White Dragon

The White Dragon (also known as Skeledragon, Bone Dragon or Quetzalcoatl, among many other names) is a recurrent enemy in the Castlevania series. They are the fossilized remains of a long-necked dinosaur animated by a demonic force.
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==Origins==
Quetzalcoatl, also known as the "Feathered Serpent", was a prominent supernatural entity or deity found in many Mesoamerican religions. It was also venerated and called Kukulkan among the Yucatec Maya and Q'uq'umatz and Tohil among the K'iche' Maya. The double symbolism used in its name is considered allegoric to the dual nature of the deity, where being feathered represents its divine nature or ability to fly to reach the skies, and being a serpent represents its human nature or ability to creep on the ground among other animals of the Earth, a dualism very common in Mesoamerican deities.
In the English version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, he is called Orobourous, a poorly translated version of Ouroboros. It refers to an ancient concept, representing a snake or dragon eating its own tail. The concept itself symbolizes introspection, the eternal return or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself. It also represents the infinite cycle of nature's endless creation and destruction, life and death.
==General description==
White Dragons are undead skeletal dragons. There are two basic types, those with their necks bound to a wall and those which are free to roam around as they please (either floating, bouncing or burrowing).
Any variety can be a boss in a game (often called a Bone Dragon King) and some of the names used can refer to any of the types depending on the games. "Skeledragon" is a term used in older American games used only for the bound variety. "White Dragon" can be used for a bound or an unbound variety. The term "Quetzalcoatl" can be used to describe bouncing or free-floating unbound varieties. Some unbound dragons are controlled by Flea Men riders called Dragon Riders.
Some are considered the spines of deceased dragons, while others are said to be the remains of long-necked dinosaurs. Some still have their flesh intact or are alive, but otherwise behave like their skeletal counterparts. The White Dragon boss in Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth is normally bound, but is able to slither around the floors, walls and ceilings.
==Bound variety==
===Castlevania===
Bone Dragons only appear in Block 4, and there are only three that Simon Belmont must battle. They move in an erratic up and down pattern and shoot fireballs at Simon's position. They are one of the most durable enemies in the game, and when defeated, each body part releases either a Small Heart or a 100 Money Bag. The first Bone Dragon can actually be run under if Simon doesn't stop, but generally speaking, they are weak to the Holy Water and the Cross.
===Castlevania II: Simon's Quest===
Unlike most bound white dragons, this one is bound to the ground instead of a wall.
===Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge===
The Angel Mummy is essentially two bound White Dragons, the upper one having a human skull, while the bottom one has a dragon skull.
===Castlevania (N64)/Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness===
The White Dragon is a two-headed boss (or probably two individual monsters) that is fought atop the Castle Wall. The heads are constricted around a mechanical device which controls the large gate at the base of the tower, and thus, cannot move very far from it, although this doesn't prevent them from reaching most of the confined space that comprises the top of the tower. Their reach can be diminished to some extent if the player keeps running all around the structure, making their serpentine necks to entangle more and more around it.
They initially attack by spewing blue fireballs. Once a head has lost half of its HP, its entire body will briefly go ablaze and its color will change from white to dark gray, at which point it will start unleashing a large stream of flames from its mouth. In Castlevania 64, the fire breath from the dragons will pass through walls and is very difficult to avoid; the attack lasts longer than the player character's invincible frames, and therefore, is capable of dealing large amounts of damage. In Legacy of Darkness, the damage was toned down somewhat and the fire breath will bounce off the structure containing the stairway rather than going through it, making it safe to hide behind.
When a dragon changes to its second form, it will also drop a large amount of items, which include Red Jewels, Sun Cards, Moon Cards, Gold (ranging from 100 to 500) and random sub-weapons (in Legacy of Darkness, they don't drop sub-weapons); however, these may be hard to collect during the whole struggle and most will likely vanish before the player can find a moment to collect them (unless the entire battle is ended soon). Likewise, gray dragons will also drop another assortment of items when finally destroyed.
