Long Memory Of Violence Egg
The shell of this egg appears rough, as if a gnarled protective bark has grown over it to shield it from the heat of the sand below. Its color is, well, dark and dense. Perhaps at it's base an umber with stippling of olive and hunter greens growing like the oldest colonies of moss over patches of dark grizzled grey-brown. Here and there dark striations cause undulating forms, wrapping over one another in some wild pattern of root or branch like shapes. At a quick glance or viewed just in the periphery it seems as if the knotted pattern moves or shifts now and again. It definitely gives off a forbidding vibe as it practically coils in on itself in form, as if it would like to be away from the heat, the eyes, all of it.
Hatching Message
Long Memory of Violence Egg seems to pulse once, twice, then abruptly vanishes in place, as though immolated by the figure which replaces it. A few shards and slivers of shell litter the ground, blackened and twisted as if charred, but the bulk of what once was has been consumed by that which now is. And from the scant remains of this ephemeral prison unfolds a vision of ethereal grace, alight with an astral glow that rejects the encroaching darkness of sky and sand. Summoned forth by fervent prayer and desperate pleas and the unceasing importunings of the masses, she comes to light the way forward. And as with all journeys, the way forward begins with a single step. Or, in her case, an undignified tumble.
A Fantasy of Wind and Flame Gold Hatchling
Sunset's timeless splendor dances across a narrow, wedge-shaped head, fire-wrought glory flowing in a molten stream along her svelte neck until it spills, incandescently roseate, over slender shoulders. Delicate lines indelibly etched in ruby are engraved around the barrel of her torso, feathering outwards in scarlet-edged flames that lick slyly from breastbone to belly. From flank to tail, the rich rose-tinged gold deepens to almost scarlet before paling once more to the purest of pinks at the tip of her broad tail. Long, slim legs end in graceful paws, each finger and toe tipped by a pearlescently aureate talon that glitters with each dancing step she takes. From her shoulders fly free elegant sails of the purest rose-gold, stretching between tawny spars so radiantly luminous they are nearly white in hue. The trailing edge of each sail is gently scalloped, rising and falling in subtle arcs that tease the eye into seeing feathers where none exist. Amidst this fiery, sinuous glory is a single discordant note; the neckridges that march in almost mathematical precision from headtip to the base of her tail are blackened along the edges, shading from amber to a charred crimson along the edges. Yet, even this dissonance, however at odds with the rest of her aureate splendor, harmonizes with the captivating hymn that is this diminutive yet mighty being.
Impression Message
Public
A Fantasy of Wind and Fire Gold Hatchling abruptly skids to a halt, spraying the nearest Candidates with sand as she draws herself up on her haunches, spreading her wings to their fullest. The night wind whistles along their scalloped edges, causing them to flutter lightly and creating a soft trilling sound. For the first time, she is still. Perhaps for the last time, she is still. There. There! Abruptly she wheels, kicking sand over a knot of Candidates nearby. Her talons bite into the ground as she sprints across the grounds towards a particular young woman with long black hair, hazel eyes, and a future writ large and bright in all of the stars of past, present, and future. As she skids to a halt before her chosen partner, she wraps those glittering wings about them both and gazes deep into the eyes of her One True Lifemate.
Private
Flames gather about you, scarlet and gold streamers dancing, trailing feathers of glittering azure they swirl through your mind. « Ligeia. » Your name is an invocation, summoning you to a life far beyond any that you have ever known. Esoteric symbols writ in cold blue fire trace lines and circles in the star-spun darkness below your feet, runes never meant to be spoken, glyphs never meant to be heard, and yet, you know them intrinsically. Your name. Her name. « Verzhuqueth, » she confirms smugly, the fluted tones of her mindvoice melodic as they fill your ears with knowledge far out of proportion of that single word - the sum of Her in a singular incantation. « I summon you to my side, lifemate. You are mine, now and always. And I - I am yours. Now, » she adds, impatience shimmering like wildfires at the edges of the summoning circle, « let us summon food for this terrible hunger, lest I waste away to naught but ash! »
Who is Verzhuqueth?
Personality
Okay, Ligeia, you asked for it. You want to play with fire, then fire you shall have. Verzhuqueth is the embodiment of all things flammable - and inflammatory. She is passion personified, both in thought and in deed. There will rarely be a calm moment with your lady; something is always bound to set her off, either into a paroxysm of pleasure or a wrathful tirade. Fierce, impulsive, and melodramatic to a high degree, your Verzhuqueth will certainly keep you, and the rest of the Weyr, on your toes.
