The world was once a place of magic. Numerous magical creatures roamed the land, living in peace and harmony with one another. But a new race would upset the peace, the race of Humans. They rapidly spread across the land, destroying nature and pushing back the magical creatures. After a few centuries of these atrocities, the Fae, most powerful of all magical creatures, decided to depart this world and find a new home. They offered this exodus to all other magical creatures, with most accepting. A few were too proud to leave, so the Fae gave them a gift, the glamour of man. This powerful magic allowed the remaining magical creatures to transform into Humans.
After the great departure, the few magical creatures left decided to form the Masque, both a ruling council and a set of rules to abide by. The Masque has ruled for countless years now, but their power is weakening. Humans continue to claim more of the land as less and less magical creatures are born. The few remaining Dragons are confined to small settlements, like the village of Whistle Hill in Kaelis. But the security of these villages is put to the test as the Kingdom of Nihn, Empire of Huldern, and United Clans of Azai vie to control the land of Kaelis.
Info on Dragons
Dragons are large reptilian creature, covered in scales. Most Dragons have wings which allow them to fly, but some have evolved to fly without wings, using magic to start their flight. Most Dragons can breathe flames, but some breathe something else like ice or lightning, while in even rarer cases they don’t breathe anything. Dragons can also physically show their innate magic, such as glowing lights on their body, feathers, or other phenomenon. Like all magical creatures Dragons can only speak the Fae language, though they can learn to understand Human languages.
Dragons have a maximum lifespan of about four hundred years. Dragons are not considered adults until about the age of seventy-five, usually remaining with their birth family until then. Once an adult, a Dragon is expected to go find a mate and start a new family. Dragons reproduce by laying eggs, while clutch size can vary from one egg to a dozen. However, in recent years most Dragons are having smaller clutches.
Like all magical creatures gifted with the glamour of man, Dragons can transform into a Human, now being able to speak their languages. This Human form never changes in appearance, remaining the same apparent age regardless of the Dragon’s true age. Dragons can remain in their Human form indefinitely, with their being stories of Dragons who remained Human for their whole life.
A side effect of transforming into a Human is that a Dragon’s innate magic changes, allowing them to cast magic while in Human form. Every Dragon has this power, but the type and strength of the magic varies from Dragon to Dragon. While this magic generally appears during a Dragon’s youth, it has been known to start later, though it is said it will always appear before death.
Info on Nations
- Village in Kaelis
Found in the centre of the continent, Kaelis is a land of thick forests and rushing rivers. For as long as Humans have lived in Kaelis, they have been under the rule of foreign powers. Both the Empires of Azai and Huldern have ruled the region, leading for many to seek freedom. That time would come when the Empire of Huldern began to decline. The Empire would end up retreating from the region, letting the people of Kaelis rule themselves.
However that rule would never be formed. No government would be put together. Instead the various villages and tribes would come up with their own rules. This lack of central rule would attract Dragons to the region, creating many small villages for themselves, such as Whistle Hill. But the peace and freedom enjoyed in Kaelis is threatened as three powers vie to take control of the province.
- The City of Huldern
A land of many forests, plains, and lakes, Huldern has been around for several thousand years. Originally once just a mighty city, the people of Huldern quickly conquered the west of the continent, forming the first Human Empire. For many generations, Huldern would continue expanding, pushing back the magical creatures. Eventually the Empire pressed east, coming into conflict with the Azai Empire. The two superpowers would frequently clash, having many wars.
But the Empire of Huldern would not last forever. Political unrest led to many rebellions, as the infrastructure of the Empire was failing. In time these rebellions would lead to the formation of new nations. In the last several hundred years, Huldern has lost more land than in the last thousands of years. In an effort to stop this decay, the newly crowned Emperor Niron has pledged to reclaim all lost territory, starting with the province of Kaelis.
- The Holy Capital of Eido
The eastern land of Azai covers many different geographic regions, including forest, mountains, and deserts. Azai is a very multicultural land, with many religions, cuisines, and art forms. Traditionally this has meant that there is conflict throughout the various cultures. Quite frequently the many clans would go to war, which sometimes resulted in a unified Azai Empire. But these dynasties would never last, as the clans would begin to fight again. The only thing that seemed to unite them was the threat of the Empire of Huldern.
In more recent years unification has begun to happen between the various cultures. Many long meetings and treaties resulted in the formation of a democratic government. Named the United Clans of Azai, this new council of representatives of each clan, would be based in the city of Eido, a holy place in many local religions. An age of prosperity would come out of this, lasting for two hundred years. But the current council’s thoughts go to war, as Huldern attempts to conquer Kaelis, a land that once was part of Azai. Many are frightened over the threat of Azai and Huldern going to war again.
- The Capital City of Jorgun
Nihn is a land to the far north, made up of mighty mountains and deep snow. While Nihn was under the control of Huldern for many centuries, the proud people of the north would end up rebelling against their rulers to the southwest. With fighting going on at many fronts, Huldern couldn’t spare men to retake Nihn, instead granting it independence.
Even with independence, life would be rough for the people of Nihn, with many bad rulers coming and going. That was until the rule of King Leorn, who decided to invest in mining the mountains of Nihn. The miners would find great metals and gems, instantly making Nihn rich. With his newfound money, King Leorn would construct a new capital city named Jorgun, located deep in the mountains. The now powerful Kingdom of Nihn is under the rule of King Leorn the III, who wishes to expand his Kingdom. So he looks south to the land of Kaelis.
- Southern Island Village
Beside the three powers, there are several smaller nations throughout the continent. Several small Kingdoms exist in the west, all breaking off from Huldern. South of Kaelis is a great inland sea that houses many small islands, which a few declaring themselves a nation. As of now no one has sailed far enough to see if there is a land away from the central continent.
