Red Dragon

Mountain Dragons

Of the Dragon of Aldern, it is the red dragon, that is the most famous, or rather infamous. The fire-breathing monsters of cradle-tales, the dragon-gods of Ancient Siduum, and the fearmongering tales over tankards in a tavern, reds are the image the hearer pictures in their head when the word dragon is spoken. They are a callous, cunning creature, interested only in their own needs and well-being. Their arrogance so pervasive that the Novya saying 'as arrogant as a red,' is common in courts across Ethae. Their confidence is not unfounded as they are the largest of dragon kind, and their raw power is such that they rarely lose in single combat against another dragon. They are creatures of sheer destruction, absolute power, and domination.

Red dragons are created by bathing a dragon egg of a true dragon in the magma pools of volcanos. A ritual that was common practice in the ancient world, but near lost today. While some scholars point to the near excitation of dragons, and their cults, as the reason for the loss of this knowledge, it is in fact the other way around. The reds at the height of their power in Ancient Siduum had wiped out most of the elder priests that know the rituals to prevent new dragons to be born and grow to challenge their elders. More than the murderous infighting among their own kind, or the endless war against the hated elves, it was the dragon's own hubris that is bring about their doom.

These dragon's extreme narcissistic nature prevents any real internal culture to develop among their own kind. They and their cults are rivals at best, and enemies more often than not. Reds see themselves as top of the food chain, which means only other red dragons can rival them. This makes any red, even weak younglings, something to eliminate before they can challenge the dragon. Their arrogance does not make them foolish however, and a red will not fight a clearly superior dragon. As death of the weaker dragon is the only outcome when these titans meet, reds rarely claim territory near each other. Exceptions of this appear in history, such as Ancient Siduum's dragon-gods, but even than the reds ego pushed against each other, ending in death.

As stated above, reds have very little culture among themselves. However, as with any intelligent species, traditions and laws have appeared. Irkalla the Red Mother is the first red dragons, and all their kind acknowledge her as their mother. This means little to the dragons outside of a tradition among them. Giru Mountain is a sacred mountain to all, though largely ignored, as it gains them no power. Dragons birthed in the same volcano consider their volcano scared ground. No dragon can attack another dragon when in their birth volcano. Of course, this only applies to dragons of that volcano, and many times through history, other reds have arrived at another's volcano to kill a rival unexpected. These traditions are largely kept out of personal ego, rather than any care for the tradition. Red dragon seem to keep them to avoid 'losing face' amongst its kind for not knowing or keeping these traditions. Something other species find odd, as a red dragon would just as likely kill one of its own, rather than have a conversation, yet it will keep these traditions just in case another red hears they are not following to rules. As if a red follows any rules beyond his own.