​​​Biology & Physiology​

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The vast majority of dragons are born from one of the 14 known elements, depending on Aether, Nether or Neutral alignment: Solar, Frost, Nature, Storm, Gale, Tidal; Umbra, Fear, Blood, Toxin, Argent, Soul; and Gravity or Chronos.

 

However there are also cases in which a dragon is not connected to the Aether/Nether/Neutral energy of the world, and thus are born elementless.

 

Dragons (and any creature) can only have one element, even if hybridization may occur.

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Dragons always sport scales, with the exception of Gravity dragons, whom are on a different evolutionary branch entirely and thus may present a body fully or mostly covered in fur. They also lack wings and so, use their element to "fly" instead.

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With most sporting four limbs and a pair of wings, wingless dragons are a rarity, only found in genetically defect dragons. In the old days these would be put down, as families could not care for their young if they couldn't fly and keep up. However as society developed, and dragons had less and less natural predators, this became a non-lethal condition. The only dragons that lack wings naturally are Gravity dragons.

Those that may lack limbs, cannot use their element to prop themselves forth as it would eventually exhaust them too much, with the exception of Gravity.

Soulweaver dragons however can conjure "phantom limbs" as replacement, and with experience this takes less and less energy,  including wings.

Dragons born with less or more limbs than they should will always struggle to adapt.

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Those born blind will not be able to use their element to "see", but they may develop a sixth sense or hightened senses no matter the element.

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All dragons sport features and markings that resemble their element.

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Although Dragon anatomy can vary a fair bit, there are several things they will always have in common:

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• Head: These can vary across different elements, with “generalisations” occurring: such as earth dragons having stockier heads, or wind dragons having more slender or sharper beak-like heads. (Note: actual beaks will never happen in dragons.)

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• Neck, Legs, & Chest: Can vary between slender and thick and narrow or wide.

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• Tail: They vary greatly in length, and slightly in thickness, but overall females tend to have longer tails than males.

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• Wings: Dragon wings are usually bat-like, with 3 or 4 wing fingers, but can also have a wing thumb or claw. Phobia dragons only have one wing thumb usually. Wing span can vary a bit but there are generalizations to keep in mind based on the element of the dragon, such as wind dragons having larger and narrower wings and earth dragons having shorter and wider ones. The internal and dorsal membranes can be different colors, usually the back of the wings will match the back colors of the dragon! But not necessarily always. Markings can also be seen both inside and outside of the wings and can cross over the wing fingers as well: basically they can "bleed" outside the membrane boundaries. They may have growths on the wing arm and wing fingers, but these must be kept at reasonable lengths and weight. Feathered wings are exclusively found in Gale dragons, sporting different shapes. Dragons with Gale genes can also have feathered wings, but their shape will be limited to the basic one.

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DESIGN NOTES

Honorbound allows a lot of design freedom when it comes to shapes and styles. The most important factor to keep in mind is that a dragon's element MUST be visually recognisable, and as easy to know which variant as possible. The only hard rules are:

• No more than one head

• No dual or multiple elements (this is a trait exclusive to the Celestial Scions)

• No more than 4 limbs and a pair of wings. Except for Gravity dragons which anatomy is the most different, and always lack wings.

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Scales

Dragon scales can vary greatly in color depending on their element and ancestry, but they will never be fully plated nor fully scale-less. Scales can be soft or hard, as well as form thick platings.

They can also present color-changing properties, usually according to season or age.

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Plateless

The plateless trait is a defect that is not considered undesireable

Ever since dragons were created that they have always added extra protection to their -already often tough- scales, from bone armor to iron/copper and later steel, with Star Metal being the most rare yet desired for the armora of royals and supreme/grand generals that needed it most

Thus, families such as Sapphire Solstice that have this gene do not face any backlash or criticism for it, since they can easily compensate with armor

Sometimes plateless dragons also choose non-combatant roles, which are just as crucial to the proper functioning of a defensive army.

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Colors

A dragons' color is first and foremost dictated by their element, and secondly by alignment, with genetics playing a part also.

This means that Aether dragons will more often than not have bright colored scales, and Nether dragons will often have darker shades for their main color. This isn't a hard rule, however it is rare to see Aether aligned dragons with dark colors due to how both alignments have not mixed yet.

