Dragons in the Whiterose Mythos

[SirenSon117]

One of the lesser-fleshed out races in my verse are Dragons, or rather Dragonoids to be broad. I'd like some help to just bounce off ideas and fill in the holes. Thanks in advance!

"Dragonoid" is a term to describe species who belong to the Draconic Family. The main branch of this family are the Color Dragons(also known as Greater Dragons), Dragons who are subdivided into elemental Clans. These Clans are so distinct from each other that most don't even bother grouping them into one species. The Clans I've come up with are as follows, and I'd love ideas on how to include more! The benevolent Copperwing Clan, the aquatic Tidebellow Clan, the vicious Magmabreath Clan, the cruel Skullhorn Clan, and the patient Rootclaw Clan.

In addition to the Color Dragons there are also Lesser Dragons, single species of Dragon that are lesser known. I've created an outline for three species of Lesser Dragon: the Mario-inspired Dragon Turtles, the Bulbasaur-inspired Nursery Dragons(who also take cues from Chinese Dragons), and the Levias Family(a grouping of leviathans and wyverns that inhabit Mana-rich oceans and stratospheres.

Below even the Lesser Dragons are the Half-Dragons(yes Dragons can breed with other races. No magic is not used for this) and their descendants the Dragonkin. Dragonkin are a pet race of mine, but I have no ideas to make them distinct outside of "nomad outcast" which is a trait I've used for a couple other races. Half-Dragons are just Hybrids, and Hybrids don't really have a set culture. It's all about how the Hybrid character interprets their heritage. Hybrids are easy. Dragonkin confound me.

To elaborate, in the old days Color Dragons used to keep Humans as slaves. After losing a war with the Angels over Human rights, Dragons abandoned slavery and replaced it with a patron system pioneered by the Copperwings. Dragons would endow select Humans with their blood, granting the Human Draconic powers. In exchange, the Human was bound by a code determined by the terms of the contract and the Clan of the Dragon they were bound to. Also, some Humans learned Magic that let them tame Dragons, accessing Draconic power without drawback. As civilization evolved and empires fell, these ancient Draconic Magics were lost, but Dragonkin began to surface as dormant bloodlines awakened and old oaths were renewed. That's all the lore I have. Nothing much to make a story out of. I'd love to make a webmanga about Dragonkin, but I don't have enough details on the race to craft something interesting. There's something I'm missing here. Any ideas on more Dragon types would be much appreciated! Give me your scrapped ideas if you feel they'd fit. Thanks in advance.

 

[FifthView]

I'm not 100% sold on the hierarchical nature of your groupings.

I understand you intend a sort of purity to shape the hierarchy. The Color Dragons on one end of the spectrum are the pure dragons, and on the other end are the Dragonkin who have trace amounts of Dragon...dna? In between, there are "Lesser Dragons" and "Half-Dragons" that presumably are somehow more dragon the nearer to Color Dragons they are in origin.

But....some Humans have learned how to tame Dragons. So it's not a hierarchy necessarily. Some humans might be able to sit atop a pyramid of power, so to speak? It's a little confusing. I wonder if these terms, lesser and half- are mostly how you are describing this to us but may not stress so much in the telling of the story?

I think you can make a choice for the Dragonkin: Does their dragon ancestry show up mostly internally, or are there external signs? Is it merely a matter of magical ability, mental acuity, general "strength" or "health," or do they grow claws, perhaps a tail, or wings, sharp teeth...?

It could be some combination of the two. You could even choose to separate between those Dragonkin who develop particular physical traits and those whose bloodline is mostly noticeable through internal traits and abilities.

You could take this a step further. The Dragonkin bloodline awakens in some, and they start to develop wings and claws while simultaneously developing magical abilities. If your story is set far enough after the origin of this dragon-human relationship, maybe many of the humans see such a person as some sort of demon, i.e. without knowing the dragon heritage. Perhaps instead of suddenly developing these traits, those individuals are born different and must deal with being outcast—or alternatively, put on a pedestal as some sort of savior—from the time they are born.

Personally, I'd be okay with any of these strategies.

I do like the somewhat macabre effect of physical manifestations suddenly appearing, but I'd also like the more internally-focused sort of dragon power being the only major difference to a character.

I'd also be fine if these Dragonkin were themselves separated into a class system, with some forced to live like "untouchables" due to their scaly skin patches and thin, stringy hair (perhaps) and others with wings and claws being separated into a sort of military or law enforcement caste, and the mostly-humans being a ruling class. Or the other way around. The special-born, who have the most power and maybe even startling physical traits from birth, might be quite rare and represent a bit of chaos thrown into whatever system you decide for the society.

