@Martian No worries about life getting in the way - I'm actually gonna have to go because of that very reason. Something came up IRL and my mood has been absolutely shot for the foreseeable future. Hope all goes very well with the RP, it's a great setting and maybe someday I'll be lucky enough to rejoin it or anything else you might have going. Take care.
@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!
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.
@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: . . . 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.