Summary:
Tempest is a young Arctic Oceanic Drake from a dying breed that’s been poached into near extinction for their ability to manipulate water. Since being liberated from the New Zealand royal navy’s control, he’s been roaming the seas alone for several years in hopes of seeking out other dragonkin.
Personality:
For the most part, he's a jovial type of being, lazy, and an idiot at times, rarely takes anything seriously.
Abilities:
- Aquamancy -
Tempest possesses an advanced form of water manipulation, being able to create tsunamis, summon hurricanes at will, conjure up storms, whirlpools, or shoot beams of pressurized water at either an enemy or prey. His skills even allow him to influence the water molecules in a person’s blood to a degree. For fast travel across the seas, he can manipulate the surrounding water to propel himself at unimaginable speeds below or above the surface.
- Ice Magic -
Another unique trait his kind carries. This includes being able to cool his surroundings, freeze a selection of water, create hardened ice spikes that can be turned into projectiles, and cause a devastating hailstorm by freezing a small portion of the heavens. A common defense move used by him is creating thick ice walls.
Weather Manipulation - Like the rest of his kin, he can conjure up devastating storms and hurricanes. This allows him to flood entire towns and cities if given enough time. While weather control can be one of his most powerful abilities, it often burns out most of his magic depending on the scale it’s being done on.
Lightning Redirection - Exactly what it sounds like. Knowing basic Atomkinesis has enabled him to draw electrons from the atmosphere until they can be charged enough to create a brief bolt and be projected where he wishes. If not done correctly, Tempest can risk frying himself in the process or anyone around him. This rare attack move doesn’t change the fact he’s vulnerable to electricity naturally. This can only be used if a severe thunderstorm is present.
Weapons:
Poseidon’s Trident - A legendary item given to him by the God of the seas himself. This allows Tempest to use more special forms of water manipulation and can be used as a melee weapon while in human form. In addition, the Trident can break any Ocean bound curse or be used to alter the sea level.
Appearance:
Tempest is roughly ninety-one feet in length from head to tail. Reflective azure scales cover most of his hulking form, with a golden underbelly and varying turquoise flippers. Three horns can be found bent back across his head almost like a trident, along with emerald serpentine irises, and webbed ears. While he lacks a pair of wings, two large fins remain on his back to keep him level in water. Gold spinal fins run down along his armored back and stop near the end of the tail.
Long ago sea drake populations used to range in the hundreds per pod, arguably one of the ultimate apex predators with the exception of Leviathan. There were many different variations of them, from their unholy deep-sea cousins to freshwater species, tropic breeds, and many others throughout the globe. While their winged counterparts inland were being wiped out, their numbers in the wild remained unchanged for some time.
With the industrial age came the ultimate decline. As mankind's technology became more advanced, so did their weapons, and that enabled them to finally combat the aquatic dragons effectively despite their docile temperament. But this was not the root cause for their elimination: Pollution of the seas claimed more of their lives than humanity's crusade over could. As a direct result, most became biologically vulnerable and died of illness. All that contamination wiped out many of their pods. Tempest is one of the few survivors of this.
Prior to being forcibly separated from his mother, the juvenile of a drake was captured and had undergone training to serve the Navy for a new program they created. Though defiant at first, they managed to tame him when a woman named Diadena Hernandez was assigned to him as his handler. She succeeded in getting him to corporate and went on a number of missions with her Draconic partner. The two became emotionally attached after a period of time.
Once the news had spread of a decision to dissect him came about, Diadena removed his tracker and turned him loose. From there, he fled from the Naval base before migrating hundreds of miles away.
It was only later until the young Dovah heard a song coming from the shoreline. Something about that melody had drawn him towards it in ways that could not be described, other than an uncontrollable urge to confront it and be with whoever was singing it. The one responsible was what appeared to be a young brunette woman, who was too shocked to flee at the sight of him. In his seemingly delusional state, Tempest showered her with affection in the form of licks, nuzzles, and even attempting to hold her. As if knowing he'd be in danger just for staying out there in the open, she chose to travel and run off with him.
