The Pterok

 

Before the fall of the Primordials, these magnificent flying reptiles were the unquestioned rulers of the air. They lived in towns and villas built high on mountaintops and flew down to mortal villages to govern their subjects. Most of these wondrous creatures died during the war against the Primordials. Afterward, those that remained were no longer alone in the air — Exalted sorcerers created several races of flying mortals, and Exalted builders created great skyships and aerial chariots. However, Pterok were superb flyers and the more warlike served with distinction and valor in the aerial regiments of the armies of the Solar Deliberative.

Although not as indulgent and sybaritic as the Raptok, the Pterok loved beauty and painstakingly crafted both their mountaintop homes and their artifacts so that all these creations had exceptionally clean and elegant lines. Their dwellings were both graceful and extremely Spartan by human standards. The Pterok disliked useless ornamentation, unnecessary structures and any devices or accoutrements that had moving parts. As a result, their small aeries were smooth constructions of stone, with a few carefully placed pieces of crystal and vegetative technology. Humans often described these settlements as looking like unusually lovely and well-preserved ruins.

The Pterok were noted scholars and occultists, and the few who remain eagerly study the relics of the First Age. The ease with which the Pterok interact with spirits and especially with the gods means that they are now almost as common in Heaven as the Raptok, despite the fact that far fewer of their kind survive in Creation. Legends say that they were the breed that created the Dragon King’s written language, and savants still regard the tomes the Pterok made from plates of enchanted crystal as some of the most elegant and durable books in Creation. This is especially true because Pterok crystal-workers treated these books so that they are imperishable. More than 100 Pterok now work in Yu-Shan as scribes and personal historians to moderately powerful gods. Although their hands are unsuited for many mortal crafts, they are excellent calligraphers, and their finest work wins praise even in Yu-Shan.

Pterok are both brilliant and meticulous. They enjoy both intricacy and detail and are well suited for the study of all forms of magic. They are also savage predators who dive on helpless prey from above. They prefer to make everything an art, including the arts of death. Individuals gain status both for successful hunts and for executing diving attacks in a particularly perfect fashion. Although all of Dragon King society is filled with rituals, Pterok rituals are unusually complex and elaborate. The Dragon King learned supernatural martial arts from the Exalted. However, their Essence was such that they could not practice human styles. Instead, they practiced a number of styles more suited to their primal nature. Foremost among these styles was a technique studied by many Pterok, which was both a deadly fighting form and a complex aerial display of swift and elegant movement. While the supernatural elements of this style are lost to the Age of Sorrows, the desire for elegant perfection remains.

The Pterok’s thoughts are similarly intricate. They are as devoted to the Unconquered Sun as any other breed of the Dragon Kings. However, they express this devotion through an interest in theology that they use to attempt to understand the Unconquered Sun’s inner nature and through elaborate divinations that seek to learn the intricacies of his will and his plan for Creation.

Appearance: The Northern Dragon Kings are large flying reptiles that look much like long-legged, bipedal pteranodons. They stand in a slightly forward crouch and are between four and a half and five and a half feet tall, with a wingspan of between 16 and 20 feet. Their great leathery wings have dexterous long-fingered hands in the middle — the wings fold neatly back to allow the Pterok to carry and manipulate objects and to fight with weapons. Their heads have both long muzzles filled with many sharp teeth and a narrow crest like a pteranodon’s on the back that helps them to steer. They have long thin tails with a rudder-like flap at the end. Although their wings are leathery and covered in extremely short, fine fur, their necks and bodies are covered with short, brightly colored feathers like those on the bodies of some birds.

Breed Attributes: The Pterok gain +2 to Dexterity and +2 to Perception. These modifiers can raise their Dexterity and Perception above 5. However, they may only raise these two Attributes above 5 by spending either bonus or experience points. While flying, they can ascend at a rate of (Dexterity + 12) yards a turn, descend at a rate equal to 10 times this speed and fly level at a rate equal to four times their speed at ascending flight — they fly at speeds of between 40 and 55 miles per hour over long distances.

On the ground, Pterok are far slower — they cannot sprint, and their running speed is only (Dexterity + 8) yards a turn. Like other characters, Pterok can act normally and still move up to half of this distance. The Pterok have a tough hide that gives them an extra +1B/1L of soak. While they are quite adept at using many weapons, their unusual physical form prevents them from using weapons or wearing armor not made specifically for one of these Dragon Kings. Also, the unusual structure of their arms mean that they suffer a +1 difficulty to all rolls where they attempt to use tools, lockpicks, musical instruments or similar implements that are not specifically created for Dragon King hands.

Those with human body shapes similarly experience this penalty when attempting to use tool and implements designed for Dragon Kings. However, with the proper tools, Pterok can be inhumanly skilled calligraphers.

Breed Abilities: Pterok excel at feats of athletics and scholarship and at dealing with spirits. They have a natural affinity with Athletics, Lore and Occult.

Innate Weapons: Pterok cannot use their claws or their tails to attack. However, they have sharp teeth and can buffet foes with their powerful wings.

Weapon                 Spd         Acc         Dmg       Def

Bite                         +1            +0            +3L         -2

Wing Buffet          +1            +1            +4B         +0

Common Natures: Architect, Bureaucrat, Critic, Explorer, Paragon, Savant, Visionary

Sobriquets: Children of the Wind, Flying Demons, Sky Lords

Concepts: Celestial bureaucrat, martial artist, heavenly calligrapher, scavenger lord

 

 

When I am alone in the sky,

then is the time for hunting and

introspection.