Dragon biology

Keverynn
is home to 7 distinct species of dragon. Each one can be clearly identified by
its distinctive color and physical characteristics that are unique to each
kind. Though different on the outside, they are largely similar. The dragons are
the major power on the east side of the ,
which is also called Arcetes. Each color of dragon contains both male and
female members of the species.

Each
species of dragon has the ability to shape change into a humanoid form and each
has a unique ability as well as a breath weapon. Some species have scales while
others are covered in a tough hide.

Dragons are typically associated
with the Dragonlords. A Dragonlord is a person who rides the most powerful
dragon of a color. Each Dragonlord has their own city. Each city as ruled by
that color is listed under the dragon colors. Some dragons of different colors
are stationed at other cites. Greens for emergency transport, blues in case of
drought or bad weather. A Dragonlord can be either male or female of any race.

Dragons Choose their riders at
various ages. Riders have extended life spans and can live for approximately
150 years. Dragons on their own have varying life spans.

**Reproduction**

The
mating process varies among the species, but moist engage in aerial
competitions, One such competition, engaged in by the white dragons, is a long
flight in which many males chase a single female. The male who catches up with
her first gets to mate with her.

Once
a female has mated, she carries her eggs inside her for one month. During this
period, she carefully selects the grounds in which she’ll lay her eggs. When
her time has come, she’ll spend the better part of a day laying the eggs, which
will harden over the course of 6-8 weeks. The eggs are universally oval in
shape and they are covered in tiny pores to allow the embryo to breathe.

As
dragon names aren’t gender specific, a mother names her eggs when they have
been hardening for 4 weeks. At that point, she knows which will survive and
which won’t and so feels safe in naming her offspring.

Once
the eggs have hatched, one or both of the parents will spend two months on
average teaching them things that they need to know. From that point onwards,
the learning moves from simply listening to their parent(s) to a more hands on
approach, putting things into practice. Young dragons engage in play much like
kittens do in preparation for learning to hunt.

**Development**

As
the eggs age and the embryo develops, the dragon inside will gradually consume
all of the material inside the egg. Once this is gone, it leaves the shell
brittle, making it easy for the hatchling to break free. A day or two before
the hatching, the young dragons are able to hear what is going on in the
outside world and can respond to auditory stimulus.

Once they’ve hatched,
their first instinct is to look for food. One or both of the parents has their
first meal ready for them. Dragons who have riders obtain their assistance in
chopping the meat up into smaller portions for the young dragons.

Right
from hatching, they can walk and see marginally well. Their vocal skills are
rudimentary, comparable to a four year old human child. They have a genetic
memory that allows them form speech and to understand what’s being said.

Hatchlings
need to eat daily meals for the first six months of their lives. They can
consume up to half their own body weight in food each day. At six months,
they’re reached 40% of their adult size, but are still dependant on their
parents for food as their hunting skills are poor at best, though some are able
to catch small animals to supplement what their parents bring in. At this point
in their lifespan, they only need to eat once every three days. A good sized
Shagback makes a good meal for them.

At
a year old, they are proficient enough hunters to leave their parents. At 80%
of their full size, they can survive quite well on what they can catch. Full
size is reached at two years of age and females can begin to reproduce six
months later. Male dragons are late bloomers and aren’t able to reproduce until
they at least four years old.

Each
species has specific milestones regarding their special abilities.

**Culture and Language**

As
a whole, dragons have their own language with very little variation amongst the
species. They don’t share this language outside of themselves, not even with
their riders.

Culturally,
dragons have an oral tradition that dates back to the early days of the world
as they are the oldest race on Keverynn, followed by the Wyvern. According to
them, Amasuyeva is a real being who is the immortal mother of the dragon race.
Her First Children are also quite real: Aellar the blue, Arrack-keman the
white, Tuarethel the gold, Verenmisce the green, and Lashante the silver. Main
land dragons don’t have any oral traditions that include Dainalshen the black
or Jankatrey the red as red and black dragons exist only on the .

