Auryx

AURYX
^{the Hive King}

_{If a civilization cannot defend itself, it must be annihilated.
If a King cannot hold his power, he must be betrayed.
The worth of a thing can be determined only by one beautiful arbiter —
that thing’s ability to exist, to go on existing, to remake existence to suit its survival.}

Auryx is a philosopher King and leads the Hive.
She also goes by Oryx, meaning "long thought".

Auryx/Oryx is genderfluid and can change her/his gender at will.

_{Although born at the bottom of the universe, and taught to burrow, Oryx has grown wings.
The light of wildfire shines through them. Oryx teaches but will not be taught.}

Auryx grew up as an unknown ancient sub-species of wingless mirror with her 2 sisters, Savathun and Xivu Arath. As hatchlings, they were weak and desperate, for the Wasteland is merciless. Auryx observed some packs and species of Mirrors to be sucessful, other packs, like hers, languished and bordered on extinction, and hatchlings like her and her sisters, were the prey of all things.

Auryx thought about this carefully... and undertook a harrowing journey to the center of the Wyrmwounod, where she clawed and wriggled her way to an audience with the Plaguebringer, who offered her a pact. Desperation breads desperate measures. And so Auryx made herself and her sisters strong, through forging a pact with the Plague deity, becoming Oryx, where he agreed to live by the Plague-Logic in exchange for ancient powers, to constantly seek to evolve through suffering, always striving to be better, stronger, to become as one with death, to make a Flight that will never die, that will survive all things. The Perfect dragon.

_{You are no longer bound by causal closure. Your will defeats law.
Kill a hundred of your children with a long blade, Auryx, and observe the change in the blade.
Observe how the universe shrinks from you in terror.}

The Plaguebringer inflicted mutations upon Auryx, and she came out of it alive, transformed into the ancient and powerful Banescale. Along with massive power, magical and physical prowess, she also gained the ability to feed on death... but also the weakness of being hungry for death. Thus Oryx went on to form the Hive, a coven of dragons that would practice and carry out the Plague-Logic, a logic he has has spent years refining. His Hive would pay tribute to himself and the Plaguebringer by the deaths of the unworthy - or any dragon that fell to the Hive's work. The system would feed Auryx as well. A small price to pay, for strength and survival.

_{This is us, and our purpose is liberation,
our great task is the worship and admiration of freedom,
our great hunger is to pursue and eat that which is not free,
and to liberate it with devouring.}
Aiat. This is us, we the Hive.

The King would spend years refining her logic and expanding her Hive.
The core of Auryx's logic is "existence is the struggle to exist," and any dragon who cannot protect themselves against defeat should rightfully be destroyed by a more powerful force or entity. Each lesser Hive must prove itself to become greater, or die. Therefore, Auryx's Hive would spread plague, pestilence, and violence wherever they went, to test their own worthiness and the worthiness of others.

The goal? To force dragonkind to evolve into the Perfect shape, one that would survive to the end of things and beyond. To Auryx, this is a beautiful logic, a self-proving law, the natural, Right, way of things. And Oryx? He would be the King of Shapes.

_{Existence is the struggle to exist.
Only by playing that game to its final, unconditional victory
can we complete the universe.}

The lesser Hive look upon Oryx as almost a deity himself, for he is so powerful, and feeds on death. After her pact and transformation, Auryx has eventually lost the ability to differentiate emotions such as empathy, hate, and love. To attempt to kill is an act of love, to her. To inflict suffering is an act of kindness. To be killed (if anyone can kill her) is noble and fair.
Aiat: the only meaningful relationship is the attempt to destroy.

Oryx secretly harbors a desire to test and maybe kill the Plaguebringer herself, for this would follow his own Logic.

_{We’re the proof, sister, we the Hive:
if we last forever, we prove it,
and if something more ruthless conquers us,
well then the proof is sealed.}