[Other FULL] Riders [M]

Rider's Name: Rue Callaghan

Dragon's Name: Alastor

Rider's Race: Human

Dragon's Color and Element: Iron and Forge
→ Dark metal with lava-esque core shining through

Rider and Dragon Appearance:
Standing at 5'4'', Rue is a bit on the short side, even for a human. Her physique is somewhat athletic, as she's used to physical work, but her muscles aren't pronounced enough for her them to be visible through her clothing in any way. Her long, auburn-red hair flows until just around her hips, and is usually fastened into either twintails or a high ponytail. Her facial features are unpronounced, and she would probably be pretty if her face wasn't stuck in a perpetual frown.

Rue prefers her clothes thick and unrevealing, since this helps her fend off the outside cold, the forging heat, and the staring eyes of the men she has to deal with. She wears a coat as pictured, adorned with several metal accents, including a large, shield-shaped bracer on her left shoulder. Below that is a grey skirt with black tights, and her feet are guarded with leather greaves, of the same material as the gloves on her hands.

Her companion Alastor is an imposing dragon seemingly made entirely of steel. His exterior is sharp and rugged, basically impenetrable, with many spikes sticking out in all directions. Even his wings are no exception, in fact it's a mystery how such a beast could possibly fly with metal wings. Normally his body is cold to the touch, but whenever Alastor summons his fiery breath, his core warms up considerably, causing his innermost metallic layers to glow red with the heat. While this certainly benefits his threatening appearance, it also exposes the weakest links in his armor.

Rider's Hometown:
Rue hails from the large northern city of Brakmar. This bustling metropolis was built by dwarves, but nowadays humans and dwarves coexist here.

Dragon's Abilities:
- Forge Breath
One of the most simple things Dragons are famed to do is spew flames; however, Alastor can spew red-hot molten metal from his mouth. Looking like a lava stream, it may not seem as threatening as the Fire Dragon's flames, but this attack is arguably even more devastating as it can melt through almost any material, and even those that it can't are coated in a red-hot fluid that'll solidify into a fullmetal prison.

- Scale Fortification
At any point, Alastor has the ability to retreat his wings to his side and go in a sort of defensive mode. This takes a number of seconds, but it allows the dragon to fortify the entirety of his steel scales, including the vulnerable areas in between. This is not only a defensive technique, but also hardens his claws and spikes, allowing for more powerful attack.

- Steel Jaws
The very hardest part of Alastor's body however are his teeth. They are hard enough to break even the strongest blades and hardest gems into swallowable pieces, and his digestive system too is not unaccustomed to feeding on metal.

Rider's Magic: Metalbending
The first magic Rue realised she could use was the extremely useful skill of metalbending without the use of a hammer or forge. It's still weak for now, she can't go around catching and bending people's swords in the middle of battle, but it greatly benefits her smithing.

Personality:
While she was bright and cheerful as a child, Rue's personality now is rather... different. Cold and distant to strangers - which means, to basically everyone, as she doesn't exactly have a large number of acquaintances anymore. Rue keeps to herself, because she's seen what happens to people who don't. She considers the world a dangerous place, and has learned everyone is only out for their own gain anyway, so she might as well do the same. In normal interaction, Rue is very pragmatical and sarcastic, not to mention rather judgmental and stuck in her own ways. She believes she's seen all manner of people on this world, and tends to categorize them in boxes in her mind. Yet at the same time, she's never ventured out of her hometown of Brakmar, so her worldly knowledge is rather limited, meaning the advice from others she refuses to take might have well come in handy.

Her reptile companion is much the same. Not one to mince words, Alastor is the strong and silent type, or at least appears to be so on the outside. Rue and him share a multitude of thoughts however, some of which you'll be glad you couldn't hear out loud.
Alastor is a dutiful dragon, and one to follow his instincts. Despite the hostile aura he puts out (partially caused by his menacing appearance and partially by him usually letting Rue speak for the both of them), he doesn't have an aversion to strangers, and is actually more curious about their tales and backgrounds, eager to learn more about the world he was only recently born into himself. The relationship between Rue and Alastor is one similar to father and daughter, in that he'll always come to her aid and allow her to confide in him.

