Draconis Automata

**Draconis Automata** is an antagonistic group of Riders fought in *Monster Hunter Stories Ultimate*.

## Description

Draconis Automata is a sizable cult of Elder Dragon-worshipping Riders composed of a wide variety of humanoid races, such as humans, Wyverians, Troverians, Sea People, Felynes, and Shakalakas. Members of both sexes primarily wield weapons that utilize the Dragon Element and don armour modeled after them, with higher-ranking members donning equipment derived from Major Elder Dragons and Black Dragons. Lord Hepskor, the leader of the group, and sets himself apart from his subordinates by donning equipment derived from an ancient Black Dragon that was killed in the Great Dragon War.

## Personality

Bloodthirsty and misanthropic above all else, Draconis Automata is obsessed with bringing about the complete annihilation of civilization, holding humans and humanoid races in contempt for their acts of violence against Elder Dragons and guilt by association, respectively, and seek to bring about another Great Dragon War, the event that led to the extinction of the Ancient Civilization. Holding Elder Dragons, Black Dragons in particular, in high regard and viewing them as gods to be worshipped, they wish to create a world where Elder Dragons rule above all other lifeforms and where humans and humanoid races are either wiped out entirely, or reduced to a cattle race that Elder Dragons can exploit as an easy and convenient food source, not caring about the lack of ethics or environmental consequences of their goal. Unsympathetic towards any form of life that is not an Elder Dragon and even being willing to bring harm to Minor and Major Elder Dragons to subjucate them on Lord Hepskor's and the Black Dragons' commands, the cultists are unfettered in their conduct, are unmoved by the deaths of even their own members, and partake in kidnapping, torture, and murder to spread their influence around the world. In particular, they hold an especially high level of contempt for the Hunter's Guild, whose associated hunters and Guild Knights have proven to be an effective thorn in the side, the Hero of Hakum, who saved the world from the Black Blight their beloved Fatalis was said to have created, and the Ethereal Knights, who sought to exterminate and experiment on Elder Dragons aside from those that appealed to them and put humanity above them all, which invoked the Ancient Civilization their gods held in contempt and killed off. To appease their lord and the Black Dragons they worship, they partake in grotesque rituals which involve feeding people to Elder Dragons and cannibalizing them, something that has attracted scorn from a wide range of populations, and to instill bloodlust in their Monsties, they will sometimes perform a ritual that involves gutting themselves with a carving knife and transferring power over to them. To keep those within their occupied areas from fleeing and turning against them, they render them lazy and docile by offering to grant them their every wish, ranging from food and fortune to entertainment and recognition, in exchange for subservience, and claim that they will receive even greater fortunes and pleasures in the afterlife if they obey their every whim.

## Background

The Draconis Automata cult was founded by a Wyverian man with an apparent influence over Elder Dragons known as Lord Hepskor, who formed it after growing disenchanted with his people, who almost fell victim to genocide from the Casterrius Empire that once held control over northeastern Aya, following their attempts to talk him out of enacting genocide against them as a form of revenge, claiming that it would make him no better than them and that the poverty and suffering brought on by the genocidal campaign being a fruitless failure that left the Empire penniless and hated by their own people was suitable enough as a punishment. As Hepskor ventured throughout Aya and gathered a sizable collection of Elder Dragons to use as part of an army, many people within the secretive continent were quick to notice his influence, and fearing that the end times were near due to the sudden and alarming appearances of various Black Dragons all over the continent, they flocked to what remained of the Hepskor Kingdom and pledged allegiance to him in the hopes of being spared from his wrath, treating him and the dragons like gods that needed to be worshipped. To curry his and the dragons' favour, the travelers built a large castle from the ores and rocks found within the mountains and dens for the dragons to rest in, and offered to expand Hepskor's territory worldwide in order to spread his word. In addition, due to the Black Dragons' misanthropy and overall hostility to life itself, the travelers-turned-cultists under Hepskor's watch would proceed to form grisly rituals that involved sacrificing people and each other to the dragons and even consume their flesh and blood themselves to appease them, and were surprisingly willing to put their lives on the line to earn his favour, waging war with kingdoms within Aya that actively supported the Casterrius Empire and being eager to conquer other continents so they could spread their lord's will all across the world. Impressed by their devotion, Hepskor officially dubbed the cult Draconis Automata and delcared them as his one true people, and in a display of their might, he had the Black Dragons bombard Casterrius and what remained of their allies with an elemental barrage, bringing the kingdoms to ruin and killing everyone in it, negating any chances of them coming back to haunt him. This display earned Draconis Automata a more fearsome reputation, and soon, many kingdoms within Aya gave the cult a stern warning not to go after them unless they wanted to face their full might, and Hepskor officially agreed to follow through with a declaration to never attack other kingdoms within Aya, though he secretly planned to turn against them all once he had amassed enough strength and numbers worldwide. And despite Aya's reputation as a seclusive and borderline xenophobic continent, Hepskor himself seemed to be willing to accept outside assistance despite being largely unwilling to leave his post, and he struck a deal with a corrupt group of Guild associates called the Dengeki Triad, who promised to help him spread out his empire to other continents through the use of special mind-control devices that could be planted on monsters to make them subservient in exchange for money and valuable goods looted from their selected targets of conquest. This would only be the beginning of their violent deeds.

