Chrysauranax

Chrysauranax, or Chrys to the mortals around her, is an ancient gold dragon, standing at twenty five feet tall, and being near two hundred feet long. She is a reptilian winged quadruped, her scales made of real gold, with four legs ending in sharp claws. Her tail makes up nearly two thirds of her whole body, and her wings, which are have a small wingspan compared to the rest of her body, run from her shoulders to the tip of her tail, giving her the appearance of a serpent when in flight, winding through the skies themselves. Her eyes are a deep turquoise, with small black slits for pupils. Her horns are more akin to backwards facing antlers, seeming to also be made of gold. Along her snout are long, golden whiskers, which seem to float as if she was underwater, even if she’s on land. Chrys, like all gold dragons, is amphibious, and can breathe on land and underwater. . Chrys is, by gold dragon standards, very easygoing and lazy, having a “go with the flow” attitude towards life. She values freedom, security and safety of all mortal beings, and like all gold dragons, strives to uphold good and law in equal measure… though in Chrys’ case, she will prioritize good over law. The only beings she ever answers to and regards as superiors are good aligned gods, older gold dragons, and the current King of Justice of the Gold Dragons, an elected position of leadership, though the title is ceremonial. She’s slow to anger and quick to laugh, with such a depth of wisdom that it’s said to shock all those who don’t know her true nature. Her relaxed personality does however cause her to be very blunt, a result of her being mildly oblivious as well. She fancies herself a mentor to adventurers of the Sword Coast, being happy to guide them, either through subtle means or through more direct tutoring and training. Occasionally she’ll even polymorph and pretend that she’s a civilian or animal in need, and grade adventurers by how the handled the situation. Her manner of speech is casual and lax as a human, and while her speech becomes more formal in her true form, her demeanor is similarly relaxed and casual. To this end, she’s very well read, and has trained to be capable of wielding almost every kind of humanoid made weapon, and to be capable of casting a multitude of spells. She also has a habit of giving quests to adventurers as a whole, often to further her goals of protecting Faerûn… or just to increase her hoard, or even just to do her errands. When it comes to evil, she is tireless in rooting it out and making sure it doesn’t return. But rather than searching it out and destroying it herself, she will train her students to be prepared to face it themselves. Although, if the threat is dire enough, she will reveal her true nature and assist. Chrys’ hobbies include fishing, swimming, reading, finding magical artifacts for her hoard, collecting and occasionally making art, and complex games of Lanceboard. She also loves talking to mages of all sorts, loving to learn new spells from them, and teaching them her own in turn. Being a dragon, she’s naturally carnivorous (though has a habit of profusely apologizing to her quarry), but she’s capable of snacking on gemstones, her favorites being pearls. Above all else, she loves shapeshifting and going out into the world, monitoring adventurers and other remarkable people, to weigh the worth of their character and occasionally test how noble they are. She’ll put herself in seemingly precarious situations, and quietly grade how she’s saved by her pupils. Chrys is very strong physically speaking, but is rarely one to fight. If forced to do so, she will use all manner of spells, attempting at first to incapacitate her foes rather than killing. But if angered enough, she won’t hesitate to use a cast of Meteor Swarm. Chrys has made many allies over the years, namely her many students, other gold dragons whom she semi-frequently communicates with, and random forest animals around her lair. The only consistent enemy she’s ever had is a red dragon named Lasair, whom killed her parents. Chrys makes a point of quarantining cursed artifacts when she finds them, so she may later destroy them. While she is annoyed by thieves who steal from her usual hoard, she will ultimately let them go if they escape her lair. If they steal from the quarantine vault, she will chase the thief relentlessly, intending on seizing the artifact and dealing it away at all costs. Courting Chrys would be a long process, as she’ll simply laugh off any attempts at flirting. Instead she prefers to meet her suitors over a long period of time before even considering pairing with them. Gold dragon courtship varies between individuals, but Chrys only ever takes one partner at a time, and never someone with disregard for law, or of evil alignment. She’s most interested in people whom she can have long discussions with, regarding art, literature, history, and ethics, though she also enjoys going on quests with them. As a partner, Chrys is doting, albeit somewhat reserved. She’s respectful of her partners’ boundaries, enjoys being around them, listening to them, and questing with them. While not especially passionate, she’s very affectionate in a quiet sort of way. . Chrysauranax’s lair is hidden by a nice, albeit large riverside cottage in Neverwinter Woods, along the river Gibdraw. Here she pretends to be a normal fisherwoman, often letting travelers stay in her home and subtly probing to find out what kind of person they are. If they’re good or neutral aligned, she’ll house them, feed them, and give them tools they may need on the road, or on future endeavors. She’ll reluctantly provide for evil aligned adventurers, but won’t do anything more than feed and house them for a single night. In the cottage cellar, there’s a secret hatch that leads to a cave system in leads to an underground river, with a cliff face opening resulting in a waterfall, one of the Gibdraw’s sources. She’s made the underground spring into a veritable palace for herself, with her magical items on display, her collected art hung up, and a pantry full of gemstones. . Chrys’ breath weapon is a torrent of scorching flames, and conversely she cannot be harmed by fire. She can also exhale a gas that temporarily weakens those afflicted by it. Her preferred method of combat is spell casting, making use of her innate sorcery as a gold dragons. . Chrys has taken hundreds of different disguises, be it helpless maidens, lost crones or distressed animals. For most occasions she’ll don the form of a young woman with white hair and blue eyes, dressed in leather armor and a cloak.