Dragons of the Flanaess: Surgalythia, Bronze Dragon

Art by Rhineville

Sugalythia
Name: Surgalythia, Bronze Dragon
Age: Old, 500+​

Description: Surgalythia is a spry and slightly leaner bronze dragon. Her rich bronze scales gleam and sparkle more than usual from her constant preening. What Surgalythia lacks in draconic might she makes up for in agility and speed on the ground, in the air, and swimming. Those who meet her often say that her hooded eyes make her seem lazy or sleepy even when fully awake. 

Personality: Surgalythia is highly inquisitive and has led to the dragon's regular sightings around the Nyr Dyv. She has grown in power and size to the point that she generally does not fear most other creatures, even in human form. She will commonly change shape into a dolphin to follow ships and or swim up and explore rivers that feed into the Nyr Dyv. 
Despite her age, Surgalythia still retains a giddiness and energetic disposition and is willing to play. Another of her favorite pastimes is changing into a child to play with other children in coastal villages of the Nyr Dyv.
Surgalythia enjoys meeting new people and becoming friends with them. She generally does so in an altered form of either an older woman or a girl of 8 to 10 years old. 
Surgalythia despises pirates and those who take pleasure in hunting and hurting other forms of intelligent sea life. She has been known to sink ships that hunt dolphins and other creatures regardless of whether it is for food or sport.

Location: Surgalythia spends the bulk of her time living in and around the Nyr Dyv; however, when winter sets in, she migrates south to the Olman Isles for the season. While there, she spends her time fishing and sunning herself on the beach until things warm up again around the Nyr Dyv. She has a favorite small island just off North Olman Isle where she slives during this time.

Lair: Surgalythia has two principal lairs, one at the Nyr Dyv between Salt Harbor and Nyrstran. The coast here is a rocky shoreline where she tends to perch and watch the water when not swimming in it. The other is her small island of the northern shore of the North Olman Isle.

Surgalythia’s lair on the Nyr Dyv is a sunken cave with a submerged entrance. She has expanded it to ensure plenty of dry areas for storing the treasures she finds from shipwrecks and ruins of the sunken archipelago of the Isle of Woe. This lair is protected by a pod of dolphins.
Surgalythia’s lair at her winter home off North Olman Isle is a simple cave just large enough to rest in when she wants to.

Relations: There are many stories around the Nyr Dyv of the sleek and fast bronze dragon Surgalythia. She doesn’t stay lurking around her lair for more than a few days at a time before her inquisitive nature sends her roaming about the lake. While out on these treks, she often will stop to help stranded ships or in need of help.

Despite her travel and general curiosity, Surgalythia does not have close relations with any local governments around the lake. Although since the war, she has taken an interest in the Shield Lands. During the war, Surgalythia was seen aiding the defense of Admundfort. To this day, she visits the island often to torment the Iuzian forces there. She has become such a nuisance that Vayne, the Lesser Bonheart in charge of the island, has brought unique monsters and mercenaries to help him deal with her. As of yet, she has had little problem dealing with those the Vayne has brought in.

Even before the Greyhawk Wars, Surgalythia has had little love for Zeech and the Principality of Red Hand. She saw him as an evil and despicable man and land and has kept a special eye on him. Surgalythia has more than once sunk ships from Red Hand that she suspects in engaging in piracy acts.

While Surgalythia has little official relations with the kingdoms surrounding the Nyr Dyv she does have good relations with the Rhennee barge people. She finds them a fascinating people with much potential, even if they are slightly misguided. She visits them in her dragon form to share information about the lake and also in the form of Talima, an elderly Rhennee fortuneteller, to speak with them on a more personal level.

Art by Ben Wootten

History: Surgalythia migrated to the Nyr Dyv region as a young drake and fell in love with the region. While it gets a bit too cold for her in the winter, she loves the rich history, the people, and the lake's excitement.
Early on, Surgalythia spent most of her time in the western half of the lake around Dyvers and Greyhawk. She would change into a human to roam the streets of these cities, that is, until she had an encounter with Mizaab Zalen, a Greyhawk Dragon. Mizaab convinced the younger dragon that it would be in her best interest to not visit the city often or at all. While the meeting didn’t end in violence, the possibility of it was enough to put Surgalythia off the cities in the west and drive her east.
Since that time, she has had lairs on Walworth Isle, close to High Mardreth and Luekish, before settling on his current location between Luekish and Salt Harbor.​

While her reputation around the Nyr Dyv has grown over the centures, she has not become overly close with any of the kingdoms surrounding it. Surgalythia has lived long enough in the region to see the rise and fall of kingdoms that border the lake. Despite the Shield Lands, she knows that all of them are far too self-centered to be considered truly good and honest lands. While the government cannot be trusted, there are many good people she does trust in the region.

Surgalythia doesn’t stray far from the water for too long, preferring to sun herself on beaches or play in the water. The number of sightings of her in the water far outnumber those of her soaring through the sky above it.
With the recent war and the loss of most of the Shield Lands, particularly Walworth Isle, Surgalythia has become even more vigilant and protective of her home, the Nyr Dyv. She attacks any Iuzian vessel or vessel she believes are in league with Iuzians. She generally will give them a warning to abandon ship before she destroys the boat, but she does not help those who go overboard to reach dry land.

Adventure Hooks: Surgalythia often disguises herself as a human and books passage from one location to another on the Nyr Dyv to learn information from the passengers. Characters could be passengers on one of these ships where she could pass along information about a dungeon or possible adventure to them, particularly adventures that would hurt Iuzians in the Shield Lands. Surgalythia might also tag along with any expedition searching for the lost Islands of Woe to ensure that artifacts from that great civilization do not fall into undeserving hands. 

Art by Ben Wootten