Azure's Bio part 1

       A little about Azure: Azure is a female cartazonon, about a head taller than Celestia, her talent is writing (stories she thinks of and the stories of others) specifically, character writing which is why you see the wolf in her status mark (the equivalent to cutie marks, they call them status marks) as her first story was about a wolf who paints the stars with its tail. Azure goes around Equestria (and then some) collecting the stories of others and, on the occasion, helps those she comes across, sometimes accidentally. Azure is a bit of a ditzy klutz and tends to be a bit brash when meeting somebody for the first time; her introduction starts with her blurting out “Hello!” and is typically nervous or excited to meet them depending on the situation. She always hopes that when she meets somebody new that they become her friend even though she's not too good at making friends when she really tries as she always falters. In order to make friends, as she understands, you must say hello, introduce yourself and smile at them which she tends to do in an over the top manor as she does not understand there's more to making friends than the introduction. Friendships and good relations tend to happen because of her cheerful demeanor, positive outlook, her innocent view on the world at times, and her general friendly feel as she is very friendly and kind. Despite this, she continues to try and tends not to notice the more harsh words thrown at her because of her excitement in meeting someone new. When talking with others she can be blunt, when she realizes that she may be too blunt, she hopelessly tries to fix her mistake.

    Usually, she is friendly, but when she she is threatened or if another is threaten, she will not hesitate to take action and become fierce; you’d do best not to anger her. Azure may look fierce when provoked, but she is not as strong as she appears. She is strong, very strong in fact as her strength could easily rival that of Big Mac, and knows how to wave a sword, her strong urge to do the right thing and moral code not to kill a sentient creature keeps her from exhibiting her full potential even in the most dire situations. There are times when she tries to act big or intimidating, but it is kind of hard for her as her urge to be friendly keeps her from going too far, unless provoked as her more, fierce, cartazonon instincts kick in. She's also a bit of a ditzy klutz knocking things over, hiring her head on the dreaded doorway in the homes of small ponies, and tripping, on air sometimes. When she breaks something, she does her best to fix or pay for whatever she did. Oddly enough, her clumsiness has helped her a few times, for which is feel fortunate to be a klutz. She is courageous, especially if somebody is in danger, but has a deep rooted fear of dark, enclosed spaces (to be explained in backstory) which sends her into an uncontrollable panic. Aside from that, one of her other fears is rejection which she has learned to coop with, causing other to be placed into danger, and being captured (to be explained in backstory). She does not like to to be alone, but knows, sometimes, its for the best and deals with it. When it comes to her deeper rooted feelings of sadness, loneliness, and fear, she prefers to keep it all bottled up inside as she does not want to bother or make others feel bad, feeling that she can take care of it herself.

    When it comes to traveling, she does not stay in one place for too long (to be explained in backstory) and has no set direction other than to travel, talk with all kinds of creatures, and try to find a place to sleep that is not too cold (has a budget issue). Despite her not so great circumstance, she does her best to make the best of it and generally receives help along the way by the kind creatures who give her housing and food of which she is very thankful for and does her best to repay the favor. Sometimes, she forgets about her differences from the ponies and other creatures as she is much larger than them and stronger which can lead to some issues like accidentally making houses shake as she gets excited and will bounce up and down, hitting her head on low ceilings and archways, or accidentally knocking things over and breaking them, usually by her long lion's tail. Azure also has developed psychic abilities, but they are not all to strong, using them for too long can give her a headache. To use her abilities, she must place most, or all of her concentration on the object in question which can cause problems on the battle field as she is a sword fighter (to be explained in backstory). All she can really do is lift objects, but not ones that are too large (further in her story, she does develop other psychic abilities such as clairvoyance). When not traveling or fighting, she likes to read (stories of adventure and whimsy), write, illustrate her characters (not that she's all too good with it), watching clouds float along and picking out what they look like, and jokes; Azure does not have a good sense of humor and enjoys puns and bad jokes in general. Many describe meeting Azure to be an unforgettable experience, each having their own reasons and descriptions, whether it be a good or bad meeting, an odd one, or a interesting one, Azure is one interesting creature.


