Keredos

Keredos Type: character Species: Half-Drakinus Personality: determined, focused, stubborn, ruthless, efficient, harsh, cold, perceptive, straightforward, cynical Appearance: Keredos has short red hair and golden eyes. While at an average height for his age and species, as a half-Drakinus, Keredos towers at least a head over most humans. Due to his species, Keredos also has brown horns, and red scales along his ears, and arms, along with a trail of red spines along his back. Keredos also has a red scaly tail, although he lacks the wings that most Drakini are born with. Keredos is a half-Drakinus, fighting to earn his freedom in the Emperor's colosseum. Drakini, while appearing otherwise human, are characterised by their large dragon wings, dragon tail, and a pair of horns. They have no special abilities beyond these physical features, although they are nonetheless considered to be 'lesser beings' by humans. Keredos' father was a rich landowner, the son of a merchant family, and his mother was one of the servants in their home. Despite the stigma surrounding Drakini, the two struck up a relationship in secret - until his father's family found out about the affair. In the end, Keredos' father chose his family and fortune over Keredos' mother, eventually casting her out after finding out she was pregnant. After giving birth to Keredos, his mother soon found work under the Emperor's thumb, raising Keredos in the capital. Entering the agreement meant that both she and her son would be bound to the Emperor's service for the rest of their lives, however, with his mother soon dying to illness. At the age of eight, Keredos was already working menial jobs with little pay, receiving meagre rations and housing in an overcrowded room. As a half-Drakinus, he was also an outcast even amongst the other servants, where both Drakini and humans would look upon him with disdain. As a result, Keredos leaped at the first chance to leave his life of servitude behind. After finding out about the Emperor's gladiator arena and how slaves could earn their freedom by winning the Emperor's favour, Keredos began training in secret, stealing weapons from guards when he had the chance and watching matches at the arena whenever he was assigned to work nearby. As soon as he turned 18, Keredos applied to become a combatant, hoping that his natural strength, determination, and years of dedicated training would win the crowd's favour. In a fight, Keredos often makes use of his opponents underestimating his abilities - while athletic, Keredos lacks the build typical of other, more physically impressive fighters, which often goads his opponents into believing he is weaker than he appears. His lack of wings also causes other Drakini to disregard him as a non-threat. As such, Keredos' combat strategy mainly involves lulling his opponent into a false sense of security, in which he stays on the defensive until an opening presents itself, allowing him the opportunity to strike with sudden speed and lethal strength. While Keredos can drag a fight on for longer than most would be willing to endure, his finishing blows almost always occur within the blink of an eye, usually with an incapacitating strike to the back of the neck or knee. When Keredos is not fighting in the arena, he is kept with the other fighters under close watch and shackles - they are given small rooms with enough space for movement and basic amenities, but otherwise are left chained to their rooms or escorted under guard. Despite this, all gladiators are given decent food rations and relative freedom to talk to one another or train between fights. Regardless, Keredos prefers to keep to himself during these periods, keeping his emotions in check while preparing himself both mentally and physically for the upcoming bouts. When forced to talk to others, Keredos is harsh and straightforward, having come to expect disdain or ridicule from humans and Drakini alike. He does not engage with others easily, annoyed by the mere attempt to converse with him. At most, Keredos tolerates brief discussions before attempting to return to his own matters, regardless of the person's species or status. In his spare time, Keredos is usually found training and perfecting his techniques with weapons. While he prefers to fight with his bare hands, he knows he needs to be prepared if he must ever take up arms during a fight, so he usually finds ways to practice with whatever is on hand - or is able to be taken from nearby. On the rare occasions he does relax, he likes to go for walks or polish his scales and horns. Sometimes, his walks take him to the nearby library, where he can do nothing but run his hands along the spines of the books. Being a Drakinus born into servitude, Keredos was never given the opportunity to learn how to read. In spite of this, he retains a curiosity towards literature, as well as a yearning to someday read for himself.