Here's some dragoness for ya. [hider=Dragon Lore (Naroe Broods)] An ancient breed, classified as Greater Beings by most and second to only others in that category. An individual dragon can destroy decent sized forces of men, and often without an apparent stopping point, given the lack of those specifically trained in such duties. That said, they are extremely rare and are as of now found only in higher mountains or the cold north of the island. The ones in the world at large are completely unconcerned with the affiars of Naroe; the few dragons left on Naroe are in hiding mostly to save themselves, although a select few would actually go in public. Those few tend to be Dragon Mages. [hider=Strengths, Powers and Attributes of Dragons] Most dragons, by default, come with wings - those that do not tend not to be pure dragons and are rarer to come by than winged ones. The backside, legs, almost dinosaur-like arms and heads of dragons are heavily layered in thick scales that are almost impossible to penetrate with normal weaponry, although magic weapons can be a different story. They all possess a natural immunity to magic, as that is part of the essence of their being. This is only diminished by those who have dabbled a little too much in magic; usually magic that augments oneself. They also have a stronger natural immunity to the elements they specialise in. The nature of the dragons that are on Naroe means that most of them have an affinity with fire, although some (which, combined with the rareness of typical dragons, makes them even rarer) are born with different elements or specialties in mind. Ice and cold could be one dragon’s specialty, while another may be a powerful maker of acid. Dragons age very, very slowly. A dragon can easily live for a thousand years before age starts to kick in. They mature over the course of 50 years. All of them possess what is known as the Dragon Flame. It comes in a variety of types; it doesn’t even have to be fire. It was simply the name given to it by humans, who tended to meet fire based dragons (at least the ones who survived an attack or even befriended them). This “Dragon Flame” is the source of every dragon’s fire, and is attached in magical form to their souls. Dragon Mages can tap into this and use it to maintain their appearance as human mages. Hints of this magic can be noticed in their blood, although a human trying to ingest dragon blood would be killed due to its composition being acidic to humans but just fine for dragons. Those that are dragon mages tend to be incompatible with some human spells. Thus, spells used against them usually have to be universal in nature or compatible specifically with dragons in general, whereas dragon mages have difficulties using standardised human spells - they tend to draw upon completely different sources. It is difficult to make friends with any dragon, given the mutual distrust, but the few that do make friends tend to be very good buddies - dragons tend to be more attached to others than other species, although it is difficult to form such an attachment in the first place. Many view humans as “Lesser Beings”, further complicating the issue. Dragons not born to dragons and raised as individuals can grow to be very dependent upon those that raise them. (More to be added if needed) [/hider] [hider=Weaknesses of Dragons] Dragons tend to have difficulties shifting their mass on ground. Even though they are very good at flying, they are awkward while on the ground due to their size, especially if in an area terraformed for human purposes (a town, castle, etc). They all, in dragon form, have a softer underbelly, vulnerabilities in the eyes and the insides of their body. Ingesting something acidic that they are not specialized for is deadly, poking at the eyes is a good way to blind or piss them off, and stabbing at the underbelly has a higher chance of success than any other part of the body. Human form is just that, for the ones that can shift - vulnerable. Being in human form and mortally wounded automatically forces them into dragon form… which can become a problem if in a cramped space. Additionally, they still suffer a good portion of the wounds they had in human form - what may be fatal to a human would gravely injure the dragon, although not fatally. Fatal damage in dragon form cannot be recovered from except by external healing; shifting to human form would more likely kill them on the spot. Their population is very small and typically old, even for dragons, the effects of which are shown by a bit of an amplification of all weaknesses. Dragon Mages tend to be incompatible with strictly human/related species spells. They draw off different types of power reserves. [/hider] [hider=Dragon Broods] [/hider] [hider=Dragon Mages] A small branch of dragons in the world at large, these come from all walks of dragon species, united in one thing - their ability to shift, condense their mass via magic in such a way as to pass off as human. Their weaknesses and attributes are mentioned above. Although in dragon form typically not much more powerful than other dragons, some of the most notable dragons in history have been Dragon Mages. [/hider] [hider=History of Dragons on Naroe] The first dragons to appear on Naroe came several thousand years ago, being a mixture of dragons that were more or less exiled from their homeland. They all consist of what is known of the world’s Southern Dragon Brood; however, they have split once more over time. Various types of dragons had come to the island, so some of those can potentially be found. In their day, they were the dominant forces on Naroe, trampling as much as they liked. One dragon, a Dragon Mage, led them, being a combination of not only a dragon mage but also being the strongest dragon in the entire southern part of the world, let alone on Naroe. His name was Nathkrul, and he led all the dragons in relative unity. They bit off more than they could chew, however. Forces were created that knew the dragon’s tricks, and old magics were invoked. The result was a long, bitter, 300 year long war that killed over half the dragon population and eventually Nathkrul himself, which shattered the unity of dragons on Naroe and demoralized dragons everywhere. Hunting continued for another 700 years until they became extremely rare. Four broods - Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern - formed from these remains, all of which tended to be hostile to each other. Their encampments are deep in the mountains of Naroe. 