DC Lore AMA

[TJ09]

That's very general. I doubt that they actually live for an "unlimited" amount of time.

Not unlimited. Pretty long. It's something humans of the world probably don't know because dead dragons aren't seen very often.

[Nerei]

Why do dragon hatchlings hatch without wings? Would it be possible for some usually winged breeds to just grow up without? How does it even happen? Growing two new and complicated limbs sounds difficult if you're not a starfish

[TJ09]

Why do dragon hatchlings hatch without wings? Would it be possible for some usually winged breeds to just grow up without? How does it even happen? Growing two new and complicated limbs sounds difficult if you're not a starfish

Well, "why" is almost always a bad question to ask in terms of evolution. Especially when the "real-world" reason is that it's an arbitrary decision I made almost nine years ago, and would probably have done differently today.

 

But to actually address your question...

 

My current favorite theory is that the bone structure is basically there at the time of hatching, but not fully-formed, and is hidden under the skin, which reduces the likelihood of said fragile structure getting damaged. Around the time the wings are ready, they actually grow out of the back. It's also probably a gradual process that occurs over the course of hatching -> maturation, rather than something that happens very quickly during adolescence.

 

This does leave room for some mutations in which the process doesn't occur properly, so the bones never properly form/grow in, resulting in a wingless dragon. That's hypothetical, though, and I'd guess that (depending on the breed) the dragon would have a very hard time surviving in such a case.

[catstaff]

Well, "why" is almost always a bad question to ask in terms of evolution. Especially when the "real-world" reason is that it's an arbitrary decision I made almost nine years ago, and would probably have done differently today.

 

But to actually address your question...

 

My current favorite theory is that the bone structure is basically there at the time of hatching, but not fully-formed, and is hidden under the skin, which reduces the likelihood of said fragile structure getting damaged. Around the time the wings are ready, they actually grow out of the back. It's also probably a gradual process that occurs over the course of hatching -> maturation, rather than something that happens very quickly during adolescence.

 

This does leave room for some mutations in which the process doesn't occur properly, so the bones never properly form/grow in, resulting in a wingless dragon. That's hypothetical, though, and I'd guess that (depending on the breed) the dragon would have a very hard time surviving in such a case.

That's actually a pretty good theory. Sort of like why ballet teachers don't put girls into toe shoes before they're 11 or 12 years old, no matter how good the kids are at ballet. The bones in the toes aren't fully formed until then, so dancing en pointe at a younger age can cause damage and even deformity in the feet.

 

In the case of young dragons, I can only imagine how problematic it would be for them to try flying before the bone structure of their wings was fully developed, so the wings don't pop through the skin until they are.

 

For my question, and I hope I haven't missed the answer to it somewhere already, as I'm good at missing things... can the various water dragons live with any sort of water as long as it's deep enough, or do some breeds specifically require fresh water or salt water environments to thrive?

[TJ09]

For my question, and I hope I haven't missed the answer to it somewhere already, as I'm good at missing things... can the various water dragons live with any sort of water as long as it's deep enough, or do some breeds specifically require fresh water or salt water environments to thrive?

I think biologically it makes more sense to have a fresh/salt water split, as the difference between the two causes a pretty big ecological split.

 

But some dragons are canonically able to handle both. Water dragons are specifically listed as existing in both environments. Though Deep Seas I'd expect are salt-water-only.

[dragongrrl]

I think biologically it makes more sense to have a fresh/salt water split, as the difference between the two causes a pretty big ecological split.

 

But some dragons are canonically able to handle both. Water dragons are specifically listed as existing in both environments. Though Deep Seas I'd expect are salt-water-only.

Whales can swim in fresh water, but their skin develops serious problems if they're in it too long. I seem to remember hearing about that with Humphrey's travel up north of the SF bay area.

 

I guess I have always looked at the Deep Seas the same way, since I have a Deep Sea X Water pair that does some traveling back and forth.

[waffleme3]

Will you ever bring back bright pink dragons and frilled dragons?

[TJ09]

Will you ever bring back bright pink dragons and frilled dragons?

That's...not a lore question.

[Nakase]

Is it possible that the gravity is lower on Valkemare since we have dragons(flying/floating) and the occurrence of very large creatures in the first place?

 

I personally would like to see the medieval setting progress and grow (similar to Terry Pratchett's world)

 

Would you consider making a poll to gather ideas for cities/villages and what they are about? This could help flesh out the communities of people and the mutations.

 

If mana is always being replaced, would there perhaps be an underground mana 'jet stream'? Say, a spider web series of channels underground? That could explain why caves tend to have a high amount of mana storage and renewal.

 

/questions devolved into world building thoughts concepts...sorry

 

 

[Naruhina_94]

This is a wonderful thread, I truly love it. I thought it would be good to resume all TJ's answers so that they can be put on the OP and not be asked anymore. I also think that the most important could find a place in the encyclopedia itself!

 

[i]Why do some dragons live in every biome? Pinks for example, they don't seem like the type to survive well in the cold Alpine, or on the coast where there won't be many plants in the sand, but they're found literally everywhere.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I think your view of the biomes is a bit exaggerated from what actually constitutes those biomes.Someone (I think Sock) pointed out that they live in what is technically a desert, but there is still plant life. Not all deserts are inhospitable (though the descriptions on the site are perhaps lend to that perception), nor are all alpine biomes.
So dragons that are in every biome are just generally not picky about things like temperature ranges, humidity, or access to niche food sources.

[i]Why is a sweetling able to mate with a stone dragon? I would figure a sweetling would be waaaay to small to reach anything of importance.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: This is one of those things that I don't think is actually realistic or canon, but is an example of separation of game mechanics from reality for the purposes of allowing people to do more interesting things.
Similarly, the various classes of dragons (easterns, wyverns, etc) are probably different enough that not all of them would actually be able to breed together.

[i]Is there a title for somebody who raises dragons (us)? Keeper, trainer, raiser, etc.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I feel like I've used a few different words in the past, so I guess there's not currently an official word. There's certainly not one that's a proper noun (like Pokemon Trainer is).

[i]Can humans use mana, or is sorcery completely separate from dragon magic?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Humans can use mana, though there is some sort of vague, unspecified "processing" required to transform mana into something humans can safely use. Like the encyclopedia, exposure to raw mana can have transformative effects (my current headcanon is that there are several different "sub-races/communities" of humans who are still human, but have been transformed by a specific type of raw mana; e.g. maybe people who have been exposed to water mana being able to live in/underwater).

[i]Is there a governmental system of some sort, or is it just dog eat dog with humans stealing and raising dragons?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: There is organized society, with towns and cities. It's not all just one giant frontier (specifically the main continent has several cities; the one on the lower left with the volcano probably has some settlements, the lower right one might be unsettled? I forget). The government (and this is where I'm making things up on the spot) is probably some combination of a monarchy and a republic. e.g. a king/queen with some elected council.

[i]Are dragons ever made to fight each other, ala pokemon battles? If so, is it a sport?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I think DC tends to portray dragons as being much more sentient beings (who may be smarter than humans), rather than Pokemon's portrayal as their creatures being more like pets. The point being, it's unlikely that keepers/raisers/whatever really "make" dragons do much at all.

[i]ETA: Is there an in-universe explanation for why we have to carry around eggs for five hours after picking them up from a biome?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Probably not. 