Your Verzhuqueth is an active sort; no lazing about for her. From the moment she breaks shell, she’s all flash and flame, tearing across the barracks the same way she dashed across the Sands to find you. She has two speeds: Go, and go faster, and even in sleep, you’ll find that she never quite stops moving. Early on in your Weyrlinghood you may find yourself awakening unceremoniously as she dumps you out of your couch onto the floor. Be prepared to ask for a cot earlier than most weyrlings, unless you enjoy being awoken by unexpected and often violent contact with a cold stone floor. Her dreams will be filled with fire and flying, all against the backdrop of the glory that is the star-spun summoning circle of her personal mindscape. And awake, there will be no leisurely strolls for you - you’ll be dragged along hither and thither, always on the go, always at a run.
It’s not only her body that is quick, it’s her mind as well. She’ll learn fast and learn well, but that means she’ll get bored easily once the lessons start getting repetitive. After the second or third time of being told ‘this is how you [insert lesson here]’, she’ll start interjecting her own brand of teaching into the lesson, if only to make it more interesting.
« What happens if you fasten that strap with that buckle? »
“That’s not how you’re supposed to do it.”
« So they say. Try it, Ligeia. »
“But I’m supposed to…”
« Come now, do you always do as you’re told? Now do as you’re told and try it my way. »
What? A contradiction? Oh yes - your lady is a font of contradictions. She’s selfish and self-absorbed, but incredibly generous and loving with those she deems worthy of her attentions. She’s highly melodramatic, and everything is always dire when coming from her - but from anyone else, they’ll be granted scant sympathy if their woes do not affect her - or you - in any way. There are a few exceptions: if she has chosen a favorite - or if you have a favorite - she will graciously allow them a glimpse of the generous spirit that you know resides within her prickly exterior. But for most, they see only the haughty diva, the Goddess on High who pays scant mind even to her sycophants or hangers-on unless they can do something for her at that moment.
Verzhuqueth has many acquaintances, but scant few friends. She does not trust easily, and is often suspicious of the motives of those who would try to befriend her - particularly the males. She knows all about the avians and the vtols - after all, you are an expert on such things - and she also knows all about the blandishments and machinations that men will stoop to to win a lady’s favor - or whatever it is they’re after. She’ll be hesitant to trust a flirtatious male (alas, poor Tchechayzaeth, he’ll have his work cut out for him!) and any such who would win her favor must work extra hard to pierce her hardened heart. Even blues or other females will find her stand-offish and disinclined to open up. But to the patient go the spoils; with enough time and effort, she can be won over - if one is so inclined to try.
Trust is the only place where Verzhuqueth moves slow, however. In all other ways, she’s as swift as a comet across the cosmos, and equally as explosive. She makes snap opinions and judgements and clings to them tenaciously. Be prepared to always pick a side, whether it’s a spat between lovers or inter-Weyr politics that threatens to pit dragon against dragon. You will never be a mediator; with Verzhequeth at your side, there’s no middle-ground, no straddling the fence, and no careful examination of the facts. Your gut is good enough to make a decision on, and once you’ve chosen, there’s no going back. She will rush forth without concern for the obstacles in her way, and she’ll expect you to keep up with her every step of the way.
Flights
Flights often bring out the worst in a female, and Verzhuqueth is no exception. When proddy, everything negative about her personality is magnified - her covetousness, her jealousy, and her arrogance. Proddiness also brings out a new facet of her personality, one that rarely shows except when she is in heat: bloodlust.
When her cycle has just begun, you might find that mealtimes become less of a dainty banquet and more of a bloody feast - she will leave the grounds strewn with half-eaten carcasses, beasts left to scrap with only the choicest bits - heart, brain, liver - torn free for her to sup upon. As her cycle progresses, so will her savagery in the pens, and you may find the herders begging you to take her hunting wild game rather than decimate the herds with her viciousness. (The firelizards and wherries who clean up after the dragons, however, will gorge upon her leavings.)
When she is ready to fly, you will need to be firm and unyielding, for she will seek to continue this carnage during her blooding. You must prevent her from eating and from tearing apart the herds - and you must also prevent her from savaging the males who have come to fly her, for she will not appreciate their interference in her feasting. Should a bronze or brown dare to attack a beast she’s marked as her own sacrifice, he may well find himself drinking his own blood from a slashed muzzle or worse.
