Draco doméstico

Beautifully colored in purples and electric blues, these tiny dragons are genuinely brilliant in more ways than one. They are playful and kind, and while they have a long tradition of assisting spellcasters, they prefer to be treated as equals and partners rather than pets. They're quite intelligent and don't appreciate condescension from those who treat them as simple animals.

Tiny dragons have appeared in tales told among traditional Varisian communities for centuries, but only relatively recently have they become known by the name “house drake.” This new name arose in the city of Korvosa, where house drakes have adapted particularly well to urban life. When students of the magic school called the Acadamae failed in their studies and allowed their imp familiars to run wild, these tiny dragons found that they were particularly well suited to combating them. Most notably, their teeth become striated with silver due to their peculiar grooming habits, allowing their bites to puncture the imps' magically resistant skin. The two species are well-matched in intellect. Though their clashes typically begin with trying to outwit one another, they often end in messy brawls across rooftops and into alleys. The residents of Korvosa appreciated both the protection and the dragons' charming appearance and demeanor. House drakes are now more common in Korvosa than anywhere else in the world.

House drakes are carnivorous, eating vermin and small birds. Though they're capable of hunting for food, many of them find it a bit dull and prefer to spend their time at other pursuits. They happily accept donations of food. To truly get on a house drake's good side, though, one should offer a gift of silver. Donations to drakes have become regular practice in Korvosa, to the point where “Paid any drakes lately?” has become a common phrase to suggest someone is a bit gullible and soft-hearted. These donations are just that—charity. House drakes avoid taking on anything resembling a “job,” taking pride in their self-sufficiency and ability to choose for themselves how to spend their time.

## Historia

Los dracos domésticos de Korvosa no son verdaderos dragones o dracos sino una variante local del más habitual pseudodragón, y un ejemplo de cómo una criatura bajo extremas circunstancias puede adaptarse y evolucionar para hacerse todavía más fuerte. En este caso particular, los dracos domésticos son el resultado de la brutal y violenta depredación de los pseudodragones autóctonos por parte de los diablillos de Korvosa (una verdadera infestación en los primeros años tras la fundación de la Academae). Los diablillos que lograban escapar de los nóveles conjuradores descubrieron que les resultaba delicioso (literal y figuradamente) tormentar a la población nativa de pseudodragones, los cuales no podían hacer demasiado contra las defensas sobrenaturales de los diablillos.

No pasó demasiado tiempo antes de que los pseudodragones más capaces, sabios y tozudos comenzasen a contraatacar. A base de morder objetos de plata (desde monedas hasta la misma decoración de edificios y estatuas) y tomar sorbos a escondidas del agua bendita de los templos, consiguieron un mordisco capaz de atravesar la piel sobrenatural de sus archienemigos; se centraron en estudiar su propias aptitudes mágicas hasta se capaces de ver a través de la invisibilidad de los diablillos y ser capaces de recuperarse rápidamente de las luchas constántes; así como alimentarse de arañas del sueño hasta conseguir un ataque de aliento capaz de aturdir. Toda la evolución hasta llegar al draco doméstico actual tomo muy pocas generaciones, ha sido tan rápida que muchos académicos sospechan que el proceso puede haber tenido una influencia sobrenatural por parte de algún misterioso patrón.