Snap Draakyns

“I shall have no monstrous revelry!”

— The Master of Ceremonies

Snap draakyns are a type of costume worn for traditional Kredasene dances. The cavorting dragons traditionally appear during festivals, and during civic and religious processions. In Kredashmi, they are seen as a legitimate form of expressing mischief, mirsule, and honouring the memory of the dragons that once made the country their home. In contrast, the Raskvaerii and particularly fervant members of the Faithful view these beasts as indicative of Kredashmi's moral decay.

Appearance

There are two main ways to create a snap draakyn. The first and simplest way is to mount a carved, painted dragon head on the top of a long pole, which in turn is draped with a long skirt. A dancer will hold the pole from the inside, with the material fully cocealing him down to his mid- thighs or knees.
The second, most favoured method, is to create the snap draakkyn out of a wickerwork body. This frame is designed to sit on the shoulders of the dancer inside. In rare instances, the frame straps around the dancer's waist, giving the impression that the dancer is a dragon rider of old. The wicker body is draped over with a brightly painted canvas outlined with scales. A carved, wooden head is set at the end of a long neck, and counterbalanced by a long tale. A pair of internal straps are used to move the dragons’ heads and work the terrifying jaws.

Mayhem and Delight

The draakyns are accompanied by traditional folk music, usually played on the fiddle, pipe, drystlewynd merkordeon and snaredrum. The musicians will usually hide their indentities by tying black rag masks around their eyes. The snap draakyns are accompanied by one or two 'herders' or 'handlers'. As the dancer inside the constume is rendered effectively blind (save for a narrow eyeslot at the very front), it is the handler's job to warn the dancer inside about potential hazards in their environment. The handlers enjoy riling the crowd up, pretending they are losing control of the draakyns, or coaxing spectators into interactions with the beast that end with playful attacks.
The draakyns enjoy singling out inviduals within the crowds to torment, temporarily thieving caps from men and snapping at people's hands. Depending on the character of the snap draakyn, it will either tolerate children stroking the extict beast, or intentionally attempts to reduce them to tears.
Kredasene immigrants living in places such as Raskvaeric, will have their own communal snap draakyns. These are not taken out into society very often. The Faithful detest the havoc wreaked by these discordant, monstrous creatures, but must nonetheless tolerate them, by THE ORDER of the previous Karr. Their appearance in public is only sanctioned for certain appointed festivals and other special occassions.

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This article has been written for Summer Camp 2024, and is therefore lacking in structure, images or detail.