The world of the Sea of Stars in deeply infused with magic, in many cases the supernatural and the natural have intertwined so far as to become indistinguishable from one another This constant interplay of forces means that strange things sometimes, just happen.
One of those is xenogenesis, birth of an offspring that is unlike its parents, which is rare but far from unknown. Draconic blood flows through the veins of so many people and occasionsal, children are born higher up the draconic chain of ascension than one would expect, while no child not of a dragon has even been born as a Dracona (half dragon), Dracovi and Dani have appears as children to parents who were far removed from their draconic ancestors.
Occasional fragments of divine ancestry (“god-spark”) will manifest often leading to a very unusual child with strange appearance and potent magics, such children must be hidden from the dragons who will kill them or, at the very least, try to control such potential power. The Empress recruits such children, when found by her agents, into her household, though she also has them rendered sterile, she has no wish to see the return of the gods.
Alignment with one of the elemental powers sometimes find their way into children conceived in areas rife with such activity. These children are sought after by wizards and other specialists in the arts of magic as they can interact with their aligned element in very useful and productive ways.
And other changes to biology are known to happen, strange coloration, extra (or fewer) fingers or toes or both, and other physical abnormalities but rarely are they negative or harmful changes (though the possessor may not consider them positive either). It is almost as if the magic wishes to expand the variety of people.
Notes: More excuses for players to be able to play the character that they want and X is a tough letter to find things to work with.
Image The Selenetidae women giving birth to eggs. Credit: Wellcome Collection. CC BY.
Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal 