Dragon Share

371

September 07, 2021 12:24:12

Under Reconstruction.

Rewritten 10/21/23:
The Paleblood Hunters were originally a divergence of the popular Necromancer subspecies. Unfortunately, due to some toxic behavior from some (not all!) members of that community, I no longer have any desire for the Palebloods to be a "divergence" of the Necromancers.

With my co-creator @.EssayOfThoughts' permission, the Palebloods are currently under heavy rework to separate them from their Necromancer-dependent lore and origin. Obviously, they are still very heavily inspired by From Software's Bloodborne, though we take some creative liberties to better fit these themes within the established world of Sornieth.

Some things to look forward to when I'm finally ready to reveal the new changes:
- More tertiary genes that tie into each of the "gods" beyond the portal
- Possible optional tert colors, also associated with those gods
- A much wider array of genes to play with

Paleblood Hunters
A lore-based subspecies by Fendwellr and @/EssayOfThoughts

Introduction

"It was Plague, though it was not Plague as we knew it then. It was different, its infection far more subtle than most we had encountered before. And it infected each of us long before we ever began to feel the symptoms... or hear the whispers. There's a thing somewhere beyond that portal, and it knows about us-- knows about Her, and our Mother's creed. And it knows about the Shade. It knows about the Emperors. It knows about Barghests and Revenants and about things I can't even begin to describe.
And it hates them.

~~Brador, "first" of the Hunters.

dragon?did=68424956&skin=0&apparel=12271,18781,19640,12930,12937,433,352,615&xt=dressing.png

"Plaguelings were neither the first nor the last dragons to set foot on the other side of the Forbidden Portal. That distinction was never theirs to claim. It was forbidden for a reason, after all. Others had come and gone, had been marked or left their mark, and all of them agreed it was not a place for those lacking the fortitudes to withstand it. To embrace it.

The Plague dragons were lucky, nothing more. What saw them, what touched them, what took an interest and claimed them as its own was for the most part benevolent. The Presence had its own goals and ideals, yes, but at least they aligned with the Plaguebringer's in no small way.

But other things lurk beyond the borders of the Portal's reality, and they may be far less helpful to dragonkind.

Welcome to the Hunt."

~~???, Bound to the Mother

scry?sdid=1821127&skin=0&apparel=12930,12937,25045,12269,46547,37693,33698&xt=dressing.png

_{Official Bloodborne Concept Artwork}

This subspecies is based on @.3idolon's Necromancer Subspecies and portions of the lore in this thread (all the red text!) are either quoted directly or heavily referencing them. This subspecies is also heavily inspired by the lore of Bloodborne, a Gothic Victorian themed action role-playing game by From Software. That being said, liberties have been taken for fun and for fitting better into the world of Flight Rising. An example would be Brador being the first Hunter; he was the first of these dragons I fully gened, so that honor fell to him.

Last edited on Oct 23, 2023 10:36:27 by Fendwellr

Fendwellr

371

September 07, 2021 12:24:25

Breed Standards

dragon?age=1&body=129&bodygene=40&breed=13&element=6&eyetype=2&gender=1&tert=74&tertgene=11&winggene=1&wings=98&auth=c8c6378b63707866fdc3836eb15003d750a73382&dummyext=prev.png

Paleblood Hunters come in a wide array of genes, because pattern is much less important than color is. Palebloods come in shades of ashen gray, so genes that introduce too many other colors are not permitted.

Primary: Dust - Coal | [add genes later]
Secondary: Dust - Coal | [add genes later]
Tertiary: Antique - Silver | [add genes later, link to new lore section regarding terts]
Breed: All modern breeds (Ancients in development)

dust ~ grey ~ smoke ~ gloom ~ lead ~ shale ~ flint ~ charcoal ~ coal

antique ~ white ~ moon ~ ice ~ orca ~ platinum ~ silver

note for self: rewrite/rework the entire below paragraph to cut out the necromancer lore dependency.
Originating as Necromancers, no Hunter can ever fully shed the characteristic stripes of plague that stitch their spines and wing membranes. Distinctively red in all true Necromancers, black as pitch in those Lichs who turn to the Shade, Paleblood Hunters befit their name: their Thylacine slashes turn pale and ashen - pale as the moon - while the once red of their wings and tan, brown or brilliant scarlet of their body takes on a greyish cast, fading into shades of ash. Necromancer Hunters are not the first Hunters to make themselves known on Sornieth, but they are seen as somewhat unusual by the rest of their order, who prefer the use of Fire against their foes. Among Hunters, fire is known to have a profound effect on the creatures of the Portal, and they are the Hunters’ true prey. However, Necromancer Hunters are known for utilizing their Plague magic in their hunts instead, bringing the Portal's creatures to heel with pestilence rather than flame.

_{Written by both.}

Blood-Drunk Hunters

dragon?age=1&body=91&bodygene=1&breed=3&element=7&eyetype=0&gender=0&tert=131&tertgene=11&winggene=6&wings=118&auth=8fbfd007902cd78faf18ffd2f564d4cbb537e4bf&dummyext=prev.png

Orca tert only.

The Paleblood is not without its drawbacks - though all Hunters are known to be obsessed with their quarry, some may take this obsession to extremes. Over time, the hunt seems to consume some Hunters, driving them to take greater and greater risks in order to seek out anything they deem a threat to their Great One's goals. Still others seem to lose their sense of discernment altogether, accusing allies and sometimes even family of being eldritch beings in secret, attacking them and any other dragons who get in their way.

These Hunters are said to be "blood-drunk", driven mad by their unending hunt for the Portal's creatures or those who have given themselves to the Shade, who would pervert their deity's gifts in their service to it. The kindest thing to do for one of these Hunters is to put them down quickly, granting them the mercy of a clean death rather than the slow descent into madness.

_{Written by Fendwellr}

Resilient and Consumed Hunters
(section partially reworked already; Essay's revised descriptions added. possibly add the triple moon variant you thought of? as a subset of Hollowed)

dragon?age=1&body=72&bodygene=40&breed=8&element=6&eyetype=2&gender=0&tert=72&tertgene=11&winggene=41&wings=72&auth=4d96db7aafa245adf3b6d5801bc725de5fdb415c&dummyext=prev.png

Primary: Raspberry-Bubblegum | Bar, Iridescent, Leopard, Ripple, Slime
Secondary: Raspberry-Bubblegum | Clouded, Daub, Safari, Saturn, Sludge
Tertiary: Raspberry-Bubblegum | Thylacine
Breed: All modern breeds (Ancients in development)

raspberry ~ wine ~ mauve ~ pink ~ bubblegum

Heavily infected dragons, too, find themselves drawn to the Portal. Some enter in a desperate bid to be cured of their virulence, some out of curiosity or mindless instinct, and yet others claim to have heard the whispers from the other side.

In them the Paleblood has a curious effect: consumed by Plague as they are, pestilent and uncontrolled, the Paleblood infection is unable to take a true hold of them. Rather than their colours fading into the greys of other Hunters, these dragons retain some hint of their old virulent colouring - some more than others.

The paler a Resilient, the stronger a grasp the Paleblood and the Presence from the portal have on them, while a wine-dark Resilient is still closer to Plague.

_{Written by EssayOfThoughts}

dragon?age=1&body=97&bodygene=41&breed=10&element=6&eyetype=2&gender=0&tert=97&tertgene=11&winggene=15&wings=97&auth=3b746484bc921796db183eff8a5fe2200f290872&dummyext=prev.png

Primary: Antique | Bar, Iridescent, Leopard, Ripple, Slime
Secondary: Antique | Clouded, Daub, Safari, Saturn, Sludge
Tertiary: Antique | Thylacine
Breed: All modern breeds (Ancients in development)

antique

Like their virulent brethren, those Hollowed of Infestation are sometimes drawn to the Portal as well. Severed from their element and desperate to be connected to something, anything, they walk through its boundaries and straight into the metaphorical arms of the Presence beyond.

