Latias and Latios - Hoenn
"All dreams are but another reality. Carve this in your heart so you might not forget."
-The First Prophet, Yume to Yogen
Overview
Latias and latios, Lords and Ladies of the Mist, The Eon Dragons, The Grasping, The Restraining, The Emanations of the Great Dreamer, are one or more species of dragons native to the islands southeast of Japan. They have fantastical abilities, even by the standards of dragon. Light manipulation and supersonic flight have been confirmed. Sensory and memory bonding are often alleged by those who claim to have encountered one. It is highly probable they are telekinetic. Other abilities such as hydrokinesis, advanced engineering knowledge, dream reading, and soul manipulation have been alleged infrequently and may be more rooted in mysticism and tall tales than reality. There is very little information on the species as they are nervous dragons and unwilling to appear before researchers, much less cooperate with their studies.
There has long been a religion or cult centered around worship of the dragons known as The Dreaming. Its adherents briefly gained control of all of Hoenn and most of Honshu before collapsing. Today the faith is mostly confined to minor islands such as the autonomous prefecture of Altomare.
Appearance
Satellite imagery has managed to confirm that latias and latios are streamlined dragons with arms and a set of wings, but no apparent legs. They are believed to spend almost all of their lives airborne. Latios have blue or purple feathers covering almost their entire body save the neck and face, while latias have red or purple feathers. Recovered feathers have a very high silica content and are nearly translucent. They are also sharp to the touch. The origin of the apparent blue, red, or purple coloration is unknown. There may be colored scales under the translucent wings. Individuals may also add on the apparent coloring through photokinesis is even when no one is watching. There is every indication that latias and latios have human comparable intelligence. The behaviors of highly intelligent species are often difficult to explain or predict.
The satellite imagery more or less matches early descriptions of the species, although The Third Prophet was adamant that a slightly different design be used, one with ridges in the middle of the wings and legs instead of arms. He also believed that there were no visual differences between the sexes.
The Dreaming believe that latias often take the form of human women to associate with mankind. Latios occasionally follow them in human guise. These forms are often drawn as having braids styled in such a way that they appear as ridges. Details vary beyond this. The Yume to Yogen is light on visual description of the dragons human guises, only describing a latias as taking on a slight form with light hair. A latios is described appearing as a large and stern human. Art tends to depict latias as having brown hair and red, pink, or amber eyes and latios as having very dark hair and blue or grey eyes. This is more a form of artistic shorthand more than an accurate depiction of all possible forms the dragons could take.
The Sixth Prophet was an artist who often drew latias or latios as the hands or tongues of an incomprehensible being looming beneath the sea or behind a cloud, marked primarily by the paint running together. The hidden, unnamed controller was only properly drawn once as a vaguely avian figure covered in eyes with blood and water streaming off of it. The latias and latios, stylized like body parts, are connected by golden or black chains to the figure.
In Hoennese Mythology
The old surviving traditions about latias and latios come from the dragon tribes of Hoenn, particularly the inland clans. In Dr. Simon Ruthkay's groundbreaking text, Anthropology of the Dragon Tribes, he describes their views of latias and latios.
Long ago the beasts of water and flame were sealed away by The Guardian of the Skies and Queen of the Dragons, Rayquaza. She knew that simply locking them away would cause their anger and resentment to grow and make their next clash all the more destructive. As a compromise she let them insert their dreaming consciousness into the bodies of dragons. They are forbidden from entering their old domains and must now float above the earth and sea, never landing upon it.
They describe the dragons as being kind, by dragon standards, and willing to help doomed sailors find their way to shore. They are associated with the mist, although the clansmen were unsure whether they created it or simply hid inside of it. The inland tribes believe that a stranger met in the most should be treated with the utmost respect lest they be one of the dragons in disguise. Anyone who ventured to the island in the heart of the mist was condemned to death, either by the dragons themselves or by the tribe for upsetting such ancient forces. There are relatively few myths surrounding either, but especially latios. The dragons have always been secretive and difficult to detect due to their photokinesis and affinity for mist. The inland dragon tribes described latias as being strange women who would ask riddles and questions. Should their questions be properly answered, they might convey a boon. Latios were described as enforcers of hospitality. Breaches of decorum and sacred hospitality could be punished by a swift end.