Info on the Masque
The Masque is both the ruling council of magical creatures, and the rules all magical creatures must live by. While the Humans are aware of magical creatures, they are not aware of the glamour of man. A magical creature must never do anything that reveals that the glamour exists. This does not include using magic, as some Humans have shown an aptitude for the magical arts. Magical creatures are to never do anything that would reveal their sentience to Humans. Magical creatures are also not to intervene in the affairs of Humans. They are also supposed to aid any other magical creature in danger. Finally they must always act how the council wills.
Info on Player Role
So everyone participating in this will be playing a Dragon. Age wise I would prefer adult age Dragons, 75+ years old. For one reason or another you are travelling to the village of Whistle Hill, in the embattled province of Kaelis. As for back story I’m really lenient. If you want to be from somewhere besides the established nation, feel free to make one up, preferably in the west or a southern island nation.
Character Sheet
This is the basic character sheet. Feel free to add new sections you think are important and you can fancy it up with BBCode if you want. Once your character sheet is done, post it here in the OOC within a hider tag.
Edit: After rereading everything, I came to the conclusion I'm honestly just trying to do something more advanced in terms of writing and depth, I apologize. Still a great idea, though! Cheers & Good Luck!
I will develop a character for this shortly. Through I suspect that the Council isn't going to like them or what they've been doing the last few decades.
A relatively small dragon, Droka is only 8' tall with a 31' wingspan. While part of this is due to his relatively young age, the sad truth of the matter is that he was always somewhat of a runt when it came to his kind. Covered in beautiful obsidian scales that reflect light with a beautiful sheen to them, it is a point of pride for Droka that if he decides to sit down and stay very still for an extended period of time that he can (and has) been mistaken for an awe-inspiring piece of sculpture. There is a frill that travels from the top of his head to the tip of his tail that takes on a deep red color, contrasting beautifully with his black scales.
His eyes are black, a fact that often causes them to blend in with his scales and makes them hard for others to see or figure out what Droka is truly focusing on at a given moment.
Human Appearance:
Unlike most of those blessed with the ability to take a human form, Droka's form in vastly different due to just how inhuman it is. He has both horns and scales and in truth appears more akin to a human that has managed to acquire dragon features then a normal human; This was intentional in order to lay the groundwork for his great work.
The scale like golden armor that covers most of his body is in fact actual armor that can be removed, reveling that his natural flesh is covered in smooth, black scales while the pair of horns on his head remain a dark red. His eyes are still black and dragonic. He does not have wings in this form and his tail is more for balance then anything else as it follows in his wake.
Personality Traits: Cunning, Manipulative, Long Seeing, Survivalist, Devote, Romantic
Magic/Abilities: A breather of fire and able to fly in his dragon form, Droka's real strengths as far as magic goes lays in illusions and rituals. While his illusionary magic tends to be more complex and powerful when he is in dragon form, he finds the enhanced ability to refine the details of ritual circles and runes that his humanoid form offers him to be a great boon.
History: The dragon race was dying. It was a slow death that would take the course of generations to finally come about, but it was a death that was coming all the same. The signs were their and Droka's parents ensured that their son saw them and understood what they meant; Each generation less dragons were born and thus there would be less dragons to create a new generation to follow after them. The fact that there were more male dragons then female in his home region made it difficult to ignore the issue as the young drake matured and discussions turned to him making a family of his own.
Exactly why this was happening wasn't that well understood either. Some pointed to there being less of their numbers while others suggested that the ascension of humanity and their push back against magic and nature that was somehow the root of the problem. Regardless, the Masque was clearly not offering a long term solution and appeared content to continue the current state of affairs until there were no dragons left to govern.
So Droka spent a lot of his youth thinking of the issues facing his kind and what might be done to solve them. Aware that he was still a child in the eyes of his people, he offered his elders the respect they believed they were due and asked them for their wisdom and guidance about the world and what path he might walk in it, rarely reveling his actual thoughts while they were still in development. When he finally reached adulthood, he left his family behind as expected; He did not however, join in the fight to find a mate and make a family of his own through.
Instead he traveled north to Nihn to set the groundwork for his grand design. Slipping into one of the oldest settlements of the region, Droka quickly claimed one of the abandoned manors of the upper crust that had moved to the recently finished capital of Jorgun and got to work prepping the stage for his entrance into the society of the kingdom itself. On the sunset of the second day, the building he had claimed for his plans exploded in a destructive surge of incredible magical power that was heard and seen all throughout the settlement, through the damage itself was limited solely to the estate in question.
When the locals came to investigate the wreckage and what caused it, they discovered Droka in his humanoid form... and he had quite the story to tell. He spoke of a simple hedge wizard who started to have visions of rituals and rites that were complex and unknown and beautiful to behold. Of a trance like state as he followed these visions to a location where they claimed the resources he needed could be found. Of the dazed like state in which he completed the final rune and triggered the surge of magic that ascended him beyond his former frail humanity and turned him into something far greater. And finally of a promise that, despite the knowledge of how he achieved the first step towards ascension from human to dragon had been misplaced or destroyed, with time and effort it could be done again...
The promises of power (both physical and magical) alongside a major extension of the length of their brief lives were temptations that few salesmen would have struggled to sell to humans and Droka proved a very good salesman. Before the night was over, he had already developed the groundwork for his grand innovation and established a cult following in Nihn dedicated to the goal of ascending humanity into dragons.
Droka has spent the decades since working on building his cult and striving to gather the resources and knowledge needed to achieve his goal of turning humans into dragons; His 'extended lifespan' in that he seems to have barely aged in over fifty years has given his end goal a great deal of weight among Nihn and his following, a lack of success in regards to 'recreating' the process that ascended Droka successfully has risen frustrations within his ranks.
Deciding that now seemed like a good time to recruit other dragons to his cause to get more input and rekindle enthusiasm in the project, Droka made a show of having a vision to go on pilgrimage south in order to 'seek out the guidance and wisdom of the ancient dragons of old'. With a cover story in place, Droka has finally started to head back home.
