Natalia Cristiana Rinaldi

Warden of New York City & surrounding territory; Princess of Heraclea Lucania (although not a title she's used in centuries)

While appearing as a woman in her mid-thirties, Natalia is in actuality no more than 3000 years old - although she would never tell her exact age (how dare).

Considering the aging and maturity rate of dragons differs from humans, she is about the age and maturity rate of her current appearance.

She/Her

Her official occupation is as a historian and expert on antiquities, often as a lecturing professor at universities.

Unofficially, she is the Warden over a major hub of civilization, acting as the leader over the supernatural underground that lives within the Rinaldi domain. They have long since stopped using titles such as "Queen" or "Princess", but "Warden" is the same effective title.

Dragon

She was born in the early summer; the date she is using currently is June 4th.

Miriam Leone + AI Art

5 FT 9 IN (1.7m)

Slim

Grey Green. They are more grey than green naturally, though they shift depending on the lighting.

When Natalia's draconic nature is more active or when using her magic, they go wholly green and alight with an inner fire.

Red

Generally keeps it to about mid-shoulder, naturally wavy; she tends to keep it loose than pin it up. If it goes into a ponytail, it means business.

She also likes to dye it blonde, but red is her natural color.

She has a tattoo of two red flowers and curling vines, down her left side along her ribcage behind her breast. [See Gallery for image]

Two on each ear lobe; otherwise none.

Natalia is what's called "old money" - surviving off wealth gathered centuries if not millennia before - and therefore, while always impeccably dressed, she doesn't always exude the "look" one might think when looking at someone rich and powerful. The era of crowns, dripping in jewels, and fabric and finery of the highest degree has passed.

Still, there is not an ounce of clothing she owns that isn't designer. She has a weakness for handbags and shoes. But she dresses for the occasion. Huge fan of the black and white pantsuit, with the blazer off the shoulders. Or the little black dress.

The tattoo on her left side is actually covering up the scar of an Ice Shard stab wound. There is also a ragged but shallow wound of a blade swipe on the curve of her right hip joint.

Otherwise, thanks to her hardy nature and stronger, faster healing as a dragon, wounds don't tend to last or scar.

Her Dragon's Scale is located in the center of her sternum and is a pale yellow-white. [See Magic Info tab for more details]

Natalia usually wears a gold bracelet on her left wrist. It appears to be ancient Greek in design with interlocking links and a center medallion charm inset with a ruby. However, the ruby charm is actually a locket of sorts; contained within is a miniature mirage-like hologram of a snapshot of the palace within the Heraclea Lucania.

Natalia is not a woman who is accustomed to the word 'no'. She was born and bred in an era of great politics, the dealings of kings and empires, and that hasn't changed into the modern era. Only... transformed. Treaties and congregations are now contracts and board room meetings, but it's still all the same skill. One way or another, a Rinaldi gets what she wants - be that through the use of money, power, or force.

That being said, the Rinaldi women are born rulers and take their birthright to their power seriously. Natalia works for a living, cataloguing and saving history for future generations, though the wealth of treasure hoards the Rinaldi family possess could easily create the fabled El Dorado in the flesh. They take care of their domain as best as they can in a teeming city of the masses. They run more than a handful of charities and outreach programs through various subsidiaries. Natalia views herself as a caretaker and does her best, even if it's from the lofty heights looking down on the poor and the smallfolk.

She has two modes - the Warden, and the Professor. The Warden being the mask she wears most often - the princess, the cool business woman, malleable and adaptable to a degree to the situation and the people it encounters. Smooth speech, a ready smile, words couched in layers of meaning. Often accused of being cold and guarded. Ready to deal with the politics of such a position.

However this 'persona' is not who she really is. The Professor is when the real Natalia shines through. She has been compared to a volcano. Bombastic. Passionate. Giving herself into whatever project is put before her. Taking care of her family. She finds herself with restless energy quite often, and pours the energy into her career. She has a good rapport with her students, when she happens to be teaching, but she is known to have a temper - slow to boil but prone to eruption. Perhaps because in her role as the Warden she doesn't allow herself to be that expressive.

Classical music, translating or preserving ancient texts, archaeology,

Loud noises, particularly of the busy city (yes the irony of ruling NYC isn't lost on her), winter, freezing temperatures, and the cold in general,

Focused - Natalia knows who she is and what she wants out of life, and you can bet she's going to get it. Put her on the scent and she is a bloodhound; she never wavers from the goal. There are very few who can be as focused and intent on a goal as her.

Intelligent - Natalia has well-rounded intelligence. She is book smart, street smart (to as much of a degree as she can be, which is to say, more conceptual than practical), and trained in the art of common sense. She is a jack of all trades in that sense, knowing a little about everything, and makes herself well-versed in subjects when she needs to be. She speaks several languages fluently, English being her current primary, and Italian a close favored second.

Charitable - Natalia has a relatively strong sense of generosity and righteousness, and will donate money, time, or resources to whatever cause currently has her attention.

Ruthless - Natalia will do anything and everything to get whatever she wants whenever she wants it. She is not accustomed to facing roadblocks or challenges she can't overcome. Get on her side or get the hell out of her way.

Stubborn - In the same vein, once Natasha is set on a goal, a person, an opinion, a business venture, or anything else, good luck getting her off of it. Once she's decided on something, she will not budge from it until the precise moment of her choosing. You might as well attempt to move a mountain.

Detached - Natalia has a hard time forming personal relationships. She treats everyone as if there is six degrees of separation between her and the person or object she is interacting with. It can be very difficult for her to drop her walls and bond with anyone on a personal level.