Whether his love for her became willing or was a long-term side effect of her sings, the two became an inseparable pair who got in and out of trouble together.
He was a Sea Dragon, she was a Siren, and neither one had a place to call home.
Together they became an unlikely duo, like two fugitives who had no one but each other to rely on.
As they carried on together, the two became increasingly frustrated with the size difference between them, it almost became a sort of barrier. To compensate for this, he drained the Siren's blood and replaced it with his own, which held some magical properties that could convert another into one of his kind. As a result, Clarion instead became a sea serpent. It was through him that she learned how to hunt prey with her new lifestyle. Them migrating together became a daily routine.
. . .
Sometime prior to meeting a man who forged an adopted family of monsters, something terrible happened that forced their group to disband. In the midst of all that chaos, Tempest and his mate Clarion were unable to locate each other quickly enough and fled separately. Just like last time, he was required to travel alone for a second time.
Hopefully for the last.
As for his whereabouts, Tempest is currently on an endless migration, whether it be in search of Clarion, the family, or to seek something else. With no one left to turn to, he conceals himself from any boats or ships that would draw attention to himself. He'll frequently roam in shallow waters, and is known to occasionally take on human form to explore any populated coasts thanks to a special transformation powder.
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Alternative Muses:
Answerer:
One of Tempest's surviving siblings, who was captured by Onyx Corp, had his memories wiped, received heavy augments for combat, and trained to be paired with a handler/rider. Like all augmented water drakes, Answerer mostly lacks a personality and only knows how to follow orders due to the brainwashing inflicted by his captors. He has a difficult time when it comes to independent thought.
Now without a rider, the modified brute actively seeks out another in hopes of being given a purpose again, unable to contemplate the idea of choosing his own path or going against what his mind was programmed to do. Anyone with a resemblance to his prior handler, even just personality-wise, is likely to be approached. It's not uncommon for someone to react negatively before Answer either retaliates or continues on.
When interacting with others, one of three things are likely to happen: Either assisting them, eliminating the one in question, or simply ignore said individual. Avoid falling into the wrong category unless he can be subdued.
Trua:
Being a former prince from a long-lost empire, Trua is a hybrid between an Eastern dragon and a European sea drake, able to wield both water and air-manipulation-based magic. This has enabled him to take to the skies, in addition to being amphibious.
Despite the incredible feats he's capable of, he is unusually small for a Dragon, being only twenty feet long from head to tail. The former royalty suffers from amnesia, unable to remember his past. To make matters worse, he often experiences back problems due to the disproportionate amount of weight on his spine from his body structure, also mute from an injury he received to his vocal cords.
It's common for him to hide his walking disability from others, which affects him even in human form, often choosing to sit in a wheelchair when possible, or swim in water while in his true appearance to reveal the strain on his bad spine. Others may find out from him hurting himself by accident or abruptly stopping during a lengthy walk.
To communicate with others since he's mute, Trua will either use sign language, or physically write words into soil or paper if someone doesn't know it.
Mel:
Being a biological uncle to and the same species as Tempest, Mel is an ancient sea drake who is also Trua's father, in addition to being the former leader of his now long lost pod. Said beast is very well composed due to being literally thousands of years old, he is both the oldest, largest, and most wise member of his kind, often being a father-like figure to those around who befriended him.
Having vast experience in combat, he is a prodigy with water-manipulation magic. It is said that wherever Mel is present, a great tropical storm will follow, and that his aquamancy is so advanced, that he can separate the hydrogen from oxygen, and ionize it to create a burning hot plasma, which can be fired in beams. Mel is also highly proficient in the use of cryomancy since ice is just water in a different form. Despite how devastating most of his ranged attacks can be, the big guy prefers getting up close and personal during a brawl. Very heavy explosives are needed to pierce his armored scales.
Due to his massive size, only large prey is sought after, often favoring large species of sharks (including Great Whites), walruses, and rays. One exception to this is sea lion pups, which he finds sweeter in terms of taste. Despite hunting all sorts of marine life, he does not prey on humans or two-legged beings.
