Drakos

When the dragons arrived 10,000 years ago, the bronze dragons found large lizards on several small islands. These lizards were about the size of wolves. Over the next thousand years, one of the clans of bronze dragons started to carefully breed these lizards, which they called drakos, for their size, endurance, and durability. That clan took the name of the lizards as their own. With the eons of selective breeding, the drakos have grown to the size of bears. They have the speed and stamina of wolves. The drakos were introduced into various environments. They adapted to all environments but thrived in warmer and wetter climates. The drakos in the cold climates are larger and more muscular. The extra muscles are an adaptation to the cold. The warmer climate breeds smaller drakos.
The dragons initially used the drakos to construct their lairs. They fed the beasts and protected them from the weather and other predators. After the Drakos clan had their lairs built, they started to trade some of the extra hatchlings to the other clans, then to the other types of dragons. The other dragons started requesting certain extraordinary features. Black dragons and bronze dragons from other clans often wanted aquatic drakos. Since there are already aquatic lizards to study and observe what traits make the most impact, the aquatic drakos subspecies was rather easy to create. The same is true for the arboreal and the alpine. They are not able to breathe underwater, they can hold their breaths for an extended amount of time. They also have a wider claw span that is webbed as well.
The avian drakos were not so easy. Except for dragons, all other terrestrial animals have only 4 limbs. The silvers, blues, and the others did not want to sacrifice their beast of burdens’ four ground based limbs. So they turned to the Mages’ guild. After about one hundred years of experimentation, they finally had the correct combination of spells and genetics. The avian drakos have wings that sprout from their spines about a third of the way between the shoulders and the hips.
The drakos are not known for their agility or gracefulness. They are however known to outwork just about any other draft animal. They can out pull the largest horses and out distance men. They have made the Drakos clan a lot of money and a lot of allies.