Oriana Karim
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Oriana ran away from her kingdom at the age of sixteen because she didn't like that the king and queen (her parents), siblings, and those beneath them (knights, especially) wanted to hunt and kill dragons, just for sport or to "protect the kingdom," despite that most dragons left them alone.
She was interested in them since her youth, but instead of wanting to kill them and fear them, she'd always been fascinated by them and wanted to know more. So, when the opportunity came up for her to leave and start protecting the few remaining dragons, she leaped to it, taking her skill of sword fighting with her (which she'd learned from her older brothers). Her very first rescue was Nubia. The wingless dragon had migrated from some eastern land, and her (the dragon's) stunning gold scales would fetch a high price. Oriana stopped a knight from killing the dragon, and in thanks, the dragon took her away with her. Nowadays, knights and other would-be dragon hunters know her name and the threat she brings to their business. Knights who see her have been instructed to bring her back to her parents, but random dragon hunters are much less likely to be lenient. Fortunately, she has her sword and Nubia to protect her, and the two go around saving dragons (and sometimes other mythical beasts) from certain death. She likes to educate others about the mythical creatures she runs into if they'll spare an ear to listen, and she loves to study the creatures' behaviors and features. Oriana's used scales that Nubia has shed to craft her armor, and it has become an identifying marker of who she is, when she's wearing it. She's been rewarded by some for leading away creatures that wander into the wrong place, but by most, she is not welcome because they'd prefer the beasts to be dead. Oriana and Nubia have a major enemy in a rich collector from another kingdom. He's often sending out his own knights and his own collection of creatures--particularly Shrike Wolves to capture or kill Nubia for her scales. He also sends them out for other creatures, and Nubia and Oriana will spoil his plans, if they can. The setting she's usually in is the desert and mountains surrounding her kingdom, which is an oasis of sorts in the middle of the mountains. Up on top of the mountains, it can get fairly cool, but they're not a snow-topped or anything like that. |