Comments
// Sure, I would love to! What do you have in mind?
// Thanks for the invite!
The close proximity was met with a momentary side-eye before Raiya went back to looking out across the water. Her outward appearance suggested she was unbothered by the stranger’s unsoclicited advances, yet revealed that mild display of annoyance when her personal space was invaded.
“Aramos. Duly noted.” Raiya graced Aramos with a handshake in return, and intentionally left out her name. The elf turned back to the water, and an inclination of her attention was given to the sound of splashing behind them. A smile appeared as Tempest hauled himself onto the dock, features livened with amusement as Tempest knowingly splashed water upon Aramos.
No word of protest was given as Tempest’s arm pulled Raiya closer. Rather, the elf admittedly found herself entertained at the disgruntled reaction the stranger had towards the dragon and his antics. It was a petty feeling to have, this schadenfreude towards a stranger, yet she was not above playing along. Raiya leaned against the drake as he announced their departure, and went as far as coiling her own arm around her friend’s torso in return- consider it a degree of payback for Aramos overstepping unspoken boundaries.
“He didn’t seem particularly human to you, did he?” Raiya asked with a final quick glance over her shoulder after Aramos left. Her eyes were once again set upon the rippling mirror of the sea before them. “I’m ready.” That statement was a lie. Raiya had no idea what to expect next, but she chose to trust Tempest to at least warn her when her breath needs to be held.
Even before a single droplet hit, his form already flickered into nothing, leaving an empty space where he once stood. There was only a low hum of static as the shadows seemed to coalesce nearby where he finally materialized, looking deeply disturbed as he pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “All that fighting many years back only for the Empyrean’s beasts to get to this… have a shred of dignity, will you?”
"Do they... do they sell that nowadays?"
The only words she could use to describe this situation were ones she rarely used. Did she somehow wake up in a different dimension this morning and not know it? How did it all go from there being an outbreak of some kind of virus to freakin three headed zombie monsters that made her bowels go watery. She was glad she had not eaten in the last few days or she might have shit herself. This was waaay beyond the scope of keeping your cool under pressure. She thought as some huge mechanical thingie stepped over her and took out said theee headed zombie.
“Situational awareness??!!! Do I look like I have eyes in the back of my head?” She yelled but didn’t want an answer just in case she did and didn’t know about it.
As she took a step back, she was nearly against the dark scaled male and side stepped so as to not stomp on his tail, she doubted he would appreciate that. Though his body did make a good wall as she shot off the rifle and ended up pressed against his back with his tail between her feet. It gave her stability so she let that rifle fire until it had to blow off its heat.
Then she heard him yell something but her ears were ringing and it was muffled. So she turned and looked at him then saw his fingers point skyward. Her eyes took in the ship that was descending. That was who they could have used, Raiya but obviously she was not here. The blast of light made her hide her eyes for a moment and she felt a bit disoriented with the bright lights and the loud noises and the carnage….she was so gonna need therapy after this.
When she finally opened her eyes to squinting she saw the serpentine male hold his hand out and wave her to come on. So she did. She ran up to him and as he tossed the grenade she kept up onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso hooking her ankles together and held on for dear life.
As they made it inside everyone was snapping themselves down and into the cabin. She then let go of him and stumbled to a seat and locked herself in. She was covered in who knows what as she sat there silent and tense. The adrenaline probably made up ninety percent of her blood at the moment and she knew when it wore off she was going to crash hard.
“No one….will survive…will they?” She said staring at the bloodied boots of the male across from her. Then she began to laugh, but it was not the kind of laughing one does when something is funny. “I…spent my whole life saving people…and I just killed at least a dozen…” she said then began to laugh until she cried and that was when she began to sob.
She had dealt with crash victims, burn victims and babies that only lived minutes but she had never taken a life before. It tore at her core like something vile and violent and matched her sobs and the shaking of her body. She was a healer and never a killer, and now she was a killer and that cut through her like his saw blade.
