Tekhetsio (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
heresyandlace) wrote2023-10-24 08:27 pm
heresyandlace) wrote2023-10-24 08:27 pm
Keep your friends close...
ABILITIES
→ General Info
I apologize in advance that this is kind of a giant wall of text, so feel free to drop me a line to ask about something specific!
In general, Tek is a conduit of elemental death energy, but it's a very natural of-the-earth type of thing. He doesn't feel corrupted like a vampire or necromancer would, though it does tend to freak out most animals with healthy survival instincts. He also finds life/growth/nature energy pretty gross, as it opposes his, and creatures closely associated with those energies might feel the same way about him. His aura tends to radiate pretty strongly to those who can pick up those things, since he doesn't usually bother to keep it in check.
Other quick things to note are: he's very easy to communicate telepathically with (but has a resistance to more intrusive sorts of psychic contact,) has death-based offensive magic, can produce corrosive venom, is immune to disease and poison, holds sway over sadness and horror, is highly resistant to elemental damage, and can shapeshift like a pro.
→ Dragon Stuff
Their Purpose - Dragons are a race of guardian creatures that are arranged into ten very distinct bloodlines, created by the Goddess of Fate to help carry out her will on the world, guide and protect the godless race of mankind, and to tame the wild elemental energies. ...Tek, of course, has gone against most of this designed purpose, and that makes him a Very Bad Thing. He's very unpopular with most of his kind because of it.
Magical, Not Biological - Because of how they were created, dragons are caught in a strange place, sort of halfway between the magical and biological. By definition, they are considered animated sources and conduits of sacred worldstuff energy. They are more related to elementals than animal creatures, though they do follow them in much of their design. For example, they have respiratory and circulatory systems, but massive bloodloss and being unable to breathe are not immediate concerns for them, because of their magical natures. By rearranging their internal energies and drawing from different stores, they can go to great magical lengths to keep themselves from dying before it ever becomes a problem. The same goes for processes like eating and sleeping-- those sorts of things help their physical forms run smoothly, but they only occasionally become necessities. It all depends on how they rearrange their energy systems, and what else is going on at the time. It makes them very hard to kill, and also makes them fantastic sources of energy.
Enhanced Abilities - Even while in human form, dragons are still generally better than mortal creatures at many things. Even the least athletic dragon will usually be stronger, tougher, have quicker reflexes, sharper senses, and frequently even be smarter (depending on your definition) than most of the mortal population.
Healing and Death - Dragons are considered immortal creatures, even though they do age and can die. If something doesn't go out of its way to kill them, they will continue to grow in power and live indefinitely. Generally speaking, they have a much quicker resting rate of healing than mortal creatures, but most bloodlines lack burst-healing abilities. Most bloodlines (Tek's included) must shift forms in order to heal in a rush-- taking advantage of the instance of massively-rearranging energy to automatically patch wounds. If a dragon successfully shifts form, huge amounts of damage are healed, and they are almost always restored to a state considered 'stable.' Dragons of Tek's age also often shift forms automatically when they are dealt a life-threatening amount of damage, as long as they have enough energy for it, and enough time has gone by since their last shift. So, killing a dragon is often a matter of either killing them absolutely instantly (which is very difficult to do), or struggling through a dance of causing enough damage to draw them back and forth through forms, until they are finally worn down enough to be cornered in one form and killed. ...Death dragons can also conditionally resurrect, and Tek is on his last spare life.
→ The Five Paths
All dragons can control five paths of energy, the details of which change for each bloodline, and each individual trains in them to different extents. Whether they like it or not, they are all connected to and made up of all five paths, and cannot escape this fact.
Path of Fate - Mah-Ruhm
This is easily the most important path... and the one that Tek resents the most. Though his powers in this path are limited, he can still sense how many 'strings' of Fate that someone has attached to them. His sense of it is a tactile thing--it manifests for him like spiderwebs against his skin, and he needs to be very close to someone to pick it up. This usually gives him a sense of how old someone is, or how 'important' they have been. He can't sense the future very well, and though he may pick up isolated pings of more information, these are rare... since his fate-sense is generally underdeveloped.
Path of Self - Vas-Vehr
And, as is probably expected, Tek is most skilled in the path of Self. He has practiced extensively in this path, and it makes him a fantastic shapeshifter. His mask is highly tailored, and he can alter small aspects of it (the shape and makeup of his mouth/teeth/tongue for example) on the fly. Along with being able to mix and match gender/sex-related features of his human mask, he is also able to "store" two different automatic masks. He has chosen to have his primary mask take on highly-refined masculine features, and his secondary mask has been tailored to be extremely femme (and he prefers to be called Kett while wearing this face). All dragons with any skill in this path are able to absorb the energy of their clothing when they shift, so they're not destroying outfits every time, but Tek has become so proficient that he can store separate outfits for his primary and secondary mask. He is also able to shift quickly between forms, and has a decent hold over his own human mask (though, it does still tend to slip in moments of rage, weakness, and high stress).
