Legendary Dogs

Legendary dogs

Legendary dogs are not animals like us: they transcend the laws of genetics and magic to show themselves as completely different beings from normal meat beings. Halfway between the hounds of shadow and the common dogs, they are able to untie from normal magical mechanisms and to control the elements. However, these are not elemental spirits (nor, in general, spirits), as one might think of their close union with the magic of this type, but of meat creatures.

Many have tried to steal the profound secrets of this species, but the studies on them have not solved that superficial puzzles and legendary dogs are still surrounded by a often coat of mystery. However, saying that it is a species in this case is particularly reductive as well as incorrect: legendary dogs are not a kind or a race, but rather a particular group of magical creatures with common characteristics, therefore they do not share a scientific name and not they can reproduce with each other.

Origins

Legendary dogs are born in the mid-eighteenth century, from some magigenetic experiments of a group of Irish manufacturers Druids whose names are not known, but according to some it is a history invented by healthy plan to cover the macabre attempts to create an animal defender Perfect by Paulus Grimorius, the black custodian of the Ministry of Darkness.

Starting from simple dogs (Canis Lupus Familiaris), thanks to the help of a particular type of organic magic, some innate genetic characteristics were overcome in order to create super-men.

Not all specimens have the necessary characteristics to be changed in legendary dogs, therefore the subjects must be chosen with extreme attention. Subsequently, the technique for the creation of legendary dogs was also shared with the Ministry of Light (following the declaration and unification of techniques for the creation of new species, in 1890) which however rarely uses it and historically less than 1% of legendary dogs was created by the Ministry of Light.

Basic characteristics

Legendary dogs, as already mentioned, are all strongly different from each other, but have some characteristics that make them immediately recognizable.

• Compared to the races of origin, they are increasingly large. The growth and height growth compared to the original body can be between 16% and 110%, depending on the specimen and its natural potential. Some legendary dogs are really huge, with a weight that exceeds one hundred kilos, and could in no way be exchanged for common dogs.

• They have a marked propensity to elemental magic, so they can often produce the element akin (for example, to create electricity through the cloak or spit fire). There are no non-magic legendary dogs.

• There are no legendary anurious dogs (without tail). Even if the dog's basic body has undergone an amputation, after the transformation it will always grow back.

• They are all capable of mentally communicating between them and with human beings, although with different degrees of intelligence.

• They have a greatly longer life than those of dogs and also humans. In fact, to date no legendary dog has died of old age.

• Their tapetum lucidum emanates light when the creature uses a massive quantity of magic, as this also passes through the reflective layer immediately behind the retina, thus making their eyes shine. The color of light varies according to the genre of elemental magic to which the dog is linked.

Then there are some characters that can spontaneously manifest themselves in some specimens, but which are obviously not shared by all legendary dogs. Here are some of the best known:

• The blue mantle. Although it is a very rare feature even among legendary dogs, a part of them, and only if they originally have the white or honey-colored fur, can it show a change of color to become blue or blue, both whole and in spots. In both cases we speak of "blue mantle"

• Non-chaninity. Some legendary dogs change aspect so radically not to seem more dogs, coming to look more like bears or lions. Very often this feature coincides with a hair elongation.

• Human voice. Almost 40% of legendary dogs manage to develop a complex vocal ropes system that allows them to speak. However, not all legendary dogs that have the "human voice" are intelligent enough to formulate phrases of complete meaning.

• High intellectual quotient. Almost 16% of legendary dogs have a much higher intellectual quotient than dogs and most human beings. When this gift is combined with the "human voice", they can speak, otherwise they use mental communication to express themselves.

• Horn. Almost 30% of legendary dogs have horns of some kind. The most common are those of ram, but it is possible, although rare, that they develop horns similar to those of bulls or gazelles. They usually have a dark color and are always accompanied by a particular development of the skull, with particular strengthening of the forehead.

• The boltning. The creature coat, especially if rough, often develops a particular design called "boltning": long strips, similar in shape to bolts and dark in color along their hips and back.

