Appearance
Calamity watchers are dragons of middle-sized and rarely large dragon breeds. Both body and wings are dark and either unobtrusively patterned or not patterned at all. The whole body sans underbelly is covered in a luminescent, brightly green pattern. The intensity of the glow of said pattern may indicate a Calamity Watcher’s emotional state and is usually changed on a subconscious level, but direct control of the glow is possible as well.
Behaviour and Abilities
Calamity Watchers are a species with an inborn ability to sense both natural and dragon-made disaster ahead of time. But due to them accepting disaster as a part of life and not really understanding other dragons lacking the ability to foresee it, they tend to not warn others in danger, just silently leaving the affected area. This in turn led to them being seen as selfish, unempathetic beings and thus them being ostracized at best, and hunted down as bad omens at worst.
Contrary to their bad reputation, Calamity Watchers are actually very social creatures that thrive in groups and suffer greatly when lonely. A group of Calamity Watchers is referred to as a “bond”. Bonds can largely vary in size, some being family groups, some entire colonies, with the average bond consisting of 8-15 individuals. A bond is a very close-knit community, with unrelated and unmated individuals referring to each other as “brother” or “sister” and treating each other accordingly. Hatchling-rearing is a community matter, with unmated and young individuals assisting the actual parents.
Bonds tend to live in secluded and difficult to access areas, mostly avoiding other dragon populations. Aiding them in this is their strong digestive system, allowing them to consume and metabolize food other dragons tend to avoid due to it being poisonous, hard to digest or simply lacking in nutrients.
Calamity Watchers leaving their bond and trying to live with other dragons tend to have problems fitting in at first. They have a hard time understanding that their new “bond” isn’t bonded all that tightly and that treating everyone as a family member might be uncomfortable for some members of the new clan. If the clan is patient with them however, they are rewarded with a reliable companion, eager to please and fiercely loyal. A Calamity Watcher will protect their clan to the death, even the members they don’t have an emotional connection with or joined the clan only lately. Dragons they are close to are treated like family in the manner of a former bond.
When in contact with a dragon from outside their clan, Calamity Watchers tend to become very silent, with selective mutism not being uncommon either. Due to the individuals living in clans with other species being the more open-minded ones to begin with, friendships outside the clan are possible, but like Calamity Watchers having problems to understand that not everyone in the clan has to be a friend, they also need time to understand that dragons from outside the clan can be friends as well.
Even when befriending dragons outside the subspecies Calamity Watchers still tend to forget that other dragons would like to be informed about something like a spreading plague or a comet heading their way, so it is better to remind them of this fact once in a while (read: constantly). But even just watching them helps: If the local Calamity Watcher suddenly packs their things and starts walking, ask what’s up. Chances are you will be hit by a sizeable space-rock otherwise.
Combat
Calamity Watchers might be competent fighters, but usually tend to avoid battle. When encountering conflict, their first instinct is running, if outrun or cornered they will resort to threatening behaviour: puffing themselves up, growling or hissing, and flashing their patterns. Only when threatening does not work will they resort to fighting. Calamity Watchers are physical fighters, as the magic they possess is linked to and consumed by their ability to foresee disaster, and any further use of magic would compromise their abilities and sometimes even health. (Creator’s Note: This is also the reason why magically inclined species are usually not found among Calamity Watchers, as they either tend to lack the ability to foresee disaster, or die young due to the strain magic use puts on their bodies).
If forced to fight, Calamity watchers tend to move around their enemy, trying to sabotage the enemy’s balance and attack unguarded spots. A popular tactic employed in dark terrain or during nighttime is suddenly darkening the pattern on their bodies and striking aggressively while the enemy tries to adjust their eyes to the darkness. Contrary to this, trying to blind the enemy with the pattern or disorienting them by rapidly changing its intensity are also well-used strategies.
The most dangerous part in fighting a Calamity Watcher is that they have to be defeated quickly, or else other members of the bond will join in sooner or later, making formerly manageable fights much more dangerous.
Provenance and Regional Differences
Calamity Watchers originate from the lush forests of the Viridian Labyrinth, but due to the finite amount of secluded territory, some bonds set out to find new homes in other areas as well. A sizable population has made their new home in the Reedcleft Ascent of the Windswept Plateau, where there are lots of hard-to-access spots and the bright green pattern on their skin is harder to notice between the reeds. But nowadays, Calamity Watchers are found - though not if they can avoid it - in all regions of Sornieth. Over time, they have developed a keener understanding of their home element, allowing them to notice corresponding disasters easier.
Nature: Allrounders, notice all disasters equally well.
Plague: Epidemics
Wind: Storms, but also calms (useful for sailors)
Water: Floods, Storms (at sea)
Fire: Draughts, Infernos, Volcanic Eruptions (including rains of ash)
Earth: Earthquakes, Mud- and Rockslides, Volcanic Eruptions
Ice: Blizzards, extreme Cold Waves
Lightning: Thunderstorms, Lightning Strikes, Artificial Intelligence
Arcane: Meteorites, Aliens(???), Arcanist Shenanigans(?????)
Shadow: Mental Instability, Treason (say rise of a dictator/despot)
Light: Dangerous Wisdom, Emperors
Please Note: Calamity Watchers will only notice the above listed occurrences clearly if they have huge dimensions, like a mudslide erasing a whole clan or a despot’s rise resulting in many dragons suffering under them.
