Dragons

## **Introduction to Dragons**

All dragons have three things in common:

* They can show loyalty and are extremely intelligent.
* They are extraordinarily versatile, able to adapt almost instantly
* All dragons have a destructive nature and cannot be tamed.

It should be noted that dragons have been feared and worshiped through all ages. Any interaction with or talk of dragons may mean a confrontation with superstition. They are animals cloaked in mystery and admiration, but they are animals. Every species of dragon has an expansive variety of breeds which may display different attributes. The descriptions in this book are generally accurate for the species. Most dragons can understand speech and reason; in rare cases, they can speak. It is unwise to approach any dragon; while they can understand speech, they are more likely to have no interest in the pleadings of humans or, in the case of the sharper species, exploit the approacher. The closest humans have come to "taming" a dragon have been the Volvarians with their dragon charms, which is more accurately described as a high-risk, temporary domination. So while dragons can be influenced by a charm or in some rare cases persuaded, the venture to tame or control a dragon via any technique would be foolish and most likely fatal.

### **Volvarian Broadwing**

Volvarian Broadwings are the second largest species of dragon known to exist, reaching lengths of 80 feet head to tail. Their size is matched only by their capacity for destruction. The history of these dragons is tightly intertwined with the Volvarian people's use of dragon charms (to be more precisely addressed at the end of this book). Well-armored, well-equipped and heavily built, Volvarian broadwings are immensely powerful and destructive. They are capable of spitting huge balls of flame, which originate in the chest cavity beside the heat of their pumping hearts. Leaving behind blankets of ash and molten rocks in addition to bursts of fire, most interactions between man and broadwings are devastating. Keeping up their body temperature is physically impossible without aid and so the broadwings are forced to return to beds of lava or magma on a regular basis.

Their tolerance for heat is so incredible that normal fires have no effect on them; it takes an exceptional magically-induced flame to even come close to harming them. Cold can cause broadwings to behave more sluggishly than normal, but they tolerate most temperatures. The natural color of the broadwing is unknown due to the excessive amount of burning and collection of ash their scales suffer from the first moments of birth. Four legged with two wings, pitch black in appearance and with bright eyes, they're easy to recognize. Broadwings are iron-willed, belligerent and have a strong lust for destruction. One of the most well known and feared of dragons, their ability to cause chaos is augmented by ill-willed men wielding dragon charms. Such a case is the annihilation of the surface of Alenthyl. The eggs of Volvarian broadwings are largely a mystery, as they're laid directly into pools of lava or the magma core of the earth. They were once native to Volvar, but the recent arcane incidents has caused most to flee to other, more inhabitable countries, most notably their neighbor Deurlyth. They are known to live up to four hundred and fifty years. These are the most "commonly" encountered of dragons, having lived alongside Volvarian civilization since recorded history.

### **Kotimaan Mountain Summit Dragon**

In the native language, they are known as Lohikaarme Jaan, "dragons of ice." The Kotimaan Mountain Summit Dragon is found exclusively in the coldest regions of Kotimaa. At one time they were found in Elterlein, but the species was all but annihilated with the introduction of airships. Summit dragons are the only furred dragon. Their wings are thin and transparent and for the most part, they avoid flight, instead keeping their delicate and sensitive wings tucked against their sides into deep, luxurious fur. Most of their movements relies on dextrous taloned "hands" which they use to scale cliffs and rockfaces. The occasions they do use their wings are mostly in short bursts of gliding, either down mountainsides or from summit to summit. They have small round ears wrapped in dense hair and defensive scales that sprout over their shoulders and flanks.

Their tails are long and fluffy, enough so that a sleeping mother can wrap both herself and her offspring in fur. When threatened, the summit dragon is able to spit dense steam which turns to billowing ice shards instantly in the air. Because of Elten efforts, these dragons are all but extinct; in history, however, they would steal away livestock, especially sheep, and were known to encase entire villages in ice. Their eggs are a sea of swirled aurora colors, which might give some explanation for the species' obsession with gemstones. Mothers nest in caves throughout mountainsides and stay with the egg for the entirety of the gestation, keeping it pressed against a hot patch of skin under the leg that balds during pregnancy. The egg is kept here until hatching, and so only remnants of eggs have ever been documented. Summit dragons live anywhere from one hundred and fifty to three hundred years. Because they have faced near extinction, summit dragons are considered the most rare of dragons.

