Dark Path Elements Headcanon
For your villain and lore making needs, some headcanons about dark path magicians for each Flight (part 1 maybe~)
Earth- Necromancer- bringing to life statues and sculptures to guard temples and sacred sites is not an uncommon Earth magic. But bringing to life bones and bodies and tying spirits to them is a great taboo. Often necromancers shall instigate battles so that they may collect more bodies to fuel their armies. Obelisks are at a risk of these magicians, their ability to revert to their statue selves can lead to them being slain and then irreversibly bound to their dead body.
Nature-Rot Witch- the power of a rot witch is life burgeoning, for as they walk- plants grow, they flower, they fruit, they ripen, and then they wither and decay. From the death their power grows larger, and thus the cycle continues. This power is due to a mix of magic and fungal contamination, which grows prolifically in this dragon's wake. Nature Primal dragons are extremely subjectable to this contamination due to their high magic levels.
Fire- Cryomancer- to become a cryomancer is to deaden one's heart, trading the passions of fire for the control of ice. These fire dragons are able to remove heat from their surroundings, quickly freezing the very air around them. The power is not quite as strong as their true element, but it trades power for absolute control. Unfortunately, it is a control that finds the world's chaos intolerable and can lead to them seeking to turn that world frozen and quiet.
Shadow- Shadow Thief- like the wisps of the moors and tangles, these dragons carry lanterns as they travel the edges of the Tangled Wood. But the lanterns are to not lure dragons deeper into the wood, but to rather illuminate the shadows of other beings. They then steal the shadow from their victim with cunning, and use the shadow to make mimics to serve them. Often the victim does not know of the theft till they cross out of the woods into the sunlight, and slowly begin to disappear....
Plague- Cauldron Cheat- those who crawl out from the Wyrmwound are forever changed, most die quickly, some slowly, rarely some adapt and thrive, but a cheat seeks to gain the power of rot without paying so dearly. They bind their arms in talismans and runes of Light (Plague damage is weak against Light), and then dip a single claw into the Wyrmwound. The claw becomes a finger of death, able to slay any it touches with its pestilence. Cheats usually become assassins for hire, though their power may still kill them in the end.
Water- Hemomancer- since all life contains water and water dragons can control that water, controlling the blood of one's enemies to defeat them seems like the logical next step. But blood is considered sacred water, often used for ritual offerings to the Tides. To abuse such water is an anathema to Water Flight. Yet it brings great power, a hemomancer can heal themselves with the blood of the enemy, puppet the body of their enemy like a toy, and even use their own blood to attack when no other water is available. During full moons this power is particularly potent.