Amare did not complain at any point, merely growling at points in which the cool water made her uncomfortable, it was obvious she wasn't too fond of the element, but there wasn't much she could do about it now either.
"As much as I'd like to fight someone else, I still have unfinished bussines with you, Sea Drake- "
The Wyvern exhaled loudly as she got back onto her talons, stretching her wings and feeling and odd lightness to them. Being a creature born from what was essentially a volcano, she didn't have the pleasure of being particularly clean. The crimson and charcoal colored sscales that covered her were now far smoother than she remembered, it was definetely a good change, even if she didn't admit it out loud, mostly out of shame.
Despite feeling as if she was being mocked by him with his grin, she didn't comment on this, becoming slightly more tame than she was before. She kept her head down for a bit, feeling her energy recovering was defintely a relief.
"It is certainly better- "
“Your words are kind. We have existed in solitude, and it ensures us our peace after the war. Even through the wars, life has thrived under our natural law unbothered by the topsiders. It was the last wish of my mother to preserve this temple and its waters for those who have fought to thrive here.”
There was a quiet moment when the empress’ expression changed. When the outsider went to turn, she spoke. “I admit, Tempest of Nightwing, I know very little of the above world. Our borders were sealed during the end of my youth. Whatever destruction or peace you know has not touched these waters over the countless years since. I look forward to hearing the stories of you and your two-legged friend.”
As they split ways, the water’s current shifted at Yuna’s departure. With a small leap to suspend herself, the dragoness’ serpentine body did a sharp turn before picking up sand once she darted off toward the temple. There was something ephemeral about the fluid motions as she spiraled off toward the entrance once again.
. . .
The Nereid had left in a hurry following her guidance.
Spencer relished his first breath of air enough that the stinging of the gills disappearing wasn’t a bother. To his great relief, the Rider’s quarters took him up a hallway housing a pocket of fresh air once meant for the queen’s partner himself. The den was a considerable size with moss-like plants texturing the walls, some flora giving a strange dim blue glow. There was a bed, a bookshelf, and a table among other decorations. He felt the full weight of his body again once he stepped out of the water. Although humid, his hair and clothes had a chance of drying some for the night.
Without thinking, the mage let himself fall back onto the bed to gather his breaths and his bearings. They had made it. Within the next hour, no matter how many questions, the ghost drifted off to sleep without trouble.
. . .
As the clicks of the water drake drew closer, the extra-terrestrial beast made no movements. His form rested below the base of the tunnel which emptied out into the Water Nation’s temple, just past the village. A back route had been taken, sparing the civilians of their startle from the looming creature in their entrance. Now Irrlith looked like no more than a strange rock formation among the ledges if it wasn’t the unique carvings that made up the beast’s plates. The heat of the magma that flowed below had been sought out by the brute; power came in many forms for the space beast. Where there was no sun nor oxygen, he could adapt.
The taps went unnoticed at first. The vibrations of the water drake’s speaking eventually caused the lumbering beast’s closest set of eyes to open and study the smaller. A pocket of air escaped from somewhere in the beast’s plates and trickled upward. When Tempest spoke of the news, Irrlith’s eyes opened to their fullest and the beast’s head rose slowly. He let out a low rumble from the depths of his chest and shut his eyes.
Look now.
Much like the premonitions the space beast gave at the surface, Tempest’s vision was taken over suddenly. The temple (as they saw it in the distance) appeared in Irrlith’s murky line of vision. There were few details other than inklings of where the hallways and corridors were at that distance. It was a wonder he could navigate the caves at all if it weren’t for his other senses. What they could see was another story.
Glowing forms were moving, some faint, others stronger. Spencer’s own whitish haze of an aura could be seen in a space near the temple’s other wing. Yuna’s own was a brilliant blue that lingered near the back of the temple. Amatheia’s aura was moving steadily towards the front entrance, having done her duty of escorting Spencer. It was an energy map. Among it, other specks of lighter blues and other shades lingered in the halls sparsely. Assistants, mermaids, and perhaps even drakes passed through on occasion. Just as Yuna promised, the temple was quiet for the duration of their resting period.
