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==Evolve or Die==
 
==Evolve or Die==
  
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It is paradoxical that the ''Ashen Dragons'', who are the firstborn of chaos, are amongst the greatest empire builders in the realm. But then, one has only to look at the structure of the ''Ashen Kingdom'' to understand that their strength comes from adaptabilty, change and the mutable qualities of chaos.
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It is paradoxical that the ''Ashen Dragons'', who are the firstborn of chaos, are amongst the greatest empire builders in the realm. But then, one has only to look at the structure of the Ashen Kingdom to understand that their strength comes from adaptabilty, change and the mutable qualities of chaos.
  
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The ''Ashen'' have always believed that stagnation results from stasis, and that to grow in power one must adapt and embrace the new. Of all breeds, they are the most likely to experiment with their sorceries, most inventive with their technologies, and most willing to try new ways of doing things. Those who speak of the "old ways being the best ways" are met with contempt by the ''Ashen'', who believe that change and experimentation are the cornerstones of progress.  
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The Ashen have always believed that stagnation results from stasis, and that to grow in power one must adapt and embrace the new. Of all breeds, they are the most experimental with their sorceries, most inventive with their technologies, and most willing to try new ways of doing things. Those who speak of the "old ways being the best ways" are met with contempt by the Ashen, who believe that adaptability is everything.  
 
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===Sphere Ratings===
 
===Sphere Ratings===
  
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*'''Soma 6'''
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* '''Soma 5'''
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*'''Sophia 5'''
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* '''Sophis  4'''
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*'''Pneuma 4'''
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* '''Pneuma 3'''
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''Ashen Dragons'' are the strongest physically of the chaos dragons, though typically they claim also to be the most magically adept and the most intelligent as well. An Ashen Dragon does not like to admit his weaknesses!
 
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===Birthrights===
 
===Birthrights===
  
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'''Adaptability''' - ''Ashen Dragons'' master the basics of Lifepaths with great speed, and are adept at applying lessons already learnt to new directions. For every third Lifepath that the ''Ashen Dragon'' adopts and spends at least 50 years on, add +1 to the ''Arete'' of all his Lifepaths.  
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'''Adaptability''' - An Ashen Dragon can change Lifepaths more easily than most - they take 5 years transition time to change to a new Lifepath (instead of 10), and only 3 years transition time to revert to a previously travelled Lifepath.
  
 
'''Mutable Form''' - Any magics or effects that magically alter a dragon's form (whether beneficial or not) work twice as fast on Ashen Dragons as they do on other breeds.
 
'''Mutable Form''' - Any magics or effects that magically alter a dragon's form (whether beneficial or not) work twice as fast on Ashen Dragons as they do on other breeds.
 
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===Flaws===
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===Breed Weakness===
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'''Corruption of the Mutable''' - The ''Ashen'' breed's willingness to try anything has led to sorcerous experiments on the mystical and somatic fabric of hatchlings and eggs through the generations. One in three ''Ashen Dragons'' will be born as a hideously warped and essentially mindless chaos-spawn, and one in three ''Ashen Dragons'' will devolve into insanity as the grow old, losing mental acuity as they age.
 
  
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''In game terms, player character '''Ashen Dragons''' are presumed not to be mindless spawn, though any offspring they have will have a 1 in 3 chance of suffering this fate. As to senile insanity, make a random check for the player when he hits 800 years of age. If you determine that he is going to go insane, he will start to do so after 3D6 years, and will lose 1 Sophia at that time, then a further 1 Sophia every D6 years afterwards.''
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'''Corruption of the Mutable''' - The Ashen Breed's willingness to try anything has led to sorcerous experiments on the mystical and somatic fabric of hatchlings and eggs through the generations. One in three Ashen Dragons will be born as a hideously warped and essentially mindless chaos-spawn, and one in three Ashen Dragons will devolve into insanity as the grow old, losing 1 Sophis every twenty years after .  
  
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'''Fated''' - If you are using the default metaplot, the ''Ashen Breed'' as a whole has a major world-changing event ahead of it that will happen inevitably on a certain date, and beyond player control. Players who select this Breed should be aware that the metaplot has this surprise in store and that they won't be able to do anything about it.
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''In game terms, player character '''Ashen Dragons''' are presumed not to be mindless spawn. As to senile insanity, make a random check for the player when he hits 800 years of age. If you determine that he is going to go insane, he will start to do so after 6D10 years, and will lose 1 Sophis at that time, then lose 1 Sophis every 3D10 years afterwards.''
 
