Dragandr

The Dragandr, and their evolution, the Elda Dragandr, are a race of hybrid repto-mammals from the planet Ainulin. They have existed since the beginning of the Second Age, and thus have a rich history, with their evolution, contact with other alien species, and subsequent choice to become observers of the stars intertwined within each other.
==Overview==
The Dragandr are a race of peaceful draconic like creatures that seek knowledge of the universe. Not intrested in conquest or economic power besides that of substaining themselves, the only true goal that the race has is simply to understand the world around them and the universe beyond better. They gladly share knowledge to those who wish to understand the universe, however; if the knowledge is used for things like war or slavery, the Dragandr will not give anymore information, and defend their world fiercely from said races.
==Appearence==
Regular Dragandr are relatively large and stocky humanoids, with grey or white hair and lightly tanned or pale skin. They have eyes in the front of their heads allowing for depth perception; eye colors usually range from yellow to green to the rare blue. Also, due to their similarity to eyes of felids, including a tapetum lucidum, they have excellent vision in the dark, though in light it is harder for them to see. Because of this, a flash of extremely bright light can stun an average Dragandr for a few seconds.
Being omnivores, Dragandr have teeth that are similar to that of a human's, with incisors and molars. They also have five fingered hands, with short pointed nails.
Dragandr are tall due to their past, where they had to evolve to reach high fruit, and where enemy beasts were larger. Adults, both male and female, usually reach about 6 feet in height, and weigh about 300 pounds at most. Also, due to a slightly higher gravity than normal (both Ainulin and Taerrus have double the gravity of a normal planet), and thus are more muscular than other species, in order to move themselves. This has resulted in the Dragandr being quite durable, able to take a hit that would stagger a normal weighted being. Also, a Dragandr is strong, able to lift about a ton on average, though Dragandr warriors are able to carry and throw over three tons.
The IQ of a Dragandr is very high. However; it does take some time for a Dragandr's brain to fully grow and mature, and thus for about a quarter of their lives, they cannot use their brains to their full potential. Thus, growth often takes decades, usually around 200–250 years before the mind develops fully. Also, once a Dragandr's brain is fully used, they can evolve into Elda Dragandr
The appearance of a Elda Dragandr varies greatly, as it is partially decided by the evolving Dragandr in question, and also on genetics. Generally, all Elda Dragandr are draconic in nature, with a reptilian like head. Most have wings, and both leg appendages and arm appendages. However, there are Elda Dragandr who have only leg appendages, some that have just wings, and some that have only a serpentine body, flying by special armor that propels them. The hair has gone, but the gene for the hair changes to scale color.
The weight and size of a Elda Dragandr varies greatly due to the various forms, but they range from 20 feet to just about 200 feet in height, and from 300 to almost 1000 pounds. Due to their massive size and weight, Elda Dragandr are not very active, preferring to rest rather than do activity. In fact, the only reason an Elda Dragandr does not become sluggish, fat, and inactive is because of the hibernation chrysalis, which transfers fat as well as energy and waste to the earth. This is also how most Elda Dragandr eat, as their massive size would require a ton of food each day just to barely sustain them, which would be terrible costly on the environment.
Also, all Elda Dragandr use their brain at full capacity, making them extremely smart, usually having a greater IQ than regular Dragandr. Since the Elda Dragandr youth are the regular Dragandr, maturity is already reached and thus Elda Dragandr are already mature.
Something common to both Dragandr and Elda Dragandr is language and pronounciation. They speak their native language fluently, however; in other alien languages, they often have a hard time pronouncing harder or harsher sounds, as their thin tongues aren't big enough to completely make the sound. The result is a lisp that the Dragandr and Elda Dragandr have when speaking in other languages.
==Biology==
The Dragandr were originally a species of lizards on Ainulin. However; a visit by an unknown alien species evolved these lizards into the first of the Dragandr, known as the proto-Dragandr, before leaving for parts unknown. Over time, they evolved into their current form by natural selection. The predators that hunted the proto-Dragandr became less and less threatning as the proto-Dragandr became more muscled and stronger (Dragandr were originally hunted easily because of their small size and weal muscle structure). It was then that the proto-Valaquentii started mating with a similar species, the Elda. They had been the same race untill the aliens' visit. Though they hadn't been evolved by the aliens like the Dragandr, they had evolved on their own. Because the youth of the Elda were so similar in genetics and appearence to the proto-Dragandr youth, interbreeding soon occured. Soon, both species were united again as the union of the two produced the omega-Dragandr, which are the Dragandr and Elda Dragandr known today.
Dragandr age extremely slowly, a trait gained from the Elda. The oldest known regular Valaquentii was over 2000 years old. Elda Dragandr live even longer, on average of 8000 years. One was known to live for 10000 years before dying of old age.
Of course, one cannot talk about the Dragandr without speaking of their chrysalis ability. It primarily serves two functions. The first and foremost is the chysalis hibernation. This was a fusion of the genetic codes for the Elda's chrysalis and the Dragandr's hibernation, resulting in a advanced hibernation technique. The way it works is that the Dragandr or Elda Dragandr makes a cocoon around itself, using a gland in the end of their tails connected to a special hollow spike. Once cocooned, they fall into a deep sleep, and the cocoon begins growing roots, much like a plant, except that some of them go into the Dragandr's skin. Then, the cocoon sustains both itself and its host Dragandr by recycling and reusing energy and food from the earth or the air around it. Waste products are diffused out, and energy is diffused in. And since it recycles the enrgy into the earth, the ground or air never loses anything important. Also, because of this recycling of energy, the Dragandr ages very, very, very slowly. Thus, using this, a Dragandr can live almost infinitely. The one drawback is that if the cocoon is disturbed in any way, either by cutting or bruising the cocoon, it will unravel and the Dragandr is forced to wake. Also, if the Valaquentii in question stays in hibernation too long (around two centuries or longer), the chances increase of it contracting the Skinfall desiese.
