Zalea

Zalea is an ancient green dragon, standing at twenty feet tall and one hundred seventy five feet long, though two thirds of that length is mostly her tail. Her limbs are somewhat short in proportion to the rest of her body, each ending in five talons. Being that she is a dragon, she is a reptilian quadruped with two leathery wings on her back. She’s covered in somewhat glossy, smooth, emerald green scales, of which she takes great pride in. Her long, serpent-like neck both a sail running from the back of her head to the tip of her tail. She also has a hood similar to a cobra’s, which flares when agitated or in combat. Her eyes are two black slits with a yellow sclera. Her snout is somewhat narrow. Her tail ends in two fins.

Zalea will take a variety of humanoid forms if it suits her, often to monitor her victims of blackmail or deception, though she prefers not to do so. When she does however, she’ll often take on the form of a trustworthy or unassuming humanoid, be it a lost young girl with messy brown hair, or a kindly old crone. Her preferred form however is a beautiful woman with raven black hair. The one common denominator between these firms is their deep green eyes.

Zalea’s parents, her mother Viperia and father Dolophis, are both alive, just very old. When around each other, the related dragons become very loud and rude, a contrast to their quiet and sophisticated personalities. They do, however, love each other.

Zalea has one surviving clutch mate, a brother named Opheander. He is not a subtle manipulator but a pirate lord of all things, a loud and boisterous fool… and Zalea’s only true friend. The story that she tells everyone about him is how, as hatchlings, he declared he would raid a chicken coop alone, only to get swarmed and lose his left eye.

— Personality: Zalea is, at almost all times, calm and collected, rarely losing her temper. This is not because she’s necessarily serene but because she’s mentally breaking down everyone around her, to understand what makes them tick. When met with humanoids, Zalea’s tone is almost always soft and gentle, almost sweet sounding, and her language is always sophisticated. She will act like a benevolent and amiable figure, seeking to aid those around her. This is a trap. In actuality she is often just deceiving those around her, tricking them into walking to their deaths, or manipulating, deceiving or blackmailing them for her own benefit… or her amusement. Behind her facade Zalea is cunning and intelligent, and quick to exploit the fears and insecurities of those around her. She sees all humanoids as beneath her, enjoying tricking them. This makes any sort of genuine personal relationship almost impossible to form with her. Around other green dragons her demeanor becomes rude and extremely insulting, though this seems to just be how all green dragons are around each other, as these taunts are rarely met with rage. Zalea specifically makes sure to keep connections to various guilds and organizations in Baldur’s Gate. Manipulating humanoids is, after all, a favorite pastime of Green Dragons. Oddly enough she treats the animals around her with some genuine respect.

Zalea does however genuinely respect cunning, and is surprisingly fine with being outwitted, to a point of being fascinated with people who outsmart her. She loathes people who act without thinking.

Lair: Zalea’s lair is deep within Cloak Wood, between Baldur’s Gate and Candlekeep, within a cave network hidden by a waterfall. Within toil a various amount of kobolds, yuan-ti and humans, with the latter being manipulated into doing so, or somehow benefiting from service to Zalea. The lair is full of vine traps and, in areas leading to the main chamber, gympie gympie plants, shrubs covered in thousands of tiny silicon needles coated in neurotoxin so potent its victims often wish for death. Lucky for Zalea, being a green dragon, she’s immune to effectively all known poisons. Her hoard is a variety of treasures, often given to her by humanoids she’s deceived as some sort of grim trophies.

Companionship: Zalea is, to those she grows fond of, very unwilling to let them go so to speak. Though she’s more inclined to be truthful to those she cares for she won’t hesitate to lie and blackmail her “loved” ones into staying with her. If someone sticks with her she will be very controlling and will neg her partner constantly, unless they prove themselves to actually be her equal. If she winds up with a clutch of eggs, she will be a surprisingly devoted parent, fiercely loving her offspring, even being willing to give her life to protect them.

Miscellaneous: The one thing Zalea hates above everything else are hill giants. If she sees one she will lose all sense of decorum and fly into a murderous rage until it and its peers are dead. This is because to hill giants, green dragon eggs are a delicacy. — Powers: Zalea’s breath weapon is not fire, but poison. She can exhale a massive cloud of sickly green gas that causes extreme chemical burns on contact. Inhaling the gas is practically a death sentence. Zalea is also immune to all known poison, and her scales are thick enough to be difficult to pierce even with magical weapons. Zalea can breathe underwater and swim just as well as any marine life. She absolutely will take advantage of this as needed. Zalea can talk to animals, and uses them as spies.