Dragons will often only have 3 up to 4 color groups. The one exception to this being colors that appear between two gradients. With a max of 8 colors on them. Black and White are considered their own color group: Grayscale.

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Depending on element, colors will be related to it in some way, for example:

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AETHER

• Solar: warm colors, such as orange, red, or yellow will be the most common, with emerald or purple fire also possible. Solar is amidst the most chromatic colors, and they will usually be bright, warm and natural. They may however also display cool colors but they'll be much rarer.

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• Frost: off-white, light blue, light pink, etc... will be the most prominent, along with other cold colors. Yellow is an impossible color for this element, but gold and are is possible. Warm colors are very rare for this element.

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• Nature: this element is also amidst the most colorful of all, with svariants having each a more common set of colors such as flora maining earthy or floral tones, crystal bright colors, and stone often sporting greys and desaturated tones.

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• Gale: Their element, albeit invisible, displays a color given its nature, which can be of any color, with the variants of Saturated, Tinted which features pastels, Teal which ranges from light blue to green, and light greys.

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• Tidal: showing the most number of blue colored dragons, Tidal has often teal, dark greens and other blue tones. Yellow and red are impossible colors for this element. Only dark green and dark blue are rare.

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• Storm: the most contrasting of all elements, Storm dragons enjoy the full color spectrum also, often being bright with darker secondary colors. Grey is the most common color for them.

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NETHER

• Umbra: as the name implies, umbra dragons always have a black or very dark base. They may have a brighter secondary color, but the main color will always be very dark. Bright shadow dragons are very rare.

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• Fear: fear dragons are often red colored or pinkish off-white, with tones that more often than not resemble corpses or other dreadful nightmares. They may have other hues related to phobias or fears, and these may be contrasting with dark and bright colors or markings.

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• Blood: sporting the darkest reds, blood dragons may also have off-white secondary colors. The only colors of blood at the moment are red, purple, and gold, and these will often be dark.

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• Toxin: sporting the darkest greens, Toxin dragons are often desaturated, with sickly green colors, while also having dark secondaries or very bright ones. Their pigments are often like those of dart frogs or poisonous flora.

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• Argent: sporting a natural metallic sheen, they are known for their metallic colors and as the only ones capable of having metallic-looking growths.

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• Soul: these dragons are the paradox of their kind, often having the brightest colors, but they may very well have dark colors too. They seemingly follow no rules besides a natural "ethereal aura". Their most remarkable feature are their naturally occurring runes and glowing markings.

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NEUTRAL

• Gravity: the most unique of all, Gravity dragons enjoy the full spectrum of colors, while still having mostly dark hues. They are special in how they do not have elemental markings naturally.

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• Chronos: an extremely rare element, these dragons have often displayed cold blues or greys with golden details.

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EXCEPTIONS

• Pure White: thus far, the only known pure white dragons come from a Celestial-Touched bloodline called Celestial Sanctum. This is due to a historic event in which the Celestials blessed their bloodline for their faith and strength in dire times during the First War. Even ice dragons, the ones with the brightest scales, have always had off-whites as their tones. Dragons that display pure white scales will be celebrated as Celestial-touched. This doesn't apply to white elements.

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• Pure Black: the only naturally occuring pure black dragons are Umbra ones. In Nether elements it is a sign of bloodline purity. In Aether, it is considered Tainted.

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• Gilded markings, kintsugi style: this is a type of markings exclusive to the Celestial Warriors, akin to kintsugi. They differentiate from other markings such as cracks or veins due to their metallic sheen. Other dragons, specifically Gravity ones, may have gilded markings, but they will always be single lines, not branched nor jagged.

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DESIGN NOTES

There is no limit to how complex a design is, as long as it looks like its element. This comes at the price however, that your design may be simplified when it comes to cameos, or slightly altered to fit the artist's style. (Which you will be show during the process to ensure you're happy with it!)

When it comes to colors however, things are a little more strict for the sake of easy element recognition. For example: Water dragons can only have dark colors if they are blue or green, so as to not be confused with Blood dragons who can be all other dark colors except blue or green to avoid confusion.

