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{{Worldbuilders}} {{Infobox character|name=Durzibethinus|image=Durzibethinus.png|caption=Moments after his rebirth as a [[Dragon]].|relatives=[[Feredemius]], [[Smargarg]]|affilliation=[[Ruby Court]]|alias=[[Ruby Court#Resurrected Court|Emerald Thane of Sardior]], Durian, Adrian Grunwald|birthDate=826 [[PR]]|birthPlace=[[Northern Snowy Mountains]], [[Isonhound]]|species=[[Dragon]]|gender=Male (he/him)|eyes=Emerald|field1=Class|field2=Domain|value1=[[Quelmar Deities|Deity]]|value2=Trickery}}
{{Worldbuilders}}<blockquote>"''If you want to stop the return of Sardior you'll have to kill me first''" - Durian, weeks before actually managing to revive Sardior</blockquote>{{Infobox character|name=Durzibethinus|image=Durzibethinus.png|caption=Moments after his rebirth as a [[Dragon]].|relatives=[[Feredemius]], [[Smargarg]]|affilliation=[[Ruby Court]]|alias=[[Ruby Court#Resurrected Court|Emerald Thane of Sardior]], Durian, Adrian Grunwald|birthDate=826 [[PR]]|birthPlace=[[Northern Snowy Mountains]], [[Isonhound]]|species=[[Dragon]]|gender=Male (he/him)|eyes=Emerald|field1=Class|field2=Domain|value1=[[Quelmar Deities|Deity]]|value2=Trickery}}
'''{{PAGENAME}}''', also known as '''Durian''', is an [[Dragon#Gem Dragons|Emerald Dragon]] and the [[Ruby Court#Resurrected Court|Emerald Thane of Sardior]]. Prior to his ascension, he lived a mortal life in [[Isonhound]] as a [[Dragonborn]] named '''Adrian Grunwald''', son of the high sorcerer in a hidden town called [[Jadenhill]]. After leaving home in 825 [[PR]] with the hopes of finding a way to protect his clan from hostile [[Dragon|Dragons]] and [[The Second Draconic Crusades|Crusaders]], he changed his name to Durian and discovered the existence of [[Dragon#Gem Dragons|Gem Dragons]] as well as his own emerald heritage. This sent him down a path towards helping to resurrect [[Sardior|Sardior, the Ruby King of Gem Dragons]] and defeating his disgraced ancestor [[Feredemius]], who served as the original [[Ruby Court#Prehistoric Court|Emerald Thane]] before the dissolution of the prehistoric [[Ruby Court]]. Durian’s role in the ritual to resurrect [[Sardior]] caused him to be reborn as an [[Dragon#Gem Dragons|Emerald Dragon]] and empowered him to sit on the reassembled [[Ruby Court]] as the new [[Ruby Court#Resurrected Court|Emerald Thane]]. Following his transformation, he took to using the name Durzibethinus, a draconic name his father had given him, in order to protect his identity as well as his clan.
'''{{PAGENAME}}''', also known as '''Durian''', is an [[Dragon#Gem Dragons|Emerald Dragon]] and the [[Ruby Court#Resurrected Court|Emerald Thane of Sardior]]. Prior to his ascension, he lived a mortal life in [[Isonhound]] as a [[Dragonborn]] named '''Adrian Grunwald''', son of the high sorcerer in a hidden town called [[Jadenhill]]. After leaving home in 825 [[PR]] with the hopes of finding a way to protect his clan from hostile [[Dragon|Dragons]] and [[The Second Draconic Crusades|Crusaders]], he changed his name to Durian and discovered the existence of [[Dragon#Gem Dragons|Gem Dragons]] as well as his own emerald heritage. This sent him down a path towards helping to resurrect [[Sardior|Sardior, the Ruby King of Gem Dragons]] and defeating his disgraced ancestor [[Feredemius]], who served as the original [[Ruby Court#Prehistoric Court|Emerald Thane]] before the dissolution of the prehistoric [[Ruby Court]]. Durian’s role in the ritual to resurrect [[Sardior]] caused him to be reborn as an [[Dragon#Gem Dragons|Emerald Dragon]] and empowered him to sit on the reassembled [[Ruby Court]] as the new [[Ruby Court#Resurrected Court|Emerald Thane]]. Following his transformation, he took to using the name Durzibethinus, a draconic name his father had given him, in order to protect his identity as well as his clan.