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==Physical Appearance==
 
==Physical Appearance==
  
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'''Ashen Dragons''' are dark grey in colour, with blackish mottling, but always in non-metallic shades. Their horns are the colour of dried bone, and are like a bull's in shape and position. Most breeds grudgingly admit that ''Ashen Dragons'' have a cleaner line to their facial features and physical build than most breeds - they seem nobler, more evolved and more blessed in aesthetic beauty than most, just as a classical sculpture or posed portrait might seem. Ashen Dragons vary in minor random ways from dragon to dragon - pronounced lower canines might be found in one noble, while solid white eyes might be found in another. Strangely, these traits seem to be wholly random, and unrelated to heredity or genetics. ''Ashen Dragons'' themselves place great stock in these small differences, ascribing certain traits as signs of nobility or greatness, and others as signs of moral deficiency. Typically, of course, they are entirely inconsistent with their phrenology and tend to find whatever meaning suits their own individual agendas.
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'''Storm Dragons''' are blue scaled, and are divided in appearance according to the ocean depth they dwell at. Those that spend most time by shore or in sky tend to have light blue scales, whereas those who spend most of their time in the deep have dark blue scales, with "horizon breakers" somewhere inbetween. Unlike Forest Dragons, however, this appearance is not fixed by heredity, but rather shifts gradually according to where the Storm Dragon spends most time. A dark-hued "seeker in darkness" who spends a century on dry land will lighten in hue till he is indistinguishable from a "horizon breaker", and a century later in the same environment will appear as light as a true "cloud swimmer". In contrast, Storm Dragon eyes that vary in diametric opposition with their skin hue - a dark scaled dragon will have light blue eyes, and vice versa. Storm Dragons also vary anatomically from the other breeds in many other ways: all have gills on the side of their neck, allowing them their amphibious lives, and many also have fish-like fins and long dolphin-like faces. Male Storm Dragons do not have horns as such, but rather just a series of keratinous ridges in a crown around their temple.  
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With chaos-spawn, of course appearance is very different. Most are dragon-sized and wingless, often with extra limbs and heads, tentacles, multiple maws and many eyes. Some take on features of other creatures (such as mammalian hair, or a fishlike face).
 
 
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==Society and Culture==
 
==Society and Culture==
  
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The ''Ashen'' paint themselves as a noble and unified kingdom, but in truth the ''Ashen Kingdom'' is rife with internal intrigue, both between cabals and between individual dragons making powerplays at each others' expense. Alliances will form and be broken, enmities will form or be cast aside, and the ''Ashen'' will take this all in their stride.
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While the other breeds recognise that Storm Dragons of different ocean depths have different scale hue and titles, they do not often realise that each of the three demarcations (''Seeker in Darkness, Horizon Breaker and Cloud Swimmer'') represents an entirely different segment of Storm Dragon society.
  
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The only sense of unity they have comes from their pride in being ''Ashen'', and in their opposition to outsiders who seek to encroach on their domain. The Ashen as a whole hold the ''Hunter Dragons'' that share their lands in contempt as "relics of an outdated past", and see even the ''Ascendancy'' and the ''Alliance'' as "inflexible, and inferior in nature despite their greater strength."
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The ''Seekers in Darkness'' make up at least ninety percent of the Storm Dragon population, and consider themselves Storm Dragon society proper. They are militaristic, as suits a people at constant war, and driven by their duty to protect the ''Mother's Gift'' from the ''Outer Gods'' and their ''Kraken'' servants. Their deep ocean cities are built on a scale far larger than dry land settlements, but also tend to be far more thinly populated, with perhaps a thousand merfolk living alongside a dozen dragons in each city, when the same space above ground would house thirty thousand humans. The mortal and draconic inhabitants of this city alike are used to living under siege from the darkness beyond. Because noise travels so far underwater, and because stealth is part of an existence of warfare, most Seekers speak only rarely and quietly, earning the underwater realm the nickname of "The Domain of the Silent Cities."
  
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The ''Ashen'' have a multitude of cabals, organisations and power groups. However, these rarely have any true permanence or meaning and will come and go as the centuries pass. It is entirely usual for a single ''Ashen'' to swear "lifelong and undivided loyalty" to at least six different (and often opposed) power groups during his life, or to claim membership of an ancient bloodline or noble house that in truth has existed for less than a century. Each group of dragons is often more like a conspiracy with a joint agenda, where none trust the others but all are willing to use each other for greater gain.
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''Horizon Breakers'' account for about two percent of the population, but they are considered to be the Storm Dragons' point of communication to the other breeds. Other breeds might find it hard to believe that these tactiturn, quiet souls are considered to be the wildest and most vociferous members of society. They trade with the other breeds as necessary (particularly the Chimericals, who they have a long friendship with), usually seeking to acquire arcane knowledge and arms in exchange for the treasures and secrets of the sea.
  
