Dragons

A term for a wide variety of flying creatures that have scaled hides, four legs, and a set of wings. Dragons are inherently magical creatures, relying on relatively well-understood principles of Mana-casting for several of their bodily processes. Though lacking the necessary vocal faculties, they are intelligent enough to understand basic commands from humans. Despite the population of their various subspecies being spread out across several continents, every dragon has an instinctive fascination with shiny objects, in particular gold and silver. Taller than an elephant, and far longer and wider with its wingspan, dragons are a sight that can inspire both dread and awe in those who see them. Despite their size, most varieties of dragons are capable of folding their wings against their bodies to achieve incredible speeds in dive bombing maneuvers.
Their reputation is a well-deserved one, as countless battles have proven time and again that little can compete with a war dragon in its element. All dragons are infamously capable of using plasma shifts to spew what is colloquially termed "fire breath," although there are greater complexities to this than would appear at first glance. These creatures are capable of adjusting the burning liquid that exits their naris to change the mixture's properties, with the most commonly seen result being a stream of sticky burning liquid quite similar in composition and properties to that of jellied petrol. "Fireballs," far less common and usually reserved for blasting through fortifications and lightly armored targets, are short-lived plasma projectiles with similar effects to large-caliber cannonfire, and if the ability to blast ground targets into submission wasn't already intimidating enough, certain varieties of dragons can imbue their plasma shifting with elemental power.
With tough, lightweight scales to protect its organs and dense bone structure from arrowheads and short blades, it wasn't until the invention of enchanted projectile warheads and gunpowder that taking on a dragon without being a rider oneself was considered anything but suicide. Their hides are inherently tough to pierce and fireproof, with only large-caliber flak cannon, ballistae bolts, and concentrated mana blasts being capable of reliably harming dragons at range. At shorter distances, the blunt force of a warhammer may break smaller bones, but is just as likely to simply get the wielder maimed by razor-sharp claws for their troubles.
Even as technological progress allows others to take to the skies without the aid of Brooms or dragons, these mighty creatures remain a point of pride and strength in the lands that host them, safe with the knowledge that they are protected by their riders.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Being a term used rather loosely compared to other species' designations, there are only a handful of unifying anatomical characteristics: four legs, a pair of wings, a tail, and a head. Sometimes there are more wings, and sometimes a pair of wings are attached to the forelegs.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Comparable to that of elves, with even better night vision capabilities. Additionally, many dragons' ability to notice objects without the use of smell or sight, once attributed to intuition, was more recently revealed to be a rudimentary form of radar that allowed them to search for targets (though at ranges inferior to electromechanical equivalents) whether they were airborne, on the surface, or even (at extremely short ranges) subterranean. This makes it exceedingly difficult to sneak up on a dragon.

Civilization and Culture

Major Organizations

Few in number compared to their mechanical competitors, most dragons can be found in the Bysian Realms and its protectorate, and a few are part of ceremonial duties in the Utar Confederacy. Some imagery from the Kuran Empire shows dragons in its mythology, but none have been seen in the flesh among their people.

Lifespan

100 - 150 years

Average Height

3.5 to 5 m