Dragon Appearance: . . . Uerkopulos, much like his magical counterform, is a wide, hulking mass of a creature with an exceptionally large gut and an earhole-to-earhole grin to match (easily akin to that of the cheshire cat). His scaly exterior is a dull medley of various greys, greens, browns and the occasional curious blue dot or three. Oddly abridged in length compared to his superior width, he sports a nub of a tail long since shortened down to little more than a scaly round stump, and thick legs and claws like that of the elephants of Azai; Except, however, that each leg is about one of the dwarfed beasts in size - all the more convenient for pilfering away with such tasty treats!
Human Appearance: . . . Urik Pullos, much like his natural counterform, is a wide, hulking mass of a man with a rotund belly and an ear-to-ear grin to match. Broad shoulders, limbs like tree-trunks, and a long swaying silver-&-brown mustache mirroring a dangling mane of mahogany matted hair up above: It isn't every day that a human could so closely resemble the tree he's caught sitting under. Bizarrely resplendent are the clothes adorning him, however, which mismatch his otherwise shaggy visage in a dizzying array of bright greens and oranges and blues. Geometric patterns of increasingly sophisticated complexity wind down long, wide robes from draped-shoulder to shoed-toe. A bright silver buckle secures the leather belt at his waist, pinching inward and further exaggerating the mighty extent of his typical afternoon appetite.
Personality Traits: . . . Uerkopulos is above all else, an animal of principle. His personal motto is the old adage: "Waste not, want not" - whether it's a scrap of food left on the table, or an opportunity to turn a good deed, Urik takes nothing for granted and leaves no stone unturned. This tenet applies to his relations with others as well - so far as he'll have it, every beast of this world should live to their comfortable fullest, and will, if he has anything to say. Such a penchant for the altruistic side of life is tempered by his relatively humble character, and in keeping with the will of the Masque, Uerkopulos has a fond heart for doing all that he does with a gentle push, a way by inches, a meager might.
Magic/Abilities: . . . When push comes to shove, this wingless, tailless behemoth retaliates with a bizarre combination of offence and defence rolled into one organ - his tongue. Fueled by an internal charge of electricity, Uerkopulos lashes out his elongated twin forks like whip-like tendrils, knocking opponents aside or grappling them as other dragons would with their tails, and then rippling currents of voltage along them to stun enemies into submission. Uerkopulos invests his whole body into the flick of his tongue to control the power, time and even direction of said currents, leaving himself vulnerable in the process. However, this relative weakness is not to be underestimated, as he can produce a torrent of electrical power capable of fusing steel should any significant threat decide to get overly cocky. While in the Glamour Of Man he can reproduce this feat to a lesser degree, but lacking many adversaries bold enough to confront his overwhelming frame, Urik has only ever learned how to magically amplify the electrical current over his own skin - a useful perk nonetheless against those in need of a reminder to keep their hands to themselves. His great physical strength, both as dragon and human, is around one and a half times that of the average contemporary, making him a formidable presence against other dragons and even the most experienced dragon slayers. In his spare time or his human form, he prefers to spend his hours admiring nature and the fascinating phenomenon the humans call "Mat-hem-a-tics", especially "Ge-ome-try" for its artistic values in aforementioned nature. He can weave clothing in his human form, taking great inspiration from the opulent styles of the Azai, but gets easily bored by the process and thus stretches it out by weeks or months longer than he really should. It is ironic that he cannot read, but sees shapes and patterns quite easily, sometimes even mistaking what should be an obvious observation for another wholly irrelevant.
History: . . . Uerkopulos descends from a long line of the aptly nicknamed "Hoard Dragons", those whose magical prowess is only less potent or on par with their physical strength - that being said, as his figure implies, they are known for said size and strength. What they are less known for is kindness, for Hoard Dragons descend from when the Fae first left the world behind, choosing to indulge in excessive greed at the great wealth of resources in a brief age when humanity had yet to claim that role for themselves, and there were fewer magical beasts than before to share with. Hoard Dragons were quick to spurn the warnings of the Masque, and when humanity collectively began to establish the mantle of empires, it was this breed who were the first and most devastated by the smaller species's cunning ability to learn and exploit the habits and weaknesses of the natural world. Intentionally mingled over generations for raw strength, Hoard Dragons are awkward fliers at best, mere "levitators" at worst, and arrogantly lacking in the skills their lesser-sized cousins would use to stay safe and elusive from the plight of humankind. Uerkopulos's own grandmother, "Uerkopulos The Greater", an enormous dreadnaught among dragon-kind, acted as a firm precedent for all following her own downfall at the hands of the Empire Of Huldern. Though his own parents always told these stories of their ancestry with an air of confidence and inevitable return to the glory days, on Uerkopulos it had the opposite effect, and he spent much of his childhood infiltrating and investigating the ways of humanity to best learn how to blend in among them. He took to travelling throughout the realms of the Azai clandoms in his teenage years, admiring their unique approach to imitating the patterns of nature in their artwork and clothing. This inspired the young dragon, who now sees the world not as a fall from grace in the manner of his parents and lineage, but instead as an evolving organism in which new patterns and ideas can be cultivated given the right circumstances. He hopes, in his elder years, to have acquired the knowledge and wisdom to have made the world a better place for all manner of beasts...though this is perhaps too lofty a goal for one dragon alone to achieve. Most important of all, he does not wish to abandon the future as had happened in the final era of the Fae.
Adiran stands at a little over 10ft with a 45ft wingspan and 33ft from nose to tail. His body is covered in sharp, overlapping scales that are a mix of silver and white with icy blue eyes. A spiny ridge of many scales runs from his head all the way down his back in between two large horns that end at his tail where it flares out into a series of spikes at the tip. His body is fairly slender, focused more on dexterous maneuvers and flexibility than brute strength.
