Obsidian
When you enter a dark room, pray that you see the eyes of the dragon.
If you don't see them, it's probably too late for prayer.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Obsidians are large, bipedal creatures with six-limbs, typically four arms and two legs, and a tail. They most closely resemble the western dragons of European lore. They are covered in scales all over and their eyes appear to have no pupil, but this could be because the glow hides it.
Obsidian dragon have several specialized anatomical anomalies. First is that they have three sets of vocal chords, and can independently control each of them. When they sing, and they enjoy singing, they can perform various vocal parts simultaneously. When they use them in concert, their voices can be deafening.
As noted above, their eyes glow. The color of the glow changes with their moods. The stronger the emotional state, the brighter their eyes glow. The darker their emotional state, the more black they become. An ancient proverb amongst imperial citizens states that when entering a darkened room, you had best pray that you see the eyes of the dragon in there. If you don't see their eyes, it's probably too late to start praying.
And last, because of their reptilian-type anatomy, they have no outer genitalia, making sexing an Obsidian difficult, provided one has forgotten that every Obsidian is an intersexed hermaphrodite. Each is both male and female, and they are fully functional as both.
Genetics and Reproduction
Obsidians are oviparous egg layers. Like modern reptiles, they have cloaca which conceal their genitalia. They are also interesexed hermaphrodites, possessing fully functional male and female genitals. Every Obsidian is capable of both siring and laying a clutch of eggs, and one's cycle does not concern itself with fertilization. When an Obsidian is in heat, regardless of whether they have mated, they will lay a clutch of eggs. This happens roughly every 500 years after they reach the age of maturity (around 2500). As with many species that produce large quantities of offspring, the sire for any given egg need not be the same as that of any other, though some Obsidians reserve themselves for specific mates, including making themselves available during their heat for diplomatic reasons.
Growth Rate & Stages
Obsidians hatch from eggs, typically laid in the communal sands of the local clutching grounds. After laying their clutch, an Obsidian doesn't typically take on any of the direct parenting responsibilities for the brood, who will instead be raised by the community, including all local Obsidians and non-dragons. While Jades catalogue and record every egg, including who laid it, sires may never be known, except in cases of dedicated matings and diplomatic liaisons. If the Obsidian laying the eggs doesn't want to divulge who the sire is, they are not required to.
Sometimes eggs will appear on the clutching grounds without anyone seeing who came to lay them. Sometimes this is because the mother is traveling and doesn't want to clutch back home where they are from, or they may be local, but the mating was disapproved of, and so the resulting offspring would be a stain on their record. More often than not, such negative emotions leave their mark on the developing dragons inside such eggs, and they either never fully mature to hatch, or, if they do, there are emotional scars and behavioral issues that plague their lives. Such dragons are referred to as "broken shells", but never out loud unless you want to start a fight, and never ever if you're a non-dragon unless you want to die. Calling an Obsidian a "broken shell" is one of the worst slurs you can utter, and is considered mitigating circumstances for the Obsidian becoming homicidally violent.
An Obsdian is officially a hatchling the day after it hatches, assuming it survives the process and through to the next day. Hatchling mortality rates are above 85%, but because of their long lives and large clutches, adult Obsidians rarely concern themselves will trying to improve this. They could overrun the galaxy if they did, and they are conscious that they only want hatchlings with the strongest will and survival instincts to make it to adulthood.
Hatchlings do not have names, are referred to simply as "hatchling" and are singled out telepathically in the event that a specific one needs to be addressed, which is rare. A Jade is assigned to the brood, and while they do not feel an emotional connection to the brood or any of the individual hatchlings, their dedication to the perfection of their position makes them take on as much of a nurturing mentality as if they had given birth to the hatchlings themselves.
SPECIAL NOTE: While unrelated to the development of the species, it is important to note that, while not common, occasionally someone will attempt to traffic in a hatchling or two, typically to smuggle them their homeworld and to a planet where they won't be noticed because they're not a specific Jade's responsibility there. Mother help anyone who tries to engage in this activity because Jades have been known to take out contracts with the Alliance to track down and retrieve their charges from offworld sites. The viability of the perpetrators is never a concern, only the successful return of the pilfered hatchling. Again, this is more out of professional pride than any emotional attachment to the hatchling.