[i]What's the purpose of our scrolls? What are we called? IE: Hunters, breeders, etc? Do we "own" the dragons we raise?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: There are a few ways this could go. Obviously, it's unlikely that there are humans out there that raise hundreds/thousands of dragons, given that dragons probably live longer than people.
So to some extent, it's all just Game Logic℠, just like it's unlikely that a Pokemon can hatch then evolve to full maturity within a few days (of in-game time).
More likely is that there are people who have a close partnership with one (or a few?) dragon(s). I did have the passing thought of the scrolls being a "game" by kids who are playing pretend by raising imaginary dragons and keeping track of their progress on paper. But that might be trivializing all of DC.
It's probably best to just leave that up to interpretation.

[i]How abundant is mana in Valkemare? Is more constantly being formed? Have wars been fought over particularly rich reserves of it?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Quite abundant. More being formed: Undetermined. Wars: Almost definitely.

[i]Can humans / dragons with "innate" connections to magic channel that into spells, or is mana required for anything so specific?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: In a much more limited fashion, and probably not "consciously;" anything that happens would be more an extension of their physical selves and the abilities that having a real body provides.

[i]This is based off the Christmas stories from this year, so if it's not canon than never mind, but how limited are Avatars in what they can do? The Avatar of Change said he didn't want to interfere out of respect for the GoNs, but wouldn't not being allowed to fiddle with the world go against the Avatars' Creative / Change / Destruction inclinations? (Ex: "I know you're an Avatar of Destruction, son, but if you destroy anything SO HELP MYSELF I will PUMMEL YOU INTO A MOUNTAIN.")[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: The various events (Halloween, Holidays, etc) aren't explicitly canon, if only because they operated on a very undefined canon that has evolved a lot since each of them happened. Like mana being constantly in balance with each other, the avatars have a similar balance. So the Avatar(s) of Destruction (which might be a singular/very small group) could do things, but the Avatar(s) of Creation would put a stop to it, while the Avatar(s) of Creation are kept in check by Change.

[i]Also, Where is Galsreim in Valkenmare?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: The big continent you see in the middle of the map in the home page? That whole landmass.

[i]Is there a canon explanation for the thuweds and how sought after they are?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I could come up with one, but it'd probably be self-serving and more of an ego boost to myself than anything, so I'll leave it for others to decide.

[i]We dragon breeders (echoing the earlier question of what ARE we called?) have our own aeries/dens/fortresses (again, what ARE they called?). What would be the status of a (dragon breeder) in human society?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Probably revered to an extent, but just breeding dragons doesn't really contribute much to society (unless you're harvesting some materials from them...), so it's probably not a very influential position.

[i]Can any of the humans in Valkemare potentially use magic, or is there some inborn talent needed, á la Harry Potter? And does it take years of training to control magic, or can even children cast simple spells?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Answered already, but no special biological requirements.
Doesn't mean "anyone can do it;" everyone is capable of learning advanced chemistry, but not everyone has an interest in/aptitude for it. It's some amount of skill and some amount of talent.

[i]As a note, this would be fun to add some location names to the biome map.  Just saying.[/i]   
[b]TJ[/b]: That requires naming a bunch of things, which will eventually happen but has not yet done so in a useful capacity.

[i]How do dragons and people inter-communicate?  Can all dragons speak English (or whatever language is spoken in Valkenare) like the outspoken ones in our holiday adventures so far?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Given a canon of telepathic communication, language should be a non-issue. The concept of verbal and written language doesn't need to exist if you can just beam "thoughts" to people and people simply "perceive" it however they will (e.g. in their language of choice).

[i]And on the subject, if we're friendly with so many of the dragons, why do we steal eggs from the cave?  Wouldn't that eventually start to hurt people/dragon relations?  And if we're not stealing the eggs from our dragon friends, where are they coming from?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: It's probably not actually as widespread as DC gameplay implies. I've also used the claim in the past that the eggs in the front of the cave are those deemed to be the weakest of the litter, and thus have already been abandoned.

[i]Is there some sort of central power like a council in charge of controlling the scroll owners? Is that why we have to document everything via the scroll? It would also make sense because it would ensure nobody gets ahold of a powerful dragon and ruins everything with it. Also, is there some kind of scroll owner headquarters where we can be trained, group up or join forces in times of need (like the keep in magistream)?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I don't think there's a League of Extraordinary Dragonkeepers or something, no. The concept of "guilds" probably exists, and there are probably a number of them, but some sort of centralized entity doesn't really make sense to me.

[i]Are any of the dragon breeds hunted for food? We know humans hunt dragons, as evidenced by the Golds' description and the presence of dragon-hide gloves in the Halloween event, so I've been curious about how far their usage of the carcasses goes.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Well not all dragons are at the top of the food chain, I think. It's almost guaranteed that some dragons hunt other breeds of dragons. Given that it's known that humans hunt dragons, it's probable that it happens for more than just scales. Though I think I view it as more like illegal ivory trade. 

[i]Are there any draconic religions, either among the breeds or widespread across them all?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: My current leading idea is that there's three churches, that each follow the Avatars. Or maybe three factions of a unified Church of the GoN.

[i]similarly, are there any cults or religions that worship some of the breeds?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Well, I guess my previous answer covers there.
But in terms of cults, probably.

[i]Are there any other significant land masses in Valkemare, in addition to Galsreim? Are any named?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Well you can see two/three other continents on the map. And there's probably something on the reverse side of the planet. I don't think any of them are named yet.

[i]How advanced is draconic culture?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I'm going to leave this intentionally unspecified.

[i]How deeply are humans affected by prolonged exposure to large quantities of mana? Do they experience radical changes, like plants, or do they have a high enough tolerance to it that any changes are minute and unnoticeable?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Yes, radical changes. I've had a few ideas for what different types of mana do, but it might involve things like earth mana turning people into something that resembles traditional "orcs."

[i]Where on the map is the Abandoned Pile located?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Next to the cave, which at one point had a canon location set (near the inside of that giant "bay" right in the middle of the content), but that was very early in the map design so I'm not sure that location makes sense anymore.

[i]Are there any wars going on right now in Valkemare? If there are (or ever have been) have dragons gotten involved? Do dragons ever mix with human society (like by moving into/near towns and opening stores, interacting with the residents, getting jobs that suit their specialties, etc.)? Do GoN live forever? Do avatars? Could someone (theoretically, of course) raise a GoN and some Avatars and try to take over the world? Can any of them be killed?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: "right now" is undefined as far as DC goes.
But there is probably a faction of dragons that resents humans and their "interference," so it's likely there's been a war over that.
There's probably been inter-dragon war(s).
There are probably dragons in/near towns. I think deep interactions with society (like shops, as you mention) are unlikely.
Dragons live a really long time. GoNs/Avatars are probably on the higher end of that. But given how infrequently they're seen, it's hard to say if people are seeing the same GoN/Avatar or different ones across generations.

[i]What effect, if any, do the moons have on mana? Is either associated with a specific element (creation, destruction, change)?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Well there's going to be tidal effects on liquid mana, which with two moons is going to be different from Earth. I just thought of a cool idea of one (or both?) of the moons having mana on it, which means that it being closer/farther has a measurable effect on mana. It'd certainly he one explanation for the colors (the other being being composed of some exotic materials). I think a lunar-ish dragon would probably be associated with Change/Time in some way, so the moons probably fall under that. It's not really Creation/Destruction since nothing is being created or destroyed; things are just periodically changing.

