Passerinde's Clan

Location

The pink, magic-infused stone of the Crystalspire Reaches has been mined for millennia, countless plinths of crystal sent to the Arcanist's Observatory in tribute to their patron god. Carving deep into the rock with spell and claw alike and leaving behind gaping caverns and hollows, a multitude of clans throughout the ages have made here their literal mark on the world.

One such cavern stood alone and empty for many years, its mouth gaping at the turbulent sea. It is large enough to hold several Guardians and perhaps an Imperial or two comfortably inside its smooth pink walls, though time had taken its toll despite its grandeur: in most places, wafer-thin flakes of crystal peeled off and fluttered to the ground, and along the walls and ceiling there were impurities of red-gold-blue caused by the presence of magic.

The biggest sign of this, however, would certainly have had to been the crack that yawned at the back of the place. If one were to check (and, until fairly recently, the dragons intrepid enough to find the cave, much less explore its obscure corners, were few and far in between), they would have seen pink stone parting to reveal a passageway down into the depths of the spire itself, where the narrow trail slowly widened into a hollow spot in the middle almost as big as the area above.

This was the state of the cavern until Zavist and Tristesse came along, as either of them will tell you. The founders, though not leaders, of the clan had met on the pebbly bit of land at the base of the mountain; seeking shelter from the hot summer sun, had looked up and saw a sudden crescent of darkness unmissable against the light-coloured rock. The recovering Fae on his back, they flew upwards, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Nowadays, the cave, even with its flaking walls and messy colours, is nevertheless full of energy, both from the magic in the air and just the general hustle and bustle of clan life. The underground chamber (or rather chambers, divided by walls of crystal cut from the top of the peak) now acts as the location of Zavist's den, the infirmary, and the clan's modest treasure hoard. A few spheres of golden amber can also be seen clinging above the entrance of the Tundra's personal quarters, which is where his mate sleeps and perennially makes adjustments and extentions to her own den.

Above, meanwhile, is just as busy as below. Just beside the tunnel that leads below is the resting place of the clan leader, Arger, whose vow to protect Zavist and Tristesse led her to construct her nest there. She of course extended that vow to the entire clan even before proper leadership had been assigned to her, as shown by the fact that everyone else's nests, with the exception of Zorion's, stays behind her, shielded from the entrance by her massive body. As for the Nocturne, his own nest is above the entrance, curved by magic and carved by claw to hide it while making it look mostly like a natural formation in the crystal; though he no longer resents his fellow Attuned as much as he used to, old habits indeed die hard.

Along the wall facing the nests is the kitchen and dining area, one separated from the other by a long but low plinth of mined stone left there by whoever mined it out in the first place. On the side nearest the wall, in a crevice created when Zorion crashed headfirst into a weak part of the rock, lie the food stores, organised neatly into the four main food groups along with several herbs and spices. On the side farthest the wall is where, after a long day, the clan sit by the cooking fire--except, for some reason, the clan leader, who prefers the cool to warmth and her meat raw.

Essentially, the premise of the clan is this: they are a ragtag bunch of young misfits/exiles who, thanks to the power of radiation the latent magic in the Starfall Isles that's seeped into them, as they have lived there their whole lives, all have one thing in common: when they are under the influence of a particular emotion or feeling, their innate pool of magic flares up and allows them to gain several abilities, some passive and some active.

The emotion they are fueled by is based on a large event in their life--a 'core memory', if you will.

Questions! (thanks to cherryy and Awrya)

1. What does your lair look like? Why does it look like that? How long did it take to build, and why did your dragons choose to build it like that?

As there are no 'repeats' species-wise (for now), their lair is a bit of a mess; the first pair, Tristesse and Zavist, live together, the latter in the den itself, a surprisingly spacious underground cavern, and the former in a roost near the entrance of said den spun out of golden amber. This is reached by a crack at the back of a giant cave/crevice in the Reaches, where some long-forgotten clan had mined deep into a curved spire to send crystal to the Arcanist. The third to join, Arger, made her home in the large cavern aboveground after minor modifications, though she plans to create a skylight of some sort. The fourth, a precocious young Skydancer named Metus, sleeps with Arger in her nest, though he insists that he'll move out any day now. For now, though, he festoons her nest with pretty trinkets and baubles he finds.

The fifth, Zorion, sleeps in a cleft above the entrance, his nest cleverly hidden using magic to bend the crystal inwards while also making it seem like a natural formation. Finally, the sixth, Sadama, prefers to sleep out in the open, making her nest just outside the crevice.

