Dragons

Vesolath the Blue, a Dragon Lord of Wyrmakk

The Dragons of Menune are an ancient, powerful and mysterious race that once ruled the globe millennia ago. Until the rise of mortal races such as Humans, Dwarves and Elves, their dominion over the world was almost entirely undisputed, with the only other race ever considered a true threat by them being the elusive Arachnaar. The Dragons of Menune originated from the Wyrmakk Isles, an archipelago continent of many islands of various sizes, with one large central island being the home of the Dragon Lords themselves. Owing to their sheer ancientness and magical nature, Dragons have evolved into many different varieties over the course of many thousands of years, making them one of the most diverse and impressive races to ever inhabit Menune.

## Dragons and Magic

As a species, Dragons are very dependent on magic and magical energies. A Dragon will need a steady supply of magical energies such as mana throughout their lives, or else they will experience degenerative side effects and mutations. Some of the most common side effects of magic deprivation are loss of speech, limbs and ferality. Many dragons suffering from these ailments are in fact misidentified by the people of Menune as unique species (Wyverns and Greatwyrms being the most common examples).

Dragon Hatchlings and Whelps will need a steady supply of magical energy to get through the first few months of their lives, or else they will develop degenerative conditions very early which will more often than not result in death for the Whelp. However, due to physical makeup of Dragons, they are able to absorb magical energies directly into their bodies from the area around them, instead of needing to ingest it in some form like most other races. Many other races are capable of learning how to do this as well, but not without great skill and training, whereas it comes naturally to Dragons. Because of this natural ability, Hatchlings are often placed into nurseries in large groups -areas saturated with high concentrations of magical energy- for the first few weeks of their lives, exposure to high levels of magical energies will also increase the growth rate of Hatchlings and Whelps.

On average, a Dragon Hatchling will take around 2 months to grow into a Whelp, and they are then -for the most part- capable of keeping themselves alive. However, if given access to enough magical energy, this growth can be accelerated to as quickly as 2-3 weeks! From here on, a Whelp will grow into a Drake after around 3-6 months, depending again on how much magical energy they have access to. At this point they are mostly indistinguishable from the average dragon, the only key difference being their size. A Dragon's reliance on magical energy gives them the ability to be practically immortal, as long as they don't lose access to their energy supplies, a Dragon will never die from old age. Because of this, some Dragons are known to live to be thousands of years old.

## Draconic Variety

As stated in the introductory paragraph, Dragons are a species that are very diverse, coming in all manner of shapes and sizes. While the most common and first to come to mind for most are usually the four-legged winged beasts with elemental breaths, the truth is that Dragons can be -and often are- so much more!

### Dragon Lords and Brood Queens

The most rare and powerful varieties of Dragons are known as Dragon Lords and Brood Queens. Dragons of the Wyrmakk Isles are patriarchal, so the most powerful of these males earn the right to become Dragon Lords, and take a female to be their Brood Queen. Dragon Lords are the governing bodies of the Wyrmakk Isles, and their Queens are responsible for the birth of most of the Hatchlings on the Isles. A Brood Queen has the ability to produce mass-quantities of eggs, without the need of mating. Every few years, each Brood Queen will lay hundreds of eggs, all producing new Hatchlings for their Lord's Broods. Dragons of this variety that don't become Dragon Lords or Brood Queens are still powerful and rare enough to demand respect from other Dragons, and such are often given other positions of power among the Broods, often serving as advisers and generals to the Dragon Lords themselves.

Some notable Dragons of this variety are: Dragon Lord Vesolath, Malak the Deceiver, Raishin the Thunderlord and Brood Queen Indomina.

### The Wyrmguard

It is a fairly common occurrence for a Hatchling to be born without wings (in fact, this affects almost one in every four Hatchlings!). Instead, these Dragon's sixth limbs evolve into a pair of arms that sprout from the side of their torsos, rather than their back like a Dragon's usual wings. This is viewed as somewhat of a defect by most Dragons, and those with this ailment are placed into the "Wyrmguard" caste. Lacking the ability to fly, these creatures serve most often as foot soldiers and fodder in the armies of Dragon Lords, and are considered the most expendable of the Dragon varieties. While they are certainly not lacking in physical strength compared to most mortals, many Wyrmguards will often die in their first few battles simply due to the power of the foes these creatures often face. However, if they prove themselves to be exceptional and seasoned combatants, it is not too rare for a Dragon Lord to promote them to a position of power within their ranks. In such cases, these creatures are often promoted to Elite Guards, Ground Commanders and Overseers.

Some notable Dragons of this variety are: Overseer Drakkarus, Blackscale the Destroyer and Slavemaster Balegore.