The coastal dragon tribes of Hoenn may have held the same beliefs. Regardless, there was a schism around 700 C.E. after the arrival of The First Prophet. He was a psychic bloodliner who claimed to be the child of a latias and a human woman. The First Prophet outlined the principles of a religion centered more around latias, latios, and The Great Dreamer behind them rather than Rayquaza. The dragon tribes ultimately split over the question of who to worship.
According to The First Prophet, all of the universe is the dream of a being of unimaginable power and sophistication. Humans are unaware of this. The pokémon are living lucid dreams capable of altering the fabric of reality in any way they wished. Latias and latios are manifestations of the unconscious mind of The Great Dreamer. Latias are the childish, irresponsible impulses reaching deeper into the dream. Latios are the firm hand of reason trying to pull The Great Dreamer back to the waking world to fulfill their duties. It is then the goal of humanity to spread tranquility and virtue through the world to help The Great Dreamer awakens. When this occurs all of the scattered fragments of their mind will reunite and every human, pokémon, plant, and animal will be unified as one being with a singular purpose, perfectly in harmony. The First Prophet urged pacifism, vegetarianism, and a constant evaluation of oneself and the world around them.
The religion would dramatically depart from its roots within two centuries. There were nine subsequent prophets, all of whom claimed to be the child of a latias. Each added deeper revelations to the previous prophet's words, claiming that humanity was not yet ready to hear the truth at the time the previous prophet lived. The nine revelations are compiled in the Yume to Yogen, the sacred text of The Dreaming. The Third Prophet brought the most direct change to the view of latias and latios themselves. In his words the great dream is the unconscious desire of the universe trying to assess whether it is good or evil and if it should continue its existence. Latias, and women in general, are manifestations of the naive, curious, and inherently impure desires of The Great Dreamer. Latios, and men in general, exist to guide their mates back to reason and virtue.
Latias having a child with humans is the polluting of divinity with incarnations of sin and ignorance. The resulting child was simultaneously the most aware of humans and a sign of terrible sin in the universe. Such a child could only be born when the universe's vices far outweighed its virtues and even the latias lost sight of their true nature. The resulting child was a way to balance the dream by becoming a great moral leader and guiding humanity back towards moral purity.
Worship
The inland dragon tribes of Hoenn do not offer tribute to The Eon Dragons. They simply treat anyone met in the mist or at sea with the utmost respect and avoid the islands the dragons call home.
The Dreaming has seven prophets, each of whom added a revelation to the Yume to Yogen.
The First Prophet emphasized the importance of written language, libraries, introspection, education, and meditation. He wished to advance humanity to a higher state of being through religious and academic enlightenment, as well as by making peace with the natural world. Many of Hoenn's oldest cities were founded during or shortly after his lifetime. Tokusane is still home to some of Japan's finest universities, one of which claims The First Prophet as their founder. Mysticism, while important to priests, was largely deemphasized for the masses in this period. Latias and latios were worshipped during festivals at the changing of the seasons. Their temples were still only small shrines at a village's school or libraries at holy sites.
The Second Prophet lived about fifty years after the death of The First Prophet. She added an evangelical bent to the religion, arguing that harmony could be spread fastest by actively converting adjacent peoples to the enlightened practices of The Dreaming. While the church's first army was established in her life, the prophet herself cared more for healing than battle and is known to have traveled across Hoenn alone and on foot while curing and cataloguing to diseases. She is still a widely beloved figure in Hoenn. Even at the faith's nadir there are still often statues of her or small shrines to latias in hospitals and graveyards.
