#z-rex

A WIZARD DID IT

Miraculous fossils are of different origins to wondrous fossils, but likewise Caliosteo-exclusive. ZongaZonga’s method of revival, just like the modern one, was fossil-based – but rather than using genetic material to create a superpowered facsimile of the original, it would create a vaguely undead being from the skull alone. As ZZ wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about dinosaurs, he couldn’t distinguish species particularly well. Hence, all ceratopsians became Z-Triceras, all theropods Z-Rexes, and all pterosaurs Z-Pteras. The same fossil would usually be reused for ten to twenty consecutive revivals, as the zombiesaur’s body would be materialised with ZZ’s own power. Over time, some fossils were tainted with vitriolic necromantic energy from after being revived again and again and again, developing a magically impenetrable golden sheen. When ZongaZonga was sealed in the Stone Pyramid, his people destroyed most of the corrupted head fossils, and reburied the rest. Since then, the remnants of ZZ’s curse have eroded the encasing rocks and rendered the fossils incredibly fragile – nearly all the Z-Elasmo and Z-Ptera heads were destroyed due to their fragility during reburial (but there are Z-Tricera heads, though not shown in-game). Revival machines can’t decode the original fossil any longer due to the damage incurred by ZZ’s magics, so they recreate the burst of energy from the revival spell. This is why all Zombiesaurs have gold fossils applied.

Boneysaurs were created by a rival sorcerer staging a coup against ZZ. Their revival spell worked similarly, but whilst having the same necromantic energy required, it wasn’t half as deleterious to the fossils involved. However, every fossil used remains part of the boneysaur it was converted into, and hence impossible to revive. 

IN THE BLACK BOOKS

The dark energy harvested by Dr. Blackraven has nothing to do with the astronomical concept – rather, it crops up naturally in certain sites. After festering underground for perhaps five millennia, it corrupts all nearby fossils, filling them with raw elemental power. Given tens of millennia again, it may even prompt the unholy parthenogenesis that is spontaneous revival. Frigi and Igno, for example, were born of millions of years of dark energy exposure, being an Apatosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus corrupted beyond recognition. (To this day, the Digadigs worship several other dark energy-revived putative deities, including Lexovisaurus god Ter, and Ventu, the air-element apotheosis of Deinonychus.) If fossils only absorb minimal amounts of dark energy, they merely turn red. Often, the surrounding rock crystallises, becoming blacker and harder as the contents develop a deeper and deeper blush – however, a set of legs, arms, or ribs distanced sufficiently from the source may still change colour whilst encased in deceptively pale strata.