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Height

A dragon's height may depend on varying factors such as not only age, but also element, heritage, or other external factors. But in general their height will follow a pattern where they have a growth spurt in their teens, and then slows down as their age progresses.

 

Accross all elements, the maximum and miminum heights are 1m above or below the average. 

The exception to this are Toxin and Nature, which can have the biggest variety with up to 2 meters above or below average.​

 

These averages can be broken through via hybridization between elements.​​

 

The following are the average heights depending on element:

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AETHER

• Tidal (3.6m) - Pure Tidal dragons tend to be short, robust and stocky . However they are also the likeliest to hybridize and thus their builds and heights have become more variable in recent generations.

• Solar (4m) - Solar dragons sport the average height and build for all dragonkind, with little variation.

• Frost (4.5m) - Sharp and imposing, Frost dragons have thicker builds with limited variation depending on the weather in the frozen lands they call home.

• Storm (4.6m) - Rivalling Gale, Storm dragons are similar to them in build, but are more variable, with some members being more athletic and muscular. They are the third tallest of all Aether dragons.

• Gale (5m) - Gale dragons are tall, elegant figures, often slender and graceful, often regal in appearance. They are the second tallest breed.

• Nature (6m) - Though not overly tall, Nature dragons are walking fortresses that are built strong. Depending on their Sub-Type of element (Flora, Crystal or Stone), they can have variable builds, with Flora being the most lithe or athletic, Crystal a middle term leaning towards stocky, and Stone being the most heavyset of all dragons, sometimes to the detriment of flight. They are the tallest amongst all elements.

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NETHER

• Blood (3.6m) - Small, fluid-like creatures, blood dragons are known for their limitless endurance, with their height leaning towards short and stocky, however their height doesn't vary much.

• Toxin (3.7m) - Toxin dragons are known for their swiftness and agility with their smaller bodies often reflecting this. Their body build is often stocky or average, and they can be the smallest of all Nether elements.

• Soul (4.5m) - Soulweavers are often ghastly in appearence, ethereal even. While Fear dragons are skeletal and tall, Souls are smaller and the most elegant and beautiful of all.

• Argent (5m) - Argent dragons are rather tall, often having muscular builds, and not unlike Nature dragons their heights can vary very often.

• Umbra (6m) - Umbra dragons are tall and sinewy dragons, lean but muscular, with discernible definition on their bodies. Builds vary between lineages, with most erring towards lighter variants.

• Fear (9m) - Fear dragons are nightmares made flesh, both in element and appearance. They are eerily thin, lanky and angular to the point of looking malnourished. They tower over all other dragons without suffering from gigantism, with their max height reaching up to 10m.

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NEUTRAL

• Gravity (3.6m) - Eastern in build instead of western, Gravity dragons have long bodies and short legs. These dragons become longer as they age, rather than taller, with the eldest individuals seeming to span horizons. Height is not as important but they tend to be slightly above average

• Chronos (4.2m) - Very little is known about dragons of Chronos, as there are only two members of this element, with the same height range of 4.2m. If this is their stable height or unique to the siblings it is not confirmed.

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The maximum upper limit for dragons is usully 6 or 7 meters for Aether/Nether, but there are exceptions for Fear and Nature, whom exceed these limits naturally.

For other elements, this will be very difficult to reach unless you are deriving from exceptionally tall or mixed bloodlines.

Aether dragons cannot exceed 5 meters with the exception of Nature which caps at 7m, with most Aethers existing below this limit.

In order to have an Aether element above this, the dragon must be at least 50% Nether, aka a darker, which are restricted at this time. This range is exclusive to dark dragons and their hybrids.​

While this list are the averages, elemental mixing and certain lineages may run bigger or smaller along with individual variation. This also does not include variations in body types which show a large range amongst dragons.

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Eyes

Dragon eyes will always have a slit pupil, regardless of alignment. But the colors can vary: Aether dragons will have a light colored sclera, while Nether dragons will often have a dark colored sclera.​

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Dragon eyes are also quite remarkable in how, depending on their emotions or even the use of their element or magic, their eyes will glow and even exude their element. The intensity of it may vary depending on their mastery level.

