorn turned into a small village, then into a sizable settlement.  Within the span of four years this settlement of Magic researchers had more or less been turned into a country of its own. The country of Barrowford. A country that Halcyon the Great was in charge of protecting. Keeping Barrowford “safe” wasn’t his biggest concern, however. Other than Julian and Thorn, Halcyon could care less about the safety of its citizens. Instead, he was more focused on keeping its Magic safe. Those who traveled to Barrowford with the intent of distributing its Magic to other areas of the world would all mysteriously “Disappear” as the Great Dragon had them picked off one by one. He didn't like killing Mortals, but at the same time he knew his Magic was too powerful for the rest of the world to handle. Something that could so easily stop the Demon infestation in the right hands could just as easily start it in the wrong ones. It was unfortunate, but it had to be done.

As the country grew bigger, more and more people were let in on the secret of the Great Dragon. More trusted wizards and mages, all of whom were similar to Julain and Thorn. People who could be trusted to utilize Purple Magic without abusing its power, and people who could be trusted to abide by the rules Halcyon the Great had set in place. Barrowford may not have had a king, but what Halcyon said goes. Consequently, Julian became the public face of the Great Dragon, so after a while whatever Julain said went as well. The people of Barrowford did not disobey Julian.

About fourty or so years after Barrowford was founded it had its first real “attack”. This attack was not an attack of Demons, however. The Demons of Mirror Domain had long since abandoned the area around Pelrior Abyss due to the Great Dragon’s presence. No, this attack was an attack of Dragons. Halcyon may have been one of the only Dragons in Barrowford itself, but Dragons were fairly common around Pelrior Abyss. Over the years more and more of these Dragons became aware of his influence, and they began to resent him for it. Sure, Dragons generally consider all pure creatures to be a threat to their existence, other Dragons included, but Halcyon was a special case. Magic such as his could easily throw the world into turmoil. Instead of cleaning up his mess, he instead began contributing to it by allowing other beings to use this power. It was unacceptable.

So, a small band of Dragons got together and began plotting Halcyon the Great’s downfall. He’d already stopped the infestation. His presence in the world was no longer needed, and him continuing to exist in the way he did would only put everyone in Mirror Domain at risk. Sure, he was a being of great power, but he was still Mortal. Any Mortal could be brought down, it was just a matter of strategy. The plan was to lure Halcyon away from Barrowford and into the Sanquet Mountain Range. There, they’d use both the lack of Purple Magic and the abundance of Red Magic to their advantage. Halcyon wouldn’t be able to easily replenish his Mana, and he’d be forced to deal with the dangers of Red Magic. It was the perfect plan.

Or at least it would have been, if everyone in the faction was in on it. The group had been ever so slightly divided into two. Those who wanted to kill Halcyon, and those who wanted to destroy his Relic. When the time came to finally carry out this plan, this division proved to be a fatal flaw. One Dragon in particular was particularly determined to keep him alive. A Dragon named Teka, who adamantly believed that Halcyon’s death would kickstart another infestation. If word got out he was dead, Demons would have to reason to stay in line. They’d be able to freely summon their own kind once again, and the infestation would start all over again. So, Teka set off to carry out her own plan. She’d wait until Halcyon was lured out of Barrowford, but before he got to the Mountain Range she’d lure him off towards the Windy Wilds. From there her plan was to rob him of his Relic and have it destroyed, but that part of the plan would never come to fruition.

While she was incredibly smart, Teka was not a strong Dragon. Her plan would only work so long as she could manipulate Halcyon into giving up his Relic, even for a brief moment, but Halcyon was not that naive. Not only that, but the longer Teka spoke with him trying to get his Relic, the more she began to side with him. Until then she never knew just how important this Relic’s Magic was to stopping the infestation. As far as she knew, Halcyon would be able to harness any type of Magic to the same extent, but she was wrong. Without the Relic’s Purple Magic, Halcyon was the same as any other Dragon. Not nearly strong enough or powerful enough to take on a second infestation. The more Halcyon spoke about his past, the more Teka became fascinated with him. Still, while she enjoyed hearing his tales of heroism the two simply weren’t compatible. Their values conflicted with each other far too much. The two remained together as a part of a temporary alliance until they could find a way to put a stop to the other planned attack against him. Teka was an insider, after all. She knew what the other Dragons were planning, and keeping her around would greatly benefit Halcyon in his quest to keep himself alive.

