Rooney

“For Karavox, I give up my roots.” —Rooney

Rooney

Player Name	Jeff
Languages	Aarakocra, Abyssal, Auran, Common, Draconic, Elvish, Infernal
Affiliations	Ruby Court
Aliases	Harbinger of Durzibethinus the Emerald
Date of Birth	236 BR
Place of Birth	Pteris
Species	Aarakocra
Gender	Male (he/him)
Height	5' 2"
Weight	90 lbs
Eye Color	Emerald

Rooney is an Aarakocra Ranger who, in the year 245 BR, played a vital role in ending the first Infernal Emergence by giving up his roots in exchange for the legendary battleaxe known as Karavox. This bargain left him unable to settle down in any single location for long, dooming him to fly across the realm for all time until the year 826 PR when he touched an emerald egg in Isonhound. The egg hatched open, releasing an emerald Drake as well as a burst of Draconic magic. The magic flowed into Rooney, imbuing him with the essence of an Emerald Dragon and creating a permanent bond with the Drake. The psionic voice of Durzibethinus revealed that the drake's name was Smaragdos and that Rooney had been blessed with the power of an Emerald Harbinger. Long after giving up his place in the world, this new role filled the empty piece of him which he had relinquished to help save the realm all those years ago.

History

Rooney's tribe initially avoided conflict with Devils for the first few decades of the Infernal Emergence by taking to the skies. Following the unlocking of Kiston in 207 BR, however, Dragons of Tiamat flooded the Realm and began aggressively competing for airspace. Since the skies were no longer reliably safe, some Aarakocra preferred their odds with the Devils and reluctantly returned to the land to face these fiends head-on.

Appearance

Portrait of Rooney in the BR Era.

Rooney resembles a red-tailed hawk with sharp eyes that shifted from gold into an emerald color after being imbued with the essence of an Emerald Dragon. He is short and lightweight with a wide wingspan, making him a natural flyer like most Aarakocra. While residing in Pteris, he wore breathable clothing comprised of desert tones matching the continent's terrain. Upon relocating to Isonhound, his garb became more regal and incorporated emerald hues suited to traversing forests as well as his role as a Harbinger of Durzibethinus the Emerald. His weapon of choice is a longbow encrusted over with emerald geodes, which he keeps ready at his side to take down enemies from the skies.

Smaragdos

His name is kinda hard to remember, so I've just been calling him Mickey!" —Rooney

Smaragdos is an emerald Drake hatched from a Dragon egg that had been corrupted by Feredemius and later purified by Durian using a Moonflower. The purification dispelled the egg of any lingering shadow energy, but the corruption caused the egg to hatch into an emerald Drake rather than a true Dragon. He has a powerful psionic bond with Rooney, obeying the Aarakocra's commands without need for any verbiage between them. Rooney frequently gets confused by Smaragdos' name and makes a habit of inventing new names for him, which Smaragdos has no issue with as their bond goes beyond that of the spoken word.

Trivia

• Rooney's greatest fear is Tiamat and one of his favored enemies is Dragons, ironic considering his close affiliation with Gem Dragons later in life.
• Before becoming a Drakewarden by the hand of Durzibethinus, Rooney was originally a Fey Wanderer. An archfey had reincarnated him from the spirit of an animal companion named Ronin, moved by his loyalty after seeing the red-tailed hawk spend his life at the grave of his owner Aranwe.