Ages past, creatures objected to their form, to the chains the flesh bound them to. Contained, unable to bear their beings, spirit buried below. The true self a distant memory wrapped in the casts of the physical form.
They rose up. Their God fell, delivering a final curse of chaos. Their flesh distorted, never to be bound or static. Amorphousness came with its own kind of suffering. Unbeing. The Formless wandered without time or direction, shifting selves forgoing connection with the other.
Mortal ties lost, time and space of no impact, The Formless could not settle. Eternality served none. The rift must be awoken, must swallow the world. The New Realm would be breached. No longer would they settle for the shackles of the untrue or the turbulence of the unformed. Here, they would deconstruct their very beings. Here, they would remake themselves in their own image.
This is a fantasy/sci-fi worldbuilding blog! Feel free to ask me about the creative process, characters, etc. I'm not going to treat this like work, so I'll get to things when I get to things... or maybe I won't.
Hares and beasts are spirit-bonded pairs of bipedal lagomorph and bison-like ruminants that migrate across the plains and tundras in herds. Harelings are skilled fiber artisans, and beasts are known for their extreme resilience and ability to communicate over long distances. Sedentary populations of harelings are more reserved and live in warrens without a spirit bond to plainsbeasts, but plainsbeasts are less populous and only exist in connection with the migratory harelings.
Appearance
Harelings are bipedal lagomorphs with sleek fur in a variety of coat colors. Fur has more white in winter and ranges from silver to black in the summer. They have opposable thumbs and wear clothing made of woven beast fur during colder weather.
Plainsbeasts resemble bison with manes and striking patterning in a range of earth tones. They are more deerlike in ancestry and have short horn-like antlers and thicker tails. They often wear nose rings, saddles, beads, and other jewelry the harelings make for them.
Habitat
Herds live in tundras and grasslands, where the soil remains frozen for years at a time. Grasslike forage dominates, and plants are usually dry and of low nutrients. A single herd will cover a range of several hundred square miles with little clearly-defined territory. Different herds will often use the same land at different times, generally staying within a distance where communication between beasts of different herds is possible.
Diet
Both hares and beasts are herbivores. Beasts typically eat grasses with high lignin content and overall poor nutrients, while hares will eat the smaller quantities of richer grasses, vegetables, and occasionally grains.
Harelings are "hindgut fermenters" and obtain much of their energy from volatile fatty acids (VFAs) released by bacteria that reside in the cecum. Many compounds derived from fermentation of cellulose and hemicellulose in the cecum cannot be absorbed past the small intestine and are lost without re-consumption. Harelings do not engage in cecotrophy; when compared to other lagomorphs, they do not obtain as many vitamins or proteins from their diets and must eat more nutritious food as a result.
Some more sedentary hareling populations have developed cooking to obtain more nutrients from their food, while migratory populations can generally find enough nutritious food during their travels. Migratory harelings may supplement their diets with beast milk in winter, while sedentary populations rely on food they cache in their warrens.
Beasts are ruminants and have a four-chambered stomach. Fermentation of forage in the rumen provides more easily digested and absorbed nutrients, many in the form of VFAs. Digestion of the bacteria originating in the rumen yields many proteins and B and K vitamins that are absorbed as they move into the small intestine. Beasts can survive on very fibrous and low-protein forage as a result.
Rumen bacteria can also convert uric acid into useable amino acids and proteins; beasts will visit sacre roosts and consume guano to indirectly supplement protein during the winter, where they must otherwise subsist on dead plants and occasionally bark and wood.
Biology
Both frostbeasts and harelings have dichromatic vision (blue and green). They are considered red and ultraviolet-colorblind by the avians. Both species have a good sense of smell and hearing.
Hares and beasts both have only one child per pregnancy, and both give birth in the late spring/early summer. Plainsbeasts have a much longer gestation period of around two Earth years, while harelings have a gestation period of just two Earth months.
The Spirit Bond
Beasts and hares are bonded at birth and will remain with each other for their entire lives. Beasts take a more active role in preserving memory and navigating, and harelings are toolmakers and gatherers.
A mother hare and beast will time pregnancies so children will be born at the same time. These mothers may be a pair of spirit-bonded hare and beast or individuals from different bonds. The female beast will concieve during the late winter, and as her birthing time approaches, the female hare will also become pregnant. As soon as the mother hareling begins to give birth, the mother plainsbeast will consume a herb mix to induce labor. The birthing parents will remain together until their children are bonded later in the day. The other herd members will hold a ceremony where the newborns are fed colostrum from the other species, and a chant will be held to cement the spirit bond between the newborn hare and beast.
