Story
Stories of dragon riders has spread from ear to ear for as long as anyone can remember. The tales of valiant men and women upon loyal and graceful mounts has endeared many men, women, and children. Yet, the well-known legend has a rather gruesome beginning.
Dragons once had their own land, believe it or not. These creatures could shift forms between a human and dragon, but preferred to stick to their bestial appearance. There was some conflict between tribes of dragons, as expected, but wars between factions seldom broke out. Humans eventually found their realm, however, and that was when their peace came to an end. Greedy as humans are, they set out to take over the land and capture its inhabitants. The dragons would not go without a fight, however, and so a bloody war erupted between the two races.
One would think that the dragons would win due to their power to breathe flames and take to the skies. But what humans lacked in physical ability, they made up with dedication and persistence. Humans trained beasts that were easier to capture to help subdue the dragons. While this was rather effective, their discovery of a mineral deep within the soil changed the course of the war. Celelyrium, it was dubbed; if it came in contact with a dragon in their bestial forms, it would eat away at their tough hide and bring severe pain. And thus, humans began to make leashes and whips and ropes out of celelyrium, as it was easy to mold when it was exposed to flame. The humans and their celelyrium brought a quick end to the war on the foreign land. Most dragons were captured and taken from their lands and very few escaped the humans' onslaught, retreating further into the realm.
Fifty years has passed by, and most dragons who had been taken from their home decided that it was futile to fight the humans in their homeland. They were fitted with celelyrium collars and bands to prevent them from shifting voluntarily. Knights have replaced their horse mounts with dragons, and royalty have decided to keep some dragons within their court to offer them protection. Dragons were also used to fight other dragons, whether by invading neighboring countries or searching for the remaining dragons elsewhere. However, this relative "peace" between humans and dragons would amount to little above slavery.
A few months ago, things started to fall from the night sky. At first, humans thought that they were just shooting stars that had crashed to earth. But, upon investigation of the crash site, there was nothing there; all that remained was flame and destruction. Whatever had fallen from the sky had been massive in size. The occurrences, which have been called "fallen stars" by humans, have been happening more and more, bringing about more in-depth research about the mystery of the falling objects.
Just recently, a mercenary faction by the name of the White Dove Guild was founded. This guild is full of men and women, along with their dragon mounts, who wish to seek the source of the fallen stars. You will be a part of the White Dove Guild, whether you are human or dragon. You are advised to work together to promote future success in your endeavors. And, unbeknownst to you, your job is about to get much more complicated...
Setting
Eclium
One of the two continents of the realm and the humans' homeland. Humankind has used the fertile soil to sow and reap various types of crops ranging from corn to mangoes. Eclium is broken up into three nations; Solis, located to the far south of Eclium; Lunaris, located to the far north; and Ambrosis, resting in between Solis and Lunaris.
Solis, the Land of Pale Sands
Solis is a sub-tropical island nation filled with exotic foodstuffs and drinks of all kinds of varieties. Many envy their ability to make delicious summerwine and their constant harvest of sweet and plump fruit from the arid sands. The Soli people are seemingly peaceful, but have proven time and again they are capable of usurping, pillaging, raiding, and so on and so forth when provoked. They have recently grown worried over the mystery of the fallen stars. The White Dove Guild makes their home in an undisclosed area nearby the capital.
Solis monopolizes the Celelyrium trade, so it sits quite comfortably on a mountain of wealth with no chance of threats from Ambrosis or Lunaris. That doesn't discount the fact that there are still outlaws running amok, looting old pre-war relics and the like...
Ambrosis, the Land of Flame
Ambrosis is mostly filled with broad expanses of prairie and savanna, with the exception of some northern forests bordering Lunaris. This country has earned its title due to the colors that wash over the fields and forests during their rather long autumn seasons, which have since only recently have begun to grow back since the War. Ambrosi people are strong-willed and determined, often getting themselves into spats with their neighboring countries. They do not care much about the fallen stars and put much of their time and effort into training their soldiers.
Not as nearly as potent as Celelyrium against dragons, but in the matters of conventional, human warfare...well, there's reason as to why Ambrosis can keep hold of the plains against dragons and the like...