Once the deal with the Dengeki Triad was struck, the newly-formed Draconis Automata cult selected the Old World as their first target due to it being the closest continent to the Hepskor Kingdom, and set out to claim land for Lord Hepskor and the Black Dragons to rule over, searching for Major Elder Dragons to subjugate through the Dengeki Triad's special mind-control devices, Black Dragons to discover and set loose on human settlements, and villages and towns to invade and make their own, using their Monsties to fly over the land and scout individual areas that looked promising. As they flew over lands like the Jungle, the Island District, and the Volcano, they noticed that there was an unusual amount of Elder Dragon activity across the land, an event known by locals as the Elder Anomaly, and seeing an opportunity to be seized, they set up recruitment camps all across the Old World in an attempt to get locals to support their cause, knowing that they couldn't just seize and hold the entire Old World with their current numbers, as it was considerably larger than Aya ever was. Under the false pretense of being benevolent, these recruitment camps preached about their violent, dragon-worshipping philosophy, claimed that those who would offer their allegiance to Lord Hepskor and the Black Dragons would be granted eternal fortune and pleasure in the afterlife, and that anyone, including second-class citizens like Felynes and Melynxes, had an equal chance of gaining power, fame, and respect among their ranks and could have anything they wanted in life, though in order to reap these benefits, they would have to do anything the cult requested, such as signing up their friends and families, and if they did whatever they asked, they could have the special mind-control devices and have the brainwashed monsters to themselves and have the benefit of being protected by dragons and faithful Riders alike. This aspect of their cult made them popular among the poor, Lynians, and those outcaste from society, such as poachers, disgraced Hunters and Riders, and murderers, due to them seeing it as a chance to rise up that was denied to them by the human and Wyverian authorities that saw them as little more than second-class citizens or criminals beneath contempt, and proved to be more effective than simply rushing in and trying to kill everyone. In addition, to avoid attracting suspicion, the ringleaders would train the recruits in the art of Monster Riding and hold their festivities in hidden locations, performing bloody sacrifices while claiming that it was for the greater good and forcing members not to tell anyone about what was going on unless they wanted to be barred from the afterlife's fortunes and pleasures. The authorities would eventually get tipped off, however.

