@BESW I would like to set this dragon up as a recurring background character, I think.

@doppelgreener Then we'll start seeding references to him before he appears?

Someone ambiguously probably maybe we think on Amaterasu's side. So far. As far as we can tell.

@BESW Yes.

Dwarves... can probably namedrop him and be using bismuth. (Their equipment is already powered by crystals anyway.)

@Pixie Hello!

@doppelgreener Hi!

@Pixie You may have missed the main chat.

... oh

That is correct. xD Farewell.

Noooo!!

@Pixie I summon thee! Your timing was most opportune. I am wondering what to call this bismuth dragon who is at least several thousand years old, would you happen to have any thoughts on that?

@doppelgreener Oh, I see! Well, if I can be of assistance... hmm. A name for a bismuth dragon.

Is said dragon from any established society, or is he unique at present?

Yes. Does not have to come out as specifically bismuth-y and dragon-y, but like... Picture the party is being held by a bunch of dwarves. (Because being taken prisoner is a realistic possibility in this dwarf session.) They are talking about... someone... with deference.

A name that would make the players go "... who is that?" would be effective.

@Pixie Said dragon is not the only bismuth dragon. Our campaign takes place in a world that to most people is the same as ours, but it has a lot of Weird supernatural stuff going on which a lot of people work together to cover up and keep in the shadows.

The Weird parts of the world are presently becoming fairly rowdy and active and proving difficult to control. The main characters will head away into outer space, come back, and find the world changed. And then this bismuth dragon will show his face and end up meeting them personally.

He'll be generally nice and benevolent, and interested in them, but also play them and others to some unknown (probably good, win/win) ends.

I see! In those circumstances, you have a couple of choices: the dwarves use the dragon's actual name (or otherwise a name he's selected), or the dwarves use an epithet of their own devising. Epithets, assuming they're recognizable as such, can communicate deference.

What that would be depends on why the dwarves defer to him, or what he's known for. At any rate, beyond that, you can go with a real name, a fantasy name, or a name composed of words. A real name probably isn't what you want, unless bismuth dragons are rooted in some human society or have chosen to take on such names. Practically speaking, a real name, by itself, isn't especially noticeable unless perhaps it's especially strange or rare.

.... an epithet is exactly what I was thinking of. They may not know his name but they've given him a name.

like "Eodr the Unending" or "The Bright One" or "Changing Never Moving Always"

@BESW oooo....

The Colours That Sleep.

I am going to go with multiple.

They have more than one name for him and will use them.

That's a good idea.

I'll go with the first 2-3 that come to mind in the session, and stick with those. If they're the first to come to mind, they're probably the best fits as far as my brain goes, and I'll roll with that.

Potential terms to consider are flash, fire/flame, shifting, stirring, many-colored, and maybe references to metal if the dwarves in question have the traditional mining culture.

You may also refer to his long sleep/dream, and his association with ancient history and ancient magic.

Ooh, if dreams are associated with him, that is a great angle, I think.

Then again, I've always associated dreams and shifting colors. I don't know if that's a common thing. But for me, there's a definite connection there.

I had to AFK.

I like the dreams thing, and him being associated with history and magic.

@Pixie They do! He isn't a dragon of fire necessarily, but stirring, shifting, many-coloured and the fact he is both metal and a crystal all make sense to refer to.

So... even slumbering, he inhabits the dreamscape and is continuing his work from there?

@doppelgreener I suggest fire not because of an elemental association but because of the movement of fire! But if you think it would conjure the wrong imagery, I understand, especially since a dragon/fire connection is likely enough to be read literally.

@Pixie Ooo. That makes sense, and I might use that... but his primary association may be with the rainbow and the brilliance of the sun.

(specifically my thoughts are suddenly on possibly there being one of his kin of a darker make who does conjure up the impression of shifting fire and ash.)

Something like He Who Wears the Many-colored Flame or Scales of Ever-Changing Fire is what came to mind.

