Dragons

Dragons are a magically engineered species formed in the flesh pits of Aurimar before the Great Cataclysm, by the mages of Zakros. This fact is not widely known, but what is widely known is that dragons are some of the most dangerous beasts alive. Winged, scaled, and ferocious, their bodies alone make them tremendously deadly, especially when they grow ancient and huge, but what truly separates them from so many of the other monstrous beasts that arose after the Cataclysm is their ability to breathe supernatural fire.

## Appearance

### Anatomy

Whilst dragons do vary considerably in appearance, they do all share common traits. A dragon possesses lizardlike body and head, covered with thick scales, with a mouth filled with black teeth. With younger dragons, their bodies are a bit more serpentine. Upon their heads, dragons possess a pair of rear facing horns, and additional, smaller sets tend to sprout as they grow older, especially in the case of males, who have larger and more upward facing horns than females, whose horns tend to lie more flat. A line of spikes that starts at the base of the dragon's skull goes all the way down to the tip of their tail. As dragons age, they tend to sprout additional rows of spikes on their backs, and old dragons grow additional horns and spikes from their jaws, chins, and noses.

The eyes of a dragon possess rounded black pupils, and are otherwise dominated by an iris.

Younger dragons possess a neck that is around half the length of their torso, though as they age and fill out, this decreases to around a third. In younger dragons, this neck is rather serpentine, thin and flexible, but as the dragon ages they thicken, and become stronger at the cost of flexibility.

The tails of dragons are long and sinewy, more flexible and light in younger dragons, more powerful and strong for older ones. An adult dragon's tail is around the same length as it's torso, and a young dragon's tail is half again as long.

Dragons possess a pair of winged forelimbs, which they use to walk about when on the ground and to take to the air. A dragon's wing is usually around the same length as the distance from the tip of its nose to its tail, making the overall wingspan about twice the length of the rest of its body. Each wing is tipped with a set of three fingered hands, tipped with razor sharp claws which can be used for walking, climbing, and assisting in tearing apart prey. Several other "fingers" stretch out, the space between them filled with wing membrane that is the most vulnerable part of the body.

The rear legs of a dragon are thicker and stronger than their forelimbs, possessed of three forward talons upon their toes, and one upon a backwards toe, which enable them to seize or slash at foes.

### Color

Dragon colors vary tremendously, and serve as the primary means with which humans distinguish between individual dragons. Absolutely any color or shade is possible, be it black, silver, brown, red, or blue. Dragon scales vary in color. The membranes of their wings vary in color, as do their eyes, and the color of their horns, claws, and spinal spikes. However, in the case of the latter three, they tend to all be the same color. Dragons can be completely monochromatic, but can also possess mixes of coloration on their body parts, such as wings that are possessed of spots or edges of different color than the rest of the membrane.

## Traits and Behavior

### Intelligence

While nowhere near the intellect of a man, dragons are still vastly more intelligent than common, natural beasts. They are capable of recognizing other creatures on an individual basis, remembering previous meetings, and showing tolerance to those that helped them in some way, or sometimes seeking revenge on those who did them harm. They are able to track the migrations of various prey animals, can strategically hunt by simply landing on prey and crushing them, and strangely, seem to have a good intuition when it comes to discerning whether encountered humans are friend or foe.

### Life Cycle

Dragons begin their lives as eggs, smooth as polished stone, which come in colors as varied as the dragons themselves. Upon hatching, a dragon is about the size of a cat, and is capable of producing flames, though they will be relatively weak, and the hatchling will only be capable of using them in infrequent blasts. Not yet capable of fully soaring through the air, the hatchlings are able to glide, and to fly for short bursts, and are adept climbers. Some dragon parents have been known to protect their eggs and feed their hatchlings with prey, but most simply leave the newborns to fend for themselves.

