I get asked a lot about my cockatrice character, Vellux, and I certainly have developed a good deal on my own, but I do owe a great deal of information to the original creator, Jen Sabado. She had developed a great deal of the cockatrice's world and society before becoming involved with a now long departed webcomic called Spellshocked. It was a great story but one of the characters really caught my interest, a female necromancy student named Thula.

Thula

We had conversed for a short time and I was able to get some information about cockatrice abilities and their caste based society.

- Sorcerer (Pure magic energy; white)
- Necromancer (Death magic; black)
- Mage (Elemental magic; red, blue, purple, orange. Possibly yellow, I haven't decided)
- Druid or Ranger (Life magic; brown, green)

Mages throw around spells based on fire, water, earth, and air. Druids or rangers are actually the same caste but different levels of power; a ranger would be a match for a mage, and they are rarer than are druids. (These aren't their own names for the castes, but translations, of course). The life magic caste is the one that's most common. Sorcerers were the least common and the most powerful of them all, and before they were all killed off they were the cockatrice ruling caste.
Cockatrice castes

For my part, cockatrice have the ability of petrification of other beings, but they are immune to the effect amongst their own species. They also have a third eyelid which, as a mercy to others, blocks their deadly gaze. They can still see as normal but it does give their eyes a silvery appearance. As I've always said, making lawn ornaments of others does not endear you much with the local townsfolk. As spellcasting is common, a cockatrice can learn 'stone to flesh' spells if they so choose.