Unlike the Virulent, however, those who have been Hollowed no longer have any innate elemental magic to fight against the Paleblood’s pull. In the early stages of infection these dragons are easily identified by their eerily pale colors, even more washed out than those of regular Hunters.

_{Written by EssayOfThoughts}

Last edited on Oct 23, 2023 11:13:57 by Fendwellr

[center][img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hp56gdizp19uqry/plaguetop.png[/img][/center] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/drs/3055424#post_3055424]Introduction[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/drs/3055424#post_48929767]Breed Standards[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/drs/3055424#post_48929772](Lore) Breed Origin[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/drs/3055424#post_48929774](Lore) Eyes, Apparel, Familiars[/url] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/drs/3055424/1#post_48929780]Registry[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/drs/3055424/1#post_48929781]Banners[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/drs/3055424/1#post_48929783]Pinglists & Credits[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/drs/2412017/1]Necromancer Main Thread[/url][/center] [center][img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1h2g3br1d1xem0r/plaguemidsmall.png[/img][/center] [center][size=5][color=maroon][b]Subspecies Origin[/b][/color][/size][/center] [center][size=5][color=maroon][b]Necromancers[/b][/color][/size][/center] [color=maroon]Widely considered the closest thing the Plaguelands have to royalty, [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/drs/2412017/1]Necromancers[/url] are well known throughout them for their skill at wielding Plague. Even the individuals who failed in one of the Trials - the Necroservi, Wraiths, and even the Ghouls - are noted, respected and even feared for their capabilities and striving desire to survive all that the Mother of Plague could throw at them. It is from this ilk that the Hunters first came. Many Necromancers take on specialties based on their abilities and their skills. Some are wise with words, helping to spread the word of the Plaguebringer near and far. Others are deft with disease, spreading it to enemies and inoculating their own. Others still are skilled in the scripture of the Plaguebringer and interrogate Her every teaching, seeking to make themselves and those close to them stronger in every way they can. And then there are those which hunt. Call them what they will - Hunters, Crusaders, Holy Knights, - it hardly matters. In the end, many arrive at the Forbidden Portal, seeking a new quarry. Lichs ever linger, Ghouls ever roam, [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/drs/2986208/1#post_2986208]Revenants[/url] ever rise - but what comes through the new Portal is a strange new threat that very few care to face. Only the boldest, strongest and most certain in themselves take on the challenge - and even there, many fail. But still they go, to fight back the unknowable strangeness, to fend off the strange infection - and in answer to a prophecy, so old as to be half mystery, received and spoken by Oracles of their Lady of Plague.[/color][right][sub]Written by EssayOfThoughts[/sub][/right] [center][img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1h2g3br1d1xem0r/plaguemidsmall.png[/img][/center] [center][size=5][color=#4a4a4a][b]Origin of the Hunters[/b][/color][/size][/center] [color=#4a4a4a]The exact origin of the Paleblood Hunters is something as debated as their nature. Whether they were called by something unknown beyond the Forbidden Portal or were sent by a vision from the Plaguebringer, no one really knows for sure. What is known is this: when the portal first opened, several Necromancers received what seemed to be dream-visions from the Plaguebringer, warning them of terrible things beyond the portal and telling them, variously, to counter what came through, to learn from the new, eldritch strains of disease that arrived, and even to step through the portal themselves, to counter what lay beyond. What lay beyond, some later learned, was the great Presence. No one, even the eldest of the Hunters, knows exactly what the Presence is. Some believe it guides them by working in alliance with the Plaguebringer, that the two work in concert to remove a threat to Sornieth before it can ever arrive. Others believe that it is a duplicitous being, that the dreams it sends to its followers are the same as the dream-visions sent to warn the Oracles - that the Presence wore the face of the Plaguebringer, and that the Hunters’ cause is heretical, while the more flexible in interpretation still believe that, regardless of if the Presence tricked the Hunters, it's goal and the Plaguebringer's are in alignment, that it works to Her greater plan The most stringent, however, do not care if the Presence and the Plaguebringer share a purpose. Instead, they believe the worst of the Hunters: that those blood-drunk and mutating into the same abominations they hunt are the Presence's true goal, and that, regardless of the Plaguebringer's domains of disease and mutation, what comes through the portal are damned, duplicitous things that should only be turned back. The Hunters, perhaps unsurprisingly, are themselves conflicted.[/color] [right][sub]Written by EssayOfThoughts[/sub][/right] [center][img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1h2g3br1d1xem0r/plaguemidsmall.png[/img][/center] [center][size=5][color=#4a4a4a][b]The First Hunters[/b][/color][/size][/center] [color=#4a4a4a]When the Oracles began to dream, many felt urgently that they must go to the portal [i]now[/i], that the Plaguebringer's orders had to be carried out immediately. But the Council resisted - not all the Oracles were willing to follow their strange dreams so blindly, and those in agreement with the Council wanted more time, more evidence that it really was their Mother of Plague who was urging them along. After all, the Portal had scarcely been open a week when the dreaming began, and all of dragonkind still knew precious little about it and the creatures that emerged from it in droves. Still some Oracles insisted. The Plaguebringer was calling them now, it must be now! Daichi, one of the first Oracles to receive the dreams, did not want to wait. Their duty was to their Mother, and here the Council sat dithering and debating instead of answering Her call. After days of fruitless arguing, she turned to her mate, a respected Holy Knight. Surely Brador would see reason? He did not agree with her, but led her to the Portal in hopes that seeing it up close would quench her fervent need to enter it, would scare her away from its otherworldly glow until such time as the Council had made a decision. Instead, somehow, he ended up convinced to step through, if only to keep her from doing so herself. It was a fruitless endeavour - she followed after him anyway, and the two reemerged as Sornieth's first Hunters. Their actions sparked even further controversy in the Council. Many used their changed coloration - deep grays, with their thylacine slashes turned to moonlit silver - as proof this was not the Plaguebringer's will, and the disturbing visions Brador related only fueled that belief. Others were undeterred, believing that a change of coloration indicated nothing. After all, they still bore Mother's clawmarks down their backs; surely if this had not been Her will, they would have been lost? [right][sub]Written by TwoTimesMartyred[/sub][/right] [color=#4a4a4a]The debate rages even today; for all their connection to Paleblood and the Presence, Hunters are not a monolith and no two believe the exact same thing. Some believe the Paleblood is a blessing and that it serves the same goals as the Plaguebringer, others believe it an entirely separate being. Some follow the Presence despite this while others are more wary of what it asks. The question of course arises as to the possibility of [i]other[/i] Presences. While Brador led Hunters who held faith with the Presence, other Hunters claim the Paleblood - or perhaps [i]their[/i] Paleblood - was sourced by others. Some spoke of a Formless One, of a Motherly Presence, of a Grand Mind, of a Cursed Blood and held faith with them instead of the Presence. Thus Hunters separated into sects from very early on, and some of them, most especially the Hunters of Hunters, are known to even hunt one another. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Necromantic Council is not best pleased by this level of conflict and lack of clarity, and Hunters of Hunters are especially detested by many members of the Council in spite of the respect they have from other Hunters.[right][sub]Written by EssayOfThoughts[/sub][/right] [center][img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1h2g3br1d1xem0r/plaguemidsmall.png[/img][/center] [center][size=5][color=#4a4a4a][b]The Current Existence of the Hunters[/b][/color][/size][/center] [color=#4a4a4a]Even today, most Necromancers begin the path to becoming a Hunter by specialising as Crusaders, Hunters and Holy Knights, fighting Lichs, Revenants and feral Ghouls as much as emperors, and whatever beastly, undead or unspeakable things they might encounter. Thus it is that many end up at the Forbidden Portal, and thus it is that many first get taught of the Hunt, of the eldritch Blood and of the Presence - and thus it is that so many step through the Portal, to fight as fully as they can, and so become Hunters of the Paleblood. [right][sub]Written by EssayOfThoughts[/sub][/right] [color=#4a4a4a]Generally speaking, Hunters take on a very physical kind of devotion to the Plaguebringer, dedicating themselves to hunting down all that they see as corruptions of or threats to Plague and their Mother's teachings. Their connection to the Presence does not change their dedication to their Mother, but rather gives it new form. As such, Hunters are more likely to belong to the martially-oriented Necromantic societies or take up specialities with a more physical bent, for they are ever-expanding their fighting prowess to aid them in their hunt. Hunters are decidedly nocturnal compared to all other Necromancers; not only is it easier to hunt under cover of darkness, but they find comfort in the moonlight, and their eyes have become so sensitive to hunting under its glow that the glaring light of the sun brings with it blinding headaches. Any Hunter forced to be awake during the day will often don a blindfold, goggles, or a wide-brimmed hat in order to shield their eyes and alleviate their pounding migraine. [right][sub]by TwoTimesMartyred[/sub][/right] [color=#4a4a4a]As for their hunt: though Hunters will hunt most anything, especially creatures known to be threats such as Revenants, Lichs, and Ghouls - they do not do so always. Ghouls are not uniformly slaughtered, nor are Mercys, as both variants can sometimes exhibit sanity and care. Some Hunters hope that by permitting the survival of the saner, more controlled variants, the variants overall will become so, while others simply keep an eye on them, stepping in only when necessary. Some have even been known to form agreements with such creatures, promising to strike them down if they go too far, not unlike the Hunters of Hunters who put to rest those who become blood-drunk. After all, Ghouls and Mercys sought only to be connected to their Mother, and no self-respecting Hunter would dare to call that sin. [right][sub]Written by EssayOfThoughts[/sub][/right] [color=#4a4a4a]Instead, the main target of a Hunter’s wrath are the denizens of the Portal from which their own Presence comes. Hunters believe, and have been so told by their Presence, that the creatures and diseases that originate from the portal are abhorrent and grotesque-- and so too is the Paleblood, for all the wonders it grants. While those newly infected boast of faster reflexes, greater agility, and heightened senses, older Hunters are careful to avoid revealing the less savory effects of the Paleblood to those unaware. [right][sub]by TwoTimesMartyred[/sub][/right] [color=#4a4a4a]For all their infestation with the Paleblood, Hunters are rarely more resilient against common disease than their Necromantic companions. The Paleblood allows them swifter recovery from harm, yes, but its main strength comes in combating the eldritch creatures from beyond the Portal - though at times, by indirect means. It is not unknown for older Hunters to start to display mutations: additional eyes both inside their skull, against the brain, and outside it; longer claws; stronger frames; bigger bodies to embody the strength required to fight back the horrible entities. The Paleblood itself mutates them to fit their needs, and to what degree this is under the Hunter's control is hotly debated. [right][sub]by EssayOfThoughts[/sub][/right] [color=#4a4a4a]Contrary to the Council's views, young Necromancers often look upon Hunters with awe -- and who wouldn't? Such powerful warriors, skilled and tenacious hunters stalking