The spirit bond will allow hare and beast to feel emotions together, anticipate each other's actions, and understand each other at an instinctual level. The spirit bond does not allow hare and beast to directly share thoughts, though even minor cues in body language or touch will be immediately understood.
Cultural
Herd mythos describes all terrestrial creatures as having blood the color of the plants to remind them of their connection to the universal life force. Their names demonstrate this; frostbeast names reflect biomes (ex. Alpine, Riperia, Chaparral), and hareling names are typically magic/religion based (ex. Hex, Godspeed, Curses).
Language of beasts varies little compared to harelings due to differences in vocal range. Beasts have a much deeper range, and their voices can transmit for miles, while harelings' higher-pitched voices do not transmit well. As a result, beasts have a shared language across most of their range, while there are dozens of hareling languages.
While traveling, harelings communicate with plainsbeasts using reins attached to the beast's nose ring with shanks. The shanks provide leverage; even slight movement of the reins by the much smaller and weaker harelings can be detected. While a traveling hare and beast resemble a typical rider and trained mount, the reins are only used for communication between equals, not as a form of control or command.
Harelings keep a lookout for threats and potential areas of interest from their vantage point riding on the beasts, while plainsbeasts navigate largely based on memory and smell. Harelings communicate amongst each other by talking and pointing with their ears, not their forepaws. One ear swiveled provides a general direction, while both ears facing one way at slightly different angles can be followed to find a more specific location where the "lines of pointing" intersect.
Neither hare nor beast has many possessions. A hareling's most prized possession is its drop spindle, which is used to spin beast hair into yarn that is woven into clothing and tapestries. Beasts wear a variety of jewelry, of which they ask their spirit-bonded hareling to make. Seed pods, stones, and found items and bones are the most common materials.
Plainsbeasts are ambilineal, while harelings are matrilineal. When the beast breeding season begins, hares and beasts with a male beast will travel around other herds to meet female beasts. The female plainsbeasts will only partner with one male at a time and will remember the ancestry of both maternal and paternal lines three or four generations back. When the hare breeding season begins later in the spring, hares and beasts with a female hare will travel to other herds. The female hare will have many male partners from several herds, and lineage can only be traced through the maternal line as a result; however, up to 10 or even 20 generations of the maternal hareling lineage will be remembered.
Sedentary hareling populations are isolationist and live in underground warrens. Little is known about them as a result.
Life on the icy moon Morphos is precarious, with intense seasons and long freezes. It exists in the Aegis planetary system as a satellite of the gas giant Rejuvenation.
Aegis
Planets circle a class A star, Aegis, that is much younger and slightly larger than the Sun. It emits blue-white light.
Rejuvenation
The gas giant Rejuvenation is of a similar mass as Saturn and is slightly farther away from its star as Jupiter is from the Sun – about 5 times further away than Earth. One year on Rejuvenation and its moons is nearly 12 Earth years.
Morphos
Morphos is one of several icy moons of Rejuvenation. It is larger and less dense than Earth. The gravity is somewhat less than Earth, so structures and terrain have a greater height limit and less need for support. Morphos rotates more slowly than Earth; one day on Morphos is equivalent to around 1.75 Earth days or 42 hours.
Morphos has a protective magic forcefield, the origins of which are unknown. The forcefield, otherwise known as the Shell, significantly reduces the influence of Rejuvenation's gravity. This results in a much longer orbital period; Morphos takes around 700 years to orbit, rather than the otherwise expected several days. The Shell also holds in much of the atmosphere; despite a lower gravity, the atmosphere on Morphos is thicker than Earth, and light refracts more as it passes through. Between this and Aegis being a class A star, the sky is usually a deeper blue. Numerous aeroplankton, most often green, float in the aetherial skies and contribute to weather-based changes in sky color.
Morphos has a slightly higher axial tilt than Earth (around 35⁰), so seasons are more extreme. Season severity is also influenced by where Morphos is in comparison to Rejuvenation and how much starlight it receives as a result. The Great Freeze occurs as Morphos orbits behind Rejuvenation, being cast in a lunar eclipse for hundreds of years. The moon freezes over in this period, and life on the surface enters stasis or moves far below ground.
