Dragunity Knights

The Dragunity Knights (, Doragunitī Naitsu lit. Dragon-Blooded Knight Brigade) were a special tribe of warriors who invoked the "true power of a dragon" from four centuries ago up until the present day; they were not wiped out per-se, but rather, as the beings known as Dragons slowly but surely vanished, the Dragunity Knights lost much of their power and their tribe went into a sharp decline until right before the New Era, where those who also used the power of dragonkind as well as the Dragunity Knights had almost disappeared, at which point, they were rendered completely extinct- with only one mortal carrying on their blood and legacy.

History
The Dragunity Knights were an ancient tribe of people whom were "blessed by dragonkind". Right before the Dragon Civil War, the peaceful dragons whom roamed Earth Land settled down in numerous locations; one of which was an island known as Serpens (サーペンズ, Sāpenzu). There, a man known as Edward Draconis (エドワード・ドラコニス, Edowādo Dorakonisu) would meet the Windstorm Dragon Brongaa (暴風竜・ブロンガー, Bofūryū Burongā), with whom he would form a bond with over a half-century period, with their connection establishing a link between the Magic Origins of the two- some of Brongaa's powers would flow into Edward's own skillset, as he would become the first of what would eventually be many to do so- Edward had become a knight who, with his lance in hand and Brongaa at his side, struck at foes with the ferocity of a draconic being, riding the skies like a dragon in flight. Over time, the number of Dragunity Knights expanded from Edward alone to thousands of others, with all of them banding together to form their own clan who allied to nobody but themselves and the dragons. They were said to have the "blood and soul of dragonkind, but the body of a mere mortal".

Tales of their exploits echoed throughout the lands, as the Dragunity Knights were originally referred to as the strongest warriors in Minstrel, and were known throughout the land as the only people who could truly achieve harmony between humanity and dragonkind; by working in tandem with the dragon mounts and utilizing the "powers of a dragon" (竜の力, Ryū no Ryoku)- their lances surge forward like the claws and fangs of a dragon while darting around in the air, giving off the appearance of flying like they ascended to the skies with motions similar to the powerful wing-beats of the majestic wyrms which they so admired. Due to their connections with dragonkind, the Dragunity Knights could speak the ancient Dragontongue (竜語, Ryūgō), which allowed them to initiate a power similar to the Dragon's Roar known as hyperresonance. Indeed, during the Dragon Civil War itself, the Dragunity Knights, together with their trusty mounts, fought for the harmony that their culture had given them- they used their lances like an extension of the land, descending upon the enemy dragons with every bit of their incredible strength behind each blow while piercing the scaled hides of their flying lizard enemies with explosive penetrative power.

However, there are no official records of a Dragunity Knight actually slaying a dragon- but there is a legend passed down through the centuries of a mystical Dragunity Knight known as the Azurite Dragoon (, Azuraito Doragūn lit. Exalted Dragon Knight of Legend), who slew one hundred dragons after their dragon mount was felled in battle. It was said that the Azurite Dragoon's soul would reincarnate one day into the body of the "final hope of the dragonblooded". As centuries passed and the concept of "dragons" died out, the Dragunity Knights lost their "wings" to speak- this, and with the advent of other powerful magicians flooding Minstrel, the Holy Knights were formed and the Dragunity Knights were integrated into the Sacred Order of Holy Knights. By the time of the New Era, which rolled in after the Ishgar vs. Alvarez conflict, due to everything mentioned above, the power of a Dragunity Knight had been diminished significantly, and instead some time beforehand, they began to train their bodies and expanding what they could do with what they had at hand instead of relying solely on a draconic link as tribute to their former partners and steeds.

Even so, the prophesy of the Azurite Dragoon was still held within their hearts, hoping that one day the reincarnated hero would rise and help them regain their former glory. While only five Dragunity Knights existed during the New Era, all of them except one were wiped out when the Vulture Empire made their move after trapping Minstrel with a false-flag operation. This remnant of the order would claw their way up from the bottom to reach the top again, restoring the name of the Dragunity Knights while searching far and wide for a worthy successor.

