Arcana Dragon

Arcana Dragons are the Halloween breed released in 2018. Like all Halloween dragons, Arcanae can only produce more Arcana eggs during a brief window around the Halloween holiday. They can be bred year-round, but will only produce their non-Halloween mate's breed.

Official descriptions[]

Egg[]

This egg has reflective spots that remind you of gems, or eyes.

Hatchling[]

Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It’s very alert, and likes to watch what you’re doing.

Mature hatchling[]

Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It’s very alert, and likes to watch what you’re doing.

And look! It has grown wings! It must be close to maturing.

Adult[]

Arcana Dragons are a rarely-encountered breed of dragon known for both their magical abilities, and their quirky, hardworking nature. These dragons have specialized organs for storing mana, and can produce varying effects from these reserves simply through instinct. However, they are also very intelligent dragons, and when raised around mages, or others of their own kind, almost invariably become obsessed with the study of magic. Arcanae are diligent in their efforts to discover as many uses for magic as possible, and while they will openly treat others to the fruits of their labor—especially others who share their interests—they will also use their knowledge and abilities to trick any creature that thinks it can take advantage of them.

Sprite artists[]

TCA (All)
NiramiTheRaven196 (Adult)

Sprites[]

Series	Egg	Hatchling	Mature hatchling
Female
Male
Spriter's Alts
TCA's alternate Female	–
TCA's alternate Male	–
NiramiTheRaven196's alternate Female	–	–	–
NiramiTheRaven196's alternate Male	–	–	–

Egg sequence[]

Stage 0	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4	Stage 5	Dead

Retired sprites[]

Temporary event sprites
Series	Egg	Hatchling	Mature hatchling	Adult
April Fools' Day 2020 Female	–	–	–
April Fools' Day 2020 Male	–	–	–
April Fools' Day 2022 Female	–	–	–
April Fools' Day 2022 Male	–	–	–
April Fools' Day 2022 NiramiTheRaven196's female	–	–	–
April Fools' Day 2022 NiramiTheRaven196's male	–	–	–
April Fools' Day 2022 TCA's female	–	–	–
April Fools' Day 2022 TCA's male	–	–	–

Encyclopedia entry[]

Show/Hide Entry

Appearance/Basic Anatomy

Arcana dragons are coated in dense, well-insulating feathers, with some spots overgrown with fluffy down.
Arcanae are surprisingly flexible dragons that are just barely small enough to wriggle through doorways intended for humans.
The large decorative crests on an Arcana’s head, aside from the horns, are entirely made of stiff feathers and spring back into shape if pressed down.
Arcana dragons are extremely colorful, with gradiented stripes running up their sides from their bright underbellies.
Arcanae have eyes in various shades of orange, yellow, or green, with pupils similar to a cat’s.
While Arcana wings appear bare, the surface is covered in subtle, fine feathers that stifle the sound made when their wings flap.
The gem-like spots on an Arcana’s forehead and chest are in fact crystallized mana, and vary in sheen and color somewhat but tend to be heavily tinged red from trace amounts of the dragon’s blood.
The feathers that grow in after adolescence are iridescent, and this contributes to the breed’s vivid coloration.

Hatchling Behavior

Arcana hatchlings are plainer in patterning, and hatch relatively well-developed, able to move around within hours.
They are curious from a very early age, but tend to depend heavily on a parent or caretaker emotionally.
Arcana hatchlings will often chew on magical items, as they instinctively crave mana.
As these dragons enter adolescence and their wings develop to full size, they have usually already begun to pick up the use of magic.
Arcana hatchlings deprived of mana and magical knowledge all the way into adolescence tend to have subdued personalities and be anxious and awkward as adults, with somewhat dulled coloration.

Adult Behavior

Arcana dragons that have been exposed to magic are almost universally obsessed with the study of magic, even if they weren’t raised around their own breed.
Arcanae constantly research new uses for magic, and will happily trade knowledge with other dragons, other breeds, and even human mages.
Arcana dragons are aware of, and quite wary of, large predatory breeds of dragon, particularly those that target mana-heavy prey.
These dragons are known to live near human settlements, due in part to their propensity to nest in abandoned barns and houses.
Arcanae are decent parents, albeit a bit scatterbrained, but they do an excellent job of imparting their extreme enthusiasm to their offspring.
Arcanae are known to occasionally cause incidents out of purely well-intentioned magical study, as they can be a bit careless when it comes to the consequences of their actions.
When Arcanae seek mates, they seek out dragons with a compatible personality and, as a secondary factor, a flashy head crest.
This has led to the occasional Arcana attempting to court a human mage with an ostentatious pointed hat.

Habitat

Arcana dragons like to nest in abandoned structures, or otherwise enclosed spaces that they can only barely fit into at adult size.
An Arcana’s lair is equal parts nest for sleeping and raising offspring, storage, and magical laboratory. They tend to be somewhat cramped and extremely cluttered.
They can be found in all sorts of climates, with versatile insulation keeping them cool in hot climates and warm in the cold.
Arcana dragons are not particularly territorial, but they will drive Cassares away from their lairs with traps and physical violence.
Arcanae do have a preference for nesting sites near clean water, but this is no guarantee of their presence or absence.
Arcana hatchlings are most often found in or near Arcana nests, and so they have been sighted anywhere from deserts to mountains.
Arcana dragons will often deliberately encourage the growth of magical flora around their lairs, whatever is able to grow in their chosen environment.
It is not unusual for the presence of Arcana dragons to slowly reshape the area in which they live to be stranger and far more magical, simply incidentally.

Diet

Arcana dragons are omnivorous, and will eat just about anything.
Arcanae are highly resistant to most poisons, including magical toxins, and are fully capable of absorbing and storing mana found in food items.
Arcana dragons are extremely tempted by sweets, as well as any food containing mana.
Arcanae rarely actively hunt, preferring to set traps if they can’t scavenge enough meat.
It is exceptionally rare for an Arcana to harm another living dragon, as they prefer to avoid putting themselves in danger, but they will gleefully scavenge mana-heavy dragon corpses.
Arcana hatchlings tend to get rather sickly without any mana in their diet.
Arcana dragons that live near human settlements will often try to trade the use of their skills for prepared foods, particularly in early autumn.
They may also attempt to prepare food in an imitation of human cooking, but due to their poison resistance and extremely broad tastes, without human guidance their creations tend to only be suited for dragons.

Trivia[]

TJ09 secured 3 eggs with the following codes: takea, llthe and SPUDS.

Additional information[]

“

The new breed is just 'cute witches' in general. Mismagius is also a 'cute witch' aesthetic, but so is the main character of Mystik Belle, so is Marisa Kirisame, and the Arcana Dragon design is supposed to fit that archetype rather than be a direct reference to one thing in particular.

– TCA^{Forum Post}