But what if it looked more like the fire was inside that other one, and like we're seeing it through many translucent windows into him? (or her)

(This is not a description of a very bismuth-y looking dragon but the imagery is still awesome to me)

@doppelgreener You mean for this other, potential second dragon? Perhaps modify that to "Who Holds the Many-Colored Flame," or "Scales of Hidden Fire," or something of that nature.

....Embers are sleeping fire.

@Pixie YES.

THAT GEM.

Also--"fire" might be a metaphor for magic.

That is fire opal.

We - are the crystal stones / we'll always save the day / and if you think we can't / you're not immortal anyway / that's why the people of - this - world / get used by us / Opal, fire serpent / and Bizmuth dragon.

@BESW I like this. That is great flavour for a thing from ancient times.

If you ever need a stone that looks like a thing, I will help you find it. :P

Thanks xD

It is one of my almost useless super powers.

It a pretty super power.

Both!

I knew staring at sparkly things would come in handy someday.

Auuugh that is cool. I love dragons and gemstones and gemstone dragons.

....I may have to take a photo of my dragon sculptures.

Ooh, dragon sculptures.

@BESW You may...

@Pixie Also these fire opals are stunning. It was beyond my dreams that there is actually a dark gem that looks just like its insides are on fire.

@doppelgreener There are also opals that look like the ocean inside, and explosions, and I don't know about opals, but there are stones that look like they have stars inside...

Opals are some of my favorites, though.

I want to see these ones!

Oh wow. What's that called?

I'm not 100% on the type of opal, but it is an opal. I've seen "Ethiopian Welo Opal" crop up around it.

Yeah, I think that's what it is (but they don't all look like that).

Google just has a bunch of pictures of what appears to be the same opal, so it seems as though it's just a particular opal formation rather than a specific type.

It is quite stunning though :D

It's one specific specimen of Welo opal, is that I'm gathering from reading. This is another Welo opal.

Yeah, seems most of them look like that, and that the one above is rather unique in its appearance.

Yep. That is one of the things I like about opals. Sometimes they're weird and amazing.

Here's another weird and amazing opal! The one I was thinking of that looked like it had smoke in it.

I came across that on google and a site described it as having a nebula inside.

That is a Contra Luz Opal, apparently. Contra Luz is, according to this site, "a vibrant multi-color flash that appears like 'rainbows' within the gem when it is backlit."

It does look like a nebula! I thought smoke/explosion first though. xD

Another fire opal, I think...

And this is something called Allanite-(Ce). I should note that this is the only one I've ever seen that looks like this, but that's what it is.

@Pixie it looks lovely. and all the other results on google are grey lumps. :P

@doppelgreener Yeah, I have no idea how this one turned out this way. xD

magic!

"Und it glitters like fire, exactly as Plato described!"

@BESW What did Plato describe?

@doppelgreener It's a quote from the computer game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis; a German scientist has found the mythic metal orichalcum for the first time.

@BESW I wonder if those atlanteans have something they call orichalcum.

The use of orichalcum as a power source is limited to stuff like Fate of Atlantis--IRL, it's probably a lost alloy, perhaps a kind of bronze, that Plato said Atlantis used excessively as a construction material.

I never saw fate of atlantis, I think. All I know is what I read on the wikipedia article.

and what you've quoted just then

It's really quite excellent. One of my favourite video games evar.

oh cool :)

Some immediate ideas for who Parish was talking with: the bismuth dragon or a representative; a dwarven representative; Brother James or a less-evil BRAC leader; a time-displaced Doctor Light.

an elf, an atlantean, a literal angel (their end of the webcam doesn't tend to be very useful and mostly looks like an overexposed blob of light, they're still working on making better webcams for themselves), some half-supernatural individual who is operating most of the human agencies that operate behind the veil

alternately something deeply supernatural

she might've had her webcam off out of choice or protocol and may only know them by voice and alias

But yes, a representative of the bismuth dragon comes strongly to mind this side of things, or brother James

...a vampire might not show up on the webcam at all, because lenses usually involve mirrors.

ha!