Land Dragon
The lost beast of Kundain...
Virtually nothing is known about this creature: its classification, its eating habitats, even the period of its extinction. In stark contrast, far more is known about the Razzer. Fossilized remains unearthed from the tundra between Kundain and the Northern Ring give rough indication to its size, dwarfing even a Grand Cresta or Pegotaur. The name comes from the four long, tapering horns on its head: one pair jutting from the back of the skull, and the other protruding from the corner of the lower jaw. A single wing can be seen extending out from between the base of the neck to between the shoulders, but it certainly seems too heavy to have been capable of flight. Perhaps the wing served as thermoregulation, or a courtship display. In any case, they are thought to have died out well over ten thousand years ago since there are no depictions of them in any artwork found in the Northern Ring. There exists no record of men having encountered them before or during the Dread Winter.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Land dragons stood roughly twenty feet at the shoulder, with their distinctive wing spanning nearly as long as their bodies. They were quadrupeds with short, thick legs, heavy bodies, and smallish heads mounted on a thick tapering neck.
Genetics and Reproduction
Because paleontology is such a relatively new field among Thangiens and any remains found to date are in such poor condition, it is unknown if they laid eggs or had wombs. It's not even known if they were mammals, reptiles, monotremes, or hybrids.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Whether they were herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores is a mystery. Remains found thus far have indistinguishable stomach contents.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
The "dragon" moniker came from its unusual skull with its four horns and the mouth that looked like a cross between a beak and a snout. Because the "beak" remains intact, it seems to have been made mostly of bone rather than keratin.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
The best specimens to date have come from the tundra bordering Kundain, but it is thought they roamed the plains all the way to the Southern Salt in the prehistoric past.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
How it went extinct is unknown, whether due to the recent Solar Swap eight-thousand years ago or encroachment by newer species such as Pei or sttanavoseni.
Civilization and Culture
History
The First Freelander
More than likely a work of fanciful fiction, as Deres found no record of a land dragon portrayed anywhere among the many cave drawings leftover from the Dread Winter, and this is not a tale known of nor circulated by Freelanders. The story is set at an indeterminate time either preceding or during the Solar Swap. A lone Man has befriended a creature referred to only as the Beast and they travel at day and sleep side by side at night. The Beast offers warmth and friendship and the Man hunts and shares food with it. The weather sours and the pair travel north seeking refuge. Along the way they come across a party of men. They appear like the man, yet unlike him. They marvel at the Beast. Then one of them timidly says "meat?" The Man politely explains that the Beast is his friend, but the strange men began clamoring amongst themselves, crying "meat!" repeatedly. Despite the Man's efforts to calm them, they continue chanting and close in from all sides. Realizing they mean harm, the Man tries to fight them off, even killing some of them. He yells at the Beast to flee, but the Beast remains too absentminded to realize the danger. One of the wild men catches the Man from behind, knocking him unconscious. He tries one last time to tell the Beast to run, but the Beast remains still, not knowing any better. The wild men gather around the Beast and club it in the head, causing it to stagger. The last sight the Man sees before he blacks out is the Beast collapsing from the repeated blows and the wild men screaming their hunger. When the Man awakes, he finds he still lives, but the wild men have vanished. They have eaten the flesh off the bones of their fallen, and nothing remains of the Beast but bones. Not a single scrap of flesh remains, not even a meal for a vitreelas. For whatever reason, whether out of cruelty or spite, the wild men spared the Man. Grieving for his slain friend, the Man takes the bones of the Beast and with grim determination fashions weapons, armor, bow, and arrows. Driven by cold rage and burning grief, he stalks the land, searching for the wild men. He comes across them one night, their bellies full with murder, and as they settle in to sleep, he descends upon them, slaughtering them all, viewing them as worse than beasts. He leaves their bodies there, food for vitreelas. Having avenged his friend, he continues his trek north alone. Eventually he comes across another party of men, like him this time, swaddled in furs. They invite him to join them, impressed by his weapons and armor. He begrudgingly agrees and shows them his techniques for making better weapons and clothing. But still he mourns his friend, the Beast."Certainly an apocryphal tale, but who's to say there might not have been one or more of these gigantic creatures staggering across the planet in their waning days."
Common Myths and Legends
The First Freelander
-A curious work of fiction found in Raaezen from an unknown author about a lone man fighting the elements alongside an animal companion simply referred to as the "beast". The story itself never describes the "beast" in detail, but in artwork from successive versions, a plodding land dragon is used. More than likely the "beast" is actually supposed to be a kirya since certainly a Pegotaur would not tolerate attack from lesser men.
LandDragonColorb.jpg
The Man and the Beast(The First Freelander)
by
Mardrena
Made in BlackInk
LandDragonOriginalb.jpg
Land Dragon (doodle)
by
Mardrena
Ink pen doodle
EXTINCT
Scientific Name
unknown
Origin/Ancestry
unknown
Average Height
15-20 ft @ shoulder
Average Weight
Estimated 10-15 tons
Average Length
20-25 ft
Average Physique
Judging from the size and thickness of the skeleton, they had to have been formidable powerhouses big enough to give mastodons a run for their money.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
No skin impressions have been found. If better-preserved remains have yet to be found out in Kundain proper, Roth's Edict unfortunately prohibits such despoiling of the ground, even out of curiosity.
Geographic Distribution
LandDragonColorb.jpg
The Man and the Beast(The First Freelander)
by
Mardrena
Made in BlackInk
Comments
Author's Notes
Sometimes I will make a doodle on a packaging label or see something in lines on a surface, either a dusty mirror or countertop, or errant scratches on a cardboad box. There is a little doodle I made at work once years ago that I snipped out and took home with me. THIS CRITTER APPEARS NOWHERE ELSE! The story about the Man and the Beast has two inspirations, though: Jubal Sackett, the fouth novel in the Sackett series where Jubal forsees his death and later encounters a wooly mammoth as his dreaded doom, and a scene from Rapa Nui (1994). I've never seen the movie in its entirety, I just remember the tree scene where the guy finds all the trees gone except the one he and his girlfriend wrote on, and not long after a group of men come to chop it down. He pleads with them to stop, screaming that "there will be no more" but the men ignore him and hold him back, cutting it down anyway. Also a trip to Houston Museum of Natural Science provides a healthy source of inspiration...