The Third Prophet was born in 982 C.E. during a period of decline in Tokusane. He began to emphasize mysticism and the primacy of the faith. Outsiders were no longer allowed to study at church-operated schools or even to be admitted at church-operated hospitals. The text of his revelation was long limited to a new, insular order of priests who were in charge of legal and spiritual matters in the increasingly theocratic Holy State of Tokusane. Taxes were paid directly to the church and were used to build lavish temples in which sacrifices of livestock were performed.
The Fourth Prophet was born during the life of The Third Prophet but only rose to prominence after his predecessor's death. The Fourth Prophet reversed some of the harsher changes of his predecessor, likely to ease the threat of popular revolt at a time when the remaining nations of Hoenn were testing the frontier. The Fourth Prophet's revelation is about dealing with physical and spiritual adversity. He conquered the remainder of Hoenn and even invaded Honshu, although his forces were ultimately forced to retreat. They would go on to establish a naval base at Altomare. The site was officially chosen because it was there The Fourth Prophet had protected two children from heathen attackers. The children then revealed themselves to be a latias and latios and vowed to protect the city built there. The island's natural defenses, deep harbor, and strategic location also provided reasons to build a naval fortress there. The navy he built to invade Honshu would turn into a merchant marine fleet that established with China, Korea, Indonesia, India, and even East Africa.
Another century would pass without a prophet. The naval supremacy of the theocracy would allow them to dominate trade with Honshu and even let them establish trading ties across the Pacific to the Incan Empire. The trade of spices and silver let Minamo become a fantastically wealthy state capable of funding bigger and more sophisticated navies, furthering trade and increasing wealth even further. The Dreaming had also become closely linked to the guilds. The most extravagant of projects were built on Altomare, now a major fortress and trading center. Altomare was emphasized both to taunt Kanto and Johto with the wealth of The Dreaming and encourage conversion and to keep up an elaborate ruse. The Holy State maintained that all of their silver and gold and exotic pokémon came from Honshu. They constantly patrolled the seas around Honshu to keep other nations from entering. A handful of vassal states even had fake mines constructed and opulent palaces and temples full of silver and gold ornamentation constructed to keep up the illusion for the few ambassadors and adventurers who set foot on Honshu. The path to The Americas, and even their existence, was a closely guarded secret. Only the most devout sailors would be permitted to make the trip across the Pacific. This was designed to protect the source of their wealth and prevent foreign competition. The Holy State's contact with the Inca were kept as minimal as possible while still facilitating trade. No colonies or even permanent trading towns were constructed. The scarce interactions and excellent doctors of The Holy State also reduced the flow of disease between the continents.
The Fifth Prophet was born 1164 C.E. She declared that it was time to convert the entire world to the faith of The Dreaming. She ultimately conquered Honshu, Korea, Taiwan, and portions of China in a span of six years. Her reign, and revelation, are the shortest. Her revelation emphasizes discipline and self-denial. She was also the only Prophet married to another Prophet, born in 1197. After his wife's assignation in 1206, The Sixth Prophet's sanity may have begun to deteriorate. He killed every inhabitant of every city his wife's assassin had ever lived in. He then declared that the only true way to bring peace to The Great Dreamer was to wake him through bloodshed. Almost every crime was punishable by death and basic freedoms were deprived of everyone other than soldiers and their wives. Human sacrifice was briefly practiced. The trade of spices and silver were banned to prevent debauchery and all sailors with knowledge of the Americas were killed. The Sixth Prophet's descent into madness meant that most of his kingdom, even Hoenn, was in open rebellion by the time the Mongols swept in. By the time of his death The Dreaming only held on to Altomare, a heavily fortified fortress city on an island. The faith continued to be practiced in much of coastal Hoenn, just without any ties to the elders in Altomare.