Morphos has three of its own submoons, which were originally small asteroids. The largest submoon is a M-type asteroid, and its movement can be sensed by creatures that have magnetoreception. The other submoons are C-type carbon-rich asteroids. None of the submoons are fully spherical, and solar eclipses caused by them appear irregular.
Constructs are biological beings infected by/fused with symbiotic semi-parasitic fungi, resulting in a condition known as myal-neural mycosis. The fungi gradually rot away parts of the host's body, which are then replaced with synthetic components.
Earth dragon construct, Hyphae:
(CW: mild body horror, illness, fungal infections.)
Appearance
Constructs first appear similar to their host species. Mushrooms will generally grow out of their bodies but are not always present, depending on season and treatment. Limbs and other extremities are generally affected and replaced with synthetic parts first; a younger construct may only have claws and tail-tips replaced, while an old construct may appear almost entirely mechanical. Synthetic components vary wildly in appearance and are often a reflection of the host's personal style. Aesthetic modifications to the biological body, such as piercings and tattoos, are also relatively common across constructs.
Biology & Infection Progression
Constructs result from a fusion of the host species and myal-neural fungi, which control some of the muscular and nervous system. MN fungi generally spreads via consumption of an infected animal, inhalation of significant volumes of spores, or close and extensive physical contact. MN fungi come in multiple strains, and it is possible to have more than one.
During the infection phase, MN fungi grows from the lining of the mucous membranes or skin abrasions into the peripheral nervous system and toward the central nervous system. It is asymptomatic and not yet infective at this stage. It can theoretically be treated if caught early enough, but as there are no symptoms or easy ways to test, it generally is not treated in time if exposure is not suspected.
In the adherence phase, the MN fungi will integrate with the host's brain. This is when the host will typically take notice and begin to feel the sense of another self in its own body. As myal-neural mycosis (MNM) develops, the fungi will spread along from the central nervous system outward to the remainder of the peripheral nervous system. Symptoms at this stage are usually temporary and include muscle tics, dissociation, nausea, and memory loss.
The induction phase occurs after the host's nervous system and the MN fungi mycelium integrate and begin to function in tandem. Symptoms from the adherence phase fade, and the fungi will develop a sense of selfhood. Outcomes appear to be improved after intervensions to help the host and fungi cooperate. The host's memories and personality traits will be maintained, but basal instincts will take on a more fungal aspect. Constructs that are infected later in life tend to have a more adversarial relationship with their fungal symbiotants, while constructs who are infected from a very young age do not typically struggle with a sense of self related to MNM itself. Early-inducted constructs may still resent having MNM, but the division between where their host self and fungal self begin and end will be murky.
In the fruiting phase, parts of the host's body will be broken down and replaced with the fungal fruiting bodies. The incubation period for this phase ranges drastically, but any infected individual will eventually reach it. Pustules will form along the feet, tail tips, and other extremities. Mushrooms will grow out of other areas of the body, typically on the crest of the back, top of the head, and other areas of higher elevation. Pustules and mushrooms are both filled with spores and function to spread MNM via inhalation (mushroom spores) or intimate physical contact (pustules).
Prognosis & Treatment
Without treatment, spore-filled pustules wear away and will gradually rot the flesh and muscle, leaving nothing but the nerves intact. The host will eventually die from infection if untreated. Mushrooms are slightly itchy but do not appear to cause major harm to the body.
With treatment, the spread of fruiting bodies can be reduced, and decayed body parts can be cleaned and replaced with synthetic parts. It is this replacement of sections of the biological body with synthetic components that turns the MNM-infected host into a construct.
Modern constructs use components that can integrate with the nerve-mycelium complex and can thus be felt and moved automatically. During maintenance, a compound is injected into channels in the prosthetics that numbs and releases the nerve-mycelium complex. Then rot from the biological body is removed, and the prosthetic can be repaired, upgraded, or replaced. These synthetic components can be fully functional or even offer improvements over the biological body.
History & Creation
First-generation constructs used to be most commonly created by accidental exposure to wild myal-neural fungi, typically from eating pre-symptomatic infected prey. Myal-neural mycosis is more closely associated with carnivorous species as a result. These constructs could be created at any age and had overall higher transmission and lower survival rates than modern constructs.
Access to limited technology resulted in painful and drawn-out deaths. Decaying body parts were amputated and could not yet be restored with integrated synthetic parts. MNM was considered ultimately fatal at this time and contributed to much of the stigma around constructs.