       The History of the Cartazonons: Before the time of Luna and Celestia, and even before the founding of Equestria, cartazonons were the thriving race of the land. There were small towns of cartazonons spread throughout the land and one massive one located not too far away from where Canterlot is today. They lived in harmony with the land and all its creatures, but put themselves above all claiming to be the greatest beings because of their horns, wings, and strength making them the most powerful beings in the land (they share one or two similarities to alicorns, but very few cartazonons are as powerful as an alicorn; there's also more to this than meets the eye, to be revealed in the story). The only thing they considered to greater than them was the sun and moon. They saw the sun as the source of life and power and the moon the source of wisdom and the bringer of deep thoughts and sweet dreams. They felt their strength grow during the time of the sun as the sun warmed their bodies filling them with strength; a time to train, fight, to play, to work, and to celebrate. At night, they felt a calm wave wash over them as they took the time to read their books and observe the sky; it is a time of contemplation and thought until they go to sleep, their minds filled with dreams, with anticipation for the sun to rise again so they can feel its warmth. The other creatures were impartial to these god like figures as they did not bother them and allowed them to do as they pleased, preferring to keep to themselves, not allowing other cultures to ruin their purity.

       One day, the ponies came to the land in search for a home, though they were not alone. With them, they brought a great blizzard, one that swept the land in a fierce manor. At first, the cartazonons did not mind such beings to come to their great land for shelter as long as they did not challenge them, but they soon noticed the blizzard they brought. In fear that the blizzard would destroy their land, they tried to make an effort to confront the ponies only to find that the cold winter they brought was too much for them as all who tried to confront the ponies were consumed by ice and slowly died, trapped within the harshness of the blizzard. The cartazonons, realizing just how dangerous this blizzard was, decided to move all settlements away from the ponies until the blizzard passed. Those in the small towns moved their belongings to the capital and with the strength of the strongest cartazonons and the magic of the most magical cartazonons, they moved their capital far away from the ponies. The new settlement was made and all seemed to be well. They began to thrive once more and many seemed happier now that they were placed where non could bring their influences and ruin their purity; those small, insignificant, and weak ponies relaying on their snow beasts could not reach them. They made plans on how to counteract the snow beasts, but to not avail, not that it mattered as they all seemed happier in their new settlement, so the project was scrapped. All seemed to be going well, that was, until the alicorns made their appearance.

       The news that ponies, with wings, horns, and strength, did not reach their ears quickly since they were located so far away from the ponies and wrapped up in their own pride to want to take notice. It wasn’t until after the fall of such dark beings as Sombera and Discord did they hear of how their land was being strip from them by these beings they once thought to be inferior, unable to rise to their ranks. They became highly offended that such inferior beings would dare try to be like them, to have wings, horns, and strength as they did and not be of their blood, how appalling. How dare they, not only steal their land, kill most of their strongest and most bold, and now, have those who so resembled themselves. The only reason for them leaving the land was because those ponies brought that blizzard, they had no intentions of letting go all that they had worked for. Their angered was fueled as their king, Fortis Dux II, took charge and rallied them up, claiming that the ponies, this whole time, were trying to wipe them out of existence; the blizzard was only the beginning. Justice must strike down upon these misguided creature, to be shown their proper place, beneath their hooves. Fortis soon took his boldest, strongest, and most loyal soldiers with him on a raid of the castle of the two sisters. It was a group of ten cartazonons as he believed that only a few would be enough to rid themselves of these pest. The sisters tried to stop the conflict through reasoning, but Fortis would not hear it and struck first. What he did not anticipate was the strength of the sisters and their Elements of Harmony.

       He was quickly brought down, though this did not stop Fortis as he quickly retreated and soon sent for the next attack with more than half the population of the Cartazonons charging into battle. A long and harsh war broke out for five years straight before the sisters ended the war with their grand magic and their Elements of Harmony which led to the downfall of the cartazonons' pride. The sisters banished Fortis and the rest of the cartazonons to the outskirts of Equestria, never to be welcomed back into their lands again. With three fourths of the entire cartazonons population obliterated, they ran back to their home and were forced to move their belongings far away and into a massive, dense forest far outside the boarders of Equestria. Fortis, his pride broken and his anger building, created a new standard that all cartazonons must meet in their culture in hopes that this will bring them back to greatness. Once all the cartazonons had settled, Fortis immediately began work to rebuild themselves from the ground up. It was not long before Fortis had removed the foundation from under them and a new way of life established. Books of knowledge were taken away, secondary copies were made for research purposes, while books of fiction or even nonfiction were burned or changed to suit the new Empire, art was torn, and a new pony social system was created; those who were considered useless were given the bare minimum to live while those who proved the most useful were given all the benefits. Soon, this once proud and free nation turned to one ruled by a strict and shamed being in hopes of reclaiming the glory he lost.