2. Who is your leader(s), and why were they chosen? What's special about them that no other dragon has?

The Clan is currently a leaderless one, though most decisions go through Arger, who is the kindest and most level-headed of the group--ironic, considering her fueled emotion is anger. When she's not there, though, as her charge is the Starwood Strand (though the clan uses it as an opportunity to hunt and forage there), they turn to the oldest one of the group (though not by much), Zorion. Though the Nocturne is quite an unreluctant leader, and usually one to mope about and complain, he is quite wise for his age, insight gained from all the dragons he's copied and places he's seen.

3. What does your clan think of exiled dragons that want to join? Are they skeptical, or do they open newcomers with open arms?

Since all of them are forgotten or exiled themselves, they're pretty lax with dragons joining. Each one has to carry their own weight, however--even little Metus does oddjobs around camp. As they are well-hidden, though, coming across exiled dragons, much less those who wish to join them, is quite rare indeed. It seems, however, that dragons with powers like theirs are drawn together for some reason...

4. How old is your clan? How did it come to be created? If it is young, how are your dragons surviving? Are they struggling, or thriving?

The clan is quite young, created slowly over time; at first it was just Tristesse and Zavist, then they saved Arger from a fire that hit the Starwood Strand, then they came across a terrified Metus, then Zorion came along, exiled from his clan for his newfound power, then Sadama came.

5. Are roles assigned to dragons when they are born, do the dragons choose roles, or is your clan too young to have an organised system? Explain in detail if you can.

Way too young to have an organized system, but the following is the pattern they've fallen into:

Oddjobs: Metus
Hunters/Foragers: Arger, Zorion, Tristesse, Zavist
Cooks: Zavist, Sadama
Magic-users: Tristesse, Zorion
Guards: Sadama, Arger, Zorion
Healer: Sadama

6. Are your dragons fighters? Is it canon lore for your lair to be known to scour the Coliseum? If not, what is your clan's opinion on fighting?

Well, it's canon that they frequently hunt their territory, as well as the Starwood Strand, to survive. Some of the clan is, some aren't, though all know how to defend themselves. The first thing they agreed on when they realized they had become a clan was that they don't try to provoke others.

7. Do you have any Beastclans members, possibly as familiars, living among the dragons? If not, what is your clan's view on the Beastclans, and future Beastclan exiles wanting to join their ranks?

None at the moment; the Clan can't support any extra mouths to feed, anyhow. Tristesse and Metus think they're cool (except Metus hates Clouddancers), Arger is suspicious of them, as they were thought to be the ones to start the fire that became her 'core memory' (whether its true or not is something I haven't decided on yet), Zavist and Sadama don't care either way (though they express it differently, with Sadama being rather bored with it all and Zavist being slightly more cheerful), and Zorion demurs his opinion (though he is admittedly wary of them).

8. Is the clan loyal to the Arcanist (your deity)? What's their opinion of him? If you really want to, you could give a quote from each dragon important to the lore, and the quote could include their opinion of the Arcanist.

Their opinion on the Arcanist is simple: whatever happened to them that made them like this, he probably has the answer. Too bad he stays cooped up in his observatory...

Tristesse: (in the typical fae monotone) "Oh, the Arcanist? He's cool, I guess. I wish he knew how to fix us, though!"
Zavist: The Arcanist...you can smell the guy from here, radiating nothing but power power power.
Arger: The Arcanist is our father, and I will always respect him for that--however, what I do is no business of his, and vice versa.
Metus: Oh yeah, the Arcanist. I could totally read him and kick his hind!
Zorion: The Arcanist is a dragon after my own heart--or, perhaps more appropriately, I am after his.
Sadama: Eh. He creates the Faes and goes up to hide in his Observatory--that's all I know, or care about.

9. What is each of the dragons' fuelling emotion, their core memory, and the effects it has?

Tristesse: Sadness -- her colony, the only home she'd known, falling into the sea -- speed of casting greatly decreased, but slightly more durable, and is much more sensitive to the laylines (and therefore being able to grab more energy from them at a time).

