The Great Dragon Anksto
Anksto—the Great Golden Dragon of Greenfell. Never before have I seen scales or a mind quite so magnificant. The inventions birthed from the depths of his brain rival those of any on the continent... Although I am loathe to admit it, his thirst and capacity for knowledge rivals my own. Both a powerful and benevolent being, Anksto would be a valuable friend and ally to anyone.— Adran Sagesprit
Physical Description
Currently, Anksto is in poor physical condition. After having been painfully restrained for centuries, he now bears burns, scars, and chipped scales along his body—and tears in his wings. He moves around clumsily, and even small movements appear to cause him pain.
Anksto appears to be about 110 feet in length, from his regal head to his powerful tail. He weighs about 1,130,000 lbs, which is impressive considering his poor health. He has broad sail-like wings that start from his shoulders and extend all the way to the end of his extremely long tail, giving him a wingspan of about 130 feet, at their widest point. He boasts large teardrop shaped golden scales, which shine with a beautiful luster, even after the damages of his captivity. Scars and burns run along parts of his body—primarily his underbelly—which give him the look of a battle-hardened soldier.
Anksto has a short face with long and smooth metallic horns that sweep back from his nose and brow, as well as frills that adorned both sides of his neck. From his mouth and nostrils settle four pairs of long, flexible, golden whiskers—of an unknown material. Left over from his bindings, he also has part of a mask of steel melted into the left side of his face, covering it completely—save for his narrow eyes. Along with the burns on his face, these features make him look wise and knowledgable, but also like someone unafraid to do what is necessary.
In addition to his raw physical power, Anksto also boasts significant magical power. He is able to use most types of spells and magic, as well as powerful draconic magic—unknown to humanoids. One of his most powerful features though, is his ability to change his shape into that of any other creature—which allows him to get out of many difficult situations.
Mental characteristics
Anksto highly values knowledge, and as such, he is very educated. He began his education after his centennial, when he traveled to the continent. It was there where he met Tazheran, with whom he trained for many years. Even after leaving Tazheran's training, Anksto continued to go after knowledge. He is well educated on the cultures of south-western Tourceia, as that is where he spent most of his training with Tazheran. In addition to this, he also learned powerful draconic and magical secrets from Tazheran—such as the process to create dragonborn. Due to this magical training, he is an extremely powerful sorcerer, and should not be trifled with. In addition to these things, Tazheran is also a very good engineer, and is responsible for providing the groundwork for many Greenfellian advancements.
One of Anksto's biggest accomplishments was helping to found the Metallic Order, first formed to defeat the Night Terror, but later became the antithesis of the Cult of Chroma. The Order became a powerful, secretive force within Tourceia, and protected the continent over many years. Many of the closely avoided disasters in Tourceia's history can be attributed to the intervention of the Order. He founded the Order with five other metallic dragons, although they have not been in touch recently, due to Anksto's centuries of imprisonment.
Another major accomplishment of Anksto was the founding of the Kingdom of Greenfell. After helping the gnomes who had settled on the island of Greenfell, they asked him to rule and unite them. Although Anksto declined, he did provide them with a ruler, and helped to establish their government and line of succession, so that the country could run smoothly for centuries. Anksto is often regarded with reverence and respect from many of Greenfell's citizens due to his benevolent nature, and his public perception is perhaps his greatest achievement and legacy.
One of Anksto's biggest embarrassments and regrets was him leaving the continent out of fear of the Long Night. Anksto regrets leaving the continent and not standing with his metallic brethren, out of fear for his own life. He attempts to justify it as "playing the long game," but deep down he feels intense shame at the thought of running from a fight. This is part of the reason he works tirelessly to find a way to defeat the Night Terror, because he believes that if he ran, he must find a way to make it up to those who fell before him.
