Success or Death.
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION- Intent: To flesh out and make use of Darth Ophidia's own fellbeast- I mean Sithspawn mount.
- Image Credit: Imgur Gallery: Some Dragons by Zewzur. Original source: Lord of the Rings: Return of The King (Extended version).
- Role: War-mount, pet, and guardian.
- Links: Inspiration: Adramelech.
- Age: Adult.
- Species: Kakdijs Zûta (Sithspawn)
- Height: 9 M.
- Length: 11 M.
- Weight: Roughly six tonnes.
- Appearance: Just on the smaller scale of his brethren, Zhelen is sleek in his build and no less terrifying in his presence. His ink-black skin takes a faint, green shine to it in bright light. His snout is shorter and his face generally more rounded than many of his siblings, as well, but his fanged maw is just as enormous. Along the ridge of his neck grows a membrane fin, supported by thin spines that jut up and curve back, every few meters.
- Name: Zhelen - The Silent Horror.
- Loyalties: Undying loyalty to Darth Ophidia alone.
- Notable Possessions:
Stealth Harness - Fergel: A sizeable tree trunk Zhelen often sleeps close to and likes to gnaw on.
- Training saddle.
[*]Personality: Zhelen is reserved and highly aggressive to strangers as a result of being pressed for food when young. He often seeks quiet places to rest, away from others of the litter. Even more so than most of his kin. He is particularly fond of gliding at height, and diving at his prey. After being bonded to Darth Ophidia, Zhelen became unquestionably loyal, but he will warn his master with pretend aggression if pressed into uncomfortable situations. Like many pets, Zhelen requires intellectual stimuli on a regular basis in order to maintain a good psyche. He is known to play with large items if he can dislodge them, and has taken a special liking to a tree trunk since dubbed "Fergel".
[*]Training: Zhelen is well versed in methods of flying that minimise sound emission. This is done by swiftly climbing and making a controlled glide from height, from which he will dive at opponents. He is also trained to fight other beasts of his own size and larger, using his flying-speed to his advantage, as well as making strafing attacks at masses of smaller bipeds. Most importantly, he is taught that Ophidia's command is greater than his own self-preservation; her word is law.
[*]Combat Function: Being a war-mount, Zhelen's primary combat function is to carry Darth Ophidia into battle on his back. Their synergy in battle tends to focus on strafing attacks either with breath or with claws. Together, they will often make diving attacks to surprise their opponents and deal a critical blow. If his master is not mounted on him, then he will likely make strafing attacks with his breath and use his aura of fear to thin out enemy formations. Against creatures of equal or greater size, Zhelen will likely try to dive down on them and, if possible, throw them off a ledge.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Kakdijs Zûta were developed by Eldaah Aderyn to serve as the war mounts of Sith Lords in the Sith Empire. While other Lords of the Sith chose the biggest and strongest beasts they could lay their hands on, Darth Ophidia tried to find the cleverest.
Zhelen was not the runt of his litter, runts do not survive among the Kakdijs Zûta, but he was always slightly smaller than the norm. This put him at a disadvantage at the feeding trays, but he found ways around it. First of all, he learned to be more fierce and seize the initiative. He had to be faster, and he had to be smarter than the others.
That is to say, Zhelen is in no way as clever as a person, but he is clever for his kind.
The breeders expected Zhelen would not be picked out immediately, and it took them by surprise that he was claimed in the first batch by a Rattatai Sith Lord named Darth Ophidia. The ashen-skinned woman and the slender psuedo-dragon had an instant bond, it would seem. She could see the intelligence in his play and he could sense her power in the Force. They were ideal for each other.
During the first phase of their training together, Zhelen was kept in a pen where there was a rather solid tree in the middle. This tree supplied him with shade on warm days, and roots to chew on when his gums itched. When he grew larger and was moved to another pen, Zhelen unrooted the tree and brought it with him. It has since been a popular chew-toy. The tree-trunk's name, Fergel, simply refers to the kind of tree it was in the local dialect. Ophidia picked up the name during her visits and Zhelen has learned its meaning.
It took little over a year before Zhelen was large enough to ride, and a few more months for them to develop the perfect synergy. Once they became a seamless pair, Darth Ophidia brought him her new prototype cloaked saddle. It was put to the test during the Sith Empire's conquest of Malachor V
