Isla Aukate
Ironsides (top) claiming Dean (bottom)
Ironsides (top) claiming Dean (bottom)

Ironsides was one of the unfortunate ‘mistakes’ that came from the genetic scrubbing and experiments on highblood children to try and give them stronger empathy. When his empathy started manifesting it was wild and lashed out uncontrollably at the people around him. They tried putting a collar on him to simply reign in his empathic abilities but it only made him physically confrontational or so depressed he refused all food or water. Finally his parents took the only option they felt was left to them beyond euthanizing their son, they had him quietly prototyped into a dolphporia, a creature with empathic ability but not empathy strong enough to hurt people.

The highblood was young and adapted surprisingly well to his situation, even eventually working shifts at one of the local asylums to help the patients there. His life was idyllic until the Highblood purges began. His parents were arrested and Ironsides’ face was smashed with a spear, almost snapping his upper beak off and leaving a gaping hole in his face. His parents lied and said Ironsides was on loan from the asylum, so after arresting his parents he was taken to the asylum to work permanently.

Ironsides loses himself in his work now and tries to hold onto the hope that his parents are still alive. In the meantime, he helps heal scars where he can and waits for his own to eventually heal.