Dedan, Guardian of Zone 1 and Metal
The Zone of Alma oversees all raw material procurement in the Queen's lands, whether that's mining, agriculture, or recovery, which is then sent to Vesper for processing. Its wrathful Guardian, Dedan, has ruled it with an iron fist since its inception. While the suns of untold years has baked his skin just the same as a human, he doesn't appear to be one like the Elsen he keeps under his boot. He's as overworked as they are, his teeth and nails overgrown due to neglect because of time, time, time. There's just not enough damn TIME for everything he needs to do so he cuts out what he considers the least important events in his schedule, putting himself last to serve the Queen first. Rumors once abounded about how Dedan had a sunnier disposition, bringing hopes his sour mood might wane someday, but now they're just the stuff of barely-uttered legends on woefully short breaks.
I kinda feel like I Disneyfied him but you know how many naked molerat anthros I've seen in general. zero. fite me ignore the fact that I haven't actively looked for them shhh
yoinked his palette from one of the bits of art Mortis Ghost drew that depicted the Guardians in color because it makes him look kinda rusty
Anyway some little trivia nibbles:
heavy smoker. not like he can get cancer, so
he used to be just as pale as the Batter is and and now he's the posterchild for a lifetime in a tanning booth
has no front teeth for his "inner" mouth, because they make up the large chompers outside of it toothless grandpa Dedan lul
he can open his mouth very, very, TERRIFYINGLY wide if he needs to and has a biteforce like nothing else in the Zones
his body being metal and kind of rough means you can strike a match off him. he'll instantly put you in the ground for it tho
for the same reason he's like a living magnesium firestarter and can start fires off of himself with friction such as by rubbing his fingers
theoretically could be scruffed like a naked molerat can be, but because he's absolutely shredded all the muscle mostly prevents that. in the past Enoch has settled for grabbing him by the collar of his coat instead (Dedan has always hated this)
dislikes the sun/light and his eyesight suffers quite a bit during the day, and generally hates being above ground to begin with, so he def likes the mines the most
an old rumor says he wrestled with a rampaging Moloch bull once until it settled down, but nobody can agree if it took a few hours or a few days for him to calm it that way. discussing these old legends about their boss is one of the ways Elsen trapped in the mines will pass the time while hopefully awaiting rescue, and sometimes the debates can get heated (for them, anyway)