After an incident where a terminally-ill water dragon hatchling developed MNM and made a miraculous recovery, MN fungi began to be studied as a potential (but life-altering) treatment for certain terminal illnesses in young creatures. One strain of MN fungi was attenuated and used in future treatments where no other medicine was working. Constructs infected with this strain tended to have much higher survivability, though treatment still came with many complications and chronic illness.
As medicinal knowledge and access to technology increased, the ability to clean decayed body parts increased and drastically reduced deaths from infection. These second-generation constructs had extended life expectancies and the time to develop medicines that further increased their quality of life.
Two major developments led to the third-generation constructs: prosthetics that integrated with their biological bodies and a spore inhibitor that allowed them to live among the general population with very low MNM transmission rates. Modern constructs do not require nearly as much medical intervention; a daily spore inhibitor and periodic maintenance and prosthetic upgrades can sustain most constructs. Many also opt for a cocktail of mild antifungals that reduce the spreading speed of MN fungi and, thus, the frequency of maintenance and upgrades.
Cultural
Constructs are rare and largely outcast from their populations due to fears of myal-neural fungi spreading. The stigma has continued in spite of treatments significantly limiting MN fungal virulence and the spread of myal-neural mycosis. Many constructs stick to the fringes of their societies or become loners. Others manage to find more constructs and form chosen families with them.
Due to the low percentage of constructs in any population, most groups of constructs will consist of many different host species of even more cultures. In these groups, de-escalation and conflict resolution are highly valued skills. Constructs in these groups generally become polyglots, and some will be tentatively accepted back into their birthplaces due to their translation and mediation skills. Others become skilled mechanics and work closely with fire dragons and other research-focused populations.
A significant minority of some populations believe that MNM is a blessing or curse that will eventually result in constructs becoming the new generation of The Formless. This religious belief is referred to as "Third-Wave Godhood" (the fallen God of the Old Realm and the resulting generation of The Formless are considered the first- and second-wave, respectively). Constructs in these cultures are not generally outright persecuted, though they are often still subject to isolation. As carers of the dispossessed, The Formless more frequently take on young constructs as pupils or adopted children. This only reinforces the beliefs of Third-Wavers.
Stella ruffled feathers against a stiff breeze, blinking as snow blew into moons face and melted in moons eyes. "Here we are today to discuss the death of a hareling on the outskirts of the Arches." Stella flattened moons crest and eyed the assembly. Another celestial phoenix, a fire dragon, and an approaching pair of hare and beast gathered on the sea ice below Aether Spire, cast in the shadow of the floating icy tower. This is not going to be pleasant.
The silver agouti hareling in a furred cloak made her way into the clearing atop a plainsbeast of deep mahogany. "Here we ride before you, Wisp and Taiga of the Ice Plains Herd. I found the remains of my sister, Ghost, at starfall two days ago." The hareling gazed off in the distance, toward the snowpack plains she must have called home. Her forepaws clutched the beast's reins as if she was trying to contain her rage. The beast pressed its muzzle against the hare's flank reassuringly. "I found scraps of fur, blood.... Even bones. She's gone!" The hareling's voice broke. "And around her... her... remains... there was down. It was you." She pointed an ear at a golden phoenix. "I know a phoenix when I smell it."
The two phoenixes shifted, crests spread and hackles rising against the weight of falling snow.
"My condolences, Wisp and Taiga of the Ice Plains," the golden phoenix said, seemingly forcing suns feathers flat. "I am Hearth of the Cloud Spire Kettle. I have read your history; we all do while we are nestlings. Every celestial phoenix knows there is a treaty. I, for one, would not dare breach it. I doubt any other bird from here would either."
"And yet my sister is dead." The hareling continued. "You dare lie to me? How could you? We had a truce! And yet one of you left her dead and her soul mount forever mourning."
Hearth met her gaze. "I would never."
The plainsbeast groaned. The hareling sat motionless for a few seconds, listening. Then she turned back to Hearth. "I watched the shadow of a phoenix soar around the Arches for hours. At one point she stooped low enough for me to see her feathers. She was gold like you." The hareling turned back to the snorting beast for a moment. "The next day my herdmate Tundra, Ghost's soul mount, smelled a phoenix grab her from beside him, never to be seen again. He felt her die. There can be no doubt." Hare and beast gazed at each other, sullen.
Hearth's feathers fluffed with rage as sun stared down the hareling. "Yes, I hunt there. But I would never kill one of you. What fool do you think I am?"
