Phalanx and Clade

The fifteen phalanges were the original divisions of Dragonborn, with the members of each phalanx defined by their scale colour, and both bred and raised to fulfil a specific duty without question.
The Carmine Phalanx was created to be the best of the best, and trained for war. Fully half were fashioned with wings to serve as so-called sky cavalry, the rest as infantry, the Carmine Phalanx had a reputation for ferocity and for excellence gained through effort. As the Red Clade they remain highly religious - keeping the shrine Primus of Malcidis - and proudly militaristic. The Conclave of the Red Clade is a military council, and all adult red dragonborn in the Bloody Atoll have a place in a unified hierarchy.
Reddragon born are typically large and heavyset, even those who are not involved in physical pursuits. They typically have heavy, deeply-ridged horns, and tails are common.
The Aurean Phalanx were created to be the defenders of Ladon, Stalwart and Enduring. They were trained mostly as infantry or arcane artillerists, while a small selection of the most pious and strong-willed were taught to exorcise the influence of the Void. Only a few in the Gold Clade keep the art of Voidbreaking alive, and fewer still retain an interest in military pursuits. The Gold Clade is orderly and a little insular, but they are famous for their verbosity in debate, both in the forums of the bruken and the Gold Conclave, and in the Conclave of the Clades. The Conclave of the Gold Clade is a place for discussion and reason, reserved for representatives of the districts of the bruken and the countryside, most of whom are chosen in speaking contests.
Gold dragon born tend to be svelte, with delicate, branching horns like a deer's antlers. They have a good number of high- born, but even they rarely have a tail of any notable length.
The Violet Phalanx were charged with solving problems that had not happened yet. They were responsible for attempting to com­prehend patterns in Outerfolk behaviour, a role which often took a toll on them. Perhaps because this the Amethyst Clade is small, and like all of the geodic clades, claims no territory. They tend to advise the leaders other clades on matters of forward planning.
Amethyst dragon born are typically lean, with large, frontally located eyes and four-to-six small horns on each side of their head. Their violet eyes sparkle and shift colours in strong light.
The Azure Phalanx was the great naval strength of the drac­onic forces. The wingless dragonborn plied the waves in mighty quadriremes, while the winged blues commanded the sky ships granted by their titanic allies. The sky ships have all gone, but the Blue Clade remain the finest sailors - military or mercantile - in Ladonia. Their clade conclave is made up of the captains of ships and shore facilities.
Blue dragon born are typically rangy, but with large, powerful hands, heads and taloned feet. Their horns are smooth-surfaced, with sharp bends along their length that make them look like a heraldic lightning bolt.
The Argent Phalanx were never deployed as a whole. They were spread among the other phalanges to undertake missions requiring attention to detail and intense mental focus and fortitude. Since the end of the war, the Silver Clade have favoured applications of those attributes which lie in the purely academic, and more recently, artistic fields. The Silver Conclave is elected, often based on artistic achievements, and represents the will of the clade. Silver dragonborn are among the tallest of the clades, lean-bodied with high foreheads and long, curved horns rising higher still. They often sport a short crest behind the horns.
The Shining Phalanx was a non-combat unit, tasked with the collection, study and disposal of colossal and outerfolk artefacts left on the battlefield. As with most of the geodic clades, this work took a terrible toll on the phalanx, and the Crystal Clade lack numbers or a unified homeland. They have a reputation for deep thinking and abstract philosophies.
With their colourless, refracting scales, crystal dragon born are, depending on the lighting, either the plainest or the most spectac­ular of their kind. Their horns are long and delicate, as are their limbs and digits.
Scattered across the other phalanges, the black dragonborn of the Ebon Phalanx were tasked with record-keeping. Not merely a matter of posterity, this was done in order to ensure that the true account of any clash was retained if Colossal influence distorted time over the battlefield. The Black Clade retain a penchant for history and other academic study. They still keep records for Ladonia, including the register of the prison colony on the Grey Islet, and respect nothing so much as accumulated knowledge. Consequently, the clade conclave is a form of qualified gerontocracy, with authority determined by a mix of age and experience.
Relatively short, and robust of limb and body, black dragon born are noted for their heavy heads, thick necks and magnificent, ram-like horns. Their eyes are pale at birth, but darken to pure onyx by the time old age cracks their scale edges.
The Chalca Phalanx were one of the most numerous, built for frontline combat. They had few winged dragonborn, with such highborn as there were serving as officers, which probably contributed to the perception of the winged dragon born as a superior caste. Despite this, the Bronze Clade is known as one of the most egalitarian. They have also become known more for their piety - rare among dragonborn - than for martial pursuits. Despite this shift, the Clade maintains a pseudo-military hierarchy, with its Conclave organised like a general staff, headed by two High Commanders elected by the other senior officers of the various organs of government.
Bronze dragon born tend to be tall and heavyset, with notably large and rough-edged scales. They lack entirely defined horns, instead typically sporting high, rugged ridges standing tall from the temples to the nape of the neck.
