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Alignment: Grey Arts
Lifespan: 10,000+ years Adult Size: 10 feet tall (from belly to top of shell) Experience Level: Beginner+ |
Talents: Sea Magic, Defensive Magic & Warding
Disposition: Proud, Confident, Ancient, Wise, Peaceful Suggested Offerings: Mother of Pearl, Beach Sand, Shells, Fish, Sea water, Classical Music, Crystal Orbs, Sandalwood |
These creatures are very similar in appearance to the mythological "dragon turtle," but choose to call themselves Cheluogi (pronounced chay-loo-OH-guy). They are migratory creatures of the ocean who live in large nomadic groups, although they sometimes mention an awareness of cousins who live in larger rivers. Energetically, they feel ancient, wise, and peaceful. In their home realm, they are near-mythological beasts considered to "hold up the world" - responsible for creating and maintaining the atmosphere itself, although you'd be hard-pressed to get one to give you a straight answer about the truth of that myth. They are a people who are confident and sure, hardy in both mind and body.
Biology
They are massive beings, their adult size being easily the length of over 150 feet, and they are most similar to a sea turtle in their general shape, with a thin and slender shell. Their shells appear to be made of stone, and are spiked like that of an alligator snapping turtle, but are patterned beautifully in a range of dark colors, banded in varying shades like malachite, often with algae or moss growing on them. One of their most striking features is colored bioluminescence, which can appear in patterns on their shells and any other place this stone-like material grows naturally on their body. Their eyes glow as well, and this color can be just about any color, unique to each individual. Their necks are long, thick, and scaly, and end in a head that is round and kind-looking, with a pointed beak. There is a set of two or three pairs of horns sprouting from the top of their skull, in addition to thick pieces of stone armor that are made of the same material as their shell. They have long tails with webbed flukes on the end. Their legs are long and stocky like tree trunks, and anatomically shaped like the legs of a tortoise, with wide, webbed and clawed feet. They are capable of walking on land for short periods of time, and certainly have the legs for it in contrast to sea turtles, although they could not live for very long with out access to water. They breathe through their scales, much like how amphibians breathe through their skin, so moisture is very important to their survival, but they do not require air and their lungs are very small. When they do not have regular access to a large body of water they can soak in, they will eventually die from dehydration. Of course, this should not be a concern within companionship, as since they are living entities from another realm, they will simply be astral traveling to visit you when they can.
If their life is not interrupted by external circumstances, Cheluogi can live to be over ten thousand years, and even more. There are some who have grown so large that they become stationary at the bottom of the ocean, feeding off of the unfortunate fish who choose to explore their mouth as a cave. These ancient beings are considered to be great spots for traveling Cheluogi to stop at for a regular pilgrimage, and they cherish the wisdom of these old beings, although many of them are so old that communication with them is rudimentary at best. When a Cheluogi passes of old age, it is said they had already become stone long ago, and have simply transitioned into the next phase of existence. Beyond dying of old age or dehydration, Cheluogi are actually very hardy and have few other things that will harm them. Their scales are near-impenetrable, and they are large enough that most dangerous sea life is harmless to them. Cheluogi eat fish and jellyfish that are much smaller than them, but they are slow-moving and docile, so they eat very little in comparison to their body mass. Hunting is something that occurs naturally for them - fish tend to not be too afraid of them due to their leisurely swimming pace, and sometimes entire schools of fish will accidentally swim into a Cheluogi's mouth.
Cheluogi reproduce sexually and have two biological sexes, although sexuality and gender presentation is not a matter of great importance in their culture, with most individuals being comparable to how we would describe asexual and agender. They rarely participate in monogamous relationships if any relationships at all, but they tend to have deep bonds among their own traveling group, also known as a bale. Therefore, queerplatonic polyamory is probably the most familiar relationship arrangement to them. Birth rates are low, partially because Cheluogi rarely engage in mating activities, so new offspring are means for a huge celebration. When a female lays eggs, her entire bale will stop their constant movement to rest over the nest. They swim in concentric circles around the eggs to help funnel life-giving energy towards them, and will often hum deep tunes that sound similar to whalesong. A nest typically ranges from 3-4 eggs, with usually only half of the offspring hatching or surviving past infancy. When a Cheluogi hatches, it is about 20 feet in length, and grows gradually over the course of about a thousand years until reaching adulthood. Cheluogi rarely keep track of their exact age, having a particularly hard time telling the passage of time with spending most of their lives deep underwater, but they can usually guess a general range for about how old they are.
Cheluogi have some innate magic, most of which they use passively throughout their lives. They are primarily water-aligned, and will manipulate water to move around them, helping to boost their speed in times of urgency, but also helping them to generally move. Cheluogi are nomadic and are in a sate of nearly always moving, so even when they need to rest, they will naturally channel water around them and lazily swish their tail to continue moving forward. Sleeping is rare, but they do so about once every week to recharge their energy. They also have a great affinity for shielding and protective magic, able to shield themselves or others as they see fit. This shielding magic is some of the strongest I've seen, largely because when they are protecting another creature that is smaller than they are, they will still utilize the amount of energy they would to protect their much larger self. Beyond this, a Cheluogi may choose to specialize in one specific kind of magic if they are so inclined, with many of them focusing on methods that are accessible to them as underwater entities.