Natalia is a heavy smoker - as a dragon none of the negative side effects of smoking affect her, and it gives her draken magic a focusing effect as well as a calming one. She's been a fan of cigarettes more than anything else since their invention and it's not uncommon during the day to smoke through multiple packs.

Natalia is one in a long line of Rinaldi dragonesses, a matriarchy over the former kingdom (or poleis) of Heraclea Lucania, in southern Italy. While the kingdom itself (and several of its ruling empires) have long since fallen, the Rinaldi phyle has transformed and survived over the eras to rule over what is now known as the "Rinaldi domain" - a stretch of territory encompassing New York City where the Rinaldi family rules as leadership over the magical and supernatural underground and acts as the domain's Warden. They answer only to the Council and the code that governs the underground.

Natalia is the only surviving daughter of the main family line to inherit the Rinaldi domain and its vast hoards of riches and treasure. Jealous cadet branches, other relatives, and the usual curse that befalls long-lived, territorial creatures means that the vast majority of Natalia's other relatives - particularly, women who could inherit the matriarchy - have not survived into the modern era.

Her mother, Yuna, still holds dominion over their territory but is seeking to step down and pass the full titles and responsibilities of Warden to Natalia. Dealing with the rise of the Widowspawn - a vigilante rebellion movement seeking to take the Rinaldi domain for themselves - is to be Natalia's trial... and one she can't complete alone as the Widowspawn grow in strength and number.

The Rinaldis are an ancient family, but small in number due to the centuries of in-fighting and the already fickle nature of dragon nests in an ever changing world. In the modern day they are known as a family no different than that of the Medicis - a wealthy family who can trace their line back for generations upon generations but whose modern day members are relatively unknown to the public at large. Mostly known by association with other elite, upper class families.

She was born in the early summer; the date she is using currently is June 4th.

The Heraclea Lucania -- a kingdom located within what is today known as the Province of Matera in Italy.

At the time of Natalia's birth ~3000 years ago, to the humans, it was considered a colony of Ancient Greece under the patronage of Athens; but it had been the home of the Rinaldi dynasty and ruled by them for much, much longer.

The kingdom of Heraclea Lucania was lost roughly ~2500 years ago (around the 2nd or 3rd century BCE), and the human knowledge that there was a kingdom there at all has been virtually erased from history.

New York City, New York

Natalia was born speaking an Italian dialect of Greek -- the strange blend of her mother tongue is considered to be a fully dead language today to the non-magical community, and there are precious few people whom can speak it or understand it.

Natalia's 'native' language today is English. She does not have a discernable accent outside 'American', not even a New York one.

It is publicly known she is fluent in Italian, Greek, French, and German, but thanks to her long-lived nature she is actually conversational in so much more.

She is also considered a subject matter expert in certain ancient and archaic linguistic studies, and often works at translations for universities and academics.

Dragon (Fire)

All dragons possess a form of magic unique to their species: draken magic. Draken magic is a kindred spirit to other branches of magic used by other supernatural creatures. This is the only branch of magic dragons can access, and they are the only species able to access it.

Draken Magic is made up of three parts: the ability to transform between the Human and Dragon forms; the ability to fly; and one of the six elements: sun, moon, earth, fire, water, ice.

Natalia is a classic Fire Dragon - her draken magic is therefore that of a fire elemental and her dragon's breath is a beam of fire. She does not have the ability to fly while in her Human form, but she has full access to her Draken magic otherwise.

Her magic is more powerful in her Human form, while the scales, claws, and dragon breath can defeat most enemies in Dragon form.

Natalia is extremely well versed in her draken magic; considered in the prime of her life in dragon terms, her strength and power levels are both known and visible.

That being said, Dragons are still beastly creatures and prone to animalistic instincts at times. The primal urges can vary between a number of base instincts such as hunt, kill, protect, mate, claim territory, and more.

Dragons can tell other supernatural species apart through a combination of scent signatures and detection of magic signatures, as each species has their own distinct combination - and individual scents and magic can be figured out as well.

Dragons can transform between their Dragon Form and their Human Form at will. It is a full body shift between forms.

Dragons can communicate via a one-way telepathy while in their dragon form. They can only project their thoughts out, they can't take thoughts in or read minds. They do not have access to this while in their Human form.

Dragon scales are considered potent magical artifacts. Even after they have been separated from either the Human or Dragon form, they can continue to retain their magical properties for years after being lost or shed. They can be used in spell ingredients, potions, rituals, and most commonly armor and weapons.

Natalia's dragon form is that of a gold dragon. Her scales are a pale white-gold, that turn to a brilliant sunny yellow when she is in the sun. She is a full grown dragon at this point in her life - 15 feet tall, 45 feet long, with a 90 foot wingspan. Making her dragon form roughly the size of a small commercial airline plane.

Dragons appear to be normal Humans when in their human form, and can run the gamut of normal Human appearances in all but one way. A dragon carries a mark on their body called a Scale that only appears while they are in Human form.

Her Scale is pale yellow-white and in the rough shape of a jewel. It is located right in the center of her sternum above the line of her breasts; she often wears a plain silver or gold chain so it appears as if her Scale is simply part of a necklace. It is small enough that it can be held in the palm of a hand.

The Scale is removable and can be tugged off the skin with some difficulty; it is also "shed" every so often, anywhere from once a month to twice a year. It takes 24 hours for a new Scale to appear once the old one has been removed or shed.