Also
revered is Cynaria, the guardian of Ana-Lashan. She is Lashante’s daughter.
Belaref, the green dragon that the Chume’taly claim to be the guardian of the
same moon is Verenmisce’s mate.

**Dragonriders**

The
story goes that there was a blue dragon named Holtrenn who felt out of place
among the other dragons. She’d spent a lot of time observing the humans who
lived in the same area that she did. They amused her with their antics. One
day, she felt an odd sort of pull towards one in particular, so she spent most
of her time observing that one, a young woman named Kalain, in particular. The
more she watched, the stronger the pull became. One day, Holtrenn approached
the human and started to speak to her. They talked for some time and then the
woman had to go back home.

Kalain
came looking for Holtrenn the next day, clearly distressed. Speaking to the
dragon the day before had sparked something in Kalain, something that had
caused her discomfort from being away from Holtrenn. Together, they sought out
Aellar, who told them that it was possible for some dragons and some people to
form a bond not dissimilar to that experienced by the Ryuutenshi people. It had
never come up before as dragons tended to keep their distance from people to
avoid scaring their live stock and humans avoided dragons for much the same
reason.

Kalain
and Holtrenn became the first Dragonriders. It wasn’t until the time of Jia
Litrell and her silver dragon Amanthren, nearly a century later, that the
Dragonlords would be formed with Jia as the first silver Dragonlord. Her
companions Taia Silvermoon, Yung Greklin, Shajten clan L’trusha, and
Kaylandolei became the first gold, white, green, and blue Dragonlords
respectively.

**Dragonlords**

An
adult dragon occasionally feels a tugging on their kalar (their spirit or
essence) that sends them out in search of the source of the tug. It’s this tug
that is the initial formation of the bond between a dragon and their rider.
Dragons most often Choose people in their area as their rider. Most riders are
human, though green dragons most frequently Choose Chume’taly as their riders
given that they share the same territory. In some extreme cases, a dragon will
travel outside of their province to find the source of the tug.

In
bonding, a dragon can partner with a male or a female, regardless of the
dragon’s gender. It’s most common to see same gender dragon and rider pairs,
though opposite gender pairs are seen.

In
the event that a dragon is killed, the rider dies soon afterwards as they
cannot survive the shock of the loss regardless of what species they are.
Dragons, on the other hand, can survive without their
rider, though it’s not pleasant. Some have been known to find another rider,
but the bond isn’t as strong as it was with the first rider.

Not
all of the dragons that associate with the Dragonlords have Chosen riders. Some
allow themselves to be ridden much as Wyndchilds do. In some cases, a dragon
will have a friend among the warriors and will allow that person to ride them
into combat. Not all dragons will allow this, however. Some fly into battle
with no rider. There are also dragons who choose to remain apart from the
Dragonlords.

**Dragonriders of Alastea**

In
Alastea, dragons live all share common hatching
grounds more for protection than for any other reason. This behavior is
completely different from the main land dragons, who will hurt any other dragon
who comes near their precious eggs.

There are two schools of
thought regarding dragons and riders. The Holdriders feel that the bonds
between dragon and rider are best forged as early as possible to get the
tightest possible bond. Young adults are sent into the hatching grounds around
the time of the hatching in large numbers to give the young dragons as large a
choice as possible. Some dragons don’t find anyone in the group suitable and
they wander off. As dragons are in possession of a basic genetic memory, they
try to find a suitable partner. It’s rare that it takes more than a week from
its hatching day and rarer still if it can’t find one in its first month. At
that point, the urge to find a rider fades and they leave the Hold.

The Freeborn riders,
however, feel that young dragons are ill equipped to make a good Choice. They
feel that only fully grown dragons can make a proper Choice. Freeborn will
accept any riders within their ranks, as opposed to the Holds who only rarely
accept wild born dragons and their riders into their ranks. They claim that
it’s because they don’t know the dragon or where it came from, but this
information is easy enough to obtain simply by asking the dragon itself.
Whatever the reason, it’s only under extreme circumstances that they take in
these dragons. Most cases of this are because a wild dragon has mated with a
Hold dragon.