Editing Age of Dragons: Sable Dragons

The Twelfth-born of the Goddess were her killers. The birth of their breed's progenitor ended the Mother Goddess, and since then the Sables have named themselves the ''Enders''.

The Sables see that Creation itself is doomed to this same fate, and accept as inevitable that Dragonkind will die. They recognise also that even they cannot escape the ultimate nullification of all things, but by changing into something greater than Dragons they suspect that they can outlive the rest of their species.

Thus there is the central paradox to Sable existence - they recognise the Omega in all things and they know that to struggle to survive is futile, but at the same time they try to deny death. They see the darkness of empty eternity, but they hope to master it.

*'''Soma 50'''

*'''Sophia 60'''

*'''Pneuma 40'''

'''Force of Will''' - Sable Dragons have great reserves of willpower and powerful intellects. They gain +5 to their starting and maximum ''Mental Energy''.

'''Dispassion''' - The ''Cold Souls'' flaw, as described below, has its advantages. Sable Dragons cannot be seduced, are immune to sexual wiles, and resistant to being befriended.  

'''Cold Souls''' - The void has infected the souls of the Sable breed, deadening their hearts. They are unable to fall in love, and are unable to feel lust or sexual desire. Even friendship comes very hard to them.  

'''The Empty Womb''' - When a female Sable dragon lays a batch of eggs, there is a 1 in 6 chance that the eggs will be empty of life, filled only with inky viscous liquid. Even with these stillborn broods, the ''Birthing Sickness'' still occurs - a double tragedy for the parents.

'''Sable Dragons''' seem like the negative image of the Pure Dragons, with their scales coloured as the deep black of night, as well as having jet-black eyes and gleaming black long straight horns. Like the Pure Dragons they have considerable uniformity of appearance, though part of this lies in that it is difficult to distinguish facial features with the depth of their skin hue. Sables have an undeniably regal appearance - they move and act as if it is their natural right to rule. Other breeds find them somewhat intimidating, and a little cold and distant, but cannot help but acknowledge their sheer force of presence.

Before ''Endless Night'' the Sable Dragons were a scattered and paranoid people, with individuals hiding away deep in isolated lairs, fearful of their neighbours. They would sometimes build small kingdoms within the lands of the North, but only so as to protect them from the world beyond. As Sables are so engaged in protecting their own survival, the idea of sacrificing pneuma to create children was always a little odd to most, so the Sables were of lower numbers than most. Still, Sables would occasionally meet, and were no less prone to falling in love than any other breed, so new generations were born, albeit in small numbers.

When ''Endless Night'' arrived, he unified his Breed, using his blood connections to track down all his errant descendants and to dominate them psychically. The Sables were forced into close proximity with other Breeds and each other, and established as the heart of the new Ascendancy. The Empire of Night is now their Empire, and none are so foolish as to think they can fight their progenitor.

Despite their newfound power, Sables are still somewhat uncomfortable in being exposed to view, so still tend to lair in deep caverns. They prefer by far to lead from the back, so few within or outside the Ascendancy will ever see them. They may be masters of their empire, but they maintain an air of mystery by existing unseen for the most part.

Sable Dragons tend towards mental rather than physical pursuits, and ave a strong affinity for death magic. Most will study as [[Age of Dragons: Demonbinder|Demonbinders]] or [[Age of Dragons: Scholar-Sage|Scholar-Sages]], operating under the blanket title of ''Necropotents''.

A more recent phenonomenon (though a growing one) is the Lifepath of the [[Age of Dragons: Ascendant of Shadow|Ascendant of Shadow]]. These Sables Dragons follow the belief in ''Shadow Apotheosis'', believing that they can escape mortality by transforming their bodies into Voidshadow, just as ''Endless Night'' has done so.  

Finally, weaker Sables may be coerced into becoming [[Age of Dragons: Fecund Breeder|Fecund Breeders]]. Although pursuit of this lifepath runs against every Sable instinct, it is not uncommon for a young Sable to being forced into this lifepath by his elders "for the good of the species".