During this period of fostering, the entire community will raise the hatchlings, and they will be educated, trained, and sorted repeatedly into different groups to see where their strengths lie, and of what use they can be to the future of the Empire. Obsidians are quick learners, but their studies are amongst the most complex of any species, including other Dragons, with Jades being the only ones who are more intense. By the time a hatchling is done they are not only equal in comprehension to a member of another species after a full career, but most of them will have already contributed to the Empire with new scientific theories, engineering breakthroughs, and/or artistic pieces to rival Mozart.
Obsidians are considered mature when they reach an age of 2500, though the exact age they are accepted as adults is after they have finished with their first heat. As mating with a member of any species that is underage for their species is illegal, how an Obsidian handles being in heat for the first time will set the tone for the rest of their life, and is carefully studied by the Jades overseeing a particular brood.
When an Obsidian is considered to have successfully navigated its emotional turmoil from being in heat for the first time, they are presented en masse to the local representative of the Obsidian Throne, usually a Stage 1 or 2 Zanth Hybrid, who will take them all into his court, treat them in a very grandfatherly manner, and shower them will love and affection. All the while he will be telepathically scanning them to determine the best name for them. He will consult with the Jade who raised the particular hatchling, as well, and determine where to further their education, if at all, or suggest to them, based on their aptitudes, vocations like the military for those who are not among the more intellectually inclined.
Over the next 2500 years an Obsidian, newly made part of imperial society, will continue to grow to full size and weight. While the average height is 4.65 m, they can range from 3.6 m to 6.3 m. Their mass can be anywhere from 500kg to 2500kg. Larger members of the species tend toward more military applications, while smaller ones tend towards either intellectual pursuits or clandestine ones.
After about 5000 years of age, an Obsidian will have obtained their natural mature size and won't grow much more over the rest of their life. The natural lifespan of an Obsidian dragon is 25000 to 50000 years. They are among the longest lived creatures in the galaxy.
Ecology and Habitats
Obsidians favor mountainous locales that afford them heights from which they can glide and tall buildings from which they can see great distances. They have an entire "master of all they survey" vibe that they give off and its fully earned. They can be found anywhere, and are usually regarded as being in charge of whatever situation they encounter, unless a more capable Obsidian, Zanth, Shifter or Jade is on site.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Obsidians can consume any solid matter and extract nutritional value from it. They can metabolize rock, gems, flesh, and vegetable matter with equal interest. This is mostly because they can also metabolize sunlight of any wavelength to obtain energy, making them excellent survivors. It should be noted that this capacity appears to develop sometime after their first heat, meaning they are adults before they can survive off sunlight.
As for habits, Obsidians are known to indulge in just about any habit imaginable because of their high resistance to disease (their blood burns out all but the worst strains) and narcotics (for the same reason). Obsidians are resistant to addictions, but have been known to have dangerous proclivities that would border on suicidal in another lesser species. They sometimes seek out dangerous activities just to see if it will hurt them, and those with high pain tolerances have been known to be less pleasant to be around than their more empathetic kin. Some develop genuine suicidal impulses, and such typically hang around with Rubies, attempting to get into more and more deadly encounters in an effort to find where the threshold of mortality lies for them. Once curiosity is satisfied, it's even odds as to whether an Obsidian will calm down or push past that point of no return in an attempt to explore the realms of death.
Biological Cycle
While not a reaction to the cycles of time itself, Obsidians are descendants of Basilisks, and share their ability to turn themselves to stone. While they refer to this as ossification, it's not exactly stone, but an extremely dense carbon nano-structuring that is more resilient than diamond and that allows the Obsidian to withstand incredible punishment, including, but not limited to, riding out ground level exposure to a "Glassing" event. It requires the dragon to mentally prepare themselves to the process, and takes approximately 20 seconds to fully ossify every part of their body. Once in their hardened state they are completely unable to act, but are aware of the world around them telepathically. They can even ossify around others, if they have wings, protecting them from external events, though to be fully safe the seal of the wings against the body has to be skintight/airtight, which means that anyone so protected will have to hold their breath until the event passes.
Obsidians can also selectively ossify parts of their body, which lose sensitivity to pain, cease blood flow, and are completely healed, assuming the limb wasn't smashed somehow while it was ossified. Obsidians use this to staunch blood flow, particularly in space so that they don't burn off all the oxygen that others need to breathe. When they return to normal from an ossified state, either fully or having just converted a limb, any cuts are healed, blood vessels are repaired, and all bleeding is stopped.
Obsidian blood is an energetic oxidizer. It burns in the presence of oxygen, even underwater. Technically it is burning within their veins, but Obsidians can take the heat and channel it into various biological processes, safely containing any problems.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Obsidians reside at the top of any social structure the occupy. They are second to none and anyone in the Empire will instantly defer to their authority. They are the longest lived species in the galaxy, and from that long life they have gained many skills. They are genuinely masters of all they survey, and they carry themselves like it matters.
