[Contains massive spoilers, but treat this as a guide towards knowledge about the gaming mechanics turned actual real-life rules.]
[All of the information here is, of course, gradually released throughout the story, and sometimes will be updated as it goes. As of now, this Codex contains all of the information presented in Volume 1: The Dawn. Be wary of spoilers, you have been warned.]
GAME-HISTORY
Dragon's Tale: Ultimate is the remake of the classic MMORPG game, Dragon's Tale. Benefitting from the following generation systems, it's transformed into a VRMMORPG game, and has broken every record the prior game has.
The gameplay revolves around dragons of every kind, as well as playing as other fantasy races. Elves, orcs, beasthuman, and more. While most of the player base does play as dragonkind, Ultimate's version allows for more extensive connections with other races as well.
The game features multiple realms, dimensions, and even outer space. With each DLC, and expansion brought more and more players. Both are making each side of the game happy within its overall playerbase. PvE, and PvP.
After the servers shut down...all of the lore that was built up, in-game was transformed to make the world after thousands of years. All of the data, even the zeroes and ones, turned into living history.
Respawning is impossible.
Death is real.
WORLD KNOWLEDGE
World Settings
Gaia - The planet on which the majority of the game takes place.
Ashlight Bastion - A realm outside of the planet...and furthermore by extension the rest of the universe. This was mainly treated as a PvP realm, and would soon host World Champion tournaments. This was imported from the previous game to maintain consistency.
Nightrealm - A pocket dimension within Gaia, only accessible by those who have a [Night Shard].
Artifacts
There are also artifacts scattered throughout the world and realms that enhance the user's abilities and magical prowess, or grant them a physical advantage. They are usually ranked in a letter grade.
C Rank
B Rank
A Rank
S Rank
S+ Rank
Skill Ranks
After thousands of years, the world has adopted the game's PvP ranking. Where mages alike have come and test out their strength in certain Voyager Guilds---guilds that go out and do quests. From weakest to strongest, the ranks are as following.
Initiate
Adept
Apex
Ascendant
Exalted
Master
Titles
Very frequently do titles matter. Titles weren't given out based on boring gameplay, but tied directly as to what you did in the game. One of the more important titles is Sovereign.
Ryuuzen gained the title of Sovereign by winning one of the World Champion PvP tournaments hosted in Ashlight Bastion, specficially, he won World's Champion Tournament #540 and #541, becoming one of ten players in the games history to win multiple, and becoming one of three players to win it back-to-back.
It's only a title granted to the very top PvP players who have proven themselves in combat arenas.
MAGIC KNOWLEDGE
ElementalMagic
Fire
Lightning
Water
Nature
Wind
Ice
Shadow
Light
Spiritual
Necromancy
Blessing/Radiance
Spirit
Dimensional
Teleportation
Barrier
Gravity
Dynamic Magic (Magic that's simply in its own tier)
Quantum
Each spell has:
Gesture form (physical)
Mantra (Vocal Trigger)
Intent State (Mental Attunement)
You can cast spells by a gesture, a word, or a mental thought of it. Please note that the base cast spell must start with a word, followed by either a Gesture or a mental state. High-class Mages do not necessarily need a vocal trigger, but it takes more mana to do it without one.
Quantum magic bypasses all three components, instead synchronizing with cosmic harmonics or dimensionality itself.
Archetype Magic
As players progressed, their characters unlocked specialized variants of magic based on their race's evolving form or bloodline. These are called Archetype Paths.
Some archetypes have exclusive magic, or do better within the selected magic. Spirit Elves with Spirit Magic do far better than any other race. Black Dragons of any race (Dragonoid, Dragonkin, Dragonborne) have the exclusive [Infernal] Magic which replaced their [Fire] Magic, black flames that do far better than Fire Magic. Ice Dragons (Especially Serpents or Dragonkin) gain additional [Ice] magic benefits and even [Frost] magic.
This also means that once you follow an Archetype path, your resistances, magic trees, and possibilities of gaining other magic change drastically. Spirit Elves, in particular, cannot use [Fire] magic appropriately, and Dark Dragons gain nullification to [Fire] magic itself.