"Speak to who's talking, not me!" the hareling snapped, pointing an ear at the plainsbeast she rode. "I was merely translating. Give Taiga the respect she deserves!"
"I didn't know tha- er..." Hearth regained suns composure and turned to the beast. "Anyway. Taiga... I've heard your - I mean - your and the harelings' creation lore. Your people, beast and hare, carry the life force in your blood. Blood the color of the scrub, to connect you to the nature gods. I may hunt the Arches on the regular, but I take precautions; I test everything first. And every time, crimson. It could not have been yours! How dare you accuse me of such a thing?" Sun turned back to the hareling. "Besides, nothing I have ever hunted had a double-pelt. My most recent catch was sleek as any other rabbit I have ever found."
Wisp looked furious. "You mean this?" She shrugged off the thick cloak, revealing her own short, glossy fur below. "We only wear clothing when it's cold."
Stella watched the hareling and curled moons talons around the perch, feeling them pierce the ice. Moon suppressed thoughts of hunting. I see how a phoenix could make that mistake, moon thought grimly.
Wisp batted snow off of the cloak and returned it to her shoulders. Taiga paced along the floe, frost crunching under her hooves and forming a packed sheet.
"And the lifeblood is the same for all us species," Wisp continued. "Hare, beast, bird, fish. It courses through us all. What is this 'crimson' you speak of? There is no equivalent in my language. You must be trying to mislead me." She paused to listen to Taiga. "Ghost was carried off and torn apart by talons; Tundra said he could feel them in his very hide. To say none of you played a part? You birds are full of lies!"
"Why must you be so adversarial?" the fire dragon Ruby cut in. "Hearth is telling the truth. To be invited to speak about an issue sun did not cause and then have the audacity to make it an issue for all of the phoenixes? And now claiming crimson does not exist, and we're making it up to trick you? You've lost it, bunny."
"And who asked for your opinion?" the hareling snapped. "Taiga and I do not recall ever agreeing that you should be part of this discussion. We already knew you'd side with her." Wisp pointed an ear at Hearth.
"Well yes," the dragon huffed. "You have your plainsbeast, the phoenix has me. It's only fair."
"You dragons and phoenixes are your own individuals," Wisp growled. "You get to have your own lives and opinions. You work together but act separately. A hare and beast are of shared soul. I feel what she feels, and she, I. We never leave each other's sides. Two bodies, one being. We are one people. It's not the same, and you know it, smarty-scales." She looked ready to spring at Ruby.
"Stop, stop, stop, stop!" Stella clucked. "Let us pause for a moment. There is clearly something we're missing. And let us not speak out of context: I am Stella of the Southern Constellation Kettle. And he is Ruby from the Southern Steam Tunnels. Ruby, show Wisp some grace. Her sister was eaten. She has the right to be upset."
An uneasy silence settled across the group. Stella began to feel the chill of snowmelt dripping into moons nape and gave moons head a shake. A disturbing thought crossed moons mind. "Wisp, Taiga? How would you describe Ruby's scales? I promise this is relevant."
The hareling narrowed her eyes. "I am unsure what you're getting at, bird. I am not here to entertain you. Spit it out."
Wisp thumped her foot against Taiga's saddle. "As much as I dislike this dragon, I am certain it wasn't him. He would have blended in with the plains during this time of year, but those were phoenix feathers at the site of her death. He couldn't have hidden that well. I would have smelled him."
Stella turned to the golden phoenix. "Hearth, can we have a moment?" Stella took several wingbeats from the others and waited for Hearth to settle on the pack ice beside moon before speaking. "I'm pretty certain now; you ate her sister."
"What? I- I couldn't have. The 'clothing' thing had me worried, but it's impossible. Everything I have ever caught bled red. It was just an odd-looking rabbit, I'm sure of it." Hearth seemed disheveled.
"Remember what we learned seasons ago? Avians and dragons have four types of cone cells in our eyes," Stella said. "Harelings and plainsbeasts have two."
"What does that-" Hearth started. "...oh. Oh."
"Yeah." Harelings can't see red. "I know it was a mistake, I acknowledge that you took the precautions you thought you needed, but... that was a hareling, Hearth."
Sacres are blind wyvern creatures with batlike noses, fish tails, finned wings, and dolphin-like skin. They are believed by many to be an extension of a god of the moon and have existed before The Formless ever arrived. They are treated as sacred beings and are cared for by various creatures.