While in human form Adiran has the same slender build that his draconic form has. He also retains the white coloration to his hair and icfy blue of his eyes. He has a pale complexion due to living most of his life in the Kingdom of Nihn and thankfully most scars that mar his skin are covered by the clothes and armor he wears. Clothing wise he wears mostly natural tones of dark leathers mixed with blacks and whites that are common in his homeland. Much of what he wears is lined with furs that can be removed when he travels southward. Across his back he has crossed sheaths for his two short swords as well as several daggers on his belt.
Hailing from the frozen north in the mountains surrounding Jorgun, Adiran, and his family, have a particular affinity for frost and cold. He can breath a sheer cold that flash freezes most that it touches or sends jagged spikes of ice jutting out from the ground. While skilled in the air, when it comes to combat, Adiran prefers to force his enemies to the ground where he can lash out with teeth, claws, and spikes while using his slender build to avoid heftier blows. In human form he also retains his skill with frost magic, sending spikes of ice or freezing the air around his foes. When not utilizing his magic he prefers the quickness of dual-wielding daggers or short swords in rapid strikes.
Adiran grew up high in the mountains in the Kingdom of Nihn nearby the capital city of Jorgun along with others of his kind. He spent a great deal of time with his parents and siblings, and learning how to survive in the snowy peaks. Since the peaks of the mountains were so far removed from the human civilizations he spent most of his time in his draconic form, as did the rest of his family, well outside the view of humans. Unfortunately, that meant that he had little to no experience actually utilizing his glamour and blending in with the humans, and his family had a general degree of distrust as it was the humans who ran magical creatures of the world away.
Despite his family's general disinterest in mingling with humans, except for when necessary, Adiran found himself intrigued by the Kingdom and its people that lived below the mountains and the wealth that they were gathering. He wanted to learn about them as much as he possibly could. They were different from dragons and it interested him greatly. Once he reached adulthood and found himself free to go where he wished he spent some time in the capital city of Nihn learning everything that he could about humans, and somehow made it by without revealing himself despite the inexperience. He spent several years learning the common trades of the kingdom to a degree that pleased him before moving on to something else.
Combat, in human form, was one of the few things that he had not been able to learn in his general exploration, but his zeal caught the attention of a retired soldier from the kingdom's army who agreed to mentor and train him, provided he showed potential. It took several more years in the tutelage of his mentor before he, and his mentor, felt that he had learned all there was that the older man could teach him. It was suggested he join the kingdom's army and fight for the King to expand Nihn, but Adiran wanted to travel and continue to learn, and he now had the capability to do so.
He ventured to the Empire, the United Clans, and the Province of Kaelis in his travels. Kaelis in particular grabbed his attention do to the number of dragons that had set up settlements within the area, though the warmer temperatures didn't agree with him as much. He did spend a few years living within one of the settlements known as Whistle Hill where he served to help protect the city. Inevitably he got bored with living in one place and moved to continue his journey around the continent.
He struggled with finding a purpose for his travels, beyond just seeing the world and learning about its people. While he enjoyed himself he wanted more from the world. He could hear the rumors of every nation gaining interest in the Province of Kaelis and when he learned of the concerns of the Council and the fact that Whistle Hill was potentially in danger he planned his return to the city to protect the friends that he made there.
@Bright_Ops While Droka is a very interesting character, I don’t think he is what I was looking for, at least how he is currently written. The main problem is his human form being a hybrid (I’m basing this on your description as your picture isn’t working for me). The way I imagine the glamour of man working is that it creates a human form directly based on the energies of one’s soul, so it can’t be altered by magic.
However the back story about trying to turn humans into new dragons is interesting. It would have to be at a smaller scale, otherwise the Masque would of definitely heard about it, and probably just started much more recently. I could see the poor of Nihn jump at the chance to become more powerful. As for if it is possible to transform humans into dragons, would definitely be decided in the roleplay itself.
So if you tweak that second half of his back story and get rid of the hybrid human form, Droka will probably be good enough to approve.
@Mintharsul Uerkopulos, a name I am never going to remember how to spell, is looking pretty good. The only two things to tweak is 1) You said he is flightless, but all dragons in this setting can fly, even without wings, because of their natural magic. So Uerkopulos could swim through the sky or however you want to describe it. 2) In your magic section you said he doesn’t have magical prowess while in human form. However, in this setting all dragons do eventually gain magic of some kind in human form. While this is traditionally done in youth, it does sometime occur late into adulthood. Even if you don’t want Uerkopulos to have access to human magic right now, please at least list what type of magic you plan to acquire at some point. If you address these two things you’ll be approved.
@PrankFox Cool character (definitely not an ice pun). Everything seems in order, so you can go post him in the Characters Tab.
@ZxyxZemon No need to apologize. I was aiming for this to be a more relaxed casual roleplay. If that’s not what you are currently looking for right now, that’s okay. Thanks for the well wishes as I too wish you luck in any future roleplays you might find yourself in.
@Martian Okay, I've made those couple tweaks to the script, see what you think of them! I figured Hoard Dragons have a bit of a theme going on, in that they became big enough to delude themselves that strength alone was enough to keep them safe (see magic change and relatively poor flying capabilities). I didn't add it into the history, but personally I think their downfall could also be attributed to their other dragon kin and the Masque not wanting to humble them due to their sheer size and arrogance, which further lead them to overestimate their prowess and underestimate just how deadly humanity was becoming.
Dragon Appearance: Sangu belongs to a breed of dragons much more serpentine in appearance, with slender bodies, forked tongues and a tail longer than their torso. They also have less limbs than most of types of dragon. Instead of the standard two pairs of legs and a pair of wings, they only has hindlegs (with webbed feet), and instead use their wings in place of forelegs to crawl along the ground, similar to a bat. Due to this somewhat unusual limb set-up, they also tend to stand less tall than the average dragon.