If their life is not interrupted by external circumstances, Cheluogi can live to be over ten thousand years, and even more. There are some who have grown so large that they become stationary at the bottom of the ocean, feeding off of the unfortunate fish who choose to explore their mouth as a cave. These ancient beings are considered to be great spots for traveling Cheluogi to stop at for a regular pilgrimage, and they cherish the wisdom of these old beings, although many of them are so old that communication with them is rudimentary at best. When a Cheluogi passes of old age, it is said they had already become stone long ago, and have simply transitioned into the next phase of existence. Beyond dying of old age or dehydration, Cheluogi are actually very hardy and have few other things that will harm them. Their scales are near-impenetrable, and they are large enough that most dangerous sea life is harmless to them. Cheluogi eat fish and jellyfish that are much smaller than them, but they are slow-moving and docile, so they eat very little in comparison to their body mass. Hunting is something that occurs naturally for them - fish tend to not be too afraid of them due to their leisurely swimming pace, and sometimes entire schools of fish will accidentally swim into a Cheluogi's mouth.
Cheluogi reproduce sexually and have two biological sexes, although sexuality and gender presentation is not a matter of great importance in their culture, with most individuals being comparable to how we would describe asexual and agender. They rarely participate in monogamous relationships if any relationships at all, but they tend to have deep bonds among their own traveling group, also known as a bale. Therefore, queerplatonic polyamory is probably the most familiar relationship arrangement to them. Birth rates are low, partially because Cheluogi rarely engage in mating activities, so new offspring are means for a huge celebration. When a female lays eggs, her entire bale will stop their constant movement to rest over the nest. They swim in concentric circles around the eggs to help funnel life-giving energy towards them, and will often hum deep tunes that sound similar to whalesong. A nest typically ranges from 3-4 eggs, with usually only half of the offspring hatching or surviving past infancy. When a Cheluogi hatches, it is about 20 feet in length, and grows gradually over the course of about a thousand years until reaching adulthood. Cheluogi rarely keep track of their exact age, having a particularly hard time telling the passage of time with spending most of their lives deep underwater, but they can usually guess a general range for about how old they are.
Cheluogi have some innate magic, most of which they use passively throughout their lives. They are primarily water-aligned, and will manipulate water to move around them, helping to boost their speed in times of urgency, but also helping them to generally move. Cheluogi are nomadic and are in a sate of nearly always moving, so even when they need to rest, they will naturally channel water around them and lazily swish their tail to continue moving forward. Sleeping is rare, but they do so about once every week to recharge their energy. They also have a great affinity for shielding and protective magic, able to shield themselves or others as they see fit. This shielding magic is some of the strongest I've seen, largely because when they are protecting another creature that is smaller than they are, they will still utilize the amount of energy they would to protect their much larger self. Beyond this, a Cheluogi may choose to specialize in one specific kind of magic if they are so inclined, with many of them focusing on methods that are accessible to them as underwater entities.
Disposition & Manifestation
Cheluogi describe the core value of their culture to be endurance and understanding. They are pacifist, to the point that they would likely become vegetarian if they weren't fully carnivores. As a culture, they see the cycle of life as important, but also see early death due to the violence or carelessness of others as an unnecessary evil. They would rather defend themselves with shields and ignore any violence being rained upon them than retaliate towards an attacker. While raising their young, Cheluogi feel that passing down the stories and myths of their people is of utmost importance. But when meeting outsiders, Cheluogi generally don't share their beliefs and myths unless they have fully accepted that person as one of their own. They do not feel that this is an exclusionary practice, but rather one that is a burden that is theirs to bear alone, a sort of instruction manual on how to embody what it is to be a Cheluogi in the nature of one's soul. Despite this, they can be very hospitable and sweet to outsiders, and enjoy creating lasting or even generational relationships with other sentient beings. They generally have fantastic memories, and do not need to be told the same thing twice, but they like to repeat their stories, personal and ancient, as if savoring the taste of it. They are proud of their identity as a species, and rarely like to present themselves in any other form.
Cheluogi have a great reverence for things that are ancient. Many Cheluogi like to explore ancient underwater ruins for fun, and they have immense respect for ancient texts or stories of cultures outside their own, and may often ask to hear them multiple times so they can share those stories with future generations verbatim. This is not always necessary, as most Cheluogi have near-photographic memory, but often they just like to participate in the oral sharing of knowledge. They tend to be deliberate in nearly all things, from their movement to their speech, considering each word carefully. Language is a very important matter to Cheluogi, who can translate some of their world's oldest scripts, having passed down the lingual keys for generations.
Cheluogi have a great reverence for things that are ancient. Many Cheluogi like to explore ancient underwater ruins for fun, and they have immense respect for ancient texts or stories of cultures outside their own, and may often ask to hear them multiple times so they can share those stories with future generations verbatim. This is not always necessary, as most Cheluogi have near-photographic memory, but often they just like to participate in the oral sharing of knowledge. They tend to be deliberate in nearly all things, from their movement to their speech, considering each word carefully. Language is a very important matter to Cheluogi, who can translate some of their world's oldest scripts, having passed down the lingual keys for generations.
Social Structure
In Companionship
When it comes to companionship, they are wonderful protectors and friends. Naturally, they are very adept at shielding magic, able to create barriers that are fundamentally sound and thoroughly charged in a matter of minutes due to their size and prowess. In the case of running into active threats that break through their shield, their massive size and aura alone is intimidating enough to scare off those who are weaker-willed, and they are not afraid to use their beak to snap at anything that comes close enough to warrant a threat.
Please note that all The Dragon's Library Encyclopedia entries are based on my own personal UPG and may not reflect yours.
Autumn Dragons, in this incarnation, are exclusive to The Dragon's Library.
Autumn Dragons, in this incarnation, are exclusive to The Dragon's Library.