Culture
Of all the things that are symbolic of Earth Land's disturbing obsession with anything dragon-related, few are more recognized than the Dragunity Knights. Born from a strange, yet coincidental merger between humanity and dragons as the first to get along, these powerful warriors developed an aerial style of combat, working in tandem with their dragon partner and mount in order to slay anything that threatened their order. Ever since their inception, the Dragunity Knights were deeply spiritual and religious in nature, with numerous sophisticated laws and customs; though an emphasis on combat was always there no matter the era. Interestingly, unlike many Earth Land cultures, even in the present day, the Dragunity Knights were surprisingly accepting of everyone- it didn't matter the race of somebody, or if they were a criminal or even had a different upbringing. The Dragunity Knights would accept anyone who wanted to join their tribe into their fold as long as the dragon god shone down upon these people and/or they were capable of incredible combat prowess. The viewed everyone who was a Dragunity Knight, no matter any differences between them, as equals to those who were born into their tribe; those referred to as Dragunity Knights were simply bound by beliefs and culture rather than anything else- they strongly believed that a person was defined by their actions rather than anything related to their birth.

War itself was regarded as an offering to their dragons, who they revered as gods- the dragon god, known as Carnage Dragon Fafnir (修羅竜・ファヴニール, Shuraryū Favunīru) that they worshipped, in their eyes, was an embodiment of the opportunity to change through destruction, whereas, in their opinion, a world where these gods of carnage known as dragons were oppressed by humanity would result in eternal stagnation and inactivity. For a member of a Dragunity Knights, engaging in battle was like breathing- it was their everything. It is due to this drive for combat that many of the Dragunity Knights' earliest conflicts were seen as holy wars- indeed, in the Dragon Civil War, they took no side, only fighting anyone who threatened their way of life- even in the closing days of their culture's existence, the desire for combat of the Dragunity Knights never seemed to fade, with the need for slaughter being refined into a drive to do one's best no matter what. After the Dragon Civil War, many Dragunity Knights would become bounty hunters and mercenaries, selling their services to whoever would offer them the most desirable amount of cash. This bounty hunter gig would quickly become ingrained within the culture and most others' perception of them for centuries, to the point that many saw the Dragunity Knights as nothing but "dragon-obsessed nutjobs with a hard-on for killing". Despite this, while mercenary work was a major part of their income means, just as many Dragunity Knights took on numerous other jobs, ranging from more combat-inclined ones such as bodyguards to more domestic ones like blacksmiths and managing fast food chains for anywhere that they lived.

A Dragunity Knight was said to do anything within the realm of plausibility in order to become "one with dragonkind"; especially in battle, and they would craft weaponry and armour designed to fulfill that purpose. Their armour, forged through rare materials as well as a single dragon's scale, were hewn in the shape of their gods and were meant to invoke the imagery of dragons, including helmets shaped like a dragon's head, spikes, and wing and scale designs- these protective gear were referred to as Scalemail (, Sukeirumeiru lit. Full-Body Armour of Dragon Scales). Without exception, a Dragunity Knight wielded a special lance composed of the same materials as their armour while the head was fashioned in the shape of a dragon's head, as to evoke the symbolism of a dragon biting down on the knight's opponents- the lances were called, rather inventively, Dragonlances (, Doragonransu lit. Divine Dragon Lance). Both the Scalemail and the Dragonlances were tempered through dragon fire, resulting in the Dragunity Knight's armaments becoming much tougher and more powerful than countless other forms of weaponry and defensive measures. Early on in their existence, Dragunity Knights and dragons themselves worked in tandem, with a dragon choosing their partner- they would live and grow alongside one another, battling together; if a Dragunity Knight lost their partner dragon in any scenario, then they would be refused to be granted another one; resulting in them being shamed and avoided by the rest of the tribe. However, as dragons became all but extinct, while weakened significantly, the Dragunity Knights became more "equal" so to speak.