Unfortunately for Draconis Automata, Hepskor's former subjects, scornful of the evil overlord he had become, had recognized their symbols and the "god among men" they were preaching about and alerted the Hunter's Guild within Dundorma to their true intentions for conquest and genocide, and the Guild near-immediately started to crack down on them, forbidding them from practicing their twisted rituals and demanding them to close their recruitment camps all around the Old World on the threat of death, and when individual ringleaders refused to do so, claiming that they haven't really murdered anyone due to the deceased being voluntary participants, proclaiming that they would appeal to the needs of many if allowed to keep operating, with the food and entertainment they offered being used as proof, and even offering to pay the Guild a large sum of zenny as hush money, they were tracked down and had their throats slashed in their sleep by Guild Knights, and anyone else who participated in the cult or bore witness to the rituals, regardless of their intentions, were executed on the spot. Realizing that the Guild wasn't going to take a passive approach to their actions and deciding that what had happened earlier was enough cause for a full-scale retribution, Draconis Automata took to more aggressive, but tactile approaches designed to take advantage of the Elder Anomaly, crafting artificial hormones that could be used to lure Elder Dragons in, kidnapping and/or conscripting Hunters, Riders, and Guild Knights, encouraging willing Riders to receive their mind-control devices from Hepskor in person since the Guild has no authority in Aya, making extensive use of gladiator games, Rider races, and public executions within their lands to render civilians lazy and docile, seeking out and beating down Elder Dragons themselves before applying the mind-control devices to their heads and sending them after villages and towns while encouraging allied Riders to do the same, creating bombs that released a debilitating, suffocating gas for use against enemies, and ordering attacks against the Guild's means of production to slow them down, all while claiming it was the Guild's fault to potentially turn the public against them. Through their actions, they proved to be a worldwide threat, exploiting the Elder Anomaly for their own ends, sending their troops to more regions, such as Fonron, Ijotria, and the New World to suppress other threats, and making it difficult for the Guild to keep up with stopping both them and other threats to the world, forcing them to send out requests for Hunters and Riders from all over the world to assist them, with one of these Riders being a noteworthy recruit stationed in Raidamachi. And this would not be the end of their troubles...

## Abilities

Draconis Automata specializes in the Dragon element, utilizing a variety of Dragon-based equipment and Dragon-elemental Monsties, with Elder Dragons being frequent among them. They all display some degree of ability in combat, and use their Monsties to enact their goals. They also exhibit skill in craftsmanship, using pheromones akin to those used by Xeno'jiiva to lure out Elder Dragons and crafting tools known as Dusk Bombs, explosives that lower all enemies' stats.

