Zmeyevich

Weight: 10lb

A traveler from another continent, Zmeyevich was forced by war and necessity to throw his lot in with Serren of Mhor. His story continues alongside Serren's, whether he likes it or not. He was created and RPed by sea-lamprey.

## Personality

***Principled (but Vengeful)***

Zmeyevich believes in the law of equivalent exchange — that is to say, both good deeds and bad must be repaid in equal measure. He believes strongly in debts, and will practically fall over himself to repay those he considers himself “indebted” to, for it irritates him greatly to feel as though he is not on equal standing with another creature. (The protests of those creatures who did him a good turn out of the kindness of their hearts rather than because they expected equal payment in return will go unheard. Unconditional generosity annoys him — why do something for someone and then say you don’t expect anything back? Seems suspicious.) Similarly, if one forges a contract with Zmeyevich, he will never break it.

The darker side of this trait appears when one breaks a contract with him, or if he is harmed or betrayed. Zmeyevich NEVER forgets a slight against himself or those he considers dear, and he will be sure to retaliate in kind…

***Arrogant***

Smaller than average he may be, but Zmeyevich still believes himself a king of the sky. He holds himself both above and apart from others, looking at them from down high with a critical gaze. Wolves, in particular, he holds in contempt — short-lived and dull creatures they are, from his perspective, and his observations of the Hive’s behavior since arriving in the Domain have left on him a poor impression of canine common sense in general. He isn’t shy about showing his disdain, either. It’s a difficult task for anyone to meet Zmey’s high standards.

***Finicky***

There are a lot of things Zmeyevich simply refuses to do, usually because he thinks it’s beneath him. He won’t hunt for himself or anyone else — if the food isn’t already dead, he doesn’t want anything to do with it. He won’t do anyone any favors without payment. He won’t show himself in public while molting, and he gets frustrated with those he associates with if they walk around looking similarly disheveled.

***Lonely***

Zmeyevich decided long ago that he would simply be an observer to life, not a participant in it. Deep down, though, he yearns for something more — for relationships that aren’t just transactional, the kind of lifelong bond that he’s seen in others but has never been able to find for himself. Real friends. A home. His long memory has only served to make him achingly sentimental for all the moments he’s nearly, but not quite, felt like he’s belonged somewhere.

## History

He hatched in a lean year. His parents did their best for their only chick, but in the end it was a miracle they were able to feed him enough to keep him alive. Cinereous chicks are supposed to grow large and heavy, but even as Zmeyevich reached fledging age he was frightfully small. Still, a runty chick was better than a dead one, and his parents cared for him just the same.

Despite everything, his flight feathers came in healthy, and he was able to take his first flight just a little later than most chicks would have. Alongside his parents he learned to soar, to seek out carcasses with his sharp eyes, and to use his beak to pry open carcasses. He lived a little over half a year with them, but all too soon it came time for Zmeyevich to make it on his own.

It took a while for him to realize there was anything wrong with him. His parents had been much bigger than him, of course — but to Zmeyevich that had only seemed natural. He was young; he was still growing. But as years passed, as his black subadult plumage was replaced with the rich browns of adulthood, he remained much smaller than his peers. While others of his kind could rule over large carcasses with an iron talon, Zmeyevich lacked the strength to fight for the best cuts of rotting meat. Unless he was lucky enough to find a carcass before anyone else, he was relegated to snatching at scraps on the sidelines with the crows.

The greatest humiliation, however, arrived when it came time for him to seek a mate. Zmeyevich had never cared for the idea much, but it still rankled to be outright ignored by every potential partner. It felt as though he shared no more in common with his own kind than he did with the scrawny yolk-faced vultures of the south, or the haughty golden eagles of the north. Other cinereous vultures treated him as though he was a different species.

Fine, then, he thought. Fate had decided he wasn’t meant to truly participate in life; he would observe instead. Zmeyevich may not have been blessed with majestic size, but he was blessed with keen eyes and a powerful memory. And so he opened his wide wings and took off, towards the north, towards the high mountains, to see all the sorts of life that could be seen.

For years he traveled across the northern lands, coming across all kinds of sights both strange and magical. He found no place to truly belong, but vultures are common everywhere, and a creature that preys on the dead is more welcome than one that preys on the living. He met all sorts of creatures; heard their stories and traded his own; made transitory friendships.

He crossed paths with his own kind from time to time, but the relationships he forged with them felt no more profound than those he built with other species entirely.

Life continued onwards in this way, up until that fateful day when a brutal winter storm blew him far off course, and he was stranded in a land unlike any he had known before…

## Trivia

* He has a near-perfect memory. Good luck getting him to forget any promise you’ve made to him.
* He enjoys telling stories about places he’s been — a lot of them sound pretty impossible to most residents of the Domain, though. I mean, come on — giant animals with noses so long they can hold things with them? Seems fake. And what the hell is a “hedge hog”
* Serren’s superstitious respect for vultures is not something he’s used to, but it seems pretty useless to him anyway, considering they still won’t let him ride on their back

## External Links

Official Application Sheet

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