Revision as of 05:41, 25 January 2025

"If you want to stop the return of Sardior you'll have to kill me first" - Durian, weeks before actually managing to revive Sardior

Durzibethinus
Moments after his rebirth as a Dragon.
Relatives Feredemius, Smargarg
Affiliations Ruby Court
Aliases Emerald Thane of Sardior, Durian, Adrian Grunwald
Date of Birth 826 PR
Place of Birth Northern Snowy Mountains, Isonhound
Species Dragon
Gender Male (he/him)
Eye Color Emerald
Class Deity
Domain Trickery

Durzibethinus, also known as Durian, is an Emerald Dragon and the Emerald Thane of Sardior. Prior to his ascension, he lived a mortal life in Isonhound as a Dragonborn named Adrian Grunwald, son of the high sorcerer in a hidden town called Jadenhill. After leaving home in 825 PR with the hopes of finding a way to protect his clan from hostile Dragons and Crusaders, he changed his name to Durian and discovered the existence of Gem Dragons as well as his own emerald heritage. This sent him down a path towards helping to resurrect Sardior, the Ruby King of Gem Dragons and defeating his disgraced ancestor Feredemius, who served as the original Emerald Thane before the dissolution of the prehistoric Ruby Court. Durian’s role in the ritual to resurrect Sardior caused him to be reborn as an Emerald Dragon and empowered him to sit on the reassembled Ruby Court as the new Emerald Thane. Following his transformation, he took to using the name Durzibethinus, a draconic name his father had given him, in order to protect his identity as well as his clan.

Prologue

Durian was born at the Temple on Jadenhill, a small community off the southern coast of Isonhound. Its population primarily consisted of Metallic Dragonborn and was settled by a clan of devout Bahamut worshippers who emigrated from Pteris in the early PR era to escape the chaos of the Cavalry Rush. The town of Jadenhill itself comprised mainly of the temple, which was partially built into the ruins of an ancient abandoned mining project.

The temple practiced its worship in relative peace and seclusion for over three centuries, finding ways to honor Bahamut while they awaited his inevitable return, such as studying the Way of the Ascendant Dragon. However, they would fall victim to the Razing of Isonhound in 700 PR…which flattened most parts of the temple that were not housed in the repurposed mining tunnels. Most lives were spared, but it was a devastating loss that would prove too difficult to build back from without outside help. They began tiptoeing back into the outside world to attempt trade and other forms of participating in greater society.

Blaming the Dragons of Tiamat—the only Dragon Deity they believed to be active at the time—for their misfortunes, the town wrote letters declaring their allegiance to the church of Kragnux the Dragon Slayer and added him to their pantheon of deities. Around this same time, a few of the town's hatchlings had been born with brilliant, emerald-colored scales and proved to be gifted with psionic powers and sorcery. The source of their unusual ancestry was unknown, but the temple leaders referred to these gemlike hatchlings as "patinas" and believed them to be a blessing from Bahamut…serving as living proof that their clan was on the most righteous path.

This interpretation would prove regrettable as the growing church of Kragnux became radicalized against not just Dragons, but against all draconic species. The temple heard word of the Dragonborn being slaughtered in the Second Draconic Crusades and quietly dissolved their ties to the church, but it was too late to recluse their community again. They had rebuilt and thrived with the benefit of outside trading partners who knew of the temple and would soon be visiting in greater numbers.