Sangu himself is about 6ft tall and 30ft from nose to tail. While his breed end to have very wide wing spans, Sangu was born with underdeveloped wings, and his preference to swimming or even slivering as a form of transportation has caused them to never reach their full strength, and now Sangu is an adult, they likely never will. He can still fly, just not as strongly or quickly as an average dragon of his breed.
His scales are naturally silver with a greenish-yellow underbelly and wings, though due to both the environment he grew up in and his affinity for plant-life, he is constantly covered in patches of moss and lichen, tinting him more greenish. His eyes are a bright, acid green, and both his head and tail are adorned with large fins to furthur aid in swimming.
Human Appearance: In human form, Sangu looks to be in his mid-to-late twenties, and is very tall and gangly, standing at a little under 7ft, though he often looks a little shorter due to constantly slouching. He's olive-skinned with shoulder-length silvery-brown hair that is often tied up in a ponytail. His eyes are hazel, but will change to the acid green of his dragon form's eyes when he's using his magic. He has long and semi-gaunt facial features, and slight points to his ears.
In terms of clothing, he prefers long, flowy clothes like robes and such, often with bright colours and fun patterns. He also tends to wrap up warm as he can't stand the cold. And don't be surprised to see a flower or two adorning his hair.
Magic/Abilities: Instead of elemental breathes like other dragons, Sangu's breed instead spit a corrosive acid capable of doing severe damage to both organic and inorganic material if not dealt with immediately. They also, in the same way fire-breathing dragons may expell smoke from their nostrils, can form a gas while, not particularly dangerous unless in very large quantities, is foul smelling and acts as a deterrent for unwanted company. Sangu's breed are also strong swimmers, and while they don't have gills, they can hold their breath for longer than most terrestial animals.
As for magic and abilities more personal to Sangu himself, ever since a young age he has had an affinity for plants. In particular, plants tending to grow quicker and healthier just by being in his presence, and he is able to detect what plants are and aren't safe to consume. Because he was embarrassed by his powers when he was younger due to being not as flashy or powerful as those of his peers, he never sought to really develop them until adulthood when he first started donning his human guise. These days, he has sought to learn much more about his magic and plants in general, learning about their properties and using them to create various elixirs and medicines. He's also capable of manipulating plants and getting them to grow and act in abnormal ways, but this is still a new ability that he is experimenting with and is still uncertain about how best to use it.
History: Born and raised in a tropical swamp on one of the small Southern islands, Sangu was the youngest of a very large clutch of hatchlings. He took so long to hatch from his egg that his parents almost wrote him off as stillborn, but he eventually pushed through the shell and was born. He was weak with undersized wings and prone to sickness for the first couple of months, but he was alive.
His parents were very protective of him early on and were hesitant to let him play with his older siblings, especially the eldest three who had a habit of getting into mischief and playing pranks on each other. When pranking their younger siblings stopped being fun, they turned their attention to the human village on the other side of the island, and would often go over there either to prank or simply to watch them go about their daily lives. Whenever they returned home, Sangu's elder siblings would tell him and the other younger hatchlings all sorts of stories about what they'd seen, often exagerrated for the purpose of frightening and shocking them. That, along with his parents' warning about humans, made Sangu too scared to go anywhere near the human village, and was plagued constantly by nightmares about these horrifying beings coming into the swamp and attacking them.
As Sangu grew, he remained the weakest and clumsiest flyer of his clutch, and his magic was so subtle he didn't even realise there was anything unusual about the way plants grew around him or how he knew what berries not to eat until his family pointed it out to him. His family all had magic based in manipulating forces of nature, such as one sibling being able to communicate and control insects and another having the power to shape water, but his seemed to unimpressive he never really made much effort to improve it. Still, despite this, his childhood was a mostly happy one, and in later years, other than his weak wings, he was just as capable as any of his siblings. Still his parents worried about him and his siblings, while loving, did have a tendency to tease him, and this sense of being flawed or inadequate in some way remained at the back of his mind for his whole life. His self-doubt was so pervasive that even as his siblings started to fly off to start families of their own, he remained for a few years afterwards. His parents continued to support him, but Sangu couldn't help but wonder if he was causing them trouble by remaining. When they decided to have a second clutch of eggs, Sangu felt he could no longer stay with them. After all, they would have their claws full with young hatchlings, and didn't need to worry about him. So, with a farewell, he decided to leave the island. He wasn't sure where he was going and he didn't trust his wings to carry him there, so he decided to swim through the ocean until he reached land. However, swimming in rivers and lakes is very different to navigating the sea, and when a storm occurred, he was tossed about and nearly drowned.
However, he survived, and ended up washed on a beach on the main continent. He was very battered, one of his wings were broken and he had no idea where he should go next. In his attempt to find shelter, his wounds caused him to pass out. When he woke up, he found himself outside a large hut, with an elderly human woman tending to his wounds. Remembering his old nightmares about humankind, he struggled and lashed out against her like a wounded animal. He was too weak to put up much of a fight, so he ended up using his acid spit and severely scarred her. Despite this, however, she didn't attack him, and after tending to her own wounds, continued to nurse him. Seeing her kindness toward a creature that had attacked her made him confused and he allowed her to heal him. Once he was in a decent enough condition, he slipped away in the middle of the night, into the forest. His wing was still too damage to fly on and this land was strange to him. He remained in that forest for a few nights, uncertain of what to do and too afraid of what might await him to travel elsewhere. He also felt guilty for lashing out at that woman. It was at that point he remembered something his parents has told him, about the glamour of man and how dragons had the power to disguise themselves as human. He'd never tried it himself, but he'd seen his older siblings take on human forms during their pranks on humans. After a while of mulling it over, he made up his mind.
