Astral'Jiiva

**Astral'Jiiva** is a powerful variant of the Xeno'Jiiva species. This individual, unlike the others of its kind, is neotenic. This rare mutation is guessed to be a dominant gene, as the only offspring of this variant appears to also be neotenic. Its a nocturnal monster that appears to be troglobitic, mostly sticking to caves to feed off of bioenergy but will leave when needed, sticking to the dark of night. Orion is the same in structure and mostly identical in coloration with a few mishaps. Its scales are a blue tinted gray and with the crystalline coat appears shiny. Its wings are larger and appear to have large diamond star patterns similar to butterflies and Legiana's wing patterns with smaller white ones speckled over the rest of its body and has clear and smooth somewhat reflective scales. This is caused by a chemical that produces a thin layer of crystal that coats the body as a result of the amount of crystals it consumes. The flaps on its arms and tail are longer and some form on its hind legs and sports short ones behind the head and some medium ones on mid back. When enraged, its chest, throat, and stomach will glow bright amber and orange and emit intense heat over around 200,000 degrees, with its tail and wings with glow similarly to give off an intimidating impression. It will also briefly flush its outer bloodstream with an enzyme that, when in contact with the chemicals in its innerscales, with turn into a highly corrosive cyan acid, making any attacks on it flush acid onto the attacker. After a few minutes, a neutralizing agent is introduced, dissipating the acid into a steam. If the offender refuses to back down, Orion will spray forth beams of pure energy and will attack without prejudice. If the offender should leave, even while attacking, Orion will calm and let the creature leave without pursuit. Its roar is also unique as it has a melodic tune and seems to be split into two, creating the illusion that another Xeno is nearby. The roar ends with a long, guttural hiss. Its body also has a passive blue glow to it that seems to increase if threatened and decrease if hiding. Its tail, head, and wings create the brightest glow. If enough damage is dealt, it will shriek loudly and will fly into the air and preform either Engulf, Star Strike, or Retribution. It will randomly spread its wings out and, similar to Lunastra, will release tons of blue energy particles that increase the chance of blights to affect the hunter, should a hunter stay near a cloud, they will contract Frozen Seraphim and/or Tenshou. Its beams of energy have particles of energy emitting off them instead of fire. Orion is highly adaptive and will change its behavior and even its body based on the environment, usually by consuming the the most powerful residents of the area upon first introduction. It can breath the energy beams both out of its mouth and its tail.

## Physiology\*

Orion is heavenly ethereal blue and its scales appear to be crystalline. Its claws, teeth, and horns are obsidian black and its skin coloration darkens slightly the further up, (belly is lighter and back is darker) and further down, (shoulder is lighter while feet are darker). It has small white diamond stars speckled sparsely all over its body, head, arms, and tail, and large dark blue ones on its wings. The organs in its chest heat up to a high degree to have a 500,000 degree blast.

## Behavior\*

It often claws the ground, digging for anything of value, such as purified crystals, which it consumes. It rubs its side on the crystal ground, sometimes releasing a **soulscale**. It will vary rarely leave its lair and only at night. The only thing that can cause it to leave is the presence of another Elder Dragon.

### Tracks

The only tracks it leaves are footprints, scratch marks from digging into the ground, and scrape marks made by scratching its side on the ground.

### Specific Locale Interactions

If in Room 2, it can climb a stalagmite and sleep. If in Room 3, it can preform Twinkle Star.

### Special Behavior

It often stays away from Nergigante as it is one of the only Elder Dragons to pose an actual threat to it, and when presented with Vaal'Hazak, it goes on the offensive immediately and tries to force it to leave the locale. If **Brutalis** is near, it will relentless search for it, once meeting its becomes Enraged.

### Interactions with Other Monsters

When confronted with elder dragons, its first reaction is to tempt it to fight, often by chasing them off of their kills and roaring intimidatingly at it. Should the elder dragon wish to fight, Orion will utilize its sheer size and strength to overwhelm it then, when pinned, it will absorb bioenergy from its helpless victim. Then it will leave the scene and go rest. Any small monsters will run and hide when Orion comes near. Often times, it will absorb the energy from the small monsters, killing them relatively quickly, healing itself in the process. It doesn't seem to hunt anything other than very powerful monsters and elder dragons, similar to Nergigante.

### Turf Wars

The only animals that aren't elder dragons to attack Orion are the Elderbane monsters.

Outside of the fighting he will attract the attention of other Elder Dragons. It will, on very certain Elder Dragons like Vaal Hazak, Nergigante, and Alatreon, have Astral'Jiiva attack first, often with a three shot beam in their direction.

