Apollo Goldfinch || Scholar || (Avian)

Name: Apollo Goldfinch

Age: 30

Gender: Male

Birthdate: January 8th

Picture: As seen here

Type Of Person: Scholar, Headmaster of the Northern Academy

Up until the age of 25, Apollo had always thought he'd become a dragon rider. He was physically fit, able, and qualified in all respects for dragon riding. Then he developed muscular dystrophy and was judged unfit for riding, and as the disease progressed, unfit for practically anything physical in nature. He threw himself into his studies, devoured books on any number of topics. Getting certified for mastery in a number of subjects was child's play. Now he does nothing but bury himself in his work as the Northern Academy's Headmaster.

Relation To Any Dragons: Had he become a dragon rider, he might have had kinship with one. As is, he knows more than the basics about most species of dragons. He just doesn't know any personally.  

Personality/History:

Apollo is a man that has a low tolerance for stupidity, worthlessness and general criminal behaviors.

After he developed muscular dystrophy at the age of 25, being a strapping young man and fixed in his mind about his career goals, his world suddenly became very narrow. He was refused for dragon riding, his conditioned deemed too delicate for such a rigorous activity. At the age of 26, he lost the ability to fly, his wings now useless appendages that served only to weigh him down. At the age of 27, he was refused for any sort of physical labor and turned to books. He alienated most people that were close to him at this point, unable to deal with the fact that his life was pretty much over. He'd become an old man over the course of three years. No one understood him, and they were much too optimistic about his condition. At the age of 28, he received certification for mastery in a number of subjects, most of them having to do with anthropology of both the bipedal races and draconic races of Dragon's Cove. Then he was recommended for the position of Headmaster by the previous Headmaster and a number of his professors. Receiving such accolades, he could do naught but take up the position, knowing full well he could do nothing else as productive with his life as oversee an Academy.

Even after becoming Headmaster, Apollo continued to bury himself in reading, unwilling to engage in social activities. He detested the looks of pity and the way people talked to him. Then again, he disliked most people in general, for being so willingly stupid. He abhors other avians most of all, for they are cocky, showy and more inclined to strut and squawk than actually read. Curiously, his enmity does not extend to birds, with whom he is quite affectionate. At his home, he has a rookery and gardens with quite the number of bird species. He spends a little of his time with them before and after delving into his reading.

Apollo is quite wealthy, coming from a wealthy family, and can afford his lifestyle. He is never without a servant to oversee him, for he needs aid in rising from a lying and seated position as well as being dressed and bathed. He is exhausted quite easily walking long distances and climbing flights of stairs. The servants, however, are more concerned with making sure his heart does not fail him and that his breathing does not cease. So far, the disease has seen to the wasting of his bodily muscles, having started with his shoulders and shins. He walks slowly, with the aid of a cane and stoops from the weight of his wings. He has a number of physicians that see to him monthly, and care for him should he suffer an unfortunate accident or illness.

Description:

Apollo is tall, standing at about six feet. He has a broad frame that hinted at a once-strong body. Unfortunately, he weighs very little for a man his size, and is only getting lighter, to both his and his physicians' dismay. He has long, thin limbs, a flat chest and stomach, broad shoulders and a tapered waist. His fingers are long and thin as well, often bedecked in at least three rings. His feet are proportionate to his height and often when he is at home, he goes barefoot. His long hair is more gold than yellow, pushed back and held into place by a circlet. He has deep-set, hooded, dusky blue eyes, ringed by thick gold lashes. His brows are gold too, and sparse. His nose is long, straight and pointed, a sharp angle on his face. His lips are full and his upper is a classic example of a 'cupid's bow'.  He has an angled jaw, and a pointed chin, his cheekbones prominent and his cheeks slightly hollow. He keeps a beard, no mustache, trimmed well. His skin is sun-kissed from hours spent reading near a window or outside. He has light brown freckles that dust across his nose and shoulders. His ears, which lie flat against his skull, are pierced, each lobe often sporting a tear-drop shaped ruby. At home, he often forgoes the use of a shirt, but when abroad he is dressed fully in robes that overlap one another to hide the frailty of his body. He has surprisingly good balance despite how his wings weigh him down. He has a broad wingspan, which unfortunately does him no good anymore. They are shaped as a hawk's, dusky blue topside with beautiful gold undersides. He wears a harness to keep them from dragging on the floor, for he does not have the strength to move them, much less keep them pinned against his back.

Other:

He is a vegetarian, and has been his entire life. He takes draughts to lessen the pain of cramping muscles and stiffening joints. He was also unaware about the war until Racksom was taken over, and feels strongly that there should be more of an effort to raise armies and protect their lands, lest they fall like dominoes, shameful for a people "so in love" with the land. Personally he thinks the people are a congregation of poor farmfolk, stupid folk and lazy folk. He also despises the council, and is disappointed in how the Guardian dragons have handled DC.

Lastly, he is friends with a Lich named Rintho, who, in turn, is friends with a raised man named Lyvas Hunt, the paragon of all that is wrong in Kaionar.