Another one of Anksto's failures was in his strict construction of Greenfell's government. Anksto saw the signs of the Last King's madness, but still did not force his abdication. He had the option of replacing the Last King with the King's brother, but ulitmately he decided that the problem would fix itself. He felt that tradition and adherence to the laws would solve all problems, and was more important than whom would actually make the better leader. This inaction on the part of Anksto led to his own imprisonment, and the Collapse of Greenfell, ultimately destroying the country he worked so hard to build.
Anksto is an extremely intelligent creature, as he has had centuries to hunt down knowledge and learn its secrets. Anksto is intellectually smarter than any human, although sometimes his pride allows him to be tricked and intellectually bested—such as when he was imprisoned by the Last King of Greenfell. His extremely high intellect makes him a valuable ally, and an even more dangerous enemy.
Anksto is extremely moral. He believes that all life is sacred, and should be protected at all costs. However, he also believes that those who have taken a life, have forfeited their own. He does not believe in imposing his will upon others, and despised ideas of slavery. This is part of the reason why—Pre-Collapse—the warforged on Greenfell were treated better than one might have expected, earning reasonable pay and benefits for their labor. Anksto believes in doing whatever is necessary for the greater good, and will stop at nothing to defeat the Night Terror, and other evildoers of Tourceia.
Anksto holds a strict construction philosophy on most issues within life. He adhered to a strict hierarchy of authority within his sector of the Metallic Order, while other Patrons were more relaxed. Anksto believes that rules are put in place for a reason, and should be followed exactly at all costs, lest society fall into savagery and lawlessness. He has never broken one of his own rules, and will avoid doing so at any cost.
Personality Characteristics
Anksto is most motivated by a general desire to do good, and gain more knowledge. These two things are the primary reasons that he does anything in his life. He wishes to make the world a better place, for his descendants—among whom he counts the Warforged—and the innocent. He also believes that advancement is the best way to move forward as a society, and will do whatever he can to learn more throughout his life, to gain new knowledge, so that he may use it to better himself and the world.
Another large motivator for Anksto is shame. Shame is a huge aspect of why Anksto is so bent on defeating the Night Terror and the Cult of Chroma. He feels shame at what he believes was his abandonment of his metallic brethren during the Long Night. It has become a sort of survivor's guilt for him, and it drives his mission each day. He survived, so he must avenge those who came before him.
Anksto is a very good leader and organizer, due to his strict construction philosophy. He implements rules and regulations, and makes sure that those under them adhere to them completely. Before his imprisonment, he ran the most efficient sector of the Metallic Order. He also has a general desire to do good for the world, which often causes him to act out in the assistance of others, usually in the betterment of the world as a whole. For an entity with so much power, he is slow to anger, and quick to kindness—fortunately for the denizens of Tourceia.
One major flaw of Anksto is his intellectual pride. He believes that he is smarter than any humanoids due to his age and experience, and is not always open-minded. He underestimates people, and often believes his own ideas to be superior—sometimes missing the obvious solutions right in front of him. This pride led to his own downfall—as he underestimated the Last King, whom ultimately imprisoned him.
Social
In addition to being affiliated with the people of the Greenfellian Archipelago, Anksto is also heavily involved and associated with the Metallic Order—which he helped to found. He is one of the six Metallic Patrons of the Order, and was heavily involved with its activities prior to his imprisonment. While he often left field-work to agents, he had been known to take on some of the most dangerous missions himself—disguised as a humanoid to avoid suspicion. He would still be able to control his sector of the Order and gain some favors from the other sectors—out of their respect for him—even after his imprisonment.
Anksto hoards immense wealth within his lair on Breathfire Island, and his hoard is a magnificently glittering sight to behold. Piles of gold, gems, and other precious metals cover the floor, as if a great sea of wealth—with waves of coins—rises up to greet him. Ornate weapons and tools can also be found within the hoard, and it would not be unreasonable to assume that powerful items imbued with magic lay within. While Anksto does keep most of his hoard to himself, he also has been known to give away large sums of gold to the needy within Greenfell—or those that earn his favor—so that everyone may have a comfortable life.