The temple leaders devised a system for receiving guests, erecting a mage tower dubbed the Court of Quartz to serve as a visitors center as well as house many of the artifacts pulled from the former mining tunnels over the years…including an Amethyst Dragon egg which they mistook as merely a large gem. They also appointed a high sorcerer—one of the "patina" Dragonborn—to reside in the tower and perform an essential part of their plan using one of the few gem relics in the collection brought over from the old continent.

Dubbed the Selune Splinter and described as a fragment from an ancient moon crystal imbued with peculiar paranormal properties, it was able to amplify illusionary magic to increase its effect and distance. Wielding this artifact, the high sorcerer could cast a spell over the entire town to disguise its Dragonborn residents as Wood Elves…the primary inhabitants of the Woldlin region. This deception was successfully kept up for the remainder of the century and the monotonous high sorcerer position would be passed between "patina" Dragonborn before reaching Durian's mother.

Ironically, the long-awaited return of Bahamut in 795 PR would also soon signal the end of the town's ruse. As all Dragons had been set free to inflict their will on the realm, the temple came under attack by P'Kinestra at the start of 825 PR and the Court of Quartz was robbed of its collection…including the Selune Splinter which they had spent decades relying upon for protection. The town's residents were suddenly left vulnerable in a realm which found itself increasingly at odds with Dragons for the first time in over a century. How long would it be before the rest of the realm grew frustrated and turned its sights back on who was left of the draconic species?

Adrian Grunwald, son of the high sorcerer and presumed next in line for the position, adopted the alias of Durian—a portmanteau of his elvish and draconic names—to conceal his origins and snuck away from the temple with aspirations to show the realm that the Dragonborn were equal victims of the Dragons' ransacking ways and could be strong allies in the fight against them. If he could also uncover a new means of protecting his clan somewhere along the way, that would be all the better.

Into the Greedy Green

Durian
His Dragonborn form prior to his rebirth.
Player Name Jeff
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarvish, Elvish, Infernal, Primordial, Telepathy, Wiki
Affiliations Harbingers of Sardior
Date of Birth 806 PR
Place of Birth Jadenhill, Isonhound
Species Dragonborn
Gender Male (he/him)
Height 6' 4"
Weight 260 lbs
Eye Color Emerald
Class Sorcerer

Draconic Divinations

Durian leaves home for the first time and is given an alarming vision of the future before meeting a Silver Dragon with a peculiar ideology, causing him to have a crisis of faith…

Surprise Sapphire

Durian discovers the existence of Gem Dragons and attempts to befriend one of them, leading him towards questions about his own identity…

Bronze Boating

Durian tests the limits of the Boon that Bleucorundum gave him by taking a job which would lead him to encounter another child of Bahamut

Sardior Secrets

Durian meets an ancient witch who is the first to divulge the existence of the Ruby Court as well as his god Sardior, the Ruby King of Gem Dragons

Seglock Siege

Durian struggles to enjoy a festival in Seglock when Horatio Cheshire crashes the party, riding atop what appears to be an aspect of Tiamat

Shadow Showdown

Durian is recruited by the Curator to help shut down the Shadow Forge and put an end to Horatio Cheshire's abominations once and for all…

Splintered Priorities

Durian joins a guild in order to reacquire the Selune Splinter, an artifact of tremendous significance that had been stolen from his clan…

Jeered Tears

Durian sets out to learn everything he can about Sardior and acquires one of the only known physical remnants of the Gem Dragon god…

Sanctified Machines

Durian meets the Most Sanctified Disciples of Sardior and pledges to support their efforts to resurrect Sardior by any means necessary…

Emerald Epiphany

Durian tracks down the lair of an Emerald Dragon who teaches him how to read minds in exchange for helping to return one of his eggs…

Fairly Devious

Durian uncovers the true identity of The One That Waits and weighs the consequences of sharing his revelation with any other adventurers…

Harbinger Havoc

Durian learns names for all of the original Ruby Court members and ponders what it means to be a Harbinger, forming the Harbingers of Sardior to share information more efficiently…

