Ruby Dragon Reborn

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The main illustration is of a leather mask made by Nathan Rodriguez, who operates the EpicLeather online shop .

This character was the co-winner (with Dealan-De) of the silver and bronze prizes for the context. There was a tie in votes, you see. 🙂

Background

Powers & Abilities

Toshi is a descendant of a long thought extinct line of dragons.

In actuality, the dragons are far from extinct. They have simply been lying dormant for unknown reasons for several millennia.

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His particular lineage is that of the Ruby Dragons. These are known for their affinity for fire. They are often seen as hot brash warriors. It is true that their passion and red fire often give them a certain affinity with life energy and the sun.

The affinity with the red rubies grants both a mighty fire breath (in DC Heroes RPG terms, Flame Projection with area effect) and a sort of life shield (Magic Field and Skin Armor).

In Toshi’s particular case he excels in medicine. In fact despite being a mere 15 his mystic heritage has given him enough insight to be one of the greatest doctors ever – at least when compared to mundane humans. He’s also a very gifted speaker, writer, and artist.

He was once a proficient woodworker and carpenter, but his skill in these crafts has atrophied as he considers the memory of them to be too painful to practice again.

History

Many millennia ago dragons were very real and very much a part of the world that people lived in. Although a lot of the actual facts have been lost to the sands of time some legends of varying truth still exist to this day.

Why they disappeared is a question that no one really seems to know, but the more important question is why they are starting to return.

Toshi is one such boy that may soon have the answer to this and many more questions.

The Baby Born in the Forest of Death, part 1

His story begins in Aokigahara Forest  of Japan. The place is overlooked by Mt. Fuji. It is more commonly known as the Forest of Death as it is one of the most famous suicide spots in Japan. The corpses of those who have taken their own lives are constantly being found.

The preferred method is usually hanging so many corpses are often found hanging from trees. But sometimes they are found on the ground in various states of decomposition as the bodies aren’t always readily located.

Shintaro Sakata was a humble, but competent local carpenter. Sakata always got his wood from other places in Japan as any wood from Aokigahara is considered tainted by the anguished souls of the dead and meant to be left alone. Nevertheless one day he got a strange yet undeniable impulse to go hiking.

After walking for hours he came across a small grove. It seemed to have been blackened by a fire not long ago. He concluded that the charred wood and earth had most likely been caused by a lightning strike from thunder storm that had occurred the previous night. But as he investigated further he heard the cries of baby.

At first he thought that it was his imagination. After all the woods were said to be haunted and it could have been the soul of an unborn baby who’s mother had committed suicide. Shintaro was a bit scared, but curiosity overcame his fear.

As he approached the center of the seeming lighting strike, he almost fainted. In the center of the strike was a naked new born baby.

The Baby Born in the Forest of Death, part 2

Who would possibly abandon a newborn out in the middle of this accursed forest, he pondered in disbelief. Concerned for the boy’s health he wrapped it in blankets and returned it home as soon as possible.

Upon returning his wife instantly fell in love with the child and began to take care of it. Despite the extreme circumstances that it had born under it was healthy. Shintaro thought it best to take the boy to a hospital and explain the phenomenon, but his wife Rieko refused.

In truth the couple had been married for quite some time and had yet to conceive a child of their own and as they were were getting on in their years. Thus, this might quite possibly be the last chance they would ever have to raise a child on their own.

She also argued that the strange circumstances under which the baby were found would make it a national news story. As a result, it may very well be labeled an accursed child or even a demon spawn in their rural superstitious area. Even if that wasn’t the case it would likely grow up in an orphanage and face a life of hardship as adoption is extremely rare in Japan.

Even though he had his doubts he eventually relented to his loving wife who would not take no for an answer.

Early Life and Times

They named the boy Toshi and moved to rural Hokkaido in the north of Japan not soon after. Their goal was not to arouse suspicion about suddenly having a child. Later on, they obtained some forged hospital records to make the baby’s birth seem like that couple had naturally conceived it.

Toshi was about the best boy the couple could have possibly hoped for. Even from a young age he was polite and always well behaved. He was an excellent student in school, particularly in science and math, and a pretty good athlete. He even showed interested in carpentry and woodworking as he learned from his father. The couple had high hopes for their son’s future.

Despite him being a nearly perfect child though the couple always thought that there was something off about him. While he was well liked by pretty much everyone he never really made too many friends. When he wasn’t studying he always seemed a bit dreamy and listless. They chalked it up to just being a phase that bright young boys go through early in life though.