Of course, during the short stint the two were together, an egg ended up being laid. This egg would eventually hatch into the Great Dragon’s son; Halcyon the second. Hal was brought safely back to his father's resistance in Barrowford long before he hatched. Like most Dragons, his mother did not stick around after her and Halcyon the Great’s alliance was over and done with. Teka set off back to her own home once the faction against Halcyon was dealt with, leaving Hal to be raised solely by his father.

Hal grew up in Barrowford near its capital, Astra City. While his father had never planned on having any kids of his own, he knew he now had a legacy to uphold. So, from the beginning Hal was raised in his father's shoes. The early days of his life were spent learning how to identify Demons, proper hunting techniques, and even how to safely utilize Purple Magic. It was very difficult and intense work, but Hal enjoyed every minute of it. His father was a great and valiant hero! How could he not look up to him? Training was hard, but Hal couldn’t stand the thought of disappointing his father. No matter what he was put up against, he gave it his all. Well, sort of. As Hal grew older the pressure of living up to someone like his father really began to weigh on him. The older he got, the more he began to doubt his own abilities.

Still, while he did doubt himself, Hal’s childhood could be considered pretty good. The mornings were spent learning about Magic, the afternoons spent learning to hunt, and the evenings were spent at home with his father; listening to stories of his past. Hal loved his father's stories, and this eventually stemmed out to stories in general. He picked up a love for knowledge and reading because of his father's teachings, and this passion turned into a bit of an obsession. Like most Dragons, Halcyon the second was not exempt from a Dragon’s hoarding tendencies.

Every now and then his father would have to make his way into town to talk to Astra’s wizards. He had to ensure all was well within Barrowford, and if he wasn’t kept up to date with the happenings of the country hell could break loose at any moment. Hal was never allowed to accompany his father on these trips. Not only was he not able to utilize his shapeshifting ability yet, but his father thought it’d be too dangerous for word of his existence to get out. His father was already the target of both Demon and Dragon attacks. If word of Hal got out, his enemies could use that to their advantage. It’d put him at risk, and his father would never be able to forgive himself if Halcyon got hurt. So, he was kept hidden from the world.

Of course, this didn’t stop Hal from following his father in secret. All children go through a rebellious phase, Dragons included. He knew the dangers of his existence getting out, but Hal didn’t care. Whenever his father visited Astra he’d come back with books of all sorts. Books his father borrowed from the library, which had to be returned by the next visit. But Hal didn’t want to return the books, he wanted to keep them so he could read them over and over and over. So, he began to trail his father. He had to see this “library” place for himself. A building created solely to house books? Who wouldn’t want to see a place like that!

Still, his father was vigilant. A young Dragon like Hal never stood a chance against the eyes of an adult Dragon. Every time he’d try and follow his father he’d get caught. Sure, as time went on he’d get closer and closer to Astra, but no matter how hard he tried he’d never be able to get into the city’s borders. The closest he was ever able to get was just close enough to see the city over the horizon, but his father was too quick for him. In the end, he never made it into the city. Not while his father was still around, anyway. Life went on like this for about 75 years. Hal would spend his time following in his father's footsteps, both figuratively and literally. All of that would soon change, though, when a new threat came onto the scene.

Rumors of a powerful and unknown type of creature began to spread in Astra around the year 338. The wizards of Astra speculated that this creature was a Demon, but unlike most Demons which leaned more towards Red Magic, this Demon leaned towards Purple. Up until this point no Demon had ever dared to wield the Great Dragon’s Magic against him, so rumors such as these were extremely alarming. Still, while Halcyon the Great trusted Julian and the other wizards greatly, he had to see it for himself. If a creature like this really did exist, it was up to Halcyon to take it down. If it didn’t, he’d at least be able to put Barrowford’s mind at ease

The hunt for this elusive creature went on for weeks; during this time Hal was left to fend for himself. Sure, he wasn’t a helpless child anymore, but he still wasn’t used to being left alone like this. He’d never had to stay by himself for longer than a day or two up until this point, so being stuck in the cave by himself for an entire week was unnerving. With each passing day Hal would become more and more worried for his father’s wellbeing. Sure, he knew the Great Dragon would be able to handle himself, but he’d also never faced a threat like this before. Things could spiral out of control so easily, and his father could be left powerless to stop it. Just the thought made Hal’s stomach churn.