• Supernatural speed. Some legendary dogs are capable of moving more quickly than a Greyhound greyhound, despite the imposing size. It seems that this feature is strongly linked to the blue coat.

Reproduction

Legendary dogs are considered sterile, although in -depth research has never been done, and it is believed that they cannot be born except through a particular process of magical creation whose "ingredients" are very secret, but that concerns the use of at least a normal dog.

Forging and loyalty

Like the dogs from which they descend, even legendary dogs have a proverbial loyalty, not so much to a master as for the task that was entrusted to him during the process called "forging", the transformation from dog to legendary dog.

In poor terms, it could be said that these creatures are "scheduled" for a specific action, whether it is protecting a treasure or a person, and they are ready to die not to betray their ultimate purpose. If the person who protects dies, or the treasure is stolen, the dog almost always returns from his creator, who can proceed with a second forging to give him a new purpose in life.

It is impossible to implement a second forging if the dog's previous task has not been completed or has not failed: a dog who is still protecting a living person or a treasure stroke will remain to do so forever and there is no magic that can distract them from this task.

The second forging will not only give a purpose to the dog, but will further change its appearance, partially adapting it to its new task. A legendary do to whom no mission has been entrusted during the moment of the forging is called insanus and will follow only his instincts, becoming highly unstable.

Cemetery grims or legendary dogs?

There are countless magical creatures with a canine shape, but those that are most often confused with legendary dogs are the grams of black cemeteries or dogs.

The cemetery grims (or black shucks) are described as supernatural beings larger than a wolf, with flaming red eyes and the black hirsute fur, but sometimes phosphorescent, who live near or even inside cemeteries. Furthermore, often we talk about the grams as a shapeshifter, capable of resembling human beings, and they are associated with death and darkness.

The legendary dogs, although they are also resembling large and terrible canids, can never be transformed into human beings, do not have powers intrinsically related to darkness and never have the entirely black fur.

So if you find yourself in front of a huge, monstrous magical dog with sparkling eyes, you just need to make sure that their fur is not completely black to distinguish a cemetery grim from a legendary dog.

The mystery of the three guardians of the Stone of Sources

Although it is known that legendary dogs can exist only if created and that the first ones have appeared in the mid-eighteenth century, there is a particular case that is cloaked in mystery.

In guard of the Stone of the Sources, in India, for a long time (the legends tell of five hundred years) three beings were placed, completely similar to legendary dogs, whose origin is still unknown today.

Who created these dogs? Is it an extraordinary phenomenon of natural magic or had someone actually discovered how to create legendary dogs long before the eighteenth century?

Orion, Galvatrike and Sherre, as they were called, were tenacious creatures with the appearance of predatory mammals, reported in the texts just as "legendary dogs".

And it is precisely because of their denomination that modern manipulated magigenetically manipulated canids are called legendary dogs.

Orion, intelligent as a human being, was guarding the external perimeter.

Galvatrike, the only female of the trio as well as the strongest physically, had the task of protecting the median circle and an aspect that strongly remembered that of a pitbull.

Finally, with the task of protecting the stone, there was Sherre, a splendid creature with a blue mantle that owned the gift to control the air generating impetuous currents. Any attempt to study the magical trio was found in nothing or even in the death of the researcher.

After the theft of the stone of the sources of which they were guarding there were no more sightings of these anachronistic legendary dogs. 

 

“The path is insidious, the tortuous way

The stone of Sources does not wait for men.

In the heart of the forest you will face every beast

The three legendary dogs guarding the treasure

In the center of the shadows, where the darkness bursts,

The heart of the middle ground palpitates

Promised land of water and winds

Which will erect barriers at any cost

To preserve its ancient secret that never human soul dared to touch

Immense power of hurricane, storm, waterfall,

source of all sweetness that keeps the world alive "

- Scontramondi (I - the Stone of Sources)

The Ministry of darkness and legendary dogs

Ever since they know each other, legendary dogs have always been used as guardians or messengers by the Ministry of Darkness. The favorite specimens are the high ones, dark in color and which almost always present boltning on the hips; they’re obtained transforming deerhounds (Scottish Greyhounds) and Irish Wolfhounds into legendary dogs. A unique peculiarity is that they, on the night of Halloween, are "freed" for all the hours of darkness, left free to do what they want without repercussions: even killing a human being or that destroy precious artifacts would not matter, the druids of the ministry would not punish the dog in any way.