[i]What's beyond the map that we explore? Moar dragons? Will the map ever get an extension?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: The map on the site does have some more drawn than you can see, but not a ton more. The land masses on the edges aren't fully designed.

[i]Are there other planets in the starsystem Valkemare inhabits? Do any of them support life, and if so are there possibly other dragons in their neck of the woods?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Excellent question that I have put no thought into. There's some potential for cool things there, but my initial thought is the more boring one: the things Valkemare are most likely planetbound, by way of space travel being hard. Though magic has the ability to change that...

[i]So that would mean that the Avatars are revered, to some extent at least, as well?
Would it be that a dragon reveres the avatar that their element represents?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Yes. Their elusivity contributes to that. As for dragon religion, I'm going to leave that undefined, as a subcomponent of dragon culture.

[i]Do dragons have any kind of laws/rules of conduct that they abide by?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: As with other dragon culture questions, I'm leaving exploration of dragon society for the future. Most of my thought has gone into the world and humans, with dragons being prevalent, but not-super-understood. Because mystery?

[i]How interconnected are the human settlements with dragons? Considering farming, do dragons help tend fields and livestock? What about with mining? And craftmaking? Do we rely on the help of dragons for us to live and for livelihood?
Also, considering that each dragon species has a certain element affinity to it, is it possible for a dragon to posses all? I know some have none, or are neutral.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: A scale of "how" is kind of hard to answer. All of the things you describe probably happen to some extent. I'd say not super prevalent (that is, not everyone does it). I'd think neutral encompasses both non-magical things, but also magical things that are balanced between all the elements. Hence there is neutral mana.

[i]How can dragons whose personalities clash (i.e. Fellfires - "Hunting is a solitary action for both genders. Fellfires who cannot catch their own food are not fit to survive." - and Fleshcrownes - "They will always, at the very least, seek out the company of one other individual, even if that creature does not desire it.", or Desipis - "Their aggressive and destructive capabilities have led to many tall tales and myths, a large portion of which label them living incarnations of malevolence and destruction." and Speckle-Throated - "Strong sense of justice and will not stand for any dragon being harmful to the pack.", or Desipis and Cassare - "Desipises are left in an especially weakened and disoriented state when exposed to a nullifying field of magic, such as that of a Cassare.") live together in a dragon owner's cave? Wouldn't there be a state of perpetual conflict, especially if the dragon owner is trying to get two dragons from enemy breeds to mate together?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Well "The" cave is really really big. That aside, some of the other replies here have already discussed how the extreme to which DC as a game takes dragon collecting isn't super feasible in an RP world.

[i]Drakes bug the tar out of me because they're supposedly not related to dragons (hence unable to breed) and supposedly possess inferior intelligence. For some reason, the idea of drakes being considered a whole different species, shunned for the purposes of breeding with "normals" and even with pygmies always smacked of interdragon racism to me (a concept which has since leaked into my personal RP). Can you elaborate more upon this matter?
[/i][b]TJ[/b]: Think of drake vs dragon as gorilla vs human. They literally are a different species, hence there's nothing terrible about treating them as such.

[i]Did you have any specific inspiration(s) when creating the world of Valkemare? Science fiction or fantasy Books/movies/TV/games that influenced its design?[/i]
[/I][b]TJ[/b]: I am vastly under-exposed to a lot of the more popular works of science/fantasy fiction, such that any resemblance to such things is probably more two people arriving at the same conclusion than inspiration of any form. 
I mean, I read the first two books of the Eragon series many many years ago; that definitely inspired some things. There's some other fantasy series I read a bunch of but don't really remember anyways. The most inspirational video game RPGs for me are Earthbound and SMRPG, which aren't even close in setting.

[i]What sort of flora and fauna lives in Valkemare? Is it entirely like our own, or are there some unique creatures? What are the major apex predators (other than dragons) or prosperous species?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Definitely unique creatures. For one, there would need to be some sort of large animal species (singular or plural) that serves as food for meat-eating dragons. I'm not exactly good at coming up with ideas from scratch, so I don't know what such things would look like. A lot of it resembles our own, as well, with the additional twist of mana transformation.

[i]Reading the encyclopedia, it says that dragons are mostly found on the main continent, Galsreim, in part do to the large amount of mana. So is there a survival need for large amounts of mana? I'm also really curious about humans being on Galsmeir. The encyclopedia keeps it vague about how humanly populated it is as it speaks of the world as a whole in terms of settlements and cities. Are there well established settlements and cities there also or is it more sparsely rural?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Mana is a nice resource to have available. But it's not required, for most dragons. And it is everywhere. It's just that The Cave has a loooot of it. Like, a lot.

[i]How do cheese dragons deal with mice?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: The easiest answer is Magic. Because they only exist due to magic. (So actually, they probably do require a steady source of mana to keep existing). All of this is assuming that some of the joke breeds (dinos, cheese) are even actually canon.

[i]What level has human transportation reached? Horses and carriages? Are there trains? It seems like riding a dragon would be incredibly fast compared to any other way of getting around; do people who've tamed/befriended dragons sell tickets to passengers, carry mail, patrol the land for military reasons, dump water on fires, etc.?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I don't think steam power/locomotion exists. Having mana as an energy source to power a lot of things precludes some of the need for alternative power sources. I don't think dragons would be willing to 'pull' carriages, though that'd be cool.

[i]If dragons aren't really our pets, how do we make them breed whenever we want and to whichever dragon we want?
Also, what best describes the relationship between a dragon and the human who raised that dragon? Friend?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Game Logic℠ To repeat what I've said earlier: A lot of things that are game mechanics directly contradict what actually makes sense. But it's okay to do that for the sake of a game, because the alternative doesn't make for a very interesting experience. 
So if you're looking to resolve some of the logic holes in "DC the game," that's unlikely to happen.

[i]When you decide what is and isn't cannon, will each dragon get more specific descriptions?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]:  It'd probably be good to go back and revise a lot of the older descriptions. 
Some of them were written over half a decade ago...

[i]They specialize is shadow magic and are naturally nocturnal and that helps a lot with the actual thievery. They were originally going to have a 'darkness' alignment to make that more clear but after some talking with TJ we agreed that them being destruction aligned was too much for their naturally 'giving' nature. Since they are aware of how shiny they are, the tend to target things in non-bright places like vaults or keeps where people wouldn't check every day.
[/i][b]TJ[/b]: Thinking about it...maybe neutral / secondary dark makes sense? Though that'd still mean they don't breed Avatars (neutral primary alignment).

[i]What happens if you pour two vials of different kinds of liquid mana together?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: They would coexist. Probably wouldn't mix together completely, so you'd end up with this swirly mixture where you can identify both colors. It wouldn't settle like oil/water because that'd require measurably different weight to the different types.

[i]Can I officially propose that we are called Dragoneers? It's what I call it anyway. Do humans ever ride dragons for fun? Or just on important quests like in the holiday story? I assume that if for fun, the dragons take some enjoyment in it too. O the chickens ever become friends with the dragons they grow up with?[/i]
[/I][b]TJ[/b]: You can indeed propose it. I'm sure some do. Because humans do just about everything "for fun." I don't think the cave chickens are any more sentient than a normal chicken. So it's hard to determine what qualifies as "friends."