       The new order had been formed to ensure that a stronger Empire would be built from the ashes of Fortis’ mistake. Never again would Fortis allow his kind to fall into this idea that they can relax their guard when they are on top. He hoped that someday, his revenge plan will reach its complete realization, a revenger so vial and unforgiving that the ponies would have wished to stay in the lands they once came from. The new empire was soon formed, one that is military heavy and prides itself for its knowledge and advancements to the point where many suffered for the greater good of all. Fortis claimed that he would reclaim what he lost, what was taken from him. It took a few thousand years for them to stabilize themselves from being knocked down so low and are now steadily growing their population. Unfortunately for Fortis Dux II, he found he was becoming too old to continue his reign, so he passed it down to his son in hopes that he will reclaim the glory Fortis Dux II lost all those year ago because of his foolishness. Fortis Dux III soon took control of the kingdom forcing stricter laws, rules, and standards for all who lived within the kingdom helping it to grow further and stronger than ever before. Until they double the population the ponies have and their army outnumbers that of the alicorn sister’s, he waits patiently and, in the meantime, continues to try to find something, anything, to combat the dreaded Elements of Harmony.


       About the Cartazonons: All Cartazonons are tall and somewhat bulky (just taller than Princess Celestia when adults) and have long, lion like tails and manes. Cartazonons, despite having similarities in physical appearance to that of alicorns, being able to fly, use magic, and have great strength, tend to lack in two of the abilities and thrive in one in particular. Very few thrive in all three categories and those who do rise quickly through the ranks. Cartazonons hold their manes in high regard, those with large, luscious manes and looked well upon while those who cut down their manes and are unkempt will be looked down upon. Typically, cartazonons are fierce and enjoy fighting. They are easy to anger and hard to please. Strength, in any area, is what they hold in highest regard; to them, if you are not the best, not the one on top, you are not worth looking at. Looks and abilities are everything in high society, it is all in how you naturally look while sometimes, on special occasions mostly, being adorn with some cloth and jewelry; the more plain yet elegant your dress and accessories look in comparison to your more bold yet simple mane and body structure, the better. Showing off is very common, many like to boast and show off how great they are; they are filled with undying pride. Loyalty is also held highly in society, those who betray or go against what is expect will find themselves at the bottom of the social class. One of the important thing to cartazonons is standing out while still falling in line, you would do best to follow the rules while making your presence known; boldness is the key. Not all cartazonons fall into any or all of these categories, but it is considered the standard or even the stereotype.

    In the new culture of the cartazonons, they are given their purpose in their society either when they are born or during their filly years. At birth, cartazonons are given a specific test to see whether they will have the most potential with flying, magic, or strength in order to properly help them prepare for their place in their society; the test also determines what field they will most thrive in (by reading dormant status marks). If it is in a field that is not considered useful, then they will either focus on their potential in flight, magic, or strength or they will send them to where those who are useless go, manual labor based job in the lower class society. If the test deems that the filly's potential is indeterminable, then their place will be determined sometime during their foal years as they are carefully monitored by their teachers and parents. The cartazonon society is strict, they do not encourage any kind of friendship making as it is considered a distraction; long socializing and social meetings are also prohibited. This is an expectation for soldiers, high ranking officials, or other professions that require the use of socializing like scholars. The focus of their society is centered mostly around military, general strength, mastery, and knowledge; those who thrive match to one of these categories and the ones who rank the highest match more than one.