Festive Fall

Durian brings the Topaz Astrolabe to Sneerwell in hopes of deciphering its purpose, instead confronting The One That Waits face-to-face while Isonhound is enveloped by shadows…

Slight Sworn

Durian becomes disillusioned by the network of guilds and decides to leave the Iron Hawks in order to focus all his efforts towards resurrecting Sardior

Amethyst Altercation

Durian encounters Bleucorundum once again, who sends him on a mission into a city with no name that is being guarded by a possessed Amethyst Dragon

Kill Durian

Durian resists The One That Waits as his true identity is confirmed and he sneaks some of his shadow monsters into Seglock to take out his uncooperative descendent…

Green Tech

Durian returns to the Pendergras factory in Sneerwell and is once again forced to confront his ancestor, The One That Waits, who has taken over the facility…

Chronoseptic Antics

Durian is sent to Gammelgard by the Curator to investigate the Dwarven Citadel and is hurled back in time by the Dragon Uhlm to free Kristang from his imprisonment…

Divine Rebirth

Durian wields the Emerald Blade during the Battle of Five Lights, causing him to be reborn as an Emerald Dragon and transformed into the new Emerald Thane of Sardior

Emerald Atonement

Durzibethinus sends Rooney, his first Harbinger, to help investigate a surge of psionic activity which leads to the lair of a purified Feredemius

Appearance

Durian providing aerial support during The Shadow Forge Shutdown.

Durian

Durian was sturdily built like most Dragonborn, although he was not exceptionally strong. His scales were a shimmering emerald color with a fine, prickly texture and translucent at the surface. He had draconic emerald eyes and long head tendrils which hung down his back like a mop of hair. He also had a tail, uncommon but not unheard of amongst Dragonborn. His garbs would forego the customary blue of most Bahamut worshippers, instead opting for assorted metallic hues to better resemble the Metallic Dragonborn most common amongst his clan. He still expressed his allegiance to Bahamut, however, by donning a conspicuous pendant with his religion’s traditional symbol and color. He also wore a necklace that he handmade fastened with a Tear of Sardior, symbolizing his mission to help resurrect the god of Neutral Dragons.

Durzibethinus

In his true form, he is a massive Emerald Dragon with shimmering, translucent scales and two lengthy horns crowning the top of his head. Clusters of smaller crystalline protrusions encircle the rest of his head like a mane. His eyes glow with a pupil-less, emerald hue. Powerful, sinewy limbs match his long neck and tail while broad wings spread from his spiny back. Hard spikes stick out from each of his leg joints. His feet are adorned with razor-sharp claws.

Despite his imposing natural shape, he often favors disguises and will even polymorph into his prior Dragonborn form. In this shape, he appears nearly identical to how he looked before his rebirth, with the addition of wings which are similar to his old spectral ones except that they remain a permanent fixture.

Personality

Durian

Durian’s prior knowledge of what existed outside Jadenhill had all been secondhand, so he looked upon the realm with wondrous eyes. He asked lots of questions, seeking knowledge and solutions to problems that may not have even occurred yet. He had a deep appreciation for his own mortality, but would go all in for a cause he felt was just. He would try to fall back on the teachings of his temple when confronted with a new moral dilemma, but often privately struggled to fit all quandaries into the good-versus-evil paradigm that Bahamut espoused. He hoped that joining the fight against Dragons would help bring clarity to his religious anxieties. The realities of the conflict, however, only further muddied his outlook.

Durzibethinus

Becoming a Dragon has altered his mind in ways that even he does not fully understand. Emotions feel larger than before, for better and worse. He is more confident and curious, but also more paranoid and mistrusting. It’s difficult to discern if these changes are entirely the result of his new form, enhancing traits that were already there, or if they are in part due to Sardior’s influence. When he begins having an intrusive or self-doubting thought, it’s as if another part of his mind rushes in to squash the thought before it can fully form. He is persuaded to his core that this is what he was meant to become…and yet he sometimes feels a dissonance between mind and body, as if he’s merely the same insecure Dragonborn piloting this huge, powerful creature. He quietly hopes and trusts that these incongruent feelings will dissipate as he acclimates to being a Dragon.