Irrlith’s sonar on lifeforce moved in suddenly to a new presence. Following Amatheia’s glow, another was met at the gateway. The glow of the stranger’s aura was a brilliant blue for a matter of seconds- then it faded. The grayish presence that was left behind made its way into the temple. A low growl was emitted from the brute’s parted teeth but quieted after a moment. They would all take their moment of rest following the long voyage. Meanwhile, the temple had a late night visitor.
This was fricken insane, Zafira thought as she was handed a shotgun that used energy. She did not have time to tell him she was not sure how to use one of these. She had shot a gun before but nothing close to this. But before she could ask any questions, she was in the middle of one of those horror action movies except for this was REAL. There was a sense of irony as the male belted out commands, did she sound like that in the ER? It was much easier when everyone knew the plan and they had a leader, rarely was there a newbie that knew absolutely nothing. She took a moment to push down the panic of not knowing anything and pulled her ER self out.
"Hey..you there...can you show me how this works?" She asked some random male that held a gun like hers.
He nodded then showed her where the trigger was and how to vent the heat and the reload button. She then lifted it up and when she did it went off taking out a car nearby and nearly knocking her onto her ass. The male chuckled at her then led her to a spot that was between him and the others. He took a stance and nodded at her to do the same so she did. She placed on leg behind her then tucked the shotgun into the crook of her shoulder and looked down the sights.
It was one word, TERRIFYING. She hated Zombies, with the heat of a thousand suns. They made her skin crawl. So as thousands came at them like a wave of undead flesh she decided that the best course would be to blow up the planet. It was the first time she had ever thought about triage in a way that would cull uninfected beings but, was that even the case? She doubted anyone would survive this horror.
The male beside her shouted and he began to fire as did she. Her biosuit had shifted to cover her entire face to keep the infectious blood from getting into her eyes or nose or mouth. Which was a good thing because she was now covered in the reddish black blood and was that an eyeball on her forearm? If it were not for the adrenaline, she would be gagging right about now. There was a huge difference between medical guts and this kind of guts not to mention, that hand that had grasped her ankle. She let out a scream and kicked her leg trying to get the hand off her. It was not getting the hint so a male near her used a knife and cut it from her ankle. As he did, she shot a Zombie heading for them both blowing the thing into a red vapor. The male gave her a thumbs up then threw the hand away shooting it so it was gone. She had no idea how the male in charge was so fast and limber with his chainsaw gun, but she supposed he had to have been doing this for a long time. Hopefully she would survive to thank him later.
Amare growled at Tempest once his talon was set over her snout, though the sound that came out was rather weak, she wasn't able to even seem threatening, in her mind, having her pride destroyed in such manner was quite a sad sight.
She tried to get him off of her, though it was futile, so she simply listened, with her fiery eye staring at him like she had the strongest urge to tear him to little pieces and burn him until he was nothing but a pile of ash. But he was right, as much as she hated admitting it, even she wasn't stupid enough to get herself in a fight that she was aware she'd lose, he was in his element, and she was out of energy.
"Fine, speak your terms, worm. "
The Wyvern's eyes widened once she heard his request, it was good that her scales weren't able to show blushing the way that human skin did, because she was absolutely embarassed, so offended and in utter disbelief, she had to blink a few times, expecting a punchline, but she didn't find any of that, realising the smaller Drake was serious.
She spoke through gritted fangs, she would've laughed at how unreal it seemed, but the truth was that she was quite worried.
"You're serious? You- A tiny Drake, wishes to go so low to ask an OLD WYVERN LIKE ME to be your mate? How hard did I hit that fragile skull of yours back there? By Ares you've truly gone mad. "
Her angry expression faded, Amare was still furious, but she was honorable enough to admit her defeat, in the end, she gave in, shutting her eyelids close, giving up on her attempts to change his mind.
"Fine- But I will make it very clear, if I get tired of you, I will not think twice about dropping you into a cliff with sharp rocks at the bottom, do you understand? "