Earth Dragon

* Juvenile
* Baby
* Elder
* Egg
 **DDLA Rank:** | 2

*Despite the harshness of their habitat, the **earth dragon** is the least restless of all known breeds. They are supremely well adapted for their desert homes with thick skin and large bodies to store water. The spikes on their back offer protection from predators, but honestly, what animal in its right mind would think to take on one of these massive beasts?*
    —Nogard's description of the **earth dragon** in The Book of Dragons
The **Earth Dragon** is a primary dragon of the Earth element.

## Appearance

**Earth dragons** are beasts of monstrous size, with thick brown hides adorned with all manner of long spikes. They walk on four legs, carrying their massive, heavy body close to the ground, and are wingless. The head is short and round-shaped with long spines protruding from the back, small eyes, and a very large mouth full of enormous teeth. Earth dragons have a very large body supported by four short legs, long enough to carry the body well clear of hot sand and with large feet with long claws that are wide enough to prevent the dragon from sinking into the sand. Each horny spine on the back can be four feet in length.

* Egg
* Baby Stage
* Juvenile Stage
* Adult Stage
* Elder Stage

     The egg is a dull white color like all primary dragon eggs, and the signature pattern of Earth elements eggs: many diamond shaped rock structures. It is hard to say how these form, but do help in egg protection.

     The infant dragon's horns and spikes are blunt and minute, and it takes a while for them to grow to full size. Their legs are relatively strong for a young dragon, for they have to carry their large body. As their legs are still not too large in proportion to its body, it can manage to scamper short distances. They are about four times smaller than their adult size.

     As a juvenile, its horns and spikes are a lot sharper and longer. It's legs are longer and more spread apart for easier stability, and it has developed a strong jaw. It is now able to use it's spiky tail as a club for defense.
The adult's body, neck, and tail have grown in length.

It's spikes now spiral out of control, with some of the points falling off completely. It has a few patches of tan. Its head is a lot smaller in proportion to its body now.

## Abilities

### Weapons

The dragon's primary weapon is its enormous tail, with more horny spines spaced close together to form an enormous club. This tail can be swung with surprising force.

### Defenses

The earth dragon's thick skin protects it from the sun, and its spikes are to keep predators from attacking them.

### Other Abilities

Earth dragons have a truly remarkable memory. Once thought to be dumb and witless, they are now known to be among the most intelligent of all dragons.

### Breath Weapon

The earth dragon, at times, will gobble up large stones, which they can spit out at enemies if threatened.

### Weaknesses

Earth dragons walk very slowly and cannot run at all. Their eyesight and hearing are incredibly poor. However, earth dragons have no natural predators and therefore have no need for razor-sharp senses.

## Habitat

### Regions

Earth dragons are found all throughout the Sandara Desert, the plains of the Great South, The Glittergold Mountains and the Xiberian savannas.

### Preferred Home

Any wide expanse of land can be home to an earth dragon. They usually are found in harsh deserts, though, because they don't like the company of other, more aggressive dragons.

### Sheltering/Nesting

Earth dragons do not build nests. The earth dragon's hide is an impenetrable fortress in of itself.

## Diet

Earth dragons are naturally herbivorous but will eat anything, even rocks. Eating rocks is a natural behavior, and is the only way for the dragons to get minerals they need to grow. They can dig into the spiniest of cacti without a thought to all the spines and devour the entire plant in minutes. They are also known to eat yucca, trees (wood and all), and carrion (bones and all).

They can survive for nearly two weeks without a single drop of water or a single bite of food; even under natural circumstances they get almost all their water from cacti. When given the opportunity, however, they will drink bathtubs upon bathtubs' worth and store it up in their fatty backs for later use.

## Lifestyle

### Behaviour and Personality

Earth dragons are calm, serene and steadfast. If you run at one screaming and yelling at the top of your lungs, the dragon probably won't even bother to move. For years scholars thought this dragon was extremely dim-witted, but they now know that earth dragons are among the smartest of dragons.

### Social Order

Earth dragons live together in herds consisting of many young adults and a court of Elders. Due to their intelligence, social rankings can be very complex, and each member knows their place. They also can form strong emotional bonds with other members within their herds. They are also known to be great parents, furiously protective of their young.

### Relationship with Wizards

Earth dragons bond with one person and are ruthlessly loyal to them, but typically ignore everyone else. Very old earth dragons may speak to humans, but in the wild they mostly ignore humans unless they are attacked. They are hard to teach, since they are some of the most stubborn dragons of all.