### **Ulyssian Opaleye Basilisk**

The Ulyssian Opaleye Basilisk is one of the few truly flightless dragons. Large, muscular, with thick skin and scythe-like claws, these animals specialize in burrowing. They're found in the steppe and scrubland of Ulyssa and, occasionally, Rune'Daathian desert. Equipped with two long, saw-edged tusks that drip with stinging poison, opaleyes are both dangerous and aggressive, capable of piercing full grown men through their stomachs so that the excruciatingly painful toxin slowly claims the victim as they're devoured warm and alive by young. Opaleyes lives in large groups consisting of anywhere from 5-12 individuals. When conflicts over territory take place, the groups face off in a fight to the death.

The surviving animals take over both territories, regardless of previous families. This makes their range large and numbers sparse, with some small clans claiming almost a hundred square miles. Despite being aggressive, they're also reclusive, dwelling largely underground. They're difficult to track and encounters, while rare, are gruesome. Most notable for their tusks and refractive, opalescent eyes, Ulyssian opaleye basilisks have few other notable traits, as their leathery skin is usually some neutral shade of sandy brown or gray. Their eggs are misshapen, rough and heavy, giving the impression of a plain large boulder. While they live in the deepest recesses of their burrows, the eggs are laid above ground and left without any real care or nest. They can live to ages up to three hundred and fifty years. Because of their wide territories and reclusive natures, opaleyes are not seen often.

### **Rune'Daathian Sunwing**

Slim, light and graceful, Rune'Daathian Sunwings prefer hot climates and windy conditions. They require intense heat for survival, heat which is obtained by the large surface area of their wings. They rise in the early morning hours and fly high into the sky only minutes before the sun first appears over the horizon, fleshing out their wings to absorb the first rays of light. They "sing" as they fly; the calls are shrill and piercing, but over a distance, are comparable to a choir of softly-played flutes. They repeat this ritual again when the sun sets, taking in the last tendrils of heat before plummeting towards the ground, diving deep into the sand to insulate themselves from the frigid night. This imagery is not lost on the Rune'Daathians, who believe sunwings to be beckoners and keepers of the day, encouraging it to rise and singing it lullabies as it sets. Sunwings rely heavily on wind for flight, as their wings function more like kites than flapping instruments. The thin membrane is semi-transparent and appears to glow when airborne.

Their wings make up most their body, and through their lives the span wingtip-to-wingtip is almost twice as long as their length head-to-tail. Sunwings lay long, thick-shelled eggs about the size of the average torso, which they bury deep, vertically, into the sand. Hatchlings break through the top of the egg and wriggle upwards from there, so the orientation of the eggs is critical. On the surface, a hatching clutch of sunwings causes the sand to churn and almost appear to "boil." Upon reaching the surface, young spread their wings immediately to be picked up by the wind, and often master flight in as little as a day. While it's a common sight to see hundreds of sunwings silhouetted against the horizon at a time, they tend to be shy and and skittish, so close viewings are exceedingly rare. If forced into a close encounter, however, they are decidedly deadly, using their tails as a whip which can cleanly slice horses and cattle in half. The gestation period is about two months, and most individuals live to ages in excess of two hundred years. While not particularly common, the clear skies in desert conditions allows all sunwings within a range of several hundred miles to be spotted over the horizon, especially at dawn and dusk.

### **Nobugohito Lung Tien**

Wingless, fireless but by no means lacking in mental capacity, the Nobugohito Lung Tien is a master of mind games and riddles. The only dragon known to regularly master speech, the Lung Tien, sometimes "jade dragon," is considered the most intelligent of all the known dragons.Serpent-like with fine, glittering scales, the lung tien is most physically similar to the wanderer serpent. Its color ranges from deep blues and purples to bright reds and even whites and blacks. A writhing ball of muscle, the lung tien can't "fly" in the traditional sense; instead, it bunches up and launches itself into the air, flattening its body and using folds of skin to manipulate its way through the sky, not unlike some species of gliding snakes.

