THE FIRST
A white glow emanates from an Imperial hatchling's wide eyes, illuminating the evening with an eerie light. The child's parents lay her down in the soft nest and back away quickly, fearful of this show of power. The child is silent, and with the light of her eyes providing just enough visibility, her parents watch in awe and terror as white streaks slash through the soft yellow scales around her eyes.
Her face, followed by her whole body, bleaches out to a shimmering white color. The night is bathed in sunlight as her eyes change to a deep golden hue that spreads shining yellow across her wings. Her eyes then fade to a rich blue that weaves patterns across her face and body like a spider creating its elegant web.
Far away, a teenage Coatl watches her olive green scales darken to black through eyes that soon turn crimson red.
SCIONS
A cross-flight and cross-breed subspecies, Scions are the result of a poorly-understood force in the world of Sornieth. Those who have devoted their lives to researching this force call it Foresight among other, less common, names.
Foresight exists as what appears to be a form of energy present in the bodies of all sapient creatures. Under normal circumstances, Foresight serves merely as a function of the brain, and can only be detected situationally, as the only equipment that could scientifically register its presence was destroyed in a fire long ago (quite a shame that nobody Foresaw that particular incident). However, before the equipment was destroyed, scientists in the Shifting Expanse were able to measure increased levels of Foresight in a Scionated dragon.
There are two major schools of thought regarding the nature of Foresight: one theory is that the energy itself is a sapient force that selects particular dragons to be its representatives and grants them more access to Foresight. The other is that it's simply a form of energy that some dragons, these Scions, happen to have more of.
Though no researchers have ever been able to induce or even record a transformation, described above, they have compiled a thorough report from eyewitnesses and the testimonies of Scions themselves.
CREATION
Scions are primarily regular dragons that experience a sudden burst of power from within them. This occurrence, referred to as Scionation by the research community and a Glimpse by the Scions themselves, starts with glowing eyes much brighter than that Glowing eye type. This glow progresses through multiple colors, which are either white-gold-blue or red-black, typically in those orders (see further down for exceptions). Each eye color changes parts of a dragon's color scheme until they fit one of the color sequences that define a Scion.
According to firsthand testimonies by Scions, the Glimpse is accompanied by a feeling of either excited anticipation or dread. These feelings are reported to be VERY distinguishable from each other.
Anywhere from six to seventeen days later, an event will happen, without exception. The event following the creation of a black-red Scion will be of a negative nature. The event following the creation of a white-gold-blue Scion will be of a positive nature. Researchers have yet to connect these occurrences to Foresight, but are working diligently to do so.
APPEARANCE
Scions, as stated previously, come in two opposite varieties, nicknamed Premonitions and Portents.
Premonitions are of the white-gold-blue color scheme, with specific color ranges listed below. Their creations foretell positive events.
Antique-Moon/Goldenrod-Saffron (or Maize)/Sapphire-Turquoise
Any Primary/Any Secondary/Any Tertiary besides Stained
OR
Antique-Moon/Sapphire-Turquoise/Goldenrod-Saffron (or Maize)
Any Primary/Any Secondary/Any Tertiary besides Stained
Though most any combination of genes is theoretically possible in a Premonition, the creation mechanism seems to favor primary genes with minimal color fluctuation and tertiary genes that lightly pattern the body, such as Filigree and Runes, rather than those that significantly alter certain areas, such as Capsule and Glimmer. However, this is not to say that there are no Premonitions with the latter genes. There are none with the Stained gene, likely because it only tints the body blue, rather than existing as a separate block of color.
Portents, red and black Scions that predict negative events, have more variation in their color schemes. A small majority of Portents are red-black-red, but there also exist Inverted Portents that are black-red-red.
Tomato-Carmine/Lead-Midnight/Tomato-Carmine
Any Primary/Any Secondary/Any Tertiary (besides Stained)
OR
Lead-Midnight/Tomato-Carmine/Tomato-Carmine
Any Primary/Any Secondary/Any Tertiary besides Stained
Though Scions with eye types other than Common-Rare have only been theorized, researchers have hypothesized what effects the rarer eye types would have on Scions:
Common, Uncommon, Unusual, Rare
These eye types would have no effects on the abilities of the Scion, as they are the default types, which all Scions that currently exist have.
|
Dark Sclera
A Scion with the Dark Sclera eye type would likely have greatly improved vision, both in the day and at night. |
Faceted
Faceted eyes in other subspecies' of dragons seem to suggest a more insect-like nature. Therefore, the telepathy ability in a Scion with this eye type may be stronger and more insistent than usual. |
Glowing
After the initial Glimpse/Scionation, it could be possible for the glowing eyes to persist in the usual color of the dragon's flight. This would likely signify a general increase in power. |
Goat
Goat eyes are a bit of a wild card, but one brave researcher ventured to guess that Scions with this eye type could have an easier time bonding with peers...or maybe that they could fall over when startled. |
Multi-Gaze
Multi-Gaze eyes' effects depend on whether the eyes are functional or not. Functional extra eyes provide an obvious ability to see in 360 degrees, but come with the worrying side effect of the Scion's brain possibly not being able to keep p with the extra input. Non-functional eye structures would suggest an even stronger presence of Foresight and better future-telling abilities. |
Primal
Primal eyes would almost certainly suggest a massive power boost for every one of a Scion's already-existing abilities, and possibly a direct connection to Foresight itself. |
Swirl
The main hypothesis regarding Swirl eyes is that they would provide the Scion with a hypnotic ability. |
OFFSPRING
Scions are perfectly capable of having children with each other and with Non-Scions. These children are unique in that they have the possibilities both of not being a Scion or of hatching already Scionated. These offspring should be documented for further research (see below for registry information).
The son of a Scion and a Non-Scion. His tertiary color disqualifies him from being a full Scion.
The son of a Scion and a Non-Scion. His tertiary color disqualifies him from being a full Scion.
NATURE
Scions often have difficulties in connecting with other dragons, especially if they experience their Glimpse at a young age. The change seems to affect their social interactions with other dragons (though they seem to have no trouble bonding with Familiars). Additionally. other dragons tend to fear, or at least keep their distance from, Scions due to misconceptions that they cause the events that they predict. This is especially true of Portents.
Scions often possess abilities that ordinary dragons do not have, the most prominent of which is a supernatural sense for detecting danger. Other recorded abilities include:
- Hyper-intelligence
- Limited telepathy
- Extreme flight speed
- Electrical interference
- The ability to touch one's tail to their nose (likely a simple physical quirk unrelated to Scionation, but worth noting)
Overall, Scions don't appear to be any more predisposed to malice than any other dragon, and every individual we have interviewed has expressed a desire to be treated as normally as possible.
SALES
A separate sales page by the discoverers of the Scion subspecies, @transitofvenus and @OneThousandBees exists here! If you wish to become a recognized breeder or affiliate, message either user.
REGISTRY
If a Scion that fits the color and gene requirements lives in your lair, we recommend registering them by messaging @transitofvenus. Registered Scions and their children are welcome to the following badges, though more specific badges for children will become available later:
Badges wrote:
SCION SUBSPECIES LORE PAGE
“No one has ever enjoyed reading, OR WRITING, an academic paper...why’d you put it in a video game???” -BDG
“No one has ever enjoyed reading, OR WRITING, an academic paper...why’d you put it in a video game???” -BDG