Abstract
Dragons are believed to have been among the first beings to roam
Telath, and various
religious fringe cults, such as the
Borthanists, worship Dragons as demigods. Dragons are titanic winged reptiles capable of flight, unlike many other less-evolved
Wyrms, possessing immense sentient intelligence and awesome magical powers. Prized for their
arcane scales, most Dragons in Aelyria were hunted and driven from the realm by adventurers during the
Age of Chivalry; those that did remain survived because they were reclusive and cunning. As a sentient race, Dragons are elusive and best known for their vast magical and physical capabilities. Renowned for their unique breath weapons - elements that can be channelled, ignited and driven through the creature's respiratory system - Dragons today are rarely if ever seen in their natural presence in Aelyria, and it is widely believed that a small number of them may have integrated into Aelyrian society under the guise of magical illusions.
Physical Appearance
Dragons are the most evolved of the Wyrms, and are found in subspecies driven by scale color and elemental affinity (Chromatic) or unified by mineral ore and precious stones that adhere to their scales and wings (Metallic). It was once believed that Dragons obtained their colors based upon their diet, but most adventurers and scholars alike dismiss this view presently. Though there are startling appearances and even powers among the Chromatic and Metallic Dragons, their size is remarkably uniform. Hatched from immense eggs, Dragons stand to be around 8-10 feet as juveniles, and over 20-25 feet as full-grown adults, with a head-to-tail span of 50-75 feet. Dragons have four immense legs and a spiralling tail, as well as reptillian wings protruding from their midsections and horns rising from their heads. Dragons are known to shed their scales in elaborate and highly private molting rituals many times during their lifetime before they are full adults.
Chromatic Dragons are typically named after the colors of their scales and can include any possible hue, though are most often red, blue, green, black, and white. Metallic Dragons are named after the mineral ore that reflects from their resplendant scales, and are most abundant as gold, silver, and brass. Though both these Dragon species have not frequented Aelyria in sizable numbers for centuries, there have been isolated sightings of several Chromatic Dragons, and only rumored tales of possible Metallic Dragons. The fabled Red Dragon, deeply revered by the Humans of
Hriemalis, was incorporated into the heraldry of the Aelyrian
Kingdom by
Prince Rynus von Oreskovich.
Dragons are reported to live for many thousands of years and are rumored to grow to enormous sizes as time passes by, although the exact length of a Dragon's lifespan is unknown, many scholars agree that a Dragon's liifespan is one of the longest of any of the recorded races of Aelyria.
Climate/Terrain
Dragons have extreme tolerances to the elements, many Dragons believed to have achieved a special communion with one particular element or another. It is not uncommon to find some of these rare Dragons inhabiting what would be otherwise uninhabitable regions, such as the depths of lava or far below the furthest depths of the oceans. Most Dragons in Aelyria in the past have chosen to make their homes deep into the mountains, in unreachable caverns or impassible caves, but even the most determined adventurers were able to eventually discover their abodes and the vast treasures that they have horded; dragons are notorious for maintaining immense treasure troves, many times mined themselves as a biproduct of their home-building, but often raided from harassing settlements.
Organization
Myth has it that Dragonkin (the civilization of Dragons) had a sprawling dominion under their influence in lands or islands to the Far East, but evidence confirming this usually comes from secondary sources. It is known that Chromatic Dragons was held sway over all Dragonkin, however, and two of their mightiest elders, the Ice (White) Dragon Lady
Nelindara and the Fire (Red) Dragon Lord
Khurendor, formed a council that met inside a temple carved entirely of emerald. The
Emerald Council set forth certain laws over the lesser races in what has been retold as a great stewardship and protection of mortals by the long-living Dragonkin; the council also set forth the
Draconic Compact, of which other dragons have spoken, which effectively argued that all Dragons are autonomous and that no Dragon may interfere in the affairs of another. The Emerald Council was also believed to have one representative from each of the major chromatic and metallic subspecies.
Dragons have an ancient and complex language, whose runic alphabet has been decyphered and can be found in many works of art and architecture, including in some symbols of
Ikos. Draconic inscriptions along the mountainsides, most famous of which is the
Drakkenscript on the
Khardran Mountains, reveal that Dragonkin refer to their leaders as "Lord" and "Lady", and that the Elder Dragonkin have undisputed hegemony over certain races, geographies, or regions. Nevertheless, there were only a handful of Dragons left to oppose the formation of Aelyria as a political force, and the few Dragons that did integrate into imperial society did so only out of a sense of preservation. Dragons view themselves as children of the Gods, in the same way that the
Aelyrians and numerous other races do.
Combat
Dragons are brilliant spellcasters, many of them having minds that are far more powerful than any other races and are remarkably in tune with other dimensional energies around them. Dragons tend to be
Elementalists, though some have mastered
Mysticism and other disciplines. In addition to this spellcraft, Dragons also have innate elemental abilities and can convert their breath into elemental power, the most spectacular and awesome of these being fire, poison, ice, lava, slime, and more. With a vast area of effect, Dragons have been known to level entire cities and lay waste to armies that would besiege them by flying overhead and launching their monstrous breath. In close combat, however, they are even more fierce, playing with individual warriors as a cat would play with toys, swiping their mighty claws and chomping their opponents into oblivion.
Resistances
Dragons are known to be extremely resistant to all forms of magic and outright immune to any serious attempt at mind influence, but are also known to sleep for vast periods of time and enter hibernative states that often affect their physical appearance.
Linear Mode