[i]Is there any immortal humans?
Do we the dragon breeders/keepers/whatever get effected with all the mana near us? or are we not near enough mana to to become 'orcs'? Any 'orcs' pick up dragon breeding/keeping? What happens to the few dragons we 'own' when we die? Do they just leave? Guard whatever family we have left? Something else?[/i]
[/I][b]TJ[/b]: "Immortal" tends to break physics. Uh, that depends. The non-specified second-person in DC is never explicitly near raw liquid/vapor mana in any of the site's text (I think solid mana is probablly more innert).That seems highly situational. I doubt any one thing happens.

[i]What do dragons die of, other than violence? I know eggs & hatchlings can get sick; can grown dragons become ill? Why is there not a massive dragon overpopulation problem, if they regularly breed but rarely die?[/i]
[/I][b]TJ[/b]: They probably do die of old age. And illness. On the scale of humans, though, you're unlikely to find the dragon's dead body. Because exploring a giant cave system of potentially hostile dragons is not the best idea. 
Asking questions about habits or personality of such a broad base ("do dragons ... ", "do humans ...") is almost always a trivial question: across such a large and diverse population, there's bound to be some invididuals that do that thing. As I mentioned elsewhere, though, a lot of the scale of DC wouldn't actually work in a real place. e.g. the regular breeding of eggs every week isn't actually a thing.

[i]Not sure if these has been asked: Is Valkemare a planet? If so, does it exist in the same starsystem as the Earth and if so again, how far from us?[/i]
[/I][b]TJ[/b]:  It's a planet in an alternate universe (e.g. one where earth doesn't exist). Valkemare is comparable to Earth, or Nirn (Skyrim).

[i]As far as chickens go, they don't really have any magic properties or anything (except maybe that elusive rainbow chicken.) So, why don't dragons eat all of our chickens?[/i]
[/I][b]TJ[/b]: Perhaps they're Zelda chickens. Hurt one and suddenly you have an angry horde coming at you.

[i]How does a scroll owner travel to every biome so quickly? I imagine the desert and the alpine aren't right next to each other, and it'd take a lot of walking, plus the trip back. Although I'm just assuming that they're walking, they could potentially ride a dragon or something, but how would someone without any dragons do it?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Keep in mind the time scale required for DC. Dragons don't actually grow up in a week; it takes years. So seconds map to a much longer time (perhaps even days).

[i]Could you explain how freezing works a little more? And maybe reviving? I think somewhere in this thread you talked about how humans don't really have a lot of magic, but I think "reviving" is quite a powerful spell considering that you are reanimating something to possess life again. And considering that certain dragons have very strong magical properties, why don't they revive their fallen companions? Is there like some kind of magic block or something or is it just like, a forbidden practice for them to tamper with the laws of life?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]:  I actually said the opposite. Humans are quite capable of using magic.
Reviving is a powerful spell, and I'd say most failure cases are not having enough mana to provide the needed energy, hence either nothing happens or it doesn't fully happen. (on that note, the revive flavor text probably needs changing).
But I'd say it's also culturally taboo to interfere with nature too much.

[i]This is less a question than something I find a bit odd, but when you abandon an egg it says that you put it back where you found it. Is this just that the text is kind of off (I realize it came from pre-biome era) or are there canon-ly different abandoned piles? It's actually pretty odd that you take eggs from all biomes and just dump them in one ambiguous pile, seeing as some come from hot and cold places and now I'm just overthinking it.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]:  The text actually varies. In some cases it says "a familiar" cave or something like that.

[i]Where do the new dragons come from? It seems unlikely that we just suddenly discover entire species that turn out to be extremely common.[/i]
[/I][b]TJ[/b]: There is no one "the alpine." Not all alpines are the same. Not all alpines have the same alpine-suited dragons. So you can think of it as humans exploring new regions of the world. A new forest that hasn't been charted before. Alternatively, given what I said earlier about DC the site having no explicit concept of what is "right now" in the history of the world, one could instead believe that the new breeds that are released aren't really dragons that were discovered in some sequential order.

[i]- Do humans have a currency or it's all done via trades?
- Do humans in the DC world live longer than real life humans?
- Are humans and dragons the only sentient species? We don't get other humanoid races like orcs, trolls, elves o *maybe* Qunari?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Humans totally have currency. I haven't decided exactly what it is, but the usual usage of rare materials fashioned into currency as a form of distilling value comes to mind. DC humans probably live longer than the average human in the equivalent time period of Earth's history because the ability to heal things via mana probably solves a lot of the sickness-related deaths that plagued medieval times. 
Well humans are the only actual humanoids (which I think is a good thing, really; a lot of canons use up most of their sentience "budget" on humanoids-that-aren't-human, which seems like wasted potential), but I've already mentioned that there are "variants" on humans thanks to raw mana exposure, so that's where your orcs would come in. There are likely other sentient species. See my other post about not being creative enough to come up with things from scratch, though.

[i]What does death mana do to the body?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I haven't solidified any of the mana-warped sub-races yet, but I can imagine whatever death mana does to the body, it probably isn't pleasant. Necrosis and decay come to mind.

[i]Does DC have rings? Planets with rings = win[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: something something if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it? 
Uh, science says unlikely. Most of the planets with rings tend to be gas giants, and IIRC the rings in our solar system are mostly ice, which wouldn't be possible on a planet close enough to its sun to be habitable.

[i]Is raising dragons a common thing? I can understand how it wouldn't be for more hostile breeds, but would it be weird to see a Pygmy or something living in a normal household, like an intelligent cat or dog? Do dragons frequently communicate to humans using telepathy, or do they mostly do their oown thing? Are dragons considered a hazard? Are people frequently killed by them? Or are they more like bees: don't hurt them and they won't hurt you? Are the lives of humans and dragons interconnected or fundamentally important to each other in any way?Is the kidnapping of royalty a significant issue?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Across the whole population, not common. There are a lot of other things that need doing for a productive society that take up a lot of people. 
I'd say in general, dragons prefer to be left alone. They're not openly hostile, but humans do like to think of themselves as apex predators, when they're tiny compared to dragons. I guess the bee thing kind of applies, but there's another aspect that you're glossing over: People avoid bees because they're aware of the potential danger. 
Fundamentally important? I guess I'd say no. Each could certainly exist without the other, and in some regions this totally happens (because neither humans nor dragons are homogenous, so some in regions would prefer to avoid dragons, and vice versa).
Princesses are probably safe from being whisked away by dragons and needing noble princes to rescue them, if that's what you're getting at.

[i]How about this for an idea: When eggs are first laid, they're really soft and fragile, so until they harden they can't be put through a lot of stress, like moving them a lot.
Which is why vampires biting them are a way around this, because the eggs technically 'die' and aren't as fragile anymore.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Let's go with this. This sounds reasonable after a cursor glance.

[i]How exactly DO cheeses, Dinos and the like fit in? I have pondered this and pondered it and I never HAVE been able to QUITE make them fit.
Beginning to think I need to do with my cheeses like I did with my Dinos and go with the theory that they are figments of my dragons' imaginations... or perhaps release the lot of them all together.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: The jokes? Well, they're jokes. So they don't fit in in any serious, meaningful way, and any attempt at explaining them will also be jokes. Mass hallucinations, maybe?