prides of Deeprealm Leons and Ferberi under the moonlight, undeterred by the shifting form of a Sanguine Multimist or the drifting headless beasts that spew forth, all but immune to their otherworldly powers? Who wouldn't be starstruck seeing a group of Hunters slipping out of their dens to answer rumors of a rampaging Emperor or a wide-roaming portal amphibian with claw and fang and blade? Who wouldn't romanticize their strength and keen senses? But the Paleblood's wonders carry with them a steep price: in time, it devours all it touches, and even those blessed by its gifts do not escape their fate forever. The mutations increase in number and severity over time, and some of the oldest Hunters are more grotesquerie than dragon; many-limbed, many-eyed creatures almost indistinguishable from many of the things they hunt. In such a state, some have even been mistaken for Hollowed Lichs - and not without good reason. That is but the price they reveal to the world however, the one they cannot hide for any length of time. In truth there is another, far worse effect of the Paleblood on those it touches. It is the Hunters' most closely guarded secret; the slow, creeping insanity that gradually overtakes them all. At first they were merely dedicated to their hunt. Now it consumes them, plaguing their every waking moment - and even their dreaming ones as well. The Presence’s whispers grow into screams, and the Hunters' once-peaceful dreams become twisted nightmares reflecting the shattering landscape of their mind. Perhaps that is why the creatures from beyond the Portal came; native bearers of this plague, did they flee their world in an attempt to escape the madness promised to them from the moment of their birth? Or were the dragons of Sornieth never meant to make contact with the Presence, and this gradual onslaught of madness is but the price they must pay for their folly? No one is certain - not even the Hunters themselves - but it has not dissuaded them from their hunt. Whether they believe they were guided by their Mother or manipulated by something else entirely, this is the path they have set their paws on in the Plaguebringer’s name, and they will follow it to its end. After all, a Hunter is no different than any other Necromancer - each and every one of them endured the Trials before they were touched by the Paleblood. Regardless of whether She sent them Herself, the majority of Hunters still serve Her. Perhaps what sets them most apart from the majority of other Necromancers is less to do with their hunt and more to do with their collective indifference toward the established Necromancer hierarchy. Necromancer, Necroservus, Wraith - to the Hunters these designations mean little. For these very physically-oriented, battle-hardened dragons, one’s ability to give and take away disease are of secondary importance to their ability to survive the kind of fast-paced, violently bloody conflicts Hunters most often get into. For this reason, many Wraiths and quite a few Necroservi often seek out the creatures of the Forbidden Portal or a Hunter willing to infect them with the Paleblood, joining the Hunters to escape judgement for their failures during the Trials. Ghouls, too, seek out the Portal-- though they left their Trials as failures, their virulence grants Ghouls a unique success against the Paleblood. While in other Hunters it drains away almost all signs of the Mother’s blessing and gradually corrupts their bodies and minds, a Ghoul Hunter has a greater resistance to the Paleblood. Ghoul Hunters’ loyalty can never be called into question; while some Hunters may embrace heresy and turn away from the Plaguebringer to fully devote themselves to the Presence, Ghoul Hunters are able to resist its otherworldly allure. The Paleblood infection grants them clarity, returns to them their minds, but it cannot erase the potent Plague magic that overwhelmed them before. For this reason, Ghoul Hunters are incapable of becoming blood-drunk.[right][sub]Written by TwoTimesMartyred[/sub][/right] [color=#4a4a4a]However, this is not to say that Ghouls can’t manifest mutations themselves. While mutations may come on slowly, they can nonetheless happen, though in their cases they’re as likely to be due to the flood of the Plaguebringer’s touch as from the mutative effects of the Paleblood. Additionally some mutations are simply those a dragon may have - and can be where things get interesting. Where in most Hunters the horizontal pupils of Goat Eyes indicates their slow decline into blood drunkenness, a Paleblood Ghoul’s inherent immunity to that state gives such eyes a different meaning. Instead of blood drunkenness, a Goat Eyed Paleblood Ghoul is often an adept Hunter [i]of[/i] such dragons, most especially those Hunters gone so utterly feral that even the oldest and most skilled Hunters would be hesitant to face them alone. In this way, Ghouls are often known to be summoned to the sides of Hunters in need, helping to fight the most deteriorated. There are also whispers of other abilities of those with Goat Eyes - some claim that Goat Eyed Ghouls can glimpse the exact origin of a Hunter’s Paleblood, identifying their likely sect before they even state it themselves, while others believe that Paleblood Ghouls, with their trouble speaking to dragons but ease with Beastclans, are instead some brand of psychic. The exact truth has not yet been revealed. [/color][right][sub]Written by EssayOfThoughts[/sub][/right] [color=#4a4a4a]Even Neutralized Ghouls may seek the Paleblood, their desperation for connection to a deity erasing any sense of fear at what unknown world lies beyond the Portal. Without any Plague or other element remaining in them, these dragons are the only Necromancers to receive the full effects of the Paleblood. Instead of merely ashen, their bodies become bone white, scale and hide and all. What's more, while a regular Hunter will mutate over years of time (if they survive that long), a Neutralized Hunter experiences a rapid onset of mutations. Extra eyes are the first, as with other Hunters, then limbs, then… [i]other[/i] things. Teeth and gaping maws where such things should not be found, often with grasping arms within; undulating, pulsing swathes of flesh that seem to move with minds of their own; other heads, or half-formed faces growing out of their necks or sides. These dragons no longer had ties to Plague, and so the Paleblood consumes them in their entirety. Though still sane, and usually respectful to other Necromancers, Neutralized Ghouls no longer consider themselves quite the same as them. Their loyalty is to the Presence and the Portal alone. Its will is theirs, and this blatant disregard of their former allegiance to Plague is seen by many Necromancers to be proof that the Presence isn’t working towards the Plaguebringer’s interests, but instead actively working against Her, and perhaps the other deities as well.[/color][right][sub]Written by TwoTimesMartyred[/sub][/right] [center][img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1h2g3br1d1xem0r/plaguemidsmall.png[/img][/center] [center][size=5][color=#4a4a4a][b]Blood-Drunk Hunters and the Hunters of Hunters[/b][/color][/size][/center] [color=#4a4a4a]No Hunter can Hunt forever. Often death or injury takes them, a fight with a beast beyond their ability, but the longer a Hunter survives the better at it they get. With the oldest, most skilled Hunters of the Paleblood, something else inevitably takes them instead. The Presence from beyond the Portal is unlike anything from Sornieth. Dragons can speak to the Beastclans, can comprehend their nearest non-draconic neighbours. They can even, to some extent, comprehend their deities. For all the gods’ ineffable and unknowable power, they are not unknown themselves, with clear domains and scopes of power, and those who worship to and commune with them often find messages passed clearly through channels of faith. The Portal and what lies beyond it is already hard to describe, but none aside from the fully inducted Hunters - those who have not only taken the Blood but also the final step through the Portal - can truly comprehend it. Mind-bending geometry, creatures beyond knowing. Some say that the true challenge of becoming a Hunter is not the Blood or the Hunting - it is surviving the Portal with one’s mind intact. Some, it must be admitted, do not. Any Hunter will tell you simply: the Presence is not like anything one might conceive of. Its world is alien to that of Sornieth, not just in the forms of what life can be found there, but in the laws of nature, of physics, of mathematics. And the Presence is by far the most alien of all - and it whispers. Even the newest of Hunters will hear the whispers. First when they receive the transfusion of Paleblood, encouraging their Hunt, and then on and on, urging them to step through the portal, to fight greater and worse monsters - urging them, some Necromancers claim, to become monsters themselves. That is the final price a Hunter must bear. The longer they persist in hunting, the greater the strain is. The Paleblood already mutates and changes them, making them bigger and stronger, faster and more agile, granting them eyes that they might see and minds more capable of understanding the Presence’s whispers. Many not only hunt longer, but take on more Paleblood, trying to get closer to the Presence’s words. The combination proves deadly not in the literal sense but the figurative - those who do so are never the same again, often killing the people they once were.[right][sub]Written by EssayOfThoughts[/sub][/right] [color=#4a4a4a]Though it can be difficult to discern when a Hunter is in the earliest stages of this mental transformation, the observant may notice the flesh along their back slowly darkening as their aggressive outbursts become more frequent. A fully lost Necromancer is truly a sight to behold, their stripes standing out pale as moonlight in a writhing sea of black - those unfamiliar with the nature of Hunters may even mistake them for Lichs themselves, with their bodies grey as ash and their backs so starkly marked. In some their eyes change too - eyes are, after all, the windows to the soul - and as their mind and control degrades so too do their pupils, warping into unnatural shape. A Goat-eyed Hunter often has very little time left before they are completely subsumed by the scourge of beasts. Most Hunters are killed long before they ever reach this stage, but some escape or are cast out by their clans, fated to wander Sornieth and indiscriminately attack any dragon they come across in their endless hunt for all they see as a corruption of Plague. These roaming dragons are often hunted themselves-- Holy Knights and the Hunters of Hunters both name these Hunters prey, for they pose as much of a danger to the Council as the Portal creatures themselves do.[/color][right][sub]Written by TwoTimesMartyred[/sub][/right] [color=#4a4a4a]These are the Blood-Drunk Hunters, and though Holy Knights may also call them prey, these are the dragons the Hunters of Hunters hunt unto death.[right][sub]by EssayOfThoughts[/sub][/right] [color=#4a4a4a]The Hunters of Hunters are the society tasked with putting to rest all Hunters whose control has frayed too much - dragons who have become dangers to themselves and all other dragons around them. Blood-drunk Hunters no longer possess the ability to tell friend from foe. In the earliest stages, it is almost undetectable; a lapse of judgement at a distance, mistaking a dark-colored dragon for a creation of the Shade. But as time wears on and the whispers take hold, many Hunters lose their ability to discern their prey at all. In the middling stages a Hunter may accuse a friend or ally they have known for decades of being a Lich in disguise. In the later stages that same Hunter will no longer begin with accusation, simply attacking allies and enemies alike with obsessive fervor, utterly convinced they are creatures of the Portal taking on draconic form. Whether the Hunters of Hunters were formed out of simple necessity or penance is difficult to say - for those Necromancers who believe the Hunters’ existence is a betrayal of the Plaguebringer, the Hunters of Hunters are the only ones in the right, killing off other Hunters. But to the Hunters themselves, and indeed many other Necromancers, the Hunters of Hunters are a necessary faction. After all, who better to fight so mutated a dragon as a Hunter, but another Hunter? The Hunters of Hunters are dragons who have tasked themselves with killing Hunters who have become blood-drunk or have otherwise endangered other Necromancers and their services with their actions. Whether they are simply too aggressive in seeking their targets or are truly too far gone, it is the solemn duty of a Hunter of Hunters to see to it that their comrades are put down once they become too dangerous for the Council to tolerate.[/color] [right][sub]Written by TwoTimesMartyred[/sub][/right] [center][img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/pcdper929atye3v/plaguebottom.png[/img][/center]

