Axolotl

Axolotl

Art by @lonelyweirdcat

Relatives	Sergetha Orvon (Mother, Deceased)
Languages	Common, Common Sign Language, Draconic, Infernal, Sylvan
Affiliations	The Cabal of Wander-Wishers, The Deroulex Select Conservatory of the Arcane
Aliases	Zuxandris Scarlet Orvon, The Scarlet Scourge
Marital Status	Single
Place of Birth	Isonhound
Species	Kobold
Gender	Nonbinary (she/they)
Height	3’5 ft
Weight	38 lbs
Eye Color	Red

Axolotl is a kobold, one of the youngest members of the Cabal of Wander-Wishers, and a student of the Deroulex Conservatory. They are a Draconic Sorcerer, though they would rather not be. Axolotl shows up in the D&D 5e open table campaign Curriculum of Chaos.

Physical Appearance

Axolotl is short, as is typical of a kobold. She stands at just 3’5. This, combined with her pink scales, gives her an appearance many would consider cute. She has two white horns that curve backwards on her head along with white spikes that trail down her back. Her tail also bears a few of these spikes. There are light pink, circular markings around her eyes that can almost make it look like she’s wearing glasses. Her eyes are red and can sometimes take on a bit of a harsh glow. Axolotl has a surprising amount of outfits, but most are usually some variation of white and red. Her favorite outfit is an off-the-shoulder white and red top with a small red bow, a matching ruffled skirt, and black pants.

Personality

Axolotl is shy at first meeting, and this shyness takes at least a few days to begin to dissipate. She has a tendency to stumble over her words, signifying the constant anxiety simmering under her scales. Axolotl tries not to let her anxiety stop her from being kind, though, and she tries to accommodate others when possible. She is at her most relaxed when singing old Draconic songs that she either remembers from her childhood or from her time traveling with the Cabal of Wander-Wishers. When she wrongs someone, she will prostrate herself and offer to enter into their service.

Axolotl’s personality only deviates when her curse flares up and the Scarlet Heart in her chest begins to demand that everything burn. In these moments, she becomes far more wrathful and willing to resolve encounters with extreme, fiery violence. Of course, after snapping out of it, Axolotl is always guilt-ridden and remorseful.

History

“In Bitter Fury, Play Our Dirge.

Watch Where the Blazing Arrows Merge.

Watch Where the Heart of Flames Shall Emerge.

Beware the Scarlet Scourge.

On Bitter Tears, We Dine Tonight.

For Those Whose Hearts Burned In The Fight.

Douse Their Bodies, Bear Our Plight.

Beware the Scarlet Blight.”

Once, there was a red dragon who wished to purge the hearts of his enemies. Once, there was a blight of warriors losing their hearts to flame. Once, there was a kobold who wished to help the heartless even if it sentenced those who came after her to burn.

Zuxandris Scarlet Orvon was hatched at the Prismae Estate in an incubation chamber with magical wards that kept her egg at the perfect temperature. She was immediately greeted by Lady Fleur Prismae—a noble teenage wizard who babbled something about “overseeing Zuxandris’ progress”. Those words meant nothing to the kobold at the time. Within a few hours, she was old enough to walk, and Fleur led her to a ritual circle inside an adjacent room with several more wizards. Before that moment, Zuxandris had not noticed that her heart wasn’t beating. After Fleur and the others spilled their blood and started chanting, an uncomfortable thudding sensation began to reverberate throughout her chest. Then the thudding became a harsh, hot pounding. She didn’t know how to ask for it to stop. When Zuxandris slept that night, she dreamt of burning from the inside out.