Abilities

Durian

Durian was naturally gifted with psionic abilities, but the way he wielded those powers was often lacking in finesse. Aside from communicating via telepathy, he could also psychically lash out at enemies like a mind whip and exhale psychic energy as a breath weapon. When dealt damage at close range, he reflexively retaliated with a burst of telekinetic energy to push away the aggressor. He could also summon temporary spectral wings which allowed him to fly.

He could create fire at will, drawing upon the Gold Dragon part of his ancestry. He was also taught a number of illusionary spells meant to prepare him for being the high sorcerer of Jadenhill, such as disguisement and invisibility. Additionally, he was very multilingual as a result of his upbringing as a courtier.

He utilized his innate magic abilities to find new ways of avoiding close brushes with death. He figured out how to feather fall after being thrown from a crumbling balcony during his first encounter with Sro. After being nearly digested by Bleucorundum's phase gelatinous cube, he learned how to see invisibility.

Following his reacquisition of the Selune Splinter, Durian used it as an opportunity to practice some of the ranged illusionary magic that he was only just beginning to learn before the artifact was stolen.

After tracking down the lair of Smargarg the Emerald Dragon and requesting his help with locating Feredemius, the Emerald Thane of Sardior, the Dragon taught Durian the Boon of Telepathy, which strengthened his existing psionic abilities and enabled him to read the minds of other creatures.

Durzibethinus

The Thanes of Sardior are meant to be Exarchs for their gem types, so Durian’s psionic and psychic powers were radically amplified by his transformation as well as his physical size and strength. He has unmatched prowess in telepathy, clairvoyance, and illusions (skills which he can further project while interfacing with his Gem Artifact, the Emerald Splinter). He is able to exhale a disorientating breath weapon of psychic dissonance. He has a powerful bite and claw attack. He can also fly, teleport and change his shape at will.

His psychic presence seeps into his surroundings over time, a trait which he can use to purposefully imbue certain items and even other creatures with his own emerald essence. He used this ability to transform Rooney into his first Harbinger, forging a Patron-like relationship and psychic link which allows him to see through the Ranger's eyes as well as telepathically communicate.

Adrian of Lyaphaire

Adrian of Lyaphaire, the lingering gold echo of Durzibethinus’ mortal life.

Adrian of Lyaphaire is an aspect of Durzibethinus that was created as a byproduct of his ascension into the Emerald Thane of Sardior. During his transformation, the residual gold part of his mortal ancestry was shed away and discarded into the Astral Sea. It drifted there, eventually forming its own consciousness and being pulled into another realm known as Lyaphaire. Still possessing the same memories as Durzibethinus up until the Battle of Five Lights, this aspect reverted to using the name Adrian Grunwald—Durzibethinus’ birth name—as he endeavored to build a life for himself in this new realm…and perhaps someday regain his emerald heritage.

Once his time in Lyaphaire had come to an end, this aspect was returned to Quelmar and merged back with Durzibethinus at the moment of his birth during the Battle of Five Lights…Adrian's creation having been a tactic by Sardior to radically acquaint Durzibethinus to the concept of the multiverse.

Click here for the story of Adrian’s adventures in Lyaphaire.