Generally legendary dogs act under direct order of the Queen or Black custodian, always separately by the Dark Minister, although in extreme cases they can collaborate to defeat too strong enemies.

Furthermore, Dark Ministers have the task of stopping and putting to sleep every insanus when they become dangerous.

The most famous of the legendary dogs of the Ministry of Darkness, also considered the "alpha" of these mysterious and very rapid emissaries, is Lucifer, a legendary dog transformed starting from the Irish Wolfhound that had belonged to the dark minister Rory Tad, when he was still a child.

Limitations

Some breeds of dogs do not have any of the genetic characteristics necessary to have changed in legendary dogs and among them we remember in particular the Dobermann, the Dalmatian, the Broholmer and the German tolan. No wolf can be changed in a legendary dog.

Fantasma nodale

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Il fantasma nodale, conosciuto anche come fantasma caernico, è un'entità originatasi dalla fusione dello spirito di una creatura senziente con l'energia di un nodo magico. Da non confondere con spiriti, spettri o fantasmi artificiali.

Caratteristiche generali

I fantasmi nodali sono manifestazioni energetiche peculiari, legate ad una precisa zona. L'energia di un nodo (o cairn) viene incanalata non dai costruttori di templi, che solitamente imbrigliano la magia attraverso strutture fisiche, ma dallo spirito (o anima) di una creatura senziente, che dona così le proprie caratteristiche peculiari a quell'energia.

Ad esempio, una creatura senziente che abbia un particolare legame con i vegetali, morendo nel punto esatto dell'imboccatura di un nodo può conferire al fantasma nodale che ne scaturirà la capacità di incoraggiare esponenzialmente la crescita della flora, influenzandone persino la composizione a livello genetico.

I fantasmi nodali più antichi hanno caratteristiche complesse e possono manifestarsi sia come visioni che in modo semi-fisico, attraverso la solidificazione dell'energia magica, ovvero l'ectoplasma (dal greco antico ἐκτός ektòs, cioè "fuori", e πλάσμα plasma; lett. "ciò che ha forma"). Spesso, dopo i cent'anni dalla morte dell'organismo originale, il fantasma nodale che ne è generato non conserva più caratteristiche di specie, risultando come non riconducibile ad alcun animale corporeo; ad esempio, il fantasma nodale di un essere umano, non avrà più forma umana, né sarà in grado di comunicare come uno di essi.

Prima dei cent'anni, un fantasma nodale può ancora manifestarsi nella sua forma originaria (sebbene solo sotto forma di visione, senza un corpo fisico o ectoplasmico), ma è ancora troppo debole per costituire un vero pericolo: tutti i fantasmi di forma umana sono completamente innocui per chi ne sperimenta la visione.

Il territorio in cui un fantasma nodale può manifestarsi e su cui ha influenza magica diretta, viene chiamato "regno nodale", o più spesso semplicemente regno. Un regno può avere un'estensione variabile, da pochi metri a tre chilometri quadrati.

Noccioli

Ogni fantasma nodale possiede un nocciolo (core) che ne definisce la maggior parte delle caratteristiche magiche e, per estensione, le capacità.

