DH: Warm vs Cold
Greater Dragons come in two different types: Warm and Cold. These dragons are indicative of where they came from; either the World Above (re: the general Surface of the planet), or the Cold World (re: the Dark mountains, a section of the world that is cast in shadow). Warmlings and Cold Ones do not get along well, for Warmlings cast the Cold Ones into shadow after fighting a bloody war with each other over the limited source of Magic the surface had.
Warm dragons are often scaled, spiny, or covered in plain/smooth skin, and have control over VOID or DARKNESS magic. They, like most Warmlings, are the warriors and the scholars, the ones who sought Magic for its arcane knowledge and its ability to improve society as a whole. They were a bit power-hungry as well, seeing how those who controlled Magic could control the world in a large way. Their greed turned them against their Cold brethren and led them to banishing the others in fear that they’d usurp their power if given the chance.
Cold dragons are often feathered, furred, or gel-like, and have control over PRISM or LIGHT magic. They, like most Cold Ones, were the mages and the artisans of the world and sought Magic for it’s beauty and life knowledge. They sought out not to control Magic, but to become one with it, perhaps a bit too much, as they often lost their minds to the nature of Magic and were prone to becoming eldritch monstrosities made of nothing but pure magic and flesh. The power hunger of the Warmlings drove them to fight for the right to keep Magic free, but their inability to resist Magic’s call weakened their forces and led to their banishment in the bloodiest war they’d seen.
Upon banishment, Cold Ones began to study the properties of Magic to try and see how the Warmlings saw it. They began taking their studies more seriously, resisting the call to join Magic’s nature and becoming powerful mage warriors and artistic scholars. Their power grew greatly and under the Greater Dragon Second King’s tyrannical and power-hungry rule, brought forth after years of power-starvation, Cold Ones began a whisper among the Warmlings that war was brewing as they gathered their forces.
Warmlings, however, grew lazy. They depended greatly on magic for everything, from technology to schooling to cooking, and began to lose the arcane knowledge they so sought after to complacency. Monsters and Humans began to divide themselves by their differences and their inability to understand each other, then systematically (with Monsters suffering under Human reigns for the most part), until finally they decided to separate completely and rule their own kingdoms. Generations of tension between humans and monsters began to finally fester upon news that the Cold Ones were beginning to prepare for battle. Would they be able to regain each other’s support, or would they kill each other off before the Second King could finish them once and for all?
While Greater Dragons tend to not care for man/monsterkind’s personal drivel, Warm dragons managed to get caught up in the prejudice of each side and were divided among themselves as well - with some preferring the company of humans while others found it easier in monster society. The one thing they could agree on, however, was how hunters arose from both human AND monster kind, and how both would rue the day they messed with their kind, even if they “played nice.”
Cold dragons were extremely rare, almost completely forgotten due to their segregation with the rest of the Cold Ones. They faced great fear in the Cold World, however, due to the King’s cruel reign, and were often treated as royalty by association. This, however, did not keep hunters from trying to find them out, although hunters were illegal in all Cold World states and thus were often Warmlings trying to make a name for themselves rather than foolish Cold Ones. Cold dragons had life pretty easy in general, but faced greater social stigma than their Warm brothers.
There was no communication between Warm and Cold dragons for eons until one brave soul decided to escape the royal castle with his youngest brother in tow, seeking assylum in the Warmling world from a father who was cruel and tyrannical to him and his siblings. If he could, he would’ve taken them all with him - but he could only manage the youngest across the border, being young himself.
Their disappearance, along with the mysterious disappearance of the King’s eldest son several years prior, shook both worlds and raised the stakes of both wars greatly. Three Princes of Cold lost in a world of Warmth... What would become of them in a world such as this?