[i]Hey so does an elemental alignment affect a dragon's general temperament? Can there be a good destruction aligned dragon for instance or an evil creation aligned? 
Does taming a lot of dragons who use magic strengthens your own magic?
And does small exposures to them extend your life span? How big are dragons generally? Stone dragons are the size of a mountain but in average are they horse sized or bigger? Does Valkamere due to not needing usual science, does magical technology exist? More advanced and more common? Like air ships that run on wind mana and such? Can proficient magic users "channel" dragon magic/other people's magic? Have their been reported cases of people going mad due to constant telepathic communication? Does the humans have a great sense of fashion or are they wearing messy simple robes?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I want to say no, for variety's sake temperament isn't tied to elemental affinity. That is, we should avoid troping every element of destruction as evil just because destruction has a negative connotation. For there to be balance, there needs to be constant destruction to counter constant creation. And fire can be used in productive ways (e.g. warmth), despite being classified under destruction. I used to operate under a headcanon that dragon raisers had their lifespans extended by exposure to dragons, but I think I believe that anymore. Especially now that mana is more fleshed out, and there's no magical reason for dragons to inherently do that. I know a lot of people have their own ideas on this that disagree with my own, but I tend towards dragons being on the larger side. So yes, many/most are larger than horses. Definitely; humans are very good at utilizing the resources provided to them. There are totally flying islands (that float thanks to large deposits of air mana), and how else would you travel to them if not by flying airships? I don't know what you mean by that. Especially since channel is in quotes. I have put zero thought into Valkemare's fashion scene, but I doubt it's "messy simple robes."

[i]How big is the average dragon/pygmy/drake egg? Are they small enough that dragon keeers could carry a few around in a bag or something? How are some of the larger eggs even carried away?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: The comparison to dinosaur eggs a few posts before yours seems apt here.

[i]I would think, and maybe I am wrong, that when they are eggs and hatchies, their powers are weaker than they are when they are adults. Maybe an adult Casarre could banish our fog, BUT a baby cannot. ALSO! Their descrip for their breed says that their abilities are useful against HOSTILE magic. PERHAPS the dragon's body instinctively can tell that when we fog it, we are helping or try to help? Dunno there?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I don't think a given instance of magic usage varies based on intent.

[i]Will the smaller continents be developed to contain extra biomes - either completely new ones or something like "Jungle 2"?
How is it possible for new breeds of really big animals to turn up every once in a while? (I know we do occasionally find new big animals in real life - like the giant squid or frilled shark, and others are still only rumored to exist (like the marozi) - but not on a DC-like scale.) Why do holiday dragons only exist in the wild for a short time, then go back into non-existence (only to be bred in captivity)?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I've kind of addressed this, and you could read that post as meaning "yes" to your question. I've thought about doing it for the actual cave--instead of having "the coast," have "the X River," and "Y Lake," which might have different available dragons. But that sounds a bit complex in terms of people experience. Holiday Dragons are simply very very rarely seen by humans. Their current behavior in DC is a reflection of that, in a way.

[i]Would it be feasible for giant potatoes to grow near large deposits of Life mana?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: In theory, yes. I wouldn't eat one of those, though...

[i]Do you "exist" in the DC lore universe? If so, what are you? Just another "dragoneer" or someone who speaks with a booming voice in the sky and is never physically seen?[/i][b]TJ[/b]: Self-insertion into the DC universe seems like a bad idea, unless done in a tongue-in-cheek manner.

[i]What is the dragon cave logic behind alt sweetlings?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Some Sweetlings are born with an alternate coloration? Biologically, it could just be a rare combination of (probably recessive) genes. Alternatively, it could be some sort of curse on a given "lineage" of humans, explaining why alt sweetlings stop being alt if they are traded elsewhere. There could be a nice bit of folklore written around that.

[i](though I doubt I'll get an answer, but it's worth a shot...) Why do roosters avoid all contact with humans, only occasionally being sited by the great TJ09? 
((Also, about papers and cheeses fitting in, it may be that a traveller once left their food and scrolls too near a life mana pool...?))[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I don't think the rooster joke extends to all of human society. Chicken farmers don't have to stake their livelihood on being able to find enough fertilized eggs in dragon dens to be able to provide for themselves.Also, I think life mana has more to do with biological aspects of things than making non-living things "living."

[i]How can two Destruction aligned dragons and a Change aligned dragon work together to create a dragon that is literally the dragon of Balance? I guess that neither fire or lightning would be good Creation elements, but still :L[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Why can't they? It's not like balance can only come from balance.

[i]How is it that Pumpkins can breed with Pygmies but Mints (which appear to be much smaller) can't? Would it be possible for both Mints and Pumpkins to be able tp breed with Pygmies and other dragons? That would make for some interesting lineages.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Pumpkins are pygmy-sized. Hence they fit inside (large) pumpkins. Mints are not pygmy-sized. They would not fit inside a pumpkin. The size of the sprite is only loosely correlated with the size of the dragon.

[i]Do the words, Valkemare, Galsmeir, Aurax and Cirion have any special meaning in the DC world's language? Or named for gods or figures in legends and myths? Do dragons have their own unique terms for these?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Yes, dragons have their own names for things. Humans have their own names for places that were either named before humans and dragons openly communicated (which was some form of "long ago), or were named by factions that are mostly anti-dragon. So they have a mix of human and dragon names whose mixture varies by region

[i]When a dragon "speaks" telepathically can they choose who hears it? For instance if they're talking to two dragons would they be able to speak privately to one or the other in addition to being able to speak to both at the same time?
And would long range telepathic communication be possible?
[/i][b]TJ[/b]: Private communication is possible. As for range, as with all things magic in DC, it's just a matter of how much energy/mana you put into it.

[i]Does mana get "used up" when you use it (like when you light a fire, you can't use a log again once it's burned), or is it permanent?  And when it gets mined/extracted/whatever, does it grow back in the same spot, or is it a finite resource?[/i] [b]TJ[/b]: It, like any other method of storing energy, is indeed finite in that once used, mana is gone. Someone asked whether or not more mana was being "produced" somewhere, and I decided to leave question open for now.

[i]It could be neat if used mana evaporates but eventually coalesces somewhere back into a usable form. I dunno. What would mana taste like if you decided to drink it (which is probably unwise, but still)?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I imagine it'd be very bitter and a bit thicker than water.

[i]Like the water cycle, but the mana cycle? I think this would work. Maybe mana vapors cause mutations in existing genes which is where new breeds come from?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: But in the water cycle, you aren't extracting energy from the water that you use. That would break it down into oxygen/hydrogen and it wouldn't be in the water cycle anymore.

[i]Having two different moons would mean solar and lunar eclipses would happen twice as often, taking into account distance and size would allow them to completely block the sun as ours does.
Do these eclipses affect magic and mana at all?[/i] 
[b]TJ[/b]:  I hadn't really planned on having mana being tied in some way to the sun. Especially since mana is frequent deep within caves where solar light is uncommon. 
Though, if the moons have mana on them, their positioning and alignment would actually affect things.

[i]One word: shapeshifting. How common is it in Valkemare?
Is there a shapeshifter community(humans who were exposed to raw mana who developed this ability, or "natural" shapeshifters that co-exist)?
Are there half-dragon humans? [/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I'm not sure which element of mana would be thematically most likely grant shapeshifting abilities. Perhaps Magi/neutral Change. Half-dragon humans that are actually half-dragon? Probably not. Humans that have some dragon-like qualities thanks to mana? That's possible, but under my current view of mana transformation, each type of mana causes a certain set of qualities to be expressed. So one would have to be able to come up with a combination of them that results in a reptilian appearance. Unless I allow unique pairs of mana to have distinct effects from the individual elements. e.g. earth mana = thick skin, stockier build; water mana = gills, fish tails; water + earth mana = something completely different.