Path of Kin - Kherohs
This is another path that Tek is rather stunted in, especially since he has spent time around a grand total of two dragons in all of the years since he has been pulled from his homeworld to go game-hopping, and neither of them were his kind of dragon. At this point, he can only sense the presences of other dragons, and can communicate mentally with them over moderate distances.
Path of Element - Tarahm
Tek's element is death, and he is formidable with his power over it. His aura can wilt, rot, and stunt the growth of things around him, as well as poison things with a touch. This is easier to with things that are already poisoned or sickened to begin with (i.e. increase the potency of alcohol, kill something that is already diseased, etc.). He also has the ability to refine this power to a pinpoint and release it in explosive bolt of lethal energy, which can instantly destroy the lives of creatures weaker than himself, and severely weaken and damage those that he doesn't have the power to kill outright. This power is incredibly dangerous, but the amount of energy he needs to spend in order to use it poses a considerable risk to himself. All Dragon bloodlines possess a 'breath' ability, and his is a spray of corrosive venom that eats through many substances, as well as weakening and burning flesh. With this acid spit, he can corrode the weapons and armor of his enemies, as well as cause hideous wounds to flesh. His mastery over death energy also grants him control over things that are full of this energy (namely, any undead creature) and immunity to any poison, acid, or death-powered ability.
Path of Mankind - Eheruhm
While this path applies to all mortal races to some degree, humans are the primary target. Tek can sense how 'human' someone is if he puts his mind to it, as well as being able to pick up the vague locations of mortal presences in the area. Like his fate-sense, he tends to keep this more or less tuned out so he can focus on his own thoughts, but this (combined with his ability to sense magical energy) does make him hard to sneak up on by most creatures. Also, each of the ten draconic bloodlines were granted control over certain mortal emotions, so he can both sense and manipulate sorrow and horror in mortal creatures. He doesn't often use this power, but it's mostly because he forgets about it. It's only every once in a while that he thinks of a really clever or horrible way to use it, and the results are rarely pretty, and are never fair.
HISTORY
→ General Info
I apologize in advance that this is kind of a giant wall of text, so feel free to drop me a line to ask about something specific!
In general, Tek is a conduit of elemental death energy, but it's a very natural of-the-earth type of thing. He doesn't feel corrupted like a vampire or necromancer would, though it does tend to freak out most animals with healthy survival instincts. He also finds life/growth/nature energy pretty gross, as it opposes his, and creatures closely associated with those energies might feel the same way about him. His aura tends to radiate pretty strongly to those who can pick up those things, since he doesn't usually bother to keep it in check.
Other quick things to note are: he's very easy to communicate telepathically with (but has a resistance to more intrusive sorts of psychic contact,) has death-based offensive magic, can produce corrosive venom, is immune to disease and poison, holds sway over sadness and horror, is highly resistant to elemental damage, and can shapeshift like a pro.
→ Dragon Stuff
Their Purpose - Dragons are a race of guardian creatures that are arranged into ten very distinct bloodlines, created by the Goddess of Fate to help carry out her will on the world, guide and protect the godless race of mankind, and to tame the wild elemental energies. ...Tek, of course, has gone against most of this designed purpose, and that makes him a Very Bad Thing. He's very unpopular with most of his kind because of it.
Magical, Not Biological - Because of how they were created, dragons are caught in a strange place, sort of halfway between the magical and biological. By definition, they are considered animated sources and conduits of sacred worldstuff energy. They are more related to elementals than animal creatures, though they do follow them in much of their design. For example, they have respiratory and circulatory systems, but massive bloodloss and being unable to breathe are not immediate concerns for them, because of their magical natures. By rearranging their internal energies and drawing from different stores, they can go to great magical lengths to keep themselves from dying before it ever becomes a problem. The same goes for processes like eating and sleeping-- those sorts of things help their physical forms run smoothly, but they only occasionally become necessities. It all depends on how they rearrange their energy systems, and what else is going on at the time. It makes them very hard to kill, and also makes them fantastic sources of energy.
Enhanced Abilities - Even while in human form, dragons are still generally better than mortal creatures at many things. Even the least athletic dragon will usually be stronger, tougher, have quicker reflexes, sharper senses, and frequently even be smarter (depending on your definition) than most of the mortal population.