Over the next several years, Zuxandris was required to spend her time at Fleur’s side. Occasionally, an older kobold with similar pink scales would come visit her, bringing little trinkets as gifts. Apparently, she was her mother. Her mother never stayed at the estate for very long. At first, Zuxandris thought that the wealthy environment made her uncomfortable. She later realized that she was the one who made her mother uncomfortable. By the time Zuxandris was ten, her mother stopped visiting altogether. That was also the year when Zuxandris’ fire magic started to truly manifest. She had let off the occasional tiny flame before, but she hadn’t accidentally set things ablaze. The first time she turned one of the plants in Fleur’s herbalism room to cinders, she was sure Fleur would be wrathful. Instead, Lady Fleur was enthused; she started to feed Zuxandris all types of strange elixirs that made her heart burn and flames seethe behind her eyes.

By the time she was eleven, Zuxandris knew she was cursed. Maybe the heart in her chest had whispered it to her in her blazing dreams or maybe Fleur had just stopped watching her words. Zuxandris also knew the fire within her was going to turn into an inferno some day. When that day came, it was Fleur who was caught in the crossfire. By the time Zuxandris had stopped roaring about wanting everything to burn, the room that she had hatched in and used as a bedroom all her life was ashes and Lady Fleur had horrific burns. She fled the estate: maybe to get away from her shame, maybe in search of freedom.

For eight years, Zuxandris roamed, only ever staying put until her inner flame threatened to erupt. She made a few acquaintances, but never any real friends. That was until she met Dame Ziri the Dragonheart and the rest of the Cabal of Wander-Wishers. Zuxandris encountered them when she and other wanderers were fleeing from bandits. Ziri swept in like a hero from the single storybook Zuxandris’ mother had given her, knocking the bandits off their feet and roaring in victory when they had been defeated. Zuxandris wasn’t the one who asked to follow Ziri. She was prepared to simply offer her an awkward thank you and continue her roaming. However, Ziri stopped her and asked where she was going. When Zuxandris said she didn’t know, Ziri laughed and said she didn’t know either and that meant she ought to come and wander with the rest of the cabal.

Over the course of the time Zuxandris spent traveling with the cabal, she started going by Axolotl because it sounded less like it had a legacy attached to it. Dusty, Ziri’s partner, eventually told her that if she was truly looking to find a way to control her magic, she should consider attending the Deroulex Select Conservatory of the Arcane for a time. Axolotl decided to take his advice.

Languages

Axolotl is fluent in five languages: Common, Common Sign Language, Draconic, Infernal, and Sylvan. She was raised to speak both Common and Draconic, so these are the languages she’s most comfortable falling back to. Draconic is probably her favorite language; speaking it allows her to feel a connection to her heritage that isn’t doused in a thousand flames. While studying to better control her fire magic, Axolotl turned to the Infernal magics of the Ten Hells. Though she was wise enough to avoid actually seeking out any devils, she found translated texts and sought out non-devil speakers like tieflings. Axolotl learned both Sign Language and Sylvan with the Cabal of Wander-Wishers. Specifically, she learned Sylvan from the cabal’s leader, Ziri, and Sign Language from Violi and Dusty—the resident bard and head cleric respectively.

Powers and Abilities

Most of Axolotl’s magic revolves around fire due to her red dragon “ancestor”, though she has a small interest in psychic spells as well. Burning Hands and Chromatic Orb are some of her primary methods of attack when conflict unfortunately becomes unavoidable. The former allows her to push back crowds of adversaries while the latter lets her launch concentrated fire at a specific target. Fire Bolt is a useful backup cantrip for when her more potent magic reserves are exhausted. Mage Hand is practical for retrieving things. She primarily uses Minor Illusion to create music to accompany the Draconic tunes she’s fond of humming. Mind Sliver represents the bit of psychic magic Axolotl has learned and, if necessary, she can hit someone with it before subjecting them to Burning Hands: this lessens their chances of avoiding the fire stream.

Attacks and Weapons 

Axolotl’s choice of arcane focus is a silver rod topped with a ruby that has Draconic inscriptions along the length of it. She saved up enough money to buy it from a traveling merchant a few weeks before coming to the Deroulex Conservatory. It’s high quality enough to handle the heat of her magic without getting damaged (unlike the makeshift rods she used before buying it).

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Grades

Magical Theory 100: Ungraded

Magical Practicum Seminar: Ungraded