Dragons

*"The Viciousness of a dragon is something told in legends, but often a storyteller cannot encapsulate the true horror of coming face to face with your first ever draconic being."* - Hylvun B. Shulsturr

Dragon is a broad term used to refer to all beings with reptilian morphology that come from a draconic lineage. Creatures that fall under this term can be categorized as a Celestial Dragon or Terrestrial Dragon.

## General Information

### Designation

* Sapient
* Sentient

### Subspecies

* Celestial Dragon
* Terrestrial Dragon

### Diet

* Omnivorous
* Carnivorous
* Photovore
* Photocarnis

## Sociocultural Information

### Place of Origin

Neraida (unknown if true)

The Categories of Celestial Dragon and Terrestrial Dragon share no genetic link, but share similar appearances and abilities. The main difference between Celestial Dragons and Terrestrial Dragons is that Celestial Dragons do not reside on the Mortal planes but in the Ether, Irara, or other such realms; while Terrestrial Dragons live within the Mortal planes and typically have limited magics and abilities.

## Classification

While there are a variety of different subspecies of dragon, there are a few things that remain true for all of them, those being: reptilian or serpentine in there true form with a large size difference compared to the average humanoid person. There is a high number of dragons that have at least one set of wings and are quadrupeds, however this is not a requirement as there are the Wyrms, Wyverns, and Ssvaklor; as well as other draconids; that subvert this trend. All species of dragon are in some way magical be they connected to a natural element or a creation of the gods to aid in the protection of the known universe, however big or small; some more highly intelligent species of dragon can even learn spellcasting or are born with a small pool of magical spells they already know. Additionally, most dragons have the ability to breathe or expel one or more types of energy associated with their elemental connection, as well as bearing a certain level of resistance to weapons or spells that use that element.

## Biology

Dragons have a varied and rich diet with each individual species having a different type of diet from herbivore to photocarnis with variations such as certain species eating typically non-edible items like gems, rocks, or mental energy. The composition of dragon can varying depending on the species, there are those that have wings and some that don't, some that have a breath weapon and others that do not; the whole of the draconic ancestry is extremely varied in how they fight and survive but there are a few traits that remain consistent. All dragons have the pirus gland which give those that do have a breath weapon the ability to use it, extraordinary senses like heightened smelled and the ability to see in pitch darkness; though they cannot discern colors. Dragons that possess wings and the ability to fly have an expanded radius of vision like that of avian predators.

Dragons, even those from the realm of Xaekla, are inherently magical, which is even the same for those who do not seem to exhibit any magical abilities. The most magical part of dragons has always been there pirus gland which every dragon possess, it is what gives a dragon their ability to use a breath weapon; all dragons have this even ones which do not have a breath weapon. Dragons are extremely powerful and this manifests in their ability to procreate with nearly every existing ancestry; besides a select few subspecies with the draconic ancestry itself, with the most common pairing of dragons and non-dragons being humanoids which result in half dragons.

### Maturity

Dragons will age over the course of thousands of years, with those that live the longest typically being the strongest on the draconic ancestry. There are 10 stages to a dragons life: incubation, hatchling, wyrmling, juvenile, young adult, adult, mature adult, elder, and ancient. The length of these stages can vary depending on the subspecies of dragon as well as there being a different stage other than twilight for dragons that are truly immortal; this stage being called the primordial stage where a dragon has lived beyond their elder years but does not experience the weakness twilight brings.

## Abilities

Most dragons have the innate ability to use their breath as a weapon through the use of their Pirus gland, the gland located at the back of all dragons throats which is similar in size and shape to a large bag of flour and contains the liquid/gas required for their breath weapon. Some dragons are also known to have the ability to transform themselves at will into other creatures, including humanoids, and are known to be quite charismatic. Additionally, there are dragons that have natural magical spellcasting abilities like the spirit dragon which can manipulate the terrain and plants around them and even control the weather.