Fendwellr

371

September 07, 2021 12:25:02

Subspecies Origin

Necromancers

Widely considered the closest thing the Plaguelands have to royalty, Necromancers are well known throughout them for their skill at wielding Plague. Even the individuals who failed in one of the Trials - the Necroservi, Wraiths, and even the Ghouls - are noted, respected and even feared for their capabilities and striving desire to survive all that the Mother of Plague could throw at them. It is from this ilk that the Hunters first came.

Many Necromancers take on specialties based on their abilities and their skills. Some are wise with words, helping to spread the word of the Plaguebringer near and far. Others are deft with disease, spreading it to enemies and inoculating their own. Others still are skilled in the scripture of the Plaguebringer and interrogate Her every teaching, seeking to make themselves and those close to them stronger in every way they can.

And then there are those which hunt. Call them what they will - Hunters, Crusaders, Holy Knights, - it hardly matters. In the end, many arrive at the Forbidden Portal, seeking a new quarry. Lichs ever linger, Ghouls ever roam, Revenants ever rise - but what comes through the new Portal is a strange new threat that very few care to face. Only the boldest, strongest and most certain in themselves take on the challenge - and even there, many fail. But still they go, to fight back the unknowable strangeness, to fend off the strange infection - and in answer to a prophecy, so old as to be half mystery, received and spoken by Oracles of their Lady of Plague.

_{Written by EssayOfThoughts}

Origin of the Hunters

The exact origin of the Paleblood Hunters is something as debated as their nature. Whether they were called by something unknown beyond the Forbidden Portal or were sent by a vision from the Plaguebringer, no one really knows for sure. What is known is this: when the portal first opened, several Necromancers received what seemed to be dream-visions from the Plaguebringer, warning them of terrible things beyond the portal and telling them, variously, to counter what came through, to learn from the new, eldritch strains of disease that arrived, and even to step through the portal themselves, to counter what lay beyond.

