Dragons

Dragon is the umbrella term used to refer to members of the Draconidae family of reptiles.

## Classification

Dragons are divided into three genera, commonly referred to as Drake, Wyvern, and Wyrm, or, respectively, wingless, winged, and serpentine dragons. Smaller built dragons are called whelps, either when referring to an adolescent specimen or an adult specimen that belongs to a smaller species. As any other reptiles, all dragons are tetrapod, and evidence shows they evolved from winged to wingless, and not the other way around.

### Drakes

*Main article: Drakes*

Drakes are the most common dragon type, even though they are limited in numbers. The genus tends to look more like lizards when compared with other reptiles. These dragons inhabit from damp, dark caverns or caves to the open fields and mountains, and usually lay up to six eggs, not all of which hatch. The eggs need an average temperature of around 40 degrees Celsius, and, if not nurtured, will cool into a rock-solid element known as solith. Solith sells for quite a lot of gold in most markets, but certain breeds have higher priced soliths. The rarer the dragon, the more valuable their soliths. Drakes are found anywhere there is a source of water, food, and, for some species, shelter.

### Wyverns

*Main article: Wyverns*

Wyverns are a rarer class of dragon which has the unique trait of winged forearms. Wyverns tend to be keener than Wyrms or Drakes, yet they lack mainly in strength and obviously weight. Sized averagely the same as a large bird, the most prominent species tend to live in groups frequently organised in a hierarchy lead by an Alpha. Some species of wyverns are the only known dragons known to be viviparous, although not lactant. Wyvern scales and teeth sell highly, used most broadly as ingredients for several types of alchemical compounds.

### Wyrms

*Main article: Wyrms*

Wyrms are wingless dragons that somewhat resemble a large snake. Most wyrms have an extremely underdeveloped vision, relying mostly on smell and touch for their mobility. When hunting, wyrms can constrict their prey crushing it to death. Wyrm eggs are initially very hard, but because of its unique structure, the hatchling is able to literally lick the egg enough to break it. Due to their general lack of mobility and strength, wyrms more commonly than other dragons have developed venomous bites. Some wyrm species have even mutated their internal organs to generate extremely flammable liquid that is remarkably difficult to put out.

## Utility

Dragons, normally drakes, are used as mounts, beasts of burden, pets, guard animals and even, in some cases, siege animals, being very loyal to those that can sustain their needs. Varlanders and Rangardians are among the most proficient dragon breeding races, and dragons are already part of these race's culture and identity. Dragon parts such as teeth, horns, scales, internal organs and fluids and even wing tissue are very sought after for numerous types of professions, from tailors to alchemists.

Due to the rarity of some of these ingredients, dragon hunting parties have formed across the lands and some kingdoms even have specific legislation regarding these practices.

## Cultural significance

Dragons are not only in the core of how most civilisations function but also entangled into the very identity of some of them. Urgunites, for example, believe they descend from an ancient race of dragon-like people called the dragonians. There is little evidence to support the existence of such people, but Urgunite scholars attribute the fairly prominent number of ruins all over Urgun to this mysterious people.

It is a generally accepted fact that societies that have managed to tame and breed the most dangerous breeds of dragons have a strategic military advantage over other societies, and, as such, have been able to conquer and secure vast empires in history. Dragons played an important part in the [Greenfield Wars] helping the Northern Varlandese Kingdom secure the important region of the [Greenfields] and cut off Cantesilian supplies.

The kaipo and their descendants have also always had a very specific relationship with dragons. Through their natural mindmeld abilities, they have been known to commune with dragons on a very personal level, and that communion has been used throughout the centuries to establish an individual's role in society, from military to royalty.

### Sparking Sharptooth

A brute sized creature, the Sparking Drake is a common dragon found in mountainous regions where the weather is normally dry and fertile. When hatched from orange and gold speckled eggs, they are taught the basic details in surviving in the wild, but upon three weeks, they are left on their own. When yet still a whelp, they roam the hills and sparsely populated sides of villages, causing brief destruction, by setting alight plots of land and trees. However, when mature adults (roughly the size of an SUV), they can create chaos by scorching things with even the littlest ambition.

### Stone-rod

Taking on the size of yet a bulldozer when old enough, the Stone-rod is one of the most destructive dragons discovered. They are equipped with long, thick tails of plated armor, with a club at the end representing somewhat of an ankylosaurs. Hatching from mud colored eggs, they are raised until they are too large to handle by their parents, and left to roam. Whelps find most fun in hacking down trees wit their small clubs, the size of a baseball bat, at the time. When bored, though, they will stumble into villages or land of natives and attack whatever they can find. Mating season is the most chaotic, since the males will have a duel with each other by clanking tails and sparring. When a female chooses whichever the likes the most, the new pair will team up and kill the loser.

### Iron Wing

Being one of the few winged drakes, the Iron Wing has a lot to live up for. With iron barbs on both its head, spine, tail, and wings, this dragon is a power force to be reckoned with. Or so explorers thought. When coming into close range with the creature, they noticed that it lacked in size. The Iron Wing takes up the space of a present day ostrich, and looks like a mistake of nature. The noise it emits can only be specified as "a combination of both metal scraping on another, and the cluck of a chicken.". Hatching from a grey egg, with sometimes light white speckling. When hatched, the parents will examine the whelp, seeming to base on amount of spikes, color, and wing-span. If the newborn does not meet the expectations, the parents grab the baby and leave it in the middle of nowhere. The parents will only except the little one back into the family if it can find it's way back to the cave or home. Those who make it back or met the requirements are then brought up by the parents until their death.

### Treetop Screecher

When first heard, the Treetop Screecher seems to utter a truly horrid sound, which it's noise will change depending on the person. No one has ever heard the same noise as another, even if they listened while standing together. In ancient times, the cry was a foretelling of death, and those who hear it will meet an end quite soon. There are also records of the dragon driving some people to insanity, or genocidal actions. Explorers have yet to discover the looks of this creature, since when it is discovered it quickly flees in a blur, or screeches right in the person's face, blinding and deafening for a brief time. There are no keeps on the eggs, family structure, or behavior, yet the only habitat it tends to call home is any dense forests.