On the flip side of that, they also take responsibility for those over whom they take command. That, too, is as natural as assuming authority. Obsidians are driven by a strong moral code, though it differs from dragon to dragon. While most accept the responsibility for the good of others, some take on the responsibility as a way to obligate others to obey them and to feed their egos. The end is the same, as even the most egocentric Obsidian will not allow those over whom he has exerted dominance to come to harm any more than one would allow a thief to enter one's home and steal them blind. For whatever reason, if an Obsidian has taken charge, its best to let them do so.
Facial characteristics
Obsidians are noted for their horns and spines. The number and placement can vary from dragon to dragon, but there are always at least two crown horns sweeping back from the orbital ridge above the eye, and half a dozen spines or plates starting at the back of the head or base of the neck and proceeding down the spine.
The eyes of an Obsidian glow. The glow is noticeable, hard to hide, and often changes hue depending on emotional state or during periods of biological distress. The most neutral or passive of states is a white glow, though some have a silvery or golden glow. Red, sickly green, and black are signs of emotional trauma, physical distress, and rage, all of which are cause for alarm in other species. The more intense the glow, the stronger the cause.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Obsidians can be found everywhere in the Empire. They are rarely found outside the Empire, preferring to allow lesser species do the interacting with the galaxy-at-large.
Average Intelligence
Obsidians are on average one standard deviation above human normal in IQ, putting them at a 115. At their best, they would put the Earth's greatest thinkers to shame in both the complexity and prodigiousness of their intellectual work. They are fully capable of thinking in third dimensional terms, circumspectly considering all options and outcomes before settling on a course of action. Because of their long lifespan, they sometimes spend too long thinking about what to do and need to be spurred to action before windows of opportunity pass them by.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Obsidians possess many sensory gifts. Not only is their eyesight acute, but they also can see into the ultraviolet as well as the visual spectrum. Their hearing is sensitive to both the subsonic and supersonic ranges. They can hear a fly moving at 200 m and a mouse fart from almost a kilometer.
But their most amazing physical sense is their equilibrioception, literally their acute sense of balance. An Obsidian will always know which way is "up" regardless of any other factors, including being in space. They will orient themselves naturally to the center of gravity of the nearest gravitational source, and they can perform incredible feats of balance and grace, despite both their size and their apparent bulkiness. They cannot be made dizzy and do not suffer from vertigo.
As for their non-physical senses, Obsidians are among the most gifted psionics in the Empire. Telepathy is common in the Empire, but Obsidians take it to a whole other level. Individuals have been known to be able to witness events encoded in the genetic memories of other species, coerce minds with minimal effort, and even induce unconsciousness with a glance. The strongest minds among them are able to conquer many feats, and the older an Obsidian is, the more dangerous they are considered.
Obsidians are also premier telekinetics, and those with wings, regardless of morphology, are capable of flight, though the Obsidians who have the smaller wings can only naturally glide, and must use their telekinetic abilities to fly. Those who have full wings are able to fly and gain altitude on their own, but usually use their telekinesis to augment their skills. In addition, those with full wings can also maintain altitude and glide on thermals high above the terrain, making it possible for them to safely sleep while aloft.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
Obsidians are attended by Zanth. While the average Obsidian will only know this in a general sense, those who occupy the upper tiers of the social strata will have a more personal awareness of their servant species. The Zanth were motivated by their deity, the same one that the Obsidians serve, to surrender the fate of their kind to the Obsidians. Specifically they swore an unending blood oath to the Emperor at the time, binding every member of their species into service until the end of time to the Obsidian Throne and whomever rightfully sits upon it.
There are now many types of Zanth, and the general populous of the Empire is aware of only the normal Zanth, including those normal Zanth. Hidden from view are those Zanth who are quietly refered to as Stage 1 and 2 Zanth Hybrids, and the more powerful Zanth Shifters. These Zanth serve the upper echelons of Obsidian society, as well as those who serve the Obsidian Throne directly. They are regarded as elite agents, potent allies, and their bloodlines have sometimes more than a little Obsidian in them.
