Dragon
Large winged beings of myth and legend; they are fully sentient and intelligent. The Dragons are lead by their monarch, the Ard Ri.
Nearly all dragons have the Mind Magic affinity of Spirit Magic; they speak to each other telepathically utilizing this Gift. It is possible to be born without the gift of Spirit though- like being mute. Dragons also have a unique ability to sense their kind, but even more they can sense their family members over great distances, which is tied to their Spirit Gift. Dragons can also be gifted with Planar Magic, Star Magic, and Elemental Magic for which they have adapted unique physiology. Dragons are mostly immune to poisons; this pairs helpfully with Earth affinity as they can absorb poisonous elements from the earth and store them internally until spewed at an enemy. Additionally their mouths are temperature resistant, allowing them to breathe fire, spew lava (provided they have both Fire and Earth affinities), and breathe ice (provided they have both Water and Air affinities). Dragons feed their hatchlings like birds, pre-chewing food for them; during this process they secrete enzymes that bolster the draglet’s poison immunity. Dragons have often found the mouth to be the most powerful place to gather and focus magical energy, but it is also the most vulnerable part of their body, being unarmored. Some dragons use a secondary focus point in their tail.
Dragons lay eggs only after fertilization; an egg will remain dormant for an indeterminate length of time until Spirit magic is used to activate the egg. Two or more dragon babies hatched together are known as Broodsiblings. Baby dragons are called hatchlings and then draglets.
A dragon isn’t a horse. Even though they partner up with humans and give them rides when necessary, it’s not like an everyday thing or a trip to the store kind of thing. The humans all still ride horses whenever possible. Dragons have just as much autonomy and "person"hood as humans.
The dragons have their own written language, but as they communicate telepathically, they do not have a spoken language. There is a signing companion to the written language, although as it is rarely needed, it can be problematic when it is.
The dragons lived in Nemel for many years- a country they helped found, but they began to move south after a falling out with Sovereign Cadence the Last of the Nemeli Government. Ard Ri Allegra and her daughter Lyric held out as long as they could following the disappearance of Cadence (the Last) and Allegra's sons, even as her second daughter Melody lead the more vulnerable to a presumably safer south. Unfortunately, this spreading of their people left them open to capture by a magic stealing cult.
After those captured by the cult are freed, centuries later, they return to Nemel. The transition is not easy. Dragons were captured over decades and as such, on top of the world having jumped ahead 200-300 years, some find themselves now younger than their grandchildren or worse, their immediate family has been dead for a century. Couple this with a justified distrust of humans, and you have a powderkeg.
It could have gone really bad when Sovereign Farrel is killed by a Manticore (that was Released), and some do try to blame dragons. However, with all of these new ignobles running around doing things like this, the Nemeli really need some big muscle allies like the dragons to help them, so public opinion tends to be more on their side. After the Frost Giant battle at Oighearloch, the dragons are pretty firmly cemented as important allies and partners (even though one dragon went crazy and tried to kill his human partner- at least another dragon jumped in).
Conservation Status
Thought to be extinct/myth, they had actually been captured/killed by a cult and used as magical batteries for over a century. Now that they are back, most are returning to Nemel.
Geographic Distribution
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