I noccioli più documentati e ampiamente studiati sono:

• Freddo: nocciolo che agisce sulle temperature, tendendo a portarle sotto lo zero. È collegato alla neve, al ghiaccio, al concetto dell'immobilità e al colore azzurro chiaro. I fantasmi nodali con noccioli freddi, spesso ospitano nel loro regno solo spiriti dormienti.
• Caldo: nocciolo che agisce sulle temperature, tendendo a portarle sopra i trenta gradi. È collegato al magma, alle sorgenti termali, alla pirocinesi, al concetto della combustione della carne e al colore rosso. I fantasmi nodali con noccioli caldi, spesso ospitano nel loro regno una gran quantità di spiriti legati al calore, nutrendoli con la propria energia.
• Elettrico: nocciolo che agisce sull'elettromagnetismo, producendo campi elettrici e magnetici. È collegato ai temporali, alla tecnologia, al concetto del dinamismo e al colore giallo. I fantasmi nodali con noccioli elettrici tendono a non ospitare alcuno spirito nel loro regno.
• Acquatico: nocciolo che agisce sui fluidi, in particolar modo sull'acqua. È collegato alle profondità marine, alle paludi, al concetto del rinnovamento continuo e della metamorfosi, e al colore blu scuro. I fantasmi nodali con noccioli acquatici tendono ad ospitare una gran quantità di spiriti del mutamento all'interno del loro regno.
• Cronocinetico: nocciolo rarissimo che dona momentaneamente il dono della cronocinesi (dal greco χρόνος "tempo" e κίνησις "movimento") a qualunque essere senziente che entri all'interno del regno del fantasma nodale che lo possiede. La cronocinesi è la capacità psicocinetica che consente a chi la pratica ("cronocineta") di manipolare il tempo, distorcendolo e controllandolo sotto svariati aspetti come per esempio comunicare telepaticamente con persone nel passato e nel futuro. Non consente, in ogni caso, un vero viaggio nel tempo. È collegato agli orologi, ai calendari, al concetto del tempo perduto e al colore viola. I fantasmi nodali con noccioli cronocinetici hanno regni misteriosi, al cui interno vivono spiriti provenienti da diverse età temporali, tutti con capacità cronocinetiche.
• Vitale: nocciolo che agisce sui processi di crescita degli esseri viventi, in particolare quelli di piante e funghi. È collegato alle foreste, ai "cerchi delle streghe", alla botanocinesi, al concetto della crescita e al colore verde. I fantasmi nodali con noccioli vitali non ospitano altri spiriti nei loro territori, ma incoraggiano attivamente la presenza di esseri viventi, tranne quelli senzienti.
• Roccioso: nocciolo che agisce sulla composizione dei minerali, non può interagire con gli esseri viventi. È collegato alle antiche sale, alle cave, ai gioielli, alle tombe, al concetto dell'eterno riposo e al colore grigio. I fantasmi con noccioli rocciosi ospitano all'interno dei loro regni solo creature legate all'elemento magico della terra.

Scopo

Oltre ad essere definiti dal loro nocciolo, i fantasmi nodali sono legati in maniera apparentemente indissolubile al loro scopo. Secondo alcuni, lo scopo non è altro che il motivo dell'attaccamento dell'anima alla sua vita passata, ovvero il perché essa abbia deciso (più o meno inconsciamente) di legarsi ad un nodo magico e continuare ad esistere come fantasma nodale.

Per anni si è creduto dunque che lo scopo di un fantasma nodale sia una sorta di desiderio dell'anima umana, così potente da trascendere il momento della morte e permettere all'anima di ritornare e continuare a vivere finché questo scopo stesso non sia stato raggiunto; ad esempio, se lo scopo in questione è la vendetta verso il proprio assassino, il fantasma cesserà di esistere qualora riuscisse a togliere la vita al proprio carnefice.

Analizzando più nel dettaglio gli scopi, però, si potrà notare che nella maggior parte dei casi essi non siano sentimenti puramente "umani", come il desiderio di vendetta verso una persona specifica, la voglia di rivedere la propria famiglia, oppure quella di realizzarsi nel campo dal lavoro, ma che si tratta invece di motivazioni legate in maniera più profonda all'esistenza della persona che ha sacrificato la propria vita per diventare un fantasma nodale. Si tratterebbe dunque, in via teorica, non dell'attaccamento alla propria vita passata, quanto al desiderio di diventare i veri sé stessi in una vita futura, realizzando le proprie attitudini personali.