Zavist: Envy -- a stranger 'stole' the mate he had an eye on for a long time -- breath attacks greatly increase in range, smouldering/fire/wounds caused by it last longer

Arger: Anger -- unable to protect the Starwood Strand, her charge, from a fire possibly caused by the Beastclans -- more erratic movements, great increase in power, claws are imbued passively by Arcane magic despite her age

Metus: Fear -- his parents were killed by Clouddancers right in front of him -- temperature decrease around him, more sensitive to magic use (can distinctly tell magic-users apart, as well as how long ago the magic was used)

Zorion: Happiness -- his poems were accepted and heralded in his original clan -- imitations become near-perfect, speed increases greatly, passive letting off of magical energy (can be destructive)

Sadama: Shock -- she miscarried her first clutch of eggs/all of the eggs died -- Lets out a passive magic field that numbs all that come into it, and briefly paralyses all those who touch her when she's at 35% health or less

10. The clan is fueled by emotions; how does it impact the everyday lives of your dragons?

Their personalities/the usual way they act is, at least outwardly, opposing to the emotion that fuels them. So Tristesse is rather bubbly, Zorion is a quiet grump, etc. However, every once in a while they feel a sort of pull to their tied emotion; for example, when Arger is put in a situation where she can feel, say, angry, she feels the urge to get angry overpower all of the other emotions she could show, even if it's opposing to her mind/personality of being kind and a peacemaker. But, of course that would be if there's a chance they'd feel that emotion at all; for example, Metus, being young and foolhardy, rarely even thinks of being scared...at least for now. He is a hatchling, after all.

11. How does it feel?

They live normally for the most part, except for the pull that they experience towards their tied emotions. If they try to fight against the pull, they feel emotionally drained, though.

12. Do they seek it out or are they more intimately linked to the particular emotions in others?

They can sense the emotion they are tied to much better in others, yes.

13. Does this have something to do with why they are fully one colour?

Yes, actually, at least in meta; in canon, I'm debating whether or not they woke up like that (when the core memory is gotten for the first time, their innate magic/'gene' that made them susceptible to this mutation in the first place reacts with the associated emotion and the magic surrounding them (both in the air, cause this is the Starfall Isles, and in the laylines below them) and makes them blackout from emotional/sensory overload), turned into a different color from the magic, or if they just happen to be coloured like that. What do you think?

14. How does this affect your dragons when interacting with other clans, flights or even beastclans?

I have the list of what each dragon experiences when their mutation is activated on my clan page, but yeah, they can feel the emotions even with Beastclans. As a result of generally being seen/thinking of themselves as freaks, they're a reclusive group, preferring to stay and build their Clan until they can perhaps someday get 'fixed'.

List of basic stuff about dergs

Tristesse - Sadness. Cheerful, sunny Archmage of the group--though you can't really tell, since she's a Fae. Mates with Zav.
Zavist - Envy. A laidback, beach dude healer. Mates with Tris.
Arger - Anger. A motherly, even-tempered leader.
Metus - Fear. A bratty, loud, foolishly brave young dragon with an eye for designs and pleasing patterns; this leads him along the path of outfitting the whole clan.
Zorion - Happiness. A grumpy, laconic true artiste and occasional scribe.
Sadama - Shock/Surprise. An apathetic, sarcastic guard. Mates with Rusine.
Saudade - Untranslatable into English, though it's usually phrased as 'a deep longing for something you can't come back to.' A determined, though clumsy, amnesiatic diplomat/spymaster.
Talarkhal - Gratitude. No powers. Taken in as a hatchling from an all-Imperial clan as a sign of friendship and goodwill. Follows Rusine a lot, wanting to follow the latter in the ways of recording. Soft-hearted and soft-skinned.
Taoyan - Hate. A gentle, polite, mild-mannered beastmaster and animal tender.
Caru - Love. A quiet (even more than Rio), efficient hunter and killer with a love for battle. Mates with Elpida.
Elpida - Hope. An emo teen who never grew up, mixed with some arthouse beatnik tendencies; this coalesces into quite a whiner. Scout.
Shajaea - Courage. A cowardly, timid seamstress and jeweler, among other things. In other words, extremely gifted in the fine arts, except writing.
Rusine - Shame. A casanova with the skill and looks to sort of back up his claims. His main love until he came to the group, though, was Lady History. Loremaster and teacher to hatchlings. Mates with Sadama.
Scandal - Son of Rusine and Sadama, nestmate with Etonner. No powers. A lazy but gifted gardener and gatherer who really likes smoking manaweed.
Etonner - Daughter of Rusine and Sadama, nestmate with Scandal. No powers. A curious, rather naive messenger and town crier.
Zhalko - Pity. A showman of the magical arts who looks out primarily for #1--the joke being that he thinks he's #1.
Hypnos - The god of sleep and dreams. A mute Fae from the Southern Icefields, nursed back to health and allowed to join. The best bugcatcher in the group. Though only Tris, Zavist, Saudade, and Tal can understand him properly, they assure the others he is a very sober, thoughtful individual.
Asco - Disgust. A nightmare fetishist who quite enjoys studying pathogens. The scientist of the group--the only one who can keep up with him when he gets his words going is Rus, and only until Asco realizes he's talking to a SOCIAL sicentist