Dragons

"The town-taker".

Dragons, towering and terrifying, are apex predators whose very existence shapes the world of Gaiatia. Their immense size, magickal nature, and terrifying intellect make them creatures of both awe and dread. Able to adapt to any environment, dragons developing unique traits even based on their habitats, such as ice breath for arctic dwellers or lightning storms for mountain varieties. Though their appetites are vast and their immortality unnerving, their cruelty and intelligence mark them as more than mere beasts, dragons revel in the chaos they cause, often toying with their prey. While their scales and remnants are highly sought after, hunting dragons remains a near-suicidal endeavor, as their keen senses, territorial aggression, and resilience make them the bane of civilization. Should their unchecked reign continue, dragons may yet reduce the Folklands to ashes.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dragons with many differences between cousin species' do have ubiquitous physical similarities. Towering beasts on-average six to eight stories tall, able to easily tread lands impossible for us with its four tree-like legs or soar over many miles using wings wider than a line of carriages; These tremendous advantages allow it to easily pursue it's chosen quarry as almost two creatures, a monolithic swaying serpent with teeth like spears as the neck of a mighty clawed lizard who's talons dwarf a fully grown man. Let us not foolishly neglect a barbed tail capable of obliterating fortified castle walls in a single swing, or an entire body coated in scales so thick nothing save for cannon fire or powerful magicks are able to pierce it; Infantile dragons even, no larger than a horse are nigh-impenetrable to anything but rifle rounds. Dragon scales being such a durable, lightweight and resilient material wildly sought after, with the obvious issues in killing one to acquire them, makes them a great rarity; A solitary in-tact dragon scale could fetch its holder enough golden capras to start a lucrative farmstead with ample slaves to tend it for generations.

Genetics and Reproduction

One advantage we have over dragons is that they do not breed quickly, and when they do only produce 1-3 successful offspring on-average from eggs which take roughly a year to hatch; So repeated successful attempts to hunt their nests and exterminate them can have a tangible impact. If these eggs and their mother who will often shirk meals if they have not asembled a hoard to subsist on are not slain during this vulnerable period; Once hatched, if food stores are absent the mother will often gnaw off limbs for the hatclings to feast upon with jaws already equipped from-birth to rend flesh with ease before hunting for its own meal. When breeding, if locals are unfortunate enough to be near such an event, two dragons will engage in what can only be described as 'tantric sex', toppling many acres of woodlands, hills, or small mountains loudly in attempts to 'take' the other as is the common belief, no particular gender being the initiator of the event, but the event itself so destructive it is classified as a natural disaster in the immediate area mandatory evacuations and-all.

Growth Rate & Stages

When birthed dragon eggs will take 8-12 months to hatch, once they do for the first several months they are referred to as 'hatchlings' which are the size of a small dog, these hatchlings will then grow rapidly over the couse of it's life, considered a 'dragonling' from the first year until the ages of 18-20 when it's growth will mostly cease as it enters adulthood; Though dragons who feed frequently will in-fact keep growing indefinitely from eating enough; Which despite making some dragons who live long enough quite daunting in size even compared with other fully matured ones, also makes their appetites harder to sate as their size increases often causing them to starve to death after eating large amounts, substantial meals no-longer able to be acquired from stripping the area.

Ecology and Habitats

Dragons are like humans in a way, as menfolk are found in many climates all-over Gaiatia, so-too are dragons, taking man's ability to adapt to their surroundings to new extremes as they tend to do. Cousin species mentioned previously, dragons being so naturally magickal has fostered exaggerated mutations between species resulting from them populating a specific climate or habitat over time. Ancient dragons roosting for generations in the arctic north birthing white-scaled ice dragons, immune to cold with breath like a blizzard; Or dragons who make their homes high in the mountains growing blackened scales and screaming bolts of lightning from their razored maws.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Dragons are carnivores without question, but can sustain themselves on large quantities of fruits or vegetation if-present though far from it's chosen meals. As they are large, voracious predators their appetites are quite large, enough so that even a dozen horses may not fill its jagged belly; But thankfully, after devouring half a small village or any concentrated population of animals in-general, their metabolism is so robust that this meal can sustain them for many months before needing to feed again. Often times dragons who nest in successful enough hunting grounds for them will grow somewhat sedintary, preferring to simply reside within their dens to lounge or breed only hunting out of necessity; So if-possible after eating their fill dragons will hunt as-many creatures as they can carry in their talons, grab up with their tails, or drape along their back to take back to their nests. A fortunate habit of theirs creating a popular dragon hunting tactic; Criminals sentenced to death often used as bait, their clothing lined with sedative potions making it then a simple task of tracking it back to its nest to kill it as after its meal sends it into a deep slumber.

Biological Cycle

Because, of-course they don't, once a dragon reaches physical maturity at the age of about 8-10 years, it will cease to age permanently, functionally immortal so-long as they have steady access to food; Members of their kind often older than many civilizations today. Occasionally the dragon will shed a thin layer of skin called a 'dragon-shed' when growing similarly to a snake—that while nowhere near as desirable as a whole scale finding one can fetch this finder a very hefty sum, used as fine cloth for having somewhat similar properties of durability while being quite soft in-turn; Dragon-shed should also serve as a stern, grave warning that you are in a dragon's territory, and that it's owner likely already knows it.

Behaviour

Predominantly aggressive, territorial, dominating and frankly sadistic; Numerous reports exist of dragons doing things like slowly chasing victims despite being able to snatch them up in an instant, or using their fire breath or similar ability on a victim's children first only to be said to 'smile' at their kin's despair. Dragons are not simply animalistic either, possessing their own language even, druids (mages who can communicate with/become animals) or those with tongues capable of speaking it have said dragons are sometimes quite intellectual, at-least older dragons; Implying they are capable of understanding the gravity of their frequent destruction, yet they simply do not care, or-worse outright enjoy it. A pity for us all, the sheer scale of the threat dragons regularly pose to us has crippled expansion efforts, new villages with schools and hospitals and research facilities burned and eaten time and time again—so with no intent to stop on their part, we may yet lose everything to dragons alone if something is not done.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

As-if the essential peak biology a predator could possess were not daunting enough to surmount, dragons whether of the icy tundras or the Hells below are remarkably perceptive; A bloodhound can track a scent for miles, dragons can track a scent for hundreds, can see at a similar distance with the precision of a trained marksman and hear the snap of a twig during a thunderstorm as-clearly as a shout in a library. Finding food a simple a task to dragons as breathing, most unfortunate to anything made of flesh and blood really.

Scientific Name

Draconis devastator

Origin/Ancestry

Ancient reptilian creatures with magickal capabilities refined overtime through evolution influenced by their environments.

Conservation Status

With the immense danger this species presents to the population of Gaiatia in its entirety, dragons are encouraged to be desperately avoided until they may hopefully one day be hunted to extinction.