User:BrokenSphere/Sandbox/Shimmer (dragon)

Shimmer is a fictional female dragon and one of the protagonists of Laurence Yep's Dragon of the Lost Sea tetralogy. Shimmer is a princess in exile whose quest to restore her homeland, the Lost Sea (formerly known as the Inland Sea), forms the underlying plot of the series. She is the narrator for the first two books of the series, Dragon of the Lost Sea and Dragon Steel, after which the character Monkey becomes the narrator.

Profile
Shimmer is the sole daughter of the Dragon King of the Inland Sea. As a member of the dragon royalty, she has five claws on her paws. She fled her homeland after stealing the dream pearl, a pearl which can cast illusions and is one of the five dragon treasures, after her older brother Pomfret tried to claim it despite the pearl having been willed to her by her mother. Shimmer was not present when the witch Civet destroyed her homeland by sucking up all its waters into the form of a pebble. Since then, she has spent centuries in exile, wandering the land usually in the guise of a human and struggling to survive, not forming any attachments with anyone.

Personality
Having not been the next in line to the dragon throne, Shimmer was formerly more concerned with herself than she was about her fellow dragons of the Inland Sea. Her centuries of wandering have also given her a dim view of humanity because of she was often ill-treated while disguised as an old beggar. Her view of humans however begins to change after she comes in contact with Thorn in Dragon of the Lost Sea, as he is the first person in her long years of wandering to show kindness to her. Shimmer helps him out of gratitude, but eventually the relationship begins to develop into one of mutual friendship and respect. Shimmer also gains empathy for her people after seeing the conditions they are forced to live and work in while they stay in the domains of her uncle, Sambar XII. She can have lack of confidence in herself when dealing with situations and expectations seemingly beyond her control, but has risen to the challenge when encouraged to do so by some of the other characters.

Abilities
Shimmer is a talented flyer and fighter, with a reputation as such. Because she fled the Inland Sea with the dream pearl at what is considered an early age among dragons (300 years old), she has yet to fully master its capabilities. However, she knows enough to be able to use it to transform herself in addition to anyone or anything else she chooses into any size or form. She can also used it to create illusions that can fool other magic users.