All Dragunity Knights are fluent in Dragontongue (竜語, Ryūgō), which is the official language of dragonkind. In human language, they seem almost uncomfortable with the dialect, as many of them spoke short, direct sentences with rough grammar- some even referred to themselves in third person. However, the last living Dragunity Knight speaks English normally. In order to speak in Dragontongue, ever since their inception, a Dragunity Knight's vocal cords were modified through the magic link with the dragons; these changes were kept in a newborn baby so that the ability to speak the language would be kept throughout the ages. The modification of their vocal cords resulted in them transforming into Dragon Cords (竜帯, Ryūtai) which are known to produce a much louder sound than regular human vocal cords- they also give a Dragunity Knight outstanding lung capacity and amplify any sound and vibrations that a speaker is the cause of. Due to the volume of a dragon's voice thanks to the Dragon Cords, it gives off the appearance that they are constantly shouting- which is the basis of the hyperresonance technique; which is more commonly known as the Dragon's Roar- the hyperresonance brings power of any and all forms into shouts. The script of the dragontongue is quite similar to cuneiform; and to an outsider, dragontongue sounds similar to gibberish and made-up sounds- then again, what language doesn't? But even so, dragontongue is quite difficult to learn as one would be required to forget everything about language and learn it from the ground up in order to fully comprehend the weight and true meaning of the words spoken.

The Six Draconic Laws (六竜法, Rokuryūhō) were the core of what it meant to be a Dragunity Knight. They defined the lives of each Dragunity Knight, and anyone who sought to become a member of the tribe was required to follow the laws as the Dragunity Knights believed that they gave the tribe a direction and a purpose. These laws were "always wear the Scale Mail and wield one's lance", "always speak the dragontongue", "always defend oneself and one's family", "raise one's children as Dragunity Knights", "contribute to the tribe's welfare", and "assist a fellow Dragunity Knight no matter what"—all of the Six Draconic Laws are rigorously followed by most of the tribe, refusing to integrate outside influences into their traditions out of fears of modernization smothering what they once held as sacred, teaching countless generations to abide by the Six Draconic Laws no matter what. People who became Dragunity Knights that did not follow the Six Draconic Laws were considered to be ignorant of their "glorious culture" and betrayers, thereby stripped of their "dragon soul". Because of this, many knights feared breaking the Six Draconic Laws as they believed that since their soul was degraded to that of a mere mortal; they would be refused if they attempted to enter the gates of the Dragon Valley, which was said to be the afterlife of dragonkind. However, it is little-known that the only one of the Six Draconic Laws that could be broken was the requirement to assist a fellow Dragunity Knight, but only if the people assisting them had a grudge.

It should be noted that the Dragunity Knights placed little importance on birthplace or citizenship, and as such, they had no actual government; ranks and statuses were done away with as they believed that somebody's actions and achievements were what defined them instead of being born into a superior family, both of possessions and talent. Every Dragunity Knight, no matter their circumstances, was treated equally until they broke one of the Six Draconic Laws or betrayed the people- in the earlier days, this also extended to the loss of their dragon partner, but this died out as dragons did. Multiple clans were led by a senior member of the tribe who were chosen to become the Holy Dragon Sage for their wisdom; though despite the Dragunity Knights' emphasis on achievements, a dim-witted Dragunity Knight could not be chosen as a Holy Dragon Sage, as leading a group required intelligence and a superior wit- if an idiot who was good at destruction and nothing else was the leader, then a clan could quickly be run to the ground; something that nearly every member of each tribe was well-aware of. The cooperation between the clans was the closest thing one could consider the Dragunity Knights to have resembling a government- instead of proper places for discussion of politics, a Holy Dragon Sage would meet with another if they just saw them walking around anywhere or organize a monthly meet-up at a café, usually over drinks.

