Dra'corians

The first colonists and rulers of Dracora.

"Dra'corians" is the collective name for those magical/mythological creatures and spirits who fled Earth to another world, Dra'cora, and settled there. They currently live in their first settlement, the forest city of Heartholt, under a magic biosphere which protects them from the lethal freezing temperatures and toxic atmosphere of the rest of the planet, which they call The Void. This biosphere is slowly expanding due to a terraforming spell.

Basic Information

Anatomy

These are Earth's mythological creatures from all over the world. No matter the creature, all are physical manifestations of spirits. Turned werebeasts and undead are exceptions. Being humans affected by magical curses/illnesses, and not considered truly magical, they were excluded from the colony.
Spirits are somewhat translucent, while Dra'corians appear more “solid” than spirits, but there is still something “off” about them at a glance. As if the creature is reminiscent of certain aspects of nature. The older ones seem to shift even more between element and flesh and blood. It's hard to tell if it’s a living creature or a piece of landscape.
Dra'corians can breed outside their own kind with any other Dra'corians to create viable, fertile offspring, though this is an uncommon practice.
Not all Dra'corians are sentient--such as cockatrice and wyverns--with those creatures being treated no differently than the animals and giant insects.

Ecology and Habitats

Habitats and diets vary by creature, but none can survive without magic. Magic is as necessary for them as air is for everything else.
Marine Dra'corians, such as merfolk, currently live in the largest fresh and saltwater crater lakes, until the terraforming spell can spread far enough to effect Dra'cora's only sea.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

They are born with the ability to naturally control magic (Breath as the locals call it) using only their willpower. But there is a limit to how powerful their spells can be. Channel too much magic at once, and they literally burn up their life force. Those who die in this way leave only bones behind--if anything at all, becoming pure magic. Dra'corians grow more powerful as they age, with magical abilities corresponding to the four classical elements (earth, air, fire, water). Depending on the creature, most can only control one to three of these. Dragons are the exception, and can control all four to an extent, making them highly respected.

How Magic Works in Dra'cora

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Civilization and Culture

Average Technological Level

Dra'corians tend to rely more on magic than technology, and even than, they are slow to change and invent. Still, they were forced to learn quickly to survive on this deadly new world, with their greatest advances currently being in magical agriculture and animal husbandry.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

When they first crossed from Earth to Dracora, they borrowed Latin from humans to use as a common language, since they came from all over the world. Over time, it evolved into what became known as High Common, along with their own surviving racial and regional dialects held over from Earth.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

There are magical creatures here from all 7 continents (Antarctica had several tribes of polar merfolk and sea serpents) and everywhere in between. With this came a kaleidoscope of differing cultures. Most tend to stay with their own cultural groups, forming smaller communities within settlements. Despite being stranded here and forced to live together, it will still take time for them to get completely used to the differences in each others' cultures. The spirits who came with them tend to move in with creature families from their home regions, if they were urban dwellers or house keepers used to living with humans. Those spirits of the wilds tend to avoid the inhabited areas and restlessly wait for the terraforming spell to expand and give them more room to roam.

History

The colony of Dra'cora was formed to escape a magical strain of Black Death, which had spread from humans and then by flying myths to all corners of the Earth. It was thought that by forming a new home without humans, they would finally be safe. Once the portal to this other world had been stabilized and the The Pearl Egg of Creation's terraforming spell provided enough room, wild animals, plants, and trees were brought over and farms were established. Several decades later, the portal collapsed due to unknown reasons, cutting the two planets off from each other permanently. It was thought that with the plague culling so many powerful magic users, there simply weren't enough left to keep a stable connection open any longer.
150 years after founding the colony, the Dra'corians are thriving in their new home. But they have noticed something strange about their livestock, penned in craters on the outskirts of the city. Some claim the animals are getting smarter, but others deny it. There are less of the latter believers with each new rumor, but not everyone is ready to accept that beasts they use for food and sport might be becoming a people in their own right. There is no more denying that something big is happening. But what? How? And more importantly, what should they do about it?

Some argue that it doesn't matter, that the beasts are still animals for their use. Others aren't so sure, and wonder if they should treat the beasts as a budding civilization to be taught and nurtured, as had once been done with humans. But the other big question plaguing the Dra'corians is what to do about their food problem. What if the beasts continue to grow smarter and escape capture--or worse, rise up and start fighting back--or even hide away completely and multiply out of control, eating all of the available food? The deniers claim that will never happen, and even if it did, any fighting could easily be put down, but fears still linger. Meanwhile others seek to study the problem to advance their understanding of what's happening, and even try to communicate with the beasts.

Origin/Ancestry

Earth

Lifespan

Varies by creature type. Most live for centuries, 250 years on average, with the longest lived creatures capable of reaching 500, barring illness or accident. A very few are immortal unless killed.

Note on Lifespans: Dra'corians have the same lifespans as their Earth ancestors, but that number seems shorter due to Dra'cora's much longer years.

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Four and a half times as long as Earth years.