There’s a geographical reason super evolvers are so rare – miraculous and wondrous fossils are nigh-exclusive to Caliosteo. When the dinaurian seeds of life died, some were fossilised. The majority of these happened to be crushed later beneath more recent fossils (of the regular kind) – however, they rarely survived on lands other than the islands, which have a unique soil composition ideal for dinaurian life. When dino body parts were infused with the life seed essence, they were transformed, filled with dinaurian RNA. Diggins’ revival technology was unable to interpret the huge influx of energy and alien genetics, and at a loss to decode what the original dino species was. However, it could direct that energy into existing medals. Thus, the strange colourations that result from wondrous fossil integration are replications of possible dinaurian species skintones. Whenever Dynal sets eyes on a super reviver, he feels a pang of nostalgia for his home planet such that his stomach aches with misery. Duna has a similarly visceral reaction.
A WIZARD DID IT
Miraculous fossils are of different origins to wondrous fossils, but likewise Caliosteo-exclusive. ZongaZonga’s method of revival, just like the modern one, was fossil-based – but rather than using genetic material to create a superpowered facsimile of the original, it would create a vaguely undead being from the skull alone. As ZZ wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about dinosaurs, he couldn’t distinguish species particularly well. Hence, all ceratopsians became Z-Triceras, all theropods Z-Rexes, and all pterosaurs Z-Pteras. The same fossil would usually be reused for ten to twenty consecutive revivals, as the zombiesaur’s body would be materialised with ZZ’s own power. Over time, some fossils were tainted with vitriolic necromantic energy from after being revived again and again and again, developing a magically impenetrable golden sheen. When ZongaZonga was sealed in the Stone Pyramid, his people destroyed most of the corrupted head fossils, and reburied the rest. Since then, the remnants of ZZ’s curse have eroded the encasing rocks and rendered the fossils incredibly fragile – nearly all the Z-Elasmo and Z-Ptera heads were destroyed due to their fragility during reburial (but there are Z-Tricera heads, though not shown in-game). Revival machines can’t decode the original fossil any longer due to the damage incurred by ZZ’s magics, so they recreate the burst of energy from the revival spell. This is why all Zombiesaurs have gold fossils applied.
Boneysaurs were created by a rival sorcerer staging a coup against ZZ. Their revival spell worked similarly, but whilst having the same necromantic energy required, it wasn’t half as deleterious to the fossils involved. However, every fossil used remains part of the boneysaur it was converted into, and hence impossible to revive.
IN THE BLACK BOOKS
The dark energy harvested by Dr. Blackraven has nothing to do with the astronomical concept – rather, it crops up naturally in certain sites. After festering underground for perhaps five millennia, it corrupts all nearby fossils, filling them with raw elemental power. Given tens of millennia again, it may even prompt the unholy parthenogenesis that is spontaneous revival. Frigi and Igno, for example, were born of millions of years of dark energy exposure, being an Apatosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus corrupted beyond recognition. (To this day, the Digadigs worship several other dark energy-revived putative deities, including Lexovisaurus god Ter, and Ventu, the air-element apotheosis of Deinonychus.) If fossils only absorb minimal amounts of dark energy, they merely turn red. Often, the surrounding rock crystallises, becoming blacker and harder as the contents develop a deeper and deeper blush – however, a set of legs, arms, or ribs distanced sufficiently from the source may still change colour whilst encased in deceptively pale strata.
Unfortunately, there’s a price to pay for reviving red bones: Due to the insidious influence of dark energy, black-cased fossils typically yield much more aggressive vivosaurs with a mild version of Elemental Boost inexorably applied. However lucrative those extra 25 points may be, inexperienced fighters have been killed by red-bones revivers that they could not control. Hence, one cannot trade donation points for dark rocks without reaching fighter level 3, which requires impressive prowess on the battlefield. Even then, it’s recommended that no vivosaur have more than two red body parts integrated. Otherwise, one’s Zino may begin to resemble a Zinodious more than the original dinosaur.
