Overview
The Prismatic Dragon is the rare hybrid born of two or more elemental dragon bloodlines, and it is the dragon that refused to choose. Each carries the power of multiple elements, and the multiple is the whole of the dragon's own, because the dragon that is two elements is the dragon the eye does not measure. It is perhaps one in a thousand dragon births, and the thousand is the whole of the rarity, because the rarity that is one in a thousand is the rarity the eye does not count. Where the pure elemental dragon is one element, the prismatic is the argument of the elements, and the argument is the whole of the day. And in the oldest telling the element is a door and the door opens on the god: the prismatic carries the power of several gods, and the several-gods is the whole of the forbidden, because the dragon that holds several gods can grow to a size the eye does not measure.
Habitat
The Prismatic Dragon keeps the edge of the planes — the bare stone and the long, cold patience of The Elemental Roost. It is the roost's own, and the roost is the dragon's, and the dragon keeps the roost the way the roost keeps its stone. It needs three things: a hoard that does not fail, a plane that does not end, and a long enough life to become the argument. It is settled at the roost with the other dragons, but the prismatic keeps its own perch, because the prismatic that keeps the perch is the prismatic the eye does not count. A prismatic dragon that has not crossed the planes in a century is called the one who forgot the choice, because the choice is the whole of the dragon's own.
Appearance
The Prismatic Dragon is the great, two-toned shape — long in the body, high in the crest, with the head set forward and the whole of it reading as one long line from snout to tail-tip. It stands 6 m at the shoulder and carries 4,000 kg to 6,000 kg, broad through the chest and the haunches, heavy with the two-tone scale and the voice that is two voices at once. The scale is the mark — the base is the colour of the first parent, and the second parent shows in a band along the flank and the wing, so that a Steam Dragon is the deep blue of the water with a band of fire-red along the flank, and a Magma Dragon is the dark umber of the earth with a band of molten orange along the wing. The pattern is the whole of the argument, because the argument that is two colours is the argument the eye does not measure. The eye is the mark of the breed — one colour of the first parent, one of the second, split down the middle, and the split is the whole of the taking, because the split that is two colours is the split the eye does not measure. The crest is the mark of the line, and the crest is the whole of the day. The Steam Dragon carries the line in the blue and the red; the Magma Dragon in the umber and the orange; the Mist Dragon in the grey and the pale; the Void Dragon in the black and the white; the Toxic Dragon in the green and the yellow; the Sandstorm Dragon in the tan and the grey. Elders are marked by a scale gone worn and a crest worn thin and honest — an old prismatic is one the roost still lets pass, because the roost that has let an old dragon pass once lets it pass always. The dragon wears no clothing, and the not-wearing is the whole of the dragon's own, because the dragon that is the roost's own does not wear the roost's own.
Behaviour
The Prismatic Dragon is the two-toned, patient thing, and the patience is the whole of the behaviour. It does not fight the way the pure elemental fights, and it does not need to, because the two-toned is the whole of the argument, and the argument is the whole of the day. It is solitary at the peace, and the solitary is the whole of the law, because the prismatic that is solitary is the prismatic the eye does not count. In the argument of the elements the prismatic is a different dragon — the voice is two voices at once, and the two-voices is the whole of the taking. Its existence is often kept secret, as its power attracts both worshippers and hunters, and the keeping-secret is the whole of the defense, because the dragon that is kept secret is the dragon the eye does not count. The two signature quirks: the two-tone scale that shifts with the element the dragon is using, and the split eye that is two colours at once, because the two-colours is the whole of the argument.
Natural Weapons & Defenses
The scale is the whole of the defense, and the two-tone scale is the whole of the argument. It is the colour of the first parent and the band of the second, and the band is the whole of the defense, because the band that is two colours is the band the eye does not measure. The breath is the whole of the taking — the dual element, and the dual is the whole of the argument, because the breath that is two elements is the breath the eye does not escape. The prismatic does not fight the small thing, and the small thing does not find the prismatic, and the not-finding is the whole of the law, because the prismatic that is the roost's own is the prismatic the eye does not count. The wing is the second answer, and the two-tone wing is the whole of the flight, because the wing that is two colours is the wing the eye does not measure.
