Talosian Lore - Tumblr Posts

I LOVE all this EggEater/Talos lore, but it got me curious about something. How does Lord Talos' clan handle dragons with Disabilities? Blind dragons, deaf dragons, mute dragons. Dragons with missing limbs or wings. Dragons with PSTD and other kinds of mental/emotional stuff! Im super curious!

This is a fantastic question! ^^

GET READY FOR SOME WORDBUILDING

The Talosians have always been very accepting of those who have different needs, mostly due to the sense of family they feel for the other subclans along with their constant discussions on the (MANY MANY) philosophies of justice. While they do value the wants and needs of the individual(such as letting dragons receive specialized educations within whichever subclan they so choose) , they are also an extremely community-minded clan and take pride in such a fact.

MISSING LIMBS

This is important, because this mindset has helped create a very accessible and positive environment to those who have disabilities. Prosthetics(magical, mechanical, or otherwise) have always been available, and are produced with the same passion for design that the Talosians have for Fashion. There are also architectural implements that take dragons without these prosthetics into account (extra stairs for the wingless, ramps for those who choose anything with wheels and generally anything that aids in ease of access in crowded places like the Coliseum)

MUTE/DEAF/BLIND ECT

Magical handheld pearls that can translate thought into sound are available for blind or mute dragons, ( it also has properties that translate aural, visual, or written language back to the user, with options to do so mentally or via a braille-like language that can be felt on the pearl's surface. This helps the user avoid touching surfaces that may be unsanitary, thus keeping them safe.)

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

Mental health has always been important to the Talosians, but they don't necessarily call it that, their culture considering this health to be spiritual in nature. The Orca Subclan (Also responsible for their famous medicinal pills) provide most of the subclans' mental health needs. This is done through sessions with an Orcan priest/priestess, who then craft 'curriculums' that help suit their patients needs. These can be anything from a schedule of verbal sessions with the Orcan Priest/Priestesses, to prescribing certain medications, to magical or spiritual sessions carried out with magical poultices or artifacts, to aroma therapy. It's also good to note that this 'health of the spirit' is taught in the 14 years of mandatory courses that each Talosian chick must attend, so there's not much in terms of stigma against mental health of Talosians.

TLDR; INCLUSIVE AND FASHIONABLE

Honestly, it's pretty inclusive and semi-utopian. I like to think that dragons are a little wiser than humans, and can get to a pretty good place socially at mach-speed comparatively. They're not perfect, but meeting the needs of their citizens is such a common sense thing, they've gotten pretty darn good at it.

Thanks for the lovely ask! (i have so many of these to do, haha)

Okay, I’m curious about your other dragons you have! Do they have any designs you have worked out personally for them? Or is it still something you would have to think about? :0

Ah, yes! I have several older designs for my dragons.

KoiKoi, a Talosian spice merchant and a koi fish breeder.

Then we have brothers Virtue and Vice.

Mismallo the Informant

The Prince of Hares

Phyyric, Bloodservant to Lord Talos

Then here's a sample of the Silhouette paintings

Looking back on these, I think they might be due for a repaint :D Also there are several designs on paper, but I think I'll redraw those as well.

The son of  Lord Talos and Allorema, Chirin is the future ruler of the Talosian kingdom. Fortunately for him, his dad doesn’t seem to be stepping down anytime soon. 

Expressions for little Chirin!

 His name is definitely inspired by one of my favorite movies, Chirin’s Bell, alongside another wolf/sheep movie called One Stormy Night. With these in mind, Chirin’s personality has grown to have several wolfish traits. He’s a bit mischievous, is fiercely loyal, has a voracious(borderline obsessive) appetite, and is clever in certain ways(that is...great with puzzles, mazes, sports, and anything spatially challenging. He’s not very booksmart though! ) 

He’s just a naïve kid who hasn’t fully grasped the gravity of his lineage.  

Of course I pay attention to my own characters pffft, what? This idea? oh yeah. Definitely worth consideration.

Is Chirin the kind of prince who accidentally or purposely disobeys his father? Does he try catching bits of what's going on in the other councils? Also speaking of which, how close is he with Lord Talos?

He does a little sneaky sneak sometimes.

Chirin is isn't the rebellious type, curiosity just gets the better of him sometimes...well ok, most of the time. It's ok to break a rule if it's not hurting anyone, right?

He's close with his parents, and hasn't truly grasped what it is they do, or how important they actually are. When Chirin sees Lord Talos, he doesn't see a King. He just sees his Dad.