Healing and Death - Dragons are considered immortal creatures, even though they do age and can die. If something doesn't go out of its way to kill them, they will continue to grow in power and live indefinitely. Generally speaking, they have a much quicker resting rate of healing than mortal creatures, but most bloodlines lack burst-healing abilities. Most bloodlines (Tek's included) must shift forms in order to heal in a rush-- taking advantage of the instance of massively-rearranging energy to automatically patch wounds. If a dragon successfully shifts form, huge amounts of damage are healed, and they are almost always restored to a state considered 'stable.' Dragons of Tek's age also often shift forms automatically when they are dealt a life-threatening amount of damage, as long as they have enough energy for it, and enough time has gone by since their last shift. So, killing a dragon is often a matter of either killing them absolutely instantly (which is very difficult to do), or struggling through a dance of causing enough damage to draw them back and forth through forms, until they are finally worn down enough to be cornered in one form and killed. ...Death dragons can also conditionally resurrect, and Tek is on his last spare life.
→ The Five Paths
All dragons can control five paths of energy, the details of which change for each bloodline, and each individual trains in them to different extents. Whether they like it or not, they are all connected to and made up of all five paths, and cannot escape this fact.
Path of Fate - Mah-Ruhm
This is easily the most important path... and the one that Tek resents the most. Though his powers in this path are limited, he can still sense how many 'strings' of Fate that someone has attached to them. His sense of it is a tactile thing--it manifests for him like spiderwebs against his skin, and he needs to be very close to someone to pick it up. This usually gives him a sense of how old someone is, or how 'important' they have been. He can't sense the future very well, and though he may pick up isolated pings of more information, these are rare... since his fate-sense is generally underdeveloped.
Path of Self - Vas-Vehr
And, as is probably expected, Tek is most skilled in the path of Self. He has practiced extensively in this path, and it makes him a fantastic shapeshifter. His mask is highly tailored, and he can alter small aspects of it (the shape and makeup of his mouth/teeth/tongue for example) on the fly. Along with being able to mix and match gender/sex-related features of his human mask, he is also able to "store" two different automatic masks. He has chosen to have his primary mask take on highly-refined masculine features, and his secondary mask has been tailored to be extremely femme (and he prefers to be called Kett while wearing this face). All dragons with any skill in this path are able to absorb the energy of their clothing when they shift, so they're not destroying outfits every time, but Tek has become so proficient that he can store separate outfits for his primary and secondary mask. He is also able to shift quickly between forms, and has a decent hold over his own human mask (though, it does still tend to slip in moments of rage, weakness, and high stress).
Path of Kin - Kherohs
This is another path that Tek is rather stunted in, especially since he has spent time around a grand total of two dragons in all of the years since he has been pulled from his homeworld to go game-hopping, and neither of them were his kind of dragon. At this point, he can only sense the presences of other dragons, and can communicate mentally with them over moderate distances.
Path of Element - Tarahm
Tek's element is death, and he is formidable with his power over it. His aura can wilt, rot, and stunt the growth of things around him, as well as poison things with a touch. This is easier to with things that are already poisoned or sickened to begin with (i.e. increase the potency of alcohol, kill something that is already diseased, etc.). He also has the ability to refine this power to a pinpoint and release it in explosive bolt of lethal energy, which can instantly destroy the lives of creatures weaker than himself, and severely weaken and damage those that he doesn't have the power to kill outright. This power is incredibly dangerous, but the amount of energy he needs to spend in order to use it poses a considerable risk to himself. All Dragon bloodlines possess a 'breath' ability, and his is a spray of corrosive venom that eats through many substances, as well as weakening and burning flesh. With this acid spit, he can corrode the weapons and armor of his enemies, as well as cause hideous wounds to flesh. His mastery over death energy also grants him control over things that are full of this energy (namely, any undead creature) and immunity to any poison, acid, or death-powered ability.
Path of Mankind - Eheruhm
While this path applies to all mortal races to some degree, humans are the primary target. Tek can sense how 'human' someone is if he puts his mind to it, as well as being able to pick up the vague locations of mortal presences in the area. Like his fate-sense, he tends to keep this more or less tuned out so he can focus on his own thoughts, but this (combined with his ability to sense magical energy) does make him hard to sneak up on by most creatures. Also, each of the ten draconic bloodlines were granted control over certain mortal emotions, so he can both sense and manipulate sorrow and horror in mortal creatures. He doesn't often use this power, but it's mostly because he forgets about it. It's only every once in a while that he thinks of a really clever or horrible way to use it, and the results are rarely pretty, and are never fair.
HISTORY