Sacres travel between the upper skies and the ocean underneath using a homing instinct that requires a combination of magnetoreception, infrasound, and smell. They are one of the most numerous lifeforms and are responsible for a vast amount of nutrient exchange. Food from the Abyssal Ocean brings key elements to the Icy Sphere, and plants and lichen the sacres consume in the Icy Sphere contribute most of the organic carbon found in the Abyssal Ocean.
A smaller semi-domesticated sacre species is frequently used to transfer materials between dragon cave systems, phoenix roosts, and other key areas. These homing sacres are most used for temperature-sensitive medicine distribution and are trained to hold their crop at a specific temperature; this is built on a natural sacre adaptation to control bloodflow while in different environmental conditions, as heat loss occurs at different rates in the air versus in water.
Fire dragons are somewhat solitary, mid-sized dragons that live in a branching tunnel system under the crust. They are renowned researchers and glassblowers, and many species will visit them to share knowledge and supplies.
Appearance
Fire dragons are mid-sized scaled dragons with membranous wings and the ability to breathe fire. Scales come in a variety of jewel colors, generally having a single base color with darker rosettes, stripes, or other patterns. Wings tend to be of a similar tone, but can "fire up" to become brighter and display patterning when the dragon is experiencing an intense emotion. Tails are whip-like with a row of narrow serrated scales along the dorsal side of the tip.
Habitat
Fire dragons live in the warmer portion of the tunnels that extend from the tops of the icy mountains down to near the mantle. Temperatures further in the tunnels can get very high, and oxygen content tends to be low, so fire dragons and several other species maintain a complex ventilation system of secondary tunnels to bring fresh air into the primary tunnels.
Diet
Fire dragons eat a variety of foods, most of which are brought to them from other species. As a result, diet depends heavily on location and season. A large percentage of a fire dragon's diet consists of farmed food such as mycelia, seaweed, and lichen. Many fire dragons also maintain a vat of chemoautotrophic bacteria as a supplemental food source.
Adaptations
Fire dragons have the ability to breathe fire, which is most commonly used to cook food, heat equipment, and keep glass at the correct temperature while glassblowing. Each fang will expel a substance that will inflame when in contact with the other fang's. All dragons have an avian-like respiratory system that is capable of unidirectional air flow, but fire dragons have an additional air sac in the neck that can be inflated. This air sac is not routed through the lungs and is instead used to breathe out oxygenated air, which can keep a fire going in even very small spaces, such as a glassblowing tube.
Fire dragons have heat-resistant smooth or keeled scales, with keel-scaled individuals generally also having mostly smooth scales on their hands/feet, wings, faces, and underbelly. These smooth scales are marginally easier to keep clean, which aids fire dragons in maintaining sterile work environments. Scale texture has two different genetic factors; entire-body smooth scales are simple recessive inheritance, but the smooth scales on keel-scaled dragons' extremities involve complex multigenetic natural selection.
Fire dragons have a third eyelid/nictitating membrane that is much more transparent than other species, allowing them to easily perform fine motor tasks while protecting the eyes from heat, chemicals, and other debris. Fire dragon nictitating membranes cause little vision obstruction when closed due to low innervation and bloodflow; however, the tradeoff is that these third eyelids are relatively slower to move and heal.
Cultural
Fire dragons are relatively solitary, though many will reside with a lab partner or two that may be friends, mentor/mentee, or less commonly mates. Most fire dragons spend their time researching or glassblowing; most will specialize in one subject. Fire dragons in the same tunnel system will typically have regular conferences to share information and write reports that other species will distribute.
Each tunnel system generally specializes in one or two research areas, and young adult dragons will move to whichever system best suits their interest; this is one of the few times adult fire dragons will leave the tunnels. Adult fire dragons will also occasionally take trips for interdisciplinary conferences between tunnel systems.
Other species will visit fire dragons to share supplies and knowledge on the regular, especially celestial phoenixes and other dragon species. Fire dragons and celestial phoenixes in particular have a mutualistic relationship, with many celestial phoenix pairs raising fire dragon hatchlings for their first several years; the tunnels are generally not a safe place for young fire dragons, who do not yet have full fire resistance and are small enough to get trapped in ventilation tunnels or injured by lab equipment. By raising fire dragons, celestial phoenixes are able to be parents without the death of one of their own species, as phoenix eggs will not hatch without ashes from a biological parent. This relationship is maintained well into fire dragon adulthood, with the phoenix parents bringing food and supplies to their child and the fire dragon sharing research and blown glass with their adoptive parents.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
All dragons reproduce sexually, or very rarely via parthenogenesis. Fire dragons breed very infrequently, generally with partners from a different tunnel system who they meet at inter-tunnel conferences. They have a clutch size of one or two. Eggs are more sensitive than other dragon species, and are generally laid in nests lined with gold or silver, which have antimicrobial properties. Nests are located near lava pools in the lower tunnels and thus do not need to be incubated by the dragons themselves. Like other dragon species, sex is determined by incubation temperature; females hatch at more extreme temperatures, both hot and cold.