As a dragon grows, their flames become steadily hotter, just as their scales grow harder, thicker, and more resistant to heat and other forms of harm, and they steadily loose the dexterity of their youth as they age, in turn gaining strength and resilience. As they age, they continue to grow, though the older they are, the slower this growth becomes. By the time they are a month old, young dragons are capable of full flight, having explosively grown from the size of a cat to a small dog. When they are half a year old, they can usually be compared in size to a big cat such as a lion, and by the time they are a year old, they are of comparable size to a horse. After this point, their explosive growth slows to a comparative crawl.

With another ten years of growth, a dragon is comparable in size to enormous creatures such as a rhinoceros. Another decade, and they might match an elephant in size. At this approximately two decade mark, dragons are capable of mating and siring offspring, and as such, they are considered adults. The slender, sinewy bodies they had in their younger years begin to fill out, making them stronger and able to exert themselves for much longer periods of time. While not as nimble and maneuverable as they were previously, their superior power and endurance, balanced with their size, means this next period of life is when they are the fastest fliers they will ever be.

After some fifty or so more years, at around age seventy, a dragon is now a truly gargantuan beast, easily able to slaughter most anything it comes across. They begin to become less swift as fliers during this stage, though in exchange they have entered their prime fighting years. Huge and strong, but still quick and filled with vitality, there is little other than another dragon of similar size and power that can threaten them. By the time a dragon reaches a century in age, their breath is easily hot enough to melt metal and stone with a single burst of dragonflame.

At around a hundred and fifty years in age, most dragons, while huge and powerful, are quite slow and ungainly compared to their younger kin. Still, their strength and resilience is truly frightful, and they can survive punishment that would cripple or kill lesser dragons.

Once a dragon reaches the age of two hundred and beyond, they are truly colossal and monstrous beasts, but they have begun to enter their twilight years. Oftentimes, these ancient dragons spend their time at rest and slumbering, going months or even years without bestirring themselves, unless roused by some sort of interference. Typically, at some point during the next century or so, they will enter a sleep that they will never wake from.

### Diet

Dragons are eaters of flesh, and like man, they prefer their meat cooked. Typically, dragons feed after burning their prey of choice alive with their flames, and then devouring it. Preferred diets vary by individual dragons, yet strangely, older ones, while still possessed of considerable appetites, are noted to be able to subsist on far less than one would expect for creatures of their size. Some dragons feed indiscriminately on whatever is available, while others develop preferences for certain prey. This can be extremely dangerous if such preferences include humans.

### Temperament

The attitudes of dragons vary considerably by the individual. Commonly, however, they share trait that when struck, their first instinct is always to engage in a retaliatory attack, though whether they continue that attack after retaliation is made, or simply leave is down to the individual basis. Some dragons are ferociously territorial, killing anything that comes within what they perceive to be their domain. Others are extremely tolerant of other creatures, even allowing humans into their presence without much fuss. Others still are shy creatures, avoiding the company of other living beings except to hunt.

## Abilities

Dragons possess all the abilities one would expect for creatures with such bodies as theirs. Their wings allow them to take to the air, and their mighty jaws and razor claws allow them not only to tear through flesh and bone with ease, but crunch and shred most armor as well. Even their tail can crack like a whip or club, the spines upon it serving to rake and slash enemies, while stronger dragons can break bones and send foes flying with its strikes.

### Fire Breath

The most notable and devastating ability dragons possess in their arsenal is their ability to breathe fire, expelling torrents of death from their mouths. Older dragons can produce hotter flame, in larger amounts, and over longer durations. The flames of a hatchling might be able to burn straw, whereas an elder dragon's fires might melt metal and even stone.

### Hot Blood

As if their offensive flame breath were not enough, wounding dragons is made dangerous as well. Their blood is scalding hot, able to cause horrific burns on any who it comes into contact with, especially with older dragons.

### Resilience

Dragons are possessed of tremendous stamina and resistance to pain. Adult dragons are able to fly for several days without rest, and can continue to fight even given injuries that would kill most other creatures.