The Basics
All dragons are the children and creations of Bahamut and Tiamat, blessed with many different forms and varieties of capabilities to make them impossibly deadly to any that would dare challenge them. From before known history, the dragons have acted as the dominant species and apex predator of Dravaria. Not until mortals created their first kingdoms under the rule of Deurem Rexis was this dominance challenged. The refusal of mortal to remain slaves placed dragons and the Mortal Realm as eternal enemies. Dragons all have base similarities but can range greatly in shape, size, color, and ability. They can be broadly categorized into three basic types, determined by the dragon's scales: Metallic, Chromatic and the most rare, Gemstone. These 3 categories often determine the dragon's general personality, behavioral patterns, such as hunting methods, sociability with others of its kind and its breath weapon type. Dragons are all unique creatures as individual beings and can have various alterations or mutations that distinguish them that result from a mix of their parental blood, environmental factors, external magical influences or even traumas. There are extreme examples of these occurrences, creating dragons with nearly unrivaled power that they surpass normal draconic limitations and boundaries. The primary examples of this are the Children of Kur, the Dragon King. While numerous, there are not so many proper dragons to completely dominate all before them, especially since the war. For much of their conquest and domination, the dragons rely on their broods. These broods contain lesser dragons and scores of draconic minions. Dragons that command a brood of their own and hold territory is known as a Greater Dragon. It is not uncommon for a Greater Dragon to in turn also be a part of a larger brood, inevitably leading all the way into serving one of the Great Wyrms. While most dragons fall under this hierarchy, there are others that do not and simply exist on their own. Either for unknown personal reasons or seeking to create a brood themselves.
United in Cause
Unlike in other settings, dragons are not at war with one another and hold no hostilities determined by the nature of their scales. Chromatic, metallic and gemstone dragons may have slight biases toward others of their more similar ilk but hold no malice or negative disposition to another based off this difference. Many even coexist within the same broods. All dragons are the creations of Bahamut and Tiamat, and despite their differences they are family. It is this mindset that drives the dragons more than anything else. This does not prevent rivalries or territory disputes, but is believed to be the reason why they rarely end in one dragon killing another. Dragons are long lived creatures with memories to match. They are not quick to forget the deaths inflicted upon their family from the mortal's uprising. Above all, they remember the day their beloved king was taken from them. The dragons loyalty have splintered to answer the commands of who rules their brood, but they all await a day for a new king to rise, worthy enough to truly unite them again.
Divided by Greed
The dragons became and have remained diminished since the death of their king. Without a single unifying ruler, their kind have splintered behind the surviving Children of Kur. Each of these Great Wyrms hold claim to their father's title and aspire to wear its crown. To rule as King of Dragons, they must have unquestioned might and dominance above all the rest of dragonkind. Scholars believe that the remaining Children are too evenly matched in strength of legion and strength of claw. None are willing to risk civil war and their own lives on an unsure prospect of uniting their kind. At the same time, it is their draconic greed and pride that would never allow them to bend the knee to one of their siblings. All other dragons simply answer to the Great Wyrms or realize the futility in attempting to lay claim to the crown against the Children of Kur. This constant stalemate and division is hypothesized to be one of the primary reasons why the dragons have been unable or unwilling to continue their war with the mortals. Whatever the case may be, all agree that the division is the largest saving grace for the Mortal Realm.