The lung tien has the longest lifespan of all dragons, with the oldest living example being over eight hundred years old and showing no indication of ill health. Nearly half of all known individuals are capable of fluent speech, and all are able to at least recite several riddles. Their history with the Nobugohito is rich; one story tells of an individual who dominated a village and forced it to provide him a yearly staple of cattle.They are lovers of wordplay and puzzles, but failing their games can have gruesome consequences.

The eggs of the lung tien are mesmerizing, with shells like colored glass that give a view into the developing dragon inside. Bubble nests are made in the warm waters of the jungle strait. Hundreds of lung tiens are laid at one time, but of them, only one or two survive. Nobugohito Lung Tiens are very rare. Most individuals are ancient, with the mortality rate of young and adolescents being extraordinarily high while breeding intervals remain impossibly long.

### **Zavwhan Hummingbird Wyvern**

The smallest species of dragon known to exist, the Zahvwan Hummingbird Wyvern is as its name describes: miniscule and colorful, with two back legs and clawed wings. It's the only species of dragon equipped with injectable venom, which it administers through hollow talons and fangs. Small enough to fit in the palm of the hand, these dragons fold their wings around themselves to camouflage as tropical flowers. They're infamous for hiding among leaves and then swarming unsuspecting explorers. The venom of a hummingbird wyvern works by paralysis. Bright blue, when injected under the skin it combines with blood to create a black coloration that can usually be seen travelling up through veins and arteries.

Every part of the body it touches loses all function. It continues to spread until the venom reaches the heart, causing cardiac arrest and ultimately killing the victim. Currently no antivenom exists, with the only way to prevent death being to amputate any infected parts immediately. That being said, small doses can numb a localized area. Zahvwhan natives often use their talons and the venom inside for weapons or medicine.The most short lived of dragons, they live only thirty to fifty years and subsist entirely off of small mammals, birds, insects and certain types of fruit. They nest in newly bloomed orchids and bromeliads. Their eggs are smaller than a fingernail, elongated and white with few blemishes, and take as little as a week to hatch.They are not found throughout Zahwvan, instead living in specific environments. Where they are encountered, however, they are found in great numbers.

### **Granthelian Wanderer Serpent**

Dwelling in the Sea of Wandering, concentrated around the island of Granthel, the wanderer serpent is infamous for the hundreds of galleons and trade ships they claim every year. Of the known dragons, they are the only that are almost entirely waterborne. Wanderer serpents are the largest species of dragon known to exist with the largest recorded individual estimated to be almost one-hundred and ninety-five feet long. Long and slender, the wanderer serpent has a series of dorsal spikes that travel down along the spine. They have two front legs which are used only in the laying seasons, when the serpents migrate to countries such as Ulyssa, Alenthyl and Deurlyth to place their relatively small eggs.

The larger individuals stick to areas near shorelines with moist sands, but smaller specimens are more likely to lay eggs in ponds and streams inland to avoid being devoured by their fellow dragons. This comes at the consequence of offspring being less likely to return to the ocean and survive. The eggs themselves are perfectly round and typically dark blue in color, with thick shells speckled black or brown. The gestation period is typically three to four months.It's not known how common wanderer serpents are. The frequency of claimed ships is only a testament to their activity levels, and not to their numbers, and so can't be considered. Most conjecture puts their commonality to be moderately rare, though highly active in the oceans surrounding Granthel.

### **Draco-Ghoros**

Imposing creatures similar to modern Dragons, the Draco-Ghoros are extremely rare and very powerful winged creatures born within Aeddom. Precursors to modern dragons, they share various characteristics such as an affinity for fire and warmth, large scaled bodies, leathery wings and sharp teeth and talons.

While some of these Draco-Ghoros have appeared within Aevonhold throughout history, only one has had any lasting historical importance. The Draco-Ghoros that was enslaved for a time by Rein'Unger, this Draco-Ghoros was killed in Volvar after an arduous battle in 3E 1160.

### **A Note on Dragon Charms**

Dragon charms were militaristic objects used by the Volvarian Dels, to enslave the will of a Volvarian broadwing. The charms are specific to the broadwings and don't have an effect on any other species. In addition, the use of these charms is extremely risky. The charms often backfire on weak-willed individuals, resulting in the human in question to be corrupted by the destructive lust of its dragon. Ultimately, the use of these charms led to Volvarian downfall. It is never advised to attempt to "tame" a dragon, as such an endeavor carries great risk.