What lay beyond, some later learned, was the great Presence. No one, even the eldest of the Hunters, knows exactly what the Presence is. Some believe it guides them by working in alliance with the Plaguebringer, that the two work in concert to remove a threat to Sornieth before it can ever arrive. Others believe that it is a duplicitous being, that the dreams it sends to its followers are the same as the dream-visions sent to warn the Oracles - that the Presence wore the face of the Plaguebringer, and that the Hunters’ cause is heretical, while the more flexible in interpretation still believe that, regardless of if the Presence tricked the Hunters, it's goal and the Plaguebringer's are in alignment, that it works to Her greater plan

The most stringent, however, do not care if the Presence and the Plaguebringer share a purpose. Instead, they believe the worst of the Hunters: that those blood-drunk and mutating into the same abominations they hunt are the Presence's true goal, and that, regardless of the Plaguebringer's domains of disease and mutation, what comes through the portal are damned, duplicitous things that should only be turned back.

The Hunters, perhaps unsurprisingly, are themselves conflicted.

_{Written by EssayOfThoughts}

The First Hunters

When the Oracles began to dream, many felt urgently that they must go to the portal now, that the Plaguebringer's orders had to be carried out immediately. But the Council resisted - not all the Oracles were willing to follow their strange dreams so blindly, and those in agreement with the Council wanted more time, more evidence that it really was their Mother of Plague who was urging them along.

After all, the Portal had scarcely been open a week when the dreaming began, and all of dragonkind still knew precious little about it and the creatures that emerged from it in droves.

Still some Oracles insisted. The Plaguebringer was calling them now, it must be now!

Daichi, one of the first Oracles to receive the dreams, did not want to wait. Their duty was to their Mother, and here the Council sat dithering and debating instead of answering Her call. After days of fruitless arguing, she turned to her mate, a respected Holy Knight. Surely Brador would see reason?

He did not agree with her, but led her to the Portal in hopes that seeing it up close would quench her fervent need to enter it, would scare her away from its otherworldly glow until such time as the Council had made a decision. Instead, somehow, he ended up convinced to step through, if only to keep her from doing so herself. It was a fruitless endeavour - she followed after him anyway, and the two reemerged as Sornieth's first Hunters.

Their actions sparked even further controversy in the Council. Many used their changed coloration - deep grays, with their thylacine slashes turned to moonlit silver - as proof this was not the Plaguebringer's will, and the disturbing visions Brador related only fueled that belief. Others were undeterred, believing that a change of coloration indicated nothing. After all, they still bore Mother's clawmarks down their backs; surely if this had not been Her will, they would have been lost?

_{Written by TwoTimesMartyred}

The debate rages even today; for all their connection to Paleblood and the Presence, Hunters are not a monolith and no two believe the exact same thing. Some believe the Paleblood is a blessing and that it serves the same goals as the Plaguebringer, others believe it an entirely separate being. Some follow the Presence despite this while others are more wary of what it asks. The question of course arises as to the possibility of other Presences.

While Brador led Hunters who held faith with the Presence, other Hunters claim the Paleblood - or perhaps their Paleblood - was sourced by others. Some spoke of a Formless One, of a Motherly Presence, of a Grand Mind, of a Cursed Blood and held faith with them instead of the Presence. Thus Hunters separated into sects from very early on, and some of them, most especially the Hunters of Hunters, are known to even hunt one another.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Necromantic Council is not best pleased by this level of conflict and lack of clarity, and Hunters of Hunters are especially detested by many members of the Council in spite of the respect they have from other Hunters.

_{Written by EssayOfThoughts}

The Current Existence of the Hunters

Even today, most Necromancers begin the path to becoming a Hunter by specialising as Crusaders, Hunters and Holy Knights, fighting Lichs, Revenants and feral Ghouls as much as emperors, and whatever beastly, undead or unspeakable things they might encounter. Thus it is that many end up at the Forbidden Portal, and thus it is that many first get taught of the Hunt, of the eldritch Blood and of the Presence - and thus it is that so many step through the Portal, to fight as fully as they can, and so become Hunters of the Paleblood.

_{Written by EssayOfThoughts}

Generally speaking, Hunters take on a very physical kind of devotion to the Plaguebringer, dedicating themselves to hunting down all that they see as corruptions of or threats to Plague and their Mother's teachings. Their connection to the Presence does not change their dedication to their Mother, but rather gives it new form. As such, Hunters are more likely to belong to the martially-oriented Necromantic societies or take up specialities with a more physical bent, for they are ever-expanding their fighting prowess to aid them in their hunt.

Hunters are decidedly nocturnal compared to all other Necromancers; not only is it easier to hunt under cover of darkness, but they find comfort in the moonlight, and their eyes have become so sensitive to hunting under its glow that the glaring light of the sun brings with it blinding headaches. Any Hunter forced to be awake during the day will often don a blindfold, goggles, or a wide-brimmed hat in order to shield their eyes and alleviate their pounding migraine.

_{by TwoTimesMartyred}

As for their hunt: though Hunters will hunt most anything, especially creatures known to be threats such as Revenants, Lichs, and Ghouls - they do not do so always. Ghouls are not uniformly slaughtered, nor are Mercys, as both variants can sometimes exhibit sanity and care. Some Hunters hope that by permitting the survival of the saner, more controlled variants, the variants overall will become so, while others simply keep an eye on them, stepping in only when necessary. Some have even been known to form agreements with such creatures, promising to strike them down if they go too far, not unlike the Hunters of Hunters who put to rest those who become blood-drunk. After all, Ghouls and Mercys sought only to be connected to their Mother, and no self-respecting Hunter would dare to call that sin.

_{Written by EssayOfThoughts}

Instead, the main target of a Hunter’s wrath are the denizens of the Portal from which their own Presence comes. Hunters believe, and have been so told by their Presence, that the creatures and diseases that originate from the portal are abhorrent and grotesque-- and so too is the Paleblood, for all the wonders it grants. While those newly infected boast of faster reflexes, greater agility, and heightened senses, older Hunters are careful to avoid revealing the less savory effects of the Paleblood to those unaware.

_{by TwoTimesMartyred}

For all their infestation with the Paleblood, Hunters are rarely more resilient against common disease than their Necromantic companions. The Paleblood allows them swifter recovery from harm, yes, but its main strength comes in combating the eldritch creatures from beyond the Portal - though at times, by indirect means. It is not unknown for older Hunters to start to display mutations: additional eyes both inside their skull, against the brain, and outside it; longer claws; stronger frames; bigger bodies to embody the strength required to fight back the horrible entities. The Paleblood itself mutates them to fit their needs, and to what degree this is under the Hunter's control is hotly debated.

_{by EssayOfThoughts}

Contrary to the Council's views, young Necromancers often look upon Hunters with awe -- and who wouldn't? Such powerful warriors, skilled and tenacious hunters stalking prides of Deeprealm Leons and Ferberi under the moonlight, undeterred by the shifting form of a Sanguine Multimist or the drifting headless beasts that spew forth, all but immune to their otherworldly powers? Who wouldn't be starstruck seeing a group of Hunters slipping out of their dens to answer rumors of a rampaging Emperor or a wide-roaming portal amphibian with claw and fang and blade? Who wouldn't romanticize their strength and keen senses?

But the Paleblood's wonders carry with them a steep price: in time, it devours all it touches, and even those blessed by its gifts do not escape their fate forever. The mutations increase in number and severity over time, and some of the oldest Hunters are more grotesquerie than dragon; many-limbed, many-eyed creatures almost indistinguishable from many of the things they hunt. In such a state, some have even been mistaken for Hollowed Lichs - and not without good reason.

That is but the price they reveal to the world however, the one they cannot hide for any length of time. In truth there is another, far worse effect of the Paleblood on those it touches. It is the Hunters' most closely guarded secret; the slow, creeping insanity that gradually overtakes them all. At first they were merely dedicated to their hunt. Now it consumes them, plaguing their every waking moment - and even their dreaming ones as well. The Presence’s whispers grow into screams, and the Hunters' once-peaceful dreams become twisted nightmares reflecting the shattering landscape of their mind.

