Rakiter

Physical Appearance
Rakiter was a rough-and-tough Sparkclaw drake. He's on the large side of the size scale, muscular and built for exerting energy over a long period of time. His base color is an orangey-pink, desaturating into peach and darkening into a reddish-orange color. His wings are a dark reddish-brown that fade into a lighter, desaturated red and a darker sort of brown. His claws and horns are very similar in color to his chest plates. He has three nose horns on his snout and ten horns on his head. His spine is lined with small, nub-like "spikes". His eyes are purple, a very strange color for a Sparkclaw.

Biography
Rakiter was born into a lower class family. He went to school young and left school young to work in the mines to help support his struggling parents. His sister, Iyress, followed him into this line of work. Both faced horrid conditions in the mines, Rakiter nearly succumbing to terrible ventilation multiple times. The higher-up supervisors, all Longwings, dismissed the issue whenever it was brought up, telling the pair to be "more careful" next time when going through the caves. After Iyress was pinned by the tail under a cave-in in a section of mine that was never inspected for safety, Rakiter demanded from the supervisors more inspectors and compensation for Iyress's broken and sliced tail, which soon became infected in the dreary, wet, and moldy conditions.

The supervisors, of course, denied.

Desperate for treatment for his sister's wounds, Rakiter demanded her to stay at home with their parents. As her condition worsened, Rakiter worked on learning everything about medicine and earning every little scrap of money he could to try to pay for a real doctor to help her. He eventually managed to get a scrap of information on treating infections from a middle-class Longwing who took pity on Rakiter. Grateful, Rakiter offered some of the money he had gathered to the Longwing in exchange for info - the mystery Dragon refused and left without another word.

Rakiter returned home and treated his sister's tail successfully, harboring a deep hatred towards the uncaring Longwing supervisors but a respect to the other Longwing who helped him save his sister. This lesson stuck with him for years to come, making him question the words he was raised on - "all Longwings are evil and greedy."

Many years down the road, Rakiter met Karissa, a beautiful golden-yellow Sparkclaw female. The two quickly fell in love and bonded a few years later. Fate turned against Rakiter, though, one evening as a meeting was called at the Royal Balcony.

Up for public execution was the Longwing that had given Rakiter the advice he needed for his sister all these years ago, on account of treason. Rakiter was too stunned to act, watching the events as if through another Dragon's eyes. Eventually, he regained composure and spoke out against the proceedings. He roared to the Royals themselves about how unfair the proceedings were - there was no evidence, only prejudice. The crowd basically parted around him as he charged forwards, using the few guards posted below the Balcony as nothing more than stepping stones to launch himself upwards. Of course, he couldn't reach the Balcony through a leap, but he did manage to get high enough to blast his flame directly at the Royals in a fit of rage.

The mystery Longwing used the moment to knock out the guard holding his chains and jumped off the balcony, flapping away and zipping down a tunnel. Rakiter followed.

It turns out the Longwing was part of a secret rebel organisation called the Red Claw - the Royals figured this out and tried to kill him for it. Still in a hateful mood from the events at the Balcony, Rakiter eagerly asked to join this organisation. The Longwing gladly agreed to show him.

Rakiter then became involved in the Red Claw, joining the fighting force and staying within it for the greater part of his life. His fighting ability, personality, and leadership was an overall inspiration to the soldiers of the Red Claw and he rose high in their army in a relatively short period of time. He slipped back into the Empire occasionally, although well aware of his state in the minds of most Dragons around him - a radical who tried to fight for a criminal. He made sure to try to slip in at night, avoiding the guards and other dragons. He often met with his mate, but also with Iyress, eventually convincing her to join him without much protest.

Iyress and Rakiter fought alongside each other for years in the Red Claw, strengthening their already-strong bond. They were present for many of the more recent historic events, often seen sitting together companionably on the sidelines. They also shared a home cave together and were almost never seen away from other other's side. That is, until Rakiter decided to visit his mate one last time.

Usually every time prior, Karissa is waiting for Rakiter in the main cave, resting on the ground. However, this time she wasn't - confused, Rakiter searched her - previously their - cave before settling on the shelf nearby the entrance. Eventually she reappears, having had to work late that night due to her mistress needing help tending to her clutch. Rakiter checks up on her, examining her to make sure that she's healthy and eating well. At this point in time, she's a many months gravid with a clutch of Rakiter's, who is currently pained to not be able to be around often to raise his hatchlings. While he would love to run off with her to the Red Claw, Karissa refuses to believe any of the mixed-race equal-race thoughts and instead feels he is just running off with females. She worries he may be a criminal or worse, a traitor, and refuses to trust him to lead her to the this magical organisation and the surface.

When leaving, Rakiter, too consumed in his own thoughts, runs right into a guard. The guard demands his name and reason, to which Rakiter cannot give honestly. He stutters and tries to run, blasting flame back at the ground to create a wall of flame. Infuriated, the guard gives chase and vaults the flame-wall, ending up between Rakiter and the exit. When Rakiter lunges, the guard tailwhips him across the chest, breaking a few ribs and winding him. He then keeps him pinned to the ground, giving him one chance for mercy by demanding he turn himself in.

The mystery Longwing that Rakiter saved once told him that he was only to be publicly executed because he refused to give any information about the Red Claw while under mental torture - the Royals didn't want to leave any marks. Rakiter wasn't a drake known in the Empire anymore - an exile, an outcast. What kind of torture would they give him, if they knew his name? If the Royals he attacked recognised him?

Giving one last desperate and loving look to his mate - who had chased the duo down the corridors - he refused to surrender to the Guard, who warned him the only other choice between surrender was death. The guard lurched down and bit into the Sparkclaw's neck, envenomating him and sealing his fate. Karissa watched in horror as her dying mate mouths nothing more than "run" before his eyes shut and he succumbs to the venom.

Personality
Rakiter was extremely brash and often made decisions on the fly rather than thinking them out. He acted on impulse far too often for his own good, getting him into fights and terrible situations. He was also a proud drake, refusing to let anyone bring him down. He was a source of motivation and morale during the long months his patrol was away from the Red Claw, keeping his groupmates inspired to move on. He's quick to anger but quick to forgive, as well - he has an excellent memory, though, and never forgets those that have wronged him or done well to him.

Comic Appearances
His real fate and loyalty is mentioned at the end of Chapter 1 by Nezrik, who knew him before he passed, to try to convince Ruskaer and Tygressa to join the Red Claw.

The prologue of Chapter 2 depicts his last excursion to his mate and fate.