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​Examples of Aether Eyes

Single color, two-tone, and three-tone irises, as well as the darkest possible colored sclera for non-Nether dragons. ​​

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​Examples of Mixed Alignment (darker) Eyes

Displaying a white or colored sclera, slit or round pupils, and irises.​

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​Examples of Nether Eyes

​​They may lack a discernible iris, but their sclera will be colored, yet never black.

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Examples of Corrupted Eyes

Displaying always a black sclera, and a white or colored pupil. There is no discernible iris.

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Tongue

The tongue of a dragon can vary greatly in shape, depending on Aether or Nether alignment.

Aether dragons have forked, sporked or round tongues.

Nether dragons have multiple splits on their tongues.

Neutral dragons may have either.

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They are usually flesh-colored unless elemental staining happens.

Elemental staining is an effect that occurs when a dragon breathes their element the most through their life, and it's gradual depending on their mastery.

This staining can occur either at the tip or the back of the tongue, depending if they breathe it through the front of their maw or the back of their throat respectively.

If they breathe it through their nose or manipulate it, there is no staining.

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Examples of Aether tongue shapes
Nature (round), Frost/Gale (diamond), Solar (sporked), Storm (forked), Tidal(round, diamond)

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Examples of Nether tongue shapes
Umbra (triple forked), Fear (forked, thin), Toxin (triple forked, thin), Blood (round), Argent (diamond, thin), Soulweaver (forked, thin)

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​Examples of Flesh Colors

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Fangs

Most dragons will have canine fangs, however these can vary depending on habitat/element:

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• Tidal: tidal dragons have dolphin-type fangs, sharp and mostly even. Excellent for catching fish and other water-dwelling beings.

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• Fear: fear dragons tend to have needle-like fangs, however this doesn't mean they're brittle.

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• Nature: they have canine fangs but wider. And they are the element type that is most prone to develop tusks.

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• Argent: the only ones who display naturally metallic fangs.

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Aether and Nether dragons will always have white or ivory colored fangs. Corrupted dragons may have black, blue, green or red fangs.

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Horns

All dragons MUST have at the very least 2 horns. They will never have only one. They may have a big one on their head and then two smaller ones on the sides, but they have a consistent pair of horns.

• These may vary wildly in shape, texture, etc...

• They will never be fully translucent, with the base being opaque.

• They may join at any point.

• Their sizes should be kept relatively realistic and not be too large or heavy that the dragon would break their neck.​

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Markings

The vast majority of dragons will be born with markings on their scales that represent their element (and only their element). They will never change in shape but they may change in color and intensity through a dragon's life.

Markings are often consistent, but they may also mix-match stylization or design elements (such as snow, swirls, and icicles; leaves and rocks; flames and embers).

Only Nether dragons may have black elemental markings. Aether dragons will always have bright elemental markings.

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Styles

Markings may be either natural, stylized, or abstract. And they may also bleed into membranes or growths.

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Edges

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• Hard: hard-edged and do not blend in with the rest of the scale colors.

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• Soft: soft-edged, and can either blend into non-elemental markings, or are a mix non-elemental markings branching into elemental marking without a distinct separation.

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• Asymmetry: quite rare, but possible. It happens when dragon has markings that aren't a mirror along their half.

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• Complexity: they shouldn't be too complex, but this is to the owner/designer's entire discretion.

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• Max allowance of pure white & pure black colors on dragons depending on their alignment: this rule doesn't apply to plates and wing membranes.
  Below is a rough estimate (aka, just eyeball it lmao).

  • Pure white: for dragons of Aether or are Aether tainted, the max allowance of pure white is around 20%

  • Pure black: for dragons of Aether or are Nether tainted, the max amount is 20%

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• Colors: while elemental markings need not be the colors of the dragon's element, elemental markings should NEVER be black, unless the dragon has dark blood. Elemental markings may be partially (no more than 50%) black, but the main color of elemental markings should not be black.

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• ​Non elemental markings: such as simple gradients and freckles, which can be darker or lighter than the main scale color, or a different color entirely. If a dragon has a lot of these markings, whichever color there is the most of is the main scale color, and the color there is less of is considered the marking.

