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==The Dying and the Dead== | ==The Dying and the Dead== | ||
− | Appropriately, for the draconic firstborn of the season of Death, the | + | Appropriately, for the draconic firstborn of the season of Death, the Ghost Dragons are entirely obsessed with their mortality. |
− | They were never numerous - even with their strong Pneuma most found that the | + | They were never numerous - even with their strong Pneuma most found that the Birthing Sickness was too high a price to pay for the privlege of offspring. When the Ascendancy started hunting the Ghosts, their numbers dwindled further, and the desperate flight south has claimed its toll of casualties as well. |
− | Now they are told that ''Endless Night'' has declared their future extinction - they have only four hundred and | + | Now they are told that ''Endless Night'' has declared their future extinction - they have only four hundred and forty four years before the dreaded ''Prophecy Clock'' runs out. They are all going to die - few can deny the certainty of this - the only question is how they will choose to face their fate. |
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===Sphere Ratings=== | ===Sphere Ratings=== | ||
− | *'''Soma | + | * '''Soma 3''' |
− | *''' | + | * '''Sophis 4''' |
− | *'''Pneuma | + | * '''Pneuma 5''' |
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===Birthrights=== | ===Birthrights=== | ||
− | '''Deathsight''' - | + | '''Deathsight''' - Ghost Dragons can visualise the energy they call ''Deathforce'', which flows into the world from the Endless Void, and surrounds that which is touched by death. With Ghostsight they can instantly identify if someone is dying, if a creature is alive or dead (or undead), can detect even the most subtle of necromantic magics and can determine to the nearest year how old any creature is, and to the nearest five years how much longer they would likely survive if death from old age or ordinary disease were to take them. |
− | '''Voidtongue''' - Undead, elemental creatures of death energy and (rare) ghosts typically do not communicate in mortal fashion, instead simply moaning and wailing. When these entities do speak they speak ''Voidtongue'', the | + | '''Voidtongue''' - Undead, elemental creatures of death energy and (rare) ghosts typically do not communicate in mortal fashion, instead simply moaning and wailing. When these entities do speak they speak ''Voidtongue'', the language of the nothingness beyond. This language cannot be learnt even by the most scholarly linguist, but Ghost Dragons can understand and speak it intuitively. |
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− | + | ===Breed Weakness=== | |
− | + | '''Masque of Disquiet''' - Ghost Dragons make for disturbing and unpleasant company. Their voices seem soft, but also seem to cause others to feel uncomfortable. Their physical forms seem basically normal (if unhealthy), but there is something oddly wrong about the way they move. Ghost Dragons are at -2 dice to any positive social checks (i.e. not including intimidation and attempts to cause fear or discomfort). When interacting with Life-aligned Dragons, or with any non-Dragon living creature, this increases to -4 dice. When dealing with other Ghosts, undead or any other creature that speaks ''Voidtongue'', this penalty is waived. | |
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==Society and Culture== | ==Society and Culture== | ||
− | + | The Ashen paint themselves as a noble and unified kingdom, but in truth the ''Ashen Kingdom'' is rife with internal intrigue, both between the Bloodline Houses 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. | |
− | + | The onyl 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 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." | |
− | + | 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, and not even unheard of for an Ashen Dragon to change his Bloodline House (usually through the intrigues of marriage and rededications). 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. | |
− | + | Naturally the draconic attitude echoes through to the mortal inhabitants of their lands. The Ashen Kingdom is one where the King may change anything from five times 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, this is always the Ashen Kingdom, or the Ashen Kingdoms. | |
− | + | 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 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. | |
− | + | 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 talk about them with outsiders. If anyone asks, they change the subject. | |
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− | ==Lifepaths and the | + | ==Lifepaths and the Ashen Dragons== |
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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 not so stupid as to fail 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]]. | |
− | + | 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 Broken Reflections'' to learn about 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 skills to the political arena. As already noted, these societies are always coming in and out of existence, and any that does persist often does so by changing its name and agenda every half century or so. | |
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==Outlook== | ==Outlook== | ||
− | '' | + | ''Scion-of-Unchanging-Truth'', says he is of House Boneclaw, and of the Cabal of Fractured Reflections, but this may be as inaccurate as his name. He may be lying when he tells you what he thinks: |
− | * '''Pure Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''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?"'' |
− | * '''Argent Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Argent Dragons''' - ''"A fearsome bunch of soldiers to be sure, and so grim, so serious. Very admirable, I'm sure."'' |
− | * '''Solar Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''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..."'' |
− | * '''Hunter Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Hunter Dragons''' - ''"Stupid ferals, clinging to the "old ways". If your old ways are so great, remind me why you're losing our little war?"'' |
− | * '''Forest Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Forest Dragons''' - ''"So interesting that they have subspecies of different sorts, eh? I wonder if that phenomenon can be manipulated somehow..."'' |
− | * '''Storm Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Storm Dragons''' - ''"Yes, yes, you go play in the sea. We'll deal with things up here."'' |
− | * ''' | + | * '''Velvet Dragons''' - ''"Come in my dear, make yourself comfortable. I do like to collect things like you."'' |
− | * ''' | + | * '''Chimerical Dragons''' - ''"Astonishing sorcerous prowess, and such wisdom! I do so admire them."'' |
− | * ''' | + | * '''Ghost Dragons''' - ''"Oh we sympathise, we do so much. But there's no room here in our little paradise, so move along, move along."'' |
− | * '''Blood Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Blood Dragons''' - ''"Best not to mock one of these, unless he doesn't realise you're mocking him. Which isn't hard, really."'' |
− | * '''Sable Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Sable Dragons''' - ''"Clever - damnably clever. Luckily, so are we."'' |
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− | [[Category:Age_of_Dragons | + | [[Category:Age_of_Dragons]] |