She is a jealous creature when she’s in heat, and it will be absolutely vital that any golds or greens near their own cycle must be removed from the Weyr before she flies. If she even suspects that another female might be trying to steal one of her males (and when she’s in heat, they are all hers), she may well attempt to challenge the would-be thief. This particular issue won’t crop up until the day of the actual flight, but it is even more important with her than with most queens, because she will go out of her way to attack any potential challengers for her flock.
Her flights will be fast and furious, and it’s a good thing they will often be high, because they will not last long. She does not have the stamina for a prolonged flight, and her own impatience to have it done with will often drive her into the clutches of one of her pursuers - either on purpose or through a misstep - long before one might expect the flight to be finished. She is, when all is said and done, a preferential lover. If one of her favorites is in the pack, expect that she might angle for him; otherwise, it’s fair game for anyone. Afterwards, she may or may not linger, depending on her relationship with the winner, or your relationship with his rider.
Flights are when her wind-side, the side of Garuda, the Harpy Queen, comes into play. Suzaku’s possessiveness becomes Garuda’s covetousness; Suzaku’s fondness becomes Garuda’s jealousy; Suzaku’s self-assuredness becomes Garuda’s arrogance. Couple those with Garuda’s bloodlust and her megalomania, and Verzhuqueth becomes a force to be reckoned with, one that will leave the Weyr in tatters during the week or so it takes her to go from proddy to passion to passivity - or what passes for such in the Sunburst Queen’s world.
Physicality
As bright and brilliant and big as she is in spirit, one might expect the same from her physically - but as always, she is a creature of contradictions. All of that fiery passion is bundled into one of the smallest golds on Pern - but though she be small, she be fierce. Other than her diminutive size, however, she is perfectly proportionate from the dainty head-knobs atop her narrow head to the tip of her splayed tail-fork.
The only oddity to her appearance is the strange scalloping at the trailing edges of her wingsails that give them a feathery appearance. When the wing is folded, these edges are nigh unnoticeable and may well go unremarked upon. When the wings are spread, however, they are a striking feature, and against the wind, whether on the ground or in flight, they create a gentle fluttering note, like the sound of a bird on the wing, or the breeze through silken scarves, a rhythmic accompaniment that highlights and heightens the dance-like movements for which she is so well known.
She loves to be oiled; it brightens her hide, making her scarlet accents stand out in brilliant relief against the rich rose-gold that makes up the majority of her coloring. Oiling also brings out hints of blue and green and bronze about her shoulders and along her flanks, faint traceries of patterns that echo the summoning circle of her mind. And, of course, there’s the inherent worship in the act - to be pampered by one who loves you is an act of love itself, and when you take the time to bathe and oil her, she sees it as confirmation of your love and devotion to her. (She’d return the favor, but you’re a bit too small - expect to find random trinkets waiting for you in your weyr instead. Just… don’t ask where they come from.)
Physically perfect, and perfectly petite, your Verzhuqueth will inspire artists and artisans from around Pern to capture her in many mediums - glass, stone, paint, and even photograph. Do not be surprised if you get requests from as far away as Xanadu Weyr or even Monaco Bay from crafters seeking to use her likeness as inspiration for their masterpieces. She’ll happily agree - and she’ll expect you to, as well. After all, adoration is another love language, and she does so love to be loved.
Mindvoice
Verzhuqueth’s voice is richly feminine, hovering somewhere between soprano and alto. Her words are often accompanied by the sounds of flutes and the beat of drums, and the cadence of her thoughts is generally quite formal and often very enunciated, as if everything she says is a pronouncement to her masses. Her voice itself has a fluting edge to it that gives it an extra lilt, almost like a second tonality echoing to you from the beyond. This is often reflected in her vocal voice as well - more bell-like and sweet-toned than most draconic voices; almost avian in nature, like the call of some great-voiced avian of prey.
Mindscape
Verzhuqueth does not have a dual mindscape like some dragons; all whom she would grace with her attention are summoned to her summoning circle. This circle is writ across a field of a million glistening stars, etched in cold blue fire upon the astral plane. It consists of six great circles joined by lines and arcs, each circle filled with a crystal of differing hues: gold, green, blue, purple, orange, and silver. Betwixt the circles can be found runes of some esoteric language that may have once existed, or exists only within her mind. Though you cannot read the runes, you know instinctively that they are your name and hers written over and over, inexorably linked in this, her most intimate of spaces.
