Dragon
Yes, the Dragons are gone, but that does not mean that they are extinct. However, it benefits everyone involved if most of Argentii is allowed to continue with their assumptions. While they can.
From time beyond all record or memory until as little as 7,000 years ago, the mighty dragons still ruled over Argentii with an iron-clawed grasp. Having carved up the land -- and the people! -- in the Last Landbound War, and then initiated the devistation that lead to the rising of the seas after the Last Continental War, they were vanquished before the time of Tige the Uniter.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Dragons, are a type of mega-lizard characterized by their enormous size, long lifespans, and magical properties.
Genetics and Reproduction
Dragons engage in a unique form of sexual reproduction where a mated pair will exchange seminal fluids and inseminate each other's eggs. Dragons do not live near their nests, lest they lead predators to the vulnerable eggs. Both clutches of eggs are laid in a single well-hidden nest and the parents leave until it is time for hatching. The egg development stage takes almost precisely 6,860 years.
The extensive length of gestation increases the chance of genetic mutation, which is why dragons bear little resemblence to each other, beyond their general morphologies. That is, the offspring from a mating will bear no family resemblence in coloring, scale pattern, horning, wingedness, etc.
This increased mutation rate is why only about half of all dragon eggs hatch dragons. Most of the rest end up as non-viable, their shells growing so thick as to simply become solid crystals. A scant few, however, hatch other things. Legend has it this is how the first People were born.
Growth Rate & Stages
Dragons take a long time to hatch, and almost no time at all to reach their full size, doing so within 5 generations (95 years). When they hatch from their crystalline eggs, they are the size of medium dogs. Within a year, a hatchling will be the size of a draft horse. Within a generation, the size of a schooner. And at full growth, a great dragon will compare with one of the 7,000 passenger skyliner luxury contnental windcruise airships.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Dragons have indelable memories and are excellent at recognizing patterns. This makes them seem precognative, simply because they have seen it all before and are very, very good at predicting and guessing what will happen next.
*gasp* the sand fox is descended from dragons! Fascinating!
The super-long incubation period allows a lot of time for those genes to really scramble around. More than half of all dragon eggs don't hatch because of it. Cat Companions are also descended from dragons, and many people think that the first people were as well.
Haly, the Moonlight Bard
Summer Camp in Avalon
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AWwww! Now I need to go and find those cat companions!