This is because the Stage 1 and 2 Zanth hybrids are exactly that. They are evolutionary advancements and hybrids bred with dragons. And not just any dragon, but an Obsidian to whom the sire will have sworn an even more intimate and binding blood oath of fidelity and love. Stage 1 Hybrids are the result of matings between an Obsidian dragon and a Zanth. The Zanth can be either sire or mother to the Stage 1, though sire is most likely. Female Zanth who are impregnated by a dragon have low odds of surviving the birth, as Stage 1 Hybrids are typically larger than their Zanth kin by a fair degree, and Zanth offspring are already large. Stage 1 Hybrids typically have only one or two draconic traits that they conceal when in public.
Stage 2 Hybrids are almost always the offspring of Stage 1 and 2 Hybrids and a dragon parent. Again, the Zanth Hybrid can be either the sire or mother, but males tend to make up most of their number, and females are exceptionally rare. Still a female Stage 1 or 2 Hybrid is far more likely to survive impregnation because one of the most common traits that a Hybrid gets from their dragon parent is a cloaca. Female Hybrids find it far easier to lay their egg than those who do not have cloacae find birthing a live baby. Stage 1 and 2 Hybrids who have a male Zanth sire are always hatched from eggs, typically with a brood of half sibling hatchlings.
Zanth Shifters are always the product of a male Stage 2 Hybrid and a dragon. They are universally albino, have distinctively draconic features, extremely light-sensitive eyes, and when they hatch it is cause for celebration amongst the Obsidians and their Stage 2 lovers, and great fear and concern for the average citizenry of the Empire. This is because Zanth Shifters are emotional psionic tac-nukes. They secreted away by the Jades attending the hatchings, and are placed in special creches that train and drill them on discipline, emotional control, awareness of their mental and emotional states, and how to tactically and strategically use their emotions.
This is because Zanth Shifters amplify their psionic abilities the stronger their emotions get. Mild emotion, simple happiness, pleasure, sorrow, fear, and upset are all fine because the Shifter can control themselves through force of will. But there are three levels past this point called Overload where self-control and discipline are no guarantee that a Shifter will be able to reign in their powers. Once a Shifter starts to Overload, if it isn't directed, linked to a stimulus or the Shifter is rendered unconscious of some reason, they could undergo the psionic equivalent of annihiliation as their psionic abilities create destructive feedback loops in their body and begin catabolizing them to sustain the reactions. The result is an energetic explosion equivalent to the kilogram mass of the Shifter as if it was 10's of tons of TNT. The average adult Shifter undergoing an Overload Meltdown would release enough energy with their death to level several square kilometers. The up side is that the energy release would vaporize the dirt and rock, so it wouldn't go into the atmosphere and start a global winter. The down side is that the vaporization would also destroy that much of the atmosphere, too, resulting in a shift in the air quality that might be just as detrimental.
Zanth Shifters are trained to be shadow agents, assassins and bodyguards or important imperials. They can conceal most of their draconic features with their typical uniforms, but they can't hide their pale white fur, and they always have to conceal their eyes because of their extreme photosensitivity. Zanth Shifters are among the most beloved of a dragon's offspring, but the Shifter is never allowed to know who their dragon parent is. Instead they are told who their Zanth sire is, and, after their training, are encouraged to follow up and form a relationship with him. Most form deep bonds with their fathers, but some never do, instead preferring to devote themselves to service to the Empire, acknowledging that their sire did his duty in bringing them to life so that they can serve Her more perfectly.
More on the Zanth, their Hybrids, and the Shifters can be found under their own entries.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Obsidians typically have only one name, though often hold many titles. Names tend to be short, two or three syllable words, and have lots of "L" sounds in the middle. Palak, Grallax, Pollar and Trellan are examples. They also like hard sounds, like rocks clicking together. Drakkon is one such name. The double-k sound, when spoken by an Obsidian, has the quality of two metamorphic rocks being hit against one another.
Gender Ideals
Obsidians have only one gender. They are intersexed hermaphrodites, and as such are equal parts male and female, and see no reason to promote or deny either role. Motherhood is an experience every Obsidian will have roughly every 500 years of their life after they mature, and so they don't feel any reason to deny that side of themselves.
Indeed, they worship an aspect of the universe they refer to as "She Who is Mother to Us All" or simply "the Mother", and venerate motherhood. Out of respect for the Mother, they speak about themselves in the masculine, however. They believe that to refer to themselves in the feminine at any time other than when the Mother has blessed them to lay (when they're in heat) is tacky.
Courtship Ideals
Obsidians will mate whenever they feel like it. If a potential partner isn't interested, they will not lack of other options. Thus there is no need to force the issue, and no reason to be upset when they are rebuffed. Similarly, if they're not in the mood, they feel no issue with saying so, because sexual activity is not stigmatized, venerated, or extolled as anything greater than pleasure shared between two or more individuals.