Perhaps that is why the creatures from beyond the Portal came; native bearers of this plague, did they flee their world in an attempt to escape the madness promised to them from the moment of their birth? Or were the dragons of Sornieth never meant to make contact with the Presence, and this gradual onslaught of madness is but the price they must pay for their folly?

No one is certain - not even the Hunters themselves - but it has not dissuaded them from their hunt. Whether they believe they were guided by their Mother or manipulated by something else entirely, this is the path they have set their paws on in the Plaguebringer’s name, and they will follow it to its end. After all, a Hunter is no different than any other Necromancer - each and every one of them endured the Trials before they were touched by the Paleblood. Regardless of whether She sent them Herself, the majority of Hunters still serve Her.

Perhaps what sets them most apart from the majority of other Necromancers is less to do with their hunt and more to do with their collective indifference toward the established Necromancer hierarchy. Necromancer, Necroservus, Wraith - to the Hunters these designations mean little. For these very physically-oriented, battle-hardened dragons, one’s ability to give and take away disease are of secondary importance to their ability to survive the kind of fast-paced, violently bloody conflicts Hunters most often get into. For this reason, many Wraiths and quite a few Necroservi often seek out the creatures of the Forbidden Portal or a Hunter willing to infect them with the Paleblood, joining the Hunters to escape judgement for their failures during the Trials.

Ghouls, too, seek out the Portal-- though they left their Trials as failures, their virulence grants Ghouls a unique success against the Paleblood. While in other Hunters it drains away almost all signs of the Mother’s blessing and gradually corrupts their bodies and minds, a Ghoul Hunter has a greater resistance to the Paleblood. Ghoul Hunters’ loyalty can never be called into question; while some Hunters may embrace heresy and turn away from the Plaguebringer to fully devote themselves to the Presence, Ghoul Hunters are able to resist its otherworldly allure. The Paleblood infection grants them clarity, returns to them their minds, but it cannot erase the potent Plague magic that overwhelmed them before. For this reason, Ghoul Hunters are incapable of becoming blood-drunk.

_{Written by TwoTimesMartyred}

However, this is not to say that Ghouls can’t manifest mutations themselves. While mutations may come on slowly, they can nonetheless happen, though in their cases they’re as likely to be due to the flood of the Plaguebringer’s touch as from the mutative effects of the Paleblood. Additionally some mutations are simply those a dragon may have - and can be where things get interesting. Where in most Hunters the horizontal pupils of Goat Eyes indicates their slow decline into blood drunkenness, a Paleblood Ghoul’s inherent immunity to that state gives such eyes a different meaning. Instead of blood drunkenness, a Goat Eyed Paleblood Ghoul is often an adept Hunter of such dragons, most especially those Hunters gone so utterly feral that even the oldest and most skilled Hunters would be hesitant to face them alone. In this way, Ghouls are often known to be summoned to the sides of Hunters in need, helping to fight the most deteriorated. There are also whispers of other abilities of those with Goat Eyes - some claim that Goat Eyed Ghouls can glimpse the exact origin of a Hunter’s Paleblood, identifying their likely sect before they even state it themselves, while others believe that Paleblood Ghouls, with their trouble speaking to dragons but ease with Beastclans, are instead some brand of psychic. The exact truth has not yet been revealed.

_{Written by EssayOfThoughts}

Even Neutralized Ghouls may seek the Paleblood, their desperation for connection to a deity erasing any sense of fear at what unknown world lies beyond the Portal. Without any Plague or other element remaining in them, these dragons are the only Necromancers to receive the full effects of the Paleblood. Instead of merely ashen, their bodies become bone white, scale and hide and all. What's more, while a regular Hunter will mutate over years of time (if they survive that long), a Neutralized Hunter experiences a rapid onset of mutations. Extra eyes are the first, as with other Hunters, then limbs, then… other things. Teeth and gaping maws where such things should not be found, often with grasping arms within; undulating, pulsing swathes of flesh that seem to move with minds of their own; other heads, or half-formed faces growing out of their necks or sides. These dragons no longer had ties to Plague, and so the Paleblood consumes them in their entirety.

Though still sane, and usually respectful to other Necromancers, Neutralized Ghouls no longer consider themselves quite the same as them. Their loyalty is to the Presence and the Portal alone. Its will is theirs, and this blatant disregard of their former allegiance to Plague is seen by many Necromancers to be proof that the Presence isn’t working towards the Plaguebringer’s interests, but instead actively working against Her, and perhaps the other deities as well.

_{Written by TwoTimesMartyred}

Blood-Drunk Hunters and the Hunters of Hunters

No Hunter can Hunt forever. Often death or injury takes them, a fight with a beast beyond their ability, but the longer a Hunter survives the better at it they get. With the oldest, most skilled Hunters of the Paleblood, something else inevitably takes them instead.

The Presence from beyond the Portal is unlike anything from Sornieth. Dragons can speak to the Beastclans, can comprehend their nearest non-draconic neighbours. They can even, to some extent, comprehend their deities. For all the gods’ ineffable and unknowable power, they are not unknown themselves, with clear domains and scopes of power, and those who worship to and commune with them often find messages passed clearly through channels of faith.

The Portal and what lies beyond it is already hard to describe, but none aside from the fully inducted Hunters - those who have not only taken the Blood but also the final step through the Portal - can truly comprehend it. Mind-bending geometry, creatures beyond knowing. Some say that the true challenge of becoming a Hunter is not the Blood or the Hunting - it is surviving the Portal with one’s mind intact.

Some, it must be admitted, do not.

Any Hunter will tell you simply: the Presence is not like anything one might conceive of. Its world is alien to that of Sornieth, not just in the forms of what life can be found there, but in the laws of nature, of physics, of mathematics. And the Presence is by far the most alien of all - and it whispers.

Even the newest of Hunters will hear the whispers. First when they receive the transfusion of Paleblood, encouraging their Hunt, and then on and on, urging them to step through the portal, to fight greater and worse monsters - urging them, some Necromancers claim, to become monsters themselves.

That is the final price a Hunter must bear. The longer they persist in hunting, the greater the strain is. The Paleblood already mutates and changes them, making them bigger and stronger, faster and more agile, granting them eyes that they might see and minds more capable of understanding the Presence’s whispers. Many not only hunt longer, but take on more Paleblood, trying to get closer to the Presence’s words. The combination proves deadly not in the literal sense but the figurative - those who do so are never the same again, often killing the people they once were.

_{Written by EssayOfThoughts}

Though it can be difficult to discern when a Hunter is in the earliest stages of this mental transformation, the observant may notice the flesh along their back slowly darkening as their aggressive outbursts become more frequent. A fully lost Necromancer is truly a sight to behold, their stripes standing out pale as moonlight in a writhing sea of black - those unfamiliar with the nature of Hunters may even mistake them for Lichs themselves, with their bodies grey as ash and their backs so starkly marked. In some their eyes change too - eyes are, after all, the windows to the soul - and as their mind and control degrades so too do their pupils, warping into unnatural shape. A Goat-eyed Hunter often has very little time left before they are completely subsumed by the scourge of beasts.

Most Hunters are killed long before they ever reach this stage, but some escape or are cast out by their clans, fated to wander Sornieth and indiscriminately attack any dragon they come across in their endless hunt for all they see as a corruption of Plague. These roaming dragons are often hunted themselves-- Holy Knights and the Hunters of Hunters both name these Hunters prey, for they pose as much of a danger to the Council as the Portal creatures themselves do.

_{Written by TwoTimesMartyred}

These are the Blood-Drunk Hunters, and though Holy Knights may also call them prey, these are the dragons the Hunters of Hunters hunt unto death.