After two or so weeks of this hunt, Hal’s father stopped coming back to the cave all together. The last few times he’d stopped by he’d been covered in scrapes and bruises. Nothing too worrying, but he was definitely more injured than usual. It’d been over a week since his last visit, and Halcyon’s anxiety was starting to get the best of him. He had no way of knowing whether or not his father was ok. That, paired with the fact that he’d never been alone this long in his life, finally pushed him to a breaking point. He’d been told time and time again that he was to stay here, but now he didn’t care. If this threat really was as big as everyone said, he wanted to help his father in taking it down. Even if it meant putting himself at risk.

Using what he knew about tracking down Demons, Halcyon began to follow his father’s trail. Tracking a Dragon wasn’t all that different than tracking a Demon. Same methods, different target. It didn’t take long for Halcyon to find his father, but by the time he did it was too late. His trail led him to a horrid sight. Flashes of purple and red could be seen off in the distance, and Hal could hear the roars of both his father and his adversary. The screech of a Demon was hard to miss, especially one of this size. From here it was just a matter of getting to the battlegrounds.

Halcyon made it to the arena just in time to see this monstrous Demon shoot a devastating blast of Magic right into his father’s chest. They both looked heavily wounded, but the Demon still had enough energy to put up a fight. Just as the rumors had said this Demon did indeed use Purple Magic as well as red. The attack it’d used appeared to be a mix of both. Immediately after being struck by the attack the Great Dragon’s skin began to bubble and blister and slough off around the center. Rotten smelling blood started to pour down from the wound, and his father began to stagger and stumble in a feeble attempt to keep himself upright. The Demon, upon seeing the Great Dragon topple to the ground, began going in for the kill. It reared up on its hind legs and opened its mouth in preparation to shoot off another attack.

Halcyon could not stand idly by and let his father be slaughtered like this. The Demon had already been weakened. It was only marginally better than his father was. If one blast could down his father, surely one could down the Demon. So, as the Demon prepared it’s attack Halcyon did the same; only this time he wasn’t using the aid of his Magic. Magic would take too long to prepare, and the Demon may be able to attack first if he did so. Instead, he built up as much of his fire breath as he possibly could and sent a scalding hot blast of molten sludge directly at this Demon’s middle mass. The Demon simply wasn’t prepared for such an attack. It screeched in pain as Hal’s fire breath clung to it’s skin and began to burn it away. Hal’s attack has caused the demon to waste its own. It was most definitely low on Mana by this point, so as an act of self preservation the demon fled.

Halcyon would have ran off in pursuit of this Demon, but he was stopped by his father. He may have been heavily wounded, but his drive to protect his son won out in the end. He was able to muster up just enough strength to stand upright and grab Hal by the tail before he ran off after the Demon. This was the limit of his strength, though. After this he fell to the ground once again, and this time he wouldn’t get back up. The Great Dragon could sense this was the end. He’d expended all of his Mana, and he didn’t have the strength to rise to his feet even with Hal’s aid.

Knowing he was going to die, Halcyon the Great removed his pendant from around his neck and handed it over to his son. Someone had to protect Barrowford in his absence, and what better person to do so than his own son? That wasn’t it, though. Halcyon knew that when he died, all of his accumulated knowledge would die with him. So, while he still had some time left, he sat his son down and began explaining everything about his work. That day he told stories of his past he swore he’d take to his grave. Anything and everything that’d allow Hal to successfully carry on his legacy, even if it made him think less of his father. His last request was for Halcyon to go into Astra and alert Julian and Thorn of his death. The wizards of Barrowford would have to be prepared for the major change in the world. News of the Great Dragon’s death could not be allowed to get into the public eye, but it was immensely important that the wizards knew. If this information got into the wrong hands it could spell disaster. Demons could take advantage of this to kickstart another infestation. Julian and Thorn had to be prepared for this.

Halcyon did not take his father’s death well. For days he stayed by his side, hoping he’d get back up again, but he never did. Sure, Halcyon knew his father’s job was dangerous. Any job that involved getting into fights regularly would be, but his father was the Great Dragon himself. He was under the false impression that his father was invincible. But he wasn’t. His father was dead, and now Halcyon was the only one left to take his place. The pressure was intense, and he had absolutely no idea how he was going to deal with all of this on his own. That’s when he began taking his father’s request into consideration. He didn’t have to face this alone. He had an entire city that’d be able to help him figure all of this out.

There was one glaring issue with all of this, though. Not only had Halcyon never met Julian or Thorn, but he’d never even been to Astra City. He knew where it was, sure, but he didn’t know anything about its layout or how to navigate the place. On top of that, he still wasn’t 100% confidant in his shapeshifting abilities. He didn’t even know what he should turn into in order to communicate with the city. All he knew is that a Dragon in its natural state would insight a panic, even if that Dragon was the Great Halcyon’s son.

