Mythic Beasts

The Decay

The old stories speak of Mythic Beasts as forces of nature, they could do anything they wanted, level mountains, raise oceans, burn forests, it was even said that they did not die. Whatever the truth to these stories, the fact remains that the Mythic Beasts of today are far weaker than those of the past, a process usually referred to as The Decay. How long The Decay has been active, its causes and whether or not it will end remain unknown even today.

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Crystallisation and World Shards

Crystallisation is a process that occurs when a Mythic Beast dies. Upon death the flesh and blood parts of a Mythic Beast will dissolve and biodegrade much like any other living animal, but harder body parts, like claws, bones and horns will instead begin to harden. Gradually these parts will transition into hard (often glowing) crystals called World Shards shards, these crystals will also contain parts of the Mythic Beasts elemental magic.   A World Shard from a Dragon will typically be hot to the touch, like holding a fire, a Wulfen Shard will be cold, capable of freezing the entire arm of a human. Under the right conditions these elemental effects can be empowered, fire shards burst into flame etc, the shards can also channel and enhance other forms of elemental magic.   World shards are usually ground up and infused into other materials to grant them slight magical properties, but a large enough piece can be turned into a World Blade.

World Blades

World blades are a precious resource today, thanks to the Decay fewer and fewer are ever made as most Mythic beasts don't yield enough World Shards to make anything greater than a dagger. The means to craft them are also much rarer, only a few families of dedicated World Crafters still exist possessing the necessary skills. Nowadays it is more common to mix World Shards with other lesser materials to make inferior, but still powerful pieces of equipment.   Despite the name World Blades can come in many different forms, such as axes, hammers and maces. However the two most common forms are those of Swords and Spears, due to the ease of crafting with a World Shard. While a well crafted World Blade can be used by anyone, it can only be crafted by a Primal of the corresponding species, i.e. a Dracodian with a Dragon Shard.

Primals

Primals are humans whose ancestors once made a blood pact with a Mythic Beast, fusing the beasts blood with their own. The process granted the Primals certain enhancements usually corresponding to their specific Mythic Beast, with some more universal enhancements such increased strength and lifespans, as well as a greater connection to the Elemental Magic of their patrons. In return the Primals would loyally serve their Patrons, caring for their treasures and ruling the lesser humans in their stead.   Following the end of the Mythic Wars the Primals came to dominate much of the world, building powerful civilizations and often lording over the normal Humans under racial caste systems, and most early human history was made by the Primals. The Decaying Mythic Beasts increasingly became the servants of the Primals, who would use these Beasts, alongside their innate magical powers, to become the dominate civilizations of the late Shadow Age. Today most surviving Mythic beasts live within the realms of their corresponding Primals, many of whom still revere their beasts in some way and providing them a measure of protection from an increasingly hostile world.   The Primals too would suffer from The Decay, though not to the extent of the Mythic beasts. This combined with interbreeding with regular humans has left the Primals of today often very similar to normal humans, a Horun for example is really only different from a regular human in their slightly sharper features and greater eyesight. This has also seen the Primals lose their connection to the Elemental magics of their Mythic Beasts, and elemental magic has become increasingly difficult and rare as a result. These factors have led to a general decline of the Primals as well, though there are still many powerful Primal realms, there are also an increasing number of more pure human realms coming to dominate the world.