Water Dragon

**Water Dragons** are aquatic, fire-breathing magical beasts resembling dragons that inhabited bodies of water, and are distinguished by their hibernation cycle between Full Moons. Most water dragons were cursed with a dark charm that had driven them to destroy all merkind itself with their cold fire breath.

## Biography

During the Shang Dynasty, a Chinese Mermaid of the Eastern Pod fell in love with a land boy. When another pod heard of this, they punished the mermaid and her entire pod by casting a spell to turn the land boy into a Water Dragon, capable of permanently stripping a merperson of their magic and transforming them into a human being, and of killing merpeople. The Chinese mermaid used the Jiao Long Bracelet to undo the spell on her lover and return him to his human form.

Approximately three thousand years later, in the late 1990s, the Eastern Pod found itself under attack by the rebel mermaid, Aurora. An equally powerful Northern mermaid named Nerissa came to their rescue and fought alongside them for years. Eventually, the battle with the Eastern Pod turned against Aurora and Nerissa went to face her alone. During the battle, Aurora overpowered her and turned Nerissa into a Water Dragon. She forced her to destroy the entire Eastern Pod by stripping its members' tails and magical powers, turning them permanently into human beings. Later, its surviving members, including a hatchling named Weilan and her elderly grandmother who escaped unharmed were forced to flee to the mainland of China, and eventually the pod split. After the Eastern Pod was defeated, she was put in a deep sleep. Nerissa was never seen again and was believed to be dead by her fellow mermaids.

In 2014, Nerissa, still a Water Dragon, began experiencing dreams of her now grown-up children, Zac and Mimmi. These dreams awoke her from her slumber on April 15th that year, and the first thing she saw upon awakening was Weilan. Afraid of the dragon threat, Weilan's grandmother sent her away for safekeeping to live with Rita in Australia the following month, and Nerissa followed, sensing and wanting to see her children.

On 13th June, 2014, the following month, during one of these encounters, Zac and his girlfriend, Evie McLaren were followed by a still-cursed Nerissa to the Moon Pool at the heart of Mako Island, where the latter returns to her original state as a human being permanently by Nerissa's water dragon form's cold fire. However, Zac and Mimmi were both spared by the dragon when they found themselves at its mercy due to Nerissa's true self starting to resurface somewhere within it. Even while under Aurora's spell, Nerissa does not lose herself enough to harm her own children, which later provides one of the clues Zac and Mimmi need when they discover the truth about the dragon. As the spell continues to gradually break, Nerissa begins appearing to Zac and Mimmi through visions in attempts to reach out to them.

The following month, on 12th July, 2014, Mako's Mermaid Council makes a plan B to destroy the dragon by unleashing the full power of Mako. After learning of a Chinese legend where a land person was turned into a dragon and freed by a mermaid wearing a magic bracelet; Zac and Mimmi realize that their mother is under the same kind of spell. After managing to get a hold of the same bracelet, Zac and Mimmi attempt to use it to free Nerissa as Mako's Mermaid Council creates a massive thunderstorm using their Moon Rings by launching the power of Mako's Moon Pool in an attempt to destroy the dragon once and for all. After a brief moment where both Mimmi and the dragon disappear, Nerissa emerges from the water, finally being completely free from the spell.

## Physiology

A water dragon was a dragon-like, wingless reptilian beast with blue scales and light blue skin, and white eyes.

A water dragon falls into its hibernation cycle between each Full Moon, thus only awakens when the Full Moon rises, only to fall back into its hibernation cycle once more once the Full Moon sets. It could also be briefly summoned by a moonstone's moonlight during a lunar cycle, before falling back to its sleep.

A Water Dragon's tail is also very strong, and can pierce through the hard solid objects.

A water dragon is also capable of breathing cold, blue flames from its nostrils and mouths, which has dangerous unmetamorphosing effects on a merperson once burned.

The size of most water dragons is about 60 meters.

A water dragon's respiratory system can extract oxygen from both water and air, allowing them to breathe freely both underwater and on land.

### Reproduction

It is unknown how water dragons reproduce although given its an curse it unlikely that they do

## Trivia

* Some fans speculate that once Aurora's spell on Nerissa was broken, what happened to the Eastern Pod and Evie might have been reversed, although it is very unlikely, as the Water Dragon's cold fire effects on a merperson are irreversible and permanent.
	+ Although not confirmed, based on Weilan's interest in restarting the Eastern Pod after Aurora's spell on Nerissa was broken, the effects of the Water Dragon's cold fire may not wear off until the specific water dragon that took a merperson's tail and powers would be defeated/slayed. Or she was counting on including mermen into the pod, and ending the thousand-years old traditions against mermen.
* It is currently unknown if there are native-born water dragons at all.
* The water dragon's cold fire's effects on a merperson are very similar to the the Moon of Fifty Years, as they are both used to extract a merperson's tailed true selves and magical abilities permanently with no known cure.
* According to Weilan, as far as anyone knows, there is no telling of what the water dragon's cold fire could do to a merman, based on the Eastern Pod's experience with the cursed Nerissa.
	+ However, as revealed by Zac Blakely, when a merman is caught by the water dragon's cold fire, he would be stripped of his tailed true self and magical powers in the same way as a mermaid would be. However, this thesis was not outright confirmed, thus making the Moon of Fifty Years seemingly the only weapon that could work against him.
* The legend the bracelet takes its name from refers to *Jiaolong*, a mythical Chinese dragon said to live in rivers.