History:

Rue was born daughter to a peculiar pair of parents. Her father, George Callaghan, was a merchant, who took a keen interest in anything strange, odd or magical. He and her mother Heather had been travelling around the country for years, making money selling whatever they could get their hands on. Produce, craftwork, weaponry, it was all loaded onto the back of their wagon and travelled around the country. As much fun as they had together, it'd always been George's dream to one day open his own store, and have a place to settle down. The two worked hard to make enough to achieve this... but when Heather became pregnant, time had run out. Travelling life was nigh impossible with her this way, let alone when the child would be born. So, George Callaghan asked some 'acquaintances' for a loan... and their shop was soon opened in the primarily dwarven city of Brakmar.

"Callaghan's Curious Commodities" - her father was always a fan of alliteration - contained the same strange spread of items her parents had carried throughout their travelling life. They got a surprising number of customers, considering their unspecific nature, most of whom were human, but thanks to the family's charismatic nature even dwarves felt welcome. Rue herself as a child was a big part of this too, the cheeriest presence in the shop, if not the entire neighbourhood.

One day, her father returned with a very peculiar item to display in store. A strange orb, with metal appendages all over it, that looked most like... scales? From the moment Rue laid eyes on it, she was fascinated by it. Of course, it was part of her father's precious merchandise however, so she knew not to be selfish and demand it for herself. Luckily for her however, partially due to the high price placed on it, none of the patrons ever bought the precious item. And Rue was left to stare at her orb as much as she liked.

Her life this way was happy, and lasted until she'd turned 12. Soon after that... disaster struck. Rue had heard her parents arguing more lately, and some shadier clients had walked into the store as well, causing her to be quickly rushed to the back by her mother. But none of that could have prepared her for what they did. One day, after she'd been out on an errand with her mother, the both of them returned to find their precious store set ablaze. The flames were engulfing the building, windows broke because of the heat and pressure inside... and her father was nowhere to be found. Frantic, her mother rushed into the building, after having made sure that Rue would stay outside. She cried her eyes out, asked anyone she could for help, but what she witnessed that day was horrifying. People around would rush to douse the flames, but only to keep them from spreading. To protect their own. No matter how she pleaded, nobody lifted a finger to save her family... even when they had been so friendly with their community.

When the flames finally diminished, barely anything was left. Nary a thing was left as Rue dug through the ashes... but one thing caught her eye. Despite the scorching heat, the orb she coveted was seemingly unharmed. She walked over it, and noticed its core seemed to be glowing, a faint reddish glow as if it was extremely hot. Rue was fascinated by it like never before, and without thinking placed her hands on the egg. Surprisingly however she wasn't burnt; the scales gave off a comforting heat, similar to a warming hearth. She thought to feel something stirring inside of it even, but whatever it was seemed unable to come out. From that moment on, Rue decided to keep the egg with her always.

As she was left as a homeless orphan after the flames took everything from her, Rue was lucky to be taken in by one of her father's acquaintances: Kestner Baldwin, a halfling who lived in one of the lower districts of Brakmar. He was a blacksmith by trade, and while didn't always get much business due to his race, Rue soon learned that he was very skilled indeed. While Rue closed herself off from the rest of the world, Baldwin encouraged her to keep living, and allowed her to put all of her focus and frustration into work. While initially she was only the one dealing with customers and procuring materials, in due time she was allowed to function as an apprentice smith as well, starting off by helping her create her very own blade. Using this sword, outside of work, Rue would also begin practicing fighting with it - although because of the lack of a sparring partner, she never picked up much beyond the basics.

All this time, her precious egg was kept safe by her side. Though it never stirred or reacted again the way it did when she first put her hands to it... until one fateful day.