There is one MAJOR exception. When a Zanth of any type is involved, there is a distinct protocol for courting.
First, the dragon will approach the Zanth. This is because the Zanth will have a certain scent that sets them apart from other Zanth to the dragon. Their fur will smell a certain way, regardless of any attempts to cover themselves up. The scent is partially psionic in nature and the Zanth is unknowingly signalling the dragon that they are the one who is genetically compatible with them and they need to breed with them soon. This scent signalling always coincides with when a dragon is just about to come into heat again.
Next, the Zanth will psionically consider the dragon to see if they are a good psychological and emotional match. This will be conveyed to the Zanth by scent as well, and the dragon will smell particularly appealing.
If both of these conditions are met, the pair will find some place secluded from the public, though there is no concern in hiding their activities from other Obsidians or their Hybrid and Shifter servants. Indeed, the first coupling of new pairs is often witnessed by several Obsidians and/or Zanth of rank. It is not uncommon, if an Obsidian is a witness, for that Obsidian to mate with the dragon after the Zanth has impregnated them, to give the new bondmates a full clutch. Zanth usually only sire one egg with their Dragon mates, and laying a single fertilized egg will cause tongues to wag.
If the female is the Zanth, the process is reversed by a male Zanth Hybrid witnessing the mating so that he can accept the offspring as his own. If the dragon sire is of higher rank that the dragon he already serves the dragon will often ask his patron to transfer him to them so that he can have a more access to his new mate and provide more support for the Hybrid's offspring. While the male Zanth is officially considered the female's mate, and father of all her offspring, his position is secondary to that of her dragon, even if they form a mating bond and have additional offspring. As Zanth place dragons before themselves, this is only natural.
This would seem to favor female Zanth mating with dragons, but male Zanth enter into the service of their mates, too, and while the dragon cannot officially acknowledge the offspring, because the entire hybridization process is very... under the table, that doesn't stop them from being able to support their mates, or stop them from having a healthy love life with them. Often, a dragon is in the service of a more powerful dragon, who will take on the Zanth to keep up appearances, and the two can fraternize openly (in higher courtly circles, not in public). The dragon still can't acknowledge their offspring openly, though.
Relationship Ideals
Obsidians are emotional creatures, and love being in relationships. Familial, friendly, fraternal/sororal, whatever. They love relationships. They form strong bonds, and because of their long lives, this sometimes becomes a protective bond with a bloodline or family.
Obsidians like good, strong, healthy relationships. But this doesn't stop them from indulging darker needs. More than once will an Obsidian dance on the dark side with unhealthy relationships where they are the overbearing dominant, or much more rarely, the simpering submissive. This is often done with other dragons, and with the full understanding that they are seeking the abuse because they have to get something dark out of their soul. If they engage in submissive activity, they often take a great deal of physical abuse because they can and because they feel the need to be punished for something they did. Another dragon will do this for them because they understand the need to be rid of such emotional baggage.
Few dragons, though, will willingly submit to an abusive need to dominate another completely. Sadly, there is no end of lesser species willing to debase themselves so an Obsidian can scratch that itch. Since most dark urges last for several centuries, most dragons in such a state will set up a colony on a small outlying moon or normally uninhabited planet and take on colonists who want to be ruled harshly for a time. There are several penal worlds already established where Obsidians suffering from such dark needs can go and abuse the populous without guilt until another desperate despot shows up to take control from them. The process of fighting over control of a colony is a cathartic release for the original dragon, who will release his darkness back into the void through the pummeling, and leave having given up his emotional burden.
Average Technological Level
Obsidians are a Kardashev Type 3 civilization. While they don't control the entire Milky Way galaxy, they do control it's core, including Sagittarius A*, and all the energy released from that. They have interstellar travel, intergalactic travel, and interdimensional travel. They have visited other galaxies, universes, and even parallel time-streams in their own galaxy.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Obsidians don't really need to speak a language, being telepathic. but they do have several that they indulge.
Their native language is Low Draconic. It's a guttural collection of growls, roars, screeches and hisses, along with the sounds of rocks grinding against one another. The sounds don't really mean anything literally, but they do convey information, specifically about mood and intent.
They also speak High Draconic, which is also referred to as the Imperial Common Tongue. It is a collection of words and concepts from their own primitive attempts at forming a word based language, added to later by the Jades, Rubies, Pearls, and Zanth, and lastly a smattering of human and amboran words put in for good measure to express concepts and ideas that dragons hadn't encountered, yet. All documents in the Empire are written in High Draconic.
