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Atma Shinryu

* Appearance: Atma is an eastern dragon with light black fur with a grey scaly underbelly. A long mane trailing the entirety of his back, stretching from his head to the tip of his tail. His mane is adorned by highlights that include all the colors of the rainbow, beginning with red and ending with violet. These highlight are broken into 3 segments, from the top of his head to the beginning of his arms, from the middle of his body to a bit of distance beyond the top of his legs, and the start where his body begins to become thinner to the end of his tail.

His arms and legs are relatively the same size, with his legs being just a bit larger and meatier. His hands and feet have 4 fingers only, with black colored claws at the end of them. 6 grey ridges adorned the back of each of his hands and feet.

Along his back on his dark fur he has a few slash like patches of darker fur, two at the end of the first segment of the highlight on his mane, two in the middle of the segments 1 and 2, and two more at the beginning of the second segment of highlights. 3 more slashes appear around the third segments of highlight below the green and light blue colors, two thin ones and a large one in the middle of the other 2.

His horns are right above his eyes, with round ears with pointy ends right behind them. His muzzle is rather rectangular in nature, 4 grey ridges adoring the top of his muzzle right behind his black nose. The fur at the tip of his chin is grown out downwards a bit, making it look like a small beard. On the back of his muzzle, black patches of darker fur, same color as the non-highlighted portions of his mane, grow below his cheeks.

His eyes are usually concealed by a pair of rather dark shades, hiding one of his most peculiar characteristic: His eyes, rather than having a sclera, iris and pupils, instead are a swirling mass of colorful lights, encompassing the colors of the rainbows, same as his highlights. These eyes are in his default state, though he is capable of making them look like regular eyes. These swirling eyes of his are actually his colorful soul being shown through his eyes sockets.



* Background: Atma was one of the the original sacred dragons of the land named Vermiria, each of them being attuned the concepts of the compositions of a mortal.

Ashenan the dragon of nature, attuned to Mana,
Ishnrant the dragon of earth, attuned to Chi,
Atma the dragon of spirit, attuned to the Soul,

The three dragons considered themselves siblings and where equals in power, relatively to their specialties. Each of them where seen as venerable and mighty beings by the creatures of the land, each of them acting as guides to the people in their own ways, though passively so as none of them actively seek out followers. Atma himself acted as dominant creature to the lesser mortals, and tended to impose his will upon them. This attitude had a habit of putting him at odds with his brother Ashenan, who lead his followers under the philosophy of guiding them towards, what he believed, was the right track but letting them build their own way in life. His relationship with sister Ishrant was one of mutual joy between the two instead, as the hot-blooded, excitable and powerful dragoness mashed well with the charismatic and charming black dragon.

All the three dragons existed as the worshipped dragons of the land for a relatively long time, but it wasn't something meant to remain. A certain tension between Atma and Ashenan rose after a certain fateful event, that being the death of their sister Ishrant. It wasn't a cold brother murder, but rather, a friendly duel gone awry. A Mortal, a pupil to Ishrant herself, had apparently rose to be near her equal when it came to the manipulation of chi and strength, in order words, martial arts. This pupil wanted to prove himself to his master, but the ensuing struggle ended up killing them both. Vermiria had lost one of its sacred beast.

Both Ashenan and Atma where crestfallen at these events, though Atma's indignation was something he himself could barely contain. The two of them came to the same conclusion in this regard: They saw that mortals where creatures that needed to be guided so that such an event would not happen again. While Ashenan decided to remain in his path to impart wisdom upon them and allow them to build their own right path, though being a bit more active in his teachings, Atma instead saw that they needed to be guided more intimately, namely by more actively exerting his own will upon them.  He wasn't necessarily planning to be tyrant, but this view was fueled by anger over losing the one creature he saw dear above all else. He sought to convert others to be his spirals followers as he inherently had the power to do. As all creatures connected with him, while they retain their selves, their will, Atma was capable of making them obey.


Atma was becoming a menace to the entire land where Ashenan was concerned, fueling a sense of fear and uneasiness in the general consciousness of the people, fear of becoming a creature who had no choice but to obey Atma. Ultimately, Ashenan decided that his brother could not be allowed to continue on like this. One fateful day Ashenan confronted his brother, and with the help of a powerful mortal, a disciple of the dragon of nature, and a relic owned by said creature, Atma was defeated. Ashenan didn't ended Atma's life however, as he wasn't about to kill his brother, nor rob Vermiria of another of its sacred beast. Instead Atma was punished. He was stripped of the majority of his full powers as well as his true giant form, being locked into a bipedal, humanoid shape resembling his original appearance. With his powers sealed, so where the creature under his influence lost. In that single moment Atma lost his power, his pride, his followers, and his ego.

Under this state, Atma's rage didn't secede, but grew instead from resentment towards his brother. Not only had he lost his powers and most if not all of the creatures who followed him, but he had lost his status as a sacred beast of the land. Crushed with anger towards Ashenan and sorrow towards Ishrant, Atma became recluse, hiding in the shadows of the land for many generations, becoming alone and eventually forgotten, only being spoken of in legends and children's tales as a boogeyman of the land. Vermiria lost its second sacred beast to the sands of time.

Atma didn't made any major moves until Vermiria was under civil threat, as the age of the eradication magic occurred and Ashenan's legacy was being threatened. Living for so long in shame and loneliness after what happened, Atma had full intention of taking revenge on Ashenan's descendant and his legacy, but he was under no position to make his appearance public. Atma was still a powerful creature, but his full capabilities where sealed, and he had no one that would stand by him either. Atma needed to gather followers, like he had done once upon a time.