With Night of the Nocture having just arrived, do the egg eaters get excited at the abundance of Nocturne eggs? What are the Talosians opinions on this time of year as well?

Oh yeah, it's a yearly treat they get to indulge in.

As for the Talosians, they're rather fond of NOTN. The new enemies are used in routine combat assessments for soldiers and gladiators, especially the greener ones, while the citizens have the times of their lives with spooky themed festivities. Over half of Talosians are Nocturnes, so they're bound to have a special connection to this holiday.

I know you’ve mostly been focused on the egg eaters for now (which have very cool lore for sure), but I was wondering if you have any words to say on lord talos? very interested in his whole god-king thing he has going on

He's not really a god, just very powerful and long-lived. I don't have too much to say that hasn't been said in other posts, but I can offer up some Talos Trivia!

Lord Talos gained his four extra wings as a gift from one of the original Talosian Knights, Archanis. They were crafted using 'the bones of a star' that Archanis had discovered during one of their hunts.

He is married to Queen Allorema, who presides over all lawmaking decisions. Changes in law must be approved by her, even those Talos himself wishes to implement.

He is technically a King. The 'lord' title was originally a VERY embarrassing nickname his friends had given him back when he was still a Knight. It stuck.

He has three children. In order of age, they are Sunleif, Chirin, and Eccho. Sunleif(24) is buried in her studies and experiments(she has no interest in royal life, and is pursuing her passions). Chirin(19) is...well...the comic will go into that...And Echho? He's only five, so still a baby.

Jokes and puns floor him, and he'll even pause council meetings to hear them(and then relay said jokes back to his family).

He staunchly refuses to speak of his parents, even to Orcan healers. Not even the queen knows much about them.

He views all the Subclan princesses and princes as his nieces and nephews, and is very proud of each one.

Ever the diplomat, Talos has a hidden talent for putting together gift baskets. Few who receive them ever realize they were crafted by Lord Talos himself.

Lord Talos Painting

Finally gave him a proper design!

Talos’ Comic design ^^ I won’t be adding too much jewelry in-comic as it’s time consuming to create. 

 You can really see where Chirin gets his ‘helmet’ markings! 

Do you mind giving more info on those two Veilspun? Also curious that the Talosians would allow them inside considering that Veilspuns are from the Shadow flight and they live in the Light flight.

Ah, yes! Those two are Night(female) and Fatestring(male), who have infiltrated the Elite Council. They arrived very soon after their species made themselves known again.

QUICK VEILSPUN RECAP:

News of the Veilspun species' re-emergence spread quickly. Mismallo's harpies and lookouts gathered as much information as they could find, but being such a recent event meant relying on shaky rumors and hearsay. Having such little knowledge on the new dragons proved to be detrimental when two Veilspun 'travelers' arrived to the Kingdom shortly after.

Veilspun dragons possess a brand of hypnotic magic that the Talosians are woefully unfamiliar with, and they used this weakness to bewitch the Elite council (and by extension the kingdom) into believing they were already esteemed Talosians. They currently hold seats as Lord Talos' main advisors.

With each whispered word, their magic rolls off their tongue and billows forth, into the ears of kings and queens. And with each sunset's passing, so strengthens their hold over the throne...but to what end??

Do you mind talking more about Sunleif and Eccho? How does Chirin feel towards both of them?

Eccho:

Chirin absolutely adores his baby brother ^^ It's hard not to, when said dragon is an adorable, squishy, playful little hatchling. Chirin's eager to share his sense of fun and adventure with the little one, but he's quickly learning to reel it in. Eccho's just a baby, after all, and Chirin's got alot to learn about being an older brother. One thing's for certain, though.

Chirin would die for Eccho, end of story.

Sunleif:

Sunleif is a bit older than Chirin, and has had the privilege of traveling far outside the Talosian City for her ongoing magical studies. She's incredibly booksmart with a knack for chemistry, and as a little hobby creates all sorts of wild and bizarre potions and drinks to sell at the market. The Talosian elites are all convinced Sunleif has a great destiny in the arcane arts...she's also cool as hell and very popular.

Chirin's a little jealous of this, finding it to be a sore point when his own achievements fall short(which...is alot). He's still well liked, but Sunleif is the golden-child of the family. Despite feeling overshadowed, he still greatly admires and looks up to his big sister. He just hopes he can match her greatness one day...