## Culture

Most of Dragonkind is fractured across the planes with the Celestial being the most tight-knit community who vehemently hate purebred dragons mating with non-dragons and seek to destroy any such creation that comes from such a relationship. All dragons are highly territorial, with a passionate hate against another dragon intruding upon their space and if any creature dare set foot in their lair, it would be the last thing they do. Dragons guard their lair so closely because it holds all their material values; Most dragons love gold but for others little trinkets, plants, or magical items might be of more worth.

## Harvesting

While some view it as "immoral" to harvest from a creature that is sentient and sapient, those fearless many have taken up the mantle in the name of science! and thus here are the universal harvestable from all the subspecies of dragons. Dragon meat is often used in Lasmerian cuisine particularly of the fancier variety but in other reasons this is technically seen as cannibalisms.

**Claws & Fangs:** the claws and fangs of dragons have been an integral part of spellcasting and alchemy for centuries, while they are not entirely rare, dragons are infamously difficult to take down due to their tendency to lure combatants into their lair where they are most powerful.

**Tongue:** draconic tongue is scaled and thick, but descaled and cut into thin flays, dragon tongue can make an excellent main course with all the novelty that comes with eating literal dragon tongue. But, dragon tongue can also be used in alchemy.

**Pirus Gland:** used in alchemical potion creation, the pirus is used in the creation of breath weapon spells, however, whatever breath weapon spell you wish to create, you have to have the matching dragons pirus gland.

## **Species**

### Terrestrial

Terrestrial dragons are the dragons are live within the confines of one of the known physical realms: Xaekla, Neraida, or Irara. Their magic and bodies are made to reflect their realm to the T with them being fully in tune with their realm.

#### Chromatic Dragons

Dragons of a certain pigmentation are classified as Chromatic dragons, not a technical subspecies of Terrestrial dragons but simply a way for researchers to more easily categorize and organize the long list of dragons that exist within the realms.

#### Achromatic Dragons

Dragons with a lacking pigmentation are classified as Achromatic, these are the dragons which find it the most difficult to mate with dragons outside their immediate species, they are also known to be more aggressive for an unknown reason that is still attempting to be discovered by Dragologists.

Diet: Carnivore
Place of Origin: Sokyal
Diet: Photocarnis
Place of Origin: Sokyal
Diet: Carnivore
Place of Origin: Shadow Realm
Diet: Carnivore
Place of Origin: Kyris

#### Metallic Dragons

Metallic Dragons embody the metals of the realm they come from with the majority of metallic dragons being from Xaekla and Neraida, they have thicker scales that seem to be made from the metal itself which can only be pierced by the claws of another dragon or by a pure Tulistein sword.

#### Sylvan Dragons

Sylvan dragons are the dragons that come from the sylvan realm of Neraida, they often share characteristics of earth and life elemental connections, have a deep love for the flora and fauna, and typically have bright patterning's reflective of plants. There are a number of Sylvan dragons that have the ability to change their form into different animals that they have seen or heard of with many that prefer to exist almost exclusively in the form of a preferred animal.

Diet: Herbivore
Place of Origin: Neraida
Diet: Herbivore
Place of Origin: Neraida
Diet: Photovore (sunlight + Water)
Place of Origin: Neraida

### Celestial

Celestial dragons were crafted by the Exusians initially to aid in the protection of the known universe and realms, the exist only within the Ether and other realms that may exist within it but are not allowed on a physical realm such as Neraida unless given leave by an Exusian themself. Celestial dragons typically have a connection to something found within the Ether, such as how the Sun dragon is a reflection of the sun itself or how the Star dragon is a reflection of the stars.

Diet: Sunlight
Place of Origin: Ether
Diet: Astroids
Place of Origin: Ether
Diet: Gas
Place of Origin: Ether
Diet: Gas
Place of Origin: Ether
Diet: Moons
Place of Origin: Ether
Diet: Planets
Place of Origin: Ether

## **Trivia**

* The categorization of the draconic species was created by a Dr. Kilagam Kraham, famed scientist and scientific writer.