With their unique vocal apparatuses, Obsidians can speak just about any language they want, but as telepathy is faster and has less chance of misinterpretation, they rarely do, unless it is to sing. Tonal and atonal language are no problems for them to pick up.
Common Dress Code
Obsidians rarely bother with clothing. They have wings, and that makes clothing bothersome. When they do wear anything, as with military garb, they prefer tunics, secured at the waist with belt. If they require some measure of protection for their cloacae, there is complex wrapping pattern they learned from the Ruby that they use that encircles both legs, their tails, and pulls up between the legs to be folds over the top and hangs down in front, allowing them to visually obstruct any viewing of their genital slit. They find the entire concept as silly as the reason the Rubies developed it, which was to disguise whether they were male or female, as Rubies have differentiated genders, thought you can't tell by looking at them.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Obsidians love their Zanth servants. This is both in a general sense, as well as literally in some cases. An Obsidian will almost never do anything to harm a Zanth, particularly a Stage 1 or 2 Hybrid or Shifter.
They have less love for humans and amborans, who only live a few hundred years at best. Obsidians refer to them as lesser species because of their short lives, or more vulgarly as "mayflies". It's a horrible term, but it encapsulates everything that Obsidians feel about the shorter lived members of the Empire. While they acknowledge the contributions of the species, they know that they can't truly see the big picture and none of them will even live to see its fruition in ten generations. Humans might insist on being allowed to make decisions for themselves, but no dragon would ever leave the survival of such a short-lived species in its own hands.
Genetic Descendants
Scientific Name
Draco Sapiens Petram
Origin/Ancestry
Lair
Lifespan
25000 to 50000 years.
Average Height
4.65 m
Average Weight
1140 kg
Average Length
7.25 m, including tail.
Average Physique
Obsidians are extremely reptilian in build, covered in scales, horns, and spines. Chest scales tend to be broad, covering half the chest split down the center, to just below the rib cage where they become one complete scale all the way across the belly. This continues all the way down to about halfway down the tail. The rest of the body is covered in scales that seem to vary in size and shape.
Depending on sub-species, they may have no, gliding or full wings. The difference between them is having no wings at all, but a second set of arms, a pair of smaller wings that are as wide as the Obsidian is long, including tail, that connect above the hips, and having a set of full wings with a span fully half again as wide as the dragon is long that connect down at the midpoint of the tail about where the chest scales fade out to join the rest of the body scales.
Over half of the species have no wings and are commonly referred to as "Basilisks". This is not regarded as a slur or negative comment, as this is the original form of the species, and those of lower castes from before the Empire was founded tend to be from bloodlines that have this morphology. Breeding between the phenotypes has resulted in either parent's form being equally possible in the modern age.
The other half of the species have the lesser wing form. They are commonly referred to as "drakes", though this typically refers to any dragon, regardless of species that has wings. The higher castes of Obsidians genesculpted themselves to have wings so they could always remain over their lessers, but with the discovery of the dragons from the House of Jade, who all fly and never set foot on the ground, this level of hubris was quickly dismantled and a more humble and altruistic mode of thought took hold of the Obsidians.
Of the last form, those with full wings, only a handful have ever been seen, and it is unknown how they came about, what happened to them, and if they are a natural occurrence of the genelifting tech used to give the species wings in the first place. The most notable Obsidian with this morphism is Warmaster Palak, the Crown Prince's Consort, Ward of the Crown and Warden of the Realm.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
While they are called Obsidians, only the majority have actual glossy black scales. Scales can actually vary in color from white to grey, metallic, and just about any hue a stone or gem can be found in. Metamorphic colors are most common and sedimentary colors are least. Scales can be patterns in many different ways, from each scale being a slightly different color to scales being shot through with metallic colorations. Obsidians also enjoy a healthy self-expression culture wherein they will artificially color their scales to create, complete or remove patterns from their bodies that they want or don't like. The one overarching factor is that Obsidians all take a long term view of their decisions, and any changes will be marked by a long period of reflection before committing.
A new fashion has become popular, started by the Crown Prince, of having one's scales etched with bio- or psycho-reactive dyes to produce patterns, warning signs, or images from popular culture. The Crown Prince had his scales traced with a variety of psycho-reactive dyes that glowed during period of intense emotional activity to match his eye color during those periods, serving as both a warning and a hint that someone might be annoying him.
Related Organizations
Comments