Viletongue

The **Viletongue** was a gigantic Stoker Class dragon that lived in barren plains, and was hunted to extinction by Dragon Hunters.

## Official Description

Once a powerful, ancient species, the Viletongue has been brought to extinction by determined hunters and warriors meant to either protect their lands from the negative environmental effects these dragons would bring, or kill for money from their parts or bounties. Most vulnerable as a young dragon or when sleeping, hunters found these dragons' weaknesses after trials and tribulations, eventually bringing the species to an end and subsequently killing off one of the first dragon species to have ever existed.

## Physical Appearance

### Egg

The Viletounge's egg is a unique shape, similar to a pinecone, with a ridged and plated top and a pebbled, almost gravel-like bottom. The plating is hard and formidable, and the pebbled texture of the bottom keeps the egg steady within the dirt and sand they are laid in. The plates have a pale blue, shiny-like texture, that reflects light when it is hit. These eggs tend to be a little larger than a Great Blue Heron's egg, and the hatchling is positioned inside with its head facing downwards towards the more rounded end of the egg.

### Hatchling to Adult

In the hatchling stage, the Viletongue is born with very thin scales and no plating. It has fleshy membranes around its head, protecting its ears. The Viletongue hatchling has nearly useless wings, almost vestigial. Within the first many months of its life, it is no bigger than a Dachshund dog.

The Viletongue has a very slow growth rate, and it can take years for them to grow to a size where they are able to defend themselves to a minimum level. Most documented Viletongues were either extremely large, meaning they very well may have been hundreds of years old, or extremely small, meaning they were still in the yearling or juvenile stage.

Between the ages of 7-10 years, depending on habitat and nutrition, the Viletongue will begin to show drastic physical changes, growing hair under its chin and along its tail. Its wing will grow exponentially, greatly outsizing its body. The bones within the wings will start to grow ridges, allowing further strength and stability to support its rising size and weight. Horns start to show, and fins around the head, elbows, and knees will appear. As it grows older, the plates under its belly begin to harden further and further until it becomes impenetrable. The jaw also extends into an overbite, though this is much more noticeable within males. The tail has now become extremely long, balancing the top and bottom of this dragon when in the air.

When the Viletongue reaches the threshold of its mid 50s, the hair on its body will grow longer, its horns will extend further, and spikes will break through the shoulders and wings themselves, resulting in large wing talons. Within the wings, an extra layer of membranes will form, allowing even more stability to this ever growing dragon.

As Viletongues near closer and closer to a century old age, all scales and plates harden to the point where it is impossible to penetrate. Even the wings may become resistant to projectiles, and they can bounce off like nothing ever happened. Chin spikes protrude, and the hair along its body is meters long. The claws are said to grow to the size of a rowboat, but it's unclear whether this is true or just an exaggeration.

The older Viletongues grow, the harder they are to kill. However, despite having one weakness that guarantees a kill, Dragon Hunters preferred to kill them in the yearling or hatchling stage, some even going as far as to smashing the eggs to get it done with immediately.

## Abilities

### Firepower

As a gargantuan dragon, the Viletongue's fire reaches out in large waves without any effort. A second's breath can easily burn down a forest if the individual is near mid-century age. As they grow larger, so does the span of their fire. Comprised of cesium and selenium, the Viletongue's fire burns a bright violet, reaching to temperatures of almost 2500°F. The Viletongue's flame-producing organ, known as the Ventia, is lined with the selenium obtained through the dragon's diet, while another organ, known as the Ampetiris, naturally produces cesium and transfers the chemical element to the Ventia.

### Strength, Endurance, Stamina, and Combat

A full-grown Viletongue can easily crush a city beneath its claws without even blinking an eye or receiving any damage in return. In combat, older Viletongues may even be eager to rush into a battle, while others will only attack to defend themselves. Either way, Viletongues will use their size to their advantage. If younger, they will utilize their fire and teeth more than their physical strength and attack in a "hit and run" manner, as they are still vulnerable while growing and hardening their armor.

If faced against another dragon, despite the opponent's size, the Viletongue will always go for the neck first, and will often fly from underneath and reach up, snapping its jaws to catch the dragon between its teeth.

Viletongues can last hours in battle, as they have fantastic endurance, and if they have fully grown body armor, they will last much longer as any attacks to them will be futile. However, if that is the case, chances are the battle will not last long and the dragon will destroy its opponent within only a few minutes.

### Speed and Agility

When young, the Viletongue has nearly useless wings, so they have adapted to run at high speeds, learning how to evade attackers in an agile manner. Smaller Viletongues will tuck their wings in as tight as they can and sprint at speeds up to 50 mph, and due to the lack of body plates and armor, there's less weight on their bodies to slow them down.