The Dragunity Knights were known to be rather nomadic in nature, moving from place to place when they deemed fit. This habit was born from sheer survival instinct, as even before the Dragon Civil War, many sinister figures wished to hunt down the entire tribe and slaughter them so that they would not pose a significant threat to anyone- as it was well known that if there was conflict, the Dragunity Knights would follow and everything would go from bad to worse- there are actually many Dragunity Knights who have never visited Serpens. Even after Earth Land had become relatively peaceful in comparison to the hectic days of old, the Dragunity Knights would keep this behaviour close to their heart, partially out of cultural requirements, but mostly because even during the 'peace time' where people simply turned their anger on Dark Magicians, the power of Dragunity Knights was highly sought after. It is said that a Dragunity Knight has an enhanced sense of smell when compared to regular humans, meaning that they have a similar sense of smell to the dragons that they worshipped, and they could weed out any people seeking integration into their culture just so they could kill them, in an instant as to avoid making tragic mistakes- for this reason, they can afford to be trusting as they can instantly recognize who could become an enemy and who was peaceful. Generally, a Dragunity Knight never expects to live in one place forever, and for this reason, they usually don't own a large number of material possessions.

Because they are isolated from other cultures and not really aware of other peoples' beliefs, instead ignoring them in favour of their own when having to interact with people outside the Dragunity Knight tribes, it is a common misconception that all Dragunity Knights were anti-social violent killers and would vehemently refuse to acknowledge another's beliefs. However, people who actually interacted with a Dragunity Knight themselves would say that they are considerably kinder than their reputation had brought many to expect. As long as people who interacted with the tribe spoke their mind and always told the truth, accepted any form of nourishment when offered to them, always made eye contact with a member of the tribe, removed their shoes when entering their homes, paid their debts, looked after children, whether they were a knight's or their own, and respected the elders, then as long as these criteria were fulfilled, then it was extremely unlikely that a Dragunity Knight would actively harm somebody, no matter their disposition or alliance outside of the battlefield. Not only this, every waking moment spent outside of combat or when the Six Draconic Laws were meant to be followed, was spent enjoying life, indulging themselves in whatever was most desirable at the moment- while they refused to integrate elements of other culture into their own, they had no problem with fooling around by playing games and taking part in sports that were from different ways of life.

General Powers and Abilities
Immense Combat Prowess: The Dragunity Knights were renowned throughout Earth Land, far and wide, as some of the most proficient fighters on the planet to have ever existed. Due to the culture of the Dragunity Knights having war as a major part of its way of a life, one thing that remains consistent through the ages is that they naturally evolve for combat; every aspect of their biological structure has been enhanced and can be taken advantage of in combat- more detail on that is below, however. Generally skilled in hand-to-hand combat and magical manipulation, they are powerful enough, but where a Dragunity Knight displays the full potential of their upbringing and teachings is with a lance in hand. They wield lances as if they were a natural extension of their body, descending upon their enemies with their entire might behind each and every blow while doing things that nobody else can with these weapons- controlling them telekinetically without using Telekinesis, for example, while also transforming the immediate vicinity into a vicious maelstrom of death and oblivion just by swinging their lances around; besides the coveted hyperresonance ability, the signature technique of a Dragunity Knight is to leap to touch the clouds like the wing-beats of a dragon propelled them upwards, avoiding current attacks aimed at them, before descending spear-first in an attack known as Aerial Rave. A Dragunity Knight often utilizes their mastery of the lance alongside their natural toughness to charge in like a berserker, ignoring all sorts of attacks launched towards them while taking down enemies effortlessly; due to their mastery over controlling magical energies, they can enhance this deadliness further with their Dragon Techniques. Every Dragunity Knight is known to display a remarkable capacity to adapt when in the heat of battle- if the enemy they are facing is much stronger than them, then as the fight progresses, the gap between their strength slowly but surely shrinks.