Magic Alignment
Innate, two domains — the prismatic is the one beast that carries two domains at once, because the two-domains is the whole of the argument. The Steam Dragon carries Fire and Water, and the Steam is the whole of the taking. The Magma Dragon carries Fire and Earth, and the Magma is the whole of the argument. The Mist Dragon carries Water and Air, and the Mist is the whole of the defense. The Void Dragon carries Dark and Light, and the Void is the whole of the day. The Toxic Dragon carries Poison and Venom, and the Toxic is the whole of the taking. The Sandstorm Dragon carries Earth and Air, and the Sandstorm is the whole of the argument. It has the Dual-Breath — the breath that is two elements at once, and the two is the whole of the taking. It has the All-Languages — the voice that speaks every language known and unknown, and the speaking is the whole of the day. It has the Refusal — the power that comes from the dragon that refused to choose, and the refusal is the whole of the argument. The prismatic has the word, and the word is the whole of the dragon's own.
Society
The Prismatic Dragon is the solitary thing, and the solitary is the whole of the family. It keeps its own perch at the roost, and the perch is the whole of the home, because the home that is the perch is the home the roost keeps. The prismatic does not keep a pack, and the not-having is the whole of the dragon's own, because the prismatic that is the roost's own does not keep a pack, and the not-keeping is the whole of the law. Its existence is often kept secret, and the keeping-secret is the whole of the defense, because the defense that is secret is the defense the eye does not count. The prismatic that has crossed the planes is the prismatic the roost does not count, and the not-counting is the whole of the rarity.
Culture & Lore
The roost's folk count the prismatic by the two-tone scale. A two-tone scale on the perch means a prismatic is home, and the home is the whole of the promise. A two-tone scale on the wing means a prismatic is arguing, and the arguing is the whole of the day. The voice is two voices at once, and the two-voices is the whole of the law. The hunter does not take the prismatic, and the not-taking is the whole of the law, because the prismatic that is taken is the roost's own, and the roost's own is the roost. The old ones say the prismatic is the dragon that refused to choose, and in refusing, became something greater than either of its parents, and the greater is the whole of the argument. The first prismatic dragon broke the coast — The Shattered Coast — and the breaking is the whole of the law, because since that day the prismatic is forbidden in the new world, and the forbidden is the whole of the distance, because the dragon that holds the power of several gods and grows to a size the eye does not measure is the dragon the world does not count.
Home
They keep The Elemental Roost, the bare stone perch at the edge of the planes, where the long, cold patience is the only law and the prismatic keeps its own perch. The roost is the dragon's own, and the dragon's own is the roost.
Relations
The Prismatic Dragon is the roost's own, and the roost's dragons keep their distance at the perch, and the distance is the whole of the law, because the prismatic that is the roost's own is the roost's own. The Dragons keep the two-tone promise with the prismatic, and the keeping is the whole of the bond, because the prismatic that is the roost's own is the one the roost keeps. The hunters of the roost take the hoard and not the prismatic, and the not-taking is the whole of the law. The Forgotten of the roost keep the prismatic as the roost's argument, and the keeping is the whole of the bond, because the argument that is the roost's own is the one the roost keeps.
In the Story
In the current story, the Prismatic Dragon is the argument on the roost — the two-toned thing Uaellaen writes about when the element is the dragon's. The Forgotten keep their distance at the perch, and the distance has held for two seasons. This season a two-tone scale crossed the roost at the hour the dragon was not there, and the crossing is the whole of the warning, because the scale that crosses when the dragon is not there is the scale the roost has not counted, and the not-counting is the whole of the loss. The roost is keeping the stone, and the keeping is the page the camp has not been shown.