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Table of Contents
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Colors
Loper hides are often quite intriguing to unfamiliar eyes, because it seems that none of the restrictions of any breed of dragonkin apply to these strange hybrids. Their colors may be of any combination, in any degree. Their patterns may be organic or geometric, with perfect blocks and circles of color not all that uncommon. In fact, even metallic shine does not obey the usual rules, with glittering gold and bronze as common as foil like blue and red, and given the strange patterns lopers often exhibit, it would not be impossible for one to shine in jewel colors and be marked in small, facetlike structures, creating a creature that seems almost carved of living gem.
In short, if you want a loper to look like something, whether it's ridiculous or gorgeous, the height of technology or the depths of fashion, feel free to do it.
Population
Deceased
Anatomy
While a loper's build and size to relate to their wyvern parentage, they are usually described as resembling starved, small dragons, with the same long, lean builds as wyverns. They usually run between three and six meters, roughly half the size of the smallest dragon in the Weyr. However, larger sizes are not impossible, due to the uncharted interactions between dragonic and wyvern genetics. Presumably, a loper born of a bronze dragon and a large white lake wyvern would be as large as 25 meters, though no such Loper has ever been seen.
This is for the best, since a creature that large and with the human-like intelligence and memoryspan of a loper would inevitably create an unmanageable degree of chaos.
Their names are chosen either by themselves, by their handlers, or by their pack, depending on their status as children. Most will select a name ending in either -th or -sk, though there are many who choose otherwise.
They may have a large variety of strange mutations, the most common of which involve wing arrangement. Usually, a Loper has two large wings, but more than a few have existed with four large wings, or two large 'gliders' and two small 'turners', and it would not be impossible for a Loper to have an excessive arrangement of four legs and six wings, carrying draconic and Seraphim predispositions.
Another common mutation is bi-pedalism, wherein the loper has only two legs. They may or may not, however, be capable of balancing on them. In the case of inability, they usually learn to walk on wing joints, much as a bat might crawl.
Because they are ichorous creatures, wyvern venom will only result in severe boils and chemical burns, rather than immediate death by toxicity. However, enough damage dealt by the venom can result in death by trauma. Likewise because they are ichorous, fellis is toxic to them, and smaller lopers may be severely and permanently damaged by exposure, though most are too large to be effectively killed.
A loper's ability to chew stone and breath fire is individual, with as many lopers exhibiting the skill as not.
Wing Anatomy
Bonding
Lopers bond at a Level Two strength.
A Loper, like a wyvern or wher, is capable of surviving and thriving unbonded. In the wild, they may bond at birth to their clutch mother, but it is not uncommon for eggs to simply be left alone and hatch without any sort of bonding opportunity.
Again like a wher, a loper may bond at any point in its life, at any age. There is no direct correlation between bond strength and age, size, or anything else. Like with dragons, Loper bonds seem to be determined on some unspecified scale of innate compatibility.
However, Lopers have a danger and unique ability, shared by no other creature.
Fake Bonding
Lopers are capable of creating false bonds, which can easily fool humans and other dragonkin into believing they are real. They have all the hallmarks of traditional bonds, including emotional transfer, and opening the mind to the creature. However, they are not truly bi directional. The human's mind will react to the bond as to any other, and while they may be capable of consciously hiding things from their loper, they will not be able to resist a Loper's inquisition into their mind if they are distracted or unconscious.
The loper, however, is always in distinct control of what he or she allows across this bond, allowing them to create and maintain fantastic illusions of openness with their bonded.
Worst of all, however, Lopers may break this bond at any time, and bond to multiple humans at once.
Humans who are subjected to a broken Loper bond usually respond very similarly to Wherless and Dragonless, though often with a sense of betrayal rather than loss, depending on the strength of the imitated bond. Some may parallel the experience to a form of rape wherein a person is taken advantage of by someone they believed to be someone else. This is not the most graceful parallel, but it does serve its purpose.
Only one in five Lopers is capable of falsifying a dragon-strength bond.
Mating and Clutches
Lopers may mate with other lopers, with dragons, or with greater wyverns. Individuals may have preferences for species, and in some cases, may developed partially or completely exclusive partnerships, but this is unusual.
Lopers usually mate by race, though some may choose to follow Wyvern habits, and mate by battle for dominance. In the event of a race, suitors will be expected to prove their prowess both in the air, and on the ground, so while their matings are referred to as 'flights' they have considerable similarities to wher runs in this respect.
Female lopers will clutch anywhere from one to twelve eggs, with three being the most common number. Of these eggs, there is a high chance of stillbirth, due to the hybridized nature of the loper. Half the eggs in a clutch hatching is considered quite a success. It is more common for only one in three eggs to hatch, and this is possibly the origin of the tendency to lay lcutches of three.
Abilities
Lopers are NOT a Hear-All species. If this fact changes, you will be notified.
At this time, you may decide on an individual basis whether or not you loper is suject to Hearing by the Hear-Alls of Dragons and Wyverns.