Dragons

Dragons are divine beings created by the Goddess Mata, one of the two Divine Sisters. They are an extremely rare sight on Shireon, and if you see one you won't necessarily know you've met one.

Physical Description

Dragons have six limbs in total - two wings and four legs. The wings are huge - each wing, stretched out, reaching about one and a half times the distance from its head to the start of the tail. Most of the wings consist of a leathery membrane which is lightweight yet durable - though not invincible. A damaged wing membrane means less lifting power, and with the relatively heavy bulk of the Dragon's body, it might make it harder to fly.

The front legs have five fingers where one is angled differently, much like our opposable thumbs. These legs work as functional arms, and although their finger dexterity isn't as good as other humanoids they can do the things they need with it. Every finger is equipped with a short yet sharp claw for grabbing on to surfaces and fighting.

The hind legs are powerful, made to kick off when they are taking flight. All of the four toes have claws which are about three times as long as the ones on the front legs. While on the ground Dragons walk on all fours, only touching the ground with their toes and fingers. The gait is more like a mammalian predator like a feline or canine than a lizard.

Dragons need sustenance in the form of food and drink as well as sleep, just like other sapient species. In contrast of other sapient species, a Dragon can go up to a week and a half without any of these and still be functioning, yet after a week it begins becoming hard to keep awake and to think. A Dragon prefer to eat, drink and sleep daily, and although wired to eating once a day they can easily convert their lifestyle to five meals per day to blend in among other humanoids.

Creation and History

The Dragons were the first sapient species in the world, created by Mata to watch over Her little pebble while She was asleep. She chose thirteen individuals to become the Thirteen - lesser deities beneath Her.

The Thirteen

These are the thirteen Dragons that were lifted to Godhood by Mata.

Beddar

Father of Humans

Atella

The Sea, Mother of Sirens

Inmalia

Mother of the Inmali

Enarias

Father of the Enari

Maeliz

Mother of Kiz

Siwan

Mother of Darki

Pelk

The Sun

Belinda

Death

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Magical Beings

Dragons are the only beings except for the Gods themselves that have access to divine magic. What form this magic takes is individual, but the Dragons are generally highly skilled in their own form. Their use of magic works much as arcane magic, where the magical energy is stored inside the Dragon's Kor-Ithar, and is used by willing the magical energy to do the desired effect. What's different is that it's much easier to do healing magic with divine magic than with arcane magic, meaning that several dragons have the ability to heal damage with magic. One specific dragon named Kurzunomiraidhonaki can even bring the recently dead back to life.

Dragons can assume humanoid form. It doesn't cost much magical energy to change between the two forms and can be done several times a day. A Dragon can choose whichever form they wish, be it Human, Inmali, Ochdarki, Kiz, or other, but they are stuck with the first humanoid form they choose for the rest of their existence. A Dragon will usually consider their form carefully, sometimes waiting decades before they make a final decision.

Reproduction and Growth

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Not sure if they can be born normally yet, but they can be born as a humanoid, then become "unlocked" later on to become a full dragon. In this pre-dragon humanoid form, the dragon has trouble doing magic (as if blocked) but will have a large magical potential. Usually, this new dragon is appointed a guardian - another humanoid who protects it until it has learned how to dragon. The guardian might or might not owe the dragons a favour, but will not be chosen if they aren't capable of defending the dragon (skillset and -level needed is assessed on a case-to-case basis).

A dragon will grow for several centuries, quickly at first, then slowing down after the first few decades as they reach a body length of about three meters. A full-grown dragon can reach a body length of around twelve meters, with a wingspan that is slightly shy of 35 meters.

The Different Types

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Subspecies or castes? Since thirteen dragons became gods during the creation of the world, maybe there should be at least a couple subspecies?

Classification

Magical
Divine (Lesser)
Extraplanar

Lifespan

Unknown, possibly immortal
Can die of other causes than age

Home Plane

Otruvar

Language

Draconai

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Not Of This Plane

Dragons belong to the Realm of Otruvar on a different plane of existence than Shireon. The myth goes that when the other sapient beings became too numerous the Dragons felt it was becoming too crowded on Shireon, so they asked their Creator Goddess Mata if they could get their own realm. The Goddess created Otruvar for her children.

Dragons can travel freely between Otruvar and Shireon, but it is a tough flight taking the better part of a day so it's never done on a whim.

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Known Dragons