Lesser Crows and Jackdaws
Lesser Crows are a distant relative of the Effluvial Crow, though it would not be wise to mention it among either group. They retain the down and plumage markings and color, but have "lesser eyes" on their wings, where energy can be stored. In those that attempt the Necromancer Trials, these markings and their plumage mutate, giving them an appearance distinct not only from the Effluvial Crows, but the Lesser Crows and Necromancers as well.
If an Effluvial Crow could be likened to a vainglorious berserker warrior, then the Lesser Crow could be considered a clever support mage or a beast tamer of sorts. They rely on their allies and/or familiars in battle, but are also capable of holding their own. Their way of life makes them fiendishly intelligent in order to make it to adulthood.
They are not as combat-obsessed as their counterparts. Where the Effluvial Crow celebrates the individual strength of Plaguebringer’s virus, the Lesser Crow celebrates the unity that comes from it - rallying allies to their side. They seek to tie themselves to powerful clans, valuing the strength of their allies above that of their own. Lesser Crows perceive their own strain as a "polish" to make the other party shine. Having a strong ally is a source of pride and security for them. A strong clan is akin to a treasure box. This is where they differ heavily from the vainglorious Effluvial Crow, and it is considered a dire tension point. Effluvial Crows believe this dependent behavior is both lowly and cowardly-- that one should rely on their own strengths given to them by Plaguebringer, rather than using and hiding behind that of others.
Hunted and reviled by their sister species, the Lesser Crows have largely taken up residency in the Rotrock Rim, putting the Abiding Boneyard squarely between the two. Here, they have refined their way of life and developed a tendency to attach themselves to strong travelers who have made it this far.
Necromancer Lesser Crow
Primary Skink: Beige, Slate, Latte
Secondary Noxtide: Sanguine - Blood
Tertiary Thylacine: Sanguine - Berry
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Breed: Wildclaw only
Level Requirement: None, 20+ for Special Registry
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Given how much they value strong allies, Lesser Crows are more likely than Effluvial Crows to make a sincere attempt in the Trials. After all, what more powerful ally is there than the Necromancers? If their own power cannot protect them from Effluvial persecution and torment, than surely the threat of Necromantic retribution is enough to give pause.
Lesser Crows that opt to return to their home clan often receive a warmer welcome, regardless of their appearance. Their mastery of disease goes a long way to help with that, of course, but so too does their cultural value regarding allies. A Lesser Crow Necromancer can help deflect an Effluvial attack, as well as bolster and strengthen their allies while ensuring survival.
Like the Effluvial Crow, the Lesser Crow Necromancer can expect a lightening of their down while retaining their markings. Their plumage likewise turns a darker red. The eyes on their wings, however, mutate. The main eye splits into three, while the lesser eyes grow smaller and spread throughout the wing - in almost every case, the eyes darken, sometimes by significant degrees. Despite this change, their ability to store magic in their eyes and lesser eyes does not lessen. As with any Necromancer, they gain the trademarked stitches of plague along their spine and wings.
Following the Trials, the Lesser Crow may find that they can alter or change their own contagion - making it as potent as their Effluvial tormentors or introducing new effects. Most Lesser Crows focus on increasing their contagion's ability to lend assistance to their allies, though it is not unheard of for one to take on a more offensive route.
Necroservus Lesser Crow
Primary Skink: Umber, Dirt
Secondary Noxtide: Sanguine - Blood
Tertiary Thylacine: Sanguine - Berry
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Breed: Wildclaw only
Level Requirement: None, 20+ for Special Registry
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While Lesser Crows are more likely to make a sincere attempt at the Trials, it by no means guarantees that they will return a Necromancer instead of a Necroservus. They are more likely than Effluvial Crows to accept the role of servant and lesser to the Necromancer, and may even find such a position to be preferable. While a Necromancer encountered in the wild can be challenged by the vainglorious, a Necroservus has a powerful protector who would be jealous of their servant - or so they tell any threat they may encounter, hoping for an easy target.
Necroservus Lesser Crows usually return to their home clans in the presence of a Necromancer. This ensures the Lesser Crow's welcome, as they have brought with them a strong ally. Clans under the aegis of a Necromancers are unlikely to be attacked by other Plague dragons - such as Effluvial Crows.
As with Necromancer Lesser Crows, their down lightens from the Trials, though not as much. They experience the same mutations regarding their plumage and lesser eyes, as well as retaining their abilities to store their latent magic. Of course, they have the stripes of plague.
The main difference is the down color, and their inability to recall the disease they infect. However, like any Necroservus, they are still able to infect others. Some are able to access their natural contagion and cause alterations in its effects. Most will, of course, go the route of increasing the benefits to their allies, but some will take instruction from their Necromancer for more insidious strains.