Trivia

  • Durian’s family was primarily of Gold Dragon ancestry, hence why his simpler spells were often fire-based. Exhibiting gem features seemed to be a recessive gene as Durian’s immediate family were all gold sans for him, his mother, and grandmother.
  • Despite knowing that he differed from his siblings in a major regard, Durian identified as a Gold Dragonborn until his encounter with Bleucorundum. Being faced with the existence of Gem Dragons completely shook his sense of self.
  • Durian was one of very few telepaths in Jadenhill and took extra coaxing as a child to verbalize his words, so he was overly eager when meeting other telepaths on his journeys and would try using telepathy as the primary means of communication with them.
  • In 820 PR, visiting representatives attempted to scout Durian for Katharda Academy, a proposal which his mother outright refused as he "has a purpose here" and stated that the school "cannot accommodate our unique situation." The representatives warned of the escalating War of Dragons but, after implying that they could see through her Wood Elf disguise, she angrily dismissed them, exclaiming "this is your fight, we're just trying to survive through it." Durian kept a longstanding grudge against his mother for not allowing him to go, and he likely would have gone himself had he not been a year short of fifteen (the age of adulthood in Dragonborn societies). His place was instead offered to Frances Langford, the next candidate on the school’s list.
  • Durian's mother eschewed many aspects of Dragonborn culture due to the fear of her family being discovered by Crusaders. This included conventional draconic names, so she named her son Adrian at birth with the intent of making him sound more elvish. His father, however, was far more relaxed and gifted him the draconic name Durzibethinus on his fifteenth birthday. Upon leaving home, he combined both names and began calling himself Durian in a halfhearted attempt to reclaim some part of his identity.
  • Before leaving home, Durian had never seen or tasted the fruit of his unintended namesake. Coincidentally, however, durians are one of the few fruits that appear on the Scavenging Table for the Dragon-populated mainland of Kiston. Additionally, a single durian fruit once came into Jadenhill as a gift from an overseas diplomat, but it just ended up used as a kickball.
  • While visiting the lair of Smargarg, Durian came across the Amethyst Dragon egg which had been stolen from the Court of Quartz. He left it alone as he could not tell it apart from any other gem egg, but the party's ship captain managed to swipe the egg and fled before anyone could see as it almost immediately hatched into an Amethyst Dragon wyrmling.
  • Throughout most of history, the Gem Dragons went to great lengths to keep their existence in the realm a secret…a behavior that the Dragonborn of Jadenhill seemed to similarly display. By choosing to forgo his Wood Elf disguise upon leaving his hometown, Durian inadvertently helped lead the charge for Gem Dragons and other gem beings to allow themselves to be seen once again.
  • Following his ascension, Durian became a LEGNdary Character throughout the mortal realms and his adventures were echoed over the centuries, even inspiring a myth about an Elf who accrued so much knowledge of Dragons that he ultimately turned into one.

Behind the Screen

  • Durian was created out of a desire to introduce Gem Dragon lore into Quelmar following the release of Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons, as well as to help answer the question of why Dragonborn continued to sporadically appear after the point in the Quelmar Timeline when Dragonborn were presumed to have gone extinct (the implication being that a few clans managed to survive undetected throughout the Second Draconic Crusades). Some secondary elements from Durian's backstory, such as the Selune Splinter, served as callbacks to previous Quelmar campaigns that his Player participated in.
  • Several elements of Durian's backstory drew upon themes of queerness, such as the power of language and its impact on identity when sufficient vocabulary does not exist to properly describe oneself. This manifested as a Gem Dragonborn, ignorant to the existence of Gem Dragons, identifying as metallic as it was his culture’s closest (yet entirely inadequate) approximation for what he was. Other themes included masking to fit into a social order and how such forms of suppression can be multilayered, as in the case of an Emerald Dragonborn masking as a Gold Dragonborn masking as a Wood Elf.
  • Despite being an Emerald Dragonborn, Durian also possessed Gold Dragon ancestry due to his Draconic Bloodline Sorcerous Origin.
  • Another one of his Player’s goals was to test the outcome of playing a character whose motivations for learning new spells were entirely narrative-based (specifically as a Sorcerer, a Class whose spells remain the same from day-to-day). For example, Durian learned Feather Fall following a Session in which he nearly died after falling from a great height. The next time he leveled up, he learned See Invisibility after being nearly killed by an invisible monster. Following this approach, the highest level that Durian reached as a Player character was level 8.
  • One of the primary inspirations for Durian's name was Adrian Greenburg, a costume designer most famous for designing the Ruby Slippers in The Wizard of Oz.

Gallery

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