@Shadow Dragon

"Hmm. I'm surprised this question didn't come up before" Ophion remarked, thinking on it. "Dracons have thousands upon thousands of gods, including ancestral deities, foreign gods, elemental spirits, personified concepts, chtonic deities, and too many more categories to list. Some I personally follow include Basilides, a god of wisdom, and Rashnas. He's a god of justice."

Aurescia chimed in as well. "I'm devoted to many other gods, mostly centered around love and fertility. And luck. Osas is a goddess of love, luck, and magic, after all"

@Aristocles
He rubs his chin. "Would following my Parton be seen as chtonic deity worship? He's not quite a god.... but he's not of this world either." He sighs, running his hand down the flat of his weapon. "He's what you might call the Reaper. Death given form." He shuffles, slightly uncomfortably. "I summoned some of his power here once, when we were preparing to fight Polybius. Would you count that as a god?" He bows to Aurescia, murmuring apologies for not noticing her earlier, keeping his scythe out of the way. "You are a wise women. Have.....they blessed you with...offspring? I don't know the name for draconian children. Would that be a clutch? A brood?"

@Shadow Dragon

"Your patron? I-I suppose you could try it, but don't make it too public" Ophion suggested. "There are legally sanctioned and legitimate gods of death in most dracon cities, but none of them involve the undead. In fact, most of them are best described as gods of funerary rites, so if the reaper has any aspects of himself which deal with warding off the undead through rituals during a funeral, it would be best to emphasize those. I understand that I'm still talking to someone who is undead, even if you are wearing that flesh as a vessel for now. As to whether or not I count that as a god, I guess I would but that doesn't make worshiping him a good idea."

Aurescia returned the bow. "Ophion and I wish to have children, and we can have a family when we want to, but we've both agreed that until things have settled down some more, it would be irresponsible for us to have any. And either word works, but 'clutch' is generally used to describe the eggs, and 'brood' is more common for families."

He rubs his chin, confused. "How can there be an 'illegal god'?" He considers the idea of funerals, and shrugs. "In all honesty, he'd likely draw undead to him, but they remain calm and peaceful in his presence. He's not a malevolent being. Just.....different." He sighs, and taps the head of his scythe with his finger, like a nervous tic. "Why shouldn't I worship my Patron? It would be highly disrespectful to not worship or obey him, especially after everything he's done for me." He sighs, rubbing his temple. "I......don't get how your gods, or goddesses, work. Do you use sacrifice, are their prayers and/or rituals you preform?"

@Shadow Dragon

Ophion took a deep breath. This would not be easy to explain.

"Well, it is a complicated situation. Most dracon realms prohibit the worship of at least one deity which is considered dangerous for whatever reason. In most cities, if a god is not on a prohibited list, worship of that god is allowed. Except for Hekaga and a few other places, where if a god is not on a permissible list, worship of that god is forbidden. Since your god isn't technically on any list in this city, you should be allowed to worship the Reaper. What I meant earlier was that it might make others think you are cavorting with similar gods who are actually banned. Like Sem. He's a god of necromancy and the perversion of the flesh. His idea is that living things are just raw material to be fashioned into monstrosities once they perish. His followers call it 'being reforged.' Disgusting stuff."

Once more, he took a deep breath.

"As to your other question, yes, dracon worship consists or prayer, ritual, sacrifice, and the maintenance of hold objects, among other aspects of reverence. How the gods work depends on the god in question. For some gods, their mode of operation is a mystery. Others spell it all out in a book. Still others entrust those secrets to their clergy in an oral tradition."

"It's . . . not as I envisioned it," Kutur said nervously. Of course, he was imagining the form of the bathhouse, he had thought on the lines of something more . . . human. His mind hearkened back to his own youth, studying as an apprentice in the University of Constantsea, marveling at the grand structures of the human city, not least of which was the bathhouse, easily fitting thousands of concurrent bathing citizens. "The draconic influence upon the design is certainly prominent. I shall go and take a look at those libraries. Do you think you can manage the little ones alone for a bit?"
________________________________
"Are the soldiers rallied?" Mardex asked. An officer, clad in full armor, nodded curtly. "Excellent." He turned to his quartermaster Zandex and gestured that he join him by the window. "Look out that window there. Do you see that?" Mardex continued, pointing out at the rising cloud of dust. "Infringement. How many times has it been this year alone? I don't have the numbers, maybe you do. See, this is why we keep constant vigil." A military courier ran up the stairs, himself dressed in mail.