*Edit: I do think maybe I went in directions you may have already eliminated, but I hope this brainstorming might have given you some ideas anyway. If the Dragonkin are, all of them, rare appearances, you'll not have societies and cultures for them; but, you could still have different kinds. Again, this physical vs internal manifestation of dragon heritage is where I'd probably focus, were it mine.

 

[ShadeZ]

One of the lesser-fleshed out races in my verse are Dragons, or rather Dragonoids to be broad. I'd like some help to just bounce off ideas and fill in the holes. Thanks in advance!

"Dragonoid" is a term to describe species who belong to the Draconic Family. The main branch of this family are the Color Dragons(also known as Greater Dragons), Dragons who are subdivided into elemental Clans. These Clans are so distinct from each other that most don't even bother grouping them into one species. The Clans I've come up with are as follows, and I'd love ideas on how to include more! The benevolent Copperwing Clan, the aquatic Tidebellow Clan, the vicious Magmabreath Clan, the cruel Skullhorn Clan, and the patient Rootclaw Clan.

In addition to the Color Dragons there are also Lesser Dragons, single species of Dragon that are lesser known. I've created an outline for three species of Lesser Dragon: the Mario-inspired Dragon Turtles, the Bulbasaur-inspired Nursery Dragons(who also take cues from Chinese Dragons), and the Levias Family(a grouping of leviathans and wyverns that inhabit Mana-rich oceans and stratospheres.

Below even the Lesser Dragons are the Half-Dragons(yes Dragons can breed with other races. No magic is not used for this) and their descendants the Dragonkin. Dragonkin are a pet race of mine, but I have no ideas to make them distinct outside of "nomad outcast" which is a trait I've used for a couple other races. Half-Dragons are just Hybrids, and Hybrids don't really have a set culture. It's all about how the Hybrid character interprets their heritage. Hybrids are easy. Dragonkin confound me.

To elaborate, in the old days Color Dragons used to keep Humans as slaves. After losing a war with the Angels over Human rights, Dragons abandoned slavery and replaced it with a patron system pioneered by the Copperwings. Dragons would endow select Humans with their blood, granting the Human Draconic powers. In exchange, the Human was bound by a code determined by the terms of the contract and the Clan of the Dragon they were bound to. Also, some Humans learned Magic that let them tame Dragons, accessing Draconic power without drawback. As civilization evolved and empires fell, these ancient Draconic Magics were lost, but Dragonkin began to surface as dormant bloodlines awakened and old oaths were renewed. That's all the lore I have. Nothing much to make a story out of. I'd love to make a webmanga about Dragonkin, but I don't have enough details on the race to craft something interesting. There's something I'm missing here. Any ideas on more Dragon types would be much appreciated! Give me your scrapped ideas if you feel they'd fit. Thanks in advance.

Well, I have a species who have trace amounts of dragon in them, in their case it is a dragon god though and this allows them primarily massive levels of magic and power. One takes to fire and as a result he is impulsive, vengeful, short tempered but also passionate and aggressive toward that which threatens his family. The other takes to ice he is calm, peaceful mostly, calculating, expressionless, but can be protective and can also be a cold hearted killer unlike the fire one who with feel emotions no matter what. The third is pure magic and this allows manipulation of cosmic matters like time, space, and minds she is a fusion of the two boys and then some. Each has claws, fangs, draconic eyes, a charming voice, and the ability to appear more human.

 

[SirenSon117]

I do like the somewhat macabre effect of physical manifestations suddenly appearing, but I'd also like the more internally-focused sort of dragon power being the only major difference to a character.

I'd also be fine if these Dragonkin were themselves separated into a class system, with some forced to live like "untouchables" due to their scaly skin patches and thin, stringy hair (perhaps) and others with wings and claws being separated into a sort of military or law enforcement caste, and the mostly-humans being a ruling class. Or the other way around. The special-born, who have the most power and maybe even startling physical traits from birth, might be quite rare and represent a bit of chaos thrown into whatever system you decide for the society.

*Edit: I do think maybe I went in directions you may have already eliminated, but I hope this brainstorming might have given you some ideas anyway. If the Dragonkin are, all of them, rare appearances, you'll not have societies and cultures for them; but, you could still have different kinds. Again, this physical vs internal manifestation of dragon heritage is where I'd probably focus, were it mine.[/QUOTE]

All Dragonkin in my verse have both external and internal Draconic traits. Like interspecies Hybrids though, which ones an individual gets is up to chance. Clan does play a factor, although I haven't determined exactly how. All Dragonkin get at least one physical trait and one internal trait, as well as an innate talent for Dragocraft(Dragon Magic).