Nyxos

Nyxos Obsidian
Ancient Leyline Researcher

---

Bio
An enigmatic and eccentric researcher, Nyxos Obsidian is a scientist studying the effects of leylines. She travels to distant and remote places on Sornieth in an attempt to understand the phenomena of magical energy.

Using a combination of electrical apparatus and arcane magic, Nyxos is able to gather data on the movement of leylines. She has written many books on its effects, including papers on its effects on draconic physiology and biology.

Personality-wise, Nyxos is usually a rational dragon. She usually thinks things through before delving into action. However, she has a tendency to get very bored. Combined with the fact that she is alone very often, her personality has become rather eccentric as a result. She often acts in a melodramatic way to 'make things interesting'. For example, if someone becomes curious in her apparatus, she might make it spark and flare up just to see the sense of wonder in their eyes. Behold, she'll say, the wonders of science!

This sometimes causes misunderstandings. As dragons often find him at the tallest peaks of Sornieth or at the center of ancient ruins, performing what they perceive to be incredible feats of power, they'll often mistake her to be a dragon of great power. As a result, there are legends of Nyxos Obsidian circulating the regions she visits - a dragon of a higher order, covered head to toe with stars, lined with gems as deep as the night itself. Her eyes glimmer with the swirling mists of a nebula, and she moves with the swiftness of the wind. According to these stories, perhaps Nyxos is the embodiment of the galaxy itself. Older than the universe, wiser than the stars, and beholden by the gods themselves. There is no secret in the world that she doesn't know.

Of course, it's just stories. But Nyxos doesn't mind.

Thjorstol, the Counsellor of the Aurora, is one of her colleagues.

Science
Aka An Essay On the Effects of Elemental Magic on Dragons

Generally speaking, the effects of elemental magic on the physiology and biology of dragons are well understood by most of Sornieth. It is well known that a newly birthed dragon will inherit the magic of the region they are born in, influencing both their physical characteristics and personality.

However, how does it work really? How exactly does elemental magic affect dragon birth? And what is involved in the creation of a dragon egg?

Draconic Birth in Depth
To begin with, draconic birth requires two things - genetic material from two draconic parents, as well as magical energy from the surrounding environment. In order to make maximum use of nearby environmental magic, nests on Sornieth are usually placed at points of concentrated magical energy, for example, where multiple leylines converge.

Magical Energy and Nests
Because dragons are magical creatures, they require magical energy in order to be given birth. In fact, nests are usually constructed in a way to direct magical energy towards its center, where eggs are placed to be incubated. This energy, combined with genetic material from two parents, is used to create a dragon egg. If there is not enough magical energy, then a draconic egg will simply not be produced. This is why there are no nests outside of Sornieth, or in between regions.1

Many dragons have tried to nest exactly where two elemental regions meet, in hopes of creating a dual element dragon. Unfortunately, this does not work. Elemental leylines do not cross territories. They just stay within the bounds of a territory. And since nests require magical energy from a nearby leyline to produce eggs, it is impossible to find a spot on the boundary of two regions where magical energy is strong enough for dragons to breed.

In fact, the territorial borders between each region is where elemental magic is actually at its weakest. A field of magic energy emanates from a leyline, and the further you get from the leyline, the weaker the field is. The boundary between two element regions is actually where two elemental fields have equalised in power. (Incidentally, all leylines consist of one Elemental type and they seem to path in a way that avoids other elemental leylines. In other words, leylines of different types don't cross. Data suggests that there is some kind of repelling force that pushes leylines of different types away from each other.)

As for non-elemental leylines, which is used for non-elemental magic such as contuse, the energy from these leylines don't seem to work for the draconic reproductive lifecycle. It is not known why this is so. A common theory is that it is simply because there is no 'non-elemental deity'. It is known that all dragons are descended from the elemental deities. So, because there are 11 elemental deities, there are 11 types of dragons. It is theorised that if a new deity were to be born, such an event would also give birth to a new element, and therefore, a new type of dragon.

Genetic Material
Genetic material for dragons serves the same purposes as other genetic material for non-magical creatures. It serves as a biological blueprint from which the rest of a dragon's body is developed from. However, dragons differ from other biological lifeforms in that they do not have a concept of dominant or recessive genes. For every type of gene - primary, secondary, tertiary - they will only inherit one from the parent. This is because of the fact that their DNA is part magic. Instead of the double helix structure found in non-magical creatures, draconic DNA instead consists of a single strand infused with elemental magic. By zooming in on a piece of draconic DNA, it is possible to observe traces of fire or ice on the DNA strand itself.

The fact that a dragon's eye type is not hereditary is somewhat of a myth. In fact, there is evidence of genetic inheritance behind a dragon's eye. However, the presence of elemental magic masks this fact. The place where elemental magic manifests itself most strongly is in the eye of a dragon. The way it manifests itself differs depending on the magical make-up of the nest at the time of the dragon's birth. The current, the strength, the amount infused, the number of eggs, and the magical energy from the parents themselves, all factor into this, creating an imprint on the dragon's soul. This elemental imprint is what's responsible for the dragon's aptitude in magic, and how it manifests itself physically - including its eye. Hence, this creates the illusion that a dragon's eye is a gene that is determined randomly at birth.

---

1 - Recent anecdotes from newly rediscovered ancients, specifically undertides and aethers, suggest that this might not be true - nests outside of Sornieth may in fact exist. If so, it is a mystery where and how the magical energy provided is acquired for these hatchings. Perhaps the element they are born with outside of Sornieth may give a clue. Currently being researched by the genetic scientist Gollygosh

Likes The View from Atop the Highest Mountain The Passage of Time The Night Sky Being

Dislikes The Shade Corruption The stillness of dead space Non-Existence

Nyxos the Avatar
ALL THE ELEMENTS

Relations

Thjorstol Colleague

Lady Ashmane Child of Destiny

Zuël Secret Keeper

Agyrion Friend

Notes
Look at Twinkling Stardrapes or the Nightfall Starsilk set
This skin might be good https://www1.flightrising.com/game-database/item/8005