Enhanced Biological Structure: With the first Dragunity Knights possessing a link between the human fighter's Magic Origin and their dragon partner's Magic Origin, several of the dragon's skills filtered down into the human's Magic Origin and induced a minor transformation in their biology- while it isn't as drastic as a user of those who were taught magic by dragons, it was enough to grant a Dragunity Knight enhanced physical attributes which allowed them to match and overpower most other combatants who didn't have an enhanced bodily structure- generally, even right after birth a baby who was born into the Dragunity Knight tribe could hold their head up by themselves without any effort. The biological structure of a Dragunity Knight can be considered unique in that despite in the age of dragons no longer being around to form a link and pass down their traits, thanks to most Dragunity Knights staying inside their own clans and selectively breeding so that they would still retain most of their power and this would be passed down to their offspring- indeed, the draconic traits that they have obtained have never weakened- due to the influence of dragonkind, the changes in their biology include slitted pupils and sharp incisors. A Dragunity Knight has an enhanced sense of smell, compared to a dragon's (what else); this has been bolstered to the point that a member of a clan can sniff out lies so they know when somebody is being deceitful. Their eyesight also gives them night vision and they can see from fourty kilometers away without any assistance, whether natural or not. Their physical prowess outstrips that of most other races in any developmental period- a child Dragunity Knight can shrug off bullets and crush large boulders with a single finger. A fully realized Dragunity Knight is known to smash through all sorts of alloys with ease; they can shrug off high-powered spells, and last, but not least, they are capable of outrunning all sorts of magic-enhanced speeds- an adult Dragunity Knight has been shown to be able to leap as to touch the clouds. Born for battle, each Dragunity Knight possesses a potent healing factor which can naturally allow them to heal from grievous wounds in a few hours, as compared to what would normally take a human months or years. Indeed, because of these traits, the Dragunity Knights, despite their diminished numbers, produced a great many of those both blessed with a superior body.

Masterful Magical Energy Control: Dragunity Knights, as a whole, are shown to possess a natural affinity for utilizing magical energies in any way that they wish- as long as they are capable of imagining it being done, effectively, the sky is the limit. They are capable of bringing out the power of their own magic-enhanced attacks to the utmost maximum as well as stunt their enemy's own magical prowess. Dragunity Knights are capable of accessing the Ley lines (, Rei Rain lit. Dragon's Vein), a virtually untapped, raw source of magical power that has filtered through the depths of the earth for years on end- they are alignments between places of magical power; while normally, only Dragons and Dragon Slayers can tap into them to gain their powers, due to being the result of humanity taking upon draconic traits, like dragons, they can access the Ley lines whenever they wish. They are capable of drawing in ambient eternano from the atmosphere, and instead of absorbing it into their magical origin, a Dragunity Knight is able to manipulate the eternano for offensive, defensive, and supportive purposes in any way that the knight wishes; enabling them to harness their magical power more efficiently and utilize it in a variety of different ways; all of which incorporate the focusing of magic power into certain areas in order to achieve numerous and highly varied effects such as increased attack, defense, and speed, or feeding extra eternano into attacks to give them an enormous boost in power. Generally, because of this, a Dragunity Knight has an easier time collecting this stray eternano in environments with higher concentrations of it such as the area where a vicious battle between others has progressed. To a Dragunity Knight, there is no difference between simple eternano and their own magical energy as a source of power. A Dragunity Knight's eternano prowess functions as a defense against illusions due to their sheer mastery over it, making them all but immune to everything except the strongest of fabrications; and even then, she is capable of shrugging them off effortlessly.

