dragon

During the Primordial War the elemental lords where said to have called the first dragons into being from the elements themselves to fight the forces of the gods. When the elementals were beaten back and the god's ordered Sanzeia, these elemental worms were made flesh and blood and allowed to live on to tend to the nature of the world. Dragons are the oldest, wisest and most powerful of the elemental descended lifeforms of Sanzeia.   Dragons tend to, but are not stickily adversarial to mortal settlements.

Powers

All dragons are known to possess several powers regardless of their colorization. Each possess a powerful elemental breath, innate magic (though manifesting into spell like effects only comes later in life), and the ability to change their shape into a variety of smaller animals and even the guise of mortals.

Basic Information

Biological Traits

Dragons are divided into several subcategories based on scale color. Each color of dragon exhibits roughly similar traits though they can vary greatly from other color dragons. It is unclear if dragons of different colors are able to mate successfully.

Genetics and Reproduction

Dragons lay eggs, and will either protect them themselves or use the environment to do so. Most dragon species set out from the nest relatively soon after birth, and while a clutch may contain up to a dozen eggs, seeing only one child reach adulthood is not uncommon.

Growth Rate & Stages

Dragons are identified by several unique life stages corresponding to age and size. It should be noted that these classifications are made by mortal scholars and thus unlikely to be terminology used by dragons themselves.

• Whelp - small reptilian creature, generally as intelligent as a dog, not yet capable of true flight. This stage generally last from 0 - 5 years of age.
• Wyrmling - basic intelligence, capable of sustained flight, dragons of this age are the most likely to be found working in groups, 5 - 50 years of age.
• Drake - young adult dragons, capable of laying eggs and generally extremely territorial. From 50 - 100 years of age the dragon is likely to be focused on defining its territory, building its lair, and proving itself to future mates.
• Dragon - Full adult dragons generally have little conflict with mortals as by this age they have retreated to their lairs to focus on egg laying and their own interests. These are also the dragons that are most often provoked by adventurers.
• Wyrm - dragons generally older then 1000 years, and past their egg laying phase. These massive wyrms tend to focus on gathering wealth or more intellectual pursuits, though many have been known to take an interest in nearby settlements (for better or worse).

Ecology and Habitats

While existing in all ecological habitats, dragons seem to have a reciprocal relationship with the land around them as they reinforce the type of weather typically found in their chosen terrain. The theoretical experiment of if the land or the dragon change if a dragon was placed in a totally different environment remains unsolved as these are highly intelligent creatures, capable of flight, and devouring researchers who as silly questions.

Behaviour

Dragons are a highly intelligent, predatory species, that generally considers mortals as a food source, though often one that is not worth the risk. The older a dragon becomes the more isolationist it becomes, preferring only to leave it lair when feeding or threatened.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

A newborn wyrmling is roughly the intelligence of a clever dog (which is considerably higher than most mortal infants) by the time they reach adulthood, they are easily as if not more intelligent than all but the best mortals, and their mind only continues to grow as they age.

Civilization and Culture

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Dragons generally consider mortal species beneath them, but also their only true threat. For most species of dragons this tends to manifest in isolationist or destructive ways, though some dragons have been know to find mortals fascinating and enjoy integrating themselves (in a mortal guise) into mortal society.

Origin/Ancestry

Elemental

Lifespan

1000-2000 years, upper limit unknown