**Alatreon vs Astral'Jiiva**: They will roar and circle each other, growling. Orion with start charging a beam and Alatreon will do nothing in response. Orion will fire twice, Alatreon dodging both, then the third beam will hit his side. Alatreon recoils slightly, roars, then tackles Orion. Either Orion will knock him off and tail wack him, then striking him with a beam into his chest, breaking it, then lunge, bite him, then fly to the opening and release him tumbling to the ground, or Alatreon will bite and break Orion's arm, then spray a multi element swirling beam into his head, causing it to break when the attack finishes with a blast.

**Nergigante vs Astral'Jiiva**: Nergigante will roar and stand on its hind legs, then fly up and charge at him. He will slash Orion's shoulder as he stands up and will circle around and go for the back. Orion ducks and he misses with Orion pelting him with a beam. Then he will fly down and bite and slash his limbs, possibly breaking them. Then bite his tail and tug, possibly ripping it off, and bite and rip and slash his wings, certain break. Then he will fly up and divebomb Orion's head. He will land, roar, then leave or he will fly at him, Orion will catch him with his arm and crush him and cause an explosion. Then he will bite him by the head and bash him into the floor then throw him into a wall. Nergigante will roar and charge him flying and Orion will swat him down. Orion slams his head down and Nergigante thrusts his head up, possibly breaking one or both heads. Then Orion will spray his back with energy, certainly breaking his wings and chest, then bites him by the shoulders and throw him out of the cave.

## Abilities\*

* **Redemption:** Orion will absorb bioenergy from the surrounding area and from all living things, halving hunters total health.

## Ecological Information\*

### Taxonomy

* Order: Elder Dragon
* Suborder: Dark Light Dragon
* Family: Jiiva
* Species: Xeno/Safi'Jiiva

### Habitat\*

Guidinglands, Elders Recess, The Cave of Resurgence.

### Ecological Niche\*

Orion's niche in the ecosystem is to be a form of environmental balance. Anyplace that holds elder dragons are given peace from their reign as Orion drains them of their life energy. Any creature that holds onto the position of King of the Food Chain is dispatched and devoured by Orion as it seeks the most powerful creature in the locale, similarly to Nergigante.

### Biological Adaptations\*

The acid produced is used as a deterrent against other elder dragons and a warning to other creatures as it smells similar to oil fumes.

The crystal coat on its skin is a way to secrete the substances it doesn't need. This has an added benefit of being slight protection against damage, however, it also hinders its agility and motility.

The orbs on its head act like eyes. Although providing poor sight, they offer better depth perception and to detect pockets of bioenergy.

## Cutscenes

**Quest: The Slinking Fiend**: The hunter walks into a cave full of crystals and sees his target, the rampaging Khezu, lying lifelessly on the floor. They go over to investigate and the scoutflies reveal some spilled acid next to a stalactite behind the Khezu. Some more drops from the ceiling and the scout flies spiral up and shoot back towards the hunter as the curled up Astral'Jiiva unfurls from a stalagmite on the ceiling. It growls at them and slowly climbs down with a look of curiosity and excitement. It lands on the ground, growling, wings outstretched with particles flowing outwards, causing a few rogue sparks to fly. It roars then charges its blast, leading with an Initiate blast.

**Quest: The Starlight Dragon:** The hunter approaches the shell of a large volcanic Elder Dragon. A blue light emanates from the opening. They enter and see the dragon resting in the center of the cave. As they approach, they see something in the corner. Glancing back they get swatted with a large tail and barely miss a stomp. they aim and shoot an explosive shot from their slinger onto the Elder's face. It flinches and screeches, then turns back and charges a beam.

**Quest: The Final Showdown:** The hunter approaches the edge of a cliff and sees two others hunters running with **Brutalis** hot on their tails. Orion flies over the hunters and roars at **Brutalis**. **Brutalis** looks up and roars back. Orion land and both Elders enter their Enraged modes, viewing **Brutalis** from Orions back. They roar again and charge into each other.

## Game Data\*

### Rage and Tired States\*

* Rage State: Chest releases intense heat, leaving melted puddles under him when he walks. Attacks faster and more combo like.
* Furious State: Chest glows violet with white in center, energy leaks from with entire body making it somewhat dangerous to be in close proximity to. Its flaps will also have a gold rim at the tips and outside and will be easier to break.

* Tired State: Moves slowly and gets damaged easier. Attacks slower. Drools.
* Critical State: Moves erratically and the glow increases and decreases in strength randomly. Energy beams will randomly warp in size and will always release particles. Will be resistant to all ailments and elements and leaks energy from its entire body. Wings show constellations.