Una persona che ha vissuto in uno stato di solitudine e trascuratezza, ad esempio, potrebbe acquisire dopo la trasformazione lo scopo di vivere in compagnia, attirando nel proprio regno persone e animali, invece di inseguire una sorta di "vendetta" contro quelli che lo hanno abbandonato (come una visione ormai datata delle motivazioni dei fantasmi suggerirebbe).

Inoltre, uno studio più approfondito dei fantasmi nodali ha sottolineato come raggiungere lo scopo non li faccia scomparire affatto, ma anzi dia loro un maggiore potere e, in certi casi, allarghi la loro area di influenza. Lo scopo di un fantasma nodale, dunque, è lo stato in cui essi vogliono vivere perpetuamente, e i fantasmi nodali più potenti e antichi sono proprio quelli che sono riusciti a raggiungere il proprio scopo e a continuare a vivere in esso.

"Uccidere" un fantasma nodale

I fantasmi nodali sono entità estremamente resistenti, difficili da estirpare completamente; molto più facile è ridimensionarli, prendendo una parte della loro energia, e provare a controllarli attraverso i sigilli magici.

Per distruggere un fantasma nodale, facendo in modo che non ritorni più nel nodo magico, è necessaria una purificazione estesa dell'intero regno del fantasma, operazione che, ovviamente, verrebbe da esso attivamente ostacolata.

Curiosità

• Il regno nodale più esteso mai documentato misurava approssimativamente 890 ettari, equivalenti a 8.900.000 metri quadrati. Nessun altro fantasma, nella storia, si è mai anche solo avvicinato ad una simile estensione, ed è estremamente improbabile che succeda ancora.
• Un essere vivente posseduto da un fantasma nodale è noto come spettro.

 

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White dragons

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White dragons
(Verusdraco sapiens alba)

Origins
White dragons are one of those races that are considered to be “classic”, a term used to indicate a category of dragons which are not ancient nor recent.

They've probably been born from the cross of two old dragon kinds, now extinct, respectively known as marble dragons and golden dragons of the Black Valley; other influences from other subspecies may be involved, among which, rumors say, there could also be black dragons' blood. The amount of races that have had an influence on the creation of this splendid variety of Verusdraco is uncertain, a variety that is the only one that can sport a completely white coloration in modern times.

Appearance

White dragons are of average size, covered in scales that are generally very light in color. They can sport scales that are colored in pale golden, cream and even peach, but the coloration that's more common in this race, as well as exclusive to it, it's total white that makes white dragons look like living marble statues. The horns, that extend behind the head following the line traced by the forehead, are smooth and black, creating a strong contrast with the color of the rest of the body. They can have a third horn placed between the nostrils, but in females it's mostly just a black-colored plate.
The back is topped by a single row of extremely sharp and dangerous keratin tips.
White dragons' skin, if deprived of the scales, is liver-pinkish in hue or of a similar color gradation, usually lighter than average in comparison to other dragons. The scales have a rounded rim and are resistant, but very flexible.
The eyes, big e usually described as having a compassionate expression, can be of only two colors: light blue or yellow, even if light blue is more common and appreciated.
They're armonious dragons, never too heavy-looking, with big wings equipped with white membranes and a black keratin hook on the top.
The maximum height ever registered by a white dragon is seven meters and twelve centimeters (around twenty-four feet), with a wingspan that reached twenty-three meters (seventy-five feet).
Their tail is tapering, without fat accumulations, and it almost ends with an arrow-shaped, extremely hardy black keratin tip.
Since they possess a fast metabolism, in comparison to the dragon average, is pretty difficult, if not almost impossible, for them to fatten up.
Their fire can be of any color, but the most common one is pink.