Wraith Lesser Crow
Primary Skink: Ginger
Secondary Noxtide: Sanguine - Blood
Tertiary Thylacine: Sanguine - Berry
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Breed: Wildclaw only
Level Requirement: None, 20+ for Special Registry
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Wraiths are the result of a dragon failing to survive the Trials on their own merits, or failing and somehow avoiding the fate of a Ghoul. Lesser Crows are by no means immune to this fate, for whatever reason. Some may even be singled out by a Necromancer Effluvial Crow, though such is discouraged by the Necromancers as a whole.
Whatever the cause, the Wraith Lesser Crow's down is changed. Their attempt at the Trials mutates their wings, as it does with all Lesser Crows. They will also gain the dormant stripes of plague seen in all Necromancers and Necromantic subtypes.
For all these physical changes, however, there is little in the way of metaphysical changes. Make no mistake, no dragon attempts the Trials and returns the same person they were before, but these changes are often harder to quantify. There have been rumors about unique Wraith abilities for as long as there have been Wraiths, but there is little weight to these rumors. Or the rumors that Lesser Crows may find the Trials have mutated more than just their plumage.
Whatever abilities the Wraith Lesser Crow may or may not find after the Trials, they as a whole find their welcome to their home clans far warmer than an Effluvial Crow. Lesser Crows are more welcoming to Jackdaws - for that is how they will be viewed - than other Crow varieties, and any ability that manifests will be encouraged. Even celebrated.
Albino Lesser Crows
Albino Lesser Crows are no less territorial or solitary than the Albino Effluvial varieties. Their ability to Mark multiple Beastclans and animals, and use and abuse them mercilessly, makes them a formidable opponent. Some may remain in an area until they have exhausted all resources, while others prefer to remain in a single territory, cultivating it to their tastes.
It is rare for one to attempt the Necromantic Trials. Most seek to increase their power for their own sake, rejecting the Necromancer ideals and culture entirely. Additionally, their overall paler appearance makes it hard for non-Necromancers (and even some less-experienced Necromancers) to recognize an Albino Lesser Crow that has taken the Trials until it is far too late.
Necromancer Albino Lesser Crow
Primary Skink: White
Secondary Noxtide: Cream
Tertiary Thylacine: Berry (rare), Carmine - Coral
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Breed: Wildclaw only
Level Requirement: None, 20+ for Special Registry
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Though rare, Albino Lesser Crows will attempt the Necromantic Trials, often seeking to increase their personal power. Others may seek to find some commonality among the Necromancers, but such are rarer still. The mastery of disease and plague extends to their own natural contagion, and it is that most Albino Lesser Crows seek in the Trials.
Given their solitary lifestyle, there is no welcome or celebration awaiting them in their home territories upon their success. Many do return, though some remain among the Necromancers - still solitary and territorial, but finding companionship among those like themselves that is not at the same time a competition.
Should one succeed the Trials, they find their snowy down unchanged. However, like other Lesser Crows, their plumage and wings have undergone mutations. Their plumage takes on a lighter, red hue while the eyes darken and shrink. The ability to store and use magic in the eyes is unchanged. While they do obtain the stitches of plague along their spines and wings, they are often much lighter than other Necromancers. In rare cases, the stripes will be on par with some Necromancers, and it is said that Albino Lesser Crows bearing these marks are stronger.
Necromancers Albino Lesser Crows can find their ability to control disease is located among the eyes in their wings. Even so, it is not limited to that location. While separating Albino Lesser Crows from their wings cripples them, the same is not true of Necromancers. At least, not permanently.
Necroservus Albino Lesser Crow
Primary Skink: Antique
Secondary Noxtide: Cream
Tertiary Thylacine: Berry (rare), Carmine - Coral
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Breed: Wildclaw only
Level Requirement: None, 20+ for Special Registry
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While there is no celebration for success, there is no penalty for failure. At least, not when that failure nets the Albino Lesser Crow the title of Necroservus. As with Effluvial Albino Crows, the Albino Lesser Crows care less for true success. Many will simply abandon the Trials once they've mastered the disease, caring little if they can recall it or not. Those that do will return to their home territories to wreak havoc and chaos.
Those that remain with the Necromancers are few and far between. They make for useful servants to their Necromancer, and it can be a mark of pride and power for a Necromancer to have one. Many a Necromancer will do much to secure the loyalty of a Necroservus Albino Lesser Crow.