Dragon Arts (竜技, Ryūgi): The Dragon Arts are a Dragunity Knight's main method of combat; they are a series of techniques which were hewn from the properties of a dragon that were bestowed upon them by their dragon partners and their natural mastery over the method of changing the supernatural energy known as magical power. The Dragon Arts are activated by the Dragunity Knight drawing the ambient eternano within the atmosphere towards themselves while expelling their magical energy from their Magic Origin, before utilizing Shape Transformation in order to bring the effect they desire forward. Generally, a Dragunity Knight displays several techniques and applications that can leave magicians with more sheer power than a Dragunity Knight confused, for example, a knight is capable of projecting their magical energy as unnamed spheres or waves of pure magical energy which can deal a fair amount of damage, ropes to bind enemies, jet-bursts of speed, or they can use it to boost their defenses by wrapping it around their entire body, serving as a barrier of sorts against both regular and magic attacks, as well as working to protect them from opposing magic aura pressure; these attacks are normally done by the Dragunity Knight projects their aura outwards with every strike that they unleash, releasing corporal energy in the shape of the dragon equivalent of the limb they strike with; for example, their punching or stabbing forward with their lance is augmented by a draconic claw of energy that overlays their arm. Each thrust of their lance is accompanied by a dragon's head formed from magical energy that only enhances the force of the attack- the speed with which these apparitions form are akin to a laser. A knight more often than not utilizes this skill in order to launch beams of energy, disrupt the opponent's eternano gathering, and many more functions- effectively, the sky is the limit for a Dragunity Knight in regards to these miraculous supernatural energies.
 * Dragon Tamer (, Doragon Teimā lit. Dragon Riding Control Technique): Dragon Tamer is a unique Dragon Art in that it is not utilized for combat purposes; rather, it was a mainstay of their way of life until the dragons vanished. In order to induce Dragon Tamer, the user, upon mounting a dragon as to ride it, would utilize several thick, indestructible ropes of magical energy –represented as dragon fangs wrapping around their legs and back as well as digging into the dragon's backside- in order to stabilize their body. Dragons were known to be exceptionally difficult to ride, even if the dragon allowed a user to use them as a mount (as is the case of the Dragunity Knights), as their sharp scales would pierce bodies and the extreme velocity that they would move at, in some cases breaking the sound barrier, would result in a rider being haphazardly flung off of their mount. As such, the Dragon Tamer Dragon Art was developed in order to compensate for whatever happens while riding a being of dragonkind.

Hyperresonance (, Haipārezonansu lit. Calamitous Dragon Battle Cry): Hyperresonance, more commonly known as Dragon's Roar (龍の咆哮, Ryū no Hōkō) when utilized by a Dragon or Dragon Slayer, is the ultimate proof of a Dragon; while Dragon Slayers can utilize a Dragon's Roar without knowledge of dragontongue, it is well-known that with mastery of the language of dragonkind, it can do much more than "shoot an elemental blast from the mouth". When utilizing hyperresonance, the user, no matter they be Dragon, Dragon Slayer, or a Dragunity Knight, utilize their attribute of being in touch with their own magical power and their tremendous lung capacity in order to induce the Elemental Consumption Method (要素消式, Yōsoshōshiki); which, as the name would ever so subtly indicate, allows them to consume elemental energies through their mouths to replenish magical power, become stronger, and restore their stamina; this is only made possible due to a dragon-influenced being's tremendous lung capacity, which enables them to devour things that would be hazardous to any other race. This allows them to gather and condense ambient eternano from within the atmosphere and store it momentarily within their mouth- from here, the user attunes the eternano gathered by merging them with their energy in order to induce the usual fusion to being power into the current realm; for Dragons and Dragon Slayers, this allows them to transform the magical energy produced into their own element which varies from user to user. Once this is done, in order to unleash the magical energy, the user utilizes the Dragon Cords (竜帯, Ryūtai), a dragon's equivalent of vocal cords which produce a louder and harsher sound while amplifying anything emitted from their mouth tremendously, resulting in a massive blast of energy spewing forth from their mouth towards the target; the properties of each blast can be modified as much as the user wishes, meaning that no two hyperresonance beams are the same. Thanks to their knowledge of dragontongue, Dragons and the Dragunity Knights are capable of utilizing their mastery over the dead language as "words of power" by vocalizing them through the hyperresonance technique in order to creature powerful magical effects which range from projecting blasts of all elemental energies like fire and ice; or just by shouting, they can unleash a sonic wave which deals immense concussive damage, sending enemies hurtling away- there are more exotic uses, such as shouting the name of a place where one wants to go, resulting in teleportation towards that area, and to reinforce their bodies. It is said that there are countless applications of the hyperresonance because of this.

Trivia

 * The Dragunity Knights hold a basis in the Mandalorans from Star Wars Legends, the Cetra from Final Fantasy VII, the Dragonborn from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and most obviously, the Dragoons from the Final Fantasy in general.