Sand Dragon

## Physical Description

Size: Large (see image for scale)

Temperament: Wary and often curious, but aggressive when threatened or hungry

Intelligence: Highly Intelligent

Tamable/Trainable: No

Speed: Slow above ground, very quick burrowing

Special Senses: very good Vibration sense, poor eyesight and hearing, great scenting

Diet: Carnivores, mainly eat Linik

Sand dragons are a large worm-like, walrus-like creature that burrows through the desert. They hunt linik and other gazelle-like creatures on the surface so they typically stay near the surface of the desert. They are known to swallow sand into a special pouch around their jaws and heat it, spraying back out molten glass.

As a primarily subterranean beast, sand dragons have very poor eyesight and poor hearing. Their sense of smell is very strong as well as their ability to collect and interpret vibrations to make sense of the world around them. Even above ground while more vulnerable, they can track motion through their contact with the ground. Due to their sensitivity to vibrations, they avoid the Storm.

Sand dragons don’t have typical territories that they roam within. The desert is their main home as it allows for ease of travel for burrowing creatures and there are migratory herds of antelopes in the desert. They avoid the wasteland for it’s tougher ground and more importantly the lack of prey.

## Folklore

Sand Dancers believe that the dragons are children of an ancient bright light, splinters of it that crashed onto the planet long ago when the other animals destroyed it. Their molten breath is the origin of these stories. The desert nomads greatly value the dragons as part of their way of life and are the only culture that knows anything about the dragons, which are largely misunderstood throughout Palidovas.

Some believe that there were once many more sand dragons and the desert was created by hundreds of them burrowing and breaking up the earth. This is evidenced in the division between the desert and the wastelands to the west, where the desert slowly dissolves into the harder wastes.

Sand Dancers do not ride the sand dragons. There have been many attempts to tame sand dragons, but these typically do not end well, as the dragons are very aggressive and don’t take well to training.

## Tactics

The dragons hunt by feeling the vibrations in the earth around them cause by other dragons, or movement on the surface. Dragons will stalk their prey from just below the surface, getting as close as they can, and if possible, underneath their prey. They will then leap from the sand to engulf their prey in a fountain of sand and claws. Often, they stay above ground to eat.

When fighting another sand dragon, there is often more posturing and displays of power through thumping their tails and spraying molten glass.

## Products

As part of their natural life, sand dragons create a substance called Amberglass. As one of their primary forms of attacking on the surface, sand dragons will swallow a mouthful of sand and then eject it as a heated mass of molten glass. This technique can be used against prey, but it is often used as a way to warn off other dragons and to create heats places to sleep.

Due to very cold temperatures at night, the sand dragon will spray a line in the sand and after a moment of cooling, will lay on top of this. This molten surface is very flexible initially and will sink into the sand when the dragons settle onto it. The dragons can shatter this fairly easily, especially with the use of their claws. Often, they will leave shards around the main strip, with imprints of their bodies.

The production of this material, which not only provides heat but has magical properties, makes the dragons highly prized throughout the world.