Necroservus Albino Crows will return from the Trials with down slightly darker than the pure white they once sported. Those of a vain bent would do well to focus on success in their Trials, simply to retain their snowy plumage. As with other Lesser Crows, their wings undergo a mutation - the plumage taking on a light, red hue as it attempts to mimic the Necromancer colors. The main eye splits into three, while the others migrate and shrink, darkening in many cases. Their stripes of plague are lighter, though those bearing the darker stripes are said to have greater stores of power.
The eyes are often hubs of disease control, as with their Necromantic counterparts. Though they cannot recall the infections they cause, they are still able to alter them. Solitary Necroservus Albino Crows can utilize this to increase their strain's reach, or try to make their own Marks more subtle. Those attached to a Necromancer may be taught other methods, no less powerful.
Wraith Albino Lesser Crow
Primary Skink: Maize
Secondary Noxtide: Cream
Tertiary Thylacine: Berry, Carmine - Coral
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Breed: Wildclaw only
Level Requirement: None, 20+ for Special Registry
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Albino Lesser Crows attempting the Necromantic Trials are subject to the same failure rates as any dragon. Indeed, given their tendency to reject Necromancer traditions and culture, and utilize the gifts they gained from the Trials for their own ends, an Albino Lesser Crow may find the fate of a Wraith to be more likely than success. While interfering with one's Trials is discouraged, it is not unheard of and in some cases, simply overlooked.
Of course, becoming a Wraith is not always due to Necromantic interference. An Albino Lesser Crow failing to master or contain the infection by the twenty-third day may also become a Wraith.
Their down changes significantly when this happens, taking on a color not unlike old bones. While they maintain the plumage colors and stripes of plague as other variants, it means little in Wraith Albino Lesser Crows. It marks them forevermore as one who attempted the Trials and gained nothing from it.
Or perhaps not. There are always rumors surrounding Wraiths of strange, unrecorded abilities. Given the unstable nature of their own contagion, it is not impossible that the Trials may have altered it somehow. Or perhaps, they gained something else entirely? But these are just rumors.
Lesser Eboncrows
Lesser Eboncrows are the most common variety of Crow, moreso even than normal Eboncrows. They are more readily accepted by Eboncrows, and the two varieties often live together in large Rookeries. Lesser Eboncrows tend to involve themselves in smuggling and thievery, leaving the espionage and assassin work to their cousins.
As their population is larger, it is more common to see a Lesser Eboncrow attempt the Necromancer Trials. However, given the layout of their clannish societies, Lesser Eboncrows are no more likely to remain with the Necromancers as any other Crow. Like their cousin Eboncrows, they are more likely to return to their Rookeries after the Trials - should they succeed, that is.
Necromancer Lesser Eboncrow
Primary Skink: Obsidian
Secondary Noxtide: Oilslick, Obsidian
Tertiary Thylacine: Coal - Oilslick, Obsidian - Eldritch
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Breed: Wildclaw only
Level Requirement: None, 20+ for Special Registry
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Lesser Eboncrows are not as clannish as their Eboncrow cousins, and the tendency of Lesser Crows to seek and support their allies is very much present in the melanistic varieties. They are more likely to attempt the Trials, though whether or not it is done out of sincere devotion is another matter. The temptation for power is always present, even in the most devout dragon, and the Lesser Eboncrow is not immune.
Most do return to their Rookeries, whether as devout servants of the Plaguebringer or to lend their power towards their Rookery's success. Or perhaps a mix of both, for survival is implied in success. Few enough remain behind that their coloration is know always immediately known by even other Necromancers.
Like with Eboncrows, Lesser Eboncrows who return as Necromancers retain their deep black down. Their plumage lightens slightly to reveal red hues in the dark feathers, while at the same time undergoing the mutations occurring to all Lesser Crows. The eyes mutate, the main one splitting and the lesser ones shrinking, often growing darker. The stitches of plague are significantly darker than other Necromancers, sometimes being indistinct against their dark plumage.
Lesser Eboncrows may lose their hypnotic abilities with their wings, but as Necromancers, they gain a mastery of plague and disease. Clever Necromancer Lesser Eboncrows can learn to manipulate their natural contagion to create something to make up for their loss of wing magic. Or perhaps even create a strain that mimics the effects from a completely different infection.
Necroservus Lesser Eboncrow
Primary Skink: Coal
Secondary Noxtide: Oilslick, Obsidian
Tertiary Thylacine: Coal - Oilslick, Obsidian - Eldritch
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Breed: Wildclaw only
Level Requirement: None, 20+ for Special Registry
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The Necroservus Lesser Eboncrow is often no less welcome in their home Rookeries than their Necromancer counterpart. Though Lesser Eboncrows are less likely to engage in assassin work, their ability to manipulate disease and infect others is still valued by the Eboncrows as a whole. Even those that take on a more subtle or support role can easily fine acceptance with their abilities.