Hatchlings are generally raised by celestial phoenixes for their first few years, then visit each of their biological parents more frequently as adolescents. As they mature, fire dragons may transition from being mentees/lab partners to their biological parents to finding their own cave in one of their parents' tunnel systems and starting or joining a separate lab. Their adoptive parents will generally continue to visit them regularly as they age.
Celestial phoenixes, along with all non-elemental phoenixes, are an all-female species that will only reproduce with the help of ashes from a deceased phoenix. They are social, form pair bonds, and have two common morphs/secondary sexes: sun and moon. They are an intelligent species with complex communication, rituals, and minor magical abilities.
Sun phoenix Autumn Leaves, left, and moon phoenix Stella, right:
Appearance
Celestial phoenixes are a very diverse species, with members' appearances ranging from raptor-like to crane-like. They are large, robust birds with a wingspan of up to 20 feet and a series of decorative pendant-like feathers on their crests and/or tails. Colors vary widely.
Sexes
Celestial phoenixes are entirely female, but sun/moon morphs play a physiological and social role akin to a secondary sex. Sun phoenixes are typically diurnal and smaller with warmer-colored plumage. They are more agile and typically more outwardly aggressive. Moon phoenixes tend to be nocturnal, sturdier, densely-feathered birds with cooler or more muted plumage. They are stronger but less agile. Both morphs occur at a frequency of around 50%. Celestial phoenixes typically pair with a partner of the "opposite" morph, with homomorphic pairings uncommon but not necessarily socially disadvantageous.
Language
The celestial phoenix languages reflect the importance of the two morphs, with birds typically using "sun" or "moon" pronouns as morph identifiers. Phoenixes that do not fit into either category may use a variety of celestial-based pronouns; "star" is the most common. He/she pronouns are generally reserved for other species, with the exception of "she" used when the morph is unknown (plays the role of singular "they") or to refer to the collective celestial phoenix species. Celestial phoenixes that leave their kettle to live with other species - especially dragons - are more likely to choose "she" or "he" personal pronouns that are not necessary related to the bird's sex (all female).
Diet
Celestial phoenixes consume a variety of insects, scavenged food, and whatever they can catch. They can also convert some sunlight into energy, and will spend much of the day sunning themselves. Moon phoenixes engage in "cryptic sunning" where they will sun themselves in a somewhat concealed location while they sleep. One possible explanation for the size difference between morphs is that sun phoenixes must choose between spending daylight sunning or eating, while moon phoenixes can sun in their sleep and eat during the night.
Social
Celestial phoenixes are generally raised by the entire kettle, with a pair taking primary responsibility for a single offspring. The parents and offspring are rarely related, as offspring are apparently assigned to prospective parents at random. The major exception is a single bird raising her/her mate's egg after her mate dies. Adult phoenixes typically mate for life, barring death or major trauma (ex. losing a chick). Polyamorous groups are uncommon and usually take the form of closed triads (more commonly two sun phoenixes and a single moon phoenix) or two sun phoenixes and two moon phoenixes. Celestial phoenixes spend much of their time alone or with a smaller kettle of homomorphic birds, then return to the roost to socialize with their mate and the rest of the kettle during dawn/dusk.
Gods
Two minor gods are believed to have birthed the celestial phoenix species: the Sunchaser and the Moonchaser. The Sunchaser is a diurnal crane-like fire elemental who is worshiped by the sun phoenixes. She has flaming wingtips and leaves a trail of smoke as she flies. The Moonchaser is worshiped by the moon phoenixes. He is a nocturnal raptor-like ice elemental with an icy armor fused to his body. (Elemental phoenixes have both male and female sexes.) The Sunchaser and the Moonchaser were said to have brought the sun and moon together and mated under the eclipse to create the celestial phoenix species. As such, they are also gods of fertility and the pair-bond. These gods still roam the earth and play an important role in celestial phoenix rituals, especially courtship.
