Lunar Herald Dragon

Lunar Herald Dragon
File:LunarH-adult-rotator.gif File:LunarH-egg-rotator.gif Hover Over for Description
Release Date	August 29, 2015
Elemental Affinity	◾Primary: Light ◾Secondary: Time
Morphology	Western Dragons
Base Rarity	Uncommon
BSA	None
Habitat	Alpine Desert Volcano
Color	Gold, bronze, indigo or silver with iridescent rainbows
Nicknames	None
Spriters	LadyLyzar

Lunar Heralds produce different colors depending on the phases of Valkemare's moons. See this table for more information.

Lunar Heralds were released on August 29, 2015, with their release of all variations spanning across a month. This is the first dragon to have variations dependent on Valkemare's moons, Aurax and Cirion. Each Lunar Herald color will only appear in-cave or through breeding on certain moon phase combinations.

This dragon sorts between Lumina and Magi Dragons on a user's scroll when using Breed Sort.

Official Dragon Descriptions

Egg

"This metallic egg shows faint iridescence in moonlight."

Hatchling

"Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. When it basks in moonlight, it is surrounded by a faintly glowing aura."

Mature Hatchling

"Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. When it basks in moonlight, it is surrounded by a faintly glowing aura.
And look! It has grown wings! It must be close to maturing."

Adult

"Lunar Heralds are deeply attuned to the two moons of Valkemare, Aurax and Cirion. Strictly nocturnal, they draw energy from moonlight and will only hunt when the moons have waned. When breeding, the amount of moonlight the parents receive from each moon will determine the color of the egg produced. When a Lunar Herald is struck by direct moonlight, an illusion of multiple wings may appear. Witnessing a Lunar Herald’s illusory wings is commonly believed to be a sign of good fortune."

Sprite Artist(s)

• LadyLyzar (All)

Sprites

Series	Egg	Hatchling	Mature Hatchling	Adult
Gold Variant	File:Lunar Heralds gold egg.gif	File:Lunar Heralds gold hatchi.gif	File:Lunar Heralds gold mature hatchi.png	File:Lunar Heralds gold adult.png
Bronze Variant	File:Lunar Heralds bronze egg.gif	File:Lunar Heralds bronze hatchi.gif	File:Lunar Heralds bronze mature hatchi.png	File:Lunar Heralds bronze adult.png
Indigo Variant	File:Lunar Heralds indigo egg.gif	File:Lunar Heralds indigo hatchi.gif	File:Lunar Heralds indigo mature hatchi.png	File:Lunar Heralds indigo adult.png
Silver Variant	File:Lunar Heralds silver egg.gif	File:Lunar Heralds silver hatchi.gif	File:Lunar Heralds silver mature hatchi.png	File:Lunar Heralds silver adult.png

Egg Sequence

Stage 0	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4	Stage 5	Dead
File:Lunar Heralds gold egg.gif	File:Lunar Heralds gold crack 1.png	File:Lunar Heralds gold crack 2.png	File:Lunar Heralds gold crack 3.png	File:Lunar Heralds gold crack 4.png	File:Lunar Heralds gold crack 5.png	File:Lunar Heralds gold dead egg.png

Stage 0	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4	Stage 5	Dead
File:Lunar Heralds bronze egg.gif	File:Lunar Heralds bronze crack 1.gif	File:Lunar Heralds bronze crack 2.gif		File:Lunar Heralds bronze crack 4.png	File:Lunar Heralds bronze crack 5.png	File:Lunar Heralds bronze dead egg.gif

Stage 0	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4	Stage 5	Dead
File:Lunar Heralds indigo egg.gif	File:Lunar Heralds indigo crack 1.png	File:Lunar Heralds indigo crack 2.png	File:Lunar Heralds indigo crack 3.png	File:Lunar Heralds indigo crack 4.png	File:Lunar Heralds indigo crack 5.png	File:Lunar Heralds indigo dead egg.png

Stage 0	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4	Stage 5	Dead
File:Lunar Heralds silver egg.gif	File:Lunar Heralds silver crack 1.png	File:Lunar Heralds silver crack 2.png	File:Lunar Heralds silver crack 3.png	File:Lunar Heralds silver crack 4.png	File:Lunar Heralds silver crack 5.png	File:Lunar Heralds silver dead egg.gif

Corresponding Moon Phases

The following table demonstrates what moon phases correspond to which colour. The colours will appear in-cave (CB) and during breeding (regardless of the colour the parents are). DC's official moon clock can be found here.A forecast calendar has been constructed by a fan to help users plan their breeding ideas better, and can be found here.