As with Necromancers, it is rare for the Necroservus Lesser Eboncrow to remain among the Necromancers. They are not quite as valued as a Servus by other Necromancers, but some either banking on the ignorance of others or ignorant themselves will solicit a Lesser Eboncrow to bask in the prestige of obtaining a Crow as their Servus. Those in the know realize that the Lesser Eboncrow Servus is also easier to manage than other Crow Servus varieties.
Unlike Necromancer Lesser Eboncrows, they do experience a change in down color after the Trials. Their down takes on a color nearly identical to that of a non-melanistic Lesser Crow, even allowing them to have the same distracting properties with the lighter markings. As with other Lesser Crows, their wings and plumage mutate and change, and take on a red hue. Their stripes of plague are often as dark, or darker, than their down and plumage.
They, too, lose their hypnotic abilities when their wings mutate. Necroservus Lesser Eboncrows may lack the sheer skill of Necromancers in manipulating and mastering plague, but this doesn't stop a creative Servus from finding ways to alter their own natural contagion. Or making a strain to mimic the hypnosis they lost.
Wraith Lesser Eboncrow
Primary Skink: Shale
Secondary Noxtide: Oilslick, Obsidian
Tertiary Thylacine: Coal - Oilslick, Obsidian - Eldritch
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Breed: Wildclaw only
Level Requirement: None, 20+ for Special Registry
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It happens even among Lesser Eboncrows that they are unable to master the plague in time, or that another Necromancer interferes with their Trials, and they return from their vigilance a Wraith. Some Lesser Eboncrows find this to be the worst possible outcome, even to that of Ghouls, for not only have their colors changed so as to be like Jackdaws with no Necromantic power to make up for it, but they have lost their wing magic in the transformation.
Their down lightens significantly, even as their wings are identical to Necromancer and Servus Lesser Eboncrows. If anything, it is this that the Lesser Eboncrow is most disgusted by. Their trademark eyes are mutated and shrunken, becoming to them nearly useless.
Wraith Lesser Eboncrows are still able to store their energy in the eyes, but the hypnotic effect has been lost. Whispers spread, especially in Eboncrow Rookeries specializing in information, that Wraith Lesser Eboncrows are perhaps not as neutered as first thought. That maybe, just maybe, the Trials bestowed upon them some compensation or power the Necromancers missed.
Jackdaws
Primary Skink: Beige, Latte, Slate, White, Obsidian (Necromancer), Umber, Dirt, Antique, Coal (Necroservus), Ginger, Maize, Shale (Wraith), Sanguine and Maroon (Ghoul), Tarnish (Neutralized Ghoul)
Secondary: Sanguine - Maroon [Clouded, Current, Daub, Safari, Striation, Stripes, Saturn/Slime (Ghouls and Neutralized Ghouls only)]
Tertiary Thylacine: Sanguine - Berry, Tarnish (Neutralized Ghoul)
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Breed: Wildclaw only
Level Requirement: No Level Restriction
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Jackdaws hail from the bloodlines of Crows - both Effluvial and Lesser. Some come from parents who claim a pure bloodline, while others are the result of unsanctioned liaisons. Whatever the cause, Jackdaws occupy an awkward role, especially among Effluvial Crows.
Their varied natures and upbringings makes them difficult to pin down in one group, made worse still by the uncertainty of the Necromancer Trials. Jackdaws closer to one bloodline or the other may respond to the Trials and outcomes similarly. Others may attempt the Trials to try and change their standing among their clans or Rookeries, hoping that the power they return with forces others to accept them. Or at the very least, fear them. Returning as a Necromancer or Necroservus can certainly accomplish that.
Many may find that becoming a Wraith does little to change their station in life, and as such, feel there is less risk to them at failure. At worst, they can join a clan unfamiliar with them. Even a Wraith can be a welcome change to some, as the rumors regarding certain abilities cannot be entirely discounted.
Of course, catastrophic failure can certainly bring on many changes, the least of which is their station. Depending on their abilities prior, they may be easier than the true-born Crows to Neutralized. However, any Wildclaw Ghoul bearing Crow markings are likely to be given a wide berth.
As their plumage often lacks the typical Crow patterning and colors, the Necromancer Trials often alters them with the stripes and marks of plague as it does all other dragons. The down, however, mimics the down of both Effluvial and Lesser Crow varieties, even when their colors were very different from before. As such, it can make the Necromancer Trials very tempting for Jackdaws whose down marked them as other before.
