Dragon
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Long ago, our world was filled with dragons. Mighty beasts as tall as trees with wings and claws and fiery breath. Their roars could be heard for miles and they shook the earth with each step. Great and wonderous beasts they were, and they were smart. They could speak and think just as well as you and I. And when our ancestors ruled the world not so very long ago, they rode on the backs of dragons. But those are long gone. The humans and elves rose up against the dragons and slaughtered them without mercy. The hunted them into their lairs, smashing eggs, and killing dragons and dragonets alike. Until the last dragons fled far away where humans couldn't reach them. And they were never seen again.
Description
Dragons are massive scaly reptiles with four legs and two wings. They once ruled the skies, but now they're little more than a memory in heraldry and myth. They're intelligent beasts and capable of breathing fire. They can live for centuries with the oldest dragon dying at 600 years old. The sky god Qazakthein is most commonly depicted as a gold dragon.
Growth Stages
Egg
Dragons hatch from eggs, usually in clutches of three. Typically, only one survives to adulthood, and it's very rare for all three eggs to survive without intervention. The shell color is an indicator of the base coloration of the dragon.
Hatchling
Newly hatched dragons are the size of a cat and incapable of flight or breathing fire. They are reliant on their mother for the first few weeks of life until they can start hunting small rodents on their own.
Dragonet
By the time a dragon is about a year old, it has reached the size of a small horse and is capable of flight. At this point, the mother chases them off, and they are left to fend for themselves. Though able to breathe fire by this point, most dragons are hardly the ferocious beasts people imagine, and they are commonly eaten by their own kind.
Adult
Dragons never stop growing, but they are typically seen as reaching adulthood by the time they're ten years old. They have reached their adult height, and growth slows significantly. Older dragons are massive, though skeletal remains indicate that most wild dragons don't live nearly as long as their bonded counterparts.
Where to Find Them
Wild dragons can be found throughout the world's mountain ranges. They are most numerous in Akea, and young dragonfolk typically go there in search of a dragon to soul bond with. They have large territories to hunt in and can be fiercely territorial. In Galag Rok, dragons are a common sight and belong to the many dragon lords who rule the land.
Diet
Dragons eat meat! If they can kill it, they will eat it.
Raised by a God
The Lord of the Skies traveled across his vast domain everyday carrying the sun in his arms. One day, he came to the tallest peak and found three oddly colored stones. The god had never seen such things before and stopped still carrying the sun. The intense heat warmed the eggs until they were hot enough to burn any mortal's hand, but this was a time before even the first dragonfolk. The stones rocked from side to side and then cracked! First one, then the next, and then all three were split in two with little dragonlings the same color as their shells sprawled out on the ground. The Thunderer was shocked. He had never seen such a thing, and they had no mother or father. He set the sun down and transformed himself into a bigger version of the hatchlings, and the crawled towards him and the sun. He picked them up and took them away from that peak for it wasn't a safe place for three hatchlings to live. He raised them as his own children and watched them grow. He taught them language, and they called in Quazatakthaain, Teacher Who Carries the Fire Egg. Now, we know him as Qazakthein. He gifted them fire from the sun and strengthened their wings so they could fly with him through his domain. Over the eons, they filled the skies, and the Thunderer was glad.
The Great Guardian
The great dragon Durgurath was created by Valtena as a guardian of magic and abundance. He lived on Evirs, and for many years, people visited him in search of teaching and good fortune. He lay atop a great hoard of wealth, and the land prospered where ever he flew. He was the largest dragon known to all and was said to be able to drink a lake dry in one day. He had but one rule for the humans who lived around him. They must not claim dominion over his territory. Centuries passed, and the humans expanded ever closer. Small settlements emerged, and at first, he tolerated them. They were peasants and farmers and treated the land with respect. But then the soldiers came, and Durgurath was angered. The humans fought back until they slew him, and his blood ran thick over the ground.
But ever since, his blood poisoned the land sapping it of all magic and abundance it once had. Now, his territory is a giant desert known as The Great Expanse. Legend has it that his skeleton still lies at the center of the desert, but none have come close to finding it.
Symbol of the Dragon Kings
Approach the king with fear and reverence. You will know him by the dragon curled up behind him. The great black beast will swallow you whole. And the gold dragon on the banner behind him is our god. The Lord of the Skies has blessed our king with a mighty dragon to rule and defend these lands. And for many centuries to come, that will be their mark. That's why us dragon lords have dragons. We are an extension of the king. We are the claws to his head. We will sweep across the world, and all will know that dragons are the superior species.
Gone from the World?
It's been centuries since anyone has last seen a dragon. Plenty of people think they've seen one. Drakes look almost identical except for their size and inability to breathe fire. But a true dragon? If any survived the Third Dragon War, then they're either dead or very well hidden. There are rumors that underneath the city Kabat, there is still a dragon who secretly rules Galag Rok.
Lifespan
600 years
Conservation Status
Extinct?
Average Height
30-45ft
Average Weight
15-20 tons
Average Length
40-100ft
Geographic Distribution
Dragon of a Different Color
Dragons come in nearly any color imaginable. Most are solid colored based on historical record, but a few have stripes or spots. The back, head, and wings are the most common places for markings. There doesn't appear to be any hereditary markers between the parent dragons and their offspring with regards to color. The main color difference between a drake and a dragon is that drakes almost always have markings which are much more complex than those found on dragons.
Draconic vs. Draconic?
"I already speak Draconic, so why do I have to learn it again?" "If you want to speak to a dragon or become a priest, you must be able to speak the language that The Thunderer taught to dragons and that they have preserved for thousands of years. Our language is only a pale imitation of what they used to speak."
Dragon Names
Dragons name themselves when they set off on their own. Their names tend to be long and descriptive. For non-dragons, they can seem extremely strange and difficult to pronounce. There doesn't appear to be any distinction between the sexes.
Wild Dragons
Very little is known about the habits of wild dragons. They live high in the mountains around the world and remained elusive even when they were at their most numerous. Most records are about bonded dragons who don't act entirely according to their wild instincts.
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