[i]Is the Lagmonster from the world of Valkemare?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]:  No, it is not canon in any form.

[i]Not trying to shoehorn in on anything, but maybe "time" and "change" would be fitting, too? After all, the stuff Heartstealers "borrow" does change owner - kind of. Plus, Heartstealers do return their loot after some time. They also choose a certain time for their heists so they won't be seen.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]:  That's...a bit of a stretch. Not everything that "changes" (in that it has different beginning and end states) is related to the change element, nor does "time" apply to everything with a temporal component.

[i]Does mana have a physical as well as incorporeal 'energy' form? Like for instance, all these mana crystals we collected over the holiday. When you use the mana, do the crystals vanish, or do they become spent and turn into simple nonmagical crystals? And can they be 'recharged' from a source? It'd be really cool if they retained physical form, they could make excellent magical foci. If they do become physical, maybe the crystals are formed from a certain concentration of mana, so the fact that people find sources of mana and tap into it prevent the crystals from forming. And if they can be recharged, each one is only capable of storing energy from their original type of mana, so trying to collect from a different source wouldn't do anything. It's more likely a dragon would be able to come into possession of one due to their very nature as magical creatures, and I doubt any dragon would willingly part with such a thing. Therefore, the chances of a human or other being collecting/finding one is slim. Dunno about anyone else but I don't think I'd want to fight a dragon for a mana crystal![/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: It does have a physical form, but it's intrinsically tied to the energy it provides. Mana can be found in all three states of matter (liquid, solid, etc), but using it means it is no longer physically there.

[i]Is Valkemare as large as the Earth? Considerably bigger/smaller? Are the days and nights the same amount of time as they are here? And for that matter, how do the people of Valkemare measure time? Do they have their own name for the Galaxy they live in? How many planets orbit their sun?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Size of the planet hasn't yet been decided. I think it's a function of how much stuff I want to put into it; the visible map is only a small portion of the world, so what else should there be outside of Galsreim? I'd say the day is probably slightly longer (25 or 26 hours), and the year is also longer. This is arbitrary, based on random whims and not any sort of justification. Given that humans didn't really know what a galaxy was until we had advanced enough telescopes to be able to see other ones far far away, I don't think the concept of a galaxy is understood, which puts naming out of the question.

[i]Ok, but I read your reply as "yes, shapeshifting is/could be a thing on Valkemare." Please correct me if I am wrong. Apart from your view of mana transformation which I understood as the result of prolonged exposure to raw mana I thought shapeshifting as something "usual" - considering it's a magical fantasy world. 
In my personal canon I thought a DC being - be it human, dragon or another creature - could take mana (cast a spell) and shapeshift.
In case of a human wanting to turn into a dragon, maybe combining Change, Destruction & Creation elemental mana (because I'd imagine you'd need several forces to transform, I also imagine it would be painful) as energy to power & something of the being you want to transform into. A scale from a Gold dragon and BOOM you turn into a shiny Gold dragon. 
Needless to say, turning into a dragon should be one of the difficult tasks and "rare" as getting scales etc. could be rather dangerous.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: No, I don't think dragons pulling a Zeus on unsuspecting people is a thing that happens.

[i]Perhaps the different continents of the world have different beings like was mentioned. (Orcs, elves, etc) that the people evolved into due to the presence/absence of certain types of mana. It'd make a lot of sense if some continents had more of various kinds than others, and the continent we know of is one that has a good balance, so people are 'normal'. I bet it'd be more likely through evolution than 'Oh hey! You were born human, but then you MUTATED OMG.' Put orcs on one continent, elves on another, so on so forth. Except probably not orcs or elves because uh... better to make own species, yes?
Other continents could also explain why some dragon species are just discovered. They developed on other continents, and only recently started showing up on Galsreim. Pokemon Region Syndrome I'd say. wink.gif The first 151 pokemondragons were the native species, the ones after that migrated.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Like I said, I don't think there are other non-human humanoids. Though the mana-transformed humans probably do live in their own semi-isolated communities in some places (I mentioned that there are factions that dislike dragons; it extends to a general dislike for mana as well, so transformed people are generally separated in those regions). But yes, other continents are opportunities to add a bunch of variety to the world. I haven't put much thought into anything not on the map.

[i]1: When we obtain a bred egg, how do we all of a sudden know its lineage? Does the past owner leave a sticky note with a sketch on the egg? .png that'd be cute.
2: What would be the reason for domesticated dragons only laying 1 egg at a time, and during Holidays laying up to 4?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Neither of those are things that I think really happen "in universe." The whole concept of a pile of abandoned eggs sitting somewhere in the wilderness doesn't really make sense. But the breeding thing is probably a property of the holiday breeds themselves, since it only ever happens when a holiday dragon is involved--which happens to be during the Holidays.

[i]Since dragons are able to send their thoughts directly into a recipient's head, would they need to learn a human's language to understand that human talking to them, or does it translate in their heads?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: No, telepathic communication is more beaming thoughts directly, so there's no "middle-man" of going through language processing.

[i]If dragon codes are canon, are they considered a dragon's 'true' name, or is it more like an ID humans write down in order to classify them? But then, what if they have a cool code? Are they just unnamed?
And do sentinent dragons accept human-given nicknames as their name, have different names for each other or do they just recognize an individual automatically by coloring, personality, etc.?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I don't dragon IDs exist in-world. That'd be a bit...bizarre. 
That said, it's likely dragons have names for themselves that are unpronouncable by humans, so the "names" you use for your dragons might not be their real, actual names.

[i]Are dragons classified as reptiles, or do they have their own clades or whatever it's called? Also, in Valkemare, do dragons of different types breed offspring with traits passed down from both parents, or will they be strictly a single kind? (Besides the "crossbreeds" we already have.)
[/i][b]TJ[/b]: I'd say, yes, they share a common ancestor with reptiles (just like dinosaurs). And, like dinosaurs, they have a lot of traits that diverge from what is considered reptilian. 
Realistically, the different breeds of dragon shouldn't be able to breed together, and are actually more like distinct species that are closely-related than breeds of the same species. And realistically, if they were able to breed together, the expressed traits would be some mixture of the parents.
But let's just throw all that out the window and go with the Pokemon approach: Dragon "breeds" are a discrete spectrum, so two dragons that breed will produce a dragon of a distinct breed, not something that is blended between the two.
Though I'm still leaning towards things like wyverns being a distinct species from dragons, etc.

[i]Is there a specific terminology used to denote male and female dragons?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I don't have one in mind.

[i]Any idea how Skywings are able to fly off the ground? I understand they can gain speed by swimming but on land I would imagine it to be difficult to become airborne without legs.
[/i][b]TJ[/b]: I don't think they do, outside of starting within water.