Behavior
White dragons have a very high sense of justice and morality; they're able to sacrifice themselves for others or for an ideal. They usually speak in an elegant and refined way, as they're pretty gifted with languages and learn them quickly, so much so that a white dragon that speaks less than three idioms won't be considered much by a possible partner.
They have ancient rituals, inherited from the races they were born from, and they're devoted to the cult of the dragonixius, mytical alien creatures that, according to them, brought life on Earth and decided to create dragonkind by placing in the “Source of Life” (some sort of Primordial soup in a puddle on the summit of mount Horn) the dragon DNA.
They don't really have deities, but they respect anyone who might worship one or more.
Thanks to their high sense of justice, this species rarely has "racist" behaviors and does its best to relate with all the other races and species of dragons; furthermore, it has a particular preferences for humans, that white dragons protect and educate as if they were their own hatchlings.
There's no white dragon that doens't create a bond with a human: every individual has their own dragoneer, and to not find one would be considered by everyone a great shame, because it would mean that this individual is unable to intimately understand human culture or that they secretly think themselves too superior to have a bond with one of them.
White dragons are often elected to cover important political positions, and the king of Horn Blu Island is, indeed, almost always a white dragon.

Birth and growth

White dragon hatchlings are born, like the majority of dragons, from eggs that are incubated for a variable time period, but that will almost always hatch only at the presence of the human the newborn dragon will bond with. White dragon eggs are robust, with a thick rind that can have a variety of colors from cream to pure white, usually mottled by iridescent veins, and they can remain dormant even for centuries.
At birth, a baby white dragon already has functional horns, thorns and wings, and they weigh from 300 grams to 900 grams. The size of the egg and of the baby depend on the age and size of the mother. The females lay only one egg at a time.
The newborn is immediately sent, often togerther with their dragoneer, at the schools of the Ancient Dragoneery, where they are educated by other dragons and learn several idioms.
Other draconic species, especially the primitive ones, believe that white dragons have drifted away from the ideal of what a dragon should be and, although they don't reject their authority as justice bringers, they won't accept advice or influence from them in matters of warfare or hunting protocols.
White dragon growth is moderately slow, and they reach full maturity and the ability to reproduce when they're eleven or twelve years old.

Social life and courtship
White dragons are extremely social and it's impossibile to find one that lives isolated from the rest of the world or that doesn't keep in touch with anyone else of their kind. They don't exactly live in packs, but, similarly to humans, they group in "cities", made up of close territories, and they very often pay visits to their neighbours.
They rarely get involved in arguments, but when it happens they challenge each other in duels of magic or flying dexterity to determine who's the most skilled and is therefore more likely to be right, or, in the most desperate cases, they summon a neighbourhood meeting and vote by show of wings who's right in their opinion.
Their magic duels are of great beauty, because they're often complex light tricks and spectacularized displays of magic power.
To seduce females, males show off their flying and magic skills in the annual gathering of the white dragons, which coincides with the only fertile period of the females, in spring; the gathering is known among them with only one term in Draconic, untraslatable for humans, but that roughly means "Place and time in which we amicably let the others know we're better than them". The females, much bigger and generally more vicious, can choose from one to three males to mate with during the season, but since the fertility of white dragons is low and the females lay only one egg, not all of them will become fathers, and it's not even sure that the egg will be laid.
Once, if the father proved himself unworthy of being a parent after the mating (for example by staining his reputation with an ignominious act or by obstructing justice), the mother could decide to break the egg with a fist, hence killing the baby dragon before its birth, but in more recent times this custom has been judged barbaric and inappropriate, and it's no longer in use.

Habitat and diet
As the “sovereign” race of Horn Blu Island, white dragons are rarely found outside of it. They usually live in mountainous and cold places, and one of the few other places colonies of these subspecies can be found in is Greenland.
They love eating fish, wild berries, roots and some kinds of meat like seal, reindeer, and deer, but they're omnivores in the broad sense and don't disdain almost any food. Eating humans is a terrible taboo for them, that must never, in any circumstance, be performed.

Famous white dragons
Orotagon
Aureo

 
Facts and trivia

• Females are more often excluded from political roles due to their fiery temper, more prone to angry outbursts, as well as the danger they pose thanks to their bigger strength. However, they're considered to be excellent warriors and guardians.
  
• Despite marble dragons being an extinct race, nowadays this name is wrongly used to indicate white dragons.
  
• In the past there was another species with a completely white coloration, which, however, has disappeared without leaving traces: the glaciers dragons.
  
  
  

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