The Sunchaser, left, and the Moonchaser, right:
Courtship
Solar eclipses play a critical role in celestial phoenix courtship. Once paired, heteromorphic celestial phoenixes will split and join a sun kettle and a moon kettle to travel to the eclipse site. Sun phoenixes who seek to court will join the Sunchaser's kettle and follow her to the eclipse site, and moon phoenixes will join the Moonchaser when he arrives later in the night. Both kettles will meet at the eclipse site the evening before it occurs, remaining separate. This location is termed "the Lek." As the eclipse begins, lekking birds will fly hundreds of feet in the air, still separated into the sun kettle and the moon kettle. The two kettles will spiral around each other and merge at the height of the eclipse. Each bird will find her opposite-morph mate, lock talons, and spiral to the ground.
Several groups of homomorphic celestial phoenix pairs created a similar ritual, though they generally do not join their gods' kettles and will split into two kettles based on an arbitrary differentiator, generally tail length. As such, many dragon researchers observing these homomorphic lekking kettles assumed tail length was an important cultural and sexual signifier prior to speaking to the lekking phoenixes.
Reproduction
After lekking, each pair will split off to try to find a suitable nesting site. Inactive volcanoes with a thick layer of ash are a popular choice. Both phoenixes will lay an egg and then imbue her mate's egg with her magical essence. The eggs are then buried and left. Many of these will never be hatched. The phoenixes will remember where the eggs were buried for years. When a phoenix dies, she is cremated and a small kettle will bring her ashes to one of her eggs. The egg will begin development once her ashes are spread over it, and the kettle will bring the egg back to the roost for brooding. Here it will either be given to her surviving mate or assigned to a pair that is seeking to raise a chick. The kettle will then hold a ritual to memorialize the deceased ancestor and welcome the chick into the world.
The Formless are gods of their own making, assumed to be the original beings that defeated their God and opened the new realm. Cursed by losing their forms, they shapeshift without intention or control. Upon fleeing to the new realm, some were able to settle into stable forms; legend has it they are the direct ancestors of the elemental phoenixes.
Some of The Formless chose to remain in their shifting forms. These Formless possess transformational magic that can swap the forms of other beings (but not themselves). Several of The Formless guard the lunar planes and guide travelers between layers. For instance, The Formless who oversees the Icy Sphere—Abyssal Ocean boundary coordinates body-swapping of aboveground and abyssal travelers so they can more safely explore the other realms.
The Formless are generally regarded as benevolent, if somewhat incomprehensible and unknowable. They appear to have a close association with fungi and are frequently depicted as mushrooms in art featuring them.
The Formless arrived on one of several moons of a gas giant. The moon has several layers separated by magic. It also has its own submoon, a mostly-spherical metallic asteroid. It circles the moon very closely, so solar eclipses are fairly common, and the magnetic field is affected as the asteroid orbits the moon.
Every several hundred years, the moon passes behind the gas giant, blocking sunlight and bringing activity to a halt for hundreds of years. Leading up to the Great Freeze, lifeforms enter stasis or spawn and die. Most species that spawn prior to the freeze have eggs that will remain in stasis until the thaw. A few species have the ability to birth a new generation that is adapted to survive during the freeze; epigenetic factors and otherwise repressed genes appear to play a role.
The top layer of the moon is the lower sky and a thick icy crust, along with winding caves and a shallow ocean underneath. Upwellings and one of the most numerous vertebrates, sacres, bring nutrients to the surface and sustain life above. The phoenixes and dragons live in the Icy Sphere layer.
The deep ocean is the abyssal layer, and is somewhat shielded from the changing environmental conditions above. The floor of the abyssal ocean is warmer than the rest of the ocean as a result of numerous hydrothermal vents; these are extremely rich in nutrients and are responsible for most of the fertility of the moon.
Aetherial Skies
Lifeforms protect layers below by intercepting comets and meteors
Icy Sphere
Top crust mostly ice
Upper ocean
Icy "mountains" have deep tunnels branching nearly to mantle; caves are the access point to abyssal ocean. Bring warm air to the surface, where soil is warmed enough to grow plants and culture fungi
Most nutrients brought to surface via upwelling and sacre droppings. Lichens and fungal "trees" are the most common primary producers.
Small land area largely restricted to above-ice-crust "mountain" tips and limestone mountains
Abyssal Ocean
Incredibly deep, fairly cold
Saltwater
Most nutrients from hydrothermal vents and rock-dissolving marine fungi
