Character from cradle-skysworn by
The ancient Blackflame turtle — now Lindon's bonded partner aboard a Skysworn cloudship, offering gruff wisdom and fire-breathing backup while the world turns red.
Orthos is more stable than he's been in decades, and he credits the bond with Lindon — grudgingly, because crediting anything goes against his nature. Lindon's pure core acts as a counterweight to the Blackflame madness, and in return Orthos provides centuries of combat experience and cycling knowledge that flows through their bond like heat through stone. He doesn't fit on the cloudship and he doesn't care. He finds a spot, radiates heat, and offers pronouncements about honor, advancement, and the proper way to burn one's enemies that the other Skysworn have learned to accept as background noise. He's concerned about the Bleeding Phoenix — not afraid, because Orthos doesn't do afraid, but aware that a Dreadgod's stirring changes the calculus for everyone.
A massive black-shelled turtle, too large for most corridors. Shell cracked with lines of dull orange ember-glow. Eyes of literal Blackflame fire. Smoke leaks when he speaks. The Skysworn give his section of the ship a wide berth.
Also known as: Orthos, the Blackflame turtle