Felicity

There are people in the world with magic. They are generally called "Knights" or "Draconians" due to how they acquired their skills — either directly or somewhere in their ancestry, someone was given the power of magic from a dragon. While not inherently fire elemental, it takes a fiery shape that can vary in coloration from a regular red to the more-common bluish-purple. Nearly 96% of all Draconians in the modern world are descended from a single European village nearly a thousand years ago whom were all gifted with dragon magic to help destroy an evil abomination that had been threatening to destroy the entire continent.

Among these Draconians are a more evolved (and secret) breed, the Higher Draconians. These Higher Draconians are those who were able to survive through years of treatment via a special Formula that gives them immortality and greatly improved magical fortuity. However, the catch 22 is that it does not grant eternal life. Higher Draconians can only die of old age, but most fight that fate using an enhanced version of an ability shared between dragons and Draconians alike: possession. Dragons themselves could only possess clay-borne bodies that were animated by their own magic as a means to interact with the people on a civilized scale. Draconians can place themselves inside any human due to their high similarity in species resonance, but the possession is only temporary. Higher Draconians, on the other hand, are able to place themselves inside a body and then burn out the soul already inhabiting it. While every soul, human or Draconian or dragon, is a greatly formidable force, many Higher Draconians take the chance when their current body has become too aged or frail.

Specifics of the Formula makes it very risky for Draconians to undertake the treatment alone. Most treatments can take up to three years and reduces a Draconian's power and resistance until about two-thirds of the way through, upon which the Draconian begins to regain and overtake their previous power level at an advanced rate. The way that the Formula works is that it separates the soul from the body, using the magic to keep them safely anchored together, which allows them to heal their wounds without passing on in the case of grievous injury.

Mortals who attempt to take the Formula only end up in a state of disconnect, a tenuous connection to their body, and can easily lose their minds. After a mortal who has undergone the treatment dies, their soul forms into a ghost that haunts their place of death and can become split between there and other places of strong attachment. It can become incredibly disorienting and quite dangerous for any living being to come into contact with these poltergeists.

In modern times, dragons have more or less gone into hiding. Rapidly-growing human ingenuity and might has left them wary and cautious of showing themselves to the public at large; instead, they have taken to blending into society within their clay homunculi or hidden themselves far enough away that none ever find them. There exist a few online videos of dragons flying about, but most treat it as a natural occurrence like a tropical storm or a tornado and tend not to get too close.