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Naturally the draconic attitude echoes through to the mortal inhabitants of their lands. The Ashen Kingdom is one where the King may change anything up to two dozen times per century, with different mortal houses sponsored by different dragons seizing power and losing it as their fortunes wax and wane. Despite this, there is some illusory sense of continuity, with each new ruler claiming some sort of legitimacy to "inheriting the ancient title". Sometimes the dragons rule outright, sometimes they just advise, sometimes they merely share the land with the mortal king or kings. Regardless, the ''Ashen Kingdom'' is always the ''Ashen Kingdom'', even if ten mortals might claim ten different monarchs to be the "one true king".
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''Cloud Swimmers'', on the other hand, are not considered to be part of Storm Dragon society at all. Rather they are those who shirk the guardian duty that has been given to them. It is not in the nature of Storm Dragons to berate though, so for the most part the ''Cloud Swimmers'' are politely ignored and not spoken of, with the silent expectation that one day they will grow up and return to their duties. At that time nothing more will be said of that time, save perhaps obliquely as "your short sabbatical" or "my momentary lapse".  
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Another unifying factor for the ''Ashen'' is their reverence of a second god. While the ''Ashen'' revere and respect the Mother Goddess (who they call ''Mother Sky''), just as southern dragons do, they have also adpopted the idea of ''Father Earth'' as an equal deity. Sometimes cults dedicated to other gods come and go, for example worshipping a host of deities, or even revering ''Endless Night'', but the ''Ashen'' ultimately retain belief in their dual god and goddess, and prefer to take religion as a melting pot of experimental ideas rather than something to be followed with absolute dogma and conviction.
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==Lifepaths and the Storm Dragons==
  
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Finally, there is the place that Chaos-Spawn and the Senile Insane have in society. At sometimes they are regarded as a blessing, at others a terrible curse. Some will seek to use them as weapons, and others simply to put them out of their misery. Only one rule applies - the ''Ashen'' don't like to talk about them with outsiders. If anyone asks, they change the subject.
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As a militaristic society, the ''Seekers-in-Darkness'' have a large number of [[Age of Dragons: Warmaster|Warmasters]], though the nature of their war necessitates that they often work solo or in small groups for extended periods rather than in the battle-flights of other breeds. The primary military organisation is the ''Guardian Knights'' - a brotherhood of draconic knights driven by their code of duty of protection, and renowned for their bravery.
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==Lifepaths and the Ashen Dragons==
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A small number of [[Age of Dragons: Animist Adept|Animist Adepts]] support the ''Guardians'', though their emphasis on the military role often has them dubbed ''Guardian Summoners''. Likewise, ''Guardian Magi'' concentrate on the combat magic aspects of the [[Age of Dragons: Scholar-Sage|Scholar-Sage]] Lifepath. Its not uncommon for both Summoners and Magi to train as a Knight first.
  
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As suits their changing and experimental nature, it is almost unheard of for an Ashen Dragon to pursue just one lifepath. Most find that the necessity of defending their interests requires some time and training as a [[Age of Dragons: Warmaster|Warmaster]], and most find that experimentation with magic is easiest on the Lifepath of a [[Age of Dragons: Scholar-Sage|Scholar-Sage]]. Of course, the intrigues of the Bloodline Houses require some skill as an [[Age of Dragons: Ambassador-Courtier|Ambassador-Courtier]], there is enlightenment to be found in the mutable physicality of the [[Age of Dragons: Physical Adept|Physical Adept]], and even imitating the Hunter Breed as a [[Age of Dragons: Beast Unbound|Beast Unbound]] has its value. Almost any lifepath can be assumed by an Ashen Dragon, and they are open minded enough to copy the Lifepaths of other cultures as well, leading to some pursuing short stints as [[Age of Dragons: Demonbinder|Demonbinders]], [[Age of Dragons: Sarcomancer|Sarcomancers]], [[Age of Dragons: Animist Adept|Animist Adepts]] or [[Age of Dragons: Sky Dancer|Sky Dancers]].
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The ''Horizon-Breakers'' tend to be [[Age of Dragons: Ambassador-Courtier|Ambassador-Courtiers]] (dubbed the ''Voices of the Storm'') or infiltrating [[Age of Dragons: Physical Adept|Physical Adepts]] (dubbed ''Eyes of the Storm'') who use Polymorphing to spy invisibly on the rest of Dragonkind.
  
