Dragoon

Dragoons are individuals imbued with the power of a Dragon. A "knight of the Dragon," these legendary warriors signaled the beginning of the Dragon Campaign. By harnessing the power of a Dragon, humans and other species wrestled their freedom from the Winglies.

Lore

Origins

Over eleven thousand years ago, humans were being enslaved by Winglies: a species with vast magical abilities. They and many other species were subjugated by the Winglies, even to the point of being pitted against each other in fatal arena matches. All of that would change with the discovery of the Dragoon - a mighty warrior combining human intelligence with the destructive force of a Dragon. It is a humanoid encased in organic Dragon flesh; and equipped with potent magical power. The first Dragoon spirit was discovered in Gloriano, a country established by human rebels at the start of the Dragon Campaign.

When a Dragon dies, its eyes fuse together into a single gem - the Dragoon Spirit. This gem must be harvested within mere moments, else its power is forever lost. The gem can be harvested by anyone, but only select individuals may be recognized. If chosen, the individual may attempt to transform into a Dragoon. Every time they do so, there is a battle of wills. The spirit of the Dragon who died to make the Dragoon Spirit is inside it, and must be tamed with mental prowess by the wielder. In the event they cannot overcome the Dragon within, the latter will take control of the Dragoon form and wreak indiscriminate havoc. However, if successful, the wielder gains control of the form and can channel the Dragon's physical and magical strength in combat.

Following this discovery, Emperor Diaz, the holy emperor, declared war on the Winglies at Fort Magrad. He sent seven Dragoons to spearhead an effort to liberate humans - and other species - from the domination of Wingly rule.

Although humans gained the power of Dragons, Winglies had their own power play: Virage. These large, powerful creatures rivaled Dragons and even Dragoons. Winglies were somehow able to prevent them from fulfilling their original purpose; instead being used as puppets in the war. However, Dragoons could still compete with and overcome them.

Present

As Dart nearly completes his journey home, he comes into brief conflict with a group of Sandoran soldiers. Before the fight begins, a large Dragon appears scaring the soldiers away. It engages Dart, forcing him to retreat through the forest. A passing warrior saves his life, noting the raid on the nearby village. As Dart sprints to his home, this warrior's Dragoon Spirit activates to indicate another one was on Dart.

Abilities

The capabilities of a Dragoon will vary, but they generally have a similar pool of powers and follow key rules. Some may have a focus on offense or defense, single-target or area-of-effect attacks, healing, protection, and more. Abilities may differ between any two wielders of the same Dragoon Spirit as well. Some Dragoons have the ability to teleport. All Dragoons have a maximum flight speed of 1,200 kilometers per hour, meaning they can just barely break the sound barrier. <-- find and add reference-->

As with Dragons, a Dragoon's amount of power is determined by the number of eyes within the Dragoon Spirit. If for example a 5-eyed Dragon dies and its Dragoon Spirit is harvested, it becomes a five-eyed Dragoon Spirit.

Dragoons can also command living Dragons as their subordinates. To do so, the Dragon in question must match the Dragoon's element and have a lower number of eyes. In the historic Dragon Campaign, Rose commanded Michael, child of the Darkness Dragon which became Rose's Dragoon Spirit. They fought together in the final battle at Kadessa, where Michael assisted in defeating a large number of Virage.

Trivia

1. One of the influences for the art style of Dragoons was H.R. Giger. Earlier in development, Dragoons were slated to have a more grotesque appearance to an extent. Concept art of this style has since been found by DrewUniverse. Further, a portion of this art style is still present in the game via Miranda's torso armor in Dragoon form.