Kunst

╭- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ╮ ♕ N A M E Norn's Line | Gen II Rebellious | Distant | Guarded ╰- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ╯ automated bio template by squidragon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

╭- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - l o r e - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -╮ They carry a legacy in their blood. Phyrexia's strain could not be passed to his eggs; his legacy began and ended the day he was infected. No more living eggs would hatch once he became phyrexian, and every descendant of his who did not flee him after his change had to seek others in order to be infected, in order to be worthy in his eyes. Norn's progeny, it would turn out, did not. Each of them was born with her strain latent in their veins, waiting to be awakened. As with her followers, she did not force phyresis upon her children; if their infection did not awaken on its own she would let them find their own paths as they wished. But those who wanted it to awaken, or who woke it themselves, she tended to with the same whispering, manipulative croons she used on her followers. Hatchlings were so much easier to convince, after all, that phyresis was right for them. For the world. Some few would catch on to her tricks as they aged, understanding that while their mother's love was genuine, it was always tainted by her fanatacism, her lust for more power. Many struck out on their own when they grew old enough, wishing to see the wider world for themselves to determine if she was right about the infection. And others of course would stay; driven by curiosity or greed or longing to be a part of something, many of her young would become phyrexians themselves, forever bound to their mother's rule, like so many others. ╰- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -╯ Some sort of quote or saying that's about a sentence long can go here. ETYMOLOGY - Name meaning RELATIONS - Name - Relation, Name - Relation BELONGINGS - Trinkets, Key Items, Other Possessions

---

Based on the Phyrexians from Magic the Gathering, the phyrexian dragons are consumed by a disease that their "god", Phyrexia/the Machinist, refined from some sort of Shade-based infection he came across during his research. The new disease, phyresis, is contracted through any form of contact with the black, viscous liquid ("ichor") produced by phyrexian dragons. If one comes into contact with the ichor, their only hope is to amputate and raze the affected area of the body, as well as anything involved in the process (tools, surfaces, etc). If they fail to notice or take the proper steps to save themselves, they undergo an agonizing and slow (ranging anywhere from a few days to a few months) transformation, as the infection literally consumes their flesh and replaces it with superior artifice. This has a very high fatality rate (~75%), except among dragons of certain Plague subspecies, roughly 80% of whom survive compleation* due to their powers.

Not all phyrexians are fully compleat; some do remain in an incompleat state for quite some time, even for years, their body reaching a sort of stasis where flesh and machine are joined in one surprisingly fluid and harmonious creature. However, a fully compleat phyrexian will always be entirely composed of inorganic metal.

Led by Phyrexia in the past, and Norn in the present, the phyrexians believe themselves and their infection to be the next step of evolution for dragonkind, and seek to spread phyresis to all dragons of Sornieth. While at first glance the phyrexians are a hivemind that only seek to obey Phyrexia/Norn and spread their infection to dragons both willing and unwilling, they do all retain their own personalities, ambitions, and goals. Their perception is simply twisted so that they see phyresis as the best outcome for all of dragonkind. This mental reconditioning is a side effect of the ichor, and can be resisted as any kind of conditioning can. However, in combination with the physical agony induced by the process of compleation, it is very difficult to maintain one's willpower long enough to resist this conditioning.

That being said, a phyrexian is not evil by default. Some, such as Maple, actively worked against Phyrexia to orchestrate his fall from power and stop him from forcing his "evolution" on any others. What phyresis does, or attempts to do, is twist one's goals, not change them. A dragon who is utterly loyal and protective of their family above all else might genuinely believe after being infected that this is the best way to protect and care for their family now, because of the stronger body and massive family/safety in numbers that comes with being a phyrexian. A dragon who hunts barghests and other monsters would not suddenly cease to do so just because they were infected. Where your dragon falls in terms of morals and worlsview is entirely up to you, even if they are infected.

Phyrexians retain any and all abilities of their flight, breed, and/or subspecies. For example, a Necromancer phyrexian still has their power to give and take away disease at a touch, and their control over infection is not suddenly limited to just phyresis. Venomous dragons retain their venom glands, though their venom will also take on the properties of infection granted by the ichor.

A phyrexian dragon's blood is generally the first thing to be entirely replaced, so they no longer bleed blood, but ichor. This ichor can also drip from their eyes and be coughed or spit up, usually with the goal of quickly infecting someone else. For this reason a bite from a phyrexian is generally considered a death sentence by those outside their faction, as it is almost impossible to properly prevent the infection from spreading if the ichor has already made contact with a dragon's bloodstream.

In theory, an Emperor phyrexian would be capable of regaining and maintaining their sanity, but no phyrexian has yet made the attempt to infect an Emperor.

* "Compleation" is not a typo. This is the canon spelling for the name of the process of phyrexianification.