The White Dragon (白龍, pinyin: Báilóng, onyomi: Hakuryū) is one of the four dragons who serve Shangdi. A deity famed for its white scales, it represented purity and virtue. It could fly through the skies at blinding speeds, easily twirling upward into the heavens with unsurpassed agility. The White Dragon also possesses the ability to transform itself into a giant fish and loves to dwell within rivers.
Within the Five Elements philosophy, it represents the west and is analogous to the White Tiger. Taoism has it act as the White Dragon God of the Western Sea, Ao Run. He grants precious rain to the west and provides clean water for residents.
The Harukanaru Toki no Naka de series has its own take on the White Dragon for its parallel universe.
Role in Games
Since the dawn of time, there has been two dragon gods in the parallel world: the White Dragon and the Black Dragon. When their powers are united in harmony, they are known as Yinglong. The White Dragon represents yang: movement, change and life. The god rules the Five Elements and its servants, the Four Gods and the White Kirin, protect the elements and directions within the parallel world. Serenity will thrive as long as the dragon gods are connected to one another.
Like its opposing dragon god, the White Dragon watches humanity from afar within its own isolated heavenly realm. If they empathize too much with humanity and their emotions, they risk losing their own godhood and becoming human. The dragon gods have been predominately depicted as male, but female versions are known to exist.
If a young maiden is chosen by this god to be its priestess, they gain a fraction of the White Dragon's powers. She gains the power to collect and control the Five Elements, can purify defilements just by touching them, and can eradicate vengeful spirits in the world. Since the girl possesses a unique balance of energy within herself, she may be the only one who is vulnerable to a malevolent curse or spiritual taint. She can eventually overcome this flaw by gaining more power and purifying the source. Once she gains enough power, the priestess can summon the White Dragon to her by sacrificing herself to it. If her will is strong enough, she can keep her body and mind intact.
A White Dragon Priestess (白龍の神子, Hakuryū no Miko) is a distinguishing label which existed during the later Heian period. Earlier eras called her Priestess of the Dragon God (龍神の神子, Ryūjin no Miko) since she was a person who could hear the dragon god's will. The dragon god can mentally speak to its priestess by chiming a bell (if she is weakened) or directly with human words (if she is spiritually strong or if the situation is urgent).
Ancient Times
When humanity matured long ago, they began to worship these gods and gave them names. However, they didn't respect other spiritual entities and earned the Black Dragon's wrath. Sympathetic to humanity's plight, the White Dragon approached a young woman and gave her gems endowed with his power, which would later be called Dragon Gems (龍の宝玉, Ryū no Gyoku). Humanity tried to use these gems to defend themselves, but their efforts were failing. The young woman, who had strong spiritual powers, prayed with all of her might for the White Dragon to save them. He answered and mutably dispelled the Black Dragon from the human world. She was the first priestess in Nakatsu Kuni's history.
As his opposite counterpart slept to recover his strength, the White Dragon watched humanity's reaction to the girl's sacrifice. What he witnessed was humanity continuing to wage war against other spirits and one another. Disillusioned by his futile efforts, the White Dragon decided to sleep within the Loophole of Time and ignored humanity's pleas for his power. He watched humanity's cycle of wars throughout the world during his hibernation. Sections of Nakatsu-no-Kuni, in the meantime, enjoyed 300 years of prosperity, leading to the legend that peace is granted by the dragon god's blessing.
When the White Dragon thought humanity neglected to honor the sacrifices made for peace, he would awaken from his slumber and join his twin. He would then destroy the current world and create a new one in its place, resetting the timeline back hundreds of years to see if humanity would change. The dragon god has remarked that he has repeated the process many times, but the results were the same. In each timelime, humanity would wage war, experience a period of peace, forget the lessons learned for peace, and repeat another period of war.
During Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4, the White Dragon awakens. He has concluded humanity as a vice and seeks to destroy the current world. The White Dragon Priestess of the era defies him to prove the merits of the human heart. It isn't until he is defeated by the protagonist and her companions that he decides to accept humanity's strengths and flaws. He blesses the eight Dragon Gems in her possession with an emotion or trait before he restores their world and returns to the heavens.
Later Centuries
With its faith regained in humanity's ingenuity, the dragon god chooses to not directly interfere with human affairs. Both dragon gods now believe that only humans can create their own happiness and future. It will only act if the residents have a fervid wish and pray for it to save them. Should the parallel world experience peril, it summons a young girl to restore order. Despite their general passiveness for humans, each dragon god cares dearly for their respective priestess. The White Dragon will try to warn their priestess of danger and may even sacrifice itself to save her.
If the dragon gods are weakened, a new dragon god can be reborn into a human-like form. This is possible so long as a dragon god's throat scale (逆鱗, pinyin: nìlín, romaji: gekirin) remains. The scale represents the dragon's power and spirit, its true being. If a dragon god removes it or if it shatters, their current form will cease to exist. When the White Dragon's scale glows or resonates, the person holding it can use it to travel through time. It's also possible to abuse this energy to instead create a barrier or a destructive blast of pure energy.
During the Warring States period, a powerful sorcerer known as Nankoubou cast a powerful curse on the dragon deity. The spell imprisoned the dragon deity and weakened it severely to call for its priestess in agony. Its physical body could not handle the stress of the curses and it was eventually morphed into a magical hourglass. This is later given to its priestess, who unwittingly uses its remaining life force to travel between two worlds. The strain of time travel and the curse becomes too much for the dragon god and it shatters.
The dragon god's spirit resurrects into a new body to guide its priestess. Since it is a newly born entity, it is too weak to grant her its divine protection from evil spirits. Its powers alone can hardly do anything for her. At her behest, this White Dragon retakes the shape of the hourglass. In order to grant its priestess's wishes, however, it needs to borrow her life force. As the process lengthens, the dragon god slowly consumes her life and body. It feels particularly guilty for its weaknesses and frequently apologizes to her.
Once the land's elements are properly restored, the rejuvenated dragon god resumes its duties in the parallel world. It assures its priestess that her drained life will gradually return as it gains strength.
Gallery
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Dragon Gem before it receives the White Dragon's blessing
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Scale altered as a pendant
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Hourglass form