Semblium is now a viable tool to use for Ambrosis-descended Riders, but has been a standard for the elite troops of Ambrosis. It's a black, inky substance likened to water in form, but when in contact with steel, it tends to shape itself in odd ways.
Lunaris, the Moon-Washed Lands
Not much is known about Lunaris, other than it being a country that is submerged in night-time for most of the year. This borderline arctic nation is separated from Solis and Ambrosis by a large body of water. It is said that not many people live there, and thus do not have the required amount of trained soldiers to be a prominent threat. The Lunari are rumored to have possession of powerful instruments that serve as the bases of technology far beyond others'.
Athea
This land once belonged to dragons, but now, it is being overrun by humans. Athea is a massive continent located to the far west of Eclium, and frankly, most of it is still undiscovered by humankind. To the north lies plentiful deciduous and coniferous forests and mountain ranges, while to the south lies ocean-side dunes and rainforests. The extreme west of Athea has been untouched by man.
About Dragons
There are many things about dragons that are not known to man. However, humankind has been thoroughly studying the species and releasing new discoveries about them every so often.
Contrary to popular belief, dragons are not immortal, but age incredibly slowly and live for a long period of time. As they age, their human form remains that of an adult, and their "divine" (feral) form continues to grow in size. Though, due to several incidents occurring within Eclium and Athea alike, it is not often that an older dragon has been captured or kept in captivity. The largest dragon that humans have ever encountered was one that was about the size of a double-decker bus.
Humans and dragons in their human form are nearly identical-- except for the fact that dragons retain their eye color and slit pupils in both forms. Male dragons are slightly bigger and more fit than female dragons, who are more slender and curvy in their human forms. These creatures cannot retain their claws, wings, or other beastly appendages in their human forms for unknown reasons. They are also unable to spit flame or other elements in their human forms, as this would definitely damage the lining of their throats.
In their divine forms, dragons bear four legs and a pair of wings. The scales of these dragons come in an extremely broad variety of color; some may even bear interesting markings. Feathered dragons have been sighted and kept within captivity, but are rare and considered items of luxury. Within this state, dragons do not communicate vocally to one another; they do so via telepathy when it comes to speaking with another dragon in their divine state or their rider.
Mating behaviors amongst dragons are very much like those amongst humans. They mate in their human forms and give live birth to one to two children at a time after a six month gestation period. Dragons and humans have been known to mate with one another, but the offspring that is produced do not exhibit any interesting physical or mental traits.
Rules
- All RPG Rules apply.
- I'm the GM, and everything I put into action is law. Though, if you wish to question something I say, then do so in an adequate manner.
- There may be romance in this RP, but I will not allow smut within this thread.
- I can work around an imbalance of riders and dragons, but I encourage players to try and make a happy balance for fluidity.
- You must make a character that is in the process of joining/is already part of the White Doves. I will not accept any other type of character, at the moment.
- Put your character's catchphrase/theme song in your sheet to prove that you have read the rules.
- I will not accept realistic pictures for appearances of humans. Semi-realistic or anime is fine.
- Fill out all parts of the form-- also, use the appropriate sheet for your character!
- Do not post your sheet in the character tab if it has not been accepted.
- You may style your sheet however you like, but please, if you make more than one character, post them in separate posts so I may hotlink them.
- Have fun!
Character Sheets
Human Sheet
[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Rank:[/b] [Do not fill this in if you are not the guild leader.]
[b]Equipment:[/b] [Weapons, potions, etc?]
[b]Appearance:[/b] [Post a picture; you may also write to elaborate on your character's appearance.]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Short Biography:[/b]
[b]Mount:[/b] [You may fill this in later.]
[b]Other:[/b]Dragon Sheet
[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b] [How old do they look like?]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Human Appearance:[/b] [Post a picture; you may also write to elaborate on your character's appearance.]
[b]Dragon Appearance:[/b] [Post a picture; you may also write to elaborate on your character's appearance.]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Short Biography:[/b]
[b]Abilities:[/b] [Add in what your character can do, other than breathe fire. This includes spitting poison, being able to fly against strong wind currents, breathing frost, etc. Three maximum.]
[b]Rider:[/b] [You may fill this in later.]
[b]Other:[/b]