One morning, he took the form of a human and approached the elderly woman, saying he was a stranger to these lands and asked if she could give him shelter and perhaps advice on where to go. It was only meant to be a one or two night stay until he could form a plan of where to go next, but without either of them saying anything, he ended up staying for several years. The woman, who's name turned out to be Rona, was a healer who provided help for the neighbouring villagers. She didn't have any magic, just an aptitude for herbs and remedy making, but she was quite adept. She noticed Sangu's aptitude for plants and persuaded him to learning how to properly use it. He became her apprentice and began learning how to identify the new flora of this land and how best to utilise it to craft medicine... and while Rona never said anything, Sangu often wondered if she knew what he was, or at least knew he wasn't human. There was just something about her mannerisms that seemed like she was more aware of what was happening than she let on.
Before Sangu knew it, he had stayed with Rona for over a decade. Sadly, all things must come to an end. While Sangu seemingly remained the same age, Rona got on in years, her health getting worse and her memory for certain ingredients and recipes starting to slip. As Sangu had never had experience with old age, he didn't think any of it until one day, when Rona collapsed while working. Sangu didn't know what to do, was uncertain what was wrong and felt utterly helpless. He called round to the local villages, asking for help. While none of the healers there were as renowned or skilled as Rona, they recognised the problem immediately in the way Sangu couldn't: Rona's age was catching up to her, and her current way of living was not sustainable. Once Rona came to, even she admitted as such to Sangu, and told him that she had been aware that something was wrong for a long time. She told him she could no longer stay here. Sangu told her not to worry, that he could help her and look after her, but she told him, gently but firmly, that she'd made up her mind. She was going to move in with some of her younger relatives a few villages over. During this conversation, she told Sangu that she thought it was better that they take care of her, as she felt Sangu might not know how to handle it. At the time, Sangu thought she was, for the first time since he’d met her, doubting his abilities, and stormed off upset. It was only much later he realised this was yet another hint that she knew what he really was, and that she was simply stating she knew this was something he was unused to and was simply trying to spare him the pain.
The next few days before Rona left, he was a wreck, swinging between anger and sadness, but Rona remained patient with him, and while he was still furious with her, he did accompany her to her new home, just to make sure she got there safe, though even when she said good-bye to him for the last time, he couldn't bring himself to say good-bye in return. He returned to the hut, spent the first few days shut in alone, not willing to see or speak with anyone. He did eventually return to his duties as healer, but he kept all the villagers, even the ones he was friendly with, at arm's length. After a while, he couldn’t stand staying in that hut alone much longer. Plus, he noticed that some of the villagers had started to act odd around him, likely noticing how he had barely changed in the last decade he had been there. So he packed up what little he had and left. He has been wandering ever since under the guise of a travelling doctor, stopping by various villages to aid them before returning on journey, never staying in one place for too long. Through his time, he’s managed to encounter a couple of other dragons in disguise, who mentioned Kaelis and how a lot of dragons using the glamour of man tended to settle down there. Longing for his own kind after so long, especially after being too afraid to form any proper friendships with humans after Rona, he had decided to head that way, towards the village of Whistle Hill, in hopes of finding true companionship.
Alright, finally finished mine! I hope this is good, please let me know if there is anything I can add or need to change
Name: Lumia of Taubu Age: 135 Gender: Female Dragon Appearance:
(I actually collect dragon things, haha so I figured what better a muse than this one)
Standing close to 10 feet tall, Lumia’s dragon form, her truest form, is slender and long- reaching 30 feet from her nose to her tail. Her wingspan is about 42 feet. She has iridescent scales of shades of blues and purples. Her head and face are narrow and rather than ears she has two fins extending from the side of her head, just under her two long black horns. Her fins in combination with her body type allow her to better swim and her species as whole is known for being almost amphibious, though they could never live their whole lives in the water. Her wings also have a horn each, both a measure of self defense and a physical marker of her species. Her legs are muscular but still slender and she has 3 toes on each of her front feet, 4 on her back.
Human Appearance:
Lumia’s glimmer casts the form of a young adult human woman, who is about 20 years old. She has thick, curly hair that is kept in braids. Her skin is a dark bronze, her eyes a deep brown and her plump lips sit nicely beneath her rounded nose. She is a little tall by human standards, standing at 5’8” and weighs about 160 pounds, and has a more athletic build, strong arms and thighs.
Personality Traits: Independent, quiet and reserved. To friends she is playful, loving, generous and protective. Not quite the “mom” friend per say, more like an older sister- always there for you, and always on your side because no one’s allowed to mess with you except her. Her negative traits can be found in her stubbornness, and at times she can come across as a little gruff.
Magic/Abilities: Dragons of her species all have the ability to breathe underwater for much longer than average, able to remain below for up to several hours at a time, many of them with the ability to manipulate the waters. Lumia’s gifts are of the water but also of the air, as she has the ability to form and manipulate clouds alongside her water abilities. Instead of breathing fire, she is more like a water cannon, and steam rather than smoke leaves her nostrils. In her human form, she is a healer and purifier, able to remove sickness from natural things.
History: Lumia was born and raised in the small Southern island nation of Osmines in a small mixed village called Taubu. No humans lived in Taubu, yet but their own towns and villages crept ever closer every year, causing some of the residents of Taubu to consider seeking a new home elsewhere while others felt motivated more than ever to stand their ground and protect their home. While not happy about the growing human presence, they maintained a relatively peaceful relationship with the nearby villages- Taubu’s leadership having decided that was the best way to not attract attention.
