Draconic is one of the sub-types of the Fairest seeming. They are the inheritors of the blood of Faerie's "great beasts", from dragons to demons. Theirs is the blessing of the Dragon's Talon.
Overview[]
Some monsters are hideous, and others are beautiful. Draconics hold the blood of the latter. They are bestial without having acquired the animalistic mind of a Beast, primal in ways that speak of bone and talon and fiery blood. Draconics are creatures of Mephistophelean confidence, charm, and hidden savagery. The cruelty of Arcadia seems to run a little closer to the surface in a Draconic, though some turn the cruelty toward good ends. They can be quite aggressive, rivaling Ogres in their relish for physical solutions to problems. More than one changeling has found Draconics a little Luciferan, though in truth the mortal world has yet to become truly Hell and Faerie is a long way from Heaven.
The kith’s distinguishing characteristics may overlap with those of some Beasts or Ogres, though the Draconic is always clearly beautiful and commanding enough to be Fairest above all else. Draconics often display some sort of bestial tell. It may be the pearl in the throat of a Chinese dragon, hands that are elegantly talon-like, neatly overlapping scales or a carnivore’s sharp teeth. Many possess a very dragonlike arrogance, perhaps without having noticed their change in demeanor. A Draconic stands tall and proud, his posture giving off a faint aura of primordial strength.
Durance[]
Some Draconics were altered by human-seeming fae to deliberately acquire their monstrous traits, perhaps to make the Draconics into elegant yet ferocious pit-fighters or palace guards. More were closer to fae that had very little semblance of humanity. Dragons and basilisks were such Draconics’ masters, or such things that come closest to the familiar human myth. They might have served in damp caves where the only illumination came from cold light shining off hoarded treasures, but many more were kept in palaces as grand and bizarre as their Keepers. A Draconic may have served alongside more hobgoblins and fae beasts than stolen humans, sycophantic terrors currying the Great Beast’s favors.
Draconics may have been kept as decoration or as concubines, but they also come from a wide variety of physical roles. Many were taught to fight and kept as soldiers or gladiators. Others might have had to physically care for monstrous Keepers or the less intelligent pets of their masters. The more a changeling scrubbed the serrated scales of his charge, the more his skin grew scales in response to protect him from the sharp edges. He may have had to eat from the same trough as his Keeper’s cockatrices, and grown stronger and more dangerous on their unwholesome feed.
Folklore[]
Despite the name “draconic,” this kith can be tied to any manner of fae that is partly monstrous yet somehow elegant. They might recall sirens or lamiae, or the serpent-bodied Melusine. The classic “devil at the crossroads” might engender a Draconic, hiding devilish strength and vigor under his neat black suit. A riddling Draconic, somewhat leonine and somewhat hawkish, sat at the foot of a sphinx’s throne. A thundercloud-dark rakshasa kept a stable of pet changelings, who became savagely beautiful to mirror their lord and king.
Frailties[]
Taboo of vengeance against thieves, riddling compulsion, repelled by silver, must eat red meat at every meal, cannot harm those who flatter them, injured by virgin’s blood.
References[]
- CTL: Changeling: The Lost Rulebook, p. 114
- CTL: Winter Masques, p. 81