===Castlevania: Curse of Darkness===
Alternate elemental varieties of White Dragons in this game include the Frost Dragon and the Thunder Dragon. The standard White Dragon spews fire, while the Frost Dragon spews ice and the Thunder Dragon electricity. All three variants also count with a physical attack which involves headbutting the player.
Stronger versions of all three skeletal dragon variants can be found throughout the more advanced levels of the game, having a prominent presence in the Tower of Evermore, where they usually provide supporting fire to the rest of the enemies. Thunder Dragons are also notable for their heavy appearance all along the Infinite Corridor.
===Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia===
The White Dragon in this game reuses its sprite from Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin; however, unlike those games, when a White Dragon is killed, all of its neck/vertebra bones will turn into Small Hearts, making these enemies a viable source of these sub-weapon ammunition restoring items.
Additionally, an enemy named Enkidu (who resembles The Creature) carries a very large segment of a stone column that has a White Dragon attached to it. The skeletal dragon, as usual, is weak to Strike damage, although Enkidu himself is weak to Slash, effectively making this enemy overall being both weak and resistant to both of these types of damage at the same time. This particular White Dragon also drops loads of 10G coins instead of Hearts.
===Castlevania: The Arcade===
A White Dragon appears as the mid-boss of the second stage. It appears in a long corridor occupying the other end and will attack with fireballs (can be shot down) and spit fire (hit quickly to interrupt with a Critical Hit).
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==Flying variety==
===Haunted Castle===
This early Castlevania title for arcades is notorious for including two different varieties of white dragons. Furthermore, it was the first game in the series where the free-flying variant was introduced, as well as the first time they appeared in a boss role.
Two Skeledragons are found in the second level, the Cave. The first one is encountered midway through the level and acts as a miniboss; when defeated, a staircase will suddenly materialize out of thin air and the player can then access the rest of the level. This variant is bound to a wall, same as its predecessors, and just moves up and down while constantly spewing fireballs straightforward (these can be destroyed by hitting them in midair). It's worth noting that this variant isn't a skeleton and instead it still has all of its flesh and skin, although apparently heavily decomposed, as if the creature was in a zombified state.
The second variant is the Skeleton Snake (Bone Dragon King in Japan) and acts as the area boss. When getting near to the end of the level, the sky will suddenly start to darken until the entire background becomes pitch black. Not long after this, the Skeleton Snake will make its entrance by flying from above, slowly slithering through the air and tracing circles around Simon, while spewing fireballs every once in a while. Oddly enough, only its head is harmful and making contact with the rest of its body won't deal any damage to the player.
====Haunted Castle Revisited====
Both variants have gained more features than their arcade original counterparts. The bound variant is encountered more frequently through the stage (for a total of three instead of only two) and now they turn into stone staircases after defeated, so the player can climb and proceed.
The boss variant will often be seen flying in the background throughout the entire stage, heading to the location where it will eventually face the player. During the boss fight, after sustaining some damage, the Skeleton Snake's tail will become its head and will then start moving backward, allowing it to frequently change directions in battle. Only the head is now harmful to the touch, allowing the player to move through the rest of its body without taking damage. Additionally, the boss room now has several platforms that rotate shortly after being stepped upon, allowing the player to use them strategically to outmaneuver the chasing dragon.
===Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse===
Called the Bone Dragon King in this game, and making honor to its name, it is the boss of the Sunken Temple of Sarnath. This flying skeletal monster is fought midway through this ancient Greek-like ruins level, in a central chamber with a fountain shrine. It first enters the screen flying high above and then starts slithering through the air, tracing circles around Trevor and his companions. It is only vulnerable on the head; each time it is hit, one of its vertebrae will drop and thus the creature will progressively reduce in size, as well as the threat it poses, as then there'll be less parts of its body to evade.