_{by EssayOfThoughts}

The Hunters of Hunters are the society tasked with putting to rest all Hunters whose control has frayed too much - dragons who have become dangers to themselves and all other dragons around them. Blood-drunk Hunters no longer possess the ability to tell friend from foe. In the earliest stages, it is almost undetectable; a lapse of judgement at a distance, mistaking a dark-colored dragon for a creation of the Shade. But as time wears on and the whispers take hold, many Hunters lose their ability to discern their prey at all. In the middling stages a Hunter may accuse a friend or ally they have known for decades of being a Lich in disguise. In the later stages that same Hunter will no longer begin with accusation, simply attacking allies and enemies alike with obsessive fervor, utterly convinced they are creatures of the Portal taking on draconic form.

Whether the Hunters of Hunters were formed out of simple necessity or penance is difficult to say - for those Necromancers who believe the Hunters’ existence is a betrayal of the Plaguebringer, the Hunters of Hunters are the only ones in the right, killing off other Hunters. But to the Hunters themselves, and indeed many other Necromancers, the Hunters of Hunters are a necessary faction. After all, who better to fight so mutated a dragon as a Hunter, but another Hunter? The Hunters of Hunters are dragons who have tasked themselves with killing Hunters who have become blood-drunk or have otherwise endangered other Necromancers and their services with their actions. Whether they are simply too aggressive in seeking their targets or are truly too far gone, it is the solemn duty of a Hunter of Hunters to see to it that their comrades are put down once they become too dangerous for the Council to tolerate.

_{Written by TwoTimesMartyred}

Last edited on Oct 30, 2021 19:22:57 by Fendwellr

Fendwellr

371

September 07, 2021 12:25:07

Eye Lore

A dragon's eyes are more than just pigment and sight; they are a symbol of the divine, an outward mark of their magical heritage and inward glimpse into their soul. And while a dragon's eyes can't tell you everything about their lives and personalities, they can hint at what is normally hidden. In most ways the beliefs of Hunters overlap those of their Necromancer brethren, though in their experience those born with faceted eyes or eyes running along their body have a much more profound connection with the beings beyond the portal. Faceted-eyed Hunters are even known to pick up the language of the Other, though regardless of how hard they try they cannot translate the whisperings in any way that make sense to those not inducted into the Hunt.

You can find out more about Necromantic Eye Lore back at the main thread here.

Necromantic Symbols

Necromantic symbols can be represented by skins or apparel, but must in some way confer an air of 'nobility' to the dragon. Symbols also suggest the role your Necromancer will perform in your clan. These are largely left up to the player's interpretation, but some examples are below.

While the Necromancer Hunters may claim traditional Necromancer symbols, feeling their bond to the Plaguebringer is deepened by their newfound connection to that which lies beyond the Portal, they often hold new interpretations of these items. Some may see blindfolds as the same as Masks, or claim Sigils as signs of their duality. More than that, they have created some new symbols for their order, things unique to their lifestyle and their particular kind of devotion.

Armour, represented by all armour sets, Pyrite Pauldrons, Glacierguard Platemail, and Steampunk Wing Armour: commonly a symbol of defense, indefatigability, resolution, tenacity, stoicism, retribution, and loyalty. While hunters are known to prefer leather and cloth, the better for maneuverability and stealth, it is not unheard of for a Hunter to wear one or two pieces of metal, often hidden beneath their other armor in order to grant their most vital areas some measure of additional protection.

_{by TwoTimesMartyred}

Dented Iron Gorget

Apparel

Quite possibly the most futile piece of the set, this gorget does not do much to protect the other seventy-eight percent of the neck. This one is old and dented.

350

Unlucky Gambeson

Apparel

Padded armor catches both wary eyes, and wary claws.

1000

Viper's Tail Guard

Apparel

A segmented tail guard crafted from steel and lacquered wood.

1500

Tar-Trap Grimplate

Apparel

Perhaps the most striking of the set, this creepy breastplate gives the appearance that its wearer is being devoured by their own armor.

1200

Bloodscale Wing Guard

Apparel

Forged in blood, this wing guard is pieced together from the trophies of vanquished foes.

5000
Weapons, represented by Blades, Canes, Quivers, and all other weapons: For a Hunter, their fight to purify the Plaguelands of all that would taint it drives many to take up weapons. Unlike other Necromancers, whose chosen blades may be well-polished, clean, and more for decoration than anything else, a Hunter's blade is a vital weapon, and most often will show clear signs of frequent use. Their choice of weapons has expanded to fit their deadly lifestyle-- if it can be used to hack, hit, or harry, chances are you'll find it in the hands of many a Hunter.
_{by TwoTimesMartyred}

Sinister Footpads

Apparel

A dagger at foot is not nearly as useful as a dagger at hand.

0

Deeprealm Trident

Apparel

A trident with a long reach is an excellent weapon in the deep... (Wavecrest Saturnalia Holiday Item 2017)

0

Mourner's Weapons

Apparel

A warrior is prepared to kill.

800

Fancy Cane

Apparel

A support, a weapon, a statement.

800

Hunter's Quiver

Apparel

When magic is weak or claws are dull, a bow will never fail - provided one possesses opposable thumbs.

1600
Jewels and Jewellery, represented by Bloodstone or Crystalcourt Cascades, Magister Regalia, Amulets, Pendants, Lockets, and all Teardrop, Flourish, and Seraph apparel: A symbol of love, of devotion, of a reminder of those closest to one. Unlike most Necromancers, Hunters bearing Jewellery rarely ever choose it for themselves; instead they are gifted their jewellery by loved ones, family members, friends, or trusted allies seeking to remind them of those who care most for them. These Necromancers are dangerously close to losing themselves to the Paleblood's deteriorating effects, but nonetheless refuse to give in to their baser natures. These pieces of jewellery serve as an emotional anchor, a tether these Hunters can use to pull them back to themselves in the midst of feral fighting.
_{by TwoTimesMartyred}

Darksteel Amulet of Necromancy

Apparel

An oversized amulet inscribed with a necromancy formula.

250

Psion Rings

Apparel

A set of Psion's enchanted rings.

1200

Onyx Seraph Necklace

Apparel

A finely wrought piece of spun filigree.

0

Bloodstone Cascades

Apparel

A delicately crafted set of gemstone finery, adorned with the deepest bloodstones.

0

Pearl Flourish Tail Drape

Apparel

A finely-wrought pearl tail drape.

1400
Tools, represented by Bones, Bells, Instruments, and Satchels: Tools are commonly borne by the older Hunters, those who have trodden close to insanity and recoiled. In an attempt to stave off the inevitable they halt their hunt - though this does not prevent them from assisting others, often with the creation of new weapons, armour or trick items. It is worth being wary of those bearing tools. Though craftspeople day to day, when provoked they can be amongst the most feral and deadly of Hunters. Their satchels carry trinkets useful against all manner of beasts, and their instruments may be used to call upon aid from other Hunters or other, even more dangerous creatures. Above all other tools, bones carry a meaning of swiftness and skill, of great expertise and near-prescience. For this reason, bones are rarely a symbol chosen by or given to new Hunters unless they are able to prove themselves worthy of the Bones to other Hunters. A Hunter wearing Bones was often gifted their first one by a compatriot.

_{by EssayOfThoughts}

Red Birdskull Wingpiece

Apparel

A long spindle of twine, beaded with red baubles and trinkets. There are feathers strung along each thread.

1550

Sinister Vial

Apparel

Poison freshly brewed is doom freshly planned.

0

Wooden Pipeflute

Apparel

A set of wooden pipes that emit a mirthful, whimsical sound. Play the right songs and you can charm any familiar.

0

Journeyman Satchels

Apparel

A pair of worn leather satchels designed to carry rations, coin, and other knick-knacks. They are typically slung over the shoulder.

0

Deadpan Jester's Tail Bell

Apparel

A tail bell for a performer that's ready to entertain with a deadpan delivery.