Almost a week after his father’s death Halcyon finally made his way to Astra City. There was a lot to do upon his arrival, and he wasn’t entirely sure where to start, but he had to start somewhere. He figured the best starting point would be tracking down Julian and Thorn in the first place. So, upon entering the city, Halcyon made his way to the nearest public building and began asking around for the two. This building happened to be Astra City’s very own library. What could he say? He’d always wanted to see the library, and now he finally had the chance to. Ideally his first visit would have been under much different circumstances, but some things can’t be helped.

Halcyon had taken the form of a Lesser Dragon in order to get into the city. It was a bit too on the nose for his liking, but he wanted to be absolutely sure that he’d be able to keep up his disguise. A Lesser Dragon was different enough from a Dragon to pass off as a different person, but not so different that Halcyon wouldn’t be able to turn into a convincing one. With this new form, he made his way into the library to ask around for Julian and Thorn. Surely someone in town would know where to find them considering how prominent they were in Barrowford. Of course, nothing could be easy. The second Halcyon stepped foot into the library he was approached by the city’s librarian who began excitedly berating him with questions.

The librarian was a Sinvian named Ruby. She was talking far too quickly for Halcyon to follow, but from what he was able to gather she knew of the Great Dragon, and she was under the impression that Halcyon was his father. Apparently his father was just as creative as Hal was when it came to choosing a disguise. He too took the form of a Lesser Dragon when he had to visit the town, and his form was nearly identical to how Halcyon looked now. Now Halcyon was at an impasse. On one hand, he had come to Astra to break the news of his father's death, but on the other hand this information could spell disaster for Mirror Domain as a whole. He eventually decided that it’d be best to play along for now, just until he was able to talk with Julian and explain the situation. Julian and Thorn could take things from there.

After an exacerbating conversation with Ruby which mostly consisted of Halcyon dodging her constant string of questions he was finally able to narrow down a few places to find Julian. Thorn had long since moved to another part of Barrowford, and he only stopped by Astra when he knew Halcyon was stopping by. Julian, however, was in charge of the city. He’d be pretty easy to track down. There was only so many places in town he could be. So, Halcyon thanked Ruby for her time and once again set off in search of Julian.

The longer Halcyon was in town, the more he came to realise just how many people knew his father. It seemed like everywhere he went at least one person knew him. This only put more pressure on Halcyon. His father had such a close and trusted band of followers, and it was up to him to let them all know he was dead. It was all too much for him. Not only would all of these people be crushed to learn about his death, but the news would undoubtedly incite a panic within the city. In the end, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. All of these people seemed to think he was his father. Word of his death would cause disaster to strike. So, why tell anybody at all?

Halcyon didn’t want to lie to anybody, but the more he thought about it the more it began to make sense. Demons didn’t dare cause a ruckus for fear of the Great Dragon returning, and Mortals didn’t mess with Purple Magic for very similar reasons. His father hadn’t really done anything to actively prevent either problem from arising for several years. No, he’d been laying low and keeping to himself. It wasn’t the Great Dragon preventing people from getting into trouble, it was the idea of him that was keeping problems at bay. As long as people still believed his father was around the world would more or less keep itself in order, and as long as he kept his mouth shut no one would have any reason to believe otherwise.

But there was one major issue with this. Halcyon couldn’t just disappear. His father made the point of regularly visiting the city and keeping tabs on the happenings of the world. If he suddenly stopped showing up, the city’s wizards may start to believe he was indeed killed by this Purple Magic Demon. He knew the wizards were aware of this Demon in the first place, so there was no escaping it. Halcyon had been told stories of his father’s past hundreds of times, and he made a point of telling his son about his current endeavors with the city as well. With all of this information at hand, Halcyon was pretty confident he’d at least be able to pass off as his father temporarily until he could find a suitable excuse to disappear.

Halcyon got to a point where he was able to space out his visits. It took a heap of excuses and a lot of dodged questions, but eventually he got to a point where his presence in the city was only expected every other month. But this led to another issue. While he was able to keep up this ruse that his father was alive, Halcyon found being by himself for months at a time to be extremely lonely. Before his father’s death the longest he’d ever been alone was about a week, and even that was unusual. Now he was forced to be by himself for months on end. The loneliness and boredom began to wear on him.

