Prince Albatross

Info

Albatross was an elderly male SeaWing prince. He was the first known SeaWing animus dragon in SeaWing history and a member of the SeaWing royal family as Queen Lagoon's brother and Fathom and Pearl's grandfather. He was also the father of Eel and Manta. He committed the Royal SeaWing Massacre, in which he murdered most of the SeaWing royal family and Princess Sunset, a SkyWing princess, before he was stopped and killed by Fathom. Albatross is still mentioned in many texts and scrolls due to his status as the perpetrator of one of the most devastating cases of animus magic misuse in Pyrrhian history.

Appearance

Albatross was a Seawing, a dragon of the sea. Albatross was described to be nearly a neck-length taller than Lagoon, with powerful, long, majestic wings. His scales were oddly colored, being a bluish gray so pale that in some places they looked like they were almost white. His strange, fierce eyes were hooded and were of such a deep, dark blue color that they appeared nearly black. He was firm, wizened, stately, and intimidating. Albatross was compared to an old seagull by Fathom during the Talons of Power ceremony, due to the color of his scales and his shrewd expression. He also had small teeth and a long, hooked snout. His siblings noted that his tail was a funny shape and Fathom stated that he had a dry, warm, and "fish-smelling" laugh. Directly before the start of the Royal SeaWing Massacre, Albatross looked as though he was "carved from stone", like his emotions had been chipped away.

Personality

Albatross was untouchable and busy, even to fellow royalty. Fathom described his grandfather as "a kind but distant presence" in his life. He was the most respected dragon in the entire SeaWing tribe, and was second in power only to Queen Lagoon. He was beloved, respected, and important. Albatross was jovial, kind, mischievous, calm, and friendly. He was proud of his animus magic and the objects he created with it but did not often seem to be excited about much of anything. It was implied that he was fond of his daughter, Manta, and was also a loyal husband; Lagoon said that he stubbornly refused to consider remarriage following the passing of his wife. During the massacre, he went completely mad and was full of pure rage and hatred.

Relationships

Fathom: His nephew Fathom sought Albatross’s approval and wasn’t upset when his designs were altered. Albatross praised his potential but later mocked him during the massacre, leading Fathom, who was also an animus, to kill him to protect Indigo, Fathom's girlfriend. Queen Lagoon of the Seawings: As much as she treated him "well" and in public always seemed friendly, Lagoon exploited Albatross’s magic and belittled him, seeing him as less valuable than Fathom. He killed her first in the massacre. Sapphire: Sapphire, his sister, teased and mocked Albatross as a dragonet. One day, Albatross, as an animus, accidentally make a clamshell bite her claws off. She went mad and was exiled. Though her injury was accidental, it haunted him for life.

Animus

Animus magic is magic wielded by animus dragons that allowed them to enchant inanimate objects, plants, animals, and other dragons to do whatever the animus dragon pleases. Animus magic is almost limitless, being capable of moving objects to controlling other dragons. Despite its capabilities, animus magic is unable to bring back the dead; however, it can be used to keep a dragon alive even if they are killed. If two animus dragons cast two spells directly in conflict with each other, the one who is older, more powerful, more practiced and experienced, and focused is likely to win, and what exactly was enchanted would have an effect as well. Sacrificing an object that an animus loves for a spell makes the spell more powerful. The power can be sensed and felt by a faint tingling in the claws. It was previously thought that using any animus magic could cause insanity, though it has higher chances of happening if an animus dragon uses their magic for evil or personal gain. Heavy use of animus magic can unintentionally alter the landscape where it was cast. Different dragons tribes treat animus dragons differently. In the seawings, animus dragons have manifested almost exclusive inside the royal family, and it is cherished as a good thing, and the animus dragon is usually put under the guidance of the ruling queen.

Seawings

SeaWings are short, sleek dragons with long, compact bodies, short legs, webbed talons, and gills for breathing underwater. Underwater, they communicate by shining their bioluminescent scales, which are all over their bodies, in patters of their language. They have curved horns, slender snouts, and glowing stripes along their bodies and wings. Most have blue or green scales, sometimes with black patterns or rare pink accents. Royal SeaWings feature glowing spirals and starbursts, while non-royals have simpler markings. Their eggs are blue or green and grow heavy before hatching. SeaWing citizens take on roles like kitchen work, military service, pearl diving, weaving, hunting, and dragonet care. The ruling Queen is the daughter of the previous queen who battled her mother to death and won, and she’s generally respected. The king is purely cosmetic, even if respected. The Summer Palace is the surface palace, usually for meetings with other tribes, built by Albatross’ animus magic, and it had an advance guard of at least fifteen soldiers. Most of the population lives underwater, by the grand cities at the bottom of the ocean, where the great Deep Castle lies, which is much larger and opulent than the small Summer Palace. Most SeaWings live comfortably. The queen governs with a trusted council that meets often. SeaWings keep pets like seahorses and jellyfish, and have historically used boats.