The Seventh Prophet lived from 1470 C.E. to 1564 C.E. and spent most of her life improving the engineering of the isolated island state, further improving its fortifications, repairing and improving temples to The Eon Dragons, converting the marshlands into arable fields, improving fishing vessels, and making hydroponic gardens to feed the people. Her revelation is essentially an almanac outlining farming and building practices and advice for running a household or business. She is believed to have had very little involvement with the faith she was nominally at the head of.
The Eighth Prophet was born in 1691 C.E. He spent most of his life trying to simplify the doctrine of the faith and writing an epic novel about The Fourth Prophet, whose memories he claimed to have inherited. In 1723 he departed on a ship towards an unknown destination far to the north of Altomare. He was never heard from again.
Today
The Ninth Prophet was a recluse who was only acknowledged after her death. Her revelation emphasizes the wickedness of humanity and the need to purge the entire species, or at least the vast majority of them, to bring peace to The Great Dreamer's soul. Her works were publicized by The Tenth Prophet, born in 1901 C.E., and with a similar disposition to his bloodier predecessors. He proved himself a distinguished mercenary abroad before returning to Altomare, convincing the church elders of his parentage, and training an elite squad of soldiers and commanders. He saw the Japanese emperor's war as a good way to bring about mass death and allied with him. Church soldiers were responsible for many of the greatest atrocities in the war. The Tenth Prophet ordered his troops to routinely provoke fights with other nations in hopes of dragging as many countries into the war as possible and maximizing carnage. The Japanese army itself eventually stormed Altomare and executed The Tenth Prophet to keep him from making the war more difficult for them than it had to be. Altomare has since been a secular, semiautonomous prefecture patrolled by Japanese and American soldiers.
In Hoenn latias and latios are still popular among craftsmen, doctors, and scholars. It is common for them to have small statues of the eon dragons in their home and recite brief prayers to them at the start of a work day. Before The Tenth Prophet there were even several well-attended and well-funded temples throughout the islands where people would come to meditate when they were stuck with a problem they could not find their way out of. The Eon Dragons were seen as the clever guides of last resort, the kind of parents that would produce brilliant educators, doctors, generals, artists, engineers, and novelists. The faith's popularity has dramatically declined after its repression in the early Meiji Era and being associated with an omnicidal war criminal. It is now more common to see edited versions of the Yume to Yogen than the full ten volume collection. Most editions keep the revelations of the First, Second, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Prophets while excluding the more mystical and militaristic ones. The Nanpō Islands and the waters around them are a protected wildlife preserve. Entry is illegal.
Origins
Western scientists long believed that latios and latias did not exist. Latias were dismissed as blaziken seen at an odd angle or from a distance. Latios were believed to be gyarados, another blue (pseudo) dragon that can float and change the weather. The depictions in Hoennese art were dismissed as the sightings of the mad or the tall tales of sailors. During the American occupation of Japan naval ships routinely sailed by the Nanpō islands without seeing anything.
In 1953 a spy plane flying over the islands was assailed by an invisible creature flying faster than the aircraft at high altitudes. Satellite images later revealed an island full of blue and red dragons similar to the traditional descriptions. As a test a drone was flown around the island while a satellite watched overhead. The dragons seemed to disappear as the drone approached before one destroyed it. The dragons' invisibility was almost immediately dropped. Scientific expeditions to the island are prohibited by the Japanese government. The few explorers who have attempted to set foot on the island have seen nothing, experienced horrific hallucinations, or never returned.
In 1979 a layer of fog blanketed the entire island. It has not lifted since. Scientists speculate that a latias or latios disguised as a human or rendering itself invisible may have found out about the satellite monitoring. There is some debate as to whether the dragons constitute one or two species as they have never been observed mating. It has also not been proven that latias can have children with humans. Cremation has been traditional within The Dreaming since the days of The First Prophet. The Tenth Prophet's body was broken out of the morgue and destroyed before a proper autopsy could be performed.