### Mounts/Clutch Claw Effects

#### Clutch Claw

Can clutch on head, arm, tail, and wings.

Can mount head, arm, tail, and back

### Breakable parts\*

**Breakable:** Head; slower and weaker bites and head butts. Arms and Legs; slower runs, charges, stomps, and swipes. Stomps hurt it and stall it. Wings; can't fly or do wing blast. When tries to fly, gets off ground, then screeches and falls. Back; slower healing and harder to become Enraged, if chest is broken it can't become Furious. Chest; harder to become Enraged and heat and acid pours out when Enraged, if back is broken it can become Furious.

**Severable:** Tail; no tail swipes or crushes. Flaps; can't heal as quickly or as much.

### Physical Damage Effectiveness

How much a monster is effected by various methods of damage on different parts of the body.

 Arms/Chest
 Wings/Tail

## Attacks\*

* **Core Pulse:** Orion will lift its body onto its hind legs and will stand regally with its head up high. A bright amber light will fill the room from the orange organs and will blind all in it, inflicting Lightblight.

* **Nebula:** Orion will open its wings and release particles into the air, and electricity will spark in between them for a short time. The temperature will rapidly change from hot at the beginning to cold at the end.

* **Enraged:** Orion chest, throat, tail, wings, and stomach will turn orange and emit intense heat, and the rest of it will turn cyan.

* **Initiate:** Orion always fires a beam onto the ground in front of it and then raises its head, dragging the beam with it, until it is facing the opponent.

* **Wing Blast:** Orion will raise its wings and will send gusts of air at the opponents, slowing them up for a moment, having a slight chance to inflict Windblight.
* **Super Nova:** Orion will release too many energy particles and will cause the area to explode.

* **Engulf:** Orion will fly into the air, engulf the area in fire and will use its particle spread, causing the crystals to melt and do damage, and itwill hone the beam until a large scale explosion takes place.

* **Star Strike:** Orion will fly into the air and will fire and beam from his mouth and tail, warping from a small honed beam to a wide spraying beam and will do a spiral around the area and will meet at the center, in which a large cracked hole will pulsate energy, causing the ground to crack, the whole thing resembling the Milkyway Galaxy. It will then fly up, charge a blast, and will shoot a medium sized star into the crater and will cause the spiral to chain explode going outwards.
* **Twinkling Star:** Orion will fly up and will caress its wings, tail, limbs, body, and head while energy flows into a twinkling star. The ground will crack and shake and the air will change from hot to cold then cold to hot rapidly and speckle stars will fly out from Twinkle. The room will go dark and Orion flies a little higher, facing up and roaring with wings splayed out, only for a huge explosion of white and fire to engulf the area, instakilling all, no matter where, in the room. This only happens if hunters don't do enough damage.

* **Retribution:** Orion will stand in the center of the arena and absorb tons of bio energy, causing the patterns on its wings and body to glow an impressive white and the ground will rumble and the Jiiva will turn to the Hunter and spew beams. After three white beams, an explosion occurs where the Xeno is standing, instantly killing hunters in the open, destroying obstacles shielding them from attacks, and blinding all hunters.

## Carves\*

A list of materials that can be carved from or obtained through rewards or shinies.

* Astral'Jiiva Soulscale ★★★★★
* Astral'Jiiva Ghostshell★★★★
* Astral'Jiiva Starclaw ★★★★
* Astral'Jiiva Ghostveil★★★★
* Elderdragon Bone ★★★★
* Elderdragon Blood ★★★★
* Astral'Jiiva Starwing ★★★
* Astral'Jiiva Starhorn ★★
* Astral'Jiiva Soulplate ★
* Astral'Jiiva Coremantle ★
* Astral'Jiiva Coregem ★

### Shiny Item Drops

Astral'Jiiva Soulscale ★★★

Astral'Jiiva Ghostshell★★

Astral'Jiiva Ghostveil★

## Equipment

All weapons can be crafted with other elder dragon parts to change both the look and the element of the weapon/armour. All weapon skills are Critical Element/Status and Razor Sharp. The effect Critical State increases Max HP and Stam. by 15% and allows your health regen to exceed the red portion of the health gauge. Stamina will increase more rapidly and the drain will be halved, along with the increase in affinity for the duration. Attack will increase by 25% but defense will be lowered by 10%. After a set amount of time, Critical State will nullify and the hunters total health and stamina will be halved and affinity will be lowered. Being close to a monster increases the duration and effectiveness of state by 10% however. When used with Orion weapon health and stamina increases by 25% but defense drops by 15%. Weapons will also glow when in Critical State.

