Urbain

image made with Portrait Workshop

STATS
Name: Urbain
Age: 278
Gender: Male
Race: Bannik
Class: Fire Mage - Illusionist - Shapeshifter

Description: Urbain usually appears as a man in his forties or fifties, with long dark hair, bushy eyebrows, a long moustache and braided or otherwise groomed beard, owning a straight nose with large nostrils and bright blue eyes. As he is a shapeshifter, he can pretty much shift to look different as he pleases. Urbain sometimes shifts into coals, or fire but this can lead to dangerous situations so he prefers not to. His fire magic is most powerful in those forms though so it's sometimes necessary.
Personality: Urbain lives at the edges of society. His presence as a folk spirit often causes problems to arise if he isn't careful and being too close to humans invariably leads to mishaps. Even so, Urbain is drawn to humans and other sentient beings, loving how they can be so inventive. As a folk spirit he himself is quite static and unchanging. He might just be jealous of the ability to change oneself even if it comes at the prize of a short lifespan and absence of magic. 
Short Bio: Urbain has lived a long time and seen a lot. He's done his duty as bathhouse spirit but with the decline of traditional Slavic bathhouses, he's been set free to roam as he sees fit. Urbain has travelled for the last 50 years, making use of his magic and tricks to entertain and earn his living. Maybe in the future he'll settle down somewhere to start a bathhouse but currently he is quite happy to travel. 
Skills: 
     *Easy birthing: just his presence can facilitate labour
     *Foreboding: knows when things will go bad even if not exactly how
     *Immense heat: heat up air and water to scalding temperatures
     *Small Fire magic: conjure flames (up to five)
     *Smoke illusions: precise control of his heating ability to create mirages and smoky apparitions
     *Shapeshifting: human, coal, fire
     *Steam regeneration: being in steamy environments (sauna, bathhouse) rejuvenates him.

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MEETING
Urbain relaxed in the murky pool. More mud than water it still relieved his aches and sores. As his beard and hair soaked in the dirt, his body and mind became filled with energy. Finding a clear pool was almost impossible in this swampy area, but mud-bathing was a thing in some places. 
The next day, not exactly clean, but definitely feeling better, Urbain was ready to take the road again. The Bannik had scraped off all the caked dirt and had combed through his hair and beard. He looked presentable enough and not many people would fault him for his appearance when he came out of the woods. If he reached the town, he might just be able to take a proper bath. 
His mind dreamed of someplace grand and luxurious, steaming pools of water, fountains and bubbling springs.... but the reality was that he would not enter such an establishment anyway. He was not ready to give up his wandering existence. Yet.  
One day though....
Interrupting his thoughts, a voice called out to him:
"Are you headed somewhere special, mister?"
The red dragon stretched her wings and wiggled her long, tufted ears. She'd been observing the strange person for a while but he had not acted as any other human. Not many of them would dive into a mudpool and come out looking younger and stronger. Which led Inez Selamputo to a single conclusion. This person was magical. Or at least special in some way. She'd been looking for a likely bond since a couple of years after her birth. Being picky meant that she had seen quite a few suitors. She'd been propositioned, brought gifts and praised into the high heavens. So maybe it was this person's lack of caring that caught her attention.
But as the strange man turned toward her, his blue eyes flashing a smoky silver for just a single moment. The dragoness knew that she'd been right. But maybe she should give this man some time to adjust.
"Would you mind a travelling companion? I've grown weary of solitude."
Bannik considered the red dragons' words and shrugged:
"I don't mind. Do you have any idea where there is a settlement of sorts? Something larger than a farming village oreferably."
"I've seen a well-sized town about two days walk to the east." Inez told Urbain.
"Then let's head there, unless you did not want to go there, miss...?"
"Inez Selamputo. I don't mind, mister...?"
"Urbain Bannik."

Inez was hatched at the Fur & Feathers Frenzy Redux

STATS
Name: Inez Selamputo
Gender: Female
Colour: Red
Species: Piralan Asandus - Mutt
Parents: Orange-Gold Dragon Mutt Ashane Selamputo x Piralan Asandus Inceme Oranato
Origin: Abstract Destiny
Personality: Relaxed and patient, Inez has a tendency to wait before she acts, but when she does, she is quick and efficient, at times even brutal. She is very analytical and cerebral. 
Abilities: 
     *Avengaean Functional Magic 
     *Body-Heat Control 
     *Fire Immunity 
     *Fire Majyck (weak) 
     *Psionics (Telekinesis, Telepathy, Teleportation) 
     *Shapeshifting (Dragon-Human Spectrum) 
     *Verbal Speech

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FLIGHT
Inez and Urbain had travelled a long time together now. Weeks had become months and those had strung together into years. Two years and they were headed back into dragon territory. Inez felt her blood surge at the invisible cues that tugged at her sensitive nose. Muted telepathic presences brushed against her mind, inviting and inquisitive but by no means intruding. But they sensed her readiness. 
"Would you mind a little detour, Urbain?" Inez asked her companion.
"Whereto?" Urbain asked her.
"There must be a nexus point close by. I can sense other dragons and they've invited me to fly with them. I'm inclined to join them. Though if it goes well, we might need to stay here for a few months."
Urbain nodded. They had spent longer stretches of time somewhere to work for funds and to make plans for the next leg of their journey. He didn't think much more of it. Inez had told him dragons often sought volcanoes to reside in. Which meant there might be hot springs nearby. And he quite looked forward to a leisurely dip. 

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Lantessama Isle
Background image from deitydiva