General Description
Nowadays, Amphas mostly roam around in their human forms, but they can shift into three different forms.
Ampha: Humanoid form featuring the winged tails, markings and extra features like horns or scales, ect.
Amphataur: Half-way shifted form, resembles a Naga with wings
Amphathere: Full Dragon form, features wings that are used for walking like Wyverns do, with no hind legs present in most cases.
Amphas can have any body types in their humanoid forms! It is rarer to find an Ampha on the chubby side however, but it is definitely not impossible! (In short, this is purely lore stuff, so by all means if you wish to make a chubby Ampha, go right ahead <3)
^Read the DIET section if you wish to know more on the topic!^
History
Amphas lived together with other dragon species dating back to the Middle Ages, but upon seeing their fellow dragons be slain they had to resort to different methods of survival. They abandoned their ability to use their elemental powers in exchange for the ability to shift. The beginnings were humble, and it took a full decade to fully master their craft.
With such a disguise they could tuck their tails under cloaks and pretend to be humans, simple minded farm helpers with little to no language skills, taken in by farmers who needed the help and kept them secret.
As time changed to be more peaceful and open due to Industrialization and Modernization they were finally able to lay open their cards, offering their muscle power to humans.
Ever since, Amphas worked alongside humans, helping them against dangers and connected humans overseas with their flying skills.
Amphas were also recorded to be found in many other worlds and their history is similar in most. Many years later, they have for the most part adapted well to their modern environments and co-exist peacefully with most other species.
Shifting
Shifting is their main ability. Most Amphas do not learn to breathe or control elements any longer, as the Elders of their species have passed away a long time ago, alongside the knowledge about these ancient skills.
Shifting into their dragon forms takes a lot of energy, so it can't be overused. Most Amphas can shift about once or twice a day, depending how much food they can consume. If they force themselves to shift too many times, they will run out of energy and pass out. This can be harmful in the long run if it happens too many times. So keep an eye on your stubborn Amphas!
They always keep their tails and wings in their humanoid form, mostly because they aren't able to fully shift into a human, but it is also a way to shift back more easily into their two other forms. Their tails sorta serves as an energy storage to shift from one to the other!
Markings
Their markings are an indication for their energy storage capacity. The more markings an Ampha has, the more energy it has to shift.
An Ampha is usually never more marked than 50% of its human body/dragon body.
Their markings naturally glow in the dark and dim considerably if they are exhausted or tired. They also glow while shifting and when enraged!
Vibrant markings are usually the norm for regular Amphas, but much darker colors, or even black, are also allowed.
Diet
Amphas eat everything that a normal human would, and prefer cooked meats in their dragon form for safety reasons.
Junk foods give them enough energy to shift, so Amphas who shift often are seen eating high carb foods often.
Due to their high energy output overweight Amphas are rather rare and only occur when an Ampha straight up refuses to shift, but due to their instincts telling them to fly they won't refuse to shift often.
They can process poisons in their stomachs, but they generally refrain from consuming poisonous berries, as it can still affect them negatively sometimes.
Gender
Since Amphas are shapeshifters, gender is pretty much irrelevant to them! They can be anything and have anything they want down there if ya know what I mean. Whether it be male, female or some custom tentacle appendage, they can pick whatever they desire to whatever time they choose during shifting.
NOTE:
Female presenting amphas can now have breasts! They are shapeshifters, so if they want some or not is up to them, much like how they can choose what they want down there, they can choose to have a flat chest or not at any time!
However they absolutely CANNOT have breasts in their full dragon form. Please do not put boobies on giant noodle dragon.
They however still do not have nipples, since they are at their core, reptilians.
Procreation
Amphas are hatched from eggs after 4 months of development in the womb and another month of incubation. They spend the first 2 months of their life in dragon form before they start learning to shift.
Ampha eggs are oval shaped and have a rubber-like shell. In case it falls, the egg will bounce without the embryo suffering damage. Careful though! This does not mean you should yeet the eggs! Be a responsible parent.
The eggs' shell also emits a phosphorescent light that allows the parents to locate them more easily.
Female Amphas have to shift into their dragon form to lay their egg, in rare cases they can lay two. The egg takes about a month to produce in the dragon and a month to lay.
NOTE:
Two male presenting Amphas can breed if one of them decides to keep female genitalia until the month of egg production is over. They need to stay female in order to not destroy the egg inside their body.
Likewise female couples can also procreate when one of them shifts themselves male genitalia.
Amphas may occasionally breed with other species and create Half-breeds, but those often lose the ability to shift and cannot procreate themselves anymore due to infertility.
Female Humans, as well as other species that cannot usually lay eggs, may procreate with an Ampha, however the Ampha embryo will develop differently as it is not their usual egg. This unfortunately results in a miscarriage more often than not, which makes Half-breeds one of the most rare occurrences.
Development and Lifespan
It takes them a while to learn how to shift, but by the age of 3 they'll learn how to shift half-way, which means their amphataur forms. Between the age of 6-8 they should be able to shift into their humanoid form, looking like a toddler.
Their wings don't start growing big enough to fly until they reach the age of 6 as well, which is when they'll start learning to fly.
An Ampha's average lifespan is around 200 years old, but in some rare cases they live past that up to at most 250 years old.
They age similarly to a normal human, hitting adulthood at around 20 years old. They start looking older anywhere between 50 to 100 years old. It depends on the Ampha and your preferences! Some people like keeping it accurate to human age for example so they can start aging at around 45-50 like us, but also some of them still look young at that age and don't start looking visibly old till 100. This isn't solid, so feel free to interpret this particular piece of lore however you want!
Dangers
Depending on the area, it is possible for Amphas to be hunted for their priced Scales, but it is of course illegal and very much frowned upon. So it is actually a rare threat, luckily.
As a species, they are not an inherently aggressive and will not attack unless they need to defend themselves.
The only true danger to face are Primal Amphas, as they will eat anything they can get their hands on to sustain them, and do not shy away from eating humans or their own kind.