As for Lumia herself, her childhood was spent wandering the many beaches and caves near her coastal town. She’s too young to remember the days before the humans found their little island but surprisingly still has not encountered too many humans in person yet but has made friends and acquaintances of many of the other beings who live in her village and nearby. This is mostly in part due to her parent’s protective nature over her, as she is their only child and a female at that, which made her a bit rare in a world where their birth rates were declining. As she got older she spent more time in the water, watching as elders of her kind worked the water & sometimes used a little magic to deter humans from finding the island, knocking them off course so as to slow their spread. Occasionally, though not always the intention, a ship would wreck and she and her best friend would explore them and be fascinated by treasures from the distant mainlands she had only ever heard about. She loved all the little trinkets and things, finding ways to repurpose them- one of her favorites being jewelry and charm making.
When not on the beaches, she was roaming the forests and climbing trees. Her father made her learn to fight when she was just barely a teenager so that if she ever ran into trouble, she could handle herself. The rule was always to stay away from the human settlements but one could never be too sure who they might encounter outside the safety of the village. Her mother also passed around this age, which caused her father to try and be too overprotective and ended up smothering her a bit which is why now in her young adulthood she seeks to leave and find their people on the mainland. She knew they could not keep waiting for their people to go to them, but that they must still come together if there was any chance for their kind to survive in this world. She was sad to leave her village, and her heart remains heavy still about it as she knows she might not be welcome back. Without her, there were only 2 other females left in the village who were not elders and those who remained saw her as leaving as betrayal, her father taking it the hardest.
I will admit, the idea I was going for was that Droka's 'human form' defaults into a humanoid dragon form because on some deep, central level there is a part of him that refuses to pretend to be human, therefore the closest it can get is something that would be closer to 'dragonkin' in other settings.
That being said, if you're not happy with that I can easily just have his 'ascended' form be an illusion.
As for the Masque, I feel like the reason that he's managed to escape being hunted down by them is because he hasn't broken the letter of the law; My understanding is that it is taboo to revel that magical creatures can take on a human form, but Droka has created his cult on the principle that humans can become magical creatures. It is also by its nature pro dragon... and I feel like if results towards 'ascension' can be established and proven, the rich and powerful would flock to it in droves. After all, it promises and promotes power and long life while being somewhat light when it comes to morality or values such as 'generosity' or 'charity'.
Question before I write a whole CS: could I make a dragon that has afflicted himself with vampirism to extend his (un)life? Or something like a dracolich?
@Mintharsul Thanks for making the changes. I think it will be interesting to see a slow moving, terrible at flying, dragon. You are accepted and can move your sheet to the characters tab.
@XxFellsingxX Very different take on a dragon’s form, I like it. Just a thing to note, Dragons are incapable of speaking human languages, except for when using the glamour of man, but they can still understand it. Also humans don’t know that Dragons are sentient. If you keep that in mind, then you are accepted and can move your sheet to the characters tab.
@QuinnWolfe Finally, a female character! I have no problem with this character, so you can move her over to the characters tab. Also, cool dragon statue.
@Bright_Ops I didn’t really plan to have dragonkin, or anything similar in this setting. I don’t really have a problem with your character using illusions to change his appearance to appear as a hybrid.
As for the whole cult thing, there is a problem, which is my bad as its lore I forgot to put in the first post. Part of the Masque is that humans don’t know that magical creatures are sentient. Because of this, I’m not sure if there would be a desire to get longer life if it meant you had to live it as an animal. Maybe instead your character could promise to turn them into hybrids, like he appears as through illusions. Basically he says that he gets the best of being both a human and a dragon, keeping the mind of a human and gaining the strength, flight, magic, and lifespan of a dragon. So he is lying to the cultists about what the endgame is for them, turning them not into a hybrid but into a full dragon. If this idea doesn’t work for you, let me know and offer an alternative idea.
@Dead Cruiser I actually had a lore idea about vampires, though I wasn’t sure if it would ever come up, so thanks for asking. Vampirism in humans is the result of a Fae curse, basically a screw you to the humans. While magical creatures were meant to be immune to it, the glamour of man screws that up. If a dragon is fed on by a vampire, then fed their blood while in human form, they become a vampire, both in human form and dragon form.
If your character could find a willing vampire to transform, your character could be a dragon vampire. They would be stronger at night. They would also be effectively immortal as long as they feed on blood. While animal blood could sustain a vampire, human blood is preferred taste wise, and drinking the blood of a magical creature would increase their strength, but that would be going against the Masque.
********
As for everyone else, I’ve realized that I left out a lot of the lore I’ve come with in the opening post. I'm starting to edit the post to expand on some ideas. While I do that, is there anything you would want to know? Any kind of question is welcome as it will help flesh out this setting.
@XxFellsingxX What I meant is that if you reference the events with Rona in the actual roleplay, remember that it is impossible for dragons, without using the glamour, to speak to humans. But as your character sheet is now, it is perfectly acceptable and can be moved to the characters tab.
@Martian Thanks again, Uerkopulos is over in the OCs tab now - for the lore, I'd like to know: When it comes to dragon slaying, how do Humans do that? I'm imagining a mixture of cunning traps using the natural landscape (such as triggering a landslide), or an extremely well-placed shot (such as powering a couched lance charge through the heart, the head, etc. excusing the gory imagery), as well as elemental or illusory magic. Illusion magic I could see being the worst case scenario for most dragons given they could basically be tricked into hurting themselves, but the elemental magic seems kinda dicey so...an interesting thought off of that, are humans able to pool their magic together to amplify its strength? Perhaps all beings can pool their magic together to an extent, it's just that humans are so insanely numerous that a force like the Empire Of Huldern could gather together a formidable quantity of magic users to amplify that magic to ludicrous degrees. I think it would also present an interesting contrast over how magical creatures are freely able to use their magic, while human magicians are often subject to the will of their cultures/ruling class.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, thanks again for the all-clear!
Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society the RP.