Unfortunately, Atma could not convert just any creature to his cause against their will. While he was still capable of performing the deed, it isn't something he could do en masse, and it'd be something undoubtedly noticed by the public, leading to his ruin. Instead, he decided to target the rejects of society in Vermiria, or creatures with no familial connections. People he could entice with his charm to follow him, through promise of caring for them and/or a better life.  While he ultimately planned to use them to give some form of payback to the ones that humiliated him, he never once went back of his words to take care of them.  He wasn't in any position to have large amounts of creatures obey him because he willed it so, so he may as well have creatures obey him because they adored him and saw him as magnificent despite this sealed state of his.


Over time this brought a change to Atma, which is something that may have actually been Ashenan's plan all along. Every one of his followers, he interacted with them on a much more personal level, something he either hadn't done once before or had only done very sparingly towards the creature that once followed him in older times. Being rejects of society or otherwise creatures with nowhere to go, they genuinely saw him in a positive light, almost heroic in a sense. It's something he could not only see, but feel thanks to his connection with them when he bathes them in his colors. Until that point he had seen mortals with either indifference or disdain. But as his followers grew and he spend time trying not only trying to shape them into his adoring and strong servants, but basically bonding with them, his resentment and sorrow grew less and less. His Ego was returning thanks to all the attention he gained, which he did not even have to force them to show it to him. They all genuinely loved him, and he felt that he loved them in return. He once again felt happiness after a such a great expanse of grief. While he still wasn't exactly ok with his sealed situation, his resentment for his brother banished after a few generations of bonding with mortals, eventually growing into the Atma he is today. He grew an appreciation for the individuality of mortals, finding it sacred. He found the connections he had made back when his powers where intact to be hollow in hindsight compared to what he was able to experience thanks to Ashenan sealing majestic form. Atma was humbled, and was able to find a sort of peace despite his situation.

Atma cares for all creature he likes, especially those who connect with him and become his subjects. He makes sure any creature under his influence are cared for and content as they live alongside him. Though it is not always the case, he cares for the rejects of the very rigid and "always become better" society of Vermiria, giving them an abode to those who were unable to meet the sometimes harsh standards of the rest of the land. Being branded with Atma's colors eventually became synonymous with giving up within Vermiria, and the name and presence of the dragon has become sort of taboo within its boundaries once again. He is an antagonist of the land, and while it may be a status he'd wish to change, he still performs his actions with passion and glee rather than indignation and spite.



* Abilities: As the dragon of souls, he naturally knows anything there is to know about them, to the common things all the way to mysteries no creature has ever come across.
Atma it's a very persuasive creature. His eyes are mesmerizing, and his will is strong and confident. It can be literally intoxicating if the creature allows it for once you stare into his Soul, Atma will lay your soul bare, making them show on your eyes akin to his own. While some details may remain hidden, a lot of the creature's emotions, secrets and drives will be known to him at that point. If some ever does see the reflection of his soul in his eyes, Atma probably desires for them to join his collective, formally known to him as his spiral followers. Any creature is free to reject him, but whoever accepts will literally be bathe in the dragon's colors, obtaining his dark color schemes with the rainbow highlights, as well being given eyes as multicolor and wondrous as his. Whatever color their soul was to begin with will shine brighter amongst the swirls of their new eyes. Anyone who becomes one of his spiral followers forms a strong link with the powerful dragon, they feel Atma as Atma feels them. They do not become a single entity, as any person who dons the spirals retains its individuality, but their closeness to Atma becomes unmistakable.

Being stuck in his humanoid form, he decided to learn how to manipulate the chi in his body to perform better in physical combat. His weapon of choice is a polearm, though his weapon is something rather special, as it is a Soularm, a weapon born out of extending your soul outside of your body in the shape of a weapon, a weapon unique to each creature who could perform this feat. His soul manifest as a multicolored Guandao. These kind of weapons are powerful as the soul they are created from is, and being the dragons of Soul, His arm had truly mighty power. Soularm are not broken easily nor can they be disarmed from the creature holding them, but Atma's is so powerful it is said not even thing that could usually break a Soularm is capable of chipping at Atma's weapons.

He also has access to minor elemental magic, though it's not his forte. Any magic that involves the soul it where he excels. An examples being able to diminish the will of creatures who opposed him in combat, although any creature brave enough to face him would probably be resistant or outright immune to such manipulation. Magic concerning the soul are usually more ritualistic in nature.

Last but not least, Atma is capable of emitting white fiery breath that's not easily defined. Perhaps it too is an extension of his soul. Or perhaps is an exhalation of pure mana rather than it being attuned to any particular element.



* Personality: Atma is a very proud creature. He is confident and cocky, though he is not beyond recognizing strength on par or greater than his own. He is one of those creature who is straight forward or deliberately deceptive when the mood strikes him, it is rather hard to notice. He is very persuasive, and can have a hypnotizing charm towards others, even without mesmerizing them with his eyes and soul. Any creature that comes under his command is someone he deeply cares for, and makes sure they are content.

Atma has a truly massive ego that indulged by his followers, though it's usually not something you could exploit to manipulate him, unless said manipulation was benign. Very open to the liking of others thanks to his time bonding with his subjects, he'd probably be glad to indulge creatures in their desires if they are on his good side.

Atma sees the individuality of creatures as sacred and doesn't take kindly to those who would desire to change the "core" of others. He has no problem with creature overcoming their flaws, but rather changing who they are deep down. Though he has no qualms in imposing his will on others if it's something they so desire. After all, Atma does truly love himself as well. This may seem like contradictory philosophies, and many cases they probably are. They are born from his desire to be seen as the great and powerful creature that he is. His time and actions that caused him to become humbled saw a want of his desire to extend beyond himself, wanting his subjects, or otherwise creatures who are close to him, not only to see him as great, but to feel themselves as great.