"The men await your command at the fort's entrance, my lord. They are growing restless. Legate Ajax says-" the courier began, but Mardex interrupted him.

"I know what Legate Ajax said, even before he sent you," Mardex groaned. He slapped the messenger's shoulder, his talon meeting the mail with a sharp clank. "Ajax, Ajax. If he weren't such a good taskmaster, I would have thrown that reckless beast out of my force. Shame, that I cannot spare him. Run back down to him, let him know that I will be on my way, and I'll get there when I get there. If he protests, well, threaten him with something on my command. I don't care what, as long as it gets him to quiet down. Do you think you can do that?" The messenger nodded, and rushed off, clattering down the stairs. "Can't get good help these days, not out here at any rate," Mardex says, half to Zandex and half to himself. "Get your armor, you're coming with me to meet them in the field. It's lucky that we have exactly what it is they don't," he smirked, then. "I hope you've brushed up on your red discipline. It's all the rage back in the city, isn't it?"

@bloonewb

Kali did her best not to sigh, but knew Kutur well enough that she had expected this question, and it was she who mentioned those libraries.

"My love, this is the one day I've been able to get you away from your work, so you can spend time with the kids. I can't stop you from going to those libraries, but would it be asking so much that you spend a bit of time with your own offspring? You know how things work with most kobolds around here. When the kids are adults, we won't exactly be seeing them very much anymore. It makes the time we have with them all the more precious. The libraries will still be there in a few hours." She knew her husband was rather cerebral, especially for a kobold. Kali preferred to indulge her more physical side. The two needed to be balanced for a healthy life, and it was important for the children to have both parents involved with their lives.

Skanoi had already jumped into the water, enjoying the sensation of the heated pool. "Come on in, dad! The water's fine!"

@Aristocles
"How does one ban worship? Do they hunt down and punish those who they consider to be violating that law?" He paces, agitated. "So....I have to register him as a 'legal god'? He'll be upset about that....." He sighs, his eyes turning white. "I don't want to anger him....." He mutters under his breath, wandering. "Why would they listen to a foreigner anyway? I've only been here for a few years....." He rubs his forehead. "Sem is a god of Carnomancy, not Necromancy. There is a difference, slight though it may seem....hum....The Reaper won't be happy about this....and he's....horrifying when actually angered." He shudders when the memories come to mind. "It's never good for anything living nearby..."

@bloonewb
He walks to the window, his glowing eyes staring out over the city. "Which sector is it?" He cracks his knuckles out of habit, his eyes flaring dangerously for a moment. "I'm not sure....far more then I'm used to. I think the last count I saw was at least five in this sector alone. I can't say about the rest, but it's rising." He rubs his chin thoughtfully when messenger runs up. He nods, and a liquid black armor flows out of a chest, shifting and rippling as it conforms around his body, solidifying for a perfect fit. He picks up his hammer, the head glowing, and slings it over his shoulder. "I've been in the forge more often lately, fixing weapons. I found an unusual glyph that I want to test later, but until I get the spare time, I'm keeping it locked up." He chuckles. "What's your definition of 'red discipline'? If you mean my urge to pound the ones who interrupt my work into dust, no. If you mean how many leave without injury, yes."

@Shadow Dragon

"Don't let it worry you too much. I can put in a good word with some of the clerics if it's really that important for you." Ophion explained. "My previous admonitions were really out of an abundance of caution, as there really are some orders of paladins and other enforcers would would gladly hunt down worshipers of demons, devils, and death gods who pose a very real and present danger to the lives of those who live in this city."

Aurescia added a bit of information of her own. "Most new cults are introduced by foreigners. Sometimes, this is well-received and the new god is given an official status in the city's great temple. If the new god is popular enough, he may be given a statuette, full statue, an altar, a chapel in a temple, or even an entire temple for himself. People in the dracon realms generally don't like it when a death god is suddenly introduced. Those tend to attract morbid cults of dissatisfied young idiots who think they can get what they want by raising the dead or something. And is it normal for your eyes to change to white like that?"

