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Rondstat

Rondstat

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Thread is currently out-of-date, will be updated soon...
Some relevant posts !

They seem to predate most things...
The arrival of these creatures signals the absolute destruction of any area they are visiting...
Demon birds, evil bird spirits of the east: Dragonkin!




Drakkerkin. Among the most powerful, ancient, and evil races of the multiverse, these reptilian creatures predate even the Elder Gods. Once an intellectual society, the Dragonkin were discovered by the Elder God Jas and bound to her Catalyst, also known as the Stone of Jas: an Artefact of unfathomable power, bearing all the embryonic potential of the creators of the universe. When the Stone is abused by any entity other than an Elder, the Kin are racked with pain, and seized with a rage that can only be sated by killing the 'False User' and anyone else in their path. As the drain on the Stone increases, so does their power, and in their rage, the Kin have obliterated armies, cities, planets, and mortals eying godhood.

Now, with the Elder Stone in mortal hands once more, all of Gielinor cowers under the threat of the Dragonkin.


This thread compiles all known lore about the Dragonkin, relying on quests, books, postbags, developer Q&As, etc. It also contains plenty of inference on the significance of certain pieces of lore, and how they link together. As such, there will be plenty of speculation that goes off the mark, and I encourage all readers to give their perspective and contribute any outlooks or pieces of lore I may have missed.

Where applicable, references appear in parentheses, which correspond to numbered items in the bibliography.

It is my hope that this can be a reference to players and developers. Read, feedback, and enjoy!

10-Mar-2015 00:33:58 - Last edited on 05-Jan-2017 11:26:48 by Rondstat

Rondstat

Rondstat

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DRAGONKIN TIMELINE


Pr*-Revision:
The Dragonkin, among the earliest races of this cycle, develop on their harsh and chaotic plane into one of the most powerful and magically gifted species in creation. They develop a rich society of craftsmen, architects, mages, scientists, and philosophers, expanding beyond their borders to explore the multiverse.

Dragonkin were born with the ability to traverse planes (22), an ability that, in our cycle, is mainly restricted to gods. I assume they must have been inherently very magical and, like the oldest creatures of our cycle (vyres, demons) (6) owe some of this ability to originating from one of the harshest, earliest realms (which would also explain their ruthlessness).


Revision:
The new Elder Gods hatch on Freneskae, this cycle's final perfect world, and begin systematically destroying the planes of the multiverse. The Kin alone manage to survive by using their interplanar abilities to hide in the Abyss. They eventually make their way to a Freneskae now devastated by the huge anima cost of nourishing the infant Elders, seeking mercy from Jas. However, most are obliterated, their magical metal armaments left behind in great heaps, and those that survive are bound to the Catalyst, Jas's precious egg and sacrifice, to protect it from falling into the wrong hands.

The Kin were long gone from Freneskae by the time the Mahjarrat rose (28), but their implements of dragon metal were left behind in great numbers. I'd propose that most Kin actually survived the Revision (which made them so attractive to Jas), but most of their armed forces were destroyed, simply for being detritus from the past cycle that was meant to be disposed of.

10-Mar-2015 00:34:11 - Last edited on 10-Mar-2015 01:09:30 by Rondstat

Rondstat

Rondstat

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Primordial Era:
Bound to the Catalyst, the Kin are forced to follow it through the creation of the entire multiverse, taking with them their now indentured society. Whether through hidden stores or some metallurgical talent, they are able to obtain enough dragonite to maintain their arsenal, and often leave great piles of dragon equipment behind in their hidden fortresses when it is of no more use to them. They finally settle on Gielinor, Jas's final creation, and settle in the eastern half of its main continent.

Piles of dragon metal have been left in great hidden caches on many worlds (29). Given the Kin's approach to permanence and utility, they likely only maintained their forges and castle as long as they were needed, and discarded them without a second thought the moment they lost their usefulness.


First Age:
While they occasionally obliterate non-sentient creatures that happen to brush up against the Stone of Jas, not until the arrival of Guthix do the Kin feel the full weight of Jas's curse. Though Guthix enrages them by probing its knowledge, he does not draw directly on its power, which fails to empower the Kin enough to take on this god.

At this point, the many who struggle against their pain and embrace its rage (Necrosy*tes), break off from the group of seven Dragonkin (25) whose focus is breaking the curse (Dactyl). Kerapac, a Dactyl leader, begins experimenting on his corrupted brethren, before turning his focus to creating uncorrupted offspring, using native Gielinor reptiles as a base (7). Kerapac and his compatriots spend 100 years creating the dragon race (10), before deeming their work a failure and, in Dragonkin fashion, destroying their research (27).

