Creature Lore

Tarn

“The Stone Listener”

Crystal Dragon Shardmere The Awakened

Adoption Status

This creature is still waiting for its forever friend.

Discovered by 0 curious travelers.

Quick Stats

Likes: unusual pebbles, quiet caves, rain on stone, patient listeners, sorting collections by sound. Dislikes: stones being called ordinary, loud interruptions, careless handling of his specimens, people who pretend to hear what they don't.

Quirk

Tarn taps each new stone three times, then tilts his head as if waiting for it to introduce itself.

Whispered Note

His most treasured specimen is an ordinary green pebble given to him by a child who said it sounded like home. Tarn has never heard a note from it, but he keeps it in the safest place in his cave.

Backstory

Tarn is a green, gold, and purple Crystal Dragon who lives near the rocky margins of Shardmere, where he has turned a dry cave into a rather cluttered collection room. Crystal Dragons produce a soft harmonic resonance as they breathe, and Tarn discovered that certain stones seem to answer with faint notes of their own. He now spends his days testing pebbles, crystals, and bits of old masonry, then arranging them on shelves according to the sounds they make. His cataloging system makes perfect sense to him and absolutely nobody else.

Tarn is friendly enough, though visitors should never ask about his favorite stone unless they have an afternoon to spare. He once delayed a delivery cart for two hours explaining why a plain gray pebble was more interesting than a flawless amethyst. For all his eccentricity, he has a useful talent: by listening to changes in a stone's note, he can sometimes notice cracks in bridges or walls before they become dangerous. He refuses payment for these inspections, but will happily accept a curious-looking rock and a sincere question.