Years went by, and Halcyon had almost entirely removed himself from the city. It got to a point where his visits only happened twice a year, and when they did arrive they were an extremely important event. Instead of just having Julian and Thorn sit in on his meetings, it was all of the wizards who were trusted with the knowledge of his existence. What started as two people soon turned to three, then six, then ten. Eventually there was a group of twelve wizards who’d all gather at city hall whenever Halcyon came to visit. It was a big and important event, and Halcyon didn’t like it. He didn’t want his presence in the city to be such a huge deal, he wanted to be invisible. The less he had to interact with the wizards, the less of a chance one of them would figure him out.

Both of Halcyon’s needs conflicted with each other. On one hand, he wanted to be invisible. A ghost of his father’s past. On the other hand, the solitude was killing him from the inside out. Being alone like this forced him to be stuck with his thoughts, and his thoughts would always inevitably turn to the day his father died. What he could have done differently. How he could have saved him. How he could have avoided putting himself through the hell he was currently stuck in. Not even his books could free him from these thoughts. He needed a change in routine before he went absolutely insane, but there was seemingly no way out.

By this point Halcyon’s ruse had been going on for about 475 years. Keeping it up any longer would be far too taxing on his mental health, so he made a plan to come clean about everything. He wanted to let everything out so he’d finally be free from the weight of his lies. But he didn’t want to just drop this news on everyone all at once. As much as he wanted to be free from this lie, he wasn’t stupid. Word of this would still cause a panic, even if it had been nearly 500 years since all this went down. Halcyon decided that it’d be best to start with one person. See how they took the news, and then adjust his strategy from there. The person he decided to tell was none other than Julian. He had been in it since the beginning after all. Plus, if he stopped by the city suddenly he wouldn’t have to put up with everyone else. He could reliably talk to Julian one on one, making him the best option.

Of course, an unwarranted visit to the city like this certainly caused a bit of an uproar. Only the wizards knew who Halcyon was, or rather who he claimed to be, but people like Julian’s assistant or the university workers knew he was a fairly important figure in the town. Word was starting to get out, so Halcyon did his best to get to Julian as fast as possibly. Luckily for him, Julian was right in his office as he usually was. Once he got inside, talking privately was simple. No one dared interrupt a meeting with Halcyon.

Once there, Halcyon immediately spilt his guts. He told Julian about everything. How his father died, how the Demon had gotten away, and most importantly why he’d done what he did. He found that once he started talking he couldn’t stop. It all came flowing out in one impossibly long and emotional rant. Halcyon hadn’t shown real emotion like that since the day his father died. He completely broke down in Julian’s office. Of course, Julian sat idly and listened to his rant intently. It was clear he wasn’t expecting any of this, but he saved all of his comments for the end. He didn’t want to upset Halcyon any further.

After telling Julian everything, he got to his main point; the fact he wanted to let everyone else in on this. Not only did Julian not approve of this, but he was adamantly opposed to it. Not only would it be extremely difficult to prove this to the others, but none of them would gain anything by doing so. Halcyon had let one person in on his ruse. That was more than enough. Like Halcyon, Julian knew that word of this getting out would spell disaster for Mirror Domain. He’d already dug himself this deep into this ruse. At this point, coming clean would be more detrimental than anything else. Reluctantly, Halcyon agreed. It was foolish of him to lie like this in the first place, but he had to make peace with it. But there was still one problem. He could deal with keeping his lie going. Given how long it’d been and how little evidence there was to the contrary other than Halcyon’s word it was almost impossible for him to be found out accidentally. The problem lied with Halcyon’s mental status. He couldn’t stand being alone anymore. Being alone in his father's house, permanently trapped with his own thoughts. It was maddening.

That’s when Julian suggested moving. He’d said it himself, he needed a change in routine. What better way to do that than moving out and making a fresh start? Forge a home all of his own. Not only that, but he could move wherever he wanted. If he didn’t want to be alone, he could easily move closer to the city. Julian could make whatever excuses he had to to the other wizards. If Halcyon didn’t want to be alone anymore, he’d make accommodations for him. It wouldn’t be hard to explain someone like Halcyon to some of the other townsfolk. Barrowford was composed of Magic researchers and Demon hunters. Halcyon was both! It’s not like he’d stand out all that much. Halcyon thought over Julian’s offer, and eventually he decided that it’d be a good idea. Maybe not to move directly into the city, seeing as he was still a Dragon, but moving closer to Astra and out of his old home would be a good change of pace. Maybe now he’d finally be free from his thoughts.