10-Mar-2015 00:34:15 - Last edited on 10-Mar-2015 01:12:19 by Rondstat

Rondstat

Rondstat

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Because dragons are already a well-established throughout the 2nd Age, I assume the QBD is created before that. Osborne has stated the presence of around half a dozen remaining Kin of each faction, which is corroborated by the QBD's story and the mural in Brimhaven Dungeon. I assume that all the Kin who have died in combat have been Necrosy*tes, leaving 6-7 Dactyl who have existed for as long as Gielinor.

Second Age:
Mage Etheron recovers the Stone from V- on Lunar Isle and returns with it to Keth*i. The Kethsians use it intensely, and the Necrosy*tes, finally empowered enough to give full reign to their rage, permanently break with the Dactyl and destroy Keth*i. Their power waning, they return to Gielinor, establishing fortresses, forging new weapons, and enacting their rage with the aid of captive dragons. Eager to see more destruction, they trade their dragon items to the warlike races, most notably the Zarosian forces.

Movario dates the Dragonkin Key, whose parts came from the Ancient Cavern and the northeast Wilderness, to the 2nd Age (11). The Necrosy*tes are known to have created dragon equipment and 'given' some to 'people they liked,' (18). Given the presence of their Wilderness fortress in the shadow of Annakarl and their forge in territory Zaros' forces marched through (and, as the wildy teleport lever suggests, where they probably set up a base), my best guess for Dragonkin trade partners are Zarosians.


Third Age:
Saradomin holds the Stone for most of the God Wars, only using it sporadically, and each time provoking brief, fierce attacks from the Necrosy*tes. The Dactyl, led by Kerapac, establish a base for continued research on a hidden peninsula east of Forinthry, while the Necrosy*tes establish their home base further east, among Gielinor's uncharted islands.

10-Mar-2015 00:34:20 - Last edited on 10-Mar-2015 01:16:32 by Rondstat

Rondstat

Rondstat

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Movario confirms the presence of the Kin throughout the 3rd Age, yet this information is limited by the fact that most of those who witnessed them perished (11). Skeletons throughout the Wilderness also suggest their involvement in many skirmishes. The absence of any massive act of destruction suggests that Saradomin was conservative in his use of the Stone, and likely only drew on it occasionally.



Fourth Age:
Zamorak's final devastating blast of Forinthry at the close of the God Wars provokes the Necrosy*tes out of their eastern castle, and they lay waste to Gielinor, destroying Saranthium, its last great city. Robert the Strong, an adventurer from the human home world of Teragard, discovers the Kin's weakness in bane ore, and manages to drive the Necrosy*tes back to their castle by year 100. With their power waning and the Stone hidden away in Guthix's ancient temple, the Necrosy*tes succumb to Robert's might and are magically imprisoned. Many of the Dactyl abandon Daemonheim for research opportunities elsewhere, while Kerapac retreats to its dungeons and leaves the surface derelict.

The Kin were active from year 1-100 of the 4th Age (17), making Forinthry's destruction immediately preceding, the obvious catalyst for their rage. Fusswell (Lord Drakan) has a great thread that makes the case for Senntisten's destruction by the Kin. That said, the effects were likely not as drastic as on Kethsi because many races were subterranean (dwarves, gnomes) while others (humans) were primarily nomadic, and had few great population centres to target. Multiple references to being freed and unleashed (2, 3) indicate that Sithaph, Strisath, and Sakirth were somehow bound to their castle, before their empowerment from Lucien's SoJ abuse freed them.

10-Mar-2015 00:34:25 - Last edited on 10-Mar-2015 03:09:50 by Rondstat

Rondstat

Rondstat

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Fifth Age, year 169:
With the aid of Movario and an unwitting adventurer, the Mahjarrat Lucien seizes the Stone of Jas from the temple where Guthix hid it at the close of the Third Age. His abuse of the stone empowers the Necrosy*tes to shrug off their magical shackles and fly west towards the mainland, attacking Mos'le Harmless in the process.

When a newly rejuvenated Lucien attempts to drain the power of the Catalyst and ascend to godhood, he summons three Kin to him, who, after a brief scuffle, kill the Mahjarrat, take from him another Elder Artefact (the staff, or Siphon), and give the adventuring stone toucher a vision of doom. They level the eastern half of Edgeville before regrouping to plan their further destruction of Gielinor.