### Great Sword

Hell's Gate: Two Astral'Jiiva horns for blade connected by Astral'Jiiva shell with blue gray skin and three orbs on handle. Inflicts Dragon.

Heaven's Gate: A large Astral'Jiiva horn for blade connected by Astral'Jiiva shell with rough blue gray skin and three orbs and black spines on handle. Inflicts Falling Star.

Earth's Gate: Astral'Jiiva scale and bone similar looking in design to Safi weapons with pulsating skin and two orbs and flaps and black spines on handle. Can be changed to inflict any two elements and one ailment. The more elements/ailments added will weaken strength of elements/ailment and weaken blade damage.

### Longsword

Heaven's Break: A thin Astral'Jiiva horn for blade with blue skin on handle with one orb on hilt guard and one at end of handle. Inflicts Dragon.

Hell's Break: A thin Astral'Jiiva horn for blade with rough blue skin on handle with one orb and two black spines on hilt guard and one orb at end of handle.

Earth's Break: Astral'Jiiva scale and bone similar looking in design to Safi weapons with pulsating blue skin on handle spreading to blade with one orb and three skin flaps on hilt guard and one orb and two black spines at end of handle. Can be changed to inflict any two elements and one ailment. The more elements/ailments added will weaken strength of elements/ailment and weaken blade damage.

### Sword and Shield

Hell's Guard: Astral'Jiiva black horn for blade with some blue gray skin and two orbs on handle. Shield is Astral's hand. Inflicts Dragon.

Heaven's Guard: Astral'Jiiva black horn with rough blue gray skin on handle and orb connecting blade and handle with another orb on butt of handle with three black spines. Shield is Astral's hand. Inflicts Falling Star.

Earth's Guard: Astral'Jiiva scale and bone similar looking in design to Safi weapons with pulsating blue gray skin on handle with orb connecting blade and handle with another on butt of handle. Has three skin flaps on each side of the blade and has black spines on hilt guard and handle butt. The shield is top half of Jiiva's head. Can be changed to inflict any two elements and one ailment. The more elements/ailments added will weaken strength of elements/ailment and weaken blade damage.

### Dual Blades

Angel's Rite: An Astral'Jiiva claw with finger as handles. Inflicts Dragon

Demon's Wrath: Two Astral'Jiiva claws per blade with finger as handles. Inflicts Falling Star.

Human's Curse: Astral'Jiiva scale and bone similar looking in design to Safi weapons with pulsating blue gray skin on handle with two orbs, one on butt of handle and other in middle of blade. Has spikes on hilt with a pair of flaps. Can be changed to inflict any two elements and one ailment. The more elements/ailments added will weaken strength of elements/ailment and weaken blade damage.

### Lance

Babel's Curse: Cracked Astral'Jiiva black longhorn with blue skin and one orb on handle. Inflicts Dragon.

Babylon's Reign: Cracked Astral'Jiiva black longhorn glimmering gold with smooth blue skin and one orb on handle. Inflicts Falling Star.

### Switch Axe

Limbo Jack: Black Astral'Jiiva horns for sword and axe that is connected by smooth blue gray skin. Axe has giant orange orb and sword has smaller orange orb. Inflicts Dragon in axe mode and explosion phial for sword.

Oblivion Cleaver: Black Astral'Jiiva horns for sword and axe that is connected by rough blue gray skin. Axe has two orange orbs and sword has an orange orb. Has black spikes on hilt. Inflicts Falling Starblight in axe mode and Dragon phial for sword.

Purgatory Slasher: Astral'Jiiva scale and bone similar looking in design to Safi weapons with pulsating blue gray skin on handle with one large and small orb on axe and on sword. Has orb on handle and has black spikes on hilt with skin flaps with it. Can be changed to inflict any two elements and one ailment. The more elements/ailments added will weaken strength of elements/ailment and weaken blade damage.

### Charge Blade

Life's Curse: Shield/Axe is head of Orion and blade is flat horn with two orbs in it.

Death's Blessing:

### Orion's Crown *alpha heavy*

"Made of Astral'Jiiva Head parts. Held together with its skin and bones." Has horns and flaps with three orange orbs going up. Its a flattened Jiiva head with Orion's eyes where hunters eyes would be and a closed mouth to protect face. No metal or visible bone apart from teeth and horns. Glows when in critical state. Divine Blessing(3), Blindsighter, Detecter, and Critical Eye

### Orion's Soulplate *alpha heavy*

"Made of Astral'Jiiva Body parts. Closed up tightly with its own sinew." Has back flaps sticking outwards. No visible metal or bone other than three rows of short black bone extrusions on back and some on shoulders and stubby ones on chest. Chest and flaps glow when in critical state. Divine Blessing(3), Blight Resistance, Intimidator, and Airborne.