Aurax phase	Cirion phase	Lunar Herald Colour	Duration
Waning gibbous	Waning crescent	File:Lunar Heralds gold egg.gif	4 days
Waning crescent	New	File:Lunar Heralds bronze egg.gif	4 days
	Waxing crescent
	Waxing gibbous	File:Lunar Heralds indigo egg.gif	8 days
New	Full
Waxing crescent	Waning gibbous
	Waning crescent	File:Lunar Heralds bronze egg.gif	4 days
Waxing gibbous	New	File:Lunar Heralds gold egg.gif	4 days
	Waxing crescent
Waxing gibbous	Waxing gibbous	File:Lunar Heralds silver egg.gif	8 days
Full	Full
Waning gibbous	Waning gibbous

Encyclopedia Entry

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Trivia

• The description of the Lunar heralds was updated a few hours after TJ's dragons grew up. The original description was:

"Lunar Heralds are deeply attuned to the two moons of Valkemare, Aurax and Cirion. Strictly nocturnal, they draw energy from moonlight and will only hunt when the moons have waned. When breeding, the amount of moonlight the parents receive from each moon will determine the color of the egg produced."

• After 2 of the 4 colours were released, TJ09 realised that the incorrect moon phases were being displayed on the website. This has since been corrected, and a phase tracking post was given to show the correct moon phases up until that point.
• LadyLyzar responded to a user on the forums who mentioned that Lunar Heralds would have made great Prize dragons, suggesting that the species were originally designated to be Prize dragons themselves before revealing that this was the intention later on. She also later revealed that they were created around the same time as the Shimmer-scale Dragons.
• LadyLyzar clarified to users that the name "Indigos" for the blue variant is not an official name and that she never really had official names for them. When they were being made as prize dragons though, she did refer to them as "Gold Lunar, Silver Lunar, Bronze Lunar, and Alt Lunar" dragons.
• This dragon only has 2 wings (or 1 pair)- the other wings are illusory. It was further elaborated on that it is not achieved via an illusion of motion, as per the updated adult description.
• LadyLyzar commented that the Lunar Heralds' colours happen to have "worked out nicely for the moon phases" of Valkemare's moons, rather than the dragon's or the moon's colours made to suit one or the other.
• While the description hosts the term "metallic", they are not to be considered as part of the same metals or metallics group as Gold or Silver Dragons. Their description is meant to specify that their scales are metallic, a concept that remained with the dragon when it was originally intended to be a prize.
• During the release, speculation was raised as to what elemental affinity these dragons would have. While it was not yet added to the site officially, LadyLyzar would have put the Lunar Heralds' elemental affinity as Light.

Additional Information

“

As I hinted at before, these were originally submitted as Prize dragons at the same time as the Shimmers. Unsurprisingly, Gold = 1st, Silver = 2nd, Bronze = 3rd. The blue color was meant to be my alt. They were called Prismatic Heralds at the time and were linked to the sun instead. The moon phases came after Shimmers were chosen for the new Prize breed. The "good fortune" bit is also a reference to their Prize origin - the original description said that owning a wild-caught one was considered to be the epitome of good luck.

So, without further ado:


*~ All About Lunar Heralds ~*

Despite their appearance, Lunar Heralds only have two wings, and they are very delicate and thin. The wings are covered in fine iridescent dust similar in composition to the powder of a butterfly's wing. The dust is actually comprised of shed skin from the dragon's wing membranes. It easily brushes off when touched and is believed to contain magical properties. The dust is replenished the next time the dragon sheds its skin.

When the wings are oriented correctly to the angles of the moons, the iridescent powder gleams like a rainbow. During this time, an illusion of multiple wings may occasionally appear. Depending on the brightness of the moonlight, this illusion can be quite vibrant.

Lunar Heralds are not overly large dragons. Their body size is comparable to that of an average horse, not including their wings, neck, and tail. They are very delicate creatures and quite lightweight for their size. This combination makes them quite fast both in the air and on the ground should they need to escape a threat.

With the exception of mating season, Lunar Heralds are purely solitary creatures. They do not feel safe in the company of other dragons, since they lack any real defenses against attack. Hence when encountering another dragon, they will usually hide themselves away. If the dragon is another Herald, they will greet each other by touching their front feet together and then go their separate ways.

Every night when the moons are visible, a Lunar Herald will seek an open area to "moonbathe". This is incredibly important for them as they draw energy from solar radiation reflected off Valkemare's moons. Direct solar radiation from the daytime sun is too strong for them and can be lethal if they are subject to long periods of exposure.

Lunar Heralds breed at all times of the month, and the intensity of the moonlight from Valkemare's moons determines the color of the egg produced. This color will remain with the dragon throughout its life. Despite their differences in appearance, Lunar Heralds are accepting of all within their species - they are all the same, after all.

When the moons have waned or there is an extended period of heavy cloud cover, Lunar Heralds are forced to hunt instead of moonbathing. However, this can be dangerous for them due to their frailty, so they normally feed on smaller creatures like mice and rabbits.

– LadyLyzar ^{(Forum Post)}