Sixth Age:
The Mahjarrat Sliske manages to lure the Dragonkin Strisath, wielder of the Siphon, into a cage bound with shadow magic, and uses the now captive Dragonkin's link to the Stone of Jas to uncover its location. Strisath is dramatically freed at a gathering of gods at the Empyrean Citadel, and remains at large until his capture by Kerapac. With the aid of an adventurer, imbued with a resistance to godly magic and skilled in channeling anima from the world, Kerapac is able to break through the magical locks placed on Strisath's mind by Jas, and temporarily restore his sanity.

10-Mar-2015 00:34:31 - Last edited on 10-Mar-2015 01:21:46 by Rondstat

Rondstat

Rondstat

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DRAGONKIN PROFILE


Height: 3 meters (26)
Age: Unfathomable, possibly exist outside time (31, 32)
Life Expectancy: Immortal
Population: 12, evenly split between Dactyl and Necrosy*tes

Known Kin:
Kerapac (creator of QBD and master of Damonheim)
Tarake* (creator of Mr. Mordaut)
Strisath (former wielder of the Elder Staff and current ward of Kerapac)
Sithaph (leader of the Necrosy*tes)
Sakirt* (killer of Lucien)

Abilities:
Flight
Interplanar travel
Magical fire breath
High aptitude in magic and melee based combat
Powers associated with the Stone of Jas.

Weaknesses:
Vulnerable to bane ore tuned against Dragonkin (3).
Unable to manipulate shadow magic (4).
Loss of reason and intelligence when enraged.
Infertile (1).

Dragonkin are a naturally violent species, and even at their most amiable are blunt, humourless, and single-minded. Dragonkin value ruthlessness, viciousness, intelligence, and magical aptitude (8, 5), and the ideal Kin embodies all these traits in excess.

Dragonkin are very driven, whether by the Curse of Jas or their own species' inclination, and attach no value to anything that is not immediately useful to them. They can discard weapons, tools, experiments, and entire settlements without a second thought the instant they lose their usefulness. This tendency drives the Dactyl to search endlessly for a cure to their affliction, and motivates the Necrosy*tes to pursue indiscriminate destruction.

10-Mar-2015 00:34:37 - Last edited on 10-Mar-2015 01:26:28 by Rondstat

Rondstat

Rondstat

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DACTYL VS NECROSY*TES


Dactyl fight against the curse, the Necrosy*tes embrace it. Both suffer the same effects of the curse.


The division in Dragonkin society is a product of the Curse, and as such, is a product of False Users. Not until Jas slept did her Stone become vulnerable to mortals. With the arrival of Guthix, very likely the first False User, to Gielinor, the Kin became acquainted with the overwhelming pain and rage of the Curse, with all but seven fully succumbing to it – as Necrosy*tes.

Today, the Kin number only a dozen, split evenly between Dactyl and Necrosy*tes, but there were once far more. Many Necrosy*tes were sacrificed in the 1st Age for Kerapac's early research, and a few were later lost to Kethsians armed with bane, but the most numerous casualties likely came in the 3rd and 4th Ages. Dragonkin skeletons near the demonic ruins and the boneyard in the wilderness, lying next to the remains of Icyene and gigantic lizards, suggest casualties from God Wars battles. The success of Robert the Strong's one man crusade against the Kin in the 4th Age ensured the deaths of dozens, if not hundreds, of Necrosy*tes.

Dactyl, meanwhile, have only been known to sequester themselves from the wider world. Few would pursue open conflict, and most if not all of the original crop of Dactyl likely still live.

10-Mar-2015 00:34:42 - Last edited on 10-Mar-2015 01:30:54 by Rondstat

Rondstat

Rondstat

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We've witnessed that, while the severity of the curse and its rage ebbs and flows, rendering Strisath evil yet eloquent in one encounter and incoherently bestial as the Stone's use continues, the switch from Dactyl to Necrosy*te is discrete and, usually, permanent. Even when they are not empowered, Necrosy*tes revel in rage and destruction. They keep and breed dragons, worthless discards from the Dactyl, as beasts of war, "making the wild creatures do their bidding"(35). They establish crude bases (Ancient Cavern), which are hopelessly primitive compared to Dactyl bases.

Most notably, they produce dragon equipment. Rage fueled as they are, it is difficult for Necrosy*tes to tune their fire breath to the precise intensity needed to smelt dragonite, which they may have used before their corruption. It is for this reason that they created the dragon forge, utilizing the consistent fire power of mithril dragon glands to heat their crucible, and allowing even their most tainted smiths to work their trademark metal. This they then gift or trade to those they 'like'(18) – those most likely to prolong warfare and destruction.

10-Mar-2015 00:34:54 - Last edited on 28-Mar-2015 00:04:01 by Rondstat

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