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• ​Markingless: A very small minority of dragons will be born markingless but still have access to elements just like any other. These dragons will often be demeaned about this defect and mocked for looking like elementless dragons, who have no elemental markings whatsoever (or potentially any markings at all), and no element.

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• Markingless dragons can still hide their "shame" via inking: it is a painful process in which the ink is instilled right into their scales. Most dragons don't follow this procedure, specially because after a few months they will have to re-do them again, but it proves to be quite convincing since the ink won't run out underwater or anything and it allows dragons to live temporarily stress-free from the stigma against elementless dragons.

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AETHER MARKINGS

• Solar: natural to abstract silhouettes associated with fire and heat.  Embers, flames, lava, sparks.

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• Frost: natural or abstract ice and/or snow. Swirls and soft/squiggly stripes for snow, diamonds/pointy crystalline markings or soft glacier patterns for ice.

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• Tidal: natural or abstract floating globs of water, running water, waves, water surface, bubbles, etc.

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• Nature: depending on sub-element, can be natural or abstract

  • Flora: leaves, vines, flowers, branches, etc.

  • Stone: silhouettes of rocks, sand, cracks, geodes, moss, etc.

  • Crystal: sharp markings, shattered crystals, sharp lines, etc.

  • Either: soil splatter, etc.

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• Gale: natural or very abstract gusts of wind or swirls.

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• Storm: abstract or natural electricity/lightning. Mix of zig-zags, sharp points, curves, etc.

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NETHER MARKINGS

• Umbra: natural or abstract silhouettes similar wind or fire, with a smoky effect, often soft.

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• Fear: abstract shapes often similar to sound waves, fake eyes, skulls, etc.

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• Toxin: natural or abstract thorny vines, markings reminiscent of poisonous plants or animals (such as poison dart frog patterns), blobs of poison, splashes of poison, etc.

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• Blood: same type of markings as water, but often thicker. Blood splatters, or splotches, drops, etc. They are most recognised as blood from water due to their elemental markings

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• Argent: metallic markings

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• Soul: runes of three types depending on the dragons' variant. Halfer Soulweavers may have markings that resemble runes but are not legible at all.

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Elemental Traits

Or features.

Dragons always have features related to their element, and this can only vary based on their heritage.

Crossing of features may occur easily, and some bloodlines are more prone than others to retain foreign elemental features despite future generations returning to their roots. It is known as a brand of impurity and often looked down upon by royalty/kingdoms, yet considered normal in the Heartlands.

Some features are ◇EXCLUSIVE◇ to certain elements in how they will only appear in pure bloodlines of that element.

For example: webbed feet.

Other features are SEMI-EXCLUSIVE which means they stem from an element but may be passed down onto other elements via mixing.

For example: gale whiskers, tidal whiskers, etc.

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AETHER

• Solar: fur; fire mane◇ (only pure Solar dragons may set their "mane" ablaze); plate over the chest/glow underneath plates that resemble a furnace◇.

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• Tidal: gills; webbed feet◇; fins; sharp and even fangs; bioluminescence◇ (underwater/using element); semi-transparent membranes; tendril-like whiskers.

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• Gale: feathered wings◇; feathered whiskers.

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• Storm: glowing vents between plates, or in front or between ribs◇.

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• Frost: ice accents/effect; stiff growths that resemble frozen fur.

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• Nature: crystal◇/wooden/leafy accents, effects, growths; Tusks.

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​NETHER

• Umbra: chest "orb" that may or may not glow◇; flexible spikes. Shadow mane◇ (while Solar dragons may have fur, and Gale dragons feathers, Umbra dragons have a hybrid of both: tendrils covered in very thin and small feathers that gives them an extremely soft mane, but also aids greatly in dispersing their element when they channel it through the coverage of this shadowmane).

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• Fear: skull markings; skull-shaped head◇.

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• Toxin: venom fangs◇; poisonous spikes.

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• Argent: metallic accents and growths◇; metallic markings; filigree markings.

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• Blood: naturally torn membranes◇; needle-like spikes.

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• Soul: veil-like growths; bioluminescent markings (night-time only); third eye◇.

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NEUTRAL

• Gravity: furred body◇; tusks; naturally wingless (exclusive to gravity dragons)

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• Chronos: unnatural marking patterns◇