Profile

2008-02-07T03:00:46Z

Aurelia [North/Dragon]

Summary: Raised by slaves on a Texas cotton plantation, Aurelia is a clever and cunning Itzcoatl who joined the United States Aerial Corps after escaping for the North with three members of her family, all fugitive slaves. After being captured just past the Mason-Dixon line, Aurelia was allowed to remain in the North (dragons not being regarded as "slaves") but the Fugitive Slave Law required that her family be sent back to the plantation. Utterly outraged at this injustice and the system of slavery in general, Aurelia has agreed to accept a captain and turn her considerable brainpower to the defeat the Confederacy and the rescue her family from slavery.

Name: Aurelia

Gender: Female

Breed: Itzcoatl

Age: 6

Alliance: North

Captain: Unknown

Personality: Aurelia is lively, talkative, and somewhat vain --her first words after hatching were "Oh, how beautiful I am!"-- though she refers to this trait as "simple honesty". She is generally quite friendly and very curious about the world around her; she also loves intellectual challenges such as riddles and mathematical puzzles, and has recently discovered an aptitude for chess-- she and her captain have lost many a night's sleep over the chessboard. Aurelia has an extremely strategic and analytical mind, and is usually hard at work trying to figure out why people (both humans and dragons) behave the way they do. She is also quite generous, though this trait is probably related to her predilection for anything she dubs "pretty", and often gives her captain and crew things she has collected so that they can have "pretty" things too. Despite her amiable nature, Aurelia can be a bit snobbish-- she disdains those who always resort to brute force and believes that outwitting an opponent, whether on the chessboard or battlefield, is infinitely more dignified and rewarding. She anticipates battles more for their tactical challenges rather than actual fighting, and her determination to defeat her enemy is the driving force behind her tenacity-- she does not enjoy losing.

Strengths: Aurelia is a keen observer and cunning strategist, and a good judge of character; she can also distance herself from a situation in order to view it on a basis of pure logic. She thinks quickly and complexly, and after long periods of observing a person's behavior she can predict their next move with frightening accuracy. Though somewhat small for her breed, Aurelia is fast and agile in the air, and her harpoon-like tongue more than compensates for her lack of other martial skills.

Weaknesses: Aurelia's mental acuity has its drawbacks-- she has a tendency to spend too much time thinking when quick action is required, and is often unprepared when opponents behave in a way that, to her, is completely illogical and therefore inexplicable. Her self-image is actually quite fragile: a perceived slight leads to her becoming morose and surly until comforted and reassured. She has trouble following orders that she disagrees with and has been known to argue with her captain in midair, and so far only the threat of being indefinitely confined to the covert has kept her obedient.

History: Aurelia's egg was purchased in Mexico in 1854 (illegally-- trade in stolen dragon eggs was common) by Charles Winthrop, the eldest son of a wealthy Texas cotton baron. Charles brought the egg back to his family plantation, Sassafras Hill, intending it as a miracle cure for his younger brother George's uncertain future-- since leaving the university George had proved useless at everything he put his hand to, but with a dragon he would almost certainly be able to pursue some kind of steady career, perhaps in the Aerial Corps. In the months that followed, Aurelia's egg was left in the care of the household slaves, and Anna, a lonely young girl separated from her parents when she was sold to the Winthrops, spent hours talking to the still-unhatched Aurelia, telling her everything about life on the plantation and particularly about George Winthrop and his more unnattractive qualities: George was petulant, impatient, and cruel-- since learning to ride he had already whipped three horses to death.

When Aurelia finally hatched and George Winthrop approached her with a harness, she refused to let him near her, repeating to his face exactly what Anna had told her about him and adding, "You do not seem at all nice." The Winthrops were completely taken aback and unsure of what to do, and, not knowing much about dragon behavior or much about them at all, relegated her to the care of Anna and the other household slaves, hoping that she would have a change of heart.

Aurelia, however, did no such thing-- as she observed the plantation and the way the slaves were treated, particularly Anna and two field workers, Jess and Samuel, she became more and more indignant on their behalf. The situation finally reached a breaking point when Aurelia was three years old-- a plantation worker, Maggie, was brutally beaten by the overseer before her eyes and later died of her injuries. That evening, Aurelia and Anna formed a plan-- she, Anna, Jess, and Samuel would sneak away from the plantation in the dead of night and try to escape to Canada.

The journey lasted three months and was terrible-- Aurelia was unused to flying so quickly while carrying riders, and the threat of capture kept them in a state of constant fear. The final blow came when slave-hunters on dragons caught up with them just over the border of Pennsylvania; outnumbered and completely overmatched, Aurelia was forced to land and her family was recaptured. The incident made headlines all over the nation-- such an escape attempt had never been made before, and many prominent abolitionists demanded their release, some even offering to buy their freedom themselves; the Winthrops, however, refused to even consider these offers, as they viewed themselves as the injured party.

Without their cooperation, there was little that could be done-- the Fugitive Slave Law required that Aurelia's family be sent back to Sassafras Hill.

Aurelia herself was confined to a Pennsylvania covert while her own case was decided-- the question was whether the law applied to dragons as well, who were not designated as "slaves". After months of legal wrangling (and the influence of the Aerial Corps, which took her side) the ruling went in Aurelia's favor, and she was allowed to remain in the North.