The DragonLords are a breed apart, a race so completely different from anything else that walks upright, which they cannot be thought of in the same way. Whilst almost all of the Elder Races are warm-blooded, bar the Mist Devils, and Mani who do not actually have blood, the DragonLords have only cold blood pumping through their veins. This makes them different to the other races in a way that is almost subconscious, as if no matter how well a DragonLord may disguise who he is. To be a DragonLord is to be a representation of their God, Shaltar the AllFather. To be a DragonLord is to die in combat, with courage and honour. To be a DragonLord is to be a true warrior.
Physical Description: On the exterior, DragonLords are no different from the other humanoid Races, if a little taller and broader. They have no distinguishing marks, other then, commonly, numerous scars and other marks of battle and can thus pass as human, Merman or even Elven. Internally they could not be more different. Their skeletal structure is bizarre, their ribs cage fused into one solid plate to protect the twin hearts that beat underneath it. Between each heart is a ridge of bone to prevent a single attack damaging both organs. Their lungs are tougher and more leathery on the outside then those of humans, with bony plates protecting them. Their spinal column is approximately three times the thickness of that of a human, a fact that goes a long way into accounting for their size and bulk. Their blood is strange, almost black, as it is full of blood cells and anti-bodies. This gives them great endurance and their muscles can work long after they have been starved of oxygen, breaking down the tissue only for it to regenerate again. DragonLord muscles do not produce lactic acid, nor do they suffer from stitches or recurring injuries from past battles. Their flesh is regenerative, and this grows more powerful as they age, the oldest of their kind being almost impossible to wound without magic. DragonLords are also a highly diverse species, with a dozen different variants, each unique in their abilities and powers, each descended from a different colour of Dragon.
Personality: DragonLords, being animalistic attimes, have few morals and even fewer fears. They know that they are strong, that Shaltar awaits them after death, and so they fear nothing, for death to them is not the end. However, this lack of morals also horrifies the other Races that the DragonLords meet. DragonLords think nothing of incest or cannibalism, viewing the former as simply mating with an available DragonLord and the latter as a form of emergency food. This has lead to horror stories about DragonLords being told amongst the human population, of how DragonLords devour children and the elderly. In all actuality this would never happen, DragonLords viewing the other races as inferior and not worth devouring.
Religion: DragonLords are not outwardly particularly religious. They do not tend to pray and very rarely hold ceremonies in honour of their God and creator, Shaltar the AllFather. DragonLords know for a fact that Shaltar exists and they believe that every act of courage and valour that they commit is a prayer to Shaltar, a battle cry in the Gods name. They know that, should they die well, they will ascend to sit beside their God and so they strive to do exactly that, die superbly. However, in spite of this, there are a number of so called 'Battle-Prayers' which are chanted by a group of DragonLords before a dangerous combat, as they believe that it will bring Shaltar's blessing down upon them.
Relations: DragonLords hate Humanity for stealing land where DragonLords once lived and for the devastation done to the DragonLords during the Great War. Though it is against the Humans that the DragonLords spend most of their venom, they have been known to have respect for some of the other Races. Anvar and Dwarves the DragonLords have warred against and fought beside on more then one occasion, the same being true of the Elves. The DragonLords view the Fae as useful, if timid, creatures and the Mermen as irritating distractions. Soulless, however, the DragonLords view as something of a quandary. Their extreme similarity to Humans inspires hatred, yet their courage and steadfast nature demands respect.
Territory: DragonLords live in close-knit clans, generally of no more then a dozen individuals stemming from a single pair of adults. Once they are old enough to look after themselves, the DragonLords will divide their clan apart. They tend to congregate in specific colour based clans, with different types of DragonLord living in differing areas. As such Blue DragonLords favour the warm oceans, Whites the northern ice, Reds the flat plains, Bronze the deep deserts and Coppers the high mountains and so on.
Language: DragonLords, like most Draconic creatures such as Dragons, Hydras and Wyverns, speak a form of Draconic. They also tend to have a command of Common in order to trade and gain goods from the other Races.
Names: DragonLord names are very important to them, especially titles. They tend to gather them avidly, using their own titles extensively. They also refer to other people by their titles just as much as their names. As an example of a full DragonLord title: Alexis DragonRider, Son of Silofan and Vralic, Nemesis of Liam HeartBreaker . . . (and so on) As for actual names, DragonLords favour more impressive sounding names. For example: Male: Alexis, Draco, Drake, Jxom, Oriss, Siac, Sintai, Woir Female: Arwen, Ifba, Letanoda, Melanie, Nalhin, Osath, Rhyghamos.
Courage and Honour!
Drake's Battle Cry
Though I see my fathers,
Though I see my mothers and my brothers and my sisters,
Though I see past warriors and fallen allies,
Though I see them all beckon me from Shaltar's Light,
I still will not join them,
I still will not die this day,
I still will not spill my blood upon this ground,
I still will fight with courage and honour!
DragonLord Battle Prayer
Get that filthy animal out of my city! And for Hevar's Sake keep him AWAY from the horses!
Order given by the LifeMayor of Tal City in reference to a Black DragonLord walking down the Main Street
What do you mean, why did I keep killing the demons? What do you mean, they were falling back? What do you mean, I was ordered to stand down? I'm a DragonLord; they were there, so I killed them. Nothing to it.
Drake FrostHeart after the First War of the Races
Death! Blood! Violence! Woooo!
A random DragonLord Battle Cry during the Great War
Black - Strongest + can learn to breath gas or black fire
Green - Enhanced regnerative abilities. + spits acid
Night - Spits Dark Bolts + almost immune to Dark and acidic Magics
White - Resistant to cold + spits ice
Grey - General low level magic resistance + spits raw energy bolts
Red - Quick as a git + spits fire
Gold - Most powerful as a mage + spits fire
Silver - Resistant to Air Magic + spits lightning + can exist for a period in a void
Blue - Breathes underwater + can't fly + spits high pressure water + is resistant to Water Magic
Copper - Resistant to Fire + spits lava
Bronze - Spits molten metal + immune to blood and bone magic + has metallic hide + can eat metal as a food
Stone - Incredibly tough to damage but have no breath weapon and cannot fly.
© Joshua Binks (Paladin), Christopher Riley (Carnage), Brad Rumsey (Lithium), Alicia Rumsey (Escapist) and Vanessa Vaughan (Andanin) 2002 -