Draco Altarian

Art by Railroad-blues

**Draco Altarian** is a turian mercenary and pyromaniac native to the independent world of Estivus Erax. A reformed criminal, he is a known and active member of the Altakiri Nightblades.

## Biography

Draco Altarian was born into a tumultuous household. His father was Calamir, a labourer, and his mother Aurea worked as a cook in an educational facility in the city of Estivus Erax, the capital city of the separatist turian colony of Altakiril. Draco endured a difficult upbringing and suffered terribly as he watched his troubled parent’s relationship break apart; they fought frequently, sometimes violently, and separated when Draco was nine years old. Despite their disdain for each other, they both tried to do their best when it came to raising their son.

Calamir provided a safe home and worked to secure an education for his son. Aurea, despite her efforts to stay in her son’s life, drifted away from her family, falling deeper into substance abuse. She eventually found a new man, and created a new family, which ended much the same way.

For all her faults, Draco loved his mother, but the strain she placed on the family was more than the young boy could bear. With few outlets for his stress and anger, Draco became prone to violent outbursts, frequently fighting with other children, bullying them, and committing acts of theft and vandalism. His father tried to reign him in, but he simply wasn’t equipped to deal with Draco and provide him with his emotional needs. Eventually, the young turian found something to relieve his stress and fill the void that his mother left behind.

Draco became obsessed with fire. The act of setting something alight and watching it burn before his eyes was immensely pleasurable for him. Whenever the stress built up so much that it was too much to bear, setting something on fire became something of a release for him. As he watched things burn away, so too did his troubles - temporarily. His newfound outlet came to light when he set the gardens of his school ablaze, rendering them to ash. He was subsequently kicked out of school and submitted to a facility where his problem could be treated.

Draco would endure years of therapy, and he was in and out of institutions throughout his teenage years. Calamir struggled not only to pay for his son’s treatment, but also struggled to control him. Draco had fallen in with Altakiril’s undesirables, and he often resorted to thievery and assault just to get by, insisting that he had no other choice if he and his father were to survive. At the age of sixteen, Draco had ended up in prison. Calamir decided to cut ties with his wayward son - though it broke his heart to do so.

Feeling angry and abandoned by everyone close to him, Draco would spend the next decade of his life in and out of prison. When he was 21 he found a job as a laborer and met his first wife, Caela. They had two children together, but not unlike his parents, their relationship was tenuous and strained. Draco’s pyromaniac tendencies frightened Caela and she eventually decided that she and her children were no longer safe with Draco. They separated, and Caela blocked Draco from having a role in their children’s lives.

Draco’s antics would eventually catch the eye of a turian named Silas Niralex, a recruiter for the Altakiri Nightblades - a shadowy private militia known for rehabilitating turian criminals and finding a place for them in the world. Silas saw great potential in Draco - he was intelligent, cunning, good in a fight, and he showed signs of wanting to change. Silas offered Draco a place in the Nightblade training program, where he would be trained and psychologically treated - moulded into a model soldier - and all of this funded by the organisation, in exchange for unwavering loyalty and mandatory service as a member of their fighting forces.

Seeing a way out of his old life, Draco accepted.

The training and conditioning Draco endured was profoundly difficult, but it was perfectly adapted to him. He found himself challenged and tested in ways that were constructive, and his confidence was bolstered. He was taught new ways of dealing with stress, and the Nightblades provided him with a healthy outlet for his pyromantic tendencies. With a strict and carefully structured program, behavioural therapy, and the camaraderie of his fellow scoundrels-turned-soldiers, Draco was a changed man.

Draco spent a number of years during his training as a service member of the City Fire Authority in Estivus Erax. He learned everything there was to know about fire safety and fire-fighting, adding invaluable skills to his arsenal.

During his resocialisation he was encouraged to take part in a prison dating program to help him practice his newfound social skills. It was the one area of his life he couldn’t seem to turn around, however. He met a woman, Vellea, and married her barely a year into their relationship. It wasn’t long before it broke down, and they separated about 6 months after their initial marriage. Draco was encouraged to work on making more friends instead of lovers - though he didn’t take that advice to heart.