There's simply a lot of Archetype Magic that it would be extensive and hard to memorize and learn, but the simple rule of thumb is that it mainly follows after it's root magic, (Fire to Infernal), or the path just makes the magic already better (Spirit Elves with Spirit Magic).
Supercharging
Magic can be supercharged, meaning they can gain additional properties and benefits when more mana is spent or during a certain transformation.
Spell Multipliers
Spoken enhancements that multiply spell power, range, size, and mana cost. Multiplier effects are linear, so a keyword for a x2 multiplier (i.e., Double, Mega, Dos...) would result in x2 mana being spent. x4 multiplier...x4 mana being spent.
Mana Transformation
Available to all races with sufficient mana control. It acts as a temporary ascended state where the user's stats, affinities, and spells are all enhanced. There is no "fixed" form. Every state looks different.
Spellcasting becomes faster, cheaper, and sometimes instinctive. It's the process of taking a core magic, and entirely devoting yourself to it.
DRAGON KNOWLEDGE
-Base Races
Within the game, you had multiple races of dragons to play as. Each comes with exclusive magic, passive bonuses, and unique transformation models.
Dragonborne
Dragonkin
Dragonoid
Drake
Serpents
Fae
Wyvern
Hydra
Quetzacoatal
These are known as Base Races, and the way you progress in the game is different for every player. Following this, they were certain archetypes of dragons you could achieve. Such as a Dark Silver Dragonoid (Ryuuzen), Ice Serpent, or Southern Quetzacoatal. The more you progressed, the more you could focus on an archetype.
If you did not want to play as a Dragon, the game also had other options. Ultimate broke the original "dragon-only" concept. These races became key to world and game diversity.
Elves
Beasthuman
Drow
Vampire
Undead
Just like before, these also had archetypes. If you progressed, you could achieve a Spirit Elf, Royal Vampire, or Undying Undead.
Dragon's Authority
Every Dragon has a thing and gimmick called [Dragon's Authority] which is comprised of a series of small abilities, namely gimmicks that are different for every Dragon. Ranges from 2-3, but Ryuuzen was incredibly lucky and has 4. His Dragon's Authority has multiple, but one dominantly showcases is his ability to sense danger from his horns.
Dragon Evolution-Tiers
All Dragons have three stages in their power. From the first stage to the final, they are: Base, Pre-Alpha, Alpha.
Base: Elemental Magic + 1 Dragon's Authority Ability.
Pre-Alpha: Unlocked Supercharging, Archetype Path Available, +1-2 DA Ability.
Alpha: Unlocked Quantumcharging + True Name Revelation + 1 More Final DA Ability if you can.
Each stage for each dragon looks different for the others. For example, Dragonoids across all stages retain their horns, while Dragonkins don't gain their horns until Alpha. Ryuuzen is currently at Alpha stage. Quetzalcoatl across the stages, gaining more variety in color in hair and horns. Serpents slowly gain more scales across their skin, and more.
This only goes for Dragons, not for any other race.
True Dragon Name
Each dragon possesses a True Name. A soulbound title shaped by their race, magical lineage, and personal identity. This name is not chosen, it's earned.
By gaining access to this, in their Alpha stage, they also gain an entire [True Name Transformation], not to be confused with [Mana Transformation]. Upon entering their Dragon Form, the True Name awakens. Because of this, it's more than a label. The moment they awaken, their True Name becomes undeniable.
You do not need to hear it. You just know it, and by extension, can no longer resort to calling them their past name until after the transformation. From the moment it awakens, their old name no longer applies.
True Name transformations often bring altered personalities, or outright second selves (in the case of all Sovereigns).
Catalyzed Awakening
Typically, a True Name is only unlocked at the Alpha Stage. But under extreme conditions, near-death situations, severe trauma, mental weakness, or overwhelming pressure, a dragon may awaken their name prematurely.
This is called a Catalyzed Awakening. It forcibly unlocks the [True Name Transformation] at Base or Pre-Alpha stage. Doing so, however, even with the transformation available, brings more consequences than were wanted.
Not only is the transformation unstable, but maintaining it is physically agonizing; the user's sanity begins to erode the longer it's used, and primal instincts begin to override their identity.