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Often the Ashen will mark the change into a new lifepath by joining a group of likeminded dragons. For example, one Ashen might join the ''Cabal of Changing Reflections'' to practise polymorphing, then later swear "unending" loyalty to ''the Society of Ashen Knights'' to learn warcraft, then attend ''the Courts of the Grey Circle'' to apply his new skills to the political arena. As already noted, these societies are always coming in and out of existence, with names and agenda every half century or so and no single group ever lasting more than a few hundred years at best.
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With ''Cloud-Swimmers'', societal roles tend to be abandoned in favour of whatever takes a dragon's individual fancy. With their inclination towards sophistry, many pursue the more academic aspects of the [[Age of Dragons: Scholar-Sage|Scholar-Sage]] Lifepath.
 
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==Outlook==
 
==Outlook==
  
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''Scion-of-Unchanging-Truth'', says he is of ''House Boneclaw'', and is ''Primarch of the Cabal of Dancing Knives'', but this may be as false as his name. This is what he claims to believe:
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''City-Swimmer'', a Horizon-Breaker and Eye of the Storm, shares his observations:
  
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* '''Pure Dragons''' - ''"Ah yes... we also revere Mother Sky, so we are kindred, you and I. Tell me, have you ever considered the other half of the creation myth?"''
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* '''Pure Dragons''' - ''"Their devotion to the Mother is admirable, though truly they should learn to act on their faith rather than just talk about it."''
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* '''Argent Dragons''' - ''"A fearsome bunch of soldiers to be sure, and so grim, so serious. Very admirable, I'm sure."''
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* '''Argent Dragons''' - ''"Brave soldiers - a shame they cannot join us in the Kraken wars."''
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* '''Solar Dragons''' - ''"Of course we will support your Alliance and sign your treaties! The Cabal is with you, my friend! What do you mean we reneged on the last treaty we signed? Well, we were hoping to renegotiate..."''
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* '''Solar Dragons''' - ''"They don't understand that we have greater concerns than a mere Dragonwar on the Mother's Gift. We have a deeper duty that cannot be abandoned."''
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* '''Hunter Dragons''' - ''"Stupid ferals, clinging to the "old ways". If your old ways are so superior, then remind me why it is that you are losing the war?"''
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* '''Hunter Dragons''' - ''"Their ways are so directionless, and so easy. I envy their freedom, but understand that I can never join them in their life of simplicity."''
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* '''Forest Dragons''' - ''"So interesting that they have subspecies of different sorts, eh? I wonder if that phenomenon can be manipulated somehow..."''
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* '''Forest Dragons''' - ''"The young are so joyful in their innocence. Little do they know how precarious their lifestyle and their world is."''
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* '''Storm Dragons''' - ''"Yes, yes, you go play in the sea. We'll deal with things up here."''
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* '''Ashen Dragons''' - ''"Claim dominion over your little domain if you will, Ashen Dragon, but you should never believe that is of any true consequence."''
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* '''Velvet Dragons''' - ''"Come in my dear, make yourself comfortable. I do like to collect things like you."''
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* '''Velvet Dragons''' - ''"I met one of their spies in Kalarn once, and we shared information. They can be dealt with, carefully."''
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* '''Chimerical Dragons''' - ''"Astonishing sorcerous prowess, and such wisdom! I do so admire them."''
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* '''Chimerical Dragons''' - ''"Our friends on the dream isles, and our greatest trading partners. More than any others, they understand us."''
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* '''Ghost Dragons''' - ''"Oh we sympathise, we do so much. But there's no room here in our little paradise, so move along, move along."''
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* '''Ghost Dragons''' - ''"They fear extinction and have reason to be frightened. What they do not recognise is who they should be fearing."''
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* '''Blood Dragons''' - ''"Best not to mock one of these, unless he doesn't realise you're mocking him. Which isn't hard, really."''
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* '''Blood Dragons''' - ''"Their ferocity would serve well in the Kraken war, but ultimately dragonflame counts for nothing in the deep ocean. They are insignificant."''
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* '''Sable Dragons''' - ''"Clever - damnably clever. Luckily, so are we."''
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* '''Sable Dragons''' - ''"We Storm Dragons fight to defend against demons from the deep, yet the Sables invite one to rule over them. It is a shame that we do not have the resources or time to fight this threat - Endless Night is but one demon amongst many."''
 
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[[Category:Age_of_Dragons]]
 
[[Category:Age_of_Dragons]]

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