After the Viletongue is able to fly, they teach themselves to do so, as Viletongue parents are mostly absent in their offspring's lives. Sometimes they will observe other dragons flying and copy their techniques and patterns until they themselves have learned how to fly. When young, the Viletongue is adept in the air and can roll out of the way to avoid projectiles or attacks, usually following up with a defensive attack before diving to ambush the attacker from below.

As they grow older, the Viletongue may have more trouble taking off from the ground faster, which opens it to more dangerous situations. They aren't able to take tight turns anymore, and will sometimes even crash into rocks or trees if they can't pull up fast enough. However, they have grown so adapted to their technique of flying underneath the enemy to attack from below that they are more adept at flying upside down than many other species.

### Intelligence

Able to know when a person is foe or friend, the Viletongue possesses an incredible sense of intelligence, almost humane, as older witnesses recorded throughout time and history. Viletongues have even been known to show emotional awareness, as a young girl claimed that a juvenile heard her crying and the dragon had come to comfort her and covered her with its wing. Although this has never been confirmed, many cultures saw Viletongues as a reincarnation of the gods, but the hunters outnumbered the worshippers, so despite their holy image, the species was eventually wiped out.

### Environmental Impact

Many researchers had noticed the impact Viletongues had on an environment after arrival. Lush forests would become barren wastelands as these dragons prefer to sleep on dry, hot grounds, free of forests. Along with this, other dragon populations would quickly diminish, especially if an adult Viletongue had come, as they mainly eat dragons and dragon eggs. Even settlements nearby would begin to starve as hunting would become nearly impossible from all of the animals fleeing.

This was the main reason why they were hunted to extinction, as humans could not continue to live alongside the Viletongue, especially if it had such an immense impact on the environment.

## Weaknesses

There are three known weaknesses to a full-grown Viletongue.

### Wet Head

This is a weakness that many other dragons share: in that if the head is submerged in water, it cannot fire, and is therefore unable to use its fire breath, which may leave it open and vulnerable to attacks.

### Eye Weak Spot

This is another weakness that is specifically shared with the Netherdrake, in which one sure way to kill the dragon is to strike it through the eye with a ballista or other powerful projectile. Like the Netherdrake, the eye is unprotected, so any attacks to it will cause almost immediate death.

### Organ Damage

The final weakness concerns the Viletongue's organs, moreso the Ventia and the Ampetiris, which give the dragon the ability to breathe fire. If either is damaged or removed or even deformed/mutated, the firepower of the individual will significantly decrease or even disappear. However, considering the external armor of the Viletongue, destroying an older dragon's organs will be virtually impossible, so its often done when the dragon is much smaller and more defenseless.

## Personality and Behavior

Predatory, powerful, and prideful, these dragons are defensive and highly aggressive toward any invaders of their territory, whether intentional or accidental. Viletongues will nary back down from a fight, and have been shown to be more than capable of taking down a Hellfire. They will attack and kill almost anything on sight, often letting out a deafening roar before charging head on. They are an extremely powerful species, able to wipe out entire armies with relative ease, and this fact has made the species themselves innately prideful of their status and power. Often they will bully other species and dragons into submission.

However, these are most common in the older individuals. Young Viletongues have been known to be more aloof and curious, although still combative and protective of their territory. Juveniles enjoy taking dust baths and grow out of the habit as they grow larger, since a full-grown Viletongue would end up crumbling an entire island if it attempted to do so.

Viletongues are solitary by nature, with the mothers even abandoning their offspring as soon as they are born, leaving them defenseless to hunters and predators. When it comes to Viletongues' reproductive behavior, the matter is fascinating. Since there are so few of them, and only one egg is laid once in a dragon's life, Viletongues can actually change their reproductive organs and reproduce asexually to continue the species. Still, the Viletongue will stay the same sex it was born as, and will only make the change once in its life just to lay an egg, then make the change back to its born sex (if born a male, that is).

Females are naturally born with a unique organ, unnamed as of now, which contains the chemicals used to inseminate itself and in turn be able to lay an egg. Males are born with the same organ, though it is nonfunctioning and simply dormant, waiting for the sex change. The male has an extra gland on this organ, that secretes certain chemicals that allow the organ to activate. once the sex change occurs and the egg is laid, the organ will deactivate and the gland will close itself, finalizing the change back to the male sex, and preventing any further eggs from being laid.

A Viletongue will spend most of its day lounging in the sun, lazing in the water, hunting, or practicing flying (if younger). After hunting, the Viletongue will eat its meal immediately.

If the outer body of a Viletongue is damaged, it will shed its skin and eat the shedding. Some say that the skin of a Viletongue grows harder every time it sheds.

## Training

No one has ever attempted to train a Viletongue, and unfortunately, there will never be another chance.

## Trivia

* The Viletongue is the first descendant of Jhen Morhan, and is one of the first dragon species to have ever existed outside of the Six.
* The last Viletongue to exist was a month-old hatchling, being captured and murdered before having its parts sold to traders.
* The roar of a Viletongue is a variation of Godzilla's roar!