Dragons

**Introduction**

The Dragon is an ancient and unique creature that has lived for centuries on the planet of Helios. Once wild and deadly creatures, many have since been tamed by the Drachenara family or the several other dragon taming cults and groups. However, some still fly free in the skies but as industries grow and airships fill the air, this may soon end.

**History**

Dragons were always just apart of life for many humans of Loderan in the early years. Fierce and powerful, they rampaged and terrorized the people from mountaintop lairs and in forest caves. While some sought to instead tame these creatures, many more sought to kill them or force them out of their lands. It eventually came to pass that only isolated groups of dragons remained and those trained into domestication by groups such as the Drachenara Family. With the rise of the Loderan Empire however, these small mountain groups were exterminated and those whom trained dragon were forced to bend the knee to the Empire.

At the same time however, the feathered and earth variations were discovered by Loderan explorers however due to the fact that these beasts recided on different lands, were left alone. As time passed, the dragon was seen as an excellent war beast for the Loderan Empire in the 1000 Year War however as the land was poisoned, the dragons grew sicker and many began to perish. When the war was finished, the Drachenara immediately moved all dragons they could off of Loderan to the new world, releasing several dozen wild specimens into one of the most remote areas they could find, well away from any major centers and areas. Their future now lays in the hands of humans.

Physical Characteristics

Dragons are massive beasts, with the largest ever recording reaching as tall as a two-story building. Many are covered in hard, tough and dull scales which have a mild range in colour. They have protruding necks with a full frill of horns around their relatively small heads and have a long spiked tail. Many are spiked along the spine and have massive webbed wings which they often wrap around themselves. They also have four clawed legs to move around on.

Subspecies

* Common Dragon: Large yet swift, the majority of them have been trained to serve humans and don lightweight chainmail armor in times of war. They hatch from black eggs yet can range in colours in shades of red, grey, black, brown and purple

* Feathered Dragon: Smaller than its counterparts, the Feathered Dragon can be found in the jungles of the Artan Islands. Instead of having four legs and separate wings, their front limbs are clawed wings ((like the early birds IRL)).

* Earth Dragon: Large and bulky creatures, they are immune to many potent toxins. Unable to fly, their wings help them to cover themselves in sand before bursting out of hiding to eat their prey.

**Mental Characteristics**

 The Common Dragon is a fierce thing that defends it’s home to intruders with a venomous attitude. Mothers and fathers are highly protective of their eggs and often mate for life. However, if one dies, the other will not formally bond with another dragon for the rest of it’s life. They breath fire to kill their prey and to defend themselves. Feathered dragons on the other hand are more curious about intruders and breath no fire. None have tried to tame them before and they are relatively a mystery. The earth dragon is a dull and witless beast that uses its strength to solve problems. Their unique immunity to powerful toxins means that they are most valuable dead to many yet they are still rather dangerous.

Trivia

* It is rumored that instead of breathing fire, an earth dragon sucks in for a breath and also pulls attackers into it’s mouth yet this is unconfirmed
* Riders of common dragons ride at the point where the neck reaches the body though the few that ride earth dragons ride on the trudging beast’s upper back.