𝔑𝔞𝔪𝔢
Bastia the Terror - Bastia Aescau
𝔄𝔤𝔢
101 - 28
𝔊𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯
Female
𝔇𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔬𝔫 𝔄𝔭𝔭𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢
A long, thin dragon with teal scales accompanied with black barbs and blood red highlights. There are hammerhead-like horns that jut out perpendicular from its head, shadowing its blood-red eyes and black teeth. Its wings expand out like a bat's with red spines at the ends for spearing and grappling. There are only two legs on the body that are raptor-like in build. Those fierce talons are rarely seen except when latching onto prey and dragging them to rend their flesh from bone. A long tail, adorned with black spines, spills from its body, coiling and bobbing like an interested cat. Bastia moves fast and without remorse, taking to shadows and ruins with the expertise of any other cloaked hunter.
ℌ𝔲𝔪𝔞𝔫 𝔄𝔭𝔭𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢
Bastia is not a dainty veneer of a human woman. She's cut like broken glass, twisting edges that may bring blood if not held correctly. Black, short hair wreaths around her pale, gray-tinged skin. Her face is marred with slivers of red scars and illuminated by porcelain blue eyes. Her lips are full and crooked, but her teeth are straight and white. Her aquiline nose juts out with a smattering of freckles over the bridge. Her body is wreathed in viperous muscles, prominent and not pretty. Her nails are bloody around the edges, and her palms are constantly wrapped in bandages. She clads herself in gothic armor with a seductive cut to allow what feminity she posses to pour out in the way of an ample bosom and strong hips. She wears a sword on one hip, a chain whip on the other, and has a blade tucked into her gauntlet.
𝔓𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔬𝔫𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔶 𝔗𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔱𝔰
Sardonic and crass define the words that pour from Bastia's lips. Her voice may be a creamy velvet, but its contents are that of the darkest vitriol. She chews and spits out those that she views as weaker than herself. Yet, her pride isn't all-consuming. She'll let anyone prove their worth. Just don't expect her to play fair. Bastia will win no matter the cost, and take her pound of flesh with glee. She's loyal to her friends, however few and far between they are and enjoys keeping those bridges unlit. Quick to drink and laugh, but not in a manner that would be viewed as warm. She's a cold, dark breeze with wit and off-putting charm for days.
𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔠 & 𝔄𝔟𝔦𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔢𝔰
𝓗𝓮𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓰𝔂 - blood magic - Bastia has the ability to control her own blood. She can empower it to allow her to move faster and be stronger. When it is exposed to air, she has basic psychometric control over it. It can become as sharp as a blade or as bludgeoning as a mace. She can also infect someone else with her own blood if she's able to get into their veins. There she can sap their strength to embolden her own, otherwise, she relies on her own stamina to power herself. So, it's not infinitesimal. She can also sense where her blood is, meaning she can tag someone with it and follow them. In human form, this power is reduced due to her smaller size and lack of as much vitae as she has in her draconic form. 𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓫𝓪𝓽 - guerrilla tactics - In her dragon form, Bastia is a twisty beast that uses her sinewy musculature and sleek body to slide in and out of crevices. She waits and baits her prey forward before attacking. While she wouldn't last long in a pure aerial fight, if she is allowed buildings, cliffs, or other varied terrains--she could become quite a formidable foe. As a human, she is a talented blade user, moving swiftly and sharply towards her foes. She uses her unassuming form to land deadly blows as quickly as she can.
ℌ𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔶
Many a mother would whisper tales of the "blood dragons" to their children as they crawled into their bed. They'd encourage them to stay under the sheets all night so they wouldn't be prey to these beasts of dark scales and blood-red eyes. It was an amusing tale and one that was rooted--however flimsily--in truth. "Blood dragons" were the urban cousins of their nature-dwelling brethren. They lived in small nests underneath a bustling city, taking human form almost always to tend to their business. Why be vulnerable out in the wilderness when you could rule the cities of man without their knowledge?
Bastia grew up in the divided Empire of Huldern, using its unrest and dwindling power to hide easily. It was easy to steal away into human dwellings with the promises of cheap labor and a sturdy backbone. At a young age, Bastia took to pocketing whatever went unattended. She refused to live in the squalor of her brethren. Restlessly taking to the streets in glamour during the day and hunting in scales at night. She wasn't content to be akin to a violent alley cat. Unfortunately, that led to her separation from her familial brood at a young age due to a political upheaval that she didn't have the years to understand. She was thrown into the world without much understanding of what it meant to be a dragon. All she knew was how to be a survivor.
The Empire of Huldern didn't make it hard for her to find work. She knew the basics. For a while, she lurked into stables and under the counters of inn kitchens. Bastia refused to shift her form for fear that she'd be found out. Instead, many a year went by without her dropping her glamor. It was in those years that she made sure to constantly move around so no one noticed how slowly she aged. When she got to a point that no one viewed her as a child, she found her calling.
It'd been an accident. Bastia had ducked into an alley to make it to her destination quicker. It was then that a man clubbed her from behind. Everything faded for a moment but came back sharply as blood pooled from her head and raced down her face. Without much control, the droplets became as sharp as knives and she shot them towards the man. One of the droplets managed to get him in the eye. He screamed out in pain, holding it. About that time, the guard came across them. Bastia felt the world close in around her. She knew that she was in trouble. Except... that she wasn't... they actually paid her (well, what was left from their share.) Apparently, the man was a known criminal and had a nice bounty on his head. She then realized she could get money by subduing humans.
As the Empire was in perpetual change, Bastia was able to make a living off this trade. Criminals were numerous when there wasn't a foundation for them to stand on. And Bastia was able to keep moving enough to never rouse suspicion. Though, a tale of her started to be known. How she'd hunt her prey like a fox tracked a wounded rabbit. Though she stayed mostly in human form, she occasionally took to her dragon one to make sure that she never became useless in her natural body.
Bastia had never known many other dragons, but those that she had come across had not taken well to her demeanor. She didn't care, though, her pockets were filled with wealth and she was filled with the thrill of the hunt.
1x Thank