He served as an operative in the Altakiri Nightblades once he completed his program, and rose through the ranks quickly, establishing himself as a reliable - if rash - soldier. Altakiril was a relatively isolated colony, far removed from many of the troubles occurring elsewhere in the galaxy. People had their own troubles in the Terminus Systems, and Altakiri trading routes were frequently visited by pirates and raiding parties. Draco’s main concern was the defense of his home colony, and the debt he owed to the Nightblades.

Draco still found time for troubled romances. He grew fond of an infamous asari pirate from the Nemean Abyss; her name was Mana, and she was wild and violent, and beautiful. She was fond of him as well - but their meetings as star-crossed lovers were brief and fraught with danger. Draco wondered that if he had chosen a different path, perhaps they could’ve been together - but he knew that if he had not chosen to become a Nightblade, he would not have met her in the first place.

Silas greatly admired the change Draco had achieved in his life, but felt that there was a life for his pupil beyond the colony of Altakiril - and an opportunity for the Nightblades to spread their influence. Draco was charismatic and competent, and utterly loyal. So, one day he made Draco an offer he simply could not refuse.

The Nightblades offered Draco funding for transportation and upkeep of his equipment, and a comfortable salary to live on. In return, he would travel across the galaxy as their agent, seeking out potential partnerships and connecting them directly to the organisation. He would also work as a freelancer and work to spread the reach of the Nightblades across the galaxy. Only a select few were chosen by the Nightblades for this role - and Silas believed Draco to be the perfect fit.

Excited to travel and see the galaxy beyond the Attican Traverse, he happily accepted, and has spent the last 12 months working for the Nightblades as a free agent.

## Personality

Draco lacks the rigidity and discipline that is typical of turians - as a product of an independent separatist colony and its corrupt prison system, Draco is wily and roguish; a scoundrel at heart. He is also incessantly charming, gritty, quick-witted, with a sense of humour as dry as a bone. Despite his troubled life, he never fails to see the funny side of things. He often uses humour as a way of coping with difficulty.

A pyromaniac in his youth, Draco once experienced great pleasure and stress relief from the act of lighting a fire. He has undergone years of behavioural therapy and psychotherapy as treatment, though he struggled throughout his adolescence and frequently ended up in prison. When he was acquired - and rehabilitated - by the Altakiri Nightblades, he was put through intensive combat and fire safety training and instructed in the proper use of fire as a weapon as an ‘outlet’ for his impulses. His time with the Nightblades has for the most part ‘set him straight’ and turned him into a ‘productive member’ of galactic society. His knowledge and rather unsettling fascination for fire continues to this day, though he - in his opinion - now puts his skills in arson to a more ‘constructive’ use.

Draco’s wild and unruly nature is now a thing of the past, and he is now relatively stable. He occasionally struggles against authority, but only in regards to things that he feels very strongly about; he trusts his intuition and listens to his heart more often than his head. When something just doesn’t feel right, he pays attention to that feeling, despite reason or logic. Ultimately, Draco is an obedient and loyal soldier; he freely shares his opinions, but at the end of the day he will do as he is commanded.

His troubles also extend to his personal life, enduring two failed marriages, estranged children and a complicated relationship with an asari pirate lord. Draco craves affection and approval, but he is a difficult and overly intense turian and struggles with personal relationships.

## Physical Description

Draco is a grim-looking turian. He is tall and sinewy, with dark grey plating and a lighter brown-grey complexion. In a certain light, his skin has a metallic purple sheen, and is mottled all over. He wears the markings of the Altakiri Nightblades; geometric shapes around his eyes and down his chin in black. In contrast to his dark colouring, his eyes are bright orange.

Draco’s combat gear is a collection of grungy mismatched parts, all painted in black and grey. The lights of his suit emit a red-orange glow, and all of his equipment is similarly customised to match.

At first glance, he appears confident and self-assured. He is articulate and sharp-tongued, and his ashy voice is quite distinctive.

## Armament

When in combat, Draco utilizes a Phaeston assault rifle and an M-12 Locust submachine gun, both of which he has modified with Incendiary Ammo. He also carries Inferno Grenades into combat, and his omni-tool is equipped with the Combat Abilities Fortification, Ballistic Blades, Incinerate and Flamethrower. Fittingly, his omni-blade emits flames when activated as well.

## Family

* Aurea - *Mother*
* Calamir Altarian - *Father*
* Caela - *Ex-wife*
* Vellea - *Ex-wife*
* Unnamed Child
* Unnamed Child