Dragon

A dragon (plural "dragons", Old Dunni "Draca", Old Gollish "Draegon") is any member of two species, the Winged Dragon (Floga) and the Wurm, technically including snakes, lizards, and other reptiles.

## Origin

Dragons were created by the Aldergot Sledge circa 5721 FA. They were so fearsome that Sledge was heavily admonished by A'a for their creation, and the Elder Gods had to go into hiding to avoid them.

## Physiology

Dragons come in two forms; Winged dragons (or Flogans), and Unwinged Dragons (or Wurms).

### Flogans

Flogans, also called Drakes, range in size from a few feet to hundreds of feet long. They are about twelve inches long from head to toe when they hatch, and continue growing throughout their lifetime. Many, if not all, have the ability to breathe fire. Flogans are a nuisance for farmers because of the threat they pose to children and livestock, and, if they are allowed to grow to large size, the threat they pose to literally everything. It is believed by the Golls that the end of the world will be caused by dragonfire.

Flogans are covered entirely in thick scales, and dragonhide is prized for its versatility and strength. They have two large bat-like wings which also function as their forelegs (though many depictions, including the Goll flag, show them with four legs and distinct wings). They have horns on the top of their head. Males' horns continue growing their entire life, while females' horns stop growing at around eighteen months of age. Flogans can be bred in a wide variety of colors, from reds to greens to yellows, to blues, but are mostly a shades of brown or green in the wild as to help them camouflage when they sleep. They usually have pale bellies so they are harder to spot in the sky.

### Wurms

Wurms, unlike their winged counterparts, do not have wings. They largely live underground, and as such have very poor eyesight but a fantastic sense of smell. They lack horns, but have bony ridges across their brows that serve as weapons. Some wurms can breathe fire, but it's a much lower percentage than Flogans. The Weallans and Scottans consider wurms sacred, and both feature wurms on their flags.

Wurms are hatched from eggs roughly the size of an apple, and measure around eight inches long when hatched. They have leathery skin that develops into scales as they grow, are born completely blind, and have enlarged front claws for burrowing. A mother wurm will feed her young for up to three days before abandoning them. Any that remain too near her nest will likely be eaten.

Wurms are rarely bright colors, usually being shades of grey or black, but males are capable of turning bright red in mating or intimidation displays.

"Wurm" may also be used as a classification term, and is often considered synonymous with "reptile".

## Intelligence

Though often portrayed as cunning villains capable of speech and complex thought, dragons are not thought to possess profound intelligence. Though they are self-aware, they have no complex language, and are classified as animals rather than as people. The portrayal of the cunning villain dragon is believed to be due to wights possessing dragons as a large, intimidating creature. The dark Elder God Aeowa is believed to inhabit the body of a massive, eons-old dragon that either lives at the bottom of or just beneath Dunn.

## Fate

Because of the threat they pose to humanity, dragons were hunted to near-extinction by the start of the Third Age. By the mid-Fourth Age, they became completely extinct.