@Aristocles
"Thank you Ophion. And it is. If I do not follow my Patron, who am I to say I am worthy to use what he's given me?" He sighs softly. "I know, I've seen them from time to time, wandering the streets. Warriors in enchanted armor, holy weapons and symbols dangling from anywhere they can attach one." He ponders that thought. "Would you see me as a threat, under different circumstances? Like when you first tracked me down, you declared that you knew what I was, and why I was in the city. Are they more of 'holy smite first, ask questions later?' kind of groups?" He laughs softly, a dark, terrifying sound. "You think my Parton is a fool? He'd devour anyone who tried to trick him into lending them his power. Or.....he'd have me do it....." He sighs. "I'm still having issues controlling my eyes. When I use my Wraith eyes, I can see energy, power. Souls, even. This constructs eyes work like normal ones."

@Shadow Dragon

"Under different circumstances, of course. I would be a threat to you under different conditions or if events had played out differently, but they didn't. I understand that sounds obvious, but it is a simple fact of life that our outcomes depend greatly on the right events happening to us at the right time as much as anything else. As for your other question, the answer depends. Most are a bit more restrained that the "smite first" mentality you speak of, but there are always going to be a few overenthusiastic ones in any crowd."

"It may take a while for you to get used to seeing naturally again" Aurescia reminded him. "Even if you've been seeing with undead eyes for far longer than you've ever been alive."

He rubs his chin in thought, absentmindedly tracing the markings on his skin. "True. Like, if you had attacked, instead of talking when you first sought me out. Or if the lich had been able to possess me, I lost control of my hunger, or any number of things. Life is like a roll of the dice. You won't know the outcome until after you toss it." He bows softly to Aurescia. "That is a very valid point." He stops, and tightens his grip on his staff. "A....question....." He thinks for a moment. "Would this body.....let me have children, if I ever find a mate?"

@Shadow Dragon

"Yes. You can do whatever a living being can with that body, including reproduction" Aurescia told him. "Just keep in mind that this body isn't immortal, although it isn't any more fragile than a normal elf would be. It has the same lifespan as well. In fact, it's almost indistinguishable from a normal body, but..." Aurescia stopped for a moment, not sure how to phrase it.

"It's more perfect than almost any naturally-born drow or other elf body would be" Ophion explained. "Almost every normal living being has some flaws, however slight. Imperfections such as poor vision, allergies, or even simple things such as blemishes or scars. While your body can certainly get scarred or injured, you are rather more- how to say it- pristine than what would be expected."

"You also have no special resistance to any diseases, as your body has never been exposed to them. Oh, we increased the strength of your immune system to compensate, but it's still within a healthy range. You don't have any calluses either, for what it's worth. Your body is somewhat soft, I suppose. That's okay. Many females like a supple male" Aurescia added, chuckling.

He smiles, and grips his scythe, running his hand over the metal. "I've forgotten what it's like to touch things....." He chuckles. "How could there be an unhealthily strong immune system? Like, would it target the wrong cells?" He starts slightly, then laughs. "Sorry, still not used to having a heartbeat." He pinches his arm, and blinks. "Would holy magic still hurt me, or would this...construct make me immune? Or at least resistant?" He then frowns. "I wonder what my patron will think about this...?"

@Shadow Dragon

"An immune system can be too strong if it attacks your own body's cells" Ophion explained. "As for holy magic hurting you... yes. It wouldn't really affect your body, but you need to remember that you are still a wraith in a flesh-costume, basically. You can still be driven from that body by hostile magic, even though your body itself would simply fall to the floor, catatonic and pristine. There's no special resistance to holy magic from the drow-form we made for you. As for your patron, I have no idea what he would think, but if he objects, you may want to consider switching to a new one."

He shrugs, and smiles. "I won't have the energy to summon him again for a long, long time. My powers grow stronger, and faster, in the dark, but seeing how bright it is here, it'll take much longer before I can do anything like that again." He frowns. "Would I be seen as an easy target for con men and thieves?"

"Why would you be an easy target for them? I see no reason why you would be" Ophion told Soulcors. "That really has nothing to do with your Drow body. There really is no reason to ask such a thing."

He chuckles. "Sorry, I guess I'm just a bit skittish and/or paranoid. I haven't had a proper body in centuries, and all I can think about was how hard life was back home.....then again, that was several oceans, and around a millennia ago....."

"Well, right now, it is important that you get comfortable with your body" Aurescia told him, interjecting. "Would you like some food? A massage? Or just a chance to walk around on those new drow feet?"

He smiles. "Some food would be nice. I haven't eaten anything in....I don't remember when." He chuckles softly.