30 or so dragons survive of each brood, a fraction of which consists of dragon mages. Some of them have tried to emerge in society to either continue the old wars or make peace; either way, those have been repelled. The result is a very small, old, very slowly breeding (ie, losing more than gaining) population of declining dragons. Young dragons and dragon eggs are considered sacred and every bit worth dying for. [/hider] [/hider] [hider=Etruscan] [center][color=330000][h3]§-----------------------------------------------------------------------§[/h3][/color][/center] [color=0099FF][h1][center][b]Etruscan[/b][/center][/h1][/color] [color=0066FF][center][h2][i]Dragon-Mage[/i][/h2][/center][/color] [center][color=330000][h3]§-----------------------------------------------------------------------§[/h3][/color][/center] [color=33FF00][h2]Appearance[/h2][/color] [center][color=330000][h3]§-----------------------------------------------------------------------§[/h3][/color][/center] [color=33FF00][h2]Powers, Capabilities and Weaknesses[/h2][/color] [b]Dragon Natural Abilities[/b]: Like most dragons of a higher level, Etruscan is capable of swift flight while in dragon form, possesses the extra strength that a full sized dragon is entitled to, can breathe Dragon Flame, a bit more resistant to the effects of weather and weapons due to scales, and is a bit resistant to magical attacks (less, however, than most dragons) and is resistant to fire. Additionally, he has the healing ability of dragons while in dragon form. [b]Dragon Mage Abilities[/b]: Dragon mages possess the ability to make themselves look human, with a good rate of success by “Shifting”. For the most part, they cannot be distinguished from normal humans in a normal setting, although they have a smell that a trained nose can detect and tend to have more dragon-like eyes that stand out regardless of the strength of the dragon mage. All dragons can immediately detect him and greater or magic based beings typically have a good idea of what he is from the start. “Shifting” to human form gives him the mobility of a human and control and resistances of normal Dragon abilities, such as being able to channel Dragon Flame and having a stronger hit power and more resistances than usually found on humans, on top of being about to augment himself with other spells that dragons could not take advantage of, if required. Taking a critical wound in human form forces a shift to Dragon form - even if there is not enough space to shift. If he, say, has his head chopped off, then that’s tough luck for him - that limb is lost forever, and he will shift without a head and therefore no control over his body ever again… of course while being dead. This applies to other limbs lost in human form. If limbs are lost in dragon form, than this translates also to human form - although wings feel as though a deep pain in his rib cage.. Wounds in dragon form tend to heal better, but are still heavily damaging. A critical wound in dragon form is fatal, although harder to strike. [b]Intelligence[/b]: That of a dragon, while inheriting some of the sometimes undue pridefulness and tendency to over complicate simple things. [b]Dragon Natural Weaknesses[/b]: Restraint in human form for dragons that can shift means that a dragon is incapable of shifting back to dragon form. The same applies vice versa. They suffer from some lack of mobility, given their size, and a little in agility. Although beings with a magical base, they tend to have less control over spells in general - even dragon mages find it harder to control spells than a powerful human mage. Certain dragons are born specializing in different elements, with Dragon Flame taking on that element, but this means that resistances shift to accommodate that element - that would mean no more fire specific resistance. The underbelly, eyes, and insides of a dragon are vulnerable, with the eyes causing the most pain to them if they are hit there and the underbelly tending to be softer than everything else. Large numbers and crowd take-downs can be very dangerous if unchecked, with the proper strategies and equipment. He will permanently revert to human form if he loses both of his wings, meaning fatal wounds in human form at that point stay fatal no matter what, with no escape. They (dragons) are average in the grand scheme of greater beings and to another greater being, they may not be as powerful as they may think themselves as, with Etruscan being no exception. Lightning in a storm has a slightly higher chance of focusing on a dragon’s internal magic, with Etruscan being more vulnerable to this. [b]Too Much Tinkering[/b]: Etruscan is unstable in body composition due to various spells, including many unsuccessful ones, to attempt to make himself stronger. Overexertion in magic can kill him faster than with others, and being overwhelmed with magic is easier to do than if done against other dragons. [b]Unpopularity[/b]: His history makes him hated by many dragons and unpopular with many other beings, making allies without using manipulation a very rare occurrence. [center][color=330000][h3]§-----------------------------------------------------------------------§[/h3][/color][/center] [color=33FF00][h2]Personality[/h2][/color] Almost deemed insane by other dragons, Etruscan has his sights set on his goals and will stop at little to achieve them. He is more than willing to use “lesser beings” as his pawns and suck up to greater ones, respectively. He is cynical and manages to find just about anything bad in a situation. [center][color=330000][h3]§-----------------------------------------------------------------------§[/h3][/color][/center] [color=33FF00][h2]History[/h2][/color] An elder dragon, Etruscan was once a trusted member of the Southern Dragon Brood, before the whole island’s dragon population was considerably reduced through the ages. The situation with reduced dragon population became so dire that he decided to take matters in his own hands. Kidnapping the eggs of several precious dragon eggs, he went to a series of previously unknown mountains to raise a small army to strike back at the beings that were such a pestilence. This went against all the ideals of the leader of the Southern Dragon Brood, who sent his remaining forces of dragons to take down Etruscan and his rebellion. By then, Etruscan had gathered a small army of dragons, other Brood recruits, extremist humans who were deluded into following the cause, and a force of undead thanks to the works of one necromancer who had joined him. The battle was extremely damaging on both sides - every single one of the stolen dragon egg legacies were killed in combat by more aged and experienced dragons, and the “army” was smashed in minutes. Etruscan himself was forced into hiding. He has bided his time for quite a long time. His current goals are to find and raise dragon eggs for himself, while building up a small following in the meantime. He considers himself completely just and one day strives to get back at the puny species that had decimated his kind on Naroe… permanently. [center][color=330000][h3]§-----------------------------------------------------------------------§[/h3][/color][/center] [/hider]