Once about two thirds of its health meter have been depleted, the monster will escape by breaking a hole through the ceiling, producing with this a great surge of water that will start flooding the entire area. The heroes will then have to make haste in traversing the second section of the level, lest they end up drowning by the constantly rising water. They'll eventually reach a dead end, where the Bone Dragon King will reappear for a final match.
The player will have to deal with the monster quickly, as the water will keep on rising. Furthermore, the space where they'll have to do this will be very limited and will keep on getting reduced by the rising flood. Fortunately, by this point it will only take a few more hits to defeat the creature, and once it has been slain the level will end.
===Castlevania: Symphony of the Night===
There are three varieties of White Dragons in this game, all found in both the Reverse Entrance and the Reverse Colosseum. The Dragon Rider and Orobourous are both bouncing white dragons with a Fleaman rider, although they have different behaviors:
The Dragon Rider is only found in the room where the rare Dodo Bird spawns. It bounces in a predictable pattern, with the spaces under its body being safe. It usually takes two bounces to turn around and is incapable of bouncing right into the corner of a room, always stopping one bounce short of this. The head is its only vulnerable point.
The Orobourous appears as a bouncing dragon in another room along with Warg Riders. It is slightly unique in that both the dragon's head and the Fleaman rider can be attacked. The Fleaman is a separate monster called Orobourous Rider that doesn't have a bestiary entry; it has 100 HP, half of that of the dragon. If the Fleaman is killed before the dragon is, the Orobourous will be set free and start flying in the room, turning yellow and becoming impossible to attack. It will then follow Alucard around and attack all targetable objects onscreen (including candles), acting like a temporary Familiar. It must be noted, however, that the Karma Coin and Lapis Lazuli only drop if the dragon is killed, the Rider has no drops at all. It seems that the Fleaman rider accidentally mistook Orobourous as a White Dragon and caught it, according to their behavior while riding.
The White Dragon in the Reverse Colosseum is just a bone dragon and is one of the easier dragons in the game.
===Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance===
Found in only one room in the castle, near the entrance to the final battle, the White Dragon Lv3 is unique in that it isn't fastened to a wall, but instead roams freely around the background, flying and slithering around corridors, and not actively seeking out the player. When it starts to attack, it will wrap itself onto one of the pillars in the background, and shoot fireball barrages.
===Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow===
Quezlcoatl (either a misspelling of Quetzalcoatl or due to system limitations) behaves much like the Dragon Rider in Symphony of the Night, bouncing around the room in a predictable pattern. Like the Dragon Rider, it will always stop one bounce short of a room's entrance, and so cannot attack the player character if they remain in their starting position in a room. The head is their only vulnerable point.
The Bone Dragon King appears in Aria of Sorrow, although it's unnamed and is invincible. The dragon is summoned by Chaos and protects its core, flying around and spewing blobs of goo that ricochet off the walls. The Bone Dragon King doesn't have an entry in the bestiary and is only defeated when Chaos is defeated.
==Crawling variety==
===Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge===
The Ground Serpent (called such in Japan and Bone Dragon in North America) was one of the bosses that could be fought in Dracula's Castle in Belmont's Revenge. Its long body burrows in and out of the ground in a weaving pattern.
===Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance===
Although the Bone Dragon King doesn't appear in this game, a leveled-up White Dragon acts similarly to it. Additionally, Death's second form both resembles and acts similarly to the Bone Dragon King as well.
===Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth===
The Bone Dragon King in this game is normally bound to a wall. However, it can detach itself and crawl around before perching on another wall. It can also shoot blue energy blasts and smash its head against the floor.
==Enemy Data==
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Olrox, a vampire character of Aztec origins featured in the Netflix animated series, Castlevania: Nocturne, has the ability to transform into a giant flying feathered serpent, being a direct reference to Quetzalcoatl.
==See also==
*Angel Mummy
*Bone Pillar
*Quetzalcoatl Familiar
es:White Dragon
Category:Dragons
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