900
Pacts, represented by Grasps, Presences, Elemental Growths, and more. It is no secret that the Hunters have a claw in two worlds, bound to two beings. While some Hunters may choose to hide their evidence, covering up extra eyes and limbs with heavy cloth and well-worn masks, others embrace this duality with deep fervor, adorning themselves with items which proclaim even louder that they are tied to something other, something eldritch and monstrous.

_{by TwoTimesMartyred}

Celestial Attendant

Apparel

This celestial orb thinks you have a lot of "pull!"

0

Malign Presence

Apparel

Some wrongs are difficult to leave behind.

1100

Unearthly Onyx Grasp

Apparel

Ghastly hands of the coldest mist, reaching for the moonlight.

1500

Void's Grasp

Apparel

Shadows encircle the bearer of this sigil, though whether they do so to protect or harm is a matter of intent. (Trickmurk Circus 2021 Holiday Item)

0

Moonglow Thorns

Apparel

Those who pass through the Tangled Wood uninvited may return adorned in brambles. A sign of displeasure or a sign of favor? (Trickmurk Circus 2015 Holiday Item)

0
Lamps, represented by Riot Hazebeacon, Sage Lanterns, Flame Candles, Delver's Lamps, Cindersphere Baubles, and Steampunk Tail Baubles: A symbol of learning, openness, bravery, exploration, humility, evenheadedness, and wisdom. Though Hunters welcome and actively seek the dark they are not without empathy for those who desire the light. Though Hunters are mostly known for killing terrible beasts such as Lichs, they are not kept from interacting with innocents - and, at times, leading them home. Bearing censers of herbs to ward off shade-infected and undead beasts, lifting a lamp to make the path clear, some hunters risk their nightvision to more ably lead the needy to the safety of their homes.
_{by EssayOfThoughts}

Riot Hazebeacon

Apparel

Every year, hundreds of these bony birds lead groups of revelers through the murky wasteland, their lanterns adding as much as aiding in the thick, putrid fog. (Riot of Rot 2019 Holiday Item)

0

Golden Sage Lantern

Apparel

Brilliant gilded lanterns accent the glittering, golden sage!

1600

Ethereal Flame Candles

Apparel

A spooky assembly of mysterious floating candles. One must be careful when making sudden movements to avoid being singed.

1400

Amber Delver's Lamp

Apparel

A copper-plated lamplight emitting an inviting amber glow. Cave seekers favor and rely upon this item whilst exploring caverns and rocky depths.

0

Bronze Steampunk Tail Bauble

Apparel

A shiny bronze bauble and lantern. This one affixes to the tail. It's quite banged up, and the glass is a bit chipped.

700
Mutations, represented by Callouses, Feathered Wings, Roundhorns, Antlers, and more. While some Hunters cover or otherwise hide away their otherworldly mutations, others embrace and display them, polishing newly sprouted antlers and preening shiny feathered wings. The Paleblood does not affect all Hunters the same, and a keen eye might notice there are different strains of it just as there are many diseases in Plague. The more striking mutations a Hunter has often indicate their dedication to their particular strain as well as how long they have been infected.
_{by TwoTimesMartyred}

Runaway Rotclaw

Apparel

A parasitic companion, and your new best friend. (Riot of Rot 2014 Holiday Item)

0

Inkwell Feathered Wings

Apparel

A full set of wings fashioned from wax and feathers.

1850

Tar-Trap Forecallouses

Apparel

An unidentifiable growth of calcified muscle on the fore legs.

900

Obsidian Roundhorn

Apparel

It is said that dragons with spiral horns have an affinity for balancing on the sides of sheer mountain cliffs.

250

Ebony Antlers

Apparel

An impressive set of antlers, but they probably aren't natural.

1450

Any of the above symbols can be represented by apparel, but skins and accents are also welcomed as indicators of a Hunter's symbol. Some examples are below, but any accent or skin can be used so long as you have a reason for it.

Familiars

Though Necromancers traditionally have plague-themed familiars, Hunters will most often ignore the elemental allegiance of a familiar in favor of their skill in battle. Their hunt weighs heavy on both their mind and body, and a familiar who cannot keep up with their Hunter and support them in their battles may find themself left by the wayside. However, in spite of their clear prowess in combat, Hunters usually drive away creatures from the Forbidden Portal that seek to ally with them-- though they both bear the Paleblood infection, Hunters seem to carry an almost-instinctual hatred of these creatures that share their affliction. Those Hunters who are blood-drunk will often attack the Portal denizens with even more intense fervor than they do any other target.

Unlike the majority of Necromancers, Hunters only recognize two "tiers" of familiar; those best suited for the skilled and experienced, whose quarry are often more dangerous themselves, or those best suited for one still gathering experience and learning to better discern their prey.

Also different to most Necromancers, a Hunter's tier ranking is almost exclusively decided by the number of successful hunts they have carried out and the length of time they have been a hunter. Older hunters who have kept their control and senses for decades tend to prefer companions who are themselves skilled warriors. High-tier Hunter familiars are most often boss monsters or members of the beast tribes, creatures that have proven themselves in battle and can aid in the Hunters' quest to eliminate all that stands against Plague.

Dragons from level 20-25 may claim any familiar they wish, and often (though not always) have boss monster familiars.
Dragons from level 15-19 can claim any high- or low-tier familiar except boss monsters.

Younger, less skilled Hunters may not yet have many years under their belt, nor the discerning abilities of their older peers. Most often, the familiars they encourage to aid them are predatory animals, sentient weaponry, or metallic constructs created for battle-- no less dangerous than the companions of older Hunters, but perhaps less prestigious in their society.

Dragons from level 1-14 can only claim lower-tier familiars.

Last edited on Oct 30, 2021 19:23:27 by Fendwellr

Fendwellr

371

September 07, 2021 12:25:16

Registry

To have your Paleblood Hunter registered here on the front page, they must be level 10 or higher. These Necromancers and their society focus heavily on a combative lifestyle, so official members should reflect that. If interest grows, we may establish an “Elite Registry” similar to the main Necromancer subspecies, wherein any dragon level 20 or higher would qualify for front page registry.

Leveling is not required to be a part of this subspecies, only for main thread registry. If your dragon matches the requirements for the sub but you don't want to deal with leveling, you can still put the subspecies banner in the dragon's bio. At some point I'll set up a separate thread for a broader registry.

Brador

Daichi

Aurelia

Harrow

Giovanni

Kosm

Precipice

Lune

Agrotora

Mercury

Mistral

Songbird

Taris

Ekkage

Entropon

Pallida

Valkorion

Malicos

Loran

Ahti

Sleet

Draur

Synodic

Lurien

Hrathen

Silchas

Arawn

Micolash

Last edited on Jan 12, 2022 14:17:07 by Fendwellr

Fendwellr

371

September 07, 2021 12:25:23

Banners & Buttons

Buttons:

By EssayOfThoughts

Code:

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Small:

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Large:

Code:

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Paleblood Hunter:

Code:

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Blood-drunk Hunter:

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Last edited on Oct 04, 2021 10:05:00 by Fendwellr

Fendwellr

Paleblood Necromancer Pinglists

371

September 07, 2021 12:25:33

Pinglist & Credits

A very huge thank you to @.EssayOfThoughts, without whom this silly idea never would have gone further than a test scry or two. Your support and help with both brainstorming and actual writing have been a godsend, and this sub is definitely as much your child as mine.

Credits

Lore Credit:
The Necromancer Subspecies this is a spinoff from was created by @.3idolon and @.TheCell. Almost all of the red text in the above posts is quoted verbatim from their thread

Code, Headers, and General Visual Credits:

Headers, Footers, and Heading Dividers are all from the wonderful @.osiem.
Stylized plague icons (used in both badges) by @.Archaic
Color predictor by Peixes for the color sections.
Dragon Avatar BBCode Generator by @.Starrlight

Last edited on Sep 25, 2021 12:26:18 by Fendwellr

reserved

Fendwellr

371

September 07, 2021 12:25:40

reserved

Sorry to literally everyone who got pinged in this thread because I forgot to edit out @'s in certain posts *facepalm*

Fendwellr