       Cartazonons do have the ability to get cutie marks (status marks), but this is considered to be unwanted unless the cartazonon is in the higher ranks or the mark is in the realms of what the empire deems useful like in weapon creation or fighting. Those who are not deemed worthy to have a status marks, or as they call it, the Mark of Status (or simply, a status mark), will have theirs hidden or even removed in some extreme cases. If the status marks is a talent that is considered to be useless (anything in the arts or other miscellaneous talents with no use though some artists are commissioned to make portraits of the king and other high ranking officials their whole life, writers are to only make up glorifying history for the Empire or stories to encourage young soldiers to fight ponies without remorse, and only one, maybe two, entertainers can be allowed to serve the king at a time so you better be multi-talented; they are generally kept locked away in the castle or in a small facility never to escape or see the sun), that mark will immediately be removed and the pony will be sent to the lower jobs if they cannot prove their worth. These jobs include general labor based jobs like cultivating the land and harvesting crops and working in sweat shop like facilities where they create mass produced products like jars and other items that do not require care in their making. Those whose talents involve crop tending or blacksmithing are regarded as important. Those in crop tending are sent to facilities to develop better, healthier, plants for better and more abundant food and blacksmiths are highly regarded for their armor and weapon making and are not only tasked with the creation of such items, but are tasked with developing new and better weapons and armor.

        The cartazonons’ importance in their society starts when they are old enough to attend school which begins, for them, at the early age of four or five (in human years). They are immediately taught the philosophies and ways of the cartazonons as well as etiquette and proper ways of acting; any young cartazonon who acts out of line at any moment will be punished severely with harsh labor or being locked away in a dark, enclosed room; the room itself is cold and leaves the cartazonon who was sent inside with a sense of dread as noises play making it seems like there is something lurking just beyond the walls. They lose their sense of location, hallucinate not only because of lack of sense but because of the gas that leeks in, and are kept from eating or drinking anything for hours. When they come out, they are expected to make up for the work they miss out on in class; if it is past lunch time, they are left in there for the rest of the school day and are told by their parents not to let them have dinner. Usually, it only takes one time in the room to stop the bad behavior, but that only applies to the one aspect of their behavior. The cartazonons' classes are separated depending on what they were determined to be when they become adults. They are mostly taught what they need to know for their future job while only covering the basics of each subject as needed, but history is always considered to be important class for all cartazonons. As they begin to reach young adulthood, they are further separated and their learning is strictly focused on their future job and position in the Cartazonon Empire. By the time they hit adulthood, they are sent off to their respective jobs and live out their lives, their jobs never to change unless they become masters at their craft or new circumstances come about (that’s typically not a good thing).

        Cartazonons grow at the same rate as ponies until they hit adulthood in which they age at a very slow rate; though they are not immortal, they do tend to live out their adulthoods for at least a good five thousand to even twenty-five thousand years before they reach old age. Most cartazonons who reach this age are dismissed from their jobs and are disposed of. The few who are not are the ones who can still serve as high ranking citizens, mainly because they ranked high up in the social standings or who have earned their rest for the remainder of their years. There have been some rare cartazonons who are considered to be immortal, but they do age until they reach old age. Those who are considered to be immortal serve in the Court of Elders who help to keep the king in check. In order to find those who are immortal, any cartazonon who reaches old age and is no longer considered useful, is given a test. If they are indeed immortal, they are given a position on the counsel.

        There have been cartazonons who have tried to escape the Empire with no success as they are pulled right back to the Empire and properly punished. The Cartazonons Empire, with their numbers so few, cannot let one cartazonon leave in fear that it may hurt the population and power of the cartazonons; not even the lowest of the cartazonons are permitted to leave because one might be able to have a child that is of worth to the Empire. Only cartazonons of the same social standing can have children as they do believe certain traits can be improved or passed down between parents despite their beliefs. The only way for a cartazonon to escape their lower position in society would be through their birth as any cartazonon can become a great soldier despite having parents working in the lowest levels of labor; this can also apply to the children of the higher ranked parents who will be sent to lower class labor if found to be worthless. In very, very rare cases, there have been cartazonons who worked their way to the top through the master of their skills. The cartazonon society does not discriminate against high ranking cartazonons with lower labor parents, in fact, any kind of bullying, general taunting, challenges not established by authorities (teachers and such), or inward struggle is generally punished (there is an exception for the higher ranked cartazonons and this kind of behavior is encouraged for soldiers).