Auraboa Dragons

Obtained: Treasure Marketplace Rarity: Common Ancient Breeding Cooldown: 20 days Diet: Seafood, Meat

Overview
The Auraboa are the caretakers of the Behemoth, threading through the branches of the labyrinthian tree and seeing to its needs with an intuitive claw and a communion with the tree that no other breed of dragon has been able to achieve. The newest generations of Auraboa have chosen to explore the unique duality of their natures, and many among this Ancient species of dragon are venturing into the world for the first time, eager to learn of other dragon species, visit their territories, and join with their clans.


Physical Attributes
The Auraboa are a serpentine species of dragon. These large wyrms possess three pairs of feathered wings, the first of which serve as a dexterous pair of hands. Auraboa have two horns that sweep back from their skull complemented by a wide, expressive fan of feathers. All Auraboa are venomous, and use their fangs to neutralize their prey.

However, there is an apparent physical difference between Auraboa born before and after the catastrophe detailed in The Seed and the Sickness; the energies infusing Auraboan nests have been fundamentally altered. This change has introduced both the concept of and connection to linear time to their clutches, grounding the newer generations' waking state and physical form to the cycles of Sornieth. All Auraboa hatchlings born today have adapted to a circadian rhythm, a change that initially alarmed their progenitors and ultimately led the elder Auraboa to, for the first time, reach out for help. Because older generations of Auraboa had no physical need for sleep, the startling paradigm shift in their young was frighteningly alien to witness.


Social
Historically, Auraboa have lived exclusively among the boughs of the Behemoth. While they would never turn away visitors, their unique perception of the flow of time made communication with other dragon species exceptionally difficult. As such, fellow dragons were always considered welcome neighbors and guests, but forming deeper, more familial bonds with them was rare, if not almost impossible.

This can be attributed to the innate ability present in Auraboa to exist in a constant state of communion with their fellows: a connection they refer to as the Loop. In this persistent state, Auraboa dragons perceive time and memory in a shared, non-linear manner; this intertwined consideration for past and present events is such that it is difficult for dragons outside the Loop to fully grasp the intentions of these ancient wyrms. The Loop offers a direct method of communication between the individuals connected to it. While some elder Auraboa have learned to communicate ideas verbally, physical speech is slow and taxing. Spoken word is not their primary or preferred method of communication due to its inherent tediousness and imprecision compared to how they share information in the Loop.

The newest generations of Auraboa are now born with connections to both the forward rhythms of Sornieth and the infinite ring-like state of the Loop. While awake, they are less directly accessible to their brethren, appearing "silent" to Auraboa who exist solely within the communal state. This pattern of dropping out of and reconnecting with the Loop, while frightening to their elders, has enabled young Auraboa to experience time in both a linear and non-linear sense, providing them with a powerful new tool by which to communicate with the world outside the Loop. With this new understanding, they have begun to form deeper and more vital connections with dragonkind that were not possible before.

Though exciting, many young Auraboa have made the conscious choice to embrace this newfound ability to explore the wider world in addition to continuing to tend the Behemoth alongside their progenitors.


Lairs
Auraboa consider the placement of their lairs where they are most needed. Should a branch of the Behemoth begin to wilt, a group may opt to literally entwine their physical forms around it as a splint. It is not uncommon to see several variable types of lairs attached to the great tree, almost like bandages and salves.

This flexibility has lent itself well to dragons of newer generations, who are equally enthused to roost in open-air structures or worm their way through twisting tunnels. They treat the lairs of the clans they join precisely as their elders treat the Behemoth, using their natural gifts to enhance the stability of the structures and maintain the health of the land. A lair with an Auraboa in it is rarely in ill-repair.


Tactics
Auraboa are particularly vulnerable to attack while they slumber. They are difficult to rouse once they enter the Loop and connect with their brethren; because of this, they rely upon their clan mates to keep them safe until they have fully awoken.

Younger Auraboa who choose to leave the safety and shelter of Behemoth are not battle-tested, and while they possess a millennium's worth of communal knowledge, almost none of those memories are of combat. They rely upon the guidance of the dragons whom they have chosen to follow in their early seasons outside the great tree.

Experienced Auraboa benefit from the powerful flexibility of their minds. Those who have spent years flying the lands of Sornieth are extremely quick studies, leveraging their exercised learning capacity, potent venom, and swift reflexes to great effect in combat situations that they are unable to avoid.