For the most part they had a happy ideal life. At least until tragedy struck…

The Dragon Reborn and Baptized in Fire, part 1

The summer of his third year of junior high school when he was 14 started off normal enough. He spent most of his time playing in forest, woodworking with his father, and of course reading. But that all changed one night when an out of control fire engulfed his entire town.

No one really knows what caused the fire, but it wiped out his entire city and killed everyone. All except one that is.

While even experts were baffled as to what had caused the blaze Toshi knew for certain. His entire life he had had dreams of mighty dragons flying free through the sky, amassing great treasures and knowledge and smiting their enemies with their mighty fiery breath. It seemed the older he got the more vivid and more frequent the dreams got.

On the night of the fire, he had had an epic dream of mighty dragons going to war and laying waste to entire city. Toshi had previously just chalked it up to a young imagination who delighted in fantasy. But that night he knew for certain that it wasn’t his imagination. He was a descendant of these mighty creatures and would have to come to terms to his heritage.

The disastrous fire gained national attention. The story became even more sensationalized as Toshi became nationally famous, as the lone survivor who was miraculously unharmed. Toshi knew better, but he also knew to keep silent. Who knows how people might react if he were to tell the world his truth.

Toshi didn’t really care for his newfound fame, but it did grant him quite a few things. Charitable donations poured in making him quite wealthy. And once the media got wind of him being a top student with the aim to study medicine he was almost immediately rewarded a full scholarship to the best premed school in the country.

The Dragon Reborn and Baptized in Fire, part 2

Less than a year passed and he moved to Tōkyō to study at a prestigious premed high school. His 15 minutes of fame have mostly subsided and outwardly he is one of the top students in his class. In secret he knows the great fire that he quite possible caused awoke the latent dragon within him. He is currently trying his best to find answers on his own time.

Dragons aren’t just known for their physical might, but also for the great intelligence and wisdom. At this point Toshi has realized that he is far smarter than his teachers and all the other students in his class. But he also realizes that he demonstrates his full potential that it will again bring unwanted attention to him.

To maintain his cover he typically doesn’t draw attention to himself in class. He keeps social interactions to a minimum. Once at home he quickly does his assignments. Then Toshi he can indulge in his true passion of finding answers by studying old books that might have more useful information as to his dragon heritage.

It’s been slow going so far. Many true mystical texts aren’t readily available.

His scholarship has granted him a small apartment and a small monthly stipend to live on. Even though he is technically a ward of the state, he is given an amount of autonomy not normally granted to orphaned teenagers. This is due to the fact that he a brilliant student going to a prestigious high school.

He has also recently taken to selling some of his artwork online as well as ghost writing to cover his expenses of buying rare old books.

The Dragon Reborn and Baptized in Fire, part 3

Toshi also occasionally goes for long hikes to paint or draw nature. He also meditates within the forest in hope to gain some clarity about his situation. He rarely uses his powers as they are quite dangerous and would most likely draw attention to him.

Currently his driving purpose is to keep a low profile and get some answers as to what he truly is. In this way he can somehow make his own way in life.

However unbeknownst to him a mysterious mystical organization known only as the Red Cabal have been watching him. Toshi is unaware of their existence and what their true motivation is remains unanswered…

Description

Toshi is a pretty normal looking non-descript Japanese 15 year old with brown eyes and short black hair. When not wearing his school uniform he typically wears standard clothing such as a jeans and T-shirt in muted dark colors.

He also wears normal looking black rimmed glasses. He doesn’t actually need them – he just finds that it gives his appearance more of an inoffensive scholarly look.

His appearance rapidly changes when he starts using his dragon powers. His eyes typically glow red and his skin takes on a certain look and texture that can only be described as scaly. He is also surrounded a bright crimson red aura.

Personality

Toshi is a prodigy living in his own world. When he was a young boy it was mostly math, science, and art. Plus of course books upon books about mythical creatures – dragons being of course his favorite.

But now that he is older he devotes most of his free time to occult studies. This is done with limited success as it is difficult for him to find good material outside the mystical community.

In public he is a polite and studious young man. He is generally likable, though he never seems to make much of an effort to form strong attachments.

On some level he does feeling guilty for causing the fire that killed both his parents and his entire city. But on the other hand his rational minded brain recognizes that this was almost inevitable so he tends not to dwell on it too much.

For the most part he is just a young boy desperately in search of answers.

Quotes

“Why ? For what reason ? I know what I am, but past that I have no answers. Hopefully this next book will give me some.”

By Tom Eilers.

Source of Character: Homemade.

Helper(s): The random magical character creation system.

Writeup completed on November 8^th, 2016