#draconian lore

[theload]

A big set, thanks to computer issues.

The first two are Memory and Hierarchy. Born from the birthplace of Ouroborus, they serve as the connecting points of the Urobian collective consciousness.

Next are Yin and Yang, created by Chaos and Order to serve as replacements for Ouroborus.

Final three are Space, Time, and Universe. Space and Time were created by the MetaDrak children of Chaos and Order, while Universe is their child.

[theload]

This year I decided to do Smaugust, both to try and get more practice with drawing and to entertain myself. But while trying to figure out what prompt to use, I realized, I have 31 Embodiments.

For those who don’t know, Embodiments are a concept in my lore representing the primordial sources and personifications of cosmic forces. They’re sort of my lore’s equivalent to things like Chaos, Aether, Thanatos, Erebos, etc from Greek mythology. They aren’t just “the Gods of X,” they are X.

And every Embodiment, thanks to shenanigans that happen later on in my creation myth, has a Draconic Avatar.

This one here is Light, one of the oldest Embodiments in my lore. Light, along with its twin Dark, were the first to come from the Essence (the primordial magic soup). In terms of inspiration, I was inspired by the Gnostic Demiurge Yaldabaoth, described as a fiery serpent with a lion’s head (depicted in Homestuck as a serpent with a sun for a head, also seen in artwork of Yaldabaoth), and the Seraphim, a class of angels with six wings and described as fiery, also sometimes shown as snakes in modern retellings, thanks to Seraph also being a term for venomous snakes.

[theload]

I fell a bit behind because of work, but I’ve caught up now.

Life, also called Nature and The Green, was the third Embodiment to be born from the Essence, soon after Rage and Fear were formed. It’s also the only Embodiment to actually not be given a Draconic Avatar, because by the time those are being made, Life has actually died.

It does get reincarnated though, and while I didn’t just want to draw that reincarnation (you’ve seen her plenty of times before), I wanted to take inspiration from what the reincarnation looks like.

Death, always called The Fourth Born, came from the Essence fourth, long after The Green’s children had been born. With it came death, and it was The Fourth Born’s existence that allowed the other Embodiments to slay Life.

For the design, I wanted to try for a draconic Grim Reaper feel, along with a miasma cloud. Add to it some smaller skulls for those who have joined the Embodiment.

Joy is the child of Life and Death. While Light and Dark hated one enough enough to create Fear and Rage, Life and Death loved each other enough to create Joy.

My rationale for the design is admittedly very flimsy, but whenever I pictured the Embodiment I just imagine a small, flitting dragon, and I tried to capture that here.

[theload]

Dark, the twin of Light, and number two on my Embodiment Smaugust challenge. While Light had some inspiration from real figures from mythology, Dark’s design is meant to make it a counterpart to Light. Since Light has a sun-like face, I tried to make Dark reminiscent of a black hole, spiraling down into the center.

[theload]

Lightning and Storm, the two children of Air; Lightning by Fire and Storm by Water.

Inspiration for Lightning came from lightning bolts themselves, as well as the Ala, Draconic storm demons from Slavic folklore.

Storm’s drew inspiration from rainbows (and therefore the Rainbow Serpent family of deities), a depiction of a winged Japanese dragon, and tornadoes.

[theload]

Fire, the fourth and final child of The Green.

The Orms of Fire are the Salonix, and as their name suggests they are the primordial ancestors of Mythical Salamanders and Fire Birds. Mixing with amphibians produced Cold Salamanders, mixing with reptiles produced Fire Salamanders, and mixing with birds produced Fire Birds.

The Salonix themselves have complex forms, beginning life as serpents and changing each time they burn, adding limbs and wings and accessories. Usually they end up as some sort of serpentine reptavian, as Fire here demonstrates.

For Fire’s tail, I wanted it to be ambiguous as to when it becomes a flame.

[theload]

Chaos and Order, the Children of Ouroborus. Born from the wound Rage created in its escape.

For Chaos, I based it off the image of Anzu, often erroneously attributed to Tiamat, with a sea serpent’s tail. I thought the Embodiment of Chaos should feel chimerical.

For Order, I based it off of Chinese Dragons and Y Ddraig Goch, both dragons associated with government and rulership.

[theload]

When Light and Dark saw one another, they were filled with such dread and fury at the sight of their equal and opposite, it create two new beings. Fear and Rage.

This one is Fear. You’re probably wondering as to the design. But Fear here is the emotion itself, not the cause, and fear as an emotion is there to protect you from danger. As a result, Fear is one of the friendlier, and most sociable of the Embodiments. Who likes to be cute.

Design wise, Fear is also based off of the theory that dragons are a chimera of Mankind’s three great predators, snakes, big cats, and birds of prey. So I took that, but tried to keep it cute. So the snake is a hognose, the crest is based off of sand cat ears, and Fear has little bird feet. Then, since it’s a warning, I gave it warning colors.