“Skycallers” is the working title for a dragon-based worldbuilding project.
Four-legged, winged dragons are the “people” of this world. Most dragons live in dense underground bunker/cave cities, but there are some nomadic tribes that migrate to avoid storms.
The World of Skycallers
The world of Skycallers has a surface of entirely ocean. The ocean itself is extremely deep without any traditional continents, very salty, and supports an ecosystem with numerous dangerous predatory leviathans. A layer of dense, salty sea fog sits above the ocean surface, which typically obscures the view of the ocean from above.
Sky islands, or skylands, are the only solid ground, composed of a magical mineral called skystone.
Storms
Due to the abundance of sky magic in this world, supernatural storms roll across the sky. These storms range from common sleet and hail to storms of fine silica glass particles and storms of pitch darkness full of hungry monsters.
- Seawater storms have clouds that resemble ocean waves and rain salty seawater down
- Voidstorms are jet-black and rain freezing cold, inky liquid that sucks the warmth from anything it gathers upon
- Ashstorms rain down bits of burnt, carbonized, still-hot ashes as if a fireplace were up-ended
- Glasstorms rain razor-sharp silica glass shards
- Fogstorms immerse the affected area in thick, white haze that induces anxiety and hallucinations of vague but threatening figures
- Metalstorms rain liquid aluminum, which rapidly cools and forms stalagmite-like structures and slabs
Dragons
Basic Biology
Dragons are the dominant, intelligent species of the Skycallers world. Dragons have human-equivalent intelligence and language capability, with varied regional cultures and community structures.
Dragons are four-legged and two-winged. They have dexterous hand-like forefeet and also have opposable thumbs on the hind feet capable of grasping and carrying.
Dragons have large, expressive eyes that contain reddish-orange oil, which allows a certain degree of vision in clouds and fog.
The horns of dragons serve as a sensory organ for electromagnetism and magic. This sense is called a dragon’s “Stormsense” and is used to sense oncoming storms, electricity, running water, and sources of magic.
Dragons have tough, leathery hide with patches of rounded knobbly scales, and a mane of proto-feathers that appears similar to fur, which is oily and water-resistant. They have an ear slit similar to birds, which is protected by a proto-feather frill on the jaw.
Dragon wings are patagium, the dorsal side of which is covered in a fine layer of keratinous feather-spines.
Dragons have tough, leathery hide with patches of rounded knobbly scales, and a mane of proto-feathers that appears similar to fur, which is oily and water-resistant. They have an ear slit similar to birds, which is protected by a proto-feather frill on the jaw.
Dragon wings are patagium, the dorsal side of which is covered in a fine layer of keratinous feather-spines similar to the placoid scales of Earth sharks and rays.
Dragon horns are electromagnetic sensory organs. Horns are hollow, and connect to two symmetrical organs at the top of the dragon’s skull that interpret the input from the horns. The longer the horns, the greater the range and sensitivity to electromagnetic fields. Dragons essentially have radio antennae on top of their head, which allow them to detect prey, other dragons, running water, and environmental changes including those associated with storms.
Dragons who live primarily underground often have less-developed horns than those that live as nomads.
Life Stages
Dragons do not die of old age in the traditional sense. Even after they have exited the hyper-adaptation phase of adolescence, dragons continue to passively absorb magical energy from the world around them. The magical energy affects their body by gradually replacing cells with magic. The dragon becomes lightweight, able to fly with increased ease and eventually float passively. The wings begin to shrink and atrophy as they are no longer needed for flight, becoming vestigial. The body elongates as the skeletal structure loosens and eventually vanishes altogether. Many ancient dragons do not bleed, as their blood vessels have fully converted to magical energy – they may “leak” a white cloudy vapor when injured instead. Many of these dragons become increasingly distant from main dragon society, meditative and quiet and observant as their brain functions are replaced with magic. They often feel the compulsion and yearning to venture higher and higher into the sky.
Eventually, they simply do not return.
Dragons do not leave behind a corpse when they die of old age/full magic conversion. They simply evaporate into wispy white clouds, their consciousness scattered amidst the elements of the sky and wind. Some dragons persist even after they have lost their physical forms as a sort of sentient cloud ghost, a translucent vaporous phantom of their previous self.
Society
Nomadic dragons remain on the surface year-round, migrating to avoid the paths of the most dangerous storms. Nomadic dragons live in tribes. Each tribe is a group of 3-20 other dragons that consider each other either biological or found family. Tribes divide tasks among the members and help care for their young or elderly communally. Hunting may be done individually or in small groups, with the spoils always returned to the tribe for sharing. While individual rules and norms vary per tribe, many dragon tribes hold values that support individuality while also contributing to group tasks.
Nomadic dragons typically visit the same sites throughout the year. Sometimes permanent structures are build at these sites, serving as multiple homes that they move between.
Wanderers are nomadic dragons who do not live or travel with a tribe by their own choice.
Exiles are nomadic dragons who have been rejected from their tribes against their will.
Bunker dragons are those who live in underground shelters year-round. These shelters tend to operate more like cities rather than a family unit, with distinct hierarchy and jobs/roles assigned by leaders. Bunker dragons typically spend half of the year completely underground, living off of stored food and traded goods brought to the shelter by nomadic dragons. Shelter-cities often serve as marketplaces and trading posts for nomadic dragons, which also gives the bunker dragons access to supplies and goods they otherwise can’t access.
Scouting, gathering, and hunting parties are dispatched from shelter-cities to collect supplies during storm season. Since storms are volatile and may appear at any time without much warning, this is a dangerous task.