Some artwork of Chirin and his siblings, Eccho and Sunleif ^^

Would you mind telling us more about the veilspuns? Obviously not asking for spoilers, but I will confess to some curiosity about how you think they've been going about this mysterious plot of theirs!

While I can't reveal the innerworkings of their plan, I can give you these designs for Night and Fatestring, and a few tidbits of info^^

- Night and Fatestring may have infiltrated the Elite Council, but they're not the only Veilspun hidden within the Talosian Kingdom...

-They're small enough to perch on Lord Talos' shoulders. From there it's quite easy to whisper enchantments to the King and his peers.

-Their hypnotic magic is entirely new to the Talosians, which explains why no magical defenses were in place to counter them.

-According to Night, smarter dragons are easy to hypnotize.

Is there any reason in particular plague dragons keep popping up as villians in your lore or is it just coincidence?

I have a love-hate relationship with Plague, and the feelings often times clash. On one hand, the themes of survival, decay, life, and the struggle that comes from that, is profoundly cool to me and fun to play with in fiction. -Their eye colors are also second only to light in my opinion; they look like rubies-.

On the other hand...I DEEPLY abhor irl suffering brought about by illness and physical ailment . Having plague dragons always present is a love-letter to Plague's interesting lore, while having them almost always be villains is self-indulgent hate-mail to the concept of suffering via illness and plague...

The timing of this question is pretty notable, too, as I just recovered(thankfully) from the virus-that-should-not-be-named. My hatred for being sick has been renewed once again.

Gonna miss the egg eaters!! Any plans on making a new(old?) group of egg eaters? Also, what's your plan for the website?

They're still here, not to worry!!

The new account is centered around the Talosian's ancestors a few centuries or so after each subclan was founded, and will detail The Cerulean Crisis (I linked the original draft, but have since rewritten a few details just a heads up). No ancient egg eaters planned, but if the story calls for it why not? I'm currently working on portraits/designs for the main characters of this ancient story, so once that's done I'll begin work on the long overdue update of the website.

So if the raw magic inside of eggs comes from the deities what would happen if someone,say , drank one of the deities blood? (Assuimg they dont die instantly)(and that deities have blood)

Talosian Researcher Aurashira:

Your question is an unusual one indeed, and required quite a bit of digging in the Talosian Archives! After scouring and scouring, I managed to find these texts hidden within a false page of Sol'Aurii's private journal...

{"The gods aren't merely flesh and bone,

The gods aren't blood, nor bane, nor stone,

Nor fire, water, lightning, air,

nor light nor shade, nor nature's fare.

Not even magic doth compare...

To forces vast and cosmic.

Yet should a bug-like paltry thing,

from cosmic layline latch and cling,

and thus indulge in hubris deep,

and taste from blood forbade to seep,

impossible a drink to keep...

To forces,

vast and cosmic..."

-So'lAurii, the Aurum Poet}

Aurashira: Well, that's ominous... That last line almost seemed like part of a toast...The next one's not so frightening, if you don't think about it too much.

{In terms of the sheer power held by the Eleven, what could be attributed and what could be described isn't something dragon language is equipped to do. They are majestic living black holes who, through the sheer inexplicable weight of their existence, warp the universe itself.

What can be described-magic, blood & flesh, the elements, ect- are merely byproducts. Specks of dust in a shockwave hardly aware of their mother supernova. Dragons, life, magic, it's all mortal fallout from the never-ending blast-event that IS the Eleven. However, should a piece of this fallout try returning to its point of origin, should a being decide to indulge in insanity and sip from the vein of god...well... The consequences can only be described as eldritch...

-Sol'Aurii}

Aurashira: Hmm...this is a mystery we'll have to solve quietly. The public-not to mention the gods* shivers*- might not take kindly to the nature of this research. A few trusted friends of mine are looking into our oldest & most protected tomes, and will meet with you soon to discuss our findings. Hopefully the results aren't as terrifying as these texts imply.

"Some secrets are locked away for a reason..."

Arkadi could not have known what lay in wait beneath the ashen shell of the relic's exterior. His gaze had always strained upwards, past the heavens and deep into the realm of the stars themselves, hungry and anxious, desperate to reclaim the long lost glory of his now humble clan...Such a fiercely covetous prince, plagued by an obsessive sense of pride. How neglectful he's been. How utterly selfish...How tragically blind.

Arkadi has made this mistake before. How catastrophic must the consequence be for him to finally learn?