Aurea

Vista: Imperial Dragons

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25000

Birthplace: Emperor's Wake
A fusion of the dessicated Imperial corpses foolishly left unburied, Luminax is the first risen Emperor to roam Sornieth in centuries. Within the chunks of dredged earth created by the monstrosity's march through the ruins, crafty adventurers and archaeologists brave enough to explore this dangerous and menacing area continue to uncover valuable relics and traces of civilizations past that might have taken years to find otherwise. None linger too long, though, keeping their eyes on the horizon for the trampling behemoth.

• "Prey flushed to the sky when they saw their doom. I shook my wings, torn and twisted; I couldn’t pursue."<- planning reconnaissance precision speed and flight seem to be the best ways to avoid the Emperor

Ancestry:

• Father: Light Imperial, Fire Coatl/Plague Imperial parents
• Mother: Light Pearlcatcher (via breed change scroll?) currently living in Cloudscrape Crags, Light Coatl/Fire Coatl parents still living in Moon Portal

Outfit Reference

• Mage's Ivory Bag ✔
• Gentle Healer's Reference ✔changed to Red Healer's Reference ✔
• Contrast Aviator Satchel ✔ changed to Crimson Aviator Satchel ✔
• Contrast Aviator Gloves✔
• Crimson Aviator Scarf✔
• Bronze Steampunk Goggles ✔
• Corsair's Seaspray Overcoat ⭕ temporary substitute is Mage's Cranberry Overcoat ✔
• Crimson Aviator Coat ✔
• Furious Leather Boots✔ changed to Crimson Rogue Footpads✔

Overview
The Imperial breed originated from The Beacon of the Radiant Eye, though the species seems conspicuously absent from its point of origin.

• A crumbled, but welcoming tower that resides on the eastern seaboard. From this cliff, the Lightweaver watches and waits for any dragon that may be making a trip across the sea. It is an important vantage point; she can survey the golden rolling hills speckled with ruins and redwoods, and see everywhere the light touches.

Physical Attributes
These giants are among the largest of the known dragons. Each Imperial possesses a long serpentine body, short forelegs, lanky hind legs, and an impressive pair of fringed leather wings. With the exception of their wings and inner ears, Imperials are covered in shining scales from snout to tail. Each wyrm boasts a coarse mane that must be trimmed regularly, and a pair of many-pronged antlers that are shed and consumed each season.

Imperials were Light's first children, an amalgamation of bone, blood, and the shed essence of the Lightweaver - excavated from ancient battle sites of the First Age. This reclaimed essence was a finite resource; no new Imperials have been shaped by the gods in a millennia, though the species has no difficulty replenishing its numbers. These dragons have incredibly unpredictable lifespans. Some individuals live only a decade, while others thrive for hundreds of years.


Social
Reserved with their words, these dragons are difficult to read with those who are not familiar with each individual. Though distant emotionally, Imperials throw themselves into their Flight's cherished professions with focus and devotion. Perfection of a craft is highly valued among their society.

The treatment of the sick and the burial rites among Imperial dragons are something of a mystery to other dragon species. What is known is that when another Imperial is grievously injured or has recently passed, healthy Imperials move the dead and dying far away from one another before leaving the territory themselves.

Lairs
Imperials prefer to associate with a only handful of their own kind at a time. Solitaries, pairs, and trios are the most common groupings of Imperial dragons to be found. This desire to distance themselves from their own kind does not extend to most other dragon species. They will freely lair with dragons of all shapes and sizes. The exception to this tolerance is the Pearlcatcher species; the two breeds have a mutual disdain of their cousin species. Imperials believe their creator has replaced them, while Pearlcatchers are conscious of the fact that their patron did not create them with the grandeur of scale of their predecessors.


Tactics
Though they are physically capable maintaining flight for weeks on end, Imperials are not as maneuverable as many smaller species, and are vulnerable in aerial combat. They will attempt to swat, grab, and drive their opponents to the ground where Imperials may better use their strength and magic against them.

Emperors
Emperor dragons are danger on a battlefield where many Imperials have fallen. These ghastly behemoths are a mindless monstrosity, fused from the bodies of fallen Imperials with some specimens known to have reached over 100 meters in length. They may possess up to 11 heads - the larger the emperor, the more heads it will possess. Each head is capable of wielding the element of the dragon that spawned it. These monsters destroy without thought and absorb elemental energy from the creatures and landscape surrounding it. Emperors are not to be trifled with. It may take the combined efforts of many clans to bring down an aberration of this magnitude; these dangerous opponents are one of the few creatures that may draw the gods from their shrines and onto a battlefield.



Can Light Dragons use Light magic for archeology? X-rays are a form of light, and the tech level in Sornieth is supposed to be "typically on the level of 1920s electricity, steam, and machine innovations with a distinct fantasy bent", so, maybe?

From Wikipedia: Paleoradiology (ancient radiology) is the study of archaeological remains through the use of radiographic techniques, such as X-ray, CT (computer tomography) and micro-CT scans.[1] It is predominately used by archaeologists and anthropologists to examine mummified remains due to its non-invasive nature.[2] Paleoradiologists can discover post-mortem damage to the body, or any artefacts buried with them, while still keeping the remains intact. Radiological images can also contribute evidence about the person's life, such as their age and cause of death. The first recorded use of paleoradiology (although not by that name) was in 1896, just a year after the Rōntgen radiograph was first produced.[3] Although this method of viewing ancient remains is advantageous due to its non-invasive manner, many radiologists lack expertise in archeology and very few radiologists can identify ancient diseases which may be present.[4]