Erstad

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LORE and ORIGINS

SOULBEARERS are dragons who, willingly or involuntarily, now share their bodies with a Lost Soul. The presence of the Lost Soul changes the dragon who houses it, darkening their hide and wings and noticeably deforming the flesh. These deformations may resemble jagged tears or patches of crystal, spines or other protrusions, or more mystical effects like a glowing skeleton or luminous runes.

The identity of the Lost Soul is unique to each Soulbearer. A Lost Soul may be a dragon who died a traumatic death and seeks justice, a curious fey spirit who wanted to experience life in a flesh-and-blood form, a wild arcane familiar unbound from its summoner, the keening ghost of a murdered Beastclan member, a demonic creature bent on destruction, or an emissary of the dragon gods come to offer guidance through union with a living dragon. Soulbearers may find camaraderie and solidarity in those who bear similar Lost Souls to their own, but even those bearing very different Lost Souls still display similar visual cues of such a possession.

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TYPES of SOULBEARERS

STANDARD: Bar/Daub, Falcon/Peregrine, Giraffe/Hex, Jaguar/Rosette, Laced/Edged, Leopard/Clouded, Lionfish/Noxtide, Petals/Butterfly, Python/Morph, Ripple/Current, Savannah/Safari, Speckle/Freckle, Swirl/Marbled, Tapir/Striation, Tiger/Stripes, Eye Spots, Marble/Mottle, Phantom/Spirit, Ragged/Tear, Shaggy/Streak, Shell/Web, Sphinxmoth/Hawkmoth
-- These are the dragon's natural markings. They usually have been darkened or shadowed, but the pattern remains intact.

MARKED: Skink/Spinner, Pinstripe/Trail, Poison/Toxin, Cherub/Seraph, Jupiter/Saturn, Mosaic/Breakup, Clown, Vipera/Hypnotic, Bright/Vivid, Arc/Loop, Candycane/Sugarplum, Chevron/Arrow
-- The dragon's natural markings have been transformed into something stranger and often more intensely colored.

WIPED: Fade/Blend, Iridescent/Shimmer, Paint/Piebald, Basic/Basic
-- The dragon's natural markings have been removed, leaving only a single color behind, which may or may not form a gradient across the dragon's body, or patches of blank white where color once was.

HARDENED: Crystal/Facet, Metallic/Alloy, Wasp/Bee
-- The dragon's exterior hide has changed to varying extents into a crystaline or stone-like surface, a metallic gloss, or a carapace-like segmentation.

SOFTENED: Slime/Sludge, Stitched/Patchwork
-- The dragon's scales, feathers, and/or fur have been reduced in size and number or removed entirely, resulting in a bare-skinned dragon--or, worse, one constantly oozing with unnatural oils--or, strangest of all, one whose hide has become cloth-like and sewn together as though a mismatched quilt.

STOLEN: Starmap/Constellation
-- The dragon's natural markings and hide texture have been replaced with what looks like the reflection of a starry night sky, as though seen from the surface of a still pond. The star-like markings on their bodies emit a faint luminance, and the constellations seem to shimmer and move independently of the dragon.

HYBRIDS: If a dragon displays the primary gene of one non-standard type and the secondary gene of another non-standard type, they are considered a hybrid. A dragon with one standard gene and one non-standard gene is considered to be the type of the non-standard gene.

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CLASSES of SOULBEARERS

HOST: Veined, Beetle, Blossom, Diaphanous, Fans, Mop
-- The most stable class of Soulbearers, the Host is sanctuary and ally to their Lost Soul. They have no additional duties or expectations.

BEACON: Firefly, Ghost, Glowtail, Runes, Plumage, Wraith
-- The radiant appearance of the Beacon calls to disembodied Lost Souls, guiding them to the Beacon as a safe place to rest, hide, recover, or accompany.

MANTLE: Keel, Opal, Spines, Gnarlhorns, Porcupine, Scorpion, Shardflank, Skeletal, Thorns
-- The active, often most dangerous class of Soulbearers, the Mantle is protector, defender, and sometimes warrior on behalf of their Lost Soul and others like it.

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COLORS of SOULBEARERS

PRIMARY/SECONDARY: Medium-dark to very dark browns, reds, purples, greens, blues, and greyscale.
-- Examples:
Browns: Chocolate, Sable, Umber, Oilslick
Reds: Sanguine, Blood
Purples: Royal, Purple, Blackberry, Shadow
Greens: Jungle, Hunter, Eldritch
Blues: Indigo, Sapphire, Navy, Cobalt, Denim, Abyss, Phthalo, Azure, Midnight
Greyscale: Lead, Black, Obsidian

TERTIARY: Medium-bright to very pale yellows, light browns, pinks, purples, greens, blues, and greyscale.
-- Examples:
Yellows: Maize, Lemon, Yellow, Grapefruit, Banana, Peach
Browns: Beige, Cream, Antique, Sanddollar, Flaxen, Ivory
Pinks: Rose, Pearl, Blush
Purples: Mist, Lavender
Greens: Seafoam, Pistachio, Mint, Mantis, Leaf, Radioactive, Honeydew, Peridot
Blues: Ice, Sky, Cyan, Robin
Greyscale: Orca, White, Moon

Qualifying colors can be flexible, but the importance lies within the shade being sufficiently dark on the body/wings and sufficiently light as the tertiary. Contrast between the primary/secondary and the tertiary should be high. Many jewel-tone or metallic colors (amethyst, ruby, orange, gold, silver, emerald, etc) would be acceptable tertiaries on a very dark primary/secondary.

PATTERNS: XXY and XYZ patterns are allowed; XYX, XYY, and XXX are not.

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EXAMPLES of SOULBEARERS