Initial Ideas

I have a folder somewhere on my flash drive that outlined my initial ideas on the Wyrms/Dragons. I'll find it and post them up here today. They were named, I think, according to the precious stones that their scales resembled. There was more to it, though. I'll find it!

How alike are the Wyrms to straight-up Dragons?

Well, that I'm not sure on yet. I'm thinking they'll be pretty "usual" for the most part as far as anatomical structure goes. Where the innovation comes in is that each "race" of Wyrms will have a very unique type of scales.

So far, here's what I have:

1. Sea/Water Wyrms = Blue or Green Scales
2. Forest Wyrms = Green/Brown Scales
3. Mountain/Fire Wyrms = Red (Garnet), Orange, Yellow (Citrine)
4. Underground Wyrms = Black (Onyx, Obsidian), Brown, Earth Colors
5. Sky/Air Wyrms = Gold, Silver, Metallic (so they shine)

I'll work on more, but give me ideas if you have them.

Couldn't resist.

I think there should be more differentiating them than the colors of the scales! I'm thinking some obvious physical attributes as well. I can't think of any, but I'm sure I will at some point.

Terry wrote:I think there should be more differentiating them than the colors of the scales! I'm thinking some obvious physical attributes as well. I can't think of any, but I'm sure I will at some point.

Well the dragons have very different shapes depending on the culture you're referencing. The typical fantasy dragon has its roots in Medieval Europe mythology. However, if you look at the Chinese, you find very long, shorter dragons who cannot fly. There was one other main culture with another category of dragon, but I can't quite remember it right now.

"Well the dragons have very different shapes depending on the culture you're referencing."

I wasn't really referencing a specific culture. I was just thinking different, minor physical attributes.

maybe...

The "water" dragons are smaller in stature, but flexible to allow for easier swimming,

the "fire" dragons have thick scales/skin and a high tolerance for pain to allow high-heat situations (he forgot the wife on valentines day)

the "earth" dragon is massive.

the "forest" dragon has an extra set of clear eye-lid's to allow him to keep his eyes open for a very long time when he's hunting (or something with a similar effect)

just some ideas, I'm not trying to force them down your throat.

yes I know I called them dragons, even though they're wryms. and I'm too lazy to edit my last post.

I agree with all of Terry's ideas! (You ARE loved!)

I was thinking something along the same lines, just haven't had time to expand on it. In fact, the differences you suggested are very similar to what I had in mind.

The dragons will be "typical" to an extent, but I'm thinking we could do something really unique with them in the history of Emathar. One idea I've had that I really like is that the Nomad's were originally tasked with keeping tabs on the dragons. Perhaps some of the dragons revolted and the Nomads took matters into their own hands and killed a few of them. This angered the creator, and so he dispersed the dragons and cursed the Nomads.

Eh?

Neh. We already discussed that the dragons would live on the second continent and be tasked with the dwarves to keeping it under control.

You could get around this to some extent by having a small contingent of dragons move to Emathar and reside somewhere near the Nomads. Nomads get involved with dragons and boom, instant sun-curse. Speaking of which, weren't the nomads being cursed because of their worship of the sun or something like that? Oh! What if we had a special dragon (I'm envisioning large gleaming white dragon) that came to the nomads and acted as their sun-god incarnated? Both parties end up getting punished for their actions. The nomads end up with their sun-curse, and a few other nice features. How about their skin become pale and somewhat "scaly" in mockery of their devotion to the dragon? I think the dragon would have to end up with something much worse though. Either another curse of its own, or being disemboweled by the enraged nomads. Any of that sound workable to you?

I think I'm actually going to roll with the latter idea that you posted. Seems cool. It also parallels the snake in the garden, which is nifty.

The idea is that the dragon - who was let off the hook by the Dwarves - comes to the Nomads. As they love the sun because their land is primarily open, they view the dragon as an incarnation of the Sun. They worship it, causing the wrath of Ermo (GOD) to fall on them. This means that both the Dwarves and Nomads have both failed in their duties to the true Creator.

OOOHH!! What if the Shining Dragon is actually under the control of a Fairy that has been swayed by one of the Fallen Deities? This would be a really cool way to go....

What say you?

B_Rad12 wrote:
OOOHH!! What if the Shining Dragon is actually under the control of a Fairy that has been swayed by one of the Fallen Deities? This would be a really cool way to go....

What say you?

Under control in what sense? If you mean in the necromancy, control-the-bodies-of-the-dead sort of way, then I strongly dislike the idea. First off, remember that faeries are a bit clumsy when they first start controlling bodies. For something as majestic as a dragon, I don't think the faeries could pull it off convincingly without a LOT of practice. Second, I feel it would be a bit too early along the timeline for the evil faeries to control a full dragon. I'd like to save that for something a bit more epic if we could. Which ties into my last point, I don't think it's necessary. I personally love the idea of an egotistical dragon trying to have others worship it. It just gels very well with my image of dragons. Adding a faerie to the mix just makes things unnecessarily complicated. What's more, I think we could do a lot more with the faeries "reviving" the fallen dragon towards the end of the timeline. Can you imagine the nomads, growing latent in their worship of Ermo, suddenly seeing the "sun god" flying back to their hidden sanctuary? They would have been told all of their lives that their ancestors were fools to follow that idol, but what if they themselves worshiped the creature upon just a glance?

Side note: if you meant an evil faerie was advising the ego-maniac sun dragon, then I would be in favor of the idea. I think it could be used to set up some foreshadowing or something like that.

I agree that we should abandon the idea of the Wyrm being controlled by a fairy. It adds unnecessary and over the top "intrigue" that is a little too comic-booky for my taste as well.

So, to sum up the idea that I think would be the best:

The Dwarves are tasked with keeping tabs on the Wyrms in the Unknown Lands. They fail, and (at least) one escapes - the unique "glowing" dragon. In this, the Dwarves have failed in their role assigned to them by Ermo/Ireb. Said Wyrm flies across the ocean and approaches (as if flying from the Sun) the Kharim, who view it as the Sun incarnated and begin to worship it. This act of idolatry causes Ermo/Ireb to curse the Kharim in a way that is directly related to their sin - the (scaly) Sun-Curse.

That's where we've left off. My proposal is that Ermo/Ireb somehow announces to the Nomads their sin and why they have been cursed. As their land is often under direct sunlight, they wander off in search of a more sheltered area. This begins the long era of their wandering in the desert, eventually followed by the Great Exodus into the Sunless Mountains.

I also foresee, as Aidan pointed out sometime ago, that the Nomads kill the Dragon in their wrath. Perhaps this is the first death to occur in Emathar, marking the beginning of many long years of entropy.

In regards to the Dragon later be resurrected - I think it's a stretch. Personally, I think the Dragon should stay dead, and the cairn of sorrow that the Nomads build around it can stand as a testament of their fall from grace.

Sounds good to me! put it on the wiki! (ehh? that was a pretty convincing rhyme!)

I like the outline that you gave in your last post BJ. Its nice and to the point, and i don't really think it needs to be any more detailed than that. I'm just saying this for future reference that's all! not accusing anyone at all. now lets go talk about "The Fall". Heck, maybe the dragon was really tall, and his name was paul. But the nomads had a special call... it backfired and they all got maul(ed)

yeah.