[i]I'd think if we couldn't pronounce them, we wouldn't just pick an arbitrary string of letters and numbers to represent them. If anything, the written representation would be some fancy non-Latin alphabet. 
It probably would.
Someone TOTALLY needs to invent a writing system for the dragons, now. [/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: [i]I don't know if dragons even have a writing system. Perhaps collective knowledge is encoded a different way (especially given the native ability to beam thoughts to others)[/i]

[i]Since telepathy counts as magic (or does it for dragons?  blink.gif), does a Cassare's deadening field prevent it? Does this make Cassares incapable of telepathic communication?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: That's an interesting thought. Given that telepathy is their primary form of communication, that would make all Cassares mute... Or it'd mean that dragon-dragon telepathy doesn't count as magic.

[i]you could always go the D&D route: telepathy is psionics, not arcane magic, and thus you'd need a special anti-psionic field to block this... 
or, just do it like jim butcher did in codex alera: divide between externalized and internalized casting, which has different effects and can obviously (externalized) be seen, or only with very fine senses (internalized) attuned to the task at hand.
[/i] [b]TJ[/b]:I do have the concept of passive/active magic. Would it make sense for cassares to only block active magic? I think that might contradict some of the info that's already out there.

[i]Are Aurax and Cirion similar to Earth's Moon, or are they more like, for example, Pandora from Avatar universe? Is there a life on them? It would be interesting if they were independent worlds inhabited by different forms of life (different dragon or dragon-like species, perhaps...?) and maybe even linked to Valkemare by ancient portals or something similar.[/i]
[/I] [b]TJ[/b]:Uh, probably close to earth's moon, though the sizes are different. I forget what they are right now, but I think one is smaller and one is larger? 
Probably uninhabitable, though. Atmospheres tend to be important, it turns out

[i]That's very general. I doubt that they actually live for an "unlimited" amount of time.[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Not unlimited. Pretty long. It's something humans of the world probably don't know because dead dragons aren't seen very often.

[i]Why do dragon hatchlings hatch without wings? Would it be possible for some usually winged breeds to just grow up without? How does it even happen? Growing two new and complicated limbs sounds difficult if you're not a starfish [/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: Well, "why" is almost always a bad question to ask in terms of evolution. Especially when the "real-world" reason is that it's an arbitrary decision I made almost nine years ago, and would probably have done differently today. 
But to actually address your question... My current favorite theory is that the bone structure is basically there at the time of hatching, but not fully-formed, and is hidden under the skin, which reduces the likelihood of said fragile structure getting damaged. Around the time the wings are ready, they actually grow out of the back. It's also probably a gradual process that occurs over the course of hatching -> maturation, rather than something that happens very quickly during adolescence. This does leave room for some mutations in which the process doesn't occur properly, so the bones never properly form/grow in, resulting in a wingless dragon. That's hypothetical, though, and I'd guess that (depending on the breed) the dragon would have a very hard time surviving in such a case.

[i]For my question, and I hope I haven't missed the answer to it somewhere already, as I'm good at missing things... can the various water dragons live with any sort of water as long as it's deep enough, or do some breeds specifically require fresh water or salt water environments to thrive?[/i]
[b]TJ[/b]: I think biologically it makes more sense to have a fresh/salt water split, as the difference between the two causes a pretty big ecological split.
But some dragons are canonically able to handle both. Water dragons are specifically listed as existing in both environments. Though Deep Seas I'd expect are salt-water-only.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uff! This took a bit of time

And finally MY question, which is very important to me because it's related to my dragon request (the dracanthrope linked in my signature). I've spent hours with other users and artist to do it, and maybe I've also sent you a PM to know if it would be ok with the lore of DC (but I'm not sure about the PM).

I've proposed a shapeshift dragon, but the true is that it's still a dragon that happens to use the Change element to assume a different form more similar to humans. It's completely a dragon as the others, nothing change but its aspect. Its blood is only draconic and so its mind and personality. I hope it won't conflict with DC's lore.

Edited March 16, 2015 by Naruhina_94

[zaverxi]

Is it possible that the gravity is lower on Valkemare since we have dragons(flying/floating) and the occurrence of very large creatures in the first place?

 

I personally would like to see the medieval setting progress and grow (similar to Terry Pratchett's world)

 

Would you consider making a poll to gather ideas for cities/villages and what they are about? This could help flesh out the communities of people and the mutations.

 

If mana is always being replaced, would there perhaps be an underground mana 'jet stream'? Say, a spider web series of channels underground? That could explain why caves tend to have a high amount of mana storage and renewal.

 

/questions devolved into world building thoughts concepts...sorry

The concept of leylines has been used countless times in various books/shows/video games, so I don't see why this would be any different. There's a 'source' of mana, and it branches off into different types. This 'source' could be metaphysical, or it could be an actual source in the center of the planet, who knows. Radiation from the sun, the location, and other factors could change the mana's form to the different types.

 

You know that's an interesting idea. Neutral mana is the source of all mana and is found in the core, and it gains different attributes and changes to other types the closer to the surface it gets. Ultimately, the neutral mana is just as common/uncommon as the other types due to this. The 'pure' mana is the neutral mana that's found.

[Fiona]

You know, the stray question about frills and bright pinks got me thinking. What would cause dragon extinctions? In the real world things like destruction of habitat or environmental contamination or climate changes are some causes. There are others too, of course. Right now the causes that I can think of don't really seem to apply to dragons. There must be some reason though, right?

 

There was a question earlier about lore reasons why new breeds are found. It just seemed to me that it would be interesting to think of reasons why breeds might disappear.

[Chaos Rider]

Don't no about Frills but it's possible that when the new pinks were introduced they outcompeted the old bright pinks for food, territory etc.

[TJ09]

Is it possible that the gravity is lower on Valkemare since we have dragons(flying/floating) and the occurrence of very large creatures in the first place?

It's possible, though that seems like the kind of thing that might have far-reaching effects that I can't foresee right now.

 

Keeping things consistent is hard.

 

Would you consider making a poll to gather ideas for cities/villages and what they are about? This could help flesh out the communities of people and the mutations.

I'm open to that, and to the idea of the community helping to fill in the gaps, but I think first I'd like to make sure the ideas I have in-process get solidified. It'd suck to ask for input, then turn around and go, "well actually I'm doing to do my own thing."

 

If mana is always being replaced, would there perhaps be an underground mana 'jet stream'? Say, a spider web series of channels underground? That could explain why caves tend to have a high amount of mana storage and renewal.

This matches my current thoughts, yes.

 

Maybe even a core of hot mana instead of hot magma, but that gets into the whole "probably has side effects that I'm not prepared to deal with" territory.

[TJ09]

And finally MY question, which is very important to me because it's related to my dragon request (the dracanthrope linked in my signature). I've spent hours with other users and artist to do it, and maybe I've also sent you a PM to know if it would be ok with the lore of DC (but I'm not sure about the PM).

I've proposed a shapeshift dragon, but the true is that it's still a dragon that happens to use the Change element to assume a different form more similar to humans. It's completely a dragon as the others, nothing change but its aspect. Its blood is only draconic and so its mind and personality. I hope it won't conflict with DC's lore.

It's kind of funny since you went through the whole thread, but I swear I've already been asked something about dragons shapeshifting into humans in relation to a dragon concept?

[TJ09]

You know that's an interesting idea. Neutral mana is the source of all mana and is found in the core, and it gains different attributes and changes to other types the closer to the surface it gets. Ultimately, the neutral mana is just as common/uncommon as the other types due to this. The 'pure' mana is the neutral mana that's found.

But what sort of process would result in pure mana diverging into type-specific mana? Would it have some sort of relation to the other elements in a given triad (e.g. pure mana can split into equal parts water/fire/ice mana, since they're the same triad, so together they form balance)?