The Harmony Phalanx was given responsibility for morale, using songs and stories to both entertain and instruct. The emerald dragonborn, like the other geodic clades, suffered greatly from their work in the war; in the case of the Harmony Phalanse, it was trying to stay positive that wore them down, leaving the singers of the Emerald Clade few in number. Their influence on Aiaosian culture, as some of the earliest bards, is hard to overestimate.
Emerald dragon born are among the smallest of their kind, and are widely considered some of the plainest. Their scales are small, round and rough, with a dull grey-green colouration, which they call 'uncut.' Only their horns - long, high and deeply curved - have the iridescent hue of an emerald dragon's scales.
The Viridian Phalanx were designed as spies. Given the nature of their enemies, this involved more use of illusion and divination Magic than of simple infiltration. This made them among the first mortals to wield a power recognisable as Arcane Magic. Dragonborn of the Green Clade recall this as a point of great pride, and consider themselves the wisest of the dragonborn, and continue to practice their traditional arts. Many young greens study the basics of these two schools even as children, and skill in the arcane is at the heart of their clade status. Their conclave is formed of masters of illusion and divination.
Green dragonborn have small smooth scales akin to snakeskin in feel. They range in colour from bright to dull, but are distinguished from the emerald by slender, antler-branched horns. They tend to a gracile build, but of no little height.
The Brazen Phalanx were scouts with a high percentage of winged dragonborn. Operating on stealth assignments, their efforts are often overlooked in Ladonian histories. The Brass Clade tend to prefer a quieter life, and to create instead of destroying. Their military hierarchy was long ago replaced by a conclave formed of artisans and artists who are acknowledged masters of their craft.
Brass dragon born are typically lean, and rarely more than six feet tall. They have narrow, sharp-lipped scales, feather-like in shape. Unusually, they have four horns, short and double curved. The brass dragonborn are also the only clade whose scales have a true metallic sheen.
While the bronze dragonborn were soldiers, the blue sailors, and the silver special operatives, the Scintillant Phalanx was created for situations which called for absolute destruction. Like their creator, the sapphire dragonborn were trained in tactics and strategy, but their speciality was total war. As a result, their casualty rates were the highest of any phalanx, and the Sapphire Clade remains small and isolated to this day, its members now seeking a perfection of the art of war which could result in no friendly casualties, whatever the mission.
Sapphire dragonborn are among the largest of the lineage, and a thick layer of sharp-edged, iridescent scales make them seem even larger. Their eyes, almost invariably blue, burn with the vestiges of their forebears' devastating power.
The Gelid Phalanx was not created to kill, nor even to protect. They were healers, first and foremost, and remained such until the Years of Screams and Sighs. The death of Ramad sent a paralysing psychic shockwave through all of their offspring and creations. The white Elder Wyrms were driven into a homicidal rage, while the white dragonborn were seized by a deep depression. They buried themselves in their work, but took no joy or satisfaction in it anymore. The White Clade retains an almost autonomic commitment to the healing arts, with hatchlings pressured to study surgery, physic, pharmacy or at least alchemy. The acknowledged masters of the three healing arts - and, reluctantly, alchemy - form the conclave of the clade.
Of fairly average size, with grey or pale blue scales, white dragonborn are mostly distinguished by a 'wreath' of small, thumb-sized horns resembling thorns. It is only as they age that their scales pale to white, and additionally they grow more - instead of larger - horns. Young individuals have two or three pairs of horns while the oldest may have as many as eight pairs.
The Factorum Phalanx were created and trained to deal with arconotech; both outerfolk arcanotech threats and the weapons of their titanic allies. They were saboteurs, combat engineers and technical advisers. This skillset has been preserved in the Copper Clades' tradition of Artifice. The Clade Convocation is made up of three masters each from the disciplines of alchemy, artillery, armoury and battle smithing, and one each from the so-called minor arts; currently recognised are clockmaking, toy- making, architecture and calligraphy.
Copper dragonborn are tall and lean of frame, with dark brown scales contrasting with exceptionally bright eyes. They have high, lyre-shaped horns and fine, dextrous fingers, but are most remarked for the irregular shape of their scales, often described as 'ragged'.
The Amber Phalanx served as the last line, created to remove the remains and effluvia of the Void that would otherwise seep into the World. Over time they also took responsibility for the bodies of their comrade's, became undertakers, and then thanatologists, almost consumed by death. The Topaz Clade still act as the keepers of the dead, and practice every art related to it, from gravedigging to embalming to investigation. Unlike other geodic clades, the Topaz have a home, as they became the custodians of the Axian Catacombs.
Topaz dragonborn are tall and thin, often described as stretched. Their yellowed scales lack the sparkle of other geodic clades, and are a distinct, oval shape. Their horns are smooth and curve from the brow, around the ears, to project like tusks.