An Earth dragon can cause serious injury if provoked, but they usually let humans be and usually don't even mind being neared or touched. Because of this, the DDLA has scaled it as 2.

## Life Cycle

### Mating

Earth dragons have a set breeding season every five years. Because of the long time between seasons, males become very aggressive towards one another. They will put on combative display to show their dominance to females by beating the ground with their club-like tails. Females are attracted to the male that makes the greatest sound. When a couple is created, they will stay together for the rest of their lives.

### Birth

The earth dragon has a particularly long gestation period. The male earth dragon will care for the female during her long and arduous pregnancy, guarding her and bringing her food. They will dig large holes in which to place their eggs, which the female guards.

### Infancy

Earth dragon families rarely leave the tribe after birth, due to strong emotional ties to the herd. The dragonling is carried on the mother's back. As a baby, it is much more vulnerable, which is why the mother must take good care.

### Adolescence

As it grows, the spines of its back will elongate, making it less easy to kill. Halfway during its adolescence, the earth dragon will leave its herd to travel across the desert to prove its hardiness before returning to the herd.

### Adulthood

An earth dragon's adulthood is one of the least eventful stages of its life. It wanders throughout much of its adult life. It must eat, drink, sleep, all of the essentials needed for an animal to grow. Yet, these are some of the only things the earth dragon must do. As it approaches elder status, it may join the Council of Elders which leads the herd throughout the vastness of the desert it inhabits.

### Life Span

Earth dragons are among the longest lived dragons. Some have been known to survive to 1000 years of age. Six to seven centuries is the usual age.

## When in a park

### Breeding

Earth dragons can be bought for 500 DragonCash, but can also be bred with an earth dragon and an earth dragon, or a dodo dragon/sandstorm dragon and an air dragon/earth dragon.

### Habitats

Earth dragons prefer Earth Habitats over Omnitats, though they can be kept in both.

### How to care for

Earth dragons do not require much more care than other dragons. Just be sure to check from time to time if some of your islands are descending when a lot of earth dragons are placed on them. And be sure to stop those joking children throwing water at your earth dragons. This is harmful to their skin.

### Favorite Treat

Like most other dragons, earth dragons prefer Berry Baubles.

## History

### Discovery

This creature was not recognized as a dragon when it was first discovered, because it was so different from the better known fire, plant and lightning dragons. It was the first dracon known to wizardry.

### Origin of Name

Earth dragons get their name from their association with terramancy.

## Magic

The earth dragon is associated with terramancy and all branches of it. They can use their magic to move the earth and create earthquakes. They rarely use magic in the wild, like most dragons, and even when tamed they only use their magic when absolutely necessary.

### Zector

 **Date of Death:** | Unknown

Zector is an **Earth dragon** renowned for his loyalty to his master. He is dedicated in the Earth Shrine.

#### History

**Zector's** parents and his whole tribe were killed after he was hatched by a nomadic tribe hoping to sell the spikes for high prices. **Zector** was left unseen because his older sister Chelena pushed him into a small pit. A bit later, a hermit found the baby, famished and almost dead. The hermit practiced Herbomancy and cured the disease of the baby. The young **Zector** was very loyal to the hermit that saved his life. Every morning, the hermit did go into the desert to gather materials, and came back at the evening to play and eat with **Zector**. One day, the hermit was attacked and killed, likely by either an angry Pharaoh Dragon or a Sandaran Giant Worm. **Zector** did not know about this but stayed waiting at the outside of the small house, only moving to reach for the small pool of water, some grass or small prey walking by. Even modern caravans tell stories of a lone **earth dragon** standing by a small cave, suggesting that **Zector** is still alive.

## References

* The Book of Dragons, The Great Nogard

**Primary**
***Earth Dragon***

**Hybrids**
*Tree Dragon* - *Moss Dragon* - *Lava Dragon* - *Obsidian Dragon* - *Glacier Dragon* - *Mountain Dragon* - *Quake Dragon* - *Crystal Dragon* - *Mud Dragon* - *River Dragon* - *Dodo Dragon* - *Sandstorm Dragon* - *Scoria Dragon* - *Iron Dragon* - *Sand Dragon* - *Glass Dragon* - *Root Dragon* - *Cave Dragon*

 **Golden Hybrids**
*Forest Dragon* - *Soot Dragon* - *Arctic Dragon* - *Geode Dragon* - *Quicksand Dragon* - *Plains Dragon*