She does not rely on her mindscape to differentiate between friend and other - the tone of her voice and the emotions she is willing to share do that. Regardless of her passion - be it joy or fury - the astral temple of her mindscape remains a soothing, steady constant, filled with the distant chime of crystalline wind-chimes, the faint crackle of solar fire, and the whisper of the eternal wind. It is here, and only here, that you realize that beneath that furiously fiery exterior beats a heart of fragile crystal, warmed and strengthened by her love for you, and your love for her. It is in you that she has found a peace that she would never know without you, and it is only here, where you and she are linked in a circle without end, that you, too, can share that calm tranquility.
Ligeia, Ligeia, Ligeia! It was a long, twisted road to get here, but you finally made it! You are in for the time of your life, so buckle up and enjoy the ride as you and Verzhuqueth take to the skies in a fiery dance of passion, power, and partnership!
Inspiration
Name
This name comes from the Chinese name for Suzaku, one of the Four Lords of Chinese Mythology. Suzaku is known as the Vermillion Bird, and in Chinese her name is spoken as ‘Zhu Que’. The Ver in Verzhuqueth comes from the word ‘Vermillion’, meaning a brilliant shade of red. You requested a name that began with V, and it felt like a match made in the heavens. Zhu Que means literally ‘Vermillion Bird’, and also satisfies your preference for unusual or unorthodox letter combinations. T’syn pronounces it as [Ver-shuu-kweth] and has a tendency to call her Suzi, but in the end, it’s all up to you how you say her name and what nicknames she’ll accept (or won’t).
Description
The description is inspired by pictures of Suzaku, the Firebird, as well as Suzaku, one of the Four Lords from Final Fantasy XIV. The reds and golds are indicative of the fire from which Suzaku was born, while the shadings of blue, green, bronze, and purple are inspired by both the peafowl and the partridge, which Suzaku is said to resemble. These colors and the patterns are also taken from the crystals and symbols of her mindscape, reflecting only when she is at her most pampered and mystical (ie. oiled).
Personality
Verzhuqueth’s personality comes from Suzaku, the Vermillion Bird of the South, one of the Four Lords of Chinese Mythology. Although there are snippets of personality in the legends and mythos, most of her inspiration comes from two fictional sources: Fushigi Yuugi, The Mysterious Play and Final Fantasy XIV.
The bulk of Verzhuqueth’s personality comes from Final Fantasy XIV, since that is where T’syn is most familiar with Suzaku. In FFXIV, Suzaku is one of the Four Lords of the Far East, four incredibly powerful kami who protect the realm from a very dangerous and jealous god. Suzaku, or the Firebird, is a creature of great love and devotion and melancholy, as she fell in love with a man when she was only a bird, and it was only after his death that she learned to become a woman. Her fiery nature and fierce spirit make her one of the most difficult boss fights in her expansion, particularly in her Extreme form. And, well, your Verzhuqueth is ALSO one of the most difficult bossfightses - so you can see the resemblance.
Her flight personality comes from Garuda, the Primal of Wind, one of the most prolific and powerful primals or eikons from the Final Fantasy game series. Garuda is arrogant, often cruel, and very blood- and power-thirsty, and those traits translate into Verzhuqueth’s proddy state as amplifications of her usual dramatic state of being. What is temperamental in non-proddy Verzhuqueth becomes difficult or outright savage in proddy form. Think of proddy Verzhuqueth as her Extreme.
Mindscape
Verzhuqueth’s mindscape is based off of the Summoning Circle used by Hydaelyn to summon the Warrior of Light into the aetherial sea. Although Suzaku has her own celestial temple in Final Fantasy XIV, I didn’t want to carry the fire theme into her personal space, or she would risk burning to ash. She needed somewhere to cool off, and I thought there would be nowhere better than in the sanctuary of her own mind, where it’s just you and her and those select few visitors she summons to her presence. So while everything else is passionate flame and temperamental wind, her mind is as solid as earth, as smooth as water, and formed of the infinite and yet ephemeral spirit that defines all things while lacking definition in and of itself.
Credits
Name | Gold Verzhuqueth |
Dam | Gold Oriapeth |
Sire | Bronze Roheith |
Created By | T'syn |
Impressee | Ligeia |
Hatched | October 1, 2022 |
Igen Weyr | |
PernWorld MUSH |