Northern Dragons

## Physical Appearance

Northern dragons (also commonly referred to as Lunar Dragons) have a thick collar of fur around their necks, and shorter fur around their bodies for insulation from the mountain’s climate. They have one set of horns at the top of their heads, and visible furred ears. They have large wings with small bony spikes for some protection to a very crucial piece of them. They are often lightly colored, blues, purples, grays and whites on their scales and fur, which stands out from their black horns and spikes. They are often sleeker than Southern dragons, and their hands form more of a paw shape than the bare claws of Southern dragons. This is to protect their feet from their icy climate, and helps to keep them from sliding.

## Social Hierarchy

For most of each month, lunar dragons stay isolated amongst the snowy summits of their homeland; younger ones will travel in small family units with one of both parents until they grow into maturity. When these young dragons do meet the age of leaving their families, parents who both stayed with the child will decide on continuing or ending their partnership. It is not uncommon for lunar dragons to have many partners throughout their long lifetime, seeing it as an opportunity to share time and stories with many of their community.

A lunar dragon’s mind is incredible, being able to store a much larger breadth of information than any pony’s could. Once a lunar dragon learns something, it is unheard of that they’ll be forgetting this. Due to this, lunar dragons have an intrinsic yearn for more information to add to their intellectual hoard — rather than the use of written word, lunar dragons share by word of mouth, keeping their stories from any prying eyes. They are tight-lipped in the presence of ponies as well, choosing to only share their well of knowledge with other dragons.

Seeing the value in sharing their tales with their community, lunar dragons will meet once a month under the new moon. This is where the lunar dragon leader is most important, they see to it that no harm is done under the holy light of the new moon. This time of mingling is at a set spot on the mountains every time, and only ever changes if absolutely necessary. At a meeting, dragons will often share stories, form new relationships, rekindle old ones, and catch one another up on their life’s events. The meetings last from sunset to sunrise, where the dragons will disperse, sometimes in pairs if they wish to talk more, and sometimes alone as they’ve decided they’ve had enough.

Elder dragons, as they have such a wealth of information, are highly revered by lunar dragon society. To kill an elder is an offense, as the death of their information comes with it. This is doubly true for elders who cannot properly fight back, preying on such vulnerability is cause for estrangement from others of the community. On the other side of this, a parent may be willing to give up their child if there is a great enough threat to their own safety. Even still, many lunar dragon parents will vehemently defend their children until their very last breath, so it seems to vary from individual to individual. If an abandoned child makes their way to a new moon’s meeting, they are often taken in by new families as if it were their own.

## History

Lunar dragons are long-lived and have a refusal in particular to give up information on their history. From early writings from pony species, it seems that dragons once lived across all of Equestria, and it is unknown why this is no longer true.

Modernly, the dragon leader has attempted to establish some advocacy for the lunar dragons in discussions of foreign relations. Many lunar dragons disagree with this young king’s ideas of communicating with pony folk at all, and tensions seem to slowly be rising against him.

## Religion

Their worship of Luna is loose, in the sense that they do not directly celebrate her existence with any sort of holiday. They do thank Luna for their amazing memory, and see it that collecting stories as they do is their way of honoring her for the gift. The meetings they have under the new moon are also considered a means of worship, pilgrimage to the base of the mountaintop that reaches highest to the moon. Meetings are held at the base rather than the peak to accommodate for elders, as they are valued well in the community as living by Luna’s way.

To not come to these meetings under the new moon is a type of disrespect to Luna, and to the community as well, unless one does not make it for the following reasons: Illness, age, real or reasonably perceived threat, or pregnancy if one chooses. In order to be forgiven for missing one of these meetings, at the next, said dragon is expected to give back to the community in way of story, food, or giving care for an elder until next meeting. To give back to the community by story means to gain a large amount of information that it is unlikely that the other dragons have heard. In some cases, lunar dragons do that by speaking to members within pony kingdoms. To give back by food is seen as the most simple, and as such is not used for repeated offenses. Giving back by food means to gather enough for all members to eat a meal at the next meeting. To give back by care is self explanatory, aiding one of the elderly Lunar dragons in hunt and protection, as well as learning from the stories they have to share. These are seen not as punishments, but as the simplest way to right one’s wrongs after a mistake.