Another major use of the chysalis is the change of a young Dragandr into a Elda Dragandr. Once a young Dragandr's brain is fully developed, they can make a growth chrysalis and, over 3 years, evolve into Elda Dragandr. They can partially control how they evolve, in terms of shape and slight structure differences, but generally genetics does most of the choosing.
The gland used to make the Dragandr's cocoons also has numerous veins going through it in a similar way as the Dragandr's heart. Because of this, the gland can also become a "temporary heart" in times of crisis. If the Dragandr's heart fails for any reason, the gland acts as a temporary heart that can keep the Dragandr alive up to two more hours before it cannot go on due to lack of blood and thus the Dragandr's body starts dying thereafter.
Speaking of a Dragandr's tail, it also has special gas bladders in its tail which store hydrogen. These bladders are connected to numerous pores all over a Dragandr's body, though the pores are focused on the hands, feet, and mouth. When the hydrogen makes contact with oxygen, it results in an explosion that a Dragandr can blast into enemies. Because of these explosions, a Dragandr's skin is covered with slick oil that is fire-proof and a Dragandr's muscles have formed to support a Dragandr's weight as they are forced back so that they will not move much (unless they dispel an unusually high amount of hydrogen).
A regular Dragandr needs about 7 hours of sleep. They are more active in the night, often taking naps during the day. An Elda Dragandr needs almost twice as much, about 14 hours of sleep. Often they take a week long nap a few times a month in order to reach this necessity.
Females and males are generally born equally, but males are often the more common of the sex, though inversely it is usually the females that live longer.
===Elda Dragandr Forms===
Due to the variance of DNA, Dragandr can form into a variety of different Elda forms. These are the following:
Salamandrii: The most common form of Elda, these Dragandr have evolved to be like large predatory lizards. It is though that the Salamadrii form is a super-sized version of the ancient pre-sapient Dragandr.
Drakyrm: Almost as common as the Salamandrii form, Drakyrms look like huge draconic serpents. Because of their lack of limbs, others often consider this form the weakest. On the contrary, usually Drakyrms are some of the strongest Elda to date.
Linnvern: A rarer form of Elda, Linnverns look like draconic serpents with a set of limbs. Usually forearms, some Linnverns have legs which they can use to speed themselves up on the ground. Some Linnverns even have wings.
Wycoatl: A form of Elda that is scarcely seen, Wycoatls look like Linnverns if they had wings instead of limbs. Wycoatls are known to be one of the best fliers out of all of the Elda.
Euron: The rarest form of Elda, they resemble a classical eastern dragon with four limbs and two wings. Eurons are often considered the more powerful of the Elda, though certainly not always the most powerful. Kaos'Armaggen's Elda form is a Euron.
==Primal History==
===Early History===
The Dragandr were originally a species of lizards on Ainulin. However; a visit by an unknown alien species evolved these lizards into the first of the Dragandr, known as the proto-Dragandr, before leaving for parts unknown. Over time, they evolved into their current form by natural selection. The predators that hunted the proto-Dragandr became less and less threatning as the proto-Dragandr became more muscled and stronger (Dragandr were originally hunted easily because of their small size and weal muscle structure). It was then that the proto-Valaquentii started mating with a similar species, the Elda. They had been the same race untill the aliens' visit. Though they hadn't been evolved by the aliens like the Dragandr, they had evolved on their own. Because the youth of the Elda were so similar in genetics and appearence to the proto-Dragandr youth, interbreeding soon occured. Soon, both species were united again as the union of the two produced the omega-Dragandr, which are the Dragandr and Elda Dragandr known today.
===Later History===
After the creation of the omega-Dragandr race, a great drought caused by an irregularly long solar eclipse caused much of the life on the planet to die, including many of the Dragandr. It was only stopped when the planet's moon was broken in half by a passing comet. Once the drought was stopped, the Dragandr took advantage of the world's shape to start civilization, and eventually restore the planet to its former lush self.
==Unique Diseases==
There are a few diseases unique to the Dragandr.
===Multi-head Cell Splice Disease (Also called Mad Hydra Disease or MCSD)===
The disease is a result of the Elda and proto-Dragandr mating. Though it produced numerous good traits, due to their close proximity to each other on the evolution chart, this disease was created as well. It happens when a just matured Dragandr rushes to evolve into a Elda Dragandr. They sometimes misguide the evolution, which results in the cells of the head and brain to splice and multiply. This disease in it's mild stages isn't so bad, the most happening is the afflicted Dragandr's much more wild reaction to sudden things, and their IQ being much lower than normal. However; at it's worst stages, the Elda Dragandr becomes deranged and insane. Usually by this time the Dragandr sadly kill the afflicted one by means of a euthanasia drug.
===Bodily Degeneration Disease (Also called Skinfall disease)===
Contracted if a Dragandr or Elda Dragandr stays in their hibernation chrysalis for too long (more than 2 centuries). The body, having not moved in so long or have felt fresh air, starts to degenerate. First the skin starts to fall off (thus the name), and make bulges in the cocoon. Usually if a Dragandr is found and woken up when the first few bulges appear, they are saved from the horrible later stages of the disease, though they do acquire nasty bloody scars from where their scales rotted off.
However; in its later stages, it is a horrid disease. After all the skin falls off, eventually the tissue and bone also rot, and lastly the cocoon finally wraps around the few skeletal remains. What is most terrible about the disease is if the afflicted is woken up during the later stages of the sickness. The afflicted acts like a feral, devouring beast, destroying and eating whatever is in its way, since it's brain has degenerated so much.
Category:Sapient beings
Category:Articles by User:Oblivion26