Ziah

Ziah Erchary

Ziah is the young heir of a very wealthy, influential family, an only child who had a difficult childhood due to being very fragile and sickly. His tail is really the main source of most of his health issues: initially, he had trouble hatching from his egg due to a missing stinger, and later on, the glass orb was found to be incredibly thin-walled and easy to break. The first time he accidentally broke it at the age of about four, the rose inside rapidly wilted, losing most of its petals, and Ziah's health quickly deteriorated along with it, to the point where he had to be hospitalized for several months. After learning from the doctors that he could very well have been killed by this injury if hadn't been tended to in time, Ziah's parents, for fear of losing him, turned to overprotecting him. He rarely goes outside, being homeschooled by teachers paid to come to his house and having maids and servants tending to his whims, living in a sealed bubble much like the flower on his tail. Himself, he doesn't directly remember the incident that led to his isolation, but through his parents he understands the gravity of it, and he's learned to be very careful and adhere to the strict rules put in place for his own safety.
In terms of personality, Ziah is unusually serious and proper in manners. Sometimes the way he carries himself unnerves people, as a blank stare is pretty much the extent of his expression range and his movements are so controlled he can seem unnatural, even robotic. Further unhelpful is the fact that he speaks in a very formal, stilted way... especially for his age, but to be honest no one of any age speaks like this (notably he very rarely uses contractions... and he calls EVERYONE, except his parents, by their surname). Since a young age, he's had little desire to socialize with his peers, content with the company of adults and books, which helped him greatly to cope with his isolation; in fact, even when his parents tried to find him friends his age, they'd be met with disinterest from his side. More often, he sees people as assets, in terms of what they can do for him; his talent lies in strategy and calculation, pre-planning his every move with care, and one day he definitely intends to use these skills to make a name for himself in carrying on his parents' enterprise. Until then, though, he spends his time on his studies.

Random facts

  He keeps two pet tarantulas.
  While exact-minded and not the least bit sentimental, he does surprisingly enjoy reading poetry, especially of the darker sort. He also can play the piano, mostly because his parents insisted he learn an instrument, but he did grow to like it over time.
  He is REALLY good at chess.
  While he will have you think he has no fears, he is secretly irrationally terrified of Talkers, who he associates with dying in general. He is well aware of his fragility, not least due to the childhood accident, which is part of why he strives so much for perfect control over himself and his environment.

Relationships

  Elijah Erchary - father
  Dr. Elisabeth Schnee - aunt
  Hans Schnee - cousin and rival
  Padraig Avens - business mathematics tutor
  Lélia Harang - chemistry tutor

CS traits (14)

  mixed tail pompom material
  tail pompom material: glass
  tail pompom material: plant/floral
  extra pompom (2)
  missing tail stinger
  missing tail goop
  extra eyes (4)
  unattached eyes (2)
  mixed pearl shapes (teardrop + round)

More design details

  His horns may look a bit tentacle-y at first glance, but they're solid and can't move around. What they are is brittle, as is apparently common with everything about Ziah, but luckily he hasn't broken one yet. (Fun fact: knock on the horns, actually don't but you know what I mean, and you'll find out they're hollow.)
  On that note, the pair of eyes up on his horns is technically unattached, but 90% of the time he leaves them up there. Being rather... vertically challenged, he feels it gives him at least a small height boost.
  His tail, specifically the cord part with the two fur pompoms, is quite expressive. When he's annoyed, he can be seen swishing the end of his tail like a kitty cat, and when he feels threatened he coils the cord around the rose, covering it with the tufts of fur.