Dragons: A theorem

[Exrage]

Using it as a sort of "religion" actually sounds fairly original to me. I imagine that most dragons wouldn't take too kindly to it though, as many are very proud of their connection to Drulkar and the Realm of Fire. Some find the idea of non-fire-elemental dragons to be distasteful.

As it should be, if only fire based dragons and nothing else exist (or will exist in the future) in Istaria. Most ideology from draconic lore stems from a sort of "brood" mentality- putting lineage on the same level as most caste systems and it's all about one's relation to so-and-so who happens to be the greatest _______. On a side note if you have a true "water" based dragon lineage appear, what would the natural reaction from the current dragon-kind be?

I also think it is worth noting that I'm pretty sure Drulkar did not create the Realm of Fire, he was simply one of the greatest inhabitants. Now, exactly what allowed him to be so much greater than other dragons, I'm not sure.

Still doesn't debunk the "planar dragon" hypothesis, it leaves room for their being a greater "fire element" higher than him but also leaves open the possibility for him to ascend higher, or even that he may be surpassed. Now that may be a snowball's chance in hell, but I'm more interested in the plausibility than the possibility as I like to have a firm grasp on in-game facts before delving into the RP.

Primal magic is raw magic, essentially, and it is a part of everything in Istaria--because Istaria is on the Realm of the Prime. Dragons are vastly more in tune with the Prime than other races, but they did not create Istaria. Istaria was already there before Drulkar brought the dragons to it. I believe the reason why dragons are so attuned to Prime is because they arrived in Istaria as spirits of pure fire, and in order to live on Istaria, they needed to fashion bodies of Prime.

Ah I really like that analogy and view on creation and it's role, even if dragons are mere inhabitants instead of it's creators. So it wouldn't be so far-fetched as to state that the realm of the Prime may have been a haven for dragon kind as a nesting ground before ascending back into the realm of fire? Or possibly that fire "invaded" or crossed into it and brought about some sort of change?

There is no magic without Prime magic. What the bipedal races do is not to add outside influence, but to splinter Prime itself into more specialized (and according to dragons, inferior) magics. You get Ice magic by filtering out all the other types of magic that Prime contains, for example.

Another really great analogy, so it's essentially like taking a beam of light and refracting it into different colors through a prism instead of just letting it shine naturally? I would agree with that, as to a dragon who can bend and shape the full spectrum at will the concept of blocking everything else except the nature and power of one aspect would be a bit backwards.

The dragons' inability to age has nothing to do with the rise of the Gifted and everything to do with the destruction (or rather relocation) of the Sleeper--an event that occurred about 300 years ago. We also don't definitively know how long Istarian dragons could live before that. There is evidence that they could live for hundreds of years, but the Great Schism happened only 500 years ago, and both Helian and Lunus are dead.

A valid point, but it doesn't stress how they died- naturally or by external causes leaving it open to interpretation. I merely filled that hole with draconic lore from mythology and other lore regarding dragon lifespans and origins.

The destruction of the Sleeper essentially caused dragons to be stuck in time. Now, whether that effectively means they are immortal is not totally clear, but they do not age or grow without the interference of the Rites. There is player belief that dragons must age at the very beginning of their lives, to develop to the point of the "hatchling" dragon that the game puts players in control of, but after that point they become stuck and grow no more.

It would make a good argument and support the mechanics I guess. Perhaps some elaboration into the physics and why would be nice. I would extrapolate that their "fire" essence was altered, though they may exist on a plane where time flows their essence while trapped in another existence would remain constant. As one repairs or alters the other existence (or realm) the physical body would suddenly advance until it hits another distortion.

Dragons originally hailed from the Realm of Fire--which is just one of the Realms that exist that for all types of splinter magics. E.g., there is also a Realm of Ice, a Realm of Spirit, a Realm of Energy, etc.

I would ask the question if dragons exist from one realm, why not any (or rather all) could exist from the other realms?

The Realm of Fire is also where Drulkar resides. A dragon would have to go there in order to be in his presence and it seems pretty likely to me that if you were in the Realm of your Patriarch and in the form most natural to your kind (fire), you might not want to leave either. :P

There is also a chance that it is difficult to return. One would have to shed their Prime form--their body--in order to exist on the Realm of Fire, I would think. Perhaps remaking that body in order to return to the Prime is not the easiest thing to do.

Perhaps the flow only goes one way, unless you obtain a level of ability similar to that of Drulkar... or perhaps it's like you stated- that the physical form must be recreated to return to the realm of the Prime. Who knows... but having ideas out there and seeing where the mainstream dragon belief lies is fun in and of itself.

Dragons already were spirits of fire. That's their natural form. It's the Prime-based dragon that's been specialized.

Well you would have to wonder at what the repercussions to that would be, to take something and alter it to exist in a place it wasn't originally adapted to usually has side effects and handicaps that must be dealt with at some point.

Or perhaps the specialization is more of an augmentation to their given abilities over fire, and will develop their abilities over the other magical essences to better prepare for engaging the other elements? Maybe there is a function in taking a spirit of fire and infusing it into a primal form that allows it to complete something in the realm of the Prime?

I'd like to put down a few thoughts and see what the community thinks, please if you have questions or comments- or find it at odds with the Istarian lore- please feel free to amend, comment, or even expand

I like the hypothesis and really enjoyed how they tied in with the Istarian lore you two. Keep it up! Hopefully I can take enough to reach a consensus and have a really solid RP base that everyone can agree to and play with, and that's why I like hashing out ideas with everyone before hitting a snag later.