Dragon’s Flight, Dragon’s Heart

World building for a story I’ll never write. Here’s a place to explore functional anatomy, practical applications of magic in a (hopefully) realistic way, social interactions, and the implications of permanent mental pairing. All of the art featured here is my own. I’m a mainly traditional artist, so shitty phone pics are gonna be posted a lot. You’re not free to use any of my art.

[teeth-monestro]

Brief History

Ven (four armed, humanoid bipedal mammals) lived on the Eastern continent. Dragons lived on all continents. Once both species could be considered sentient, it took them nearly 3,000 years to realize the other was intelligent, and another 800 years to learn how to communicate. Each dragon species has it’s own language, though only a few are spoken. Those few can manage the Ven’s spoken one, due to complex lip movements. Ven have a hard time mimicking dragon languages, due to their vocal range (many dragons use sub-vocal noises). Dragons are capable of sharing emotions and thoughts through touch, and Ven mimic this skill through body modifications and energy manipulation (magic).

The first pairing happened between two ven, a young girl and old woman, and a Motioner Wyvern Prince. The three lived secretly as a family until they all had a pretty good grasp on each other’s languages. They spent years traveling between Wyvern camps and dens convincing them of the benefits of pairing, as well as helping others to overcome the prejudices of inter-species cohabitation. Wyverns are one of the oldest species of dragon, but aren’t widely respected as a species. They’d managed to convince a large portion of the dragon population on both continents that ven were intelligent life, and not worth eating, but were unable to immediately have everyone open to the idea of bonding. It took nearly 700 years until the first dragon of the next species, a Bared, agreed to a bond.

Other species started following. After another 2000 years, large and sustainable societies started rising up. Their value was recognized, and quickly spread over the Eastern continent. A few kingdoms exist on the Western, but large areas of that land is recognized as ‘ancient’ territories, left to the species that are unwilling to pair themselves.

Very recently, it’s been acknowledged that ocean serpents are also intelligent and capable of communication. They have not had the same revelations as the Dragons and Ven have, who are still trying to figure out how to reach out to them peacefully, in order to make ocean trips between the continents safer.

[teeth-monestro]

The Mechanics of Pairing

Pairing is when two intelligent beings synchronize their Auras to the same frequency. This allows easier communication, as it’s easier to ‘sense’ the other’s intentions and feelings. They can also share thoughts in close proximity to each other without having to have physical contact.

Shifting the frequency of your aura can only be done once, so it’s socially expected to be a life-time bonding. Pairing is the umbrella term for the process, and it also refers specifically to two animals bonding. It can be between two dragons, two ven, or a ven and a dragon. Three (and rarely four) animals can pair, and would be referred to as a grouping. Siblings can pair, ven and dragons can pair with a pet, and it’s even been noted that some unintelligent animals will pair with a mate. Some species are incapable of pairing, and some species of dragons see themselves above it, or as unnecessary (morae and chorrel specifically).

Taking on a third person is done often enough that most people don’t have a problem with it. Taking on a fourth is not unheard of, but isn’t as widely accepted. Groups of five will usually be rejected by society and left to live on their own. Each dragon species has their own set of social rules regarding pairing, and it’s usually based on how long the species as a whole has been a part of bonded society.

Pairing cannot be kept a secret. People can notice the shift in an aura when it is synchronized with another. People can also sense the same aura in the other(s) of the pairing.

The pairing process can take point at any age, but takes a few weeks and a lot of meditation to pull off. You have to have a good understanding of who you are, and of who you’re going to pair with. The more people you have in your pairing, the more difficult it is for someone to join, as they need a good understanding of who all the participants are.

A dragon of a species that has entered bonded society, yet has not paired is called a ‘Sin’. An unbonded ven is called a ‘Sin-set’. Unbonded dragons live a different amount of time per species, ven live for roughly 230 years, and paired ven and dragons can live to 600. If a paired ven dies immaturely the dragon will revert to an almost feral state, and is referred to as a ‘tens’. If a paired dragon dies immaturely it’s ven will lose the ability/desire to communicate, and is referred to as a ‘tens-set’. These states can be temporary, but are often permanent. Neither tend to live more than a few years afterwards.

Re-pairing is possible, but it is not considered healthy or acceptable. Re-pair’s will still be referred to as a tens/tens-set, and will be socially outcast.

Only paired dragons use pronouns, unpaired dragons are referred to as “it”. Gender exists as a concept in ven society and is tolerated by dragons.

[teeth-monestro]

I’ve been wrapping up basic references for all of the ‘domestic’ species of dragon. Each will show two possible color variations (common and complex), as well as a basic description of the species and their standing in society.