Aurelius Runesong

Protagonist
Main Character

Auri

Cis Male

19

119 lbs

5'6

Jet black

smooth and just slightly wavy, longer on top and halfway down neck at most in the back/sides

none

Ice blue, almost white

Human

Extremely pale, often considered "ghost-like"

Very thin, light muscle

Scars, mostly on hands and forearms, also lots of old scratch marks on upper arms

Clear and soft, but also has an air of confidence
Tenor-ranged voice, kind of a sweet lilt to his speech
A little long-winded, especially when expressing interest in something
Swears occasionally, but not as often as some of his peers

Depression; seemed like he was recovering but is still prone to relapse
Underweight, probably because he often forgets to eat or doesn't feel hungry; also lack of appetite tends to be something he experiences during depressive episodes
Is kind of prone to disease specifically because he's underweight and is also under a lot of stress
Anemia

Tugs at fabric on his clothes when nervous
Paces
Bites inside of cheek

Freedom from his punishments, including getting back his job
Later turns to a desire to protect his friends and preserve dragons
Kill Valkyrie

Puts others before himself to the point that he will willingly put himself in harm's way
On the impulsive side
Kind of idealistic and often expects things to just "work out"

Dragon hunters should die
The Elders are dumb and wrong
Most outside cities are backwards and need to set themselves straight

Good at taking care of young dragons/helping incubate eggs
Surprisingly good cook (not exceptional, but still generally considered good)
Speed-reading

Reading
Writing
Combat training
Researching about dragons

ISFP
Chaotic good
Introverted but really loves spending time with his few good friends
Kind and generous with his time and effort
Book-smart and attentive to detail, but sometimes seems to lack some amount of common sense
Deep thinker, but when it comes to acting, he acts on impulse more than he should
Intuitive, usually has good hunches but is trash at acting on them
Bottles up feelings, but his feelings are intense. Anger is terrifying.

A hot mess, but trying his best
Somehow still worse and worth less than most of his peers, less deserving of resources and help
Physically, hates how he looks sick most of the time, but he can't seem to do much to help it

Never assumes the worst will happen, but always keeps the worst case scenario in mind. Usually he has too high of hopes for good outcomes, but when affected by negative events or stuck in a depressive episode, he tends towards heavy pessimism.

Knowledge about dragons
The fact that he's recovering fairly well from depression (or at least was for a while)
Nox- her skill, wisdom- everything about her; he's proud to be her partner

Losing Nox, or anyone else he loves
The possibility of having worse depressive episodes in the future
Getting in others' way

His mistakes that have hurt others (including the whole deal with Valkyrie)
The fact that people misunderstand his intent regarding religion and think he's a necromancer
The fact that he went through so much struggle (specifically his one with depression), in part because of his parents' deaths
All the trouble he thinks he's caused other people

Nox

Works in the dragon nursery to care for some of the older babies

Communes with Vosskevma, fairly devout follower

The seniority system in Heiankra is actually the worst and never takes into account what people want, even if the general workings of society are wonderful and take care of everyone's basic needs.

Works in the dragon nursery, gets fired, works at a tavern in the interim

Purple

Really likes sweets, especially chocolate

A small collection of books his mother was writing. He plans to finish off those that were left undone once he's skilled enough and publish all of them if possible.

Bastard sword

Dragons

Black dragon named Nox

November 19 (Scorpio)

Equivalent to a high school education, all taken in the town he lives in
Has done a lot of outside education and study so is definitely more educated than most of his peers of the same age

TW: Self-harm mention
Aurelius was born in the village to two parents. His mother was a writer and librarian. His father was a hunter. Both were fighters for hire. He was raised alongside his parents' dragons, Nox and Aegis.
A couple of neighboring kingdoms went to war when Aurelius was about 12. His parents were hired off and fell in one of the battles, along with Aegis. Nox was the only survivor and took on a mother role for Aurelius after his loss. Villagers in general made sure that his physical needs were taken care of, and Taurin frequently spent time at his house to keep him company and make meals for him as needed, at least for the first year or so.
However, Aurelius had difficulty escaping his grief and slipped into severe and chronic depression. It started as a few symptoms, such as anhedonia, intense sadness very frequently, and alternating nights where he would sleep 12 hours, then hardly any at all. Left unnoticed by everyone except for Nox, who had no experience or knowledge regarding mental illness, it progressed. He virtually stopped taking care of himself, had to be reminded to eat as he didn't really care enough to do so, and he started self-harming (he would punch hard things like wood furniture and get bruises and open wounds on his hands, and also sometimes would scratch the insides of his upper arms) (he was about 14 at this time).
He never told Nox, but she sensed something was wrong, and she tried to bring it up. He pushed her away for some time, up until she caught a glimpse of his bloodied-up hands (he would always wear gloves and long sleeves) and tried to understand what was happening. He tried to make excuses, but she didn't believe him and went to Taurin for help.
Taurin lived with Aurelius for a while, until he was back on his feet and was working. Aurelius established a relationship with a couple of the village medics to see if there was anything they could do, but mostly, there wasn't. He just had a lot of support from friends and started to recover. He hasn't had any episodes so severe since, though he is still prone.

Aurelius learned to fight from a young age (basic training around 9, real swords around 13), but has yet to master any form of combat.

Aurelius grew up around books and writing, and he picked up a few tricks of the trade from his mother. He also became good friends with Ignis while they were first interning at the library, following the death of his mother. Ignis inspired him to put his mother's work out there, and finish the books she couldn't. They also started doing a lot of reading and research on dragons, which piqued Aurelius' interest in working in the nursery. He got his first job there at 15 years of age.

Most of his life between the start of his recovery and the beginning of the story was dedicated to doing the occasional mission alongside his regular work, and also to honing his skills as a writer and editor so he could finish his mother's work.

Panromantic Asexual

Usually darker colors like gray, purple, and black
Has a purple cloak that he likes to wear, fastened by a gold pin with a dragon on it
Form-fitting top with slightly baggy pants
Black boots halfway up calf

Dragons
Spending time with friends
Books
Listening to people talk about the things they love

Dragon hunters
People who belittle others that are different from them
Disloyalty