The sands of Vinyata were thought to be unlivable, and yet a human culture was able to thrive there. In fact, they had no choice. As children of the former Earth Elemental and former Wretched One, Ryuujin, the Dracon were pushed to the deserts and ignored. But instead, they thrived, becoming the second biggest culture on Tikor.
Marks of Ryuujin
When the Withering King, Xavian, began his earliest assault on Tikor, he did so with the aid of his agents and twisted children, the Wretched Ones — Life Aspects and Elementals of Tikor that he kidnapped and corrupted into terrifying winged horrors known as dragons. One of his dragons, Ryuujin, immediately defected. When he touched Tikor, his origin as the Earth Elemental reconnected him to the world, breaking the brainwashing that Xavian had set on him. This betrayal ended up being one of the war’s tipping points that allowed Ishvana to repel Xavian before her ultimate sacrifice.
Across Tikor, cultures trace their origins through gods, spirits, accidents, and old choices. The Dracon trace theirs through a dragon who had once been a Wretched One. All Dracon eventually develop some sort of superficial dragon-like feature that they call a Mark of Ryuujin. In some, this manifests as patches of scaly skin, elongated canines, or claw-like fingernails. The rarest Marks are horns and dragon pupils, considered the mark of great fortune and potentially great control over Ether.
The blood knows the path. The heart knows the journey. And the soul chronicles it all. — from the Way of Masangi