Black Dragons

Even for Dragons, Black Dragons are often feared as the most revolting and vile of their kind. This is due to their penchant of decorating their lairs with the rotted corpses of their prey, often leaving them grisly and fetid. Merely wandering into a Black Dragon's lair alone is often enough to draw horrible disease towards any trespasser, with the waters thick with the long rotted sludge of their victim's decay. Their penchant for learning necromancy to help further spurn on rot and decay has only lead to them gaining a notoriety among the world. They are a vile, venomous race of Dragon that are capable of surviving in the most obscene and grotesque of environments.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Black Dragons are large and heavily built. Even for dragons. Black Dragons have low-lying bodies that are not too dissimilar from a monitor lizard. Their legs are tightly packed with muscular sinew to allow for ferocious leaps, granting them the ability to swiftly crush and seize their prey. Their necks are also very muscular; but wind up much like a serpent's, leading towards a wide-mouthed head. Unlike most species of Dragon, Black Dragons lack the traditional horns you would expect upon them, and instead have a pair of pronounced fangs that protrude out from their upper jaw, often likened to a pair of enormous tusks. These fangs are venomous, though their length is so great at older ages that they can easily just use them to impale victims outright. Black Dragons have strong, yet smaller wings than most Dragons. This is a natural adaption to the crowded environments of the swamps and bogs they make their homes in.

Venom & Poisons

Black Dragons are all but immune to rot and decay. Their body is so robust that it matters very little where they lurk; no amount of filth or poison can ever hope to bring harm to the creatures. This is due to the fact that the black dragon's blood is actually poisonous in on itself to most creatures; making them very lethal to both encounter or prey upon. Spilling a grown Black Dragon's blood can prove hazardous to the health, for it seeps into the skin and afflicts the victim with a debilitating hemotoxin similar to their venom.
Black Dragon venom is exceptionally potent and lethal. It is their primary means of hunting large prey; they always try to bite and snap larger victims with their mighty jaws in hopes of either impaling and trapping, or leaving them to inevitably perish at the hands of their devastating venom.
Black Dragons have the ability to breath their venom in the form of a noxious gas. This gas can rapidly wither and debilitate victims unfortunate enough to breathe in the toxins. As a Black Dragon grows, this breath can also become a liquid stream of acidic venom that rapidly dissolves the flesh of their victims.

Genetics and Reproduction

As with many Dragons, the Black Dragon's mating period is very infrequent and scattered throughout time. Most Dragons generally take what they call a 'consort'. It is their equivalent of marriage, and lasts throughout the dragon's life until death. Dragons rarely take more than one consort; and while they visit each other rather infrequently, they still usually treat each other with the utmost respect. Black Dragons generally lay a small clutch of about 1-4 eggs several weeks after mating.
Black Dragon eggs are exceptionally strong; to the point that they're often likened to fossils, and take nearly a full year of incubation to hatch. The mother outright lays upon them as a method of keeping away anyone with hostile intentions. The eggs are so hard, that the whelps often have trouble properly breaking free from the eggs. They rattle inside the confines of the shell, before using their enormous fangs to breech through.

Growth Rate & Stages

Black Dragons develop as they age; as Dragons, they are effectively immortal. However, they take a long time to fully develop into their prime.

Whelp

Whelps are young, developing, and hardly capable of fending properly for themselves. They're essentially children. This time period is the shortest-lived one in a Dragon's lifetime, but also the one where they're most vulnerable. Black Dragon whelps aren't even capable of using their breath weapons yet. Despite that, they're still relatively dangerous; they have absolutely no control of how much venom they release from their bites, which is still strong enough to outright melt flesh.
Their blood is also just as poisonous, which is yet another deterrent from anyone daring to poach them.

Young

Although it only takes around ten years before a whelp fully matures into a 'Young' dragon, this period of life still takes a very long time before they develop any further traits. At this age, the Black Dragon has learned how to breath a noxious mist that debilitates their prey. Their body also fully develops, their wings are no longer vestigial and capable of flight, and all in all, basic functions are all available to the Black Dragon at this age. Still, this period of life takes just under a century before they reach proper adulthood.

Adulthood

Full Adulthood is achieved at about 90~100 years on average. A fully grown, Adult Black Dragon has effectively learned how to not only master their poisonous breath into a corrosive mist, but to spit thick globs of flesh eating acid capable of dissolving hapless victims within a matter of seconds.

Elder

All dragons reach their 'elder' years on the turn of a millenia. Not because of biological changes, but out of a mutual respect for other members of Dragonkind. Dragons that have managed to live long enough to survive for a millennia are typically corpulent from centuries of dining and lazing about; a black dragon's cycle is simple. They eat, they use that energy to wait, and then they spring to devour once more, rinse and repeat. When a Black Dragon has achieved an age great enough to be considered an Elder, their blood has grown so vile and nauseous that just breathing it offends and sickens those around them. Their blood is heavily acidic to anything but themselves; making them dangerous to hunt and kill out of respect to their ability to outright melt anything assaulting them with their acidic blood.

Ecology and Habitats

Black Dragons prefer swamps. They generally like to lay in wait around the waterlogged areas of a bog or mire. A Black Dragon's lair is easily discerned by the vast amount of trophies it has accrued over the years; they typically collect trophies from the victims they slay, and leave their corpses strewn and hanging to attract rot and pestilence. Only when the creature is bloated with disease and wasted off to near nothing do they ever consume their meals, savoring in the rotten tang of decayed flesh. They are fond gold; but are ironically most fond of trinkets that never rust or tarnish. This is due to the contrast granted by the shining baubles, providing glittering lures amidst their otherwise fetid, festering mire.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The best way to describe a Black Dragon's dining habits is much like a bear. They work to conserve their energy, and thus usually search for meals that are easiest to take. They rely on ambush tactics to bring down unsuspecting prey, and are very much capable of laying in wait for exceptionally long periods of time. They are also natural scavengers. Black Dragons also favor rotted or fermented meals; a lair set by one is usually easy to discern from the rotten, decayed bodies they leave in 'brining' pools to rot over time.
Black Dragons prefer rotted or decayed meat over fresh; and are liable to stock things up beneath hiding places to devour later. They have a heavy preference over meat, and seldom, if ever, eat any vegetables or fruit; quite simply, they're an almost strictly carnivorous species.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Black Dragons have a particularly insane sense of smell, to the point that they can pull subtle enough details to identify things based upon something's scent alone. This strong sense of smell also allows them to determine how far along perishables are towards rotting, something that helps them greatly due to their dietary preferences.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Black Dragons use single names, and do not have names that define gender. All names are technically ambiguous to their kind. Names include:
Cennian, Valsaron, Tamras, Ruvian, Cirvias, Galzran, Berias.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Dragon

Lifespan

Immortal.

Conservation Status

Even for the dragons,

Average Height

Black Dragons do not stop growing; but with their neck outstretched, adults can reach between 9-10 feet. Their neck length is longer than normal, and constitutes a lot to their overall height.

Average Length

Adults are roughly 45~50 feet in height.

Average Physique

Black Dragons are far more muscular than your usual dragon; and sometimes even develop corpulence due to their scavenging habits. The Black Dragon's natural lifestyle is a very simple one. They eat, store the nutrients and energy, then use that energy to eat more.