species ramble : synth dragons
Because sometimes all I can do is babble about my babies. Yeah.


The synth dragons are an unsual species of demon. They're the most powerful of the currently living demon species, and also the most powerful of the dragon demons. This power, matched with the wrong attitude, can make for a dangerous combination. The synth dragon population is currently fairly small, and most of the members of the population are peaceful. However, there are always rogues within any grouping, and with as much power as an adult synth dragon can have, handling a rogue synth dragon is almost always a messy situation. In most instances, and especially when dealing with adults, it takes a synth dragon to down a synth dragon. A well trained smoke angel or nightmare phoenix might be able to weaken them, but actually eliminating a rogue adult synth is a very difficult task.

This fact is why the dragon wars, between the synth and stellar dragons, are usually so devastating to the stellar dragon population. A group of stellars may be able to handle a lone synth dragon, but that lone synth dragon could also easily take out its entire team of would-be dispatchers.

Synth dragons are the only species of demon that can reach the black level in magic power. The magic scale is somewhat exponential, and a black level synth dragon is truly a force to be reckoned with. However, most synth dragons only ever reach the silver level. This is because only around 15% of synth dragons are born at the orange magic level (which is the only one capable of reaching the black level), while the remaining 85% are born at the red level (which can raise up to the silver magic level). Of the 15% who are born at the orange level, most still max out at the silver level, because the black magic level is somewhat unnatural, and very difficult to safely reach. Many adult synth dragons who do manage to reach the black level (around 1 in every 400 synth dragons) find that their body's magic field begins to destabilize as they get older. The amount of magic in an black level adult synth dragon's body is so massive, than it often causes an individual to literally come apart at the magic (molecular) level. Not wanting to face such a greusome and painful death, most synths will train close to the border of the black level, but never advance to the point where their magic field changes color. A well trained silver level adult synth is still just as dangerous as a black level synth dragon.

Only around 1 in 30 individuals who reach the black magic level are able to keep their magic fields stabilized. (That's 1 in ever 12,000 synth dragons, and the average synth dragon population is only between 10,000 and 15,000.) These individuals, while not an immediate threat, are often viewed by other demons as not being trustworthy. The magic in their bodies is so strong, that other demons can often sense the presence of a black level synth dragon from a few dozen yards away. (It's similar to what happens in promixity to a devil, though the power level is much less. It's still enough to give chills to lower level demons.) In the distant past, severe measures were taken to eliminate any black level synth dragons that appeared in society. Most often, the synth dragon in question was either kept forcibly drained of most of its energy (leaving it very weak and vulnerable), or it was put to death. The practice is stopped in the last few cycles, due both to only a few individuals reaching the black level, and also to an increase in demons at the silver level. Many black leve synth dragons also do not survive because they are "harvested" by certain devils who use the demon's energy to create magic weapons.

A rogue black level synth dragon was and is something still feared by society at large. (This was why they were put to death in the past.) Historically, there has only been one black level synth that has been severely damaging to any other demons. This demon, known as the "Black Terror" was a synth dragon that lived during the last Dragon war. It was one of the leaders of the rebellious synth dragon group that led the attacks against the stellar dragons. The Black Terror was responsible for the deaths of more than 17,000 adult stellar dragons, and for the maiming of several thousand mid and baby stellar dragons. (Before the war, there were about 220,000 stellar dragons living. After the war, the functioning population was only around 65,000. Functioning meaning not counting the mid and baby demons who were rendered as good as dead.) The Black Terror was only stopped when the death god (Mugendie) struck it down during an attack on a small grouping of stellar dragons. Mugendie's reason for doing this has never been discovered.

There's plenty more I could say about synths, but...uh..it's storming. Must hide.

(Though, I think the reason I haven't finished the greater guide to hell yet is because...it'll be a friggin' book before it's done. >< )