### Orion's Stardusters *alpha heavy*

"Made of Astral'Jiiva Limb parts. Attached with skin and sinew." Has flaps on forearm near elbow. Looks like Orion's arms, claws included! No visible metal or bones, other than claws. Slinger is curved black spikes. Veins in hands, arms, and flaps glow when in critical state. Divine Blessing(3), Masters Touch, Power Prolonger, and Protective Polish.

### Orion's Belt *alpha heavy*

"Made of Astral'Jiiva Tail parts. Stuck together well with sinew and crystal." Has flaps on backside. No visible metal or bones. Glows when in critical state. Divine Blessing(3), Critical Element, Foragers Luck, and Stamina Thief.

### Orion's Stormers *alpha heavy*

"Made of Astral'Jiiva Limb parts. Attached with bone and sinew." Has flaps on calves. Has three claws on tip of toe. Foot is similar to Xeno'Jiiva armor in shape. No metal or bone visible except for clawed toe tip. Veins in leg and flaps glow when in critical state. Divine Blessing(3), Cliff Hanger, Focus, and Handicraft.

### Orion's Mask *beta medium*

"Made of Astral'Jiiva Head parts. Held together with its skin and bones." Has horns and flaps with three orange orbs going up. Its a similar look to the alpha Xeno headgear with a flat more alien look with two big orange orbs and one pair underneath and two pairs above main set.. No metal or visible bone apart from horns. Glows when in critical state. Divine Blessing(3), Blindsighter, Detecter, and Critical Eye

### Orion's Chest *beta medium*

"Made of Astral'Jiiva Body parts. Closed up tightly with its own sinew." Has fairy wing like back flaps sticking outwards. No visible metal or bone other than three rows of short black bone extrusions on back and some on shoulders and stubby ones on chest. Chest and flaps glow when in critical state. Divine Blessing(3), Blight Resistance, Intimidator, and Airborne.

### Orion's Cuffs *beta medium*

"Made of Astral'Jiiva Limb parts. Attached with skin and sinew." Has flaps on forearm near elbow with three different lengthened spikes. Looks like Orion's arms, claws included! No visible metal or bones, other than claws. Slinger is the scales with small rounded black stubs. Veins in hands, arms, and flaps glow when in critical state. Divine Blessing(3), Masters Touch, Power Prolonger, and Protective Polish.

### Orion's Spine *beta medium*

"Made of Astral'Jiiva Tail parts. Stuck together well with sinew and crystal." Has flaps on backside and front. No visible metal or bones except for on the scales which has black bone. Glows when in critical state. Divine Blessing(3), Critical Element, Foragers Luck, and Stamina Thief.

### Orion's Gaiters *beta medium*

"Made of Astral'Jiiva Limb parts. Attached with bone and sinew." Has flaps on calves with black spikes on knees. Has three claws on tip of toe. Foot is similar to Xeno'Jiiva armor in shape. No metal or bone visible except for clawed toe tip. Veins in leg and flaps glow when in critical state. Divine Blessing(3), Cliff Hanger, Focus, and Handicraft.

## Notes\*

* Originally going to be a Deviant, the idea of fighting the same creature over again sounded great, so it turned instead into an extremely rare variant.
* Critical state on armour only activates when your health hits 25%. It increases your maximum health by 15% and causes health regen to exceed the red portion of the health bar (like Vaal Soulvein) and gives the wearer 25% more damage but 10% less defense. Slows stamina drain but halves stamina and health after critical state is over (including the 15% boost). Also raises affinity for the duration.

* Astral'Jiiva doesn't act as a final boss monster like Xeno'Jiiva but more like a siege monster like Safi.

## Star Level Guide'

* ★★★★★★★ = First Class Elder Dragon

**Size:** The Astral'Jiiva is larger than the common individual by a few yards in length and height. Its heavier for its size and makes it somewhat difficult to stay in flight for long periods of time, mostly opting to stay on the ground, utilizing flying as a last resort.

**Attack Strategy:** Go for its feet and sever the flaps. This will cause the dragon to have weaker attacks and to heal less health more slowly. If chest is broken, stay away during enraged mode. The chest will be engulfed with bright jet fire and with inflict fireblight upon all those that gets burned by it. During the fight, random creatures will enter. All will pose a threat to the hunters except for the occasional elder dragon, which will fight Orion.