"Her golden scales shone like a beacon in the noon day sun, her wings spread wide as if to harness the solar energy. Those that had gathered had suspected she was a dragon, and it filled their hearts to see she was gold. Their delights turned to panic and screams when she unleashed her potent breath weapon apon them for defying her orders..."
- The Golden Judgement (short tale, author unkown)
Dragons are found in many worlds. In some they are only mere tales told to children, in others, they are avatars to the deities themselves. One thing they all seem to share is that there are various types, some metallic, some chromatic, with some worlds even telling tales of dragons with an aspect of gemstones.
Easthalen is no exception, but the dragons that reside there have a curious nature that can catch those who visit from other worlds off guard.
In the other worlds, as mentioned above, the dragons are divided into various categories, metallic (gold, silver etc.), chromatic (red, blue etc.) and so on. The so-called metallic dragons tend to be good-aligned, even if some might look down on "lesser" beings in an arrogant fashion they would still not commit evil acts upon them, with the chromatic being the opposite.
In Easthalen however, all dragons are treated as one species and one group. This has the effects listed below, broken down into various aspects.
From this point on, references to these dragons, unless otherwise stated, will refer to them as Halenic dragons and not those that might be found elsewhere in the multiverse.
Personality/Alignment
As a sentient species, Halanic dragons have the full range of personalities and alignments that any other sentient species might have. This is not limited to their "type". A red dragon, for example, might be kind and compassionate, if not a little bit quick to express their emotions. A Gold dragon might be cruel, silver might be hyper-aggressive towards mortals and a black dragon might enjoy the company of a certain species above all else.
This has caught many an off-worlder or those from other realms off guard, assuming that a metallic would be "on their side" or a chromatic is automatically an enemy and so on.
Hatching/Breeding
As all the various dragons are technically one species, one "type" may be laid or hatched by another. A Silver may lay an egg that hatches a red, or a Brass and so on. Each egg has the chance of being different types, but within bloodlines, certain types are more common. To expand on what was mentioned above, silver is more likely to hatch another silver, red is more likely to hatch another red and so on.
Those from worlds that take note of such things believe this is the result of genetics and bloodlines being stronger in one aspect than others.
This has led to curious events and superstitions amongst the dragons, especially on large egg clutches. One legend among dragon kind is of 12 dragons hatched in the same batch, a rare event in itself as the typical clutch for eggs is normally around 3 or 4, but with each egg hatching a different colour or metal type. It is believed that these dragons share a particularly strong familial bond, but many scholars believe this to be a myth and nothing more.
Breath Weapons
For the vast majority of Halenic dragons, their breath weapon matches their "type". Red, for example, has the classic breath of fire. However, due to the quirk of their shared genetic nature, in about 1% of dragons, their breath weapons can be different. A white might have the lightning breath weapon that is found normally in their blue siblings instead of ice/cold and so on.
Like other aspects, Halenic dragons have caught many a would-be slayer off guard when they prepare for one breath type only to find their foe uses another.
Humanoid Appearance
A common thing that all dragons can do is the ability to shapeshift or morph into a humanoid. This humanoid form is, for the most part, fixed and is quite often the first form they mastered. Femmine dragons would typically have feminine humanoid forms, the same as the masculine versions. Non-binary dragons (NB) would have a form they feel best matches them and so on.
Whatever their humanoid form, however, some aspect of their draconic heritage shows through. This normally manifests in the eyes, but it can be skin tone, hair colouration and so forth. Due to the vast variety of skin tones and life forms in Easthalen, this is not as much of a hindrance as one might think - People seeing an individual like this would definatly notice them, but then carry on with their day. One recent surfaced story tells of a purple-skinned individual believing they are a dragon trapped in a humanoid form - This might be big news in other locations around the multiverse, but in Easthalen it's dismissed as ramblings of a bard telling a tale to try and impress the locals.
Lairs
One thing that hasn't changed that much for Halenic dragons is their need (or desire?) for a lair. But here, this can be quite flexible, even when it matches their "type". A white dragon would still mostly seek out a cold or chilled location for example, a green would have one filled with plant life of some kind etc. If their chosen location doesn't have the aspects they require, then they will change the environment to match what they require, causing plants to grow, ice to form and so on.
For example , one report had the
Cartographers Guild HQ in
Franner get covered in ice due to a white dragon forming their lair underneath the location, which was quite surprising as genrally Franner is considered to be temperate. This was dismissed as a "prank" by some of the local students, but rumors and reports were rampant.
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