[TJ09]

You know, the stray question about frills and bright pinks got me thinking. What would cause dragon extinctions? In the real world things like destruction of habitat or environmental contamination or climate changes are some causes. There are others too, of course. Right now the causes that I can think of don't really seem to apply to dragons. There must be some reason though, right?

 

There was a question earlier about lore reasons why new breeds are found. It just seemed to me that it would be interesting to think of reasons why breeds might disappear.

For an entire breed to go extinct, it'd have to be something big, but for it to only affect one breed, it'd have to be specific to that breed. Perhaps some sort of event that disrupted a fragile, highly-dependent diet. Perhaps extinction through hunting. Maybe they aren't actually all gone (e.g. migration to an area not colonized by humans).

[TJ09]

Don't no about Frills but it's possible that when the new pinks were introduced they outcompeted the old bright pinks for food, territory etc.

This is clever; given that new pinks were introduced as an "improvement" to old pinks, perhaps their lore matches that. If new pinks compete with old pinks for food, but are better at acquiring it, then that'd drive old pinks out of the habitat and/or to extinction.

[Naruhina_94]

It's kind of funny since you went through the whole thread, but I swear I've already been asked something about dragons shapeshifting into humans in relation to a dragon concept?

Yes, these are the other two answers you gave in relation to shapeshifters, but I didn't see regarding dragon concepts in this topic:

 

One word: shapeshifting. How common is it in Valkemare?

Is there a shapeshifter community(humans who were exposed to raw mana who developed this ability, or "natural" shapeshifters that co-exist)?

Are there half-dragon humans?

TJ: I'm not sure which element of mana would be thematically most likely grant shapeshifting abilities. Perhaps Magi/neutral Change. Half-dragon humans that are actually half-dragon? Probably not. Humans that have some dragon-like qualities thanks to mana? That's possible, but under my current view of mana transformation, each type of mana causes a certain set of qualities to be expressed. So one would have to be able to come up with a combination of them that results in a reptilian appearance. Unless I allow unique pairs of mana to have distinct effects from the individual elements. e.g. earth mana = thick skin, stockier build; water mana = gills, fish tails; water + earth mana = something completely different.

 

 

Ok, but I read your reply as "yes, shapeshifting is/could be a thing on Valkemare." Please correct me if I am wrong. Apart from your view of mana transformation which I understood as the result of prolonged exposure to raw mana I thought shapeshifting as something "usual" - considering it's a magical fantasy world.

In my personal canon I thought a DC being - be it human, dragon or another creature - could take mana (cast a spell) and shapeshift.

In case of a human wanting to turn into a dragon, maybe combining Change, Destruction & Creation elemental mana (because I'd imagine you'd need several forces to transform, I also imagine it would be painful) as energy to power & something of the being you want to transform into. A scale from a Gold dragon and BOOM you turn into a shiny Gold dragon.

Needless to say, turning into a dragon should be one of the difficult tasks and "rare" as getting scales etc. could be rather dangerous.

TJ: No, I don't think dragons pulling a Zeus on unsuspecting people is a thing that happens.

 

 

I dont' know what it means "pulling a Zeus" and these replies are mainly about humans that want for some reason turn into Dragons. My actual concept is about Dragons using mana and inner magic to camuflage their aspect remaining dragons inside. They don't are half humans because these would break the rule about "no hybrids dragon-creatures for dragon request".

They are wearing a mask on their body, like if mana and their magic abilities could help them to manipulate their form like molten glass for 24 hours before immediately return to dragon form. I've understood that only small changes would be possible when a creature shapeshift, so I was wondering if the momentary transformation they make would be allowed in DC's lore. Even if it seems big it's only superficial and less defined than a real shapeshifter.

 

 

Is there a place where people who decided to use mana and magic related stuff decided to reunite, like a Mage tower?

How wild dragons see the human presence? What do they generally think of them? Has lived any past hero among dragons or human who is remembered until know?

Are there small outposts in the wild lands where people try to live in armony with peaceful breeds?

[Ruby Eyes]

That's...not a lore question.

How about my question then?

 

Where did Frills go to?

 

Unlike Pinks, they don't even reproduce an "improved" version of themselves, even though a number of them are still around and able to mate with other dragons. What could cause that?

[Fiona]

For an entire breed to go extinct, it'd have to be something big, but for it to only affect one breed, it'd have to be specific to that breed. Perhaps some sort of event that disrupted a fragile, highly-dependent diet. Perhaps extinction through hunting. Maybe they aren't actually all gone (e.g. migration to an area not colonized by humans).

That seems logical to me. Especially if the breed essentially disappears into an area not yet explored by humans. Whatever happened to threaten the breed caused them to move to an area that would meet their dietary requirements or where they'd be safe from hunting or whatever.

 

This doesn't explain the bright pinks and frills we have and their breeding mechanics. It could explain why we don't see any more in the wild. I think in the suggestions thread where people are asking for bright pinks to come back I suggested a mutagenic event (something to do with Change mana, no doubt) for them that caused a dominant mutation to arise where the formerly bright pinks started breeding the new paler pinks. It could leave the door open for bright pinks to return as a recessive gene. Perhaps some of them in an isolated population resisted the mutagenic event. (Of course the return or no return is in your hands. Just trying to think of how and why they changed)

 

That doesn't explain the frills though. They not only disappeared from the wild but tamed ones stopped breeding new frills at all.

[Syiren]

Unlike Pinks, they don't even reproduce an "improved" version of themselves, even though a number of them are still around and able to mate with other dragons. What could cause that?

I was wondering the same thing and my guess/assumption/idea/creative imagination came up with a possible theory.

 

One of the strongest magical breed of dragons (mainly one that has the power to read into possible futures) saw a foreboding future that placed Frills as the center that would cause the fall or destruction of the land. Other magical dragons saw this as well and an elemental trio used their powers to summon a Guardian of Nature who as the land's protector used its power to prevent the birth of new Frills and deemed the ones already in existence as non-threatening. Plus they are innocent and the GoN is not a merciless killer.

 

I know there's plot holes in my theory, but that's the only thing I could come up with.

 

 

My question is, are the Pink-colored polished dragons picky or have a habit of snubbing their snouts at potential mates? I have a few dragons that are picky, but she's rejected almost every suitor that's called on her. (only one or two has actually met her requirements.) I guess that question could be applied to all dragons really. Are their some that are just super picky and just prefer to pair with certain breeds?

[dragongrrl]

Maybe the Frills relocated in response to unusual conditions, a sensitivity to specific ions from a rare solar flare that does not affect other breeds. The ones in captivity can breed, but will not reproduce their own kind until the ions return to a safe level.

 

Will that work?

 

eta: And, yes, I am still waiting for them to return. <3

Edited March 17, 2015 by dragongrrl

[TJ09]

I dont' know what it means "pulling a Zeus"

In Greek mythology, Zeus (one of the gods) frequently chooses to disguise himself as some sort of mortal animal and trick women into sleeping with him. This results in a lot of the not-gods-but-not-completely-mortal characters that appear in mythology.

 

I don't understand the rest of your questions well enough to answer.

[MessengerDragon]

What size are leetle trees? And how do we get them back to our caves without disturbing the roots?

 

How do we keep our Desipises under control so they don't take over our cave? (Especially those of us who don't have any cassares handy?)