## Tropes that Apply to Them

* Affably Evil: Unlike their leader, who's cold and dismissive towards others, including his own subjects, many of the cult's members are surprisingly cordial in spite of being brutish, cannibalistic misanthropes who want to destroy civilization itself to make room for Elder Dragon territories, offering to cater to the needs of many and being content to hold conversations with the player when talked to outside of battle. It will slip if the player's been a large thorn in their side, however, with them trading their politeness for barely restrained rage.
* Bread and Circuses: They keep those within the territories they occupy docile by offering them anything they want, ranging from food and fortune to fame and entertainment, in the hopes that they don't catch onto their true intentions for them and/or will be rendered too lazy and content to flee or fight back, and claim that they will receive even greater rewards in the afterlife if they obey their every whim.
* Combat Pragmatist:
	+ When fought, they'll directly attack the player despite Riders not being allowed to directly attack each other outside of moves that hit multiple targets at once (in that case, it's due to loophole abuse), and have no qualms with calling for backup.
	+ They also make a point about attacking the enemy's means of production, with them having monsters and allied Riders lay siege upon villages and towns, such as Kokoto and Jumbo, to deprive the Hunter's Guild, militaries, and heroic Hunters and Riders of the supplies needed to fend them off.
* Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Its members have access to a technique called Self-Sacrifice, which costs them a single Heart, but greatly empowers their Monsties, bolstering their Attack, Agility, and Crit Rate for 3 turns and healing them for a sizable sum of HP. This technique, true to its name, involves the cultists gutting themselves with a carving knife as part of a ritual to instill bloodlust in their Monsties.
* Dark is Evil: Its members primarily wear dark-coloured outfits and utilize the Dragon Element, and are all murderous, misanthropic dragon worshippers that seek to eradicate humanity and its associates.
* Enemy Civil War: They despise the Ethereal Knights due to their goals of eradicating Elder Dragons and reducing survivors to research subjects bringing the Ancient Civilization to mind, and also dislike the Conquerors of the Void due to their one true goal being the eradication of all life as opposed to just specific sorts of life, attacking both factions on sight and making a point about eradicating them as soon as possible.
* Even Evil Has Standards: They hate artificial monsters like the Equal Dragon Weapon and EX Monsters for being what they see as perversions of nature and a reflection of the grotesque experiments the Ancient Civilization conducted, and unlike the more opportunistic Ethereal Knights, they refuse to make use of them, even if it would benefit their cause.
* Equal-Opportunity Evil: Although they're very misanthropic in nature, they'll allow people of all races and creeds to join their cause, whether they be humans, Wyverians, Troverians, Sea People, or Lynians, and Lynians, which are generally considered to be second-class citizens by human society, even have a shot of gaining high-ranking positions with their cult. This ultimately gives them an edge over the fascistic and bigoted Ethereal Knights over the course of the story, as they have the superior numbers needed to effectively hold them off and take more land for themselves.
* Gladiator Games: One of their means of keeping people within their occupied territories entertained, and thus, less willing to turn against them is to host events like these, pitting captured Hunters and Riders against each other in a blood sport where death is typically mandated, and the player can potentially get involved in these, either willingly or unwillingly.
* Hypocrite:
	+ Although they claim to worship Elder Dragons and follow their will, they have no qualms with violently subjugating them or harvesting their parts to advance their goals. Downplayed in that they specifically worship *Black Dragons*, with anything below them being seen as more expendable, and that they only don gear from Black Dragons if they were killed by those outside their ranks like Lord Hepskor has, seeing it as a means of enacting posthumous vengeance.
	+ Despite their hatred and contempt for the Ancient Civilization, they receive the mind-control devices needed to bend Major Elder Dragons to their will from the Dengeki Triad and the corporations that aid them, which consist of Ancient Civilization idolizers. Pointing this out after the Triad are exposed for their misdeeds and forced to give up their operations will cause some members to denounce the cult and turn themselves in out of disappointment, while others will attempt to justify it as a necessary evil and proclaim that the Triad was never going to succeed in their goal to revive the Ancient Civilization to begin with due to misplaced ambitions.
* I Am a Humanitarian: Some of their rituals involve the consumption of flesh and blood from humans and humanoid races, with individual members even being willing to offer themselves as the sacrifice.
* Keystone Army: Without Hepskor leading over them, Draconis Automata and the new Hepskor Kingdom they preside over will fall into a state of anarchy and civil war due to rampant infighting and clashing ideas on how to run the kingdom, with many of Draconis Automata's members having little clue on how to properly manage a kingdom outside of fear or decadence due to them having little to no experience in diplomacy, with this eventually spelling their doom and forcing the survivors to hand what remains of the kingdom over to someone who can actually sustain it.
* Kill All Humans: Their ultimate goal is to enact another Great Dragon War and drive humanity and those associated with them to extinction. And if the player sides with Draconic Automata and completes their route, they can accomplish this task.
* Our Dragons Are Different: Although its members can be seen utilizing a wide variety of elements, they specialize in the Dragon Element, and all their Monsties are infused with Dragon Genes.
* Public Execution: A number of their occupied areas have gallows and guillotines present, with these explicitly being used for this purpose as a means of entertainment. And if the player got on their bad side, but was defeated by them, they may find themselves being the subject of their latest execution.
* Social Darwinist: They follow the philosophy that the strong should rule over the weak with an iron fist, and that because the Black Dragons are the strongest monsters known to man, they should rule over all other remaining lifeforms once the second Great Dragon War has commenced successfully. However, they are aware that those they see as weak, such as humans, can be strong in groups, and attempt to work towards keeping them from exploiting their numbers advantage, such as attacking their means of production and attempting to render them lazy and docile by appealing to their primal instincts.
* To Serve Man: they perform grotesque rituals that involve the consumption of human flesh and the flesh of other humanoid races on the behalf of Lord Hepskor, and they also intend to enact this on humanity and civilization as a whole if his plan to drive them to extinction through the second Great Dragon War fails, reducing them to cattle races that only exist to sustain Elder Dragons, Black Dragons in particular. Sure enough, this is what winds up happening if they succeed in recreating the Great Dragon War, with the Black Dragons opting to reduce civilizations of all sorts to cattle after eradicating their saviours.

## Notes and Trivia

* Choosing to have members of Draconis Automata killed off in *Monster Hunter Stories Ultimate* does not deplete from the game's Karma Meter, showcasing just how far off the deep end they are. Some characters may become wary of the player after they finish the act, however.
* Draconis Automata serves as one of the major villain factions in High-Rank and G-Rank, being responsible for the influx of Elder Dragons, monster invasions around the Old World, and the empowerment of villains like Linden Vihrantus and Yukisuto Choraeta.