The move took quite some time. It was hard to forge a den suitable for a Dragon without drawing at least a little bit of attention. He was nearly caught several times, but the wizards all had his back. By the year 813 construction on his new home was complete, and Halcyon was fully moved in. Now it was only a matter of assimilating him to the town. It wouldn’t be too hard, but Halcyon would have to learn how to fit in with the general population. Sure, he was quite a bit older now, and he had been dealing with Astra for a few hundred years, but in the past the only people who he interacted with directly were people who already knew who he was. Any odd behaviour he may have exhibited was written off due to that. Now, though, he had to deal with people who didn’t know he was a Dragon. Any quirks he had would come across as weird or unusual, and he didn’t want to draw any suspicion.

Time went on. Halcyon slowly learned more and more about how regular Mortals lived, and eventually he began to fit in. There were definitely things he didn’t understand about “normal” life, but he didn’t have to understand people fully to fit in. He just had to accept these things as normal and move on. After a few years of living in town he joined the local Demon Hunting guild; mostly to get insight on how Mortals dealt with the current Demon problem, but also as a bit of a cover. If people knew he was part of the guild he could get away with talking about past hunts without drawing attention to himself. He also felt more at ease in the guild. Most of its members were Lesser Dragons, which was the form he took while disguising himself. Being around them more allowed him to better fit in with his own species.

The more Halcyon got involved with the town, the less time he spent dwelling on the past. For the first time in a long time he was able to breathe easy and relax himself. Still, he wanted to do more than just hunt Demons. That’s all he’d ever done. Sure, he lined hunting Demons. It was his way of carrying on his father's work, but doing so day in and day out was beginning to get dull. So, Halcyon decided to pick up another job in town. Guild work was done on a job by job basis. There were no set hours, so getting a second job wouldn’t be much of an issue. It’d mean going on less hunts and making less money from the guild, but it was his intention to go on less hunts and money wasn’t an issue to someone like himself. After some time and consideration, Halcyon decided to get a job at the local tavern. He’d been there several times in the past with the guild, and he figured hanging around creatures other than Lesser Dragons would show him more sides to Mortal life. Plus, it could be fun learning a new skill or two.

All of that brings us to where Halcyon is now. He’s been living in Astra for the past 37 years, keeping an eye on the city from the shadows and making sure the legacy of the Great Dragon lives on. Other than his current employer, Hook, no one has ever really been suspicious of his true identity. The wizards have been keeping this secret from the beginning, and Halcyon had accepted the fact he was living a lie a long time ago. At first Hook’s suspicion was a bit alarming. No one had ever shown the slightest amount of suspicion before then, so his accusations really caught him off guard. That is, they did, until Halcyon realised that Hook was almost completely out of his mind. No one had ever taken his conspiratorial ramblings seriously, so while they did find it a bit unusual for Halcyon to suddenly be the center of his rants, they never pinned that on Halcyon. They all wrote it off as Hook being insane.

New problems have been arising as of late for Halcyon, but they all seem to be more of the same. With every new day, a new problem Demon comes to light. But so long as Halcyon can keep them at bay there shouldn’t be any issues. He likes his life, and he doesn’t intend on changing his routine again any time soon. Unless a world ending Demon comes to light or Hook’s conspiracies begin making sense to the rest of the town, Halcyon plans on staying right where he is as long as possible.

## **Relationships**

**Hook Rigby:** Halcyon’s current employer. He’d reluctantly consider Hook to be a friend, but at the same time he has very little patience for his antics. Hook makes no effort in concealing his suspicions towards Halcyon’s true identity, and it’s really starting to get on his nerves. Still, he’s known Hook for over twenty years, and there’s still always something new with him. At the very least he’s entertaining to watch.

**Hazel Vetelet:** Halcyon isn’t all that close with Hazel, but he makes an effort to be nice to him nonetheless. He was one of the people involved with finding Hazel to begin with, so he knows just how difficult the start to his life was. Hazel’s not a very bright kid, but they both work for Hook. The least he can do is try to keep a good relationship with him, even if he is annoying as all hell and horribly incompitant at his job.

**Mouse Clementine:** Seeing as Mouse’s house is the closest building in town to Halcyon’s, the two have gotten to know each other over the years. Seeing as Mouse works with Hook on occasion, both businesses have gotten to know each other. Halcyon would consider Mouse a good acquaintance, although he doesn’t agree with her stance on Magic. Still, the two get along pretty well otherwise. She’s one of the few Whiver Halcyon puts up with without issue, other than Hazel.